The mission had been straightforward enough - assessing a site for the presence of chemical weapons, check for signs of manufacture, and gather whatever files were on site and then to destroy the building. Walter had gone along to advise the team on what to look for and how to distinguish between harmless agricultural chemicals and those needed the production for neuro-toxins. The warehouse was in a derelict warehouse compound on the outskirts of a run down town.

The building was guarded by a small group of hired thugs, easily disposed of by the team of six. Michael and the rest of the team had found the unpleasant components and a primitive assembly line for constructing a delivery system for the noxious agents. Nikita and two operatives set to the task of planting charges in appropriate places to ensure complete destruction of the site. Two other ops searched the warehouse for files of any description, which might lead to the buyers of the weapons.

Meanwhile Michael checked out the office on the top floor - as he burst through the door, he saw two men rush down the fire escape ladder at the back, he ran to catch up - just in time to see one of the men climbing into the drivers' seat of a beat-up looking pick-up truck, the other man had drawn a gun and was shooting at Michael to give his colleague time to get the truck started. Michael ducked, dodging bullets and eventually caught up with them as the last man jumped into the moving vehicle, he tried to shoot at the tyres to give time for the rest of his team to join him, as they did they witnessed the truck reverse rapidly into Michael crushing him against the wall of the warehouse before accelerating off, Michael crumpled to the ground, his bullet proof vest taking some of the impact. Although winded and suffering sharp pains in his side, he recovered his position propped up against the wall and fired a few more shots at the parting truck. Nikita and the others had rushed out of the rear doors shouting at him to run as they only had seconds remaining before the charges were due to be set off.

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

On the return trip to the airlift point Nikita noticed Michael looking pale and distracted but the usual query was met by the predictable reply of "I'm fine" albeit hissed through clenched teeth, ah well to hell with him if that's how he feels, she mused. As they all clambered on board the transport plane she took a seat next to Walter, who felt happier seeing the team return intact although slightly bruised.

Michael went up front to give instructions to the pilot, and inform Birkoff of the need to track down the men who'd escaped. Then he slumped against the window - Walter asked if they were going straight back or pursuing the men - "No we'll leave that to the local station to clear up..." Walter noticed that he seemed to be in pain and asked if he needed any wounds to be checked - "it's Ok - just a bit bruised I'll be fine, just need to rest......."

That should have alerted Walter immediately - Michael never admitted to needing rest, but at the time he ignored the throwaway remark and returned to the back of the plane to start checking through the files taken from the warehouse - those weapons were being made to order and the next phase of the mission was to find out just who was ordering them and why....

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

Nikita helped Walter sift through the files found at the warehouse - a few numbers that they contacted Birkoff to do a search on - the more they could achieve on the return journey the faster they could make headway with this case.

"Is Michael OK? I've not seen him for the last 30 minutes?" Nikita asked Walter.

"Yeah - sure he is - he said he needed a rest, come to that I don't recall ever having heard him admit to that before ....heh sugar, why don' t you go up front and check up on him?"

"Sure - he can only bite my head off once - wish me luck Walter" she grinned.

As she entered the cockpit area she saw Michael curled up on the seat behind the pilot, his face obscured by unruly curls and smiling to herself she was about to sneak back without disturbing him, that was until she saw the trickle of blood along the edge of the seat coming from under his jacket. She crouched down next to him and placed her hands either side of his face to try and rouse him - he felt chilled and clammy and as she released his head it lolled down onto his chest. Now she noticed how ragged his breathing was - rapid, shallow breaths that caused his chest to shudder.

"Walter get here quick -it's Michael!" she yelled back down the plane " He's hurt!"

***********

Walter grabbed the First Aid kit and rushed to join Nikita - between them they removed his jacket and bulletproof vest, and gingerly laid him down across the double seat. Nikita couldn't get him to wake up at all, he was in shock and she was now frantic with worry, yet trying to assess his injuries as professionally as possible. She looked up at Walter - the distress showing in her face as she roughly wiped her sleeve across her eyes to remove the tears that were blurring her vision.

There were no tell-tale bullet holes, but as they carefully slipped his arms out they could feel that his chest was swollen and puffy to the touch ......Nikita used the scissors from the kit to cut away his black tank top revealing a mass of purplish bruises across his chest and abdomen, and there protruding from his side the telltale signs of a green stick fracture, a jagged edge of sharp bone - not only had he got several broken ribs but the end of one was sticking out of his side where a steady stream of blood was oozing. Nikita gasped and Walter frowned - this was not good - chances were the other end had punctured a lung that would account for his breathing difficulties.

"Damn - why didn't you guys notice he'd gotten himself injured this bad? You should have carried him back to the van and this wouldn't have got so messy.........!!" Walter cursed, slamming his fist against the bulkhead of the plane ..

***********

Nikita was taken aback at Walter's sudden outburst -

"That would have slowed us down , Walter, we all could have got caught in the blast and you know Michael - he'd have given us hell if we'd offered to carry him!" Nikita shouted in defence of herself and the rest of the team, but the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach reminded her how they all just took it for granted that Michael would just get up and walk no matter what.

Walter sighed and reached out a hand to her shoulder to stop her from shaking "I'm sorry sugar - let's see what we can do for him now, have you checked his pulse?"

"Yes - it's not good - too fast and becoming irregular - 100-120bpm, you check his blood pressure, I'll try and stop the bleeding....."

As Nikita firmly pressed a wad of gauze bandage onto the wound, Walter wrapped the cuff around Michael's arm and looked alarmed at what he found -

"Oh my God - it's only 90 over 60 - he must have internal bleeding somewhere.....What the hell happened back there?"

"The truck - it must have hit him - when we got around the back all we saw was the truck driving off and Michael picking himself up off the floor - I thought he'd thrown himself out of its way....." ...it slowly dawned on Nikita what that sickening crushing noise had been, she'd assumed the truck had run over something - she hadn't stopped to think that it might have been Michael - why hadn't he said anything either there or in the van or even when they got back to the plane, he must have been in agony - why did he always let himself get injured like this - did he want to die?????

***********

The sound of choking broke Nikita out of her sad reverie ...... Michael was coming round and was gasping for air; Walter placed a gas mask over his face and turned the valve of the portable oxygen cylinder on. Michael's eyes fluttered open, but they were glazed and unfocussed, he tossed his head from side to side whilst trying to pull the mask away from his face

"Heh there -take it easy Michael, try not to panic - you've broken a few ribs, try to breathe slowly...... Nikita ......?"

Walter was about to ask her to try to keep their patient calm, but she was already there, gently stroking the curls from his face with one hand whilst taking his hand with the other to reassure him of her presence.

"It's OK Michael - you're going to be fine" -she bit her tongue when she realised what she was saying - quoting him back to himself, knowing full well that she had no idea if he was going to be fine or not.

"Fine......... I'm fine ........." he mumbled into the gas mask, the words pulsing through his head like a mantra. He could vaguely make out a shock of blond hair; the chilly feel of a stethoscope against his aching chest and the words echoing as darkness once again claimed him.

Meanwhile Walter had been listening to Michael's chest with the stethoscope, the left lung was definitely collapsed and air had entered his chest cavity on that side, preventing the lung from being able to reinflate - they'd have to seal the wound somehow and then get rid of the air. And there was the trauma to his abdomen - maybe a ruptured spleen, liver damage even, Walter wished his basic first aid covered more than bullet and knife wounds.... There was no way this could wait until they got back to Section - they had at least another 2 hours in the air and then the van journey back.

"There's air around his lungs - we've gotta do something fast - Nikita - get on the horn to Birkoff and get someone from Medlab to tell us what to do!" ordered Walter.

Before she could turn to make her way through the screen to the comms unit in the back of the plane, one of the other operatives came barging through, looking abjectly apologetic as Nikita froze him to the spot with an icy glare ...........

"There's been a change of plan we've got orders to land..........." he forced himself to say, taking in the sight of Walter ministering to Michael's blood-stained and bruised body.

***********

"What the hell .........?" demanded Nikita and before he could manage to get out of her way she bowled past the young operative, almost pasting him up against the side of the plane - she shoved Mitchells away from the comm unit, grabbed the headset and yelled -

"Heh Birkoff! Are you there??- we aren't landing anywhere unless it's a medical facility , Michael's badly injured and we're not stopping for anything until he gets treated - IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"

"Nikita?" came back the clipped tones of Ops "Am I to assume you taken control of the mission as a result of Michael's", here he paused briefly, " incapacitated condition?"

"If it comes to that - yeah! We're 20,000 feet up at the moment - you wanna argue the toss with me? As I said we are not landing yet - now get me someone from Medlab, I haven't got the time to waste on pleasantries!" Nikita knew she'd regret speaking to Ops like this, but she was furious and would do whatever it took to pull Michael through this, hopefully without getting herself put in abeyance as a result.

"Nikita - this tantrum like behaviour will not go by without consequences, I decide what happens NOT you. The pilot is under orders to drop the team and the van off at a location indicated by the Intel you picked up at the warehouse site - there is to be a transaction involving the men you allowed to get away and their buyers. It will be up to you to make up for Michael's blunder in letting them escape in the first place - we may be able to salvage some good out of it if we apprehend the buyers. I'm sorry about Michael - but Section is not about keeping careless ops alive, you have a job to do - get on with it! Meanwhile I'll have Dr Grahams from Medlab give Walter any instructions he needs, you will get your team ready, you land in 20 minutes." Ops shut down communications abruptly leaving Nikita simultaneously dumbstruck and livid. The rest of the team looked on in trepidation wondering what instructions she was about to give them.

