Michael scooted up on the bed and took Nikita in his arms spoon-fashion. He pulled the covers up over them and drifted off into his own peaceful slumber. He knew that as long as he had Nikita in his arms a night, he would not have his usual nightmares and would get some restful sleep.

Michael was awakened with a sudden start. He heard a ringing. At first he could not figure out what the noise was. Then he suddenly realized that it was his cell phone. It was a strange sound to him because he had not heard it ring for several months. He had spent practically all of the time within Section One, so it had not been necessary for anyone to call him on it. He had always been within range of the intercoms within Section.

Michael answered the phone hesitantly. He almost jumped when he heard Birkoff's voice on the other end. He was apologizing profusely for waking them up, but it was urgent. He had not wanted to disturb them on their weekend away. Michael immediately thought something had happened to Adam, but Birkoff reassured him that both Adam and Lynnadaine were fine. It was however, necessary for both Michael and Nikita to return to Section One. There was a crisis situation at hand and their expertise was needed.

It seemed that Walter and Birkoff had taken it upon themselves to try and handle things without Michael and Nikita. They had received Intel that Perry Bauer, even though being green-listed, had once again attempted to sell Elvirus to the North Koreans. They had used the sample he had given them to cripple a rail station.

Walter had sent out two two-man teams. Knowing Bauer’s penchant for beautiful couples, Walter had sent Chris davenport and Pam along with Snow and his partner Jaron. All four were well versed in the concept of valentine missions and also had been briefed on the special peculiarities of Mr. Bauer’s tastes. While in Bauer’s compound, Pam had been taken hostage by some of Bauer’s men and the other three operatives had managed to escape. They had, however, all gone into Mandatory Refusal until they could get the rest of Elvirus away from Bauer and could rescue Pam.

Michael sighed as he disconnected with Birkoff and turned to wake Nikita with the bad news that she had probably already lost one of her friends and that three others were in serious danger.

************

On the drive back to Section One, Michael was hard pressed to keep Nikita calm. She was totally livid. Michael was thankful that he was neither Walter nor Birkoff at this moment. Nikita was never one to keep anything bottled up inside and she was cursing Birkoff and Walter out the whole way back. Luckily she was not linked in to comm like Michael was.

When they arrived, Nikita stalked to her office. Michael walked into Comm area and told Birkoff to report to Nikita’s office and to make sure that Walter joined them. When they arrived, Nikita had not calmed down. She literally lifted Birkoff off his feet as she jacked him up against a wall. She turned burning eyes on Walter. “I want answers and I want them now!” Nikita let go of Birkoff and he slid slowly down the wall gasping for air.

“All right, I will answer the best I can.” This from Walter.

“What on earth were you thinking Walter? You sent two raw recruits into that hellhole? Neither of those two women has been trained for valentine operations. They are both green. Whatever made you think they would survive this type of mission?”

“I didn’t really think about that Nikita. The only thing I thought about was that those two teams work well together as couples. Davenport and Snow are class five and class four respectively. I figured they knew best who they could use in this situation. When they suggested the two women I figured it was ok. I figured they could watch out for them.”

“Walter, you do not understand. Perry Bauer is a very perverse man. He would be able to smell them as Section in no time. And that is exactly what happened. Neither of those women is prepared for what they would have to face with Bauer. I know that from experience. I would never have sent two green recruits into that lion’s den.”

Walter hung his head.

Michael decided it was time to speak up. “How long have Snow and Davenport been in Mandatory Refusal?”

Birkoff spoke up this time. “About 12 hours now, sir”

“12 hours? Why did you wait so long to contact us?”

“We thought we could handle the situation.”

“Well obviously you can’t handle the situation. Birkoff go back to Comm. Rake the system. If I know Davenport he has attempted to channel in on a secure line. He needs more information on Bauer. I am sure you did not give him all of the Intel before he left. He will attempt to access all of Bauer’s files to learn as much as he can. He will not let this go. Find where he channeled in and reroute it through a deep channel.”

Birkoff left to trace Davenport through the system. He suddenly remembered several years ago when Michael had gone into Mandatory Refusal on a mission. Madeline had been kidnapped and Operations had wanted Michael stopped. Birkoff had not been able to trace Michael then but when he had returned, Michael had shown him what he had done. Birkoff was cursing himself for being so boneheaded that he had not remembered to check for that before.

Michael watched Nikita pace the floor of her office. Walter had returned to munitions. He knew that she was cooking something up in her mind. He decided to wait her out. He knew he would not be disappointed with the outcome.

After about ten minutes, Nikita stopped pacing. She turned to Michael. Michael knew she had hit upon a plan. “They are in the area of Section Three, right?”

“Yes”

“ Good. Remember that operative we sent to Section Three? Roger I thin his name was?”

“Yes, Roger is at Section Three.”

“Well if I remember correctly he was strictly a valentine op. I have had reports from Section Three that he has fit in very well there. They have paired him up with a female operative who has also been trained specifically for valentine ops. I can’t remember her name but she is well known within the Sections. Maybe we can work up a scenario to send them in to facilitate Davenport, Snow and Jaron in getting Pam out.”

Michael was lost in thought for a moment. Nikita could tell by the look on his face that he was far away from her.

Michael came back to himself after a moment. “Yes I think it will work. I want you to contact Section Three and fill them in. I want you to handle this. And by the way, her name is Andie,”

With that, Michael turned and left Nikita’s office.

**********

…And by the way, her name is Andie.

With that, Michael turned and left Nikita’s office.

Nikita was lost in thought for a moment. Then all of a sudden, Michael’s words registered. ‘and by the way, her name is Andie.’ Nikita’s jaw dropped as the reality of those words hit her like a ton of bricks. Michael knows much more than he is sharing, she thought. He knows her! How does he know her? And how dare he drop a bomb like that and then just leave! I must get to the bottom of this mystery.

Michael had not been in his office long before Nikita walked in. He watched her walk around his office with his patented blank stare. He knew what was going through her head. She was trying to figure out a subtle way of approaching the subject of the information he had just dropped on her. Michael wanted to laugh so bad. He could see the emotions warring across Nikita’s face as she contemplated the best approach. Finally she just gave up on the subtle pretense.

‘Michael, I am curious. How is that you knew who I was talking about, and how do you know her name?”

Michael chuckled. “I knew who you were talking about Nikita, because Andie is well known in the Section community. I also happened to have trained her.”

Nikita’s mind reeled with the force of this newest bombshell. “You trained her? You mean you taught her what she knows about valentine operations?”

“That is correct.”

“Michael, please tell me what happened. Don’t make me feel like I am pulling teeth on this one. Please?”

“All right Nikita. Come and sit down. This might take a lot of explaining.” Once Nikita had made herself comfortable, Michael began his tale. “Andie was a young recruit here several years ago. Much like you Nikita, she was a beautiful woman. Madeline had singled her out for valentine training. I was a fairly young operative myself. I must have been no more than a Level Two op. Madeline felt that the best way for me to learn how to pleasure a woman was to teach the women how to pleasure a man. For a long time I trained many, many female operatives. I was the equivalent of the Section whore. Well I began training Andie. She very quickly became the best female operative we had. She was a very quick study. After about a year she was reassigned to Section Three. She is the person who Roger has been teamed with.”

