(NOTE: This story is intended to follow the first season's "Love.")

SCENE: An exclusive nightclub, very chic and expensive. MUSIC begins: Meredith Brooks's "What Would Happen"

During opening percussion, we see a shot of Nikita's feet in high heels. The camera pans up: she is leaning against a railing that surrounds a dance floor, her arms straight out to either side. She is wearing a sleek dress with thin straps, something a little over the edge, a little out of bounds. Her foot is tapping to the music.

"E-lec-tri-ci-ty--"

Slowly, she lowers and turns her head to the left, resting her chin on her shoulder. She gazes across the room at Michael.

"Eye to eye--"

Michael stands at the bar along the nightclub wall. He is in all black, of course, with his hair somewhat slicked back. His hands are in his pockets and his head slightly tilted back, as he looks back at Nikita through narrowed eyes. Sizing her up.

"Hey don't I know you--"

He starts walking over to her.

"I can't speak--"

Nikita watches him over her shoulder as he approaches.

"Stripped my senses--"

He comes to a stop behind her, and with the fingers of his right hand, he slowly caresses from her bare shoulder down her arm to her hand.

"On the spot--"

He raises her hands to his lips. A soft kiss of her fingers.

"I never been defenseless / I can't even make sense of this--"

He begins pulling her, gently but insistently to the dance floor.

"You speak and I don't hear a word--"

When they reach the middle of the dance floor, he raises her hand, places it on his shoulder, and slides his hand down her forearm.

"What would happen if we ..."

With his other hand, he pulls her to him in a single swift gesture, bringing her face to within an inch of his.

"....kissed--"

An extreme close up of their faces, so close they can feel each other's breath.

"Would your tongue slip past my lips--"

Michael slightly tickles Nikita's lips with his tongue.

"Would you run away / Would you stay / Or would I melt into you--"

They begin swaying to the music, and Michael wraps his hands around her waist.

"Mouth to mouth--"

Slowly, he rolls her back--a circling sweep, Nikita arching backward and then up again.

"Lust to lust--"

Another roll.

"Spontaneously..."

Another roll, slow motion.

"...combust--"

She locks her arms around his neck, and they start turning to the music.

"Room is spinning / out of control--"

Across the room, a tall black woman watches Michael and Nikita. This is Newanda, a Section operative. She is early to mid thirties, with close-cropped hair and clear, strong features. In bright colors, she is a strikingly attractive woman.

She gives a little smile at the dance performance, and then looks over to the rear of the room, where sits a portly, balding man in a flashy suit. This is Martin Kruger, the JOTW. He is on a cell phone, ignoring the cheap tart who fawns over him. Behind him stands the requisite bodyguard.

"You act like you didn't notice / Brushed my hand--"

While on the phone, Kruger notices Michael and Nikita, now circling around the dance floor. Kruger sits forward, pulling away from the tart and lowering the phone.

A shot of Newanda.

NEWANDA: The fish has seen the bait

"Forbidden fruit / Ring on my finger-"

Newanda looks back to the dance floor, where the performance continues. Nikita runs her hands, palms flattened, down Michael's lapel, and then pushes him away and starts dancing on her own.

"You're such a moral moral man / Would you throw it away or question--"

She moves around behind him, running a hand along his shoulder and back.

"Will I pretend I'm innocent--"

She moves around in front, running a hand over his shoulder and down his front, and then starts to move away again, caught up in her own dancing.

"What would happen if we..."

Michael reaches out and pulls her in again.

"....kissed--"

A close up of their faces, a millimeter apart.

"Would your tongue slip past my lips--"

They begin dancing faster, dancing for real, their feet stepping neatly around each other, bodies locked together.

"Would you run away / Would you stay / Or would I melt into you--"

A shot of Newanda, looking over at Kruger and then back to Nikita and Michael.

"Mouth to mouth--"

With a quick move, Michael turns Nikita under his raised arm, then pulls her back against him.

"Lust to lust--"

Another quick turn, and pull back.

"Spontaneously combust--"

A slow motion turn, and pull back in. They pause.

"What would happen if we...."

A soft kiss, just a taste.

"....kissed--"

A shot of Kruger, watching and leering.

"I struggle with myself again--"

Michael's hands run along the clingy silk of Nikita's dress, along her waist up her bare back.

"Quickly the walls come crumbling--"

Nikita rubs the side of her face against his, like a cat marking with its scent.

"Don't know if I can turn away--"

A full shot of the two of them, seemingly oblivious to everyone around them, swaying slightly.

"What would happen if we...."

A close up: a full kiss this time, slow and sensual.

"....kissed--"

A kiss opening up....

"Would your tongue slip past my lips--"

The camera begins circling around them.

"Would you run away / Would you stay / Or would I melt into you--"

A small break, and then a strong, hard kiss.

"Mouth to mouth--"

A shot of Newanda grinning.

NEWANDA: Go, girl.

"Would your tongue slip past my lips--"

BIRKOFF'S VOICE: (over Newanda's comm unit) What was that, Newanda?

A shot of Michael and Nikita from Newanda's point of view: kissing hard but still turning with the music.

"Would you run away--"

NEWANDA: I hope we're getting some decent video of this, Birkoff.

"Would you stay--"

BIRKOFF'S VOICE: You kidding? My glasses are all steamed up.

"Or would I melt into you / mouth to mouth--"

A tracking shot onto the dance floor, around Michael and Nikita, still kissing and turning slowly.

"If we kissed...."

The camera rises, a crane shot, and circles to an overhead view of the two of them.

"If we kissed....."

Music stops. A shot of Kruger, looking up at the bodyguard behind him.

KRUGER: (with a heavy German accent) I vant those two.

ROLL CREDITS.

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

ACT I

SCENE: HALLWAY OUTSIDE NIKITA'S APARTMENT. Newspapers are outside each apartment. Nikita and Michael arrive at her door, still wearing their nightclub duds. She looks tired.

NIKITA: (taking her keys from her purse) I'm not in training anymore, Michael. You don't have to see me home.

He leans down and picks up her newspaper while she unlocks the door.

MICHAEL: That's not--

He hands her the paper.

NIKITA: Then what?

MICHAEL: (carefully) I know you're having some difficulty with this mission, especially after--

NIKITA: I'm not having any difficulty. Are you?

They stare at each other.

Down the hall, a door opens and Carla's head pops out. She is leaning over to get the newspaper when she sees Michael and Nikita. They are so engrossed in their staredown they don't see her. Carla closes the door quickly but not completely, and watches them through a small opening.

