IDENTITY CRISIS

John Reese: "Never understood why people put all their information on those sites. Used to make our job a lot easier in the CIA."

Of course, if it was only about what you prefer to eat, your favorite books and the number of dogs in one's life you think is perfect, it's not really a problem. Of course, it can be used against you, like by taking the place of your favorite delivery guy, but it's nothing compared to what people sometimes put on the Internet – short of their passwords, just about anything. John can understand putting some information on a site... but all of it? Certainly not.

Harold Finch: "You know, Carter's issue isn't with you, Mr Reese, it's with your methods... Our methods. Not to mention the fact that you gave up a witness under her protection and nearly got a cop killed in the process."

That's weird, thinking that someone's issue isn't with him per se. He's pretty sure most people don't even bother seeing past the actions when judging others. Still, Carter wouldn't have liked it better if his and Leila's bodies had been found, frozen to death, instead of him giving up for once.

Harold Finch: "I suppose I should thank you for making them evacuate the building."

The way Finch puts it makes it clear he should not expect any actual thanks. Then again, John doubts the older man would have liked to explain why exactly he was hiding in "Jordan Hester"'s closet.

John Reese: "We're still going to need an extra hand."

There's Fusco, of course. Except Fusco's already working on HR, and just as John can't be everywhere at the same time, Fusco can't do two jobs at a time. John doesn't want to simply replace Carter, it's not so simple really, but if he can't get her to change her mind, it might come to that.

Lionel Fusco: "Nice job handing Moretti over to Elias."

The problem with Lionel is that the man's so full of dry sarcasm and shitty experience you can't even snap back, because he already knows that sometimes you just don't have a choice.

Lionel Fusco: "You got me doing undercover work for HR. Now you want me to do above-the-board stuff too? Make up your mind."

He'd like to have that option.

John Reese: "'Jordan'? Are you on a first-name basis already?"

For someone like John, it wouldn't exactly be a problem... But Finch isn't John, and while the man is strongly misanthropic towards the whole of humanity, he's also disturbingly naive whenever he ends up face to face with an actual person. That, and Finch can't defend himself if he's wrong.

John Reese: "Or she knows you're tailing her, and she circled back for a closer look."

For now "Jordan" doesn't seem to be the bad one, but that's not one hundred percent sure. And even if it was, Finch isn't exactly discreet when tailing people – escaping a tail is alright for him, but the other way around... If "Jordan" decides to call the cops because a strange little man is following her around, that'd be just great.

John Reese: "Never mind. Laptop's not password-protected. Guess he's not as careful as I thought, Finch. Okay, not seeing any secret accounts full of drug profits or messages about business. To give you more leverage and control – and since when do seasoned drug dealers need how-to tips from the Internet?"

Something's wrong here, deeply wrong. The "Jordan Hester" he's tailing looks like the real deal at first glance, but as soon as you take a closer look... It just doesn't add up. If he was supposed to be a small-time dealer, the looks might do it, but here it's the big boss they're talking about... Now that?

John Reese: "Boss, boss, the cops are outside. Everybody grab what they can."

He kind of likes confusing everyone, actually.

Jordan Hester: "I mean, have you ever hit bottom? I never realized how far down I could go."

John would be a happy man if his personal low wasn't any lower than Hester's, but that's not the case. It's terrible, of course, that the man was dragged so low by life, but all in all, it could be way worse.

Jordan Hester: "I don't want to kill anybody. I just want my identity back."

That's the answer of a man who will accept any alternative. That's an answer John can respect.

John Reese: "It's a terrible plan. But I like it, so let's do it."

Terrible, mostly because Jordan Hester obviously doesn't have the skills to pull it off. But hey, John's here now, and that's right up his alley.

John Reese: "Finch, what's going on?"

This. This is the freaking reason he insists for Finch to at least learn self-defense.

(Jordan Hester): "After all... I'm a better Jordan Hester than you've ever been."

More efficient, perhaps. But efficiency never implied goodness.

John Reese: "Try this one instead. Your name's not Mary either. It's Tara. You can run along. Nice mug shot. Impressive rap sheet too. Arrests for shoplifting, forging checks, insurance fraud. Torched your own name by the time you were 23."

Tara Verlander had started very low, despite what "Mary" liked to pretend. She had only gotten smart in the latest years – very smart, he has to admit, but it doesn't erase her past mistakes. John, him, hadn't made that mistake, not even when he was younger.

Lionel Fusco: "Am I under with HR, or am I working cases with you?"

As if the cop hadn't liked doing something good in between two HR shitload "missions".

Harold Finch: "Come on. Ask me anything."

Except it would destroy the trust John has slowly managed to build between them. Oh, sure, he's looking into "Harold Finch", but Finch knows it. Under any other circumstances, Finch can defend himself. Even if he doesn't see the blow coming, he can recognize it for what it is. In this state, however... The older man probably wouldn't even notice. Not until the next day, and that, he wouldn't forgive. There's no point in John knowing everything that matters about Finch, if Finch stops doing this. Besides, Finch would have probably said something suspicious, by now, as he doesn't seem to have much of a brain-to-mouth filter left, if there was really something John should be wary of.