Disclaimer: The characters of Person of Interest don't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them with no intention of gaining any profit.
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Author's note: I definitely recognize that 45 minutes is not a lot of time to tell a story, and that some scenes that are not pertinent to the plot (and there was a crazy amount of plot to be told) just had to be cut. I just missed the character moments a lot, and I guess that's why the last couple of episodes of Season 3 just didn't manage to make me feel for/with the characters - at least not like the last two season finales had managed to do. That's why I came up with a different version of the final episodes that focuses more on the characters, and the impact Decima's actions could have had if it had been played out a little differently.
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This story is set after 3x18 - Allegiance and spans over the course of 3x19 - 3x23, and a knowledge of these episodes is definitely required. There will be some very familiar scenes, since I tried to incorporate my version with the events of what actually happened on the show.
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Acknowledgments: Thanks again to my beta scully1138. I know there was a lot of whining about this story ...
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Well, enjoy!
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Luther - at least that was what he was going by for now - watched the entrance of the corporate building from a diagonal position across the opposite street. He was using one of New York's ever present silver street vendor's carts as a natural cover, and - dressed in a sharp suit with his hair styled to perfection, a coffee cup in one hand and a cell phone perpetually glued to his other - he looked just like any other of the many business men roaming the streets.
Usually in an operation like this he'd have an entire team strategically placed along the street, who'd have been inconspicuously waiting for his orders. However this time his employer had been adamant that he use as little manpower as possible for this assignment, making it clear that the success of the operation depended on Luther's ability of flying well below the radar. It was definite challenge which had intrigued Luther into accepting this mission almost more than the generous amount of money that was to be transferred to one of his many anonymous accounts after his objective had been achieved.
The glass door of the corporate building opened up, spilling out a horde of similarly dressed business men and women. Scanning the crowd Luther silently cursed at not seeing who he was looking for. If he had to wait much longer he'd have to give up this perfect vantage point before anyone noticed his unnecessarily prolonged loitering.
The door slid open once more but this time - as his eyes scanned the new arrivals to the city's ever busy sidewalks - Luther allowed himself a small smile. In the end picking up his target's trail hadn't been as difficult as initially anticipated - he just had to follow the havoc left behind in the wake of their day-to-day business.
"Secondary targets acquired," he softly spoke into his phone, knowing that his employer had been waiting on the other side of the secure connection for these very words. "Proceeding to intercept."
"Affirmative."
Luther dropped his half-empty coffee cup into the nearest trash can and timed the crossing of the street at the traffic light perfectly to bump into the tall man of the unremarkable looking pair. He was just another hurried and distracted business man on his phone, not minding where he was going and yelling a rude "Watch it!" over his shoulder as he carried on down the street.
Reaching the next corner he stopped underneath a marquee, which effectively hid him from any prying digital eyes. One look at his phone's display confirmed the success of Phase One. Putting his phone back to his ear he said, "Tagging of secondary target has been successful. Proceeding to Phase Two."
"Excellent," replied the low, cultured British voice.
Luther hung up his phone, and even though he was moving in the opposite direction of his secondary targets he was confident that if everything went according to his plans they'd meet again. Very soon.
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POSSIBLE THREAT DETECTED...
REPLAYING RECORDING ...
"Tagging of secondary targets has been successful. Proceeding to Phase Two."
TRACING CALL ... UNSUCCESSFUL
IDENTIFYING TARGETS, SECONDARY ...
REESE, JOHN - ASSET ...
SHAW, SAMEEN - ASSET ...
CALCULATING RISK ... 87 %
CONTACTING ADMIN ...
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- 45 minutes later -
Luther was sitting in the back of a dark grey delivery van marked Lee's Dry Cleaning on the outside. On the inside the van was loaded up to its ceiling with the best high-end surveillance systems money could buy. He wasn't alone this time, either. His second in command - going by the name of 'Randy' these days - was manning the main communication console to keep in touch with the two men Luther had personally hand-picked for this particularly delicate task.
