Person of Interest: C.O.D.
December 10, 2024 6:20 AM - Season 2, Episode 9 - Subscribe
Finch and Reese's surveillance skills are pushed to the limit when a New York City cab driver's number comes up and any one of his passengers could be involved in the impending crime.
A cabbie pulls over and his passenger tells him to circle the park and wait for his call. He takes 5 $100 bills and tears them in half and hands the cabbie one half and tells him he will get the other half when he picks him up.
Reese and Finch check on their new number, cab driver Fermin Ordoñez. Fermin is a Cuban defector and former baseball player who dropped out when he tore a ligament in his shoulder. Finch discovers that he has emptied out everything from his saving account. Finch gets into Fermin's cab and hacks his onboard computer system to find out more about him. Reese suggests that he try small talk and Finch chats about how a cab driver was recently robbed by a passenger. He figures Fermin is a good judge of character and asks him to assess his passenger. Fermin is surprisingly good and when they arrive, Finch tips Fermin heavily.
Reese continues following Fermin while Finch piggybacks on Fermin's cloned phone. Finch warns Reese, however, it's impossible for them to monitor all of Fermin's passengers.
Finch calls Carter and she checks to confirm that Fermin has a clean record. He asks about her date with Cal Beecher from what he overheard via her monitored cell phone, and Carter hangs up. As she goes back to work, Carter notices an article about the upcoming trial of HR members.
Patrick Simmons meets with Alonzo Quinn and tells him that the FBI investigation into HR is wrapping up. Quinn warns that they have a larger problem: revenue. He admits that they made a mistake by turning their back on Elias, who is still running the underworld from jail.
Fermin then goes to a restaurant and meets with a man named Mendoza. He shows Mendoza a photo of his wife Maria and son Jorge that he wants to smuggle out of Cuba. Mendoza tells Fermin that the price has gone up and he can only afford to get out one or the other. Fermin objects, warning that the secret police are onto his wife, but Mendoza says that it's beyond his control. When Fermin wonders where he'll get another $40,000, Mendoza reminds him that it's the land of opportunity. Finch and Reese wonder what Fermin will do to get his family back.
Finch hacks the Cuban government's database and confirms that Fermin pitched for the Cuban national team before he defected. If Maria is caught trying to defect, they will throw her into prison.
Fusco and Simmons meet with Scarface and his men. Scarface wonders what HR can offer him and Simmons offers the last surviving Mafia Don, Luciano Grifoni, in return for Elias' support in rebuilding HR. After calling his boss, Scarface says that Elias accepts his offer but wants HR to deliver Grifoni personally. Simmons agrees.
Carter checks Fermin's GPS log and checks on an address that the cab driver stayed at for 25 minutes the previous night. The police are already there, and Detective Terney explains that they have a murder victim.When Carter pushes, insisting that she needs an ID, a Secret Service agent says that the dead man is Vadim Pushkov. They're looking for a laptop or phone that he might have had on him when he died. All they found is receipts and half of 5 $100 bills. The agent notes that Pushkov arrived at JFK and died a few hours later with no luggage. She wonders who drove him there and figures that the driver may be the shooter while Carter offers that they might be a witness. Once she's alone, Carter calls Finch with what she's found out and how the Secret Service is involved.
After a mysterious blonde woman gets Fermin to drive to the warehouse district, Reese gets in the cab. He draws a gun on Fermin and says that they're in trouble. Two cars box them in and shooters open fire. Reese tells Fermin to drive and aim for the rear of one car and provides cover fire as they ram through the car and drive out of the ambush.
Once they're clear, Fermin pulls over and demands answers. Finch traces the woman's call and confirms that the woman called the Estonian mob. Reese disables the GPS in the taxi so that the Estonians can't track Fermin down, and then asks about Pushkov. Fermin insists that he knows nothing about Pushkov but Reese figures that he's lying and tells him to decide if his life is worth whatever was left in the cab. The cab driver finally admits that he understood enough Russian to learn that Pushkov was trying to sell something called H-SAID. Reese asks what Pushkov left and Fermin admits that the man left a laptop under the seat and that he sold it to Aziz for money because Pushkov stiffed him on the fare. Reese figures that Pushkov left the laptop in the cab for safekeeping and they wonder what's on it. He figures that the Estonians will kill Fermin just for knowing about the laptop and they go to talk to Aziz.
