Dying in the line of duty, doing the thing you love is one thing …
Summary: Don’s team investigates what went wrong when two FBI agents are killed during a shoot out at a bank robbery
Original air date: October 2, 2009 (US)
Story by: Robert Port and Mark Llewellyn
Teleplay by: Robert Port
Directed by: Rod Holcomb
Opening numbers:
1200: Bullets fired
2: Dead FBI agents
3: Lies
1: Truth
Family Concepts: (character development)
- Larry has worked on his eleven dimension super gravity theory and other physics problems in teh steam tunnels under CalSci
- Liz is in San Fransisco to testify in a drug case
- Larry dropped his application to work at CERN, and all of his classes for the Spring semester, he leaves a message that he is leaving his physics work to Charlie
- Peter Fox was Don’s mentor when Don was twenty-five
- Fox and Don once nabbed two men on the Most Wanted List in the same day, a feat that has not been repeated.
Episode Quotes:
- Larry: In principle we have succeeded.
Alan: Actually, in a much more realistic way we have failed. - Charlie: This guy’s [Alan] gotten lost driving back from the supermarket.
Alan: So I once ended up in San Pedro, big deal.
Larry: Who among us hasn’t. - David: Have you ever seen them act? There’s a reason why they call them extras.
- Larry: You know my favorite part about running? You don’t have to plan your route, but you do have to keep on moving.
- Nikki: I had anger issues back then! I’m much better now!
- [David and Colby are on a date together to win a bet from Nikki]
David: The surf and turf look delicious.
Colby: Shellfish will upset your stomach, remember.
David: That’s a good point. (Friendly Fire)
Episode Synopsis:
Peter Fox and his team of FBI agents are set to bring down one of the most violent bank robbery crews in the country. The plan is to wait until the crew has robbed the bank ans is on the way out with the money before busting them. Things do not go according to plan, however and a shoot out occurs in the parking lot. When Don’s team arrives on the scene, they find two dead FBI agents and two members of the robbery crew dead; they also discover Fox with Tina Gordon, his last surviving team member. He’s been shot in the arm, she’s shot in the leg. Fox tells Don he doesn’t want Jim Wilson, the leader of the robbery crew to just be arrested, Fox wants the man dead.
Charlie offers to help by sorting through the various witness statements in order to get a composite view of what happened during the shooting. Colby and David have enough witness statements, Charlie is confident he can get an answer quickly. He and Amita though are also worried about Larry. Fleinhardt seems to be withdrawing from everyone and everything, he’s dropped his application to work at CERN and Charlie later finds out Larry has also canceled his course load for the Spring and no longer returns the Dean’s phone calls.
Charlie, as promised, is able to get a basic overview of the shooting, however his results do not match Agent Fox’s statement of what happened. According to Charlie’s findings, someone has to be lying. David and Colby visit Gordon in the hospital but she doesn’t really remember much of what happened. Don talks to Fox, an old friend and mentor, Fox however asks Don to drop it as the two dead agents John Hale and Martin Ryba had families and Fox doesn’t want any pension withdrawn by the FBI those families could use. Don soon learns why Fox doesn’t want the investigation to continue: according to Charlie’s computer modeling, Hale shot Ryba by accident.
David and Colby go back to Gordon in the hospital and she admits she lied in her first statement, she saw Hale shoot Ryba, but wanted to protect a friend from the academy. Nikki and Colby are investigating Fox and discover the man was demoted from his position in Washington DC after a series of sexual harassment claims filed against him. They also discover Ryba was actually Internal Affairs investigating Fox for several other crimes including embezzlement. Ryba had several photos of Fox and Gordon entering hotels together while on duty and using FBI funds to pay for their dates. Charlie’s modeling also proves Ryba was shot by Gordon, she saw a chance to get rid of the man investigating her and she took it. Don realizes if Gordon shot Ryba, then Fox must have killed Hale for witnessing what Gordon did. Don finds Fox and tried to get the man to surrender; Fox forces Don to kill him.