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

Walter pushed the screen back and looked at Nikita, she was visibly wavering, not sure whether to go along with Ops' orders. If she did it would put Michael's life in jeopardy, but the alternative was asking the pilot and team to mutiny with her. Nikita's conscience just wouldn't allow her to do that, she would willingly leap feet first into the abeyance pool for Michael but not take the rest of the team with her, no. " I'm sorry Michael" she whispered to herself, there would be time to cry later, now she had to sort out a profile with Birkoff and get her team ready.

She quickly apprised the team of what was happening. Mitchells sheepishly asked how Michael was and yet again she found her lips mouthing the lie "He'll be fine" - only now she was beginning to realise how much those words hurt to say, especially when they never seemed to be true. She left the men to get kitted up again in preparation for a night mission; it was now dark outside the plane, which only seemed to accentuate her misery.

Nikita made her way to the front of the plane, grim-faced, wanting to be hopeful although there didn't seem to be much cause. Walter looked up wearily sensing her presence, he could tell she was clenching her jaw, the tension written all over her face ... he didn't wait for her to ask how Michael was..

"I've pumped him full of painkillers, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, you name it - if it was in the Med kit it's in his veins now, " he glanced up at the make shift IV stand, which trickled serum into Michael through a needle inserted into a vein on the back of his hand.

"After that one - there's only one left in the supplies, I just hope to hell you take care of the team this time out - I can't treat many more wounded now" Walter tried to make a joke of the situation and failed -miserably.

Nikita barely heard his words as she gazed at Michael, a pale shadow of his usual self, but oh so desirable - if only he could look so damn cute when he wasn't on death's door she thought ruefully. She looked up as Walter cleared his throat and whispered in her ear...

"I don't suppose you help me get him out of his mission pants before you leave? I need to get him wrapped in blankets to keep him warm - but the doc says nothing too constrictive, and I sure as hell don't want Michael waking up to find me getting him out of his pants!"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Nikita couldn't help giggling as she imagined the scene...

"Sure Walter - - for you, almost anything!"

***********

It was harder than it looked - removing the skin-tight pants and not jarring Michael's body - without X-ray facilities there was no way of telling how bad his internal injuries were and any unnecessary movement risked exacerbating his condition. In the end Nikita had to resort yet again to the scissors - carefully snipping her way up his inside leg, the lycra pulling back as she cut, revealing strong muscular thighs, then the tricky bit as she carefully slid the scissors under the fabric and made her way up to the waist band - with a snap they sprung open like shrink wrapping, revealing ............but of course - a pair of black silk boxers - she mischievously glanced up at Walter, whose eyes were bulging -

"Heh sugar stop right there, I think that's his clothing loosened quite enough as it is" he quickly made himself busy arranging blankets over Michael, trying not to let Nikita notice how much care he took not to disturb Michael.

"We're about to land - strap yourselves in folks!" the pilot announced over the intercom "It's going to be a bumpy landing - disused military runway - hold on tight!"

Nikita and Walter immediately caught each others expressions of horror ......... "Oh my ........."

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

The pilot did his best to land the plane gently - but military transport planes are built to take knocks and it wasn't the most agile of craft ...... the first of the rear wheels touched down OK but then the other seemed to hit a rut and bounce off the tarmac , throwing the plane to one side so that the nose gear was no longer lined up, the pilot quickly lifted the landing gear up and then went down again with a crunch, the wheels all hitting tarmac at once, he had to apply maximum thrust to brake in time before the end of the runway ........

In this time Nikita watched as if in slow motion as Michael's body jerked forward against the seat belt, which snapped open. The impact of landing had brought him round again and she caught his eyes open in blind panic as he was propelled forward into the back of the pilot's seat, the IV needle tearing its way across his hand leaving a red streak up his arm, the gas mask dragged off his face and then as they came to a stop inertia mercilessly slammed him up against the bulkhead.

Nikita ripped open her seat belt and got to his side only milliseconds before Walter, the once white bandages that encased his chest were stained with blood - but Nikita could only see his eyes - now clear, their emerald tints sharpened by tears of pain .......

***********

"Michael? Take it easy - breathe slowly " she held the gas mask back to his face with one arm supporting his shoulders. " Heh - Mitchells - give Walter and me a hand will you? " Mitchells took hold of Michael's feet whilst Nikita and Walter took position either side of him cradling his body as they extricated him from the gap between the seats. Michael tried but couldn't hold back the groan of pain, he was aware of what was happening and he hurt like hell, but he could see that Nikita was worried sick and he so wanted her to think he was going to be fine. They carried him into the back of the plane and onto a makeshift hospital cot, they'd not moved him earlier because they thought they were on their way back to Section and they hadn't wanted to make his injuries any worse.

"Sugar - you get him sorted out - get onto Birkoff and get the doc to give us some more advice, I'll go out back and get the van out of the hold" Walter's taking charge of the situation gave Nikita the chance to pull herself together before setting off.

"Birkoff - is that you?"

"Lucky for you Nikita - this time it is, that'll teach you to shout at me" came back Birkoff's sharp retort.

"Cut it out, will you - you got the pilot's report?"

"Yep - we never promised luxury flights you know - you'll be wanting in-flight movies next......"

"Listen up Seymour - Michael took a bad fall during the landing, get Grahams on the line will you - I need some medical tips, pronto!"

"Uh .. is he going to be alright, Nikita?"

"Sure - fine!" Quipped Nikita, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "now get me that doctor or I'll make sure you need his services when I get my hands on you!"..........

Meanwhile Walter had helped the other ops get the van out of the back, it had one smashed headlamp, but otherwise was ready for action, he checked out guns and ammo to each op, ensured their night vision goggles and comm units were functioning OK. He'd tried his best to give Nikita some time with Michael, just in case anything happened to him whilst she was gone.

Nikita had added another layer of bandages to Michael's chest - giving him the appearance of an Egyptian mummy - the doc said it was probably best not to attempt taking the others off, the extra pressure would stem the bleeding and hold his rib cage together for the time being. His blood pressure had improved slightly, but the pulse rate was still high and he seemed to be running a slight fever. Hopefully the broad-spectrum antibiotics would protect him from anything particularly virulent. She sat back to briefly admire her handiwork when Michael reached up to pull the mask from his face - despite her protestations he was insistent on speaking and she wanted to hear how he felt

"Nikita .......the mission.......what's going..on.....?" he gasped, struggling to utter each word.

"Don't worry - we're going after those guys that ran you over - they're meeting up with a buyer, Ops decided to divert us on the way home. How do you feel? And don't you dare say fine or I'll......" she stopped mid -sentence for fear of her words dissolving into the sobs that were catching at the back of her throat.

"The ...... truth?"

"Yes damn you!"

"It hurts ......... like.......being stabbed.....each......breath..........."

"No .......no please, don't try to talk , I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you speak" she bent close to his face, one finger gently pressed against his lips, unconsciously brushing the hair from his eyes with her other hand." I've got to go now Michael, please be here when I get back - promise me".

He just nodded wearily, but his eyes met hers and the promise was sealed in the shared look that spoke of a trust that went deeper than words - without saying anything she knew she had promised to him that she'd return safely.

Nikita kissed him tenderly on the forehead, blinked back the tears and ran from the 'plane to join the rest of her team, passing Walter on his way back in

"Take......."

"You know I will" he interrupted knowing exactly what she was about to say, "Now go bag us some baddies sugar!"

***********

As Walter watched the van drive off into the night he wished them luck - it should be straightforward enough - but that's s what they'd thought barely 3 hours ago.......

He turned back onto the 'plane and checked up on Michael - he frowned as he realised that Michael wasn't only determined to stay conscious he seemed as if he was actually trying to get up!

"Heh - Are you going to leave me to face Nikita if you get yourself any more hurt than you are already! You are one stubborn son-of-a bitch" he muttered a few more choice expletives under his breath as he firmly pushed Michael by his shoulders back onto the bed

"Comms ......let me . ....please........" Michael begged before collapsing into a choking fit.

"Well I guess it won't hurt to let you listen in on what's cracking off - you're not going to rest until I let you know anyhow ". Walter pulled the cushions from the other seats to prop up Michael slightly and placed a headset on Michael so that he could hear how the mission was progressing. " But no trying to give orders - is that clear! Nikita knows what she's doing, let her get on with it!"

Meanwhile the van had been travelling for the last 4 miles with no lights on - using moonlight to show up the road surface, they were in the middle of nowhere and any lights would have been a dead give-away. As they approached the turn -off to the farmhouse Birkoff had identified as the site of the meet the driver turned the engine off so the van rolled up without a sound. Nikita and the three ops remaining split into two teams - one making their way silently to the back of the farmhouse, the other approached stealthily through the farmyard. There were 4 "guards" nervously patrolling the perimeter, obviously on alert after the earlier raid on the warehouse. Nikita picked off one as he rounded the corner, clamping her hand over his mouth and knocking him out cold with a blow to the back of his head with her torch handle, she really did not like having to kill guys who were just doing their job like she did hers....... A tranq dart to a second and that left two, one quickly dealt with by Mitchell as he watched Nikita's back - a quick check on the comm unit confirmed that the other team had taken out the fourth guard. On Nikita's command Mitchell shot out the lock on the front door and Nikita stormed in aiming her gun straight at a thin, greasy looking man who had spun round quickly - but not fast enough to get to his own weapon. The other two ops simultaneously burst in through the back door taking the two men from the warehouse by surprise, they were disarmed and thrown to the floor unceremoniously and handcuffed, not without a few 'accidental' kicks to the ribs in the process and a mutter of "that's for Michael, you scum".

