#modifiedcode

“How do you always find the strangest moments to- show up?” Labored. Muninn’s breathing is never labored, but the oracle looks dizzy- unsettled, as she looks to Root, and then staggers a step to the side. 

Her hand raises to her nose- right as that strange blood-not-blood begins to leak from it. 

(  Originally answered here,  regarding Finch’s first encounter with @modifiedcode​‘s Root.  I figured I ought to re-post this as meta-ish thing,  like I did with the Reese one.  I also tweaked this one a bit  &  added more. )

                             PERSONALS,  DO NOT REBLOG !!

FEAR.  Fear,  anger  &  a sickening disgust was what he’d first associated with her,  the moment  his gaze had met hers.  The sharp  fascination  &  curiosity that would eventually  develop wouldn’t emerge until MUCH later.  Shock  &  terror  ripped through him as the sound of gunfire TEARING through flesh  &  bone violently  wrought Harold’s world,  his senses,  to a brief stand-still.  Alicia,  the person he’d been speaking to mere seconds ago,  was abruptly,  lifelessly  SLUMPED against the passenger seat  &  door—–Harold couldn’t see  the blood,  not from this angle,  but the nauseating hot,  copper-like scent of it left him with NO DOUBTS of it being there.  Movement outside of the passenger window had him turning  without thinking about it,  blue eyes WIDE.  He only just recognized his mouth had fallen open with shock  &  he pressed thin lips together tightly.

For a moment,  all he could hear was a dull RINGING  &  any other sound was muffled  by it ;  he’d only acknowledged the sound of the back door of the car opening  &  closing AFTER her  voice rose from the silence.

❛ I thought she’d  NEVER shut up, ❜

For a BRIEF few seconds,  he couldn’t  comprehend what it was she’d said—–NOT that he couldn’t hear her,  the ringing was beginning to diminish  &  he could hear the words  just fine.  It was the CASUAL sound of her voice,  how she spoke as though they  ( she  &  Harold ) shared some sort of private JOKE.  One arm still extended outward behind him,  that same wrist settled upon the steering wheel uselessly whilst his other hand GRIPPED the center console to keep himself turned.  His head  &  neck had JERKED painfully in response to the gunshot  &  now,  the lasting pain of the movement began to seep into the rest of his upper body … but,  Harold was FAR too preoccupied to notice just yet.

TURING ( or,  whatever her real name was ) was practically beaming at him,  the look of it almost CHILD-LIKE with how manic it appeared.  His own dark brows were narrowing,  as were his eyes  &  his mind was WORKING again,  moving incredibly fast,  as if to catch up from the momentary pause.

❛ So nice to finally meet you,  Harold.   You can call me  ROOT. ❜

With her INTRODUCTION,  Root  moved in close,  her firearm pointed directly at him  &  her wide SMILE never faltered.  Harold swiftly began to solve the puzzle of how they reached this point  &  the longer he looked  at her,  the more HORRIFIED he became.  Once he finally spoke,  his voice sounded STRANGE to his own ears ;   almost detached,  still riddled with pure shock  &  he could hear the latter within his own ragged breathing.   The DISGUST that had long-since begun to churn within him spiked  at the sight of how her DELIGHTED smile had shifted into something mischievously smug.

❝ … You hired HR yourself ?   You were willing to RISK your  own life  to FIND me ?  ❞

Her dark gaze flickered downward,  but only for a few seconds.  

❛ I did this ... corporate training thing once, ❜

Root began,  barely  rotating the firearm held tightly within her hand as if they were having a CASUAL conversation rather than the reality .... which was her essentially  holding him at gun point.

❛  I was blackmailing the CEO,  long story,  but  .... they did this exercise called the trust fall.  Where you close your eyes and  f a l l   ... &  wait for someone to CATCH you.  I  knew  you boys wouldn't let me down. ❜

She’d trusted  that he  & Mr. Reese would save her life,  she’d had FAITH in them.  Coming from her,  it only TAINTED the statement  &  Harold simply leaned farther away.

❛ C’mon,  Harold.   We’ve got  SO MUCH to  talk about. ❜

Root nearly BOUNCED in her apparent excitement,  her firearm still pointed in a silent threat …  &  Harold understood the command  without her needing to specify further.  She seemed to take notice of the body then,  albeit …  &  BEFORE they departed,  Root discarded Alicia’s lifeless body on the concrete ground bellow,   MUCH to Harold’s disgust.

 ❝ I’ve arranged a stay at a nearby HOTEL for now.    We’re almost there.  ❞

Not ONLY did he notice the need for a bandage change,  he noticed the pained  sound Miss Groves made once his voice had startled her,  breaking the tense silence.  She needed something for the pain—–something Harold would see to once they were settled.  They all  rode in SILENCE for the twenty more minutes it took to reach the fore-mentioned hotel  &  once the car was safely stored within the hotel parking lot,  they all made their way to the front desk.  

Harold provided Miss Groves with his jacket in place of her own,  for the leather jacket she’d worn throughout their  ....  time  together was form-fitting  &  would likely put too much pressure on her wound if she attempted to wear it fully.  He helped her CAREFULLY slide both arms inside of the sleeves to conceal  the fact that she’d suffered a gunshot wound  in her upper arm.  It was difficult for her ;  she made the same pained noises while Harold quietly apologized,  sounding on edge but CONCERNED nonetheless.  Once it was on entirely,  the piercing pains from movement  &  pressure seemed to subside.

Miss Shaw INSISTED upon her own room  (  Truthfully,  Harold would hardly blame her  ),  but he,  Miss Groves  &  John were to share a three bedroom hotel for the night.  John lead the way while Harold guided Miss Groves forward,  a hand gently,  but FIRMLY settled against her mid-back.