MICHAEL: I just thought, if you wanted to talk--

NIKITA: Well, thanks for the offer, Michael, but somehow I don't see you as the Dear Abby type.

She opens the door, steps into the apartment, and stands with her hand on the doorknob.

NIKITA: Good night.

She closes the door quietly but firmly. Michael turns and heads down the hall. Carla opens the door a little wider and sticks her head out to get a better look at him. At the end of the hall, Michael turns back, and Carla backs in and closes the door quickly. Michael sees her. He stares at her door a moment, and then leaves slowly.

CUT to inside the apartment. Nikita dumps the paper and purse and stretches her neck wearily. She crosses to the refrigerator and is opening it when there is a knock on the door. She sighs and goes to answer it.

NIKITA: (opening the door) Michael, I told you--

Carla stands in the door, her hands on her hips.

CARLA: You've been holding out on me.

NIKITA: Carla, I--

Carla comes inside.

CARLA: I want details, and I want them fast. (using her fingers to count them off) Where you met him, what he does for a living, his marital status, annual income, and astrological sign--oh and I also want to know why in the world you wouldn't let him kiss you good night--

NIKITA: Carla, you misunderstood--

CARLA: (as if just realizing) Michael. Is that his name? Michael?

NIKITA: Yes, Michael. But we're just friends.

CARLA: Friends?

NIKITA: Friends.

CARLA: You stay out all night in THAT dress with a guy THAT gorgeous, and you expect me to believe you're just friends?

NIKITA: Carla, I'm sorry. I'm really tired and I need to get some sleep--

CARLA: (after a moment) OK. All right. It's just I've dumped on you so much about the guys I go out with that I wanted to return the favor.

NIKITA: (walking to the door and opening it) I appreciate it. And hey, if I feel the need to dump on anyone, you'll be the first one I call.

CARLA: Promise?

NIKITA: You bet.

CARLA: Well, all right. (She walks to the door reluctantly.) I'll be waiting, you hear?

NIKITA: I hear.

Carla leaves. Nikita closes the door and leans against it, looking sad and tired.

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

SCENE: SECTION CONFERENCE ROOM. Operations stands, viewscreen remote in hand, while the others sit across from him: Nikita, Michael, Birkoff, and Newanda on one side of the table with Madeline at an end seat, right-angled from Newanda. They are watching video of the dance the night before--all except Nikita, who keeps her eyes down.

BIRKOFF: (with a grin) Hot stuff.

A shot of Madeline, looking at Michael and then Nikita. When Nikita looks up and over at her, Madeline looks back at Operations, who has freeze-framed the viewscreen on a shot of Kruger.

OPERATIONS: There's our man. Martin Kruger, former East German intelligence officer turned weapons peddler.

MICHAEL: According to Bauer.

OPERATIONS: Yes, according to Bauer. And also according to Bauer, Kruger here is the most likely source for Red Cell's next terrorist blackmail attempt. Kruger is willing to sell anything to anyone, and he has solid contacts in the former Soviet bloc community that can get him everything from nuclear armaments to biological warfare weapons.

Operations clicks off the viewscreen and leans forward on the table.

OPERATIONS: Our immediate problem is accessing his records, which are kept in a stand-alone computer in a vault on his estate. Without those records we have no idea if Red Cell has even contacted him, much less arranged a deal. We need a back door into his estate, and fortunately his--shall we say--"hobby" has given us one. Again according to Bauer, Kruger is so protective of his private adult movie collection that he keeps it locked up with his computer. (He turns toward the end of the table.) Newanda?

NEWANDA: Kruger called me this morning. He said he's very interested in hiring my--uh--"clients" for one of his "home movies."

BIRKOFF: We should send him the tape from last night.

MADELINE: That's enough, Birkoff. (She looks at Operations.) We've established Michael and Nikita's reputation as performance artists. All that remains is setting up a meet.

NEWANDA: The man is in a rush. He wants to meet first thing tomorrow. For a screen test, believe it or not.

OPERATIONS: Can we be ready by then?

MADELINE: We'll have to be.

******

SCENE: LOFT APARTMENT. The setting is bad-taste avant-garde: big black-and-white paintings and sculptures, black sofa and chairs, a large bed with a black bedspread, an artist's studio area with a half finished sculpture made of aluminum cans. There is a kitchen and dining area on one side, and a door to a bathroom on the other.

When the scene opens, Madeline is supervising the hanging of a painting while other operatives bring in more junk.

Michael enters and goes immediately to Madeline. Nikita and Newanda enter and pause at the door.

NIKITA: Wow.

NEWANDA: Home sweet home.

NIKITA: Is Kruger supposed to believe people actually live here?

NEWANDA: Hey, this is Section One's standard "decadent artist's studio" set. Complete with mix-and-match bad-taste paintings and sculpture. Sometimes they try for a little variety and bring in the bearskin rug and tigerskin drapes.

NIKITA: (grinning) What, no mirrors on the ceiling?

NEWANDA: No, but they do have strobe lights in stock.

They laugh and head over to Madeline and Michael. Madeline is dismissing the operative who was hanging the painting. As he leaves with the other operatives, Madeline turns to Nikita, Michael, and Newanda.

MADELINE: That should be it. (to Nikita and Michael) You should spend some time getting to know where everything is. Clothes and personal effects are in place, and surveillance cameras are installed in the artwork. (to Newanda, as if on second thought) Newanda, you should look around too. If Michael and Nikita are your clients, that means you probably spend a lot of time here.

NEWANDA: You got it.

MADELINE: (with one final look around) We'll debrief after tomorrow's meet.

She leaves. Nikita starts wandering around, fingering things and shaking her head. Michael turns to Newanda.

MICHAEL: Did Kruger say what kind of screen test he was looking for?

NEWANDA: No. He just he'd supply the camera.

Nikita gives them a look, and then ducks into a small room to the side: the bathroom. The decor is as bad-taste as the rest of the apartment. She opens the cabinet and sees toiletries lined up: men's and women's. She takes down a tube of toothpaste.

MICHAEL: (from bathroom doorway) Nikita.

She looks up at his image in the mirror and then back to the toothpaste.

NIKITA: Yes?

MICHAEL: (coming further into the room and speaking quietly) We need to talk.

NIKITA: (holding up toothpaste tube) You're not one of those guys who gets all bent out of shape if someone leaves the cap off, are you?

