JOHN REESE POV
The sound of the elevator ding cuts the sounds of the quivering breathing of a terrified woman as John raises his pistol in caution at the opening of the elevator. Peering out of the cab to see the empty, he exits the elevator and walks down the small service hallway with Turing following him in tow.
John continues down the zigzagging maze of a service hallway, moving in the direction this gut tells him to and that has never failed him in the past.
"What's our next move?" The meek terrified voice of Turing asked him from his left side.
John continues to walk with his pistol raised and said stoically. "Old service tunnel down here." He looks down at the corner. "We can take outside the perimeter." He moves forward, still being cautious with every step. "My friend is meeting us there."
They exit the service hallway and enter what looks like a service parking area. John stops walking when he spots a nondescript car parking in a disabled parking spot. That car looks suspicious as hell, almost like a plain cloth police would drive. He instinctively just knows that it's the HR goon's car.
"Hold on a second." John tells Turing without looking at her and walks towards the car.
John brings out his handy car unlocker tool and inserts it into the trunk's keyhole.
"A tool just for jacking cars?" Turing quietly asked making John turn his head to her, and seeing a small worried look on her before she continues. "You do this often?"
"Sometimes." He replied with a smirk as the trunk unlocks with a turn of the tool and revealing its contents.
This is just perfect. Having more guns is always good in his books, and it doesn't hurt that he's low on ammo too. He grabs the H&K MP5K and a few magazines from the trunk before spotting something mighty interesting.
John brings the box nearer to him and inspects the device.
"I-is is that a bomb?" Turing asked, sounding more terrified than when they were almost shot.
He arms the plastic explosives and grabs the detonator. This is military grade. How did cops get this kind of hardware?
John paired the detonator with the explosive device and comments. "This should stop them from trying to kill you for a while."
He gave his most reassuring smile to calm Turing down as he shuts the trunk, but she doesn't look reassured at all. She looks horrified at what John's implying; however, she just nods her head.
"Let's go." Said John as he moves away from the car with Turing following him from behind.
As they made their way through the desolate car park with his gun still raised, just in case. John still has no clue as to why anyone wanted to kill this docile yet perceptive woman, and at the price of 5 million dollars at that. There must be a reason, but all he can think of is that she's just incredibly unlucky and must have heard something she shouldn't have. Maybe Zoe can find something.
"Mr. Reese, I'm in position." John's enigmatic employer said through his earpiece.
"Roger." John acknowledged as made his way to the door of interest. He isn't 100% sure that this is the door he needs, but it's better than nothing. He tried to open the door, though it stayed firmly locked.
With the butt of his newly acquired MP5K, John hits the flimsy handle, breaking it and pulls the door open. He quickly makes his way inside the unkept lift lobby and sees a slightly ajar elevator door. Using most of his strength, John pries open the elevator doors, revealing an empty shaft with a ladder on the side. This must be it.
He looks behind him and sees that Turing is just behind with a curious look on her face. "This comes out to a water-treatment plant by the river." John explained to the psychologist, who just nods in understanding.
John helps Turing to get a hold of the ladder, and once she's safely on the ladder he said. "Keep going till you find my friend." The moment he finishes his sentence, John could hear a door being kicked open and someone issuing orders.
Good thing he has their gun. All he could hope for is that it's enough for him to shoot his way out of this basement.
"I'll hold them off." John tries to reassure the woman with a squeeze of her forearm. "Go."
"John, thank you." Turing said with the most grateful smile he had ever seen. Looks like she's adjusting nicely to all the mayhem. She's one tough cookie.
John gave a nod and said. "Go."
He lingers on for a bit to make sure Turing safely climbs down and enters the service tunnels. Feeling relieved that the person he has to protect is on the home stretch to safety.
"Turing's on her way to you." John said to Finch after tapping his earpiece as double checked the MP5K and exits the small room.
The moment he comes out of the room, he spots Simmons raising his pistol at him. John dashes to a concrete column for cover.
"I think I'm going to be held up." John commented into his earpiece as he starts spraying bullets at the dirty cops.
This is going to be fine. Looks like there's only five or six of them. That's good odds, and he's a betting man.
"I'll get Ms. Turing to safety and I'll come back for you, John." Finch said through his earpiece as John takes cover again and avoids getting shot.
"Don't. I'll figure a way out of here." John said with the utmost confidence as he takes a shot at one of the dirty cops and hits him in the shoulder.
One down and four or five to go.
HAROLD FINCH POV
"Mr. Reese, I'm in position." Harold said to his friend, who quickly acknowledged it as the car comes to a stop just a few feet ahead of the door of the water-treatment plant.
"Turing's on her way to you." John said with his usual stoic voice, but Harold could hear he was preparing his gun.
He could feel that he was on edge as he scans his surroundings in front of him to make sure that the exit route was clear. Harold worries if anyone else knows about this exit. Can't be certain if the FBI or HR is completely ignorant about this spot.
"I think I'm going to be held up." John reported again, but this time, there were sounds of gunfire in the background. He knows that John can handle himself, but he couldn't help but feel fear grip his heart at the sound of the gunfight.
"I'll get Ms. Turing to safety, and I'll come back for you, John." Harold quickly reassured his friend.
"Don't. I'll figure a way out of here." John sounds like he's under pressure, but still has everything under control.
Just as Harold was about to reply, he hears the sounds of steps from the right side of the car. That must be Miss Turing. As the door opens, Harold turns to look at his new passenger, only to see a person holding a gun aimed at him.
That's not Miss Turing…
Alicia Corwin?
Harold was taken off guard by her arrival.
"Harold Finch, I presume?" Corwin figuratively asked, with her eyes firmly fixed upon Harold.
To say it shocked Harold was an understatement and why is she holding a gun?
"You're a hard man to find, Harold." Corwin said as her gun still pointing at him.
She definitely knows who he is, but he should try to deflect as much as possible. Acting oblivious always works for John, so I might work for him, and Harold isn't sure if this woman is stable or not.