"What the friggin' 'ell's goin' on 'ere - is this a set-up - you stinkin' bleedin' bastards- I'll make you pay for this - me and my associates don't take this crap from no-one-"

"SHUT UP !!!" Nikita ordered slapping him around the face to get his attention and then hauling him to his feet by grabbing hold of his collar and twisting it against his throat.. whilst still pointing her gun at his head ....

"If you don't shut your foul mouth and listen to me - I'm going to gag you with your own guts - understand 'matey'?" he nodded quickly ....... " We're going on a little trip to see some of my friends - you're just going to love Madeleine......." She drawled " Get this trash into the van guys and sedate it..."

"What about these?" asked Mitchells kicking the two men that lay on the floor, trussed like turkeys.

"Oh yeah - bring them along for the ride - I'll want to 'chat ' to them myself later, when I'm feeling more communicative' you could say". Nikita grinned at Mitchells, who could appreciate just the sort of attention she was going to lavish on those men at her leisure - but for now they had a plane to catch.

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

The van made quick time on its return to the runway, the three prisoners sedated, tied up and blindfolded for good measure. Nikita had reported back to Walter that they were on their way and asked how Michael was - Walter muttered something about him being fine, but she could hear that he was lying ...... there was however, no point in pursuing this as she could find out for herself soon enough.

Walter had lied - big time - Michael was unconscious, having passed out not long after the team had left the plane, his breathing was shallow and his pulse was racing as his heart tried in vain to keep pumping the diminishing volume of blood around his body. He'd obviously held out just long enough to give Nikita the impression that all would be well. Walter had got him securely strapped into the bed, the IV lines were out - there was no more serum left to make up for the loss of blood through internal bleeding. The fact that he'd survived this long without surgery did indicate that the damage was probably to smaller blood vessels rather than major veins or arteries, but that was little consolation so far from base. The oxygen mask was also firmly in place over his mouth and nose, making sure that what breaths he could take were as enriched with oxygen as possible.

Walter looked up at Nikita and was taken aback to see that she seemed furious, angry at Michael rather than himself, her face was becoming red and her teeth were clenched - always a sign not to mess with her....

"You lied to me again.......... you bastard!!" she shouted at Michael's prostrate form - maybe hoping to get some sort of a reaction, she wanted to shake him and demand that he wake up there and then and be well - whole again, but she knew it was pointless. She took a deep breath and without looking away from the pale, almost lifeless figure wrapped in blankets, issued Walter with crisp instructions -

"Walter - go make sure the van is secured - give Mitchell and the guys a hand with our 'passengers' - I'll give the pilot go ahead for take-off in 10 minutes -GO!"

Walter didn't hang about to ask questions - he could see by the look on her face that she meant business, perhaps being responsible for the conclusion of the mission would keep her focussed - she was going to need to be in control when she debriefed with Ops.........

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

"Well - I suppose I should congratulate you for bringing in the sellers and one of the middle men, more or less ...intact". Ops began, a sardonic smile on his face as he recalled the worse-for-wear condition of the prisoners brought in. " However, your behaviour earlier today was completely out of line, you were unprofessional, bordering on hysterical - I will not tolerate that - ever - from anyone - is that absolutely clear?"

Nikita stared at a point 2cm above his left ear and nodded " Yes" .......

"But at least you recovered your composure and continued to complete the mission successfully and without loss of any of your team, in these circumstances I am prepared to forgive you your transgressions this once ..........." Nikita left out a barely audible sigh of relief .....

"However, Michael is another matter, his conduct was sloppy. Madeleine and I have reviewed the tapes - he should have taken another op with him to search the rest of the warehouse, his timing was off - he failed to hit the vehicle or it occupants despite discharging a whole round of ammo. And he jeopardised the entire mission by failing to report his physical condition. He is not functioning as I would expect of a class 5 operative. It is possible that he's burnt out - finished - of no further use to Section 1. At the moment I have the surgeons standing by - it may be expedient just to let him die from his injuries, rather than restore him to full health merely for cancellation. Tell me Nikita - what do you think I should do?"

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

"You are the most cold-blooded, evil, manipulative excuse for a human being I have ever met" Nikita spat the venom laced words at him, she felt disgusted by his disregard for Michael at the best of times - but this? How could he?

"Do you really think of him as a puppet that goes out and does your will to the letter, takes the bullets and comes back here so you can him put back together to fight another day - what's the problem? Is he past his cancel-by date?? Why now? Or is this some sick test to find out how I'd react??" By now the hot tears that had been stinging her eyes were now flowing freely down her cheeks, but she didn't care.

"Oh no Nikita - this is for real" he pointed to a screen in his office and clicked the remote to show the operating theatre in Med Lab, the surgeons in scrubs, waiting to operate, but just sitting in a row at the side of the room. Michael's body lay under a green cloth, the vital signs monitors indicating his critical condition, his body systems were failing and there wasn't much time left ......

"Grahams?" called Ops "Confirm status of subject"

"Yes sir" came the stilted reply of a man torn between his fear for his own life and his Hippocratic oath. "The patient is suffering extreme trauma to the abdomen and chest, 5 broken ribs, one penetrating the pleural membranes, internal bleeding has resulted in pooling of blood around the spleen and liver, immediate surgery required-" his voice becoming more strained and higher pitched as Ops cut him off short-

"That will be all - stand by for my orders!"

"What do you want - what is it I have to say?" Nikita gulped......... "For God's sake tell me ! You heartless bastard!" she sobbed in spite of herself......" What the hell are you after?"

"I want Michael back the way he was ....if I can't have that, I don't want him in Section, that's all there is to it. Hurry up Nikita, I want an answer - what do you think I should I do? "

***********

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN??" If Nikita had been armed she'd have shot him where he stood, ordered the surgeons to go ahead and faced the consequences, but Walter was too damn efficient at checking in weapons, especially after the last attempt on Ops' life. She settled for shoving him up against the glass wall of the Observation deck by the shoulders, his head making a satisfying cracking noise on impact. " YOU DON"T DESERVE TO LIVE!" she shouted and spat in his face, her hands closing around his throat........ instead of looking frightened he just smiled ........ she loosened her grip .............

"Oh Nikita - you disappoint me" jeered Ops scornfully, rubbing his scraggy neck. " You know that if you harm me both you and Michael will be dead. Your heart won't let you do it! The old Michael was the man that existed here before you corrupted him with your irrelevant ideas of compassion and mercy." He leaned closer to her- sneering at her as if they were the most abusive words he knew. "You clouded his judgement, you weakened him - my God if I thought it'd bring him back I'd shoot you here where you stand - but when you went 'missing' for 6 months he just got worse not better, and now it's happening all over again. A class 5 operative needs to be focussed, ruthless and totally beyond feelings. He's in love with you dammit - I warned Madeleine about this! He can no longer fulfil his destiny here - there is no demotion in Section unless you hadn't noticed - if someone doesn't make the grade they fail - end of story."

By the end of his tirade Nikita was grasping for ideas - anything to stall him, make him reconsider, make him save Michael whose life was hanging on a thread... one wrong word and they'd both end up dead, it occurred to her that if Michael died Ops would have no reason for keeping her alive either... thoughts came to her and before she knew what she was saying she was muttering ........

"...relocation ........reprogramming........."

"Ah yes - now you're making sense Nikita - Michael could be reprogrammed" a smile started to spread across his features and Nikita felt as if she had stepped into a carefully baited trap. "But here's the deal - you will be the one to come up with the programme and you will be the one to carry it out. You will remove all traces of compassion from him, you will make him hate you and despise the very ground you tread on, is that understood? It's either that or I tell the surgeons to pull the plugs..... what's it to be Nikita?"

"There must be another way! You can't be serious - you may as well let him die!"

"Really? That would be extremely selfish of you Nikita - what do you think Michael would do in your position?" Ops played his trump card knowing that she was cornered, out of manoeuvring room and he grinned, immensely satisfied with his own success.

She just sank down in a heap, tears flowing again down her cheeks and splashing onto the floor- wretched and defeated, if only there was some other way, maybe later, for now she had to agree - it was the only thing she could do .........

"I'll do it......" she whispered, but in her heart she swore not to let the bastard win .......

Michael came around slowly - it felt as if someone or something was sitting on his chest - he could hardly breathe, but when he tried tentatively - he felt air entering both lungs this time. His chest ached in a numb kind of away, letting him know that he was dosed up with pretty strong painkillers. He glanced up to see an IV stand with a unit of blood attached, leading into his arm. Turning his head slowly he saw Nikita fast asleep on the chair next to the bed, her beautiful blonde hair fallen across her face like a golden curtain, she was such a wonderful sight no matter how grubby, bedraggled ...... he lay there drinking in the essence of her, he'd thought he was never going to see her again in this lifetime .....

Some sixth sense told her he had come round - she'd had to beg Ops to allow her to see that Michael had been made whole again before destroying his soul......

"Michael? Thank God ...... I didn't think you were going to make it this time ......" she had debated in her mind whether or not to tell him what had happened - but felt that he deserved to know - that way he'd understand what she had to do and maybe they could find a way......She got as close to him as she could and softly whispered ..

