Person of Interest (2011–2016): Season 2, Episode 1 - The Contingency - full transcript

[STATIC CRACKLING]

Here we go.
Now, can you see me?

[BEEP]

Excellent. Next question.

Who am I?

[BEEP]

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING OVER MONITORS]

FINCH:
You knew what we were building here.

This looks for plotters, schemers. We built
it to stop terrorists before they could act.

ALICIA: If Congress knew
about this machine you're building...

- ...you'd go to jail.
- Don't suppose they'd let us be cell mates?



FINCH: Knowledge is not my problem.
Doing something with it...

...that's where you'd come in. Sooner or
later, both of us will probably wind up dead.

If something ever happens,
I have a contingency.

We have a new number.
Caroline Turing.

ZOE:
She put the hit on herself.

She was trying to lure you
out into the open.

REESE: She wasn't looking for me.
She was looking for him.

[GUNSHOT]

ROOT: So nice to finally meet you, Harold.
You can call me Root.

He's in danger now.
Because he was working for you.

So you're going to help me get him back.

[PHONE RINGING]

[PHONE BEEPS]

VOICES [OVER PHONE]:
Uncertainty. Romeo. Kilo.



Family. Alpha. Mike.

Reflections. Juliet. Oscar.

[PHONE BEEPS]

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

ROOT: You look famished, Harold.
What are you going to have?

No offense, but for a billionaire genius,
you're lousy company.

Every system has a flaw.
I'm pretty good at finding them.

You care about other people.
That's your flaw.

So if you try to call out to that police officer,
I won't shoot you.

I'll shoot someone else.

Please don't make me do that.

I get it. You're not talking because
you don't know how much I already know.

I know enough.

Enough that you should try
to learn what I want...

- ...and where we're going.
- Where are we going?

The future, Harold.

Although I guess, thanks to you,
we're already there.

Not that you let any of us know.

I don't know who you think I am...

- ...but you've made a mistake.
- Don't treat me like them.

It must be like talking to ants to you.

They wouldn't grasp what you've done,
even if you told them.

But I've been waiting for you
my whole life.

And you and I share an understanding.

Do we?

You're a murderer and a thief.

My mom told me to follow my talents.
And I'm good at what I do.

Except for this one time,
when someone stopped me.

Someone who just knew
what I was about to do.

How did you know, Harold? For months,
that's what I couldn't figure out.

I don't believe in magic.

I knew the government
spent years trying to build something...

...to protect its panicked little flock.

I also thought they'd never pull it off.

Because I didn't know about you.

Hmm. And you pulled it off, didn't you?

Something to watch over all of us.

My only question, Harold,
is why it didn't protect you.

CARTER:
Taylor?

- Taylor!
REESE: He's out.

Studying with a friend.

Sure, John. Come on over.
Make yourself at home.

Finch is gone.

And she took him.

- Who took him?
- Turing. She wasn't a shrink.

She was lying to us.
Real name is Root.

- At least that's what she goes by.
- What could he have that she'd want?

Okay, I can file a missing persons.

Send Finch's pictures
to sheriff's offices, the FBI.

You can't.

Finch went off the grid for a reason.

We have to find him on our own.

I have a lead.

But I need you chasing down
every other angle.

Listen, when she took Finch, Root killed
a former intelligence operative...

- ...named Alicia Corwin.
- Okay.

I'll get myself assigned
to the investigation.

Thank you.

What are you going to be doing?

I'm not sure. Math, I think.

REESE:
Uncertainty. Romeo-Kilo.

Family. Alpha-Mike.

Reflections. Juliet-Oscar.

"I gave you a job, Mr. Reese.
I never said it would be easy."

Come on, Finch. Help me find you.

Title and author's initials.

Uncertainty, RK.

Family, AM.

Reflections, JO.

Finch, you sly dog.
The Dewey Decimal System.

That's how the machine
gives you the Social Security numbers.

Hey, I ran that social.
Guy's name is Leon Tao.

Got an MBA from NYU.
No criminal record.

Fancy car with an anti-theft tracker,
which I took the liberty of activating.

- I sent you the coordinates.
- I got them.

You think this Mr. Tao is gonna help with
the whereabouts of our four-eyed friend?

You almost sound concerned, Lionel.

I'm not sure I wanna find out what
you're like without his direction.

Let's hope you don't have to.

[PHONE BEEPS]

You've gotta understand,
this is....

You mind? Need a word with Leon, here.

He's all yours detective.

I'm looking for a friend of mine.

I have a source that says
you might be able to help.

