"Rinse your face off... calm down and we will talk." Dr. Bowles said. He watched Nikita's hands slowly move to the faucet. The water ran for several minutes as Dr. Bowles waited for Nikita to do what was told to her.

Finally, Nikita cupped her hands and splashed the water over her face and then ran down her face. Dr. Bowles stepped forward and looked into the mirror as he used a hand to push back some strands of Nikita's wet face from the cheeks.

"You are so pretty, Nikita.... Men should never treat you like that..." Dr. Bowles said and Nikita nodded as the tears started to roll again. She didn't get it why the words always hurt so much when there were so few and from the least expected person.

"You aren't an object... to be groped and prodded..." Dr. Bowles said as he started to run his hand down from Nikita's face to her breasts. He felt Nikita pull away and Nikita starting to moan out protests.

"No..."

"You want it.. This is who you are... Once abused... always meant to be abused..." Dr. Bowles said deeply as Nikita looked into the mirror. She saw the eyes and started to tremble as she tried to gather her surroundings.

Yet everything happened too late. Dr. Bowles pushed the large stun gun to Nikita's wet neck and watched her body jerk around as held the trigger down, jolting more and more electricity into her thin and weary body.

"I'm going to teach you about abuse.... Teach you the real definition." Dr. Bowles said as he pulled the stun gun away and grabbed Nikita's dropping body. He smiled as he pulled back Nikita's blonde hair and laughed as he thought about waking Nikita up to that very image, of him being Oz.

He loved the look of terror on their faces when he took them, but Nikita's face looked different and even appeared much calmer. He didn't know what would happen when all was explained, but he wasn't sure if it would make sense.

Nikita moaned lightly in his arms and pulled at the stun gun and turned it up. He didn't want to have any mistakes now, as he was just starting to get use to the town and like their ways. He wanted to get rid of Nikita and then hopefully her mother from the town. Then he could continue on in the ways he had in the past, dominating and destroying.

Dr. Bowles evilly laughed as Nikita's body jerked with the new renewed source of electricity coursing through her body. He pulled Nikita up and continued to walk, deciding that Nikita wasn't going to be able to wake up anytime soon.

*

Madeline slowly walked out onto the front porch and looked out at the pouring rain. She shook her head as the light cool mist floated from the sidewalk up to her position. Madeline wrapped her arms around her body as it chilled her usually warm body to the core and only served to make the worries of Madeline even greater.

She watched as a car, a Ford Broncho, white like the one O.J. Simpson had driven, drove past the house, the headlights glaring to clear a path in the heavy rain. Madeline pushed her hair back with her hand and turned back to walk back inside.

The phone was on the end table and she grabbed it. She punched the number that she had tried about ten times in the past five minutes, only to hear the same rings that she had heard before. Dr. Bowles was no home, or he wasn't answering his phone. Madeline folded the phone down and sat down.

It was for a several minutes that Madeline worked on ordering herself not to worry. She tried to explain to her heart and her soul that Nikita was a trained operative and would see the same things that Madeline had seen. Madeline ran the reasoning that maybe Nikita was just staying out later because she knew that Madeline was upset and maybe that Madeline would worry. That reasoning didn't last long, as Nikita wouldn't do anything like that, as she liked to cause even more problems when she knew someone had issues with her. Madeline then switched to the thoughts that Nikita and Dr. Bowles probably went to a place to eat or something, as with difficult patients, normal settings with the chance of the public would see them helped. Yet, Nikita was taught and trained to avoid such situations.

The worry of Madeline's heart and soul won out and the worry started to invade her mind without hesitation. Madeline looked around the house and ran up the stairs. Maybe Nikita kept a diary. Maybe Madeline could find out what they had been talking about. Maybe Nikita had gotten so mad at him that she killed him and started to run. Madeline opened the door and stopped.

Nikita wasn't a child; she was an adult and more importantly a Section One operative. Yes, Section One monitored their operatives, who they saw and who they were with, but not like this. A diary was more than a video camera watching events. It was emotions and it was feelings. They were an expression of the things that Section One couldn't view with a camera and it was something that made Madeline stopped. She wouldn't cross over that boundary. If Nikita kept it in a diary, there was a reason why and Madeline didn't want to destroy that or Nikita's little faith that she had in Madeline.

Madeline stepped backwards and closed the door as she shook her head, finding it impossible to stop from doing anything. Madeline ran down the stairs and grabbed the light coat, her purse, and keys. She dashed to the car and pulled towards Dr. Bowles' house on Kiwi Place. Madeline didn't care what it did to the mission, as somehow Madeline knew that something was wrong. Therapy didn't run hours late and it didn't occur in forever changing places and locations. Therapy just wasn't the way that it was for Nikita and now Madeline knew it was time for action.

Did Madeline know that she was too late as she pulled up to the house? Not really, instead she felt like a real parent, finding everything moving in slow motion as she stepped out of the car. She slammed the door and felt the pelting rain plastering her hair down on her head and tightly against her neck. The walk from the car to the porch was slow and she noticed that not a light was on in the house and there was no car there.

Still, Madeline slowly raised her hand as it felt like a ton. She pounded on the door and it echoed so loudly as she stepped back and moved to the window. She peered into the house and shook her head, as there was no movement from inside. She turned and jumped off of the porch and started to walk around the back of the house. Madeline looked in each and every window she could look into and she pounded on the back door.

Tears were mingling with the rain on her face as she walked to her car and opened it. She leaned in and allowed the rain to finish the job of soaking her body. There was nothing that Madeline could do as she slipped back in the car and felt defeated in a way that she never felt in Section One.

Despair filled Madeline's body as she pulled the car away from the curb and started back to the house that she had been inhibiting with Nikita. But as she crossed over East Street, there was a building of hope. Maybe Nikita arrived home while was gone. She didn't care if Nikita would found out how concerned she was, as long as Nikita was home. That hope only grew strength as she continued on the circular street and saw the house was filled with lights.

Madeline pulled down the driveway, not by much and ran to the front door. It was opened and Madeline dropped her purse and coat down on the floor as the keys clanged on the end table in the living room. She looked around seeing the lights on but no sign of Nikita.

"NIKITA! ARE YOU HERE!" Madeline screamed as she walked through the living room and into the dinning room. It was so hard to know what had been there from the beginning and what might have been added. She was searching for signs of Nikita's wet running clothing or just a wet body walking into the house. She reached the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator. She looked at the water bottles, as there were four.

'Weren't there five when I left?' Madeline thought to herself as she stared at the water. She suddenly started to think that she knew that there was five. That meant that Nikita was home and she was safe. Madeline closed the door and started to walk back towards the stairs.

"Nikita! Please tell me you are home! Nikita!" Madeline called out as she walked through the downstairs rooms. She turned and looked up the stairs and instantly felt the hope drain out of her body from her feet as she tried to walk up the stairs. Again, everything ran slow to her perception as each stair seemed to cause Madeline more pain and more lost that she ever expected. Madeline wanted Nikita to be sitting in her room, sticking her tongue out at Madeline like the teenager that she was acting like because Madeline was the one adult acting like the fool.

