Disclaimer: Credit to Jonathan Nolan, Greg Plageman, and the POI writing team. Bolded sections are straight from the episodes.
QUEENSBRIDGE PARK
Chapter 3: after Relevance
With a bit of a smirk on her face, the recently and officially deceased Agent Shaw walks backward toward the ambulance parked nearby with her gun still trained on her rescuers, Reese and Finch, until she swings herself up into the driver's seat and turns the key Leon had so thoughtfully left in the ignition
Reese and Finch turn to look at each other.
"Well, she certainly makes an impression," Reese says, grateful she hadn't thought to take his gun, too.
"Do you think she'll call us a taxi?" Finch asks hopefully.
They watch the ambulance accelerate and disappear around a curve in the road.
"I doubt it," Reese says, "but why don't you just use your backup phone to call one?"
The ex-CIA agent gives the billionaire an innocent look. After a moment, Finch gives in and reaches into his other pocket, pulling out his other phone. "No signal," he sighs.
And so, Reese, Finch, and Bear set off toward the cemetery gates.
Elena Cassidy winds her way through the gravestones of Calvary Cemetery, Bailey at her side and her arms full of flowers. Her vision is limited by the memorial wreaths she's holding, but she stops short at the edge of the road just in time to let an ambulance race by, moving at speeds far above the 10 mph speed limit.
She tightens her hold on Bailey's leash in case he decides to make chasing ambulances a new hobby. Strange, ambulances aren't common in cemeteries. The majority of people there are past the help of emergency response.
They continue on to the Cassidy plot, and one by one, she plants the wreaths by the three headstones there: a heart for her mother, a ribbon for her father, and a standard circular one for her grandfather.
"Well," she says, sitting back on her heels once she's finished. She's never been very good at this whole visitation thing. Before, her grandmother had always been the one to say a few solemn, heartfelt words at the gravesite.
"I suppose I should tell you what's going on in my life," she starts hesitantly. "Though I guess you probably already know ... so this is all completely pointless and stupid!" Her voice seems so very loud compared to the silence of the cemetery. She quickly looks around to see if there is anyone near enough to hear. And, of course, there is.
Finch's phone beeps when it finally finds a signal.
"That's strange," he says, frowning at the screen. "It says Miss Cassidy is nearby."
The next second, Bear pulls himself free from Finch's lax grasp and races the short distance to Bailey and Elena, just visible behind a headstone. After playfully nipping at his friend, Bear turns his attention to Pretty Lady. He dances circles around her, then proceeds to give her Kisses, which the other lady in the truck with the flashing lights had seemed to enjoy. With an entirely inappropriate shriek of laughter, she tries to dodge his licks to no avail.
Reese whistles sharply. Bear and Elena both freeze at the sound, the former immediately turning tail and returning to his owner.
"We're very sorry," Harold says, as John offers her a hand to help her to her feet. She takes it, as well as the handkerchief Harold offers her.
"It's not a big deal," she assures them, wiping her face dry. "I was, er ... finished?"
He smiles kindly at her, and any awkwardness she might have felt after their last, disastrous conversation evaporates.
But before she can make an exceedingly dull comment about the weather and how they should perhaps invest in some earmuffs before John froze his pretty ears off, the sound of a vehicle revving up the hill catches their attention. Reese and Finch are relieved it isn't Shaw returning in the ambulance, but Elena panics when she catches sight of the groundskeeper making his rounds.
"We should leave," she says, gathering Bailey's leash. "Dogs aren't allowed here."
She heads for her car, then hesitates, realizing there's no other car parked nearby.
"We took a cab here," Harold explains. Actually, they'd taken three, but that's beside the point.
"Hey, what are you doing here with those mutts?" the groundskeeper yells out his window as he screeches to a halt on the road nearest to them. He lumbers out of his truck. "Bitch, I told you not to bring that dog of yours here again!"
It's Finch's turn to panic when Reese starts toward the groundskeeper, but when Elena reaches out to stop him by placing a placating hand on his arm, he stops instantly at her light touch. Reese stays in place even after she lets go to put two hands on Bailey's leash, which he's straining against to defend his mistress' honor.
"Never mind, let's just go," she says, hauling Bailey toward her car. "I'll give you guys a ride."
