Sometimes the body separated from the mind, where the mind was somewhere else, no matter where the body was placed. Sometimes the separation was noticed by anyone who past, but a few people had total control of the mind/body split, where there would be no physical changes in the body to indicate that the mind was not in the current situation. It was when this split occurred for days upon end that it indicated deep seeded worries and thoughts. For someone who already believed he lived his life split in two, it would only indicate the terror that his life had become.

Michael slowly moved into his office and sat down at the computer. There had been a debriefing and a briefing, but now he had time. He pulled his chair out from the desk and sat down heavily in it as his body felt twenty times heavier, and that pressure and weight seemed to grow with each passing day.

Michael paused as he looked of his door and towards the hallway. Until recently, Michael had never noticed how many operatives did pass his door and the thought humbled him. It was when Birkoff stopped just shy of Michael's door that his entire body tensed up. The young man looked bad, like he was working too hard and lacking sleep. He was dressed in standard black and rubbed at his drawn and pale face.

For a few moments, Michael pondered if Birkoff was heading to his office with some new Intel, but that ended as another strangling operative appeared, wearing standard black also, right down to the solid black bandana. Walter dropped his head as he looked at Birkoff, as the two had found it difficult to view each other without drawing up some difficult memories. If Birkoff's face was drawn, then Walter's was sunken. All of the older man's charming features had dried up instantly and there was no changing the process now. Walter nodded his head to Birkoff and quickly walked away from the man.

Michael dropped his head and focused on the computer in front of him. But as his fingertips touched the keys to start typing, the mind shattered in thousands of thoughts, feelings, and emotions that he had no further control over, probably much less control of those things than he did have over his life at that moment. There was nothing really for Michael to actually do, but his fingers worked as if typing, and he went along with the motions, needing to pretend his usefulness.

"Michael." Madeline said as she stepped into the office. She viewed Michael's own haggard appearance and sighed inwardly. She stepped forward and closed the door as Michael jammed the security in his office. He then lifted his head and view Madeline with eyes that were dull and lifeless.

"Yes, Madeline?" Michael questioned, as he did not allow himself to ponder the reason why Madeline was here. He had stopped trying to figure out what was happening now, it did not matter what they planned on making Michael to do. It was best if he stopped caring too.

"We have to talk about your reports. They have become redundant." Madeline stated firmly as she stood in front of Michael's desk. Off to the side was the chair that had been in front of Michael's desk for years. Until recently, Madeline would have sat down, but now she needed to view Michael from where she stood.

"I do not believe that it the case." Michael replied and Madeline nodded her head. Her eyes focused onto Michael's dull gray eyes, finding it interesting that she had not seen them look green in weeks.

"The mission went well today. I did not see the need to mention that you feel the team was weak." Madeline stated and Michael lifted his head and focused on Madeline's face, but then he turned his head down as if in thought and looked to the chair. It was off to Madeline's right side, and it sat there as a reminder. He blinked his eyes and focused up onto Madeline.

"It was the truth. The member we lost was deeply needed on the right flank. I thought it was very important that Section One realizes the impact of the lost member means." Michael replied with more words that Madeline had expected. She pressed her lips together, as she felt for the young man, but could not allow Michael to see or notice that. Yet, Madeline was sure that he was not seeing or noticing anything of late that he was automatically running through the motions, not caring if he died or lived. When he didn't run into a bullet in those first two weeks, Madeline knew that he would not take or plan to take is own life. Now, she wondered if he even saw it as life.

"There have been thirty-two reports that you have mentioned so, all of which were successful. I think we have noticed." Madeline stated and Michael looked up at her face with unchanging emotion on his face.

"I don't believe you have." Michael stated and Madeline sighed and tilted her head down. If it would have been said with any emotion at all, Madeline would have taken the statement as a challenge, but there was no emotion. Michael seemed to act like a robot and Madeline was sure that was how he felt, and now she had to remind him of when he didn't act like a robot.

"Michael, we all feel the pain and lost of Nikita's death." Madeline said and Michael's entire body flinched. He had not heard anyone mention her name in weeks. He swallowed as he tried to stop his mind from calling up the images from just over a month ago. He shut his eyes and focused on Madeline.

"I don't think you have." Michael stated firmly and Madeline was momentarily thrown off track. Immediately following the incident with Nikita, Michael was not the only person who believed that she died at Section One's hands. Madeline had an almost full-blown mutiny on her hands when Walter and Birkoff rallied the other operatives against her and Operations. She had to release a tape that probably changed everyone's view of her forever. It stopped the mutiny, but did not stop the pain that ran deep into Section One's core.

"We did not have her cancelled, Michael. You may never believe it, but it is the truth." Madeline stated as Michael turned his focus back to the chair. It was her chair, Nikita's chair, and Madeline understood the symbol still sat in his office, like a terrible reminder. Madeline stepped back and looked at Michael.

"Why don't you go home, Michael. Get some sleep." Madeline stated and Michael instantly stood up, taking the comment as a command and nothing else. Madeline pressed her taunt lips together and stepped forward once again, bringing Michael's attention back to her.

"Your home. Not to Nikita's apartment." Madeline stated and Michael blinked his eyes several times in succession and swallowed. He considered Nikita's apartment home not. He turned his head away and looked to the window.

"I have things I have to finish up there." Michael stated calmly and Madeline folded her hands tightly in front of her waist, trying to stop the urge to shake Michael out of his current state. She had for many weeks covered for Michael's presence in Nikita's apartment for Operations, trying to make it seem as part of Michael's healing. But there was no healing going on here. Madeline waited and then finally licked her lips.

"I don't think it is healthy for you, Michael. You have to move on, and we will be needing the apartment soon enough." Madeline stated and Michael's head snapped around to focus on Madeline.

"You can't replace Nikita. You don't understand how valuable she was." Michael stated and Madeline nodded her head. She had to agree with Michael on that statement. There had been many missions of late that they had moved to other Sections, as they did not have what they needed, two top-level operatives. Although Michael might claim he could work with anyone, the presence and pain of Nikita's lost was affecting Michael more than he thought. Madeline saw it in his every movement and she did not need to see the self-torturing techniques that Michael engaged in at Nikita's apartment, as it seemed as if Michael wanted to inflect as much pain onto his own heart and soul, as if it would bring Nikita back.

Madeline knew of the shell of a man that she had standing in front of him, as he acted out on instructions for the powers that be and nothing more. She had started a process to help him out, to ease his pain maybe a little more. The man that once was going to be Operations was nothing more than an enigma at Section One now. Madeline felt his pain and knew that to lose Nikita was like the last straw in Michael's fragile psyche. To play games with him now would have no effect. He felt nothing for other operatives and in feeling nothing for other operatives, he showed how he lost his effectiveness inside Section One. Madeline always needed an operative that bonded to something, attached to something, and now Michael had lost that. She was sure that it would even be ill advised to capture Adam as Operations had suggested.

