Michael turned his head to the side to glance at the roses he had brought. It was so silent in the room. It was the only thing in the room that had color right now. The white walls eerily reminded Michael of Section One. The flowers and cards that used to liter the room were gone. The stark walls the only thing around unless Michael brought the rare gift.

If Nikita's eyes were opened, they would be the only things in the room that had color. After the two years of being suspended as she was, they still shined brightly. It was as if Michael could still see the love that was in those eyes. It gave him strength.

It brought him back over and over again.

There had not been a week that Michael hadn't missed. All of the missions that they tried to give him that were far away from the nursing home and for longer than a week, suddenly had a change in the profile, giving Michael a few days away, only so he could return to see Nikita.

Yesterday was Maralah's birthday. His girl. Nikita's girl. She was now six and going to attend school soon. A girl that had grown up too fast for what Michael would have wanted. A girl who still believed that Birkoff was her father. A girl that was going to be moved out of the house and into an apartment with Birkoff.

She wanted to see her mother for her birthday. Michael didn't allow it. Maralah came once a month, which was enough in Michael's mind. He knew that Nikita wouldn't want her to get stuck on her and waiting for the miracle. Maralah had to have as normal of a life as she could.

Michael wasn't sure that was possible.

"I see someone brushed your hair today... I guess they realized your daughter turned six yesterday," Michael commented as he stroked Nikita's hair back. Some days Michael would arrive and find Nikita looking like she had been forgotten for days. Michael would grab the washcloth and the basin himself and set off to work. It was something that Nikita deserved. She deserved to be bathed and to have her hair brushed out. She didn't require that much, but Michael wouldn't accept anything less.

"You have ten minutes," the head nurse sternly stated as she pushed the door open. Michael turned his head and sighed.

Ten minutes was never enough, even if Nikita never spoke or move. Michael had become trapped with her.

The head nurse was one person that Michael would love to knock off with one round of his gun in-between her eyes. During the two years that Nikita was here, she had slowly become stricter with Michael. She was rude and insolent. She hated the devotion that Michael spent with Nikita and started to enforce stricter rules.

"Nikita... I'm going to find you a better place... someplace with a garden and a staff that will position you in a chair outside in the sun..." Michael stated as he stroked her hair. He had been looking for a while, and found a few places that wanted Nikita to come and join them. But in the end, something didn't pass Section One clearances and Nikita stayed where she was.

And so, Michael continued to visit her.

This was his life. He had his daughter he saw twice a week when missions didn't interfere and he saw Nikita as often as he could. This was his life.

The door swung open again and a nurse smiled as she walked in. She was new and assigned to the easy cases. Nikita was the one easy case in the entire place. She was also the one that made this young nurse burst into tears, hearing about the devoted family that she couldn't be with.

"I made sure to get her ready for your visit... I was surprised when you didn't bring your daughter last night," The nurse conversed as she pushed the little tray of items next to the bed. It was night time and time for evening medicines and status checks. Nikita's almost never changed.

Michael smiled at the nurse as he held onto Nikita's hand. He was the one that always brought Maralah to see Nikita. Birkoff hadn't visited her once. Walter comes about once a month or if he is afraid of something. Madeline visits about twice a year. In fact, Madeline had been the person that sat in the room with Nikita during her entire birthday a few months ago.

Michael was on a mission.

"I took her to get pizza..." Michael commented as the nurse wrapped Nikita's arm up with the blood pressure cuff. Michael was surprised that the head nurse hadn't given him the boot yet. Normally, the nurses never did medicines and medical checks with anyone in the room. It almost always happened after visiting hours.

"Did you hear that they are cutting visiting hours again? I don't know what it will do to her," The nurse spoke as she smiled at Nikita. This was the one nurse that Michael felt treated Nikita like she should be at all times. Maybe it was because she wasn't related to the head nurse. Maybe she just hadn't lost enough patients yet.

"I'm not pleased with it. I got the notice in the mail," Michael stated in short words. The nursing home had gone from quite an open policy to a strict policy. That first week that Nikita was here, Michael practically lived there. He even spent several nights to see how Nikita would be attended to at night. In the beginning, the nurses were careful to have the lights on when Nikita's eyes were open and the lights off when the eyes were closed. Now, at exactly 10 pm, Nikita's light went off. It didn't matter if her eyes were opened.

And she no longer had a TV or radio. Those were only the beginning of the reasons why Michael wanted to get Nikita out of this location.

The nurse smiled as she pulled the blood pressure cuff off. She picked up the chart and smiled at Michael. "Her pulse is always up when you are here... Maybe she does know you are here."

Michael held onto that thought.

"Do you know why there is a cut in the visiting hours?" Michael questioned as he looked to the roses and then to the nurse. Michael was sure that by morning the head nurse would have them confiscated also.

"We've been getting threats... and someone hacked into our medical records and they think it is a family member of someone here... It's all really sad," the nurse informed Michael. Michael blinked his eyes. It almost sounded like something that Section One would do if they wanted to control the situation.

And it could be Section One.

The nurse pulled out the tray and pulled out a needle. Michael tilted his head to the side. He was sure that Nikita didn't get any medicines any longer.

"What's that?" Michael questioned. It had been several months since he had last seen medicine given to Nikita. In fact, it was probably about eight months ago, and then it was an experimental drug that was being used to make sure that Nikita's muscles didn't atrophy too much.

It didn't work.

"I'm not sure... I've never heard it, but Dr. Wolfe insists that Nikita gets it twice a day," the nurse answered and Michael stared as she entered the fluid into Nikita's upper arm. Michael looked over and purposely pushed a glass of water over.

"Oh no!" the nurse exclaimed as she saw the mess. She started to walk.

"Don't worry... I'll get something..." Michael offered as he stood up and took her arm. She stopped and smiled.

"Stay with her... It will give you a few more minutes until Nurse Hitler comes to drag you out by your shirt collar... I'll only be a few minutes..." the nurse commented as she opened the door and escaped. Michael rounded the bed and pulled up the bottle.

Section One was to inform Michael of any drugs that were being put into Nikita. It was one of the stipulations that Madeline had with Michael when Nikita entered the nursing home. Michael pulled out a cloth and looked at the bottle. The nurse would notice the entire bottle missing. Michael dampened the entire cloth with the liquid, hoping that Walter would still be able to run a test with it. If not, one day, Michael would find a way to get the entire bottle.

Michael slipped back to his chair as the door opened. Nurse Hitler was right behind the other nurse.

"YOU. OUT!" She commanded with stern words. Michael stood up and moved towards Nikita.

"Nikita... I won't be back for a few days..." Michael whispered softly.

"It isn't like she can hear you. You bleeding hearts just don't know how to go on in life do you?" Nurse Hitler hissed as the other nurse walked back to the tray. She looked at Michael and dropped her head. If she hadn't gone out of the towels, she would have given Michael as much time with Nikita as needed.

"Nikita... I want you to remember how much I love you... and I'm working on getting a job that will allow me to bring you closer to me... to be with me..." Michael state as he held Nikita's hand. Michael knew his next request would only make Nurse Hitler more upset, but at times, that was Michael's point.

Maybe some day he would cause Nurse Hitler to have a heart attack.

"Her nails are ragged. I'd like someone to file them and paint them," Michael stated as he moved away from Nikita and looked at the nurse. She folded her arms across her chest as she stared at Michael. Her nickname fitted her.

"Oh, you do? And I guess I should do that for someone who can't even more her hands, let alone know that someone is here? HOW STUPID ARE YOU? WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE?" Nurse Hitler demanded as she moved closer to Michael. Michael looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"I'm not stupid," Michael stated. "I'm in love... and I will always love her."

Michael turned on his heels and walked back to Nikita. He kissed her forehead and then her lips. The young nurse tried to smile at Michael, but Michael realized that her job might be gone by the end of the night. Michael hurried out of the room, brushing his shoulder against Nurse Hitler and going down the hallway quickly.

For the first time in a long time, Michael wanted to go back to Section One.

Something wasn't right here. Why would a nursing home have threats and breaches of their computer systems? Why didn't Birkoff know about it? There was only one person here that meant anything to anyone in the underground world. That was Nikita. But Michael was sure that this wasn't Red Cell, Free League, or any other terrorist group.

