Work Text:
The following is an essay on the first four episodes that Donnelly was in from his point of view. His thoughts, his feelings, his attitudes are my guesses based on what Donnelly said and did, which are canon. I would like to thank Lindao for her invaluable assistance through chats and emails. Whenever I used a concept or a quote of hers, I included her name in parentheses near it.
Root Cause
When Donnelly met Reese for the first time it was an explosive experience. Hearts were racing, teeth were gnashing, heads were whipped backwards and forwards and that was just on the inside of the vehicle. Reese chose to introduce himself to the FBI by backing into their SUV at high speed, shattering glass and bending metal in the process. Half conscious, disoriented, wondering what in the name of law and order had happened, Donnelly saw a tall aspect of man, in a suit, wearing a full-face gas mask, carrying an assault rifle and a tear gas canister, coming toward him. When Reese aimed his rifle, Donnelly must have wondered if Death had sent his angel to collect him. Instead, Donnelly's senses were assaulted, along with those of three other men, by tear gas seeping into the SUV.
His eyes burned. Searing pain entered his throat and nose as they were closing up. His lungs tightened. It was difficult to see. It was difficult to breathe. All Donnelly could do was cough and cough and cough, trying to get rid of whatever was causing him so much discomfort and pain. (http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemicalweapons/a/teargasexposure.htm).
Peering through the haze, desperately trying to comprehend what was occurring before him, Special Agent Nicholas Donnelly witnessed the aforementioned aspect of a man, in a suit, wearing a full-face gas mask, still carrying his assault rifle, rip his suspect from his custody, leaving himself and his two agents alive.
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Mrs. Powell: "I don't understand. One man took my husband away from all of you?"
Donnelly: "We believe he's part of an armed group, possibly terrorists. Did your husband have any radical political views, Mrs. Powell?"
How absolutely humiliating it must have been for Donnelly, to try to explain to the wife of a suspect who is missing, how her husband was forcibly taken from him. Then, later, to write the report that would be sent to his superiors, who, upon viewing, would place it in his personnel file, and he himself, placing a copy into the permanent case file of the shooting of Congressman Delancey, itself.
Agent Donnelly felt responsible for those men under his command in that vehicle. He felt responsible for the safe transport of the suspect in his custody. (Lindao). That he had somehow allowed his suspect to be taken from him -- Taken -- in a life threatening manner, by an individual who was so talented, that in a matter of minutes, he had overwhelmed, disabled and neutralized himself and his team was more than just regrettable. It was an attack on his credibility, his leadership, his personal ability to do his job well. Things of this nature just don't happen to Special Agent Nicholas Donnelly of the FBI.
After all of the explaining, and the hypothesizing, and the gathering of evidence from the damaged SUV, and after the horror of imminent death had faded away, Agent Donnelly of the FBI got angry; very, very angry. The kind of anger that burns slowly, smoldering over a long period of time.
It did not matter that later on his suspect was returned, unharmed and not guilty. It did not matter that the man who had caused so much damage and made his life so difficult, actually helped to solve the case of the murdered Congressman. It only mattered that he and his team had been physically assaulted, their persons placed in harms way, and their suspect had been kidnapped.
However, Agent Donnelly was not prepared to accept that the violent attack upon himself and his men, with the extreme discomfort of tear gas and rattled teeth and bones along with the subsequent humiliation that followed, was accomplished by one man. How much more reasonable, palatable, understandable to suggest that there must have been more than one person involved. There must have been a team, a group, an organization that this man worked with. So, a terrorist group, it had to have been. A terrifying, "deadly effective" (Lindao), terrorist group -- of one.
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The reunion of Donnelly and his suspect was a brief, but turbulent one. Later on that evening, Powell walked into the 8th precinct and turned himself in.
Powell: "Excuse me. My name is Scott Powell."
Donnelly as he is pulling out his gun: "Stay where you are. Do not turn around. Raise your hands."
Finally, Donnelly's suspect was back in his custody, and just as his team was preparing Powell for transport, Carter received an anonymous recording by email, which played as soon as she opened it.
Matheson over recording: "I hired you because I thought you could handle this."
Root: "And I am."
