Person of Interest (2011–2016): Season 3, Episode 17 - Root Path - full transcript

The Machine tasks Root to find a janitor who has a mysterious past. However, when her presence endangers him, the Machine sends his number to Finch as well.

(Finch and Root)
You are being watched.

(Finch) The government
has a secret system...

(Root) A machine that spies on you
every hour of every day.

_

(Reese) Name's Root.

She's a hacker, extortionist, murderer.

(Finch) She hacks human beings

as easily as she hacks computers.

(Root) I don't
wanna control their machine.

I just want to set it free.

(Finch) I already did.



(Root) The machine's
given me a mission.

Things are evolving.

(Woman) You say
you're an interface,

your eyes and
your ears are your ports,

we can put a stop to that.

(Root) I wish you'd listened.

Then the drives would have never
fallen into the wrong hands.

(Finch) Decima Technologies.

(Greer) My Samaritan, you are
destined for great things.

_

_

Hey, new fish, you want a tip?

No, thanks.

That's too bad, 'cause you're
getting the whole thing.



[Laughter]

Hey!

[Tires squeal]

Go check it out.

Ma'am, hello?

Are you okay?

- I'm fine. Thanks for asking.
- Aah!

Get out there.
We've got a problem.

Go get 'em, biggie.

- Show 'em what you got.
- [Tasering, man shouting]

(Officer) You, hands in the
air... Get down on the... Aah!

[Screams, groans]

[Man whistling]
Oh, what have we here?

Hey, baby.
I want a piece of that.

Hi, Billy.

Wanna get outta here?

Come on, sugar.

Why don't you
take me with... Aghh!

My name's Billy too!

So do we know each other?

All right, I have him.
What's next?

Who are you talking to?

Who are you?
Hello?

Hello!

Wrong side.
I'm deaf in that ear.

Can you do a German accent?

- Um...
- Learn.

[German accent]
Yes, thank you for noticing.

Yes, thank you for noticing.

Look, thanks for busting me out and all,

but what the hell is going on?

In your case, Billy, I haven't
figured that out yet.

All I know is that the fate of the future

hangs in the balance, and
you have some role to play.

Shave.

[Razor buzzing]

Yeah, I don't mean to complain,

but I'm probably gonna die soon.

The pants will be a bit long.

So what do you need me to boost?

You do know I'm a car thief, right?

I don't know, don't care.

My boss only gives me the
information I need to do my job,

and...

right now I need you to learn
this signature, fast.

Uh, I'm gonna need a...

Hai chiizu.

_

That's Daizo.

I saved him from
the Tokyo Police last month.

He's been with me ever since.

We good?

[Radio chatter, siren chirps]

Where were you when I got busted?

Ridgestone Psychiatric Facility.

Here we are.

- Where?
- No idea.

Domo.

_

_

Oh, I love it when you do this.

Not you.
Go inside now.

_

Dr. Schmitz?

Dr. Schmitz,
got a package for you.

ID and signature, please.

_

_

Did you change your hair?

[German accent]
Yes, thank you for noticing.

We should go before he gets here.

Who?

_

_

So what was all this?

My boss and I are trying

to stop something
very bad from happening.

So what do you think?

_

3109 West 23rd Street.

Looks like that's where I'm headed next.

Why?

You'll find out when you get there.

Thanks for playing.

Now here's your lovely parting gift.

At the second lunch table
on the left in cell block D,

sit across from a 300-pound
Chickasaw named Arnold.

He loves dinosaurs as much as you do.

Tell him that, and he'll
have your back forever.

[Tires squeal]

[Sirens chirp]

(Man) There he is!

- Police! Police!
- Don't move!

Stay right where you are.

Put your hands in the air.

So whom am I looking for this time?

Powerful CEO?

A rogue hacker?

A hit man posing

as a delivery guy?

Hmm, fascinating.

Hello, Cyrus.

I'm supposed to take you to breakfast.

Just a PB&J, huh?

You sure you wouldn't
rather have some eggs?

No, thanks.
This is dinner for me.

