She'd been out on some incredibly last-minute holiday shopping that for once she hadn't entirely stolen when her implant suddenly crackled to life with a voice not belonging to her ever-watchful God.
She'd found a few nice odds and ends for each of her boys and even a few small-ish gifts for Harry, Grace, Lionel, and Bear while she'd been out hunting for just the right present for her ever-watchful and completely perfect partner.
Too bad Shaw wasn't the easiest to shop for outside of a new gun or a fresh bottle of top-shelf liquor. Root already knew the others on their small team had already had Shaw's other vices well covered in those respects. She'd wanted to make her gift more… unexpected but also something Shaw wouldn't immediately toss out for its lack of functionality in their incredibly active lifestyles. Even if said lifestyle was incredibly slower paced now Samaritan was truly vanquished.
But this being the first Christmas since the ending of the almost AI apocalypse was more than a little big deal in Root's mind, she wanted to mark the occasion properly.
Thankfully Bear had brought her just the advertisement she hadn't realized she'd been looking for kickstarting the pair's outing.
It had taken some very heavy persuasion on Root's part when for the first time since she'd wormed her way onto the dog's better side Bear seemed unhelpful in furthering her efforts once Root had found the shop she'd needed.
Apparently, the man was in the middle of another highly prioritized order meaning that Root's sudden appearance in the back room wasn't helping the poor man's workload. A few threats with her trusty taser had set the man right as Bear yawned sleepily in the far corner of the front 'showroom' as Root 'pleaded her case' with the shop owner.
"Well, I don't care what this sudden new client wants I was referred to you because my informant said you were the best at this kind of thing."
Root immediately pauses her steps on the icy slush-coated sidewalk at Shaw's low seething snarl crackling through the support of her implanted hearing aid. Seemed her perfect partner hadn't realized she'd switched out the channel on her earpiece to Root's more private line in her potent anger over what Root hadn't worked out just yet.
Shaw pauses listening to what Root assumed was some weakened attempt at an apology from the phone pressed to Shaw's other ear. "So can you do it or not?" Sameen barks earning a low sigh from the eavesdropping hacker. One because with Shaw running this hot this early in the day Root was more likely to get away with more of her brand of flirty teasing once she'd gotten back to the still-used hideaway of the rebuilt subway lines. For another the nervous undercutting of genuine worry had Root picking up her steps on the unhelpful walkway.
Only one other time had Root heard Sameen so unsure and that had been the night Shaw had willingly held herself at gunpoint threatening to end herself rather than risk Root's safety in another Samaritan trick.
"It's preictally Christmas already you idiot you said you'd have my order finished well before now." Shaw snaps in a tone far more identifiable as Root tugged a little more on Bear's leash gaining the dog's attention from nosing at what looked to be the dropped remains of some half-eaten hotdog. Her collection of shopping bags made her a little unsteady on her feet but somehow Root managed to stay standing once her task was done. "The materials already provided should have been more than enough to cover the job we paid for." Shaw was no doubt quoting directly from the Machine's dictation.
Oh boy, Sameen was going to need an outlet for her coiling anger soon. And if Root played her cards correctly and just happened back before Shaw finished her call Root might just manage to offer herself as that outlet.
"Let's just say each component you receive is rather erm sentimental in the way of value." Shaw attempts to convey only earning the deepening curiosity of the listening hacker.
If she hadn't been for the very real feeling of the dropping icy chill of the air around them, the buzzing hum of the very alive city side streets ahead and surrounding them, and the warmed weight of a guiding Bear leaning into her side as they walked along the black iced slush covering the sidewalk of the preferred shadow map as she listened to the words now coming over the opened comm line Root would have gone to an early grave from sheer shock at the very idea of her chosen partner being so forthcoming yet swearing she was hearing some cleverly scripted set up attempt by a somehow revived Samaritan hacking into her implant.
Then again Root had to remind herself even Samaritan had been good enough to still have Shaw questioning the realness of her surroundings more than once since she'd broken free in the more physical sense from their destroyed enemy's grip.
"Listen here, Buster." Shaw starts again. "Either you finish what we're asking by this afternoon as scheduled and already paid for or I swear to Thornhill herself I'm going to…." But Root can't listen to much more what with the heavy snarl of Shaw's voice making the already weak-legged hacker noticeably swooning even more to any bothering to pay her any kind of attention as they like she hurry towards their destinations on this chilly afternoon.
"Root?"
Shaw's sudden asking of her name has at least some of the building longing twist even hotter in the low pooling between Root's jean clade thighs.
"Don't mind me, sweetie." The hacker says "I'm just enjoying hearing you work."
