LIBERTY
John Reese: "Can't say we didn't already know, Finch. First time we met, Shaw shot me."
Not that he blames her for that – but it's a personality trait, at this point, and it corresponds with what they already knew. Either they'll get used to it – or Shaw will start getting used to them, in a way. Just like John is still much more comfortable with violence than Finch would like, but he also found a way, after a while, to balance efficiency and Finch and Carter's scruples. That came both with getting to know them better, and getting to trust them.
Jack Salazar: "One of you split-tails gonna do something about it? Well, he's gonna have to take a swing at you. Then your knuckle-dragger buddy over here is gonna jump me. After I introduce his face to the bar, I'm gonna put this foot upside of your jarhead... Upon which all hell breaks loose. And nobody wants that."
He recognizes those negotiation skills – he tends to use the same skills. It doesn't always work, but at least no one can say they weren't warned.
Harold Finch: "It might help us to enlist another asset with military experience to help track down them down."
What, he's not good enough? Seriously, though, between John himself, Shaw when she's there, and Carter, it means more than half of the people in their little group of vigilantes have a military past – and Lionel is law enforcement, Serve and Protect, so. It might even hint at something about the nature of people who end up here, but hey, John isn't the only one fond of doing character assessments.
John Reese: "Carter. Checked every bar in hell's kitchen, every tattoo parlor on the West Side. Where the hell else would a swabbie go?"
He knows military people, but he can't pretend he did much partying back then, and even so Fleet Week had never been his thing – he'd been an army guy, and though he was a Marine for about three years before that, John has never been that sociable. Carter sounds more likely to know where to go – he can't see her partying, per se, but being sociable? That, yes. Also, she knows NYC much better than John does, after his years away.
John Reese: "You're a good guy, Jack. You just haven't figured it out yet."
Being a good guy means defending the people you care about – and generally everyone else, too, but maybe not on all fronts, all the time. But, sometimes, being a good guy also means being a bit smarter about the people you care about. Not necessarily to get rid of them if they are trouble magnets, but at least to be aware of what to expect. Of the problems they can get themselves into. Of what you'll have to do to keep them out of those – or, failing that, to resolve the conflicts they'll start or get caught in.
Sameen Shaw: "You're a smart guy, you'll figure out what to do with it. Give me three minutes."
Yeah, yeah. He knows. Use the reflective side to blind the assholes. Still, Shaw could be a bit more descriptive, because with how she's been behaving, she might as well be asking him to get rid of her trash for her.
Lionel Fusco: "Whoa. Never a dull moment with you guys."
If Lionel manages to be sarcastic like that, it means the bomb isn't disturbing him that much. Good, he'll be useful, then.
Sameen Shaw: "Wait a minute... Looks like the Russians brought some friends to the party. Multiple shooters above you, Reese. Get clear, now."
Ah, it's great working with someone who knows the job. He missed it.
Sameen Shaw: "I would have taken the head shot, but Finch gets annoyed when I kill people."
She's still testing boundaries, then. What's alright with their boss, what's necessary, and what gets her partners on the field in a snit. Personally, John takes Harold's scruples with a pinch of salt, because the older man isn't the one in the field when it gets dangerous – and if he is, John has to be more expeditious than usual in order to protect the older man. And because, in the end, John does what he does because he thinks it necessary, not because Harold tells him to. If they disagree, well. Both Finch and Carter can tell tales about him going on his own and against their advice.
John Reese: "You know if you ever needed help... You just need to call me, right?"
He feels like he needs to remind Carter of it – that she's part of the team. He's been busy, lately, and they haven't seen much of each other – and when they have, it was always about him needing something. It's kind of the thing with their relationship, she's an asset, true, but she's also a friend. If he has the time, he'll help – and if it's really important, he'll make the time.
John Reese: "What, you think you're the first kid to have to stand in front of a judge and pick door number two? Turns out, I was good at it. Maybe even made for it."
They have things in common, the two of them. Enlisting is never quite the alternative to jail, but judges can be persuasive. They can make you understand that you can walk, but if they see you again – if you don't find some authority to answer to – then this time it'll be for real. Of course, for John, it wasn't the first time he sought out a hierarchy, so he knew he could do it again. The marshals hadn't been pleased, though.
John Reese: "That's up to you. But in a few years, when the guys from Langley show up... Say no."
It didn't work out so well for John, and it will work even less for Jack. They have their similarities, but they also have their differences, and the young man will never be able to take the horror John is immune to. Not the way John can, not the way he did – even before the CIA. If his work for the Agency scarred him, he also knows it would turn Jack Salazar into a different man altogether.