As usual all lyrics are italized and used without permission.

Desperado*

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now
Oh, you're a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow

Michael watched Nikita sitting in front of the access screen. The light illuminating her passive, serene, blank features. She retains her physical beauty but the turning her into the "perfect" Section operative has stolen her light, her inner purity. *And to think I once advised her to accept her lot.*

Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of heats is always your best bet

Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can't get

Madeline circles the Com Unit her attention focused on Michael's still figure. She knows from the slightest tensing of his shoulders that he is aware of her presence before she speaks.

"You realize how foolish it was to take her away, don't you? The ... procedure is a very delicate thing, maintenance is essential."

Michael does not turn to face her, his blank stare reflecting lightly in the glass door. "So it would seem."

Madeline's lips tighten as she silently absorbs his subtle rudeness. Unable and unwilling to stop herself, she reaches out and strokes his hair, pushing the locks into some type of order. The silken texture pleasing her tactile senses. "You are too impatient Michael. If you would just wait ..." her voice lowers to a whisper, "we would be able to rule Section together." Madeline's eyes quietly but thoroughly devour his form.

Michael represses a shiver of disgust. "For that opportunity, you will find I am infinitely patient, Madeline." With one last glance at Nikita's robotic form, he turns on his heels, sidestepping around her without touching, and leaves.

Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no youger
Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

Michael's feet return him to his office on automation. He maintains his impassive Section pose until he closes his office door and pulls the blinds. The picture of a laughing carefree Nikita kneeling over him in her bed on a Sunday morning, her smile wide as she tries to tease a laugh out of him blinds his tear-filled eyes. *They won't get away with this!*

Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the night time from the day
You're loosin' all your highs and lows
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?

Walter watches the byplay between Michael and Madeline and quickly hides a grin as Madeline openly frowns at Michael's last statement. *Whatever is going on, it is getting ready to blow.*

Birkoff ducks his head as Madeline stomps past, her heels creating a definitive echo throughout Com. *I sure hope Michael knows what he is doing.*

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you, before it's too late

"Walter ..." Michael's voice whispers across the table "I need your help. They are not going to get away with this."

*"Desperado" by the most magnificent Eagles.

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