Madeline knew what she had set forth towards George and the command that hopefully that she would give to Michael soon. Until that day came, Madeline would continue to cover for Michael's possession of Nikita's apartment, although Operations was not naïve about Michael's feelings for Nikita. Yet, it had taken the death of Nikita for Operations to realize how valuable it was and how he lost two operatives with one death.

"Go home, Michael. Get some sleep." Madeline ordered and stepped backwards out of the office, viewing Michael until she saw some oncoming operatives. She turned and walked down the hallway, leaving Michael to his own devices.

Michael flipped the computer off and stared at the chair. He had first been tempted to throw it away, but he could not do that. Sometimes he could close the door to his office and swear that the chair held her very scent. He would close his eyes and focus on that scent, not caring if someone noticed it or not. There had been a time when an operative tried to move it to sit down in front of Michael. He leapt up from his seat and growled that if he wanted the operative to sit down, he would have suggested it. He could not allow Section take away everything that held Nikita.

Michael buttoned his jacket and stepped out of his office. He looked around the hallways, but the hallways did not hold his mind. His mind was elsewhere, and hoped that someday that his body could join Nikita in the place that his mind was.

*

It was a nice spring day, where the sun had battled all the clouds out of the sky. The birds were happily chirping as the slight breeze danced from one person to another. It was a rare day to say the least, when Michael turned to the side and saw Nikita walking by his side. Nikita looked up to the sky and sighed.

"It's a wonderful day, Michael." Nikita whispered out and Michael dropped his sunglasses over his eyes and stared at Nikita. Nikita shook her blonde hair out and looked into Michael's covered eyes. She had dragged him out of his apartment for coffee, and then was uncharacteristically quiet.

"You can't hide, Michael." Nikita said as she tried to pull the sunglasses off of his face. Michael snapped his hand up and squeezed Nikita's arm tightly before her fingertips even touched the black lens. Nikita pulled her hand away and stared at Michael intensely.

"Do you even know that it is a nice day, Michael? Do you even see the sun and the blue sky?" Nikita questioned as she looked about. She turned to face him with a look on her face that expressed how much disappointment she had for Michael in those moments. She shook her head and threw her hands up in the air.

"Sometimes I don't know why I even try!" Nikita cried out as she stormed off down the sidewalk. Michael stopped his walking as Nikita walked down the sidewalk. He looked around and then focused back on Nikita as she stopped at the corner.

Everything went so slowly as the black car appeared, racing with great speed to where Nikita stood. As Michael whipped off his sunglasses to better view the action, the first shots of gunfire where heard, and Nikita's forward moving body started to move backwards with the force of being shot.

"NOO!" Michael screamed out deeply as the sounded never seemed to end as he felt glued to the sidewalk, as if his feet had become part of the cement of the sidewalk. He reached his hands out as the gunfire continued and then the car pulled quickly away. Her body was still in the process of falling to the ground as Michael finally managed a step forward.

"NO! NIKITA!" Michael deeply screamed as he ran down the sidewalk as if it seemed forever. The short distance felt like miles as Michael watched her figure hit the ground and bounce several times before settling down. There was no movement from Nikita as Michael's body sprinted forward as the blood started to spread out on the sidewalk.

"NO!" Michael cried out as he fell to the ground next to Nikita. He pulled the cell phone as he cradled Nikita's lifeless body in his arms. There was no movement and all the color was out of her face. One instance she was angry with him for not seeing how the blue sky matched her eyes. She would never know that he did notice it. He shook as he dropped the cell phone, unable to partake in the task of telling Birkoff what had happened.

"Nikita.. Stay with me... hold on..." Michael cried out as his heart exploded into billions of pieces as he cradled Nikita's lifeless body. He tried to push on the wounds that pooled deep amounts of her mahogany colored blood. His tears dropped off of his face as he moved his blood-covered hand away, feeling not a pulse in her body. There was noise from his opened cell phone, but Michael had no cognition of what was occurring other than the woman that he loved was dying in his arms.

He couldn't even think that Nikita was already dead in his arms. To Michael, she was dying and could still hear him. He bent down and touched her beautiful face with the blood stained hand.

"You can't leave me 'Kita. Be strong..." Michael wept deeply as he started to rock back and forth on the sidewalk as the spring robins sang out. He didn't notice the people; he didn't notice the noise. All Michael saw was the face of Nikita as his vision blurred. He dropped his head and hugged her deeply, spreading her blood all of his clothes. He needed to tell her the truth.

"God... 'Kita.. I love you... you are my life..." Michael cried out and suddenly it felt as if a club slammed across the back of his head. He jerked his head back as his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and saw the pillow that he was violently clutching too. Michael dropped his head in grief.

"Nikita!" Michael cried out as he held her pillow to his face. He slowly inhaled, taking in the scent deeply into his being. He folded his legs up into the fetal position and rocked with the pillow. He could feel his own tears on the surface of the pillowcase that he dared not wash. In fact, he had not washed any of the bed clothing since that very night, when he wandered around the city until he opened her apartment door.

Michael's grief was still overwhelming and once in it, it was difficult to wake himself from the trance. His cell phone could ring for hours and he would be holding the very pillow he held in a death grip now. In those first few days, it was like Nikita was not dead, that she was alive and gone on a mission. He wandered around her apartment until the exhaustion would buckle his knees and bring the tears draining out of his eyes.

"No... Nikita... Why did you leave me?" Michael cried out deeply as he snuggled his head down into the pillow. Every time he fell asleep, it was the same dream, over and over again; ready to remind him the injustice he did to Nikita as he turned her away one last time. That was all that he ever did to her, while he wanted to cherish her. All Nikita wanted to know was if he ever saw the sun that reminded him of her or the blue sky that only served to remind Michael how much his heart was connected to the tender soul Nikita continued to carry.

"I should have died... Not you!" Michael cried up to the ceiling as he rolled around in the blanket. He remembered the service that Birkoff and Walter had arranged. Madeline had even attended, as Michael was sure that Operations was basking in the glow of the final cancellation of Nikita. Michael had reports that the doctors had tried everything to save Nikita. He received reports that Madeline had broken down, but at the service, Michael stared at the coffin like it was someone he didn't even know. He would not give Madeline or Operations the satisfaction of beating him down. Nikita would not have wanted him too.

