Empty Quiver (NCIS: Los Angeles Season 2 episode)

Empty Quiver is the sixteenth episode of NCIS: Los Angeles Season 2 and also the 40th episode of the entire NCIS: Los Angeles series.
==Synopsis==
Callen and Sam go undercover, posing as officers with the California Highway Patrol but things take a turn when it's revealed that a nuclear warhead that was due to be refurbished has been stolen, sending the OSP team into a desperate race against time to recover the bomb and save a scientist who's been kidnapped but all is not what it seems.
==Plot==
On a route outside Los Angeles, a lone BMW is flanked by two motorcycles belonging to the California Highway Patrol and once it's reached a side of the road, stopping, the driver pulls in, allowing the passenger, an Asian man, Hiro who's also a member of the Yakuza to emerge, Hiro praising the two officers for their efforts while remarking that the California Taxi Service ain't no joke before it's revealed that NCIS Special Agents G. Callen and Sam Hanna are the officers, the two working undercover with the meeting progressing although when Hiro offers his payment to then, Sam who isn't impressed informs Hiro he's a grand and that the other man better come up with the money or else Sam will skin off Hiro's tattoos and hang them on a wall. To make sure his point gets across, Sam punches Hiro and as this goes on, it's shown that the incident is being seen through the cameras the two agents are wearing with NCIS Tech Operator Eric Beale and Intelligence Analyst Nell Jones who are in the Ops Room of the Office of Special Projects in Los Angeles, California keeping an eye on things. The scene has Eric remarking his belief that girls punch boys they like with Nell informing that she doesn't while back at the scene, Sam's taken a grand of Hiro's money and lets the other man go, Hiro getting back into his BMW which leaves the scene. Once the car's gone, Callen wonders about the quote, Sam revealing it came from Scarface while Callen wonders if Sam ever noticed how easy the bad guys have it, Sam replying, "All the time. No rules, no loyalty" with Callen adding, "No Hetty" before the two set off once more. Back in Ops, Nell reveals that Hiro is marked and ready to be arrested at a late date. She also tells Eric that she ignored boys she liked, something that has him confused. 
Later, Callen and Sam have arrived a shop belonging to Paul Beane which appears to be completely empty but upon heading inside, they see Beane lying on the ground, injured, having been shot in the chest with Beane telling them he turned down a new job and to stop them this time but when Callen demands who to stop, Sam checks for a pulse and then grimly tells Callen Beane is dead.
In the OSP Armory, NCIS Special Agent Kensi Blye and LAPD Detective Marty Deeks are having a discussion concerning how the world might end in 2012 with Operations Manager Henrietta Lange arriving in and after hearing their counter-arguments, she believes they're starting to sound more like partners but the meeting is interrupted when Nell comes in, saying that Callen and Sam want them in Ops. 
Gathering in Ops, the team also briefly poke fun at Deeks's reaction to the world possibly ending in 2012 before they get down to business as Sam informs the group that an MP from Pendleton suspected Marines are working something dirty with cops and that the crew is CHP- California Highway Patrol. He also informs them they take brides from criminals for armed escorts and smuggling, the group calling themselves the California Taxi Gold Service which has Deeks believing LAPD calls them an urban legend to which Callen tells Deeks LAPD are wrong: the group is real. He then informs them that six months ago, they opened an undercover investigation, Callen stating he and Sam infiltrated the group, posing as corrupt cops. They got inside but they still haven't been able to make a connection between them and Pendleton. Sam adds that the ringleader turned up dead this morning. As photos of Beane pop up on the monitor, Eric reveals that the man is Paul Beane who left the CHP after surviving a motorcycle accident while on duty with the accident leaving Beane paralyzed from the waist down. He also informs the team Beane has a wife but the two maintain separate residences and she's not considered a suspect. Callen remarks Beane turned down a job and somebody wanted to make sure he didn't talk. Examining the photographs, Kensi believes the men who killed Beane are professionals as there's tight grouping, low calibre and no exit wounds. Callen and Sam then bring up Beane's point woman/point man: CHP officer Jennifer Grear who was Beane's partner before his accident, Sam informing the team Grear would find the orders and bring them to Beane. Callen remarks the operation has shifted gears which something is about to go down, that may or may not involve Marines at Pendleton so they need to figure out what it is and fast. He then reveals that with Grear's shift coming, he and Sam will return to CHP HQ while Deeks and Kensi go search her house.
