Lights were pulsing, the music was pounding, and the dance floor was jam-packed. Shaw shook her head as it was incredibly difficult to keep track of their number and keep an eye out for the suspected perp at the same time. She sipped her beer as she looked down on the floor from her vantage point and her eyes stole elsewhere, searching for Root. She had disappeared earlier, mumbling about checking up on something. Probably the Machine had something to do with it. Unsuccessful in her attempts to locate Root, Shaw returned her gaze to the number. Hayden was downing drink after drink, probably to lose her insecurity, thought Shaw. Why she felt the need to was not clear, as she had looks, popularity, and apparently charisma by the way those around her fawned over her. Shaw wondered if she should get down there to listen in on the conversation flowing around Hayden. Maybe she'd get a better picture of what to expect. But she didn't want to go down there alone, she would look out of place.
"Wanna dance?" breathed a voice next to her ear. Root. Shaw hated how she could almost never catch Root sneaking up on her. Glaring at Root, Shaw muttered "I was thinking we should get down there to listen to stuff, maybe we'd get a better idea of how things are for the number." Root smiled and held out her hand. Shaw brushed by her and Root followed her down to the dance floor, still smiling.
Moving in sync with the music, Shaw slowly made her way within a couple of people's distance from the number. Comfortable with the distance, she scanned the crowd and the bits of conversations happening around her and as she swayed with the music, she felt Root come up from behind her and sway simulatenously with her. Hands slid around to her front and the two bodies danced as one to the music. Slightly annoyed, Shaw whispered "How can you expect me to concentrate on the conversations happening around us if you're doing that?" Root's voice came from behind, "How can you blend in if you don't look like you're dancing with someone?" Shaw knew she had a point and let out a huff.
"Ok, Root, but just remember this is all just an act." Shaw turned around and took Root in a lovers embrace, holding her close while rocking in motion to the song. With their bodies swaying in rhythm with the crowd around them, it was easy to listen inconspicuously. Shaw laid her head against the taller woman's shoulder and it was so easy to lose herself in the smell of Root, the satiny smoothness of her skin. Shaw's hands slowly roamed up and down the small of Root's back and shivered as she felt Root's fingernails hesitantly, lightly rake up Shaw's back. Time and space slowed as Root's body became her world, her center of being. Shaw briefly swam back up to reality as she felt Root's head pull up, and she looked up at Root. Their eyes met and Shaw's heartbeat increased. The connection between their eyes seemed to share a world of things and both women were lost in each other. Root dipped her head slowly, her lips hovering over Shaw's before…
"Hayden! Hayden!" a scream rang out. Both women jerked to attention, Shaw springing forward to see what had happened to their number. Hayden was lying unconscious on the floor. Shaw elbowed through the people that were beginning to cluster around her, saying "I'm a doctor! Pull back!" Shaw knelt besides Hayden, feeling for a pulse. It was weak but the pulse was there. Shaw tried to figure out what had happened to Hayden. Had something been slipped in one of her many drinks? Root joined Shaw on the floor, murmuring "She says it is 94.855% likely GHB was slipped in her drink." "Shit" said Shaw. "You, are you her roommate?" was directed towards the panicked young lady looking down at Hayden and gasping. "Y-yeah, she's my roommate. I don't know what happened to her!" Shaw said directly, "Calm down. You're not doing anybody any favors by panicking. I'm Dr. Black and this young lady is showing signs of ingesting GHB." At the blank expression on the roommate's face, Shaw sighed and said "You know, roofies". The roommate's eyes went wide and she gasped. "I bet it was that Mexican guy who kept bringing her free drinks!" she blurted, the other two girls with her nodding in agreement.
"What Mexican guy?" Shaw asked. "I don't know… he just showed up and hung around Hayden. You know, she attracts all kinds of guys so we didn't really think anything of it." Shaw looked around and asked, "Do you see him here in the crowd? Don't make it obvious!" but she was too late as the young ladies eagerly stuck out their necks and scanned the crowd. Shaw inwardly groaned; if he was a smart guy, he'd be long gone by now.
Hayden opened her eyes and a ceiling came into focus. Immediately came shrieks of "You're awake!" and Hayden winced. That voice belonged to her roommate, Leah-Ann and it was making her head hurt. "What happened?" Leah-Ann's face came into view "Oh, let Dr. Black tell you!"
Dr. Black? Hayden struggled to sit up and took her first look at this Dr. Black. She didn't look like a doctor in her slinky sequined black dress, but whoa, she sure was intense. "Dr. Black?" "I suspect you've ingested GHB, or rather, roofies as its more commonly known as."
