Root tied the straps of the apron around her waist. As it turned out, the Machine's 'number' was a set of coordinates for a cafe so Root had gone undercover as a waitress so she could check it out. She surveyed the area but there was no sign of any danger or suspicious activity, just people enjoying themselves.

She spotted Shaw seated at one of the tables, scanning the other tables with a blank expression. Root smiled as Shaw scowled at every waitress that approached her, sending them scuttling away. Even after everything that had happened, she hadn't changed a bit.

Root strode over to Shaw, brandishing a broad smile. "Scaring away the competition I see," she commented, taking a notebook out of her apron pocket as if she was taking an order. Shaw ignored the comment but replied. "I've not seen anything."

"Me neither. The only chatter among the waitresses at the moment is over who has to deal with you." Shaw rolled her eyes but she did crack a small smile.

After a moment Shaw looked away from the other tables and turned to Root. "Are you sure the Machine got this one right." Root's brows creased but Shaw continued. "I mean, first she sends us coordinates instead of a number and the she tells us it's urgent but so far nothing's happened. Maybe she's glitching after the reboot."

Root cocked her head to the side. "She appreciates your concern, but she's fine Sameen. Trust her."

Shaw sighed; she didn't seem entirely convinced. "Fine," she replied. "But if we're gonna be stuck here for a while I might as well have something to eat."

"And what would you like then, Miss?" asked Root, grinning as Shaw scowled at her.

"I'll have the pancake stack, extra sauce."

"Hmm, that's a lot of calories. You sure you don't want something healthier?"

"Well you see someone made me skip breakfast this morning," replied Shaw as she shot Root a deadly glare. "And my trigger finger gets real itchy on an empty stomach."

"I guess you'll also be needing the extra energy for tonight," said Root with a wink, leaving Shaw fuming as she headed back to the kitchen. She was definitely going to pay for that comment later.

Shaw was about halfway through her pancakes when she called in. "Son of a bitch," she said into Root's earpiece. "You're never gonna believe who just showed up." Root did struggle to believe it when she looked out to see Harold and Grace sitting down at one of the tables not too far from Shaw. That at least explained why the Machine hadn't bothered giving them a number.

"I thought they were in Italy," commented Root, not thinking too much about it.

"You knew Finch was alive?"

"You didn't?"

An irritated Shaw replied. "I saw a missile hit a building and then everyone disappeared. Excuse me for thinking they hadn't survived."

"Clearly," replied Root, rubbing her head, "This is a discussion we need to have later. For now, let's try to stay on mission."

With a bit of persuasion, Shaw agreed to drop the subject until later. Root was somewhat relieved; at least she wouldn't have to tell Shaw about John until then. She knew Shaw wouldn't react much to the news, but that wasn't what bothered her. Root was well aware that Shaw cared more about them than she'd like to admit and knowing about that made her worry. She hated seeing Shaw hurt.

Root pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she strode over to Finch's table, once again brandishing a broad smile. This, at least, was going to be fun. "Are you two ready to order?" She asked, approaching from behind. Finch froze at the sound of her voice and his eyes widened as she walked round into his line of sight. The colour drained from his face as he realised that she was who he thought she was.

"Are you alright, sir?" Asked Root, frowning in an attempt to seem genuinely concerned. "You look like you've seen a ghost." Shaw practically snorted out a laugh through her earpiece, prompting Root to bite her lip to prevent herself from laughing as well.

Finch followed her eyes as she glanced over at Shaw, spotting her now for the first time himself. He turned back to Root, and he must have realised why they were here because he did his best to compose himself as he replied. "I'm fine, you just reminded me of a friend who passed away recently."

"Well I can give you a minute if you need it," she said, leaving the table before Finch could object.

Root tossed the apron she'd been wearing into a nearby bin; she wouldn't be needing that cover anymore. She sat down opposite Shaw who'd already returned to her food. "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

Root cocked her head to the side and smiled. "A girl's got to have a bit of fun while she's working."

Shaw shook her head, then slid her plate across the table, a few pancakes still leftover. When Root raised her eyebrows at the gesture, Shaw let out a frustrated sigh. "You haven't eaten anything either, Root."

"Careful Shaw, this might damage your reputation as the uncaring sociopath."

Shaw shot her a glare. "Just shut up and eat the damn pancakes before I change my mind."

Shaw kept an eye on Finch and Grace while Root began eating. She was hungrier than she'd realised. "So what do we do now?" asked Shaw. "There's not exactly much going on."

"Just treat it like another number," replied Root between mouthfuls. "We can watch from here and get involved if anything happens. In the meantime, we might as well enjoy ourselves."

Root ended up watching Shaw more than their surroundings. It had been so long since they'd last done something like this; just the two of them on a mission, no looming threat from Samaritan. She'd almost forgotten how much they both enjoyed this, although it was clear that Shaw was beginning to get bored and slightly agitated by the lack of gunfire.