Madeline got to the top of the stairs and saw the closed door in front of her. She heard no music but reasoned that Nikita might still have her headphones on. She looked as all the other rooms had opened doors and showed no one in them. Madeline stepped forward and lightly knocked two knuckles on the door and waited for the sound to stop echoing.

"Nikita, can I come in?" Madeline questioned and she waited as her heart pounded deeper and deeper. Madeline shook her head as she closed her eyes. The hand raised again without Madeline deciding to do so. She knocked at the door again and leaned her head towards the door. She wanted to hear anything, any noise at all.

The tears were running down Madeline's face as she wrapped her hand around the handle of the door and pushed at it. The door opened without any hesitation, showing that Nikita had not locked it. Madeline saw the room as she had seen it when she was ready to shred it apart for a possible diary. Madeline looked around and stepped towards the bed.

"Nikita..." Madeline said as she sat her drenched body on the heavy covers that weren't neatly making the bed. She pulled at the pillow and swallowed as she saw the shining gun that Nikita slept with blinking back at Madeline. She hugged the pillow as she shook her head.

Madeline's Section mind had run away without telling Madeline. It exposed Madeline to new ranges of emotions, all of which made Madeline feel incapable of doing much of anything. She could only cry for now, hoping that her Section mind would come back. For those many minutes Madeline sat on Nikita's bed, looking around the room that didn't even seem like an expression of whom Nikita was, Madeline was Nikita's mother, hoping that her daughter would just come home.

*

It is always hazy when one drags themselves out of an unconscious sleep. First there is a feeling of nothing and then the pain, even before the eyes fluttered open. That was the feeling that Nikita was beginning to have as Dr. Bowles moved away from her body, shaking his head as he pounded the tape into the wall.

"It better have worked... It had to work..." Dr. Bowles growled as he turned and viewed Nikita as her body began to twitch slightly, showing that she was slowly waking her body up from where it had been. The doctor viewed her carefully, watching her every move, seeking to see if his experiment had worked or if it didn't. Did her pain end now or did it continue, the answer would soon be revealed to both parties.

"Nikita..." Dr. Bowles questioned as he raised his hand to her face and she pulled away, even with her eyes still closed. Dr. Bowles shook his head and moved away from Nikita. It didn't mean that it didn't work, but it was an indication that he would have to continue on with his methods.

Nikita's eyes finally opened, heaving against the heavy eyelids. She rolled her head to the side as she felt herself tied into the chair. She blinked her eyes a few times as her hands instinctively tested the binds, finding them not very strong.

"Nikita..." Dr. Bowles said as he stepped in front of Nikita. Nikita looked at the doctor and swallowed back the instant urge to scream at him. How she regretted not listening to Madeline. She tried to remember the events, but she closed her eyes to the pain. It didn't give her much time as Dr. Bowles moved forward and grabbed Nikita's chin.

"Do you remember what happened?" Dr. Bowles questioned and Nikita opened her eyes and swallowed as it felt as if the electricity was still running through her body, making it tense with a burning sensation.

"You..." Nikita hissed out and Dr. Bowles turned his head in disappointment. Before Nikita could even open her eyes again, Dr. Bowles had turned back with a fury in his eyes and struck out against her face. Nikita blinked her eyes and looked at him.

"You..." Nikita stated again, as her mouth didn't seem to have the ability to say what she thinking and remember. She remembered it all, the pain of the memories and then being shocked, repeatedly.

"The hypnosis should have worked.... I perfected it... It should have worked..." Dr. Bowles growled as he moved closer to Nikita. Nikita was still in a haze, finding it hard to know where Dr. Bowles was at a given time and to know if he was approaching her or leaving her. It felt like her mind was working behind her body. He touched her again and her mind knew it, but her body didn't. She didn't have any responses from what she could tell.

"Damn you... You have to be the difficult patient..." Dr. Bowles said as he leaned back and then punched his fist deep into Nikita's stomach. She groaned as she felt the impact and then some time later felt the radiating pain. Nikita never remembered having a time that she felt like this, like she was in someone else's body.

Yet, once Nikita knew that he was close, she started to fight with the binds. Her right arm broke free and she tried to punch towards him. Dr. Bowles grabbed the arm and yanked it backwards as he moved behind Nikita. Nikita cried out with tears rolling down her face from the pain. Dr. Bowles then pulled a chain out and bonded the arm back tightly.

"You think you know abuse... You know nothing yet.... This will work..." Dr. Bowles said as he looked down at Nikita's head, yet he didn't see her eyes. He felt the need to see her eyes, to see the tears, to know that she was hurting.

Her blonde hair called out to him as he lightly touched it. Even though he had dragged her out of his house and into his car while it poured, her hair had still dried in a light golden away, with a few knots. He wrapped his hands into the hair and then yanked her head back.

"Just like Oz did, right? He pulled tighter and tighter..." Dr. Bowles said as he pulled Nikita's head back and she groaned in pain. He looked into Nikita's eyes and smiled as he saw the pain swimming in the blue irises of her eyes. He smiled and then kissed her forehead.

"Have to make the pain again... so you can go on... Accept the pain, Nikita... Make it your friend..." Dr. Bowles said. Nikita closed her eyes and he chuckled lightly, seeing that the young woman wasn't much different from the others he had tried to help. Her mother was slightly annoying and knew too much about the field of practice, but that aside, Nikita was normal.

That was until Nikita's eyes opened, as he had rarely seen before, but he had seen before. Dr. Bowles tugged at Nikita's hair harder and Nikita could feel the little beads of tiny pockets of blood seeping from the head. He pushed her head down to her chest and grinned.

"Oz did this... he liked the taste of your blood..." Dr. Bowles said as he leaned down and started to lick the line. He heard and felt Nikita's body sob as he did so and it only served to make him know that he was right.

Nothing was ever slow as he pulled away and jammed his hand around Nikita's neck. He licked his lips, hoping that they were deep red with the color of her blood. He watched those eyes that said that she was going to fight him and showed him that she was more stubborn than was good, fill with pain again and he knew that the blood was there, as it had been on Oz's lips such a long time ago.

"Your blood tastes so good... Did other men have a chance to taste it like I have?" Dr. Bowles said as he leaned down and looked at Nikita. She lifted her chin and moved in the chair, trying to do something. Dr. Bowles only kicked her in the shin and moved away as she tried to stifle the moan of pain again.

"I like to hear pain... You will scream..." Dr. Bowles said, as he heard nothing behind him. He had assumed that Nikita had given in for the time being. He smiled and looked at the collection of tools he had with him. He didn't expect to find that Nikita had silently freed her left arm. She was tried to reach her right arm when he turned back.

It only served a reason to have Dr. Bowles try to exact more pain to Nikita. He pummeled Nikita's body with his fists and his knees. Nothing was violent enough, but Nikita did not give in or call for mercy. She kept going with the punches, as had some of his other patients had done. Those few didn't count and soon Nikita was going to enter that group, those that didn't count because they didn't prove his theory.

Dr. Bowles grabbed Nikita's arm and pulled out the shock gun from his pocket. Nikita's eyes flickered with recognition of what the object was. He pulled the arm and placed the gun in front of Nikita's face. She stopped all movement as Dr. Bowles laughed at the response that he was getting. He pulled away quickly and jabbed it to the other side of the neck he had attacked earlier.

