- Finch goes undercover as a maths teacher to get close to the new Number, a troubled high school student, with a lot of secrets.
- Special Agent Donnelly has Reese, along with three other men, in seventy-two hour custody on Rikers Island. With Finch's help, Carter is in unofficial charge of helping Reese get out of custody without disclosing to Donnelly that Reese is indeed the "man in the suit" that Donnelly considers the most dangerous man on the loose. Although Carter has a plan to do so, she may find that tenacious Donnelly may not let Reese and the other three go so easily if he has not yet found out which one is the man in the suit. Meanwhile, Finch, largely with Fusco's help, is handling their next number, that of Brooklyn high school student Caleb Phipps. Caleb is an average student and comes from a poor family, living alone with his single alcoholic mother, whose drinking problem may stem from the grief over the death of Caleb's older brother, Ryan, two years earlier. Ryan, who was with Caleb at the time and who witnessed the incident, was pushed into the path of a subway train, although official reports state that he fell onto the tracks accidentally. Caleb seems to be having problems with the drug dealing gang at school, who may be targeting him. Finch also learns that Caleb's average grades masks the fact that he is a mathematical genius. In uncovering the reason why Caleb hides his genius, why the accident report on Ryan's death was a manufactured lie by the transit cop, and what Caleb's connection to the drug dealers is, Finch may find out who Caleb is the target of, or conversely who he is targeting.—Huggo
- With Reese arrested, it's up to Finch and Fusco to take care of the next number: Caleb Phipps, a high school kid with a difficult past, who hides the fact that he's a genius. Posing as a substitute teacher, Harold discovers that the threat on Caleb's life might come from some drug dealers, but also from another teacher. Meanwhile, Det. Carter tampers with FBI evidence, hoping to get John released.—stephie_j
- Reese and the other three men are in custody in Rikers, and Carter is trying to release him. However, Donnelly does not have the intention to release any of the three men after the 72-h custody since he is obsessed to find the man in the suit. Meanwhile, Finch and Fusco are investigating the number delivered by The Machine, the high-school student Caleb Phipps, in Brooklyn. They learn that Caleb is a poor student, who lives with his alcoholic mother alone after the death of his older brother Ryan, who felt on the tracks of the subway train two years ago. Finch poses of substitute teacher and soon he finds that Caleb is a mathematical and computer genius. Finch also learns that he is developing a sophisticated software, and his computer teacher is stealing the program to sell it for a fortune. He has also problem with a dangerous gang of drug dealers. After many investigations, Finch finds who is targeting Caleb.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Open with a subway train operator calling in an accident.
We're at Rikers Island, where Reese is being held along with the two other men. Special Agent Nicholas Donnelly (Brennan Brown) can legally hold them for only 72 hours, but tells Carter he's confident he'll be able to figure out which one is Reese.
Finch manages to sneak a phone into Reese's cell and gives him a call. He's confident that in 72 hours Reese will walk free.
We see Finch posing as a substitute teacher named Mr. Swift. He's there to look into a student named Caleb Phipps (Luke Kleintank). Fusco tells Finch that Caleb's brother was killed in a subway accident two years ago. Carter meets Finch outside the school and tells him she's deleted Reese's fingerprints from the system. She wants to get rid of Reese's DNA but will need help.
Fusco finds out that Caleb was a witness to this brother's death and that on that day the police rescinded a call for back-up. Finch hacks into the school's records and finds that Caleb is likely a genius who has been hiding his intelligence.
The next day in class Finch shows Caleb that he fished a piece of paper out of the trash that demonstrated Caleb is pretty bright. Finch succeeds in engaging the previously disinterested class.
Fusco pays Caleb's mother, Lori Phipps (Mary B. McCann), a visit. He plants a webcam and she tells him times are tough.
Fusco tells Finch he thinks Caleb's mother is probably an alcoholic.
Finch comes across Caleb in a pushing match with two of the school's drug dealers. After he breaks it up he finds a piece of paper on the ground. It's coding that Caleb wrote longhand since he has no computer and Finch thinks it could be "groundbreaking."
Fusco follows the two drug dealers to a meeting with the new drug lord.
Finch sends some specs to Carter, who is dressed up at a bar. She spots a guy and starts to flirt. She drugs him and takes a swab of saliva after he passes out in his car.
Finch sees Caleb leave his apartment in the middle of the night. He follows him and ends up running into Fusco, who has been following the drug money at several stops. It turns out Caleb is the new drug lord.
In class the next day Finch sees that Caleb has a meeting with his supplier that afternoon. He also sees an IT teacher named Chris Beckner (Luke Kirby) at the school copying a number of files from Caleb's computer. Finch gives Caleb back his coding notes and makes a suggestion that Caleb seems to like.
Finch and Fusco follow Caleb to his meeting. He finds his supplier shot and is cornered by the school's former drug lord, a man named Lorenzo. Lorenzo tells Caleb that if he doesn't pay back all the money he made selling to "my customers" by the following night he'll kill Caleb.
Fusco and Finch try and figure out why Caleb would be selling drugs. Fusco thinks it's related to his brother's death, as he's learned Caleb changed his story from the incident. Caleb initially said his brother was pushed onto the subway tracks by two youths, but changed his story. Fusco thinks the drug dealers who unknowingly have been selling for Caleb, Ronnie and Diego, are the ones who killed his brother. Fusco sees Beckner uploading some of Caleb's work and arranging a meeting with someone named Howard.
Beckner meets with a venture capitalist partner named Howard. It turns out Beckner is taking credit for Caleb's work, which is a new method for compressing files. Howard is prepared to cut Beckner a huge check.
Finch sees Caleb moving money into a trust. Beckner wants to meet with Caleb at the same time he's supposed to meet Lorenzo.
Carter breaks into a lab and switches out a DNA sample.
The transit officer who worked Caleb's brother's death tells Fusco that the two brothers were drinking and daring each other to cross the tracks before the train came. Fusco tells Finch that Caleb must feel guilty for his brother's death.
Finch loses track of Caleb, meaning they don't know which meeting he plans to attend. Fusco sees that Caleb is a no-show at the Lorenzo meeting. Finch goes the high school and confronts Beckner about what he did to Caleb. It turns out that Beckner is actually helping Caleb, who only wanted a little bit of money up front. Beckner is actually going to give Caleb all the credit and all of the money. The project is called 17621.
Finch finds Caleb at the subway. He talks to him about mistakes and being able to move on. We learn that 17 years, 6 months and 21 days is how old Caleb's brother was when he died and Caleb is that exact age today. Finch tries to convince Caleb that the world (and his mother) will be better with him around. A train passes by and Caleb does not jump in front of it.
Donnelly is told that the DNA does match any of the three men he has in custody. He wants the samples tested for tampering and asks for Carter.
In the school the following day Caleb thanks Finch. Finch implies that when he was Caleb's age he pulled off one of the most famous hacks in internet history.
Reese is told by a guard that he is about to be released. As Reese is on his way out, Donnelly arrives and tells the warden that they have been identified as "Unlawful Combatants" and will continue to be held. Carter arrives and Donnelly asks her to interrogate the three men, starting with Reese.
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