He was sure that it was his own.

Why was Nikita getting medicine that Michael didn't know about? Why was it hidden from Michael? What was it for? Where they trying to kill her faster? Where they trying to prolong her agony?

All were questions that Michael needed to get answered.

It was a life or death issue.

*

"STOP! STOP!" Birkoff shouted as he slammed his chair into his desk. He ran over to the other computer and slapped the operative on the head. "Are you a complete idiot? Anyone with the ability to read would know that you can't run that diagnostic program on a computer that has this RAM and frequency and not run a filter on it! Do you want to expose us!"

The operative dropped his head as Birkoff pushed the chair away from the computer and started to pound on the keys. The operatives that were observing looked back and forth between each other, wondering what was going on with Birkoff.

"I did ran a filter on it..." The operative finally spoke up and Birkoff turned around. Birkoff was never a violent man, but he sure did appear as if he was going to kill the operative at that point.

"Section Two picked up your activity. Be glad it was only another Section... not that we want them to know what our business is! YOU HAVE TO THINK!" Birkoff hissed as he walked back to his computer. He looked to the screen and threw his hands up in the air.

"If you all don't get back to work I can have all of you canceled!" Birkoff hollered and the operatives started to stare at their computers. Walter was walking towards the upset Birkoff, knowing that it was out of character for Birkoff to act like this. He was usually calm and cool under pressure.

"I don't know how everyone here that used to be so smart is getting so stupid... Are you all sick?" Birkoff questioned as he rubbed at his eyebrow and yanked his glasses off. The glasses dropped to the desk and Walter picked them up and carefully folded them.

"Birkoff... take a walk with me..." Walter stated as he smiled at Birkoff. The other operatives held their breath, hoping that Birkoff listened to Walter. This was a rare mood for Birkoff, but if he did continue in this mood, it was possible that he could start calling for the heads of some of the operatives sitting around him.

Birkoff looked up at Walter and leaned his head back. It was at that point that he realized how much stress he was feeling. He rolled his head around and rolled his shoulders back. Never had Birkoff had stress like this. He just wanted everything to be like it used to be.

When Nikita was here.

"Come on, Seymour..." Walter carefully stated, noting that there was something inside of Birkoff's eyes that he wasn't going to want everyone to see, particularly Madeline and Operations. Birkoff allowed Walter to gently tug him away and deeper into the hallways of Section One.

The walk for one purpose, got the two men lost in the hallways of Section One as they moved from monitored hallways to private hallways. Walter also continued to walk, knowing that Birkoff needed to walk off the aggression that he had been showing back at his computer.

He was never a man to get upset and explode. That was an explosion. It wasn't the first time that Walter had seen this. In fact, it was getting more and more common for these explosions from Birkoff. Walter had his theory and it dealt with one thing that probably couldn't be changed.

Nikita.

"You getting enough sleep?" Walter questioned, trying to start this off as a friendly thing. It was going to dredge up emotions that both Walter and Birkoff had tried for a long time to hide. This was probably something that they should have talked about from the moment of Nikita's injury, but instead, both men only talked to each other when they passed Maralah off. Their friendship had suffered greatly, as both men found it hard to look at the other without thinking about Nikita.

"It's not that, Walter," Birkoff hissed as he leaned against the wall. It felt as if all the weight of the world was sitting on his shoulders. Birkoff didn't know how to handle this any longer. He even listened to Michael say that he was depressed and should talk to Madeline.

Michael! Birkoff found it ironic that the man that spent days with Nikita was telling him to seek professional help from Madeline.

"Then tell me," Walter stated as he tilted his head to the side. The young man looked to the side and blinked his eyes.

He started to speak and then stopped with a heavy sigh. "I can't, Walter."

"Yes, you can. Something is clearly bothering you," Walter issued out as he looked at Birkoff. It was clear that he wasn't going to let Birkoff just leave. Birkoff was going to have to talk.

"Something has been wrong for two years... but no one talks about it..." Birkoff rushed out and then clamped his mouth down. It already felt as if he had said too much. He looked up at Walter's wrinkled face. He had aged so much with Nikita's injury.

At least Walter was about to find the strength to go see her.

"It's hard to believe it is two years... How have you been doing?" Walter questioned and Birkoff turned his head away from Walter. Every morning Birkoff was able to tell how he was doing.

Not well.

"I'm fine..." Birkoff stated as he nodded his head up and down. Not only was Birkoff attempting to convince Walter that he was fine, he was trying to convince himself. It wasn't working. Birkoff knew the truth in his heart and Walter could see it.

"What happened at the computers just now wasn't fine. What's going on?" Walter inquired, knowing that he might be pushing at the wrong time. Birkoff leaned against the wall, finding his entire body to heavy to stand up. He wanted to fall to the ground and cry.

He wanted to hide forever.

"Operations... had me... no.. I'm not ready to talk about this..." Birkoff stated as he closed his eyes. It was difficult enough to do what Operations had ordered him to do. This wasn't a topic that Birkoff wanted to talk about at all.

"He had you do what, Seymour? This is bothering you and you have to talk about it... If not me... maybe you should talk with Madeline..." Walter stated in a metered voice.

"NO! Why is it that everyone wants me to talk to Madeline!" Birkoff shouted as he started to move down the hallway. Walter stared after him and stood his ground. He knew that Birkoff would come back.

"I mean... I should be able to move Nikita's files from the active computer to the storage without any hesitation... Without feeling this way..." Birkoff explained as he turned and looked at Walter. Birkoff didn't know that Walter could see the tears on his face.

"It's my fault that you haven't been able to handle this, Birkoff... I should have been there for you..." Walter started to blame himself.

Birkoff didn't know how many nights Walter couldn't sleep. Birkoff didn't know how many nights Walter pulled the disk out of his own safe and held onto it. Walter would wonder all night what was on that disk and if it had anything to do with what happened to Nikita.

There had never been any answers for what happened to Nikita. No one had survived and the signature bullets disappeared as soon as Nikita was carted away to the nursing home. But no one ever verbalized the questions that Walter was sure that were in their heads.

But Walter had this extra burden on his shoulders. Nikita had given him a disk for some reason. He didn't know why but it had some sort of intel. And he had yet to speak a word.

That guilty built on Walter, stopping his ability to do things that he was expected to do as Nikita's friend. He wasn't able to just be with Birkoff without thinking about that disk.

Maybe it was time to come clean about it. Maybe it was time to let everyone know that Nikita knew that something was going to happen. But Mick had disappeared somewhere on the planet to parts unknown. No one had heard or seen of him since before the mission. And the only person to who seemed to care about Mick was Walter.

"No Walter... It's no one fault..." Birkoff cried as he did finally give in. He sank to the floor, realizing that everyone was right. He had been hurting about this for a long time and trying to deny it.

"Your right..." Walter stated as he moved to be closer to Birkoff. Walter licked his lips when he was getting the strength up to talk about the disk. Maybe Birkoff could find a way to break into it?

But then Birkoff looked up at him as he rubbed his hands together. It was clear that now that Birkoff had broken through the wall of silence that he needed to speak.

"But sometimes... when I've had a long day... and Michael has gone off to visit Nikita... and Maralah is just not listening... I go into her room... at the house... and I want to blame her... I want to yell and scream at Nikita for leaving me in this position of being the father to her child... and losing a great friend... I just get so mad..." Birkoff admitted as he dropped his head in shame. He felt that it was wrong to feel that way.

But Walter felt the same way at times.

"I understand... I either blame myself... for not giving her enough weapons... or blame myself because I didn't tell her enough of what I felt... and then I get mad at her...Mad that she left me to be an old man all by myself... mad that she isn't here to smile and laugh with me..." Walter started to explain to Birkoff. He blinked his older eye and swallow. "But I have gotten past hating her for it, Birkoff... Have you?"

Birkoff looked at Walter and looked to the floor. He slammed his fists into the ground. Walter watched, as that self-abusive act didn't even seem to help the pain that was in Birkoff's eyes.

"NO!" Birkoff shouted and Walter started to move to the ground. He placed his body down and looked straight into Birkoff's eyes.

