Michael battered the door with superhuman strength, desperation driving him with sharp spurs as the bomb counter ticked inexorably backward. Nikita looked on, frozen in horror, as the door began to splinter loudly and suddenly gave inward, spilling Michael violently to the floor of the small room. In one corner, tied hand and foot, Sparks cried and sobbed for his life. Michael struggled with Simone in the opposite corner, shouting into her face as she raged at Sparks and resisted Michael's efforts to pull her out of the room.

Nikita's pleas for Michael to hurry were unheard in the pandemonium, and she knew that all reason was lost in this chaos. Vaulting the broken door she wound her fist into Michael's hair and jerked him around until they were nose to nose. "We have to get out *now*!", she screamed, and grabbed Simone's other arm. Between the two of them the weakened Simone was easily forced into motion and they exited the building with desperate speed, reaching ground cover just as it blew. The blast resonated in their ears and they hugged the ground, deafened and gasping.

As soon as the fallout from the explosion had settled, Nikita marshaled the surviving team members and counted noses. "Michael, we've got everybody out we're going to get. Are we ready to transport?" She received no answer to her question as Michael knelt next to the unconscious Simone. Nikita shook his shoulder, "Michael? We have to go, there's not much time." He looked up then, blankly, but said nothing.

Shaking her head Nikita plucked Michael's com set from its useless position around his neck and called out for Birkoff. He answered quickly. "Nikita? We're ready to transport when you are. Get everybody to pickup point alpha. Chopper in ten minutes." Nikita confirmed the instruction and was about to sign off when a different and unexpected voice came into her ear. "Casualty report?" Nikita missed only a beat then looked around quickly to double check her information, "We've lost three in the explosion, no serious injuries to anyone else…except…" She paused, not quite knowing what or how much to say. "What", Operations barked in her ear. "Well, we, uh….retrieved Simone. She's presently unconscious." Unnecessarily she added, "Michael's with her now."

Nikita heard nothing back for several moments and was just reaching to tap the earpiece when Operations' voice came back, sounding angry and frustrated. "Get everyone in as soon as possible. See me when you get here."

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

Nikita's head bounced off the mat for the third time in as many minutes and she looked up ruefully at the grinning sensei. "You are not concentrating this afternoon", he observed dryly. "Perhaps we should take this up at a time when you are less preoccupied." So polite. Nodding her head Nikita struggled gracelessly up from the mat and composed herself for a parting bow with the sensei.

The halls of the Section were quiet as Nikita wandered aimlessly, feeling restless and bored but unable to put a finger on the precise cause. She found herself at Michael's door and paused before putting her head in. When they came in with Simone they had been debriefed separately. She had not talked alone with him since, nor yet had any meaningful conversation with Simone, who seemed to be the walking definition of stereotypical Asian inscrutability. Nikita was intensely curious about the woman, and this need to know finally pushed her across the threshold to stand before Michael's desk.

"Yes?" Michael looked up from his computer screen and regarded her uninvitingly.

"I was just wondering how you are", Nikita said, sounding a little too bright even to her own ears. "And how Simone is getting along. I was surprised Madeline said she was ready for work so soon."

Michael glanced away, then looked back, placing his hands flat on the desk on either side of the computer. "I'm fine. Simone is fine. Did you need anything else?"

Whew, Nikita thought to herself, but bravely tried again. "Well, I just wanted to talk, I guess. It seems like we haven't had a chance to for a while now."

Without changing his position or his expression Michael spoke coldly. "Nikita I don't think there is anything we need to talk about. It would be better if you didn't come here unless we have business to discuss. Now if you will excuse me I have work to get done."

He looked back down at the keyboard then and did not look up until Nikita had departed his office in hurt silence. He put his head back and closed his eyes.

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

"Easy! Easy!", chided Walter, his hands upraised. "Don't damage the merchandise!" Nikita was stripping off gear and slamming it down on the table, her lips a thin line of annoyance. Behind her Michael came into the area and wordlessly began ridding himself of his own accouterments. "Hmph", Walter grumped. "You don't need to take a bad mission out on all my stuff like that. What the hell happened, anyway?"

"We wasted 36 straight hours of surveillance, that's what happened", Nikita informed him between clenched teeth. "The subject just walked right through our net like we weren't even there", she accompanied this last with a grand sweep of her arm, indicating the subject's ease of departure.

