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"The City of Brotherly Love"



Nikita stamps the snow off of her feet before she enters Stephen's apartment, in the cold and icy city of Philadelphia. She opens the door quickly and enters. She pulls out the deck of cards and sits quietly at the door, shuffling the cards.

Stephen opens the door and pauses before he closes it.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd stop doing this." Stephen says angerily as he peals off his coat. Nikita continues to shuffle the cards.

"Ah, but as long as you insist on looking, I must babysit." Nikita says with a small smile. Inside, she is totally annoyed at Operations. She wants him just to fess up and bring this bad seed in.

"No need to babysit me, sis, I'm two months older." Stephen says as he moves into the kitchen and pours a cup of coffee.

Nikita only raises her eyebrows at the comments sis, and takes it as a sarcastic remark.

"Your father has other children, and I only have to babysit you." Nikita says as she deals out the cards.

"I'm not playing with you." Stephen says as he walks behind her. She shakes her head, and can sense Stephen's movement.

"Go ahead, pull the gun." Nikita says as Stephen's fingers touch the gun. He does immediately the action and places it on Nikita's head. "I know enough about your father, but can't tell you if I'm dead." Nikita slowly says.

"The man I'm looking for and the father your looking for are the same man." Stephen says as he pulls her hair. Nikita smirks.

"Stephen, the list of men who can be my father is much larger than yours." Nikita says with a laugh.

"I wouldn't laugh, sis." Stephen says as he starts to tie her hands up.

"You must be going crazy, now. Maybe I can get your father to bring in the guys in white coats." Nikita continues laughing.

"OUR father is going to come get us both." Stephen says as he starts setting up a computer.

"You really believe this, don't you!" Nikita says in amazement.

"I'll prove it." Stephen says as he aims a camera at Nikita.

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

Operations stands in a crowded briefing room as Madeline stands at the phone. Michael is trying to overhear the conversation.

"SO? Where is Nikita?" Operations asks as Madeline hangs up the phone.

"Zachary says that there has been a blizzard in Philadelphia and nothing is flying in or out." Madeline says. Michael walks over to the two.

"Can't we send a Section plane? We need her back here." Michael says in a worried voice. Madeline looks at Michael with compassion.

"We can't get hold of her, Michael. She is probably not even at the airport." Madeline says touching his hand.

"Take your seat. We'll worry about this later." Operations says. He walks back to the center of the room.

"Ok." Operations says and the crowd silences instantly. "There is a terrorist group targeting this nuclear power plant."

The screen shows a power plant. "Needless to say, we need to stop it."

Madeline looks down at the computer and sees a flashing message for Operations. She taps his shoulder and he touches a few buttons. The subject line says, "I have your daughter." Operations shuts the computer down, and exits the room.

"We will attack this group as they make their final plans at this warehouse..." Madeline continues.

-------------------------------------------------

Operations sits down at his private computer and pulls up the message.

"So nice for you to join me, Dad." Stephen says sarcastically. Operations takes a deep breath.

"Did Nikita tell you?" Operations demands immediately. The camera pans back to show Nikita tied up and bound to a chair.

"Oh, so you are worried about your daughter." Stephen says with a smile. "Glad to see that you worry about your family so much."

Operations glares at the computer screen.

"She is not my daughter." Operations says firmly. Nikita's eyes blink in believement.

"Ah, I have the proof... I believe the test was 1000-1." Stephen says with a smile. "Bring both of us in."

Then the screen goes blank.

Operations immediately patches into the briefing room.

"Madeline, what did you do with those test results?" Operations screams. A few moments pass.

"What test results?" Madeline asks in a confused voice.

"You know which ones!" Operations rages as he shifts around in his chair.

"I burned them, like we agreed." Madeline says calmly.

"FIND THEM NOW!" Operations roars as he cuts the line.

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

"This isn't even funny." Nikita says in sharp words as Stephen ungags Nikita. Stephen smiles at her.

"We both are getting what we want." Stephen says as he starts to pace around the room.

"You don't want this. They'll kill your source, and then you'll be stuck in there forever!" Nikita yells and Stephen backhands her.

"I can be nice to you if you cooperate. First, call me bro." Stephen says as he steps back. Nikita glares at him.

"You are not my brother! And Operations is not my father!" Nikita says in short and tense words. She does not flinch as Stephen backhands her again.

"What are you? Cold? SO cold that you don't even want to know who your father is?" Stephen yells as he backs up. He sees Nikita's redden face in his closed eyes. He slumps against a chair in the small livingroom.

-------------------------------------------------

Madeline runs into the Medlab computer room. She slams the door close and types in her password.

