It was another one of those society parties. Polished and pretty, utterly shallow and soulless. The kinds of parties that Harold Finch avoided like the plague even when he was 'alive'. Now Harold Crane and his Asset Manager, Mr John Anderson were working the party together. Pressing the flesh. Looking confident and intelligent and wearing the right clothes.

Harold thanked his foresight and planning that said that John would need the kind of gala dress suits that an Asset Manager for a shadowy multi-billionaire would wear. He had recorded all John's measurements, to John's ill-concealed, eye-rolling irritation and his tailor had run a few things up.

The only downside that Harold could see was that, in this crowded room, John was drawing many admiring glances. Perhaps too many.

The overly effusive director, Dr Ellis Woods, just a little too emphatic inflection on the title, was making the introductions to various department heads and those members of staff who ranked such attention as he saw it.

Harold was already feeling tired, and he swore to himself that the next predatory female that fixed his Asset Manager with that smile, held his hand for just a little too long, and stroked John's palm as they let go was going to suffer the consequences. That swimmy look that the predators had in their eyes was slowing this down to a sloth-like pace and they had yet to even catch a glimpse of Dr Cooper.

"John."

Just as Harold thought it could not get worse, Maxine Angelis was pushing through the crowd, surging forward.

"Cheri." There was a flash of scarlet off to their left, and Sunehri was suddenly in John's arms, which closed around her. Hers wound around his neck.

Then she turned in John's arms in such a way that her body remained pressed close against him and his left arm settled naturally over her hip.

"Sunehri Chopra, Anthropology." Sunehri held out a hand. "And you are?"

Sunehri's possessive little move had not gone unnoticed, as Harold became uncomfortably aware that several of the predatory females were now glaring at the spectacle. But on the plus side, the feisty move had definitely put Maxine on the back foot.

"Maxine Angelis." The reporter's expression indicated that she knew that Sunehri knew exactly who she was, but that the younger woman's move had left her in the unenviable position of looking foolish if she attempted to point that out.

And Maxine was just possibly still a little sensitive about appearing a fool or a charlatan in public.

Good. Anything that kept her from asking questions that Harold and John would be utterly unable to answer would be a good thing.

When Sunehri had almost crashed into him, John's arms had gone around her by instinct, her hug had surprised him too, but by the time she turned in his arms to face Maxine he was caught up and on the same play page.

Presenting a united front. One which clearly foxed Maxine.

John and Sunehri certainly made a handsome couple. Her dress a scarlet silk cheong-sam, the traditional Chinese dress flowed over her tiny figure. Tight in all the right places, elegant, the color doing much for Miss Chopra's milk and honey skin tone. Her head reached half way up John's shoulder her upswept hair giving her another inch or two of height, his arm curved around her, hand resting on her hip. Sunehri's fingers rested briefly on the back of his wrist. Fleetingly, but long enough to secure the impression.

The looks they gave one another suggested complete concord. While Harold Finch would have been delighted to find that Sunehri Chopra was an excellent actress just helping them out of a bind, he knew enough of her tactics and John's to see a little more into it than that.

Pondering this new development, Harold almost missed the conclusion of this new stratagem. Dr Woods was looking annoyed. Maxine Angelis was in full retreat, clearly off to re-think her next move.

She couldn't pounce on John unless she wanted to wreck her chances of a route to Kayleigh Cooper.

Would that be game, set and match?

Harold's lips twitched upwards a little at the thought. He never liked to be vindictive unless there was no other option, but Maxine Angelis had been something of a loose cannon, and John had been beaten up saving her. Harold really hated that he had to ask John not to betray himself until help could arrive. The sound of fists pounding into John's flesh made him feel queasy. Later, after John had finally said goodbye to Maxine, he had been changing his shirt at the Library, and Harold had inadvertently seen the bruises.

He winced at the thought. Then shook himself mentally. John was strong and fit and very well able to take care of himself. Caring about John's welfare was an unexpected side effect of their relationship, and one that Finch was finding an increasing concern.

"Now that is an interesting spectacle." Zoe Morgan's tone might have contained a hint of snap, but Finch was grateful for the interruption. He turned to greet her.

"Good evening, Ms Morgan." Zoe's half-smile was a little distracted. A quick glance behind him told him that Reese had decided to play Sunehri's little ploy to the hilt for whatever reason. His large hand wrapped securely around Sunehri's slender one, their body language intimate but not overt, but there was something else there and Finch pondered that complexity for a moment.

As he turned back to Zoe, he caught the look on her face before it was hurriedly masked. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, he indicated that they might like to rejoin Reese and Dr Cooper's Assistant. Before anything else happens.

When Sunehri first flung herself at him Reese was startled. Not that he hadn't worked out that she found him attractive, but that he felt an emotional connection to her. Maybe for the first time since Jessica.

He was attracted to Carter for her incorruptibility and her honesty, Zoe was a scrapper, like him, forged in a hard place, but Sunehri? Well that was a whole new ball game and he wasn't sure he had the right to even try.

Her boss was the number, only her boss wasn't at this party which kind of made a nonsense out of their attendance.

"Lee never does these things." Sunehri gave him a strange look when he casually asked. "She hired me for my ability to talk to people, so that she doesn't have to." Sunehri cast a glance over her shoulder at the slightly sour-faced Dr Woods "they don't like it, but Lee has an international reputation and her work brings all sorts of credit."

"Can I meet her?" John gave Sunehri his best innocuous smile.

"Sure." Sunehri flashed him a wide happy smile, and for a moment Reese wondered if he had implied more than he meant to convey. He tapped his earpiece.

"Finch, I got this."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." As Reese disengaged he heard Finch asking Zoe if she would care to dine with him. He smiled a little at that, Finch wasn't any more immune to Zoe's charms and personality than he was. That was good to know.

Sunehri tugged on his wrist and he followed her, never seeing the calculating brown eyes that followed them across the room.