When Reese and Fermin arrive at Aziz's electronics store, they find his corpse in the back office. Finch confirms that Aziz sold the laptop and warns that the laptop may have a beacon that allows the Estonians to track it. He hacks Aziz's e-mail account and discovers that he sold it to a man with the Internet handle of D3mn8. Finch figures that D3mn8 will try to sell it on a black market forum and promises to track him down and negotiate a meeting
Finch checks in with Reese and informs him that H-Said is the Homeland Security Automated Identification Database. Pushkov stole the information on thousands of travelers and planned to sell it to terrorists who could use the stolen credentials to smuggle their own people into the U.S. The information is useless if its existence becomes public knowledge so the Estonians are eliminating all possible witnesses. Finch then discovers that D3mn8 has posted the laptop online for sale at 50k. They figure that D3mn8 knows what he has, and Finch tries to set up a meet to buy the laptop.
That night Finch negotiates a price. Reese and Fermin go to the address to make the buy. When they arrive, there's no one there but a security camera is mounted on the wall.
Fusco insists to Simmons that he has to keep his nose clean. As Fusco hangs up his phone, he receives an e-mail with video showing him supposedly killing IAB Detective Ian Davidson. Simmons then sends him a text message telling him to bring in Grifoni. Fusco relents and calls Simmons back to say he's in.
D3mn8 calls Finch and tells him the sale is off because he doesn't like how Reese looks. However, Finch piggybacked on D3mn8's signal and traced him to the Yeongson Pool Hall. As Reese goes to his car, two of the Estonians attack him and he takes them down. Finch realizes that he'll have to meet D3mn8 on his own and leaves with Bear.
Finch realizes that D3mn8 has already made a deal with the Estonians and tells him that he'll give him $100,000, double the asking price. In return, D3mn8 has to move out of his mother's basement and move far away. Finch rattles off D3mn8's personal information and says that some bad people are looking for the laptop. After a moment, D3mn8 takes the money and leaves. Reese checks in with Finch, who assures him that that he has the laptop. However, as he tries to leave, the blonde woman Fermin picked up earlier comes over and says Finch has something that belongs to her.
Finch tells the woman that he's not giving her the laptop at any price. Four of her men come in and Bear starts barking. The woman tells her men to shoot the dog, but Reese arrives and takes them out. Bear takes down one man. While another one prepares to shoot Reese, Fermin throws a pool ball and knocks him out. Reese calls Carter, who tells them to get out.
Fusco and another HR cop, Bowman, go to get Grifoni. But it turns out to be an ambush. Grifoni's man shoots Bowman, and Grifoni tells Fusco that he's trying to get back onto good terms with Elias. He wants Fusco to give Simmons and HR a message.
Sometime later, Fermin watches a baseball game while Reese plays with Bear. Carter brings Jorge and Maria to the park and Fermin reunites with his family. His wife and son received aid in exchange for the laptop. He hugs Maria and then plays catch with his son.
Fusco meets Simmons at the station and tells him that they were double-crossed. Simmons wonders why they let Fusco walk away and Fusco says that it was to give HR a message: "Go to hell." Fusco agrees and walks away. Simmons calls Carter and gives her an anonymous tip. She tells Fusco that someone claimed that Davidson was murdered by another cop
Points of Interest
The newspaper article on the HR trials was written by Maxine Angelis, the reporter who was after HR in Bury the Lede s2 e5
Finch mentions H-SAID (Homeland Security Automated Identification Database), a (fictional) data collection system which stores information about travelers, such as addresses, FBI clearances, and biometric data. Similar data management systems implemented by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ESTA and US-VISIT, exist in the real world. Both programs require non-U.S. resident travelers to submit biographical data prior to, and biometric data such as fingerprints upon arrival in the United States.
