Chapter Text
„No“, Shaw grunted, shaking her head.
“I don’t like the idea either, sweetie but it´s not up to choice.” Root simply shrugged as Shaw sent a deathly glare her way.
“Tell your stupid machine that I’m not going to play along”, Shaw growled, turning to storm down the subway hall, away from the hacker.
“She chose those covers on purpose, Sameen. She wants us to stay together for a reason”, Root argued. Her heels clicked on the stone floor and echoed off the walls of the subway as she followed Shaw.
“But why us? Why can´t I go with John and you´ll go with Finch, huh?”, Shaw snapped. She turned to glare at the other woman.
“I don´t know, Shaw. You know that only She has the whole picture.” A cocky grin slipped onto her face. “Also I doubt Harry would be happy to be stuck with either of us”, she added, amusement evident in her voice. It earned her another growl from Shaw.
“Hey see it positive, you´re allowed to take Bear with you.”
It was worth a try to let Shaw in on that piece of information considering Root knew how much Shaw loved the canine but the shorter woman’s eyes merely narrowed at her.
“What are Finch´s and Reese´s covers?”
Root could tell that the former operative’s resolve was shattering slowly now.
“Reese is gonna be the manager of an IT company in Pennsylvania. Finch will be his uncle who once built up the empire and is currently living with him to keep an eye on his work”, she replied.
Shaw´s brows furrowed.
“I don’t know more and She won´t give me any more information than strictly necessary. All I know is that they left yesterday, everything else will be taken care of by Her.”
Shaw’s glare intensified. Then she stormed further down the hall to where she had been sleeping for the last month while Samaritan had had the upper hand. Root stayed put, knowing that the smaller woman would simply need time to get used to the idea before she would see that there was really no other option for her than to follow Root into whatever the Machine had planned for them.
Root took the opportunity to look around as she waited for that to happen. The floor tiles were all the same, the air still stuffy. And it still smelled like dust. Harold´s computer equipment was already gone, packed away or otherwise taken care of. All that was left of the life they had here all these months was the cot Shaw was currently sitting on and the duffle bag with her stuff in it. It was then that the hacker heard a long, drawn-out sigh and realized that there was movement to her side.
“Alright, when are we supposed to leave?”, Shaw questioned as she slowly approached Root, bag in hand. Root sent her a wide smile.
“Right now, sweetie. The car is parked a few blocks from here.”
Shaw sighed one last time before following Root through the subway and out into the stressed New York day life. The sun was shining today, way too bright for either of their eyes. People were hurrying along as if their life depended on it. They didn’t really stand out from the passerbys as they moved along the sidewalk. They passed a few food shops and Root noticed Shaw´s glances towards them, taking a mental note to stop by and get her something to eat before her nerves would shatter. It took them a few minutes to reach the garage where Root had parked the simple black car the Machine had led her to a few weeks ago.
“So where are we heading to?”, Shaw asked as they got into their seats and Root started the engine with a wicked smile. “Iowa”, she relied, earning a frustrated groan from the other woman.
The drive, while long, was uneventful. Root kept her eyes on the street while Shaw kept hers on the review mirror in case they were followed. They weren’t. About an hour into the drive Root pulled the car into the parking lot of some small roadside diner because she was almost sure that if she tried to drive the whole way in one go without food breaks, she might not actually make it to their destination alive. With the huffy way in which Shaw immediately left the car on her way to the establishment she supposed she’d have been right. Bear, too, was delighted with their stop. He took the opportunity to stretch his legs, sniff around and relieve himself before he returned to Root’s side so they could wait for Shaw. With the way Bear was eying Root with his big, brown eyes she could tell he was hungry as well.
“Don’t worry, buddy. I think Shaw would rather let me starve than you. I’m sure she’s bringing something back for you.”
And sure enough when Shaw returned from the diner a short while later, a take out bag in hand, she was holding something that looked like a cheese burger that she tossed at Bear as soon as she was close enough that he could catch it out of the air.
“If you keep feeding him fast food, he’s gonna get fat, Sameen.”
