Two men are fishing in the Indian Ocean. One man is upset when they bring in their net and only have 4 shrimp in it. The second man notices a bag caught in the net so he uses the hook to pull the bag down. The bag rips open and human bones and boots fall down and land on the deck of the ship.

In the squadroom, Tony is sitting at his desk making clock noises, clearly annoying McGee. McGee says, “Tony, I know that I’m on a deadline with this investigation report so the clock is redundant.” “When was the last time you turned in a late paper? I bet you were a wee probie, probie.” Tony says. McGee responds and then Tony begins making the tick tock noise even louder. McGee yells “stop it with the tick tock!” Tony responds, “Oh, I’m sorry Captain Hook. I didn’t see any crocodiles, maybe it’s in your head or your heart. It’s an Edgar Allen Poe reference. That’s right, I read. Maybe you got a body buried under your floorboards.” McGee replies, “The day is young.” “Need someone to bury a body McGee?” Ziva asks. She startles Tony. She is waiting on her application. She and McGee make a deal, he can rush her application through the system and she will finish his report for him. While they are chatting, Tony stands behind them breathing heavily, saying how she scared him. He wants them to call “9-1…” but hold off until he’s ready before they dial the last 1. McGee tells her she has to do Tony’s paperwork for a week as well. McGee and Tony made a bet that Tony couldn’t remove a virus from McGee’s computer – McGee lost. He believes Tony cheated. Ziva tells Tony he can’t even work his email properly because when he replies to an email, he always hits reply to all and it drives her nuts. When it comes to computers he’s almost as incompetent as Gi….she stops and look around. Tony tells her she thought Gibbs was behind her because sneaky people expect sneakiness. It’s a vicious circle. McGee tells her that Gibbs is up in MTAC because the shrimp boat found a body off of the coast of Tanzania. Ziva gets an odd look on her face as she listens to McGee.

In MTAC , Vance appears to be in a foul mood. Gibbs asks if he’s out of toothpicks. Vance says, “I pulled one earlier this morning. I got a splinter in my cheek. I cut myself shaving this morning. You know these things come in three’s. Gibbs wonders if Vance is superstitious. Vance admits he is a little. They finally make the connection with Dunham via satellite. Gibbs remarks on Dunham’s beard and Dunham remarks how the guys have a bet going who can grow their’s the longest. He tells Gibbs “It looks like a Teen Wolf convention.” The name of the Marine whose remains were found on the shrimp boat belong to Staff Sergeant Daniel Cryer. Cryer is described as smart. He is a deserter who went UA 6 months prior. There was a short investigation but Cryer was never caught, he was always one step ahead. The military had gotten a tip that Cryer was spotted in Jordan. The information claimed that Cryer was selling connections. Then he was spotted boarding a freight, the same on Ziva was on. When they finish their chat with Dunham, Gibbs says we know someone who survived, you saw this coming. They agree they need to get answers from Ziva. As they walk out of MTAC, Gibbs says, “I get it, good cop, bad cop. Which one are you?”

In the squadroom, Ziva asks McGee how her application is coming along. He finally pulls it up and finds Ziva’s application has been flagged. Ziva walks over and sees her application has been rejected. She slams her hand on McGee’s desk and demands to know why her application has been rejected. Vance walks in and tells her “it looks like we have a problem.”

In one of the office’s, Gibbs finishes a call with McGee asking him to get everything he can on Cryer. He sits down at the conference table, then turns up the volume on the television screen. He is viewing Vance’s office. Ziva walks in and believes Vance flagged Ziva’s application. He says he did because there are inconsistencies that need to be addressed. There are inconsistencies in her psychological evaluation/profile. She didn’t talk about her time as a prisoner with the counselor. Ziva says, “so now I have to talk about it, with you.” Vance tells her she’s been in the service of two masters for too long. He tells her her father and Mossad predate anything else. She says her father isn’t an issue. He tells her she has to talk, it’s the price of admission. Ziva sits down and Vance tells her to begin with the events that lead her to the camp.

Back in the squadroom , McGee isn’t happy about the virus on his computer. He can’t figure out how it got on his system. Tony takes his keyboard and tells him he’s a hacker. He says Ziva’s up with Principle Vance getting paddled or up a creek without one. We have a dead marine, what have you got? “talk faster. Eliminate dead air between your words. My mind absorbs things very quickly.” McGee speeds up and doesn’t hesitate as he delivers the background on Cryer. When he’s done, he tells McGee to take a breath, have a keyboard. McGee says that Gibbs hands them the investigation, then disappears. Tony says, “It’s like Alien. A Ridley Scott classic, one of the really creepy ones.” Tony continues to talk about the movie Alien. McGee mentions that Ziva hasn’t been herself since they brought her home, something happened to her out there. “Now we’re waiting to see if something pops out of her chest,” Tony comments. McGee leaves to go see Abby and Tony says, they should always remain in pairs.