Her eyes rolled back but he looked at her neck and sighed. He pulled the shock gun away and moved it to the back and pulsed some more electricity through her body.

"You need a necklace.... Then maybe you will listen to me... listen to me and learn..." Dr. Bowles said as he continued his process, knowing when to back off in order to allow Nikita to live even in more pain. Nothing was working in his mind to rid her body of the evil spirits and he worked harder and harder until he dropped the shock gun.

"You will break my dear... and your past will become your future..." Dr. Bowles said as he leaned down and kissed Nikita's nose lightly and then bit at it. There was no response from her body as he bit to draw blood. He licked his lips and pulled away, please to see the teeth marks on her nose.

*

With the passing of an hour, Madeline had slowly started to gain the Section mind that she desperately needed to grab hold of and use. She had pulled her body, riddled with regret and guilt, away from Nikita's bed and back down the stairs. Madeline had retrieved the computer from the kitchen and set up shop on the couch.

She wasn't finding anything and she didn't expect to find anything. It was why deep cover missions like this were always difficult to plan and to execute without problems. It was compounded with the fact that as far as Madeline knew, Nikita did not take any Section One equipment with her. So, instead of trying fruitlessly to find some information on Nikita's location, Madeline sought out more information about Dr. Ralph Bowles out.

Unfortunately, that was a dead end too. Madeline had hoped to find out that he owned some land in the town that no one seemed to know about. Madeline hoped that maybe he kept another house or maybe he had some other car that Madeline should be looking for.

Madeline jumped from the semi-comfort of the couch as the cell phone rang beside her. She looked at it and her heart raced. Maybe Nikita had gotten hurt while she was jogging and ended up in the hospital or something. Madeline held onto that hope as she opened up the phone and swallowed.

"Hello?" Madeline question, almost afraid to hear who was on the other line, knowing that if it wasn't Nikita that the problems were only going to continue.

"Madeline... we have to talk!" Birkoff's voice echoed out and Madeline opened her eyes and stared directly down at the computer she was working with. She pulled her legs up onto the couch and swallowed.

"What are you talking about and aren't you on vacation?" Madeline questioned and she listened to the heavy sigh on the other end. She felt that there was a long story behind of whatever was going on, but she didn't have the time for long stories.

"See...I just called to see if I could come back a day early.. Only to get Simon complaining about some zip file that he could decode. I didn't think it was too important since it was priority and that it was probably easy." Birkoff started to explain and Madeline nodded her head up and down, not making a sound, willingly listening to Birkoff, knowing that he would get to a point sooner or later.

"So.. He sent them to me and I instantly started some decoding... I found the code and started the quick decoding scan... and warning bells went off in my head." Birkoff said and Madeline opened her eyes wide and swallowed. She felt the sweat breaking out over her skin, as there might finally be a lead.

"Why, Birkoff?" Madeline demanded in a voice that showed the stress of the situation and the imperative importance of the information that he may know. Madeline waited as she straightened up on the couch and pulled at some paper and her pen.

"Well.. That quick scan... looks for words of violence, of crime, and of terrorist nature.... And it was full of it... But that didn't scare me so much." Birkoff said and Madeline waited on every word. She nodded her head and then realized that Birkoff was only on a phone and couldn't see her movement.

"What scared you?" Madeline questioned and Birkoff's breathing started to get shorter and more ragged as if the thoughts alone were terrifying.

"I called Simon back and he told me that the files were a person diary... of Ralph Bowles... Madeline.. He is really dangerous." Birkoff said and Madeline stood up and started to pace. She felt all the times that she hated the man come back and slapped her across her face, showing her that sometimes heart and soul knew more than logic and the brain.

"How is he dangerous?" Madeline questioned as she stopped her pacing. There was a silence and Madeline swallowed deeply.

"From this diary... as it isn't fully translated... he abuses women pretty badly for what he calls for the sake of research.... The whole diary hasn't been decoded yet." Birkoff said and Madeline closed her eyes as her entire body cringed. The situation was only getting worse.

"Proof, Birkoff." Madeline stated out, still holding onto that little strand of logic begging for the proof that could push Madeline to take a side on the situation, yet Madeline's heart and soul had already spoken that they were on Nikita's side.

"I decoded the first name... traced down the town that Dr. Ralph Bowles was working at and found the woman... She was abused, raped, and dumped in the town. She had barely any memory at all and had to be taught to talk and write again." Birkoff said and Madeline felt her stomach shrivel up probably for the last time. She closed her eyes and swallowed.

"Please tell me that you aren't working this guy as a therapist..." Birkoff said and Madeline sighed and knew that she had to come clean in her part of this mess. She rubbed the hand that held the phone softly and dropped her head.

"That is the angle." Madeline said firmly and Birkoff dropped down to his seat loudly.

"Well, as long as you and Nikita go in together, he can't get too bad." Birkoff stated naively. Madeline felt the motherly tears roll down her face.

"Madeline, you didn't let Nikita go by herself, did you? Not with her history? He is going to destroy her!" Birkoff exclaimed as Madeline's sniffles of pain were being heard over the line. The tears continued as Madeline tried to gather her strength.

"How long?" Madeline questioned with her broken voice. Birkoff hung his head at the tone and swallowed as he looked at the newest part of the decoding text.

"He normally takes about three days on all of his victims.. Yet the ones that it works with... aren't nearly as beaten..." Birkoff said and Madeline swallowed. Section One had trained Nikita's mind with some torture techniques and it would appear as if she was responding, but then quickly showed that she wasn't. Madeline closed her eyes as she continued to pace.

"Damn it... He uses hypnosis.. He is going to be upset when Nikita doesn't take." Birkoff said and Madeline dropped her head and loudly screamed for five seconds, allowing the pressure out of her head and her mind.

"Birkoff, where are you?" Madeline finally questioned as she pulled her head up and looked at her computer. She shook her head of the emotional cobwebs, starting to pull her composure back together and to function much more like Madeline.

"I'm on a Section plane back to Headquarters... I need to track down all the towns and find these women, Madeline." Birkoff said and Madeline was momentarily thrown off track. Nikita had given Birkoff that time off and would be very upset to find out that Birkoff just threw it away and ran back at the littlest hint of trouble. Madeline shook her head and started not to care. Nikita would just have to get over it and Birkoff could finish his trip another time, because if they didn't find Nikita, Birkoff would never have anything to dream about.

"You are taking the Boeing?" Madeline questioned and she pulled at the computer and smiled. "Do you know where Michael is?"

"He is doing some recon in New York." Birkoff replied and Madeline nodded her head. She swallowed and played her hands over the phone.

"Birkoff, you are a treasure to Section One and don't worry, Simon will be dealt with." Madeline stated as she pulled out the small PDA and started to create the quick mission profile. She worked quickly even while holding the conversation with Birkoff.

"Do you want me to get the Leer to New York and get Michael out to Liberty Circles?" Birkoff questioned as he shook his head. He couldn't get the computer to decode the diary quick enough. He wanted to know if Dr. Bowles got more violent in the end or not. He couldn't get the information fast enough, especially now he knew that Nikita was in some sort of danger. "Where is Nikita?"