“ You know, Michael, strangely enough, nothing you have said surprises me. But neither does it bother me. Strange huh? I guess I have learned that your past is your past, just as mine is. What I do want to know however is why do you want me to handle this on my own?”

“Nikita, you need experience. You need to be seen as a very strong second-in-command. You need to run the tactical on this mission. If you can get everyone back here safely, it will go far in helping your image here at Section One as well as at the other Sections. I will stand behind you 100% on any decisions that you make. I will not however overtly help you. You can come and ask me any questions that you want but I prefer that to happen in privacy.”

“All right Michael. I can understand your reasoning behind this. Tell me more about this Andie. Let me know what to expect from her.”

OK. I will be honest with you Nikita. You two are very much alike. You are both headstrong. She too does not like to follow orders. You must take the upper hand with her. Let her know who is boss and that you will not take any crap from her. Set the parameters of the mission and make sure that she knows them precisely. Do not let her get the upper hand in this. She will run over you if she even suspects that you are unsure. I will tell you this: she is much more experienced than you when it comes to valentine ops. You however, know much more about what it takes to get to Perry Bauer. If you keep that in mind and do not let her get the upper hand, you will be able to control this situation for us. Anything else I can help you with?"

“No. Thank you for your candor Michael. I will go now and contact Section Three. I will also check on Birkoff about the deep channel. I will keep you informed.”

With that Nikita walked out of Michael’s office.

************

It did not take Nikita long to arrange matters. Section Three was very cooperative with her when she had explained that they were after Perry Bauer. Three had wanted him taken in for a long time but Oversight had green-listed him. Now he was to be fair game. They had absolutely no problem in helping out. They also assured Nikita that the operation would be followed from One. No deviations would be made from Three.

Birkoff, too had been successful. He had managed to find Davenport’s deep channel accessing of Section’s files and had managed to trade him. He and, Birkoff assumed, Snow and Jaron were holed up in a cabin about 50 kilometers from Bauer’s compound. Birkoff deduced from the files that Davenport had accessed, that they had figured out that Bauer had a series of tunnels that ran through his compound. Birkoff and Walter had had the Intel on this before the mission but they had not found it necessary Intel. The mission was supposed to have been a quick one. Birkoff knew that Davenport would attempt an attack through those tunnels.

Nikita took her Intel to Michael. He was, after all, the master tactician. He too believed that the best way to attack was through the tunnels. Both Michael and Nikita knew that those tunnels were booby-trapped with explosives. If Davenport had downloaded all of the Intel about those tunnels, he would know it too. Because there was really no way to figure out how much Intel Davenport had downloaded, they had to work on the assumption that he had it all.

Michael was really pleased with the progress that Nikita was making with this operation. She was turning out to be very skilled at reading the minds of the operatives she was dealing with. She could get into their mindset and decipher what they were planning. It was a skill she really needed to hone if she were to run Psych Ops.

Within eight hours, Nikita had received notice from Section Three that both Andie and Roger had managed to infiltrate Bauer’s compound. They were being watched very carefully. Bauer had the entire compound on high alert because of the botched mission earlier. The only reason they had gotten access to Bauer’s compound was because of the intervention of an intermediary. One Mick Schtoppel.

************

Nikita sat at her desk. She was in a quandary. She desperately needed to get in the heads of her operatives who were on Mandatory Refusal. She needed to be able to anticipate their possible moves. If she could figure that out then she could formulate a scenario and plan out adequate contingencies for them. She honestly wished that she had spent more time with Madeline figuring out exactly how the woman worked.

She could do this. She knew she could. What did she know about the three operatives who were on Mandatory Refusal? She tried to analyze them as a group. This was not working. She needed to take them as individuals. She knew this because for one thing she had no guarantee that they were actually together. She decided to start at the top. Davenport. What did she know about Davenport? How did the man think? Nikita began to make a list.

Davenport was the current top operative within Section One.

Davenport was a master strategist.

He had been on Mandatory Refusal one time previously, a successful mission.

He would utilize any means necessary to accomplish the goals of Section.

He was deeply in love with Pam.

Nikita crumpled up her piece of paper and tossed it. That last point made her analyzation pointless. The fact that he was in love with the woman he was trying to rescue skewed all of the data Nikita could gather about him. Love was such an arbitrary concept that Section training did not even try to contend with it. Nikita knew that if Davenport loved Pam as much as Michael loved Nikita, then he would go to the ends of the earth to save her. Section goals and guidelines be damned.

Nikita took a deep breath and began her analyzation again. She moved down the line. Snow. What did she know about Snow? Snow had been on Michael’s team so Nikita had had thousands of missions with Snow. Snow had always been a stickler for the rules and regulations of Section. Nikita knew that he was also very talented as a tactician. If he were actually with Davenport, he would be able to keep Davenport closer to Section mandates. Nikita knew that Snow would go out of his way to make sure that they stayed within Section protocol for Mandatory Refusal missions. The only variations he might have to deal with was the fact that Mandatory Refusal was usually a solitary occurrence and the mandates for it were set up for that contingency.

Nikita moved further into her analysis. Jaron. Jaron was more of an unknown variable. She was a young operative. She had not worked many missions. She was very creative and she learned quickly. Walter had already requested that she be reviewed for a possible position in munitions after her cold op status had been decided. Both Nikita and Michael had watched Jaron’s training and had actually had taken part in some of that training. She held great potential.

Nikita sat back and pondered. Jaron and Snow were in love. Probably as deeply in love as Davenport and Pam were. That variable of love was proving to be quite unpredictable. Nikita knew that because Snow loved Jaron, he would go out on a limb with Davenport to save his love. The two men could understand each other on a primal level. Snow would question his protocols by asking himself what he would do if it had been Jaron captured instead of Pam. Nikita knew that Snow would follow whatever Davenport decided was best to do. Jaron, being new to the game would follow the orders she received from Davenport and Snow. Nikita was sure of it.

Nikita took a deep breath. She began outlining her strategy for possible contingencies that the operatives might face. She knew she was grasping at straws but she must plan something. She could only plan what she felt might happen. Very much like fighting with her eyes closed. She began to feel what the operatives were feeling. She knew how she or Michael would react if they were on Mandatory Refusal and the other was being held captive. Within a few hours, Nikita had her strategy mapped out and was ready for Birkoff to run a sim. Nikita decided that she would join Michael for a late dinner while the sim was running. She hoped that they would have at least a little while to relax.

*************

The relaxation that Nikita had hoped for was not to be. Christopher had just served the family a nice dinner when Birkoff’s voice crackled over the intercom. Michael dropped his fork halfway to his mouth to answer him. Birkoff sounded nervous. He knew that Adam was there. Michael walked out of the dining room and called Birkoff on his cell phone.

Birkoff had monitored movement in the subcutaneous trackers of Davenport, Snow and Jaron. Staying at just the right pitch allowed Birkoff to track them. He needed both Michael and Nikita there to make decisions and provide tactical. The problem was, Birkoff also needed Lynnadaine to help him in Comm. He was running this with a skeleton crew. Michael and Nikita had no choice. They must bring Adam down into Section One.