The place where Reese and Fermin retreat to after the ambush was filmed at the underpass of the Manhattan approach to the Macombs Dam Bridge. It is not the Queensboro Bridge as identified on the Machine feed.
A cabbie pulls over and his passenger tells him to circle the park and wait for his call. He takes 5 $100 bills and tears them in half and hands the cabbie one half and tells him he will get the other half when he picks him up.
Reese and Finch check on their new number, cab driver Fermin Ordoñez. Fermin is a Cuban defector and former baseball player who dropped out when he tore a ligament in his shoulder. Finch discovers that he has emptied out everything from his saving account. Finch gets into Fermin's cab and hacks his onboard computer system to find out more about him. Reese suggests that he try small talk and Finch chats about how a cab driver was recently robbed by a passenger. He figures Fermin is a good judge of character and asks him to assess his passenger. Fermin is surprisingly good and when they arrive, Finch tips Fermin heavily.
Reese continues following Fermin while Finch piggybacks on Fermin's cloned phone. Finch warns Reese, however, it's impossible for them to monitor all of Fermin's passengers.
Finch calls Carter and she checks to confirm that Fermin has a clean record. He asks about her date with Cal Beecher from what he overheard via her monitored cell phone, and Carter hangs up. As she goes back to work, Carter notices an article about the upcoming trial of HR members.
Patrick Simmons meets with Alonzo Quinn and tells him that the FBI investigation into HR is wrapping up. Quinn warns that they have a larger problem: revenue. He admits that they made a mistake by turning their back on Elias, who is still running the underworld from jail.
Fermin then goes to a restaurant and meets with a man named Mendoza. He shows Mendoza a photo of his wife Maria and son Jorge that he wants to smuggle out of Cuba. Mendoza tells Fermin that the price has gone up and he can only afford to get out one or the other. Fermin objects, warning that the secret police are onto his wife, but Mendoza says that it's beyond his control. When Fermin wonders where he'll get another $40,000, Mendoza reminds him that it's the land of opportunity. Finch and Reese wonder what Fermin will do to get his family back.
Finch hacks the Cuban government's database and confirms that Fermin pitched for the Cuban national team before he defected. If Maria is caught trying to defect, they will throw her into prison.
Fusco and Simmons meet with Scarface and his men. Scarface wonders what HR can offer him and Simmons offers the last surviving Mafia Don, Luciano Grifoni, in return for Elias' support in rebuilding HR. After calling his boss, Scarface says that Elias accepts his offer but wants HR to deliver Grifoni personally. Simmons agrees.
Carter checks Fermin's GPS log and checks on an address that the cab driver stayed at for 25 minutes the previous night. The police are already there, and Detective Terney explains that they have a murder victim.When Carter pushes, insisting that she needs an ID, a Secret Service agent says that the dead man is Vadim Pushkov. They're looking for a laptop or phone that he might have had on him when he died. All they found is receipts and half of 5 $100 bills. The agent notes that Pushkov arrived at JFK and died a few hours later with no luggage. She wonders who drove him there and figures that the driver may be the shooter while Carter offers that they might be a witness. Once she's alone, Carter calls Finch with what she's found out and how the Secret Service is involved.
After a mysterious blonde woman gets Fermin to drive to the warehouse district, Reese gets in the cab. He draws a gun on Fermin and says that they're in trouble. Two cars box them in and shooters open fire. Reese tells Fermin to drive and aim for the rear of one car and provides cover fire as they ram through the car and drive out of the ambush.
