Chained (episode)

Chained is the tenth episode in NCIS Season 2 as well as the 33rd episode of the entire NCIS series.
==Synopsis==
In a hunt for stolen Iraqi antiques, Tony is sent undercover as a prisoner and is attached to one of the suspects. However, things soon deteriorate when the two go missing. The stakes are raised even higher by new evidence suggesting that the man Tony's accompanying is actually a murderer which means that Tony's life might be in danger, forcing the team in a race against time to find Tony and save him before it's too late.
==Prologue==
The scene opens with a prison bus driving down a lone road at night-time.
It then cuts to Jeffrey White who's staring out the window, looking grim-faced while his partner sits there, silent.
Suddenly, a dispatcher informs the bus which is Transporter 334 that they've heard that a tractor has flipped over on 295.
The driver is then informed that it's a parking lot and states, "Roger that" before telling the dispatcher to inform the judge that they're going to be a while and that they'll peel off New Kent, taking King Williams to River Road instead.
The Federal Marshal in the back yells that they should stay on 17 the whole way but the Marshal ignores him, instead stating to the dispatcher hat his "wife" is giving him directions.
However, things turn serious when the Van Driver begins suffering a heart attack, stating he can't breathe before his colleague rushes to his aid.
Back in the seat, White's partner silently signals him to get ready much to White's confusion.
However, when the Marshal rushes to Richie's aid, White's partner strangles him with the cuffs and the Marshal slips to the floor, dead. Richie, the driver succumbs to his heart attack and as White looks on, his partner urges him to get out off the bus which has stopped.
With that, the two flee the bus and head into the distance.As they rush into a forest, White's partner turns around and it's revealed that the man accompanying White is none other than NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo Junior.
==Act One==
A few hours later, DiNozzo's boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs and DiNozzo's partner, Caitlin Todd arrive at the scene of the bus crash where it's revealed that the whole thing was staged.
The two Agents talk to the Federal Driver and the Marshal who were also in on the whole thing which was arranged solely for White's benefit.
They tell Gibbs that White brought the whole thing and that he was scared.
Gibbs's cell phone rings and it's shown that the caller is someone asking about a VW convertible. Gibbs is puzzled by that and tells the caller he's got the wrong number before hanging up.
As he storms to the car, he tells Kate they're moving.
She bids farewell to the two men and rejoins Gibbs at the car.
As they get into the car, Gibbs dials another number.
Back at NCIS and in the lab, Abigail Sciuto is finishing off her Caf-Pow when the phone rings. Using her headset, she answers the call.
It's Gibbs who asks her if she has a bead on Tony.
Abby wonders if Gibbs is honestly asking her that but Gibbs sarcastically tells her he called to flirt.
Abby then tells Gibbs did he think she'd send their helpless boy (Tony) out in the world without knowing where he is.
Gibbs then orders her to go to video which they do.
As he hangs up, Kate brings the video-conference. Gibbs instantly asks Abby that he thought she had Tony.
Abby states that she does and that the GPS system has his position within four feet. It then cuts to the other screen where there's nothing.
Gibbs tells her he doesn't have the tracking system in his car.
Kate then switches the GPS system on and when Abby smugly realizes that Gibbs forgot to turn it on, Gibbs asks for McGee.
Abby heads back to an unseen part of her lab where Timothy McGee is watching the signal. She then puts the headset on McGee's head while stating that Gibbs knew McGee was there, simply because he's Gibbs.
With Abby guiding him, McGee goes out to meet Gibbs who tells McGee about the phone calls he's been getting every five minutes regarding a VW convertible.
Gibbs then angrily asks McGee if he's the type of person who would drive a squishy little car?
McGee states "No" and tells him that it's probably an ad in an used paper section with a number that unfortunately happens to be Gibbs's own number.
"You think?", Gibbs snaps before he orders McGee to fix the whole situation and then ends the conference as Kate looks on.
In the lab, McGee wonders how Gibbs wants him to fix it but Abby tells him he can't fix it because he's doomed and that he should probably get back to the case.
They then talk about the GPS chip as well as the possible places to put it before Tony left for his undercover mission.
Abby wanted to put the GPS chip in Tony's neck or under the skin but he refused.
She then suggested suppository but Tony balked at the idea and even McGee's surprised by that.
She then reveals that she put in the most boring place ever—Tony's shoe.
In the forest, Tony and White are still on the run but White insists he can't keep going.
When White refuses to move, Tony states that he just killed a guard back at the bus and that he's not getting caught before urging the other man to move.