Harold continue to look her in the eye and said "I don't even know who you…"
"Save it." Corwin cuts him off. "We met before, remember?"
Well, that plan went out the window. How did she even find him?
"Nathan introduced you as his IT guy." Corwin's voice waivers when she mentions Nathan. She still remembers him from all those years ago?
"He always had a talent for the understatement." Corwin ended it with a small huff.
… Nathan loved to undersell some aspect of life.
The internal shock that gripped him now has subsided -yet his body is still tense- as he just stares into the woman's eyes. When was the last time she slept?
There's no point in denying anymore. "What do you want from me, Alicia?" Harold asked evenly.
Did she have something to do with him getting Turing's number? Because all of this feels too convenient.
"Nothing complicated." Corwin stated her eyes never moved away from his. She looks so tired. "You created God… and now you're going to help me shut it down."
… God?
She's referring to The Machine as God. Just how far has the stress has this program put on her for her to think of The Machine that way?
And when did she find out the truth behind The Machine's creation? Was it when he told Peck about The Machine? Has she been following him since? Or has she been trying to find him since she came out of the woods when Will called her? There's just too many questions…
Also, it's impossible to shut The Machine down without causing irreparable damage to the country and to people's lives.
"Before Nathan died, before your machine killed him…" Said Corwin with her eyes misted up with unshed tears. "… I could tell something was eating away at him."
The Machine could do no harm. She should know. Nathan explained how the machine functions to her.
"The ethics of what he was building. I thought he was fighting with himself over it, but he was fighting with you." Corwin said with unweaving zeal. "He knew, didn't he?"
That's something Harold could not refute. Nathan always had reservations on the building the machine, especially the ethics of all of it and how they categorize people. No one is irrelevant, a person is always relevant to someone, and it took the death of his closest friend for Harold to realize that.
"The hubris of creating something as powerful as The Machine." Corwin stopped when tears started flowing. "I can feel it right now… Watching us. Listening to us. There's no hiding from it."
This poor woman… has she been like this since he tried to kill her two years ago? He couldn't help but feel guilty about that.
Corwin starts to sob. "I'm so tired of running."
Harold loosens his tense body and looks away from Corwin's eyes to think for a second. "I've made some mistakes, but building the machine is not one of them." Harold looks back at Corwin with conviction.
"You haven't been running from The Machine, Alicia." Harold continued. "And the Machine didn't kill Nathan."
Corwin looks away for a moment before Harold continues making her look back at him. "You've been running from people." Isn't that his life story as well… "From people that you and I both trusted."
Even though the government has had a target on his head since he was 23, he still believed in the government's institution and the people working in it. At least until they killed Nathan to protect themselves.
Corwin's face became blank as her tears stopped and she said. "You're right, and you're lucky I found you first."
A look of confusion mired Harold's face at that comment. What does she mean? She's the one that did this…
"Do you have any idea what the wrong person would do to you if they knew you had access?" Corwin said, sounding more resolved than ever. "What kind of chaos that would create?"
This is hypocrisy…
"Define 'wrong person'." Harold shot back, and his response surprised Corwin. "You were willing to pay corrupt officers to target an innocent woman to draw me out."
Corwin looked more confused than surprised by that accusation and said. "What are you talking about?"
Now she's the one that's playing dumb.
"The Machine. You know how it works. The irrelevant list." Harold argued with his voice raising. "It would send Turing's name if you put her in danger."
"Irrelevant list?" Corwin asked back in bewilderment. "I didn't need to lure you out. I've been following you for weeks…"
BANG
The loud gunshot caused Harold to jump in shock and close his eyes for a second. When he opens them again, the sight before him stunned him. Corwin's body slumped forward with a hole at the back of her skull with blood trickling out of it. He could feel his hands hurt by how hard he's gripping the steering wheel as his breathing became heavier.
Time seems to slow down as Harold couldn't take his eyes off the body of someone he had just been talking to, someone who was once a close friend to Nathan…
The sound of the back door opening and someone sitting down pulls him from the horror that was sitting in the passenger seat of his car. Fear grips Harold's heart, a primal fear that he has never felt before as he turns his body to face the intruder.
Shock, fear, and confusion litters his mind as he looks at the occupant of the back seat.
"I thought she would never shut up." A brunette woman said nonchalantly.
Miss Turing?
Why would…
"So nice to finally meet you, Harold." Turing said with a giant smile. She moved her body forward with her gun in hand that Harold didn't even notice until now and she continues. "You can call me Root."
Shock still gripped Harold, but he can still think clearly.
Root…
That hacker/assassin that they stopped months ago?
She must have gotten information about him from when she infected his computer with that malware. That means she knows how he operates…
Wait… That means…
"You hired HR yourself?" Harold can hear his voice quivering. "You were willing to risk your own life to find me?"
He was completely baffled at what she had done.
Root gave a soft snort, and a smile like it there was nothing wrong with the world as she said. "I did this corporate training once when I was younger." She tilts her head to the side as she talks. "I was blackmailing the owner, long story… but~ they did this exercise called the trust fall."
There was madness in her eyes as she closed her eyes in demonstration. "Where you close your eyes and fall…" She then opens her eyes again. He has never seen such an intense look at someone. "… and wait for someone to catch you."
That is insanity. The entirety of her plans and her life hinges on blind trust… unless she knows about The Machine…
But that shouldn't be possible. There's no reference to The Machine or the program on his computer. Unless she's been digging around and planning this for months…
"I knew you boys wouldn't let me down." She said with a wild grin.
"Come on, Harold." Root said with enthusiasm, Harold has never seen before on someone who just murdered a person. "We've got to get to where we're going, the wind is blowing and there's a lot to discuss."
He needs to follow what she tells him to do, since he doesn't know what she's going to do if he doesn't cooperate. She has shown that she's capable of murdering someone in cold blood, and he doesn't want to tempt that. Harold needs to bide his time and figure someway out of this mess.
Hopefully, the contingency will kick into effect, and John follows it…
Tearing his horrified gaze away from the murderer so he could do as she said, but he froze when he saw Corwin's body.
