Person of Interest
Protector
By TheIrrelevant88
EXT. – NY Street – Morning
Open as Reese walks down the street.
Finch (on the phone): You'll be working as one of Hunter Allen's security guards. One conveniently found a better job and had to quit yesterday. You'll be reporting to a Jacob Mallon, he's the head of security.
Reese: What exactly will I be doing?
Finch: You will find out when you get there. I don't know what a celebrity security does.
Reese: I thought you knew everything?
Finch: Hardly.
Reese arrives at a building and it's revealed to be a music hall.
Reese: What kind of musician is he again?
Finch: He's a country music artist. I listened to some of his music and although not my kind of music, he's talented.
CUT TO:
INT. – MUSIC HALL - MORNING
Reese walks into the building to be greeted by a man dressed in a black t-shirt and black pants. The man stops him at the door.
Derek: How may I help you?
Reese: Hell I'm John. I'm here to meet Jacob Mallon. I was told to come here that there is a position open.
Derek: Nice to meet you, I'm Derek. I'll take you to Jacob.
Reese follows Derek down the main hall of the auditorium and behind the stage. They then go down a long corridor lined with doors and stop at the one manned by a guard about the size of John, dressed in a black t-shirt and black pants.
Derek: Jacob, this is John, the new guy the agency sent over.
Jacob looks at John and nods in approval.
Jacob: Hello John. I'm Jacob and I run this crew. You've met Derek. We have two other guys on the team as well, Mark and Tim, you'll see them around.
Jacob gestures at John's suit.
Jacob: You can't wear that though if you're going to work with us. Hunter likes his people to blend in as much as possible. We all wear black t-shirts and black pants. You'd stand out like a sore thumb.
Jacob knocks on the door and enters the room motioning for John to follow. The enter the room and are greeted by a middle aged man with a goatee, hat, tight jeans and a tight shirt sitting on the couch reading a piece of paper.
Jacob: Mr. Allen this is John. He will be working tonight, and if he does well maybe we'll keep him on.
Hunter stands up to shake John's hand.
Hunter: Hopefully you pass the test. You aren't wearing that tonight are you?
John: No, I will be changing.
Hunter: Good. Far too formal.
Harold (breaking in on the phone): My research seems to have been a little lacking.
Hunter: How long have you done security?
John: In various forms for well over 10 years. I was in the military for many of those years.
Hunter: Good, great! I think he will work out.
Jacob: We will see.
Jacob and John leave the room.
Jacob: I'm going to have Derek show you around and give you a rundown of what will be happening tonight. He'll also find you an appropriate shirt.
John and Derek head down the hall.
INT. – LIBRARY – Afternoon
Harold sits at his computer and across the desk is a new area set up for Ellie, similar to Harold's. Ellie has headphones in her ears and is concentrating on something.
Harold: Have you come across anything?
Ellie: The problem with celebrities is figuring out what is just typical fandom and what is atypical. Lucky for us, Mr. Allen seems to have a rather stable and well balanced fan base. There are a few that may be a threat and I'm researching them right now. I've yet to find anything.
Ellie looks up at Harold and is about to speak but then stops.
Harold: What?
Ellie: Have we considered it may not be some crazy fan? I know it's the most probable but…
Harold: I've thought that too so while you were researching the fan base I've been researching his inner circle and those closer to him.
Ellie: Oh good. Nothing?
Harold nods.
Harold: What are you listening to?
Ellie: The auditorium that Mr. Allen is performing at tonight is equipped with a rather sophisticated recording system. They have it set up in a way that musicians can use their performance for audio on their albums. Anyhow I hacked into the system and have been listening.
Harold: Good idea. I should have thought of that. Heard anything of interest?
Ellie: I'm surprised you didn't think of it. No nothing yet. Just what sounds like your typical going on for a concert.
Ellie smiles and goes back to working. Harold calls John.
Harold: Mr. Reese you need to pair your phone with Mr. Allen's as soon as possible.
John: I plan to Finch; I haven't had the opportunity to do so yet.
Ellie looks up at Harold with a raised eyebrow.
Ellie: Pleasant, eh?
Harold: I believe he is not happy that I didn't inform him of the type of clothes he would need to wear. He gets cranky if he can't wear his usual attire.