MICHAEL: Your friend Carla saw us together.

NIKITA: (stiffening and meeting his gaze in the mirror) How do you know about Carla?

MICHAEL: (glancing to the outer room) We need to talk as soon as possible.

He leaves. Nikita drops the toothpaste tube and sinks down onto the edge of the bathtub. She has her head in her hands when Newanda comes to the door of the bathroom, carrying a strange-looking plate.

NEWANDA: Hey, what say we order some Chinese and try out this ugly china of yours?

Nikita raises her head.

NIKITA: (absently) Sure, fine.

NEWANDA: You all right?

NIKITA: (standing) Of course.

NEWANDA: Hey, chin up, girlfriend. Could be worse. Maddie could have paired you up with Norwood.

NIKITA: They'd have to cancel me first.

NEWANDA: And the scary thing is, Norwood would like it better that way.

The two women smile and leave the bathroom.

CUT to outer room. Michael is working on a laptop that he has set up on the dining room table.. He looks up as the two women enter; Nikita looks away and wanders to the other side of the room. Newanda heads for the phone to order the food.

NEWANDA: Hey, Mike, you like fried rice or steamed?

MICHAEL: Whatever.

Newanda rolls her eyes at Nikita. Nikita smiles.

MUSIC begins: The Indigo Girls' "Virginia Woolf." The song plays over the following montage.

CUT to Newanda at the door, paying for the food. An expressionless Nikita sets out plates for three. Michael is still at his laptop. Nikita sets a plate beside his computer.

"Some will strut and some will fret / see us an hour on the stage / others will not but they'll sweat in their hopelessness, in their rage--"

CUT to the three of them in the middle of dinner. Michael works and eats at the same time. Newanda is talking and gesturing with chopsticks. Nikita is smiling at the story.

"We're all the same / the man of anger and the women of the page--"

CUT to end of meal. Newanda cracks open a fortune cookie and reads it. Nikita, much more relaxed and animated, makes a "NO! You're kidding!" gesture, and Newanda shows her the fortune cookie. Both women laugh. Michael glances up at them from his laptop.

"They published your diary / and that's how I got to know you / the key to the room of your own / and a mind without end--"

Nikita makes a minor production out of the opening of her fortune cookie, then tosses it on the table as if to say it's worthless. Newanda picks it up, reads it, and tosses it over her shoulder. It lands beside Michael's chair. He picks it up, sets it on the table, and returns to his laptop. The women pay him no attention.

"And here's a young girl / On a kind of telephone line through time / and the voice at the other end comes like a long-lost friend--"

CUT to after dinner. Nikita is turning on the stereo, while Newanda is at the kitchen sink. Nikita joins her and the two of them start singing and bebopping to the music while they finish the dishes. Michael brings his plate to them but leaves it on the counter and returns to his laptop.

"And so I know I'm all right / that my life will come and life will go / Still I feel it's all right / Cuz I just got a letter to my soul--"

CUT to later. Nikita and Newanda are lounging on the sofa, chatting like old friends. Michael leans against the kitchen counter, sipping coffee and watching them.

"When my whole life is on the tip of my tongue / Empty pages for the no longer young / The apathy of time laughs in my face / You say each life has its place--"

A close up of Nikita: smiling, laughing. Music stops.

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

SCENE: LOFT, the next day. From the close-up of Nikita smiling and laughing we see a close up of Nikita looking sullen and resentful. The picture is slightly faded and shaky, a picture from a camcorder.

KRUGER (voice over): Do you tink you could gif us a smile, sveetheart?

Nikita smiles, but it's more of a snarl. The camcorder drops, and we cut to a standard view of the scene. Nikita, wearing a slinky black negligee, is on the bed, while Michael, in a black silk robe, is standing beside the bed. Kruger stands at the foot of the bed, beside a cameraman (a bored low-life). Newanda stands by the dining room table, watching with her arms crossed.

Kruger turns to Newanda and throws up his hands, frustrated.

KRUGER: I am not paying for attitude.

NIKITA: You haven't paid for anything yet.

KRUGER: Vould you please explain to your client that I don't pay till I see result?

NEWANDA: (coolly, not moving from her position) Mr. Kruger, what you must understand is that my clients are artists. They must be allowed their own interpretations of the material. If all you want is a flesh, try the local strip club.

Kruger frowns and mutters something German under his breath. He nods to the cameraman.

KRUGER: Go ahead.

Cut to the camcorder view again. The scene that follows is scored only with Kruger's comments. There is no music, and Michael and Nikita's movements are stiff and mechanical. They are just doing a job.

From the bed, Nikita reaches up and wraps her hand around the belt on Michael's robe. She starts pulling him down. He resists, grabbing her hand and releasing her grip. He kneels on the bed, leaning over her, and takes her wrists, pressing them against the bed on either side of her.

KRUGER: Good. Das is good.

Michael leans down, and she turns her head away. His head follows, not letting her turn from him. She turns the other direction, and he follows again.

KRUGER: Ya, ya, make him vork for it.

Nikita looks straight ahead, directly into Michael's eyes. She snaps toward him with her teeth. He leans forward, kissing and then licking her nose, her cheeks, her lips. His grip on her wrists loosens and his hands slide up, palm to palm. Their fingers intertwine. He raises his head; she raises hers, trying to continue the kiss.

He leans down and whispers something in her ear. She opens her eyes, and they look at each other--the first really intimate moment in the scene. Slowly, he leans forward--

A hand covers the lens of the camera.

NEWANDA'S VOICE: That's enough.

CUT to a standard view. Newanda has her hand over the camera lens. Taking the cameraman by surprise, she jerks the camera out of his hands and, before he can stop her, she has turned off the camera and removed the tape. She gives the camera back but keeps the tape.

NEWANDA: (holding up the tape) You don't get this until we settle on a price.

KRUGER: That tape is my property.

NEWANDA: (sticking a finger the tape opening) And I'm a fingernail away from ruining it.

KRUGER: (grudgingly) All right, all right. Ve talk money.

Newanda smiles over at Michael and Nikita, who are sitting up on opposite sides of the bed, not looking at each other.

***********

SCENE: SECTION VAN--night, outside Kruger's estate. Michael sits next to Birkoff, while Newanda and Nikita sit opposite them. The two women are in combat gear.

BIRKOFF (watching his computer screen): The tracker inside the tape is coming through loud and clear. No movement for the last 15 minutes.

MICHAEL: Is anyone nearby?

