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ATTENTION: Stories marked with an * may contain material which would be better appreciated by those over 18. Parental Discretion is advised. This is your responsibility, not ours.
Nikita sat next to Michael in the conference room. There were a dozen people present including herself, Michael, Birkhoff, Walter, Operations and Madeline. "What's going on?" Nikita asked, leaning in close to Michael. She could smell the subtle and intoxicating scent of his cologne. It reminded her of night breezes and Cajun spice.
Michael blinked at Nikita, then let his eyes flicker over her face. She was wearing pink tinted sunglasses that matched her t-shirt, and her hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail. She was beautiful and Michael found it difficult to focus on her question. But he shifted gears and slipped into machine mode. His eyes flickered away as he replied, "Emergency briefing. You know as much as I do."
Operations chose this moment to draw everyone's attention by clapping his hands together once. His eyes drifted down the length of the conference table, lingering on the face of each operative for a moment, before he began. As he spoke his expression was shuttered. "Every ten years we conduct an internal sweep," Operations declared. Then paused as he heard a few groans and his eyes locked on Walter before flickering to Michael. Michael, of course, was silent. But Walter and Michael were the only ones, besides himself and Madeline, who had experienced an internal sweep before. Operations found himself stifling a grin. For the most part, he and Madeline were exempt from the procedure. The others would not be so lucky. The *others* being the one hundred and seventeen indivuals who made up the personnel of Section One. Which included those who were on the Abeyance roster. Some would consider them to be the lucky ones.
"This sweep, basically, is an audit. Or an accredidation, if you prefer," Madeline interjected, smoothly picking up where Operations had left off. "The point will be to upgrade and update everyone and everything. To that end, Mister Birkhoff will be in charge. Whatever he says...goes. Understand?" She smiled at the nods that went around the room. Birkhoff was considered likable by most in Section. Madeline knew this opinion would change before the sweep was over. Yet another test for everyone. Time to see how well Birkhoff handled pressure.
"You're the MAN!" Walter enthused, patting Birkhoff on the shoulder. Might not have been so happy for the young man, had he been able to forsee the future.
Birkhoff glared at Walter. He took this responsibility seriously. "Don't forget about the tutoring sessions," he prompted.
Madeline nodded. "Of course. It's been discussed that there may come an occassion upon which, while on-site, a cold op will need to break into a computer and the line of communication with Birkhoff or another member of his unit might be broken. Either that, or you might be forced into silent mode. Either way, it's been decided that our top cold operatives with an affinity for computers will be tutored by Mr. Birhoff in one on one sessions. He'll upgrade your abilities, based on your level of comprehension." Madeline paused for a smile then said, "Nikita, you're first."
"How many of us are there?" Nikita questioned, feeling curious.
"Eight," Madeline replied.
Birkhoff found the need to interject here and looked at Nikita. "Shouldn't take more than one session for you," he announced. "Your levels are good, but not great. I can only teach you so much in the time period we're given." Not because Nikita wasn't smart enough to learn, but Birkhoff knew she wasn't that interested, so her attention span was minimal.
Nikita shrugged. "Works for me. So...who's your top student going to be?"
"Michael," Birkhoff replied, without hesitation.
"Figures," Nikita muttered. She knew he was good on a computer. Sometimes she wondered just how good.
Madeline captured their attention again, picking up on Birkhoff's present thread of conversation. She looked at Michael. "You'll be taken off active field status during the course of the sweep," Madeline announced. "I want you to devote your time to the sessions with Birkhoff, Michael."
He nodded. "Understood." Michael didn't like it, for he prefrred being *in play* and active on a mission, rather than close quartered in Section. But he knew better than to argue the point.
"We'll start your sessions tomorrow, Michael," Birkhoff stated.
"That's fine," Michael replied, then his gaze flickered over to Nikita. She was smiling at him and he had to fight the urge to smile back.
Operations took back control of the briefing. "Dismissed," he announced, then he watched as everyone filed out of the room.
