THE FIX

Zoe Morgan: "No small talk, no questions, just stay in the car, and you keep your eyes on the road. We'll settle up at the end of the night."

This is so much like old times. No questions, discretion. Except for the tip. Well, half a tip, for now.

John Reese: "I don't have any things I care about."

No things he cares about. Some remnants of other lives, scattered where he can't go and get them, better preserved that way, since no one will ever be able to follow him to them. Things he'd like not to lose... but not so important either. People, though. Not numerous. But they are all out of reach – dead, or thinking he is dead, or...

John Reese: "Only reason you buy a gun off the streets is so it's untraceable."

He'd know.

John Reese: "Nothing worth mentioning."

Not that he talks about things that are worth mentioning either.

Zoe Morgan: "And to answer your question, no, I hate jazz."

He'd smirk, if he could. That answer in itself tells him more than if she had allowed herself to admit that yes, she likes jazz. First possibility, the music at her place was a gift and she really doesn't like it, but it's sentimental. Second, she doesn't reveal anything about her preferences out of principle. Third, she does it only to see if he will call her on the lie, just in case her driver broke into her place – that'd be paranoid, but John really isn't one to comment. Fourth, she really doesn't like him. Maybe a bit of the four answers. Well. It's not a problem. He's only playing his part, here.

John Reese: "It wouldn't be hard for someone working at a pharmaceutical company to make murder look like natural causes."

It's not hard for him either, but his point is that you don't have to be a professional killer to be able to do such a thing, when you're an expert in the right field.

Harold Finch: "You know, before we... before I found you, the numbers haunted me. I never felt so helpless in my entire life. And I know I can't get justice for all of them, but the possibility of having just one..."

This is more than the eggs Benedict. It's honest. It's important. Now, John knows he can trust Finch on his motivations.

Harold Finch: "This time, when you find her, try not to lose her."

If it wasn't Finch, he'd probably retort that it's easy to criticize when you're not the one doing it. Or rather, he'd want to, but wouldn't either way, because John never speaks up. But this is Finch; there's no malice in his words.

Zoe Morgan: "I know how all the pieces of the city fit together. I know all the players. I know all the angles. And then there's you. You know, I don't understand you. And I don't like things that I don't understand."

She's right, in a way, with her wording, even if she probably doesn't realize yet what she said exactly. There are the players, and the angles. And John isn't one of them, and he doesn't have one of these. He has his reasons, of course; but no angles. And he doesn't play with the lives he tries to save. Zoe Morgan has yet to realize what he does exactly. And that's why she doesn't understand.

John Reese: "I thought everyone had an angle."

...He liked her well enough before that. But maybe he can like her even more – if she's still able to choose her priorities, even while working her angles. If Zoe Morgan doesn't only fix problems, but also decides which ones she won't fix.

Zoe Morgan: "To do something illegal."

She certainly does know how to get his attention.

Zoe Morgan: "Probably one of those guys that can get out of anything with a paper clip. Where did you learn this stuff?"

Several places, actually. The CIA, sure, but not only. Not something he's going to share – not something she's going to resent him for, either. She and him, they are somewhat similar on that point. They know when not to ask, and not to resent a lack of answer. A long story will do.

Zoe Morgan: "Bad move, lieutenant. If I can't trust you, I have to destroy you."

And if she doesn't, John might go and do it anyway. He'd have understood if the policeman had simply wanted to get rid of someone who thought they could have him break the law because he owed them, but it's clearly not the case here.

Zoe Morgan: "Of course it is."

Except his name really is John. Weird how no one ever seems to believe him on that point.

John Reese: "Given your choice of career, doesn't seem like much of a stretch."

Not the real answer, of course. As always, the Machine has to stay a secret. But it's not a lie for all that. Zoe Morgan's activities as a fixer do come with an inherent danger.

John Reese: "I know almost everything about you. I know you grew up in a nice house in Yonkers. I know your dad was a city official till he got snared in a corruption case. I know you spent the rest of your childhood in a little apartment in Queens with your mother. About the only thing I don't know about you is why you started doing whatever it is you do."

Once again, he knows about her. Doesn't mean he knows her. What drives her, he can guess, but he can't be sure, not unless she tells him.

Robert Keller: "This moral crusade doesn't suit you. The Zoe Morgan I know is reasonable. Knows when to make a smart play."

John wonders if this is the moment when he gets to see what kind of "reasonable" Zoe Morgan is. The one who works for themselves only, or the one who knows when to forgo the angle and to privilege what truly matters?

Samuel Douglas: "Government uses it for lethal injections. Stops a heart in minutes. Quite humanely, really."

Yeah, he knows, thanks. Used it a number of times himself. The fact that he recognized it should have tipped Douglas off, but well – if it's used on him, John prefers something that drags on, that gives him longer to save himself; if it's to use on someone, he'd rather use something quick and painless.

Harold Finch: "You should be more trusting, Mr Reese."

Quite a laugh, coming from Finch. It doesn't matter. Maybe Zoe can be trusted, maybe not. So far, she's on the list of people John likes a little better than most, but it doesn't mean she won't choose herself if it comes to that, if she really has no other choice. He wouldn't blame her much if she did, too. It doesn't matter. John's job is to make sure that the last opportunity doesn't crash like the first did. And anyway, he's more of a see-first-trust-later guy.

Zoe Morgan: "About two seconds before I slipped you the paper clip."

And that is the proof she is someone he can depend on: when the situation is truly bad, her instincts are not only concerned with herself. She knows how to save herself, and if she can, she tries to save the others too.