BIRKOFF: Nearest warm body is a good thirty yards away, and moving in the opposite direction. I'd say the tape is in the vault.

MICHAEL: (to Nikita and Newanda) All right, remember, this is a zero exposure surgical. Kruger is not to know anyone has been here. If you are discovered, cancel whoever it is and abort the mission. No other options.

Nikita looks down and away.

NEWANDA: Got it.

MICHAEL: Nikita?

NIKITA: (sullenly) Got it.

BIRKOFF: First team reports security countermeasures are in place.

MICHAEL: (to the women) Go.

Nikita and Newanda head out of the van.

CUT to outside. Nikita and Newanda cross the estate lawn, keeping low. They reach the house and then make their way to the back. At the rear corner of the house, they stop. Nikita, who is in the lead, quickly looks around the corner. She sees a large patio and swimming pool. She nods to Newanda, and then quickly leads the way around the corner, keeping close to the house, until just before they reach a pair of French doors leading into the house.

On the other side of the doors, in a dark corner of the patio, Nikita sees two large Dobermans: both asleep. She looks at Newanda and nods to the dogs. While Nikita takes out a device and begins disarming the door's security, Newanda sneaks carefully over to the dogs. She leans down and pokes one. He doesn't move. Newanda looks up at Nikita and nods.

Nikita continues to work on the door. Newanda starts searching the ground around the dogs. A little ways away, she finds Section's "countermeasures": two half-eaten doggie bones laced with tranquilizers. She pockets them.

A cut to Nikita, working on the door.

NIKITA: (into her comm unit) Almost in.

Watching the security codes appear, she doesn't see a shadow behind her. Suddenly, a gun is placed against her head. She freezes.

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

ACT II

SCENE: KRUGER ESTATE. Nikita is still frozen, with the gun at her head. Then, there is a thud, and the gun drops. Nikita turns, and sees a guard on the ground and Newanda standing over him.

Nikita starts to say something, but Newanda gestures for her to stay quiet. Nikita mouths "ZERO EXPOSURE." Newanda makes a "forget that" gesture, and then from her combat gear pulls out a pint of whiskey. She pours some on the guard's clothes, and some in his mouth. She puts the bottle in his pocket, so that the neck of the bottle is sticking out.

MICHAEL'S VOICE: What's taking so long?

NIKITA: Uh--Newanda is still looking for the second countermeasure.

Newanda drags the guard's body to a distant corner of the patio. She leans him against a wall.

MICHAEL'S VOICE: Let's get a move on.

NEWANDA: (adjusting the guard's clothes to look sloppy) Found it.

She joins Nikita at the doors and they go inside.

CUT to hallway inside the estate. Nikita and Newanda make their way through the house, following the tracker signal on a monitor.

CUT to hallway outside two large, impressive metal doors. Nikita, holding the monitor, stops and gestures to Newanda that the signal is inside. Newanda starts work opening the doors.

CUT to inside the vault. It is a large room, containing an elaborate computer set-up and shelf after shelf of videocassettes. Newanda and Nikita enter. They exchange glances.

NIKITA: We're in.

Nikita heads immediately to the computer, where she begins installing the router. Newanda starts perusing the videocassettes.

NEWANDA: (reading) "Nurses out of Uniform." "After School with Teach." "A Day in the Life of a Nympho." (She looks over at Nikita.) Whaddaguy.

MICHAEL'S VOICE: Could we keep the editorials to a minimum?

Newanda rolls her eyes, and Nikita smiles.

NIKITA: Transmitting now, Birkoff.

BIRKOFF'S VOICE: Receiving.

Newanda continues looking at the video collection. She spots what she's looking for and pulls it off the shelf. Nikita looks back at her and sees that Newanda is opening the cassette case and dumping out the cassette.

NIKITA: What--

Newanda hushes her with a gesture.

MICHAEL'S VOICE: What is it, Nikita?

Newanda takes a second cassette from her combat gear and inserts it into the case.

NIKITA: (watching Newanda) I didn't say anything, Michael.

Newanda puts the case back in its place on the shelf. She brings the first cassette to Nikita. Nikita takes it slowly, wonderingly. Newanda mouths "yours" and then makes a "ripping" motion, as if to tell Nikita to destroy the tape.

Nikita looks down at the cassette, and then up to Newanda. She smiles.

NIKITA: Almost finished here, Michael. (To Newanda, she mouths) Thanks.

Nikita pockets the tape.

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

SCENE: NIKITA'S APARTMENT. Nikita enters, obviously tired. She takes off her coat and sets her purse on the kitchen counter. From the purse, she pulls out the cassette. She turns it over, looking at it with loathing. Then, from a kitchen drawer, she takes out a hammer. She sets the tape on the counter and with one swift hit, demolishes it. She stares at it, and then raises the hammer again. There is a knock on the door.

Still holding the hammer, Nikita goes to the door. She looks through the peephole and sees Carla.

Nikita backs away from the door and leans against the wall. She clutches the hammer to her chest.

Carla knocks again. Nikita closes her eyes and holds her breath.

Cut to outside. Carla is about to knock again, but then she shrugs and leaves.

Cut to inside apartment. Nikita has slid to the floor, still clutching the hammer.

*********

SCENE: SECTION MAIN AREA. Newanda is sitting at one of Birkoff's computer stations, with Madeline standing beside her, looking over her shoulder.

Nikita enters. She is in jeans and a ragged t-shirt, stay-at-home clothes. She stops in the middle and looks around, as if wondering what she's doing here. Madeline looks up and sees her. She touches Newanda's shoulder, and then leaves without letting Nikita know she was seen.

Nikita sees Newanda and wanders over to her.

NIKITA: Hey.

NEWANDA: (typing on the computer) Hey, girlfriend. I thought you were going home to get some sleep.

NIKITA: I was, but....(looking around) Have you seen Walter?

NEWANDA: Already called it a day. By now he's probably kicking back in his trailer, groovin' on some Jim Morrison, and lighting up the old peace pipe--although he swears he gave the stuff up.

NIKITA: Walter lives in a trailer?

NEWANDA: Well, he does have a house, but he keeps the trailer in the back yard. Actually, i'ts more of a free-love Chevy van, straight out of the sixties. I think he did actually drive it to Woodstock.

NIKITA: You've been there?

NEWANDA: A few times. (glancing up, she grins) Oh, nothing like THAT. No, Walter sort of took me under his wing when I first got here. Helped me...get used to things. Know what I mean?

