The being known as Sameen Shaw placed herself at the foot of short staircase as Zoe approached a short, round, bespectacled man that was locking front doors of the 58th Street Library.

"Evening Riggs," Zoe greeted warmly.

"Evening, Zoe," Riggs said cautiously as he turned around. "What do I owe the pleasure of you and your surly friend's company to tonight?"

"You said you had a lead on that file I asked for?"

"Ah yes. Seems someone was hired to steal it."

"And?"

"And where is my fee? I don't work for free, Zoe."

Zoe reached into her bag and withdrew a strap of hundreds. Riggs flicked through the greenbacks before shoving the thing in his pocket. "Your clients property was lifted by local crew led by a guy who calls himself Romeo."

"Romeo? Makes sense to hire a bank robber to steal something that shouldn't exist in the first place. Though he always seemed smarter than to take a job ripping off a major corporation."

Riggs shrugged. "He's working with a new crew, stepping up in the world."

"He still hanging out at that shitty bar down on 35th?"

"Gecko's? Yeah he is still there. Be careful, both of you. Romeo was hired to steal the ledger and has some new muscle."

Shaw smirked." Take my word when I say we aren't the ones you should be worried about."

"Whatever. I warned you so my conscience is clear. A pleasure doing business, as usual."

"Likewise, Riggs."

\\:

Geckos was a small, squat building with a shoddy brick façade, grimy windows and weatherbeaten door. The interior was moderately illuminated, the floor slightly tacky. The bar ran about three quarters of the length of room, several tables scattered in the slightly more open space between the bar and the booths that ran along the back wall.

Shaw paused two steps in, letting her eyes adjust to the dimness before sliding onto a stool at the bar. The place was about half full, two other patron nursing drinks at the bar, another half-dozen or so sitting at a table or in a booth.

"Sameen Gray, long time no see," Romeo said as he approached, leaning on the bar and smiling. "What brings you to me tonight?"

"Romeo, my name is Zoe Morgan and I was hired to retrieve an item you stole from an office in Manhattan last night."

Romeo stood up, taking a step back and crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't suppose there is any point in denying it although I hope you understand that I simply cannot hand it over."

"My client is prepared to pay whatever you ask for its return."

"Unless your client's money can buy me a new life, I will have to take a pass on it. The guy that hired me, well lets say it wasn't much of an offer and I really doubt that he would take failure very well."

"That really sucks Romeo, because we are not leaving without the drive."

"Then we are at a bit of an impasse. I really don't want to have my boys hurt you, but I will if I have to."

"I'm sorry but do you not remember what happened the last time you pissed me off?" she asked, paying half a mind to the constant threat analysis Samaritan was giving her.

"The last time you took us by surprise; that ain't happening this time." Romeo jerked his head in their direction.

"Oh I was really hoping you would say that," Shaw said through a grin that nearly took in her ears. She spun on her stool and waited for the five fit-looking men to approach. "One chance to leave under your own power, boys." it was clear from the look they exchanged they did not believe her, not that she really blamed them.

"Don't go easy on her guys, she can handle herself."

"That true?" the biggest of the five asked, sizing her up and clearly finding her wanting.

"One suggestion before we get started, don't take turns. I mean, it isn't going to change how I'm gonna beat the shit out of you losers, but you might do a little bit better."

The first of the men stepped in, throwing a straightforward punch right at her face that she bent out of the way of, stepping in close, breaking his knee with a boot to the inside, dropping him so she could deliver a strike to the point of his chin. He dropped like a sack of rocks and she gave the remaining for an 'I warned you' look.

The next two came at her together, slightly more cautiously. Two flicked open a switchblade, holding it like he knew how to use it surprisingly. That did not keep her from taking it from him, grabbing his wrist and breaking his thumb. She caught the falling blade with her left hand and drove it through Three's foot, pinning him to the floor as she pistoned a boot through his midsection. She blocked a sloppy hammerfist from Two, extending two fingers and driving them into his side, right over his kidneys.