Matheson: "Then, why is Powell still alive? You assured me of your abilities and right now, I'm not seeing any of them."
A brief investigation ensued. It became clear that Powell had, indeed, been set up. Donnelly was forced to let him go.
But probably not before interrogating him thoroughly about the terrorist group of one. It seems inconceivable that Donnelly would have let Powell, his only witness, out of his sight, without first extracting every last ounce of information from him, concerning his kidnapping and the man who took him. Donnelly would have been most interested in what the terrorist group of one looked like and the places he and Powell went.
Powell, of course, could have told the FBI what Reese looked like, but apparently he did not. Maybe Powell claimed he was blindfolded. Maybe he pleaded the excuse of a traumatic experience. However it happened, Donnelly received no physical description of Reese from Powell. If he had, Donnelly would not have been presented with such a perplexing dilemma at the end of Shadow Box.
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Identity Crisis
In his effort to corral the terrorist group of one, Agent Donnelly began to ingratiate himself into the good graces of Detective Carter. Unfortunately for him, he made a few faux pas along the way and some incorrect assumptions, concerning her.
Donnelly: "Detective Carter. I'm Special Agent Donnelly. We worked together on the Delancey shooting last month."
Carter: "Right, of course. What brings you back to the 8th?"
Donnelly: "You, actually."
While enclosed in an empty office, Agent Donnelly revealed to Detective Carter a large file that he and his team had compiled. On the front of the file is the following information:
[US Dept of Justice]
[Federal Bureau of Investigation]
[Case# 9x876420]
[Last Name: Doe]
[First Name: John]
[Date of Origin: 10/6/11]
Donnelly had a first name for the subject of his file. It is likely that Donnelly received this information from Powell (Root Cause) before he was released. It is also highly probable that Powell listed the places that he was taken, after his rescue/ kidnapping. This would help to explain how Donnelly found Reese's fingerprints, because Reese wore gloves when he assaulted the SUV.
Donnelly would have been anxious to send a team of technicians to all of those places as soon as possible in the hopes of acquiring the fingerprints of the man who assaulted him and his men. His team must have been successful because Donnelly did run fingerprints through the national database, which brought him to the "Man in the Suit" and Detective Carter.
Carter: "What's this about?"
Donnelly: "You sent a set of fingerprints through AFIS a few months back."
Carter: "I work Homicide. That tends to happen."
Donnelly: "Yeah, well, these got our attention. In your reports, you refer to him as the "Man in the Suit".
Here Donnelly admits to reading Carter's reports, plural.
Donnelly continued: "And we think this may be the same man who assaulted my team and kidnapped a suspect in our custody".
Carter: "The way I remember it, the suspect was later cleared of all charges."
Donnelly: "That's beside the point, detective..."
For Donnelly the total disregard for the law and his authority was the point. (Lindao). Reese deliberately caused a collision between his vehicle and Donnelly's which resulted in extensive property damage and physical injuries, minor though they might have been, discharged a firearm illegally in public, distributed tear gas, also illegally, and kidnapped a man in his custody. These are all actionable offenses aimed at the FBI, but specifically, Agent Donnelly. The guilt or innocence of his suspect was not his job nor his concern. (Lindao). Justice, mercy, extenuating circumstances, those things were the purview and responsibility of the Justice Department. Upholding the law was his only concern and Donnelly took his job seriously.
Donnelly continued: "... Our agents believe this man may be connected to dozens of unsolved homicides and assaults over the years. Many of them here in New York in the last six months..."
Here began Donnelly's progression of faux pas. His findings, his conclusions, the information he stuffed into his stout file on the terrorist group of one that he lists so matter of factly for Carter, seems to have been taken directly from her reports on the "Man in the Suit", a concept that did not escape Carter.
Donnelly continued: "...A series of bank robberies involving ex-military, (Mission Creep), the killing of a Stasi operative, (Foe), shootings of drug dealers, (Judgement), gangsters, (Witness), even police officers..." (Pilot).
Carter was very much aware of the "Man in the Suit's" connection to all that Donnelly listed. She investigated them and wrote the reports. None of this was new information to her.