NIKITA: Yeah. I do. (She sighs and then idly takes a look at Newanda's computer) What are you working on?

NEWANDA: Kruger's records. We still haven't found any mention of Red Cell.

NIKITA: (looking up, seeing that Michael has entered) I'm not surprised. I wouldn't take Perry Bauer's word for anything. `Scuse me.

She goes over to Michael, intercepting him. Newanda turns her face down to her computer, but keeps her eyes up, watching them. Nikita and Michael say a few words, Michael leaning in and Nikita keeping her head down and eyes up, defensive mode. He steps aside for her to go ahead of him. Tossing her hair back, she saunters down the hall toward his office. He follows.

Newanda looks down at her computer, chewing her lip as if thinking.

***********

SCENE: MICHAEL'S OFFICE. Nikita enters, and Michael follows. He heads around his desk to his chair, while she stands in the middle, staring angrily at the ground.

NIKITA: (slowly, menacingly) If anything happens to Carla--

MICHAEL: I never said anything would happen to her.

NIKITA: And how am I supposed to believe that? You stood there and watched all those people in that office building die--

MICHAEL: There was nothing we could do about that.

NIKITA: Yeah, right.

MICHAEL: There is something we can do about this.

NIKITA: Just what is the big deal here? So she saw us. It was bound to happen, the way you come over completely unannounced all the time. I told her we were friends, and that was all. End of story. No security risk, no danger to anyone or anything--

MICHAEL: She's curious, and her curiosity could prove dangerous.

Desperate, Nikita grabs a nine-millimeter from the back of her waistband and points it at him.

NIKITA: So help me, God, Michael, if anything happens to Carla...

Michael sits without blinking. The gun wavers in Nikita's hand, and suddenly she turns it and point it at her own head.

NIKITA: This is the last you will see of me.

Michael comes around the side of the desk quickly. He puts his hand over hers and speaks in a low, intense voice.

MICHAEL: It won't come to that, Nikita. I promise.

Slowly, she lowers the gun.

NIKITA: You promise. Oh, that's rich, Michael.

MICHAEL: I know that trust does not come easily here. It shouldn't. You shouldn't take anything or anyone at face value. All I can do is hope that you'll believe me when I say I have no reason or desire to hurt your friend.

His phone rings. For a minute he ignores it, but finally he picks it up.

MICHAEL: Yes......We'll be right there.

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

SCENE: CONFERENCE ROOM. Operations is pacing angrily as Nikita and Michael enter and take their seats. Madeline, Newanda, and Birkoff are already seated.

OPERATIONS: There is no reference to Red Cell in all of Kruger's files. None. In fact, there is no reference to any terrorist currently operating on the planet. According to the records, the worst crime Kruger could be accused of is selling black market blue jeans to East Berlin punk rockers.

MICHAEL: Kruger must have been warned.

OPERATIONS: My assessment exactly, and we all know who must have warned him.

NIKITA: (with a cold I-knew-it smile) Bauer.

OPERATIONS: Yes.

MICHAEL: Do we have a salvage plan?

OPERATIONS: I'll deal with Bauer myself. As far as Herr Kruger is concerned (looking at Madeline) we've decided a more direct approach is in order.

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

SCENE: LOFT APARTMENT, day. Nikita opens the door, all friendly smiles. Kruger stands there. Behind him is his bodyguard.

NIKITA: Hi. So glad you could come by on such short notice.

Kruger gives her a suspicious look. Nikita steps aside and gestures for him to come inside.

NIKITA: Please, come in.

Kruger steps in, followed by his bodyguard. He stops on seeing Michael, standing beside a television and holding a videotape. He looks over and sees Newanda seated at the dining room table, playing solitaire. She waves a card at him. Kruger looks back at Michael.

KRUGER: Vat's going on?

MICHAEL: We have something to show you. (He holds up the tape.)

Kruger's expression changes to a leer..

KRUGER: You haf made a movie for me?

MICHAEL: You might say that. Please, have a seat. (He indicates a chair in front of the television.)

Kruger takes the seat, motioning for the bodyguard to stand behind him. The bodyguard takes his position, then looks over at Nikita, who is still standing near the door, behind him. She smiles brightly. The bodyguard turns back toward Michael.

MICHAEL: Are we ready? Good.

He puts the tape in the VCR and steps back, so he is standing beside Kruger. All eyes turn to the television. After a moment, Perry Bauer's face comes on the screen. He is in an all-white room, tied up. There are little cuts under his eyes.

BAUER: Give it up, Martin. They know about our deal.

Kruger jumps, and finds Michael's gun in his face. The bodyguard reaches for a weapon, but is stopped when Nikita shoves her gun against his neck.

NIKITA: Sorry, but no talking or shooting is allowed during the movie.

KRUGER: You von't get avay vith this.

The door bursts open, and another of Kruger's men comes in, firing. Nikita knocks the bodyguard to the floor on her way down. Michael pushes Kruger to the floor. Newanda pulls a gun and fires at the shooter. He turns and fires back. Nikita and Michael both fire at the shooter, and both hit him.

They shake themselves and sit up, keeping their guns on Kruger and his bodyguard. Nikita looks over:

Newanda is on the ground. She was hit.

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

ACT III

SCENE: INFIRMARY. Nikita enters and finds Madeline standing beside Newanda's infirmary bed. Newanda is sitting up, wearing a sling, and appears to be fine.

NIKITA: Hey--

NEWANDA: (to Madeline) There. Nikita can do it.

NIKITA: What's going on?

NEWANDA: Maddie won't let me go home alone.

MADELINE: (smiling) Madeline won't let her DRIVE home, not while she's under the influence of pain medication.

NIKITA: I can take her home, if the doctor says it's all right.

NEWANDA: (hopping off the bed) Doc says I'm fine. The bullet went clean through. (She looks at Madeline again.) Well?

MADELINE: Go.

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

SCENE: NEWANDA'S APARTMENT. The decor is warm, rich, and vibrant, with strong African and Caribbean elements. One wall is decorated with a dozen African masks. When the scene opens, Newanda is sitting back on the sofa while Nikita spreads an afghan over her.

NEWANDA: I don't need a babysitter, you know, no matter what Maddie says.

NIKITA: (taking a chair opposite her) You're the only person I've met in Section who calls her that.

NEWANDA: Well, it fits, doesn't it? Mad Maddie? (She adjusts her position with a small grimace.) Damn, I hate this.

NIKITA: Can I get you anything?