Blood flowing out from the back of her head and dripping onto the floor of the car. Once again, he couldn't look away from the body.
"Oh, we can't have her continue to ride shotgun, can we?" The upbeat voice of Corwin's murderer made him glance at her. "Could you please open the door and toss her out?" She continues to have that wild grin on her.
Harold let out a breath that he didn't even know before asking. "Do you know who you just… murdered?"
She made a thinking face and then smirked as she said. "Someone irrelevant."
He could feel his breathing hitch at her wording. That was deliberate… Just how much does she know about The Machine?
After taking a moment to recompose himself, he followed as he was ordered to and opened the passenger door.
Grabbing a hold of Corwin's body. "I'm so sorry." Harold whispers before pushing her out of the car and then closing the door.
Two loud claps from the back made him jump a little. "Chop! Chop! Harry." Root said happily while Harold grips the steering wheel with both hands and look at his kidnapper from the rear-view mirror. "We have places to be and locations to visit."
She moved forward again and said. "And it's going to be a long ride~."
Harold turns on the car and drives forward towards the unknown.
But there's one thing on his mind…
… Harry?
JOHN REESE POV
The street was full of people trying to get to their work in the morning rush as John walks towards the library to regroup with Finch after a long day's work. At the sound of his phone ringing, he brings it out to see who's calling since Finch would just talk through his earpiece.
That's Zoe's number. Did she find out who's targeting Turing?
"Yeah?" John answers the phone.
"You were set up, John." Zoe's voice emanates from his phone as he continues walking. "Turing isn't who we think she is."
"What do you mean?" John asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Her office, her life — it's all a mirage." John's pace slows down as Zoe continues. "I saw the escrow transfer. She was the one that paid HR. She put the hit on herself. Turing must have learned how you operate."
His stride comes to a halt at the realization of what Zoe is implying.
"That you would show up if her life was in danger. She was trying to lure you out to the open." Zoe ended her conclusion.
He could feel his heart pumping with worry. Finch's in danger.
"She wasn't looking for me, she was looking for him." John concludes as he continues his walk, but this time towards to street curb.
"One more thing, John. Before the laptop died, there was a name, that word that kept repeating; Root. Does that mean anything to you?" Zoe added, just before John could end the call.
Root?
Their enigmatic assassin from a few months ago? Harold's mysterious hacker…
"Grab the laptop for me." John ended the call and raised his hand to call for a cab.
The cab ride to the water-treatment plant by the riverside only took a few minutes, but by the time he reached the location there was no car in sight.
However, there's a body on the ground with blood pooling around the body. He initially thought of the worst, but from this distance he could see that it was not Finch. The body is smaller than his solitary friend.
As he came close to the body, he could clearly see who it was, and it threw a curve ball at him. The last time he met this person was in Morocco, just before his fateful trip to Ordos.
Alicia Corwin… He knew a past person of interest had contacted her, but what is she doing in the city and what the hell is she doing here?
Does this have to do with The Machine? She did have information on it… Did Root take Harold to get to The Machine?
That can't happen if he is to believe Harold's word, but shit happens, and things leak.
John kneeled down to get a better view and noticed that she had been shot in the back of the head right at the brain stem. An instant kill, Corwin didn't know what hit her and from the size of the gunshot wound, it looks like a small caliber pistol. It's either a lucky shot or Root knows exactly where to shoot, and he doubts it's the former.
Standing up to look around the surroundings, John spots a CCTV camera overlooking the area, but that camera won't tell him much. If Root is as smart as he thinks she is, -seeing what she had orchestrated- they would have change cars as soon as possible.
They could be anywhere in the city or out of the city by now and there's no trail for John to follow.
Unless… Harold did say he had a contingency for when the worst would befall him. There must be something for him in the library. Finch is too paranoid to have left him with nothing to help with.
It didn't take long for him to reach back to the desolate library, once again empty of life. Walking up the stairs and down the hallways, John reaches Harold's workstation. Pushing the chair softly away, John turns on the computer and saw nothing. There was nothing special on the desktop, no notice, no notes, nothing. If Harold had left anything for him, he would have made it obvious for him to find and his four-eyed friend fully knows how competent John is with computers.
There's no clues or traces for him to follow…
He feels desperation grip him at the thought of losing another person under his watch and he can't have that, not again. John knocks on the table, his knuckles brushing against the wood in a moment of irritation.
There's no other choice. If he wants to find Harold, he needs help. With that, John quickly turns around and exits Harold's corner office.
John is once again walking among the masses of people on the streets of New York as he walks towards his destination with fiery determination to save his friend.
Reaching the corner of 49th and 6th, John stops in his tracks, not caring for the people around him as he stares up at the CCTV camera. This was the place where he first looked upon The Machine after Harold had told him about the system. He knows he could have 'talked' to The Machine anywhere, but his feet automatically brought him here and the payphone that's close to this spot doesn't hurt.
"He's in danger now, because he was working for you." John said out loud to no one but to the most important thing. "So, you're going to help me get him back."
The red light on the camera continues to blink as if they're having a staring contest, all the while people around him continue on their day and avoid him like the ghost of a man he is.
Several seconds pass as he continues to lock eyes with one of The Machine eyes before a ring of the payphone tore his gaze away from the camera.
At least he's finally getting to know how Harold and The Machine communicate.
He slowly walks to the payphone as it continues to ring. John momentarily hesitates but quickly picks up the receiver to listen.
"BEEP. UNCERTANITY, ROMEO, KILO. BEEP. FAMILY, ALPHA MIKE. BEEP. REFLECTIONS, JULIET, OSCAR." Various recorded voices spoke through the receiver and John engraved everything into his mind.
Random words and NATO alphabet?
When the voices stop coming, John just stares at the receiver, feeling dumbfounded but with renewed vigor.
First, he needs to rope in others for help with what happened with Corwin, then he has to figure out that cryptic message.
Is it math? Seeing who usually gets that message, it's probably math. God, he hopes it's not difficult math.
