Title: Conversations

Author: NiennaTru

Summary: "I'm just saying—the guy is a little strange. I mean, he talks to security cameras, for one thing. Did you know that?" Harold Finch and Leon Tao have a conversation about a certain ex-operative. Post-"Critical"

Spoilers: Season Two: "The Contingency" and "Critical"

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nor do I make any money from this.

"Mr. Reese will be back momentarily, Mr. Tao, and then we will escort you home." Harold Finch spoke these words using the same dry, disapproving tone he had taken earlier in the day.

Leon Tao shrugged and made a dismissive gesture with his hands. "S'all right. I don't mind waiting."

Harold eyed the smaller man as he paced the library. Tao seemed a bundle of energy, bouncing on the balls of his feet and rubbing his palms together.

"So this is what you guys do, huh? Very cool. Very cool."

"Hummm…" Harold replied, non-committal. He hadn't liked the fact that John had brought the irritating man to the library, and he certainly did not relish the thought of talking to him about what he and John did. Making a concentrated effort to tune the other man out, Harold checked his computers again, looking for any signs of a security breach. Tao hardly seemed the trustworthy type…

"You know, I could help you guys out more often if you want—for a fee, course," Leon offered.

Closing his eyes and making an effort to remain polite, Harold's reply was nonetheless definite. "No thank you, Mr. Tao."

Leon persisted, seemingly undeterred by Finch's refusal. "Oh, well, there's probably not much money in something like this anyway, huh?" He stopped his pacing as an idea seemed to form in his mind.

"I could make some recommendations, though—you know, advise you in making some necessary changes. I could assist you with those, too. Or I could work for you in an advisory capacity in handling your accounts…I don't know if John told you, but I have a lot of experience in that area. I've also done a lot of work with…"

Harold gritted his teeth as Tao rambled on. It's no wonder Mr. Tao is a repeat number, Harold thought. It's amazing someone hasn't killed him long before John and I intervened. Harold checked the GPS tracking on John's phone to see how far away his employee was, wondering when the younger man was likely to return. He hadn't realized before now how much he appreciated the fact that John was a man of few words.

"You know, you could always charge people for your services…helping the helpless and all that…"

Harold held up his hands and raised his voice for the first time. "Mr. Tao, please stop. I can assure you that today was a unique circumstance. We have all the help we need and will no longer require your services." The glare that accompanied the refusal clearly said, "Shut up," but Leon remained oblivious.

"Well maybe that's for the best anyway," Leon began, as he wandered closer to Harold's seat at the desk. "I don't think I'd really want to work with John all the time."

Making another non-committal noise in his throat, Harold turned back to his computers and began typing. Leon seemed to take this as encouragement and continued.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't know if you know this or not, but…" Leon trailed off momentarily and looked over his shoulder. "Your guy seems a little…well…crazy." Leon's voice dropped to a whisper on the last word, as if he was afraid that the topic of conversation would suddenly appear and hear what had been said.

Harold stopped typing at this and looked up at the other man. "Crazy?" he prompted, raising an eyebrow. Leon nodded, eyes wide.

"Yes, well, I'm sure Mr. Reese would be very interested to hear your evaluation of his mental health when he returns."

Leon quickly stepped back from the desk, hands raised in a conciliatory gesture. "Hey, hey, hey…there's no need for that. Come on!"

Harold smiled inwardly at the other man's alarm at the idea, taking perverse pleasure in seeing him squirm.

"I'm just saying—the guy is a little strange. I mean, he talks to security cameras for one thing. Did you know that?"

"He talks to security cameras," Harold repeated.

"Yeah! Strange, huh? You should have seen him when he helped me before. Standing on the street corner, yammering away at the security camera there like it was listening to him or like it was supposed to talk back to him or something."

"And did it?" Harold asked, deadpan.

Leon dropped his hands, which he had been waving about theatrically as he related his story. "I'm serious! He could be a liability to your operations. You should have seen him! Stopping to talk to a security camera when there's a bunch of guys shooting at us! And then he grabbed the pay phone that was there and thanked it! Thanked it!"

Leon waited for a reaction from Harold, but receiving none, he continued. "Between that and the fact that he seemed way more concerned about that dog than keeping me away from those guys after me…Well, I have to tell you, I'm not sure John's really all there." Again, Leon dropped his voice with the last words spoken.

Harold cleared his throat. "Well, that's all very interesting, Mr. Tao, but I can assure you that Mr. Reese is not in any way a liability to our operations." Harold paused. "In fact, he is irreplaceable."

Turning back to his work, Harold continued. "Not that any of this is any of your business in the first place."

Shrugging his shoulders, Leon seemed unconvinced. "Well, okay. I was just trying to help you."

Harold fought the urge to roll his eyes and noted that John was back in the library. "Mr. Reese has returned, Mr. Tao."

Leon froze. "You're not going to tell John what I told you are you?"

At that moment, Bear bounded into the room ahead of John, and sat in front of the filing cabinet where his treats were stored, wagging his tail.

"Hey, Finch," John greeted. "I'll just get Bear settled and then we can get Leon out of here." He shot a knowing smile at his employer. "Did you enjoy your time with Leon?"

Harold turned in his chair to face his employee. "Actually, we had a very interesting conversation about you, Mr. Reese." From the corner of his eye, Harold saw Leon waving his hands in alarm.

"Me?" John asked as he gave Bear a dog biscuit.

"Yes. You see, Mr. Tao informed me that when you assisted him previously, you engaged in some rather…unusual…behaviors." Harold gave John a significant look as he continued. "Mainly, he thought it very strange that you stopped what you were doing and engaged in conversation with various inanimate objects."

John's lips twitched as he looked from Harold to Tao. "Is that true, Leon?"

Leon shook his head vigorously. "No! This is some kind of misunderstanding, right, Harold? You just didn't get what I was trying to tell you! I don't think John's crazy!"

"You said I was crazy?" John asked, stepping closer to the smaller man.

Leon continued to shake his head in denial. "No! That's not what I meant. You're not crazy! I mean, obviously, right?" Grabbing Harold's shoulder, Leon laughed nervously. "He's not crazy. I didn't say that, did I, Harold?"

"I think you should let go of Harold, Leon," John said, his voice low and menacing.

Leon pulled his hand away as if burned. "Sorry. Yeah. Of course."

Grabbing the black hood he had previously used in order to transport Leon to the library, John approached the smaller man. "I think it's time to go, don't you, Leon?" Tao looked up at the taller man with a mixture of terror and relief as he nodded his head in agreement.

As John slipped the black hood over Tao's head, the ex-operative turned to his employer, and gave a wry smile. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you, Finch?"

Harold stood from his desk to follow the two men. "I think I'll plead the fifth on that one, Mr. Reese."