Madeline closed her eyes and leaned against the couch as the question finally came. Birkoff must have realized that when Madeline was asking about Michael's position and how he could get to Liberty Circles that something more was going on. It did take Birkoff some time to catch onto details like that one, but Madeline closed her eyes this time, not wanting to admit the truth, finding it all being her biggest mistake in her life.

"He has her, doesn't he?" Birkoff questioned and Madeline blinked back the tears, hating herself for another emotionally display that could be heard by Birkoff on the phone. She was no where near the calm and cold Madeline that everyone in Section One believed her to be. In a way, Madeline was using those actions to blame herself for everything that was occurring; even things that she had no control over. Nikita in the end had violently left Madeline in the kitchen by her own decision. Madeline didn't order Nikita to do so, but somehow Madeline knew that she failed the woman greatly.

"Yes." Madeline stated and Birkoff shut his eyes, feeling his heart exploding with pain. When he first heard Simon complaining about it, he knew that it needed to be done, no matter if it was priority or not. Birkoff went to work in his hotel that was beachside, becoming more interested and involved with the breaking of the code, as it was his life and another time he could come to Cancun and play beach bum.

"How are you going to tell Michael?" Birkoff questioned and Madeline turned and looked at the flowers that were still on the mantel, a way to remember everything that was going on. Madeline's mind churned and measured everything that she could possibly do, but also knowing that no matter what, Michael was going to blame her.

"I was just trying to help her, Birkoff... She had issues to work out." Madeline said slowly, feeling the need to practice the excuses that might just save her life if it came down to it. She sighed heavily and closed the computer as she sent the message to Simon to get Michael on the first plane into Liberty Circles, even if Section One needed to build the new airport for Liberty Circles.

"Issues? Aren't they best left to Michael? Haven't they always been?" Birkoff sharply questioned and it caused all of Madeline's body tense. Michael had always been able to give Nikita some comfort, but that wasn't like this situation. Nikita was denying that past, trying to act like it didn't happen. She was willing to go on, flinching at Michael's touch which should have been soothing. Madeline knew Michael, and knew that for a while he would just watch the behavior and not make anything of it, as long as Nikita seemed like she was ok. Madeline had known for sometime that Nikita wasn't ok. The first time that Michael and Nikita had a fight, he would mention the flinch, make it an issue and crush Nikita's little fantasy.

"Birkoff, this is much bigger than anything you could image. She lived on the streets, going from one man to another who just enjoyed to batter her body and give her drugs." Madeline said as she felt that Birkoff had gone cold on the other end. She waited as she turned and saw that the computer link wasn't secure and orders to send Michael weren't going through. "I have to call Michael."

"That's the first reasonable thing I've heard you say all day, Madeline. I'll work on the diary, but it scares me, Madeline." Birkoff admitted as he finished his line of communication. Madeline blinked her eyes as she felt the emphasis on the words that Birkoff had made. Birkoff rarely admitted to be scared of things like that and usually it was that he was scared for himself. He had always put up a brave front for all the other operatives and felt that they could handle almost anything. Madeline trembled as she tried to push the numbers for Michael, realizing that if Birkoff was scared for Nikita, then there was more to that diary than he was letting out.

"Hello." Michael's voice firmly stated out and Madeline blinked. Now was the time for Madeline to tell Michael and she couldn't find those words right away. Maybe it wasn't as bad it appeared and maybe Nikita was just staying away. Yet, Madeline closed her eyes and knew that it was so far from the truth. She had seen this coming and went ahead with her plan, and allowed Nikita to see Dr. Bowles.

"I need you to go to the airport, get the Section Leer and come to Liberty Circles." Madeline stated in a firm voice that made her own eyes blink in shock, as she didn't think she would have sounded as such. There was such turmoil in Madeline she wasn't quite sure how she was going to feel next, think next, and act next.

"Why?" Michael deeply questioned, but the voice indicated that he instantly felt he worse and he instantly knew that it all dealt with Nikita. Madeline was sure even as they spoke that Michael was leaving where he was and heading towards the airport to leave.

"I shouldn't explain over the phone, I just need you here." Madeline said as she walked to the kitchen and looked out to the darkness that had plunged deeply around Liberty Circles and more importantly, the house that Madeline was staying in.

"What happened to Nikita?" Michael questioned forwardly. Madeline slowly turned her head to the side, finding it interesting that Michael had found the strength to be bold about asking about Nikita. Before he would have asked a more ambiguous question, one that left Madeline struggling to figure out what he wanted to know and what he didn't want to know. This was not one of those questions. It was crystal clear to Madeline what he wanted to know and what she couldn't exactly tell Michael now.

"It is just imperative that you get to Liberty Circles immediately, Michael. I am not going to discuss the issues with you." Madeline said as she tilted her head and started to run a hand into her hair, feeling a building headache deep within her head. She closed her eyes and waited for the next words from Michael, already sensing that there was anger on the other end of the phone.

"You have done something to her, Madeline... I'll be there, but you are going to explain this all to me, and leave no details out, because you messed up." Michael said before he apparently slammed his cell phone off. Madeline stood there in the kitchen with the phone still to her ear for sometime. She could only hear the pain in Michael's voice and that blame that should have been on her. She felt the burning sensation all over her body because she was the source of this problem. If she moved the phone from the ear she had to turn back into the ruthless Madeline that all of a sudden Madeline was afraid of. She wanted to be like a mother and run around the house scared about what was going on with Nikita. Those were her true feelings and from her exposure to Nikita, Madeline couldn't find the strength to fight those emotions. Her mind knew that she had to grab hold of the situation and pull all the information that she could get her hands on, but she paused, giving Nikita what she seemed to have for many years, moments were Madeline felt like her mother.

*

The clock was glaring at Madeline as she sat in front of the computer as Birkoff continued to download to her parts of the diary that had been fully decoded. Madeline would read the parts and usually found herself trembling with a little bit of fear.

Dr. Ralph Bowles was a truly evil man that needed to be stopped. Although Madeline might have been able to link his moving to the project that he was working on, it wasn't. There was another reason why he was moving from small town to small town, as if searching for something. He was searching for the perfect women to abuse, and that was what he did.

His cover was as the doctor, helping them. Now some of the women did benefit from his treatment and those were the ones that you read about, but there were other women, the ones that most often appeared as difficult cases that didn't luck out. Madeline wasn't exactly sure how he was getting away with doing these things to the women, as they all continued to live; they just never came forward to say that they knew who the attacker was.

The first woman in the diary Madeline found the corresponding new stories in the newspaper. She was a homecoming queen and her first husband abused her. She ran away to the town that she was in and sought out to bring a doctor to town to help her problems and the other people in the town. She had been amazed when the world renowned Dr. Ralph Bowles said he would come to the town and tried his best, even if it was only for a limited stint.

The stories continued from the point that she got Dr. Bowles to come to town and throughout the three-week stay he was there. Dr. Bowles was a star of sorts in that town, but no one found his behavior unusual, as they were just thankful to have a therapist nearby and not some two hours away in the big city. Madeline swallowed because she was acting just as that town did, looking for the good and not trying to notice the bad.

When the first victim was found, she was left in the woods with a stun gun burn on her neck and abused to pieces. She spent days in the hospital and the town was horrified. Dr. Bowles even formed a support group for those people shocked about what happened to that woman. He moved around the town as the one that found her in the woods, while in reality, he was the one that abused her.

