Top 50 Quotes From Person of Interest, Season 1, Episode 1

Harold: [Gives Reese a bunch of cards] Credit cards. Six cover identities. Funds to be replenished through a proxy corporation. Just like when you were with the agency.
John: When I was with the agency, I knew who was picking up the tab.

- You were too late for her.
- Just like you were too late for your friend Jessica.
- You were halfway around the world when she was killed.
- What the hell do you know about it?
- It's the truth.
- You left the government because they lied. I never will.
- I think all you ever wanted to do is protect people.

John: I'm curious. Was there a point where you knew you'd become a bad guy?
Detective: Woke up one morning, realized I was paid to protect a bunch of jerks from Wall Street who were robbing everybody blind. They're stealing more than my annual salary in an afternoon. I said, "what the hell."
John: I don't believe you. See, I've been watching you, Lionel. Your heart's not really into it. Stills, he does it for money, but I think you do it because you're loyal.
Detective: What's the difference?
John: That's why I'm going to let you live.

- Make it look like you killed each other.
- Then, just because you pissed me off...
- I'm gonna kill your family and all your friends.
- I don't have any friends.
- I don't have any family left, either.
- Went around the world looking for bad guys.
- But there were plenty of you right here all along.

- Hey, sweetheart, what's wrong? Jessica.
- What's wrong?
- Uh, it's New York.
- I don't know. I don't know.
- Something happened this morning.
- Is it a plane crash?
- I think it's two. I think it's two planes.

Harold: You have a decision to make.
John: The machine gave you another number.
Harold: The numbers never stop coming. You should know that up front.
John: Why me?
Harold: I've been watching you for a long time, John. We have more in common than you might think. The world thinks we're both dead, for starters.
John: You programmed the machine to delete those irrelevant numbers. Now you're trying to save them. What changed your mind?
Harold: Let's just say you're not the only one that's lost someone. If you wanna leave, I'll give you enough money to get as far as you need. Disappear.
John: And if I stay?
Harold: Sooner or later both of us will probably wind up dead. Actually dead this time. I said I'd tell you the truth. Didn't say you'd like it.

- Only problem is, uh, well, I had to shoot him with your gun.
- You'd have a hard time explaining that one.
- So, heh, you'll be taking another trip.
- But I'm not coming along this time.
- Where am I going?
- Oyster bay.
- Where no one's gonna find him for a long, long time.
- I'll be in touch.

- Reese: Hey, sweetheart, what's wrong?
- Jessica, what's wrong?

- He heads to the gym most nights.
- I got Doyle upstairs.
- Place is a dump. There's no doorman, no cameras, nobody.
- We'll take him in the lobby.
- Soon as it's done, we take the shooter out.
- Give him a block, take him out.
- Head shots this time, understand?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Get our friend out of the trunk.
Azarello: Who is this guy?
- Stills: Some ex-con Wheeler put away.

- We're supposed to go to?
- He's got his kid with him.
- What a waste.
Wheeler: Better watch out.
- You're about to kill a man. And his son.
- Please. Please don't do this.
- Reese [whispers]: Drop your weapon.

- Never said it would be easy.
- Kane: Hey, Carter.
- Yeah.
- Kane: You hear about your pal Anton?
- No.
- Him and his father tried to buy guns, wound up getting shot.
- Are they dead?
- Kane: Nope. Embarrassed.
- They got taken out by one guy. In a suit.

Harold: About that... I don't like firearms.
John: Neither do I. But if someone's going to have them, I'd rather it be me.

- Finch [over phone]: You need to understand, Mr. Reese.
- The information I have is incomplete, but it's never wrong.
- You need to know what it would be like to be forced...
- To listen to someone get murdered and not be able to do anything about it.
- Man 1: Shut up!
- Woman: Rick, no!

- Concerned third party? Heh, heh.
- Take care of him.
- And, uh, get rid of Wheeler tonight.
- Make it look clean.
- Hey, stills. You screw this up,
- I won't let it get to me.
- I'll take care of you just like I took care of pope.
- I can look after myself. You know that.