"You got to, Birkoff... Maralah is going to sense it sooner or later..." Walter stated and Birkoff leaned his head up.

"I didn't realize until today... You just don't get it! I got mad today at her... For the longest time I've been able to pretend that Nikita is on some mission... but when I saw her file... and that picture of her... when she first came into Section One..."

"Yeah.. she was pretty raw back then..." Walter commented with a smile, thinking back to that sugar that he knew. Such a sweet girl. She sure never deserved any of this.

"She was pretty... BUT SHE LEFT... and I couldn't pretend that she was away on that mission any longer... She is never coming back and I don't want to face that... I don't want to be a father forever!" Birkoff admitted as he dropped his head. Walter extended his arm and patted Birkoff's leg.

"It all hits us at different times, Seymour... I learned that much from Madeline..." Walter stated as he started to make the move that needed to be made. For the sake of Maralah. Walter had promised Nikita when they last spoke that he would make sure that Maralah knew whom her real father was. Part of that meant taking care of the man that was playing that role now.

"I don't want to talk to Madeline. She doesn't understand. She is one of them. She sent Nikita on that mission and she sent Nikita away to the nursing home," Birkoff stated out with hissing words. Walter raised his eyebrow and sighed.

Madeline was definitely not the Madeline of old. Yes, she was still cold and brutal when the time called for it, but she had taken a step back. It could have only been because of the pain of Nikita's injuries. She was a different woman and Walter saw that when Madeline dragged him into her office.

But Walter wasn't sure if it was therapy for him or therapy for her. They both found some sort of strength, although it didn't stop Walter from holding onto that disk and thinking the what ifs and it didn't stop Madeline from visiting Nikita for long days at time.

"Birkoff... she is hurting from this too... I would almost venture that Madeline thought of Nikita as a child of hers... You can talk to her," Walter tried to urge Birkoff. Birkoff needed someone. Someone who understood all of this. Walter didn't understand this. He was sure that he would never understand this.

"Its like we are all acting like she is dead. She is still breathing..." Birkoff stated out and Walter swallowed. Hard. Sometimes it was easier to think that Nikita was dead. It was a hard thing to think about. In ways, it was like Michael and everyone who did visit Nikita, were just continuing a long process of a wake. But now was how to make Birkoff function.

"Garry Gilmore said once 'Death is the only inescapable, unavoidable, sure thing. We are sentenced to die the day we're born'. The importance is that until this accident... Nikita lived in a place that had already told the world that she was dead... Sometime, in the future.. soon or far away... Nikita is going to die... along with me and everyone else around you... We can only leave our mark on those that we leave behind... Nikita can't raise her child... you have that responsibility, Seymour... Talking to Madeline is the best thing to do for Maralah," Walter soliloquized as he shook his head back and forth. He didn't want to listen to his own words, but Walter knew them to be correct.

"I'm never good at asking for help, Walter..." Birkoff slowly whispered minutes later as he realized that Walter was right. It was the one thing that Nikita expected Birkoff to do. Be good to her daughter.

"You don't have to ask... Just go and talk to her... She isn't going to push you on a couch and have you kick up your feet... Madeline is hurting from this as much as you are," Walter informed Birkoff. Birkoff nodded his head.

"Thanks, Walter..." Birkoff stated as he started to stand up. He looked up and down the hallways. They used to come down here when Michael and Nikita were in trouble. How times changed.

"Walter..." Birkoff whispered as he turned to look over his shoulder at the older man.

"Yeah, Birkoff," Walter responded.

"Can you walk me there?" Birkoff questioned and Walter patted Birkoff's back. That was an easy thing to do.

The disk was forgotten. It wasn't important at the moment. In fact, Walter was sure if push came to shove, he could find a way to break into the disk. Nikita wasn't always the brightest computer person around.

Walter walked down the hallway with Birkoff and sighed. It was terrible what Section One did to people.

*

Walter slowly lowered his body onto the stool and dropped his head into his hands. His heart was heavy along with the rest of him. The days just seemed to get worse and Walter was starting to wonder how many more of these days he was willing to live through.

Hope was running out. Quickly.

Birkoff looked like a young child as he walked into Madeline's office. Madeline had extended her arms for Birkoff, offering a hug. It only echoed how badly off Birkoff was. And he was the one that was taking care of Maralah everyday.

That little girl was a miracle. She missed her mother so much, but she still found reasons to laugh and smile. It was the one saving grace that Walter could identify. Usually when he felt as he did now, holding his head in his hands, he would go see Maralah. She would try to paint his nails or braid his thinning gray hair.

Walter had to wonder if this would have been the way that Nikita would have been like if she had a real childhood and her mother hadn't neglected and abused her. There was no possibility of knowing, but Maralah had proven to look like her father, but act like her mother. Even now, through all the pain everyone was dealing with over Nikita, Maralah had been the one trying to help everyone dry their tears.

"It will be ok..." Maralah would echo softly out whenever she saw Walter crying. He would nod his head and smile broadly. For the benefit of Maralah.

"Did you get the weapons for the mission?" Davenport asked as he walked towards Walter. Walter jerked his head up, clearing not hearing a word that Davenport had said.

"Hey, Dav... how are you?" Walter questioned and Davenport smiled softly. Over the months, everyone thought it would get easier. But it was just getting harder and harder.

"Ok... trying to pull together a mission that shouldn't go out... I think it is Ops way of trying to get us from thinking..." Davenport stated. He rubbed his meaty hands back and forth as he stared at Walter. The old jokester and the incorrigible flirt had lost all of his laughter and hope. It was quite sad.

"Things have been bad around here..." Walter stated softly as he yanked the panel up to study it. He looked out to the hallway and sighed. "Heard about Birkoff?"

"Yeah... Was hoping that he would run this mission for us... But Madeline said it wasn't going to happen... What's going on?" Davenport questioned and Walter shook his head. The older man was scowling and rubbed his aching hands back and forth.

"He is probably wondering if there is any hope here at all... You know... I've been thinking about asking for retirement..." Walter stated and Davenport's mouth dropped open. That was definitely not something that they needed here inside of Section One.

"Stop talking silly, Walter. You are needed here..." Davenport declared and Walter shook his head back and forth. He couldn't hide it any longer. Taking Birkoff to see Madeline, made things really clear. There were only a few options left in Walter's mind of what needed to be done.

"We are a hopeless cause here, Davenport... Section One is stuck in one of those hamster wheels... running and running... but never getting anywhere..." Walter stated as he slumped in the chair again. Walter pulled off his black bandanna and threw it across the room.

"We are in poor shape around here. Only a few are getting anything down... and we have been ineffective and lifeless since Nikita got sent away to that nursing home... Sometimes I think that we should send Maralah off to some family to raise her and just implode the entire place with all of us in it... We aren't worth anything anymore," Walter hissed. Davenport grabbed Walter's shoulders and shook him slightly.

"Are you sure you aren't the one that needs to be talking to Madeline?" Davenport questioned. This was all crazy talk. Of course things have been very ragged around Section One of late. Yes, most of the missions were duds and not helping anything. But that wasn't the point. Nikita wouldn't want anyone else to die because of what happened to her. Forgetting what Nikita would want would be the downfall of Walter.

"Everyone needs to talk to Madeline, Davenport. But if you haven't noticed, she isn't doing well herself!" Walter hissed as he threw his hands up to slapped away Davenport's grasp on him. Walter stood up and moved to the wall to grab the gun that Davenport needed for that mission.

"So you want to give up?" Davenport questioned, knowing that Walter had to be asked. His answer would reveal a lot. Walter was often a barometer for all of Section One. Davenport held his breath as he looked at Walter. Finally the old man shook his head back and forth, indicating that he wasn't ready to give up, but that it wasn't far off if things didn't change.

"You know, Davenport... Sometimes I think that it was too easy and smooth what happened to Nikita... I want to know what the group was... WHO that group was," Walter stated as he looked at Davenport. There had been no further investigation about what happened. Madeline and Operations were trying to maintain some sort of morale with the operatives, but it didn't happen. Walter felt that they should have tried to find the answers.

"Did she have any leads at all?" Davenport questioned. The question immediately invoked the images of the disk and the conversation that Nikita had with Walter before that mission. Walter pressed his lips together. He didn't tell Birkoff and he sure wasn't going to tell Davenport.

