Alt scenes / ending for the "Most Likely To..." episode. I know some people liked Matthew for his actor or even just because they wanted Shaw to get some but I don't know... I didn't like his character. So, this is me addressing that episode... Also, warning for OC. Normally I don't put them in but as I don't know the full members of Root's gang yet... I just wanted to play around with the idea of jealousy as a theme.
Shaw stiffened as she and Matthew continued their slow dance, his eyes boring into hers intensely. He was on to her and she wasn't exactly sure what to say. Reese was lost somewhere, amongst the crowd. Last she knew, he was keeping an eye on Doug in case the hot dog connoisseur was the one putting their number in danger.
She swallowed and prepared herself to try to answer when a gentle hand found its way to her forearm. "There you are! Sorry I'm late."
Shaw blinked and turned to meet the last person she had been expecting to see on this mission.
"Mind if I cut in?"
Matthew looked between the two women, his eyebrows rising slightly. "Sure, no problem."
Shaw watched as he backed away slowly, still looking between the two of them before making his way off of the small dance floor and over toward the refreshments.
"What are you doing?" The shorter woman hissed, trying to keep her temper in check.
"Please tell me that isn't your type?" Root responded, her eyes still following the man's movements.
"Really, that's why you're here?" Shaw asked in an exasperated voice, her nails digging into the small of the taller woman's back.
Root smiled but shook her head, "Sadly no… I came as back up because I had to leak some sensitive information to figure out Vigilance's communication tactics. Which are coded messages, by the way-"
"What sensitive information?" Shaw asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Have I told you yet that you look lovely tonight?" Root asked before capturing her bottom lip between her teeth.
"What information, Root?" Shaw repeated, a little more firmly.
The taller woman was about to respond when balloons started to cascade down from above them. A loud gasp erupted from the alumni a minute later as a mannequin fell to the center of the dance floor. One of the men, closer to where it had fallen, rushed forward and rolled it over. There was a name tag pressed into the right side of the mannequin's chest that had the name Claire scrawled out across it.
Shaw turned, her eyes barely finding Matthew before he disappeared. She glanced back toward Root, her eyes flashing angrily. "We're not done with this conversation."
"Just be careful, they're already here."
Shaw ignored her and moved after Matthew, pushing anyone who got in her way aside. "Someone is trying to push this guy to the brink… You got eyes on Doug?"
Reese frowned his eyes finding Doug again after the shock of the initial commotion. "Yes. He hasn't moved an inch all night."
Reese's eyes scanned the faces around Doug, settling on Toke. The man seemed to know everyone present and had been talking to all of them since their arrival yesterday. "Hey, have you seen anyone acting odd?"
The man looked up, scratching his facial hair thoughtfully. "You kidding? Everyone is exactly the same, only fatter. And Phil… That guy, man, he put on a foot and grew a hundred pounds of muscle." He mumbled around a mouthful of food.
Reese glanced toward the man, tall and bald. "He was smaller?"
"He played tiny Tim in the school play!"
Reese's frown deepened as Phil's eyes met his own, the man shifted uncomfortably on his feet and his eyes darkened slightly. He had been chatting casually with Doug but as soon as he'd noticed that he'd caught Reese's attention, his entire demeanor shifted.
Reese mumbled out a quick 'thanks' before he started after the man when he suddenly abandoned Doug completely, heading through the crowd and toward one of the empty hallways. "I'm still looking into it but I might have found our threat. It would seem that our friend Phil might be an impostor."
Shaw frowned, slowing to a stop. "Be careful, if you engage him."
"Why?" Reese asked, watching as the man ducked into the kitchen.
"We're not the only ones crashing this reunion, apparently Vigilance decided to take a trip down memory lane too."
"What? Why are they here? I thought Matthew didn't have anything to do with Vigilance or the Machine?"
"He doesn't." Shaw said, her frown deepening. "They're after us."
"How did they find us?"
"Long story... Just keep on your toes, where there's one there's bound to be more. And we've got another problem... Matthew's disappeared."
xxx
Shaw ducked down behind the laboratory bench as the Vigilance operatives returned fire, "Fuck! I'm running out of ammo!"
"Same here." Reese mumbled over the squawking that Doug was doing from behind him. There were at least four men shooting at them and they were at a very bad disadvantage tucked toward the back of the lab, with no escape route.
Shaw grit her teeth and prepared herself to rise and shoot off her last couple of rounds when her ear piece suddenly came to life.
"Stay down, I've got you covered."
"Root?" Reese asked, glancing toward Shaw as the same message came to an end in his ear piece.
The shorter brunette rolled her eyes. "I told you, long story."
They held their positions and listened on as Root quickly dealt with the remaining operatives.
"There, all clear." The hacker said, smiling as she stepped over the bodies and into the classroom. "And Harold and Lionel are safe, too."