Once they're clear, Fermin pulls over and demands answers. Finch traces the woman's call and confirms that the woman called the Estonian mob. Reese disables the GPS in the taxi so that the Estonians can't track Fermin down, and then asks about Pushkov. Fermin insists that he knows nothing about Pushkov but Reese figures that he's lying and tells him to decide if his life is worth whatever was left in the cab. The cab driver finally admits that he understood enough Russian to learn that Pushkov was trying to sell something called H-SAID. Reese asks what Pushkov left and Fermin admits that the man left a laptop under the seat and that he sold it to Aziz for money because Pushkov stiffed him on the fare. Reese figures that Pushkov left the laptop in the cab for safekeeping and they wonder what's on it. He figures that the Estonians will kill Fermin just for knowing about the laptop and they go to talk to Aziz.
When Reese and Fermin arrive at Aziz's electronics store, they find his corpse in the back office. Finch confirms that Aziz sold the laptop and warns that the laptop may have a beacon that allows the Estonians to track it. He hacks Aziz's e-mail account and discovers that he sold it to a man with the Internet handle of D3mn8. Finch figures that D3mn8 will try to sell it on a black market forum and promises to track him down and negotiate a meeting
Finch checks in with Reese and informs him that H-Said is the Homeland Security Automated Identification Database. Pushkov stole the information on thousands of travelers and planned to sell it to terrorists who could use the stolen credentials to smuggle their own people into the U.S. The information is useless if its existence becomes public knowledge so the Estonians are eliminating all possible witnesses. Finch then discovers that D3mn8 has posted the laptop online for sale at 50k. They figure that D3mn8 knows what he has, and Finch tries to set up a meet to buy the laptop.
That night Finch negotiates a price. Reese and Fermin go to the address to make the buy. When they arrive, there's no one there but a security camera is mounted on the wall.
Fusco insists to Simmons that he has to keep his nose clean. As Fusco hangs up his phone, he receives an e-mail with video showing him supposedly killing IAB Detective Ian Davidson. Simmons then sends him a text message telling him to bring in Grifoni. Fusco relents and calls Simmons back to say he's in.
D3mn8 calls Finch and tells him the sale is off because he doesn't like how Reese looks. However, Finch piggybacked on D3mn8's signal and traced him to the Yeongson Pool Hall. As Reese goes to his car, two of the Estonians attack him and he takes them down. Finch realizes that he'll have to meet D3mn8 on his own and leaves with Bear.
Finch realizes that D3mn8 has already made a deal with the Estonians and tells him that he'll give him $100,000, double the asking price. In return, D3mn8 has to move out of his mother's basement and move far away. Finch rattles off D3mn8's personal information and says that some bad people are looking for the laptop. After a moment, D3mn8 takes the money and leaves. Reese checks in with Finch, who assures him that that he has the laptop. However, as he tries to leave, the blonde woman Fermin picked up earlier comes over and says Finch has something that belongs to her.
Finch tells the woman that he's not giving her the laptop at any price. Four of her men come in and Bear starts barking. The woman tells her men to shoot the dog, but Reese arrives and takes them out. Bear takes down one man. While another one prepares to shoot Reese, Fermin throws a pool ball and knocks him out. Reese calls Carter, who tells them to get out.
Fusco and another HR cop, Bowman, go to get Grifoni. But it turns out to be an ambush. Grifoni's man shoots Bowman, and Grifoni tells Fusco that he's trying to get back onto good terms with Elias. He wants Fusco to give Simmons and HR a message.
Sometime later, Fermin watches a baseball game while Reese plays with Bear. Carter brings Jorge and Maria to the park and Fermin reunites with his family. His wife and son received aid in exchange for the laptop. He hugs Maria and then plays catch with his son.
Fusco meets Simmons at the station and tells him that they were double-crossed. Simmons wonders why they let Fusco walk away and Fusco says that it was to give HR a message: "Go to hell." Fusco agrees and walks away. Simmons calls Carter and gives her an anonymous tip. She tells Fusco that someone claimed that Davidson was murdered by another cop
Points of Interest
The newspaper article on the HR trials was written by Maxine Angelis, the reporter who was after HR in Bury the Lede s2 e5
Finch mentions H-SAID (Homeland Security Automated Identification Database), a (fictional) data collection system which stores information about travelers, such as addresses, FBI clearances, and biometric data. Similar data management systems implemented by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ESTA and US-VISIT, exist in the real world. Both programs require non-U.S. resident travelers to submit biographical data prior to, and biometric data such as fingerprints upon arrival in the United States.