White tells Tony that if he kills him, then Tony's going to have to drag him.
The two then introduce themselves to one another.
Tony then references a movie, "The Defiant One" as possible inspiration to get White moving.
However, when White finally moves, he hits a branch and falls to the ground while Tony looks at him in dismay.
Back at NCIS, the MTAC Control Officer arrives in at the bullpen and tells McGee that the Deputy Secretary of State, Anna Elliot who is going to be the State Department's representative for the investigation is coming online in MTAC and she wants to talk to Gibbs before ordering McGee to get Gibbs.
As the Officer leaves, McGee calls Gibbs who mistakenly believes it's another one asking about a VW.
Thankfully, it's just McGee who triggers another video-conference.
In the car, McGee tells Gibbs about Elliot needing to talk to him but Gibbs tells McGee that as the highest-ranking member of the team in the office at the moment, then it's up to McGee to handle it.
When McGee starts rambling on about the government is important and powerful, Gibbs ends the conference-call.
It then cuts to MTAC where McGee now wearing a headset is attempting to calm his nerves by chewing on some pills while the Control Officer silently looks.
Suddenly, Secretary Elliot appears, mistaking McGee for Gibbs but McGee corrects her.
The interview then goes from bad to worse for McGee when the Secretary begins doubting him and when McGee admits that they let White get with an undercover agent (DiNozzo), it becomes clear that the briefing isn't going the way McGee was hoping for.
The Control Officer just looks on, disapprovingly.
Back in the forest, Tony is attempting to get the chains free and when White asks about how he landed in jail, Tony goes with the cover story that he was a pilot who flew in a rich couple from the Dominican Republic and who unfortunately got caught when Customs found four keys of cocaine in the couples's luggage.
White tells Tony that it was a tough break.
Tony admits that it was but given that he was looking at 25 to life, he wasn't going to let happen.
After a while of trying to unsuccessfully break the chains holding them together, Tony gives up before telling White they've got to get moving again and with that, the two climb up a small hill before heading into the forest.
In the car, Kate who's studying the GPS signal tells Gibbs that they're moving and with that, they set off.
Tony and White are still going through the forest and Tony's overjoyed when he spots a truck and a caravan in sight.
Unfortunately, White's excitement to get down the hill has the two tumbling down the hill and landing in a stream.
After they've recovered, Tony realizes that no one's home in the caravan otherwise they would have gone out to investigate.
Tony then realizes that the GPS chip in his shoe is now useless given that he fell into the water. He then tries to encourage White to carry on but White reveals that he's afraid of drowning.
After some talking, the two then head for the caravan.
In the car, Kate tells Gibbs that she's lost the signal.
In the lab, Abby agrees, stating that something's gone wrong with the GPS.
"God!", Gibbs exclaims and it then cuts to him where it shows that he looks furious at what's happened.
==Act Two==
Tony and White are inside the caravan and busy exchanging their prison jumpsuits for clothes that will help them blend more into civilian life.
Tony tries to cheer White up in regards to the other man's lack of confidence issues but White isn't buying it.
However, Tony then finds some car keys, telling White it's their lucky day.
In the GMC Sierra, Tony remarks that they've only been with one another for four hours but that so much has changed for White given that he now has new clothes and a new car.
With that, Tony sets the pick-up in gear and as they drive off, it then cuts to Gibbs and Kate who have thankfully found Tony's location but are maintaining a safe distance for the sake of the mission.
The team then breathe a sigh of relief and Abby thanks Gibbs for his call on the trailer.
Kate realizes that the area had cash, clothes and a car, things Tony loves.
"Let's just hope he's not headed for Vegas", Gibbs remarks.
In the pick-up, it's not all smooth sailing, though as White urges Tony to slow down. Tony retorts that he goes any slower, he'll be heading backwards. But he voices his concern that they can't stay in the jeep because it's probably Lo-Jacked.
White then suggests that they go see a friend who's near-by before recommending that they use a payphone.
In a clever trick, Tony places a call to On-Star who is actually Abby and it all seems to go well until White spots a motorbike in front. His actions cause Tony to lose control of the truck which ends up in a ditch.
Abby then ends the call and tells Gibbs that it sounds like Tony was in an accident. Gibbs assures that they're on it.
Back at the scene, Tony tries to get the engine going but it's clear that the jeep's had its day. The Motorcycle Rider then emerges, asking if the two are alright.