Nikita trailed behind, wanting a word with Walter. "So...you've been here long enough to experience a sweep," she said, getting straight to the point. "What's it like?"
"Hell," Walter replied, grinning. "I'd rather be boiled in oil, sugar. But, at least Birkhoff's in charge this time. So it shouldn't be so bad."
"Who was in charge last time?" Nikita prompted.
Walter shuddered. "Jurgen." He sighed. "You see....no two sweeps are alike. You never know what to expect. Just be careful and remember that they're always watching you."
Nikita gave an unladylike snort of derision. "So..what else is new?" she drawled.
"Nikita!"
"What?" she jumped at the sound of her name and turned to find Birkhoff glaring at her. "What is it?" Nikita asked, pressing a hand over her heart.
Birkhoff heaved an impatient sigh. "Did you forget about your session?" he snapped, one hand brushing over the top of his head in a nervous gesture.
Nikita rolled her eyes. "Sorry. Be right there." She turned to grin at Walter. "You were saying something about things not being so bad?" she reminded him.
"How bad can it be?" Walter countered, grinning back at the beautiful blond. "This is Birkhoff we're talking about. Not Hitler." That said he stepped around Nikita and headed off for his station.
"I hope you're right," Nikita drawled, as she watched Walter striding off. "But you know what they say about the *shy ones*. Realizing that she was talking to herself, and that Birkhoff would be waiting, Nikita shook her head. Then she made her way to the whiz kid's station, snapping her gum as she went.
************
As the sweep progressed into day four, Nikita discovered that she didn't know Birkhoff as well as she'd thought. But her instincts had been pretty good as she had tried to warn Walter. Birkhoff was a little tyrant. He took the sweep, and his position of overseer, very seriously. Too seriously as far as most were concerned. Nikita had done her time on the computer with Birkhoff's tutelage and had escaped with only minor scarring. Others were not so lucky. Michael for one.
Nikita stood watching Birkhoff, leaning over Michael's shoulder, and pointing to something on the screen before them. Birkhoff's voice carried through the air and Nikita grinned as he chastised Michael for his failure to complete the excercise given to him.
"Do it again!" Birkhoff hissed. "And do it right this time! I don't have time for stupid mistakes, Michael!"
"Of course not," Michael replied, his tone even and face an expressionless mask. Only his eyes revealed any emotion. An ember of anger, quickly doused.
But Nikita had seen it and had to swallow back a giggle. Birkhoff was lucky that Michael had such steel control over himself. Otherwise the computer whiz would have found himself snapped in two. Although Michael would have to take a number for that priveledge. Nikita was pretty sure that Walter had reserved the first place in line.
Birkhoff spent whatever spare time he had, between tutoring, or perhaps a better word was..torturing...Michael, overseeing the upgrades on the main computer terminal and generally bullying the other operatives, hovering over Walter's station, PDA in hand. The young man seemed to delight in pointing out to the veteran, Section One gadget man all the shortcuts and shortcomings that Birkhoff suddenly deemed unacceptable. Walter had come close to strangling Birkhoff twice now, Nikita intervening both times.
But now she was thoroughly amused at watching Michael keep his cool under Birkhoff's tutelage. She was finally seeing Michael nearing his breaking point and feared for Birkhoff's safety should Michael snap. But, a part of Nikita shrugged off her concerns, reasoning that Birkhoff had brought it down upon himself and would have to live with it. However, she did deem it prudent to rescue Michael, so Nikita glided forward, a smile on her face. "How's it going?" she asked, as if blind to the obvious.
"Fine," Michael replied, his mandatory response.
"Slow!" Birkhoff snapped, his patience with Michael wearing thin. He was short-tempered because he knew the cold op was smart enough to do what Birkhoff was teaching him. Which was, basically, Hacking 101. That Michael wasn't being as quick on the uptake as Birkhoff had hoped was rather irritating, and he let it show.
Nikita bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Um....mind if I borrow Michael for a bit?" she asked Birkhoff.
The computer whiz glowered at Nikita. "How long is a bit?" he shot back. "We've got alot of ground to cover."