"Michael .. listen carefully - Ops was going to leave you to die -" before she could continue, Michael's eyes that had shone with love for her moments earlier suddenly clouded over and the blank stare imposed itself on his features.....

"You should have let him." He said quietly, but forcefully.

"What?" she gasped in horror....

"Whatever deal you had to make - it wasn't worth it...... the devil never settles for less than the price of a soul......" his huskily spoken words could not be denied - this time she knew in her heart that he spoke the truth.

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

"I'm sorry Nikita, but I meant it - you should have let go - for both our sakes......"

Their eyes met and Nikita forgot all her carefully rehearsed lines and wanted nothing more than to take away all the pain he had suffered and was yet to endure, she clasped his free hand in hers and was suddenly alerted to the sound of the door swishing open behind her. She should have known they'd be watching - Madeleine stood there, primly dressed in a sombre, dark suit, her hands gracefully folded in front of her. She didn't look at Michael but smiled at Nikita and said two words........

"It's time".

Nikita had dreaded this moment, but for now had no choice, she stood up quickly, brushing Michael's hand away as if it offended her and turned her back on him, refusing to look back despite hearing him plead ....

""Kita - what is it? What's happening?"

When she drew close to Madeleine, the other woman took her by the arm and they exited Med Lab without a single further glance in Michael's direction.

As Nikita and Madeleine left the room two characters dressed in black replaced them, they wore glasses and carried yellow brief cases. Nikita was shocked - so soon - my god he'd only just recovered consciousness, she took a sharp intake of breath, Madeleine noticed and looked into her eyes.

"Nikita - are you alright, can you go through with this?" her question was more a challenge than a genuine enquiry into how Nikita actually felt.

" I'm fine" she stated and did her very best to put up a wall that Madeleine's gaze could not penetrate.

"Good, I'm glad; but don't worry because if you can't complete your assignment, I will. Now lets review your suggested programme shall we? I'll be in my office - bring it to me" and with that she strode off purposefully across the central area.

As Nikita walked past Birkoff's station he looked up and caught the grim expression on her face. They all knew she'd been at Michael's side since he'd come out of surgery and the fact that she was here and looking so miserable could only mean one thing as far as Birkoff was aware

"Oh my God Nikita - Michael's not -" he started to ask, his eyes wide and his face paling rapidly....

"No Birkoff - he's not dead, but don't ever mention his name to me again, got it? As far as I'm concerned there is no Michael " Nikita verbally slapped him down.

"Heh sugar how's it doing?" Walter rushed up and gave her a hug. " I've missed you. Birkoff what's going down in Med Lab - I just saw the gruesome twosome headed over there - I didn't know we had any wounded hostiles." Birkoff looked at Walter in horror, then back at Nikita

"We don't - it's only Michael there at the moment .......Nikita..........?"

"Don't ask!" she snarled and walked away from her friends wishing she could ask for their help - but she was on her own this time.

***********

Walter was about to follow her but Birkoff stopped him, urgently whispering - " Walter something's very wrong - I thought Michael must have died by the look on her face but when I asked she said he wasn't dead, but that he didn't exist as far as she was concerned. What does that mean?"

"You're the one with the high IQ kid, not me - but I'm getting down to see Michael, I don't trust those creeps...."

"Sure thing Walter - but let's try the monitors first OK?" Birkoff sat at his computer, his hands danced across the keyboard until an image appeared on the screen of Michael's room - it was empty now, apart from Michael who appeared to be sleeping. Birkoff selected one area of the screen and zoomed in - there were two tell-tale lines under Michael's eyes - red and puffy. He suddenly felt cold inside- " What the hell is going on Walter?"

"I dunno kid - but it's starting to scare the crap outta me..... we need to talk to Nikita ...but I'm going to try and see Michael first . This is what we're gonna do........"

After a furtive conversation with Birkoff, Walter quickly picked up some bits and pieces from his station, cramming them into pockets inside his leather jacket before quickly making his way to Med Lab. He knew which room Michael was in and headed straight there - as he was about to enter the room, he was apprehended by one of the nurses - " I'm sorry, no-one is allowed in there for now."

"Says who?" challenged Walter - getting pretty irate by now, he cared for Michael in his own way and was sure that he was in big trouble and needed help.

"Operations - it was a direct order - no unauthorised visitors".

"Well that's OK - check with Birkoff - he'll tell you that I'm on the 'authorised' list." Walter flashed the young nurse one of his disabling grins - he was sure if he could bluff his way so far, Birkoff would back him up. The nurse seemed dubious but contacted Birkoff who assured her that Walter had the necessary clearance. She reluctantly let him in and stood by the door unsure of whether or not she should let him in unsupervised -

"Heh sweetie - it's OK you can trust old Walter - I ain't gonna hurt the kid!" he smiled and shooed her out of the way.

As soon as he got in he stood flat against the door - " OK - you ready Birkoff?"

"Go ahead Walter - I've put the looped recording on the video feed - he's not moved in the last 20 minutes - they won't be expecting any change just yet."

Walter leaned over Michael's body, he was dressed in Med lab standard issue whites, his chest encased in bandages, tubes from the IV leading into his veins....... The first thing he did was dispense a tiny capsule into the IV feed - it contained a stimulant that would arouse Michael from his apparently catatonic state ....

After what seemed like eternity - yet was barely 3 minutes Michael began to stir...

"Nikita? What did you do? What did they make you do? ....."

"Michael wake up quick - we haven't much time!"

"Walter - what's going on?"

"I'll be damned if I know - but there's no time to talk - just listen up good, how much does it hurt?"

"I'll be fine..."

"Thatta boy - right, you have to get up and walk - " ... he saw Michael's eyes widen in disbelief, he was always being cursed for doing just that after injuries, but he wasn't sure he could just yet...

"Then you're gonna discharge yourself, get dressed and get to the emergency rear egress point-"

"Walter - why? I don't know that I can yet, can't this wait?" Michael interrupted, his head was spinning as it was and he felt nauseous just trying to sit up.

"Michael - you have to pull this off for your sake and Nikita's - we don't know what's going on, but she needs you up and about - not stuck here in Med Lab ". Walter knew that if he resorted to using Nikita as a lure, he could get Michael to rise from his deathbed, never mind his sick bed...

Walter could see that Michael was in more pain than he cared to admit to and he was also suffering from the after effects of the drugs they'd used on him, although he didn't seem aware of what had been done to him, just as well I guess thought Walter....

"Ok - tell me what the plan is." Michael said quietly but firmly with an authority in his voice that made Walter feel good inside, at least Michael was acting predictably - now if only they could get through to Nikita.....

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

Meanwhile back in Madeleine's office Nikita was detailing her schedule for re-programming Michael - as was expected, the ice -queen found it unsatisfactory on various levels -she done this before and knew exactly what worked best.

"The key to breaking Michael is his psyche of course, his weakness, it always has been. You have correctly assumed that physical torture will have little effect - his tolerance for pain is quite remarkable. However, do not rule it out - by traumatising his body you will cause him to focus on refusing to show his discomfort - it is then that he will be most susceptible to other 'techniques'. I would not bother with sleep deprivation - in the past I have found it quite satisfactory to allow him to sleep, indeed encourage it with sedatives, but then control his dreams with subliminal messages, his nightmares will weaken his resolve far more than depriving him of sleep. "

Nikita sat in silence - pretending to make notes on her pad - anything rather than meet Madeleine's eyes. She could tell from the tone of her voice that she'd done these things to Michael before, but what chilled Nikita to her core was the sensation that Madeleine had taken a sadistic pleasure in breaking Michael and was looking froward to having another go if Nikita failed.

"Ah yes - shame and humiliation - they will work perfectly. Concentrate on his failures and what has always happened to those he loved - blame him for their deaths. His capacity for guilt and remorse is far greater than you believe Nikita. Well our friends will have started with the process, you may proceed" - Madeleine smiled as she signalled that their discussion was over.

Nikita walked into Med Lab with a heavy heart, thank God she'd not seen either Birkoff or Walter on her way, she couldn't face talking to either of them yet. She approached the door to Michael's' room and heard a voice behind her saying " He's not there any more".... Her first thoughts were that she'd been tricked by Madeleine and that she'd merely distracted her whilst something awful had been done to him - she spun round to confront the poor nurse -

"Where is he? Tell me now!"

"He discharged himself - you know Michael - he called for the doctor, pulled the IV lines from his arms and demanded clothes - he was so angry ...." .The nurse started blathering as it suddenly dawned on her that if there was one thing worse than trying to keep Michael under medical supervision it was Nikita finding out you'd let him out of it.

"Get me the doctor NOW!!!" she yelled at the rapidly dissolving nurse.

"What is it?" asked Dr Grahams. He was prepared for this; he'd been incensed at the way his team had been forced to stand by as a man lay in his operating theatre desperately in need of surgery and was sickened by the callous attitude towards his patient. He'd had enough when he'd seen the marks under Michael's eyes and his gut reaction was that however much the man need to rest up and heal, he would be safer wandering the streets than spending another hour in Section. So when Michael had demanded to be discharged he did nothing to stand in his way, in fact he'd given him some antibiotics and painkillers to keep him going and been surprised when Michael accepted them and rewarded him with a rare smile and a genuine "Thank you".

"Why did you let Michael leave?" demanded Nikita.