Through her investigations, Carter had realized that Reese was not a robber, or a gangster, or drug dealer, or even a perpetrator. But Carter couldn't tell Donnelly that the "Man in the Suit", the man he was pursuing so diligently, was a vigilante and not a villain. That would implicate her. Donnelly would have lots and lots of questions. How do you know this? Have you been in contact with him? Are you working with him? Donnelly might have accused her of complicity, maybe have her followed. Even if she did, it would not have mattered. Donnelly and his team were assaulted, his suspect taken and vigilantism is illegal.
Donnelly continued: "...Now, you speculated, based on your initial interview with this man that he was former military, maybe special forces."
Carter was a little more than miffed at that point. It showed on her face and in her voice. Carter gave Donnelly a disgusted look as she said --
Carter: "It's all in my reports."
Donnelly: "No. No, it's not. Not by a long shot. When can you spare me an hour, detective? I've got something to show you."
Clearly Donnelly would like Carter's voluntary assistance in his hunt for the terrorist group of one, which has now become the hunt for the "Man in the Suit". Her cooperation would be invaluable in giving credence to the urgency and high priority of his quest. After all, here was someone who was just as concerned as he was in her pursuit of a very dangerous and potential threat to national security. (Incorrect assumption concerning Carter number one).
And yet he absorbs her work as his own. He seems oblivious to what he has done or that she is unhappy with him. This suggests that "Pride of Place" (Lindao), that attitude where he and his team took precedence over any other individual or agency may have been at work here. Their information and work became his or his team's. (Incorrect assumption concerning Carter number two.)
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Later that evening, Donnelly brought Carter to his temporary headquarters in New York. (It is not stated in canon that this was the same day, but they were both wearing the same clothes and the Booth Cam gave the time as 20:28:35). It seems to be in a basement. There were no windows. It was dark and nearly empty except for the 4 bulletin boards, six folding tables, and two light fixtures over head. Six agents were working at computers.
Donnelly: "You've still got your security clearance from your time in the army, detective. So I can show you this."
Carter: "The FBI doesn't run classified ops unless there's issues of -- national -- security." Then her voice trailed off.
Now the hunt for the "Man in the Suit" had officially become a Federal Case of National Security. Donnelly had convinced his superiors to give him support, and backing; sparse but usable. He had convinced them the "Man in the Suit" was a viable, physical threat to the citizens of the United States, though, possibly on a "make your case" basis.
In actuality, given the personal experience Donnelly had with the TMITS, the limited information he had been able to gather about him through Carter's reports, and the meager evidence he had been able to collect up to that point, Donnelly had every right to be worried and concerned. After all,"a man who will assault a car full of FBI can reasonably be expected to do anything". (Lindao)
This information alone might have been enough to win him support. Not as a major priority, perhaps, but certainly as a valid pursuit. Instead, Donnelly chose to augment his case. He brought in Carter as a partner who he thought shared equally in his concern for the dangerous nature of his quarry.
Somewhere along the way, Donnelly discovered TMITS had ties to the CIA, through the appearance of Agent Snow. Donnelly used the Bureau's apparent distrust of the CIA to make an even more compelling argument, to his superiors, to his team, to Carter, and to himself.
Donnelly: "Used to be the CIA worked closely with us. Then they stopped. Extreme action became the norm. Kidnappings, renditions, assassinations. Worse, we think they did some of these things right here in the U.S. And to run these ops they needed dangerous, often sociopathic men. Like the one you've been chasing..."
Donnelly was not entirely wrong, here, concerning Snow's team. Stanton was truly "out there", Snow was remorseless and Reese is dangerous. Donnelly did assume, mistakenly however, that Reese, aka TMITS, is a sociopath by association. Of course, given how they met, it was a reasonable assumption. TMITS did perform in a violently anti-social manner.
Donnelly: "We think he's selling his services to the highest bidder..."
As a seasoned investigator and interrogator for the FBI, Donnelly had constructed a sound hypothesis, even though it was incorrect. Donnelly's hypothesis was logical, rational and based on his past experience with the bureau and their interactions with the CIA.
Donnelly: "... We've seen it before. Mexican Special Forces taking over the drug trade in Jarez. Ex-British SAS selling blood diamonds in Liberia. Men like that, when they're done fighting there's no place for them in society. Which makes them very dangerous."