"Someone wasn't where they were assigned to be." As he said this Michael was bent slightly to undo the thigh strap on his side holster. Simone stood motionless behind him, her eyes flicking from speaker to speaker.

"I was", said Nikita. "I was exactly where *you* told me to be."

"You weren't", Michael retorted without inflection.

"I was", snapped Nikita. "Admit it, Michael. You made a mistake. One of several lately, I might add."

"Now, now, children." Madeline's dulcet voice broke into their sniping before Michael could respond to Nikita's accusation. She looked from one to the other, smiled calmly at them both, then went on. "I'd like to see you in my office, Nikita, as soon as you're finished debriefing." Without waiting for a response, Madeline turned quietly and walked away.

Simone seemed to come out of her trance then and began adding her equipment to the pile. Michael's face tightened perceptibly as he reached over to help her pull off her vest.

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

Nikita had learned long ago to contain her impatience at being summoned without a reason. Now, however, she anticipated with curiosity this meeting with Madeline. She expected that it would have something to do with Michael's behavior of late, much changed since the arrival of Simone. His uncharacteristic lack of attention to detail had prompted Operations to put Nikita in charge of resuming today's aborted surveillance project. Although Michael hadn't shown any outward reaction, she knew he was surprised and smarting from this turn of events.

She looked in Madeline's doorway and found her sitting with folded hands, appearing to be doing nothing but waiting. Operations leaned against the wall behind her, playing with one of his small cigars, unlit. He glance briefly at Nikita as she entered but said nothing. Nikita sat immediately, feeling that there would be few pleasantries exchanged, which indeed there were not.

"How are things with Michael lately?" Madeline inquired.

Automatically, Nikita responded with "Fine". Never complain; never explain. A good motto to live by in Section, Nikita felt.

Madeline said nothing but continued to look at Nikita as if she had not spoken. This was serious, then. Nikita sighed and looked around the room. "He seems….I don't know….not himself", she began, knowing this sounded lame. "He won't talk to me. He isn't on top of mission details. He looks terrible." Nikita looked down at her hands and whispered. "It's like he's coming apart. I'm worried."

"Do you think Simone has something to do with it?" Madeline asked.

"How should I know?" Nikita exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air in frustration. "I've never even had a conversation with her." Her shoulders slumped then and she spoke sadly, "All I know is that since she came back he acts like he hates the sight of me."

"It is hardly that, Nikita," Madeline said. She got up from her chair and came around the desk to stand behind Nikita, smoothing the blond hair that fell over her shoulders. "Michael is very conflicted right now. He feels responsible for Simone's imprisonment by Glass Curtain. He feels obligated to be loyal to his wife, but Simone is very different than she was. She is a stranger to him now."

Madeline knelt in front of Nikita's chair and took Nikita's hands in hers. Her eyes were soft with some unnamed emotion. "And part of the problem, Nikita, is that he loves you." As Nikita stared at her Madeline went on. "If you care for Michael at all, and I think you do, we need your help to defuse a difficult situation."

Nikita pulled her hands free from Madeline's and stood, breathing with difficulty. "What? He what?" was all she could manage to squeeze out.

Madeline sighed once, then became brisk and business-like. "You can process your emotional reactions later." She spoke sharply. "Right now I need your attention focused on the information we're going to give you. The way you handle this situation could mean life or death for Michael. And if he lives, your involvement will make the difference in whether he remains mentally and emotionally competent to do his job. Are you listening to me now?"

Shocked out of her own thoughts and into complete attention, Nikita nodded mutely and sat back down. She fixed her eyes on Madeline and waited.

"Simone is not Michael's wife." Operations spoke abruptly, delivering this amazing statement in a conversational tone. In the long moment that followed Nikita felt disbelief, guilty euphoria then outrage pour in quick succession through her numbed senses.

"He doesn't know!" Nikita was half out of her chair again when Operations straightened and took one step in her direction, "Sit!!", he roared at her.

Nikita fell back into the chair as if pushed there physically by the volume of his voice. Operations leaned toward her, breathing heavily with irritation. After a moment he stood upright and spoke through clenched teeth with his eyes narrowed to slits.