Arriving at CHP HQ, Callen and Sam dismount while talking about the fact that considering they're on motorcycles, they're not able to do their usual talking. As they head for the doors, another CHP officer, Smith greets the two or Callen/Exley and Sam/Powell, informing them that Grear never clocked in for her shift, meaning Smith is pulling a double shift and will also an apology from Grear if it's in the form of bourbon and cigars which has Callen and Sam surprised. Deeks and Kensi have arrived at Grear's house and briefly discuss what Deeks said earlier about Kensi being the most serious person he's ever met. They soon approach the front door and realize someone's forced their way inside before the two draws their weapons and head inside, checking every place in the house for danger. Once that's done, the place having deemed safe, Deeks and Kensi begin examining the scene which shows that not only has Grear's house been ransacked but there's also signs of blood.
Back at Ops, Eric and Nell inform Callen, Sam, Deeks and Kensi they've checked the spending habits of Jennifer Grear and Paul Beane, determining Beane was at a bikini bar in Hollywood called Bare Elegance, credit card charges showing he'd been there the night before. Deeks volunteers himself and Kensi to check out Bare Elegance while Callen and Sam head to an address in Van Nuys, a house that Grear lived before she was forced to put her mother who has Alzheimer's into a nursing home, one that ultimately wiped out her savings. At the bikini bar, Deeks and Kensi interview the manager who's shocked to learn that Beane is dead. He then tells them about an overgrown frat boy who threatened Beane the previous night. At the house, Callen and Sam have arrived but find themselves ducking for cover as Grear begins shooting at them. Once Grear has crashed through a window with Sam subduing her, he arrests her. In the Interrogation Room in the Boatshed, Grear who's been treated for her injuries is reluctant to talk at first although she reveals that the people who killed Beane offered him a payoff, one that made him very nervous. Callen eventually convinces her to talk and has her call her contacts at the CHP to inform them Officers Exley and Powell will handle it. Later, at Bare Elegance, Callen and Sam are waiting for a meeting with Deeks and Kensi running point, outside in the car. The frat boy, Steve Brenner arrives in, Kensi having spotted him outside while Sam notes Brenner has an entourage. He then sits down at Callen and Sam's table, revealing he wants them to arrest a man named Phil Crombie, an ex-con and once the meeting has ended, Sam is concerned about Brenner not mentioning the military or Pendleton which has Callen remarking that he guesses they're about to find out.
The next day, in Interrogation, Callen and Sam talk to Grear once more, Grear revealing that she regretted being a part of the California Gold Taxi Service but explaining that the state had no money, CHP is broke and good cops are being forced into retirement. She also informs the two the men who tried to kill her were military. In Ops, Eric and Nell reveal that Steve Brenner's real name is Justin Marchetti and that he did nine years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme, Nell informing them some people thought he was Wall Street's savant until $20 million dollars of his clients's money disappeared, mostly retirement funds and life savings. Eric remarks that Marchetti's buddies are all French military associated with GIGN or "National Gendarmerie Intervention Group", an elite-counter terrorism unit with Sam stating their services don't come cheap. When Callen asks about Phil Crombie, Eric reveals Crombie did a dine in Folsom for drug trafficking, released last year and is currently employed by a restaurant in Santa Monica with Kensi wondering Crombie graduated from narcotics to military hardware. However, the briefing is interrupted when Callen receives a phone call from Marchetti informing him the Range Rover will be passing Marker 447 on Route 38 at exactly 4pm. When Callen asks for clarification about Crombie, Marchetti tells him Crombie is driving and don't screw it up before hanging up, Eric informing he couldn't get a trace due to Marchetti using an encrypted satphone.
Later, as he and Sam get ready, Callen dispatches Deeks and Kensi to Beane's garage while Hetty informs the two she spoke to officials at Camp Pendleton and numerous other agencies who have told her there is no other operation in play at this time. As Callen and Sam prepare to leave the bullpen, Hetty tells them they're still not sure what they're getting themselves in and to be careful, the two nodding before they head off. At the route, Callen and Sam are ready to intercept the Range Rover, only for Sam to quickly realize that the passenger in the Range Rover was one of Marchetti's men who were at the bikini bar the same night Marchetti introduced himself to Callen and Sam. It soon descends into a gunfight as the men leap from their vehicles, kill the driver and passenger of the truck while attempting to kill Callen and Sam who duck for cover with one of the men destroying the motorcycles via some explosives.
