NCIS

MAN (over radio): Welcome back to Daily BackTalk, 86.9 FM.

I'm your host, Adam Gator.

This morning I am joined by a very special guest--

Navy Commander Walter Daniels.

Many loyal listeners of this show have complained

and questioned why we spend hundreds of billions

sending troops, planes and ships to protect other countries.

Resources they say should be here,

protecting and bettering the homeland.

They are.

The age of isolationism is long over.

What about those that complain about the U.S. having to pay

to be the policemen of the world?

American military deployment around the globe assures

the safety of free trade for all.

Trade that invariably benefits our own markets.

Second, we are constantly eliminating terrorist threats

that may otherwise end up in our own backyard.

That brings us to our next topic,

and the main reason I asked you to be here today.

Right after a word from...

No.

Don't. Don't!

Hey, what are you doing?

Hey, put it down!

Hey. Hey, hey, you can't be in here.

No. Please!

Please don't!

Somebody call 9...

Tony, it's the world we live in.

The time has come to embrace change with open arms.

It's either that, or we risk further controversy and scorn.

For once, I think you might be right.

You've changed my McMind.

And I thank you, Tim.

Tony, have you been drinking?

No. (exhales and sniffs) Why?

I could have sworn I just

heard you thank McGee.

Oh. I appreciate his insight.

On what?

Baseball.

McGEE: Specifically,

the implementation of instant replay in baseball.

We have the technology, why not use it?

Bad calls hurt everyone.

I do not know which is more disturbing--

the fact that you both agree

on something, or that

McGee is a fan of a sport.

It's not just that I'm a fan, Ziva.

It is also, I'm...

American?

Alive?

It's October, Ziva.

Reggie Jackson is Mr. October.

Baseball has seeped

into the native consciousness of this country.

I do not feel any seeping.

Well, maybe you just got to be born here.

Come on, you two. It's just a game.

It's our game.

If you build it,

they will come.

Field of Dreams.

Maybe that's speaking to the immigrant experience.

I did not become an American citizen because of baseball.

It's every kid's dream.

Even McGee.

It's true. Center fielder.

Right on the list.

Right before Imagineer.

It's a hard day when you realize

those dreams may not come true.

Got to keep the dream alive, Tim.

Got three people, aren't gonna get that chance.

Three strikes.

And you're out.

It looks like the shooter started in here

before making his way into the recording booth.

These are not the kind of hits one expects

to hear on the radio.

No shell casings anywhere.

Our shooter must have picked them up.

See, this is why podcasts were invented.

Who needs the radio when you got the Internet?

People who don't have the Internet.

Or those who prefer to listen while driving.

Ah, they actually make a cell phone app for that now, Ducky.

Got an app for doing your job, McGee?

Right.

Virginia State Police found

the bodies when local listeners called in, hearing

gunshots live on the air.

Anybody see what happened?

No witnesses.

It's a small rural station,

and the only registered employee

is our body in the engineering booth--

Vincent Clark.

Local poly-sci major.

How about the navy officer?

McGEE: That is Commander Walter Daniels.

He's a Special Duty Officer

in the Office of Public Affairs.

Big fish for a small station.

Mm. Big crime scene for a small town.

So, what's the commander doing way out here in the boonies?

McGEE: Well, according to a press release,

Daniels was asked to give an interview

on foreign military policy.

Asked... by whom?

King of Zing himself-- radio host Adam Gator.

Married. No kids.

Been on the air three years.

Articulate conversation

from intelligent guests like the commander was not

the show's usual fare.

You're not a fan of BackTalk, Duck?

People calling in to be mocked and berated

by a smart-aleck host?

No.

Neither, it would appear, was our shooter.

The engineer and the commander were shot once,

and then, judging by the pooling,

left to bleed to death.

Yeah, well, the host is a different story.

Indeed.

Adam Gator here was shot three times,

all in the chest.

Means that Gator was the primary target.

Why kill him live on the air, though?

Perhaps the shooter was

looking for an audience, as well.

(montage of radio sound effects play loudly)

MAN (recording): 86.9 FM, home of Daily BackTalk

with Adam Gator.

Sorry, boss.

I hit the wrong button.

You know, I considered going into radio once.

Hmm. Well, you certainly like to hear yourself talk.

No. Not talk radio.

I think I would have been a great sports commentator.

Mm. Jack Buck, Vin Scully.

Harry Caray.

Cubs win! Cubs win!

Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

You wouldn't understand.

You know, Tony,

baseball is actually very popular in Israel.

Shh. They even started their own...

Boss, you might want to listen to this.

Hey, floor.

I think our shooter may have been more

than just an angry listener.

Check it out.

After the break,

I want to address a very disturbing threat

that I received from a group of my... (laughs)

...a group of my fans.

Whack-pots who don't know the difference

between patriotism and terrorism.

I will expose what might be

the next great threat to national security,

right after a word from...

Hey, what are you doing?!

Hey, put it down! Hey, hey, hey!

Gator wasn't killed for something he said.

He was killed for something he was about to say.

I usually listen to the show on my way to work,

but...

I hit traffic.

First time I've ever been thankful for a weak signal.

Mrs. Gator,

your husband said he received a threat

from a group of listeners?

Adam got angry calls and idle threats all the time.

A lot of redneck crackpots out there.

Except, um, well, these ones--

they were actually trying to recruit him.

For what? I don't know.

Adam said they were some kind of, like,

half-assed extremist group that claimed to have a bomb.

I mean, I've never seen him so excited.

Excited?

Yeah, he said it would make for a good program.

Listen.

His on-air persona-- that was just for show.

Adam was a decent man, a patriot.

And he would have called the police

if he thought that they were serious.

But I guess if they were just willing to kill him...

Do you know who they are?

Adam never said.

Um... but he always kept

every piece of mail,

and he recorded every phone conversation,

both on and off the air, just in case.

Please find whoever did this?

Please?