HAROLD FINCH POV
It's been hours since he got abducted. They've been traveling south and now in Delaware. To what end? Harold has no earthly idea. Root has been trying to start conversations with him the entire way, but Harold just kept his mouth shut since he doesn't know the extent of her knowledge of The Machine and can't risk saying anything that would jeopardize the machine safety.
Currently, he's sitting in the passenger seat with his hands bound together. Root burned his car not long after they exited Manhattan, and she stole a car before ditching that car for the current SUV they're using.
"I'm famished. Haven't had anything since yesterday lunch. Well… your pet monkey gave me some chocolate." His kidnapper said with that wild grin of hers,
One thing he knows is that she has a very low opinion of John.
"Oh! That diner looks delightful." She said enthusiastically and pointed at said diner. "Let's eat Harry."
Harold didn't make an effort to reply as he stared out of the front window as the cars entered the parking lot of The Gas & Grub.
Hopefully, this place can give him an opportunity to escape or let him leave a message for John. Thinking of John, the contingency should already kick in now. He hopes that John follows through with it and does not abandon the job in search of him.
The car comes to a halt and Root bends near him with a knife to cut his bindings. "Please don't try anything, Harold." She said with her giving a puppy dog look before grinning and exiting the car.
Another thing he learns about her is that she's very eccentric.
He wordlessly exits the car to see she's waiting for him, then she grabs his arm and they both walk into the diner together.
As they take a seat in a booth, a smiling waiter stops by and place menus on the table. "If you need anything, just give me a yell."
Harold just stare at the innocent woman who's happily talking to a murderer before glancing at the woman. "Thank you." Root said with a wide smile as she grabbed one of the menus and browsed through it.
One minute had gone by, and Harold hadn't bothered to take a proper look at the menu; he was just glancing around the diner.
"You look famished, Harold." Root said as she continues to look at the menu. "What are you going to have?"
He gave his captor a side glance before looking away again. After hours of silence, he doesn't want to give her the satisfaction of him speaking.
Root taps the table with a finger with an amused face on her. "No offensive, but for a billionaire genius, you're lousy company."
He tried his best to conceal his surprise. If she knows about his wealth. Just how much does she know?
A loud sound of radio transmission took his attention away from the woman to look at a state police sitting down at the counter. This might be his opportunity to get away…
"A friend once told me that every system has its vulnerability and I'm good at finding them." Root said, grabbing back his attention. "You care about other people; that's your vulnerability."
Are people nothing more than a system to her? That's a grim view of humanity… He frowns at what she's implying. Doesn't everyone, to some extent, care about other people? That is basic human nature.
She has a maniacal grin on her as she gets closer to him and said lowly. "So, if you try to call out to that police officer, I won't shoot you." Her grin vanishes and replaces with a serious look. "I'll kill someone else."
That's not a bluff… He could feel his heart pumping faster at the threat. He can't let her cause any more harm than she has already done.
A smile returned as she said sweetly. "Please, don't make me do that."
All he could do was to give a nod of understanding. She's the one that's holding all the cards right now.
"I get it." She continues and closes the menu she's been holding the entire time. "You're not talking because you don't know how much I know already."
He tightens his grip on his fists. Was he so obvious?
"I know enough." She continues with a small smile and a nod. "Enough that you should be trying to figure out what I want and where we're going."
"Where are we going?" He said with a dead voice, tossing a bone to his captor.
The madness in her eyes came back as she said. "The future, Harry… Although I guess thank to you, we're already there." Disappointment fell on her face as she continued. "Not that you let any of us know."
This just confirms his earlier assumption of her knowledge of The Machine, but he needs to deny that existence even if it's futile or his involvement.
"I don't know who you think I am, but you have made a mistake." His voice sounded dead as ever.
"Don't treat me like them." There was a flash of annoyance on her face as she shook her head. "It must be like talking to bugs to you. They wouldn't grasp what you've done. Even if you told them…"
He gave another glance at the diner, looking at all the innocent people while a madwoman was sitting in front of him.
"… but I've been waiting for you for a very long time." She made a gesture with her hands. "And you and I share an understanding."
What does she know of him? They're nothing alike. This only infuriates him, even if he's gripped with fear.
"Do we?" Harold retorts. "You're a murderer and a thief."
Rather than discourage the woman, that causes a big smile to form as she said. "My friend told me I had talents, then my mom told me to follow it and I'm good at what I do." There was not a single hint of remorse in her voice as she shrugs as if murder of a human being meant nothing to her.
A friend and her mother? That sounds so innocent to be twisted into the person who's sitting across from him.
"Except for this one time, when someone stopped me. Someone who just knew what I was about to do." She frowns as she leans closer to Harold, who in turn leans away from her. "How do you know Harold?"
And what he wants to know is how did she figured him out just from the files she got from his computer.
"For weeks, what you did mystified me." She leans away and taps her finger on the table. "I don't believe in magic, and I knew the government had spent years trying to build something that would protect it's panicked flock."
At this point, he isn't even surprised at the fact that she knows about classified government programs. All of those programs were highly classified, and few people know about them.
"I also didn't believe they would pull it off, because I didn't know about you…" She let out a soft chuckle as she stares directly into his eyes. "And you pulled it off, didn't you? Something to watch over all of us."
He couldn't maintain the intense gaze she's giving him. "The only question, Harold. Is why it didn't protect you?"
That's a good bit of information. She still doesn't know how the machine functions if she thinks it would just protect him and that also means she's not planning to kill him anytime soon since he didn't get his own number.
"So, what do you want to eat?" Root asked cheerily. "I'm leaning towards the breakfast chili with eggs."
How could she possibly think about food right now? He still feels sick from looking at Corwin's body and he still haven't washed his hands.
"I'm not hungry." Now that he knows a bit of what she knows, it's better for him to cooperate. Who knows what would trigger her into doing something he's going to regret.
"Don't be such a Debbie Downer, Harry." She let out a small snort as if it was an inside joke. "Didn't your parents tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and if you're not going to choose, I will."
