Chapter 3
Shaw narrowed her eyes at Root over the rim of the plastic cup she was drinking from. They had the entire backseat of the luxury sedan available to them, but Root had chosen to sit in the middle, practically in Shaw's lap. Root stared back unabashedly as Shaw released the straw from between her teeth.
Still holding Root's gaze, Shaw raised the half eaten burger in her other hand, and stuffed the whole thing into her mouth, making sure to chew as noisily and messily as possible. The wrapper successfully caught anything that spilled due to her energetic chewing, sparing the expensive leather upholstery of the car. Root continued to stare at Shaw like she was watching puppies frolicking in the sunshine, even going so far as to lean her head against her hand. The laptop in front of her lay open but forgotten, lines of code scrolling across the screen.
The car slowed down, before coming to an abrupt halt and Root frowned, breaking her staring contest with Shaw to glance out the window. Shaw did the same, noting the line of stationery cars in front of them.
The sound of rapid typing signalled Root was back on her laptop, and what looked like a traffic cam popped up on the screen. From the tense set of the other woman's shoulders, it was clearly not good news. Root hit the intercom connecting them to the driver. The privacy screen was up, and had been since they'd entered the car. Root spoke rapid Japanese, and whatever the driver answered didn't improve her expression.
"Everything ok?" Shaw swallowed the last of the burger, acutely aware of the time ticking away. She resisted the urge to rub at her eyes, as she stifled a yawn.
"Just a minor traffic hold up." Root reached over and took the cup out of Shaw's hand, replacing it with a napkin. "It seems we're going to be a little longer than anticipated getting to the airport. Don't worry, it's only an extra twenty minutes or so." She finished off the last bit of Shaw's drink and disposed of the cup. "Just perfect for you to have a quick nap, sweetie".
Shaw absently swiped at her face with the napkin. An extra twenty minutes wasn't too bad. That still left them with a 2 hour window to get out of the city. She didn't like the reminder of her current state though. The caloric deficit from the accelerated healing was proving to be particularly frustrating for Shaw. Her body was betraying her with its insistent demand for rest. In fact, before Root had started their impromptu staring competition, she'd been struggling to get through the meal without falling asleep. The food had only made the problem worse. Shaw could feel her eyelids start to droop and deliberately took a deep breath, using the pain that spiked through her ribs to force herself to stay awake.
"Sameen, you really should rest", Root's brows drew together in concern. "Forcing yourself to stay awake, is only going to slow your recovery process. And you know I hate seeing you in unnecessary pain." There was a seriousness in Root's eyes that had nothing to do with the fake persona she was playing. Shaw looked away, focusing on a spot just over Root's shoulder.
"I promise I'll wake you up if anything exciting happens".
"Fine". Shaw found herself unable to summon the necessary energy to fight Root's assessment. She went to fold her arms, then thought better of it when her left wrist protested. She simply leaned her head back against the seat instead and shut her eyes. It didn't take long for her breathing to even out.
The next time the car navigated a bend, Shaw's body slid over, leaving her slumped against Root. Root lifted her arm and adjusted their positions so that Shaw was resting more comfortably against her. Her lips curved into a soft smile as Shaw's nose twitched, irritated by the messy strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. Root gently tucked them behind Shaw's ear, before she resumed typing with just her right hand. The left stayed draped over Shaw, keeping from being jolted about with the movement of the car.
The distinctive shriek of the Endbringer siren had Shaw jerking awake abruptly. She clutched at her ribs as pain flared through her side, and a hand pressed down on her hip, encouraging her to keep still. Shaw's gaze locked with Root's only inches away from her. There was barely hidden panic in Root's wide open eyes.
Shaw's ability told her she had only been sleeping for twelve minutes and it was never wrong. "Root"?
Root swallowed and glanced down at her laptop like it would give her answers. "I...It's too soon."
There was a lost look on her face that Shaw had only seen a couple of times before. It made her own jaw tense and the familiar burn of anger in her chest sputtered, as it was replaced by something else.
Concern.
The car started to veer towards the nearest exit ramp and Root's head snapped up. She lifted the hand that had been on Shaw's hip and shifted forward to thumb the intercom, snapping something in Japanese.
Shaw sat up straighter, no longer corralled by Root's arm and gingerly leaned back against the seat.
"I'm sorry, but the Endbringer siren means that we must clear the streets and go to the nearest shelter. We cannot continue to the airport". The driver chose to respond in English.
