Person of Interest (TV Series)

Root Cause (2012)

Jim Caviezel: John Reese

Photos 

Quotes 

• Scott Powell : I could die. And - and the person who I love most in life would think that I'm nothing more than a killer. Do you have any idea what that feels like?

  John Reese : Actually, I do. Of course, in my case, it was true.

• John Reese : You follow up on the hacker?

  Harold Finch : She seems to cover her tracks as efficiently as you do. I was able to trace the signal to an address which the FBI received by way of an anonymous tip. Sadly, they were too late. It seems the hacker was using the dorm room of an unsuspecting college student who had been on winter break. I need to determine the damage to my system. I'll contact you when another number comes up.

  John Reese : Take care, Finch.

  [Reese hangs up. A secure chat opens on Finch's computer] 

  Root : Hello. FBI paid me a visit. Good thing I travel light.

  Harold Finch : [Types]  Who are you?

  Root : My name? I've had a few. You can call me Root.

  Harold Finch : Did you kill Matheson?

  Root : Matheson was a causality of his own weakness

  Harold Finch : Why did you contact me?

  Root : I wanted to acknowledge a worthy opponent. And say I'm looking forward to the next time... Harold.

• Harold Finch : I'll be joining you tonight.

  John Reese : Ever been on a stakeout, Finch?

  Harold Finch : No. Should I bring anything?

  John Reese : Warm clothes, something to read, and an empty water bottle.

  Harold Finch : Empty?

  John Reese : There are no bathrooms on a stakeout, Finch.

• John Reese : In frame jobs, the decoy usually doesn't make it. If they're not taken out at the scene, they're eliminated soon after. Staged to look like a suicide or accident.

  Harold Finch : Are you speaking from experience, Mr. Reese?

• Harold Finch : Whoever shot congressman Delancey and framed Powell went to a lot of trouble. They had to hack his computer, they spoofed his Internet search history and emails. They knew exactly what information to manipulate so that he looked guilty to the police.

  John Reese : Fooled us. And your machine.

  Harold Finch : No, the machine doesn't get fooled. If Powell isn't the threat, then he must be in danger.

• John Reese : You ever crave a more conventional life, Finch?

  Harold Finch : If by conventional, you mean a life without the numbers, it has crossed my mind.

  John Reese : It looks like Powell has a pretty normal one.

  Harold Finch : If there's one thing our little venture has proven, Mr. Reese, it's that people are rarely what they seem.

• Harold Finch : I haven't been able to unmask the hacker's ip. But here's a vulnerability in the firewall. Yes. Okay, now we're in.

  John Reese : Never doubted you.

  Harold Finch : Now let's see who's behind the curtain. Wait, something's wrong.

  John Reese : What is it?

  Harold Finch : We didn't hack in, we were let in. It's a honeypot. Program is sophisticated. They're using a worm to infect any devices connected to our private network. Including our phones. They're listening to us right now. Destroy your phone. You know how to find me.

  [Looks at his computer] 

  Harold Finch : Who are you?

• Harold Finch : Were you able to convince Mr. Billick to abandon his plan to kill his ex-wife?

  John Reese : [Fighting him]  I'm working on it, Finch.

• John Reese : Whoever is behind this left little to chance. But I need you to stay focused, Scott, so I can get you back to your family.

  Scott Powell : I doubt I got a family to go back to right now.

  John Reese : I know about your job. I know about the money, the lies. Yeah, I now what it's like to live inside a lie. I've lived there for so long it feels like there's no way out. But there always is.

  Scott Powell : I just needed a little more time, you know. To get a job, to get on my feet. I was going to tell Leslie. But now it's too late.

  John Reese : No, it's not. We're going to get you out of this.

• Harold Finch : If someone starts shooting, what do you expect me to do?

  John Reese : You'll think of something.

• John Reese : I hear we have you to thank for catching Matheson.

  Zoe Morgan : Glad I could help. Although there is a matter of payment. Buy me a drink?

  John Reese : You once told me a story about a guy who could say two words that would make the reporters go away. Ever figure out what he said?

  [Zoe smiles] 

• Harold Finch : This is odd. Those threatening emails that Powell sent to the congressman they're being flagged by my system... The ip addresses match, but there are big discrepancies in the TTL values, and the headers are failing to authenticate.

  John Reese : What are you getting at, Finch?

  Harold Finch : Those anonymous emails didn't originate in Powell's laptop. They were copied onto it from a remote location.

  John Reese : Finch, I'm more interested in finding the guy with the gun than I am in fixing his computer.