Tony, hiding the cuffs tells him that they're cool and the Rider tells him that he's called 911. which has Tony and White freaking out.
Tony then manages to get the Rider distracted by pretending that his dog, a Shih Tzu named Kate has gone missing in the crash.
As the Rider searches for the "dog", Tony and White flee the wrecked Jeep, grab the Rider's motorbike and then flee to the scene much to the Rider's annoyance.
A while later, Gibbs and Kate are flagged down by the Rider who tells them about the whole incident.
Kate is pissed off by Tony referring to her as a Shih Tzu and remarks that she's going to shoot him.
With that new lead in hand, Gibbs and Kate leave the scene with Kate clinging onto the dashboard for dear life as the Rider looks on, puzzled.
Tony and White have reached the main road where White's clinging onto Tony for dear life has become an issue with the other man who remarks that he and White are going to have a long talk after this.
In the lab, Abby's looking at the footage, searching for some information when she realizes one of the man was using a trolley or something to lift one of the barrels. She's thrilled with the discovery.
In an unknown area, while Tony stands guard, White rings his partner and informs him about what's happened.
Once White's finished the call, Tony quickly slips something into the pay phone's coin area before they both leave with White remarking that his partner's not too thrilled about Tony being with him.
Tony tells him that once the chain's gone, White's never going to see him again.
Once they've gotten on the bike, they set off again.
Gibbs and Kate are talking to a Gas Station Owner who tells them he hasn't seen either White or Tony. Kate then gives him a card and as they head back to the car, it's obvious that Gibbs is concerned about Tony although he tells Kate he's more worried about the job and that she shouldn't confuse the two.
In MTAC, McGee's still talking to the Deputy Secretary of State who's demanding Gibbs's presence.
McGee then gets very tongue-tied, causing Elliot to end the call although she tells McGee to call her once they've found White or when his mouth begins working again, whichever comes first.
In the lab, Abby's dusting the trolley for prints. She then finds some and begins running them through the system.
Tony and White eventually arrive at a house in the country with the two of them still arguing.
They then get to the house just as White's partner, Lane Danielson emerges who takes a dislike to Tony although he later removes the chain holding the two men together and tells Tony that there's no point in rushing off unless Tony wants to.
Back in the lab, the fingerprint match has gotten a result and Abby tells McGee that the match is to a guy named Billy Collins.
McGee's stunned by the news.
In an unnamed town, Gibbs emerges, carrying two cups of coffee and some food. He then heads back to the car, interrupting Kate who was asleep.
Gibbs then gets a call from McGee and heads into the car to trigger another conference-call where Abby and McGee tell them that Lane Danielson is an alias and Billy Collins is wanted for armed robbery and three murders in the Seattle area.
Abby then grimly tells Gibbs that Collins is a Mack the Knife and that his victims all had their throats cut from behind which leaves Gibbs and Kate stunned.
In the house, Danielson/Collins gives Tony a room for the night and gets a little too cozy with Tony, not before giving the other man some alcohol to drink which will help Tony sleep better.
Collins then leaves the room and sits on a chair located just outside Tony's bedroom.
==Act Three==
The next morning, McGee is having another conference-call with Secretary Elliot where he tells her what they've uncovered.
Elliot is not impressed, stating that if the stolen Iraqi antiques aren't found, then McGee's job options are going to be very limited.
Gibbs and Kate have gotten to the payphone where White called Collins/Danielson.
Kate finds the item that Tony left in the machine coin area and tells Gibbs that Tony's leaving breadcrumbs for them.
Gibbs then calls McGee and orders him to track down a number while also asking him to check it matches any numbers to White or Danielson.
McGee vows to do that and then begins telling Gibbs about his situation with Secretary Elliot.
Gibbs gets straight to the point and gives McGee two words to tell Elliot when she calls back again which are "Stick it" before hanging up again.
At the house, Tony who's fallen asleep gets a rude awakening when he sees White staring at him.
White then tells him that Lane took off which has Tony realizing that they've got to go.
White then spills the beans about how he and Lane stole the antiques at the Norfolk Naval Base where they worked and even asks Tony to be his partner.
He then tells Tony that they've gotten a buyer from Japan and that the ship with the cargo on board will be leaving for Tokyo tonight.
The buyer moved from Japan to America.
The buyer got a job in America & the buyer's rich.
After the buyer purchases the stolen antiques, the buyer will escape to Japan.
Against his better judgment, Tony tells White that he's in.
Gibbs and Kate are sitting in the car when McGee comes online, informing them that one of the numbers he got leads to a hunting cabin outside of Richmond.
