Shaw had thought her goose was cooked. Thought they were all doomed to end in this hotel room, Arthur Claypool still confused and dismayed.
Then Root... exploded into the room, guns blazing, and Shaw felt her sprits rise. They'd left Root locked up, but Shaw had always known that nothing would stop her if Root was determined. Not locked cages, not handcuffs, not being tied up... Shaw stopped that train of thought sharply. And now here she was, taking our operative with a gun in both hands. Root cut free the prisoners, returning fire with the other hand.
"Go," Shaw said to Finch. "We'll hold them off," Shaw added as she accepted a gun from Root. Arthur and Claypool staggered off into the hallway, Reese covering them. Root smiled over at Shaw, who was already firing where Control had been.
Root had always bugged Shaw, but there were moments, moments like this where Root was firing at Shaw's former boss - who'd ordered to have Shaw killed more than once now - with both guns, where Shaw started to warm to the taller woman. Just a bit, just enough not to mind when Root flung her arms over Shaw's shoulders and started shooting just behind her ears.
Root looked down at Shaw - not needing to look to aim with the earpiece in her ear - with that irritating smirk. Shaw couldn't believe she'd let this... pest... kiss her. Twice. And Shaw had let her get away with it both times.
Then Shaw found herself being lifted under her shoulders as Root, still shooting, turned to fire at someone 90 degrees between them. Normally Shaw hated being lifted, but this afforded her a new vantage point, one from which she could keep shooting so she simply kept shooting, even as Root turned.
There was a lull for a moment, and Root's hand, the cold handle of her pistol grasped firmly, held Shaw against her. Then she was turning again, and Shaw was shooting at someone behind Root and Root was shooting at someone behind Shaw and all Shaw could smell was gunpowder and the soft sandalwood of Root's soap and all Shaw could hear was people groaning over their injuries and gunfire and the gentle sound of Root's breathing beneath the noise - faster now than usual - and all Shaw could feel was the warmth of Root's body from where it was pressed against her, the huff of Root's exhale warm against her ear, the vibrations of Root's heart beating against Shaw's own ribcage as though it were her own. Shaw felt Root's arms drop a little, and Shaw hooked her legs around Root as Root swung around again, giving Shaw a few targets this time and damn if Shaw had ever been this turned on before because she honestly couldn't remember anyone ever showing her a better time, especially not while they were both still fully dressed.
The shooting slowed, and Root fired through a few walls, a yell each time her reward. Root looked down, still firing, and Shaw looked up for a moment, saw the same tension in Root's gaze right before Root leaned in to kiss her.
A new wave of operatives came near, and Root took them all expertly without breaking the kiss, firing with only one hand now, the second resting where Shaw's skull met her spine, the pistol handle cold and unweilding against Shaw's head. Shaw kept her eyes open; she needed to see to aim, but she met Root's eager kiss with her own hunger, aware of the way Root's body pressed against her, aware of the heat where their bodies joined, aware of agents succumbing to their wounds. The other kisses Root had given Shaw, Shaw had assumed they'd been to piss her off - and they had pissed Shaw off- but this kiss was clearly selfish on Root's part - and now Shaw's as well. Time seemed to slow as Shaw spun in Root's embrace, hard lips urgently exploring Shaw's own, and multiple targets dropping in the face of their whirlwind tactic.
There was another lull and Shaw let herself drop back down to the ground, pulled away with difficultly. "The number," Shaw said breathlessly.
"Of course," Root said, not even slightly disheveled. "Let's go."
They went out into the hallway, and Root took a bullet to her shoulder.
"Go," Root yelled, and Shaw hesitated, took a step towards Root, who raised her gun. "Go," Root repeated, and Shaw shot into the operative that had fired at Root, took satisfaction when she saw him drop. Root gave the elevator code, and Shaw hesitated a moment longer before running for the service elevator.
They'd loaded Claypool into the car and were about to drive away when Shaw stopped before getting into the car, looked up at the building.
"Root's still in there," Shaw said. "I'll be along later," she added, closing the door and heading for the fire escape, reloading her gun as she ran.