"Just an hour," Nikita replied, then she made puppy dog eyes as the young man. "Please?"
"Oh...all right!" Birkhoff hissed, trying not to flush with embarrassment. He wished that Nikita was sincere when she looked at him so intently. But Birkhoff had long ago resigned himself to the fact that Nikita's interest in him was purely sisterly. "One hour," he declared, his eyes glittering. "Not a minute longer." With that Birkhoff turned and stalked away, heading for Walter's station.
Nikita had to resist the urge to raise her hand and salute. She turned to Michael and smiled. "Feel like lunch? My treat."
Michael opened his mouth to refuse but the words wouldn't come out. "I'd like that," he whispered, and had to steel himself against revealing at his acceptance.
"Great," Nikita replied, a little surprised herself. Ever since the incident with Jurgen, she and Michael had been playing cat and mouse with each other, neither one being in synch with the other. Maybe things were changing...for the better. Maybe they could make a clean sweep of their relationship and finally give it definition. Nikita felt positive that they had just taken their first, baby, step. "I know a terrific deli," she suggested. "It's close by." Nikita knew that Birkhoff had been serious about only giving them an hour.
"That would be fine," Michael allowed, rising from his chair and buttoning his jacket. "Let's go." He knew that time was ticking by fast and he wanted to spend every second possible away from Section, and Birkhoff.
Nikita waited for Michael to step down beside her, then she threaded her arm through his in a companionable gesture. She didn't care who saw them either, and was pleased that Michael seemed unconcerned as well. Perhaps tutoring sessions with Birkhoff were a good thing, Nikita reasoned. It seemed to have blurred Michael's focus in her favor. Nikita vowed to reward Birkhoff with a carton of Oreo cookies in the near future. But the thought slipped her mind as she and Michael strode down the corridor towards the exit. Freedom was at hand.
*********
A full week of the Sweep had passed and so far there had been no casualties. So far. However, Birkhoff was making the top spot on everyone's hit list. Even Nikita's ever since he had lambasted her, in front of everyone, about her performance after returning from a mission with Mowen as team leader. Henceforth, as they slipped into day eight, Nikita avoided Birkhoff like the proverbial plague.
That's what led her to the park. She needed a breath of fresh air. So after clearing with Madeline that she wouldn't be needed for a while, Nikita headed out of Section and took a walk. She bought herself a pretzel and was just tossing the last bite into the waste can nearby when she spotted a familiar figure. Nikita yanked off her sunglasses and blinked. It was Michael. Michael in blue jeans and what looked to be a white pullover that clung to his chest, and a short, black leather, jacket. That, in itself, stunned Nikita. But what surprised her even more was that he was not alone.
He was at the ice cream stand with a red-haired woman who was a good eight inches shorter than he was and on the wrong side of pudgy. As far as Nikita could tell, the woman eyed Michael with more hunger than she did the ice cream cone he handed her. A smirk twisted Nikita's mouth. The woman had good taste. But then the devil kicked Nikita in the butt and she found herself gliding forward. She was about to have some fun.
Michael saw Nikita coming out of the corner of his eye, but nothing prepared him for her actions. She pressed her body full against him, tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him. A slow, wet, passionate kiss.
"Ahem..." said the red-haired woman.
"Oh...sorry," Nikita drawled, as she broke the kiss and turned to the woman. "Hello...I'm Nikita," she announced.
Michael finished the introductions, trying not to scowl. "My cousin," he said, smiling down at his companion. "From Australia." Turning to Nikita, Michael hissed, "I thought you said you couldn't come visit this month?"
Nikita shrugged. "Got some free time and here I am," she countered, her eyes sparkling. It was obvious that Michael was furious and Nikita didn't care. She turned her attention back to the redhead. "So.....you are?"
"Ellie," said the woman, extending her free hand. She shook hands with Nikita then grinned. "I guess you and Michael are *kissing* cousins?" she joked.
"You could say that I reckon," Nikita drawled, laying on a thick, red-neck, accent for fun. She found herself liking Ellie when the other woman, whom she guessed to be in her forties, giggled. "Um...so you and Michael are...friends?"