"You leaked both of our locations?!" Shaw bit out angrily as she jumped to her feet.
"To be honest, I wasn't sure which site Collier would show up at. I wanted to personally take care of them... But I didn't trust you two with meeting new faces." Root glanced toward Reese who was quickly approaching, his features scrunched up dangerously.
"You sent your goons to help them? Who?" He grabbed her roughly by the collar of her shirt before hoisting her off of the ground.
"You can trust them, I swear." She said, any hint of a smile gone at this point. Her brown eyes searching his as she tried to loosen the grip he had on the collar of her shirt.
He glanced toward Shaw as she approached them, looking warily between the two. "I hate to say it... But Finch had a point when he said she could have killed us all several times and she hasn't tried anything yet. I think we can trust her and whoever it is she's got working with her."
Root smiled as she was lowered to the ground, "Thank you, Shaw."
Reese tightened his grip on her collar once more, turning her attention back toward him. "If there's a mark on him, I swear-"
"Calm down, Daizo is a gentle soul. He had his toy along with him but he plays the thing like a video game. And Alexis is easily as skilled as you or Shaw."
Shaw's lip curled up defiantly at this and she crossed her arms over her chest, "Yeah, whatever."
xxx
Reese and Shaw stuck around long enough for the police to arrived and they watched quietly as both Doug and Matthew were taken in to custody.
"Well, I don't think that went as you planned." Root pointed out, a small smile playing at her lips as she approached them. Her eyes made their way slowly up Shaw's still bared legs, knowing it would be a while before the other woman was in a dress again.
"No but at least he's safe and didn't kill anyone." Reese said in a cool tone, "Are you coming back with us?"
"Yes, I figured I might as well do the introductions since I brought my friends up. And I'm sure you'll want me there in case Harold has a boo-boo."
Shaw and Reese both shot her a glare and the taller woman merely rolled her eyes in response. "You two seriously need to lighten up."
xxx
After collecting their luggage from the hotel, Reese and Shaw had taken a ride back in a vehicle that Root had procured for the three of them. It wasn't much later that Finch, Lionel and their escorts arrived. Daizo exited the vehicle first and excitedly ran up to Root. He said something quickly to her in Japanese before wrapping her up in a tight hug. The brunette squeezed him, whispering something back before they broke apart.
Shaw watched the two of them with an arched brow, almost missing the next new face to exit the vehicle. She guessed that this was Alexis, the woman had long black hair that was pulled back into a messy bun. A few stray bangs hung in over her face and she had striking blue eyes that stood out against her dark hair and tanned skin. She was well built and about 5'6", dressed in black jeans and a grey jacket. Shaw could already make out at least two weapons on her and she could only imagine that there was more hidden. The two exchanged a quick once over and after that, Alexis ignored her completely as she made her way over to Root.
"Mission complete. Can we get back to work somewhere a little warmer now?"
Root smiled and tucked some of Alexis' hair behind her ear, "You know I can't promise you that... We go where She tells us to."
The other woman rolled her eyes, scoffing loudly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And here I thought you liked me in less clothing."
"Oh, I do." Root said, her tone turning slightly more mischievous. Shaw's eyes narrowed as something that felt suspiciously like jealousy twisted her stomach. She shook her head and looked away, turning her attention toward Reese.
He was talking quietly with Finch and Lionel and the three of them looked too serious for comfort. She made her way over to them and slid easily into the conversation.
"-they got away with the documents... I'm afraid there was nothing we could do to stop them."
"What about your bodyguards?" Shaw asked, nodding her head toward Root and her new friends.
Lionel's eyes immediately lit up and he looked toward Shaw with excitement, "You should have seen those two! Well, she was the only one physically present but man... They wiped out most of the Vigilance guys like they were nothing!" Reese and Shaw exchanged a quick look, both curious.
"Daizo used a machine gun on a vehicle mount, remote controlled from a safe location. And Miss Smith made it a point to get us out of the line of fire before taking out the rest herself." Finch added, to which Reese raised his eyebrows and shot the woman a look of respect.
Finch turned then and made his way over to where the others were standing, "Hello, Miss Groves."
"I told you Harold, call me Root."
The man's smile twitched a little wider before he continued, "While I don't appreciate your initial tactic, I do appreciate you sending us help."
"Yeah, Coco Puffs. Thanks." Lionel interjected, flashing her a genuine smile. Alexis arched a brow at the nickname, a slight frown playing at her lips.
"If you aren't in too much of a hurry to leave the city, I would like to offer to put you and your friends up for the night."
Root's smile widened, "Actually... It would seem we're right where we need to be, apparently something big will be happening soon... She wants us to work together again." And although she was still speaking to Harold, Root's eyes found Shaw's.
The group finished up their conversation before moving off of the street and up into the apartment turned safe-house. Shaw watched closely as the new faces explored the space. The two of them seemed to be almost in awe of the luxurious furniture and view of the city.