This was something that both Nikita and Michael had hoped to avoid. They did not want their son to have any part of Section. Yes, they provided the boy with Section trained security but it was as far removed from the actual entity as they could get. Now they were being forced to bring the boy into a world that he had no idea even existed.

Michael walked back to the dining room. He told Lynnadaine to go and visit her friend Birkoff. Nikita and Lynnadaine both looked strangely at Michael until he nodded his head. Lynnadaine immediately got up from the table and left the apartment. Adam took another bite of his dinner and asked where Lynnadaine was going.

Michael turned to his young son. He smiled gently at Adam. “Lynnadaine had to go and help a friend. Adam, you know how you have been asking us lately where Daddy and Nikita work?” At the nodding of Adam’s head, Michael continued. “How would you like to see, now?”

Nikita cleared her throat and Michael looked at her over Adam’s head. His eyes conveyed to her that they really had no choice in the matter. Nikita closed her eyes momentarily, wishing that they did not have to go through with this. When she reopened them, her eyes met the unwavering gaze of Michael’s. There she found the strength to steel herself to what she had always known was inevitable. She had always known that Adam would eventually be introduced into the world of Section One. She had just fervently hoped it would not happen for a long time.

Michael drew Adam’s attention again. “Hey, buddy. How about we play a game? Would you like that? I want to surprise you with where we work, ok? So I am going to blindfold you. You don’t have to worry… I will carry you so you don’t run into anything. That way when you take off the blindfold you will be really, truly surprised. Won’t that be fun?”

“Yes Daddy!!” Adam rushed to his father and willingly stood still while Michael tied one of the dinner napkins around his trusting son’s head. Michael took his son in his arms and hugged him tightly for a moment. Nikita watched as Michael’s eyes drifted shut momentarily. She knew that he was steeling himself for this as well as she was. Rising from his squatting position, Michael walked to Nikita, bent and kissed her lingeringly on her mouth. He took her hand, turned to the door of their apartment. Michael smiled, with tears glistening in his eyes. “Let’s go,” he whispered to his light and his child.

*************

A hush fell over the room as Michael and Nikita walked into Comm and Control. All operatives stopped what they were doing momentarily and gaped at the couple. Adam fidgeted slightly in Michael’s arms. Each operative hung their head at the idea of such an innocent within the walls of Section. None of them had ever wanted to see this.

Michael imperceptibly held Adam tighter to him as two operatives walked up to them. He and Nikita stared at the two. They almost didn’t recognize them. They were not dressed in their usual manner. They were wearing the Section issue training sweats rather than their usual black suits and ties. They also did not carry their usual briefcases.

The female operative cleared her throat before she spoke. “Operations, if you will allow us, we will take Adam with us and he can watch the goings on from your aerie. I am sure that you will be quite busy down here and would not want to have to worry about your son. I am sure that Nikita will be quite busy also. We would not want Adam to wander off and get lost down here. We have a few games that we could play to keep him occupied. I am sure you will not need our services for some time yet. As soon as Lynnadaine is finished her work for Birkoff, I am sure she will take Adam back to your apartment.

Michael and Nikita looked at each other over Adam’s blindfolded head. They were not sure about this but they knew they needed to get to work fast. They also knew that no one here would allow anything bad to happen to Adam. Michael nodded his head and walked away for a moment with Nikita and Adam. He gently set the boy on the ground and removed his blindfold. Both Nikita and Michael spoke quietly to the boy. Adam looked over to the two operatives momentarily and then looked back to Michael and Nikita. He nodded his head, bent over and kissed both of their cheeks, then walked over and placed a hand in each of the operatives. Every other operative in the room felt a shiver run down their spine at the boy’s actions.

Michael and Nikita turned to watch as Adam and his escorts climbed the stairs to the aerie. They saw the lights go on there and then looking up, saw Adam standing in the middle of the great window. Michael grasped Nikita’s hand and squeezed it. It pained him so much to see his son standing there. Nikita squeezed his hand back, lending him her strength. It took everything they had to raise their hands to return the waving gesture of their son. Reluctantly, both turned away and went to meet Birkoff to do their jobs.

***********

Michael and Nikita were soon lost in the world of Section that they knew best. Michael was helping Birkoff and Lynnadaine to run the sims and monitor the movement of the Mandatory Refusal team. Nikita was in real-time contact with the operatives from Section Three, Roger and Andie. She was helping them to search Bauer’s compound for Pam. Pam’s tracker response was getting weaker and weaker. The other two operatives were having difficulty fixing a location on her. Time was running short because they needed to be able to get to her before all hell broke loose in the compound.

Birkoff raised his hand to signal Nikita. The MR operatives had reached the opening to the tunnels beneath Bauer’s compound. Nikita relayed a warning to Roger and Andie. They must find Pam quickly. Nikita was answered by the sound of a detonation. She could hear Andie and Roger running. They were throwing open doors and searching the compound. Nikita quickly turned to Birkoff and Michael. Michael nodded to her. Nikita sighed. For the moment everyone was still ok. Looking at the board she still saw six red blinking dots. One of those six remained blinking but it was not as vibrant a color as the other five. She wondered exactly what that rat-bastard Bauer had done to Pam. She shook her head to clear her mind. She would know what had happened soon enough. They all would.

Nikita heard the sound of another explosion. She quickly looked at the board. All red dots still blinked. She called out to Andie and Roger. There was no response. Nikita kept calling to them. Still no response. Tension within Comm was running very high. All eyes were glued to the screen where the red blips continued to blink. Nikita was concerned that there was no answer from Andie and roger. She knew they were alive because their trackers were still activated. She could also here running and heavy breathing so she knew the comm units were still viable.

Finally, Nikita got a response from Andie. “Nikita, we have found Pam. Get a Med Team here, now! She is losing a lot of blood. I am not sure if we can keep her alive with our simple first aid kits. You must find a way to alert the Mandatory Refusal team that we have her. We cannot move her, so we both have to stay here and protect her. She is unconscious.”

Michael and Nikita’s dilemma was now to figure out how to contact Davenport and his team. Because they had shed all of their comm equipment when they went into Mandatory Refusal, there was no conventional way of getting in touch with them. All operatives within Comm were pondering what they could do next. If they could get the team the coordinates of where Pam and the others were located, they could hopefully get to them quickly and possibly avoid Bauer and his men.

Walter was pacing the floor, thinking. Suddenly he stopped. “How long has Jaron been in Section?”

Everyone turned to look at him. No one could understand why he was asking this.

“I need to know exactly when she came into Section. Lynnadaine pull her records up on your computer!”

Lynnadaine quickly complied with the older man’s wishes. Michael walked over and stood behind Walter, trying to figure out what he was looking for.

Walter turned to face Michael. The older man’s eyes lit up. “I think I know a way to contact them!”

“How??” Was the question from all within comm at that time.

Walter began to explain. “ About two and a half years ago, I developed a new subcutaneous tracker. Madeline and Paul had been complaining about how difficult it was to track people when you couldn’t contact them. So I gave them a prototype that I had been working on. You could send pulses through the tracker. The only problems were the operatives were not supposed to know they had a tracker in the first place and they needed to be well versed in Morse code. Madeline had the prototype inserted into a whole batch of new recruits that year. We later abandoned it because the operatives had no clue what that strange feeling was.”