"Apparently Madeline didn't make perfectly clear to you the gravity of this situation. I have no intention of throwing away my best operative for no good reason and I will not allow your emotional excesses to jeopardize the only chance we may have. You *will* control yourself or I will cancel you myself here and now and buy Madeline a new rug. Am I coming through loud and clear?"

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

Nikita lay on the sofa with one arm across her eyes. The cat, stretched out on Nikita's stomach, kneaded and purred with feline self-satisfaction. Out of the evening came a soft, sweet breeze which billowed the curtains at the balcony and filled the room with the mild scents and sounds of an early summer evening. Nikita registered none of these pleasant sensations. Her mind continued as it had since afternoon, looping, processing over and over again what she had learned from her meeting with Madeline and Operations.

Numbed by the combination of revelations and threats, Nikita had listened unmoved to Madeline's recitation of facts. "When Michael first came to us", Madeline had said, "there was an assimilation problem. As a way of dealing with his transition difficulties, Simone was assigned to bond with him. She took over his martial arts training and they quickly developed a strong rapport."

"As, over time, Michael's unusual potential became apparent, we decided that his continued relationship with Simone would serve both as a strong tie to Section, as well as giving him the satisfying illusion of rebelling due to the very existence of this 'forbidden' relationship. The marriage ceremony and accompanying paperwork were faked from front to finish."

"So," Nikita had said slowly, absorbing the gut-wrenching implication of Madeline's words, "she knows and he doesn't."

"That's correct," Madeline had responded.

"She lived as his wife? Knowing it would go on indefinitely? Knowing it wasn't real?" Nikita had been incredulous.

"Simone did what she was told", Madeline said, producing one of her small, enigmatic smiles. "She always has."

Nikita sighed and turned over onto her stomach. After registering a protest, the cat leaped gracefully to the sofa back above her and assumed a Sphinx-like position.

As difficult as this information was to process, what Operations said next had sobered her completely and riveted her attention. "As a result of both her upbringing and her training with us, Simone was conditioned unusually well to obeying authority without question. You'll recall the example just under discussion, I'm sure." Operations had paused then, contemplating the small cigar he rolled between his fingers. "We think there's a very good chance she has been subverted by Red Cell."

"Michael has to realize this as well," Madeline had gone on. "He knows her behavior is completely changed but is unwilling to make any negative assumptions. He has a loyalty problem stemming from his former feelings for Simone and his existing feelings for you. When he learns that Simone was never his wife and, in all likelihood, is now a Red Cell operative it will put him in an extremely difficult and dangerous position…..I think you can see now why we need your involvement."

"Keep your eyes open, Nikita", Operations had growled, stabbing his cigar in her direction. "Be ready for anything."\

***********

The sweat dripped into Nikita's eyes and she shook her head sharply before returning to attack the bag. The rhythm of the workout helped to clear her mind of the thoughts that flashed around and around like a strobe light inside her skull. Gradually awareness came that someone else was in the room with her; she straightened and turned to look. Michael. He was gloved and padded. Wordlessly he raised his hands in challenge.

Nikita looked at him from under angrily drawn brows then attacked him without warning, punching, kicking and driving him backward under her assault. Although his was the superior skill and strength, Nikita's suppressed rage fueled a fierce opposition and they battled back and forth across the mat, the silence broken only by the thud of landed blows and the harsh sound of their breathing. Finally Michael flipped Nikita flat onto her back and pinned her, panting into her face as they glared at each other.

Then, the hostility evaporated. "Let me up, Michael", Nikita said, turning her head to the side to avoid his eyes.

He only loosed his grip on her wrists slightly but did nothing to release her from the pin. She looked then and saw him staring back at her with sadness and confusion in his eyes. Slowly he released his grip on her wrists and pulled off their gloves, but did not get up from his straddled position across her body. Without looking away from his eyes Nikita caught his hand in hers then and brought it to her cheek. Neither of them broke the look as she slowly kissed the pulse point inside his wrist.

She said softly, "Talk to me. I'm here."

Michael leaned down then and placed a lingering kiss on Nikita's throat. As she closed her eyes she felt his lips moving up the underside of her jaw to the corner of her mouth. His kisses were sweet and without urgency, as though they lay in a sunny meadow somewhere without a care in the world. She opened her eyes. Michael touched his finger to her lips in a brief caress then smoothed back a wisp of hair at her temple. He nodded slightly and his eyes lingered on her face another moment before he released her and helped her to her feet.

