Title Challenge: Sex In A Public Place

By KT
Copyright January 22, 2001

Warning: Very Suggestive, Spoilers for Man In The Middle

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me, and no infringement is intended.

The neon signs of the red light Chinese district flash hypnotically. The noise of the traffic with its blaring car horns, and the sounds of loud music coming from the club innundate the night. The air is almost balmy, a light breeze carrying the pulsing, brutal energy out into the street. The atmosphere feels electrically charged, like the air during a lightning storm.

The acrid smells of the alley where we are positioned assail my senses. I feel free for a split second, knowing that we're not under real-time surveillance at the moment. It's just the two of us. And there is nothing remotely romantic about this location. The mission comes crashing back into my private reality.

Freddie... How could anyone keep a straight face with such an undignified name? Anna Goerna and Frederick Krause. Fast track, high life, Operations said.

So. Here we go again. Convincing as a couple. We wait.

Nikita stands before me, her back against a brick wall, her hair blowing in the breeze, that "I dare you" look in her eyes that makes me restless down to my bones. She looks beautiful. I turn away from her to keep her from reading me. She's getting better at it all the time. Her voice taunts me with droll sarcasm.

"You always take me to such nice places, Michael."

I ignore her attitude as I turn around to face her. She smirks, flippant, and glances over her shoulder. Her eyes rove the area and I know she's feeling the same tension I'm feeling. There's only one way to disarm her.

She abruptly focuses on the mission, her voice casual. "They should be coming out any minute."

I step close, invading her space with easy intent. But instead, I am the one who is disarmed as the irrevocable attraction between us pulls me into her aura of overt sexuality. Her sassiness reminds me of the Nikita she was when she first came into Section, six light-years ago. She's an irresistible force. I grow bold, knowing that no one is watching or listening. Her nearness strains my emotions and plays them close to the surface of my psyche. My body follows blindly.

"Where are you staying tonight?"

I scrutinize her a moment longer, moving even closer. Yes, the Nikita that used to be is back, but there's something more... something stronger. She's not as vulnerable as she once was. This Nikita has come full circle. She has been forged and tempered with the deep distrust that I have beaten her back with countless times. Her survival mechanisms remain firmly in place. She averts her eyes and takes a breath as the intensity between us rises a notch, her tone matter-of-fact.

"They've assigned me to temporary quarters, while they scrub all traces of the Gelman process from my little apartment."

Her eyes meet mine fleetingly as a nervous smile crosses her face.

"I've gotta say, my new pad's almost..." her eyes disconnect, reconnect... "as nice as this... almost."

She squirms and shrugs her shoulders as I slide my hands up her arms to rest them on either side of her neck. Her hair is silky against my fingers as they tighten over her shoulders. Her scent begins to block out the offensive smells around us. She lets out a short laugh.

I fall under her spell, blatantly ignoring the warning bells going off in my head. I don't want to be in control any more. Not since we made the long journey back from the Gelman process together. My God. The way we made love... all day, far into the night... something... primal... overtook us. We've never been closer. It was as if we lived our entire lives in one day. The Section, the missions... all seem like a dream that we can never wake from, and yet is all too real.

"For how long?"

"Two weeks."

She turns her head to the right, checking again for a sign of our target. I drink her in, feeling my desire for her push me over the edge.

"You could stay with me."

God, how I've wanted to say those words to her. Would that I could ask her that without strings. But there is always a catch. Nothing is given without sacrifice. No matter how much we wish otherwise, Section rules every aspect of our lives. I watch as she is shocked by my words. She regains her composure quickly, but not quickly enough. Her heart is revealed. Her eyes wander, then come up to mine, her head cocked to the side, suddenly serious. Her lips part. She speaks hesitantly.

"Are you... asking me to move in with you?"

"Well, you'd be more comfortable."

I kiss her with my eyes. I feel the warmth of her neck, and the shiver that runs through her.

"What... is this for... two weeks? Or were you thinking of something a little more..." she draws breath, daring to speak the next word... "permanent?"

Permanent. I freeze for one eternal moment. My pulse races out of control. Her eyes connect with mine, fully open, pregnant with meaning, serious, filled with all the desire and longing and wanting that we have both yearned for and may never have.

Now it is my turn to recover. My heart cries with the knowledge that I have opened a door that neither of us can walk through. I smile to mask my grief as my hands caress her shoulders. My eyes sweep her face, and I can no longer resist. I brush my lips over the corner of her mouth, and trace the side of her nose with the tip of mine.

"We'd have more privacy."

She rubs her nose against mine, returning my gesture with a smile, but her eyes are calculating.

"And how is it that you think we're going to get away with that?"

There is only one truth.

"Adrian."

