Something was up, and that much was what Nikita knew. She stared out the office door to where Michael and Gannon stood, huddled in conversation. For the past two days, Michael had stayed long into the night at Section, and started to avoid Nikita's glances and looks.

Nikita fingers a tracker in her fingers, knowing that it would be difficult to get this onto Michael without him knowing, but if anyone could pull one over Michael, it was Nikita.

She didn't want to do it... but with Michael regressing into behaviors that she had not seen in what felt like years, she must find out why.

Michael nods his head and moves back to the office. Nikita doesn't look up right away, not wanting to be met by a blank stare. When she saw it two days ago, Nikita almost laughed, until she realized that it was back.

"Michael... you haven't been around lately..." Nikita says in a slight whine as she walks over to Michael and starts to rub his chest through the shirt.

"Nikita, aren't you to be working with Billie and John?" Michael answers without reacting to Nikita's movements. Nikita rubs her hand down lower. She starts to open the buttons. "Nikita." Michael says sharply. Nikita puts her face infront of Michael's with a huge smile. As Michael blankly stares at Nikita's smile, Nikita's fingertip quickly places the tracker just inside the front of his jeans. Nikita was thankful that Michael decided to wear boxers today, instead of his normal freely roaming style. Nikita gives Michael pouty eyes, and rebuttons the pants.

"Can you tell me what is going on?" Nikita asks as she moves back to her desk.

"Nothing for you to worry about." Michael says immediately, starting to stare at his computer screen.

Nikita can even sit down. It scared her. There was always the blank stare whenever they were on a mission or whenever they were working with operatives, but in their own office... rarely was it shown, especially to Nikita.

"Fine." Nikita says heading towards the door. "Then maybe I won't tell you that I'm going shopping for my dress today." Nikita says.

"That's nice." Michael responds. The response flairs anger into Nikita, and she makes a bee line to the gym.

***********

Nikita walks into the office with a towel around her neck. Sweat drips from her forehead as she walks into the bathroom and splashes water on her face. It is when Nikita is walking back towards the desk that she notices that Michael is not in the office. She scans his desk and sees a tiny note. "Be back late." Nikita grabs the note and rolls it up into a tiny ball.

"I hope it works." Nikita mutters as she pulls out an item that looks like a walksman, but is truly her way of listening to Michael.

"He is still not known to Section.. someone is protecting him..." Gannon says.

"Government most likely.. I don't want to thinks whose." Michael says sharply. Nikita, worried that she mess up the facts starts to jot at the desk blotter.

"Michael, he set us up more than once... I can't believe that he is still not caught." Gannon complains.

"I have intel that he has connections with Red Cell and LECDER, which means he would be valuable to Section." Michael says.

Nikita can't believe that these two operatives are talking about someone they know about, and Section knows nothing.

"Are you thinking of turning him into Section? Do you want him to roam they same halls as your NIKITA?" Gannon almost screams.

"No." Michael says quickly.

*At least he is protecting me* Nikita thinks to herself.

"I think a couple ghosts will show up at Sulfur's den tonight." Michael says, and Nikita can hear Michael walk away. Nikita pulls off the walkman and stashes it into her desk.

"Sulfur?" Nikita says to herself. She quickly decides to escape Section so she can use a non-Section computer. She grabs the walkman and heads out of Section.

Luckily, the library in town has several computers with free internet service. Nikita logs on, and starts to search for Sulfur. She looks back into old records, and a pattern arrises to her. Nikita smiles as she jots down the information. To anyone viewing the sight as a normal person will think it is all a fun and games site, but Nikita knew better. Maybe some of the intel is rumors, but from what she gathered, Sulfur was not a nice man, especially of late.

Nikita gathers her things and exits the library quickly. Whatever Michael and Gannon had planned, she very muched doubt they could handle it by themselves.

***********

Michael is in the office, pushing around papers. Maybe Michael thinks that Nikita doesn't notice, but she notices.

"Michael... has something changed?" Nikita asks softly, hoping to get Michael to open up.

"It's nothing, Nikita." Michael says with a firm voice.