Hayden gasped. Who would do that to her?! She looked at Leah-Ann, stunned. Leah-Ann chimed, "Bet it was that Mexican guy!" Hayden looked at her for a second and cried, "No, it can't be!" The room went quiet with that denial. "Why?" snapped Dr. Black. Whoa, nice bedside manner thought Hayden. "Because… just because we had a connection and Luis' so nice. It couldn't have been him."
"But he was bringing you drinks all night long!" shrilled Leah-Ann. "I know, but it wasn't him, okay?" Hayden stood up unsteadily and said, "I need to pee."
While Leah-Ann escorted Hayden to the bathroom, Shaw looked at Root. "What do you think?" Root pursed her lips and went, "Hmm. The whole thing's fishy. There must be something more to it."
"I'm going to see if I can find out his last name and maybe you can have the Machine find more information on this guy so I can run a stakeout on him." Root nodded in agreement.
"While you're playing doctor, Dr. Black, I'm going to check outside and see if the coast's clear. If it was actually this guy, he might be hanging around or something."
"Well, Dr. Black's better than Dr. Sequin" retorted Shaw. The sound of Root's soft laughter as she left stayed with Shaw longer than she would have liked.
Shaw left Haydee and Leah-Ann's room after extracting a promise that they both would remain inside until the morning. She had also gotten Luis' last name, which was Allende. She'd find Root and ask her to watch the girls' room while Shaw went to find Luis and figure out what the hell was going on.
She stepped out of the elevator into the empty poolside bar space and scanned the area for Root. Odd. Root should be here. Shaw's inner gut told her something was wrong. She strode around the area, looking for any sign of Root. Finding nothing, Shaw stood surveying the area once again. The bar. She hadn't checked behind that. A look behind the bar revealed Root lying face-down on the floor, blood coming from her head. Shaw, concerned, jumped over the bar and crouched near Root's neck, checking her pulse. It was slow but steady, which meant she had just been knocked senseless. Hoping there was no concussion, Shaw examined the site of the wound and concluded Root wouldn't even need stitches. Head wounds were notorious bleeders, even the smallest cut could bleed like the fucking dickens.
"Root." Shaw gently shook her shoulder. Root murmured and moved slightly. "Wake up." Root slowly opened one eye and grimaced. "I've a fuck of a headache. Some little shit crept up behind me and knocked me a good one." She sat up gingerly and Shaw found some ice from the bar area for Root to hold against her aching head.
"Luis Allende."
Root held the ice against her head, hearing the venomous intensity in Shaw's voice. "Don't kill him, Sameen."
"He's a fucker. Roofing Hayden, clubbing you," growled Shaw.
"We don't know that quite yet. I didn't see who did it. Lets not jump to conclusions until you can talk to him."
Root's eyes glazed over as her attention shifted to whatever the fuck the Machine was saying. Shaw considered her options. She couldn't do guns, would attract too much attention down here in this fucking party zone. A knife would do, but that would require that she get into closer range than she usually liked. Hmm. Maybe Root brought her Taser along, and that thought brought a slight quirk to Shaw's mouth.
"Hmm, Sameen, what's got you all giddy?" teased Root.
"Got your Taser?"
"My, my, Sameen. Didn't we agree to wait until after the number was taken care of?"
"Got no guns, so need the Taser for that" Shaw said, scowling. "Will you be fine watching over the two girls?" Root looked up from her seated position on the floor and muttered, "He got the jump on me. That won't happen again." Shaw looked at her and pointed out "But you don't have a weapon to protect yourself with."
Root's mouth curved into that damnable smirk and she said "Why, Sameen, a proper girl's never without a weapon" and slowly drew up her dress, leaving Shaw slightly breathless, until a knife strapped to a garter belt on her thigh came into view.
Hot girl with a knife on her thigh. Damn.
Shaw said tonelessly, "Okay. I'll keep you posted via ear-com" and turned & walked off in the night. Root watched her disappear in the darkness and just as she thought Shaw was gone, a voice yelled out of the blackness "And I never agreed to doing anything with you once this number's done with!"
Root smirked and then her smile went soft. Ah, Sameen.
Her ear-com beeped and "Give me the fucking perp's fucking location, Root" blared into her ear. She thought it prudent not to push Shaw any more this evening. "You'll find him at the Frisco Bar, downtown. And the Taser's in my bag over in our room."