Shaw wound back, gathering a little chi into her fist and let loose, driving Two's head into the floor so hard it bounced twice. She did not give the remaining three a chance to do more than gawp, stepping forward and catching a pool cue aimed at her head by Four with both hands, squeezing and shattering it. Four stumbled back, surprised and off-balance, giving her a split second to drive her palm into Five's nose, grabbing his hair and smashing his face into her knee.

Turning to face the fifth man, she arched an eyebrow. He shot a look at Romeo and she could all but hear the sigh. "Anyone else want a go?" she asked the room at large.

Romeo sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother. Real talent is so hard to find in this town."

"So are you going to give us the drive now?"

"Dont suppose i have much of a choice?"

"No, not really. I can stop being polite if that would help."

"That is not necessary. Give me a moment." Romeo slipped out from behind the bar and walked into his office, leaving the door open as he spun the dial set in the wall behind his desk. Zoe held a hand out and curled her fingers around the thumb drive.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Zoe said with a smile as she slid from the stool.

"You know you are screwing me," Romeo said in one last, pathetic attempt to change their minds. "The guy that hired me, he'll kill me if I fail him."

"Sounds like a good time for a change of scenery then," Shaw tossed back over her shoulder as she led Zoe outside. She moved off a few paces and spent a few seconds talking into her phone before waving her over.

"Thanks for the help, Shaw but I think I got it from here."

"You sure? If the information on that drive is as damaging as it sounds like, they might try to off you."

"I think I have that covered," Zoe said, jerking her head at a dark-colored sedan that was sitting under a streetlight halfway down the block.

She couldn't see much more than a shadow sitting in the front seat, but she knew it was John. The team had not interfered, like she had asked, but she knew that it would be unreasonable for John to stay completely away when Zoe was in trouble.

/:

"So do you want to tell me what is going on?" Zoe asked, as she slipped into the passenger seat of John's Charger.

"Things have gotten… complicated," he replied as he started the engine. "Where can I drop you off?"

"You two have a falling out or something? That why you are keeping your distance from Shaw and her new friends?"

"As much as I would like to tell you, I can't. Not because I don't trust you, but because knowing would get you killed."

Zoe stared at John for a long moment before returning her gaze to the street. "Alright. But you tell me when you can."

"I will, if I can. Until then, it is probably best if you avoid Shaw and her friends if at all possible. Just to be on the safe side."

Zoe pursed her lips and considered pushing the issue, but there were few men who could keep a secret like John Reese. "Fine. Did Shaw at least fill you in on the job?"

"Like I said, things are complicated. Shaw isn't talking to us much any more."

"Well, most of the work is done. Just the delivery to make. I could use some protection, just in case."

John smiled. "I thought you would never ask."

/:

Shaw slipped into the driver's seat of the Jag and held her hand out. "Phone please."

Rousseau handed her phone over without complaint, waiting without comment until Shaw had perused through her calls and texts, handing it back when she found no communications from the operative to her nominal boss.

"Why?"

"He has not made any overt moves on us or the number so I left him be. I don't think that you are truly one of us, but until you betray us, I will follow your orders."

Shaw considered the blonde's words for a moment before twisting the keys in the ignition and throwing the sedan into reverse, Rousseau thankfully silent the entire trip back to… she wasn't sure what it was. Not her home, surely, her office? Her base? Her hideout? Whatever it was, it took half an hour to return to, splitting from her team at the bank of elevators and waving her wrist over blank metal by the only elevator without a call button.

She barely felt the elevator rise, the trip taking far less time than she had expected. The lift opened to what was a luxuriously appointed loft. "Okay, i could totally get used to this," she muttered to herself. The floorplan was open, bedroom, kitchenette, and living area all visible from the door.

All the amenities were present, from the truly massive television, to the fully equipped kitchen. The Queen-sized bed was the most comfortable thing she had lain on in what seemed years.

The closet was filled with clothes, all dark, durable and completely her. "You didn't steal my clothes or something, did you?" Shaw asked empty air.