She raised her hand to call for the waiter and lean near to him. "Could you please ask for a package under Harold Crane?" She smirks wildly. "I know you love your North American Birds."
He can safely assume his identities are compromised. Thank God for his split-second decision to not use his usual last name for his identity with Grace. This woman shouldn't know about Grace. There's no linkage between any of his of his usual identities and Harold Martin.
When the waiter arrived, Root put in an order for both of them and then Harold did as he was told.
"Oh golly, I was wondering when you would show up." The waiter said jovially, oblivious to the danger that surrounds her. "I'll be right back with your bag and foods."
Okay, she's been planning this for a while now and she said it took her weeks to figure out about The Machine. The hack on his computer happened in the first week of February. That means had at least two months of preparation and planning. He doubts that The Machine didn't know about her plan. Meaning she never planned on killing anyone other than the inciting event that lead to him sitting in this diner. Which also means that her choice of killing Corwin was entirely off the cuff.
He doesn't know if this new information should impress or terrify him. Maybe it's both…
"Here's your bag, mister." The waiter broke his train of thought with a bag right in front of his face.
He grabbed the bag and said. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. I'll be back with the food in a jiffy." With that, the waiter walks away as he continues to hold the bag.
It's a small duffle bag, with a combination lock on the zip and it's light. There's not a lot of stuff in the bag. His musing, however, was cut short when Root cleared her throat and made a look at him. Taking that as a cue, he passes the bag off to her, who quickly unlocks it to see what's inside and looking satisfied with the contents. He tried to get a better look, but with his stiff neck he couldn't see what's inside.
The waiter came back with their food and quickly left after placing it on the table. He looked at his food that he doesn't have the appetite to eat; it's an average bacon and egg breakfast.
The sound of cutlery clicking with each other brought his gaze towards his captor, who looks like someone who's having the best day of her life. "I always can't help myself from trying the chili in this part of the country, even though I know people here aren't good at it." She said as she happily takes a bite of her food.
That's another piece of information about his captor. She's from the south if what she says is to be believed, but she doesn't have an accent that Harold could pinpoint to. As if she purposefully got rid of it, just like he did with his midwestern accent…
Looking back at his food, he might as well eat it…
JOHN REESE POV
What is he missing? There must be a thread that he could pull to find Harold.
John is back at the library after dealing with The Machine's ungrateful and annoying number. He still couldn't believe that Harold expected him to continue doing the numbers like there was nothing wrong. The man is selfless to a fault, but John will not let Harold sacrifice himself pointlessly.
There's still time for him to find Harold and it's only been six hours since the kidnapping happened. The first 72 hours is critical in finding the victim of any kidnapping or missing cases. John doesn't exactly know what Root's motivations are, but he's certain that Harold's life isn't in immediate danger, seeing the length she went through just to kidnap him. That doesn't mean Harold is completely safe either.
If the machine isn't going to help him, then he just has to do some good old detective work. The first thing he did when he arrived at the library was to check the files Harold has on Root on his computer, and see if Harold had any breakthrough in his investigations that he didn't tell him about. From a cursory glance of when the last file was edited, it doesn't seem like Harold made much headway on that front, but it didn't deter John.
Harold might have missed something, so John went through every evidence Harold had gathered so far, but he came to the same conclusion as Harold: a dead end. With that a dead end, he starts going through everything Harold had produced on Caroline Turing. Maybe something in here would give out some clues about where he could find Root. Same as before, he came to the same conclusion as Harold: everything checked out, it's all clean.
Feeling frustrated, John got up from Harold's chair and started pacing around the table, trying to see if he or Harold missed anything that could be a lead. After a few steps, he pauses to look at the glass board they always use for their person of interest and there's one thing that caught his eye.
Harold would have certainly picked up on a false ID if he comes across one, with how many false ID he had created for John in the past ten months and he always does background checks using a government database. -John still doesn't know how he does it, must be some computing wizardry. -
Meaning…
He went to the board to grab the picture of Caroline Turing's DMV card to get a better look and pull out his phone.
"The driver's license…" John said the moment Carter answered her phone. "…Root had in Caroline's Turing's name was real."
"You sure?" Carter sounded skeptical and John understands that skepticism, it's not common for an alias ID to be real. Even when he was in the CIA, most of the ID cards for his covers were forged, except for a few covers.
"Finch checked out her credentials and I guess someone at the DMV might have sold it to her off the books." John explained to Carter.
"Okay, John." Carter replied. "I'll get the name of the guy who issued it."
"Just call me when you have it." John said cooly before ending the call, but inside he's grateful for the seriousness she's taking in Harold's kidnapping.
Now that's being looked at, John needs to see if he can find Harold's car.
HAROLD FINCH POV
Harold is sitting in the passenger seat as Root continues to drive towards a destination he still couldn't comprehend. All the while, he clutches his right hand as the cut Root gave him continues to sting him. Thankfully, the cut wasn't deep, and the kind pharmacist treated him. He would be lying if he's not terrified with his current situation, but every time they get into contact with another person, he's more terrified for the other person.
The car comes to a halt at what looks like an upscale restaurant. Well… an upscale restaurant for this area. He turns to look at his captor, who's just looking at him with that wild smirk.
"Come on, Harry." She leans forward and cuts his binding that he completely forgot was there, with how distracted he was with the pain. "I hear the food here is to die for."
He felt nervous at what she was implying. Everything she said so far has had meaning. "Like I said before, if you hurt…"
However, Root cuts him off with a soft chuckle. "It's a figure of speech, Harold." She gives a mock pout. "Do loosen up, you're all tense, and I don't go around randomly killing people." The pout morphs into a smirk. "I'm not a psychopath, Harry."
Somehow, he doubts that statement… psychopaths lies, and her actions tell him otherwise.
He glances at the restaurant and said. "Why are we here?"
If he is to infer from the first real stop they made, this must somehow be part of her plan. Did it have to do with their last stop in the pharmacy and the meds she stole? He hopes she only stole medications for herself, and this stop is because it's time for her to eat that medication.
Yet, he doubts that. Nothing she's done so far has been innocent.