Ellie laughs.
Ellie: This should be interesting.
INT. – Auditorium – Night
John stands with Derek, Jacob, Tim and Mark. Derek is giving directions for the night.
Jacob: Derek you will be stationed on the left side of the stage. Tim and Mark I need you in the pit like usual. John you'll be backstage watching the entrance to the backstage area and the stage in general and I'll be on the right side of the stage. Everyone understand?
All respond with yes and go to their area. You can hear the crowd in the background cheering. John takes position backstage. There are people waiting for the concert to start, stage hands, assistants, auditorium staff and friends and family of Mr. Allen. Jacob appears with Mr. Allen trailing behind him texting on his phone. Mr. Allen stands just at the opening of the stage curtain, hands his phone over to Jacob. John takes the opportunity of no one watching to pair his phone with Mr. Allen. They walk through the curtain and you can hear the crowd roar as he walks out onto stage.
John watches the backstage carefully.
John (to Harold): So far I don't see anything suspicious. What's going on on stage?
Ellie (breaking in): I'm watching the cameras and nothing is happening on stage or in the audience. Well other than a really good concert. He's good.
Harold: If anything is going to happen it would be tonight. Even with great security Mr. Allen is vulnerable.
John notices movement in the rafters above the stage.
John: Hold on, there is someone above the stage.
John goes to check it out. He climbs up and sees a man kneeling down with a rifle. Just then the man looks up and John charges. The man fires a shot and misses John. John jumps on top of the man and a struggle happens. They break free of each other and the man steps backwards, loses his footing off the side, falls down and hangs from the decking. John goes to grab his arm but it's too late. The man falls onto the stage just left of the performing Hunter Allen, gun and all. John quickly ducks back to not be seen.
CUT TO:
INT. LIBRARY- NIGHT
Ellie gasps and puts her hand over her mouth. Harold quickly switches his monitors to show the camera feed.
Ellie: That's not good.
Harold dials his phone and calls Detective Carter. Carter answers.
Carter: Hello, Finch.
Harold: Hello detective. You'll be hearing soon about a death at the Hunter Allen concert.
Carter: What?!
Harold: It might be best if you and Detective Fusco are a part of this investigation.
CUT TO:
INT. – POLICE STATION - Night
Carter: Is there anything we should know before we get there?
Harold: John will fill you in.
Carter hangs up her phone.
Fusco: What have they done now?
Carter: What haven't they done? We have to go.
INT. Auditorium – NIGHT
Cater and Fusco walk in to an empty concert hall. On stage is a body covered by a sheet. Off to the right there are police officers questioning stage hands and other people. Carter and Fusco head backstage. They see Hunter Allen standing with his security. John sees Carter and Fusco and makes eye contact. Carter walks up to the group.
Carter: Did anyone see what happened?
Jacob: John here was on backstage duty when this happened.
Carter: Okay I will need to ask you some questions.
Fusco: I'll question these guys.
Carter leads John to a more private area of the backstage area.
Carter: What happened?
John: Simply put, he tried to kill Mr. Allen. I didn't allow that to happen.
Carter: Couldn't you have thought of a less permanent solution to the problem?
John: I can't take full credit for his demise. That happened all on its own.
Carter gives him a look and John gets serious.
John: He slipped and fell. Probably should have been paying better attention. Of course he had me to deal with. We need to know who he is as soon as possible.
Carter: It might take a while to identify him.
John: Of course. If you can get a picture to Harold they will be able to identify him quickly.
Carter: I will see what I can do. So what am I going to put in the official report?
John: That I didn't have time to make it up there before he fell. That in a panic at noticing me he slipped and fell, which is mostly true.
Carter sighs.
INT – LIBRARY – MORNING
It's the next day and everyone is gathered at the Library (John, Ellie, Harold, and Bear). Bear is sleeping on his mat next to Harold. Suddenly his head pops up and tail starts to wag. In walks Shaw. Bear jumps up and goes to her, she pets him. She's noticed the new comer in the library.
Shaw: Who's this?
Harold: This is Ellie. She's going to be working with us. Ellie this is Samantha Shaw. She helps us on occasion.
Shaw looks at Ellie and studies her. She turns to John.
Shaw: I see you created quite a show last night John.