Of course, that conscious decision had wrenched his heart up in the weeks that followed as everything he did echoed the profound lost of Nikita and how it hampered his decision making and his emotional stability. No one ever bothered Michael in Nikita's apartment as he kept to the apartment like a shrine. He swore that it was only temporarily, so he could gather the few personal objects that Nikita had cherished to dispense between those she called friend. It had to be the hardest thing for Michael to do, as he emotionlessly handed Walter Nikita's very first gun. Walter broke down in tears as he held onto the small little lady's gun. Michael stared at him cold and heartlessly, even as his own heart continued to shatter into nothing. Birkoff had a similar reaction when Michael handed him the small PDA that once saved Nikita's life.

"Nikita... Nikita..." Michael cried out as the sleep finally claimed him again. It was a vicious cycle, knowing that he would awake with the similar terror holding his body. He knew that he would awake with the tears rolling down his face as he images that he is holding the dying Nikita in his arms and not being able to do anything. He couldn't even say that he comforted Nikita in those moments because his inability to be a man and tell the truth.

Sleep was not going to heal Michael, as it was sleep that was eating away entire chunks of Michael's being. He would find no comfort anywhere, as he realized to have a life meant everything to Nikita and now that she was not here, to grace the earth, he wanted no part of it either. Yet, always when Michael first started to dream as his slumber took him happily, he would dream of Nikita being alive. It was unimaginable, but it gave him hope.

*

There were some places inside of Section One meant for meetings and each place meant a different task at hand. Meetings with Operations happened at the glass observation deck and meetings in that nature had become second nature to Michael up until Nikita's death. Since Nikita's death, there had been no meetings with Operations, which to Michael, signaled his role in Nikita's death. Meetings with Madeline could have occurred in two places, the white room or her office. Both places were under her power and gave her the upper hand. Another situation that Madeline commanded the conversation was when she searched you out. Michael had learned to endure those meetings.

There were also other places inside of Section One that meetings were held, and those places were ones that Michael were also accustomed to, but they always seemed to work with the ones beneath him in Section One. Nikita was often found deep inside the heart of Section One, waiting to meet Michael there, never on good terms and never without one having the power and the other one without the knowledge. Michael knew that currently, Walter and Birkoff had been seen down in the depths of Section One, holding meetings with those operatives who were Nikita's friends.

Yet, when Madeline requested that Michael meet him at Comm, where he would be very visible to everyone inside of Section, to Birkoff and Walter, Michael started to worry about the content of what Madeline wanted. He never knew Madeline to enter a situation out of her control. Michael shut the door to his office and tried not to express the confusion that plagued his mind as he walked down the hallway.

"Madeline." Michael stated as he stepped up to her side, extremely quiet, but Madeline had known he was there. She turned and nodded her head. Michael tried to read her expression but found nothing to reveal the motivation of this meeting.

"I need to give this to you." Madeline said as she produced a piece of paper and handed it over to Michael. He took the paper in his hands but did not break his eyes off of Madeline. It could have contained a poison, to end his misery, but he felt no instant effects from touching the paper. It could explode, and end his life also, but he saw how close Madeline was standing and pushed that thought away from his mind.

"Why don't you try reading it?" Madeline questioned as she stared at Michael's eyes as they bore holes into her own eyes. Madeline watched as Michael tilted his drawn and ashen face down to read the words that she had painfully waited for in the past three days. Madeline's body felt as if it was twitching, waiting for a reaction from Michael until he raised his head and handed it back to Madeline.

"What does this mean?" Michael responded and Madeline blinked her eyes as she felt the paper in her hands. She took the paper and leaned it on Birkoff's computer, as Birkoff had already viewed it.

"It means that your service with Section One is over. It is time that you left. You no longer work for us." Madeline said crossly, hating to explain the simplest things. Michael looked at her and turned his head. He could not find the words that expressed what he was feeling, Regret, that he didn't get this sooner for Nikita. Self-pity because he was being released for having feelings for Nikita that would not leave.

"You have proven yourself to Section enough. We have used and abused you and now, George and I are releasing you. You will have no contact with Section One, unless we find you. You will not try to find Adam. And You leave now." Madeline said and Michael shook his head in disbelief. There were other operatives who had lives that meant more than his. He did not want this chance.

"I don't want this." Michael said and Madeline blinked her eyes and nodded her head. She crossed her hands in front of her body and sighed.

"It does not matter what you want, Michael. It matters that it is now your life. Do you need anything from Nikita's apartment? I can send Walter." Madeline offered and Michael shook his head. He thought of the gold diamond heart necklace that he had given Nikita. It was something that he had done in the haste of holding her in his arms. He slide the necklace over her neck, praying that she knew where it came from and the love that it contained.

"Nothing." Michael said and Madeline silently handed over a disk and an airplane ticket. Michael held the items in his hands and swallowed. Madeline stepped forward and touched his shoulders.

"You must never make us aware that you are accessing Section computers." Madeline softly said with a strangled smile as she realized that talents that Michael had and would use. Madeline stepped back as Walter looked off from his station. Michael looked like a ghost as Madeline directed him to hand over the cell phone. Michael turned and looked around the area and silently left.

Walter looked over to Birkoff and dropped his head. There was sadness that it took Nikita's death to set Michael free from the place that had ruined his life, not once, not twice, and definitely more than three times. Walter turned back to his work as Madeline stood in front of Birkoff for a long while, looking down the empty hallway that Michael had disappeared from. She could only hope that she never saw him in the hallway again.

"How old is this video tape?" a voice asked as the image of Madeline standing in the spot that Michael had departed from ran to the end and the fuzzy took over the screen. The noise was loud and pounding.

"Over two months, Nikita." George commented as he stepped forward and pulled the tapes out from the VCR that Nikita was viewing them in. She turned her own drawn face and rubbed it with her hands. She saw the torture that was placed on Michael's being as he walked out of Section One that last time.

"And he is free?" Nikita questioned as she rubbed her hands across her face and looked to George. He moved to the edge of the medical bed that Nikita sat on, Indian style and nodded his head.

"That was our deal, Nikita." George said and she nodded her head and shook her head. She felt so disconnected from her entire body as she took in what had happened to it. She felt a necklace around her neck that she had never seen before, but somehow it seemed right. In that moment, she realized that Michael must have placed it on her as he thought she was dying in his arms.

Nikita only have the vague reports of what had happened to her and what had happened to Section One in the aftermath. Nikita turned her head to George and tried to focus onto something.

"It is always difficult to connect with the world after being sedated for three months Nikita, but you must understand that it was done to heal your body. We do not have time for you to spent in recovery now." George said and Nikita slowly nodded her head as she noticed that there was nothing wrong with her body and that she felt as firm and trained as she did the day before she "died".