All of information got even more twisted as the woman's husband had been charged with the abuse. It was around the same time that Dr. Bowles said he was leaving the town. The town started to have fundraisers, trying to get more and more money to get him to stay. In a letter to the editor he stated that he was leaving the town for personal reasons connected to the woman. He stated that the abuse he saw on her face scared him and that he couldn't work in the face of that kind of events happening in the little town.

The last article that mentioned Dr. Bowles was when the town's council seemed to be falling apart as the town was splitting into warring pieces. They wanted to bring Dr. Bowles back because he was the voice of reasoning. Madeline shook her head in disbelief as his actions were never known and lost to the town that he was the cause of the problems.

Somehow, the woman was injured, remembered parts of the attack, but didn't remember the face. No matter what the police tried to bring the memory of the face or the voice, nothing helped to break the lost of memory. Her husband was released with the lack of evidence and the woman retreated into the house that she was staying in.

Madeline stood up and walked to the kitchen again. She looked at the refrigerator and shut her eyes as the tears starting to flow down her face. She missed Nikita totally. Madeline wished to be fighting with Nikita right this moment because it meant that Nikita was safe.

Madeline knew what sort of things caused the memory lost that seemed to have been constructed over the woman's memories to cause her to forget. There was technology that Section One had to cause it to happen but that wasn't available to the world and probably would never be, unless Dr. Bowles had discovered and created his own. Nikita was protected against that and she would not fall victim to Dr. Bowles' efforts, as her mind would just shut down and protect itself, sort of like a kid protecting his face while being beaten by a bully.

The other option that was possible for Dr. Bowles to be using is hypnosis, as Birkoff had suggested from that phone call. It was a good suggestion as some hypnosis could be very complex in nature and could be used to create vast blanks in someone's memory or sometimes the lack of details. Usually though, the mind could fight off hypnosis, so if Dr. Bowles used hypnosis on those women, he must have created elaborate layers to help them fight any following sessions of hypnosis. Again, Madeline was aware that Section One had helped to created elaborate defenses in Nikita's mind to this sort of work.

Nothing was positive when it came to the mind, as it was easily shown with the way that Nikita's past on the street seemed to be causing reactions in her present life. It is easily true that you can't escape your past because it is a part of you, but usually over time, the memory loses the sharp details, but not with memories that Nikita had now. She had been blocking them out since she was brought into Section One, but with time and with the stressed nature of Section One, those blocks had been fading, bring the memories back. Maybe if Nikita wasn't a cold operative and wasn't out on the field on missions day in and day out, she could have continued to block and deny the memories. Maybe it was the continual exposure to Michael and that with the more she felt that feeling of fondness, of love, the more it ate away at the blocks, knowing that Michael should know all of the truth about her past.

There were so many variations of how Nikita was going to take this abduction and abuse. She could try to act like it didn't happen or she could break down totally. Madeline didn't know if Nikita would be able to defend herself or what Dr. Bowles would do if Nikita fought back. Madeline didn't know if Nikita was prepared to fight for her life with all the memories of the streets coming back. Madeline didn't know what Dr. Bowles knew about Nikita's life on the streets and if he would somehow use it to get back at her. Would he try to recreate some of the worse scenes of abuse Nikita had told him as she believed he was going to be able to help her? Would he try to become the worse abuser yet? Would he try to break her to the point of wanting to kill herself without knowing how often Nikita had reached that point herself? Would he bring the drugs into the abuse? Would he try to get her hooked back on the drugs?

Madeline stepped out of the kitchen quickly in order to stop her whirling mind from all the questions. All she had was educated guesses, but the more she learned of Dr. Bowles and of his actions, the more she became aware that she didn't know how he was going to react. Nikita was special in Madeline's eyes, as her mind didn't seem to work in the same way as others. Madeline had always felt that was a way that helped make Nikita so unique and strong in ways.

The cell phone was ringing and Madeline dashed to the couch. She pulled it to her ear and closed her eyes.

"Yes?" Madeline softly said, not knowing who was on the other end and why they were calling. She didn't need Operations breathing down her neck on this one for all the mistakes she had made. Yet, Section One had no information on that Dr. Ralph Bowles was abusive and that was why there was a need to find his files.

"Madeline... I'm not downloading the next diary entry." Birkoff said and Madeline sat down at her computer and felt a cold chill take over her body with Birkoff's words. They were haunted words, words filled with disgust, hate, and impending fear.

"Why?" Madeline questioned and she waited in the silence. Birkoff wasn't even typing, probably gathering the strength and the nerve up to tell Madeline what he was hesitating on.

"Dr. Bowles... He murdered one of the patients, Madeline.... Let me give you her name... Kathy Goldsworth. The entry is too... too gruesome to view." Birkoff said and Madeline typed the name into the computer and blinked her eyes.

"Do you know what caused him to do so?" Madeline questioned deeply as the computer started to pull hundreds of news articles about Kathy Goldsworth. Madeline closed her eyes and waited for an answer.

"Because his techniques of further manipulation didn't work." Birkoff said and closed the line. Madeline leaned her head back and swallowed as in the driveway a door slammed, indicating that Michael had arrived. Madeline dropped her head and waited for the man that she didn't want to face to reach the porch. Madeline felt her heart pounding, not knowing that if she was going to be able to control her emotions on this and if she didn't, Michael would know the truth. Madeline did care.

*

Michael turned the handle of the door and rolled his eyes at the locked position he found it in. Yes, it should be locked this late at night, but Michael knew that Madeline was still up and waiting for him. Michael pushed the doorbell and waited quietly, even as his soul and mind churned the possibilities of what was going on.

His trip on the plane had been extremely quiet and all contact that Michael tried to do with Madeline had been blocked. Michael then had attempted to reach Headquarters and got Simon. Simon claimed that the only thing that was going on was that Nikita was acting like a typical teenager and Madeline probably needed help in punishing Nikita. Michael knew that the explanation that Simon gave was no reasonable for the situation.

"Michael." Madeline said as she opened the door with the evidence of tears running down her face. Michael blinked his eyes and looked around the house as he stepped in. He pushed his hands into the black trench coat that he was wearing, even in the heat, to look at Madeline in his typical fashion. He knew instantly that Madeline was not acting like Madeline and it only served to make his stomach turn inside out.

"What is going on?" Michael questioned as the front door shut with a silent click and he looked at Madeline. She appeared nervous and was sweating. "Where is Nikita?"

"She isn't here." Madeline stated as she turned and looked into Michael's eyes as they instantly turned from the wary gray to flaming green, as they always did when Nikita was in trouble. Madeline waited as she saw the eyes slowly go back to gray, indicating that Michael knew exactly who to blame for the situation.

"Where is she?" Michael questioned in deeply accented words and Madeline turned her head off to the side and rubbed her hands together. She knew the anger that was behind the words that Michael spoke and knew that it was only going to grow in intensity.

"With Dr. Bowles." Madeline said and Michael nodded his head and turned away from Madeline. He blinked as he heard every word that Nikita had told of recently as he tried to hold the anger back, knowing that it wouldn't get Nikita back. Yet, someone had to speak up for Nikita, and since it seemed like Nikita hadn't been able to do that to Madeline, Michael was sure that it was his turn to do so.

