Illegally obtained weapons equal money.

That was the problem that the OSP battled against on NCIS: Los Angeles Season 13 Episode 18 and NCIS: Los Angeles Season 13 Episode 19.

There were bodies left in the wake of those two cases, a courageous petty officer in the former episode and a regretful gun-manufacturer whistleblower in the latter.

It wasn't immediately apparent that Nikki, the dead petty officer, wasn't involved in the theft of missile technology. The fact that she was killed was evidence that things went horribly wrong if she was a participant in the effort to sell such technology.

The most enjoyable part of this episode was the return of Sabatino. The CIA officer was recently "transferred" to the U.S. Marshal's Service, mainly so he could legally work and carry a gun stateside.

And, what a coincidence, he was dropping by because he was a part of an interagency task force seeking to recover missile technology stolen from Nikki's office.

Nikki didn't look good since the stolen schematics were downloaded from her computer. So it appeared that she had become a victim of her greed.

That is until the team began looking into who the buyer might have been that killed her.

Her deadbeat baby daddy had an alibi, so the cause of her death quickly circled back to the stolen tech.

Callen remained benched, and Kilbride required him to take a couple of days off, which meant that Sam got the talkative Sabatino as his temporary partner.

Sam and Sabatino got along quite well together, as they had known each other through Michelle for years. This familiarity allowed them to talk in shorthand and for Sabatino to needle Sam nearly as much as Callen.

They also knew the flotsam and jetsam of Los Angeles, such as Big Wes, who ran the social club where Nikki was last seen.

It was painfully obvious the elusive Big Wes, for all this talk about admiring the military and the police, was involved in Nikki's death somehow. The trick was figuring out how.

Fortunately, social media allowed the squad to do an end-run around legalities such as search warrants.

First, viewing a content creator's feed allowed Fatima and Rountree to locate Nikki's abduction. Then posts from inside the club revealed that Nikki's boss Hudson was there that night, which he had failed to mention when being questioned.

It's always the ones that eulogize their deceased coworkers who are the guilty ones. Sam shamed Hudson into breaking, which enabled the team to capture Big Wes and his buyer.

As a parting thought, Sabatino told Sam that neither Michelle nor his father would want him to sell his boat.

An unusual scene was Deeks and Kilbride talking about parenting. Showing a rare burst of empathy, Kilbride got Deeks to admit how stressful it had been going through the hoops of fostering a child.

Kilbride then confessed what a crappy father he had been to his son, who developed a drug habit.

Still, recalling his rocky relationship with his late father, Deeks encouraged Kilbride to make a long-overdue effort to mend things with his son before it's too late.

It was nice to see such a touching moment among two characters who usually are not simpatico.

The second episode was directed by Daniela Ruah, working from a script written by Eric Christian Olsen.

Although the episode later had to turn serious because of the topic, the banter that has been missing much of the season just flowed from Olsen's script. Beneficiaries were Deeks (of course), Sam, and Del Campo, who wasn't onscreen enough.

That was despite having a serious topic: a whistleblower about to testify how U.S. gun manufacturers marketed their products to Mexican cartels, who set up complicated networks to smuggle them across the border.

The despicable gun manufacturer ultimately got what he deserved for getting into bed with the cartels. It was remarkable how Kilbride managed to get him primed to talk before his cartel-supplied lawyer killed him.

It was enjoyable to see again Del Campo, back for the first time since NCIS Season 10 Episode 22. She was hilarious as she schooled young Rountree during their brief partnership at the retirement home.

The team managed to find a couple of the cartel's pawns and a stash house and determined the network it used. But as long as the cartel has accomplices such as Huntington ready to cash in, enforcement officials can't help but be a step behind.

The cartel has as much of an intelligence network on this side of the border as the drug-enforcement system hunting them. The surveillance of Kensi and Deeks at Flores' house drove that point home.

It was inevitable that the missing whistleblower Henderson would end up dead. He did manage to get out his message to hundreds so that officials wouldn't immediately sweep his testimony under the rug.

Callen did not take the vacation that Kilbride demanded.

Instead, he set up a command center for his hunt for Katya, complete with a photo of her new look.

It was wise to work out of someplace out of view of his co-workers and Anna.

With only a handful of episodes left this season, please let this storyline wrap up, hopefully with Hetty returning to explain herself to Callen.

To revisit Callen's investigation, watch NCIS: Los Angeles online.

Did you enjoy seeing Sabatino and Del Canto again?

Which episode resonated more with you?

Does Sam really want to sell his boat?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.