"I think she had some ideas about what was going on.... But she sure didn't tell anyone..." Walter stated as he looked at Davenport. He nodded his head.

"It felt to Section-like to me... To planned and coordinated... I mean, if she would have been fine in that mission... Nikita would have won... She would have her status and she'd have her family put together... It was too perfect for me..." Davenport stated. He didn't worry about Operations hearing this. Hundreds of operatives had said the same thing for many years, just not to the faces of the important people like Walter, Birkoff, and Michael. Davenport was sure that they felt the same way.

"Hell yeah, she would have everything... She would have power... Hell, she still has power..." Walter stated as he stared at Davenport. Walter didn't have to go any further into the power that Nikita still had. Anyone that could make Michael change mission profiles weekly in order to see her, she still had power. If there were a way, Michael would make Operations pay for what happened to Nikita. Walter had to believe that Michael was just waiting for the right opportunity.

"I blame that man for it all, Walter... Someday... when Michael goes to take him down... I'll have his back..." Davenport declared. He didn't verbally say Operations, but Walter knew exactly whom Davenport was speaking about.

"You'd have to wait in line, boy. I'd be right behind Michael," Walter stated and Davenport smiled. At least now Walter wasn't speaking about retirement. Davenport looked at the gun and dropped his hands, as there was someone behind him.

"Walter... we need to speak..." Michael stated and Walter nodded his head. Davenport turned around and looked at Michael.

Michael, ironically, seemed to be the one that was handling this the best. It was a great game that Michael had with everyone else inside of Section One. They all understood the pain that Michael must have inside of him.

"Thanks for the gun, Walter... Will have it back after the mission..." Davenport stated as he pocketed the gun and walked out of the area, giving Michael some space with Walter.

"Did you see Nikita?" Walter questioned and Michael looked at Walter and blinked his eyes. The first thing Michael found out when he entered Section One was about Birkoff. Michael was sure that he should have gone to get Maralah, but there was something more important that needed to be taken care of.

"Yes... We need to talk," Michael stated as he stared at Walter. It had been ages since Michael had said those words. Walter felt his heart almost stop. Walter tossed his hair to the side and licked his lips.

"Is this something we should go get coffee for?" Walter questioned.

"No time. Just somewhere more private," Michael said. There seemed to be no indication of the emotions on Michael's voice, but his eyes said something very different. This was very important and needed immediate attention. Walter jumped off of the stool and started to move deep into his area.

"Here?" Walter questioned and Michael shook his head as he drew down the heavy gate to where the two men stood.

"Down," Michael stated and Walter swallowed. It was rare that someone wanted to discuss things that deep into Walter's area any longer. Walter pressed on the button and the door opened. Walter jogged down the few stairs and waited for Michael to enter and close the door.

Thanks to Birkoff many years ago, this room was free from any equipment that Section One might use to monitor Walter. While Nikita was fine, it served as Walter's bachelor's pad. Only on rare occasion was the room used to talk about things. Walter just didn't want tapes of him and his ladies circulating Section One.

"What's up?" Walter questioned as he looked at Michael. Something serious. That was all that Walter could come up with.

"I want you to test this..." Michael stated as he pulled out the cloth and handed it to Walter. Walter held it to his nose and looked at Michael.

"It looks like cloth to me," Walter stated and Michael narrowed his eyes. Michael didn't want to get into details. He didn't want to jump to conclusions about something that he couldn't know about yet.

However, Michael felt that this was something else. He was sure that Walter would find something out about what was on that cloth that could give forth some answers. Someone was lying to Michael and he had to find out who it was and why.

"It has some liquid on it. I need it analysis," Michael informed Walter. Walter stared at Michael. It had been a long time since Michael demanded things like this. It was like Walter had suddenly been pulled back to a time before Nikita was hurt.

Walter glanced at the cloth and then at Michael. Something told Walter that this was about Nikita.

"Where did you get this, Michael?" Walter questioned. He wanted the entire story and now. It was sick of Michael trying to hide most of the truth from him. It could be important where Michael was getting this from.

"I saw Nikita today... Do you know that the rules are getting stricter there?" Michael questioned, not answering Walter's question. It was a switch of subjects and Walter shook his head back and forth. This was classic Michael style. Walter was sure if he could write a book about how Michael's mind works, all the operatives would buy it. Including Madeline and Operations.

"Yeah... I complained to Madeline about it," Walter stated. He knew that Michael had been trying for some time to get Nikita into another nursing home. Most of the reasons why Section One would say no to the new location made Walter worry. Section One, particularly Operations, wanted Nikita to stay in that particular nursing home.

"They have been breached in their files... and threatened... Sound like anyone we know?" Michael questioned coldly. Walter whistled. If Michael found the proof that Section One was behind this, Michael was going to make sure some heads rolled. He felt that Nikita definitely knew when he visited.

"Damn, Michael... Why would Section One do that?" Walter questioned. He bit his lips as the thought about the disk. If Michael was asking about the liquid, maybe this was the time to tell Michael about the disk that Nikita gave him.

However, Michael was very upset at this moment. Walter was sure that Michael would not be pleased with Walter hiding the disk for this long.

"Nikita's pulse is responding to my presence... Maybe there is a chance that Nikita is getting better and they don't want to make anyone jump to conclusions..." Michael stated, but Walter knew Michael. He didn't believe that humanistic reasoning behind Section One getting the hours cut. They were trying to block Michael's access to Nikita. They were trying to force him to do something else. To do what they wanted him to do.

"That's great news..." Walter stated as he looked at the cloth. "Now back to this?"

Michael stared at the cloth that Walter held in front of Michael's face. He looked to Walter and blinked his eyes.

"I found that they were giving Nikita medicine that I hadn't been notified about... That is the sample of it... I don't think it is something normal," Michael informed Walter. Walter turned his head to the side. Section One had always been following the rules about telling Michael about the medicine. This didn't bode well.

"You don't know what kind of medicine? Didn't the nurse know?" Walter interrogated Michael. Michael sighed and shoved his hands into his pocket.

"If I am asking you to run the tests... does it sound like I know what kind of medicine it is?" Michael questioned and Walter licked his lips. Michael was agitated and it told Walter that Michael was thinking of something much more sinister than what was first on his mind.

"Of course not, Michael... But you had to have seen the bottle that this came from... Didn't it have a name on it?" Walter questioned and Michael turned away from Walter. This was something that Michael didn't want to reveal yet. He knew what Walter's reaction would be to this information. He was an old man that loved Nikita to death.

But Walter wouldn't do the tests until he knew everything that Michael knew.

"The only information on the bottle that I understood was the name of the doctor... But it wasn't a doctor..." Michael slowly revealed, being careful to monitor his voice. He didn't want to tip his hand to soon and throw Walter into a frenzy.

"Someone from Section?" Walter questioned and Michael nodded his head. He hoped that Walter would be pleased with that much. "Who?"

Michael turned around to stare at Walter. Michael could still see the name typed on the bottle. He could still see the color of the liquid and he could still see Nikita's eyes. Michael blinked his eyes, shocked to find that tears were in them.

"Operations.... Paul Wolfe," Michael announced and Walter opened his mouth. But no words came. Walter showed the shock that Michael had felt when he saw the bottle.

"Why would he be giving her anything?" Walter questioned and Michael looked at Walter.

"Apparently, she has been getting it for some time... We need to know what it is..." Michael stated and Walter agreed as he nodded his head. This could be a break through.

"Do you think that he could be trying to kill her?" Walter questioned and Michael stared at Walter. There were many more effective ways of trying to kill Nikita. If Section One was hacking into the computer files, a change of medicine could kill Nikita. They could even set the place on fire, and since Nikita doesn't respond, she wouldn't live. There were better ways than this.

"This is something else, Walter.... I have a feeling that Nikita knows something..." Michael stated.

Again, Walter thought about the disk that he was holding onto. He wondered if that information on the disk was something that could have gotten Nikita injured like this. Maybe she wasn't supposed to die. Maybe she was just supposed to get hurt badly enough that she would never communicate again. It was a good way to control Michael and everyone else connected to Nikita.