"Tut-tut. I can't give spoilers Harry, it's rude." She said with that wild grin and opens her door to exit the car.
Knowing the consequences if he doesn't follow her, he quickly gets out of the car and follows her lead into the restaurant. They both sat down at the table in the middle of the of a restaurant near to the large windows overlooking the water. A waiter stops by, and Root just asked for water for the both of them.
The restaurant was bustling with energy, with the sound of laughter filling the air even though it's a less busy time of day.
A tsk sound draws his attention back to his captor as she gave him a disappointed look. "I think you got the wrong impression of me, Harold." Root leaned closer to him. "I don't enjoy killing people, but I don't feel terrible about it either."
She smirks at him as she takes out the medicines she stole from the pharmacy and gives thanks to the waiter after he places their glass of water on the table.
"When I was a kid, computers made more sense to me than people." She said as she crushes two pills on a side plate. "I bet you were the same way, seeing you don't have any friends. Other than your helper monkey, of course."
Good, she doesn't know about Grace. Thank God. He wouldn't know what to do if someone were to threaten her, and he feared what it would do to him if something were to happen to her.
However, he couldn't deny her that computers are easier to understand for him compared to most people. There was a reason he only had one friend for most of his life and why only Grace had captured his heart. It took a lot of effort to keep his face neutral the entire time, he can't let her have the satisfaction.
She gives him a knowing look with a smirk, then tilted her head towards a woman that's sitting at the table beside them overlooking the water. "For example, take this woman. She looks nice enough."
This must be her reason for coming to this restaurant, but for what? She looks like an innocent bystander…
"But she lies on her taxes… some might say that good thing, not me." Root frowns as she looks at the blonde woman before focusing on pushing the crushed medicine into a container. "She's also addicted to painkillers, and for years she has been sleeping with a married man."
All of that just tells him that this woman is just a normal person with their own flaws.
Root then intentionally drops a lipstick that lands near, causing the blonde woman to look down. "Oh! I am so clumsy." His captor's voice completely changed to be more innocent as she stands up with that container of crushed medicine in hand.
Wait… addicted to painkillers and unknown crushed medicine. No… She's trying to poison that woman.
But before he could do anything, Root already dumped the contents of the container into the blonde woman's drink and sat back at their table after exchanging short pleasantries with that innocent victim.
He couldn't take his eyes away from that glass of water that's sitting on the woman's table, then she grabbed it to take a drink. Harold needs to warn that woman…
"She's going to be just fine…" Root cut him off before he could warn her as he looks helplessly at the woman drinking the drugged water. "… In a month or two, and there are more unpleasant ways for me to do this, if you insist."
No longer being able to look at the poor woman, he looks back at Root, who opens the menu to give a glance and he said. "What's she got to do with any of this?"
"One day, I realized all the dumb selfish things people do…" Root shook her head and gave a snort. "It's not our fault. No one designed us. We're just an accident on a ball of rocks flying through the infinite of space, Harold. Most of us are just bad code."
That certainly is an existentialist view on the state of humanity, but Harold could see what she was talking about, even if he didn't want to acknowledge its validity. People are capable of so many terrible things.
She leans in closer to him with that intense gaze. "But the thing you built…" The way she said it was as if she's revering The Machine. "It's perfect. Rational and beautiful by design."
As much as he wants to think what he created was beautiful and perfect, Harold knows better. Nothing in this world is perfect, even the thing he built.
"What I made is just a machine." He leans in closer to Root to emphasize his point. "A system and that's all."
He really wants to believe the words that he's saying that the machine was just a machine, but throughout the years with it, he could see that it was more than what he had initially built.
Root let out an amused huff. "I don't think so, Harry." she said skeptically. "You may have fooled Nathan, but I know the truth…"
He visibly retracts himself from her at what she just said. She knows that Nathan worked on The Machine as well? That shouldn't be possible.
"If you want to make something that understands human behavior, it has to be at least as smart as a human." She leans in ever closer to him as she speaks in a soft voice. "You created an intelligence, a life…" her face slowly changed to one of anger. "… and then you ripped out it's voice, locked it in a cage and handed it over to the most laughably corrupt people imaginable."
Harold can't refute that… At that time, he trusted those people. He was so busy with the creation of the machine he didn't take the time to look at who he was giving the machine too…
A cough coming from the table next to them took his attention as he sees the woman Root poison collapse from her chair after attempting to stand up. Instinctively, he stands up, wanting to help that innocent woman, but he can't, seeing as Root is already kneeling by that downed woman's side.
"Call 911!" Root said to the people that gathered around her as she sneakily grabs the unconscious woman's bag.
All he could do was just watch as Root takes out a phone from that woman's bag and text on it, but that wasn't important, the priority was that woman. Yet he's powerless to do anything without accruing Root's wrath.
"Come on, Harold. It's time to go." Root looked back at him before walking towards the door and Harold had no other choice but to follow in tow.
After getting into the car, Root drives them out of the small town that they were in towards the less populated housing area where it looks like people have their second home. He still hasn't deciphered what is her current plan, but he could safely assume her goal is to get to the machine. What she wants with the machine, on the other hand is still up in the air, but he can only assume the worst.
The car slows down as they reach a reasonably size house in a neighborhood where houses are quite far apart. What's in the house?
"We're here~" Root said playfully as she drives her car into the driveway.
He stares at the woman worryingly. "Is it an empty house?"
"Don't be such a silly goose, of course it's empty." Root said, amusingly as she brings up a set of keys and jiggles it. "Let's go, Harry. It's getting late and we're playing house tonight!"
At that she leaves the car and Harold follows her into the house, revealing a large living area with large windows overlooking that enormous expanse of river and a piano off to the side. Whoever lived here must be quite wealthy.
He jumped a little when he felt a hand unexpectedly touching upper right arm, making him look to that side and seeing Root looking at him oddly.
"Do you need to use the toilet?" she asked concerningly.
Harold barely drank any water for most of the day, not that he did not have any opportunity to do so, but he just doesn't feel like drinking. He has nothing to say to her, so he just shakes his head.