Michael felt the need to interject again. He moved closer to Ellie, slipping an arm around her padded waist and leaning down to brush a kiss to her fiery curls. "We're dating," Michael announced, his eyes now locked on Nikita's face. Her blue eyes danced with mischief, his silver-green gaze glinted with defiance as Michael declared, "Ellie is my girlfriend."
************
Nikita almost choked. "Uh...girlfriend?" she echoed, her eyes darting from Michael to Ellie and back to Michael again.
"That's right," Ellie cofirmed, her eyes sparkling. "We've been together for two weeks now. I've never been so happy," she enthused. One arm was wrapped around Michael's waist and her fingers couldn't resist gliding down to give his taut buttocks a tweak. Then she giggled when he yelped. "Michael is just so...wonderful!"
"That he is," Nikita drawled, a frown marring her face. She wasn't sure what to think. Could Michael be telling the truth? Was Ellie his girlfriend? It seemed so unlikely. Ellie was older and hardly Michael's *type*. Nikita locked eyes on Michael's face but, of course, his expression gave away nothing.
Ellie licked at her ice cream cone before it could dribble down her hand, then looked at Michael. "Why don't you get Nikita a cone?" she chided him.
Michael accepted Ellie's reprimand with a smile, then looked at Nikita. "What flavor would you like?" he asked softly.
"Rocky road," Nikita replied, promptly. She didn't want the ice cream, but it gave her an excuse to stick around. Not that she needed one, she discovered, for Ellie was quick to invite Nikita to join them. So, cones in hand, the trio moved to sit at one of the picnic tables. Nikita then spent the next hour staring at Ellie in fascination. The woman could talk a mile a minute without taking a breather. Or so it seemed. And her chatter was and endless stream of consciousness. Ellie rattled on about her weakness for ice cream. Her lack of willpower in sticking to a diet. At which point Michael interjected to tell her, his eyes glowing, that she was perfect just as she was. Nikita nearly upchucked her ice cream over that one.
Ellie then went on to tell Nikita that she adored the TV show, The Pretender, and had a crush on the main character, Jarod. More him than the actor that played him, and she likened Michael to Jarod. "He's a Jack of all trades, my Michael," she stated.
"And master of none," Nikita shot back, cattily. The words were out before she could stop them.
"But think of all the..practicing..I get to do in my attempt to master everything," Michael drawled, and his jade green eyes seemed to glow as he pulled Ellie against him and kissed her. A deep, slow, wet kiss. The kind he and Nikita had once shared.
Nikita knew exactly what Michael was doing, she just wasn't sure why he was doing it. Silently she whispered, *Touche, Michael*. Then she propped her chin her hand and heaved a sigh, when it looked as if Michael and Ellie were going to suck face till they stopped breathing. "Ahem.." Nikita remarked.
Ellie blushed, then giggled. "Sorry," she apologized. "Michael is so...so..."
"I get it," Nikita drawled. "So...Ellie...what do you do for a living?" she inquired, curiosity getting the better of her. Plus, Nikita wasn't sure she could hold off choking the other woman if she mentioned Jarod and The Pretender one more time. Safer for both of them to distract Ellie.
"I work at the post office," Ellie replied. Then she warmed to the new topic describing, in great detail, how much fun her job was.
Nikita resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She glanced over at Michael and was surprised to see an enraptured look on his beautiful face. If Nikita didn't know better, and she wasn't so sure she did, she would have thought that Michael really was in love. He had certainly never looked at her that way. The thought made Nikita slow burn.
Michael could feel the heat of Nikita's gaze upon him and decided it was time to retreat. Taking Ellie's hand he stood up then pulled her up with him. "I think we should be going," Michael announced. He put a smile on his face as he held Nikita's bright gaze. "It was nice seeing you, cousin. Why don't you come over to my place...later?"
"I'd love to," Nikita drawled, getting the message loud and clear. She was being called into Michael's office ASAP. Smirking back at him, Nikita then turned her attention to Ellie. In spite of her slight bout of jealousy, Nikita realized that she genuinely liked the other woman. "It was nice meeting you, Ellie," she said, sincerely.