McGee walks into Abby’s lab. She’s staring at weather patterns from the day that Ziva’s ship went down. She tells McGee she doesn’t like it and he agrees with her. She tells him to stop agreeing with her because he doesn’t know what he’s agreeing to. They realize that where the only tropical storm was the day the ship went down, to where Cryer’s body was found don’t add up. Abby sent coordinates to a salvage crew as to where the ship is.

“What’s with sushi bar?” Tony says. Ducky is going over the remains of Cryer’s body. Cryer had been dead for 16 weeks but he didn’t drown. The cause of death was a gunshot wound behind the left ear. Tony picks up the skull and notices there is no exit wound. Ducky tells this missing jaw, occipital fractures, that’s the exit wound. Tony’s phone rings and McGee informs him that they found more bodies. Tony goes to leave and Ducky calls his name. Tony is still holding the skull in his hands so he returns it to the table. Ducky was unable to find the slug.

In Vance’s office, he continues to go over the events with Ziva when they left her in Mossad. He informs her that Cryer was shot and killed before the ship went down, his body wrapped in a bag. Ziva tells him sometimes people die on ships and the body is wrapped in plastic and stored in cargo until they reach port.

McGee joins Gibbs in the other office. He tells Gibbs that the salvage crew found the ship’s wreck. The news isn’t good. They found 18 more bodies on the ship, all the members appear to have been executed before the ship went down.

Ziva is in the interrogation room with Gibbs in observation. Ducky walks in to join Gibbs. He asks if Gibbs is on the wrong side of the glass. Ducky wonders why Gibbs isn’t in there and Vance is interrogating instead. Gibbs says it’s tough love. Ducky tells him there are other kinds. Vance walks into interrogation and Ziva asks if she’s being charged with a crime. He says that it seems like one has been committed. The ship she was on looks like a war zone. She tells him it’s a Jordanian flagship, not his jurisdiction. “You are my jurisdiction,” Vance replies. He tells her the US marine among the dead is his business. He tells her she’s not being charged. She wants to know why she is there. He tells them to begin recording and asks Ziva to take him back to the ship.

Ziva meets with the ships’ captain. She’s paying him for passage to Somalia. He lies at first, to protect his crew, in regards to where he’s going. They exchange money and the captain welcomes them aboard. As they are settling into the ship, one of the men with Ziva stays behind when she refuses to go eat. He tells her they have to be nice to the crew. She feels they do not have to make friends with the crew. He says they need their trust. “And breaking bread will ease their nerves,” she replies. He tries to get her to relax. Tells her that the Americans left her, her family never has.

In the mess hall of the ship, Ziva is the only woman. One of the men gets up and stares at her as he leaves. He leaves the mess hall and goes to one of the cargo rooms and sees a big bomb inside it. One of the ship’s crew walks up behind him and demands to know what he is doing. The man apologizes and says he thought it was the head. The crewman pulls a gun on him, telling him he should not be in that room or snooping around. He questions why they are going to Somalia. Ziva walks around the corner as the man replies he doesn’t know. She says he is telling the truth, he just works for her. She says he was looking for a room because she asked him to find one with privacy. The man eases off his gun as he realizes her meaning. Ziva walks up to the man and they begin kissing. Once the crewman is out of site, she gives him an earful for searching the ship. Back in interrogation, Ziva tells Vance that the man was a private contractor they hired to secure their passage on the ship. The man went by the name of Daniel Shaliv but his real name was Daniel Cryer. She tells “You cannot trust a man whose loyalty has a price,” Ziva tells Vance.

Ziva’s resting in her bunk, then is startled awake when Cryer wakes her. The rest of her men are having breakfast. She asks who he is as his name doesn’t fit him. He doesn’t like answering questions. He tells her she is what she says, she is what she eats, she is what she does. He notices her Star of David and tells her if she doesn’t want to give herself away, to lose the jewelry. She would rather die than take the necklace off. She pulls up his dog tags, then drops them, gently slaps his face and walks away.

In the squadroom, Gibbs phone is ringing. Tony tells McGee to get it. They argue over who should get it and why. Tony reminds McGee he has to perform Tony’s duties for a week. McGee answers the phone and responds saying he’ll be right down to escort him up, then hangs up. Tony asks who and McGee says, “Ben Gidon.” Tony leaves to tell Gibbs.

