5. Bury the Lede

In the midst of New York's mayoral elections, the FBI are closing the net around the HR; 75 dirty cops are arrested, but their elusive leader remains unknown. Investigative reporter Maxine Angelis is trying to beat them to the story and becomes the next number, but Reese finds it difficult to openly protect Maxine when Finch discovers she is also researching an exposé on the mysterious "man in the suit". HR runs a gambit to trick Maxine into imprudently naming an FBI informant as HR's leader, causing HR's criminal enemies to murder the innocent man and discrediting all her work, including an exposé of a mayoral candidate.

Finch uses an online dating website to get Reese close to Maxine without exposing his true identity. While Reese helps Maxine hunt for the dead informant's ledger containing the names of everyone in HR, he must also protect her from repeated HR kill teams. Reese, Carter and Fusco track down the ledger, and Fusco secretly removes the pages that would incriminate himself and Simmons. The ledger names one of the mayoral candidates as the big boss, causing his opponent to win the race, but in reality, both candidates are on the payroll of Alonzo Quinn, HR's true leader.