Later, at the scene, Boyle, an NCIS Special Agent meets Callen and Sam, informing them all the victims came from the Department of Energy with Sam even identifying some fruit found at the scene as figs from the Middle East. Back at Ops, Hetty reveals the term "empty quiver" which Nell informs is a term used to describe the loss or theft of a functioning nuclear weapon, Deeks horrified while Kensi informs him transportation like this happens every day and the nuclear items are manned by former Special Forces men with no-one any the wiser... until today. Hetty reveals the stolen nuke was on route to refurbishment and they weren't informed due to the sensitive nature of the cargo. When Sam asks about the yield, Hetty tells him it's a hundred kilotons, five times the power than the one that levelled Hiroshima with the news which has Callen closing his eyes in dismay. 
As the team try to grasp what's going on, Hetty calls Callen and Sam to her office, informing officials who are interested in covering their asses are demanding to know why the two NCIS agents on the scene weren't able to prevent the incident and that the term, "investigation" is being bandied about. She tells them there's only one option: recover the warhead before it can be used. Nell who's arrived looks stunned but quickly recovers, informing them they just received a video. Gathering in Ops, the team watch the video, Callen confirming the warhead while Sam identifies the writing as "Pan-Islamic Brotherhood" as the video shows Dr. Delia Richards who's been assaulted identifying herself and then reading a message that tells the camera Judgement Day has arrived and that in three hours, the American people will feel the fear of not knowing who will die and when. Eric grimly confirms that three hours from now is 6:30am. A search from Nell has the team discovering Dr. Richards can arm the warhead although Sam is not convinced, wondering when did Wall Street guys start working with Wahhabit Muslims? He also believes that something's off.
Callen, Sam, Kensi and Deeks then arrive at Richard's office at Golden Tech, only to found the place ransacked and showing signs of a struggle. They soon find a map of targets in downtown Los Angeles and even the fallout. However, Deeks notes all they've got to worry about is an attack on Los Angeles that will happen in two hours and eleven minutes although he wonders if they're wrong.
==Cast==
===Series Regulars===
Name 	Portrayed by 	Role
G. Callen 	Chris O'Donnell 	NCIS Special Agent and the leader of the Office of Special Projects field team.
Kensi Blye 	Daniela Ruah 	NCIS Special Agent with the Office of Special Projects.
Marty Deeks 	Eric Christian Olsen	A Detective with the Los Angeles Police Department and also the LAPD/NCIS liaison.
Eric Beale 	Barrett Foa 	Tech Operator with the Office of Special Projects.
Nell Jones 	Renée Felice Smith 	Tech Analyst for the Office of Special Projects.
Henrietta Lange	Linda Hunt 	Operations Manager with the Office of Special Projects.
Sam Hanna 	LL Cool J 	A former Navy SEAL-turned-NCIS Special Agent with the Office of Special Projects.
===Recurring Cast===
Name 	Portrayed by 	Role
Thompson (Ambush)	Jeronimo Spinx	NCIS Special Agent.
===Guest Cast===
Name 	Portrayed by 	Role
Jennifer Grear 	Sophina Brown 	Officer with the California Highway Patrol.
Smith 	Ted Wallof 	Officer with the California Highway Patrol.
Justin Marchetti 	Ed Quinn 	AKA "Steve Brenner".
Boyle 	Connor Trinneer 	NCIS Special Agent.
Manager (Empty Quiver) 	Johnny Sneed 	
Delia Richards 	Desiree Hall 	A Doctor.
Paul Beane 	Mitch Longley 	
Yakuza Gangster 	Lewis Tan 	
Waitress (Empty Quiver)	Melissa Anne Young	
  v - [ e] - dNCIS: Los Angeles Season 2
♦ Human Traffic (episode) ♦ Black Widow (episode) ♦ Borderline (episode) ♦ Special Delivery (episode) ♦ Little Angels (episode) ♦ Standoff (episode) ♦ Anonymous (episode) ♦ Bounty (episode) ♦ Absolution (episode) ♦ Deliverance (NCIS: Los Angeles Season 2 episode) ♦ Disorder (episode) ♦ Overwatch (episode) ♦ Archangel (episode) ♦ Lockup (episode) ♦ Tin Soldiers (episode) ♦ Empty Quiver (NCIS: Los Angeles Season 2 episode) ♦ Personal (episode) ♦ Harm's Way (episode) ♦ Enemy Within (episode) ♦ The Job (episode) ♦ Rocket Man (episode) ♦ Plan B. (episode) ♦ Imposters (episode) ♦ Familia (episode)
Category:NCIS: Los Angeles Episodes
Category:NCIS: Los Angeles Season 2 Episodes
Category:NCIS: Los Angeles Episodes written by Dave Kalstein
Category:NCIS: Los Angeles Episodes directed by Terrence O'Hara
Category:NCIS: Los Angeles Episodes featuring Thompson