John gives her a look as if he's not amused with her teasing. Shaw walks to the board to look at the information. On it she finds a picture of the man who died the previous night.
Shaw: Is this who fell to his unfortunate death last night?
Ellie: Yes, his name is Karl Balk. He's not known as a hired gun of any sort, so we're working on the angle that he might be an obsessed fan. I'm still sorting through the information though.
Shaw turns to look at Ellie critically.
Shaw: What exactly is her purpose here?
Harold starts to respond but Ellie cuts him off.
Ellie: I do everything Harold does, but better.
Shaw is surprised at the answer, John chuckles at the response and Harold sighs.
Shaw: Fair enough.
Harold: Shaw perhaps you and John can go to Mr. Balk's apartment and see what you can find?
Shaw: Okay. Let's go.
Shaw and John exit the Library. Harold looks at Ellie sternly. Ellie shrugs her shoulders and goes back to work.
INT- APARTMENT – DAY
Shaw and John are looking around the apartment of Mr. Balk.
Shaw: I'm surprised to see you here John and not hovering over Mr. Allen.
John: I was "fired" last night. Apparently allowing someone to be up on the rafters is enough for termination.
Shaw: How do you intend to protect someone you can't get close to?
John: I will figure it out.
Shaw: How partial is Mr. Allen to female fans?
John: What do you have in mind?
Shaw: I think perhaps I will visit Mr. Allen tonight.
John and Shaw continue to look around. John is looking through the drawers in the bedroom where he finds a phone in the sock drawer.
John: I found a phone. Last night he didn't have one on him. I imagine with how this one was hidden, it's not his everyday phone either. I'll have to take this back to Harold.
Shaw: How much do you trust the new girl?
John: Ellie? Trust is hard to come by, but I believe her intentions are pure. We thoroughly checked her out.
Shaw: Is it common for you guys to take on those you've protected in the past?
John: No, but this is different.
Shaw: How so?
John: You will have to ask Harold.
Shaw looks at John and isn't pleased with his answer.
John: You do realize that he's listening to everything right?
Shaw: Yes, I do. And she is too.
John and Shaw exit the apartment.
INT – LIBRARY – NIGHT
Harold, John, Ellie, Shaw are in the library.
Harold: You'd think after an attempt on his life, Mr Allen would be wary about going out in public. But that doesn't seem to be the case.
Ellie: He may be under the impression that it was some crazed fan, and since that "fan" is dead there is no need to be wary of anything.
Shaw: Do you know where he is going tonight?
Harold: It looks like he's going to be spending some time out with friends tonight. I'll send the location to your phone.
John and Shaw exit together.
INT – CAR – NIGHT
Shaw and John sit in a car watching the entrance of the club which Mr. Allen will be going to. A limo pulls up and right behind it is a SUV which holds his security. Jacob exits the SUV followed bye Tim, Mark and Derek. Jacob walks up to the limo and opens the door. Out step a few women, followed by Mr. Allen and his band. They walk into the club.
Shaw: That's my cue.
Shaw gets out of the car, walks to the front of the line of people waiting, says something the bouncer at the front door and is let right in.
INT – CLUB – NIGHT
Shaw walks in and sees Mr. Allen and his crew in the VIP section. Shaw heads to the bar and orders a drink.
Shaw (to John): He's currently in the VIP section. I'll have to find a way to get his attention.
John: Well you're smart Shaw, I'm sure you'll figure out a way.
Shaw rolls her eyes and walks to a seating area with a direct view of the VIP area above.
Shaw: His security is pretty tight tonight. But I've spotted a weakness in their defense.
Shaw gets up and walks over to the security guard named Tim.
Shaw: Hello.
Tim looks at Shaw critically.
Tim: What do you want?
Shaw: I was wondering if that's Hunter Allen up there?
Tim: I can't say.
Shaw turns on the flirt.
Shaw: He's one of my favorite artists. He makes such beautiful music. I would really love to meet him.
Tim: No one is allowed up to the VIP area. Please leave ma'am.
Shaw is not deterred from getting in. She's noticed that the conversation has drawn Mr. Allen's attention. Mr. Allen stands up and walks to the end of the VIP area.
Hunter: Tim! Let her up.
Tim: Sir?
Hunter: Let her up here. Now.