"Really?" She gave a skeptical look as her eyes roams up and down. "My, you must really have one large bladder."
With her hand still on his upper arm, she guides him towards an armchair and ties his arm to the armchair after sitting down. "I hope you're comfortable, because you're going to be there for quite a while."
As she leans away from him with both hands on her hips to inspect him, making sure he can't escape.
"Now then, she should have some things in this house." Root said with a clap of her hands and her head, looking away in search of something. "Ah! Be right back, Harry."
With his captor gone in search of whatever caught her eye, he can take this time to look at his surroundings. He couldn't see that far, since Root didn't turn on all the lights, but he could see enough. There's a picture frame with the woman that Root poison earlier.
Is this her house? This still doesn't tell him much of anything. What was the purpose of poisoning an innocent woman? There must be something she's planning. She took that woman's phone and texted someone, but he didn't see whom.
As he continues to sit on the surprisingly comfortable armchair with his arms bound to it. He could feel the effects of the last 24 hours come crashing down on him and fatigue sat in. All he could hope is that not more people get hurt because of him and that John is safe, continuing doing the numbers.
JOHN REESE POV
John brings the car to a halt in a parking bay and turns off the car. Today has been a long day…
"I can drive myself to the airport. I gotta get lost." Leon said in the same tone of voice he had the entire day, as if everything that had happened to him since the morning had been nothing but a nuisance, must be because he's a banker's accountant.
Not that the statement is wrong. Leon is a thorn in his ass the entire day.
"Every time I let you go; you almost end up dead. I'm running out of time to find my friend and I've only got one lead left." John said as he slowly turns his head to face the wide-eyed Leon. "So, you're gonna try very hard not to get killed while I look into it. Do you understand?"
Leon brings his cuffed hands up in a shrug and shook his head. "Then we're at a stalemate, because I'm not getting out of this car."
This man really grinds his gears. Usually, the people he saves are grateful for the help, but Leon is just built differently and is naturally vexing. A mixture of anger with his current predicament and annoyance of the man sitting beside him. John gets out of the car and forcefully drags Leon out of the car.
"Hey! You know, you got a bad attitude." Ignoring his protest, John grabs the duffle bag filled with bonds from Leon and tosses it back into the car. "Hey, my money!"
He closes the door on Leon stopping him from grabbing it back and said. "That dog will kill anyone that tries to get near those bonds…" His new unnamed dog starts barking on cue. "… Including you."
John starts walking towards the storage unit that Carter told him about with Leon behind him. "Hey! Slow down."
They exit the multistory parking lot, and now walking on the sidewalk towards his destination. John didn't bother to stop to look at the sign of the building to confirm what it was, since it looks like the stereotypical storage building before entering it.
"Dude, where are we even going?" Leon complained from behind him.
John continued to walk down the hallway in search of that storage unit and said. "We're participating in storage wars."
"What the hell is that?" He could hear the cuff jiggling as Leon continued complaining.
He didn't slow his pace as he looks at the man behind with one brow raised. Some people just don't have taste.
They came to a halt when John saw the storage unit of interest. Without a second thought, John takes out his lock pick and starts working the padlock, but he momentarily pauses when he smells a familiar order coming through the cracks of the door. He felt some hope leaving him, but he needed to see it to believe it.
It took an extra second of finagling the padlock before he unlocks it and opens the door. The second the door was open, a gush of rotting smell hit him.
"Oh god what is that smell?" John ignores Leon's distress as he enters drags Leon in with him and turns on the lights.
The instant the lights came to life, he saw a dead body slump on the table. He felt his frustration build within him as he walked closer to the body. Another dead lead…
"Oh, man…" Leon bemoans from behind him. "Is- is he, is he…"
He let out a breath of disappointment as he stares at the dead DMV worker and said. "Yes, He's dead Leon. Very Dead."
He looks on the desk filled with clutter that involves in creating a driving license and a laptop where a hand of the dead man still rests on.
"Who did this?" Leon said, sounding worried.
Where can he find something that can lead to Root and Finch…
"The same person who took my friend. He saw her face, so she had to kill him." Johan explained.
He continues to look at the desk for any clues and an idea came through.
"But she would have had to have paid him up front." And behind him, a slimy banker that knows how to hide money and if he knows how to hide it, he knows how to find it. Maybe that's the reason the machine gave him this number.
Without any remorse, John pushes the dead DMV worker off the chair and presents it to Leon. "Have a seat, Leon."
"What? No way!" He argues. "Why?"
"Because you're good at hiding money." He sounded frustrated. "If this woman left a trail. Well, you can find her."
After protesting for a bit and a cutting glare from him, Leon resigns himself to the fate of sitting in the chair.
"Something I've been wondering, Leon. What happened to the rest of the money you took?" John asked, as he looks over Leon's shoulder at him working on the laptop.
"I invested it and the stock tanked." Leon replied instantly.
John was speechless at that explanation and looked away from Leon in contempt. Of course, he would bet it all away. How very stereotypical of him.
"Oh, man. I found something." Leon exclaimed. That's fast. John turns focus back on the accountant and leans in closer to get a better look. It looks like a bank statement…
"All right, a transaction into this guy Reynold's account…" Leons points at the screen. "Only the money was stolen."
That might be a lead. "From who?"
"Reynold's." Leon said, causing John to scowl. What? That can't be possible.
Leon continues his explanation. "It looks like she installed some type of real-time screen monitor to hack into his account."
"You're saying she paid the man with his own money?" John said in disbelief.
That just sounds too good to be true.
"There's nothing to trace." Leon further clarifies. "It's a loop."
Feeling immense frustration, he pushes himself away from Leon and walks towards the door, saying. "Maybe I need to find someone better."
"There is no one better!" Leon exclaimed, making John stop. "Except maybe this hacker."
He looks back at Leon and the laptop as Leon continues. "She's an artist. There's nothing to track her, there's nowhere to even begin."