"The man that she didn't like..." Michael started out as he turned to look at Madeline.

"Well, Michael..."

"A man that you forced her to see..."

"For her own good?"

"Michael..."

"A man that played in the shadows of trees in the middle of the night for therapy.. Whose idea was that?"

"Michael, please listen.." Madeline said as she stepped back as Michael approached her closer and closer. She felt his words pushing out of his mouth with such a force and she shook her head, wishing he would listen, but strangely knew that Michael needed to do this to be able to function later.

"Whose idea was it?"

"Answer me!"

"Mine, Michael.. but..."

"It was yours... and she didn't want to go for another run...."

"And then you talked... and she opened up to you... showing you the reasons why she didn't need to see him... but she continued didn't she?"

"Yes... Michael.. but..."

"She continued because it was a mission..."

"A mission..."

"A GOD-DAMN MISSION..." Michael roared as his face leaned into Madeline and his arms wrapped tightly around her body, holding her to listen to his rage to hear and feel all the anger that he had in those moments.

"Because it was a mission... But I wanted to stop it." Madeline said as she looked at Michael with tears running down her face. Michael stared at her and moved away, never having seen Madeline cry like this before.

"I started to realize that there was something wrong... and that Nikita really didn't need him..."

"She needed someone, Michael... I didn't know who..."

"You didn't know who?" Michael questioned as he backed up and pushed his hair back with his hands. He closed his eyes and looked at Madeline. "What about me?"

"Do you want to hear about the abuse? Do you want to hear about the good times that Nikita had on the street only to be followed by more abuse?"

"Do you want to hear about Bull and how he pulled her away from running away on the circus? Do you want to know how they liked to abuse her... and how she knew Bull when she was still living with her mother?"

"YES!" Michael cried out finally as he stared at Madeline. Madeline blinked her eyes and fell to the couch, finding everything a bit too difficult to figure out and sort. Her heart was taking her away and she had surrendered to it.

"I listen to her yell at me... and tonight... I wanted her to stay, Michael..." Madeline admitted and she looked at Michael. "How can you stand feeling like this for Nikita, it is so painful?"

Michael looked to Madeline and rubbed a hand over his face, feeling the tornado that he was standing in roll away and the rainbow coming out. Madeline was caring for Nikita and now understood most of what Michael felt for Nikita. Michael sat down and blinked his eyes as his tongue brushed over his lips, wetting them with moisture in case he found the words to speak to Madeline. Michael wasn't sure if he was going to be brave enough to speak them, but knew he would have to for Nikita's sake, because Madeline wasn't going to be able to function without an explanation.

"There is no reason... I just do." Michael softly stated and Madeline shook her head back and forth, not taking the words as Michael had said them. Michael leaned his head back and looked at his hands and then to Madeline.

"It was like when I first saw Adam... no matter how much I didn't want to bond with him... my heart knew..." Michael said with tears almost on his eyes as he stared at Madeline. "I don't know when... but one of those times I saw Nikita... my heart just knew... and it didn't matter how painful it was... You can't deny your heart... so you accepted it and move on."

Madeline dropped her head, stunned by the words, no stunned by the beauty of the words. She listened to those words and began to wonder if Nikita even knew that was the way that Michael felt. Madeline closed her eyes and swallowed. It had happened the same way to her. Just suddenly, Madeline started to act like a mother to Nikita and watching out for her. There was no set time that it occurred, no event or knowledge that drove it to be, it just happened.

"She is in danger. Dr. Bowles likes to abuse women, twist their minds, and if that doesn't work, he has been known to kill a few." Madeline stated and Michael stood up and shook his head. All the hate he had for Madeline was gone as the problem was more important. He needed to get Nikita back because that was all that mattered in his life.

"Where is his house?" Michael questioned and Madeline shook her head as she pulled out the circular map of Liberty Circles. She pointed to the house and looked at Michael.

"I looked there and no one was there, Michael. His car was gone." Madeline said and Michael closed his eyes and pulled off the trench coat and looked at the computer. There was some of the diary entry there and he closed his eyes to the words after reading some.

"Are there abandoned houses or warehouses?" Michael questioned and Madeline moved her hand and looked at the map and sighed.

"There are a few Michael. They are scattered among the orchards, and there seem to be no real access roads." Madeline stated and Michael nodded his head and swallowed as Madeline's phone rang again. He sat down as Madeline pulled it open.

"Madeline, he killed another one too." Birkoff said in a strained voice and Madeline typed the name as Birkoff repeated it. Madeline looked at the reports and flipped the computer to the side so that Michael to read it.

"Do we have a way to track her location?" Madeline questioned and Michael looked to Madeline as he knew the answer, but Madeline was only starting to gain her edge back, still feeling the effects of how it felt to feel for Nikita.

"Madeline... remember, Adrian took her crystal out." Birkoff said and Madeline closed the cell phone and hung her head down. Michael looked to Madeline and then swallowed as he read the reports. Soon, Michael's head was hanging down low to match Madeline's.

*

Michael held the map in his hand of Liberty Circles as he paced his own kind of circles in the living room. There was no indication on the map of how many warehouses that there may be in the orchards that surrounded the town. He lifted his head as Madeline opened the door and walked back into the house.

Michael had wanted to go to Dr. Bowles' house and search it, but Madeline claimed that she knew what she was looking for. She entered with four zip disks and headed to the computer. That was all that Madeline had and Michael stared at her in shock. He dropped the map down on the dinning room table and grabbed his phone; not caring about what orders made did or did not give her. He wasn't about to lose Nikita now.

"Weapons, bombs, and other assorted items of destruction... Walter, How can I help you?" Walter joked as he picked up the end of the line and Michael looked at Madeline as she dropped her head in frustration in front of the computer.

"Walter..." Michael said and he waited for the shock to come over Walter. Michael looked at the map and shook his head, waiting for Walter.

"Michael, what is going on? Why did you leave New York? Why is Birkoff back in Section held up in his closed quarters room?" Walter questioned and Michael closed his eyes as Madeline stared at Michael. Michael knew the problem of the situation, as Madeline didn't even argue what Michael was doing, as she probably should have.

"Nikita has been taken... and I need your help." Michael said and he heard the gasp on the other end of the line.

"Now, why isn't all of Section on this, Michael?"

"What are you trying to hide?"

"Walter, it is a difficult situation that I was only aware of now." Michael stated calmly and he heard the huff on the other end of the line. It was easily seen that Walter wasn't taking any of this easily.

"Madeline."

"Yes, Madeline... Walter...I need..."

"Can't she every leave anyone alone? Why did she go and do this to Nikita?"

"Is Nikita going to be hurt again? Is this torture for her?"

"Someday I'm going to get my hands on that witch and do to her what she does to Nikita, but it is time that she learned that Nikita has been through enough pain..."

"Walter, I know all that. That is not the issue." Michael shouted and Madeline looked at Michael. She stared at him and turned her lead. Madeline knew that Walter would be connecting the pieces quickly and assessing the blame quickly.

"What is the issue, Michael?" Walter demanded and Michael swallowed as he looked at the map. There was only a few ways to get the information he needed. It was not the harvesting time of the year and there was a way to know which warehouse was being used.

