LEGACY
Joss Carter: "I looked for a 'I'm sorry I got you shot' card, but they were all out. I had no idea what Snow was capable of... That he'd actually try to kill you."
More like she unconsciously hadn't been willing to consider it, that in some specific, particular conditions, the CIA would order a hit on its own people. She certainly doesn't have a problem imagining what John is "capable of".
John Reese: "Why did you contact me, Carter?"
He'd like to think she wants to do something good, for everyone. That's almost a given, really. Carter is a good person. The problem is that she's also strong-willed, and much too idealistic to agree to anything less than perfection, at least to begin with. She didn't call to say sorry; she's not the kind of person who needs to clear their conscience. Especially since she's convinced she didn't do anything wrong – Mark did, not her. Maybe she thinks she should have seen it coming, but it doesn't make it her fault for all that. She wants answers, that much is clear; she always did. Answers to help her make her mind. She won't before she knows more. Only, if he tells her more, and she decides to continue pursuing him, then she'll endanger everything. Not only John's life, but Finch's too. The Machine's existence. Her own life, perhaps. She might also only want to try and reason him with her higher moral convictions. As if morality alone did anything in this world. It's necessary, but it can't be the only thing taken into consideration.
Joss Carter: "I'm a cop, which means I've got rules. Rules that can't be broken."
He likes her, really. And her heart is in the right place. But were he a vindictive little shit – which he isn't – he'd point out how hypocritical that statement is, when she's sitting right in front of him. Breaking rules.
Joss Carter: "Why me?"
She's asking that as if she let him any other choice.
John Reese: "You have your rules... And you have the chance to save a life. It's your choice."
He won't sugar-coat it. He won't force her to do something she doesn't want to. But she needs to have her eyes opened, if she insists on pursuing this endeavor. She wants in? They have rules too, and these are not always the same as hers.
Harold Finch: "She can never know about the machine."
Finch is saying that as if John was one to babble...
Harold Finch: "Well, that's a step in the right direction."
John isn't quite sure it's the right direction, but it's the only one he can see that actually leads somewhere.
John Reese: "I appreciate your concern about my ass, Lionel, but I can handle Detective Carter."
And certainly not the way Fusco is thinking about, since the portly detective knows nothing of Carter's change of heart. It's a good thing, though, that Fusco is reporting to him willingly.
John Reese: "Thanks."
There, a proof that he knows Carter is still getting used to what they do. A proof that he appreciates it.
John Reese: "This could get really complicated. They're assets. The less they know about each other, the safer they'll be."
Telling Fusco would be one thing, security considerations notwithstanding, but telling Carter is simply out of the question for now. She'd draw back immediately if she understood that he had Fusco – formerly a dirty cop – planted in her precinct to keep an eye on her. John needs to prove that what they are doing actually matters, before he can consider even thinking of letting her know. That is, without even considering the safety factor thrown in there too.
Harold Finch: "Someone other than you?"
No, Finch, he's reporting that he's the one tailing Andrea Gutierrez and he thinks it's mildly suspicious and alarming, why?
Harold Finch: "Yes? I'll be there as soon as I can."
The urgency in Finch's voice, carefully controlled but still present, gets his attention. John won't ask, of course – he will, but he won't press for an answer. But he will make sure there isn't something serious here. Mostly because Finch might think he knows what's important and what's private, but John is the one with experience in having a partner. In what your secrets can cost the others, even if it's theoretically not their business.
Joss Carter: "What, you looking to beef up?"
Hardly. Besides, bodybuilders aren't exactly inconspicuous. Being almost 6'2 is bad enough as it is.
Andrea Gutierrez: "Um, no, not at all. It's just I thought you were a clear-cut civil case. The unicorn I've been looking for... Like the perfect man."
John's been called a lot of things, and "the perfect man" might have been one of those... But a unicorn is definitely a first.
John Reese: "Very manipulative. Secretive. We've had some personality conflicts."