- Never seen either of them.
- Take another look.

My source is never wrong.

I have never seen either of them before
in my life, you understand?

You're not lying.

- Then why the hell am I here?
- I have no idea, dude. Truly.

[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

You've got to be kidding me.

Let me guess.
You're in some kind of trouble?

The life-threatening kind?

I can't believe it.

I'm the contingency.
The backup.

- The what?
- He didn't want me to find him...

...if anything went wrong.
He just wanted me to keep rescuing people.

People like you.

So what is it?
You pissed these guys off, somehow.

They were ready to kill you
when I happened to walk in?

No. We were just talking.

[REDDY LAUGHS]

No. You were right, detective.

Leon here stole
a great deal of money from us.

And we'd just about done talking
when you walked in.

Listen, I don't have time for this.

I need to find my friend. I'm going to
take Leon and we're going to leave.

Leon stole more than enough,
in fact, to make it worth us killing a cop.

So maybe we can make a deal.
You leave Leon here with us...

...and you can keep looking
for your friend.

You know, the guy that owned this badge
probably would have made that deal.

But I'm not him.

So who are you?

The guy who shot him
and stole his badge.

[GRUNTING]

[REDDY GROANING]

You coming or not, Leon?

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

Can you see me?

We're going to play hide and seek.

Ring my phone once for yes,
twice for no. Do you understand?

Can you see me now?

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

- Thank you.
CLERK: Sure. Enjoy.

- Hi, how are you?
CLERK: Good.

How about now?

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

Really?

How many fingers?

[CELL PHONE BUZZING THREE TIMES]

Good.

Very good.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

REESE:
You're not gonna help me find him?

Dude, I already told you,
I don't know your friend.

He programmed you to do this, didn't he?

- To keep giving me the numbers.
- What numbers? Who're you talking to?

Wait, I just remembered.
I don't care. I'm getting out of here.

Wait! Hey, my car!

Looks like we're walking.

What are you, ex-military?
One of those Blackwater guys?

- Does it matter?
- Look, you seem crazy, but highly capable.

I just need you to take me to my car.

- You owe me that much.
- How do you figure?

When you butted in,
we were in the middle of a negotiation.

Negotiations don't usually end in bullets.

Your friends in there were
Aryan Brotherhood.

Something you should've thought of
before you stole from them.

- By the way, how much did you take?
- Eight million. Hey!

Look, I didn't plan on stealing,
at least, not at first.

I had a legitimate job at Bear Sterns, then
the recession hit and we all get axed.

So I take a job at this little start up.
Took me six months to realize...

...I worked for the corporate arm
of the Aryan nation...

...laundering profits
from their meth business.

You wanna call that greedy?
I call it payback.

Please, I gotta get out of town
or I'm road kill. Take me to my car.

Not this car!
What're you doing?

Keeping you safe.
Like I said, I'm looking for my friend.

And I don't have time to babysit you.

Wait! Don't leave me here alone!

Don't worry.
You're gonna have plenty of company.

[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]

I'm thinking about
charging you overtime.

- Leon Tao.
- He know anything about...

- ...the abduction of Mr. Vocabulary?
- Afraid not.

He's about to have
a run-in with the N.Y.P.D.

Make sure nothing happens to him in jail.

I'm sick of doing your dirty laundry.
Go ask Carter.

Carter's busy working a murder
investigation for me.

See? She gets the good case and I get stuck
wasting my time with Leon.

Didn't you take an oath
to protect and serve?

- Yeah. So?
- So, go be a cop.

Yeah, Detective Carter.
I need a rush on a ballistics report.

Victim's name is Corwin,
first name Alicia.

SPECIAL COUNSEL: We might have
a disruption of our little project.

Alicia Corwin.

Last I heard, she's living off the grid
in West Virginia.

Connected man like yourself,
I'd imagined your sources would be better.

Someone shot her in New York
yesterday.

- Who killed her?
- That would be the question.

You realize that if even a whisper of
what we've been up to gets out...

...you and I are gonna spend the rest of
our lives in Guantanamo if we're lucky.

From now on,
my group will handle security on this.

The N.Y.P.D investigation of
Corwin's death, make sure it's a dead end.

Not a problem.

One more thing, Weeks.

Corwin had contact with an NSA analyst
named Peck before she was killed.

We tried to bring Peck in, but he had
assistance. Possibly one of ours.

Took out a three-man ISA unit by himself.

- Who is he?
HERSH: I'll be sure and ask him...

...right before I kill him.

[CELL PHONE RINGS]

The driver's license Root had
in Turing's name was real.