"I need to hid the use of tactical airforce from Operations." Michael said and he waited as the stunned silence on the other end continued to drone on.

"Michael, that is going to be impossible. Why do you need it?" Walter demanded and Michael drew up a chair and looked at Madeline before speaking.

"There is an abusive psychologist that Madeline forced Nikita to see. Nikita has been taken and is in one of the many warehouses in the orchards that surround Liberty Circles." Michael explained and he heard Walter throwing something against the wall.

"Why would sugar need a psychologist?" Walter demanded and Michael rolled his eyes, knowing that precious time was being wasted.

"Walter, let's not discuss the..."

"I'll tell you why.. Because Madeline knew this would happen. Don't believe her for a second that she didn't think this would happen..."

"Walter, actually we know that Section didn't..."

"Don't believe them, Michael.. Madeline can tell by looking at a person if they are evil or not... You've seen her to do this.. She sent Nikita into hell."

"Why? Why did she send Nikita out to slaughter, Michael?"

"Walter... Madeline believed that she could help Nikita." Michael slowly explained, trying not to react to Walter's anger that was very well heard over the phone line.

"Who does she think she is, Mother Theresa? God, Michael... She knows that only one person in this damn hell hole is ever going to fix Nikita!"

"Walter... that isn't..."

"I don't care what is the issue, Michael. It is damn time that someone told you this! So you shut up and listen to me, boy!" Walter screamed and Michael blinked his eyes and dropped his head. Madeline looked at Michael as more tears highlighted her face, Michael could tell that Madeline was not getting encouraging information.

"What, Walter?" Michael said softly, giving in to Walter's ranting, hoping that the sooner that he got it over with the sooner they could get down to work.

"You are the thing that has kept Nikita in this world, even after all the times you have ripped her heart out, punched it, and put it back into her, and hoped that it ticked. You are the only one that matters to that sweet little thing, that I wish to god knew that I hate to see her with you." Walter started out and Michael closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Walter didn't know of the progress that both Michael and Nikita had made. Yes he did see the connection between them when Nikita needed to be woken up, but he didn't understand that both of them accepted it and wanted to work on it. He didn't know of Vernsville and the dance, a dance that seemed to have connected them more than any swearing of marriage could have.

"Sometimes I want to take her and hide her away from you, Michael... to keep her safe. You better do something!" Walter yelled and Michael closed his eyes.

"I'm trying, Walter." Michael sadly stated and he stood up and began to pace. He looked to Madeline as he swallowed back all of his fears.

"I'm going to tell this to you Walter as Madeline stares at me..." Michael started as his eyes met with Madeline's. "The day Nikita dies, I will turn the gun on myself, because she is all that matters."

There was a silence in the house and on the other end of the line. The lines of devotion so clearly distinguished and known that no one could doubt the love that Michael felt. He dropped his head away from Madeline and pushed at his cinnamon curls as he turned back tot he map.

"I need an air tactical plan to fly over Liberty Circles, looking over the orchards for a warehouse with lights. They only have a few hours, as we need a location." Michael said as he tapped his hands on the table.

"I'll do it, Michael... Even if I have to kill Operations to stop me." Walter said and closed the phone line. Michael sat down at the table and turned to look at Madeline.

Madeline was staring, but turned her head back to her own work. The words must have disturbed her and been revealing. Michael had long thought that Madeline knew and realized how he felt for Nikita. It was on this day that he learned that Madeline didn't realize any of that. She knew that there was fondness, but know knew that whatever Nikita had admitted to was being reflected back by Michael. Michael picked up the map and shook his head as it looked like a bull's eyes. Michael swallowed back and couldn't wait until he would see the same bull's eye on Dr. Bowles face.

*

Michael lurked outside the warehouse as he slowly went from tree to tree. The morning light was just starting to break, making Michael's cover less and less helpful. He looked up at the apple trees that surrounded him, but that soon ended when the warehouse was still a far way out.

Things had been occurring quickly once Walter was able to scramble some of the lines of communications and got the plane in the air. Michael didn't understand the entire long story Walter had told him, as he was more worried about getting to Nikita. It went something like that Walter used a pilot that owed him a few extra favors and that knew about the special relationship between Michael and Nikita. Michael also got the feeling that the pilot either liked Madeline or was extremely scared of her, which helped him make his decision to help.

Michael didn't have extreme amounts of equipment as he made his way to the last tree. He had mission clothing on and one handgun. Dr. Bowles worked by himself, so there was no worry about there being guards or anything. He just couldn't allow Dr. Bowles to see him before he wanted to be seen. Other than those items, Michael had a small communications link to Madeline for when he got Nikita back.

Walter hadn't been able to get anymore data from the warehouse other than it was occupied by two people. That was all he could tell and that was enough for Michael. He knew that it was the warehouse with Nikita, but he had to wonder what kind of shape Nikita was in and if he was going to be able to save her quickly.

Michael dropped to the ground as Dr. Bowles looked out the window. Michael decided that he could have waited, but he wasn't a man to wait, not when it came to Nikita's well being. He slowly started the painful commando style crawl along the surface of the ground. He felt each twig and stone that his body rolled over top of as he moved towards that door.

After Dr. Bowles turned away from the window, Michael could have stood up and run, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He didn't know the anger of Dr. Bowles and what he had already did to Nikita. Michael wasn't to take that chance. Madeline also had ordered Michael to proceed with extreme caution.

Throughout the night, Madeline received more and more information about Dr. Bowles. When Michael left, there had been three young women who had been killed by the man, and it seemed to be something that he wanted to do. Madeline had also found pictures of all three and turned the computer away. Michael was not terribly shocked to see that all three had long blonde hair and blue eyes. It made Nikita the complete target from this mad psychologist.

The pants were rubbing his legs tightly as he hit the house and started to stand up. Michael's legs barely ached with the crawl that he had completed and he was now ready to enter the warehouse. He slowly moved to the door and opened it a crack. He was going to wait there and here what was going on.

"Wake up, Nikita!" Dr. Bowles sang out and Michael turned his head to peak into the room that Dr. Bowles was working in. It was rather large and lacked everything except for a chair and a table. There were some chains, as they looked to have been strapped on Nikita to start with but no longer were on her.

Dr. Bowles held up Nikita's limp body, but Michael could see the chest moving up and down indicating that Nikita was still breathing.

"Stop." Nikita moaned out and Michael bit down on his lip. Nikita was conscious for the moment, but Michael was sure that was only because she was currently being tortured. In a few days, Nikita went from looking extremely well, but no longer looked that way. Michael pulled his gun out and swallowed back, hating holding off.

"Don't you talk back to me!" Dr. Bowles said as he slapped Nikita. Michael winced as Nikita's head whipped back but didn't snap back. Dr. Bowles shook his head as his hand was working on a tool. Michael couldn't tell what it was and he waited.

Dr. Bowles lifted his head and pressed the stun gun to Nikita's chest and pressed the electricity into her body. Nikita jerked back as Michael entered and snapped the safety off.

"Move away from the girl." Michael said as he aimed the gun and looked at Dr. Bowles. He dropped Nikita's body and turned to look at Michael. He looked down to Nikita and then to Michael.