"It was wonderful meeting a member of Michael's family," Ellie replied. She held out one hand and shook Nikita's enthusiastically. "I hope we run into each other again before you head back to Australia. Maybe we could go out for dinner?" Ellie looked at Michael as she spoke, asking for confirmation.
He smiled at her warmly. "Perhaps," Michael whispered, then he tugged on Ellie's hand. "Let's go."
Nikita waved as they strolled off, remaining at the picnic table, long after they were gone. "What are you up to now, Michael?" she muttered to herself. Then she stood up and headed back. Not home, but to Section One.
**********
It was after midnight when Nikita strolled into Michael's office. Not surprisingly, she found him typing away at his keyboard. Letting a smirk curve her lips, Nikita plopped into her chair. She could sense that Michael was angry with her. Furious even. But, of course, he didn't let it show on his face. It was simply a beautiful mask. After a few minutes of silence had passed between them, and the tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife, Nikita shattered the stillness. Eyes sparkling she drawled, "I must say, Michael....you and Ellie make a CUTE couple." Then she waited for a reaction. She didn't have long to wait.
************
Michael resisted the urge to strangle Nikita and settled for rising from his chair, skirting the desk and perching on the front of it. His eyes were smouldering as he whispered, "You almost blew my cover, Nikita."
"What?" She was stunned, but only for a moment. A part of Nikita had known that Michael being with Ellie had to be a mission. She just wasn't his *type*. Then Nikita remembered something Madeline had said during the Sweep briefing. "I thought you were off active field status, Michael?" she queried.
"This is local," he replied, smoothly, without a blink. Michael saw that Nikita was not convinced so he explained further. "I was already in play with Ellie when the Sweep started."
Nikita did the math and realized Michael was telling the truth. Since she was satisfied to that end, she decided to have a little fun at Michael's expense. "So...won't Birkhoff get jealous?" Nikita drawled, her eyes twinkling. "I mean...you're supposed to be devoting your time to him."
Michael let Nikita's teasing bounce over his head. He folded his arms across his chest and stared her down, without saying a word.
"Tough room," Nikita sighed, and her smile faded as she thought about Ellie. She really had liked the woman. "I guess this mission is basically just another seduction for you, Michael" Nikita commented. "Another notch on your belt." She waited for a response or a reaction, but neither was forthcoming. Then an idea hit her and Nikita went with it. "Why don't we make this mission more interesting for you, Michael. Challenging...you might say. I mean, we both know you could turn a saint into a sinner. Or is that the other way around?"
"What do you mean?" Michael countered, his interest slightly piqued, in spite of knowing that Nikita had to be up to no good. The wicked glint in her beautiful eyes flashed a warning at Michael like a neon sign. But he ignored it.
Nikita knew she had Michael hooked, and was almost disappointed at how easy it had been. Course, seducing women in the name of Section had to be a bit monotonous for him at this point. Regardless, Nikita knew she had to reel him in carefully. But first she needed to understand just what was at stake. So she asked a few questions. "First off, what is it that Ellie has that Section wants?" Nikita prompted.
Michael was about to tell Nikita that it wasn't any of her business, but then he decided that it wouldn't hurt to tell her. He trusted her, although he couldn't explain why. In the past they had both betrayed each other, but for different reasons. Not that the reasons mattered now. Shifting to resettle his weight against the desk, Michael explained. "Ellie is obsessed with Ice cream and TV shows, but her hobby is computers. She could give Birkhoff a run for his money."
"I find that hard to believe," Nikita interjected.
"I heard it from the horse's mouth," Michael confirmed. Then he continued. "While fooling around and trying to update her computer and increase it's speed, Ellie managed to build a CPU."
Nikita made a face. "And what, exactly, is a CPU?" she asked.
