Twilight (NCIS)

Infobox Television episode | Title = Twilight
Colour =
Series = NCIS
Season = 2
Episode = 23


Airdate = May 24, 2005
Production = 2x23
Writer =Donald P. Ballisiaro
Director =
Guests =
Season list = Infobox NCIS season 2 episode list
Episode list = Episode chronology
Prev = SWAK
Next = Kill Ari

"Twilight" is the 46^th episode and second season finale of the drama television series "NCIS".

Plot

Two men are driving along, talking about the women they're going to go out with for the weekend when they're pulled over by a police officer. Before the two men can say anything in their defense, they're both gunned down in their car.

Because the men in the Ford Mustang were from the Navy, NCIS is called in. Tony still feels guilty for almost infecting the office with the plague and is still feeling a little worn down from the after-effects, but this doesn't stop Kate and McGee from teasing him. Kate notes to Gibbs that the hands of the one man were chopped off, but not the hands of the other man, thus it's unlikely that the hands were a sort of 'trophy' for the killer. As Tony, Kate and McGee review the car left in a ravine, Tony is kicked by Kate (for telling that a snake wrapping itself round her leg was poisonous, but then McGee reveals it is not,) and falls on his back. He notices that there's a bomb placed under the car, set to go off when the trunk is open. Tony urges Kate and McGee to run back up the hill, then manages to barely outrun the detonator, passing out at the top of the hill.

Back in the lab, Abby tells Gibbs that she can't identify the C-4 used in the bomb, since whoever used it was able to somehow remove the trace chemicals that are mixed in with C-4 to determine where they were made. Gibbs grimly notes that they're dealing with a professional. Gibbs goes out to get some coffee, but stops when he notices Ari Haswari sitting at one of the outside tables, reading a newspaper. Gibbs confronts Ari, who tells Gibbs that one of the tables is primed to explode unless he listens to what he has to say. Ari tells Gibbs that he's working undercover with a terrorist cell bent on setting off an explosive around the Washington D.C. area, but doesn't yet know the specifics or where the bomb will go off. When Ari gets up to leave and goes on his motorcycle, he tells Gibbs that he was bluffing about the bomb - but Gibbs spots a bomb planted under their table and is able to throw it in a corner dumpster seconds before it goes off.

Back at base, Fornell tells Gibbs not to continue going after Ari, but to stay at the base overnight as a precaution. The next day, they are informed of a break-in at a factory that makes remote controlled airplanes for the military. The man whose thumb was cut off happened to work at that factory, and that thumbprint was used to gain access to the factory. Although all of the main planes are still there, one of the prototypes is missing. Reviewing the videotape of the breakin, Gibbs is able to recognize Ari - and realizes that Ari is actually leading the group. In a factory, Ari and his men are retrofitting the small plane with some C-4.

Gibbs confronts Fornell, telling him that Ari is not working for the Mossad but has turned rogue. Fornell reluctantly gives Gibbs Ari's phone number, which Gibbs uses to call Ari. Ari, surprised, talks to Gibbs long enough for NCIS to trace the call to Newport News, where there are a series of factories around the area. The team realize that although Ari can't use too many explosives in the device he stole, he can use it to cause mass panic at a nearby naval yard where sailors are coming home from Iraq. Ari is among the crowd waiting for the sailors to disembark, and hands a little girl a teddy bear to give to her father - the stuffed animal having a tracker that the remote airplane can use to lock on. Because they don't know the frequency of the plane, McGee has to remotely work with his laptop to shut down all the possible frequencies.

At the factory, Gibbs uses a shotgun to get the attention of one of the terrorists, eventually shooting him. The team gets into a firefight with the terrorists, while McGee ducks behind the car to try and continue shutting down the frequencies. When one of the terrorists shoots the laptop, McGee is forced to turn and return fire. One of the terrorists on the roof has already launched the remote airplane, but the team manage to get to the roof and kill all the men in sight. Rather than try and figure out how to 'fly' the plane, Gibbs shoots the laptop used to control the plane, causing it to crash harmlessly into the water well away from the crowds.

Gibbs, Tony and Kate start to relax when another terrorist pops out from a doorway. Kate dives in the line of fire and is shot, while Gibbs shoots the terrorist dead. Kate reveals that she was wearing a bullet-proof vest and gets up. Tony tells Kate she did a good job, and Gibbs says "For once DiNozzo is right". Kate begins to reply "Wow, I thought I'd die before.." when a bullet is fired and rips through her head, killing her instantly. At a distant rooftop, Ari looks out from his rifle scope, saying, "Sorry, Caitlin." Gibbs and Tony look around in vain, with Gibbs muttering "Ari..."