NCIS

Bravo-Delta-Four UAV test.

In flight. Video up. Radio comm channels clear.

Commencing field exercise Bravo-Delta-Four.

Copy that. Bravo-Delta-Four is a go.

Missile activated.

Okay, people. Hold steady.

And remember this moment, because the maiden test run

of a beast like this combat UAV missile...

...is something to tell the grandkids.

Approaching target. 80 meters and closing.

Begin weapons engagement.

70.

60...

Staff Sergeant Murphy is clear to fire.

Commence firing.

50... 40...

All systems ready.

Target locking sequence initiated.

30 meters out.

Sir? Sir.

Come here.

We have a problem.

Murphy, stand down.

Target locked. Murphy, hold!

Murphy, hold your fire!

Stand down!

Missile away.

Target strike confirmed.

What did you do?

== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man

Ah, that fleeting moment

when everything is right and good.

The coffee is half full and the phone hasn't rung yet.

No crime, no body.

Not even a hint of trouble.

Okay.

Can I just vent?

Oh, it was nice while it lasted.

What's wrong, Jimmy?

Dr. Mallard retired.

You're just realizing this now?

And ever since he became the official NCIS historian,

I have been doing the work of two people.

Yeah. And you do it all with a smile on your face.

Oh, that? Yeah, yeah. I've been faking that

for the last four months.

Yeah, I have such a backlog of work to catch up on,

I didn't even go home last night.

You guys, I got 14 minutes of sleep.

On an autopsy table.

I hope there wasn't a body on it.

Jimmy, you think maybe it's time

you get your, uh, own assistant?

Yes. I m-- I mean, I'm-I'm trying to.

I-I interviewed people last week,

but, uh, it's impossible to tell

whether or not someone's gonna measure up

just by talking to them.

Dr. Mallard instilled in me a very high

set of standards, and these, t-this is just a-a mess

of résumés.

They're just...

They're just talking heads.

Did I mention I got 14 minutes of sleep last night?

Twice.

Look, Jimmy, maybe you should just have the applicants come in

and work with you on a trial basis.

Yeah, you know, you can tell a lot about a person

when you see them in action.

It's like my abuela said,

"You never know the measure of a man

until he's covered in blood."

Doesn't abuela mean "grandmother"?

- She was a butcher. - Grab your gear.

Got a dead body in Quantico.

Sort of.

Sort of a body?

Go. Gear. Let's go.

I have logged seven pieces of human remains so far.

From what I can tell, they all came from the same person.

Whoever that might be.

All right. I got a hit over here.

Victim is Daniel Backer.

Retired gunnery sergeant. Rules out accident.

- How do we know that? - A gunny would've known better

than to just walk into an active weapon range like that.

Suicide, Jimmy?

I don't think so.

Uh, the force of the explosion

clearly dismembered the body.

But the hypoxic nature of this tissue suggests

that there was no blood flow at the time of the missile strike.

Which means...

Backer was already dead when the missile hit.

For how long?

Dead how? Palmer!

Oh, uh, just-- I'm-I'm gonna have to get him--

all of him-- back to autopsy.

U-Uh, the post-mortem lividity here suggests

that the body was also moved after he died.

Which means...

Someone put him here.

So, I take it by your lack of uniform, you're a civilian?

That's right. I-I work for a company

called LanWar Defense Systems.

And that's their drone? LanWar makes the weapons,

the Marine Warfighting Lab tests them.

It's pretty small for a combat drone.

And extremely lightweight. It's only six pounds,

but its missiles pack a hell of a punch.

How much punch? Imagine if you could

stuff a Category 5 tornado

into something the size of a water bottle.

Whoever was down there didn't stand a chance.

All right, thanks.

So the victim was I.D.'d as Daniel Backer.

You knew him?

Yeah. He's, um, a retired gunnery sergeant.

He-he works for us at LanWar.

He helps us plan the demos that we run for the Warfighting Lab.

So you all knew him?

Including the Marine who piloted the drone today?

Staff Sergeant Diana Murphy. Yes.

You said she fired her missile

despite your repeated orders to stand down.

Well, I-I don't know what she was thinking.

It's ironic that it was Backer down there.

Why would you say that?

Well, they used to date.

Yeah, we're gonna need to talk to her.

Of course.

Look, I-I'm sure she was just so focused,

she didn't hear the order.

I mean, I know how that sounds, but...

I left her in the pilots' ready room.

She was pretty distraught.

She was just...

Where did she go?

Staff Sergeant Diana Murphy, 30 years old,

served in the Marine Corps for the last nine.

She started out flying drone missions in Afghanistan

but now specializes in piloting UAVs for the Warfighting Lab.

Why is she running?

Well, maybe because she killed her ex-boyfriend,

and blew up the evidence?

BOLO's out. Quantico MPs have been alerted.

We'll find her.

Service record.

Competent, capable. Nothing murdery at all, actually.

Wait, did I mention that she blew up her ex-boyfriend?

Also known as retired Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Backer.

37, decorated, well-liked.

Described as a "total Boy Scout."

After Backer left the Marines, uh, LanWar offered him a job.

Which means he spent a lot of time in the Warfighting Lab.

We think that's where he met Murphy.

You get a cause of death yet?

Uh, not yet. No, Jimmy's taking longer

than usual for some reason.

McGee, take Torres to LanWar.

See what else you can find out about Backer.

On it. On it.

Bishop. Hmm?

Find Murphy.

On it.

As your first test, we will start by reassembling the body.

Now, this is the phalanges mediae.

Uh...

Based on the curvature of this facet,

I believe, of the left foot.

Would you please turn that off?

This work does require a great deal of concentration.

Uh, seriously. How do you do anything with these gloves on?

They're actually quite handy, for work.

Uh, would you mind

getting me the left patella?

Pass.

I have a thing about kneecaps.

Okay. Right. I'll get the patella.

You orient the left quadriceps femoris.

His left.

Not yours.

Okay, there we go. Yeah, now, just-just

rotate it in until it fits...

Look...

Mm, gonna leave now.

That's a great idea.

Sorry about that, Gunny.

That young lady had a stellar résumé

and absolutely no place in the SAZ.

That's the Sacred Autopsy Zone.

You didn't used to think of me like that, did you?

Cause of death.

Right. As we suspected,

Backer's C.O.D. was not a drone strike,

but rather a gunshot wound,

confirming this was, in fact, a murder.

Entry was right here. He was shot at point-blank range

with what I can only assume was a nine-millimeter bullet,

which we cannot find.