Vance is hammering away at Ziva about the ship. She tells him, “ I have learned many things from Gibbs. One of the first lessons, there is no such thing as an ex. Marine. Regardless of who Cryer had become.” Tony sticks his head into observation and tells Gibbs they have a problem.

Returning to the squadroom, Gibbs approaches Gidon and asks what they can do for him. He says that he is there for Ziva. “Your holding a member of my team hostage in there,” Ben says. Gibbs informs him he’s already missed his chance to rescue Ziva. Ben says it’s time to rescue her from Gibbs. Ben Gidon, it turns out, is one of the other men who was traveling with Ziva on the ship.

In Vance’s office, he and Gibbs are talking while observing Ben on the monitor. Vance isn’t happy they are accusing NCIS of holding Ziva hostage. He feels they had their opportunity to rescue Ziva and didn’t. If Ziva talks about a Mossad mission, she’s in violation of Israeli law. She’s not at liberty to speak to us. Gibbs wants to see what Ben brings to the table and how much rope he has before he hangs himself.

Tony walks into the conference room with Ben. They shake hands as Tony says he wishes he’d known Ben was coming to town, he would have returned the favor and picked him up at the airport. He slaps Ben on the shoulder, which causes Ben to wince. Tony picks up a glass and pours water into it. He apologizes for not keeping in touch with Ben since he left Israel. Tony goes to drink the water and says how he had a blast when he was in Israel. He hopes everyone is showing him the same hospitality they got when they were in Israel. Ben makes a snide remark, as Tony’s phone rings. It’s Gibbs giving Tony instructions. Tony apologizes and is going to bring Ben to Ziva.

Ben walks into the interrogation room and only Vance is there. He demands to know where Ziva is. Vance asks, “You worried we buried her in a deep dark hole?” It’s not our style.” Ben states he is following Director David’s orders and must bring Ziva back. Vance informs him that he has a dead marine that was on the ship and until he gets some answers, he’s not done with Ziva. Ben tells Vance that he was on the ship as well. He will tell Vance what happened and Ziva goes free. Vance shows Ben the chair. Both men sit down as Ben recants his version of the story.

Ben has been monitoring the ship’s transmissions. He doesn’t trust anybody. Calls have been made from the ships via satellite phones as they are too far out to sea to use the radio for transmission. Ziva asks if he’s going to change plans and Ben tells her her father told him to use any means necessary. He walks off down the hallway. Ziva turns around and heads in the other direction. She is seen heading that way by the same man who caught Cryer looking into the storage room. In the storage room, Cryer is in with the weapons, pulls a satellite phone out from under one of the pallets and dials. Ziva walks by and sees him, just as Cryer senses someone is there. He disconnects the phone and checks the hallway, but nobody is there.

In Abby’s lab, she and McGee are pulling through the evidence found on the ship. Abby is holding the same phone that Ziva say Cryer using. She says, “I haven’t seen so many soggy electronics since wet Monday at science camp. We used to build water guns, water cannons, water balloon launchers.” McGee tells her they have to find a plan of action. Abby says that goes against her philosophy which is…”No plan, just go. If you look for something specific, then there’s only one right answer.” She high fives McGee for positive energy. She says Gibbs isn’t acting like he’s on Team Ziva. McGee has her do another high five for Ziva.

Ziva and Tony are in the elevator. He looks at her and begins to say something but the door opens. Ducky is there and happy to see Ziva. He needs her to clarify something for him and asks Tony if he minds. Tony says he normally wouldn’t mind and Ziva finishes that she can’t be unescorted, per Vance’s instructions. Ducky escorts Ziva into autopsy and locks Tony out. “Complex situations often call for creative solutions,” Ducky tells Ziva. He turns the lights on, showing the remains of the men on the ship. He has her site down, then says, “I do not know what games they are playing upstairs but I have had enough.” He tells her she is their friend, and he wants to be a friend. He reads off the names of the men from the ship. She says she doesn’t need to know their names. Ducky says she carried the weight of the dead on her shoulders. Trust us, as we trust you. Let them go.” Ducky says. She says there is only one name, Daniel Cryer. Ducky points out that she is sitting by Cryer’s remains. He tells her the truth may set her free. She says it may not. Some bodies are not meant to stay buried, Ducky tells her. He asks what happened to him.

Ben tells his side of the story to Vance. “Cabin fever, paranoia, maybe we underestimated them, Ben says. Turns we were not the only ones monitoring outgoing transmissions. He and Ziva are walking down the hallway when a gunfight begins. The man with them takes out 2 of the ships crew before he is gunned down. Ziva and Ben return to their cabin and get their guns. Their contingency plans was to take everyone. The search the ship and kill anyone they come across. Ben comes around the corner and is shot, Ziva takes out the crew member and then runs into the captain. From behind, Cryer kills the Captain. Ziva tells Ducky, “You should keep your distance. The ones who get too close, always end up dead.”