“And Jaron was one of those operatives?” This question came from Birkoff.

“Yep. Now we can only hope that she feels the pulses and realizes there is something to it and not just a nervous twitch.’

“Yes and hope that she figures out it is Morse code and can decipher it.” That response came from Michael.

Birkoff quickly set up a program for Walter to use to contact the tracker in Jaron’s arm. Walter began tapping out Jaron’s name in Morse code. He figured that was the best way to get her attention. He hoped and prayed the young operative knew what the hell Morse code was. After a few minutes of typing her name, Walter shrugged his shoulders and began typing out the rest of their message. He gave the coordinates to where Pam, Andie and Roger were. He gave vector coordinates from where they were currently located. Just when Walter was about ready to give up, Nikita’s comm link crackled back to life.

“Nikita, your team is here. Unfortunately they do not believe that we are a part of Section. They think we are with Bauer. We are here in a Mexican standoff. Tell these people for me that we all work together for the same causes.”

Davenport’s voice came over Nikita’s comm unit. Nikita answered him. “Davenport, have your team stand down. Meet Andie and Roger from Section three. Don’t you recognize Roger? You must all work together to get Pam out of there.”

“I am sorry Nikita. We will get Pam out of here but I am not leaving until I get that rat-bastard Bauer for this.”

Michael took the comm unit from Nikita. “Davenport, you must get Pam out of there. We have a Med Team on the way. They will be there within the hour. Get her to them so she can be taken care of. Then you can go after Bauer. But I want him alive. Do you understand me? Bring him to me. We will deal with him together.”

“All right Michael, I mean Operations. I promise to bring him in alive but you must promise I get a chance at him before you cancel him.”

“Done, now get Pam out of there and meet the Med Team. Send Andie and Roger to find out where Bauer is holed up. Take Roger’s comm unit so the two teams can communicate. Go!”

Nikita’s eyes met Michael’s as he handed the comm link to Birkoff. They knew Birkoff could handle things from there and he would contact them as soon as Bauer was taken. The two heads of Section One retreated to the aerie to retrieve their son from the two operatives they commonly referred to as the Torture Twins.

***********

Within a couple of hours, Birkoff reported to Michael and Nikita that Bauer had been captured and that the Med Team had arrived and were working on Pam. They had managed to get her stabilized and they were transporting the entire team back to Section. Estimated time of arrival was two hours. The Med Team had been forced to sedate Bauer in order to transport him to Section and they were having difficulty keeping Davenport from killing him.

Michael just kind of shrugged and smiled to himself. He knew what was going through Davenport’s head and he did not blame him for wanting Bauer dead. He would feel the same way if he were in the same position. When he and Nikita had been inside Bauer’s compound, at least Bauer had never really harmed them. In fact he himself had actually done more damage to Nikita than Bauer had. Michael had almost irreparably destroyed Nikita’s psyche on that mission.

Nikita contacted Med Lab to make sure that everything would be ready upon the arrival of the team. She knew that they had the best Medical staff possible, but she also knew that time was of the essence. She had the Medical staff here at Section linked in with the Med Team on the road. They could communicate to find out what exactly they needed to prepare for. Nikita quietly asked Jaron and Andie to switch to “B” channel.

Nikita was concerned with the physical well being of all the operatives involved. She was sure that the Med Team was doing and had done everything they could for each operative. The Medical team did not seem concerned with any of the operatives besides Pam. What concerned Nikita even more was the psyche of her operatives. What was going through their heads? This had been a rough mission. How were they reacting to what had happened? What exactly had happened to Pam? What type of attitude would she have to deal with from Davenport? From the others? And more importantly, she needed to know what had happened so that she could begin to rebuild the psyche of Pam herself.

Andie and Jaron began relaying to Nikita what had happened as far as they were witnesses to. Both women were sickened by what Pam had managed to survive through. Neither honestly thought that they would have survived if they had been forced to undergo the same treatment. Nikita, herself blanched when Jaron relayed some of the things she had seen Bauer doing to Pam. Nikita knew that she had a major mess to clean up when everyone got back. She had her top Class Five operative who would be of no use to anyone until his love had been healed. She would have to deal with both Andie and Roger in a debrief before she sent them back to Section Three. She had to deal with a new operative who should have never been sent into a situation like that in the first place. And then she would have to rebuild another young operative who definitely had not been prepared for being there in the first place much less for going through what she had.

With almost an hour before anything could be done, Nikita decided to return to her office to prepare herself. Adam had been taken back to the apartment by Lynnadaine and Michael was downstairs talking quietly with Walter and Birkoff. Nikita wanted to make sure she was in the right frame of mind to deal with what she figured would be all hell breaking loose. Michael had not told her which one of them would be interrogating Bauer but she knew she needed to prepare herself in case it was her. She would not be able to let Bauer get the upper hand. She knew this would be critical. Twenty minutes later, Michael entered Nikita’s office to find her sitting on the floor in deep meditation. He knew what she was preparing for so he decided to leave her to her preparations. He turned, glided out and quietly closed her door so as not to disturb her.

************

Michael met the team at van access. The Med Team came rushing in first with Pam on a gurney. From what Michael saw, she was a mess. He knew the Medical staff would have its hands full trying to save her. Snow came in helping an injured Jaron to walk. She had injured her ankle when searching for Pam. It was swollen and bruised but would heal with a little time. Andie followed Snow and Jaron, dragging and kicking a still dazed Bauer along with her. He sneered at Michael as Andie dragged him off to containment. Michael just gave a slight smile as he thought bout what was waiting for Bauer. Last out of van access came Roger with a rather docile Davenport handcuffed behind him. The two operatives stopped in front of Michael. Michael stood silently waiting for one or the other to speak.

“Sir, I had to handcuff him. You did say you wanted Bauer brought in alive. I figured if I did not handcuff Davenport here, he would finish the job before you got a chance to join in on the fun.”

Michael ducked his head to keep the quick smile from being seen. He knew that Roger was taunting Davenport but his position did not allow him to join in on the fun. “Uncuff him Roger. I am sure we will have no more problems with Mr. Davenport.” After Roger had uncuffed Davenport, Michael spoke again. “Munitions and Comm are in that direction, Roger. Report there to turn in your equipment. After you debrief I am sure arrangements will be made for you and Andie to return to Three. Thank you for your help in this endeavor.” When Roger had walked out of earshot, Michael turned to face Davenport. “Debrief in my office in 20 minutes. I suggest you get a shower and compose yourself and your thoughts for your debrief.”

“But sir, I wanted to go to Med Lab to check on Pam. She was badly injured. I need to know how she is doing.”

Michael hesitated momentarily. His conscience told him to allow Davenport this break in protocol. His head however knew that if he allowed this then Davenport and possibly others would not hesitate to test the boundaries more often. “I said, debrief in twenty minutes. I am sure that Med Lab will do their best with Pam. I am also quite sure that they will find out where you are if there is any important Intel they need to pass along. My office, twenty minutes, be there!” Having said his peace, Michael turned and walked off to his office.