They pile in and somehow Finch ends up in the passenger seat, with Reese, Bear, and Bailey squished together in the back. Elena suppresses a smile as she speeds away, leaving the groundskeeper in a cloud of exhaust. Her car's not exactly small, but with John in the back, it looks positively tiny. The dogs, however, seem to relish being in close proximity to him. She would, too.
"Anywhere I can drop you off?" she asks, shaking the completely inappropriate thoughts out of her head. "I'm heading for Midtown."
Finch gives her the address of the condo he'd just bought to serve as their newest safehouse, also conveniently in Midtown. Reese scratches behind Bear's and Bailey's ears as he listens to Finch make small talk with Elena, who explains that she works as a receptionist in City Hall, which, of course, they already know. His own ears prick up when she asks what they do for a living, and he wonders which of their aliases Finch will pick.
"I work in insurance," Finch says. "We both do."
So it's Harold Wren, then. And John ... Reese frowns. None of his aliases work in insurance.
"Insurance? Sounds ..." Elena flounders for an adequate description.
"Boring?" Harold suggests, with a small smile. "It is, most of the time, especially on my end. John handles the more ... exciting parts of claims, like tracking down the people who have hurt our clients."
Reese lets out a breath that could have been a snort.
"Do any of them give you trouble?" she asks John, to include him in the conversation.
"Some."
Finch nearly rolls his eyes. Their last 'client' not only shot Reese with a semiautomatic rifle, she had pointed a gun on both of them not one hour ago.
"But insurance is mostly about protecting people before bad things happen to them," Harold adds.
"If insurance could really do that, then no one would ever get hurt again," she points out.
"That is the idea."
Elena gives him a bemused look. "That's rather idealistic, Harold."
He shrugs. "I'm a rather idealistic man."
She glances in the rearview mirror. "And you, John?"
He shrugs. "I do whatever he tells me."
His answer is short, but his eyes twinkle in amusement, and Elena feels an answering smile tugging at her lips even though she doesn't really know why.
Luckily, they arrive at their destination before Elena can question the exact dynamic of their work relationship, though she looks more than slightly curious. She certainly didn't take Bailey for walks in the park with her boss.
"Thanks so much for the lift," Finch says, handing her a suspiciously thick-looking $20. "For gas," he explains.
She refuses to take it. "Nonsense. I'm going out of town for the weekend, and I'm dropping Bailey off with a friend. You were on the way."
"If there's anything we can do for you, please don't hesitate to let us know," Finch says, reluctantly pocketing the money.
Reese knows it's a semi-empty promise. She doesn't even know their last names, let alone their phone numbers, but he wouldn't put it past Finch to add an extra '0' to her bank account balance just for the ride. And for stopping him from beating some better manners into the cemetery groundskeeper.
"How about you just come by the park with Bear whenever you're free on a Sunday?" she suggests, reaching out to grab Bailey's collar when he tries to follow John out the door. "And bring those doggie danishes you brought last time," she adds.
"Of course," Finch says smoothly, ignoring the sidelong glance Reese gives him. "Have a nice trip."
"Oh, I won't," she assures them, her eyes crinkling in amusement. "But if I do survive, I'll see you on Sunday."
And with a last wave goodbye and a quick beep of her car horn, she drives off.
"'Last time'?" Reese asks as they head in the direction of the Library. "You didn't say you'd seen her again."
"I took Bear to the park while you were at the hotel with Miss Morgan," Finch says, neatly turning the spotlight right back on the ex-CIA operative. "Miss Cassidy and Bailey happened to be there."
Reese wants to point out that since it had been a Sunday, Finch surely had known she would be there, and even if this fact had slipped his mind (unlikely), his app would have informed him of her presence. But he doesn't want to give the billionaire another opportunity to bring up Zoe again, so he changes tact.
"Insurance is your thing, Finch, not mine. What happened to John Rooney, asset manager, or John Wiley, hedge fund manager?" A single-digit millionaire or one valued over $100 million wouldn't be too shabby a cover.
"I could have made it John, bellhop at The Coronet," Finch says dryly.
That ends that conversation.
They pass three payphones on their circuitous route back to the Library. They give each ample opportunity to ring as they walk past, but all remain silent.
"Breakfast?" Finch suggests.
Reese nods, and they walk past the Library and toward the nearby diner. Just as they're about to round the last corner, Reese throws an arm out in front Finch, catching the older man hard in the chest.
"What —?" Finch splutters.