But why? What did Nikita know?

"Do you think this is tied back to that mystery group?" Walter questioned and Michael stared at Walter. It was a distinct possibility.

"I don't know, Walter. But I do need to learn about that liquid," Michael stated and Walter nodded his head. Finally he felt useful and that he could finally do something to help out around her.

Again, Walter had the opportunity to tell Michael about the disk. He didn't seem to be as angered as the beginning of this conversation, but Walter could be sure. But holding onto this information was going to help anyone. Especially if there was something about that liquid that Michael had found out about.

"Michael... Have you heard from Mick at all?" Walter questioned as Michael started to move up the stairs, believing that the conversation was over. Michael blinked his eyes. There was a name that he hadn't heard much over the years.

"No... I believe he ran," Michael stated and Walter nodded his head. He was sure that Nikita told him to run. For some reason. Walter knew that there was something more going on here than Michael even knew and realized.

"Well... if you would ever find out about where he is... or what he is up too... Can you make sure you tell him that I need to see him... Or tell me where he is?" Walter asked the favor. Michael was a man that could get stuff done.

Michael stared at Walter. There was definitely something going on here. Walter wasn't a man to ask favors. Especially about Mick, someone who wasn't very important to Section One. Was there a connection here?

"Sure, Walter..." Michael stated to pacify Walter. Michael had many other things on his mind than Mick, but would try now to make some contacts with friends who may have heard something from Mick. "When will I hear about that liquid?"

"Give me a day... I can't do it while Operations is watching..." Walter stated and Michael nodded his head as he opened the door.

Walter would make sure that he got it done as soon as possible.

*

Michael had ordered himself to get some sleep. Staying up all night was not going to do any good. The answers weren't going to come during the night. Michael forced himself to shut the computer and stop trying to chase ghosts.

He noticed that Nikita's files had been moved to the storage area. Everything that she had been working on was now harder to access. Michael didn't know if that was a coincidence or if that was done on purpose. Michael told himself over and over again, not to jump to conclusions, but something bothered Michael.

Michael drove to his lonely apartment. It had to have been weeks since he last was in the apartment. He was almost tempted to go see Nikita, but if Operations was up to something, he would notice Michael appearing well after hours to see Nikita.

The answers just didn't seem to be there. Michael was sure that Walter knew more than he was letting on. The old man had listened to carefully as Michael described what was going on. Walter looked like he was ready to let something out, and then asked for a favor.

When was the last time Walter asked for a favor?

Nikita's pulse responding to him didn't really mean anything. It could have been a fluke. Michael hoped not.

Michael stopped the car and got out into the night. It didn't sooth him at all. Michael sighed as he slammed the door shut and looked around. He scanned the building and stopped as his eyes matched up with his window.

And there was a light on.

No one inside of Section One knew where he was staying these days. No one. Michael had hidden his steps while, always circling around the apartment before parking. Never did Michael want to show how much he was holding onto Nikita when everyone thought that he had moved on somewhat.

Whoever was in his apartment, wasn't very smart. Michael drew the gun and started up the stairs.

When Michael moved into the apartment that used to be Nikita's, he was fearful that people inside of the building would remember him from when Nikita was around. That wasn't the case. It seemed once Mick moved out of the building; all of the older people did, getting a better rate at one of the buildings that Mick had bought.

Where Mick got the money, Michael didn't know. He didn't even want to find out. For Michael, it was a good thing that Mick fell off the face of the earth. Until today when Walter asked about him.

Michael slowly eased his body down the hallway. He looked at his door and looked around. He wanted to know who was in his apartment. Michael found the door open and he pushed it open and flung his gun around.

"Woo-hoo! Mike it's just me!" Mick happily chirped as he threw his hands up in the air. Michael's back leg pushed the door shut as Michael steadied the gun.

"What are you doing here?" Michael questioned as he looked over the gun at Mick. Mick looked nervously at the gun and then to Michael.

"Visiting?" Mick questioned with his steady charm. Michael grunted and dropped the gun. Why was it that Mick just showed up at the worst times? And how did Mick know that today was one of those days?

"Visiting? Why? How did you know I was staying here?" Michael questioned. Mick had had no contact with Section One for two years and no one inside of Section One found it odd that he had dropped off the face of the earth around the time Nikita got hurt. Michael narrowed his eyes.

Of all the bad feelings Michael had been having all day, this was one was worse. Things finally clicked and Michael suddenly knew.

Mick knew something.

"I heard from a contact of a contact about what happened to Nikita... I was wondering if there was something that I can do?" Mick offered as he lifted his hands to Michael. The man was tan, as if he had spent a decent amount of time in the islands. Michael looked to the table and saw the clutter that was on it. It was clear that Mick had stayed in the apartment for sometime. It was a wise idea to do if he didn't want Section One to know that he was around.

"When did you find out about Nikita?" Michael questioned, knowing that Mick was going to lie to him.

"About a month ago," Mick stated as he dropped his head. Michael brushed his index finger across the top of his lip and moved to Mick. He grabbed his neck and stared into Mick's eyes.

"When did you learn about Nikita's injury?" Michael hissed and Mick opened his eyes. He was scared of this Michael and rightly so. Mick had stayed away this long, because if Michael knew what he knew, Mick was sure that he would be dead.

"About two weeks after it happened," Mick admitted. He felt Michael deflate and Mick was lowered to the ground. Michael turned around and poured himself a glass of water, finding that Mick had helped himself to some of Michael's assorted wine.

Things just seemed to be happening too quickly today. After two years of finding absolutely nothing out, Michael found out about Nikita's new medicine, Walter asked about Mick, and low and behold, Mick Schtoppel had been camping out in his apartment for several days.

Why was Mick here? Why was he hiding? Why was Walter looking for him?

WHAT DID MICK KNOW?

"Mick..." Michael drawled out as he turned around to look at Mick. He was going to have to be careful how he played this. If he pushed too hard, Mick would run. If he didn't, Michael wouldn't find anything out.

"I know that this is a hard time for you... How about your daughter? Maralah, right?" Mick questioned and Michael shook his head. He couldn't be side tracked right now.

"Mick... why would Walter be looking for you?" Michael questioned and Mick went pale. The tan skin didn't even hide the shock that ran into Mick's body when he heard that Walter was looking for him.

"I haven't got a clue..." Mick nervously responded as he started to rub his hands together. Michael tilted his head to the side.

"Mick... you know something. Why did you run? You could have come back a long time to ago to see Nikita..." Michael prodded, not laying out his cards too soon. Michael still didn't know what Walter was up to, but Michael felt sick to his stomach.

Maybe Nikita had known something. Something that caused her to get hurt.

"You know... that's a funny story, Michael... I mean... I guess Nikita was joking when she told me to take a vacation for a year or two.... I mean.. I guess I should have never listened to her... you know how flaky Nikita can be during the stress... but she sounded so serious..." Mick ranted out as he moved around in a jaunty circle. Michael pressed his lips together and moved in front of Mick.

"Nikita never jokes about running, Mick. I didn't even realize that you had seen Nikita since she had thrown you out of the house..." Michael stated and Mick opened his eyes.

"She didn't tell you?" Mick questioned, shocked. He literally thought that Nikita would have run to talk to Michael about what he had said. Mick remembered that conversation with Nikita that day like it was on videotape. The details haunted Mick from the time that he had heard that Nikita had gotten injured and was being sent to a nursing home.

"Tell me what, Mick?" Michael questioned, feeling his heart starting to pound. It had been a long time since Michael felt this sort of urgency and the need to be able to use all of his skills.

"Well... I saw Nikita before the mission... You mean she didn't tell you any of it?" Mick questioned as he sat down on the couch. He thought that Nikita would have been smart enough to link Michael up with the information just in case something happened to her. If Nikita didn't tell Michael anything, then no one knew what Mick knew.

"Oh god..." Mick moaned as he dropped his head between his knees. He was going to get sick now. It was going to be his chore to tell Michael about what he found out about everything.

"What is it, Mick?" Michael questioned, not even looking into Mick's eyes or anything.

"Hell, Michael... I was keeping my eyes open for some information about those bullets she was finding... and I had found some news out... and I can't believe she didn't tell you!" Mick cried out, clearing getting upset.

