It took about another hour or so of sharing information for Finch to let him out of the library, insisting on John telling him every possible detail he could conjure up about Romanov and Barton, including the few inter-agency missions they'd ended up working together, the approximate dates of said missions and, it felt like, what Barton preferred for breakfast, then telling John what he needed to know about Banner, and all the relevant information he'd managed to dig up on Rogers, which admittedly wasn't much. John appreciated the information on Banner, he wasn't exactly enthusiastic about getting into a fight with that guy blind, but it wasn't like he was going to run into Captain America hanging around on a street corner in Midtown and not just because, from what John could remember from the comics he'd read as a kid, Steve Rogers had been a Brooklyn boy. In the end they'd agreed that it would be best for him to investigate some of the known government safehouses in the city, in case SHIELD happened to be using one. The possibility was slim, but in all honesty Reese was just relieved he didn't have to go and babysit a sulking billionaire again.

"The media this morning are all singing Stark's praises again," Finch said dryly in his ear as he reached the first building. "Apparently Stark Tower has just become 'a Beacon of Clean Energy', his words, not mine, from a press release they sent out last night."

John could imagine the look on his partner's face at having to read those words out loud, and couldn't stop a smile as he started to pick the locks on the apartment he'd stayed in one of the times they'd been in New York. He knew the CIA and SHIELD's similar targets sometimes led to them sharing safehouses, and while this one looked like it had been empty for a while, it was always worth checking.

"Even with Stark's apparent bad memory, his security system is exceptional," Finch continued. "It'll notice if you go in under a different name, but if you use the same cover you have the other times you've had to meet Stark face to face, it might correlate your face with potential threats on its creator, so I'm sending Miss Shaw to the Tower for the meeting."

While he was glad of the assistance, Reese couldn't help but wince slightly. Shaw was turning out to be a good asset, but sending her in as anything other than the muscle could get a little messy. He knew she must be able to act pretty well in order to make it as far as she had as a covert operative in the ISA, but Shaw was still so much of an unknown. When Harold had mentioned Stark, John had hoped to get his number out of the way quickly, but it couldn't just be a coincidence that they'd got the numbers of two superheroes in one go, even if one of them was supposed to be dead, not unless the problems with the Machine were a lot worse than Harold had predicted and it was somehow getting threats from comic books. They'd have enough on their plates with this before Shaw possibly picked a fight with one of the most powerful men in the country. Although, he had to admit, that wasn't an entirely unappealing concept.

Another day, another job. Not like Shaw objected to getting paid, but Finch's caution was beginning to drive her a little crazy; it would have been easier just to break into the monstrosity that was Stark Tower, catch Stark unaware and drag him off to a safe house for a few days while they worked out the threat and dealt with all the other numbers, but nope, she had to go in the difficult, boring way undercover as a journalist who wanted to interview him about whatever crap he was doing with his electricity these days. It wasn't like she couldn't do it, she was a damn good actress when she needed to be even if the boys didn't appreciate that, it was just that Shaw tasted bile at the back of her throat just thinking about having to kiss this guy's ass for long enough to determine the threat.

For such a high profile target, the security in this place was terrible, not even metal detectors, just a big guy in an expensive suit glaring suspiciously at everyone who walked past. Maybe it was just because they were still working on so much of the building, but jeez, she could see at least four places to plant a bomb already and she was only in the lobby.

She sighed roughly (a little over the top, maybe, but she was going to take every opportunity she had to tell Finch how she felt about playing bodyguard to a goddamn superhero) and adjusted her jacket to cover her gun better, then approached the front desk with her best fake smile.

"Sameen Lopez, here for an interview with Mr Stark?"

The young man looked up from his computer with a look of panic, obviously seeing through her smile.

"He, uh, isn't here. Got called out on government business this morning and didn't bother telling anyone when he'd be back. Damn, I thought we'd rescheduled everyone," He paused, typing something rapidly. "We have another appointment for August twelfth?"

Shaw straightened, rolling her eyes and turning to leave without replying.

"Miss Lopez? Hey!"

Shaw stalked straight back out of the building, ignoring the receptionists calls and the dirty look the security guy was giving her. "Guessing you caught all of that, Finch. Any idea what 'government business' might be?"

She heard him typing rapidly as she started back down the street to the subway.

"No record of his plane leaving his private airfield, and no reported sightings of Iron Man either. His sudden disappearance may have something to do with the apparent evacuation of a SHIELD facility down in New Mexico last night."

Shaw let her shoulders fall in exasperation and groaned. "Please don't tell me we're going to Albuquerque."

"No, I'm not sure any of us deserve that…" Finch said slowly, and she could hear the sound of typing again. "If the Machine gave us his number, that means if he isn't currently in the city, he should be back by the time the danger becomes immediate."

"The boys having any luck with our other numbers?"

"No sign of Barton or Romanov in SHIELD's usual places," John's voice came through. "Checking up on Fusco for signs of Banner. As for Rogers… Are you sure your Machine hasn't blown a fuse, Harold?"

Shaw tapped mute on her earpiece. Finch never said anything about having to listen to his and Reese's mildly homoerotic banter, and it wasn't like Finch couldn't turn it on again remotely. As it was, Finch had hacked her a reservation at a place with a damn good lunch for her interview with Stark as a bribe for dealing with his ego, and she planned to use Finch's running tab there to her advantage. If nothing else, at least she'd get a steak out of this.