Michael sighed. "Central Proccessing Unit," he answered. He didn't explain further because he knew that Nikita wouldn't understand the technical terminology and he didn't have time for a lesson. So Michael broke it down into layman's terms. "Ellie created the means by which to increase the speed of her computer. According to BIrkhoff, she's done something that no one else has been able to do and it would be useful to Section."
"I think I can see why," Nikita drawled. "If he used it in our mainframe our entire system would be supersonic. So to speak."
"More or less," Michael allowed.
Nikita was curious. "So...how did we found out about Ellie's invention?" she prompted.
Michael raised one hand to tuck a stray curl behind his ear, then he rubbed his fingers over his chin. "Birkhoff found her through IRC," he replied. "She was bragging about it in the Pretender chat room. Apparently she's upgraded her system and the systems of a couple of friends as well."
"The Pretender chat room," Nikita echoed. She was remembering how Ellie had rambled on about the main character, Jarod. "So...I guess she goes there to wax obsessive over Jarod?" Nikita commented.
"Apparently," Michael acknowledged.
Nikita grinned. "But now she's got her own, personal, Jarod in you." It was a statement, not a question and Nikita swore she saw a flicker of reaction in Michael's silver-green eyes. This line of thought brought her back to her original intent. "Are you feeling up to my challenge?" she asked.
Michael held Nikita's gaze, his own unblinking. "What do you have in mind?" he countered, still feeling a spark of intrigue.
"Well...I'm assuming that it's your job to acquire the CPU from Ellie...correct?" Nikita queried. At Michael's nod of confirmation, she continued. "Well then...Let's see if you can get it from Ellie without sleeping with her. Use your *other* charms Michael." Nikita didn't bother to explain what those *other* charms might be.
"Why?" Michael countered. He wondered what Nikita's motivation was for making this challenge.
Nikita shrugged. "Because Ellie seems like a nice lady." A sudden thought occurred and Nikita glared at Michael. "Section isn't planning on recruiting Ellie...are they?" she demanded.
Michael shook his head. "No. The mission profile is to extract the CPU without compromising Ellie."
"Good." Relief flooded through Nikita. "Well then...what do you say, Michael? Feeling up to the challenge? I'll tell you what. If you succeed I'll make you dinner." Nikita held her breath when it looked as if Michael were going to refuse. But then he surprised them both.
"You're on," Michael whispered.
Nikita blinked back her surprise and rose from her chair to confront Michael. "Great.." she drawled. "I'll let you get back to work." Nikita headed for the door, but stopped when Michael called her back. "Yes?" she queried.
Michael let a smile tug at one corner of his mouth. "WHEN I win....order take out."
The insult was subtle but hit its mark. Nikita knew she wasn't the best cook, but Michael didn't have to rub it in. So she stuck her tongue out at him. But as she left the room and headed down the corridor, she was laughing. This was going to be fun.
************
Michael smiled at Ellie over his glass of wine. They were in her favorite French resturant and she had been ecstatic when Michael ordered dinner for them...in French. Now she was prattling on about all the ways Michael reminded her of Jarod from the Pretender. Michael was devoutly glad he didn't own a TV. The waiter brought their dessert, ice cream sundaes, of course, and Michael almost sighed in relief when Ellie fell silent for a moment while she scooped up spoonfuls of whipped cream. It was a short respite, but blessed. Of course, Michael didn't let what he was feeling show on his face. All Ellie saw was his undivided attention.
"Did I tell you what my IRC name is, Michael?" Ellie queried, in between bites of Rocky Road ice cream. One of her many favorites, depending on her mood.
"Um...I don't think so," Michael replied, offering a soft smile. For all he remembered she might have told him a dozen times, but Michael had pretty much tuned out her idle chatter. It went against his training to do so, but Ellie was giving him a migraine. "What is it?" he prompted.
Ellie laughed, then hid behind her napkin for a moment. "You're going to laugh," she warned.
Michael shook his head as he reached for her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "I won't laugh," he promised. "Tell me."
"Red HOT Mama," Ellie replied, then dissoved into giggles, covering her embarrassment with another spoonful of ice cream. She offered Michael her cherry and blushed a deeper red when he let her feed it to him. Her hand quivered when the tip of his tongue brushed her fingers.