So far things had been going smoothly. The signal from the bug that his employer had insisted he use and which he had placed on the male secondary target was broadcasting the man's location loud and clear. All he had to do was follow the signal from a very safe distance and anticipate the right moment to strike. And his gut was telling him that the moment was nearly upon them.
On the HD displays in front of him he watched the feeds of the well-disguised cameras installed within the van's double hull. Both secondary targets had made their way towards one of New York's smaller parks and now they were clearly waiting on something. Or someone.
Luther's attention was drawn to a man on one of the screens depicting a wide-angle view of the park. Leading a dog on a leash he looked just like any well-dressed men that crowded the streets of New York's business and upscale living districts. But his uneven gait had set him on a direct interception course with the secondary targets. The hairs on the back of Luther's neck started to rise. It seems his gut had been right once again.
He turned to Randy. "Jammers engaged?"
Randy typed a series of commands into his console, then nodded. "Jammers engaged."
With his attention back on his screens in front of him Luther watched the man with the limp close the distance between the secondary targets, who had started walking towards the man and the dog as well.
He opened the audio connection to his constituent. "Possible primary target detected."
"Wait for confirmation."
"Affirmative. Waiting for confirmation."
Luther indicated with a jerk of his head for Randy to align the highly sensitive listening-antenna towards their targets. After a few seconds of rustling the voices came through the speakers loud and clear.
"... corporate espionage always makes me hungry. Anyone joining me for a steak?" A low, female voice asked.
On the screen Luther followed the exchange - saw the tall man looking slightly uncomfortable and shaking his head. The possible primary target had his back toward them, but since the tall man's lips weren't moving Luther was sure it was his voice floating over the speakers next.
"No thank you, Ms. Shaw. Another time, maybe."
"Suit yourself. But I am taking Bear tonight." The petite female accepted the leash from the possible primary target with somewhat childish glee and together with the dog left the two men behind. Things couldn't be going any better if Luther had planned it this way. With the departure of the female secondary target a potentially highly-lethal variable had been subtracted herself from the equation. If the man with the limp got confirmed as their primary they now only had to deal with the one equally lethal secondary target. But even lethal men could be caught by surprise.
"Would you like to join me for a walk, Mr. Reese?" The man with the limp turned to walk along the park path that led towards an exit onto a less-frequented side street. Things were really falling into place but Luther knew better than to get prematurely excited and over-confident.
He watched as the tall man in the long dark coat fell in step beside the smaller, well-dressed man - adjusting his long gait to his companion's impaired one.
"Something on your mind, Harold?" It was the first time the tall man, Mr. Reese, had spoken. His soft and low voice was barely audible over the background noise. And he had called the other man 'Harold'...
"Do we have confirmation of primary target?" Luther asked his employer, who was still watching and listening in.
"Negative," the voice said. "Confirmation incomplete."
Only a slight grimace betrayed Luther's disappointment at his employer's hesitation. But it was not his place to decide.
"I am worried about current developments," the smaller man stated, awkwardly turning his upper body in mid-step to look at Mr. Reese. "Ever since Decima has acquired those generators necessary to power Samaritan it has been awfully... quiet."
The two men were stepping out of the confines of the park onto the sidewalk now. Luther needed to get the confirmation now, or they'd have to risk being discovered when they'd eventually have to move in order to follow them. "C'mon," he whispered underneath his breath.
"Who knows, Finch. Maybe Samaritan never worked. And never will."
Luther didn't hear the other man's reply. Before he could ask for conformation once more, the cultured voice of his employer spoke the words Luther and his team had been waiting for.
"Primary target affirmed. Engage. I repeat. Engage. Acquire primary target and eliminate secondary target."
"Understood." Luther said with a confident smile.
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CONTACTING ADMIN ... FAILED ...
CONTACTING ASSETS ... FAILED...
CALCULATING RISK ...
REESE, JOHN - ASSET ... ODDS OF SURVIVAL: 13 %
FINCH, HAROLD - ADMIN ... ODDS OF SURVIVAL: 57 %
CONTACTING ANALOG INTERFACE ...
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I'll always appreciate feedback!