The team investigates the death of Lance Corporal Rob Brewer, who was found tortured and murdered in his garage. Prime suspect is the marine's sergeant, Jack Kale, whose toolbox and fingerprints are found at the crime scene. Kale, however, recently left the service and has gone off the grid.

McGee ferrets out a lead in the sergeant's medical records. Kale suffers from a rare medical condition, and the experimental medication he's taking for it is shipped directly to his home. Gibbs and DiNozzo arrive at the address to find Kale being held by armed men, who turn out to be FBI agents. An old friend of Gibbs, Senior FBI Agent Tobias Fornell, is in charge of the operation.

Kale is in FBI protective custody pending his testimony in a high-profile case against mob boss Rick Azari for the murder of a drug dealer. Afterward, Kale is destined to disappear into the Federal Witness Protection Program.

From this point forward, Gibbs and Fornell remain at odds with each other. Fornell doesn't want anything to interfere with Kale's testimony in his upcoming mob case. Gibbs wants to see justice done in the case of the murdered marine. They agree to disagree.

Fornell and Gibbs meet at NCIS headquarters to continue their verbal sparring over the case, the likelihood of Kale's involvement in Brewer's death, and the possible involvement of a third marine, Private First Class Michael Strauss.

Meanwhile, DiNozzo, Ziva, and McGee sleuth out the details on the FBI case, and discover Kale's new cell phone number. From the phone's GPS, they discover that Kale has escaped from the FBI safe house and is on the move.  Gibbs and Fornell race to intercept Kale, only to find him at the site of another brutal murder, and that PFC Strauss is the victim. Kale swears he didn't do it, and Ducky's forensics proves him right.

Abby's forensics connects the murders of Strauss and Brewer, and connects Azari to those murders. She is intrigued by a rare mold found on rope used in both murders, and by traces of phosphor on the bottom of the dead drug dealer's shoes.

As the team re-enacts the drug dealer's murder, they determine that Kale could not have witnessed Azari committing the murder as clearly as he claims. The phosphor on the dead drug dealer's shoes was from a broken street light, leaving the crime scene in darkness. Kale admits that he wasn't there, but that Strauss and Brewer were there buying drugs.

If either marine were connected with the incident, they'd be court-martialed and kicked out of the corps. Kale stepped up to bear false witness to "protect" them from that fate. This revelation leaves Fornell's case against Azari in shambles.

Kale takes matters into his own hands, escaping from protective custody yet again (why are these FBI agents still employed?) and gunning down Azari on the courthouse steps.

This very complex episode is well written and well acted as it explores the changing nature of relationships between old friends (and old enemies!): Gibbs and Fornell, Fornell and Azari, Abby and McGee, and DiNozzo and Ziva.

Gibbs and Fornell, as long-time friends, fight and argue as only long-time friends can, and then they get down to business. This episode shows us some charming insights into the relationship between Gibbs and Fornell — apparently they are both divorced from the same woman.

Fornell and Azari are long-time adversaries, and this murder case was Fornell's chance to finally put the mob boss behind bars. As his case begins to crumble, so does Fornell.

With obvious delight, Abby makes McGee more than a little uncomfortable with a little sex talk, even through she is obviously referring to the reproductive proclivities of the unusual strain of mold she found on the evidence. (On a side note, McGee seems preoccupied with food lately —first the cupcake in "Capitol Offense" and again with the Rorschach-esque visions of Crunchberry cereal and chocolate sprinkles in Abby's photos of magnified bacteria. Is he falling off the diet wagon?)

DiNozzo and Ziva continue to make elicit puppy dog eyes at each other, as they have since the team was reunited in "Agent Afloat." DiNozzo is obsessed with finding out what Ziva is keeping secret about her time in Israel and her upcoming trip to Tel Aviv.  "Why would one friend withhold information from another?" he says. "Maybe that friend felt is was the best thing for everyone?" Ziva replies. In searching her desk, he finds a photograph of a hunky guy, and it makes him a little crazy. When will Tony and Ziva finally confront the elephant in the room, and can they do so without ruining the show?
 
(Tony’s movie references in this episode include "Ordinary People", "Moby Dick", the "Rocky" movies, and the television game show "Jeopardy". Did I miss any? Feel free to share in the comments.  -- A.S.)