CARTER: You're sure?
- Finch checked out her credentials.

I'm guessing someone at the DMV
might've sold it to her off the books.

Okay, John. I'll get the name
of the employee who issued it.

Just call me when you have it.

John? You're on a first name basis?

- What do you call him?
- Bane of my existence.

[PRESSING PHONE KEYPAD]

Yes, Detective Fusco checking on
a prisoner named Leon Tao.

Ow! Ow! Ow!

My heart! My heart is palpitating.

- Please, I need help!
- All right, all right.

116 Bay Central...

...I need a bus to the command forthwith,
got a prisoner with a possible....

[CHUCKLING]

REESE:
Something wrong, Lionel?

Leon faked a heart attack,
walked right out.

Next time, be more
careful who you entrust him to.

- I entrusted him to you.
- Want me to find him or not?

I'll tell you where he's gone.
And, Lionel? Don't lose him again.

It's a sex thing.
Got a problem?

Careful, don't want you
to aggravate your condition.

- Detective Fusco, taking you to jail.
- Wait!

I'm an accountant! I'm not a criminal.
What are you going to charge me with?

Besides stealing city property?
Laundering drug money for the Third Reich?

You can't lock me up.
These guys own the prisons.

- I won't last a night in there.
MAN: Relax, Leon.

You won't make it to prison.

So who's your friend here?

He's not the one who took out our boys.

He's supposed to be tall
and well-dressed.

- I'm a cop.
- Yeah? That's what the other guy said, too.

Leon, where's our money?

You might as well just shoot me now.

That can be arranged.

Money's not worth your life
and it sure ain't worth mine.

In the trunk.

There's maybe a million here, Leon.
Where's the rest?

It's gone, there's nothing left.

BYRON: Bring him.
FUSCO: Hey!

I'd be inclined to let you have him,
he's a pain in my ass.

But he's already gotten away once.

So now it's just a matter of pride.
I can't leave without him.

Have it your way.

[GRUNTS]

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

Okay. Time for a little test drive.
Let's see what you can do.

DEALER:
Change, 150.

Good luck.

Bets up.

Hit or stay, sir?

[CELL PHONE BUZZES]

I'm sorry. Please, hit me.

DEALER:
Too many. Sorry, sir.

MAN: Place your bets,
place your bets!

It's all uphill from there, my friend.

MAN: Hold your bets, please,
ball's in motion.

DEALER:
Would you like a card, sir?

I'll stay.

DEALER:
Twenty-five. Everyone's a winner.

[PEOPLE CHATTERING]

DEALER:
Twenty-one. Congratulations, sir.

WOMAN:
That guy's on a roll.

DEALER:
Would you like a card, sir?

CROWD: Oh!
DEALER: Twenty-one again.

PLAYER:
Oh, a quarter mil.

Good luck.

Somebody up there
must like you, my friend.

DEALER:
Fifteen.

[CELL PHONE BUZZES]

Would you like a card?

Sir?

Hit me.

CROWD:
Oh....

DEALER:
Sorry, sir.

Well, luck evens out sooner or later.

Better in here on the table
than out there in the cold.

DEALER:
Thank you.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

ROOT:
Come on, Harry. Keep up.

Hurt any of these people, I'll stop
cooperating, you'll have to kill me.

Relax, Harold. I just need
a few things for our trip.

And I'm not gonna hurt any of them.

Now stay.

What happened to you?

I was being stupid. I'm so sorry.

I slipped outside.

We'll get you patched up.

Come, have a seat.

Any luck tracking down
our missing DMV employee?

REESE: Checked his apartment.
Doesn't look like he's been there.

Have you talked with your partner?

He's not picking up his phone.

He said he was going to do something
for you. Don't tell me we lost Fusco too.

Lionel's like a fungus.
Impossible to get rid of.

I'll see if I can dig him up.

BYRON:
Well, Titus is gonna be here soon.

And we both know that he's not gonna be
as patient as I am.

[BARKING]

So for the last time, Leon,
where is the rest of our money?

[MUFFLED SPEECH]

[COUGHS]

Double-dip recession, man. It happens.

You didn't want me to bet against America
with your money, did you?

[BARKING]

BYRON:
See, Butcher here was a military dog.

Was trained to sniff out the enemy.

Guy that had him,
he didn't have our money either.

So he paid with his dog.

And his balls.

I gotta leave some for Titus.
I'm sure he won't mind if I get a head start.

LEON:
No! No!

Found us another playmate outside.

BYRON:
Ah. The tall, well-dressed guy.

