Now for a little more action. I think this is the penultimate chapter...so get ready for this sorta crazy ride to come to an end. :D
When she was free from her restraints, she imagined they were still there, and by so doing, just managed to stop herself from grabbing a hold of Sameen, who was mere inches away from her, like a long sought after apparition come to fruition. No matter what Shaw said, Root knew she wouldn't actually hurt her if she tried to touch her, but she wanted to be respectful of Shaw's wishes and not antagonize her further than she already had...at least not for awhile. Besides, Root knew she looked dreadful because she felt it, and that was not the way she wanted their first 'intimate' contact to be after all these months of separation. Granted, they hadn't felt like months to her as she had been out of her mind for most of that time, but it didn't make their reunion any less special in her eyes. In short, she wanted their first contact to be perfect, (or as perfect could get where Shaw was concerned) so she would wait until they were in more favourable circumstances to hug and, she thought with a thrill, kiss her.
"What?" Shaw grunted nervously when Root continued to stare at her.
Root was about to respond when She whispered in her ear urgently, which is to say, in slightly higher pitched tones than usual.
"Root is in danger. Assets must leave. Now."
"They're coming," she said, swinging her legs over the side of the examination table. As she did so her injured shoulder throbbed horribly. She pushed the pain aside. There were more important things to deal with. "We've got to get out of here or we'll be trapped."
Shaw looked across the medical bay to where Reese lay. "His transfusion's not done yet."
"Doesn't matter," she replied, hopping off of the table, jarring her shoulder once more. She held out her good arm. "Give me a gun."
"Lionel's got an extra one," said Shaw after a moment's hesitation. "I'll get Reese."
The two women headed off in opposite directions after holding each others gaze for an extended second. They knew what was at stake. There could be no mistakes.
Lionel jumped when she spoke right behind him. "I heard you've got the goods."
He whirled around and gave her a wary look, finger on the trigger of his stolen weapon. "Shaw set you free, huh?"
"Yes, and now I need this," she said, swiftly pulling the gun out from under his belt.
Wide eyed, "Hey, hey, wait a minute, there's no way-"
Shaw showed up then, wheeling Reese on a gurney, her own gun drawn and at the ready. Lionel didn't argue further when the glass nearest them shattered and a high impact round exploded the far side of the medical bay, instantly killing the blinded agent. The blonde haired doctor, Caroline, shrieked and dove for cover. With precision aim, Root calmly shot the SWAT looking man lurking around the corner through his visor, and then stepped through the wreckage to deal with the next approaching, and according to Her, equally heavily armed assailants. Samaritan was pulling out all the stops, to well, put a stop to them once and for all. If it meant destroying their own headquarters in the process, then so be it. Just like the Stock Market Exchange, this would not be an easy fight.
Again she pushed aside the emotional pain and focused wholeheartedly on the task at hand, the other voices not getting any hold on her mind whatsoever. She cocked her head towards Lionel, who was just behind her and said, "I'm going to be needing the other one too."
He looked helplessly between the two of them and then with a sigh, handed over his only form of self protection. Shaw came over to her side, eager to join the fray, but she shook her head. "Stay here, Sameen."
The other woman looked like she would argue but then to her surprise didn't.
At the corner of the downed man, she waited for Her cue and then swiftly stepped out into a direct line of sight of her opponents, aiming low. They opened fire with M16's in almost the same instant, but she had hit both of them in the feet a fraction of a second earlier and their shots had gone ever so slightly astray, pounding into the wall right beside her face. Before they could recover and take aim again, she blasted them through their now exposed visors, one of the only truly vulnerable spots of their full body armour. They crumpled to the ground beside some other unconscious agents who had clearly been shot in the knees.
Already she could tell she was running low on ammo. There were maybe three rounds left in her right hand and five in the other. Apparently the agents on this floor had not had occasion to change the clips out in recent times. Probably because there weren't often shootouts in the medical area of a highly secure Dexima complex.
"How many more threats?"
"Five. By the elevator."
"And in total?"
"Unknown."
With a determined air, she dropped the pistols – hearing a male 'hey' from nearby - advanced forward and snatched up one of the M16's from her most recent victim. It had been modified to incorporate a much larger magazine than normal.
Root looked behind her and nodded to her team that the coast was clear. Shaw and Lionel wheeled out Reese, slowly navigating around the littered bodies as they approached. Root could see that Shaw had taken the first man's Desert Eagle, and laid it across Reese's feet.