Working nights is all about routine.

Gotta trick your body into going to sleep

when the rest of the world is waking up.

Same meal, same place every day,

or I don't sleep a wink.

But I do appreciate the
meal and the hot cocoa.

Normally people ask more questions.

- Such as?
- "Who are you?"

"What do you want with me?"

"What the hell's
going on?"

Que será, será.

Whatever will be, will be.

Took me a long time to see it,

but there's an order to things, a plan.

And everything that happens
is part of it, including you.

But if it makes you feel any better,

what the hell is going on?

My boss wanted me to talk to you.

Which means you and I are supposed
to do something together,

something important.

Sounds like you got a weird job.

What's your boss want us to do?

She won't say.

She likes it better when
I figure it out myself.

Sounds like you have a weird boss.

Well, now I go to the park
for a walk, rain or shine.

Fresh air helps me have good dreams.

You're more than welcome
to join if you like.

You should know better

than to try to sneak up on me, Harold.

Did you come to welcome me
back to New York?

Actually, we're here
for Mr. Wells.

His number came at 7:04 this morning.

Your multifaceted machine

sure does work in mysterious
ways, doesn't she?

In this case perhaps not that mysterious.

When Mr. Reese and Ms. Shaw
accessed the security system

in the building where he works,

they found you approaching him

at precisely 7:04 AM.

I've prepared a preliminary
study of his digital footprint,

and in my estimation
the most dangerous thing

in Cyrus Wells's life is you.

Whatever your plan is,
Ms. Groves,

I believe you're gonna get him killed.

Sync and corrections by n17t01
web dl sync snarry

Relax, Harold.

Nobody's getting anybody killed.

Cyrus is perfectly safe with me.

If the machine sent us his number,

it may mean that you are
placing Mr. Wells at risk.

Or it could mean I'm here to protect him.

Honestly, Harold,
keeping up with everything

the machine whispers
in my ear can be tricky,

especially now that I'm down to one.

Oh, my.

Oh, did you not hear
about my chat with Control?

She's fun...

in an unnecessary stapedectomy kind of way.

But I do miss music in stereo.

I'm sorry.

The machine offered me a job.

She never said it would be easy.

And what job is that exactly?

Trying to save the world, of course.

By preventing the emergence
of a second machine.

Samaritan.

Genetically programmed,

fully targetable, and nearly complete.

Samaritan presents a serious
threat to our machine, Harold.

And Decima's trying to bring it to life.

Do you really want
to see what it looks like

when two gods go to war?

Maybe you should be more worried

about what happens
when Samaritan comes online

than about what happens to some janitor.

How much do you know about
this janitor, Ms. Groves?

Well...

he's got some interesting ideas

about metaphysical determinism,

and I think he's a Doris Day fan.

Do you know that he has
an MBA in finance from Fordham?

Do you know he was a multimillionaire

by the age of 35?

Do you know he hasn't worked

on Wall Street since 2009?

Would you even care to know why?

Perhaps you should ask the machine

for a bit more information
about Cyrus Wells

before you deem him insignificant.

He'll be fine, I promise.

I know it seems weird,

but I'm one of the good guys now, Harold.

[Phone beeps]

Third from the bottom, 15th
on the right, behind you.

Root wouldn't take "Go" for an answer?

No, I'm afraid not.

Seems that she thinks she has
the situation well in hand.

Ms. Groves has never
been particularly concerned

about collateral damage,

which may be precisely what
Cyrus Wells is about to become.

Watch over them until we can
figure out what's going on.

In the meantime, I'll try to determine

what message this is meant to convey.

_

Seems pretty clear to me, Finch.

I think she likes you, Harold.

[Distorted chatter]

So I don't want to be rude or anything,

but, yeah,

look, thank you for the hot cocoa,

and it was nice of you to walk me home.

But whatever it is you're
doing right now is not...

Necessary.
Trust me.

(Root) I heard you skipped breakfast.

And you and your Australopithecine coworker

can just take the day off.

I've been doing just fine
without a safety net.