Tim looks at Shaw who is grinning ear to ear. Tim leads her up the stairs to the VIP area.
Hunter: So you're a fan? I could stand to have some more fans that are as good looking as you.
Shaw gives a shy like giggle.
Shaw: Yes I'm a huge fan! I heard about last night, sorry that your concert was ruined.
Hunter: It's okay. I just feel bad that someone was so mentally unstable that they'd think to hurt me, and die as a result.
Shaw: Yeah it's so sad.
Hunter: Would you like a drink?
Shaw: Sure.
Hunter motions for Shaw to come sit with him.
INT- CAR- NIGHT
John sits in the car listening to what is going on. Ellie comes on over the phone.
Ellie: We've found some interesting information about Mr. Allen.
John raises his eyebrows.
Harold: Apparently there is an investigation going on of the security team. There have been complaints filed about items going missing from dressing rooms also other more serious accusations of inappropriate behavior by the team.
Ellie: It seems that the team doesn't have any idea the investigation is going on.
John: Does Mr. Allen know about the investigation.
Ellie: It seems that Mr. Allen is the one making most of the allegations.
John: Is it possible that one of the team has found out about the investigation?
Harold: It's possible. We are looking into possible connections as we speak.
INT. – CLUB – Night
Shaw sits with Hunter Allen as he talks to some of his friends. She pans the room.
Allen: Are you from New York?
Shaw: Yes.
Allen: How long have you been a fan?
Shaw: Not long. Actually I'm a relatively new fan.
Allen smiles. Suddenly there is commotion on the dance floor. A fight between two men is taking place. Allen stands up to watch laughing at the fight with his buddies. Shaw stands but doesn't watch the fight. She scans the room. All the security have taken position either in the VIP area or at the entrance of the VIP area.
Shaw: John I think it's time to move Mr. Allen.
John: And how do you intend to get that done?
Shaw: Very carefully. Meet me out back.
While everyone is still paying attention to the scuffle (which is being broke up). Shaw walks up to Allen and whispers in his ear something that no one can hear. Allen looks at Shaw, smiles and leads her away towards the back of the club. They enter a dark hallway and no one is around. Shaw pulls out a syringe and plunges it into Allen's neck. He looks at Shaw in surprise and then falls, Shaw catches him and lowers him to the ground.
Shaw: I hope you're ready John.
The door at the end of the hallway opens and John walks in. He picks up Allen and they both walk out. John puts Allen in the backseat and they drive off.
INT – HOTEL – NIGHT
Harold, John and Shaw stand in a hotel room (the one Harold owns) and Mr. Allen is asleep on the bed.
Harold: I don't think kidnapping was necessary in this case.
Shaw: It's not that bad, plus he's at a hotel. It's not so much of a stretch to say that he ran away from his security to be with a woman at the hotel. Even if he doesn't remember that.
Harold: We can't keep him unconscious forever.
John: But we can long enough to determine who's behind all of this.
There is a knock at the door. John opens it. Standing at the door is Ellie. Ellie walks in.
Ellie: So I think I've figure it out. It's actually not as complex as one would think. I figured that since the security team was suspected as a whole in this investigation and one must know it would probably prove beneficial to monitor communication between the team members. I know we were looking for a connection between anyone on the team and Balk but that was proving to take too long.
Shaw sighs impatiently.
Ellie: Sorry, I get side tracked. Only two of the team struck me as reacting oddly especially after the death of Balk. They went silent. The others went on like normal. These two, not so much. Nothing on their emails, no phone calls, no texts beyond work.
Ellie lays out pictures of Derek and Jacob.
Harold: You believe this silence is proof they're guilty?
Ellie: No, that would be silly to base my determination on. I dug deeper and found an alternate email account for Derek. And let's just say that email account is very informative. Derek did know about the investigation. Apparently he and Jacob have been working together and taking from their boss for nearly 3 years now, that's as far as I traced it back. Up until recently they'd been careful enough to not get catch. Mr. Allen though started to notice a trend which is what imitated the investigation as it is. Neither Derek nor Jacob knew about the investigation until two weeks ago when Jacob overheard a conversation between Mr. Allen and his publicist. That's when they hatched the plan to eliminate Mr. Allen.