Donnelly also constructed another sound, working hypothesis based on empirical evidence.
Donnelly: "We believe he's been working with one of the organized crime syndicates. Specifically a man named Elias.... One of our contacts in the Russian mob told us he took out a team they sent to kill Elias."
Why else would TMITS be there, if he wasn't working for Elias? Donnelly had nothing in his experience, his gathered information or his collected evidence that would even begin to suggest that Reese was anything more than a mercenary.
Perhaps Donnelly took solace in knowing that an entire Russian hit team was defeated by this one man, also.
Carter: "Tell me. What's the Bureau's interest in this? What's your interest? You wanna put one over on the CIA?"
Carter is an astute and intuitive woman. Being in the Army and then on the Police Force, both male dominated professions, seems to have taught Detective Carter a little something about the male ego. She sensed a personal motive in all that she had been shown. Her instincts were correct. Donnelly had a personal agenda. And he admitted it to her. He hedged a little, though, concerning his reason why. After all, pride was at stake. He could hardly admit to himself he had a personal vendetta against this man. (Lindao). He certainly wouldn't have revealed that particular secret to Carter.
Donnelly: "Yes, I wanna expose the CIA for what it's become, but mainly I wanna catch him. We can't have rogue government hit men operating on domestic soil."
Including the exposure of the CIA as one of the goals for his manhunt probably got him the funds and support that he needed from his superiors. But clearly, it was a secondary pursuit, if a pursuit at all, for Donnelly.
Donnelly continued: "Obviously you feel the same. That's why you've been so vigilant in pursuing him." (Incorrect assumption concerning Carter number three).
There is a parallel here between Donnelly and Snow. Both wanted to catch Reese. Granted they each had different reasons and different expected outcomes : Snow wanted Reese dead; Donnelly wanted him alive. However, they both hedged on the real reason for their pursuit. Snow told Evans and possibly others he wanted to talk to Reese about what happened in Ordos. (Super). Donnelly told Carter and others that he wanted to bring down the CIA along with Reese.
This is not to suggest that these two agents were the same. Not at all. But it is interesting that these two characters, on opposite sides of the line between good and evil, right and wrong, law and surpassed law, felt the need to hide or disguise their true motive, if only to themselves.
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Manny Happy Returns
Finally, finally Donnelly received a lead on his quarry, TMITS. He rushed to share this news with the one person he felt would be as happy and eager as he to hear it. Donnelly was waiting for Carter as she entered into the precinct. (Incorrect assumption concerning Carter number four).
Donnelly: "Detective Carter."
Carter: "Special Agent Donnelly. How goes your hunt for our mystery man?"
Donnelly: "That's why I'm here. I promised I'd keep you in the loop on our investigation."
Enclosed in an empty office, Donnelly revealed to Carter the contents of his briefcase, again.
Donnelly: "So we've been looking into a smuggling ring that was broken up a couple months back. The leader was suspected of having CIA ties. But he skipped before he could be charged." (Blue Code)
Carter knew all about this. She was there. Carter helped to take down that smuggling ring and was one of the arresting officers. She may have even written the report that Donnelly took his information from. (Pride of Place faux pas two).
Carter: "I recall."
Ah, but Donnelly had more empirical evidence. He was bursting to share it with her. Donnelly and his team linked Reese's fingerprints with DNA evidence from his blood. No wonder Donnelly was excited.
Donnelly: "Yeah, well, we think your guy was working for him. CSU found prints and some carbonized blood along with the body of a member of the ring in the trunk of a burned out car. When they ran the blood, they got a DNA hit on a cold case up in New Rochelle from 2011."
This was really good news for Donnelly. TMITS had now been linked with yet another case. A case with new information, new reports, with differing points of view from his and Carter's. All desirable things. Plus new people to talk with. New places to investigate.
Donnelly: "Arndt was up to his eyeballs in debt. Lost his investors' money. We think one of them had him taken out and hired your guy to do the job. And he made some mistakes. Now, someone in New Rochelle has to know something..."
