Once a Hero (NCIS)
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| “Sandblast” | |
|---|---|
| NCIS episode | |
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| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 8 |
| Guest stars | Brian Dietzen as Jimmy Palmer Scottie Thompson as Jeanne Benoit Liza Lapira as Michelle Lee |
| Written by | Shane Brennan |
| Directed by | Thomas J. Wright |
| Production no. | 4x08 |
| Original airdate | November 14, 2006 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Sandblast" | "Twisted Sister" |
| Episode chronology | |
"Once a Hero" is the 78<sup>th</sup> episode of the drama television series NCIS.
[edit] Plot
When suspicious activity surrounds the death of a decorated marine, NCIS tries to clear his name.
A decorated marine falls from the 6th floor of a hotel onto a conference held below, narrowly missing Director Shepard. The initial assumption is that of a suicide, especially when a note inscribed with "Help Me" is found on his body and it is revealed that Sergeant Wright was troubled young man and on medical leave. A Congressman's aide delivering documents to a defence contractor gives evidence that he had been attacked by Wright, shortly before the incident.
Wright managed to gain access to the hotel (which was under lock-down) through a former fellow marine, Luis Romero, now a supervisor at the hotel. Romero had allowed Wright to stay in rooms down for maintenance. While interviewing Romero and searching Wright's room, another body is discovered by maids in the hotel, that belonging to a 14-year-old Chinese girl. The team is fearful that Wright may have been responsible for her rape and death, especially when his master card, granting access to all rooms is found in the girl's room and Wright's saliva is found on the girl's face.
One strand of hair is found on the girl's body but it cannot be matched conclusively to Wright's DNA as Abby's microscopes are not strong enough to see down to the nanoscopic level. Abby manages to temporarily use such a microscope at a forensic exhibition and discovers that the owner of the hair strand had previously been vaccinated against anthrax. Wright never received the vaccine and McGee theorises that the 'help me' note was not actually written by Wright but by the girl and Wright had picked up the note when he had taken the half-eaten plates left outside the room for himself to eat. Wright had, upon discovering the note, returned to the room and tried to revive the girl using CPR.
The team suspects that the Congressman's aide previously interviewed was vaccinated against anthrax and is connected to the Chinese girl. He subsequently confesses to paying a Chinese man to sleep with her and the cuts and bruises on his face were received not from Wright but from the girl. The team must discover where Davey Chen, who is running the sex-trade ring, has kept the other young girls and sends Special Agent Lee undercover as the dead girl's sister to find more information. Unfortunately Chen uncovers the ruse and the team rush in to the warehouse to find her in time. They corner the men at the base of their operations and discover the van of girls.