That's a good look for you, Lionel.

[TALKS INDISTINCTLY]

You come into our house,
better be packing more than a handgun.

Like I told your associate,
I just want to find my friend.

See, I don't have many friends.

Just the one, in fact.

[TALKS INDISTINCTLY]

Okay, maybe two.

So here's the deal, you give me Leon
and Detective Fusco here--

You can even leave the gag on.
--and I'll go peacefully.

And what if we say no?

I guess I get my workout in for the day.

[GRUNTS]

Oh, it looks like Butcher here
is gonna eat well tonight.

Nice dog.

[BARKING]

Belgian Malinois.

But, you know,
trained dogs don't bark in alarm.

They bark from anxiety.

- Yeah, so?
- So clearly it doesn't respect you.

REESE: Ha-ha-ha.
BYRON: Is something funny?

We used the same breed
in my unit in Tikrit.

Only about three guys in the world
that train dogs like this.

The funny thing is, those guys,
they only use Dutch commands.

And I'm guessing you don't speak Dutch.

Let her loose.

[SPEAKING IN DUTCH]

[PANTING]

[BUTCHER WHIMPERS]

[BLOWS LANDING & MEN GRUNTING]

Not a word. You hear me?

We are going back to my cruiser
in total silence.

- Sure thing, Lionel. Like a gag order.
- Hey. Hey, guys, think you could uncuff me?

- No.
- No.

[REESE WHISTLES THEN BUTCHER BARKS]

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

DEALER:
Thank you.

[ENGINE STARTS]

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

All right, I guess I've got some bugs
to work out with you.

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

[GASPS]

[HORN HONKING]

You can't do that again.

Your job is to protect everyone.

Not to protect me.

I guess we're gonna have to discuss
some ground rules.

ROOT:
I think you've got me wrong, Harold.

I don't enjoy killing people.

But I don't feel very bad about it either.

WAITER:
Ma'am.

When I was a kid...

...computers made more sense to me
than people.

I bet you were the same way.

Take this woman.

She looks nice enough.

But she lies on her taxes...

...she's addicted to painkillers...

...and for years she's been sleeping
with a married man.

Oh, I am so clumsy.

- Here you go.
- Thank you so much.

She'll be just fine.

In a month or two.

And there are messier ways to do this,
if you insist.

What's she got to do with any of this?

One day I realized
all the dumb, selfish things people do....

It's not our fault.

No one designed us.

We're just an accident, Harold.

We're just bad code.

But the thing you built?

It's perfect.

Rational. Beautiful.

By design.

What I made is just a machine.

A system and that's all.

I don't think so, Harry.

You may have fooled Nathan,
but I know the truth.

If you want to make something
that understands human behavior...

...it has to be at least as smart
as a human.

You created an intelligence.

A life.

And then you ripped out its voice,
locked it in a cage...

...and handed it over to the most laughably
corrupt people imaginable.

ROOT:
Oh.

Call 911.

MAN:
Call somebody!

[PEOPLE MURMURING]

ROOT:
Come on, Harold. It's time to go.

You don't look like a Butcher.

It looks exactly like a Butcher.

You're a sweetheart.
You just need a better name.

- Hey, can we focus on me, please?
- I'll get you to the airport.

Spend a little of your ill-gotten gains
and buy a one-way ticket out of town.

[CELL PHONE RINGS]

- Yeah, Carter, what've you got?
CARTER: Possible lead.

I went by Owen Reynolds' apartment
again.

The guy who sold Root her license, still no
sign of him, but I got his mail. Mostly junk.

But there is an overdue bill
for a storage unit.

- Broad Street and Pearl.
- I'm on it. Thanks.

Hey, you just missed the exit
for the tunnel.

Change of plans.

[GROANS]

TITUS: Where is he?
- Some guy in a suit took him.

I want everyone out looking.

Understand? Those two die tonight.

I can drive myself to the airport.
I gotta get lost.

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.

So you're gonna try very hard
not to get killed...

...while I look into it, you understand?

Then we're at a stalemate,
because I'm not getting out of this car.

You know, you got a bad attitude.

Hey, my money!

REESE: That dog will kill anyone
that tries to get near those bonds...

...including you.

[BUTCHER BARKING]

[SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE]

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

Oh, man.

- Is it--? Is he--? Is he--?
- Yes.

He's dead, Leon.

Very dead.

- Who did this?
- The same person who took my friend.

He saw her face. She had to kill him.

She would have had
to have paid him upfront.

- Have a seat, Leon.
- What? No way. Why?

Because you're good at hiding money.