Vance and Gibbs talk in Vance’s office. Vance believes that Ziva knew all along that Cryer was a Marine and she is done with NCIS. Gibbs wants to give her a chance to deny it but she can’t speak about it. Gibbs believes Ben is willing to speak about it. Vance asks if Gibbs is ready to play bad cop. Gibbs says, “You were playing good cop all this time?” He orders someone to put Ziva and Ben together.

Ben tells Ziva to say nothing, he is handling it. Ziva tells him she has nothing to say to him, then stands in a corner with her arms crossed. Tony walks into the squadroom and informs McGee that he just dropped Ziva in the lion’s den and any second Gibbs is going to come out asking what they have. McGee hasn’t had enough time to process everything and shares what he does have. So far, the findings coincide with what Ben has told them. Ducky shows up in the elevator with a folder. He tells them he has multiple bodies killed with 9MM gun shot wounds. An abundance with 5.7 by 28 in the chest and abdomen, a single large caliber gun shot wound to the head. The latter which was Cryer. They found three smashed 45 slugs in the maintenance bay but not the one that shot Cryer. There is no evidence of human tissue or blood on the three slugs, which show that they were all misses. Tony asks Abby if she can get him an unsmashed 45 slug. Abby fires a weapon into ballistic gelatin. Tony meets Gibbs in the hallway and tosses him a container with the bullet. Tony heads into observation while Gibbs goes into interrogation.

Gibbs walks in and Ben stands up. Ben wants to leave and Gibbs shoves him back in his seat. He tells Ben to sit down and shut up. Ben winces after Gibbs touches his shoulder so Gibbs asks if something is wrong with it. Ben says it’s a broken clavicle that is slow to heal. Tony and Vance smile behind the mirror. Gibbs orders Ziva to sit down as well. He informs Ziva that Ben claims Ziva killed Cryer. Gibbs says they are both down telling stories, he’s going to tell one now. He replays the scene where Cryer and Ziva meet face-to-face on the ship. Neither one fires but both have their guns on each other. Ziva asks Cryer if he betrayed them. Cryer tells her if he had, he would have fired already. Four gun shots ring out and Cryer falls. Up above, Ben is standing there, left shoulder bleeding, gun drawn. Ben asks Gibbs if this is a story he made up and Gibbs says it’s the truth. Eli David sent Ben to NCIS to frame Ziva. Ziva asks Ben if he’s acting under orders and Ben doesn’t respond. Gibbs tells Ziva that her father is a bad guy, he’s dirty. He turns to Ben and tells him to get out of there, to run. Ben gets up to leave but tells Ziva he failed her, before he walks out. “Don't apologize, it is a sign of weakness,” Ziva tells him. Gibbs looks up at the camera and Vance orders it off. Vance leaves observation as Gibbs sits down with Ziva. He tells her they aren’t done, finish it. After they sank the ship, they had a mission and Eli wanted them to proceed. They ended up in Somali with one dead and Ben wounded. Eli felt it was their best chance to take out the courier. Ziva proceeds on the mission alone and leaves Ben at the dock to finish it. Ziva tells Gibbs it was her choice, she killed the courier and gunman. She got to Saleem’s camp and got within a fingernail before she was overpowered. She has nothing but death in her heart. Gibbs tells her she never had a choice, she was raised to be a ruthless, soulless killer. She says she didn’t mean to live through it. Gibbs tells her that part of her died out there. Ziva apologizes to Gibbs.. he gets up, goes to her and whispers something in her ear. She smiles. He kisses her head and Ziva begins to cry.

Vance is in his office taking with Eli. Eli is furious over how Gibbs handled Ben and now he has Ziva. Vance plays dumb and says he’ll handle Gibbs and now Ziva will as well. He hangs up and Gibbs is sitting there eating an apple. He tells Vance it was well played. Vance hands Gibbs a document with “Approved” stamped across it, which makes Gibbs smile.

In the squadroom, McGee wants to know how Tony came up with the fake slug idea so fast. He puts two and two together and realizes Tony put the virus on McGee’s computer and had a third party remove it. Each of them is holding a stack of folders, arguing over who won the bet. They both claim they are not doing their paperwork, or the other one’s. Tony drops his stack of folders onto McGee’s, then McGee drops them onto Ziva’s desk. Gibbs walks in, drops Ziva’s approved application on top of the stack and tells her, “Get to work, probie.” Ziva looks at the paper, then Gibbs and smiles.