Nikita becomes perfectly still. Of course. Section. I look at her. She knows.

We're like Adam and Eve. We've eaten of the Apple, and Knowledge has destroyed us. I see her eyes turn skeptical, and my heart mourns yet again for that which has been taken from her... her trusting innocent soul. At once, she is the vixen again, coyly arresting our desires with four little words.

"I'll think about it."

Nikita pulls away and leans against the wall, attempting to collect herself. I slide my hands down her arms, pressing my hips into hers, letting her feel what her brash teasing has done to me. I reach around her and pull her upper body against mine. She is incredibly warm. Her breasts betray her. So... she is not detached.

Our eyes lock, and I see realization reflected back at me as the undeniable results of our few precious minutes alone become clear to both of us in the same instant. Her gaze drops to my mouth, and for a moment, I think she is going to kiss me. Then her eyes close and something changes.

I've begun to believe that there are subtle residual effects of the Gelman process... the old and the new personality traits at war with each other. Operations and Madeline must know by now that she's no longer under their control. My gut tightens as my instincts kick in. There's something they're not telling me about this mission. I need to talk to Birkoff as soon as possible. Nikita looks over her shoulder to the club entrance, then activates her comm unit.

"Team 2, stand by. Target in sight."

I feel my entire body grow taut as we prepare to acquire the material. I glance around the corner of the building and activate my own comm unit. The short-range audio bugs Team 3 has planted on Anna and Freddie begin to work as the two emerge from the club. They are on B channel, and only Nikita and I have access. They've made the buy, and he carries a briefcase. They're holding hands, looking a bit tense, walking with energetic steps. All I can hear is the noise around them. As I watch, Anna gives Freddie a telling glance and pulls him off to the right. They quickly disappear into a parked car. I mentally check my intel. It's not the car they're supposed to leave in. I switch to A channel.

"Team 3, return to Section. Team 2 hold. Target has taken a detour. Wait for my signal."

Teams 2 and 3 acknowledge. I nod to Nikita and we both switch to B channel.

I take a step forward and press Nikita's back hard against the wall. We stand motionless, listening to what only we can hear... the sounds of two lovers in heat... fast, furious, urgent, free. I keep her captive, one leg wedged between hers, my thigh pushing upward into her sweet softness. She holds my eyes with hers, her expression turning wild as she pushes her other leg between mine and presses her hipbone against me. A groan escapes me as the movement arouses me further.

The lovers have begun a frenzied rhythm, and Nikita kisses me with a savageness that I've never felt from her before. I feel her hands reaching down... Mine slide upward, over her breasts, up the sides of her neck, into her hair... The rhythm we are hearing grows ever faster, harder, more breathless... I return the untamed kiss, and our bodies make fire... Lust overtakes us and we are once again at the mercy of our primal chemistry. I only know that this woman makes me feel more intensely than any other being on this earth. Nikita matches me, move for move, and we climb the heights together.

"Tell me again."

"What?"

"What you said... at the farmhouse... when I brought you back from... the dead."

She knows what she said.

"Michael, I lov..."

Two loud moans pour into our ears as the lovers complete their tryst. We hear Anna and Freddie preparing to emerge from the car. We stop moving. I stare at Nikita, knowing that we need to finish what we've started. We both stand still, charged with unspent energy, ready for the next segment of the mission.

"I have a way for us to go dark."

She nods. "Let's get this over with." Her voice cracks with emotion.

I release her as our target walks by. To them, we're just two faceless people making out in an alley. Nikita's hands brush mine before we turn and follow them. Her pale eyes flash and her face turns cool as she shifts back into operative mode. We confront Anna and Freddie just as they open the doors to their vehicle. They are both so very young. I detect a microsecond of hesitation in his movement as he contemplates the possibility of escape. The position of my gun persuades him to abandon that particular train of thought.

"Get in."

I push him down. Nikita speaks, cold as ice, her weapon trained on Anna.

"Give us the heroin."

Freddie looks over at Anna, then up at me, distress in his boyish eyes.

"She only asks once."

I feel a weird sort of pride in Nikita's uncompromising performance. Freddie hands me the briefcase and the key, and I tap my comm unit back to A channel as Nikita closes the door on Anna. I contact Team 2 as I do the same to Freddie.

"Take them in."

The truck in front of them drops its tailgate as the retrieval team drives down the alley and crunches their front bumper against the rear one of the captured car. They move it easily up the ramp as Nikita and I reposition ourselves in back of them. They head back to Section, and the truck takes off.

I stand behind her, my eyes unwitting slaves to my heart, my emotions rising silently, caressing her invisibly, knowing that she cannot see. Her next words take me where I want to go.

"Shall we?"

FIN