"Red hot and beautiful," Michael whispered, his eyes glowing. Enchanting Ellie was proving to be almost too easy. She was so eager to be seduced. But Michael was fully aware of Nikita's challenge. He would find another way to get the CPU. He just wasn't sure how yet. Michael decided that he would play it by ear. So far, Ellie hadn't even invited him over to her house yet. He expected that she would do so soon. He felt as if he knew the place for she had told him everything about it from her three cats, leaky faucet, pink heart wallpaper in the bathroom and the fact that she had just recently indulged herself with a water bed. King sized. Michael had refrained from commenting on that particular remark.
Ellie sighed then watched her ice cream melt. "Um...would you like to go for a walk, Michael?" she asked, almost shyly.
He smiled then nodded. "I would love to walk with you in the moonlight, ma jolie ange," Michael whispered.
"Oh...what does that mean?" Ellie queried, her eyes shining with delight. It had sounded just beautiful in French.
"It means...my pretty angel," Michael replied as he rose from his chair. He signalled to the waiter who rushed over with the bill. Michael paid it, leaving a generous tip, then helped Ellie on with her coat. Hand in hand they left the resturant.
***********
"How's it going with Ellie?" Nikita asked, catching up to Michael as he glided down the corridor past Walter's station, heading for his office.
"It's fine," he replied, not breaking stride. "Why?"
Nikita shrugged. "Just...curious. Think you'll have the CPA soon?"
Michael glanced at her, blinked, then corrected, "CPU."
"Whatever," Nikita drawled. "Are you getting close to getting it?"
"The profile is sequencing as planned," he countered. Michael hid a grin for he knew that he was annoying Nikita, but he couldn't resist.
Nikita resisted the urge to deck Michael, knowing that he was taunting her, even if his face remained an expressionless mask. She knew he had a sense of humor. A dark and wicked one at that. A smile curved Nikita's lips as she remembered their night on the boat. Michael's sense of humor was unique, and gratifying, to say the least. But that was then, Nikita reminded herself. Then and past. This was now. And now she was determined to lose the challenge. For Ellie's sake. "Are you seeing her again tonight?" Nikita prompted.
Michael stopped and his eyes locked on Nikita's face. "Yes," he whispered. Then he waited.
"Good," Nikita replied, knowing that it was a lame response, but she was reacting to the intensity of Michael's gaze. She saw a glimmer in his silver-green eyes. A flash of desire for her. But then Nikita frowned and shook her head. She had to be seeing things. "Guess I'll talk to you later," she drawled, turning to retrace her footsteps.
"Later," Michael echoed, then he continued on his way.
**********
Walter was in a rage. Birkhoff had been messing around at his station, poking his nose into everything. Rearranging things as he saw fit because he felt that it was more efficient. Walter had spent the last two hours putting everything back the way he'd had it. He liked his mess and knew exactly where everything was. "I'm going to KILL him!" Walter ranted, as he found yet another item that was out of place.
Michael heard him as he was passing by and paused to watch. He resisted the urge to smile and Walter slammed things around with much more force than was neccessary. The old man wanted Birkhoff to get the hint.
"What do you want?" Walter hissed at Michael once he noticed that the young man was watching him. He didn't see a smile, or even a glimmer in the silver-green eyes, yet he sensed that Michael was grinning at him. That fact just made Walter all the more irritated. "What are you so damn happy about?" he hissed, banging a few more things for good measure. "Birkhoff is running you ragged with that hacking stuff." Walter stopped banging to glare at Michael. "Wanna help me cancel the little brat?"
"I'm done with my tutoring sessions," Michael countered, somewhat blithely.
Walter didn't believe it. "Oh yeah?" he challenged. "That's not what I heard. Just this morning Birkhoff was bitching and moaning that he was going to have to double your tutoring sessions since you weren't making any progress."
Michael shrugged. "That's changed," he whispered, then he turned and strode off. And a smile tugged at the corners of Michael's mouth as he counted in his head.