John: I'm considering sticking around New York for a while. If I do, I'm gonna need someone on the inside, and you might come in handy.
Detective: Ah, so I'm working for you now, huh?
[laughs]
John: That's right. But I've got two rules. One, you so much as hurt anybody, and I'll kill you. I don't particularly like killing people, but I'm very good at it. And two... You have to be more careful. For instance, if you're gonna put someone in the backseat of your car, you have to search them properly...
[Takes out a grenade and throws it into the front seat]

Harold: This recording is three years old. A woman murdered in this room by her husband. For the insurance. You were too late for her. Just like you were too late for your friend Jessica. You were halfway around the world when she was killed.
John: What the hell do you know about it?
Harold: It's the truth. You left the government because they lied to you... I never will. I think all you ever wanted to do was protect people.
John: [Looks tape recorder] NSA or FISA. Government. But you're not government.
Harold: No, I'm not. I guess you could call me a concerned third party. You couldn't have saved this woman... Or your friend. But you could have if you had have known in time. And that's the other thing I'm offering you, a chance to be there in time.

[first lines of series]
John: When you find that one person who connects you to the world, you become someone different. Someone better. When that person is taken from you, what do you become then?

- Stills: Gonna put a couple in the back of his head.
- Make it look like a gang thing.
- You gotta do something.
- Reese: Relax.
- I'm on it.
- Keep the change.

- Or your friend.
- But you could have if you had known in time.
- That's the other thing I'm offering you.
- A chance to be there in time.
- It's not too late for her.
- You could help me stop what's about to happen.
- The question is, will you?

- Woman [on TV]: Police are looking for a homeless man for further questioning.
- The unidentified man was originally believed...
- To be the victim of a violent assault on the subway.
- But now police consider the man a person of interest...
- In a number of crimes nationwide.

Detective: You hear about your pal Anton?
Detective: No?
Detective: Him and his father tried to buy some guns. Wind up getting shot with their own merchandise.
Detective: Are they dead?
Detective: Nope. Embarrassed enough. They got taken out by one guy. In a suit.

- You're crazy. We're both dead now.
- Do you know who they are?
- I do now.
- They're cops. Come on.

Detective: You're not law enforcement. Cartel finally grow some stones? Send somebody to take care of us? Who the hell are you?
John: Concerned... third party?

John: You ready to get to work, officer?
Detective: I'm no good to you. I'm dead. Just a matter of time before the gangs get me. Or I.A.
John: No one knows you're involved. I took care of that. Besides, they'll be too busy looking for Stills. The police will think he's run for it. The gangs and the mob will think he's gone Witness Protection.
Detective: Is that where he is, Witness Protection?
John: No, Lionel. He's in the trunk.

- Hey, Anton. Good to see you again.
- You know this guy?
- Wow, that's some pretty serious equipment.
- Have you guys taken a safety course?
- Take you, for instance.
- You're holding that thing sideways.
- You can't aim it, and two, it'll eject a shell casing right into your face. See?

- Reese: Michael?
- Can I talk to you for a second?

Detective: I'm Carter. You didn't give us a name.
John: You know, it's funny. Seems like the only time you need a name now is when you're in trouble. So am I in trouble?
Detective: I don't know, you tell me.

John: You don't know anything about me.
Harold: I know exactly everything about you, Mr. Reese. I know about the work you used to do for the government. I know about the doubts you came to have about that work. I know that the government, along with everybody else, thinks you're dead. I know you've spent the last couple of months trying to drink yourself to death. I know you're contemplating more efficient ways to do it. So you see, knowledge is not my problem. Doing something with that knowledge... That's where you'd come in. And you can call me Mr. Finch. I think you and I can help one another. I don't think you need a psychiatrist or a support group, or pills...
John: What do I need?
Harold: You need a purpose. More specifically, you need a job.

Wheeler: I think that's true, actually.
- You keep working on it, you'll be able to throw that fast.
- -Really? -absolutely.

- Heh.
- But I've got two rules.
- One, you so much as hurt anybody, and I'll kill you.
- I don't particularly like killing people, but I'm very good at it.
- And two, you have to be more careful.
- For instance, if you're gonna put someone in your car...
- You have to search them properly.

CBS: Tonight, police are looking for a homeless man for further questioning. The unidentified man was originally believed to be the victim of a violent assault on the subway, but now police consider the man a person of interest in a number of crimes nationwide.

- You bring enough for the whole group?
- Time to teach you about sharing.

- Lawrence pope was stabbed to death last night in his cell.
- Reese [over phone]: What? Finch: They're trying to cover their tracks.
- Reese: Hansen must be next.
- Stills [over phone]: You wanted to meet?
- Remsen and Avenue d in canarsie,
- 20 minutes.
- Finch, it's happening now.