"Because he wanted to get out and we usually know better than to get in his way," replied the doctor ingenuously as if there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"I don't suppose you know where he went?" - a shrug was all the response she got, Nikita began to feel that all was not as it seemed and for the life of her she didn't know if it was good or bad.

*********

Somewhere not far from Section - in a motel room, Michael lay on a saggy bed - only Walter could know of seedy motels in the vicinity where you could hire a room during the day - no questions asked. He was glad the curtains were shut and the lights were out, he had a feeling that he wouldn't want to see the details clearly. Walter had left an hour ago promising to return later with some food.

Michael had spent the time trying to figure out what was happening - he felt weak and couldn't stand for long without collapsing - he could only vaguely remember how they'd got here. In the motel bathroom he took a look at his face and had been shocked to see the two reddened lines under his eyes. He lay on his back trying to work out who he should trust and came up with the conclusion that he should probably trust no-one. Walter had got him out of Section - but why, because they'd drugged him? - Anyway it set an unheard of precedent when he was actually forced out of Med Lab rather than into it he thought wryly.

Nikita's actions scared him the most - maybe he'd dreamt that part? - she'd been trying to tell him something before Madeleine came in and then changed so quickly, he couldn't get the image of her casting him aside and leaving the room arm in arm with Madeleine out of his mind.

Unfortunately he couldn't stay awake for long and slipping into unconsciousness he realised too late that the nightmares would be there waiting for him ...............

Nikita didn't know whether or not alert Madeleine and Ops to the fact that Michael had discharged himself from Med Lab. She didn't know what was for the best - there was no alternative - she'd have to confide in Walter.

"Walter?" she asked hesitantly over his shoulder and was surprised at the reaction she got, he turned and scowled at her "yes Nikita - what can I do for you?" All business, no camaraderie, not a trace of affection in his voice.

"We need to talk - not here" she whispered.

"Yeah - I think it is about time you talked to your friends" he replied in a pointed way " Meet me in the Harley Davidson showroom in one hour's time, ask the manager to show you the Soft Tail Classic".......

"?" Nikita raised her eyebrows.

"If you really want to talk with me - just be there." With that he turned back to the never-ending soldering jobs that littered his worktop.

Nikita found herself strolling around the showroom of the bike shop - admiring the shiny chrome and leather trimmings in an offhand way -scanning the area for the manager, it didn't take long, he looked like a clone of Walter right down to the bandanna and lecherous grin -

"Hi babe - shopping or just admiring the merchandise?"

"Hi" she switched on the full smile, guaranteed to dazzle any hot-blooded male in range " Actually a friend of mine suggested I take a look at the Soft Tail Classic - can you help?"

" Ooh - that's just the bike for you lady, sexy and laid back ........this way"

Nikita had a sneaking suspicion that Walter had set her up - but this dropped as she found herself ushered into the back office, where Walter sat with a half-empty bottle of Budweiser in his hand-

"What kept you? I thought you were going to stand me up" he drawled.

***********

"Walter - you know where he is don't you?" her question an accusation rather than a query.

Before he spoke to her Walter insisted on checking her for transmitters, which he seemed to take an awfully long time about, only when he satisfied himself that she wasn't wired and in communication with Madeleine did he reply.

"Give me one good reason why I should tell you his location? - just supposin' I actually knew where he was." Walter took another swig form the bottle without taking his eyes off her.

"He's got to return to Section -they'll be looking for him - you don't understand!"

"What - so you can rip out his heart and break his soul - that is what you and Madeleine have in mind isn't it? I understand more than you think - we listened in on your meeting with Madeleine." Nikita's shocked expression told him his guess was correct, his bluffing had paid off, but the fact that his suspicions were right made him sick to his stomach." I thought I knew you - when did you change sides? What did they offer you this time? Petrosian offered you a little power before and you turned on your friends - what was it that made you decide to do this to Michael for them?" he couldn't hide the bitterness he felt at what he perceived to be the betrayal of Michael.

"Walter - you don't understand at all - I had no choice - Ops was going to let him die - they were going to refuse to operate on him, I thought I could come up with a plan - I didn't realise they'd start on him as soon as he came out of surgery. I thought they'd wait until he was recovered and then in the meantime I could explain things to Michael and he'd help me come up with a plan." He could tell from the panic in her voice that she was telling the truth - Nikita was not the accomplished liar that most ops became after a while.

"Oh sugar - you are so naïve sometimes, you should have known better, there is no better time to hit any man than when he's down, Michael's physical weakness was just what they'd be relying on."

"What am I going to do Walter? Where is he? Can I see him? "

"Sugar - I don't know, you tell me what you're gonna do, 'cos I'm sure as hell not gonna let you take him back in. Give me your weapons Nikita, now."

"You don't trust me!"

"Nope - sorry, I'm not taking any chances" Walter put his hand out to take her gun." Here grab that helmet and tuck your hair in real good, we're goin' for a ride". If it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation Walter would have been really looking forward to having Nikita ride pillion with him, maybe another time he thought wistfully.

Oh to hell with it - he'd take the long route and enjoy it while he could! He wasn't getting any younger.......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived at the motel at dusk, Walter had the key so they made their way straight to the room. The night watchman saw them arrive and winked at Walter as he admired Nikita's long legs and attractive figure enviously - it must be the bike he figured, how else could the old guy manage to score a chick like that.

The room was in darkness as they approached

"He must still be fast asleep" muttered Walter.

As they entered the room they could make out Michael's body writhing on the bed - he was anything but peacefully asleep, he was drenched in sweat and tossing his head violently from side to side. Nikita could see that he was clenching the bedclothes in his fists, she rushed to his side - he was obviously in the midst of horrific nightmares and she didn't know whether or not to try and wake him. Her mind was made up when she caught sight of his face - his cheeks were stained with the trails of tears and he was silently sobbing. She couldn't bear to see him like this without being able to comfort him, how did she ever think she could have gone ahead with the reprogramming. She grasped him gently by the shoulders and shook him harder and harder until his eyes fluttered open and he awoke with a start.

"'Kita - don't touch me! " he screamed.

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

"Michael - calm down!" Walter put the table lamp on - no wonder Michael had been scared seeing Nikita there in the dark. Also he knew that the drugs used on him left the victim susceptible to violent nightmares, and Michael suffered from those at the best of times.

Nikita had backed off and was standing near the door - ready to run, she couldn't stand the look of horror in his eyes when he'd woken to see her above him. She slowly approached the bed and took Walter's out stretched hand.

"Michael, Nikita needs to explain what happened - you have to listen, I know you don't know who to trust, but it's important you hear what she has to say. How's the chest - you about ready for another dose of painkillers?"

Michael opened his mouth to say he was fine - but it was blatantly obvious that he wasn't, so he closed his mouth and just nodded reluctantly. Walter passed him a glass of water and a couple of pills. Nikita had gone to the bathroom to get a damp cloth, she came back to find Michael sitting up but looking very pale. She sat down next to him and carefully pushed his hair out of his eyes so she could wipe his brow and gently remove the traces of tears from his face.

He looked into her face, his green eyes glimmering with pain "Why?" was all he could think of asking, but she could see that the thought of her betrayal of him had almost broken his heart.

"Believe it or not I agreed with Ops because I wanted to save your life -"

"Tell me exactly what you agreed to do".

She went through the details of what she had planned with the assistance of Madeleine.

"The only way to get away with this is for me to go back and for us to convince them that you are reprogramming me - we can get Walter to switch the drugs for harmless salts, but a lot of it will have to be real. Can you do this Nikita?"

She was horrified by his suggestion, but knew in her heart that it was a corner she'd allowed them to be driven into and that he was suggesting the only way out. If he was prepared to make the sacrifice so would she. But Nikita knew that however much they faked it for the cameras- and with Birkoff' s help they had some leeway with video recordings- at the end of the day Michael and Nikita would accompany each other through hell.

Walter had listening and didn't like what he was hearing - those bastards were going to win and he wasn't going to go along with that scenario for one minute. He coughed loudly to draw attention to himself. "Much as I'd love to go along with this heroic plan" he stated sarcastically. "- I can't let you two do this to each other, there is another way. Reprogramming takes time - but what if a mission was to come up that required the services of the two ops most convincing as a couple in love and they were needed half the way around the world in a matter of days - wouldn't that take the heat off?"

"Well sure Walter - wave your wand, make it happen. How on Earth are we going to get that lucky" Nikita asked him - with incredulity.

"Let's ask Birkoff.....there have been rumblings in the Middle East for a while - I'm sure he could advance the priority for a mission out there.......... But heh guys, if you're determined to put yourselves through weeks of anguish and heartache to satisfy Ops' conviction that your feelings for one another - don't deny them to me- are detrimental to your ability to do the job, well go ahead - enjoy!"

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

Michael closed his eyes and bit his lower lip -then looked up at Walter - "that just may work, can you get me in touch with Birkoff?"

"Not from here - you're gonna have to get back to Med Lab - Nikita call a taxi - Birkoff has been running the tape all day - but they'll notice sooner or later that you've been out cold for hours, I think Grahams will co-operate. "

Walter smuggled Michael in the way he'd got him out - through the maintenance bay for the vans, no-one knew that area of Section better than Walter. Nikita had returned the way she'd left and made her way straight to Med Lab - she took Dr Grahams to one side, smiled sweetly at him and said -

"Michael will be coming back after all - he found that he wasn't really ready for discharging himself so soon, he's back voluntarily" she emphasised the last word." Has he had any other visitors since I tried to see him earlier?"