"Nice shooting," said Shaw, clearly impressed. "Couldn't have done better myself."
With an air of a most aggrieved nature, Lionel stooped to retrieve his mostly useless pistols.
"Now what?" he asked.
"Now we suit up," replied Root.
"Oh, no!" he yelped. "The last time I did that,"- he jerked a thumb at Shaw - "this one shot me in the chest!" He touched the side of his head. "And pistol whipped me! I'm going to have a headache for a week!"
"Don't be such baby, Lionel. I barely hit you."
Root ignored their bickering and started to remove the nearest agent's body armour. Soon enough they followed suit and within minutes they were as protected as they were going to be given the circumstances. The inside of the helmets were bloody and filled with bone and brain matter. They decided to forgo that part of their ensemble. The heavy vest dug into her tender shoulder and every step she took caused her to wince. But she never complained. There was no point.
The elevator was just around the next bend. Even with the three of them it would be suicide to try to take them head on as she had previously done. This was amply demonstrated when Lionel ducked his head around the corner and jerked back the next second, narrowly avoiding his head being blown off by a barrage of bullets.
"Can't believe those guys didn't have any grenades or flashbangs on them," he said, obviously shaken. "That'd come in real handy right about now."
Shaw appeared to have the solution. She held up the Desert Eagle, smirking and said, "It's been ages since I used this baby. It'll slice through their armour like butter."
"Yes," returned Root, "but there's only maybe nine rounds left." And you won't get any clean shots off. "I have a feeling we'll be needing them more later on."
"What do you suggest we do then?" glowered Shaw, crestfallen at not getting to use her new toy right away. "The elevator's the only way out."
Root held up the M16. "We'll just have to keep firing until we take them all out."
And so began a tedious back and forth volley of gun fire. Well, not so tedious. Shaw stood very close beside her every time they blindly took aim. In fact, her body was practically shoved into Root's for nearly two minutes. She knew this was no time to be smiling, but she couldn't help it. Having Sam so near at hand during a gunfight was just like old times, and she wished more than ever that they could be alone somewhere more private. However, Lionel ruined the moment by switching places with Shaw when she went to reload. Root couldn't help but notice how much like a sweaty man he smelled and it briefly crossed her mind to 'accidentally' nudge him into the on coming fire. Before this impulse could take hold, and with Her help, she was eventually able to shoot down one of them. But as soon as that happened, the other four began to approach.
"They're going to swarm us!" warned Root. "We've got to retreat!"
So saying, Shaw (who was the closest) grabbed the opposite end of the gurney and they rushed to take cover wherever they could find it...which was back around the previous bend. Going into one of the rooms along this hallway would simply trap and destroy them.
They were barely around the bend before the gun fire started again. Almost back to where they started now, Lionel and Shaw quickly carried the gurney over the bodies while Root acted as rearguard. Then a crazy idea came to her. She dropped to the ground, grabbed the two nearest bodies to her and covered herself with them. Now all she had to do was lie in wait. Once they were passed her, she could simply take them out at her (relative) leisure.
The heavy footfalls approached and she held her breath as they went by.
"Now," came the voice in her ear.
She shoved one of the bodies aside and shot at the back of the nearest man's kneecap (which had little armour). As he stumbled and fell, she did the same thing to the next guy. They both hit the ground hard, clutching their legs. The two agents in front had already rounded the final bend during the assault but then whirled around at the noise and went looking for the source. By the time they did, Root had already covered herself back up with the body...but not well enough. She realized too late that part of the M16 was exposed.
The Machine went haywire. "Root is in danger. Root is in danger."
They started to shoot at her right through the bodies of their fallen comrades. Once more she was getting covered in gore, but there was nothing for it. If she tried to move she would surely take a bullet to the head. It was a miracle she hadn't already.
The protection from the bodies was almost gone and she was getting directly hammered now. Even with the body armour it stung like a bitch and she knew she couldn't withstand much more. Just when she recklessly decided to go out swinging, (if only to give Sam a shot at escaping) there came two very loud shots, followed by two more.
All was silent for several seconds and then she felt the weight of the devastated bodies pulled from her own. Shaw looked down at her, Desert Eagle still smoking and grinned, "How many times do I got to save your ass?"
That is so hot, thought Root, grinning back stupidly.