She quickly scrolls the tests, and finds 1000-1 several pages down. She locks it into a confidential mode, and the document prints out of the printer at the very bottom. She doesn't look down at the document, as she does not want to know the results.

"I have your daughter." was what the computer screen said before Operations turned it off. Madeline wrings her hands as she thinks about the document that is printing. Madeline quickly deducts that Nikita must be captured somewhere.

"But how would they know about this?" Madeline wonders outloud. She sidesteps back to the computer. She pulls the master print jobs screen down. Each item has the number of the test and how many copies.

"1000-1.......3" the computer screen blinks and Madeline slams her hand on the desk. She quickly picks up the document and jogs down the hallway.

"Madeline, I still don't have my PDA." Michael asks as he sees her in the hall.

"Not now. Your mission has not been profiled yet, without Nikita." Madeline says in a huff, not slowly down.

She enters Operations office and places the document on the desk.

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

Operations picks the pack of papers up slowly. He opens to the second page. He drops his eyes to the text.

"100% accuracy that subject A is subject B's father." the text is printed. Operations drops the paper and places his face into his hands.

"Oh, dear god..." Operations mutters. Madeline doesn't even look at the paper, and knows that Operations has discovered he has another child, who has been with him for several years now.

"So who has your daughter?" Madeline softly asks as she sits in the chair, watching Operations intently.

"My son." Operations says as he stands up and stares at the wall. Madeline bits her buttom lip and thinks what to say.

"I could get Zachary to bring her back." Madeline offers as she stands up to approach Operations.

"We'll be bringing them both back, here." Operations says spinning around. "Stephen got this informations somehow."

"Who do we send?" Madeline asks as Operations quickly sits down at his computer.

"Michael will go meet Zachary in New York, if the plane can get in. They will travel to Philadelphia, retrieve Nikita and Stephen and the four will fly back here." Operations says as he pulls Michael's name off of the nuclear team.

"Start searching the data base for men who look like I do. I'm going to need a man to make Nikita's father. Preferably a good man, a man with a soul." Operations says without looking away from the computer screen.

"You know the truth! Why continue the lie?" Madeline asks angerily.

"Because this would destroy Nikita!" Operations snaps back.

"Well, we only have accounted for 2 copies of this report. The one on your desk and the one I burned. There were three printed." Madeline says as she stands up.

"No doubt it will be found on Stephen." Operations says firmly. "We'll destroy it."

-------------------------------------------------

"He won't be able to protect you any longer." Nikita warns as Stephen paces infront of Nikita pointing the gun at her.

"I'm your brother... he is our father!" Stephen yells again.

"Please, stop this... my father has a soul... he has to. My mother didn't care for me, so I had to have gotten mine from someone... Your father doesn't even know what a soul is!" Nikita finally cries out. Stephen looks at her tears and drops the gun. He walks over to the chair that Nikita is crying in and hugs her.

"Oh, sis, don't cry."

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

Michael trudges off of the Section plane, down the stairs to the Section car waiting. The snow and wind whips his hair around angerily until he runs for the car.

"I think you understand why I didn't come out to greet you." Zachary says as he hands Michael a cup of coffee.

"Thanks." Michael mutters as he takes in the warm liquid. He looks around the limo and looks puzzled.

"Once we get away from JFK, we will transfer into a van to go to Philly... believe it or not, Philly has it worse than we do." Zachary says as the limo starts to move.

"How much snow?" Michael asks as he starts to lean back

"They have 24 inches and continuing. It was a bad time for Nikita to be captured." Zachary says. Michael looks towards the driver's compartment.

"Can he hear us?" Michael asks, and Zachary nods no. "Nikita is being held by Stephen, who happens to be Operations son." Michael says. Zachary turns his head quickly at the comment.

"How do you know this? It wasn't intel." Zachary says.

"I've known for a while... but only was offically told today. Nikita has been protecting him, he is one bad seed." Michael says as he shakes more snow out of his hair.

"Bad seed? I'd say a crazy seed." Zachary says.

-------------------------------------------------

"How are we going in?" Zachary asks as they drive slowly down a highway.

"The front door. He wants to be taken in." Michael says softly. "Personally, I hope he struggles a bit... so I can nail him one."

Zachary doesn't take his eyes off of the snow covered road, but can sense the fist that Michael has made.

-------------------------------------------------

"I have prove... there was a test." Stephen says quietly to Nikita.

"You called it 1000-1... we don't use those notations in Section." Nikita quietly counters. Stephen stares at her eyes.

"They did this time." Stephen says through clenched teeth.

"SO where is this test?" Nikita challenges.

"In a safe place." Stephen answers.