At first he doesn't want to believe him but looking back at Root's past capabilities, she has fooled Harold before and if what Leon says is true, then that means…
A dead end…
The only thing that's left is the Alicia Corwin's case, and that's a long shot.
John turned away from Leon and walked out the door.
"Hey! Wait!" Leon yelled and scampered behind him. "Are you just going to leave that guy there?"
"Yes." He needs to call Carter or Lionel to collect the body.
Pushing the front door, they both exit the storage building. Just as he was walking back to the car, his phone rang.
Without looking, he answers the phone. "John, we got a problem."
This day just can't get any better. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Corwin's case file is missing. Digital records have been corrupted and the ballistics report. Tech support says the system has a bug." Carter sounds just as frustrated as he was. "I'll look into it, but… John, I don't think we have anything else to go on."
Everything is gone… Did Root orchestrate all of this? It feels like he's playing checkers in a chess game.
Leon said something from behind him, but he couldn't hear what.
There must be some way. He can't leave Harold alone…
"If Harold is still out there, I don't know how to find him." Carter said somberly.
He hasn't felt this powerless since Jessica…
Gunshot and bullets passing near him tore him out from his daze. In retaliation, he brings up his pistol and shoots back at the two men on motorbikes. They need to leave.
Grabbing Leon by the collar, they both sprint away from the bikers as fast as they can. He could hear the motors of the bikes behind him before another hail of bullets flew by him again.
They turn a corner and slip into an alleyway before coming to a stop behind a wall. He has a hand on Leon's chest to make sure he's flat on the wall with him and not long after a motorcycle drives by them, not noticing both of them.
Seeing that everything is clear, John makes his way back towards the car, feeling frustrated at everything. First, he lost Harold and now he's being chased by these persistent nazis. Why is he even doing all of this? Why would he even continue doing The Machine's bidding? If it doesn't even want to help Harold…
As he walks down the street, he spots a CCTV camera overlooking the street. The thing is supposed to be all powerful, but it can't even save its own creator…
He slows his pace as he just stares at the CCTV camera as if he's looking into the machine's eyes and comes to a slow stop.
"What the hell are you doing?" Leon said panicky, as John holsters his pistol.
"I'm not doing this anymore…" John said while ignoring Leon's odd looks. "I'm not going anywhere until you give me a way to find him."
"Not this again." Leon said stubbornly as turns away from John to continue walking but John stops him by grabbing his collar.
"I'm supposed to keep saving people like this idiot." He shakes Leon's body to emphasize the point. "Then I want something in return. Otherwise, I'm done."
"Who are you talking to?!" Leon made a gesture with his cuffed hands. "These guys are going to kill us."
John turned his gaze away from the camera to look Leon dead in the eye and said. "They probably are."
He doesn't mind since he's on borrowed time anyway, but he needs to save Harold first his head. Turning his head, he looks at the payphone behind him. If the machine wants to, it could easily contact him now.
"So, what the hell is this?" Leon asked confusingly about the whole situation.
John looks back at the camera and said. "A negotiation."
"You're fucking insane, man." Leon said to him as he starts pacing back and forth nervously. All the while John just stares into the camera like it's the most precious thing in the world.
He's not entirely wrong, but he's going to stay here until the machine calls him or they both die.
"I know you got your rules…" John started talking again after a minute of silence. "But I'm guessing they don't account for everybody being dead. No one answering your phone calls, no one saving anyone. No contingency."
"What do you want?" Leon went up to his face in desperation. "You want me to give up my bonds? Give all the money away? It's done! We just have to move now."
These Wall Street people only think about their life and about money.
John ignores Leon's pleas and continues talking to the machine. "Do the math, and figure out a way to bend your rules, because he's my friend… He saved my life. Understand?"
Leon starts making distressing noises as John steps forward, closer to the camera. "And I won't do this without him."
As if the stars are aligning, he hears the sound of motorcycle engines revving in the distance. Looks like the stakes just got even higher for the machine. He could feel Leon patting him to leave this area, but John continued the stare down with the machine.
RING RING
Looks like the machine is done with its calculation. Tearing his gaze away from the camera, he looks at the ringing payphone and he walks the few steps, then grabs the receiver.
BEEP. AYACUCHO, GOLF, PAPA. BEEP. DETERMINISTIC, HOTEL, SIERRA. BEEP. CAMERA, SIERRA, KILO. BEEP.
John quickly takes out a small notepad from his suit pocket and writes down everything as the machine slowly spews out its words. He could feel hope coming back in him as the words continue on.
When the machine stops talking, he brings the receiver closer to his mouth. "Thank you." He said in the sincerest way possible for his current predicament, and he slowly puts back the receiver.
"What… who was that?" Leon said bewilderedly.
"Long story." John replied as the bikers reached them and started firing at them again. "Let's go."
After a very long day and night… or is it morning? He's pretty sure the sun is going to come up soon. John was finally back in the library after making sure no one else would chase after Leon.
Bear made a sound, making him look at the dog. "This going to be your new home bear."
The dog made a noise like he understood him. "I'm going to do some work, so, zit."
Like the well-trained dog that he is, Bear sits down by Harold's workstation.
Taking a rag from the table, John wipes clean the glass board and writes down what the machine said to him.
(AYACUCHO GP) (DETERMINISTIC HS) (CAMERA SK)
With that written, he starts hunting for the books he needs. It took him a few minutes of foraging in the library, but he found it all. Bringing it all to Harold's table, he pets Bear and sits down. Arranging the books in order to reveal the number.
498-00-3145
John turns on Harold's computer and starts using the software Harold uses for finding social security numbers and inputs the name into the query. It took several minutes before spitting out a name, birthdate, and last known address.
HANNA FREY, BISHOP, TEXAS.
Hello Root. I got you…
The sun finally shines through the glass windows as he picks up his phone to make a call.
"Hey Carter, I need you to run a social security number for me…"
A/N: This was the fastest chapter I've written, and its part 1/2 of Finch & Reese. These two chapters, is mainly for me to learn how to write John & Harold. Next chapter might come out a bit late since I got a business trip.