"and just how much of this supposed to be privet chat have you heard, may I ask?" Shaw prods and going by the rustling Root catches in the background she guesses Shaw has given the lion's share of her other phone call over to the Machine to wrap up for her.
"Not my fault you rang me up first Sam." Root points out with a chilly giggle that has Bear glancing up at her curiously now as his current human companion once again needed to shift her shopping bags into a much surer hold as they picked their way along the side streets. "Bear and I were more than happy getting our last-minute gifts squared away when you started barking away in my ear twisting me all up."
Root didn't need to see her to know Shaw was rolling her eyes at her answer.
"But now we're on the subject what is it that has you so hot under the tank top?" Root probes finally deciding that despite of the holiday season she was going to be a little naughty and steal something sleek and shiny for the last stretch of her trip back home.
Her options limited Root finally spots something at least passable to consider swapping thanks to Bear's impatient nudging towards a not bad looking dark painted Plymouth GTX model.
"Seems Bear has your taste in cars, Sweetie." Root chuckles shifting her bags in the continued lull in Shaw's answer to her earlier question. "and he's found us a steal of a winner with this one." Heavily updated as far as could be whilst keeping to the original body design but after a quick wrapping of her knuckles against the darkened window glass Root grinned at finding it was bulletproof glass.
"Huh?" Shaw asks confirming that at the very least the call hadn't been disconnected in the short stretch of quiet during Root's car hunt. "What the heck are you talking about, Root?"
"What I'm talking about Sam is you're avoiding my question about that other call you were on." Root says with a heavy pout in her voice as she not too easily jimmies the locks to open her new car's doors without drawing too much suspicion.
"Are you seriously stealing a car on Christmas Eve?" Shaw huffs in her ear as Root hums tunelessly as she closes Bear and her shopping bags into the backseat. The dog quickly makes the small move into the car's front seat as Root gets around to opening her driver's side of the about-to-be-stolen car.
"Maybe." Root confirms with a giggled breath of an answer. "but come on Sam just think when we part it out later for more cash in our slush fund we can also donate parts of the sales to city shelters. All those animals we can't adopt just yet, but we will be able to help feed and house them just a little longer until we can."
"Don't change the subject with dogs, Root," Shaw grumbles
"Then how about you answer my question, Sweetie, and tell me who you were talking to earlier? Sounded awful important to you." Root chirps back as Bear stretches out appreciatively against the car's passenger seat.
"Considering this idiot is stalling me out on a Christmas gift I'm trying to have custom-made then yeah I'd say it sure the hell is important." Shaw snarls over the call as Root finishes hotwiring the GTX and swinging it out onto the roadway as the car's former owners finally, laughably get around to coming back for it.
"Wait a sec like for real?" Lionel's voice cut in from Shaw's end of the opened line. "Since when have you ever been interested in anything remotely holiday-related like ever, Loony Tunes?"
"Since shut up or I'm going to put a bullet or five into that nice new suit bag you're carting around," Shaw answers in Lionel's direction
"Hum well, you know what they say about great minds thinking alike then." Root chuckles drawing Shaw's attention back towards her as Lionel gives an argumentative "Hey I'm only here as a friendly favor to you and Zombi Puffs and you know I haven't gone online to get certified yet so you might want to be a little nicer to me" pouting at Shaw's apparent threat.
"What?" Shaw probes in answer to Root's words rather than Lionel's "What the heck are you talking about great minds?"
"Well not to give too much away but I'm also having something extra special made up for a Christmas surprise too." Root tells her with a giggled sigh as she guides the car into a lane change to avoid some upcoming traffic. "Bear and I just finished settling up with our new friend who's doing the actual making but you know. Details."
"Root, where are you right now?" It wasn't Shaw to asked this but the Machine.
"Still not used to that, you know." Root sighs at the sounds of John's voice coming from the car's radio.
"Answer the question, Root." Shaw prods.
"Well, if you both must know I was having a little trouble thinking up a Christmas gift for a certain someone but Bear our clever, clever boy helped me find just the right candidate for what I didn't even know I wanted to have made until Bear brought over the guy's advert from the paper."
At this confession the Machine still using the cover of Resse's borrowed voice begins to laugh as the traffic ahead of Root begins to slow.
"What the heck is so funny Robo Lug?" Shaw huffs
The Machine answers with four simple words. "She's his other client."
"Well, all I'm saying is that someone around here best be wanting to marry somebody else I'm not bothering finishing this online log-in crapola." Lionel complains from the background triggering shocked quiet from the others in the following lull of quiet.