Bear for his part seemed more than pleased with his snack, munching happily. Shaw shot a glare her way as she opened the backdoor to let Bear back into his crate. Then she climbed back into her own seat.
“Just drive the fucking car, Root.”
Root drove.
“We´re almost there”, she announced a few hours later as the scattering in her right ear increased slightly.
“Awesome”, Shaw muttered sarcastically.
Root could see her stiffening as they passed the first suburban houses. Large, monotonous houses. Big front gardens with white picket fences. Root could relate to Shaw’s distaste. The showcase perfection of these houses reminded her of how the people in her own hometown had liked to pretend they lived perfect life. And how horribly fake that lie had turned out to be in the end.
“Relax Shaw, it will be fine. Nothing can be worse than working behind a makeup counter.”
Shaw diverted her glare from the streets to Root. Then she sighed in a resigned manner and set her gaze to the foot room where she had discarded the waste from her meal a while ago. It reminded her of the strange feeling of dissatisfaction she had felt upon seeing that Root had touched none of the food Shaw had brought along for her. It had irritated her so much that she had chosen to return to one of the things that made sense to her, anger. She was angry. At what she wasn’t quite certain, there were so many contestants.
“What about our stuff?”, she questioned after a beat.
“No need to worry, sweetie. She took care of everything. The house comes fully furnished and everything. A moving company brought it all a few weeks ago. There is food for two days in the fridge and she arranged some spare clothes and toiletries for the both of us. We´ll have to go shopping in a few days but until then we should be all set.”
“Alright.”
Shaw turned in her seat to take a look at Bear.
“Was it really necessary to put him into a dog crate?” She reached through the bars to scratch behind his ears. Root, wisely, chose not to answer.
They reached the street Root had memorized in case The Machine would decide to cut connection. She slowed the car to the equivalent of a slow crawl, both so they would attract any more attention than they already did and to avoid hitting any of the children that were running around, crossing the street without looking left or right. They still turned a few heads as they passed their future neighbors. But then again Root supposed, there were not many new comers in small suburban communities. Shaw released a low growl when she saw the kids. Bear lifted his head curiously.
“There it is”, Root informed her as the house with the number fourteen came into view. Though Root supposed that Shaw could not tell which of the houses she meant, they did all look more or less the same. Maybe the large front yard would placate the other woman. The size of the property hinted at a rather large garden as well and Root knew how much Shaw had been wishing she could take Bear out to a park to throw a ball for him ever since they had her couped up in the subway.
A narrow hedge, clearly professionally trimmed lined the driveway that Root maneuvered the car up after checking over her shoulder to make sure she didn’t take a child with her as she did so. There were flower beds under the lower story windows too and Root hoped that someone had had the foresight to plant something that would more or less sustain itself. She was sure that neither her nor Shaw would have a particularly green thumb. She parked the car in front of the gate to the garage.
“Here we are”, she announced brightly, smiling at Shaw in what she hoped would be an enticing manner. When Shaw made no move to leave the car, she decided that she would set a good example and make the first step.
The smell of freshly trimmed grass and summer flowers filled her nostrils, stirring the distant childhood memory of hot summers in the middle of Texas, as she exited the vehicle.
“Come on, sweetie”, she called.
The former operative glowered at her, but she did finally open the car door to get out of her seat. Pleased with Shaw´s cooperation Root send her another smile before turning wordlessly towards the house and making her way to the front door. Shaw released another small sigh as she watched her go and disappear into the house. Shaw, instead of following along, made her way to the back seat to let Bear out of his prison.
“There you go, buddy.”
As soon as his paws hit the gras below he starts sniffing around. Then he looks up at Shaw.
“I know it´s strange here, buddy. We didn’t get much choice in the matter though. At least it looks like we got a nice yard out of it”, she muttered. He seemed to take her words as permission to start exploring and took off towards the house with a wagging tail. Looked like at least someone was enjoying themselves.
