406 In Security

Agent Eppes didn’t pull the trigger, but he sure a hell brought that gunman into this house …

Summary:  Don feels responsible when a participant in the Witness Protection Program is killed.

Original air date:  November 2, 2007 (US)

Written by: Sean Crouch

Directed by: Steven Gyllenhaal
Opening numbers:

17,000: Protected witnesses
10,000: Convictions
37: Years
0: Witnesses killed


Family Concepts: (character development)

  • Don had an affair with Leah Wexford when he worked at the Albuquerque FBI office.  He has a sealed file “full of reprimands” because of the relationship.
  • Charlie’s book is out and he has his first book signing
  • Larry thinks he is about to be kicked out of the monestary
  • Don and Liz’s relationship is in question

Episode Quotes:

  • Larry: That page is blank.
    Charlie: Not after I sign it.
  • Larry: I’m the only one here who has visitors.  Even the vow of silence guys are grumbling.

Episode Synopsis:

Leah Wexford and her son Steven are both participants in the US Marshal’s Witness Security program due to her testimony in an organized crime case in New Mexico five years ago.  She is killed and Steven injured when someone with an FBI badge knocks on her door and shoots them both when she opens it.  Don worked on Leah’s case when he was in Albuquerque and he’s seen her several times in the past few weeks; he now thinks he killed her indirectly due to his contact with her.  US Marshal Tricia Yeager agrees; she is part of Wexford’s protection detail and is not happy that the first witness to die in the program was one she was supposed to protect.

Liz and Colby try to identify the shooter only to be hamstrung when it appears fingerprints of the killer have been wiped from the FBI database.  Yeager states it is standard procedure for witnesses in the program and announces Leah’s killer was Benny Natale, another witness in the New Mexico organized crime case but this one has a long rap sheet that continued to grow after he was put in the program for his own safety.

Charlie wants to prove to Don he didn’t do anything to endanger Leah and starts a CART analysis of Don’s decisions to back up his assumptions.  He also works out a path analysis on Natale and discovers Natale is working with a local gang, the AP-47’s to deal drugs.  It seems the AP-47’s have an FBI agent, Chris Fredrickson, working on bringing down the entire gang, he’s willing to help Don bring in Natale if he can still get Zeke Gibbs, the AP-47’s leader .  Things go bad during the drug bust however, and Gibbs shoots and kills Natale.  Gibbs claims he was given a tip that Natale was going to kill him so Gibbs shot first; the problem is no gun was found on Natale’s body.

Charlie is still working on the CART analysis of Don and hits a roadblock with Don’s sealed file from five years ago.    Don points out Charlie has clearance to look at the file, but Charlie states he wouldn’t do something like that.  Charlie can however look at the access logs of the file to see if anyone else has been peeking.  He finds out the Fredrickson did access Don’s sealed file, a sealed file that contained the current address of Leah Wexford.

While viewing video files of the visitors Gibbs has while in custody the FBI team discover two things, one is Fredrickson talking to Gibbs, apparently to set Gibbs up to shoot Natale, the other is video of Gibbs giving his girlfriend a drawing.  Charlie is able to distill the drawing down to a message hidden in the picture: the address of the safe house Gibbs is about to be moved to; Gibbs is setting up Fredrickson.  Don’s team is able to get to the safe house before the AP-47’s and they arrest Gibbs for conspiracy to try to kill Fredrickson.  Don confronts Fredrickson on giving Natale the address where Leah was, Fredrickson claims it was necessary in order to bring down the AP-47 gang.  Liz confronts Don on how Gibbs would have even known Fredrickson was setting him up to take down the gang and Don all but admits he was the one to tell Gibbs.  Liz, angry about the things Don hasn’t been telling her, gets out of the car and walks away.