Look, the only reason you're not stuck

in a cage right now is me.

Don't make me look bad.

I couldn't make you look bad if I tried.

You should start packing your toiletries.

(Wells) Whoa, whoa, whoa.

No, no, no, okay?

Seriously, no.

I have to work again tonight.

I need to sleep,
so it's time for you to leave.

Actually, it's time for us both to leave.

Things are about to get interesting.

What?

Why?

Is this about what happened at my old job?

What did happen?

None of your business.
Give me that.

Who are these people, Cyrus?

Their names.
It could be important.

It's not.
You have to go.

Did they get hurt?
Did you get hurt?

I-I need to know
what happened.

[Gunshot]

(Shaw) Finch, I've got eyes on a sniper.

And I might have a lead
on who's doing the shooting.

(Finch) The solicitation
Ms. Groves gave me

is visually identical to an image

commonly sent out as spam.

But digitally

someone has hidden a message
inside the image.

It's encrypted with a running key cipher.

But I can't decode it without...

"Behind you, third from the
bottom, 15th from the right."

De Tocqueville.

I believe I know who we're dealing with.

Vigilance.
[Gunfire]

[Groans]

We'll take her.

You four get the target.

It's happening again.

(Root) Do you think you
could do that later?

'Cause we should probably go.

No, no, no.
Please.

Guns make me very, very nervous.

[Gunfire, glass shatters]

Well...

we've got a sniper outside

and four heavily-armed
privacy terrorists

coming up the north stairwell.

So a gun would be nice, but...

You think of everything.

Tear gas.
Hold your breath.

Wait.
What about the sniper?

Trust me.

[Gunshot]

Wanna see who's got better aim?

Aah!

[Coughing]

Got eyes on the target.

[Groans]

(Finch) I'm afraid Vigilance may
not be our only threat, Mr. Reese.

I decrypted their spam message,

and it seems that Vigilance
is only targeting

Mr. Wells because
his name came up

in a secret communique they
intercepted from Decima.

I don't think Root's
our biggest problem anymore.

Hey, who are those guys?

I told you things were gonna
get interesting.

[Distorted chatter]

The target's in sight, sir.
We're moving in.

Shouldn't we run?

Shh.
I can't hear my boss.

Hi, here's $20.

Whoa, why are we stopping?

Because there are more
where those four came from.

And this is the quickest way
to get you out of here

without shooting someone.

Keep your shoulders relaxed
when they put the handcuffs on.

[Tires screech]

You!

Hands in the air.

What?

Hands in the air.

Ow.

Cyrus is safe, Finch.

But we'll need Fusco's help
to keep it that way.

And Ms. Groves?

Gone.

So are the boys from Decima.

Do we have any idea what Cyrus did

to piss off both them and Vigilance?

As far as I can tell, nothing.

But whatever's going on,
I'm starting to suspect

that it has more to do with
his new job than his old one.

I hacked the computer system

at the janitorial service
that employs Cyrus

and discovered they recently
ran a background check on him.

Why?

What kind of janitor
needs a background check?

Something to look into when
we reconnect with Ms. Shaw.

I lost her signal
when the shooting started.

She said she saw a sniper.

But I don't see any sign of her here.

Between Shaw and Cyrus,

I think I know who needs our help more.

Then I'm afraid
we'll have to trust Ms. Shaw

to take care of herself.

[Distorted chatter] _

Now that you're not gonna die,
we can have a little chat.

So you need a hospital,

and I need to know why
everyone's after the janitor.

[Gunshot]

(Collier) You owe me a sniper.

This is Collier, right?

Or at least that's your alias?

(Collier) Can't say I know yours.

So I'll just call you
a target of opportunity.

Vigilance came here
to interrogate Cyrus Wells,

but now we're here for you.

See, based on the way you fight,

I think you were a clandestine operative

for the good old US of A.

But based on the people you protect,

I think you're not anymore.

And I'm guessing it's
because they betrayed you.

Are you guys gonna shoot again

or just talk me to death?