Root lowered the privacy screen and spoke directly to the driver. "I will pay you ten times the usual fee in cash if you get us to the airport. Plus a bonus 500,000 yen when we arrive there"
"Money will mean nothing if I am not alive to spend it." The driver met Root's eyes in the rear vision mirror. He was a young man who looked to be in his mid twenties, and the prominently displayed driver license identified him as Genzo Sato. "This is an Endbringer attack." He nodded towards a picture of a woman and a little girl on his dash. "I have a family."
There was clearly no negotiating with Sato and if he wanted to play it that way, then fine. Shaw made to reach into her coat pocket for her gun, only to have Root's hand land on her thigh, her nails digging into her skin in warning.
"Even if I did want to risk it and take you to the airport, it would be impossible." Sato continued speaking, blissfully unaware of the threat in the backseat. He gestured out the windshield. Solid metal barriers were extending horizontally over the expressway about a mile in front of them, closing the lanes and forcing traffic to exit.
"I will try to get us as close as possible to the shelter, but it will be dependent on road access." Sato's eyes briefly flicked to Shaw in the mirror, and her hand curled into a fist at the pity in his look. He'd clearly noticed her impaired physical condition.
"Thank you". Root smiled one of her fake all teeth smiles, her fingers lifting from Shaw's thigh to brush across the knuckles of her clenched fist instead. Shaw's hand slowly relaxed under her touch.
Root put the privacy screen back up and immediately turned her attention to her laptop. She pulled up a schematic of the expressway they were on. At regular 5 mile intervals, red lines were showing, denoting the position of barriers.
"Well they certainly don't want people moving around", Shaw was almost impressed at the measures Tokyo had in place. It made sense to funnel people into the closest shelters as opposed to letting them go wherever they pleased.
"No they most certainly don't. It's going to make getting out a little harder for us." Root kept typing and multiple windows started popping up all over the screen. "Nothing we can't get around though".
Shaw stayed silent, knowing that Root was in full on nerd mode. Her shoulders relaxed slightly. Root had clearly got her mojo back. She scanned the ocean running parallel to the expressway. It was flat and calm, picture perfect conditions for a winter afternoon, with absolutely nothing to indicate that anything was wrong. She glanced out the back window, eyes narrowing at the tiny figures floating above the city skyline. The capes were starting to arrive to defend Tokyo.
"Root".
"I know." Root never took her eyes of her screen. She just continued typing, with the constant wail of the Endbringer siren in the background.
The car's progress slowed to a crawl once they exited the expressway. The sidewalks were packed with people rushing towards the closest shelter, but there was surprisingly very little panic. Tokyo was a city that was used to natural disasters like earthquakes, typhoons and tsunamis, and the people reacted accordingly.
"Ok, I think I have something". Root finally raised her head exactly three minutes and twenty six seconds later. She reached over and pushed the intercom button. "Pull over after the next intersection."
"Pardon?" Sato's voice was confused. "The nearest shelter is not for another kilometer at least."
Shaw had had enough. The Endbringer siren meant that their original plan to get out of Tokyo quietly was blown to hell. Survival was now their main priority. She lowered the privacy screen and leveled her gun at the driver's head. "She said, pull over after the next intersection".
"I'd hurry if I were you", Root slipped her laptop into a shoulder bag. "She's a bit cranky at the moment, and trust me, you really don't want to be getting on her bad side". Their passports and several other items joined the laptop.
"Of course". Sato's hands were visibly shaking, but he pulled over as instructed. Shaw kept her gun trained on him as Root exited the vehicle, slinging the bag over her shoulder. She followed suit, slipping the pistol back into her coat pocket as she joined Root on the sidewalk. Sato drove off, tires squealing as soon as she shut the door.
Shaw gritted her teeth at the black spots that dotted her vision. Just the simple act of getting out of a damn car, left her feeling like she'd been sucker punched. Root placed a hand on Shaw's back, steadying her. They started moving through the throng of people, directly towards what looked like an apartment building.
"It's eighteen steps and we're there", Root said softly. She was walking slightly behind Shaw, keeping her braced against the press of bodies around them, one hand on Shaw's back and the other gripping her arm .
Shaw didn't say anything, not wanting to give away just how much effort it was costing her to simply put one foot in front of the other. They arrived at the large glass doors and Root placed her hand on the security scanner. There was a zapping noise and the smell of ozone made Shaw wrinkle her nose, as the doors slid open.
The place was empty, and Shaw assumed that it been evacuated. It was clearly a high end apartment building, given the quality of the lobby. In fact, everything looked brand new.