"Mick... don't beat around the bush. Tell me," Michael ordered. He was ready to slam Mick to the floor and pound out the information from Mick. If he didn't look truly pitiful on the couch, Michael would have.

Mick took a deep breath. All of this information had been heavily on his shoulders for too long. He had always wondered if Nikita didn't get the chance to find out anything about what Mick had supplied her with.

"Michael.. man... It was Operations!" Mick shouted and he dropped his head and covered his mouth. He didn't know how well Michael was monitored and he was ready to run. Michael grabbed Mick's shoulders and stared at Mick.

"What do you mean?" Michael hissed the demand as he lowered his body weight onto Mick. Mick winced and the tears started to pour from Mick's eyes.

"Mick?" Michael hissed again, but he was pushing his body weight away from the blubbering man. Mick leaned his head back and looked at Michael.

"I saw him in my club that day of the mission.. talking to some men... that I didn't know... He was talking about the mission that was coming up and he handed the men something..." Mick started to explain. Michael nodded his head. If Nikita knew this, why didn't she tell him?

"And?" Michael prompted Mick, making it clear that he should continue and that Michael heard his words.

"Well... these men... I didn't know who they were... and I was hiding so he didn't know that I saw that something that he handed the men had dropped.... and I picked it up and I ran... I just knew that Nikita needed to know... because it just added up with the rumors..." Mick stated as he nodded his head up and down with the jerky nod. Michael narrowed his eyes. Somewhere along the line Mick had lost Michael.

"What rumors?" Michael questioned and Mick leaned back on the couch like he had just lost his spine. It wasn't Mick's nature to tell everything.

"I had from really reliable sources that Paul Wolfe was gathering men to work against one person... either to make that person insane or out of commission..." Mick stated and he watched as Michael's color drained. Mick knew that Michael was now starting to place the pieces together of the great puzzle that was round what was happening.

"And I didn't think that the men that Operations was talking too were Section... Section doesn't brief missions in a strip club... and when I saw... when I got the bullet... I just ran to Nikita..." Mick finished the story. Michael lifted his head with the tears rolling down them.

It was all a set up by Operations to get Nikita out of the way, but still to have power over Michael.

"I told her everything... but I think she didn't have enough to go after Operations... I mean.. isn't it hearsay?" Mick questioned and Michael nodded his head. Mick was right. Nikita didn't have enough proof to go after Operations with what Mick told her.

"I begged her not to go on the mission... They were planning on hitting the one person... I begged her not to do the mission, Michael... and then she told me to run... And I did exactly what Nikita told me to do... I left the bullet with her and I ran..." Mick stated and Michael closed his eyes.

Why didn't Nikita tell him about this?

Michael turned his head. Walter had been working with Nikita on this mystery signature bullet. Walter was also looking for Mick.

"She didn't tell anyone, Mick... But she may have left the information..." Michael stated out slowly. He surely didn't want to jump to conclusions, but this one felt true.

Michael pushed his mind to go back to the details of the mission. Operations had gathered the intel. Michael should have been wary of that detail from the beginning, but he just passed it off. Nikita's team had been changed and then later they all died in an accident.

That accident didn't seem so tragic now. It made sense. The only way that Nikita got injured wasn't from the group falling down from the ceiling. It was from her own team attacking her. And Operations couldn't have any of those men living in case Nikita did make it out of her injury well enough to speak.

"Michael?" Mick questioned, as he looked at the thinking operative. It was clear that Michael was making the connections, but leaving Mick in the dust.

"Did the group disappear afterwards, Mick?" Michael questioned and Mick turned his head to the side.

"You know... after I heard that Nikita had gotten hurt... I knew it was more dangerous for me... I mean, Nikita told me to run and I felt that I was protecting her by doing exactly what she told me to do... So I hopped around... not really keeping connections anywhere so no one could find me..." Mick stated and Michael rolled his eyes. Mick wasn't answering his question.

"Did you know anything more about the group?" Michael questioned and Mick sighed.

"I did have to stop in my club a few times in the past two years, Michael... that first time... there were a few of the men that had been there that day with Operations... I hid in the curtains again so no one saw me.... They were laughing about the freedom they had.... but I got images of them from my videos... when they were playing with the ladies..." Mick stated and Michael shook his head. Mick needed a decent lesson on when there was information that just wasn't needed to be told. The details here were wasting Michael's time.

"Mick... the group?" Michael questioned and Mick sighed.

"Now you can't go and tell Nikita that I did this... she'd be mad..." Mick stated and Michael turned around and snapped. He slapped Mick across his face.

"NIKITA can't do anything! Don't you understand that!" Michael hollered and Mick dropped his head with tears rolling down his face. He had hoped that the rumors were exaggerated. Mick swallowed and nodded his head.

"They are doing some small time stuff... breaking in for files... some chemical engineering... Most of them are just gone... back to having a real life..." Mick stated and Michael nodded his head. These men got to have a life while Nikita was in a nursing home with no chance of a future.

Revenge was not going to be sweet. It was going to be overdue.

"Mick... do you have that information on you? Do you have the contacts to find out where these men are now?" Michael questioned and Mick looked around.

"I don't like to..." Mick started to say his words when he caught glimpse of Michael's eyes. It was quite clear that Michael wasn't going to put up with the game. "Yeah... I got it..."

"Good... get a coat... we are leaving..." Michael declared as he stood up and moved towards his door. Mick raised his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Mick questioned and Michael craned his head to blink his green eyes at Mick. This wasn't the time for questions.

"I need to know why Walter wanted to see you and what better way than to take you to the man?" Michael questioned back and Mick started to back up. He didn't like that thought at all. Operations had to be smart enough to realize why he had run away.

"No... no.. I'll give you the information... but I think it is best that I just split... you know... take my meager belongings... liquidate the club... and disappear..." Mick stated as Michael moved forward and grabbed Mick's arm. Michael stared at him.

"Operations isn't in today, Mick.... And I think we may have more questions for you..." Michael stated and Mick nervously smiled as Michael led him out of the apartment.

It was so good to be home.

*

"Wow! Look at all of this stuff! It's like I stepped into a sci-fi show... Whoa... where are the transporters... I want Scottie to beam me up!" Mick gushed as Michael dragged him down the hallway. Mick was in his glory, finally being inside of what he felt was the holy land. Michael, on the other hand, wanted to get Mick to Walter without too much of a production. Already, Birkoff had noticed the duo as Michael was unsuccessfully getting Mick to walk with him.

"Mick..." Michael stated in a warning voice. He was rarely sharp inside of Section One. Most of the operatives raised their eyes when they heard Michael's voice.

They turned the other way.

"Wow... I mean... this is like a City of Gold... a City of Silicone! It is the eighth wonder of the world!" Mick gushed as Michael pushed Mick ahead of him. Walter lifted his eyes and immediately started to jog backwards, heading towards the room that was going to be needed.

"Mick... There are over ten thousand guns in this chamber alone. Do you want me to use one on you to shut you up?" Michael questioned as he pushed Mick up against the wall. Mick blinked his eyes, but didn't nod his head. Michael lifted his gloved hand to the side and pulled out a gun and smooth set it ready to shoot Mick.

"Ok! Ok, Mike baby! I won't talk anymore..." Mick stated as he raised his hands in surrender. Michael dropped the gun down and stared at Mick.

"My name is Michael," Michael stated and Mick nodded his head. He pressed his lips together and felt Michael yank his body up away from the wall. Mick stumbled ahead and almost down the stairs into the room that Walter was already waiting for.

"What are you doing bring him here? I just asked to know where he was!" Walter yelled as he rubbed his hands together. He needed to talk to Michael privately. He didn't need Mick around. Michael needed to know what he had found out.

It was important.

"He has been withholding information for us," Michael stated as he slammed the door shut. Mick started to shake his head as he was finally able to move without Michael's hands on his shoulders.

"No.. no.. no, Michael... Nikita sternly told me to take a vacation... I asked how long and she said one or two years..." Mick stated, trying to set the record straight. Walter looked at Michael and then to Mick.

"You knew something! All this time!" Walter hollered and Michael rolled his eyes. Blaming Mick wasn't going to get anything done. Things had to be planned before Operations came back in four days.