Grahams shook his head carefully not quite sure what was happening, but then he saw Walter supporting a semi-conscious Michael from direction of the emergency exit. He closed his eyes in despair, but his attention was drawn back to Nikita as she grabbed his elbow urgently and whispered in his ear-

"Good - well no-one needs to know about this do they? But I will need to be kept informed of everything that happens down here - any visitors at all -page me. If you check with Madeleine you'll find that I'm to be in charge of his recovery programme."

Whilst Nikita had been talking to Grahams, Walter had beckoned the young nurse to give him a hand returning Michael to his room, the moving around had exhausted him and he was yet again on the verge of complete collapse. Walter got the nurse to get his black jacket, T-shirt and trousers off and put him back in hospital whites. They bundled the clothes and shoes into Walter's rucksack. By the time Michael was back in bed he'd passed out. The nurse was about to leave when she turned back to set up the IV lines again - it looked like he could use the benefits of the nutrients, he'd probably not eaten anything and could be becoming hypoglycaemic.

"Right Birkoff - return surveillance of Med Lab to live feed in 1 minute - Walter whispered " He raised his eyebrows at Nikita - "Time to go" he mouthed.

"Well doc - take good care of him - you may want to check up on him after I've gone" Nikita winked at him.

The surveillance cameras were set up in such a way that Birkoff transferred from pre-recorded feed to live feed as soon as the doctor entered the room to hide any shift in Michael's position.

Doctor Grahams was alarmed at the condition of his patient, his breathing was laboured and his pulse racing. He called for the nurse to come in to help stabilise Michael.

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

The doctor and nurses did what they could to stabilise Michael's condition, but whatever drugs he'd been exposed to had not helped his overall condition one bit. It was essential that his oxygen demand stay steady until his pleural membranes and ribs had repaired sufficiently to take the strain of deep breaths brought about by stress or exertion. The internal bleeding had only been stemmed by complicated surgery, suturing many small blood vessels. The scar on his abdomen where they'd cut into him to perform the surgery was inflamed and some of the stitches needed to be replaced. Unfortunately one of the side effects of the drugs used by the " torture twins" was increased anxiety, which raised both pulse rate and blood pressure, subsequently risking the health of Michael even further. He was also running a temperature indicative of infection which was not a good sign considering the amounts of antibiotics they'd pumped into him.

Dr Grahams decided it prudent to have one of the nurses on permanent standby in Michael's room to monitor his condition and inform him of any more unwelcome visitors. He was worried that his patient had yet to regain consciousness and felt it wise to let Nikita know about his prognosis.

"Walter - this isn't going to work - Michael's in a bad way" Nikita hissed as she stood at his station ostensibly checking her gun for a sticky loading action.

"Have you been to see him sugar? " Walter asked.

"No, I can't - Madeleine is watching me and as soon as I visit him they'll be expecting me to start my programme........"

"Not necessarily - Birkoff is searching for suitable missions, it's up to you to make sure he's fit - go talk to the doctor, see what can be done, you'd be surprised at the effect feminine wiles can have on the performance of medical professionals - ask Maddie sometime." Walter thought back to the time Madeleine had allegedly held a gun at the doctor's head, to help in their treatment of Ops when he'd been shot.

"And Birkoff? It would be better if I'm not seen talking to him too much it'll only arouse suspicions."

"Don't worry - the kid knows what we're looking for and he can get on with that without any help from us." Walter felt sure this was the answer - well he hoped so, otherwise he'd have to think up something else fast, he couldn't stand the thought of Nikita being forced to put Michael through reprogramming, it would destroy them both.

"Doctor Grahams - I need to talk to you about the condition of your patient, he needs to be ready to go out on a mission within the week. I want you to personally make sure he's ready to go out". Nikita tried to maintain a cool demeanour, knowing that she would be under surveillance. She dared not express her concern for Michael, she couldn't risk Madeleine taking over from her. The doctor didn't bother responding to her demands, he just gestured for her to follow him into Michael's room.

He was unconscious - not asleep, no signs of nightmares- she could tell by his immobility that he must be heavily sedated. He was so ghostly white, that it scared her.

"What is it with you people? Bodies are not machines that can just be re-assembled like any other piece of hardware you guys use to do your 'job'. So where were you thinking of taking him? His funeral maybe? " asked Grahams bitterly. " Because chances are that's all he'll be attending if you take him anywhere from here within the week."

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

"I don't give a damn what it takes - you will have him on his feet and ready to travel - you have six days, no more, so I suggest you get busy." Nikita glared at the doctor and she knew she meant it, if they couldn't get Michael well their plans were scuppered and the options left were not promising, it even occurred to her that Ops would just have them both cancelled and be done with it. She wouldn't put anything past that man - he had the ethics of a viper and none of its redeeming features.

Nikita stormed out of Michael's room leaving poor old Dr Grahams thoroughly bewildered and more than slightly pissed off.

From her office Madeleine smiled to herself - well Nikita was learning how to tackle the medics, but what did she mean about a mission? That had not been part of her re-programming schedule.

"Birkoff - ask Nikita to come straight to my office please."

"Sure thing Madeleine" said Birkoff but he had a feeling that she was onto something, he' d have to warn Nikita somehow.

"Nikita - Madeleine wants to see you" he called out as Nikita walked past and as she approached him he whispered, "I think she wants to talk through your plans for Michael."

"Fine Birkoff" she raised her eyebrows as if to ask if there was anything else -

He slightly nodded his head " Oh by the way Nikita - were you going to be using Michael's office and computer for the time being - if so I'll need to download your documents onto it and set up a new password."

"Yes thank you - that'll suit me just fine as long as Ops hasn't any other use for the room".

"Not yet..." Birkoff stated, beginning to worry that maybe there would be another occupant moving in, but shook his head to dispel the notion and subconsciously crammed an Oreo in his mouth to comfort him.

"Madeleine- you wanted to see me?" asked Nikita - on guard for any tricks from her superior.

"Yes Nikita - I approve of your handling of the doctors, they can work much faster on the patients than they like us to believe, they don't have quite the same priorities as us and need occasional reminders as to their function in Section. However, I'm intrigued at your discussion regarding a mission - are you really intending for Michael to go out or were you just saying that to infuriate the doctor. It did you'll be pleased to know - as soon as you left -he threw a tray of sterilised equipment across the room." she gave Nikita a smile." But I hope you are aware that as Ops has removed Michael from active status there is no way in which we could sanction his departure from section."

Nikita had to think fast -

"I was considering a fake mission - a set-up maybe in which he fails completely, loses his entire team -

"And promptly commits suicide. That is what I'd expect him to do in his current frame of mind - no, poorly thought out Nikita. The parameters for effective re-programming can be easily accommodated within Section, where we can closely monitor all reactions and be ready for any consequences. I thought you had accepted that Nikita. If you are having trouble going ahead with this just let me know-"

"No - I made a deal and I'll keep to it."

Back in Michael's office - Nikita shut the door and closed the blinds, she opened the top drawer of the desk and disabled the monitoring systems. She sat down heavily in Michael's chair and buried her head in her hands - What now?

The phone rang shrilly - she wiped her eyes and blew her nose quickly before answering

"Nikita - switch the computer on - I've downloaded some files for you - your password is 'MTMPBWY' - got it?"

"Is that some sort of an acronym? What does it stand for?"

"Don't ask - it's something Gail picked up when surfing the net instead of working." Nikita could hear Gail snickering in the background -

"Behave will you" - Birkoff muttered at her...

"Who me?"

"No - Gail, look Nikita - just log on and check your files - please!" Birkoff sounded distracted and hung up the phone.

**********

Nikita keyed in her password - whatever it stood for- and than selected the folder with her name on, on opening it she found a list of possible mission scenarios. She started to read through them carefully one by one - god Birkoff was prolific when he wanted to be.

Eventually she came across a mission that would start in the Lebanon - it required an op that could speak French and Arabic. The contact would be made in Beirut and then probably lead onto further Intel in the Arabian Peninsula. Birkoff had made notes to the effect that it would not be possible to fly a team into the area or indeed to take in Section vehicles at all - it would require solitary ops or maybe a couple which would attract less attention at border posts. This wasn't currently highlighted for immediate concern. As nothing had been heard of the contact in Lebanon for about 6 months so it had been assumed that he'd either gone "missing' or that it was merely a ploy to attract western - friendly intelligence agencies, that could then be blamed for involvement and hence yet another breakdown in peace talks in the area.

This could be promising - she ran through her listings of suitable ops to carry out the mission - Michael came out as most suitable, but due to the demand for him to run other teams, it had been considered wasteful to send him on what may be a wild goose chase.

OK - she'd found the assignment now they had to sell it to Ops, he had to believe it had escalated to the extent that he had no choice but to restore Michael to active status and send him out - with Nikita by is side of course. That would be another problem. Time to speak to Birkoff-

"Birkoff - I'm having trouble with the settings on this - can you give me a hand please?" she asked in her best wheedling tone.

"Why doesn't any one in this place ever try to sort out their own problems........." he mumbled under his breath " No problem Nikita , I'll be right there" he said aloud in a chirpier tone.

"What is it?"

"This is the problem" she pointed at the word Lebanon on her screen -" it doesn't seem important enough to bother with at the moment- but I really feel it's got to get worse before it gets better? What do you think? Can you fix it?"