Shaw huffed slightly, then threw the car door shut. She made her way around the car towards the trunk so she could unload her stuff before one of the neighbors got the idea to start talking to her. Beside her own duffle bag there was Root´s and a backpack which Shaw supposed might hold the hacker’s computer. Otherwise, there was Bear´s dog bed and his leash which she had insisted on bringing even though Root had argued that The Machine had provided everything he might need. Shaw took hold of her duffle bag. If Root wanted her shit inside, she could get it herself. She was about to try to grab onto Bear’s bed as well so she wouldn’t have to make another trip when the hair at the nape of her neck stood to attention. Her instincts alerted her to the fact that a body was approaching her own before she had visually noticed them. Her brain had barely registered that there was a potential threat as she spun around to face whoever it was. She reached up towards their throat on instinct only for her hand to be caught easily by slender, pale fingers. Instead of an imminent threat she was met with a sly smile.
“Ah, ah, Sameen. We wouldn’t want to attract the neighbor’s attention so soon, would we?”, Root whispered sweetly, gently squeezing the wrist she had caught. Shaw growled, pulling her arm out of Root´s grip just to be backed against the car, trapped between it’s cool surface and Root´s heated body.
“Root”, she warned, her tone dangerously low.
“Yes sweetie?”, the hacker replied, her breath ghosting hotly over the skin on Shaw´s neck.
Shaw fully intended to give Root a piece of her mind if she couldn’t give her a piece of her fist but before she had the chance to form the sharp reply that was burning on the tip of her tongue Root used her opened mouth to her advantage to press her own against it. Shaw´s muscles flexed but she made no attempt to shove Root away which the hacker took as a sign of permission to deepen the kiss. Her lips moved languidly against Shaw´s and Shaw’s lips moved along unconsciously. Root´s tongue traced her bottom lip and Shaw opened her mouth a little to allow her to slip inside but instead of following the clear invitation like Shaw thought she would the hacker pulled back, leaving Shaw in a daze.
“Come on, sweetie. We´ve got some work to do.”
Root sounded smug as she reached around Shaw to take her own duffle bag and the backpack out of the trunk. When she brushed past Shaw to make her way back inside the former operative had still not quite gathered her bearings. Fucking Root, playing stupid mind games. She was always begging for Shaw’s slightest attention, typical of her to play coy when Shaw freely offered it. She threw the trunks door shut with a little more force than strictly necessary and then followed Root, and Bear who was probably in search of some treats, into the house.
When she pushed through the front door, she found a wide corridor waiting for her. Shaw preferred more of an open concept living but as far as suburban houses went this seemed to be on the less awful side. Root had obviously not been lying when she had said that The Machine had taken care of everything. There wasn’t just a hall closet with several hangers for their coats but also a slim dresser for shoes that was decorated with some sort of vase that held an assortment of fake flowers, alongside which stood a small bowl that already contained the house key. The décor was simple enough that Shaw thought she might actually be able to live with it. That was until she eyed the walls a bit closer. They were painted in some unassuming off-white tone, that was not the problem. The problem were the picture frames that lined the corridor on one side and upon closer inspection, showed pictures of her and Root. There weren’t particularly many, probably a byproduct of the fact that it was hard to find any pictures of them where Shaw wasn’t shooting people or at least scowling like she’d like to shoot someone and where Root wasn’t in the middle of an abduction or whatever the hacker liked to do in her free time. Some of them Shaw could tell right away were photo shopped. Not that they were badly done, the opposite they were shockingly realistic. But Shaw thought she’d remember kissing Root on some beach somewhere with nothing but a bikini on.
She’d need to have a talk with that stupid robot next chance she got.
She followed the corridor to it’s end that lead into what appeared to be their living room, a large room with light walls and a window wall that let you see into the back yard. It, too, was large and framed by a high hedge on all sides. Privacy, at least a little. There was a winding staircase that lead to the second story and Root had left her belongings at it’s foot so Shaw did the same. Bear’s dog bed she positioned beside one of the sofas in the living room. The flat screen TV looked very inviting just about now. She hoped there was beer in the fridge.
“Root?”, she called then. There was honestly no telling in which of the many rooms Root had disappeared to and Shaw was not about to wander around aimlessly, searching for her.
“In the kitchen, sweetie.”
