Ep 3. Mission Creep

John Reese is the protagonist of the series. Prior to the start of the series, he was a CIA agent, but after his girlfriend Jessica’s death, he vanished with despair. He now lives life as a homeless person with no apparent purpose. One day, as he sits in Bryant Park, he is approached by a man who offers him $20. The man explains that he works for a company that needs someone with Reese’s skills to track down a woman named Diane Hansen. Reese is hesitant to accept the offer until he learns that the woman is involved with a man named Henry Peck, who has developed a piece of software that is causing trouble for the company. Reese sees this as an opportunity to take down the man responsible for Jessica’s death, so he accepts the job.

Reese quickly finds Hansen, but she is killed in an apparent robbery before he can get any useful information out of her. Reese then investigates the crime scene and discovers that Hansen was killed by a member of a small-time criminal gang known as the Brotherhood. Immediately, Reese decides to take down the Brotherhood and use them to get to Peck.

Reese’s investigation into the Brotherhood leads him to a man named Joey Durban, who is the right-hand man of their leader, Link. Reese approaches Durban and offers to help him rob a bank in exchange for information on Link’s whereabouts. Durban agrees, and Reese is able to track down Link and tie him up in his own safe house. Reese then calls Peck and arranges a meeting, using Link as leverage.

Meanwhile, Detective Joss Carter is still investigating the case of the man who was gunned down in the episode "Ghosts". Her investigation leads her to a local bar where she meets a former detective named Mark Snow, who tells her that he has information about the case. However, Snow is reluctant to give her the information and demands that she meet with him in private. Carter agrees, but when she arrives at the designated location, she is ambushed by Snow and his accomplices. They attempt to kill her, but she is able to fight them off and escape.

As Reese prepares to meet with Peck, he is ambushed by a group of men who are in Peck’s employ. Reese is able to take them out, but Peck has already left the meeting place. Reese then tracks down Peck’s house, where he finds him hiding in a panic room. Peck explains to Reese that the software he has created is a military grade encryption code that can be used to protect American interests from foreign hackers. However, Peck’s boss had planned to sell the software to the Chinese government for a huge profit. When Peck found out about the corruption, he went into hiding.

Reese realizes that Peck’s boss has put a hit out on Peck, and decides to protect him. Meanwhile, Carter has joined forces with Reese and is helping him take down the Brotherhood. Reese and Carter break into the Brotherhood’s warehouse, where they find Durban and several of his men. A shootout ensues, but Reese is able to take them all out.

Reese and Peck then go on the run, but Peck decides that he needs to come forward and reveal what he knows about the software and his boss’s corruption. Reese agrees to help Peck turn himself in to the authorities, but warns him that it won’t be easy. Carter is also in hot pursuit of Reese and Peck, but she is unable to catch them.

As the episode comes to a close, Reese and Peck turn themselves in to the FBI. They are immediately arrested and taken into custody. However, Reese manages to get a message to his partner, a mysterious billionaire named Harold Finch, who uses his vast resources to help Reese and Peck escape custody. The episode ends with Reese and Finch preparing for their next mission.