"Are you sure you didn't miss your medication?" Nikita remarks rudely. She knew a slap would follow, but she had learned quickly, Stephen's slap didn't amount much.

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

Michael raps his hand against the wood door at Stephen's apartment. The door opens a crack.

"We've come to collect you two." Michael says and the door opens wide. Stephen smiles as the two men pass through the door way. Michael looks at Nikita's flowing hair.

"Michael?" Nikita asks outloud and he quickly stands in front of her. Zachary cuts the ropes and plastic that binds Nikita down.

"Are you ok?" Michael asks as he lightly touches the right side of Nikita's face, which is where all of Stephen's slaps connected.

"Yes." Nikita says as she hugs Michael with her freed hands.

"Get me some ice." Michael says as he again touches her face. Nikita tries to pulls his hand away.

"No. Feel." Michael says. He grabs each of her hands and runs them down opposite sides of her face. She can immediately feel the swelling.

"Ok.. what about me?" Stephen asks excitedly as he hands the ice to Nikita.

"You..." Michael huffs as he grabs Stephen and pushes him against the wall.

"Michael..." Nikita says softly as she touches his back with the hand that is not holding the ice to her face. "Just sedate him and lets get out of this frozen city."

Zachary takes the small needle out, and pushes the sediative into Stephen.

"Philly is the city of brotherly love... I did this for us, Nikita... so we both can know our father... brotherly love... brotherly love..." Stephen mumbles until he drifts off into sleep.

-------------------------------------------------

Michael and Zachary pull Stephen up the stairs to Section's plane. Nikita walks slowly up the stairs, allowing her hair to whip violently in the wild and harsh wind.

"C'on 'Kita!" Michael calls out to Nikita ask he pokes his head out of the airplane's door. Nikita is staring at the snowflakes. Michael walks down a few steps.

"What if Stephen is right?" Nikita asks Michael. Michael shakes his head no back and forth.

"Operations told me himself that he found your father." Michael says as he takes Nikita's hand, and she dashes up into the warm airplane.

-------------------------------------------------

"So I have an American and an English man?" Operations says as he looks at the reports he has finally narrowed down to be Nikita's father.

"Or yourself." Madeline says firmly.

"Stop that." Operations orders Madeline again.

"The American was orginally a citizen of Austria..." Madeline points out. Operations looks at the pictures again.

"Can we give a reasonable reason why he was with Nikita's mother?" Operations asks.

"We'll just use the reason why you were with her to start with. No need to forget the whole truth." Madeline says bitterly.

She stands up, and leaves, slamming the door.

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

Operations looks down from the glass in perch. He watches as Michael and Zachary continue to drag Stephen across the floor of Section. Operations is surprized at how skinny he looks. His appearance is somewhat in shambles.

Operations then glances to the other end of the room, were Nikita has just entered. She is holding something to her face.

Operations leans closer to the window. Birkoff walks over to Nikita, and she pulls the cloth of her face, revealing swelling and the beginning of bruising.

"You can't hide your feelings. You've already changed." Madeline says as she steps further into the room.

"Have Stephen cleared by Medlab, and then lock him into a white room. From what Nikita reported during their plane ride, Stephen may not be stable enough to start recruit training." Operation says as he still stares at Nikita. Walter is now standing in front of Nikita, clenching his fists.

"And Nikita?" Madeline asks. Operations looks at Madeline and blinks.

"Check her face, then we'll debrief. I'll tell her of her father then." Operations says, standing up. -------------------------------------------------

"I'm sorry about Stephen." Operations says as Michael leads in Nikita.

"It's only a hairline fracture, not compared to other things I've had." Nikita says trying to smile. The two sit down.

"We've found your father. I'll leave you two." Operations says as he pushes a file towards Nikita, and leaves.

"William Weider" the file reads. Nikita looks at the picture.

"Wow, he looks a lot like Operations." Nikita comments as she starts to looks through the file.

"He has a soul..." Nikita whispers as she reads of what William Weider has done, and there appears to be alot.

"Like father, like daughter..." Michael comments as he holds her shoulder as she discovers who her father is.

-------------------------------------------------

Operations turns off the screen and is surprized by the presence of Madeline.

"You are going to regret that." Madeline says. Operations stares into the room in which Stephen is yelling and screaming.

"He, well, is very unstable." Madeline comments as she looks into the room.

"I can see that!" Operations says firmly. Madeline puts a hand on his shoulder.

"He needs a father." Madeline says. "And you'll go in for him. I'm so glad you are such a fair and equal parent to all of your children."

-------------------------------------------------

Madeline sits in Anna's room, rocking the baby to sleep in the rocking chair.

