Last Call (Person of Interest)

"Last Call" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the television drama *Person of Interest*, and the sixtieth episode overall. Dan Dietz wrote it, Jeff T. Thomas directed it, and it first aired on February 25, 2014, on CBS in the United States and CTV in Canada. The show follows a government computer program called "The Machine" that predicts terrorist acts and identifies planners; a team—John Reese, Harold Finch, and Sameen Shaw—handles lower-priority "irrelevant" crimes. In this episode, the team aids a 9-1-1 operator who is being coerced by a man threatening to kill a child unless she follows his commands. Meanwhile, Detective Fusco assists a rookie detective on a case that turns out to be linked to the operator's situation. Amy Acker is credited but does not appear.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode drew an estimated 11.00 million household viewers and earned a 1.8/5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. Critics generally responded positively, praising the episode's tense atmosphere but noting a lack of plot development.

The plot begins when Finch infiltrates a 9-1-1 call center to observe the new number, operator Sandra Nicholson. She is respected for helping junior operators. Fusco, stressed, is approached by rookie detective Jake Harrison, who is investigating the murder of Tara Cooke; Fusco reluctantly agrees to help. Sandra receives a call from a boy named Aaron, who hides in his closet as two thugs break in, find him, and kidnap him. An unknown caller then instructs Sandra to follow orders—calling off police, turning off the call center's power generator, and deleting all 9-1-1 calls from the past two days—or Aaron will die. Reese and Shaw review surveillance and identify the kidnappers as part of a Mexican cartel. Shaw intercepts a car from which the caller's signal is triangulating, but finds only a relay phone. Finch deduces the caller is linking multiple phones to avoid tracing.

As Sandra hesitates to delete the calls, Finch enters the server room and convinces her he is there to help. She leaves, and Finch begins examining the 30,000 calls logged in the past two days. After discarding irrelevant ones, he contacts Fusco to narrow the list. Fusco realizes the caller is connected to the Tara Cooke case, and both discover the caller is also the killer.