At the assigned time, Davenport entered the aerie. Michael could tell that he was still angry about not being allowed to check on Pam. Michael knew he must keep the upper hand in this meeting. He could tell that Davenport was exhausted. Rather than allowing him to sit, Michael chose to have Davenport remain standing. Michael began firing questions at Davenport about the mission. Who had profiled it? Who had decided on team members? What reasons were they given for this mission? What were the parameters provided to them? At what point had those parameters changed? Which part of their Intel had proven to be faulty once they had reached Bauer’s compound?

Michael hesitated before continuing his questioning. His next question came out almost in a whisper. “Since when, Davenport, do level five operatives risk an entire team to return to a botched mission in order to retrieve one member who would have been considered acceptable collateral?”

Davenport froze. He could not believe Michael of all people was asking him to explain what he had done. Michael had done the same as he had and far worse in order to protect Nikita. Davenport knew in his heart that Michael would have done the same if their roles had been reversed. He had been on numerous missions when Michael had snubbed his nose at mission protocol in order to save Nikita’s ass. For that matter, he had also been on teams when Nikita had done the same for Michael. Now Michael had the nerve to question why he had chosen to do such a thing?

“Operations, I …I have no excuse to give you. I felt that what I was doing was right at the time. If I am to be punished for breaking mission protocol, then so be it. I would do it again given the chance. I will not backtrack on the decisions that I made on this mission.”

“Hmmm. You place me in an interesting predicament Chris. While I do understand your “motivation” for doing what you did, I still cannot condone breaking mission protocol and going out on your own. You risked not only your own life and the lives of two other team members, but you also risked losing both Perry Bauer and the Elvirus. I have not decided exactly how you will be dealt with on this matter. You are confined to close quarters standby until I make a decision.”

Davenport turned to leave. Suddenly, he turned back to face Michael. “Sir, am I confined to my quarters?”

“No Davenport. You may report to Medical. Find out how Pam is doing. Make sure that the rest of your team has been thoroughly checked out and get checked yourself. Dismissed”

After Davenport had left the office, Michael dropped into his chair. He had managed to survive this tete-a-tete with Chris Davenport. He had felt every emotion that had run through Davenport during his debrief. Michael could commiserate with everything that Davenport had felt. Michael knew that he could not survive many more debriefs like this. He was totally, physically and emotionally drained. Michael blackened the windows to the aerie, turned off his lights and drifted of to a troubled sleep.

***********

Nikita had spent the entire night awake. She could not even remember the last time she had gotten any sleep. She was trying to figure out how to deal with the many problems that she had to face this day. Michael had already debriefed Davenport but that still left Jaron, Andie, Roger, and of course Pam. But then again, that was dependent on Pam’s survival. It had been touch and go night with her. Nikita was also trying to figure out how she was going to question Bauer about his Elvirus compound. They really needed the information that he could supply. Her main problem was controlling herself to not kill him before he shared what he knew.

Michael had wanted Nikita to go to their apartment and rest. He knew she had a tough day ahead of her. But, Nikita knew she could not sleep with everything that was on her mind. Besides, Michael was not going to the apartment, and Nikita never slept well when he was not there with her. They had shared breakfast in Nikita’s office this morning and Michael had noticed how exhausted Nikita looked. He did not mention anything about it though. Nikita was a big girl and should know when to slow down.

The two leaders had spent their breakfast discussing Davenport’s debrief. Although Nikita had not been present she sensed that Michael was not forthcoming with all of the details of the debrief. He was holding something back and Nikita had no idea why. What could Davenport have said to Michael that would keep Michael from revealing all of the debrief?

Shortly after Christopher had cleared away the breakfast dishes, there was a beep on Nikita’s desk. When she answered it, Birkoff informed her that both Jaron and Andie were there for their debrief. Nikita had Birkoff send them both up. She figured there would really be nothing that either woman would say that could be considered confidential information. Besides, having them debrief together might just give her a chance to put more of the pieces together. Hearing about how things went down from two different perspectives might shed some light on the overall activities of this mission.

Michael chose to stay in Nikita’s office for this debrief. He promised himself not to say a word, but he was curious to see how Nikita would handle this debrief and how the two operatives would react to Nikita and her questions. Nikita was still very new at this aspect of her job and Michael was interested to see how she would approach the two operatives. He had been surprised when she had asked both to come up to the office. He could not see how she would approach the two operatives, for they were quite different people. Jaron was a newbie who probably would be rather hesitant about being in this debrief in the first place. Andie, on the other hand, was a professional at what she did. She had to have hundreds of debriefs under her belt over the years. This meeting could prove to be very interesting.

The door beeped and Nikita punched in the code to open the door to admit the two operatives. They both looked very tired. Both Michael and Nikita knew that they had slept. The Medical staff had seen to that, but neither had gotten enough rest just yet. Maybe they could get some more sleep after their debrief. It was rather early in the morning and there were no missions on pad as of yet. Maybe they could be given some down time after things had been straightened out.

Nikita invited both Jaron and Andie into the office. She asked them to have a seat and questioned them about how they took their tea. She poured out three cups of tea and then poured Michael a cup of coffee. Rather than sit behind her desk, Nikita took off her shoes and sat on the couch with her feet curled under her. Michael smiled to himself as he realized that she was trying to get the women as comfortable as possible. She also wanted to keep them off balance.

Michael knew that Nikita definitely had a good thing going. He watched as the two operatives looked hesitantly at each other and then visibly relaxed. They silently sipped their drinks, and then looked at each other again. Andie nodded at Jaron. Jaron cleared her throat and began her story.

***********

“Ok. It all started the day you two left Section. Birkoff was doing a routine check when he came across some Intel that pointed to the use of Elvirus by the North Koreans. We all knew that the only person who had the formula for Elvirus was Perry Bauer. Walter and Birkoff decided that we needed to act quickly. They were going to send in just Davenport and Snow but the guys knew that they would be spotted quickly if there were no women with them. Davenport suggested that Pam and myself accompany them.”

“Yes, Let’s discuss that for a moment.” Nikita was genuinely curious as to why Davenport would suggest two green operatives for such a mission. She knew that the women were beautiful and that the two male operatives were in love with them. But, because they loved the women, she figured that they would have tried to protect them. Just as Michael had always tried to protect her. “Why do you think Davenport suggested you and Pam to accompany him and Snow on this mission? Did you feel that you were especially trained for this type of mission? What gave you, or Davenport and Snow for that matter, the idea that you two were qualified for this mission?”

Jaron cleared her throat again. She knew that this was a sticky point in the debrief. “Well, Snow and I have become very close and work well as a team. I think the same can be said about Pam and Davenport. It is as if we can sense what the other person will do before it actually happens.”

“Mmm-hmmm. Well then, explain to me how it is that if you two ladies can sense what the men are going to do before it happens, and the men can sense what you are going to do, that Pam managed to get herself held captive by Mr. Bauer and the rest of you were forced into Mandatory Refusal?”