"We have a briefing in an hour. Operations wants to see you alone before then." One last unreadable glance, and then he was gone.

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

Operations was at his customary observation post when Nikita went to check in before the briefing. She joined him at the window, looking down at the hive of activity below. From his position leaning over Birkoff's shoulder Michael looked up into Nikita's eyes, seeming not to notice Operations. After a moment Birkoff tapped his arm and he turned his attention back to the computer screen.

Beside her Operations snorted in disgust, having seen and judged the exchange. He turned to Nikita then, his expression serious. "You will be the only operative with intelligence on this mission. The premise is that a supposed copy of the Directory has been sold and is presently in the possession of a German middle-man. Supposedly he has come to attempt an extortion deal with us." He tossed an open file to the table in front of her. "Here's the information on the locale, bad guys, etc. You'll all get copies of this at the briefing."

"So…what's the real mission here, then?" Nikita had a suspicion but needed to hear it straight out.

"It's a trap," Operations said shortly. He folded his arms across his chest and stared unblinkingly at Nikita as he spoke. "If Simone has really been taken by Red Cell then this will be irresistible bait to her. She may even try to kill Michael. You'll need to make sure the three of you are together at all times. And you'll need to be very careful. Simone was a skilled operative; there won't be room for error."

Nikita took a deep breath as she joined the group at the briefing table,then stretched her legs out and did her best to look nonchalant. She could barely concentrate on the briefing. Instead she focussed on keeping a bored expression on her face as she felt Michael's eyes upon her again and again. Simone sat staring at Operations as he spoke; she seemed to be unaware of Michael beside her or of anyone else seated around the table.

As they left the room Michael waited at the door and stopped Nikita with a hand on her arm. "Is there anything I should know?" he said in a soft voice, looking at her intently.

Nikita looked back at him, her gaze cool and unrevealing. "You know everything you need to." She shook herself free of his hand and left the room.

Michael glanced back at Operations, who stood observing them with narrowed eyes, then left to collect his equipment from Walter.

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

The German middle-man was lodged in a private suite of a large downtown hotel. Apparently he was relying on anonymity and an element of surprise, for his security arrangements were light, predictable, and easily circumvented under cover of darkness. Nikita and Simone kept watch with drawn weapons as Michael attached Birkoff's device to the front of the safe and waited for it to decipher the combination.

Within moments the safe was open and Michael lit the interior with his flashlight, groping for the small package far to the back of the opening. "OK, I've got it." He flicked off the light, secured the safe door and picked up his gear. "Let's go."

Simone raised her gun then, aimed directly at Nikita and spoke to Michael in a harsh voice. "Give me the Directory. Now. Or I will shoot Nikita."

Michael stood motionless, staring at Simone with disbelief and confusion plain on his face. Seconds later sorrow took it's place as he understood what would now be inevitable. "Simone, please. You had a bad time with Red Cell. They've done this to you, turned you against us." He made a motion to step toward her.

"No!" Simone and Nikita shouted the word simultaneously as Simone quickly brought the gun to bear on Michael.

"It's all right Nikita", Michael spoke in a low, soothing voice, his eyes never leaving Simone. "She is my wife, she won't kill me."

Nikita had sucked in her breath when she saw the gun turned on him. "Simone please, listen to him. Michael can help you."

Simone smiled then. It illuminated her face and Nikita saw how Michael could have been drawn to this woman. But Simone's words belied her expression as she spoke in a playful, ironic tone. "Michael is going back to Red Cell with me to answer a lot of probing questions. You I intend to kill simply because I don't like you." Nikita found herself staring once more down the barrel of the gun.

"And for the record, Michael. I am not your wife nor have I ever been." Her lips twisted in a bitter smile. "Section brainwashes me, Red Cell brainwashes me…what's the difference? It's like changing employers. This," she said, gesturing at the package containing the supposed Directory, "will free me from all of you."

It was like being in a nightmare where time passed at half-speed. Nikita struggled to keep her thoughts organized. She looked at Michael's stricken face and realized that whatever she was feeling at this moment was insignificant. Michael was staring, appalled, into the face of the most monumental betrayal of his life. Nikita knew she would do anything required to make sure Simone never hurt him again.