"What are my duties?" Nikita questioned and George smiled as he stepped forward with a lap top computer and several manila folders. He placed them in front of Nikita on the bed and stepped back.

"You are now, who we call, Foxtrot. It's the new position made to examine everything that Section One does. You will have access to all of their files, codes, passwords, e-mail, and Intel. Madeline and Paul will be directly reporting to you, Nikita." George said and Nikita blinked as she stared at George. When she had agreed to work for George, she never thought at what scope he would take her in and she had not expected this.

"Nikita, I found out of your abilities when you worked with Adrian. You know who to play Section One games and to access the files they don't want you in. Now, you will have total access." George said and Nikita nodded her head as she flipped through the files and slowly lifted her foggy head towards George.

"And Michael?" Nikita questioned and George leaned forward and looked into Nikita's blue eyes.

"His files are no longer at Section One. He can only be found in Oversight files, and they are not as easily accessible as Section files have been to you." George warned and Nikita nodded her head, as that was the answer that she had expected. She had bargained Michael's freedom away and she knew that she would live with that decision the rest of her life.

"Foxtrot has her first meeting with Madeline and Paul in two hours. I suggest you pull yourself together and get use to the fact that you have the control over them. I know they are doing something, Nikita, and you are going to dig it out for me." George said and Nikita nodded her head and rubbed her face slightly.

"Will I be required to go back to their headquarters?" Nikita questioned and George turned and raised an eyebrow. It was something that he was going to enjoy watching on the tapes as the past three months he watched Section One deal with the death of Nikita and then the release of Michael. George had on his desk a request from Madeline to release Walter and Birkoff, but George would never touch them. Michael was enough and the only person that Nikita had bargained for. Nikita didn't realize that she could have gotten all three of them released and made her duties so much easier on herself.

"Yes." George replied and moved out of the room to allow Nikita to synthesis her new life and her new position. He had seen the powers Nikita possessed and hoped that she overcame the feelings of loyalty to Section One, and the feeling of love towards Michael, to do what he needed. Nikita was finally going to take down Section One, like she should have done when Adrian was captured.

*

Nikita walked down the hallway in the black business suit, looking the part of a top executive, but having the job as the one whom could kill everyone in Section One with one word. Nikita pressed her hand to head, feeling the tight bun that she had pulled her long blonde hair into pulling at her skin. She stopped shy of the conference room that George had escorted Operations and Madeline into several minutes ago. Nikita had viewed the videotape and swallowed at the destiny handed to her. Soon, her death will be no longer, and her confrontation against Operations would continue.

"George, we have waited long enough with the threat of Foxhound. I don't think the person exists." Operations said deeply and Nikita raised her eyebrow and stood outside of the door. She needed to pull herself together and ready herself for the face to face confrontation that will occur when she opens that door and walks in. She was not ready for that, as her mind kept running back to Michael, and how much she had destroyed him. Nikita swallowed.

"Foxhound exists Paul. And Foxhound will be here soon, and Foxhound will be your worst nightmare." George said firmly and Nikita swallowed.

"Nikita was my worse nightmare, George. She destroyed my finest operatives into wimps that can't perform now and they can't care now!" Operations exclaimed and Nikita shut her eyes as she opened the door.

The first person her blue eyes connected with were not of Operations' or George's, but of Madeline. Madeline blinked her eyes away from Nikita and looked towards Operations as Nikita stepped deeper into the conference room.

"I will be glad to continue your nightmare, Paul." Nikita stated as she stopped her progression into the room and looked directly into Operations' ice eyes. She smiled towards George as he moved towards Nikita with a smile.

"You are looking lovely. After your injuries I was not sure if you would be so strong." George said as he turned and left the room. Nikita stood there, studying Madeline and Operations, knowing that when that door shut that they would leap to action.

"What kind of game are you playing, Nikita?" Operations hissed out as the door clicked and Nikita dropped the smile from her face and moved to the table that Operations was sitting behind. She had to remind herself that she had the power and Operations did not.

"I'm not playing a game, Paul. You will call me and refer to me at Foxhound." Nikita firmly commented and Operations stood up.

"YOU WILL NOT CALL ME PAUL!" Operations hollered and Nikita turned and stepped back in an orchestrated move. It was planned to have the computer there as she moved to it, as George told him that she would need to do.

"Oh, I won't call you Paul.... Let me prove who has the power." Nikita said as she flipped the giant computer screen on. Madeline blinked her eyes as she leaned back in her chair. Nikita knew that Madeline would get to her later and knew exactly how Madeline would attack, with Michael.

"I have all the access codes to Section One. I can get the information when I want too. But, I suggest you fully cooperate with me." Nikita said as she started to work deep into the Section One computer files. Operations started to shake as she opened file after file, of material so sensitive that it could easily cause a revolt underground. Nikita had the power now and Operations could not get himself out of this hole.

"George wants me to know everything about Section One, and I will find it out. Don't lie to me, because I can destroy you both... like Paul did in Vietnam, when he destroyed an entire village of innocent women and children." Nikita said as the image exploded onto the screen. Nikita moved from the computer screen as Madeline stood up and faced Nikita.

"Is there something that you want, Madeline?" Nikita questioned and Madeline stared deep into her eyes, finding a coldness that she never thought that Nikita would find within.

"You know what you have done to Michael." Madeline stated and Nikita swallowed back the pain and hatred of herself as she locked with Madeline's eyes.

"That was the plan." Nikita stated and moved back towards the door. She stopped and looked from the standing Madeline to the stunned Operations.

"I will be by to visit you both. Don't know when, but don't play games here." Nikita stated and moved out of the conference room with a confidence that almost broke Madeline's own spirit.

"Damn.. I should have cancelled her myself." Operations growled out as Nikita listened to the door shutting. Nikita closed her eyes as the comment about Michael haunted her mind. Madeline knew her too well and Nikita knew that it would only continue from Madeline's side. Nikita felt a severe chill run down her body as she moved back down the hallway, her sudden strength instantly wavering.

"I have you Nikita." George said as he grabbed Nikita's waist before she could falter in her step and fall forward. He opened the door and pushed Nikita into the room as Madeline and Operations left the conference room.

Nikita held her eyes closed as for one instance, she almost imaged that it was Michael that grabbed her waist. She knew what this had done to Michael, but she had arranged his freedom and Nikita could only pray that he was using it.

*

Word spreads quickly inside a world held captive some five hundred feet underground and that was a fact that Nikita was acutely aware of. In the past, she heard versions of what Michael was going to tell her before he even called for her and most of the time, the truth was never contained in the words of those telling the story. In her first act as Foxhound, Nikita went against George's wishes and walked into Section One a mere week after being brought out of the coma and meeting with Madeline and Operations. It was going to be hostile territory and Nikita was well aware that she had burned all bridges before she walked into the hallways.

