Intrigue

The body of an NCIS agent turns up in a bonfire on a beach near the US Naval Academy after celebrations just before graduation; Gibbs and company learn also about a rape of a sailor, and Gibbs goes to see Franks in Mexico. [Continued.]

A human body, almost completely consumed, turns up in a burned-out bonfire on a beach near the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, after celebrations just before graduation; Gibbs and company investigate; McGee's thumbprint scanner identifies the victim as Special Agent Lara Macy, on personal leave from her post in Marseille, France. Gibbs and McGee visit Lara's mother, who tells them that a man had already rifled through Lara's papers at the family house. Lara had begun to look into the rape of a woman petty officer from a visiting ship in Marseille; the gang continue to do so, and they find the rapists. Abby speaks with Gibbs frankly and empathetically. Gibbs and MAllison have an intense chat, Vance advises her to listen, and Gibbs goes to Mexico, where Franks has run into trouble. [To be continued.]—DocRushing

(Previously, we see Abby learning that Gibbs killed a drug dealer named Pedro Hernandez years ago in Mexico as payback for the murders of his wife and daughter.)

A man on a horse rides down the beach and comes upon a body. He gets off and we see that it's Gibbs. He bends over to examine the corpse and gets a gun to his head as a welcome to Mexico.

4 Days Earlier At NCIS, Tony watches Annapolis graduation on TV. Ziva reminds them her naturalization review is this week.

Gibbs comes in to announce the body of the week: on the beach in Annapolis, possibly graduation related.

Tony takes pictures of the victim in a charred firepit.

Ensign Bosch tells Gibbs that he built the fire the night before and left it ready for lighting.

Duckie sees signs of a struggle on the victim. Duckie rehydrates the finger to get a print on McGee's digital scanner. "It's like watering a mummy," offers Tony.

McGee freezes when he sees the result: It's NCIS Agent Laura Macy.

Back at the office, the agency is on alert. A member of Macy's team talks to Vance and Gibbs in MTAC and tells them where she was staying.

Duckie tells Gibbs that Macy's throat was slit. They wonder why someone would torch her in NCIS jurisdiction.

In the lab, Abby points out that Macy could have stayed at her mom's house in Maryland, but opted for a motel with work stuff. She called Petty Officer Kaylen Burrow five times in the last week. Gibbs turns to go and Abby tells him they need to talk. But he says not now.

Gibbs runs into M. Allison Hart in the hallways. She tells Gibbs the Mexican consulate wants Pedro Hernandez's body back. She asks him out for dinner or a drink but he turns her down.

Tony and Ziva visits Burrows on board her ship. They ask her about talking to Macy and she denies knowing her. A couple of tough looking sailors try to pry Burrows away, but Tony runs them off. Abby calls him with reports on Macy's laptop. She had started a case file in which the victim refused to cooperate. It was a rape case...the victims was Burrows.

Back at NCIS, Burrows is hesitant to talk about what happened to her in Merseille. She claims she's as responsible as anyone. Finally they break the news to her about Macy.

Vance and Allison Hart videoconference with Alejandro Rivero in Mexico. They bring Abby in and she tells them she needs a little more time to finish up her report on Pedro.

Gibbs and McGee visit Laura's mom on her farm. She says she already showed one of their people Laura's things. She describes him as handsome, young and military. They find her personal notes strewn about. Gibbs wants it all brought in.

Back at the office, Tony says the bar owner in France ID's Tyler Hammond as the civilian with Burrows the night of her attack. His dad Randall Hammond (Richard Burgi) is a big wig in DC construction. Tyler's back in DC now.

Tony and Ziva go to the Hammonds' and find police and an ambulance out front. Tyler has been beaten up. He says two big guys in ski masks did it. His dad says they took off in an SUV with Navy base permits.

Gibbs comes to the Hammond's house and finds their attorney there. They claim Hammond saw Burrows raped by fellow naval officers, not that he did it.

Back at the office, Ziva understands that Burrows might not report it if her attackers were Navy because she'd worry about losing her shipmates' trust.

They look into Wachtner and Capetanos, Burrows' shipmates who were on leave when she was raped and who tried to interrupt their interview on board. One of them signed a vehicle out of the motorpool around the time Hammond was attacked. McGee finds a rape kit was taken but the results were dropped when Burrows backed down.

Tony goes back to the ship to talk to Wachter and Capetanos. When they mention Macy's murder, one of them talks, saying they saw Hammond leave with Burrows that night. They admit they beat him up.

Gibbs talks to Burrows, trying to convince her not to let whoever did it get away with it, and murder.She says Tyler Hammond did it, but he wasn't alone.

In the lab, Abby tells Gibbs the rape kit was contaminated. Gibbs wants the results anyway and wants Tyler Hammond brought back in. Abby tells Gibbs again that they really need to talk about Mexico. It reminds Gibbs of something.

McGee tells Gibbs that Macy's notebooks from January '91 to February '92, when Macy was an MP at Pendleton and Gibbs was there, too.

Gibbs urgently calls his mentor Mike Franks' bar in Mexico to deliver a message: Rule 44.

Then he tells the Hammonds that Burrows' rape kit implicates Tyler...and his dad, who was also in France. When Randall says he has no idea who Macy is, Gibbs throws him against the interview glass and shatters it. Randall confesses to the rape (although he trots out the pathetic "she wanted it" line) but denies knowing anything about a murder.

Gibbs is on a serious tear now and goes to Duckie in the morgue, wanting to know who made the knife that killed Macy. It's a K-Bar 1277, and Army knife. She was executed and her body left to taunt whoever it would hurt most. "Not unlike leaving a single bullet to be found in the Mexican sun," says Duckie, referring to Gibbs' killing Pedro. He tells Gibbs he knows what he's been carrying around and that someone is forcing Gibbs' hand.

Gibbs gets a call from the woman in the bar in Mexico. There are soliders with guns there and Mike is in trouble.

Gibbs pulls Allison Hart aside and asks where Col. Bell is. He claims Bell is using her to get to him. She calls Bell a patriot but Gibbs shouts that he's a murderer. He asks again where Bell is. She says he was on the way to Baja.

McGee finds a private plane flight manifest with Bell and some of his mercenaries on the way to Baja a few days ago, including ex-Army ranger Jason Dean (Dylan Bruno). He matches the sketch Macy's mom described of the man who visited her.

Abby traced the disposable cell phone that called Macy to a convenience store and is processing the security footage. Gibbs goes to leave, but Abby closes the door and demands they talk about Mexico.

She says she'll do anything for him, but he says he only needs her to do her job.

The convenience store footage clears up and shows Jason Dean. Abby asks again what she should do about Mexico. He tells her to send her whole report in.

Vance talks to Allison Hart and Tony. He tells her her client is wrapped up in a murder. He says the fact they crossd into Mexico and are working with drug dealers makes the case a possible terrorist threat and she has to talk. Vance appeals to her as a friend of Gibbs and she tells him that ever since Bell got out of prison he's been accumulating info on Gibbs.

Cut to the beach in Mexico. Gibbs comes upon Mike's beach house and finds it burned to the ground and a charred child's doll inside. There are several bodies nearby and bloody drag marks to a body face down in the sand. Gibbs gets down to look and says "oh, Mike."

Then Dean gets a gun to Gibbs' head and Gibbs asks what he's up to. Dean tells him the body isn't Mike Franks, it's Col. Bell. "Who do you work for?" Gibbs asks. He gets a gun butt to the face in response.