For a moment John thought his heart had stopped when the name Whistler appeared in a report of a suspected attempted murder. Glad of the excuse his cover gave him, John lost no time in dragging Lionel to the hospital to check up on Harold.
They arrived at Harold's room while the man was dressing himself after checking out Against Medical Advice. Lionel was concerned. Reese, after being reassured by the medical staff that the victim was out of danger and would make a full recovery, was nearly incandescent with rage. He just needed to know the proper target. After losing Carter and Shaw, there was no way he was going to lose Harold as well.
Finch was uncomfortable and had trouble meeting Reese's eyes, claiming not to know how he might have ingested poison. His gaze darted about the room, and John suspected he might not feel comfortable discussing the situation for fear of blowing their covers and alerting Samaritan. Reese figured he could wait to get the full story until Harold was safely back in the subway.
Reese and Fusco flanked Harold as he exited the hospital, and once they had him settled in the back of their car away from prying eyes and ears John began his interrogation.
"Could this have been a move by Decima? Is Samaritan on to our cover identities?"
"No, Samaritan's operatives would be much less subtle. I believe they would come storming in guns blazing, not rely on poison. My cover is still intact."
"Then who would try and kill Whistler?"
"You haven't given out grades yet have you?" Fusco asked, trying to lighten the tension in the car.
"No. Nobody would want to kill Whistler. He doesn't have enough impact on anyone's life to warrant any notice, let alone inspire enough emotion to provoke a murder. His class barely acknowledges him even during lectures" Harold said gloomily.
"Well that is the point of the identity. To not attract attention. 'Professor Whistler' may be a nonentity, but 'Harold Finch' has a profound impact on us and would be greatly missed. You are someone the world can't afford to lose" Reese said as he tried to cheer up his friend. "The question is...why didn't the Machine warn us?"
"It tried to" Harold replied. "We just...didnt listen. Didn;t understand what it was trying to say until almost too late."
"We need to work on our communication" Reese said grimly.
