A/N: Sorry about the delay in getting this posted, and the shortness of the chapter. My work life has proven hectic the last few weeks and has been interfering with my creativity. Hopefully things will settle down in the next couple of weeks. Till then all I can offer are my sincerest apologies. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

POI – POI – POI – POI – POI

Archival Date: Three months after the capture of Sameen Shaw

Root stopped in her tracks. Ten feet in front of her the street side payphone had begun ringing. In the past she would not have hesitated to answer it knowing that the Machine had important instructions for her. But after months of hiding from Samaritan, and hardly hearing from the Machine the hacker had become unaccustomed to answering payphones, much less them ringing in her presence.

The faint taste of copper in her mouth informed her that she was biting her lip once more. A nervous habit that had developed after Sam had been taken from her. The knowledge that any day operatives of Samaritan might hunt her down had weighed heavily on her conscious and led to her taking extra precautions to avoid detection. As her heart pounded a drum solo in her chest Root approached the payphone and after a moment's hesitation she answered it.

"Root." The tired grumbling voice spoke over the phone line.

The light haired brunette woman forgot how to breathe in that instant. A tight pressure formed in her chest preventing her lungs from expanding and getting necessary oxygen.

"W-who is this?" Root did not have to fake surprise or uncertainty. For all her hopes and dreams of finding Sameen alive and well the possibility of her lover calling her in broad daylight from a payphone no less, had never even been considered.

"There is no time." Shaw's voice sounded strained and there was an edge to it that reminded Root of the woman's goodbye. "I escaped and they're hunting for me."

"Where?" Root's eyes scanned the streets around her. The moving pedestrians limited her view, but she caught a brief glimpse of a woman with short dark hair disappearing around a corner. She felt certain it had been Sameen, especially when a dark van rocketed down the street and turned the corner.

"I…shit they're too close." Shaw's breathing became erratic and the sound of her pushing past people could be heard over the phone. "Basement level of where we first met." Sameen said quickly and then there was a loud clatter as the phone hit the pavement.

Root wanted to yell. Fear of losing the woman she cared about gripped her as the angry cries of men giving orders filled her ear moments before she hung up and disappeared into the crowd.

Hours Later

Bright florescent lights obliterate any hint of the stars above the city. Even taking back alleys and side streets Root feels far too illuminated for her liking. Times like this she wishes she could pull the plug on the New York's electrical grid. Plunging the city into darkness would aid her in moving about unseen, even if it prevented her from receiving help from the Machine.

Root had given Harold a cursory call. She knew he would not approve of her going to the meeting location alone. Especially if it was a trap like the hacker feared. Yet a stubborn part of her insisted that she had to go alone. That way only one of them was at risk. Root figured she was expendable. Harold could certainly handle hacking jobs as well as her, and the Big Lug was certainly more muscle then she could ever hope to be.

Deep down though Root knew that she was making pitiful excuses. The real reason she was doing this alone was because she felt that it was something that she alone should do. Sure Harold and Mr. Personality let her insist that Sameen was still alive, but even with the few leads they had turned up, all leading to dead ends, they had begun to lose hope and move on with their lives. Yet Root could not. With Sameen she felt whole. Without the woman's stubborn resolve and dry humor Root was finding her days bleaker than when she had been a child with little hope or prospect for a future.

It was easy to break into the building. The latch and alarm on the emergency fire door was as faulty and unreliable as ever. Especially after she had messed around with it years ago. Reaching a hand up Root easily covered the hardwired security camera that monitored the hallway leading to the fire door. A part of her nagged at the decision to not hack the security cameras before being silenced by the knowledge that she was trying to not draw the attention of Samaritan. A security camera being hacked in a building would certainly draw minor attention, especially if Sam had been seen in the vicinity.

Heading down into the basement Root took her time. Allowing for her eyes to adjust to the dim light and to try and detect telltale sounds of multiple people hiding ahead of her. Though her ear strained against the quiet hum of the air conditioner and the slight pounding of the pipes and sounds of people wandering around on the floor above she could hear nothing down below.

Reaching the bottom Root looked around.

The basement level was a large open aired room. Some support columns littered the room casting shadows in the already poorly lit room. A fine layer of dust lay in the corners and pressed up against metal shelving and against the concrete walls that stretched towards the ceiling and created small rooms in the basement.

Stepping forward Root took slow light breaths trying to remain as silent as possible. She could see no sign of Sam and worry began to fill her. Taking a chance she pressed herself against a support column and slid soundlessly to the ground. Trying to make as small a target as possible she looked around the column trying to see anything.

Her eyes caught slight movement from one of the open doorway rooms. Then her ears heard the telltale click of a safety being taken off of a gun.

"Your going to have to kill me if you expect to take me back." A strong gravelly voice said. There was not a trace of doubt or worry in it.

"Sameen it's just me!" Root called out. Licking suddenly dry lips she scooted farther back behind the column and maneuvered onto her knees. Her gut was twisted itself into a knot. 'Something doesn't feel right about this.' She thought before casting a glance back towards the stairs leading up to the exit.

"Root?" Sameen's voice called out sounding strangely laced with worry and concern. The questioning tone in it raising the hairs on the back of the hacker's neck more than anything. "I…didn't think you would actually come yourself. Did you bring anyone else with you?"

"No, I didn't come alone." She smoothly lied as she got to her feet. Looking towards the doorway Root saw that the hand had lowered the gun and she caught a glimpse of dark brunette locks that looked like they would barely brush the woman's jaw much less her shoulders. "Carter is here with me. He's covering our exit and making sure none of Samaritan's goons try and ambush us."

There was silence for a long moment during with the pit in Root's stomach grew steadily larger. When Shaw responded back. "Good to hear, he's always proven reliable." The hacker gnashed her teeth together crushed her own stupidity and opened fire.

The sound of the bullet impacting against the wall was deafening loud given the silence that had come before. There was muffled cursing and then BANG!

"Damn him. Knew the man's idea was going to fail." Martine's cold voice sounded out as she then followed it up by saying "Still it's finally netted us you. Now come along peacefully and maybe you'll get to see your lover in this life before I kill you both."

POI – POI – POI – POI – POI

A/N: Believe me I hate to end it here, but my computer has been giving me fits. Apologies again for the lack of material. Hopefully things will calm down at my job and I'll be able to re-focus my attention on giving you the readers the quality of chapters you deserve.