After getting the GPS coordinates for the area, they set off.
At the cabin, Tony and White are getting ready to go and as White's packing, Tony grabs a cellphone and hides in its his pocket with the men leaving the cabin seconds later.
Outside, Tony notices that the bike's missing which means they'll be taking the car instead.
In the car, White remarks that he had an abusive childhood and that his father beat the crap out of him. He tells Tony that parents are supposed to help you, not hurt you.
Tony admits that his childhood wasn't ideal either but that his father was too drunk to hurt anyone.
Once Tony's given White a pep talk, they then depart the cabin.
McGee storms back into MTAC, more confident than ever. Elliot appears, telling McGee that she either gets to talk or Gibbs or she's going to pull NCIS from the investigation and give it to the FBI instead.
McGee then gets in her face, informing what's really going on before ordering her to stick it.
Once he's ended the call, the techs in MTAC give him a big round of applause which has McGee smiling.
Gibbs and Kate soon get to the cabin and with their guns drawn, head inside to investigate.
Once they've determined the cabin is empty, Gibbs orders Kate to search and then gets another mysterious call on his cell. He then hangs up and calls McGee, asking him to run phone records for the cabin's land-line before asking him how he did with the Secretary.
McGee tells he did it but Elliot has submitted a formal complaint to the Director. Gibbs tells him, "Good job" before ending the call.
Kate then shows Gibbs what she's found.
It's a linen sheet in a box and it's drenched with blood.
They then head outside to investigate further and a further search reveals that the bike Tony and White rode on is actually under some sheets.
Kate then calls Gibbs again and the two then head over to a clearing where they find Lane Collins's body stuffed in under some leaves.
He's dead with his throat having viciously slashed and according to Gibbs, slashed to the spine.
Gibbs determines that the M.O's the same as the two previous killings Collins supposedly carried out but then at the same time while they're examining Collins's body, both he and Kate come to a horrifying conclusion: Lane Danielson didn't kill those guys in Seattle.
Jeffrey White did.
Kate then remarks that Tony has no idea how he's dealing with.
It then cuts to Gibbs who then puts his hand over his eyes, obviously dismayed at the turn of events while Kate silently looks on.
==Act Four==
The area is now a crime scene and Donald Mallard, NCIS's Medical Examiner along with another unidentified Medical Assistant have both arrived to investigate Collins's body.
Gibbs and Kate tell him what they know so far and they believe that Tony's unaware of what Jeffrey White really is: a cold-blooded serial killer.
As Gibbs and Ducky study the scene, Kate takes photographs of everything.
When Ducky ponders, Gibbs tells him that they checked the rest of the area surrounding the cabin but they didn't find anything else and he believes that Tony's still alive and if he'd known about this, Tony would never have allowed Collins's death to even happen.
Ducky then finds a message in Lane's pocket with the words, "Lynchburg across from Wal-Mart" scribbled on it.
Gibbs continues getting the mysterious calls and then gets one from McGee concerning the phone records for the cabin.
Gibbs tells McGee that they're probably heading to Lynchburg to do the sale and that he needs a list of Wal-Marts in the area and fast before hanging up.
Tony and White have arrived at a small area.
While White states he's going to take a nap, Tony volunteers to drive and unbeknownst to Tony, White produces a knife from his backpack, hiding it under the seat before he continues to talk to Tony while using his bag as a pillow as he leans down in the back seat.
Tony then smiles before driving off.
McGee then calls Gibbs and tells him that he's found the Wal-Mart and that there's a storage facility across the street with Con-ex boxes in the parking lot.
While the others are working the scene, Gibbs orders that the local LEOs be called and be informed that a federal agent who's working undercover will be there before hanging up.
The local police in Lynchburg have descended on the area and are busy searching with no success.
McGee informs Gibbs on this and as he heads back to the car, Gibbs then asks about the long-distance records in the cabin and gets another call on his cell.
He then figures out that DiNozzo's the one who's been calling him all along and tells McGee to get Abby to run a GPS fix so that they can pinpoint Tony's location.
McGee hangs up and then heads down to the lab.
In the lab, Abby tells them that the location is Highway 14 just past Newport News, Virginia. Gibbs orders them to stay on the phone and guide them there before taking off at a high speed that has Kate screaming.
Abby asks Kate if she's alright, only to be told that Gibbs is driving. Abby assures her that she's saying a prayer in many languages.