NEWANDA: No, I'm all right. (She takes a deep breath, looks around, and finally turns a speculative eye on Nikita.) Good call on Bauer.

NIKITA: (shrugging and settling back in the chair) I had some dealings with him recently.

NEWANDA: So I hear.

NIKITA: You did? How?

NEWANDA: (with a grin) I have my finger on the pulse of Section One.

NIKITA: (after a moment) How long have you been in the Section?

NEWANDA: Two years training, eight as an operative. (Her head falls back on the sofa.) God--ten years...

NIKITA: How'd you get here? If you don't mind my asking--

NEWANDA: I was seventeen and stupid and I married a guy who liked to use my body as a punching bag. One night I had had enough and.....well, let's just say I had a bad attorney who'd never heard of "Battered Wife Syndrome." Then Section One came calling and the rest, as they say, is NOT history.

NIKITA: You seem OK with it. Being in Section.

NEWANDA: Hell, no. I hate it. But what can you do?

NIKITA: Yeah. What can you do...

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

SCENE: TORTURE ROOM. Kruger is gagged and tied to a chair. Across from him, at a small table, sits Madeline. On the table is a phone, a fax machine, and several sheets of fax paper. Kruger and Madeline are in a staredown. Madeline is winning, if the sweat dripping off Kruger's bald pate is any indication.

The phone rings, and the fax starts up. Madeline ignores it until the fax is completed. Then, she takes the paper and adds it to the other faxes on the table. She stacks them neatly together, sets them back on the table, picks up the top fax, and begins addressing Kruger.

MADELINE: Mr. Kruger. We understand that you have accumulated several large gambling debts in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Is that correct?

Kruger narrows his eyes.

MADELINE: I regret to inform you that the casinos in question are calling for full payment in twenty-four hours.

She sets that fax down onto the table and looks at the next one.

MADELINE: We also understand that you have borrowed extensively on your estate property here and your home in Germany. (She pauses.) I'm afraid that your banks have called in all your loans.

She sets that fax down onto the table and looks at the third and final one.

MADELINE: Lastly, we understand that the bulk of your legitimate income derives from your stock in one Caltrell Industries. A sound business investment. (She pauses, looking at him steadily.) Until now. At eight a.m. tomorrow morning the IRS will be announcing the freezing of all Caltrell assets pending the results of an investigation into money-laundering activities.

She sets the fax down and leans against the table, looking him in the eye.

MADELINE: There is a telephone on this table. With one call to your people, you could make arrangements to recover from all of these losses. But I'm afraid you will not be allowed to make that call unless you tell us what we need to know.

He looks at her, angry and desperate.

MADELINE: About Red Cell.

He looks down, and then up at her and nods.

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

SCENE: NEWANDA'S APARTMENT. Nikita and Newanda are drinking coffee and chatting. Nikita's cell phone rings. With a sour look, she pulls it from her pocket and answers it.

NIKITA: Yes?

MICHAEL'S VOICE: Josephine.

NIKITA: Yeah, that's me.

MICHAEL'S VOICE: The mission is set for tonight.

NIKITA: OK, got it.

MICHAEL'S VOICE: Nikita--

NIKITA: (stiffening) What?

MICHAEL'S VOICE: Meet me in my office before the briefing. We must decide what to do about Carla.

NIKITA: You mean you've decided and you're going to tell me.

Silence at the other end.

MICHAEL'S VOICE: We must decide tonight.

He hangs up, and she does, too. She stuffs the cell phone back into her pocket.

NEWANDA: Problem?

NIKITA: Just Michael being Michael.

NEWANDA: (looking at her curiously) What's the deal with you two? I mean, one minute, whoa, there's some serious chemical thing going on, and the next minute you're strangers on an elevator.

NIKITA: (avoiding Newanda's eyes) Michael was...my trainer. He's having a hard time cutting the strings.

NEWANDA: If there's one thing Mike has no problem with, it's detaching himself.

Nikita shrugs.

NEWANDA: Oh, come on, it's just us Section One girlfriends. You can tell me. Are the two of you--you know--doing the wild thing?

NIKITA: (disconcerted) Of course not.

NEWANDA: What "of course not"? The guy is major league gorgeous. You can't tell me you wouldn't want to steam his jeans during some all-night stakeout.

NIKITA: (resists at first, but then reluctantly smiles) OK, maybe, yes. Sometimes he...gets to me. But then he can be so cold--

NEWANDA: Like now?

NIKITA: (debating, but needing to talk about it) I have a...friend. Outside the Section. Just a friend, you know, someone to go shopping with and pig out on junk food with. She...she saw Michael and me together, and of course she's curious about him.

NEWANDA: Uh oh.

NIKITA: Michael says he won't hurt her, that Section wouldn't, you know-

NEWANDA: (shaking her head) Oh, man.

NIKITA: What?

NEWANDA: (with a large sigh) Take it from someone who's been burned a few times, girlfriend. When an operative as.....dedicated as Mike says he's not going to hurt you, you better strap on the bulletproof vest.

Nikita sips her coffee, watching Newanda and thinking.

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

SCENE: MICHAEL'S OFFICE. Michael is at work at his computer, wearing his usual blank expression. Nikita appears in the window and stops to look at him. After a moment, he senses her gaze and looks up. She passes on and enters his office. She sits down and crosses her arms, in brat mode.

MICHAEL: You're late.

NIKITA: Sorry. Couldn't be helped.

MICHAEL: We haven't much time.

NIKITA: Then maybe we should postpone.

MICHAEL: Nikita, I thought we settled this. I thought you were going to trust me to find a way to deflect Carla..

NIKITA: I'll trust you when I hear what you have in mind.

Michael looks at his watch and begins logging off the computer.

MICHAEL: We'll have to talk about it after the mission.

He gets up and rounds the desk. At the door, he stops. Nikita hasn't moved.

MICHAEL: Are you coming?

Slowly, she gets up and joins him at the door.

NIKITA: Just remember what I said, Michael. If anything happens to Carla--

She walks away. He closes the door and follows her.

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

SCENE: HALLWAY OUTSIDE CARLA AND NIKITA'S APARTMENTS. Carla, carrying her carpenter's tool box, fishes her door key out of the pocket of her overalls. She puts the key in the lock. The door swings open. It was already unlocked. She freezes.

Slowly, she sets down the tool box and quietly lifts out a hammer. She slides the door open a little further, standing back. She looks into her apartment: a man in dark clothes and a ski mask is standing by her television set, leaning in behind it.