Detective: I think I'll kill you and your friend here. Make it look like you killed each other. Then, just because you pissed me off, I'm going to kill your family. And all your friends.
John: I don't have any friends. I don't have any family left, either. Went around the world looking for bad guys, There were plenty of you right here all along.

Carters: Start talking, officer.
- You think I'm gonna rat on my friends?
- Heh. Please, you can tell the da all about your crooked pals.
- I wanna know about him, the guy who came after you.
- I don't know anything.
- He was just some guy alone. In a suit.
- You're gonna tell me everything you don't know about him...
- And where I can find him.

- Forget you.
- Every punk is carrying. That's why your father wanted us to take the car home.
- Relax.
- Picking up new hardware next week.
- Restore a little order.
- Besides, when we take the car, we don't get to meet new friends.
- Like this guy.

Harold: Knowledge is not my problem. Doing something with that knowledge is where you come in. You can call me Mr. Finch.

- Why don't we have the defendant tell you in her own words?
- Let's listen to the 911 call she made.
- Hansen [on recording]: And, hey, take care of Wheeler, tonight.
- Make it look clean. Stills, you screw this up, I won't let it get to me.
- I'll take care of you just like I took care of pope.
- I can look after myself. You know that.

- I want you to follow her, figure out what's gonna happen...
- And stop it from happening.
- So, what do you think?
- I think you're a bored rich guy.
- I think that woman's your ex-wife or someone you rode in an elevator with.
- Either way, I think I'm done.

- I don't believe you.
- See, I've been watching you, Lionel.
- Your heart's not really into it.
- Stills, he does it for money.
- But I think you do it because you're loyal.
- What's the difference?
- It's why I'm gonna let you live.

Harold: I'm a really private person.

- Fusco: What are you doing?
- You have your vest on, officer?

- You need some help?
- Of course, some other guys I knew...
- They had done so many evil things...
- They felt like they needed the punishment.
- That sound more like your story?
- Excuse me for a second.

Harold: Eight million people. You know what they all have in common? None of them knows what happens next. Someone is murdered in New York City every 18 hours. At the end of the day, one of these people will be gone...
John: Bad things happen to people every day. You can't stop them.
Harold: What if you could?

Harold: When the towers came down, you were in a hotel in Mexico. I was here. I was working. Didn't even know about the attacks until that evening. You see, Mr. Reese, until that day, I had spent the better part of my life making myself very rich. Suddenly all that money didn't seem to amount to much.
[pauses, then continues the story]
Harold: After the attacks, the government gave itself the power to read every email, listen to every cell phone, but they needed something that could sort through it all, something that could pick the terrorists out of the general population before they could act. The public wanted to be protected. They just didn't want to know how they were being protected. So when they finally got a system that worked, they kept it secret.
John: So how do you know about it?
Harold: I built it.

- Where the hell...?
- Reese [over phone]: There's no time.
- We were wrong. Hansen isn't the target.
- She's the ringleader.
- They're going after Wheeler.
- Tonight.

- What, does she think he's involved?
[Over phone] Remember, pope said they were protected from on high.
- Reese: Wait a second.
- Turns out there's a good reason she doesn't trust Wheeler.
- He might be working with the killers, and they're after Michael pope.
- We better get to this kid before someone else does.

- |'|| quit.
- I'll quit.
- Okay, then quit.
- I already did.
- I didn't wanna take the chance...
- That you wouldn't be here when I got back.
- But first we need some more Tequila.

- I'll need a statement from the burn.
- Which hospital did they take him to?
- Declined treatment.
- We got video on it, though.

John: Where's the machine now?
Harold: What, the drives? Who knows? Government facility somewhere. But the machine?
[Looks at a nearby camera]
Harold: The machine is everywhere. Watching us with 10,000 eyes. Listening with a million ears.
John: You gave yourself a way to communicate with it?
Harold: I was building the government a tool of unimaginable power. I thought maybe an off switch would come in handy. So I built myself a back door into it.
John: To access the irrelevant list.
Harold: Just a social security number.If anyone ever found out, I'd lose access so... nine digits, that's all we get.
John: And we have no idea why it picked Diane Hansen.
Harold: It wouldn't be steering us toward her if it wasn't seeing *something*.
John: But I don't know if I can protect Hansen. I can't see the whole picture.
Harold: I offered you a job, Mr. Reese. I never said it would be easy.