Continuing this week is the fourth series of the hit
drama following a team of special agents who

investigate Navy and Marine Corps-related crimes.
In the penultimate episode of the series, Shepard
makes Gibbs acting director of NCIS while she is
away, but he prefers to ignore his new duties and
instead leads the team in the investigation of a
dead man delivered to NCIS by taxi.
With Shepard at a conference in Paris, Gibbs is
running NCIS – but he is not too keen on the
paperwork, politics and nagging from Shepard’s
assistant, Cynthia, that the role involves. So when
a report comes in that a dead man has turned up
at NCIS in a taxi, Gibbs jumps at the chance to get
out from behind Shepard’s desk and head for the
crime scene.
Joining the rest of the team –who had a bet going on how long it would take for him to abandon his duties as acting director –Gibbs learns that the man had hailed the cab and asked to be taken to NCIS. Upon arrival, the passenger was asked for his ID... and was found to have expired en route.
The cab driver, Joey Kelly, says that the man was out of breath when he got into the car and seemed worried that he was being followed. The dead man is identified as a Yemeni national by the name of Hamal Fahan, who had twice been turned down for a student visa and was in the country on a tourist visa. Adding to the mystery is the fact that Ducky cannot immediately ascertain a cause of death; all of the victim’s organs seems to be in remarkably healthy condition, and there are no obvious signs of injury or a struggle.
While the team waits to see if Abby’s tests reveal any poison in Fahan’s system, Tony and Ziva analyse a list of seven names that was found in his pocket. Five of the listed people are dead, which makes it appear that Fahan was the latest target of a hitman. There are two more names on the list, which potentially means two more victims... so Tony and Ziva work their way through everyone with a matching name in the area.
Meanwhile, an attaché from the Yemeni embassy comes to identify the body and reveals that Fahan had powerful connections in his country’s government. He also explains that the victim was in America to learn English and study, and adds: “I know what you’re thinking. Hamal was not the type to be involved with terrorism.” Gibbs is not so sure, replying: “He asked to be brought to NCIS for a reason.” However, Gibbs reconsiders his theory that Fahad is the villain when Abby’s tests prove that the man was murdered – he was poisoned using an almost undetectable toxin.
McGee scans the names of the dead people on the list, but struggles to find any conceivable link between them. “The only place these people ever met was in the obituaries,” agrees Tony – giving Gibbs an idea. He realises that these people were randomly selected from obituary pages to give the appearance of a hit list, and that the only one on the list to have actually been murdered was Hamal Fahad. But why? “To distract us,” says Gibbs grimly. Was Fahad’s death merely a means to an end?
Meanwhile, Shepard receives information from the CIA that a Russian general she has been seeking is dying in a Moscow hospital. Heading to his bedside, she confronts him about his involvement with notorious arms dealer La Grenouille – but the general has a shocking revelation for Shepard that will change her life...