CARLA: Hey!

The man looks up.

CARLA: (coming inside and brandishing the hammer) Get away from my stuff!

The man rushes toward her and knocks her down. He runs out of the apartment and down the hall. She follows him part way, but then returns to her apartment. She stands in the middle of it, clutching the hammer and looking around, frightened.

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

ACT IV

SCENE: KRUGER'S ESTATE, NIGHT. Kruger sits at a table on the patio. On the table is a laptop, phone, and other equipment. He looks nervous but is holding together.

CUT to inside the house, by the French doors. Michael is on one side of the doors, Nikita on the other. Both are looking out at Kruger through the doors.

BIRKOFF'S VOICE: Target approaches.

MICHAEL: Method of entry?

BIRKOFF'S VOICE: Front door. Looks like they're going through the house.

Michael gestures to Nikita to back up.

BIRKOFF'S VOICE: Belay that. They are going around the sides of the house, splitting up.

MICHAEL: How many?

BIRKOFF'S VOICE: Four. Three men and a woman.

MICHAEL: All teams, stand ready. (to Nikita) Do you have the mouthpiece?

Nikita takes a mouthpiece (like the kind boxers use) from a pocket in her combat gear and shows it to him.

MICHAEL: It takes them only a few seconds to open the poison capsules in their teeth.

NIKITA: (looking out the French doors) I understand. (She sees something.) Michael--

Michael looks out the doors. Two Red Cell members from "Love"--a man and a woman--are approaching Kruger.

NIKITA: Where are the other two?

MICHAEL: Perimeter teams, report.

OPERATIVE'S VOICE: Alpha team. One target at south end of house. Fifteen yards away.

OPERATIVE'S VOICE: Beta team. Second target at north end. Same distance.

MICHAEL: They'll have to be sacrificed.

A shot of Nikita, reacting to the ease with which he condemns two men to die. She looks out the doors.

CUT to Kruger. He is looking up at his guests.

KRUGER: Perry Bauer vishes me to send his regards.

RED CELL MAN: We understood that Bauer would be here to make the introductions.

KRUGER: He is.

Kruger turns the laptop toward them and hits a button. Bauer's face appears on the screen. He is smiling stiffly, the cuts either gone or covered with make-up.

BAUER (on screen): Sorry I can't be there in person, but I had another commitment. Let me assure you my friend Martin Kruger has all my confidence. I'm certain he will be able to address your needs.

RED CELL MAN: I don't like this.

BAUER: Well, then , good luck to you and your cause. I've done what I could to oblige you.

The screen goes blank. The Red Cell man and woman look at each other..

KRUGER: Bauer tells me you are in the market for the chemical veapons. I haf a pipeline to an Eastern manufacturer who might be villing to part vith some of his surplus fenzine gas.

RED CELL WOMAN: Fenzine is notoriously unstable.

KRUGER: (shrugging) You don't vant it, I sell it somevere else.

The Red Cell man and woman exchange looks again, and then sit down.

RED CELL MAN: How much?

Kruger reaches out and closes his laptop.

CUT to inside the house.

MICHAEL: That's it. Move out.

He and Nikita slip out of the doors quietly. The Red Cell members have their backs to the house, so they do not see Michael and Nikita sneaking up.

Just as Michael and Nikita are almost to the Red Cell members, the perimeter teams shoot. Kruger hits the ground; the Red Cell man and woman jump up. Michael and Nikita each grab one (Nikita the woman, Michael the man), wrestle them to the ground, and shove mouthpieces into their mouths.

One of the Red Cell members on the sides of the house stumbles around the corner, holding a gun and aiming at Nikita, who is closest. Michael sees him and shoots. The Red Cell member falls to the ground. Nikita, holding down the struggling woman, looks around and sees what happened.

NIKITA: (grudgingly) Thanks.

MICHAEL: Sequence complete. Send in the clean-up team, Birkoff.

He hauls the Red Cell man to his feet, as Nikita hauls the woman. Operatives appear from the sides of the house and take them away.

Kruger gets to his feet, grabs the telephone, and starts dialing. Michael takes the phone from him.

MICHAEL: I'm sorry, but you won't be able to call your broker just yet.

KRUGER: (furious) Vat do you mean? I vas told I could safe my business if I helped you--

MICHAEL: (pocketing the phone and nodding to an extra operative who has approached) Take him back to the Section.

The extra op grabs Kruger and hauls him away, Kruger yelling the whole time.

KRUGER: You lied! I vas giffen promises!

Michael turns away and finds Nikita glowering at him.

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

SCENE: HALLWAY OUTSIDE NIKITA'S APARTMENT. Nikita enters and finds Carla standing at the door with a police officer. The cop is closing his notepad and preparing to leave. Nikita stands and watches him leave, then approaches Carla.

NIKITA: Carla, what happened?

CARLA: Oh, I caught someone breaking into my apartment.

NIKITA: Are you all right?

CARLA: Yeah, I'm fine. I scared the guy off before he could take anything. Look, I'll tell you everything, but I want to call the super, see about having my locks changed first thing in the morning.

NIKITA: Yeah, OK. Call me.

CARLA: I will.

Carla goes into the apartment. Nikita stands there a moment, and then breaks for the exit, in a dead heat.

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

SCENE: MICHAEL'S OFFICE. He logs off his computer and stands up. He stretches a little, as if tired, and heads for the door. He opens his door and finds Nikita standing there, holding a gun.

NIKITA: You son of a bitch.

MICHAEL: What are you talking about?

Nikita steps forward, and he backs into the office. She closes the door behind her.

NIKITA: Was it just a warning? Were you trying to spook me? Or would he have really canceled Carla?

MICHAEL: Who?

NIKITA: The Section cretin who broke into her apartment, as if you didn't know--

MICHAEL: Nikita, I DON'T know what you're talking about.

NIKITA: Don't lie to me about this, Michael! Not this!

MICHAEL: (quietly) I'm not lying, Nikita.

Desperately, she tries to read him.

NIKITA: How can I know that?

MICHAEL: Give me a chance to prove it.

The gun wavers in her hand.

NIKITA: How?

MICHAEL: Ask me to dinner.

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

SCENE: NIKITA'S APARTMENT. From a shot of Carla in a chair, waving chopsticks over a plate of Chinese food while she talks, the camera pans to Nikita, seated on the sofa, also eating, to Michael, seated on the sofa beside her. Michael is wearing a tan sweater and blue jeans, and his hair is loose and curly. He is smiling over his plate of food at Carla.