Well, actually I'm more interested
in what you have to say.

So I've taken the liberty
of sealing off the exits.

Now in exchange for everything you know

about the Samaritan system

and the people that are trying to build it,

I'm prepared to offer you
something that no one else can...

Revenge on the government
that betrayed you.

And if I refuse?

In the words of Benjamin
Franklin, join or die.

[Distorted chatter]

(Finch) Have you secured
Mr. Wells, Detective?

Yeah, I got him.

And I'm clearing up the charges too.

You're welcome very much.

A phrase which now makes my thanks

seem less than sincere, Detective.

I'm sending you GPS coordinates

for a rendezvous
with Mr. Reese,

who will henceforth
protect Mr. Wells.

All right.

Okay, pal, let's get you out of here.

Come on, this way.

You forgot to transfer
from savings again, Lionel.

Your rent check's gonna bounce.

- Hi, Cyrus.
- Hey.

Hey, nice try, Cocoa Puffs.

There's no way I'm letting him
leave here with you.

I understand.

But there are things you don't know.

For starters, you don't know that Cyrus

is currently wanted by not one, but two

very dangerous organizations.

And you have no idea
that there are currently

27 people en route to this location,

the closest of whom is carrying

two concealed firearms and a push dagger

he used to kill three people
in Dubai last month...

one of them just for fun.

I don't care how big your brain is.

Nobody's taking this guy from me

without a big fat
federal warrant, you got that?

Joined the Bureau last month to get access

to a nuclear plant in Tulsa.

Long story.

Is there a problem here, Fusco?

Um, no Captain.

There's no problem.

Is there a back way out of here?

Yeah, it's, uh...

I wasn't asking you.

You let her what?

(Fusco) She had a
warrant... a real one.

What was I supposed to say?

"Sorry, boss, Agent King is
actually a superpowered nutball.

Just ask my buddy,
the urban legend."

[Pay phone ringing]

(Root) Relax, John.

Have a little faith.

You're making a mistake.

Cyrus is safer with me.

You don't really believe that, do you?

Have you and Harold even figured out

why Decima is after him yet?

That power you have?

I've had it too.

I know just what it's like to have

all those answers buzzing in your ear.

But at the end of the day,
you still make choices.

And if the choice you're making now

- gets Cyrus killed...
- Whatever happens,

I'll be there to save him,

just like I was there to save you.

After everything we've
been through together, John,

you really should trust me.

[Dial tone]

Are you sure it's safe here?

I can protect you anywhere.

I thought this place might help you relax.

Sorry I've kept you up past your bedtime.

Yeah, that's all right.

To tell the truth, I don't
sleep very well anyway.

Yeah, about that...

I'd still like to know what happened.

Your boss seems to know everything.

Why don't you ask her?

I did.

She won't tell me.

Please, Cyrus, who are these people?

Sarah Lind and Alex Rice...

my best friends from college.

After graduation, they started a small

financial services firm and brought me on

to help 'em run it.

When everybody was betting big
on the housing market,

we played it safe.

So when the crash came,

we went from a small start-up
to a major player.

But somebody was jealous.

'Cause one day a guy walked into our office

and started shooting.

Alex and Sarah were killed.

Five others were shot, including me.

The gunman was never identified.

And when was this, exactly?

April 4, 2009.

- I'm sorry.
- Don't be.

Ten weeks in ICU makes you take
a long, hard look at things.

I realized I had wasted
the first 30 years of my life

putting zeros on my bank account.

So I gave all my money away to charity.

Now I get up every night

and keep that building spic and span.

'Cause who doesn't like clean floors?

Que será, será.

What happened that day was part of a plan.

No. No, what...

whatever this was, believe me,

it was not part of some grand cosmic plan.

[Indistinct radio chatter]

We need to go.

They're almost here.

(Man) We're at the
coordinates you sent, sir.

But we can't get a visual on the targets.

You will.

Deploy the countermeasure.

[Overlapping chatter] _

Can you hear me?

_

- What do we do now?
- Run.