"Hey... I didn't know that my popsicle didn't tell you guys... I mean... she is really good at ratting me out, I thought she was going to do it again. That's why I went to her!" Mick exclaimed and Michael looked at Mick and slowly settled on the stairs.

It was easily decided that Michael better fill in Walter about what Mick had told Nikita, without Mick telling the story. The combination of Walter and Mick would make Mick's version of the story entirely too long. Michael was interested to know what Walter wanted Mick for, but had to wonder if it was anything important in comparison to what Mick had told Michael.

"Mick... I want you to stay quiet... Walter needs to know what you told me," Michael ordered. His normally iron strong patience was gone. Mick always tried his patience and this was about Nikita. And revenge.

"What? What's going on Michael?" Walter questioned, suddenly realizing that Michael must have found out something very important to bring Mick inside of Section One. Mick wasn't one of the most stable people to have around Section One. Section One used to love him because he was so loose in the mouth about things.

"The day of Nikita's injuries... Mick had seen Operations in his club with some men... Men that don't work for Section One... Mick saw Operations drop a special bullet and Mick took it..." Michael started out. Mick opened his mouth to protest with the way that Michael was chopping the story apart. Michael raised his hand to Mick and raised an eyebrow. Mick dropped his mouth closed instantly.

"A signature bullet?" Walter questioned and Michael blinked his eyes. He looked to the hand that was still pointing at Mick and started to pull the glove off. This was something that hadn't been confirmed.

"I gave it to her," Mick stated as he carefully looked between Walter and Michael. Michael looked to Walter.

"She talked to you that day... She gave you all the other bullets...." Michael stated and Walter shook his head.

"She didn't give me any bullet, Michael... She gave me a disk... for safe keeping..." Walter swallowed out, feeling the truth tumble out so easily. Instantly, Walter felt the relief of having that off his chest. Until he looked up at Michael's eyes glazed over with anger.

"A disk? When were you going to tell me?" Michael questioned and Mick looked back and forth. He started to inch away.

"You know... you two seem to have issues to handle yourself... Maybe I should just go and see Birkoff..." Mick tried and Michael turned on the stair and glared at Mick. Michael looked back to Walter and leaned his head back.

"I'll get back to the disk, Walter... It came after Mick had gone to see Nikita... gave her the bullet and told her about Operations gathering men to take one person down... A group that now seems to be targeting the nursing home that Nikita is at..." Michael stated in a calm voice, trying to keep control of this. All of the men were on edge, thinking about the horror that they all had bits and pieces about, but didn't know the entire story yet.

"No... Operations would do that..." Walter stated and Michael stood up on the stairs and looked at Walter. Walter dropped his head.

"He is the only one that I know of that would know Nikita well enough... and he sure had motive," Michael stated and Walter blinked his eyes.

"I should have known when she gave me the disk..." Walter stated and Michael leaned against the handles to the stairs. He looked at Mick.

"Does this mean I can go? You done with me?" Mick questioned and Michael narrowed his eyes. He wanted to give the torture twins Mick to play with, but felt that it was unwise. They may need Mick's expertise.

Whatever that was.

"Tell me about the disk. What is on it?" Michael questioned and Walter nervously laughed as he pulled it out.

"Nikita gave it to me... I don't know what is on it," Walter stated and Michael walked down the stairs. For every step Michael took, Walter took four steps back. He knew when Michael was dangerous. Michael grabbed Mick's arm, seeing that the man was about to run.

"What do you mean you don't know? You put it into a computer and run it," Michael stated out in harsh words. Walter was a better man than this. He should have run it immediately.

"I couldn't... It was coded..." Walter stated and then rolled his eyes. He knew Michael's response to that.

"Then you give it to Birkoff to run," Michael stated and Walter shook his head.

"I couldn't! Nikita had it coded for a living fingerprint of Mick Schtoppel!" Walter hissed back in return. Michael turned and stared at Mick.

"ME?"

"HIM?"

"I don't know.... I guess it is because she told him to run.. that she was her best protection... But I didn't have any choice, Michael..." Walter stated and Michael nodded his head. If Nikita didn't want Walter breaking into the disk, she would have been able to protect it from Birkoff breaking into it.

"Good thing I brought you along..." Michael stated as he patted Mick's shoulder. Michael plucked the disk out of Walter's hand and moved towards the back computer. Mick was dragged behind.

"You aren't getting me to touch that! I heard about what you people do!" Mick yelled as Michael popped the disk into the computer and the panel popped out.

"What do we do, Mick?" Walter questioned and Mick rolled his eyes.

"You still people's minds! You scrape their memories! You get inside of them and make them crazy! I'm not going to let you touch me," Mick declared as he struggled against Michael who was just casually holding onto Mick. Michael pinched Mick's elbow.

"OK, OK, OK!" Mick moaned as he pressed his hand onto the panel as he closed his eyes tightly. Michael watched the image scan and the file pop to life. Michael pushed Mick back as Walter giggled slightly.

"That didn't hurt did it?" Walter questioned and Mick tried to straighten his clothing. Michael looked to the screen and saw the files. This was of a cancelled group of operatives.

"HEY! That was the man in the club that night... and I just saw him when I stopped by the other day... He is the one that had been making the phone calls to that house..." Mick stated as he looked at the screen. Michael looked to Walter.

"He was supposed to be canceled," Michael stated and Walter opened his eyes.

"Madeline is in on this?" Walter questioned and Michael pushed a few keys.

"No... Operations purposively completed it... His entire class of trainees got cancelled.." Michael stated and Walter raised his eyebrows.

"Operations said they got cancelled and then used them for his own effort against, Nikita? When did he do this?" Walter questioned and Michael blinked his eyes. He was starting to cross reference onto the mainframe of Section One. It was clear that Nikita hadn't had enough time to get enough data on the men.

Michael's face paled.

"What is it, Michael?" Walter questioned and Michael shook his head. Mick looked to Walter.

"Did he see some sort of ghost? Or are they scraping his brain?" Mick questioned and Walter glared at Mick. Mick rolled his eyes. These Section One people had no humor at all.

"They were cancelled the day after Maralah's birth," Michael announced as he looked away from the screen.

"Oh hell..." Walter commented as he hung his head. Michael snapped his head up. He wanted to know who else trained with these men. Michael punched the keys and then slammed his hands down on the keyboard.

"Hey... you know... No reason to take it out on the keyboard..." Mick commented out and Michael pounced. Mick found himself pressed prone on the wall with Michael leaning into him. Michael's nostrils flared and then Michael just stepped back.

"Nikita's team that day... All of them had worked with those operatives... In fact... they were the only people who had worked with the operatives that Operations got outside of Section One..." Michael hissed, knowing that Nikita had been set up.

"I'll kill him," Walter declared as he turned to walk away. Mick watched in horror as Michael was allowing Walter to walk away.

"You can't just kill him! You got to help Nikita!" Mick shouted and Michael blinked his eyes. Walter stopped at the stairs and took a deep breath. Mick was true. Walter shook his head and pulled out the piece of paper that he had been waiting to show Michael without Mick around.

Michael turned to Mick and gently placed a hand on the snitch's arm. Michael looked up as he shook his head back and forth. Sometimes Mick just didn't get it.

"Mick... this isn't something that we can undo... Nikita isn't responding because she had a massive brain trauma... There really isn't any hope..." Michael carefully explained as his voice cracked. Even after the two years that had passed, it was still difficult to speak about technically what happened to Nikita.

"Hkumm... mmm..." Walter cleared his throat as he tapped Michael's shoulder. Michael pulled away from Mick and studied Walter.

"What?" Michael whispered. He couldn't continue going through this. All that was left was revenge.

"You may be wrong with Nikita... I got the results back on that liquid..." Walter stated and Michael turned and leaned against the wall. He told himself not to get too positive. Walter might have found nothing.

"The liquid is an intense neuroblocker... It stops the communication devices inside of us from firing and making the connections... It would stop someone from being able to process full sentences and understanding the meaning of what someone is saying to them..." Walter explained and Mick looked at Michael.

"You mean, you get my popsicle off that stuff and she'll be fine?" Mick questioned with a smile on his face. He liked that thought. The best revenge to Operations was to bring Nikita back from the somewhat dead.