Donnelly's theory that Reese, TMITS was "selling his services to the highest bidder" seemed to be holding water. (Referenced in Identity Crisis). His contact in the Russian Mob witnessed Reese take out a hit squad aimed at Elias, a rival mob boss. His team found Reese's fingerprints and DNA from his blood in a burned out car linked to a smuggling ring and inside that car was a dead body. In New Rochelle his team found more blood evidence at the home of a man who owed a lot of money to a lot of people and the man is still missing.
Donnelly continued: "... And then we'll be close."
Carter: "Close to what?"
Donnelly: "Finding out who this man really is."
Even Special Agent Nicholas Donnelly of the FBI wants to know the answer to the burning question asked by so many numbers, villains and agents of the law. The "Vehicle of Continuity" throughout the entire series. The question not even Reese can answer of himself, "Who the hell are you?"
Donnelly: "How'd you like to assist?"
Carter: "Assist?"
Donnelly: "Up in New Rochelle."
Carter: "Uh, I would love to, but, um ..."
Donnelly: "Think about it. You're the reason we're onto this guy. You should be part of taking him down."
Donnelly got right up into Carter's personal space. His face was animated. His eyes were bright. He was eager, giving his all in his version of an emotional appeal to the one person who he thought would appreciate this gesture the most. He was so close to her he could touch her, smell her hair, her perfume -- if he chose. It was clear, Donnelly wanted her presence there, with him, in New Rochelle.
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When Donnelly greeted Carter as she entered the home of Jessica and Peter Arndt, he apparently handed her a file and promptly turned his back to her. He entered the kitchen, talking as he walked, while Carter glanced through the file on Arndt as she followed. Donnelly stood next to Carter, but not as closely as he had in that small office at the 8th Precinct a few hours earlier.
Donnelly: "...Here's what we know. Arndt was playing it fast and loose with his investors' money. He ended up losing it on bad land deals and a gambling habit. When he exhausted his line of credit, he was forced to take money from less reputable lenders."
Carter: "Loan sharks."
As Carter read the file, Donnelly looked at her a few times while he spoke. He even glanced over her shoulder. But Donnelly was all business. There was none of the previous sparkle or animation in his voice or countenance. Donnelly almost smiled during their previous conversation when he told her she was the reason he was "onto this guy". But not here. Not when they stood next to each other in the kitchen of Peter and Jessica Arndt.
Carter: "Says he was married. Wife deceased. What happened to her?"
Donnelly: "In a car accident two months before Arndt went missing. Bad one. She was killed, he nearly was. But, anyway, by that point, Arndt was completely under water. Shortly after he left the hospital, he went missing."
Carter picks up on all the evidence presented to her, even if it does not seem to apply to the immediate case. Peter had a wife. Carter inquired about her. Donnelly gave a brief description of what happened to her but was anxious to leave that subject and continue with what he felt was the best link to finding TMITS, and that was the probable murderer of Peter Arndt.
While still discussing the case, Donnelly walked into the living room with Carter following behind. Carter compared the pictures of the crime scene with what she saw around her. For some unknown reason, Donnelly decided to walk into the dinning room, away from Carter, still talking to her, hands in his pockets. He remained that way until he received a phone call concerning the location of one of the loan sharks associated with Peter Arndt.
What a difference in behavior. Earlier in the day, Donnelly was quite enthusiastic, animated, almost exuberant when talking to Carter about his team's new found evidence. He invaded her personal space, nearly pleading with her to join him in New Rochelle. When she took him up on his offer to assist, he was all business, even distancing himself from her after a short period of time.
Donnelly was thrilled with the evidence his team had recently uncovered, Two new cases connected to his quarry meant he was finally making progress in his hunt. TMITS was a puzzle, a mystery, hard to comprehend and harder to find. "It was exciting for Donnelly to be chasing someone who wasn't so easy to catch." (Lindao)
Donnelly wanted to share it all with the one person whom he knew had a reputation for being "good police", Detective Carter. She was someone with whom he felt a shared work ethic and moral high ground. He thought Carter was just like he was, dedicated to the law and to the hunt for his assailant she called the "Man in the Suit". Carter was a valuable asset to his team and to himself. He trusted Carter implicitly, as he trusted his own instincts. (Incorrect assumption concerning Carter number five).