"Madeline and Operations are scared stiff of this person named Foxhound." An operative whispered as he moved down the hallway as Nikita leaned against the wall. She was dressed in a similar fashion that would be found on Madeline. The strict business dress was in plain black. Her hair was pulled tightly up, but it would do nothing to hide who she was.

Nikita finally stepped into a main hallway and looked around. There was the instant reaction that she had expected. The operatives stopped and looked at her. Slowly, a few, that had big mouths and did not understand the workings of Section One well enough yet, moved towards her.

"HOW DARE YOU!!!" An operative ran towards Nikita as she turned her head. She lifted her arms and stopped the operatives approach by carefully placing her fingers around his neck. She pinched tightly until the muscles in the operative started to give out. Nikita pushed him away and stared at him.

"Nikita..." another operative muttered out and she spun around quickly to view the small brunette woman who had said the words. She worked with Birkoff and Nikita narrowed her eyes. This was more difficult than she thought it would be, and she had yet to Birkoff and Walter.

"You will address me as Foxhound." Nikita stated as she stared into the numerous eyes that were focused on her. They showed the shocked expression as they took in the fact that Nikita, one of them, one that they all believed that Section One had cancelled, was now working for Oversight, the one place that Section One hated and could do nothing about.

"How can you do this to Michael, Nikita?" Stives asked from the corner. Nikita blinked her eyes, as he was a member of the team she was often used on, Michael's team. He was in abeyance and in fact, she was surprised that he had survived during those past months that she spent in slumber and that Michael self-destructed and then got released. Nikita moved swiftly.

"What did you call me?" Nikita demanded in a deep voice as she pointed the gun towards the man. Stives lifted his head, trying to make the decision, to tell the truth or to say what Nikita wanted to hear.

"You are Nikita and no one else." Stives said stubbornly and Nikita pulled the trigger as the bullet lodged deep into his heart. He fell to the floor dead and Nikita pushed the gun back into its harness as she looked around.

"I suggest you pass the word around. I am Foxhound." Nikita said and quickly moved away from the crowd and the dead body. She heard the murmurs from behind her and the cries for medical. Some where muttering that Madeline and Operations should have her cancelled, but that was the wonderful thing that they did not understand quite yet, Nikita no longer worked for Madeline and Operations.

Nikita moved quickly to her first destination. She looked up to the glass palace of sorts to find it empty, no doubt Madeline and Operations were watching her descent on Section One in the pleasure of Madeline's office. Nikita moved quickly and stood next to the computer that Birkoff was pounding away on.

"I know that Foxhound just killed an operative." Birkoff complained and he rolled his eyes as he looked at the computer screen. He had interference coming from inside Section One, like someone was carrying a permanent scrambler on their body as they moved.

"There is nothing that can be done. Foxhound works for GEORGE!" Birkoff said and he leaned back in his chair and found his eyes being looked at by the blue eyes that he had haunting his dreams for months now. Birkoff jumped backwards as if he was finally going crazy. He shook his head as the sweat poured from his head. He had just talked to Madeline the other day about his nightmares, because he wasn't getting any sleep. Madeline had reminded him that it was normal to grieve, but this is not normal.

"Nikita?" Birkoff whispered softly in a voice that echoed the torture of the months. Nikita blocked out the tone, as it expressed what damage she was going to do to Birkoff in this moment, but she had a job. One job that had to be done cleanly and precisely.

"It's Foxhound." Nikita stated firmly and clear as a bell. She watched Birkoff's eyebrows raise up in shock and the drop in profound hate and confusion. Birkoff shook his head as Nikita leaned over and looked to his computer.

"No... Nikita.. Not you.." Birkoff stated and Nikita turned her blue eyes towards Birkoff and he instantly felt as if he was being burned. In that instant, Birkoff knew that Nikita had told the truth and in essence had turned against Section One and was working for the enemy.

"Birkoff.... Do not use that name again." Nikita warned and Birkoff nodded his head up and down, scared to his core. Even Michael when Nikita was in danger could not scare the young man like Nikita was scaring him. He swallowed and moved his chair towards the computer. He looked to the keys and then to Nikita.

"You know how hard Michael has taken this?" Birkoff questioned and Nikita looked to Birkoff and looked away. She did not want to have any discussions about Michael now. She looked back to Birkoff and stood up straight.

"The only thing you should be concerned with is sending me the right files from Section One. I do not want any more dummy files routed to my computer." Nikita commanded as there was noise coming down the hallway.

"Damn it, Birkoff! The Intel was sour!" an operative hollered as he watched three of his team members being rushed down to medical. Nikita looked to Birkoff and turned, as she watched the action. The team looked badly injured, but only one severely. Nikita noted the incident in her mind and moved towards Walter.

She had been dreading this one. She walked in and lifted her blue eyes, as there was some pounding in the back where the shelves were filled with supplies. She lifted her head and looked to the panel that she had stuffed her hands into to pass a general review and pain of the electrical shock easily replayed in Nikita's mind. She wished she could go through that pain again if it stopped the pain she was going through now.

"Walter." Nikita commanded in a deep voice that brought the older man running with coals in his pants out of the backroom. He turned and viewed Nikita. He was a man of Section and it was immediately processed what had occurred and why Nikita was standing in his area now.

"Get out, Foxhound." Walter hissed as he moved his hands as if shooing her away like a little kitten or an unwanted child. Nikita was used to that form of getting rid of someone as it was the form of life in her childhood, but now she could not stand up for it.

"I know you are hurting, Walter, but you are going to have to listen to me, it is for your own good." Nikita said and Walter shook his head in disgust at Nikita's words.

"What would have been good for me was never letting you into my soul, Nikita." Walter hissed and Nikita almost cringed as she pulled up her psychological belt and moved towards Walter. How she wanted to tell him the entire story and to fall into his arms! How she wanted to tell him how she didn't know that Michael would react in this way and that she had done everything to get Michael free!

"Listen to me, Walter. You are going to send me a list in two days off all the equipment Section One has... what it is suppose to have.. And what it has that doesn't exist to the real world. Tell me the truth on the list, and make it easy for yourself." Nikita growled out the ordered and turned before she allowed the tears to form on her eyes.

Nikita hated herself as she walked out of Section One. This was her home and not Oversight. She wondered what she did wrong and sighed. At least Michael was free from Section.

*

Michael stepped away from the ruble and stared at the car. He felt the blood running down his face and he little swatted at it. There were some police cars heading towards him and for an instance, the Section One instinct almost took over his body, making him run. Yet, Michael easily remembered why he crashed the car and therefore remembered why he did not have to run.

