Trama

While Gibbs and Tony man a protective detail for the SecNav, a gunman shoots the secretary; the NCIS investigates quietly with the help of Dr. Ryan. Blackmail is involved; the gang and Ryan figure it out and find a hacker and the bad guy.

While Gibbs and Tony man a protective detail for the SecNav, a gunman shoots the secretary in his chest and inflicts what appears to be a serious injury; the NCIS starts a quiet investigation, trying to avoid media attention. Vance and Gibbs join the victim at his hospital, where they take part in an unusual gathering. Shortly afterward the gang confers in the MTAC with Vance and Dr. Ryan (the psy-ops wizard); the team has orders to investigate a huge blackmail scheme with profound implications related to national security for the present and for years to come. Ziva and Ryan's lead investigator find a body; Abby and McGee make contributions; Gibbs and Ryan find computers running without people; the three musketeers watch the dynamic duo; Tony and Ziva grab an unkempt hacker and her gear. Gibbs figures it out, then he nabs the bad guy. Ryan invites Gibbs to play charades.—DocRushing

Around a conference table at a steel company, the suits are nervous about losing a Naval contract. The president and CEO of Wickes Steel and Shipbuilding goes to give a speech about the company's role in building ships for the Navy.

He rehearses and is joined by Sec-Nav Clayton Jarvis, an old school buddy. Tony and Gibbs are there doing security. They notice too late a man carrying tablecloths in front of his face. He pulls out a gun and shoots Jarvis in the chest. The shooter runs out the door.

At NCIS, Ziva is suspicious that Vance, Gibbs and Tony are all gone. She doesn't believe Tony's story about being on personal security for Jarvis.

Back at the ballroom, Tony explains to Wickes that they're trying to keep the investigation closed, telling everyone who was there not to say anything. Vance joins and reports Jarvis doesn't look good. Gibbs orders Wickes brought back to HQ.

Gibbs and Vance go to the hospital, where the head of Psyops Samantha Ryan (Jamie Lee Curtis), is cheerfully waiting for them with the shooter, her lead investigator Tyler Elliot (Sean Astin). It's a sting. Jarvis is fine.

Back at NCIS, Ziva and McGee stalk Tony for information. In MTAC, Jarvis explains the sting on Phillips Wickes, a close personal friend.

A week ago, a page from a classified file appeared online. The same day, Jarvis got a demand for a halt to the Navy's green initiative to build all new subs and ships with new lighter materials. If Jarvis refuses to go along, the person has threatened to release more pages.

The file was lifted from the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, where military technology is tested. The file could show the weaknesses of every port on the eastern seaboard.

The backmail message was sent from Wickes Steel, which lost a big contract. Samantha Ryan explains that seeing his personal friend shot will make him ask his people why they shot Jarvis.

Ryan wants to prompt Gibbs with what to say in interrogation. She convinces him by reminding him about how she guessed he likes powdered sugar instead of syrup on his pancakes at their recent breakfast.

In interrogation, Gibbs follows her prompts, asking Wickes how many people in his company knew about the speech. She specifically wants to see how Wickes reacts to mention of AUTEC. Gibbs goes along, but gets frustrated, taking out his earpiece. He blocks the camera as he asks about AUTEC.

Wickes tells him about a former employee named Lawrence Ridgeway who Wickes recently had to let go. He lost thousands in company stock and will lose his pension if Wickes goes under. Ridgeway doesn't have the computer skills to pull off the hack.

Ziva sees Gibbs smile at Ryan and thinks he seems happy.

Elliot and Ziva go to Ridgeway's house and see him dead inside. He's been dead a few days.

Back in the morgue, Duckie tells Gibbs and Ryan that Ridgeway died about 72 hours ago, before they started the Wickes operation.

Ryan starts talking to Ridgeway's corpse, asking why he was about to paint his living room. She deduces he wasn't involved, but knew something.

In Abby's lab, she shows she mapped the bullet back to the shooter.

On the way out of the lab, Ryan tells Gibbs he's grumpy because he needs more sex.

In the office, they report Wickes has contacted three people. Ronald Ostrowski and VP Frank Stratner and another guy.

Gibbs wants access to Ridgeway's redacted Wickes report.

At the Pentagon, Ryan thinks he eliminated the last connection between his company and AUTEC. Gibbs asks about her son and she shows him a drawing he did years ago of he and his mom on a boat.

McGee calls, he traced the hack back to a government encryption specialist named Amanda Baylor. She works in the Iron Crypt, a locked down facility where she's not supposed to leave for 72 hours. Ryan flirts her way in and they find the room empty. The computers are being run remotely. Gibbs looks into the webcam. "Amanda Baylor, are you there?" The system shuts down.

Back at the office, Abby shows Ryan and Gibbs a map of AUTEC in the Bermuda Triangle. They think they're running cables down thousands of feet. She traced the bullet back to a rare hunting rifle.

Ryan and Gibbs go talk to Wickes at his mansion, with Ryan posing as the Secretary's public affairs officer. Gibbs takes a call, relaying that Jarvis isn't going to make it. Wickes takes in the news, glancing at a photo on his desk.

Back at the office, the second page of the file has been leaked, with a list of all the ports in the file. Ryan shows Jarvis the photo of him and Wickes that Wickes had on his desk. She noticed him look at it when Wickes heard about the hunting rifle. The picture was taken on a hunting trip. Ryan thinks the glance at the photo was a tell.

They bring Wickes into interrogation. Jarvis walks in and tells Wickes his people think he's blackmailing Jarvis. Watching from the observation room, Ryan believes Wickes.

Back in Ryan's office, Gibbs tells her Wickes signed a non-disclosure agreement. She thinks Gibbs wants to gloat because he thought Wickes was innocent from the get go. Ryan is rattled that she was wrong.

They get Ridgeway's AUTEC reports without the redactions. In the late 70s he was paid to keep quiet about a classified technology he accidentally saw at AUTEC. He was paid $500,000, but the money came from a pool that's been accruing interest. There's now $327 million in it.

Upstairs, McGee finds multiple hacks into the back account in recent weeks. They think the blackmail was a distraction. McGee sees Baylor attempting a hack and tracks her location.

Ziva and Tony head there, a van on the side of the road. She's unshowered and stinky. She says someone hired her through Wickes, but she doesn't know who.

Down in the garage, McGee brings Abby Baylor's computer. Gibbs comes down and gets a brainstorm.

He takes the photo to Jarvis, asking who took the picture. That was the tell. Carl Dalton, Wickes' half brother, in house counsel for Wickes Steel took it.

Back at Wickes' mansion, Carl arrives. Gibbs asks him if he killed Lawrence Ridgeway. Carl apologizes to Wickes, saying it's his job to look out for the family. Ridgeway told him about the account and he wanted it to save the company.

In Gibbs' living room, he and Ryan share a beer after steaks. He tells her to relax and stop running. She kisses him, then says she has to go. Gibbs tells her he can help her with her ex.

She's still doubting herself after being wrong about Wickes. He reminds her she was right about the tell. She tells him she wants to slow down and see people around her, but she's not sure if she can. "I'm here, doc," Gibbs says. "I know," she says. Gibbs cleans up after she leaves and finds she's drawn him a boat.