Birkoff scratched his head and seemed deep in thought -

"Well that all depends Nikita, do you feel ready to use that function, cos if it that protocol isn't required for your present activities I suggest leaving it for a day or two to see what develops - I can download some updates in the meantime that should advance its specs. What do you want?"

"That sounds a good idea, I'm not able top make use of it just yet and if anyone can download some useful upgrades, it's you Seymour! Don't let me down!" with that she logged off and smiled up at him " Time for tea I think - I don't suppose-"

"Forget it - I'm teaboy to no-one!" Birkoff made a rapid exit from the room closing the door on the way out.

Nikita smiled to herself - it was a good omen finding that, now if only Michael would get better. She wanted nothing more than to sit at his side and hold his hand willing him back to health, but it was not possible - she only hoped her absence wasn't affecting his will to survive, he had to know that she wasn't deceiving him........

Meanwhile back in Med Lab the nurse noticed that Michael was coming round - she paged the doctor and then returned to his bed side to check his vital signs, pulse had slowed down, his temperature was down to 99 F from 102 F. He looked from side to side as if he was missing something -or somebody..

"Nikita - was she here?"

"Yes but don't worry she's not coming back in a hurry, you're safe for now." The nurse mistakenly thought these words would comfort him.

Michael's head was spinning - he'd been drugged up with one medication after another for so long that he could barely think straight. What was going on here? He closed his eyes to hold back the tears, he was wrong, she hadn't tried to help at all, and she really was in league with Ops- but why? Who could he trust? He needed to get out of here but the last time he'd tried he'd ended up back in a worst state, there was nothing to do but wait until his body healed sufficiently to allow him to move. Why bother? The thought came unbidden into his mind, why let them keep screwing with your mind and abusing your body? Why not stop it all now? It wouldn't be so hard- after all the only person he cared for had turned her back on him, no one would really miss him ...... how to do it? He turned his head to one side so the nurse could no longer see his face and shut his eyes tight - but not tight enough to hold back the one tear that slipped past and slowly trickled along his cheek before soaking into the pillow.

***********

Dr Grahams entered the room silently and gestured for the nurse to leave. He quietly approached the bed and checked the IV tubes and was surprised to see his patient lying facing away from the door. He sensed that Michael wanted to be left alone, so after a quick glance at the various monitors he exited the room as silently as he had gone in.

Back in Michael's office Nikita sat scrolling through the files from Birkoff totally oblivious of her visitor as he slid into the room until Ops suddenly loomed over the desk -

"Well Nikita - Michael is ready to start, I do believe that Madeline has taken the initiative to have him treated with a mild dose of anxiety inducing drugs, as you may know these create within the subject a feeling of paranoia and helplessness, making them particularly susceptible to suggestions. It was felt that despite your apparent willingness to go through with your side of our bargain it was necessary to ensure that Michael was in the right frame of mind from as soon as possible following surgery. Unfortunately it slipped our minds to inform you of this earlier" He paused to smile at her in as condescending manner as possible. " I do hope this hasn't affected your plans too much". With that he stood up straight, relishing briefly the look of utter shock on Nikita's face before leaving Michael's office.

Oh my God she thought - Michael - she'd left him alone in Med Lab - what was going through his mind now? She had to see him before it was too late. She had seen the effect of those drugs on Madeleine's victims in the past and have often wondered exactly how they worked ..... this would explain Michael's reaction to her beforehand.

Meanwhile ..... Michael's' mind was busy convincing him of his lack of worth. In the recent past he basked secretly in Nikita's love for him - it made him feel that he had some worthwhile qualities in order to attract the affections of such a pure spirit, but he was obviously mistaken, all she really felt for him was loathing and maybe pity ........ now he knew there was no point making the effort any further - he may as well be dead in body, as well as soul...... he pulled his hand under the sheets and gently tugged loose the IV lines - the life- giving contents dripped uselessly onto the floor by the side of the bed. He then removed the needle from the vein on the top his hand and pondered on what to do next - no doubt the room was under surveillance and any sudden moves would bring about attention too quickly.

Fortunately for Michael the room was being observed at that very moment - by Nikita and Birkoff - she was asking him to stop the live feed for long enough for her to get the chance to see how Michael was doing. She could see just how he was doing as he surreptitiously removed the drip from his veins and left it to flow onto the floor -

"Do it!" she hissed at Birkoff as she walked away from his station to make her way to Med Lab as quickly as possible without arousing too much unwanted attention. She pushed the well-meaning nurse out of her way and commanded her to get the doctor fast, all the time trying not to panic. She burst her way into his room and rushed to Michael's side, he was barely conscious but was aware of her, the sight of her seemed to frighten him -

"Please help me......." He gasped

"It's OK Michael you're going to be fine - we can put the IV back in " she picked it up and started looking around for the doctor...." Don't worry we're not going to let you die...." She stroked his face gently trying to look as reassuring as possible.

"You don't understand........ I want to die......... let me please......... " he beseeched her, his beautiful green eyes glistening with unshed tears.

**********

Nikita couldn't bear it any longer - she crouched down beside him and held his chin in one hand so that he had no choice but to hear her words, she waited until she had his full attention and stated clearly and slowly:

"Michael this isn't you talking - you've been drugged - please trust me." With that she swung her other arm back and slapped him full across the cheek, she winced as she could feel the impact and saw the shocked expression on his face. She raised her arm once more to deliver another slap - only to find her hand grabbed by Grahams who had just witnessed the scene of one of his patients being assaulted - he'd be damned if he could work these people out.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, totally exasperated.

Nikita had no time to explain so with a brief "sorry doc" she twisted her hand free from his grip and shoved him to one side, and slapped Michael once more - this time causing his head to recoil against the headboard.

"Michael - please listen! I need you in control again! Now would be good!" The dazed look of confusion was still present, so she braced herself for yet another blow - but this time it was Michael who blocked her and his grip on her wrist was not as easily shaken off as that of the medic.

"That will be enough Nikita - please explain to me what you are doing and why." Nikita was pleased to see the befuddled gaze replaced by an angry glare.

" Not here Michael - it's not safe. First of all you've got to stay here and make out you're still on the verge of despair and suicidal -"

"The verge of what?"

"Despair-"

"I was?"

"You were"

"Excuse me - but does anyone mind if I just do a bit of repair work to this?" interrupted Grahams holding the end of the IV tube in one hand, whilst rubbing the back of his head with the other.

"Is it necessary?" asked Michael.

"It was. I wonder though - let me check on the contents first. I guess it's a dumb question asking if you're in need of any painkillers - they'd just spoil the fun of being injured wouldn't they?" Grahams mumbled to himself as he lifted the bag off the stand and took it away with him for analysis.

"Michael - how do you feel - your chest -it must be in pain?" enquired Nikita, the doctor's mutterings reminding her of Michael's physical injuries.

Michael's chest was indeed in agony and his head was throbbing, but from what he gathered from Nikita the last thing that he needed was more medication - his head was only just beginning to clear. Despite what he'd just said to Nikita he could only too well remember the state he had been in - utter despair and self-pity. But as it seemed she still needed him that alone was reason enough to pull through, for now. He needed to know exactly what Ops and Madeleine were up to - no doubt there were ulterior motives to their ulterior motives and he knew instinctively that Nikita's safety was at risk.

"I'm fine," he said with the ghost of smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "What do you suggest we do now?"

***********

Nikita left the room and bumped into Grahams - he looked worried -

"That IV bag didn't contains the regular saline with nutrients -"

"Don't tell me - it contained drugs that cause paranoia and depression"

"Yes - did you put them there!" Grahams was infuriated with this woman by now - barging about knocking both himself and his nurses flying, assaulting patients and now drugging them with goodness knows what-

"NO ....I...... didn't" she stated clearly so he could take it in " But someone else did and you're going to have to do what I say to stop them doing anything else to hurt Michael - GOT IT?"

"I doubt it - but try me" he felt that he wasn't going to have much choice in following the orders of the tall blonde, he subconsciously rubbed the lump on the back of his head that he'd got as she'd propelled him into a wall earlier.

After explaining to the doctor her plan, trying not to be put off by the way he kept rolling his eyes - Nikita waited until he'd replaced Michael's IV bag with some plain saline and then signalled for Birkoff to change the video feed from the surveillance cameras back to live transmissions.

Then she re-entered the room.

"Michael - it's time you stopped feeling sorry for yourself and got back on your feet."

She strode across to the bed and grabbing a handful of soft curls tugged until Michael's head was turned to face her -

"Until you are informed otherwise our roles are now reversed - I'm going to be your trainer. You got sloppy Michael and Section was tempted to let you die to save putting in a request for cancellation. I asked for you to be spared - now you belong to me and unless you get your act together pretty damn fast it's going to be my pleasure to put a bullet between your eyes."

Although she said this with a cold glint in her eyes and a humourless smile, Michael could hear the message she was giving him and knew what it had cost her to save his life - indeed he did owe her that for what it was worth.

"Nikita - what do you mean? I've been injured ....I can't" he stuttered incoherently..

"You got yourself hurt cos you weren't performing to high enough standards, Michael - it's time you had a refresher course." She sneered at him with as much contempt as she could muster.

"You have one day to recover - make the most of it - I want you in MY office tomorrow at 5.00am." She realised she was still holding his hair so let it go - the fact that more than a few strands remained in her hand caused her to wince inwardly and as she left the room she slipped her hand in the pocket of her jacket and let them loose. It felt good to have part of him with her - a good luck talisman she hoped.