He was thinking of Nikita. Again. It was day and night, all the time. Everything Michael did, going to the grocery store, walking the park, trying to paint and draw, or even take a shower, revolved around the memories of Nikita and her presence haunted him.

Michael looked at the car and turned his head away as the thoughts plagued his mind. Did Nikita not want him to join her? Why didn't he die in the accident? Was he destined to have this pain and hurt eat away until he was nothing but worm food? Michael looked to the car and swore to himself. He was no longer going to drive. That would be his second car this month, and even though he was anger at Nikita for leaving him now, she would want him to at least try to live.

"Here." Michael said as he handed the license and the keys over to the police officer. Michael just turned and trudged down the sidewalk, knowing that his injuries were not enough to cause him pain. In fact the only pain he continued to have was that caused by the absence in his life. He was even more detached to the world than he was before he was released from Section One. There had been many times that Michael was ready to walk back into Section One and pray that they would make the decision to take his life for him. Michael couldn't even make that decision because before he got to it, he would have to think about why he was thinking so.

Michael turned down street and continued, not caring what happened to the car, how many bills got sent to him, or where he would end up? He knew that like every other night, he would end up in the house that he had selected and would open up the window. He would stare out at the moon and pick up the charcoal and draw the only image in his mind, his Nikita.

Nikita looked at the screen and then around her office. She did not know the depths of Oversight yet, and she did not know if she was being additionally watched or not. She looked to the pain of Michael and swallowed.

George had supplied her with enough information, as if trying to tempt Nikita into contacting him, but she would not destroy what was left of Michael's life. He even left announcements of Michael's art show in New York, and Nikita dropped her head as she saw the little cover picture, a black and white charcoal of herself staring out with her blue eyes. It ate away at Nikita soul.

Nikita tried to protect herself from George's messages and attacks, knowing that he was using her emotional responses to have Nikita take revenge out on Section One. At first, Nikita did not realize that it was what George was doing, but she quickly realized that the tapes and recordings of Michael crossed her desk before the information on Section One came in.

Although it was her job as Foxhound to find out what Section One was doing, she was always very careful of how she took the information. Nikita could not deny that some of her loyalty still lay with Section One and what they were doing, but most of the time, Nikita didn't even feel as if she was inside Section One. She felt as if she was a puppet and she would suffer long belts of lapses.

The tension inside Section One towards her was immense. She was sure that sooner or later she would stumble across a file or e-mail that held plans on ways of canceling her, as Operations always wanted. Nikita was always careful inside Section, wearing the scrambler George had given her, but also one she took off of Walter for research. Therefore, she was scrambled from both Section One and Oversight. She never knew which one was going to turn on her first.

Nikita stared at the computer screen and closed her eyes as Michael faded out of the image. She never knew he would hurt this bad in her deal with the devil. She knew her pain would be this bad and that her life would not be worth anything, but she had not thought Michael had cared that much. To see him like this, to see his drawings, haunted Nikita more than what she was doing for Oversight.

She opened the first file from Section One and stopped. It was a report on the mission that she had seen come in that first time she had walked into Section One as Foxhound. It reported that there were no surviving operatives from the mission and Nikita stood up. She turned her head and then looked back to the file.

Nikita knew what she had seen and she rubbed her chin as her body started to shake. The lies might not be coming from Section One, and Nikita looked to her door. She slowly bit her nail as she flipped the screen off, making immediate plans for visiting Section One and finding the operatives that she knew were alive, because she had seen them with her very own eyes. She did not like the other thoughts that went along with her process, because it would mean that George was doing everything to have Nikita destroy Section One.

Nikita pulled her jacket up from the chair and turned to find George standing in the doorway. He held in his had a large brown paper covered object. Nikita blinked her eyes and looked at George.

"I just came in from New York. I think you would like this." George said and Nikita reached out as George extended his hands. Nikita pulled at the paper wrapping and gasped as she saw the image that she never wanted to see again. It was the drawing of herself, drawn by no one else by her Michael, Michael Samuelle.

"I thought you would like it. You seem to enjoy the tapes." George said and Nikita nodded her head as she fought to maintain her deep and cold appearance. Slowly her lips parted and she forced a smile out on her face. Nikita carefully placed the picture off to the side and looked to George.

"I have to go to Section One for a few days. I found an anomaly." Nikita stated and George nodded his head, as the comment was not unfamiliar to him. He was pleased with Nikita's work, as it was definitely keeping Operations on his toes and Madeline shifting in theory constantly. He had no complaints from either one of the leaders, and therefore, Nikita was doing her job for now.

"Well, that's good, but won't you be missing a check up with our doctors?" George asked and Nikita nodded her head as she pulled out her computer's drive and smiled.

"Yes, but this is very important. I may have found something substantial." Nikita stated firmly, knowing what the word substantial would do to George's frame of mind. She knew that George was out of Section One blood and until now, she had not found anything to allow it to occur, but now she had her own questions on what was going on in this mess she found her life stuck deep within.

"As long as you take your medicine, you should be fine." George said and turned out of the office. Nikita turned her head and looked at the medicine. Something wasn't sitting right in her stomach as she palmed the pills and placed them deep inside her pockets. Somehow, Nikita knew that some of the answers were within Section One. She just had to access them.

*

Nikita swallowed as she tried to steady herself as she walked down the hallway. She was thankful that her reputation had preceded her quickly and that the operatives that she did not need to see where scattering about quickly. She walked down the hallways as the most feared person in Section One, over Operations and Madeline. It was quite a change from when she used to be one of the operatives that would run in the other direction.

Nikita was about to walk down the hallway to the computers to access the current directory when her answer came walking towards her. It was one of the operatives that she had seen the day of the mission that was place on her desk. The claimed that he was dead. So, if he was dead, Nikita must have been having one hell of a dream. Nikita narrowed her eyes as her mind processed what was going on. That file had been from George himself, but her head started to pound as she processed out the fact that George might be trying to force Nikita into exploding Section One down herself.

Nikita moved down the hallway and looked to the computer expert that had been nothing but cold towards her in the past month of her position as Foxhound. She had battled with him left and right as he continued to try to destroy her files and to tamper with her codes. She understood Birkoff's pain, but he didn't realize how much she hated herself in this entire process. She couldn't stand to look at herself in the mirror.

Nikita pushed a hand to her head and stopped just short of barking orders out to Birkoff. She stopped for a moment and thought of the medicine that she was carrying in her pocket. She was late for it's dosage, but then she thought back even further. She had missed it earlier in the day also. Nikita dropped her eyes and went forward and pulled out the disk from her pocket.