Michael almost choked on a sip of coffee at Nikita’s question, which by all means sounded very sweet and innocent, but in reality was a very shrewd inquiry. Jaron turned very pale and Andie shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Jaron opened her mouth to answer but her voice was nothing but a squeak. She coughed slightly to clear the obstruction in her throat. “Umm... well, I don’t really know how to explain it. Bauer accepted us really easily into his compound. I was rather surprised at that. Bauer liked the exotic look that we brought to his compound. He was interested in both myself and Pam, but he was intrigued by Pam’s exotic beauty. We were spending a lot of time with him, while the guys were gathering Intel for Birkoff. Then, the night all hell broke loose, Bauer was stoned out of his mind and he hit on Davenport.

Davenport started to respond to Bauer’s advances, trying to keep the mission profile going. Then he caught a look at Pam’s face and saw her revulsion over the whole idea. He backed off immediately. He could not go through with it. That made Bauer suspicious and it took only a few seconds for him to realize that it was a trap. Pam had been nuzzling on his neck and did not have time to get away from him. He grabbed her and held a broken bottle to her throat. The rest of us backed out of there and fought our way out of the compound.”

“Leaving a fellow operative in the hands of a psychotic pervert?”

Jaron bowed her head. She had argued with Snow and Davenport the whole way out of the compound. She had begged to go back and get Pam. It wasn’t until they were on their way back to Section One that Davenport suddenly turned the SUV around. She and Snow had given up on the idea that Pam might still be alive, but Davenport had not. They had begged him to just report back to Section, to give it up, but he refused. They had decided to strip their comm gear and go into Mandatory Refusal until they could get Pam back. They also knew that they needed to complete their mission. After getting rid of what they believed to be all trackers, they scoured the area to find a place to hole up somewhere near Bauer’s compound. Davenport hacked into the Section computers and found the underground tunnels that led to Bauer’s compound. The MR operatives spent the remainder of their time searching for them.

Nikita found all of this information very interesting. She was still curious as to why Davenport had left Pam behind but then later returned for her. She knew that subconsciously she was comparing him to Michael. She knew that was not right, that no one was really like Michael. But, she couldn’t help but compare the situations. Maybe she would glean more from the relationship after Andie added her part of the debrief.

************

Andie began her tale of how she and Roger had gotten into Bauer’s compound on the word of Mick Schtoppel. Bauer had been hesitant at first but she and Roger had proved to be kinky enough to draw Bauer’s attention. They had managed to infiltrate all the way into Bauer’s inner circle. It had not taken long for them to find Pam.

Pam had been held in Bauer’s private chambers. He had beaten her senseless trying to get information about the Section out of her. He had tortured her in numerous ways. But, as far as Andie could discern, she had not given him the information he had wanted. He had just been at the point of killing her when all hell had broken loose. Motion had been detected in an area of the compound that was seldom used. This movement was enough to force Bauer into a panic. He had sent Andie and Roger out to help his forces while he himself took Pam and went to hide in a place that he felt was secure.

Roger and Andie had reported to the rest of Bauer’s forces in an attempt not to call attention to themselves. They knew that the intruders must be the Mandatory Refusal team but they did not want to alert the team to their presence just yet. They wanted to ferret out Bauer and make sure that they could retrieve Pam successfully. A few minutes after reporting in, they managed to get sent out to a secluded area by themselves, ostensibly to perform surveillance to make sure that nothing suspicious was going on there.

They quickly absented themselves from the rest of Bauer’s team and went on a search for Bauer and Pam. They knew that needed to move quickly to retrieve Pam before Bauer decided to finish the job of killing her. They also knew they needed Pam to prove to the Mandatory Refusal team that they were indeed a part of Section. Otherwise, they would forfeit their lives. It did not take them long to find where Bauer had stashed Pam. He had a bunker where he had tied up Pam. They had no idea where Bauer was, unfortunately.

By this time in the mission, Nikita had made contact with Andie and Roger. Nikita could pick up the threads from there. She and Michael had basically been a part of the mission from there on in. She had not managed to glean any more information about Davenport and his strange behavior from Andie. She had obviously not gotten close enough to Davenport to impart with any personal information. Or, maybe, she was just keeping it to herself. Nikita knew that Andie was a very shrewd operative.

Nikita knew she would get no more from the two women. She dismissed them and told them they had two days of downtime in order to get some rest. At the end of that downtime and not before, Andie and Roger would be sent back to Three. The two operatives filed thankfully out of Nikita’s office.

Michael watched as Nikita paced the floor of her office. He could tell that her mind was racing. He could not, however, figure out what she was mulling over. He knew it had something to do with this mission. Something she could not figure out. He knew that her curiosity would get the better of her sooner or later and she would ask his opinion on whatever it was. He was not, however, prepared for what she asked.

Nikita turned in mid stride to look hard at Michael. “What are you holding back from me? What did you learn in your debrief of Davenport, that you chose not to share with me this morning?”

Michael was momentarily shaken. Nikita’s demeanor was very reminiscent of Madeline’s. He honestly had no idea what she was talking about. He thought back to their conversation earlier that morning. He had shared the Intel he had gleaned from Davenport the night before. He had shared the fact that he was debating what to do with Davenport for his breaking of protocol. The only reason he had shared that Intel was in order to get her opinion on it. What was she talking about? He had not held anything back from her.

Nikita watched the surprise flutter across Michael’s face. She scrutinized him as he began filtering through the information they had shared that morning. She was rather enjoying watching him squirm to figure out what she was talking about. She knew he thought she was angry. She really wasn’t. Only intrigued. She always questioned just what made Michael’s mind work. Nikita smiled, and took Michael’s hand. She buzzed Birkoff and told him that if they were needed any more that afternoon, they would be in their apartment.

***********

It did not take long for Nikita to weasel the information that she wanted out of Michael once they were up in their apartment. They had played with Adam for a while and then had tucked him in bed together. Nikita had then opened a bottle of wine and drawn them both a hot bubble bath. Once they were in the tub relaxing, Nikita brought up the subject of believing that Michael was holding something back from her.

Michael was lazily running his finger in circles over Nikita’s wet shoulder. He was deep in thought. He was trying to figure out what Nikita thought he was holding back from her. He thought back over both the his meeting with Nikita this morning and the debrief of Davenport from the night before. He was positive that he had shared every part of the Intel he had gleaned from Davenport.

Nikita sighed. She just knew that Michael was being secretive again. There had been something important that Davenport had told Michael that he was now keeping from her. She hoped it was not because Michael no longer trusted her. She had hoped that Michael felt she was doing a good job so far in her new position. It seemed very sad to her that Michael still felt he needed to keep secrets from her and that he needed to protect her.

Michael shifted in the water underneath Nikita’s back. He sighed also. It had been several minutes since either one of them had spoken. Both were lost in their own musings. Michael suddenly spoke. “Nikita, how is Pam?”

Nikita sighed. She was not sure why Michael would choose this time to ask about an operative. “She is out of the woods. For now. It will take several days, maybe even weeks for her to recover fully. I am confident that she will have a full recovery though.”

“I think I may know of a way to speed up her recovery time.” This came from Michael almost as a whisper.

Nikita turned slightly in the tub so that she could see Michael’s face. “Recover more quickly? How?”

