Madeline sat at her desk in the late night, early morning hours. She smiled at the screen as she read some of the work that one operative had been posting to a romantic stories online site. All of the postings were quite life like, and Madeline had become addicted to reading them. She knew, that the operative should be told to stop the behavior and put on a hairy mission, but Madeline was smiling to much.

She reached over, and sipped some Diet Coke. It had become flat, and Madeline glanced at the clock. She had meant to be in bed hours ago. The phone rings, and Madeline answers it without looking at it.

"Madeline..." The man's voice echos, as if in a distance. Madeline immediately looks down to see what kind of line has been established.

"Zachary? Jonathan?" Madeline questions as she sets her coffee down on the desk.

"It's Jonathan." Jonathan answers, and Madeline lets a small smile out.

"So, why the call? How did you know I would be up tonight?" Madeline says in a friendly chatting manner. It wasn't often that she spoke to one of her twin brothers, and sometimes she couldn't tell which one was pretending to be Zachary on a particular day.

"Madeline, Zachary is will father... you better come as quickly as possible." Jonathan says, and Madeline's smile fades quickly.

"I just saw the tapes today, he looked well." Madeline says sharply.

"Are you able to come by yourself, or do you want Operations to come?" Jonathan asks, knowing that if Madeline could not do this by herself, that one of the twins would have to disappear.

"Can I call you from my place... I'm going to have to design a reason to be awol." Madeline says.

"Madeline, time is of the essence." Jonathan says gravely. Madeline nods with the phone on her ear.

"Give me a half hour." Madeline says. She hangs up the phone, and quickly dives into the main computer system to create some reason why she should run off to a little town just outside of Boston.

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

Madeline walks into her apartment, which no one from Section One knew about. All knowledge of it was hidden ages ago, and had been long forgotten. In fact, Madeline had no been there much recently, and she had never brought Anna with her, because they have Anna constantly monitored.

Madeline moved over to the phone and instantly called Jonathan. "Jonathan?" Madeline says softly, as she walks with the phone to the closet, that carried a little bit of clothing, and started to pack.

"Are you clear?" Jonathan asked immediately.

"I'm in my apartment... they won't be watching me." Madeline says as she throws some shoes into the bag.

"Is Operations going back to Headquarters?" Jonathan asks softly.

"No. Walter will be taking the lead... I might have a day, or two at the most." Madeline says as she zips up the bag. She pushes a piece of her hair out of her face, and carries the bag out of the room.

"Father might not make it till you get here." Jonathan says, and

Madeline can almost see the tears on his face. Somehow, somehow, they had hidden the existence of the twin brother... and so, in some weird, twisted way, the brothers would switch back and forth, and the other would take care of the father, and an outside family. For Madeline, the existence of a twin brother, and the apartment was a safe haven, which Madeline was prepared to use at any time for any circumstance she deemed it was necessary.

"Where is he?" Madeline asks as she picks up the keys and is standing at the door, ready to leave after the phone conversation.

"At the hospital, about ten minutes away from the home." Jonathan responds. "Who is suppose to pick you up at the airport?"

"Whoever is not playing Zachary." Madeline responds.

"That would be me." Jonathan informs. "It won't be a Section Jet, will it?"

"Yes, it will be. But only me and the pilot. He will be returning back to base." Madeline informs.

"Can I ask what the cover story is here?" Jonathan asks immediately.

"Oh, some pyschopath is loose, and I'm having psychic readings of him, therefore, I'm after him. It will take me ten minutes before boarding the plane back to make that true." Madeline says.

"I better let you get going... I'll see you at the airport, sis."

Jonathan says and hangs up. Madeline sets down the phone and walks out the door quickly.

*

"Walter, where is Madeline?" Nikita asks as she walks pass Walter's workspot. Walter looks up from a set of guns.

"She had a mission... should be back in a day or two." Walter says.

"And who is running Section?" Nikita asks, immediately worried that this meant that Operations was coming back to Headquarters yet again.

"I am." Walter says with a huge grin.

"OH?" Nikita asks with a smile. "Well, can me and Michael have the day off then?" Nikita asks with a deep laugh.

"Only if you are working on wedding items." Walter says with a bigger grin back.

"We are always working on our honeymoon night... that is a wedding item!" Nikita laughs loudly, and Walter almost doubles over.

"Now, I don't think you two would have any problems on that night... whenever it is!" Walter finally spits out.

"Might as well have a few test runs." Nikita says jogging out of the workspace. Walter follows behind.

"Nikita.. what do I do if I need you?" Walter calls out before Nikita turns the corner, almost out of Section.

"Bang on the door, real loud!" Nikita says, and she is gone.

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

Madeline now sat in Jonathan's car as it quickly drove through the early morning darkness. She stared out the window, and felt the car was moving at a snail's pace. The plane ride had also been about the same. Madeline recalled easily her father teaching her how to ride her tricycle on the street outside the planned housing communinty.

"Madeline... we are there." Jonathan says as he pulls the car into the parking space near the enterance to the hospital. Madeline quickly glances over to Jonathan and has this feeling that it is too late already. Madeline only nods her head and steps out of the door. Jonathan takes Madeline's hand and the two walk through a metal detector to enter the hospital. Jonathan wraps his hand around her waist as they procede through maze of halls and little pathways. Madeline leans over and presses the elavator button and shutters as she steps back. She taps her heal nervously as she waits for the elavator to come down to her.