[Tense music]



- Get in the car!
- Cyrus!

[Gunshots]

[Phone ringing]

I guess you better answer that.

[Gunshots]

[Gunshot]

Drop the weapon!

Drop it now!

I don't like killing patriots,

so I'm gonna give you one more chance.

That's funny, I was gonna
say the same thing to you.

See, I knew we had something in common...

many things, I suspect.

You're not the only one
the government has betrayed.

And that's why I want your help.

See, America's dying.

And everybody knows it.

It's not just about privacy,
it's about principle.

Our nation is assassinating
people with drones,

holding them without due process,

and, yes, spying on its own people

without cause or limits
and in direct violation

of our constitution.

But we have a plan to stop it.

And if you join us,

you will not only have your revenge,

but you will help write a new
chapter in American history.

You're right about all of it.

I did work for the government,
and I do want revenge.

But if that work taught me anything,

it's that how you do matters
as much as what you do.

And by that metric,
you're all just terrorists.

And I kill terrorists.

[Gunshots]

[All grunting]

I lost Decima's trail about
a mile from the park.

Do we have any other way to find Cyrus?

Not at the moment.

But I may have discovered
why Decima wants him.

(Finch) I've located the
original communique

that Vigilance intercepted from Decima.

The message that started all of this.

It lists Cyrus as 1 of 15
people with retinal access.

(Reese) As in retinal scanner?

So somewhere out there is a door,

and Cyrus Wells' eye is the key.

I believe I might know where that door is.

After passing his background check at work,

Cyrus became the only custodian
allowed on the 19th floor.

What's on the 19th floor?

A company called Maxwell Limited.

All I know about them so far is that

they take regular deliveries
of liquid helium.

I'm guessing they're not
blowing up balloons.

Maxwell could be using it to cool

anything from biomedical reactors to...

The fastest computer ever built.

Maxwell's the corporate cover
for an NSA lab.

And two days ago, somebody
working in that lab sent this.

_

Oh, my.

Okay, Finch, what am I missing here?

It's a note from one
computer scientist to another,

detailing the specifications
of a superconducting processor,

three times faster
than anything now available.

And since the government's
not about to sell it to them,

Decima plans to use Cyrus to steal it.

The original Samaritan crashed
because a chip

fast enough to run it
hadn't been built yet.

Two days ago, somebody built it.

Decima has the software.

Now they want the hardware.

Right now, I'm more worried about Cyrus.

As soon as he opens that door,
Decima's gonna kill him.

I suppose you'll be
joining Mr. Reese.

Not just yet.

Decima's severed my link to the machine.

Temporarily, but she didn't like that.

So...

she wants you to patch these into this.

The last time you didn't help us

when you should have, people died.

And once this device is installed,

which will you save?

The chip or Cyrus Wells?

Since it was you who put him in danger.

Fine, Harold.

It's all my fault...

mine and the machine's.
Happy?

Far from it, but I do believe

that there's a lesson here about hubris.

Well, if anyone would know about hubris,

it would be the man who built God.

She's worried about you, Harold.

We both are.

The past three months,
you've slept an average

of four hours per night.

My problems are no concern
of yours, Ms. Groves.

Perhaps if you had 1/10 as much interest

in Cyrus's welfare,
he might not be about...

By your own definition,
Cyrus is irrelevant.

Everyone is relevant to someone.

That man has spent every day of his life

believing that there is actually
some sort of higher plan.

That's the problem with humans...

they just sit around, hoping
that someone will fix things.

But no one will.
No one cares.

The universe is infinite
and chaotic and cold.

And there has never been a plan.

At least not till now.

You wanna know what the
plan was the day they died?

The plan was for someone
to make $15 million.

An executive at a big bank
wanted them dead,

so he wired the money
to someone with the skills,

resources, and moral depravity
to make that happen.

And that someone was me.

And the punch line

is that your machine keeps
telling me to save Cyrus.

How badly did you have to break it

to make it care about people so much?

That didn't break it.
It's what made it work.

It was only after I taught the machine

that people mattered, that it could begin

to be able to help them.