“Tomorrow I will speak with Davenport. I am giving them both three weeks of downtime after we take care of our little problem in the white room.”

Nikita was totally shocked. She sat up in the tub and turned around to face Michael fully. “You are doing what?! I thought I was supposed to interrogate Bauer tomorrow? You do not trust me to interrogate that scum? And since when do you decide personnel deployment without my input?” Nikita burst into tears.

Michael reached out to take Nikita in his arms. She tried to pull away. Michael refused to let her. He pulled her close to him and held her head on his chest. Nikita sobbed against him. “Shush, my Kita! Please, Kita, shush. Please stop crying. If you stop crying I will explain to you.”

Nikita quieted down, yet she still trembled against Michael’s chest. She truly wanted to know why Michael had chosen not to ask for her input on these matters. She also vaguely was questioning herself for her sudden emotional flare up.

Michael stroked Nikita’s hair as he began to speak. “Nikita, I think that Davenport and Pam need some time to be alone. They are deeply in love. More than either of us has realized. Davenport has refused to leave Section since we brought Pam back here. He will not function if he loses her. I feel the best and fastest way for Pam to recover is if she has time alone with Davenport. He can love her back to health, Nikita. You know that is possible. Look at how many times we have done that for each other in the past. If Davenport loves Pam with his whole heart, body and soul, without interference from Section, he can prove to her that she is still worthy of love. No matter what she went through.”

Nikita pulled away from Michael. She looked deeply into his eyes and saw the truth displayed there. She knew intellectually that he was right. The two operatives needed time to heal. She knew that it would be better for Section in the long run if their top operative was happy. But her position in Section One demanded that she get more answers. “And just what are we supposed to do while Davenport and Pam are off gallivanting to god only knows where? You are talking about giving out highest rated operative three weeks of downtime? Who will run things while he is gone?”

Michael smiled. “I leave that in your capable hands my dear.”

Nikita smiled. It was so like Michael to make a decision and then leave her to pick up the pieces. “Now, what is this about you taking care of Bauer?”

“Also a part of the healing process Nikita. Chris Davenport wants revenge for what Bauer did to his woman. If we allow him his revenge, he will remain indebted to us. The more indebted an operative is, the better behaved they will remain. He will also be indebted to us for giving him and Pam downtime together. I understand that Pam also wants to exact revenge on Perry Bauer. If Davenport wishes to share, they can form a closer bond by executing him together. Surely you can understand that Nikita?”

“Yes Michael. I do understand that. I think you may be right too. Let’s do it just the way you have said. Give them downtime together. Let them use the time to forge a stronger bond together. We can use that bond to Section’s advantage.”

Nikita got out of the tub, dried off, put on her nightgown and left to check on Adam before she and Michael went to bed. She was glad in her heart that Michael had not lost faith in her or her abilities. She smiled down at Michael’s son. He looked so peaceful in sleep. Much as his daddy did. Nikita smoothed the hair away from Adam’s face, kissed his forehead gently, and went to join Michael in bed.

************

While Michael and Nikita slept peacefully after making love, Perry Bauer was having a tortuous night in the White Room. Since his capture, Bauer had refused to share the information that he had about the Elvirus compound he had developed. He had also refused to divulge the names of the North Koreans he had sold some of the compound to. On this evening, as all others were peacefully slumbering, Bauer was having an intense session with the torture twins.

Bauer had been asleep, strapped into the chair, when the torture twins had entered the White Room. The giant steel door gave a faint click as it closed, startling Bauer from his sleep. As Bauer opened his eyes, he beheld two people before him. The man was well over six feet tall and slightly balding. The woman reached the man at a little over his elbow. She had mousy brown shoulder-length hair. Both wore identical glasses and both wore suits and ties. The only difference being that the woman wore a skirt rather than pants. Both carried identical yellow briefcases. Bauer closed his eyes again. He fervently did not want to know what those briefcases contained.

The torture twins walked as one to the side of the room, placed their briefcases on a shelf and opened them together. Bauer reopened his eyes, he could not help but watch the two operatives, as they worked so beautifully together. There was no need for words between the two of them. They knew their job. They began rummaging around in their bags. One took out an instrument and showed it to the other. The other shook their head and pulled out another instrument. They obviously agreed on the weapon of choice and turned as one to face Bauer. Bauer shivered as he looked at the two faces, totally void of any type of emotion. His blood began to run cold as they moved toward him to begin their work.

The torture twin’s first instrument of pain happened to be an old tried and true method of torture. They had brought with them thin slivers of bamboo. Moving as one, they bent over and removed Bauer’s shoes and socks. They then methodically began inserting the slivers of bamboo underneath the nails of Bauer’s toes. White-hot searing pain began to work its way up Bauer’s body. Bauer’s body began to shiver uncontrollably from the pain. Perspiration broke out across him. Still, Bauer was not ready to give in to questioning.

The torture twins moved away, consulting quietly. They returned to their briefcases and rummaged around some more. Approaching Bauer once more, they continued their torture. This time they carried with them each a set of pliers. They again bent to their task. Removing the bamboo shafts with the pliers, they worked slowly. Bauer was unsure as to which hurt the worst, having them put the bamboo into him, or having them remove the bamboo. Bauer finally understood that something could hurt worse when the torture twins began removing his nails with those pliers. Before long Bauer had passed out from the pain.

After having been awakened, Bauer screamed in pain as the two moved to his hands, removing the nails there. Bauer’s body was now trembling from the pain it was feeling. He fought valiantly to clear his mind from the pain. He was confident he could keep from giving Section the information they desired.

The torture twins smiled at each other as they realized they would have to dig deeper in their bag of tricks. Secretly they had known that these juvenile tricks would not work on someone like Perry Bauer. But, they enjoyed using these particular tortures as a sort of warm-up for the bigger and better toys that they had. They closed their bags and left the room together, leaving Bauer alone to suffer.

Over an hour later, the door to the White Room swung silently open again. Perry Bauer was shaking from his pain and drenched in his own sweat. He almost wet himself more when he saw the torture twins enter the room with machinery that he knew was used for electroshock therapy. Bauer was nauseated by the idea of what he was in for now.

The female torture twin approached Bauer with a small scalpel. Bauer’s eyes widened as he watched her approach. He had seen electroshock used many times in his past. But he had no idea what her intentions were. The female torture twin extended the scalpel and made a slit a little over an inch long about a half-inch under each of Perry Bauer’s eyes. The male operative handed her two small slivers of metal, which had smaller, sharper slivers pointing upwards. Bauer began begging as soon as she turned towards him and he got a good look at them. Ignoring Bauer’s pleas, the female torture twin inserted the pointed ends into the slits. After reaching a certain point. She twisted the small piece of metal so that the pointed ends entered the lower part of Bauer’s eyeballs. Bauer screamed with the excruciating pain. Small droplets of blood oozed out of the tiny slits, which had basically closed back on themselves after the instrument, had been inserted. The torture twins left Bauer to his new feelings of pain for about a half-hour. Every time Bauer blinked or his eyes moved in anyway, shots of agonizing pain penetrated to his brain.