"Hello there, sis." Zachary says tip toeing in. He glances down at the tiny bundle. "She looks like you."

"I thought you were leaving." Madeline says in a slight whisper.

"Operations delayed it because of snow...New York airports are closed." Zachary reveals as he softly touches Anna's hand with his fingertip.

Madeline sits back and smiles, knowing that she knows about her child.

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

Madeline walks into Operations office, still upset at him for the lies he is now weaving.

"What is it Madeline?" Operations says with edginess on his every word.

"We have adjusted the medications. Seems like caffine has caused most of Stephen's problems." Madeline says.

Operations smiles.

"We can start training him when?" Operations asks without looking at Madeline.

"A few days." Madeline responds. "We still haven't found that other copy of the report."

"If it ever turns up, we can prove that it has been a fake." Operations says. Madeline bits here lip. She turns and walks away. She doesn't tell Operations that the other copy had also been printed off of the bottom printer, which is completely unique. It was one way of knowing if a document was true or not. Madeline held on to the information, hoping that somehow Nikita would learn of the truth.

-------------------------------------------------

Nikita sits at the kitchen counter looking at the pieces of paper she had scattered across the table. Her father...she thinks as she looks at some of the newspaper articles. William Weider...humanitarian of the year.... William Weider brings

Christmas to a full orphanage...

"We have mail." Michael says strangely as he carries in a yellow envelop.

"I sent away for an album... I think I'll use it for my father book." Nikita says as she picks up another article. Michael places the yellow envelop on the table.

"It didn't feel heavy enough..." Michael says as he walks back. Nikita picks the envelop up and starts to open it as she continues to stare at a picture of her father.

"I think I'm going to dig more up about him...go to the library..." Nikita says and then stops as she finally looks down at the document that has slid into her hands.

"Test 1000-1" the front page reads out. The envelop falls to the floor. Michael looks up at Nikita.

Nikita flips to the second page..."100% match..." NIkita reads..."Test Subject A...father...100%" are continually highlighted. She flips to the last page, which identifies who the subjects were.

"Oh god no!" Nikita cries out as the paper slides out of her hands. Michael stands up and looks quickly at the document.

"Nikita, let's see if this is real to start with." Michael says, trying to hide his own shock.

"I knew it was too good." Nikita mutters as she runs into the bedroom.

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

"Michael, that paper you gave me is Section. No doubt." Birkoff says handing the title page back.

Michael takes the paper out of Birkoff's hand.

"Thanks... I owe you some Oreo's." Michael says sadly as he walks out of Section.

Quicky he has arrived back to their apartment. He looks at the kitchen counter, and notices that the pictures that once were scattered across the table are now in neat piles.

"Nikita!" Michael calls out, but soon realizes that the apartment is clear. He looks at the piles of pictures and rushes out of the door.

-------------------------------------------------

"Stephen." Operations says as he enters Stephen's room.

"Father." Stephen says back, coldly. Operations looks around the room and then at Stephen.

"I tried to protect you, and you tried to destroy one of my best operatives..." Operations starts but is interupted by Stephen slamming his hands down on the wood table.

"YOUR DAUGHTER!" Stephen roars. Operations comes in close to Stephen.

"Her father is William Weider... that man has to be her father... you will learn this!" Operations says firmly.

"You never taught me anything, how do you know?" Stephen yells back bitterly. Operations nods his head to the side.

"You will learn Section way. Meet the torture twins, no need to tell you why they are here. I will be transferring you out tomorrow morning. You will not have a chance to destroy Nikita." Operations says, leaving Stephen with the torture twins.

-------------------------------------------------

Nikita sits in the library at a computer. She has a magazine article on the screen and is reading.

"Nikita, the report is real." Michael says as he softly touches her shoulder.

"It's a fake." Nikita's voice cracks as she continues to read about William Weider.

"Nikita, Operations is your father." Michael says more firmly.

"No, My father has a soul... he was a kind and generous man." Nikita protests through tears.

"Why lie to yourself?" Michael asks.

"Because Operations can't admit...so I might as well have this man as my father... I like him... I can identify who I am because of him... William Weider is my father!" Nikita cries out.

Michael steps back. He has no response. He thinks of how important it is for Nikita and Operations to admit to each other their true relationship. But Michael swallows hard.

Operations had order Nikita to be cancelled. Operations had to be eating himself alive for that.

Nikita had struggled to find a father with a soul. She has been given a fake one, but Michael can see where she is making sense.

Michael swallows again. He realizes that if Operations and Nikita admitted the relationship, how it would affect him.

Michael looks over at Nikita and can't stop immediately thinking, "That's Operations' daughter.." and Michael struggled to maintain thoughts..." That is the woman I love."



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