Root reached across the table and took Shaw's hand in her own. Shaw glanced down, but she didn't flinch or retract her hand. Instead, she began lacing her finger's in between Root's, a hint of a smile appearing as she did so. Root's own smile widened as she continued to gaze idly at Shaw.

"This is nice," said Root, drawing Shaw's attention to her. "Almost like a date."

"A date?" Shaw rolled her eyes. "This is not what I'd consider a date."

"Why not? I mean, we're in a cafe, sharing a meal, and you might even get to shoot some people soon."

Shaw pursed her lips. "I guess that is the equivalent of a date for us."

When Shaw looked away again, she tensed suddenly and all signs of a smile vanished. Root held back a sigh as Shaw pulled her hand away. They never could just have a moment without being interrupted. "Heads up," said Shaw, nodding in the direction behind Root. "We've got company."

Root turned to see about a dozen or so men surrounding the edges of the seating. They all wore similar black suits, wearing identical earpieces and carrying government issue firearms. More importantly, they were all heading towards Finch and Grace.

"Looks like government operatives," commented Root, but Shaw was shaking her head, her eyes fixated on one of the men in particular.

"That's not government," she replied, her voice barely more than a whisper. "That's Samaritan."

Root did her best to ignore the rising sense of dread. "Samaritan's gone," she said, hoping the certainty of her definitive tone would somehow make her words reality.

Shaw held her head in her hands, almost like she couldn't believe it herself. "That man, on the left, he worked at the facility where they held me."

Root looked over at the man Shaw was describing. He was young, about average height, with pretty standard looks. There was nothing particular distinguishable. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Maybe he just looks like him."

Shaw looked Root directly in the eye as she replied. "Root, I killed that man hundreds of times during the simulations. I'm sure."

Root didn't need any more convincing, but she did wonder why Samaritan operatives would be here. Now the AI was gone, none of them posed a threat anymore. Either they were carrying out old orders or… or Samaritan was back online. Root shuddered at the thought. If Samaritan was back then they were all in danger. She might have even put Shaw in more danger by coming back.

Shaw didn't seem as bothered by this, though. She grabbed her bag from the floor, careful to keep the rifle hidden inside until they were closer to Finch. If they started shooting now he'd definitely be dead by the time they reached him. Root stood with Shaw and they slowly made their way towards Finch's table.

He saw them coming, and it only took him a brief second to figure out why. Root could see the fear in Finch's eyes, but it wasn't for him. No, he was worried about Grace.

"Hate to interrupt your meal," said Root as they reached the table. "But in a second I'm going to need you to get up and move slowly towards the building behind us."

Grace looked up at them in shock. "Who are you?"

Finch replied before Root could. "Miss Groves and Miss Shaw are both old associates of mine. You can trust them."

Out of the corner of her eye, Root saw one of the operatives reaching for his gun. A second later, both of Root's guns were in her hands. Two shots after that, the man was on the floor and the cafe was in chaos.

Screams filled the air as people fled the gunshots. Root and Shaw made use of the disruption, guiding Finch and Grace through the panicked crowd. As long as they blended in with everyone else, the agents couldn't risk taking any shots. The crowd quickly dispersed though, forcing them to take cover behind a cluster of overturned tables.

Shaw provided cover fire whilst Root listened to The Machine's instructions. The warning almost came too late. She threw herself at Shaw, colliding into her so they both went crashing into the ground. The bullet that would have killed Shaw ripped through her shoulder as they fell but she blocked out the pain.

Root rolled out of the way as Shaw returned fire, taking out the gunman. They both lay there on the ground for a moment, taking a second to recover. Shaw turned to Root. "Are you hit?"

"No," she lied, making sure she faced Shaw so the wound wasn't visible. She sat up to see Finch and Grace moving towards them.

"Are you alright?" asked Finch.

"We're fine, Harry," replied Root, although she noticed Shaw was frowning sceptically at her. She turned back to Shaw as she reloaded her guns. "Take Grace to the car and get to the safe house."

Shaw looked at her in bewilderment. "What about you?"

"I'll take Harold with me and we'll meet you later. Trust me."

Shaw gave a slow nod and consented to go. She helped Grace up and Root drew the fire from the few remaining operatives as they sprinted to the car. Pretty soon all of the men were down, but the Machine told Root more were on the way.

They needed to move, but Root needed to rest. She slid down against one of the tables, wincing slightly at the pain in her shoulder. "You're hurt," said Finch, noticing the pain she was in. "Miss Shaw could have helped you."

"She needed to go,"replied Root. "And so do we." Finch helped her up, then she led him down the street, following the Machine's instructions. They weren't finished yet.