House Rules

House Rules is the fifth episode of Season 1 of The Player.

Summary
Savvy student Solomon attempts to hack the Pentagon and ends up simultaneously being chased by the Chinese government and the House. The bets are in on whether Alex Kane can get to him first to keep him safe. Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson is encountering issues of his own with an old friend and is forced to take drastic measures. Also, new discoveries are made about Ginny's whereabouts.

Plot
While sifting through photos on the mysterious SIM card, Alex (Philip Winchester) realizes some of the file dates aren't what they should be.

After learning that the Chinese Triad is about to make a hit on U.S. soil, Alex is tasked with saving Solomon, a young hacker and Indian national accused of unleashing a virus on the Pentagon's servers. With the Triad hot on their tail, Alex and Cassandra (Charity Wakefield) track down the teenage computer genius, but soon learn the Chinese aren't the only ones after Solomon - so is the U.S. government. Meanwhile, Johnson (Wesley Snipes) pays a visit to his former mentor, Zeng, who has Triad connections. Johnson informs Zeng that, due to his personal stake in the outcome of the current game, his bet is null. Zeng protests, but after Cassandra discovers Zeng has been breaking House rules for years, Johnson kills his mentor.

As Alex fights off Triad assassins while trying to transport Solomon to the Indian consulate for political immunity, the Feds arrive and reveal that they know Solomon wasn't trying to install the virus - he was trying to save them from it. To protect Solomon, Alex hands him over to the Feds, but it turns out one of the Feds is actually a double agent who turns the hacker over to the Triad. After subduing a rooftop of armed men, Alex is finally able to bring Solomon to safety.

Solomon strikes a deal with the government to help destroy the virus in return for a clean slate. Grateful for Alex's help, the boy genius looks at the SIM card to see if there are any hidden messages. He finds that the incorrect dates reveal a secret phone number, which Alex calls and hears Ginny on the other end. They only talk for a few seconds before she is forced to hang up by a mysterious captor. When Alex tries to call back, the number is disconnected.

Main

 * Philip Winchester as Alex Kane
 * Charity Wakefield as Cassandra King
 * Damon Gupton as Detective Cal Brown
 * Wesley Snipes as Mr. Johnson

Links
summary from NBC.com