"Birkoff... I need your help." Nikita firmly said as she pushed a chair over to his side and sat down. She crossed her legs as she handed him the disk. Birkoff held it for a second before he popped it into the computer. The first image on it was Michael and he jumped, as he knew from Madeline that all files on Michael had been moved to Oversight.

"Foxhound, why would I help you? Aren't you trying to destroy us?" Birkoff questioned deeply and Nikita narrowed her eyes as she felt her entire being boiling inside as the lines of what she was suppose to be doing and the need for the truth blurred.

"Call me Nikita, Birkoff. I need a position on Michael." Nikita said and Birkoff shook his head as he looked at Nikita. He knew that Nikita took extra precautions while in Section One, but she was treading on a rope of wax above an open flame.

"I can't, Nikita." Birkoff said and Nikita leaned into his body.

"I can order you to do it. I have the power to do anything. More time off? More money? Name it, I'll get it. But there won't be a Section One left if I can't talk to Michael." Nikita said firmly as she focused on Birkoff's face. He turned and swallowed as he realized that some serious crap was going on for Nikita to be breaking any hope of Michael having a normal life.

"Nikita, I don't know where to start on this." Birkoff said and Nikita pointed to the screen as the image held Michael walking around a park. Birkoff looked to Nikita as the statue was panned to with the camera. Birkoff nodded his head and swallowed.

"Only because I think you are finally doing the right thing, Foxhound. I still don't trust Nikita." Birkoff said and Nikita stood up and swallowed. Her next move was going to be more difficult. She paused as she felt a wave of something crash over her body. She stopped and turned to Birkoff.

"Birkoff, tell Madeline to meet me in the White Room in twenty minutes." Nikita said and moved quickly down the hallway and into an area that she had avoided.

"I think you should leave Foxhound." Walter growled out as he stepped back and pulled the heavy metal fence down and walked deep into the area of weapons. Nikita stepped back, close to the wall and pulled out the syringe. Something was going on, and to understand it, Nikita knew that there was something more.

Nikita snarled as she pulled her sleeve back down and slammed her hand against the chain fence. Walter snapped around and stared at her like she was the devil. She was sure if Walter had his choice; he would have killed her by now. She never knew that he was also protective of Michael, but he had to be. There was too much pain from him to be all of his own.

"Walter, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Nikita slowly stated the cliché and pushed her hand against the fence.

"We'll do it the hard way, Foxhound!" Walter spat out as Nikita pushed the code and pulled the fence up and moved towards Walter. He flinched and Nikita was sure that he remembered the old times. Now she needed that old Walter.

"Well, I need this blood ran." Nikita said as she lifted the container and Walter narrowed his eyes as the déjà vu ran through his mind, but he quickly pushed it away. He did not see the innocent Nikita in front of him who was protecting Michael, but instead the cold Nikita who was hurting and punishing Michael.

"You should know Foxhound that I need a baseline." Walter hissed out and Nikita narrowed her eyes. Suddenly she pulled them away before she could notice that Walter was almost melting. It had passed in his mind a few times that maybe Nikita had bargained her position to give Michael freedom, but he didn't like that. He thought Nikita believed in love more than that.

"I can't explain to you want is going on, Walter. It is too dangerous, for everyone." Nikita stated as she moved back and Walter took the container and looked at the blood.

"Who's baseline do I pull?" Walter questioned and Nikita looked out to the hallway and to the passing operatives. She had her own theory of what was occurring and now she needed the proof. She could only hope that she was not too late.

"Mine, Walter. You pull mine." Nikita hissed out in frustration as emotions came to her that she had long forgotten. It felt as if she was fighting against something and the feeling was strangely familiar, not from experiences inside Section One, but from before then.

"Sugar, what's going on?" Walter questioned and Nikita turned and looked at Walter. His use of his pet name for him almost broke her in that instance. She ached to seek out anyone who could help her now, but she could not risk Walter anymore than she already has.

"I will be done in medical in about twenty minutes, Walter. I need results quickly." Nikita said as she paid no attention to Walter's statement and moved out of the area. Walter stared at Nikita for several moments and then held the blood in his hand. He turned quickly, not caring what weapons didn't get checked. For Nikita to seek out his help now, knowing everything that had occurred, this had to be more than important.

Nikita though could not stop moving as she moved to the white room. She was early and paced. She paced around the room, trying to sort out the massive mess in her head. There was no order and she forgot where the pieces began and end. All she knew was how she felt now and how she was sure that George had falsified records on Section One. Those files if not challenged could get the plug on Section One pulled.

Nikita lifted her head, as she knew where her loyalty landed, but to involve anyone currently inside Section One might only make the plug get pulled out quicker. There had be a bigger separation between Oversight and Section One, and Nikita was sure now that she was just being used as a guinea pig of sorts. She was a diversion of sorts, and George had played her while.

Yet, that did not explain how she went along with those believes. That had made no sense to Nikita until she walked towards Birkoff. There was a way for George to get Nikita to act so cold and calculated without Nikita knowing. It would only take a few moments for Walter to find out the truth, and Nikita could only hope that George had only resorted to drugs and no other things. She should have questioned it why they had kept her asleep for such a long time after her wounds began to heal.

Now the question was a matter of who to trust and how much to trust in them. The other matter was also deep inside Nikita's mind. Could she chance meeting Michael? How much did his mental well being mean to her and could he survive knowing that she was alive?

Nikita continued to pace in that white room, slowly driving herself into a trance of sorts. The white glaring back into her eyes as the headache pounded. There were plans upon plans circling and routing themselves in Nikita's head. Contingency plans, plans on saving just Walter and Birkoff, and plans on taking about George. Yet, none of the plans addressed what she really wanted to do, which was to save everyone. The situation had gotten way out of hand, before she had even wakened up from the George had force upon her. Now was time to get some control established.

*

"Click... click... click.." was the only sound in the White Room when Madeline entered. She found Nikita, pacing slowly from one side to the other, deeply trapped in her own thoughts. Madeline lifted her head and allowed the door to close loudly, but to no avail, the young woman did not lift her head.

"Foxhound." Madeline stated as Nikita's pace began to slow, as if she was treading now through mud and grime and Madeline was getting a feeling that that was exactly what Nikita's thoughts were like at that moment.

"FOXHOUD!" Madeline said substantially louder and there was no response. That was when Madeline grabbed closer detail to Nikita's appearance. Outwardly, her clothing was clean and straight, but she noticed the one sleeve looked like it had been hastily rolled up and then rolled back down. Nikita's eyes were trapped on the floor, as if she was hunting out the truth, and as Madeline waiting she saw Nikita's hands twitching, ever so slightly in the fingers and then running up the arms.