"It's due to open in three days". Root confirmed her observation, guiding Shaw towards the elevators. "There was nobody here but a lone security guard, and he's long gone."
Shaw eyed the security camera pointing at them as they entered the elevator.
"The cameras haven't been activated yet".
"Lucky us". Shaw leaned against the elevator wall and tried to keep the breathlessness out of her voice.
Root remained plastered to her side as she hit the button for the penthouse. "This building has one of the highest safety ratings for earthquakes and tsunamis in Tokyo."
Shaw raised an eyebrow. "The fact that your plan involves a tsunami, and or earthquake, does not inspire confidence."
Root smiled and tilted her head. "Trust me".
Shaw rolled her eyes, but there was no hesitation in her step when they exited the elevator together.
The penthouse was a large open plan apartment, with floor to ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of Tokyo. Shaw was not the least bit interested in the view and made a beeline for the black leather couch. She slouched back into the cushions, annoyed at the continuing weakness in her body. The muscles in her left leg twinged and she hurriedly stretched it out, trying to prevent cramp from setting in.
Root settled next to her and pulled the laptop from the bag, placing it on the table in front of the couch. She also pulled out a bottle of water and wordlessly handed it to Shaw.
One of the open windows flickered red on the laptop and Root's eyes narrowed. "Seems like our pilot is getting cold feet."
She dialed a number on her cell phone, and the screen changed to a view of a balding man in the cockpit of a plane. He glared balefully at his phone before putting it to his ear.
"You wouldn't be thinking of leaving without us now, would you Jerry?" Root said in a deceptively pleasant tone. She put her phone on speaker and set it on the table.
"Look lady, in case you haven't noticed it's an Endbringer attack. I ain't sticking around. As soon as the tower gives me clearance, I'm outta here."
"I don't suppose offering you more money would change your mind?"
The answer was a derisive snort. "I don't care if you offered me a million dollars. Nothing's worth facing an Endbringer." He hung up without another word.
"Charming". Shaw put the bottle of water down and reached into her coat pocket for her gun.
Root smiled. "Latitude 35.5533° North. Longitude 139.7811° East." She squinted at the laptop, shutting one eye. "Elevation hmmm, I'd say 10.2 feet".
Shaw glanced at the screen where the pilot was going through some kind of pre flight check.
"10.6 feet actually."
"I love it when you play nerd". Root lowered her voice and fluttered her eyelashes suggestively.
Shaw rolled her eyes at Root's shameless flirting. She extended her arm and aimed back over her shoulder, without bothering to turn her head.
Shaw knew exactly where she was, and exactly where the bullet needed to be. She pulled the trigger.
The bullet phased as it left the muzzle of the gun, and the only law of physics that still applied to it was velocity. Concepts like friction, mass and gravity became utterly meaningless. It passed through the window, leaving the glass intact, and continued on through the steel facade of the next building, on an inexorable path to its target.
"I love it when you play superspy, even more," Root heaved an exaggerated sigh, before her expression abruptly shifted back to serious. "You need to eat again. I expected us to be on the plane by now, so unfortunately our options are a little limited." She pulled out an orange from her bag and held it out to Shaw. "There might be some food here, but it's going to be out of a can, and you hate canned food." There was a fretful look on her face as she glanced in the direction of the kitchen.
"This is fine". Shaw took the orange from her and made short work of peeling it. She popped a slice into her mouth and controlled the urge to grimace at the taste. It was just her luck to get a sour one. Shaw really didn't do sour. She kept chewing though, well aware that Root was still watching her. Root needed to be focused on one thing only, and that was getting them out of here. Having her worrying about Shaw, was an unnecessary distraction.
Shaw was psyching herself up for the next piece of sour orange, when the timer in her head reached zero. She released her connection to the bullet, the familiar buzz of her power deactivating tingling through her senses.
"I think your pilot's about to have a change of heart". Shaw smirked at the laptop screen, where the pilot was bending to pick up a small object of the floor. He held it up to the light, his hand visibly shaking as it revealed a 9mm bullet. Behind him, there was a fist sized hole in the headrest of the co-pilot's seat.
Root smirked back at Shaw and put her phone to her ear.
"Hello Jerry, I trust that you will be waiting for us after all", Root's voice was light and cheerful. She pointed at the orange, and made an eating motion at Shaw.
Shaw slumped back into the couch and ate another slice, her left eye twitching slightly at the sourness. The things she did for the mission.
TBC
Next chapter, Endbringer time.
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