He's not blaming Finch for that, to be frank. But he needs to be aware that John's not oblivious to the manipulation. That he only backs down if there's something more important happening.
Andrea Gutierrez: "Everyone deserves a second chance."
But you can't force them to take it.
Harold Finch: "Could be our friend from last night decided to take the day off."
Sure. And John's a unicorn. Oh wait...
John Reese: "So much for not dropping any bodies."
Well, he'd argue that the guy did everything for it to happen. If anything, he dropped his own body; John has little to do with it. Carter will still get angry at him. As if things always went smoothly, even in her job. As if people always cooperated, especially so considering he doesn't even have a badge.
Joss Carter: "You stole a dead guy's wallet?"
He's not going to report John, is he?
John Reese: "I thought I was talking to the guy who's shaking down his parolees for their legit pay."
He's not saying all parolees are good guys – then again, ordinary people in general aren't all good guys either – but if you stop them from even having their second chance, they don't exactly have a choice to be a better person, do they?
Joss Carter: "I know how to do my job, thank you."
Well John knows how to do her job too, and she seemed happy enough complaining about his methods, so he figured he could remind her why exactly he couldn't be the one doing it, and why he had framed Galuska into landing in the box, in her care, to begin with.
Andrea Gutierrez: "Let me stop you there, John. I don't date my clients or ex-cons. Been there, done that. This is Andrea 2.0 you're looking at. Plus, I need your money. And I like my guys not quite so... better looking than me."
What can he say? She's so much fun to tease, he's not even ashamed.
Andrea Gutierrez: "I was taught it's okay to make mistakes, and I believe everyone deserves a second chance."
"Mistakes" being the keyword here. If they don't even consider it a mistake, they don't deserve a second chance – Andrea saw this, and now she's here, trying to be a good person. Some people don't ever see it.
John Reese: "You said you couldn't do anything illegal. You didn't say anything about me."
He's testing the waters here. Noting what makes her cringe, and what doesn't. He'll probably go with plausible deniability on most accounts, if they continue this cooperation. If she's not willing to work without him bending the law along the way, but still wants to know everything... Well. It simply won't work.
Andrea Gutierrez: "So you were never in jail?"
Not in this country. Not under this name. Not for a long time. Not for something I was responsible for – he'll settle with the first one, just so that she doesn't bolt out and through the door in fright and suspicion.
Andrea Gutierrez: "I wanted to be. Terrence was given a drug test the night he was arrested, and it came back negative. Galuska and the department of corrections conveniently misplaced it. I never got a copy of the report."
He's pleased to hear she's not naive. She knows how to give a chance, but not to disregard absolutely everything suspicious. She knows that, not only Galuska can be a problem, but it doesn't mean for all that that her client is innocent. Sometimes there aren't any good guys in the story – it's not the case here, but it's not any less true.
Joss Carter: "It's my job. And I didn't even have to shoot anyone to do it."
That's low. John didn't shoot anyone lately, and they are hardly in the same situation. He doesn't have the authority to keep things calm, he can't afford to announce himself, and he arrives before anyone dies, which means there's still the possibility of them being killed. Carter either handles more civilized people in a secure location most of the time, or she ends up on a crime scene where the victims are already dead. Completely different.
Harold Finch: "Thanks for that newsflash, Mr Reese. Here I was planning to move at a sloth-like pace and get myself captured."
It doesn't keep Finch from telling him the same thing when their roles are reversed, and John, unlike his employer, has no problem with a limited mobility.
John Reese: "You're not the only one who believes in second chances."
He got one himself, and even if it doesn't mean he's free of his past, he can make it matters.
John Reese: "As soon as I get some answers."
If only because Finch having even one acquaintance, means there is one more way to get at the man. To track him. To discover what they do. Because Finch ran off during a case today, and John still doesn't know why. Who says he won't do the same again, in a problematic situation?