'No.

'However, your wardrobe was not difficult to replicate.

'You value items that possess durability rather than aesthetic appeal,' Samaritan droned in her ear.

Shaw grunted. Simple was best, she had found over the centuries. Dark, durable clothes, steak, guns, knives. She walked out of the sleeping area and back towards the kitchen, tugging the refrigerator door open. It was well stocked, with thick, marbled steaks, lean ground beef and a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and cheeses.

After making a quick check of the cabinets, she pulled out a pan, some oil and half a dozen assorted spices, along with the thickest steak in the drawer. Once said steak was cooked and consumed, it was approaching nine, and the bed was looking extremely inviting. Stripping down to her underwear, slipped under the covers, USP Compact in her grip as she let consciousness fade away.

/:

If there was one nice thing about having taken Samaritan's job offer, it was that she was the most powerful person in the building. She walked in on her meeting with Decima's Board of Directors fifteen minutes late slightly sweaty, a towel hanging around her neck and pistol tucked into the waistband of her pants. Ms. Roberts trailed her, a tablet nestled in the crook of her arm.

The five men and four women who had been quietly talking among themselves fell silent as she entered. She ignored the pointed stares some of them sent her, dropping into the empty chair at the far end gracelessly, leaning back and propping her feet up on the table.

"Ms. Shaw, my name is Robert Shanter, Executive Director. I know Director Greer has already done so, but please allow me to be the first to officially welcome you to the Company. Everyone here has read your file and may I say, we are truly excited to see what you will accomplish here at Decima."

"Yeah, not to rain on your guys parade, but there is one reason why I am here and it is not to 'accomplish great things' or whatever. I don't particularly like Samaritan, but it is going to win this war with the Machine and that is the only reason why I am here."

"Nevertheless, we are all excited to have you here at Decima. For many of us, Decima was just a job, a way to pay our mortgages, to pay for our children's college educations. Samaritan has changed that, changed Decima."

"Let me stop you there," Shaw interrupted. "I really, really don't care how you think that Samaritan is going to change the world, save the world or whatever. This is just another job for me so please dont try to sell me on the Kool-Aid."

Greer gave Shanter an I-told-you-so look that said the former had given the latter a speech on the subject, the latter returning it unamused. "Your... Attitude has been noted, Ms. Shaw. I was hoping that Director Greer's assessment was flawed but I suppose not all of us can be true believers. Samaritan chose you for a reason; we will have to trust in its judgment."

Shaw grinned at the distaste in Shanter's tone. "I thought you guys were all about unquestioning loyalty."

" It is human nature to doubt. That doubt does not invalidate our belief. You will notice that no one is questioning your position here."

"Well, questioning me would be like questioning Samaritan, and I don't see how that would be conducive to long-term employment here."

"We are sometimes required to do things and deal with people we would rather not," a woman that was of an age with Greer. She sat one seat down from Shanter and across from Greer. "In this case, you. Though I don't see you being here very long."

"And why is that?"

The woman gave her a flat look before replying. "You reek of insubordination, Ms. Shaw, and Samaritan doesn't tolerate mavericks. And even if Samaritan doesn't terminate you, you will flame out sooner or later."

Shaw smirked. "Didn't you hear? I don't stay dead."

"So I've heard, but color me a skeptic. I need to see something to believe it."

"Yeah, don't expect me to be blow my brains out just to prove it to you. Ask Greer for the security footage from the Stock Exchange; if that isn't good enough, I can't help you."

"In any case, we did not call you here to discuss your mortality."

"I was wondering when you would get around to that."

"We wanted to meet you, Ms. Shaw. Samaritan's Primary Interface should not be some faceless person, she should take the seat that is rightfully hers at this table. You are first among equals here, and we wished to show you the respect you are owed. We may not see eye-to-eye on some issues, but we all serve the same cause."

Shaw grunted, sitting up in her seat and rising. "Well, you all met me, so if there is nothing else, I will get back to doing real work."