Person of Interest (TV Series)

Root Cause (2012)

Michael Emerson: Harold Finch

Photos 

Quotes 

• 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.

• Student : [Finch and Zoe enter a library study room]  Hey, I reserved the room!

  Harold Finch : [holding up a $20 bill]  Take a break...

  Student : [catching sight of Zoe]  Nice work, dude!

• 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.

• Harold Finch : Thank you for meeting me on such short notice, Ms. Morgan.

  Zoe Morgan : I work when I'm needed, Mr...

  Harold Finch : Harold please.

  Zoe Morgan : I am curious how you got my number.

  Harold Finch : Mutual friend. He assisted you on a Delicate negotiation with a certain pharmaceutical company.

  Zoe Morgan : So you're the guy on the other end of the phone. How is John?

  Harold Finch : On the run, as usual.

• 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.

• Harold Finch : Our client was at congressman Delancey's fundraiser.

  Zoe Morgan : As a guest?

  Harold Finch : The shooter.

  [Gets a look] 

  Harold Finch : He was framed. We're looking for the actual shooter.

  Zoe Morgan : Well, you boys certainly do like a challenge, don't you?

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

  John Reese : You'll think of something.

• 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.

• Zoe Morgan : Whoever killed Delancey, it goes way beyond politics. Prior to running for office, Delancey owned a contracting company. D. A. 's office has quietly been preparing an investigation into the company for several months.

  Harold Finch : How do you know that?

  [Zoe gives him a sly glance] 

  Harold Finch : Never mind.

  Zoe Morgan : There were allegations of corner cutting and payoffs to city inspectors.

  Harold Finch : Strange way for Delancey to run his business, considering his anti-corruption platform.

  Zoe Morgan : It is. But he wasn't running the business.

  Harold Finch : Matheson Delancey's campaign manager.

  Zoe Morgan : And business partner.

  Harold Finch : For two years, Delancey is in full-time campaign mode not really running the day-to-day of his business.

  Zoe Morgan : So the bribes and the corner cutting they must have happened under Matheson's watch.

  Harold Finch : Unless he could say Delancey was really running things.

  Zoe Morgan : Which he could if Delancey wasn't around to defend himself.

  Harold Finch : Even if this was true, we have no proof that Matheson had Delancey killed.

  Zoe Morgan : [Smiles]  Let's go get some.