After a brief run down of the security system, Finch, Reese and Lionel decided to go their separate ways but Shaw lingered. Daizo, retired to one of the bedrooms to tinker around with his tech while the women took over the living-room.
It didn't take them long to take advantage of the wide variety of alcohol available in the apartment. Alexis drank hers the fastest, leaving the other two in the dust. And the more she drank, the more handsy she became.
Shaw's dark eyes watched as Alexis set her hand high on Root's high before leaning into the taller woman. She was laughing loudly at something Root had said but Shaw couldn't remember what.
"Why you so quiet over there, grumpy?"
Shaw blinked, her eyes moving to meet the blue ones watching her.
"Oh, don't worry... It's nothing personal, this is how she normally is." Root said with a chuckle, her hand covering Alexis'.
Shaw's jaw flexed as she watched the two openly flirting in front of her, grinding her teeth together slightly as Alexis shot her an amused look. "And here I thought maybe she just didn't like me..."
"I don't."
Alexis quirked a brow, her smirk widening as she sat up slightly. "Ah, see... Now things are getting interesting."
Before Root knew it, the other two women were on their feet, chest to chest. From this distance, Shaw realized that the small nick in Alexis' left eyebrow was actually a scar that ran down a large portion of her cheek. She could tell the other woman was tough but she was also drunk. And as much as she wanted a fight, she also didn't want to make too much of a mess in Finch's safe-house. But before she could think more about how disappointed her employer would be if he found out about split lips and broken furniture, a hard open handed slap cracked across her face.
"Are you listening to me, bitch?" Alexis spat, leaning back in when Shaw turned her eyes back to glare at the slightly taller woman.
"I am now." Shaw breathed before grabbing her roughly by the collar of her shirt and throwing her over the coffee table into the middle of the room. Root cringed and shook her head as Shaw quickly pinned her operative to the floor before landing several solid blows to Alexis' head.
"Alright, enough... She's not even conscious anymore." Root whispered, catching Shaw's arm when it came back before she could land the next blow.
The shorter woman shot her a glare but silently rose from the floor before crossing her arms over her chest.
"Well, are you going to help me get her to the bed?"
Shaw rolled her eyes and rather roughly grabbed Alexis under the armpits before hoisting her upper body off of the floor. Root lifted her legs and the two walked awkwardly back toward the second bedroom before depositing the unconscious woman on the comforter.
"I thought that you said she was as 'easily' good as me or Reese?"
"She is, when she's sober. She also slapped you, I don't think she was expecting a full on brawl." Root pointed out as she closed the door before joining Shaw back in the living-room.
"Whatever." Shaw grunted as she flopped back onto the sofa before kicking her feet up on the coffee table. Root calmly took a seat beside her, before placing her hand on the shorter woman's knee.
"You don't seem to even want to give her a chance... Any reason?"
Shaw's dark eyes were trained on the hand on her leg but at the question they rose slowly to meet Root's. "If you'd like to keep that in full functioning condition, I suggest you remove it from my knee."
Root chuckled and slid her hand into her lap, realizing then how much Shaw resembled a cat. She wanted attention and touch but only on her terms and as soon as she got it, the claws came out. Or, in Shaw's case, fists... Her fists came out, punching first and calmly speaking later or not at all.
"Suit yourself, I'm going to clean this place up a bit and then I'm going to bed."
Shaw watched as the other woman rose to her feet, plucking up the beer bottles that had been knocked over during the short scuffle. Root made her way around the space as if she knew it better than her own home, wherever that was anymore.
The brunette had just made her way into the kitchen, to deposit the bottles in the recycling bin when she felt two strong arms push her into the nearby wall. She'd twisted her body around before impact and now found herself face to face with Shaw. Before she could say anything teasing or sarcastic, Shaw pressed her lips firmly into her own.
The bottles slipped from Root's fingers, landing on the thick carpet by the sink before rolling away and onto the tile.
The moment was brief and intense but even without words, Root had her answer. She watched through half lidded eyes as Shaw stalked back out toward the living-room to collect her coat. The hacker knelt down to once again gather up the bottles and the front door slammed shut as she did.
Root wasn't at all surprised when her phone went off several minutes later, signalling a new text. She smiled as she slipped the device out of her pocket,"My place isn't as swanky as that one but you know where to find me."
Alexis is a character based off of someone who will appear in one of my comics, I may actually make her name Alexis now because it's more normal than Axis. If she were to actually meet Shaw, I get the feeling that they would actually get along... But for the purposes of this chapter, I had to make her a little less likable and easy to want to knock out.
I wasn't going to add OC's but the only members of Root's gang that I know so far are male... And I'm hoping something like this will happen in the show where Shaw is jealous of Root interacting with a tough chick in her gang. :D Even if its only subtext and not exactly like this chapter, I think you get the point.