Now that she listened Shaw could hear the sound of clattering iron from somewhere near the front of the house. She followed it back into the corridor and into a room on her right. As far as kitchens went this one was particularly nice. While Shaw couldn’t have cared less for what looked like granite counter tops, she did appreciate the spacious layout and the shiny new fridge she could spot right away. That thing could hold steaks for a week and then some. And hopefully that beer.
Root was standing in front of a shelf that apparently held their dishes.
“She´s taken care of everything. You see, Sameen?”
The smile she sent Shaw’s way was very pleased. Shaw huffed but gave a nod. She did have to admit that The Machine had kept its word in providing what they needed and done a good job of it.
Except for the fact that She had set them up as a suburban housewives.
“Care to explore the bedroom sweetie?”, Root asked slyly. She smiled at Shaw flirtatiously and was met with a scowl.
“I´m NOT sleeping in the same bed as you”, she said, frowning as Root´s smirk only widened.
Root moved past her, brushing her chest against Shaw’s arm even though there had been enough space for her to pass without touching Shaw. She followed the hacker unwillingly back towards the staircase where she grabbed her duffle bag to take it upstairs.
There was another corridor in the upper story, this one too lined by a series of picture frames. At least Bear had been included in there. The color palate The Machine had worked with seemed to stay pretty neutral even as Shaw glimpsed into one of the rooms. There were three doors in total leading off from the corridor. There were sure to be more rooms downstairs too and Shaw wondered how one could ever need so much space.
“We´ve got one master bedroom and a guest room, both with their own bathroom. And then one spare room up here that She suggested we might like to turn into a home gym for you, sweetie. There’s another bathroom downstairs and a laundry room. I hope you know how to separate the washing because I have no idea”, Root informed her as she walked over to the first door on their left.
She opened it and let Shaw, who scoffed at her, step in first. There were no pictures on these walls and no decor either. There was, however, a master bed and two nightstands that held alarm clocks and bedside lamps. The room was flooded with light even though the windows were covered by thin white curtains. Less to leave the light out and more to keep the neighbors’ eyes from them. Very smart. They would have to invest in black out curtains though if Shaw was ever supposed to sleep in the summer. That, however, would not be a problem because there was no way she’d be sleeping in this room if there was a fully furnished guest room available as an alternative.
“She made sure it was simple so we could add our own touch at the time.” Root didn’t have to say any more, it was clear what that meant. They´d have to stay longer than either of them would likely appreciate.
Shaw nodded. “I´m still not sleeping here with you. Where´s that stupid guest room?”
“Come on, sweetie. I won’t bite. Unless you ask”, Root hummed, winking at her.
“Forget it, I´m gonna find it myself”, the shorter woman growled, turning to leave Root alone in the room.
“Oh, Sameen the neighbors won´t be happy to hear you´re leaving your wife alone in this big bed. Especially on the first night in our new home.”
She could practically hear the pout in Root´s voice. “Well, they won´t ever find out Root.”
“You never know how noisy these people can be Sam!”
Root’s voice carried after her as she made her way back out of the room and along the corridor once more. It didn’t take her long to find the guest room. It too was furnished with a master bed, a closet and a drawer that offered more space than Shaw would ever need to store her clothes even if she still had all of them. More important than any of that, however, was the bathroom that was attached to it. Specifically, the shower.
She threw her bag onto the bed and opened it to take her shower supplies out. In the bathroom she found towels and after that didn’t hesitate to turn on the hot water and jump under the spray to wash off the day and the rather unpleasant turn of events it had brought with it. It wasn’t the fact that she had to become yet another person that made her so angry but rather the person she had to become. The kind of person her own mother had hoped for her to become one day. A fake person with a fake life.
Shaw was good at a lot of things, including killing people or kneecapping them, torturing and fixing them and following orders. She was good at taking her drinks and she was good at fucking people’s minds out. What she was not good at was chatting about useless things with neighbors, she was not good at being nice to random people, hell she wasn´t even good at being nice to people she considered her friends and she was definitely not good at playing normal. She had never even wanted to be normal.