Reentering the room, the male torture twin again questioned Bauer about the Elvirus compound he had developed. Bauer was a very strong man and still refused to talk. The male torture twin inserted a gel into the slits under Bauer’s eyes with a syringe. This gel added a burning sensation to Bauer’s eyes but was comparatively less tortuous than anything else he had been subjected to thus far. After letting the gel sit about five minutes, the male torture twin turned on the electroshock machine and placed the leads directly over the slits under Bauer’s eyes. Bauer again began to tremble. He had never seen this sort of torture. Usually the electroshock equipment was used on the temples if you wanted to attack the head. He began to have a greater appreciation for the concept once the electroshock machine began to work on him. Each new shock made it feel as if the metal pieces were being driven deeper into his eyes and combined with the heating of that gel made the pain extremely tortuous.

************

By the time Michael and Nikita awoke, refreshed, the next morning, Bauer was ready to sing like a canary. Nikita calmly entered the White Room and politely asked the questions she had asked several times since Bauer’s capture. Bauer, just as politely, answered all of them, including the location of both his remaining stash of the Elvirus compound and the location of the North Korean terrorist faction he had been supplying.

After sending out two teams to verify the information given by Bauer, Nikita reported to Michael the information she had uncovered. Michael thanked her and then called Davenport to his office. Upon Davenport’s arrival, Michael said “Come on Davenport, we have some work to do.” When Nikita turned to follow them, Michael stopped her. “This is something that I need to do with Chris, Nikita. Your assistance is not necessary. Stay here, I will want a full report as soon as you hear from the teams.”

Nikita looked deeply into Michael’s eyes. What she saw there frightened her momentarily. She nodded her head slightly, acknowledging the emotions he allowed her to read in his eyes. Concurring with Michael’s decision, Nikita responded with the customary “of course”.

After Michael and Davenport left the aerie, Nikita contacted Birkoff and had him set up a real time feed for her from the White Room. She warned Birkoff that she was the only one who was to know about this live feed. Michael might not want her in the room with the three men but he must realize that she was going to watch whether he liked it or not.

Within moments, the live feed showed up on the computer screen in the aerie. Birkoff had also provided audio even though Nikita had not specifically for it. Birkoff knew how to take care of all her needs. Nikita watched as Perry Bauer blanched when Michael and Davenport entered the room. She was sure that Bauer had wet his pants. Nikita watched as Michael and davenport slowly circled the chair that Bauer was in. The two operatives moved in unison. They looked much like two tigers stalking the same prey. Nikita reflected to herself that they were both beautiful to watch in their own way. No one in the White Room spoke for several moments. Only the two black-clad operatives stalking slowly around their victim, and Perry Bauer, furtively trying to watch both men at the same time. He was waiting for one or the other to strike. He had no idea when or how but he knew what they were there for. He had already shared all of the Intel that he had. He knew it was only a matter of time before he was killed. In actuality he welcomed his inevitable death.

Nikita actually winced inwardly as Michael’s right foot connected with the side of Bauer’s head. She was sickened as she watched Bauer’s head snap back to its previous position after the blow. The scream of pain escaped Bauer’s lips before he could suppress it. Michael had attacked Bauer from behind his back, therefore, Bauer had no chance to prepare himself for the blow. The blow had been a powerful one, not strong enough to knock him out or to snap his neck, but it had been effective. Bauer trembled in fear as he realized that the two men circling him were here merely for their own entertainment.

Nikita decided to turn off the monitor after she watched Davenport’s hand smash into Perry Bauer’s nose. She now understood why Michael had not wanted her to witness this. The two operatives truly fit the part of the big cats stalking their prey. She also knew full well that it was a game to them. They were not hunting for survival. Clearly, they were there merely for the pleasure they could attain from it and for the revenge sought for the pain that Bauer had caused their women.

Within about two hours, Birkoff buzzed Nikita to tell her that the Intel that Bauer had supplied was valid. The teams that had been sent out were enroute to Section One with the remains of the Elvirus compound. They had incinerated the base camp of the North Korean terrorists. Nothing, either human or genetically engineered remained there. Nikita had Birkoff buzz the White Room and tell Michael that she needed to speak to him.

Michael returned to the aerie within a few moments. He was not even breathing hard nor sweating. There was, however, still a feral gleam in his eyes. Nikita shuddered at the thought of what had happened in the White Room after she had shut down the transmission. Nikita relayed to Michael the Intel transmitted from the teams. He nodded his head and stated simply. “Then it is over! I want you to do something for me. Davenport has asked that Pam be allowed to witness Bauer’s death. Go to Med Lab and bring her to the White Room. I will meet you there.”

When Nikita arrived at the White Room, with Pam in a wheelchair, Michael was indeed waiting for them. He gingerly helped Pam to her feet. It was difficult for her to move because of the broken ribs she had suffered. The door to the White Room swung open and Davenport turned and reached out a hand to Pam. As the door closed, Nikita saw Davenport hold Pam closely to him. Nikita, curious, turned on the monitor. Michael moved close behind her in order to watch too. The two leaders watched as Davenport held a crying Pam momentarily. He then gently turned her around to face Bauer, still holding her close to him from behind. Nikita’s arms shook as she watched Pam tremble. She could not tell if it was from fear or from rage. They did not have a good camera angle that would show Pam’s face. Davenport reached out and handed Pam his Glock. Nikita felt Michael’s arms wrap around her as they watched the drama in the White Room unfold. Pam took the Glock, bestowed a kiss upon Davenport’s lips, and aimed the gun at Perry Bauer’s head.

Nikita could not see Pam’s face, but she could read the emotion in the body language of the young operative. Just before Pam’s finger pulled the trigger, Davenport’s hands surrounded hers and they pulled the trigger together. Nikita slumped back against Michael’s chest as she heard the report of the gun. She saw a nice clean hole form in the middle of Perry Bauer’s forehead. She had no doubt that he was as dead as dead could be. Nikita could not tear her eyes away from the scene within the White Room. She watched as Pam turned and buried her face into Davenport’s muscular chest. Nikita’s eyes were subsequently drawn to the wide-open, unseeing eyes of the corpse formerly known as Perry Bauer. In those eyes, Nikita saw the monster that had been housed within that body. She suddenly realized how grateful she was that he was dead.

As Pam and Davenport turned to leave the White Room, Michael reached out and switched off the monitor. He still had his arms wrapped around Nikita. As the two operatives came through the door. Michael looked at them both and smiled slightly. “Revenge satisfied?”

Davenport inclined his head toward Michael slightly as if to say thank you. Pam on the other hand reached to give a hug to Nikita. Nikita hugged her back. As they were parting Nikita heard Pam mutter to herself, “I wish it had been a goddamed missile launcher instead of a Glock.” It took all of Nikita’s control and willpower not to burst out laughing. Her eyes met those of Pam’s and she knew that Pam had intended for her to hear her comment. Nikita nodded slightly at Pam to show that she understood the comment. Nikita knew at that point that Pam was going to be fine. She would be able to return to her full status as an operative. Nikita also knew instinctively that Pam would be able to return to her normal psyche after her ordeal. It would only be a matter of time. Time, and a lot of loving by her man Davenport.

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