"Going up." The elavator said in a mechanical voice. The clean metal reflected the image of the exhausted Madeline back to her. She walks in and turns her back on the image. Only to be stared back with the image as the doors shut.

The elavator of course stops on every floor, for some nursing staff that only needs to go up one floor and was lazy enough that they did not use the stairs.

The doors opened into a tan hallway. "Cardio Care" the sign read, and Madeline and Jonathan looked both ways for signs of Zachary. A nurse in blue scrubs knocked at a door, and Zachary walks out.

Instantly, Madeline and Jonathan knows. They rush down the hall, but Madeline still has no tears.

"He couldn't wait.. couldn't wait to leave..." Zachary mutters out. Madeline stands stunned, that she didn't have a chance to say goodbye to her father.

Jonathan looks in horror at Madeline, as she almost collapses with tears down her face. She hangs onto her two brothers for the support of her weakened body.

"They said we could go see him... before..." Zachary says slowly, and Madeline pulls for some kleenex.

"Now I know how Nikita felt... oh poor girl... oh oh... I.. I.. I.. I.." Madeline mumbles as she sits down on the couch in the private little room.

Jonathan and Zachary are at a lose to figure out what to do. They rub Madeline's back and wait for the excort to the room.

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

Madeline stood inbetween her twin brothers as a different nurse walked them down the long white hall. Madeline couldn't believe how close a real hospital looked like the hallways at Headquarters. That was going to have to change, Madeline determined as they reached a room.

There were a doctor and another nurse standing in the room. Jonathan and Zachary held her hands tightly as they say the blue-green face sticking out from the white blanket.

A patch of white hair struck Madeline's attention. She stared at her father's face, trying to remember every little nook and cranny. She swallowed hard and tears easily rolled down her face and down the faces of her brothers. She stared at the larger liverspots, and at the blueness of his lips. Madeline had seen thousands of dead bodies... most of them because of herself.. but Madeline now began to shake.

"NOOOOO!" Madeline finally screamed out as her legs began to fold on her. The nurse came over and rubbed her back and helped Jonathan and Zachary to walk her out of the room.

"Honey... we'll take care of your father... now you go home..." The nurse said. Madeline just blankly walked down the hallway, with her brothers on her side.

*

Jonathan clicks the clip into the gun, and looks back into the backseat, where Madeline is just holding the gun in her hand.

"Madeline... we must do this.. Operations would kill us all if he ever knew." Zachary says as he glances at Madeline from the rear view mirror.

Madeline slowly clicks the clip into the gun and then touches her black shirt lightly.

"Father didn't want to be in a cemetry either way." Madeline mutters out softly. The twins nod their heads in agreement. The herst starts towards them, and the three siblings pull down the ski masks on their faces.

Jonathan jumps out in front of the car and holds the gun on the driver, the only living person in the car. Zachary and Madeline run around to the back and pull out the bag that they were transporting her father in from the hospital. Zachary lays it on his shoulders and carefully places it in the trunk of the car. Madeline shots out the back two tires, as Jonathan does the same with the front. Madeline turns the corner and reaches into the car, and shots up the engine. The driver stares in acute worry.

Quickly, they run to the car and make their escape, and the father will be proved in two days on a government computer that he had died over twenty years ago.

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

Madeline stepped back from the dirt grave and into a grove of trees. Jonathan and Zachary stood to either side.

"Well.. he would have wanted to be in the forest." Zachary says with a half smile. Madeline wipes her sweaty face and a streak of mub runs down her face.

"He taught me how to fish not to far from her." Madeline says with a soft sigh.

"He would have done anything to get us out, Madeline, you know that." Jonathan says softly.

"You never HAD to be in." Madeline reminds firmly. Jonathan hangs his head down low.

"I better go. They will be missing me." Madeline says, and she turns and trudges out of the woods, followed by her brothers.

*

"Madeline, dear, that guy is some psychopath!" Walter says as he joins Madeline as she walks down the hall.

"Can you give the assignment to Nikita?" Madeline asks with a very stressed voice.

"Well... that might be a problem..." Walter says trying to beat around the bush.

"What do you mean that it might be a problem?" Madeline asks firmly.

"Well... when you left.... Nikita asked if she and Michael could have the day off... and I said only if it was about wedding items." Walter says, telling his story slowly.

"Walter, what aren't you telling me?" Madeline asks as she stops her walking.

"Well... they are practicing their honeymoon night... like they need more practice." Walter says.

"The man will keep." Madeline says and she head to her office.

*

Nikita walks through the halls in the darkness. She had a strange feeling at home that something was wrong, and that feeling got stronger and stronger as she reached Madeline's door.

"Madeline, is something wrong?" Nikita asks as she enters, and can see the tears on her face.

"I thought you were practicing?" Madeline asks, wondering why Nikita was there.

"I had this feeling that I had to come in. What is going on?" Nikita asks firmly.

"I'm going to tell you the truth... My father died." Madeline says, and Nikita sits down, ready to hear all of Madeline's stories of her father.

(In loving memory of my father)

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