Michael wanted to get down with the man and turn his attention to Nikita. Michael stopped worrying as much as Nikita slowly turned her body. He didn't know how Nikita had the strength, but she was doing as she was trained. She didn't know if she would slip out of consciousness, so she flipped her body to the side and placed herself in the rescue position. One of her arms was almost over her head and her face was on the side on the ground. She pulled one of her legs up and stretched the other out. It would allow a way to keep her breathing easier until Michael could attend to her.

"You must be Michael." Dr. Bowles said as Michael approached him. Michael looked to the stun gun and Dr. Bowles dropped it as he started to smile.

"I didn't think that Nikita's current boyfriend would be carrying such an item of violence. Hasn't she had enough violence in her life?" Dr. Bowles said slowly and Michael stared at the man, as the gun never wavered from the headshot that Michael knew that sooner or later he was going to pull off.

"You don't know Nikita, I do." Michael said and Dr. Bowles began to laugh evilly.

"You don't know her... Who is OZ?" Dr. Bowles said and he waited, as Michael was silent.

"See, you don't know her! Do you know what Oz did to her? Nothing more than I have.... And you treat her like you know her... How arrogant of you, Michael!"

"She won't be staying with you..."

"You're violent."

"You don't know Nikita." Michael said again and Dr. Bowles only laughed.

"I know Nikita. She was the abused and will always be the abused. Everyone uses her."

"You use her... probably to make you feel good because you can love someone..."

"Her mother uses her.... Makes her feel that she did something good because she got Nikita off the streets and off of drugs... also uses Nikita to show how pretty her genes were...."

"I used her... made her think that I was going to help her.... When all I wanted to do was abuse her... and if she wasn't an abused woman... she wouldn't be here now..."

"You don't know Nikita." Michael said and Dr. Bowles narrowed his eyes as he looked at the gun. In his entire rant, he noticed that the gun never moved. Dr. Bowles looked at Michael and sighed.

"So some of what you feel for her is real... too bad it isn't all real!"

"You have an abused heart yourself...."

"It's battered... torn..."

"Two wreaked souls living together.... You are going to kill each other..." Dr. Bowles commented and Michael's lips slowly turned upward and stopped Dr. Bowles words ceased.

"We won't kill each other until something else is done..." Michael said and Dr. Bowles titled his head to the side. "I'm going to kill you."

"Who are you?" Dr. Bowles asked and Michael turned his head to view Nikita as it seemed like the electricity was still coursing through her body, not a good sign at all.

"Someone who doesn't like you." Michael stated and Dr. Bowles shook his head as he looked around. He was starting to put the huge pieces all together now. His mouth dropped and it only helped Michael's evil smile to grow.

"You're a terrorist. Nikita is too." Dr. Bowles said and Michael shrugged his shoulder as he used an eye to look at Nikita again, trying to hold off the need to drop to her side and help her until he had finished this. Dr. Bowles was making it easy as he started to walk away from Nikita and towards the other wall in the warehouse.

"You're close, but... not close enough." Michael stated and Dr. Bowles looked at Michael and shook his head. "I'm Section One."

Dr. Bowles' faced drained of all color. Michael didn't know how Dr. Bowles knew of Section One, but knew that it didn't matter now. More than likely, any of that information could be found in his files. Michael knew that he was going to kill this doctor in any second, as Madeline informed Michael that they could still get his fingerprints and act like he was still alive.

"Say goodbye." Michael stated as he aimed one last time and pulled the gun. Michael watched as the body dropped to the ground, surrounded by instant blood. Michael pulled the communications link on and dropped the gun.

"The bastard is dead." Michael hissed as he turned and looked at Nikita, fearing the worse.

*

"Oh God, Nikita!" Michael finally spoke as he dropped to his knees. He looked at her and looked at the blood that was about her body. Michael swallowed and saw her chest working in and out, albeit slowly and almost like it was a labor to do.

"Madeline... You need to get in here." Michael puffed out as he looked around the room for ways of helping Nikita. She was easily going into shock and the burns from the stun gun look like a deep purple now and the one on her chest was red.

"Madeline... stun guns... Anything special to be looking out for?" Michael questioned and he heard the gasp on the other end.

"She is breathing, right?" Madeline questioned and Michael blinked and swallowed.

"Of course!"

"Check her heart, anything funny?"

"No!"

"NO? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure!"

"That can't be right!"

"Madeline, she is out of it.. And in pain.. But it doesn't look like arrest or anything like that!" Michael exclaimed as he looked at Nikita again. Her breathing sounded like she was wheezing that it was difficult to breathe, but her pulse was steady and strong. No doubt about that.

"Where was she hit at?" Madeline questioned and Michael looked again and swallowed. He touched Nikita's head and closed his eyes at the paleness over her body. "Michael!"

"I don't know how often. The last time was in the middle of her chest." Michael said as he looked at Nikita's clothing. He started to pull at the shorts as they were tightly. He looked around and pulled at the sports bra that was also tight. He needed to help circulation, so removing the items did make Nikita naked, but it may save her life.

"That one had to hurt... Is there a blanket or a pillow around? And is Nikita totally out of it?" Madeline questioned as Michael stood up.

He looked around and at first say absolutely nothing. If he had too, he would strip down to nothing in order to cover Nikita with warmth. He turned away and looked at Nikita as her eyes briefly opened and then closed. Michael rolled in a circle and saw the little closet. Michael dashed to it and pulled it open.

"I got a pillow and a blanket... Actually two pillows." Michael said as he grabbed the items and moved back to Nikita's side. He dropped to his knees and looked at Nikita. He watched as she tried to open her eyes again. He touched her head as her body trembled lightly. "Madeline... she is twitching..."

"I've seen that Michael... it's the electricity..."

"Should I worry?"

"You should already be worrying Michael... Electricity does major damage."

"What do I do?"

"Pray."

"No, I mean with the pillow and blanket!" Michael shouted as he shook himself. Nikita was moving her hands up and trying to cover her chest. The burn must sting with the air around it and the little wheeze seemed to be getting worse.

"I want one pillow to elevator her legs... The other pillow, I want you to place over the chest and to wrap her arms against it."

"How is that going to help?"

"I saw this once, Michael. Painful, but this will help."

"You are sure?"

"Michael, don't ask questions. Just do it." Madeline said loudly as the connection blurred a little and cleared up. Michael lightly placed the pillow over her chest and Nikita grabbed it with her arms even with her eyes shut and with her mind lost to the world around her.

"The blanket is for shock." Michael stated as he opened the blanket up and placed it around her body. Michael trembled as he saw the lack of anything from Nikita. He was worried as her eyes didn't flutter as much and as the trembling seemed to be repetitive, as if Nikita wasn't trying to fight it as it appeared the last time.

"Yes, Michael.... You are right... I'll be there soon." Madeline said and Michael sat down on the cold surface, running his hand across Nikita's face. She clutched the pillow and her eyes opened.

"Help..." Nikita gasped as she rolled her head towards Michael. Michael knew that Nikita was aware of the noise that each breath she took made. She knew the pain that she was in and she knew that she was stuck somewhere she never thought she would be in.

"It's ok, Nikita..." Michael softly said as he stroked her hair off of her face. Nikita closed her eyes and licked her lips.