CARLA: So I told the guy, you can't have built-in bookshelves if you don't have a WALL to build them into.

MICHAEL: What did he say?

CARLA: He asked me if I could build him a wall. I said, sure, I can use the bricks in your head.

NIKITA: (laughing) You didn't--

CARLA: No, I didn't. But I wanted to.

MICHAEL: (grinning) Did you build him a wall?

CARLA: Yep. Right down the middle of his living room. It looked REALLY weird, but he liked it.

NIKITA: Anyone like another beer?

KARLA: Not for me thanks.

MICHAEL: You read my mind.

He hands her an empty bottle. She takes it. A look passes between them, and Carla notices. Nikita goes into the kitchen.

CARLA: So long have you two known each other?

MICHAEL: Since we were kids. We grew up down the street from each other.

A shot of Nikita, trying to hide her surprise.

MICHAEL: We lost touch after my family moved away, but a few months ago we ran into each other and, well...

CARLA: Well, what?

Michael smiles--practically beams--over at Nikita.

MICHAEL: She changed my life.

CARLA: She did? (looking over at Nikita) You did?

Nikita throws her hands up in the air.

MICHAEL: It was Nikita who gave me the courage I needed to come out.

CARLA: (not understanding) Come out... (a beat, and she understands) Ohhhhh.

MICHAEL: She just kept telling me that living a lie wasn't doing anyone any good, least of all myself.

CARLA: She's right.

MICHAEL: (smiling at Nikita) Yes, she is.

Nikita sips a beer, giving him a look.

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

SCENE: NIKITA'S APARTMENT, later. Nikita is at the door, looking out. Michael is in the kitchen, rinsing off a plate.

NIKITA: See you in the morning, Carla.

She closes the door and leans against it, watching Michael. He turns off the water and wipes his hands on a towel.

NIKITA: Nice going.

He drops the towel and walks over to her. She stays put by the door, barring his exit, and turning her head to look at him. There is a wicked gleam in her eye.

NIKITA: You know, Michael, you did an awfully good job just now playing a gay man. Are you sure you're not.....

Michael stops, and then, slowly and deliberately, moves in close to her. Very close. He presses her against the door with the full length of his body.

NIKITA: (a little breathy) Not that I would mind, you know. To each his own.

Michael runs the fingers of one hand down the side of her face while the other hand slides up under her shirt.

MICHAEL: You tell me. Am I?

He presses against her, harder.

NIKITA: (very breathy) Uh--I guess not.

He leans forward, kissing her lightly.

Then, he steps back.

MICHAEL: Good night, Nikita.

She looks at him.

NIKITA: You can be downright evil sometimes, Michael.

She opens the door and stands leaning against it. He starts out, but then pauses in the threshold.

MICHAEL: Nikita, I told no one in the Section about Carla. Not a single person.

With a final, serious look at her, he leaves. Nikita closes the door. Stands there.

***********

SCENE: SECTION MAIN AREA. Newanda and Madeline are consulting about something near Birkoff's station. Newanda has lost the sling, but is still bandaged. Nikita enters and sees them. She approaches slowly.

Newanda sees her.

NEWANDA: Hey, girlfriend. Maddie's making me come back to work. (She waves her injured arm.) Good thing I'm ambidextrous.

Nikita looks at her without any expression. Then she turns to Madeline.

NIKITA: I'm looking for Walter.

MADELINE: I believe he's in the cafeteria.

NIKITA: Thanks.

Nikita gives Newanda a long "I know what you've been doing" stare, and then turns and walks away.

Newanda looks over at Madeline.

MADELINE: That's all right. We got what we needed.

Madeline walks away. Newanda stares at the ground, and then looks up in the direction of the retreating Nikita.

NEWANDA: Sorry, girlfriend.

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

EPILOGUE

SCENE: CARLA'S APARMENT, NIGHT. MUSIC rises: the second chorus of the Indigo Girls' "Virginia Woolf." The scene opens with a pan of a veritable buffet of junk food, lined up along Carla's coffee table. The camera then rises to show that Carla and Nikita are sitting at opposite ends of the sofa, munching happily on huge bowls of popcorn.

"The hatches were battened / The thunderclouds rolled and the critics stormed / The battle surrounded the white flag of your youth--"

CARLA: What a shame about Michael.

NIKITA: What do you mean?

CARLA: Oh, come on, Nikita. He was soooo cute. I hate to think of all that cuteness going to waste--

NIKITA: Oh, I doubt he's wasting it.

CARLA: You know what I mean.

NIKITA: And you know what they say. A lover lasts the night, a friend lasts forever.

CARLA: Who said that?

NIKITA: I did.

"Well, if you need to know that you weathered the storm / of cruel mortality / Well a hundred years later I'm sitting here living through you--"

CARLA: (tossing popcorn) Very funny.

NIKITA: Hey, did the super change your locks?

CARLA: Yeah. Although Jerry says it really wasn't necessary.

NIKITA: Jerry?

CARLA: Yeah, you remember him. He was the cop who did the report on the break in.

NIKITA: Officer Jerry?

CARLA: We're going out tomorrow night.

"And so you know you're all right / Life will come and life will go / Soon you'll feel it's all right / Someone will get a letter to your soul--"

NIKITA: (laughing) Carla, you never cease to amaze me.

CARLA: You know, I met his partner. (She grins meaningfully) Not bad. Not bad at all. Just give me the word and--

NIKITA: Oh, no. No, no, no, no. No fix ups.

CARLA: Oh, come on. It could be fun! We could double date to the policeman's ball--

NIKITA: (tossing popcorn at her) No way, Jose.

CARLA: (ducking and tossing popcorn back) We could go parking in the squad car--

NIKITA: (tossing a handful of popcorn) Get back, Jack.

"When your whole life is on the tip of your tongue / Empty pages for the no longer young--"

CARLA: (tossing a handful back) I bet they'd even let us play with their sirens--

NIKITA: (holding up the bowl) Take a hike, Mike.

"The apathy of time laughed in your face / Did you hear me say / Each life has its place--"

Carla holds up her bowl.

CARLA: I dare ya.

In unison, they throw the popcorn at each other, squealing, and then start tossing the popcorn that lands around them.

The camera starts panning the room, slowing as it reaches the television set.

"Every one of us--"

A zoom of the camera behind the set reveals a small, activated listening device.

THE END.

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