A familiar car is parked right in front of the diner, and leaning on the side of her car, waiting, is Elena Cassidy.
Reese's suspicions, already higher than most people's, shoot through the roof. Why does this girl keep showing up wherever they are? How is it possible that Finch could find no anomalies on her? Why —?
Elena pushes herself off her car as a police cruiser pulls up next to her and the cop gets out.
And why is she now hugging Lionel Fusco?
"Thanks so much, Lionel," she says, once they separate. She opens the backdoor, and Bailey jumps out. She gathers his leash and hands it to Fusco. "You sure it isn't any trouble?"
"With old Bails here? Nah," Fusco assures her as he grins down at the golden retriever. "Lee'll be thrilled."
She hands him a grocery bag. "That should be enough for the week. Don't feed him too much people food."
Fusco grins at her this time. "You know me better than that."
"All right, but if he gets sick, you can keep him for another week."
"Where are you off to again?"
She grimaces. "The Hamptons, with Ken's family."
"For a week?"
"I know," she groans. "If you hear anything come through on the radio about a mass murder in the Hamptons —"
"I'll help you hide the bodies," Fusco promises. "But that's what you get for dating rich pretty boys who use too much hair gel."
Reese feels Finch's eyes flick to him, and he has to suppress the urge to run a hand through his own coiffed hair.
"Ken's not like that," Elena objects. "He doesn't care about all that. He could have joined his father's company, but instead he works in City Hall because he believes the mayor—"
"Sorry, Elliegirl, no matter how clean they look, politicians get their hands dirty. Believe me, I know," he adds darkly. "You can do better than him, Ellie."
"You offering, Lionel?" she teases. "Come on, don't be like that. He's a great guy once you get to know him." She glances at her watch and starts at the time. "Crap, I've got to go. I was supposed to be at his apartment five minutes ago."
"Do the other mayor's aides live in penthouses, too?"
Instead of answering him, she turns to her dog. "You be sure to be a very bad boy for Lionel, okay? Make sure to chew all his shoes and slobber all over his face while he's sleeping!"
"Yeah, you have a great time with your future mother-in-law, too," Fusco says, as she throws herself into the driver's seat. "Make sure you and Ken-doll decide how many kids you want before you get there. You're quitting your job to take care of all five of them, right?"
She flips him off as she drives off.
Fusco is still chortling as he takes out his phone. A second later, Reese's phone rings.
"Hello, Lionel," Reese drawls. "What can we do for you today?"
"I followed Simmons to that HR meeting last night," he said, sounding rather proud of himself. "Took those pics like you asked me to."
"Then why don't you send them to us?" Reese suggests. "And I'd move your leg, Lionel."
With that parting advice, he hangs up. Lionel looks down and jumps back just as Bailey begins to lift his hind leg. Quickly leading the dog to a nearby fire hydrant, Fusco turns every which way while Bailey relieves himself, trying to spot Reese.
"Damn pretty boys who use too much hair gel," Fusco mutters, and Bailey barks in agreement.
"No new Number?" Reese asks, later that week. For the second day in a row, no tell-tale documents decorate the board.
"No, net yet," Finch replies from the corner of the room, where he's brewing himself a cup of tea. Reese can detect a hint of worry in the billionaire's expression. "But I have figured out Miss Cassidy's connection to Detective Fusco."
Reese takes a seat in front of Finch's computer and begins clicking through the various files pulled up on one of the screens.
"Her dad's a cop," Reese realizes, coming to a Police Academy picture from the early 1980s.
"Yes, Detective Tom Cassidy was Fusco's first partner and mentor when he began his career in the 51st precinct."
"Small world," Reese comments. He frowns at the next file. "He died when she was 15 in the line of duty."
"Hence her close connection to her grandmother, one presumes. Her mother had died in a car accident when she was just two years old."
Reese clicks on the last group of files. "These the photos Fusco sent over from that HR meeting?"
"That small world you mentioned? it's getting considerably smaller."
Though Fusco hadn't gotten a good picture of the man Simmons was meeting inside, he had gotten several good shots of the other men standing guard outside. But Finch had enlarged and highlighted the man in the driver's seat of the black SUV that HR's contact had arrived in, so they now could clearly see his clean-cut features and blond, perfectly coiffed hair.
"Kenneth Parker, one of the mayor's aides," Finch explains. "And Elena Cassidy's boyfriend."
