Plot

When the Machine produces the number of a judge renowned for his tough sentencing, Reese and Finch have the added challenge of an uncooperative POI who has too many enemies.

The next case for Reese and Finch is that of Judge Samuel Gates, a recent widower with a son, Sam Gates Jr. whose nanny, Christina, has been a valued member of the family since Judge Gates' wife took ill just before her death. As Reese starts to trail the judge, he believes that the machine could be wrong in that the intended target is not the judge but rather Sam Jr. Although Finch states that the machine is never wrong, Sam Jr. is indeed kidnapped, which is all part of the larger picture of what will happen to the judge. Reese takes the unusual step of making himself and his goal of finding Sam Jr. known to the judge, who isn't sure what to believe about this mysterious man. Reese and Finch are able to ID one of the kidnappers, who is a member of an Eastern European gang. The kidnappers do contact Judge Gates, they who are not after money, but rather the acquittal of a defendant in one of the judge's case, that of Angela Markham, who is obviously guilty of the relatively minor DWI charge. Reese and Finch have to uncover Markham's connection to the kidnappers and the kidnappers' end goal to find a hopefully alive Sam Jr., also hopefully without the judge having to acquit Markham and/or walk into a situation with the kidnappers where his own life is in danger. Meanwhile, Fusco and Carter begin their uneasy working relationship, Carter who is getting closer to Reese, and Fusco, whose job it is under Reese's directive in part to steer her away from him.—Huggo

Finch tells Reese that the machine gave the number of the renowned Judge Samuel Gates, a tough man in his decisions. Finch and Reese find that the judge is a widower and an honest man with a son, Sam. He recently lost his wife, who died of cancer, and Sam's nanny Christina Rojas loves the boy and gives all the support that the family needs. Reese follows Samuel, and suddenly he feels that the victim could be Sam. When Reese arrives at the judge's home, he fights the kidnappers from the SP-9 gang. One of them shoots at him but the bullet grazes his shoulder and Reese faints. He pays a visit to Christina and finds her murdered. Reese visits Judge Gates, and the kidnappers ask him to release Angela Markham in her judgment. The case is a trial of hit-and-run while driving under influence and not the trial of one of the SP-9 gang members. Reese asks Samuel to not release an amber alert and buy more time for him with the kidnappers stalling the trial. He explains that the greatest chance to keep Sam alive is the duration of the judgment. Meanwhile, Finch learns that Angela Markham has developed a laundry system and the money of the MS-13, the Sinaloa Cartel, and The Dictator of North Korea are at the stake.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

We see brief security camera footage of a hit-and-run in a parking garage.

Reese drops in on Finch who is eating at a diner. He asks if Finch has a favorite menu item and Finch thinks he's fishing for personal information. He leaves behind a photo of the latest number, judge Samuel Gates who lives with his son after his wife passed away less than a year ago. There is also a nanny, Christina (Adriana Gaviria), who spends a lot of time with son Sam.

Reese begins watching Gates (David Costabile) and through placing hidden bugs learns that the jurist has had numerous death threats. While following Gates, Reese notices a man with a crew cut behind him drop a cell phone in the trash which Reese retrieves. The phone recently sent a text that "School's out, moving in" and Reese guesses correctly that the father may not be the target.

Young Sam is abducted from the family's home. Reese shows up at the last minute and attempts to stop the kidnapping, but is unable to keep Sam from being taken as he is hit with a small caliber bullet in the shoulder.

Gates gets a call from the kidnappers who tell him his son is alive but they will kill him if contacts the police. Gates makes a few calls and realizes that Sam is missing. Reese shows and promises Gates that he will help get his son back.

Reese goes with Gates to his home. The housekeeper is missing and the alarm was bypassed. He doesn't think Christina could be in on it.

Finch is looking into the discarded cell phone and is attempting to hack the cell phone company to get more info. Reese discovers that the nanny was killed, probably in order to get the alarm code. He dials 911 and leaves the phone off the hook so NYPD can trace the call back to its physical location.

Detective Carter isn't sure about the newly reassigned Fusco.