"It's not that simple," Walter stated as he looked at Michael. Michael understood exactly what Walter was talking about. If Nikita was being given just the neuroblocker, Nikita would have been able to move her body around and do simple things like eat food and swallow. Possible, even if she didn't know what she would be saying, Nikita would be able to make sounds. These were all functions that Nikita wasn't doing now.

"If we stop the medicine?" Michael questioned and Walter looked at Michael. It was as if Michael accepted that this was all the news that Walter had.

"Look... I know that we can't get the expert that was in the surgery with Nikita... But... You do know that Operations personally took that expert in the room and stayed there with Nikita..." Walter stated as he pulled out the copies of the files from the computer. Michael looked to Walter and blinked his eyes.

"He did something to Nikita... She was going to be fine and they created her to be this zombie!" Michael hissed as he threw the papers to the ground. Walter nodded his head.

"You get Nikita off that medicine... She should be able to blink response to you... and know what you are talking about... It would take about two days... Then we can remote scan her... See if there is a device or something that they put in her..." Walter stated and Michael nodded his head.

"I'm going to do it... Because Nikita was never gone... She was just hidden..." Michael declared as he stormed from the room. Mick looked around and threw his hands up in the air.

"I guess I can go exploring... Do you think Section One would like a room for specials... like.. mmm... from my store?" Mick questioned and Walter rolled his eyes. Walter grabbed Mick by the collar.

"You are going to stay with me... and if you try to leave... I'll put you on a leash," Walter declared and Mick nervously laughed.

He had heard that Walter was into the kinky stuff.

*

Michael rarely was able to visit Nikita at the nursing home during the day. The grounds were stark. It was not a place that Michael wanted for Nikita. It was so different from what Michael had seen two years ago.

Two days ago, Michael had come towards the end of the visiting hours. He had been able to replace the liquid that they were giving Nikita with a saline bottle. For two days, Nikita had been without that drug. Walter said that it would slowly metabolize out of Nikita's body, but that some changes should be instantly happen.

"Michael.... do you hear me? I mean... I'm going to have to direct you through this so we can make sure between what I need and Birkoff that we get what we need..." Walter growled out in the communications device. Michael smiled at the passing nurse.

He couldn't respond to Walter.

Michael had gotten the call about an hour ago and Madeline approved Michael to go on the visit. All Michael had been told was that there was a change in Nikita's condition. Madeline had started to pace when Michael revealed that to her. Michael was sure that Madeline was thinking that Nikita was getting worse. It was clear that Operations had done everything without Madeline knowing or realizing.

"Michael!" The young nurse exclaimed. Michael smiled. He was pleased that it was this nurse that had called him. In fact, Michael was sure that Nurse Hitler had some sort of relationship with Operations now that Michael had the opportunity to think about it.

"You... are the one that called me?" Michael questioned and he tried to block out Walter's voice. Walter was talking too much and Michael would have to remind Walter to stay quiet as soon as he could.

"Call me Ann... I have been attending to Nikita whenever I can... or rather... When the head nurse doesn't notice it..." Ann stated as she pushed the car to the side and pulled up a chart. Michael looked down the hallway. Nurse Hitler was standing there, barking out orders about other patients. Michael looked to Ann and then back to the head nurse.

"Nurse Hitler doesn't appreciate my visits... I'm glad that you attend to Nikita," Michael stated and Ann smiled. She swallowed tensely and Michael got the feeling that she probably shouldn't have called him without getting approval. "You called?"

"Let's go into this room..." Ann stated as she pushed open a small office. Michael looked around, as Ann didn't turn the lights on. She looked around as she closed the door. "I'm sorry for being so careful... but Nurse Hitler doesn't know that I called you... She said that it was nothing..."

"What was nothing? Is this about Nikita?" Michael baited Ann. Michael knew the answers. However, Michael couldn't wait to hear the words.

"Michael... why are you playing the game? We need to get access to Nikita soon!" Walter hissed into Michael's ear. Michael lifted his hand to his ear and flipped the switch on the unit. Now Walter could listen and even comment. Michael just wouldn't know.

"Remember when I stated that her pulse changes around you?" Ann questioned. Michael nodded his head as he started to twist his hands together. He had to play the concerned husband here.

"Well... Yesterday... I noticed other things... Something that she hadn't done since she came here," Ann stated and Michael leaned forward.

"Is she getting better?" Michael questioned with a quivering voice that melted Ann's heart. Ann wanted to shout yes, but knew that this had to be handled delicately. It could be a small step and this could be all that Nikita did.

"I'm saying... that she has started to track items with her eyes... She didn't used to do that... And she is responding to light cues... Opening her eyes when I turn the lights on... closing them when I turn the lights off..." Ann stated and Michael leaned back in the chair.

"That is remarkable... they said that Nikita would never be able to do any of that... Do you think she knows what is going on?" Michael questioned and Ann shrugged her shoulders. She pushed the chart to Michael.

"I noted it, on the chart and asked for the doctor to be called in.... You can see that Nurse Hitler belittled my comments and felt that was I jumping to conclusions because I have a soft heart... But I had to call you..." Ann stated and Michael looked to the chart. Nikita's pulse had climbed to a more respectable rate. That was something that Michael liked to see.

"I'm glad you did... Can I see her now?" Michael questioned and Ann smiled. Michael could read this woman. She had known the entire story of what was fed to her. She felt extreme compassion for Nikita's condition and what had happened to Nikita's family. Michael would have to learn more about the nursing home. He may have to use Ann if there was more to Nikita's condition.

"Just don't tell Nurse Hitler about this... about me calling you..." Ann stated as she stood up. Michael smiled at tapped Ann's hand. Michael smiled broadly.

Maybe Nikita would even be able to respond to his words today. It was too much to look forward too, but it was a possibility.

"I won't... but I will be eternally grateful for the care you have given Nikita thus far.... Is there a way I can assure that you continue to tend to Nikita?" Michael questioned. Ann smiled as she held Nikita's chart to her chest.

"We are short staffed now... We can't do personal nurses because of the threats we have been having... But I look after her... Even when Nurse Hitler says she is going to do it. I don't trust that woman," Ann commented and Michael smiled. Michael opened the door and swiped his hand against his ear to hear Walter chattering away.

"I want a visual on this Nurse Hitler woman, Michael... Maybe we know her from somewhere.... And if she knows you... she may know Nikita... We need a visual..." Walter ordered and Michael stopped in the hallway. Nurse Hitler was still standing with the other nurses, reprimanding. It wasn't a good tactic to take when you were short staffed. Michael moved his hand across his mouth several times.

"Are you ok? I know this is a shock..." Ann stated and Michael turned his head and smiled at Ann. She was so caring. Michael was sure that Nikita was glad to have a woman like Ann tending to her.

"Ok... I have an image... I'll have Birkoff work on it... Now get into that room..." Walter crankily ordered Michael. Michael started to move down the hallway with a heavy sigh.

"I was just thinking of how good it would be... but don't want to raise my hopes..." Michael stated and Ann nodded her head. She understood that and that was the reason why she spoke with Michael in another room other than Nikita's room.

Ann pushed the door open and Michael looked at the bright light in the room. The curtains and blinds had been drawn away from the window, shedding natural light all over the room.

"She seemed to respond better to it.... I'll give you some time..." Ann stated as she stepped back and closed the door. Michael looked to the windows and sighed. This would hopefully give Birkoff an easier signal to pick up on.

"Ok... Michael... you want to put the scan nodules on her temples..." Walter ordered before Michael had even reached the bed.

"Nikita..." Michael whispered as he looked over her. The eyes flickered and moved to the side to locate Michael. He felt the connection and knew, Nikita was inside.

"Nikita... Oh... Nikita..." Michael moaned in relief. Even with all the knowledge that had been gathered in the past few days, Michael was worried that Nikita would improve. Michael pushed his hands to his face, but couldn't dry his tears.

"Nikita... Can you blink your eyes?" Michael softly questioned as he heard Walter moan on the other end. He didn't care about Walter right now. This was between him and Nikita. If Nikita could blink her eyes in response to Michael's words, they would be able to communicate.