BLUE CODE

John Reese: "As usual, Finch. The more they are dangerous... The closer I want to be to them."

It's not like he isn't the most dangerous of them all, most of the time...

Neil Vargas: "Mike, Mike. Hold up, brother. Kid's done enough learning for tonight, Mike."

True, the kid was getting on John's nerves too... John wouldn't have assaulted the guy anyway, since he's, you know, the newbie on the team. He needs to get accepted. That aside, it's a bit too much. Almost like Cahill was angry for more than the obvious – meaning, being an idiot and possibly a part-time junkie who could get everyone killed if he doesn't lay off. Perhaps Cahill is particularly violent, and not exactly in control.

Harold Finch: "Homeowner's last name is Tulley. He's a police officer. John, you've got to stop Cahill."

Something's not right, this doesn't make sense – but John knows he doesn't always have the time to wait for things to make sense if he wants to save a life. The most he can hope for is that he won't make a mistake.

Kara Stanton: "In the marines, they taught us the fastest way to clean your weapon was to shoot a couple of people with it."

He knows, thanks – though Kara doesn't know he was taught it too, and he intends to keep it that way. That aside, he wants to point out the fastest way isn't necessarily the best way.

Mark Snow: "He's government. Tried to sell something of ours to the Chinese."

Well, look at that. Asking actually got him answers.

Mark Snow: "Don't forget you're behind enemy lines. You get caught here, you're on your own."

Except it doesn't really matter, behind enemy lines or not. It doesn't matter, because the rules don't matter. What matters is whether or not the shit you got yourself into is too deep for an efficient rescue without collateral damages. It's true behind enemy lines, and anywhere else too.

John Reese: "Risking his life is what he signed up for. We play this wrong... We could do more harm than good."

The problem when you want to help someone who's undercover, is that they rarely trust anyone anymore, especially not someone new. They have to, or they don't survive.

Daniel Tulley: "No one followed me. I just... needed to feel normal."

John never allowed himself that luxury – or not since a very long time, at least. Never really needed it. Craved it, perhaps, and he would have liked it too, but it hadn't ever become an actual need.

Lionel Fusco: "Those guys don't exactly trust me anymore. I've been getting some good collars lately too. Even got a commendation."

Commendations are something John let go of a long, long time ago. As for Fusco, the detective decided he couldn't have them the day he fell for Stills' schemes. John isn't against letting him taste it again... But it can't become a need.

Neil Vargas: "Fine, fine. Tell you what. How about I give you a little something extra, okay? Just for you? Yeah?"

...And that means he won't get to walk out kill-free tonight. Carter's going to have a field day. Sometimes he thinks of just letting himself get killed with a card saying "I didn't try to defend myself or someone else and now here I am" in his jacket. See how she likes it, then.

John Reese: "Puyallup, Washington."

He still wonders, from time to time, why Marshal Patterson didn't change his place of birth alongside everything else – except his first name, but that's probably because he's lucky enough to be called John and not, say, Alistair. Puyallup, on the other hand, isn't a widespread place of birth. Maybe the marshal thought he'd need at least one more anchor to his old life...

Kara Stanton: "And of the 8 million people you could be drinking with in New York City, you just happened to pick the one who's married to your ex?"

Funny how some things happen.

Neil Vargas: "No one's going anywhere until I know which one of you is a rat."

The irony being that an undercover cop isn't a traitor, since he was never loyal to the gang to begin with. Oh wait. That's John's case too. Two rats. Not one.

Daniel Tulley (Michael Cahill): "He's lost a lot of blood. Think he'll make it?"

John saw a lot of lethal wounds, and he can tell this one is it. He mostly did the tourniquet to give some hope to the kid, and because you never know what kind of miracle can happen. He did it, because that was better than letting the kid know he was going to die and no one even cared enough to try and prevent it. He did it because while the kid isn't a saint, John doesn't like to be cruel on top of pragmatic.

Neil Vargas: "If that were true, I would have gotten a call from my guy and you'd be dead."

Well, yeah, he's lying. But that's what an active undercover cop would say right now, and if he doesn't play the part, they might suspect he is not said undercover cop.

Daniel Tulley (Michael Cahill): "Who the hell are you? I know you're not a cop."

The police are better organized than to have two undercover ops on the same gang without the others knowing, after all, or else nothing would ever get done. The NYPD has flaws, and the paperwork is a bitch, but you can't say they're stupid.

Daniel Tulley (Michael Cahill): "Hey. Let's get one thing straight. You don't know me."

Maybe not, but he knows about him, and he knows about going undercover, and he knows cops.

Kara Stanton: "What's the play here, John? We're gonna kill this guy? Dissolve his body in a bathtub full of acid? Or are you just scratching an itch? His name is Peter. He's 37, makes 175,000 a year. Is he a good guy or a serial killer? I don't know. But either way, he'll take better care of her than you could."

He knows. That's why he left her in the first place. Because he can't take care of her, not like she deserves.

Kara Stanton: "See, you look like the rest of these people... But you're not like them anymore, are you?"

Sometimes he even wonders if he was like them to begin with.

Kara Stanton: "I get it. Believe me. First time I rotated back, I went straight home to my family. I sat outside in the rental car for three hours, just watching. And I realized I could tell them everything that I'd seen, everything that I'd done, and they wouldn't understand a single word."

This is why she doesn't get it, though. When John went back home the first time, he didn't hesitate. He walked in, and he didn't even bother thinking about telling Frank anything of what had happened. Then, when he wasn't able to come back anymore, he never even tried – there was that one time he left a warning to his brother about the dirty trick his captain was about to pull on him, but that had only been to keep Frank alive. Frank hadn't even realized that was him. With Jessica, he could still see her without it being a danger to her life... He wasn't going to, of course. He was only here to leave with the knowledge that Jessica would probably sit just where he had been only a few minutes before.

Joss Carter: "Your version of a lucky day is being shot and lit on fire?"

His version of a lucky day is having someone to botch the shot deliberately, and someone to pull him out of the fire before he gets fried. He doesn't always have efficient and willing partners to play their part.

Harold Finch: "Mr. Reese, I'm not sure we have time to save them both."

What's certain is that they don't have any time to spare. If he leaves now, he might be able to save Tulley and still have the time to keep Lionel alive, whereas he might not make it to either of them if he hesitates. What's certain, too, is that Tulley is closer and more urging.

John Reese: "I wouldn't do that."

Hello, Ray. You might not remember me. But I do remember you.

John Reese: "You do and the company will ruin your career. And that's if you're lucky."

Well, maybe not. Depends on the agent in charge. But it could happen. And the risk is high enough, that Tulley has to know before making a decision – or rather, the risk of it happening is kind of low, but if it does happen nonetheless, it can go very far.

John Reese: "At least I'm not late."

Or, you know, dead. Dead people hardly come to rescue you.

Lionel Fusco: "My hands are dirty, always will be, huh?"

John's not the right person to complain about that, really. He might never have been corrupt, but his hands sure as hell are dirty, and he never pretended they weren't stained with blood, dried or not.