NCIS

All right, boys...

It's looking pretty good.

Captain!

Got one!

Alive?

No, sir.

We're gonna need an M.E. and the Arson Unit down here.

: Copy that. We'll notify M.E.

Arson Unit's on the way.

Better call the Navy, too.

== sync, corrected by elderman ==

What is this place?

Warehouse is owned by United Equinox Electronics.

They make everything from modems to toaster ovens.

And according to insurance records,

they use it to store tax records, corporate documents.

What are we doing here?

Nice look, Tony.

What, is that blue collar meets Ivy League?

Chic Farmhand?

Ring-a-ding-ding.

I call it Practical Playboy.

Yeah, well...

...this is what we're here for, Heffie.

United Equinox also worked Navy projects.

Including top-secret weapons systems.

And we're here to see if

anything sensitive was damaged-- got it.

That's right.

So, let's go.

NCIS.

Baltimore Fire. Site Inspector.

Heard you guys were called in.

Any idea what caused the fire?

For that, you're gonna have to talk to Baltimore Police.

Arson Unit guy's around here somewhere.

Nice boots.

Thanks. I'm going for a new look.

Crime Scene Chic.

Actually earning some style points.

One more word about your boots, you're gonna find mine

up your ass, DiNozzo.

DiNozzo?!

Anthony DiNozzo?

Jason King.

Baltimore PD Arson Unit.

Jason.

Wow.

It's-it's been a little while.

Yeah.

You two know each other?

Heard we're working this together, sir,

until we officially rule out any connection to the Navy.

Yeah, that's the plan.

Well, boss, if this is a homicide, then...

I was Homicide for two years

before I made Arson in February.

February! That's two months ago.

Wow.

Listen, I had no idea--

Already started my cause-and-origin investigation.

Fire's back here.

DiNozzo, you're with me.

You two, take the perimeter.

Duck, what do we got?

It looks as if dental records

are the only hope for identification.

- This the guy who started the fire? - I doubt it.

Arsonists rarely get caught in their own conflagrations.

That's correct.

This man was most likely a victim.

Wrong time, wrong place?

Or deliberate time and place.

Given the body's badly burned condition,

I'd say it was the ignition point for the fire.

Used the road flare to start it.

Johnny Storm, Human Torch.

You ever see that movie, the Fantastic Four?

- Arson? - Looking that way.

Yeah, but the fire was so intense,

it actually calcified the bone.

This is very odd.

Gasoline and butane burn off quickly,

and at the same relative temperature as paper or wood.

Whatever our arsonist used even scarred the concrete floor.

The guy really wanted to cover his trail,

destroy the evidence.

Fire doesn't destroy evidence, it creates it.

Well, let's go find some.

Actually, I had the chance

to do some preliminary processing.

Every one of these drawers is filled with burned files

and paper ash, except this one.

Oh...

Maybe the drawer was empty before the fire.

Lock was broken off prior to the fire.

Right there.

Somebody wanted whatever was in this drawer.

They went to a lot of trouble to get it.

Boss...

I ran the card reader on the warehouse's security gate.

The last person swiped in at 4:03 a.m.

That's 40 minutes before the fire was reported.

McGEE: Carter Plimpton, 42 years old.

Lives in Fairmount.

Five-ten, 170 pounds.

Duck?

Could be.

Plimpton was a civilian employee of United Equinox.

Well, if the victim's a civilian,

then this isn't an NCIS case, right?

Wrong.

Boss?

It's Navy.

King... you're with us now.

Yes... sir...

McGEE: Dental records confirm our victim is Carter Plimpton.

Product systems analyst

for United Equinox.

Spent the last four years

in their electrical component department.

This is exciting stuff.

Tony, don't jump to any conclusions, okay?

Just 'cause the guy has a nerdy job,

it does not mean that he's...

Okay, he was single.

And he ran a Skyrim message board.

How many cats did he have?

None.

But, apparently, he did have a thing

for Japanese anime pillows.

Oh. That's unfortunate.

Although, she's kinda hot.

It's a cartoon, Tony.

Hey, don't knock the cartoon ladies.

You got your Betty Rubble,

your Ariel from The Little Mermaid,

and Jessica Rabbit...

Those ladies got me through puberty.

You've been through puberty?

Had not noticed.

Well, you noticed Jason King.

What is it with chicks and firemen?

And don't say hoses.

I wasn't going to.

Um, he's not a fireman.

But, yes, your cop friend is very, um...

hot.

He's not my friend.

I met him once.

20 years ago.

I'm actually kind of surprised he recognized me.

Well, clearly, your first meeting was important to him.

I, uh, assume it involved a girl?

He was nine years old.

Never assume, McGee.

Rule Number Eight. Got it, boss.

Speaking of the number eight, that's the... Phantom Eight.

McGEE: Part of the Navy's Watcher Fleet.

The bad part.

Well, Watcher does some good, too.

They help ensure the Naval Fleet's security.

I think we can all agree the Phantom Eight

had a couple of bad apples.

Two of these men were murdered in the last nine months.

Three.

Three.

Wow, look at that.

Our extra-crispy victim was a member of the Phantom Eight.

If he was Black Ops, that explains why

there's no paper trail on his past.

Guess the guy's not a cubicle nerd, after all.

Which means there could've been a connection

between Watcher Fleet and the fire.

Ziva, find 'em. Take McGee with you.

Start with Plimpton's supervisor.

DiNozzo, dig deeper on our victim.

All the way to China, boss.

I admire your attention to detail, Doctor.

People your age sometimes disregard scientific investigation

in favor of instinct.

People my age? Here.

Sorry, sir.

It's just that applying scientific methods

to fire investigation is relatively new.

These burn patterns show all the way through the dermis.

Yes, they do.

It's so unusual.

What is, Duck?

Well, Mr. Plimpton's skin

was double burned.

Once wasn't enough.

Well, looking at one of several deep,

uniformly round tissue burns,

about one inch in diameter,

which just happens to match this road flare.

The pattern and carbon sheen

indicate that these burn spots were inflicted

both ante- and perimortem.

Torture with a flare.