John looks a bit confused by the story. Ellie smiles and nods.
Ellie: You're thinking it too, aren't you? How does killing Mr. Allen solve the issue? Logic does not guide these two, that's for sure. Their assumption is that with Mr. Allen gone then the problem is gone. Problem is there are several people involved in the investigation and it won't go away if Mr. Allen does. These two aren't exactly the smartest ones in the bunch.
Ellie walks over to the bed and looks at Mr. Allen.
Ellie: Interestingly enough I think the solution to this problem is simple. If they're locked up, they probably won't be a danger. And from what I understand Mr. Reese you're pretty good at getting people locked up?
John: As of right now this is an internal investigation right?
Ellie: Yes. So far they haven't gone to the authorities.
Harold: We need to get our hands on the files and see just how far they are in their investigation. While I do that, we'll have to keep Mr. Allen here. Give me an hour.
Harold grabs his jacket and begins to leave.
Ellie: I'll come with you. You might need some help.
Ellie leaves with Harold leaving Shaw and John with Mr. Allen.
Shaw: I still don't trust her.
John: Since when do you trust anyone?
Shaw: Point taken.
Shaw points to Mr. Allen.
Shaw: He's going to have one hell of a hang over.
INT – Library – Early Morning
Harold works at his computer and Ellie is playing with Bear.
Harold: I've managed to obtain the documents from the investigation.
Ellie: Any thing interesting?
Harold: You were right; they were about ready to go to the authorities with this. They were just waiting on Mr. Allen's approval.
Ellie: Well let's just pretend he approved it.
Harold: I'll send the files to detective Carter. Have her make the arrest.
Harold puts the documents in an email and sends them off to Detective Carter. He then hits a button on his keyboard and dials John.
Harold: John I just sent the documents from the investigation to Detective Carter. We'll have to find Derek and Jacob so that she can arrest them.
John: That shouldn't be a problem.
Ellie: Seeing as they both ditched their phones after Mr. Balk died it might be a bit more complicated than you're used to. But nothing we can't handle.
EXT – Warehouse District – Late Afternoon
John watches from his car as Jacob and Derek meet at a loading bay for a warehouse which is owned by Derek's uncle. John gets out of the car and walks up to them.
Derek: John! What are you doing here?
Jacob starts to walk away.
John: Jacob, don't go anywhere. I have something for you that I think you'll find interesting.
Jacob turns around and stays where he is.
John: I just wanted to give you a heads up. The investigation into the thefts has concluded and been handed over to the police. It doesn't look good for either of you.
Derek looks like he's extremely upset at this.
John: I would be thankful that included in the report isn't anything about how you hired someone to kill Mr. Allen. Honestly guys, that was not very smart.
Suddenly Derek attacks John. John and Derek spar but in the end John comes out on top. Jacob takes the opportunity to run away but he is stopped by Detective Fusco. Carter walks up to John who's standing over a bloody and dazed Derek on the ground.
John: They're all yours detective.
Carter: Thank you although it would have been nice if you had left him without cuts and bruises.
John: You'll figure something out, you always do.
John turns and walks back to his car and leaves.
INT – HOTEL – LATE DAY
Mr. Allen begins to wake up and finds Shaw sitting watching TV.
Shaw: You're awake. That was one hell of a night obviously. You've been asleep forever.
Allen: Where am I?
Shaw: The Hotel. Don't you remember?
Allen: The last thing I remember is heading to the back with you.
Shaw: Yeah and then we left and came here. You don't remember anything?
Allen: It must have been a good night then.
Shaw: It was.
She smiles and gathers her stuff to go.
Allen: Where are you going?
Shaw: Now that you're awake I'm going to head home. It was fun.
Shaw walks out of the room.
INT – Library – Night
Harold, Ellie, John and Shaw are in the library.
Ellie: What are you guys doing tonight? I could go for some dinner.
Harold: No thanks. I have some things to work on here.
John: I'm just going to go home.
Ellie: I see how it is.
Ellie turns to Shaw.
Ellie: You and I then?
Shaw seems surprised at the suggestion.
Shaw: Sure.
Ellie: What do you like to have?
Ellie and Shaw walk out of the library together.
John: I'm not sure to be glad about that or worried.
Harold: Me too, Mr. Reese, me too.