Being an investigator for the FBI, Donnelly would have looked into Carter's background, interviewed her colleagues, friends, her boss, before even approaching her. If Donnelly had approached Carter a few months earlier, his trust in her would have been well-placed. But his timing was such that Carter was so far into Team Machine that she would do anything for Finch, Reese and Fusco.
Donnelly: "I just got a call that a guy in a suit assaulted four deputy marshals in their downtown field office."
Carter: "What?"
Donnelly: "I know. I'm heading back down there to follow up. Do you mind wrapping things up with the mother? It looks like a dead end."
Carter: "Sure."
The condition of a working theory is, it's just that, a theory, which then gets chased down until there is either success or it is proven wrong or unworkable. Donnelly was working the theory or hypothesis that Reese, or TMITS, was a rogue operative turned mercenary, selling his services to those with the deepest pockets. Given the violent nature of their first meeting, and all of the subsequent crime scenes Donnelly connected to his quarry, it is not surprising that Donnelly chose to rush off, during his and Carter's conversation with Jessica's mom, to explore what fresh mayhem his "Man in the Suit" might have done. Donnelly chose to investigate a report of a man in a suit who assaulted four Deputy Marshals rather than delve into the relationship between Peter and Jessica.
However, if Donnelly had devoted a small amount of time investigating Jessica's death as Carter did, he would have discovered what she had; a connection and a picture of a previous boyfriend in his military uniform. It would have given Donnelly, as it did Carter, a face, a full name, a background and matching prints to TMITS through military records.
Donnelly would have had a picture to be sent out with a BOLO, a picture to put on a flyer sent to every law enforcement agency in the country. After all, it was a matter of national security. One of Donnelly's or Carter's associates or acquaintances might have seen or remembered seeing Carter and Reese together. Then, Donnelly might have known much sooner that Carter was the mole in his investigation long before she could have even begun to seriously interfere. It might have led to Reese and Carter being arrested by Donnelly much sooner.
Instead, Donnelly left his trusted associate, Carter, to wrap up things in New Rochelle, confident that she would advise him of whatever information she found. (Incorrect assumption concerning Carter number six).
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Firewall
Donnelly: "Carter. I need you to come with me now."
Carter: "Uh, but I have this thing --"
Donnelly: "Not anymore you haven't."
If it concerned himself and TMITS, whatever Carter was doing, Donnelly's was more important. This time he was very insistent. His arm was already extended as his hand reached for Carter long before he actually took her by the arm, gently, of course, to compel her to go with him. No more asking when she had the time, no more pleading with puppy dog eyes and a sincere and earnest voice. Instead, it had become "my priority is your priority" and Donnelly saw nothing wrong with this. Especially at that particular moment.
Donnelly: "It's an article of faith for me that all criminals however clever, eventually trip themselves up."
Carter: "You want to tell me what this is all about?"
Donnelly: "The Man in the Suit? We got him."
Donnelly ushered Carter into his new and improved headquarters. There were rows and rows and rows of folding tables with a huge staff of people operating phones and computers. An enormous screen was on the wall, with three smaller ones on the side. Reese was on the large screen guiding Turing, aka Root, through the maze of the city.
Donnelly swaggered (Lindao) right up the center aisle with Carter along side. His shoulders were squared, his back was straight and his eyes gleamed like a General (Lindao) who had begun his last stand against a formidable enemy, confident he would take all. Victory was his. He could taste it.
One could almost hear Donnelly say "Welcome to my Kingdom." (Lindao). And standing next to him was his Queen, stunned and pale, with her heart sinking and her mind racing. Donnelly's quest had now become a multi-jurisdictional, massive, Federal manhunt.
Donnelly: "Carter, this is Detective Sagan, NYPD."
Donnelly, looking at Sagan: "You wanna give her a little demonstration of what you do?"
Donnelly's Kingdom was awe-inspiring. To come from a small, cramped, dark space, to this buzzing metropolis of law enforcement was remarkable and impressive. (Lindao). Donnelly deserved to be proud and he was. Being a gentleman, Donnelly had one of his minions, working with and under him, explain to Carter their procedure and show her just how far they had progressed.
