Recruited by Hersh to become one of the best ISA agents, when her partner and only friend starts asking too many questions, they are both targeted for elimination. Shaw survives the first attempt on her life only long enough to take her revenge on the man responsible. Only the intervention of Finch and Reese saves her from being killed a second time.
Cole and his partner Sameen Shaw were ISA agents working for Special Counsel. The government had them eliminate Daniel Aquino, a man suspected of being a terrorist. Cole began looking into Aquino's information, as well as Research, the source of the "relevant" numbers they acted upon. The government wanted Cole dead after he began asking too many questions, and Cole was killed. Shaw escaped to learn more about what Cole was working on.