**********

Madeleine closed the screen that had been open showing her Nikita's scene with Michael - she half smiled as she wondered exactly what Nikita was playing at. Ah well she'd be watching her very carefully form now on.

Nikita made her way from Med Lab directly to Michael's office - from there she called Birkoff.

"Birkoff - that problem I mentioned to you earlier - I need it resolving by the day after tomorrow - got it?"

"It's not going to be easy Nikita - I do have other jobs to do here and with Michael out of action I've got Ops and Madeleine breathing down my neck more than you'd believe". Nikita heard what he was telling her - so they were suspicious, no more than she'd expect from them. But she'd have to be on her guard and give them no reason to suspect anything in her treatment of Michael in the morning...

She reviewed her amended programme for Michael - a few suggestions from Madeleine and it seemed perfect for its purpose - breaking his spirit and re- building it without the special attachment to Nikita. She braced herself for the day to come and hoped Michael could do the same.

Nikita doubted if she would sleep so she didn't go back to her apartment, but instead opted to rest in her quarters in Section. Normally if she couldn't sleep she would work out until physical exhaustion got the better of her insomnia. She lay back on her bed staring at the ceiling, twining a strand of cinnamon coloured hair around her fingers - every time she glanced at the clock another hour had gone by, why did time move so fast when it need to go slow, to give Michael time to mend........

She came awake with a start and realised it was ten past five - damn, he'd be waiting by himself in what was his office........ she leapt up to be rewarded by swirling patterns in her eyes and the need to sit back down to allow her circulation to catch up. Then after a quick trip to the bathroom to clean up and a change of clothes she made her way to the office.

As she walked past Birkoff's desk she noticed he was in early - she thanked him silently for being there before moving towards the office.

It was dark inside - Michael stood between two other ops, no doubt Madeleine had arranged this to further his humiliation. She dismissed them promptly and shut the door before looking at Michael - she wished for nothing else than to be able to scramble the sensors in the room and sit him down, but she knew that they were being observed by Madeleine so that was not an option. Instead she looked him over slowly from the feet upwards; he was barefoot and dressed in loose white hospital issue trousers and white T-shirt. He was standing with feet slightly apart trying to increase his stability but she noticed that he was trembling almost imperceptibly, but she knew how motionless he was when fully fit and he was far from that. She saw that he held his hands behind him - surely not the most comfortable position for someone with chest injuries, she frowned and walked in a slow circle around him and noticed to her dismay that his hands were handcuffed. She ran a finger over the cuffs and stroked his wrists gently, knowing that the camera would be blocked from seeing this gesture of kindness.

"I don't think we'll be needing those, do you?" she stated as emotionlessly as she could.

She went to the desk and used the comm unit to request that Birkoff get one of the goons to return with the key to the cuffs.

For the first time since she had entered the room she looked Michael in the face properly - he looked dreadful, his eyes were not their usual clear green orbs, instead they were red-rimmed and puffy, as if he'd been crying all night. The thought struck her deeply but she had to dismiss it quickly, she could not allow herself the luxury of feeling sorry for him, they couldn't afford any slips. The scars under his eyes bore testament to Madeleine's previous underhand tactics and Nikita worried that maybe they'd got to him again in the night. He was too pale and really ought to be in Med Lab her conscience screamed at her. It suddenly struck her that maybe he'd lied to her and was only going through with this to save her from Ops and Maddie, what if he wasn't able to withstand what she had planned for him?

***********

"Michael - have you any questions before we start?"

"No."

"Really - I was certain you'd want to know what was going on and why?"

"Anything I need to know you would either refuse to tell me or not know the answers, so no, I do not have any questions."

She was distracted by a knock at the door and went to collect the keys from the erstwhile guard. Carefully she removed the cuffs and felt Michael relax as he could move his arms into a more natural position, his breathing also seemed less laboured than before.

"Sit" she commanded - to hell with what Madeleine might think, he was going to collapse if he stayed on his feet much longer.

"I prefer to stand".

"I don't care what you prefer, I'm telling you to sit - do it!" How typical of Michael to make it seem like she was forcing him to sit down against his will.

He sat down gingerly trying to ignore the stabbing pains in his chest and abdomen, but he was determined not to let her realise how bad he actually felt. He closed his eyes not aware of the fact that she could read him like a book and was immediately aware of his condition.

"First of all we're going to go through the log of the last mission. " This wasn't on her schedule but it gave him the chance to sit down for a while before they moved onto the next stage .....

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

Nikita took her time to go through the last mission in as painstaking a manner as possible, she grilled Michael on how he received his injuries and why he did not make anyone in Section or on the team aware of his condition - he sat still without uttering a word. When she asked why he'd searched the upper floor without back up he just stated -

"It didn't seem necessary at the time."

Nikita found she was becoming more and more infuriated with him despite knowing that it was an act for the benefit of their watchers. She wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake a reaction out of him - as she was about to lose control Birkoff paged her with a directive to go straight to Madeleine's office. He added, almost apologetically, that Michael was to be returned to his quarters by the men who'd brought him to his office earlier.

Damn, thought Nikita - she must have cottoned on to the easier treatment that I've been giving him, she's seen through everything and is going to take over with Michael's reprogramming. She took one last look at Michael - catching his eye as his guards escorted him out of the office - the bastards had even put the cuffs back on.

Nikita made her way to Madeleine's office with a heavy heart - pausing briefly to talk to Birkoff in Systems -

"What's going on now?" she whispered.

"I don't know - but she's been in conference with Operations for the past hour - I'm sorry Nikita it doesn't look good."

"Do me a favour will you? Keep an eye on Michael - let me know if those goons try anything on........"

"Sure thing Nikita".

As Nikita entered Madeleine's office she really felt like a fly entering the spider's parlour - especially when she saw Ops sitting opposite Madeleine - he turned to face her as she entered the room and half-smiled.

"Ah Nikita - so sorry to interrupt you but you didn't appear to making much progress anyway. We have reviewed the situation and are prepared to offer you an alternative - Madeleine has managed to persuade me that Michael can be more effectively returned to his previous high level of proficiency by taking advantage of his affection for you rather than by destroying his feelings. She has suggested that he may become even more careless if he had nothing worth living for. We shall be setting Michael some targets to aim for and if he fails to achieve the levels we determine - then you will suffer the consequences. "

Nikita took this all in without betraying any emotion at all - Michael would no doubt have been proud of her- she realised that it had all been yet another manipulation - yet another test.

"Why do I have the impression this is what you intended to do all along?" she said as nonchalantly as possible. "And why do you think I don't suspect that's the line you've taken with Michael all the time?"

Madeleine shook her head slightly from side to side as if admonishing an errant child -

"Nikita - you only know what we allow you to know, and the ironic thing is that you are aware of that fact, so don't waste our time. Michael will have received his instructions by now, and we all know what he will choose to do. He will push himself to the very limits of his endurance to avert our wrath from you, giving us the operative we desire and saving you from whatever fate we may otherwise have in store for you."

Just as Nikita was searching for a response - determined not to be put in a checkmate situation by this conniving pair of ruthless, evil, -

"Operations - sorry to interrupt but something big's come up-" Birkoff's voice cut through the tense atmosphere of the room. Not now thought Nikita - not now Seymour, please!

"What is it?" demanded Ops.

"A situation in the Middle East sir - things have unexpectedly flared up".

"We're on our way Birkoff. Nikita I will talk with you later - but I don't think you have many options".

Nikita scowled at his back, but her seething resentment for the machinations of the controllers of Section was offset by a sneaking suspicion that Birkoff had just made things a thousand times worse.

Her suspicions were confirmed by a summons from Ops to the briefing room - sat around the table were only two other figures - Birkoff and Michael.

"It has come to our attention that a situation has arisen in the Middle East that we had hoped wouldn't come to the surface for another year or so. Due to the sensitive nature of the problem we cannot send in a full team - it will require an undercover team of two acting as man and wife. " Ops paused at this point to glance at Nikita - who appeared for some reason to be staring daggers at Birkoff.

"Nikita - I do have your full attention I hope. It appears that intel regarding the location of various secret military sites and weapons installations has been leaked. This information is being brokered along with a new form of biological weapon from one nation to the next via some rather unsavoury intermediaries. Whether these are still together or now separated is no longer certain. The aim is to locate both and take them off the market. For obvious reasons no government involvement of any kind must be uncovered, so you're on your own. Zero accountability. Madeleine will provide you with identities and background and Walter will equip you with weapons that can pass security detection at airports in the Middle East. You will receive full briefing on your pads within the hour."

"Do we have a contact?" asked Michael.

Nikita was sure she heard Michael swear in French under his breath as Ops said -

"Yes - Bensouda".

"When do we leave?" she asked hoping to draw attention from Michael.

" You're booked on a scheduled flight for Beirut leaving in 4 hours time. That will be all."

Ops left abruptly and with a withering glare from Nikita Birkoff made a hasty exit muttering to himself -

"What have I done now - there's just no pleasing some people..........."

"Michael are you OK? Who is this Bensouda guy anyway?"

Michael parted his lips as if to explain, than seemed to think better of it, he breathed out slowly and stated softly -

"It's not a man, it's a she."

Nikita could see she wasn't going to get anywhere with that line of questioning just yet, so she put her hand on his shoulder to offer her support and asked again-

"So how do you feel?"

He looked up into her eyes and they both knew the truth, but he simply said-

"I'm fine".

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