In the car, White awakens from his nap and asks Tony how he's doing. Tony tells him he's doing fine before silently sending another call to Gibbs which has Abby and McGee determining that Tony's coming down the 14th, heading for the west side.
A while or so later, the car with Tony and White pulls into a parking lot where the Japanese buyer in a Volvo then shows up.
Realizing White now knows who he really is, Tony tries to get White to surrender without any bloodshed.
Meanwhile, McGee and Abby know who the buyer is and tell Kate and Gibbs this. Gibbs then increases the speed to get to the meet.
Back in the car, White tells Tony that he knows that the other man is a cop given how they hit the stream and then crashed the truck.
As all this goes on, White silently produces the knife from underneath the seat and once he's told Tony that no-one ever treated the way Tony did, White grabs the knife and prepares to make Tony another victim.
Gibbs and Kate arrive at the scene and while Kate arrests the buyer, Gibbs heads for the car and discovers that White's dead, having been shot by a gun that DiNozzo was secretly carrying all this time. After realizing that DiNozzo's alive, Gibbs flings the door, obviously relieved.
"I really liked him", Tony says.
"Yeah", Gibbs admits. "Yeah. I can see that".
It cuts to an overhead shot of the car as Gibbs looks at Tony.
==Trivia==
*In a discussion about their childhood, Tony tells Jeffrey that his own father had been a non-abusive alcoholic. ("too drunk to hurt anyone")
*While in the jeep, Tony states that it's probably Lo-Jacked. Lo-Jack is a system that is automatically activated whenever a car is reported stolen. This enables the police to find and recover the car.
==Cast==
===Series Regulars===
Name 	Portrayed by 	Role
Leroy Jethro Gibbs 	Mark Harmon 	An NCIS Special Agent in charge of the main NCIS Major Case Response Team.
Caitlin Todd 	Sasha Alexander 	A Secret Service Agent previously assigned to the Presidential Protection Detail on Air Force One and who is now an NCIS Special Agent as well as Tony DiNozzo's partner.
Anthony DiNozzo Junior	Michael Weatherly 	The Senior Agent of the main NCIS Major Case Response Team and also the second-in-command.
Abigail Sciuto 	Pauley Perrette 	A Goth who is also the Chief Forensic Scientist and who also works for the NCIS Major Case Response Team.
Timothy McGee 	Sean Murray (actor)	An NCIS Special Agent previously assigned to the Norfolk Naval Base who is now the Junior Agent of the main NCIS Major Case Response Team.
Donald Mallard 	David McCallum 	NCIS's Chief Medical Examiner.
===Guest Cast===
Name 	Portrayed by 	Role
Anna Elliot 	Annie Corley 	The Deputy Secretary of State.
Billy Collins 	John Thaddeus 	An associate of Jeffrey White who is later found murdered.
MTAC Control Officer	Don S. Davis 	The new Senior Control Officer for MTAC.
Richie 	Miguel Perez 	A man driving the prison van that DiNozzo and White were in.
Jeffrey White 	Frank Whaley 	A murderer and also the one who stole Iraqi antiques.
Federal Marshal 	Dan Warner 	A man in the prison van that both DiNozzo and White were in.
Motorcycle Rider 	Jason Christopher	A man whose motorcycle Tony and White stole after the car they were driving crashed.
Gas Station Owner 	Ken Strunk 	The owner of a local gas station who Kate was seen interviewing.
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| style="margin: 1em; text-align: center; padding: 0.5em 1em; color: black; font-size: smaller"| ♦ See No Evil (episode) ♦ The Good Wives Club (episode) ♦ Vanished (episode) ♦ Lt. Jane Doe (episode) ♦ The Bone Yard (episode) ♦ Terminal Leave (episode) ♦ Call of Silence (episode) ♦ Heart Break (episode) ♦ Forced Entry (episode) ♦ Chained (episode) ♦ Black Water (episode) ♦ Doppelgänger (episode) ♦ The Meat Puzzle (episode) ♦ Witness (episode) ♦ Caught on Tape (episode) ♦ Pop Life (episode) ♦ An Eye for an Eye (episode) ♦ Bikini Wax (episode) ♦ Conspiracy Theory (episode) ♦ Red Cell (episode) ♦ Hometown Hero (episode) ♦ SWAK (episode) ♦ Twilight (episode)
Category:NCIS Episodes
Category:NCIS Christmas Episodes
Category:NCIS Season 2 Episodes
Category:NCIS Episodes written by Frank Military
Category:NCIS Episodes directed by Thomas J. Wright