The place where Reese and Fermin retreat to after the ambush was filmed at the underpass of the Manhattan approach to the Macombs Dam Bridge. It is not the Queensboro Bridge as identified on the Machine feed.
Enjoyed the poolhall fight scene, especially rewarding Bear for being a good boi, as always.
And that the baseball backstory paid off.
The HR machinations are my least favorite of the running storylines. Like, they're probably significant -- especially for Fusco, who I do now have quite a soft spot for -- but I find them a little hard to keep straight in my head; there's a lot of regular and occasional characters to keep track of in the show, and the various HR bosses all rather blend together into generic-bad-cop in my mental map.
That said, Elias no longer needing HR seems like a big change: presumably he does still need bad cops to turn blind eyes when necessary, but doesn't want the baggage and/or oppositional power of a whole fraternal organization of bad cops?
Reese suggests that he try small talk
"A librarian, maybe?"
"Why, yes. Of a sort."
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 4:18 PM on December 10
And that the baseball backstory paid off.
The HR machinations are my least favorite of the running storylines. Like, they're probably significant -- especially for Fusco, who I do now have quite a soft spot for -- but I find them a little hard to keep straight in my head; there's a lot of regular and occasional characters to keep track of in the show, and the various HR bosses all rather blend together into generic-bad-cop in my mental map.
That said, Elias no longer needing HR seems like a big change: presumably he does still need bad cops to turn blind eyes when necessary, but doesn't want the baggage and/or oppositional power of a whole fraternal organization of bad cops?
Reese suggests that he try small talk
"A librarian, maybe?"
"Why, yes. Of a sort."
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 4:18 PM on December 10
HR wasn't working with Elias because they didn't believe he would become such a powerful player. As such Elias doesn't lose anything by severing ties with HR, but Quinn now realizes that HR is losing a lot of potential revenue by not dealing with Elias. He says as much in his convo with Simmons for why they need to try and woo Elias. Since Elias appears to have both revenue and pull, he probably has his own cops. As such HR needs him, but he doesn't need HR.
It's interesting, though, that Elias is more willing to forgive Grifoni than HR. While Elias has a tendency to hold long grudges, he's also is extremely strategic in how he operates which is how he became so powerful in such a short amount of time. So it seems he regards HR as less useful than a mafia don.
posted by miss-lapin at 8:35 AM on December 11
It's interesting, though, that Elias is more willing to forgive Grifoni than HR. While Elias has a tendency to hold long grudges, he's also is extremely strategic in how he operates which is how he became so powerful in such a short amount of time. So it seems he regards HR as less useful than a mafia don.
posted by miss-lapin at 8:35 AM on December 11
Also the person of interest fan wiki is extreme useful for reminders about occasional characters.
posted by miss-lapin at 8:36 AM on December 11
posted by miss-lapin at 8:36 AM on December 11
The fan wiki is not very safe for first-watchers though! I've found generally the episode pages are a decent match for my spoiler tolerance -- mostly focused on the episode but with occasional gestures towards longer plotlines, much like here -- but the character pages can get very spoilery very fast.
(I've managed to stay mostly unspoiled so far, other than going in knowing that the overall arc of the series is towards the Machine; it's been a lot of fun. I am at S2E18 now and whoooof things are kicking off.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:13 PM on December 11 [1 favorite]
(I've managed to stay mostly unspoiled so far, other than going in knowing that the overall arc of the series is towards the Machine; it's been a lot of fun. I am at S2E18 now and whoooof things are kicking off.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:13 PM on December 11 [1 favorite]
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Enjoyed the poolhall fight scene, especially rewarding Bear for being a good boi, as always.
Even in 2012 (! that was just a couple of years ago, no?) I find it weird that Cuba is an embargoed country by the US, as a Canadian.
posted by porpoise at 9:53 AM on December 10