"Nikita!" Madeline finally hollered in the White Room, and Nikita jumped up from the floor and turned her head. Madeline waited for that moment, as Nikita regained a sense of where she was and whom she was before proceeding to walk towards Nikita.

"You wanted to speak to me, Foxhound." Madeline stated, knowing that if it sounded too much like a question, that it might spark further confusion in the young woman. Madeline wished she knew what Nikita was thinking, but to venture in that territory was too dangerous for even Madeline.

"Call me, Nikita." Nikita stated and Madeline's face relaxed as she finally found the opening that she had been wishing to see that from the time Nikita became Foxhound. Nikita tried not to rub her hands together, but she was starting to feel out of control. Finally, Nikita pulled her hands behind her back so Madeline could not see her behavior.

"I want you to be careful, Madeline." Nikita stated and Madeline looked up at Nikita with eyes of extremely worry at the statement. There were only a few things that would make Nikita say a thing like that, and it also expressed that not all of Nikita's loyalties had died when she started to work with Oversight.

"Is there something I should know about?" Madeline questioned carefully and Nikita pulled her head back as her beeper rang in her pocket. Nikita looked at the number and then licked her lips. She would not tell Madeline who it was, but Nikita moved quickly and forcefully to the phone.

"I'm in the White Room," was all that Madeline heard Nikita say into the telephone, and she wondered what kind of game she was in and if there were any rules. Madeline stood firm, waiting for a response from Nikita.

"Madeline, I have seen all the tapes.... Since... well.. . except one. I have heard about it... but George didn't allow me to view it." Nikita said and Madeline blinked her eyes. She was surprised that such a tape would be George's decision not to show Nikita. It could make Nikita hate her even more, but then Madeline looked to Nikita and saw something more. George couldn't allow Nikita to see that Madeline had broken and had revealed that she was a human.

"I can give it to you. It was the way I stopped the mutiny. Is that what all of this is about?" Madeline questioned as she focused on Nikita's face. Nikita turned away and swallowed. She reached her hand to her chest and her fingertips ran across the surface of a necklace that had been around her neck since she had woken up. She turned around and lifted the necklace up on a finger, allowing the light to ricochet off of the shining diamond chips and stared into Madeline's eyes.

"Maybe you can explain where I got this from?" Nikita said and Madeline blinked as the light shattered into her eye. Madeline moved forward and looked at the necklace. She had forgotten that Nikita even had it, as Nikita must have been hiding such a beautiful piece of jewelry under her dark suits. She had seen it twice before.

"Didn't Michael give it to you?" Madeline questioned and Nikita turned her head and dropped the necklace. There was confusion on Nikita's face, as she seemed to be losing a grip on the reality around her.

"I wouldn't be asking you if Michael gave it to me." Nikita stated and Madeline pressed her lips together as the words tried to sort themselves out in Madeline's head. It was a tender thing to think about, but the implications could destroy Nikita now, as she was not functioning as Foxhound.

"Michael bought that with the very first extra Section One money we gave him. He came in and pronounced to me that one day the woman that he loved would wear that necklace." Madeline said as she reached out and pulled the necklace back up. Nikita turned her head violently away, as the words echoed in her mind. The headache was surging and building and Nikita clung onto the fragile string of consciousness by knowing that George had set her up and controlled her and now she had to stop him.

"But when he got that money, he was with Simone." Nikita said and Madeline nodded her head. Nikita was about to explore those feelings more when the White Room door opened and Walter walked in. Madeline was more than surprised, as she was sure if Walter had come for Nikita, that it was to kill her. There was no gun and only a sheet of paper that he handed to Nikita.

Nikita unfolded the sheet and closed her eyes after scanning the numbers and the words. She folded it back up and placed it down on the metal chair. Instantly, the sketchy outline of a plan flew into action, and Nikita stormed out of the White Room, to find Birkoff waiting with a little PDA in his hands. Nikita knew what it would hold and moved quickly to grab it and leave Section One.

Madeline stood in the White Room analyze Walter as he looked at the chair. Madeline circled and looked at Walter.

"You and Nikita made up?" Madeline questioned and Walter dropped his head. He lifted it and swallowed as he found the correct words.

"I forgot that sometimes what a person is and what a person seems to be are two entirely different things." Walter said gruffly as he rubbed his chin. He was about to grab the paper when his own beeper went off, and he froze. There was only one reason for that beeper to go off.

Walter had gotten the first run of tests of the blood quickly and knowing what he had found, he ran a few others that would show more intelligent brands of drugs. He had left to give Nikita that first set of results and left specific instructions to beep him with the name of any further drugs found. Walter closed his eyes as he picked up the beeper.

While Walter seemed to be playing with his beeper, Madeline pulled the sheet up from the chair, not caring about confidentiality or anything. Nikita's words of be careful were still haunting Madeline and then she stopped as she looked at the list.

"They are drugging who?" Madeline demanded and as she turned to look at Walter, his white face indicated more than she wanted to see. Madeline's hand opened up as the paper dropped to the floor.

"George... and those aren't the only drugs in her system, Madeline." Walter said as he handed the pager over. Madeline looked to it and then swallowed. Everything was starting to add up.

"We have to find out what George has on us and how he plans on using it... and find Nikita... before the withdrawal gets to severe." Madeline said and Walter stepped out and stopped Madeline with a hand.

"She has a plan. She'll be taken care of." Walter said as he turned and left. Madeline stared at the closed door and then around the White Room. In knowing what the blood contained explained so much now, and Madeline could only hope that Walter was correct in his assessment.

*

There was noise inside of Oversight, and that fact broke George from enjoying the soft opera that he was listening to. His hands dropped to his side as he stood up and flicked the power off of the computer. He stepped around his desk and into the normally quiet hallways.

There was only one open door on the entire length of the hallway and George swallowed as he could now identify the noise. His mind ran through the possibilities of what was occurring and now terror ran through his body. He could not have Nikita realizing his plan before the end of the week.

"Nikita." George said as he entered her office. She turned around, shaking physically. George blinked his eyes and closed the door. He did not need all of Oversight hearing everything. George blinked as Nikita pulled at her computer and packed it up.

"Are you going somewhere?" George asked and Nikita nodded her head and then tilted her head down. She could almost feel the cold eyes of George trying to be warm and Nikita could only hope that she could use that for her benefit as she turned her head back around.

"I need some time, George. Something medical." Nikita stated in a broken voice and then covered her chest compulsively. George watched as Nikita continued to look around the room, as if he was caging her in. George swallowed and moved closer to Nikita.