"Why do I have the feeling you are hiding something?" Nikita asks softly again.

"Nikita, It's none of your business." Michael says, turning his head sharply to Nikita.

"Is it yours?" Nikita questions. Michael raises and eyebrow and notes the corner that Nikita has already painted him into.

"Yes, it is." Michael says.

"Then it is my business also." Nikita says, but she notices that it goes nowhere.

"Nikita, stay out of it." Michael says standing up.

"I can't do that." Nikita says. Michael moves closer to Nikita and leans down to her face.

"I mean it, stay out of it. Go home, and wait. I'll be home by daybreak." Michael says and then storms out of the office.

Nikita waits a few moments, and then pulls out the walkman. She quickly transfers parts of the unit around, and quickly is adhesiving her reciever behind her ear.

She walks to the bathroom and changes into all black garb, taking a book out of Michael's fashion sense. In fact, the jacket is Michael's. Nikita pulls her hair up tightly and walks out of the office.

"Hey, Walter!" Nikita says as she steps into the workspace. Walter looks up and smiles.

"What do ya want, sugar?" Walter asks.

"Why would I want something?" Nikita asks as she places a palm to her chest, trying to act innocent.

"You are dressed in black, sugar. What do you need?" Walter asks again as he leans against the table.

"Walter, Can I ask you a question?" Nikita asks as she almost chews her bottom lip.

"Sure, sugar.. doesn't mean I'll answer it." Walter says with a bright smile.

"Have you played around with some new night vision stuff?" Nikita asks.

"Now where did you hear that from?" Walter asks with mock anger.

"I've heard you have... maybe even night vision contacts?" Nikita says with a bright smile.

Walter shakes his head and pulls out the little container and slides it towards Nikita.

"For me?" Nikita asks in mock surprize. She goes about putting the contacts in and pulls her sunglasses over her highly sensitive eyes.

"Thanks, Walter!" Nikita says tapping the sunglasses.

"Do you need anything else?" Walter asks.

"Mmmm... a good gun." Nikita says with a bright smile.

"I knew something was up... I got your favorite held off to the side... Michael requested it.. but I told him that it was out...." Walter says as he heads to the holding area.

Nikita jumps into a little black car and quickly picks up the way Michael is going with Gannon. From Walter, she was able to gather what other equipment they had been able to scam off of him, and along with the personal stash that Nikita knew of, Michael had a lot of fire and power with him. Too bad he didn't have several more operatives.

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

Michael nods his head to Gannon and all of the lights in the medium size house that Sulfur is staying in goes out. Going in separate windows, Michael and Gannon enter the house.

"SULFUR!!!" Michael calls out, walking through the little kitchen. He can clearly see the outline of the doorway, and pulls out his gun just in case.

"Hey.. Sulfur!!!" Gannon calls out from the family room down the hall from Michael. Both men move towards the livingroom, where they had spotted Sulfur before they cut the electricity.

Michael smiles as he sees the older man curled int a corner.

"Oh, Sulfur.. have you forgotten us?" Michael questions as he pulls of his night vision goggles and turns on a flashlight. The man turns his head and screams as he sees Michael's face.

"YOU ARE DEAD!" Sulfur says loudly.

"SO am I!" Gannon calls out as he comes in view to Sulfur.

"No.. No..." Sulfur says in a frightened voice.

Nikita takes a position in some bushes. She looks into the house, and sees that maybe Michael and Gannon underestimated what they would encounter. Nikita could quickly count five men surrounding the house. She listened to the tracker on Michael, and knew that Sulfur was playing the part beautifully.

"I.. didn't want to... I really.. really didn't.." Sulfur trembles and Gannon pulls him up by the collar.

"What about Red Cell and LECDER?" Michael says with anger. He stares intensely into the man's eyes.

Sulfur begins to laugh. Michael and Gannon crunch up their eyebrows at this reaction, and suddenly are surrounded by the men.

"Damn it, Michael!" Nikita mutters under her breath. Nikita moves around the bush a little bit, suddenly glad that Walter had given her more than she expected that she would need.

