ALL IN
Leon Tao: "I'm always so happy to see you."
Great, he's been desensitized to danger. For a time Leon had been scared whenever John barged in, but he's finally cottoned onto the fact that John's presence means he's not going to die despite the present danger.. That's only going to bring more trouble, John is certain of it.
Harold Finch: "You'll have to leave immediately. There's some travel required. You're going to Atlantic City."
...That's another proof that the Machine is having issues, John guesses, even if Finch doesn't say anything. So far they've always acted in New York City, not because murders don't happen anywhere else, but because they can't be everywhere at the same time and NYC is enough to keep them busy with murders attempts. Even the Wylers, who weren't quite inside the city but lived in the suburbs, led to a situation inside the city. John doesn't know – not like Finch, who created the Machine – but he can guess: something is wrong. The Machine isn't following the patterns it used to. It's not optimizing their interventions anymore.
John Reese: "Has it occurred to you, what if Lou was a mobster himself?"
He used to be one, after all. Maybe he fell back in after his wife's death, maybe he never stopped and just got more discreet. That, and nothing will ever make John forget Charlie Burton and his perfect innocence.
Harold Finch: "I must say, I'm not finding Lou difficult to tail at all. Perhaps I should have considered a career in the clandestine arts."
It sounds very much not right. Harold is discreet, not eye-catching, but he also limps and can't disappear while also tracking someone. His employer is good at not being seen, but only in certain circumstances. Mitchell has to be near-sighted.
John Reese: "Decided? Lou gave you the slip, didn't he?"
Knew it.
Lou Mitchell: "Harold? Yeah, I figured."
Observant and cunning, uh. Able to tell what's going on when the pieces start appearing, even without context.
Harold Finch: "Luck? Merely a construct, Mr. Reese."
And that never stopped him from wishing highly-skilled operatives like Kara and Mark luck, mostly because they can't control all the variables. Finch is being pedantic, here.
Harold Finch: "The more he wins, Mr. Reese, the more attention he'll get. You'll have to keep a close watch on him."
So that's just two problems to deal with, then. Leon who is going to fuck up at some point, and Lou who's courting death without fear. Nothing new.
John Reese: "Your security will play nice, or the IRS and the FBI will see this. You're gonna let him play."
Oh, the FBI and the IRS will see those files, in the end. John doesn't intend on keeping that end of the bargain – he just wants to buy time. That's how blackmail works, after all – the one doing it isn't usually one to keep their word.
Lou Mitchell: "I'll give you all the money back, just don't – just stop this. Just stop it."
…And a sleight of hand gone undetected. John barely saw it, himself. Mitchell really is good, especially for someone with broken fingers. Now they just have to keep playing scared – or as close to scared as John knows how to act, which is not much at all – until John gets an opportunity to turn the table – literally – on Makris and his goons.
John Reese: "You did what you had to do to keep her safe, Harold. Lou doesn't know that."
It's always easier to dispense moral and common-sense advice, when you don't know the specifics. Common sense covered a lot of things, so of course you generally ended up being right – but not always. Harold's situation with Grace is delicate, and while they might – they might – manage to stay under the radar and be happy together if Harold went back, they might also not. Especially not as Grace Hendricks would be curious as to why exactly he'd had her believe he was dead. She'd want answers, and that, that could be dangerous.