If this woman left a trail,
well, you can find her.

Something I've been wondering.
What happened to the rest of the money?

I invested it. Stock tanked.

Oh, man. I found something.

All right. A transfer into this guy Reynolds'
account, only the money was stolen.

- From who?
- Reynolds.

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?
- There's nothing to trace.

- It's a loop.
- Maybe I need to find someone better.

There is no one better.

Except maybe this hacker.

She's an artist. There's nothing to track her.
There's nowhere to even begin.

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

CARTER:
John, we got a problem.

REESE:
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.

I'll look into it, but, John, I don't think
we have anything else to go on.

- Uh-- Dude.
- If Harold is still out there...

...I don't know how to find him.

John.

- What the hell are you doing?
- I'm not doing this anymore.

I'm not going anywhere
until you give me a way to find him.

Not this again.

I'm supposed to keep saving people
like this idiot...

...I want something in return.

Otherwise, I'm done.

Who are you talking to?
These guys are gonna kill us.

They probably are.

So, what the hell is this?

A negotiation.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

I know you've got your rules.

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?
You want me to give up the bonds?

Give all the money away? It's done.
We just have to move now.

Do the math, and figure out a way
to bend your rules.

Because he's my friend.

He saved my life. Understand?

And I won't do this without him.

[MOTORCYCLES REVVING]

[PHONE RINGING]

VOICES [OVER PHONE]:
Ayacucho. Golf. Papa.

Deterministic. Hotel. Sierra.

Camera. Kiosk. Kilo.

Thank you.

- Who was that?
- Long story. Let's go.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

[LINE RINGS]

WEEKS:
Yeah.

You're a hard man to locate, Denton.

Just being cautious.

It's good to be cautious.

Alicia Corwin was cautious.
Of course, it didn't save her.

What can I do for you?

My operative is making
the Corwin investigation go away.

Glad to hear it.

Look out for yourself, Denton.

One of us is already dead.

I'd hate to lose any more.

I have a personal situation.

I might be out of reach for a few days.

Denton, we can always reach you.

[LINE DISCONNECTS]

- Where are they?
- Somewhere in there.

Let's go.

Go on. Get out of here.
I'll keep them busy.

Yeah. Okay. John?

You can thank me later.

MAN:
Oh!

[MOTORCYCLE APPROACHING]

[BARKING]

- Where's the money?
- It's gone.

- That's bad news for you.
- Hey.

Pick on someone your own size.

Or someone a little closer to it.

[CHUCKLES]

[GRUNTING]

You're an embarrassment to your race.

When we rise up--

[THUD]

[GROANS]

I've been meaning
to get this back to you.

Thank you.

- Never thought I'd see you almost lose.
- Yeah, I wasn't losing. I was just resting.

Come on.

- At least somebody's happy.
- A little too happy.

You didn't go to the bathroom in there,
did you?

Oh, my God.

My money. It ate the bearer bonds.

That's it. We'll call him Bear.

I thought you said it wouldn't let anyone
near the money.

Look at it this way.

You're broke but you're alive.

Unless, of course, you lied to those guys
about losing the rest of their money.

No, I'm pretty certain.

- Mm?
- Like 80 percent certain.

Maybe 75...

...percent certain.

Your friend.

I hope you find him.

He's lucky to have you.

[WHIMPERS]

REESE:
Morning.

Heh. You gotta be kidding me.

I got a lead on Finch.

- You know where our woman's headed?
- No.

But I think I found out where she's from.

Pack your bags, Carter.

We're going to Texas.

You must be starving.

Our friend will be here shortly
and then I'll fix you something to eat.

I have no way of accessing it, you know?

I made sure of that.

Everything has a flaw.

You know that, Harold.

And, like I told you,
I'm awfully good at finding them.

Why?
What could you possibly want from it?

Same thing you did.

You may have told yourself
you were helping people.

But the real reason you built the machine
is because the world is boring.

Human beings have come
as far as we're gonna go.

I want to see what happens next.

You're right. You and I are alike.

In many ways.
Not that I'd care to admit it.

I spent years wondering
how people could be so cruel, petty.

So selfish.

And then I'd think
about how you could change them.

Fix them.

And that's why I've sealed up
the machine.

Not to protect it from the people
I was giving it to.

To protect it from me.
From people like us.

From the things we'd do with it.

That's why I'll never help you
get control of it.

I know.

You won't have to.

Because, you see, Harold...

...I don't want to control your machine.

Hi, honey. I got your message.

Is everything okay?

I just want to set it free.

[English - US - SDH]