Once inside,  he lead her to a large couch while John provided what they needed  to change her bandages.  Harold requested his friend retrieve some things whilst he re-dressed Miss Groves’ wound—–some food  &  water  &  something to ease the PAIN  (  &  provide her with enough drowsiness that she might get a couple hours of sleep,  at least  ).  John was reluctant  to leave Harold alone with her,  but he ASSURED him  several times  that he would be fine  &  agreed to keep the comms open.

Taking the jacket OFF was far easier  than putting it on,  thankfully,  but crimson had begun to stain her skin as the blood SEEPED through.  Carefully,  he peeled away the soaked bandages  &  began to clean up what was left from it.  Her skin was pale  &  her dark brown eyes seemed glazed,  as if she were somewhere far  away from here.  Harold quietly attempted to REACH her,  regardless,  whilst tired  blue eyes remained FIXED upon the task at hand.

 ❝ How are you feeling ? ❞

V; & I REMAIN WORRIED﹐  ABOUT WHAT SOMEONE ELSE MIGHT BUILD. SOMEONE WHO WASN’T WORRIED. ( .exe AU )

THE HARD DETAILS about this verse are now written in the verses page !!

❝ Oh … sometimes I wonder  if we couldn’t have done SOMETHING more … meaningful. ❞

The REASON he’d been so buried in his own work,  DESPITE the fact that it was unnecessary,  lurked beneath the surface of those words.  With the PROSPECT of The Machine,  Harold could see just how much good  they could have done.  Of course,  the RISKS were overbearing  &  likely too heavy for one pair of shoulders to bear,  but … but … all they were doing  now was making MONEY.  Nothing more  &  nothing LESS  &  it was slowly  beginning to drive Harold DEEPER into a place of pointlessness.  They had built IFT to change the world …  &  yet,  when they had the opportunity,  they had backed out  &  opted for just making MONEY,  instead.

❛ … You mean the D. O. D  project. ❜

NATHAN turned to look  at him,  brows TENSING like he was about to move into a lecture.  They’d had these CONVERSATIONS before … Harold couldn’t seem  to STOP thinking about it  &  at this  point,  he couldn’t help but feel like Nathan was tired  of circling back to it.  Harold had almost gotten KILLED,  this he knew ….  &  this was likely why his friend’s tone had a tinge  of IRRITATION weaved throughout.

❛ Harold,  that’s ANCIENT history. ❜

Barely half a second  passed  &  Harold felt himself BRISTLING—–he pushed  the feeling ASIDE,  however,  in place of a light  enthusiasm.

❝ I know,  but I SOMETIMES think that maybe  if we’d have kept TRYING,  maybe  it would’ve worked.  Maybe we could’ve  STOPPED those other attacks. ❞

Thin lips were curling  UPWARD with a giddy excitement that expanded within his chest,  as it was something Harold had ALWAYS wanted  to build,  if he were HONEST—–

❛  —–or  the attacks would’ve happened REGARDLESS.  We made the choice  that was right for US.  &  you can bet  if the government wants a system like that,  they’ll GET IT someday,  if they don’t have it already. ❜

(  &  you can bet if the government wants a system like that,  they’ll get it someday,  if they don’t have it already. )

THAT statement was what brought Harold back to the beginning.  He found it DIFFICULT to believe  that if anyone were to build the government a system with that much  POWER,  with so many unprecedented capabilities … that they would give ENOUGH THOUGHT to the safety  of people,  the PROTECTION of people’s rights.  They WOULDN’T be careful enough.  That idea ALONE had settled a heavy,  STIFLING feeling of worry  &  ANXIETY within his chest.  Thus,  Harold couldn’t stop himself from giving it one … more … try.

It took several  hours  &  Harold had long since lost track of TIME.  Once the SYSTEM was again  brought online,  Harold was adjusting the camera,  to ensure it had EYES as well as ears.

❝ There we go.  Now … can you SEE me ?  ❞

The Machine took a few seconds to analyze him,  horizontal  &  then vertical lines sweeping over his face,  followed by dots mapping out his features.  Then,  the YELLOW BOX appeared.  Blue eyes flickered down to regard his image on the screen before he again spoke.

❝ EXCELLENT.  Next  question: WHO AM I ? ❞

There was barely  a HALF SECOND of delay before the word ADMIN appeared on the right side,  next to the yellow box that encompassed his features  &  again,  eyes flickered down to regard the screen.  Harold couldn’t stop  the JOYOUS smile that bloomed across thin lips—–PERHAPS he had done it  this time ?

If the government already  HAD a system,  however … what was he to do if he HAD succeeded ?

he sighs heavily ,  hands pressing on either side of the table before him as his head falls to hang between his shoulders for a moment .  irritation is evident ,  she’s testing his patience .  but at this point ,  she’s either too valuable or too dangerous to touch ---- it’s up to him to decide which it is .     ❝  you think i give a shit ?  ❞     his tone is even ,  brow arching as he lifts his head to look up at her .     ❝  whatever you wanted doesn’t matter ,  you did it .  and i need to know what you know .  so i suggest you open that pretty mouth and start spilling whatever secrets are in that head of yours or things are going to have to get a little messy .  ❞

@modifiedcode asked for some positivity! || always accepting

You’re such a good person, and I honestly am so happy that you’re kicking around again. You’re an incredibly clever writer and a lovely friend who always does the best you can to support those around you. I love your characterizations and GODS I have missed you tbh. I’m so glad you’re back and I’m so glad to BE back.