The End of the Game - 1
"All games must come to an end" – John Greer
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"Mr. Reese, do you remember Henry Peck?" Finch asked. "I think so" considered Reese "Wasn't he the NSA guy who deduced that the Machine had to exist? We packed him off to Europe for his own safety. That was years ago, just before Root kidnapped you. The first time that is".
"Mr. Peck is back in the United States. His father died a few months ago and I think he has returned to pay his respects. Needless to say, he may be in some danger" Finch explained.
"Did the Machine send us his number?" said Reese. "Oddly it didn't" replied Finch "I have a program that scans for certain persons entering the country. Mr. Peck used a false name different from the one we gave him but my program also does facial recognition to allow for that".
"Hmm, I imagine that the government may have something similar so he could be a target"
Finch paused and said carefully "Mr. Peck's mother passed away before he needed our help and he was an only child so he has no immediate family to worry about now. I am concerned that he may think he has nothing to lose and decide to speak about the Machine as he planned to do originally. He is perhaps the only outsider left who knows about it and, if he is planning to tell the world, we need to persuade him to desist".
"That may be difficult" said Reese "Do you know where he is now? We should keep an eye on him, unless you want to meet with him again, Finch, rather than me. He kept running away from me last time"
"No, you go Mr. Reese" replied Finch "He knows your face and that you helped him last time. He's currently at this hotel". He passed the address to Reese "I'll see if his presence has been noted by the authorities and update you if necessary"
"Hello boys" said Shaw, entering and throwing a rubber ball to Bear "Any action today?"
"Perhaps Miss Shaw should go as well in case there are… complications" said Finch. "I'll leave it to you to decide whether Mr. Peck should meet any of our other colleagues. Perhaps he shouldn't until we know his intentions" he concluded.
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Reese drove to Peck's hotel, updating Shaw on the way. The hotel was downbeat and anonymous and they decided that Shaw would stay in the car in order not to make Peck any more nervous than he probably was. Reese bribed the clerk for the room number and mounted the stairs to Peck's room, scanning the area for any threats. Satisfied that there were no problems he knocked on the door but got no reply so he picked the lock and entered.
He quickly searched the room and bathroom but just found a few clothes and Peck's small suitcase. There were a few leaflets about New York's visitor attractions on the dresser, nothing to indicate that Peck was anything other than a normal tourist. "Finch, Peck's not here. Any updates?" he asked.
"I cannot see anything to indicate that the authorities know he's in the city, Mr Reese. I suppose you'll have to wait until he returns" replied Finch.
Reese returned to the car but slowed as he saw a man leaning on the roof, talking to Shaw through the driver's window. He straightened and turned as Shaw noticed Reese. "Good morning Mr. Reese" said Jeremy Lambert.