I'd like to do the same thing
for you, if you'd let me.

In the first 30 minutes after
Samaritan comes online,

a lot of people are gonna be killed.

But they're gonna start with four.

You, me,

your helper monkey, and Shaw.

And there won't be a damn thing anyone,

including your machine, can do to stop it.

You think I don't care
about people, Harold?

I'm doing all of this to save you.

Sorry, Doctor.

I didn't have time to make an appointment.

But I know you'll make an exception for me.

Really?

And, uh, how do you know that?

The same way I know I can
put a bullet through your hand

before you can dial 911.

The same way I know you're
the best otolaryngologist

in 250 miles.

Okay, uh, what do you want?
Drugs?

Not really.

Although a little lidocaine would be nice.

I didn't get any the last time.

You see, somebody broke my ear.

And you're gonna fix it.

Building security has been neutralized.

We're ready to take the chip.

Then let's begin, shall we?

Very good.

You may dispose of him now.

(Cyrus) Wait. What are you...
No, let me go!

Please. The minimum healing time
is three weeks before...

Unfortunately, I'm on a bit of a schedule.

And I won't be needing that.

Okay, I'm turning it on.

_

Now you're going to hear a series of tones.

I can hear you.

I didn't start yet.

I wasn't talking to you.

We're in the lab.

(Greer) Take all the research,
wipe the computers,

and locate the chip.

Haste makes waste.

The chamber is cooled
to within a few degrees

of absolute zero.

(Greer) Opening now would kill you all.

And more importantly damage the chip.

Listen closely
to the warm-up protocol

and do exactly as I say.

No, no, please, don't.

Settle down.
It'll all be over soon.

We got plenty of bleach.

Oh, no, no, no.

This is not the plan.

This can't be the plan.

[Gunshot] [Grunts]

[Gunshots]

Oh, God!

What did you say to him?

[Gunshots]

_

[Gunshots]

(Greer) She is persistent.

Countermeasures.

[Buzzing]

[Gunfire]

(Man) 233 Kelvin.

(Greer) The chamber is now safe.

Get the chip and go.

[Tense music]

[Gunfire]

Fusco.

I'm gonna try to get to Cyrus.

Be ready to cover me.

(Root) He'll just run away again.

He doesn't like guns.

You think the machine's gonna
help you dodge bullets?

No.

[Gunshots]

It's okay.
I'm coming to you.

[Grunts]

[Gunshots]

Hey, Cyrus, wanna get out of here?

[Gunfire]

(Man) The Maxwell chip is in custody, sir.

We've cleared the perimeter.

Then our work here is done.

Do tidy up, please.

Cyrus is safe, Finch, but
Decima got away with the chip.

That may not be our only loss.

I still haven't heard from Miss...

What happened to you guys?

You missed all the fun.

[Hisses in pain]

What are they saying?

I know you can't bluejack her anymore.

But do you expect us to believe
you didn't bug that balcony?

I suppose I thought
they deserved some privacy.

Looks like it's time to go.

I hope you don't mind starting a new life.

I was about due for one.

Besides, it's all part of the plan.

Keep 'em dry.

Change the dressings every 72 hours.

I love it when you play doctor.

[Door shuts]

Was it just a coincidence...

Cyrus and me?

Or was the machine trying
to make some sort of point?

You'd have to ask the machine.

I did.

She's not telling.

Did you inform Mr. Wells
about your role in his past?

I wanted to.

But that would've been for me.

What Cyrus believes, it...

it helps him.

And who am I to say he's wrong?

She wants me on a plane
to Paraguay in 20 minutes.

About that...

you're not wrong about
the threat Samaritan poses.

And though you and I may not
see eye to eye on some things,

perhaps we should collaborate a bit more.

Toward that end...

Detective Fusco is here to take me

where I need to go.

[Door opens]

Hello, Lionel.

Hey, Cuckoo's Nest, the meter's running.

Your smoke alarm's gonna
start beeping at 2:41 AM.

[Door shuts]

_