Handlung

Tis the season to be hacking. In a Christmas letter to his father, McGee describes in detail a case in which he, Gibbs and the rest of the NCIS team investigate the hackers who are responsible for the Internet going down in the D.C. area.

It's Christmas and when someone hacks the Internet shutting it down, there's concern that it could be an attack. So everyone is called in. Gibbs decides to bring all the hackers they arrested and bring them to NCIS to help them. Gibbs puts McGee in charge and he's not sure if he's the right one. They want to help by going online but Gibbs won't let them. When the Internet goes back on they think the worst has passed but Gibbs thinks there's still more. They eventually learn one of the hackers made contact with the one they are looking for.—rcs0411@yahoo.com

McGee sits down at his old typewriter to tell his dad about a case they had last week that made him think of his dad.

Flash back to Gibbs sitting down for dinner in front of the TV and seeing a breaking news bulletin about the Internet being shut down around DC.

Tony and Ellie report to the office, called in three hours from being officially on holiday leave. The Internet is down, but the military intranet is not.

Ellie explains the coordination the attack would require a lot. Everyone is trying to figure out what the point is.

Down in the lab, Abby and McGee have identified Krampus as the coordinator. Three people from past cases have connection to Krampus: IT Kevin, who sold secrets to the Russians; Heidi Partridge, who ran the dark net and Ajay Khan, a cyber terrorist.

McGee knows hell be roped into talk to the tech nerds, and he quickly is.

McGee is surprised that all three prisoners are transported together. Theyre not impressed by his authority.

Ellie brings them all sweatpants as a peace offering. Kevin is more inclined to help his former colleagues than the other two, but they peer pressure him into clamming up. Theyre trying to leverage their assistance but Tony gets a call that the Internet is back up.

Abby runs a server test and finds the one in Anacostia isnt back up.

McGree writes to his dad about how hard it is to enforce the rules and feel like a bad guy.

Back in the office, they have determined Krampus is going after Congressional emails. Gibbs orders McGee to keep the hackers at the office, but not let them near computers.

They get word of a body found hooked up to a utility box at a server farm. Gibbs orders the hackers down to autopsy to try to ID the body bust mostly so Duckie can gross them out with a gory autopsy.

It gets the hackers talking and they conclude that because the dead guy died before Krampus warning went out, so he was just working for him.

McGee tells Abby that his dads chemo stopped working and hes scheduled for surgery this week.

Typing to his dad, McGee cites more of Gibbs rules and notes that Nos. 3, 8, 36 and 40 are the same and that there are two No. 1 and No. 3.

Back at NCIS, they find that Heidi was using an anonymous message board in prison and hooked Krampus up with hackers before the attack.

Gibbs and McGee pull Ajay into an interrogation room. They know hes trying to land a consulting job with internet security companies and offer to put in a good word if he works with them. They want him to say he stole a phone off Bishop and let Heidi use it to warm Krampus that theyre going undercover online. Ajay is about to agree when someone slips a note under the door that reads: Abby says wait.

In Abbys lab, Duckie announces the hacker had a rare disease that prevented him from sleeping. They ID him from his fathers medical records as Lyle.

In the office, the hackers stand handcuffed behind members of the team, leading them through creating false IDs for message boards. McGee answers a call from his sister and hangs up angry. His dad canceled his surgery and McGee is angry hes not there to convince him to go through with it.

When Heidi asks to go to the bathroom, Ajay takes the opportunity to show her the phone. But instead he double-crosses NCIS and tells Heidi what they put him up to.

Later in the office, Ellie and Abby track the records of message board chats found in Lyles apartment and think theyve IDd Krampus as a guy working out of his parents cabin in Wisconsin.

Gibbs is about to call in nearby SWAT when McGee suggests it seems too easy. When Gibbs wants him to show the pictures of Krampus to Heidi, McGee refuses, frustrated that Gibbs is continuing to pursue a plan he said would never work of trusting criminals.

Gibbs cites Rule 51, which theyve never heard. (Sometimes youre wrong.)

They take his record to Heidi. He hacks revenge porn for hire and hack into teenage girls cell phones. McGee tries to appeal to her good nature. She tells them where to find Krampus.

McGee writes to his dad about the importance of rules protecting them.

Later in MTAC, they watch news footage of Krampus being arrested at his parents place in Florida.

McGee puts on a nice suit and re-reads his writing about his dad teaching him to be prepared and stand up for himself, but also be prepared to admit when youre wrong.

Back in the office, McGee talks to his dad. Gibbs sends McGee off to see him.

McGee reads his letter to his dad, in which he realizes him postponing his surgery was his dad trying to give them one last Christmas together.

Then the priest knocks on the door of the room where McGee is sitting beside his fathers coffin, finishing up his letter after spending the last few days together. He thanks his dad for making him the man he is as he wipes away tears and wishes his father a Merry Christmas.