ABBY: The F.B.I. And if there's a shred of decency in you, and brains, you'll reopen my case and find the right one. FORNELL: Actually, I came to tell you that Petty Officer Derrick Paulson escaped from prison yesterday. GIBBS: Reinstatement's only temporary, Abs. GIBBS: The Paulson case. HOTEL ROOM - DAY
ZIVA: It appears ex-Petty Officer Paulson is attempting to highlight the discrepancies in his crime scene. He just... he just wants to work on his case. His real estate agent is fumigating his house. I'm an innocent man. PAULSON: Relax, Agent Fornell. SHEPARD: No. TONY: For the better. That Paulson is guilty.
Plan: A: murder; Q: What was the former petty officer convicted of? A: prison; Q: Where did the former petty officer escape from? A: forces; Q: What does the escaped prisoner do to Fornell? A: Fornell; Q: Who is the FBI agent that is forced to reopen the case? A: the real culprit; Q: What does the petty officer want to find? A: his own innocence; Q: What does the petty officer claim? A: Director Shepard; Q: Who reinstated Gibbs as an NCIS agent? A: help; Q: What does Fornell ask Gibbs for? A: his former team's disappointment; Q: What is Gibbs' former team's reaction to his reinstatement? A: the reinstatement; Q: What does Gibbs insist is only temporary? A: discrepancies; Q: What does the team find in the petty officer's case? Summary: A former petty officer, convicted of murder, escapes from prison and forces F.B.I. Special Agent Fornell to reopen his case in order to find the real culprit whilst claiming his own innocence. Fornell asks Gibbs, who had worked on the case before and is reinstated as an NCIS agent by Director Shepard, for help when his daughter is threatened. To his former team's disappointment, Gibbs insists that the reinstatement is only temporary. The team soon finds discrepancies in the petty officer's case and that he may have been framed.