In spite of Donnelly's promise to "keep her in the loop" and his invitation to "assist", (Many Happy Returns), he widened the jurisdiction of his investigation, increased his personnel several times over and garnered and installed a spectacular array of technical resources. Only when he and his team had mounted and framed the object of his quest on the enormous screen positioned at the head of the center aisle, did Agent Nicholas Donnelly of the FBI ferry Detective Carter into his throne room to see it. Under the hum of countless monitors and the drone of a myriad of conversations, there seemed to be an unspoken "Look what I have done for us!"
After that moment, however, Donnelly never talked to, looked at, noticed or even thought of Carter again. He was "laser-focused" (Lindao) on his prey. Victory, vindication was within his grasp. Donnelly allowed Carter to roam freely, unimpeded and unchaperoned per her stature, certain she would enjoy being part of his, no, their crowning moment. (Incorrect assumption concerning Carter number seven).
Donnelly to his agents: "Get ready to move. He's armed, but I want him taken alive if possible. Understood? I'll give you the signal."
Donnelly was looking at a sure thing. He had enough man-power, technology, surveillance and communications to surround and capture an army. But -- an army would have been easier to catch. All of his incorrect assumptions concerning Carter silently culminated in and around his finest hour. The unthinkable occurred. Carter betrayed him. Betrayed his trust. He never saw it coming.
Carter had not sought to betray Donnelly. She did not invade his investigation without invitation. But she allowed Donnelly to believe he could trust her concerning the "Man in the Suit", when clearly and honestly he could not. It was a sin of omission. But the heart wants what the heart wants. And Carter's heart wanted to keep her favorite vigilante safe. While Donnelly's heart wanted to believe in and rely on a colleague with whom he felt had the same dedication to the law as he. Someone with whom he could share what could have been the highlight of his career.
Carter helped Reese avoid Donnelly's SWAT team by advising him with text messaging when to move and when to stay. She was very effective. But there was more working against Donnelly than simply Carter's betrayal. HR was slithering through Donnelly's manhunt, intent on murder. And Fusco, also, without Carter knowing, was advising Finch. When Carter and Fusco finally realized they were on the same team, complicit in the same deception, it felt to them like a deceitful trick, a nasty and almost deadly duplicity that they did not deserve. It was ironic and poetic that Carter and Fusco felt deceived and betrayed during the same moment they both were delivering deception and betrayal.
Donnelly: "What the hell's going on?"
Agent: "Uh, sir? Comms are down."
Donnelly: "Which comms?"
Agent: "Uh, all of them."
Donnelly: "What the hell's happening?"
Donnelly had exceptionally sophisticated technical communications and surveillance with the personnel and the expertise to run it. But, Finch was better.
Agent: "Uh, every cell tower south of Canal Street went out. DHS had a failsafe in place to take control of the cell infrastructure in case of an emergency. Someone hacked it. The towers are white listed."
Agent: "Only authorized numbers can use them. In this case, only one number."
Donnelly: "Whose number?"
Donnelly: "Just get the team on a hard line now, damn it."
Finch had cloned the one and only authorized number which allowed him to take control of cell towers wherever he chose. Donnelly's manhunt was now deaf. Happily, so was HR's.
Agent: "Wait, what's this guy doing?"
Donnelly and his agent witnessed Simmons cut the main feed to the Hotel's security cameras. Now Donnelly's manhunt was blind.
Donnelly: "All right, we're going down there now. Let's move."
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After that, Donnelly's manhunt fell apart. His prey was gone, slipped straight through his figurative fingers. Donnelly had expected to win. He had expected to capture the elusive terrorist group of one. Victory should have been his. Instead, all that was left was the aftermath of an extensive firefight. Donnelly and his agents picked through the pieces searching for clues, sifting the evidence for anything that might answer Donnelly's question, "What the hell happened?"
As if Karma had sent him a consolation for being defeated so unfairly, Donnelly received an anonymous email. Fusco sent him a listing of everyone known to him who was working for HR. Donnelly put on hold, temporarily, his quest for the "Man in the Suit", for the more pressing matter of HR. But he didn't forget. He would never forget the terrorist group of one who assaulted himself, his team, and kidnapped a suspect in his custody.