"I knew that you lived Michael... I just knew... now Gannon.. I never thought you would make it to be an operative." Sulfur says as six guns are aimed at the men. Sulfur circles his former business partners.

"I'm stubborn as a mule." Gannon spits out. Sulfur laughs.

"And as stupid as a mule." Sulfur adds. "You still attract the ladies, uh?" Sulfur asks as he touches Michael's hair.

"When needed." Michael responds in the typical Section response.

"When needed... oh that sounds so official... you probably get a lot of women at your feet." Sulfur says.

"Yes... but only one matters." Michael says. He continues the blank stare as he thinks, *Nikita better have put a tracker on me...*

***********

Nikita slowly made her way to the windows. She only quickly peaked over the edge and could see the six men surrounding Michael and Gannon. She also noticed that Michael's and Gannon's guns are not far away.

Nikita leans against the outside of the house, her chest pounding heavily, but yet still waiting for the perfect timing.

"So where is your backup?" Sulfur asks the captives. Michael looks blankly ahead. He regrets not telling Nikita, and regrets that Nikita probably had believed his words. He almost frowned but held off the urge. Gannon dropped his head to the floor and kept quiet.

"No backup?" Sulfur asks with a laugh. "Now, isn't that how you had the problem with me before?" Sulfur asks.

The two men remain quiet. A tapping occurs on a window and Sulfur motions one of the men to go check it.

"You two lost two million dollars because you didn't have back up.. thought you could deal with me by yourselves... I see you didn't learn the lesson..." Sulfur recaps the events of their previous experience.

Nikita lays low, and grabs at the man's leg. He fall forward, and Nikita grabs the neck and easily breaks it. She sets the man's scarred face down into the ground and moves off three steps to the left. She grabs the gun and pulls a few rounds off. She peaks into the window again, and quickly slides against the house again.

"If that was your backup.. I guess it just got killed." Sulfur says with a laugh. Michael stares blankly ahead, trying to remember the exact detail of what just occured. It could have been Nikita, trying to communicate is some sort of code.

Michael turns his head towards Sulfur and bites his lip.

"My life is better now.... even if you kill me... I do good..." Michael says angerily and Gannon's eyes open in mass confusion.

"Good? Good? You are killing those just like you!" Sulfur screams.

"They aren't like me... I have a soul... I lost it.. but I have a soul." Michael pronounces.

"MICHAEL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? SHUT UP!" Gannon yells out. Michael tries to throw a glance at him but Sulfur yanks his chin.

"You a soul... now that is a joke for the century!" Sulfur laughs and moves away.

Nikita smiles as Michael starts the small arguement. It could have been larger, but Nikita realizes that she will have to teach Michael how to create those. She takes a deep breath, rolls the tiny silver ball, whose explosives are now activated, and finally heaves it into the window. The glass smashes and Nikita retreats from the house. She was still upset at Michael for this one.

As soon as the glass shatters, all of the men turn towards the window. Michael kicks the closest man with a kick directly on the spine, and then quickly picks up his gun. Gannon picks up the gun first and starts to shoot.

Michael hears a rolling, and sees the little silver ball.

"Gannon... ball.. nine o'clock." Michael calls out, and both men start to move out of the room, while Sulfur's men are quickly stopped.

Sulfur stands in the middle of the room, staring at the happenings. Michael holds the gun on him from a distance.

"Go ahead... kill me!" Sulfur mutters, but before Michael is tempted the small explosive engulfs Sulfur to his death.

Michael walks through the bushes quickly trying to make his way to the car which Gannon drove here. In the back of his mind he is looking for Nikita, but not in a physical way.

Nikita sees Michael and immediately places the gun against his head. She sees every muscle tighten and he raises his hands up. She looks around, and knows that there is not much time.

"Don't you ever do that to me again. Do you understand?" Nikita says, and without waiting for the answer, Nikita slides on the safety and runs to her car.

Michael pauses as the gun is pulled away from his head. He turns and looks at the retreating Nikita. He did not expect this one. He made her mad this time. He watched her toned body move in the black outfit and wondered where her night vision goggles were. A whistle from Gannon snaps Michael back and he runs towards the car.

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