Reese calls Fusco away for a brief meeting on the street. Fusco tells Reese that Carter won't quit until she finds him. Reese asks him to look at the ballistics, and anything related to guys with crew cuts.

Finch finally gets some information from the discarded cell phone. Reese goes to the location and knocks out a crew-cutted thug named Josef. Based on tattoos he knows the guy is with an Eastern European street gang.

Carter gets called to the scene of Christina's death. A neighbor spotted someone whose description could be Reese, leaving that apartment.

A cop goes to Gates's home to tell him about Christina. He lies and says Sam is fine. Reese tells Gates about the gang. Gates is suspicious about exactly who Reese is, but he reassures the judge he can help him more than the police. The gang calls and tells Gates that don't want money, rather they need him to ensure a defendant, Angela Markham, the hit-and-run driver we saw earlier, is found Not Guilty and released.

Before the trial resumes Gates tells Reese that Markham was charged with DWI. Reese tells him that the gang is going to kill him, too, so he needs to buy Reese time to find Sam.

Finch has learned that the gang is essentially a multi-national corporation. They're smart and haven't been leaving much of a footprint anywhere.

Fusco tells Reese that his bullet isn't in the system, but offers to help him ID Christina's killer. Fusco helps Carter with the Christina case and she's happy for the assistance.

After driving around in circles with the gang member in his trunk, the thug tells Reese that he doesn't know anything about the kid. They work in small cells and he doesn't have that kind of access. He does, however, give up the address of where he goes to get paid.

Gates starts sustaining every defense objection. He then tells the prosecutor to take time and get her witness prepared and adjourns until the following day. In chambers he gets a call from the gang who thinks he is stalling. Gates says he needs to make it look good so the verdict won't be overturned on appeal.

Finch overhears Markham (Meredith Patterson) talking to the gang leader and learns that her connection to the gang is business-related.

Reese goes to the money house. He grabs yet another gang member, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in small bills.

The gang leader is furious when he finds out what is happening and starts barking orders.

Finch has figured out that Markham is in charge of the money-laundering system at a large bank which is cleaning all of the gang's cash. Finch thinks if they can find the gang's specific accounts they'll be able to find Sam.

Reese asks Gates to give him a little more time. Gates goes onto the bench and throws out a critical piece of evidence.

Finch is able to get inside the bank and access some of its computer files.

Fusco spots a guy on the street near Christina's place who could be the killer. He calls it "a hunch" and has a plate run back to a Coldfield Holdings in Brooklyn.

Reese has obtained from his gang prisoner the identity of the boss, a man named Jarek Koska. Finch tells Reese that every day Markham shuts down the anti-laundering software for five minutes, during which time the gang scrubs millions of dollars. Not only are they laundering their own money, but they are providing the service for other criminal organizations. Fusco texts Reese the name Coldfield, which he gives to Finch. It turns up a huge account, along with an address that is less than ten blocks from Gates's house.

As the jury returns with a verdict, Reese finds that Sam has been moved from the location. Markham is found not guilty.

Jarek calls Gates and tells him they need to meet to hand over Sam. Finch is listening and realizes that Gates and his son will be killed at the meet.

At the location Jarek is preparing to shoot Sam when Reese shows up with a gun to Markham's head. He then tells Jarek that all of his accounts have been emptied and the money moved to an offshore account. If Jarek doesn't let them all go free he will inform the other criminal enterprises that he's lost their money as well and they will surely kill him. This sort of works, as Jarek pushes Sam away, then gives his men the order to "kill everyone." In the ensuing shootout Reese kills Jarek's henchman and wounds him, but Gates and Sam are fine.

We see that Finch has surreptitiously slipped a piece of paper with Markham's financial misdeeds to the lead prosecutor.

Carter and Fusco arrive at the address associated with Coldfield Holdings to find Jarek, Markham and several other gang members tied up next to the cash.

Reese pays Gates and his son a visit. Gates thanks him, but assures him he won't be able to help him when he's eventually caught.

Reese again meets Finch at the diner and thanks him for the job. This time Finch subtlely reveals that he is a regular there, perhaps a sign he is opening up.