Without thinking further Nikita whipped up her gun and walked directly toward Simone, firing once. With her gun still trained on Michael, Simone could not react to Nikita's unexpected fire in time. She took the hit in the shoulder and went to her knees, the gun hanging at the end of her now useless arm. Incredibly, she was laughing.

Still laughing, Simone switched the gun to her other hand, placed the barrel underneath her chin and without even a heartbeat of delay, pulled the trigger. The bullet exited the back of her head and shattered the window behind her. In a grotesque parody of life her body was carried backward by the impetus of the bullet. She struck the window and silently tipped backward through the broken glass, immediately disappearing from sight.

Nikita stood stunned until she felt her upper arm seized in a powerful grasp as Michael roughly propelled her from the room. "Let's go. Now. Tell the others." His face was utterly devoid of emotion and as Nikita rushed along ahead of him she could feel the tension emanating from him in palpable waves.

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

The debriefing with Madeline and Operations seemed to last forever. Nikita could think of nothing but Michael's expression during their confrontation with Simone. She could never have imagined such agony and dismay as she watched on his face during those moments.

At last she stood up and backed toward the door. "Look, I've told you everything at least twice now." She continued backing. "I have to…go…", she glanced behind her, saw the door was near then bolted, seeing in a last glance that Madeline and Operations were looking at each other but making no move to stop her.

Nikita hunted throughout the Section facility in growing alarm. At last she located Michael in the locker room, sitting on a bench with his legs out in front of him and staring into space.

He looked at her as she approached and sank down beside him, putting her hand on his shoulder. His eyes were cold and his tone cynical as he spoke. "Did you come to see how the shoe looks on the other foot?"

"I came because I was concerned about you. I don't know what shoe you're talking about," Nikita replied gently.

Michael stood and slammed his open hand against the locker. "Don't tell me lies!" he shouted at her. He leaned over and grabbed her shoulders in rough hands, shaking her as he went on in a choked voice. "Tell me you don't get some satisfaction out of seeing the fool I was for Simone, how I actually believed she was my wife." He stared into her face, breathing heavily. Then he released her shoulders and spoke more quietly. "Especially you must never tell me lies."

He turned and walked away. After a moment Nikita heard water start to run in the shower. She rose and followed the sound into the next room, not knowing what she would say or do.

Steam from the warm shower billowed into the cool room. Nikita pulled open the door and found Michael standing fully clothed, his hands on the wall and the water pouring down over his face. "Go away, " he said without opening his eyes.

"No", Nikita said, speaking over the sound of the hissing spray. Without hesitation she stepped into the shower, closed the door and wrapped her arms around Michael's waist, laying her head on his back. "No", she said again.

Michael gave a heavy sigh and let his head hang down between his raised arms. They stood for long minutes, the sound and feel of the running water enveloping them in a numbing cocoon that closed out the rest of the world. At last Michael straightened up and turned to look down at Nikita. His face streamed with water, hiding all traces of the tears she supposed he had shed. Nikita shook the water from her eyes, then found the tail of Michael's shirt and stripped it upward off his head before doing the same with her own.

"The marriage…was a lie?" he asked hoarsely, as she struggled with their soaked clothing.

"Yes", Nikita replied, looking at him sadly.

"The three of them set it up?"

Nikita nodded again, her heart aching with the pain she felt for him.

Michael put his hands on her shoulders and bowed his head until their foreheads touched. His eyes were closed as he struggled to cope with the unaccustomed release of emotion.

"You….are the only person in the world I trust." Nikita could not see his face with their heads bowed together, but she could feel him under her hands like a live wire. She understood that Michael's trust was even more reluctantly given than his love. She would not abuse this gift.

"It will always be right for you to trust me", she whispered against his face. "I'll make sure of it."

He grasped her face in his hands and turned it upward, forcing her to close her eyes against the spray. He kissed her then, the water making their faces slippery against each other and leaking its vaguely chemical taste into their mouths. The heat of their skins against each other under the stingingly hot shower spray was unbearably exciting, and the knowledge that this time they touched only for themselves was like a powerful drug racing through their veins. In one of her last thoughts before she willingly abandoned coherency, Nikita wondered whether there were surveillance cameras in the showers. If so, she supposed Operations would already have his report on how she'd managed with Michael.

She hoped the hot water would hold out.

FINI

Send suggestions and comments to Enjoue by clicking HERE!!