NCIS recap: Why are McGee and Torres under investigation?

McGee and Torres are arrested on a murder investigation. Did they do it? What is the truth within the story on NCIS Season 16, Episode 11?

NCIS Season 16, Episode 11 is the midseason premiere and it’s time to find out why the Secretary of Defense is in the office. More importantly, why are McGee and Torres arrested for their part in an investigation?

We get a story with a slightly different timeline to normal. Instead of playing out with the case and then finding out the two agents are under investigation, we play out the episode with flashbacks. However, I’ll do this NCIS recap sort of chronological since the flashes back to the present are more for commentary (like McGee realizing that Torres did cancel Bishop’s date).

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Finding a hotel ballroom full of bodies

It all starts with a conference that Gibbs and McGee send Torres and Bishop to. They manage to find a way to get out of it, which is when the come across a set of bodies in the ballroom. Of course, it’s immediately suspicious but there is a way to explain this. The 20 bodies are for a medical conference.

That’s great, but NCIS count 21.

How are there 21 bodies? Of course, someone wanted to hide a murder victim. That victim turns out to have disintegrated lungs and it doesn’t take long for Kasie to figure out they were destroyed by chlorine gas. Someone is using chemical weapons.

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Figuring out where the chemical weapon came from

NCIS find that there may be a big terrorist plot and that means they need to head to their victim’s former workplace, the place that destroys chemical weapons. Yet, the workplace says chlorine gas was previously all destroyed. There hasn’t been any, but there is something the business is hiding.

NCIS needs to get clearance for confidential information. This is where Secretary of Defense Wayne Crawford comes into play. He refuses to grant the permission because he doesn’t believe there’s a threat of an attack.

Gibbs decides to ignore that, which angers Crawford when he learns about it.

NCIS finally gets some answers

While they’ve got one of the supervisors from the chemical destruction company in interrogation, they push for answers about the chemical weapons. The supervisor starts coughing up blood. He was exposed to some of the dangerous gas, enough to kill him. He isn’t going to talk and promises to take what he knows to the grave.

Once again, Wayne Crawford believes the investigation is over. Is he hiding something? It’s clear to NCIS that there is something and they’re on the right track.

It also helps that they know there’s some missing chlorine gas thanks to some hacking. Yes, hacking. Even though they get some information, the cybersecurity department of the company know they’ve been hacked.

Vance stands up for his agents, which helps grant NCIS more time to get some answers about the missing chlorine gas. It turns out the sick man stole the chlorine and the initial vic’s death was just an accident. The sick man has sent the chlorine gas to freedom fighters and he’s not sorry about it, because it’s heading to Syria to help protect innocent people.

It’s time to stall

Crawford wants to turn the case over to the FBI and Homeland. Jack needs McGee and Torres to stall, but there seems to be some miscommunication. Torres grabs his gun and heads to the door while McGee presses the button to lock the room down. McGee didn’t want Torres to grab his gun — or did he?

Meanwhile, downstairs the sick suspect views news footage of the chlorine gas being used in an attack in D.C. It scares the guy enough to give all the information needed to track down the gas. And in case you wondered, it really was all put on to make the suspect think everything had gone wrong.

Crawford is still angry at the whole situation. He tries to remain angry when Bishop and Gibbs come in with news that Crawford is financially and personally attached to the company. With the realization that he was asked to weigh in because of his relationship, he absolves NCIS and admits that he was in the wrong in a press conference.

It’s a good end to a case. Yes, some politicians can admit they’re wrong. At least, the fake ones can. That is if they’re not planning on becoming a pain in the rear end later on.

At the very end, Bishop wants to know why Torres sent the text to cancel her date. It looks like he’s about to tell her the truth but he decides not to in the end.

Meanwhile, Kasie learns that some of the free gadgets McGee got weren’t just freebies. The company that sent it is headhunting McGee. Will he leave NCIS at the end of the season?

What did you think of tonight’s episode? Were you surprised at the outcome? Which moment was your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

NCIS Season 16 continues on Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.