She sighed as the hot water kept on pouring down on her eve as she finished washing herself. She had zero desire to get out of the shower and back to reality but she had to make sure Root didn’t kill Bear in the process of feeding him his dinner or kill herself in the process of preparing their own. So, she emerged from the shower and toweled herself off before slipping into new pair of underwear, black pants and a tank top of the same color. She hoped The Machine had not tried to add more color to her wardrobe once again when she had provided them with these covers. It was bad enough that Shaw was supposed to pretend to be someone who’d live in the suburbs, she wouldn’t also be someone who wore pastels.
When she finally came down the stairs there was no sign of either Root or Bear so Shaw decided to look into the kitchen, which turned up empty as well. Empty except of a case folder on the kitchen counter. Curiously she walked over to it. As she opened the folder she recognized what the papers were immediately. A pass, an ID, safety insurance and more all under one name, Sam Smith.
She grunted. “Root!”, she called, not wanting to walk through the whole house to find the hacker. A second later the woman appeared beside her.
“Right here, sweetie”, she replied sweetly.
“Sam Smith? Really?”, Shaw asked, shaking her head in disdain.
“Yeah. This folder holds all the information you should need. I´ve got everything else in another one in the shelf beside the TV. Birth Certification and all, but unless you get into real big trouble you should be fine with this. And we wouldn´t want you to get into any trouble now, would we?”
“So, what´s your name, then?”, Shaw asked, ignoring the hacker.
“Ruth. She suggested by going back to Samantha but you know I’m not particularly fond of that name. And anyway, Sam and Samantha would become confusing.”
Shaw nodded then turned to the fridge.
“Time for dinner”, she said before looking at Root again. “Where´s Bear?”
“He´s outside. I just showed him the garden, he´s kind of a big fan”, Root replied with a grin and Shaw frowned.
“There´s a box on the counter over there with all his doggy food and bowls and things”, she added and Shaw walked in said direction to inspect the stuff Root´s robot had bought for him.
Root left her to her own devices then and Shaw set out to fill one bowl with dog food and another with water before she set them down on the kitchen floor. There was a suitable place for them by the fridge where neither her nor Root were likely to trip over them.
“Bear”, she called and a second later she could hear the clicking of his paws on the hardwood floor. “Hey there buddy”, she greeted him as he came storming into the room, running right over to her and his new bowl.
Shaw smiled at him, then made her way to the fridge to get herself some food. As she looked through the different things The Machine had bought for them, she briefly wondered if Root wasn´t hungry and remembered the alarming quantity of ribs she had seen a few days ago as Root had stretched and her shirt had ridden up.
“Don’t read into this”, Shaw growled later that day as she slipped into the room Root had introduced as their shared bedroom. The hacker was still wide awake, sitting on the bed with her laptop.
“I wouldn’t dare to, Sameen”, she replied with a wicked smile, triumph barely contained.
It was then that Shaw noticed that the hacker had stayed on one half of the bed as if she had known Shaw would change her mind and just waited for her. The former operative growled quietly but approached the bed anyways. She slipped under the covers, facing away from Root.
“Aww ain´t you gonna cuddle a little with your wife?”, the woman asked, scooting closer to Shaw who shuddered as the hacker referred to herself as her wife again.
“Root, I´m warning you. I´m only here because the people next door got telescope in the room just opposite the guest rooms window and as much as I hate suburban people I wouldn’t put it past them to use every opportunity to find something to gossip about. God knows they´d make better spies than some trained killers I know and I really have no desire to explain our situation to the whole neighborhood on our second day”, Shaw growled, turning her head to face Root with a stern look on her face.
“Whatever you say, sweetie. Sweet dreams.” Root blew her a kiss before she turned onto her side and snuggled into the pillows.
Shaw let out a heavy sigh. She still had no idea for how long exactly her and Root would be staying in this suburban hell but if the rest of the time was at all like this then it would be more of a hell than Shaw had ever thought it could be. And someone would most defiantly end up dead.
When Shaw came downstairs the next morning, she found a small golden ring on the kitchen counter and growled.