"NO WAY! NO WAY IN HELL!" The shout came from Birkhoff and could be heard throughout Section.
Simply because he was curious as to what would make Birkhoff lose his cool, Walter strode over to the whiz kid's station. He watched as Birkhoff shook his fist at the computer screen in front of him, turning in a circle while holding the top of his head with both hands, then shake a fist at the screen again. He then typed, furiously, on the keyboard. Walter scratched his own head, then stepped up on the dais to see what was freaking Birkhoff out. There was a message on the screen and Walter realized that Michael was the one who had left it. And he had to have done so by *hacking* into Birkhoff's own security codes. Which meant that Michael had learned his lessons well.
The message made Walter giggle.
MEN IN BLACK RULE!
"I don't believe this," Birkhoff muttered to himself. He grabbed a licorice stick and chomped on it ferociously. "It's not possible."
"Word to the wise, kid," Walter countered, a smirk on his face. When Birkhoff turned to glare at him he stated, "Never underestimate Mikey." That said, Walter turned and walked away.
**********
Michael was working on a mission profile when Walter entered his office. He looked up as the old man set a steaming cup of cappucino on his desk. Didn't have to ask why.
Walter smiled. "Thank you," he declared.
"You're welcome," Michael whispered, and allowed himself a slight smile. Then he watched as Walter left his office. And echoing down the corridor was the sound of laughter.
************
Michael smiled at Ellie as she rambled on about the latest episode of The Pretender. He nodded and murmured at the appropriate places but otherwise let his mind wander. They were enjoying after dinner coffee, since Michael had begged off dessert for now. Ellie had cooked dinner for him, at her place, and it was just as she had desribed it. Right down to the fluffy, white, cat that had been perched on his lap all through out dinner. Princess. Luckily, Michael liked cats.
Dinner had been Lasagna with garlic bread and Ellie had practically forced Michael to down two platefuls. Happily enough, for him, she was an excellent cook. But Michael made a mental note to himself to indulge in a late night work out once he had returned to Section. The lasagna had been about ten layers thick and dripping with mozarella and ricotta. Delicious, but loaded with fat and calories.
"Are you sure I can't interest you in some cheese cake for dessert, Michael?" Ellie inquired, abruptly changing topics, but with an ease born of practice. She simply vacillated from one subject to the other without missing a beat.
"Positive," he replied. A slow, warm, smile curved Michael's sensual lips. "Coffee is just perfect."
Ellie giggled, then jumped up from the table. Her eyes seemed to glow as she returned Michael's smile. "Um....why don't you go make youreself at home in the livingroom?" she requested. "I'll be back in a minute. I'm going to slip into something more...comfortable."
Michael felt relief wash over him. This was the moment he had been waiting for. A few minutes alone so he could search for the CPU. All he needed was a chance to get his hands on her computer, which just happened to be sitting on a desk in the corner of the giant livingroom. "Take your time," Michael countered, magnanimously.
"Don't go away," Ellie replied, blowing him a kiss before practically running from the room.
"I'm not going anywhere," Michael muttered to himself as he rose from his chair, dumping Princess to the ground. White fur clung to his pants in tufts which Michael eyed with disdain, but then reminded himself that the clock was ticking. It was time to get the CPU. With a determined glint in his eye, Michael strode into the livingroom, Princess on his heels.
**********
Five minutes later, almost to the second, Michael was seated on the couch in the livingroom, sipping at his coffee. Princess was stretched out on his lap again, purring. Michael glanced at his watch and nearly jumped when Ellie's voice called out, "Ready or not...here I come!"
Michael turned his head in the direction of the archway and nearly choked at the sight before him. Ellie was smiling at him and clad only in a lacy, red teddy. Well, she had a white, silk, robe hanging off her arms as she adopted a seductive pose. Michael blinked, set his coffee cup down on the end table and rose to his feet, dumping Princess to the floor yet again and she meowed in protest. But he was oblivious to the cat.
Ellie left the doorway, rushing over to Michael when it looked like he might bolt for the front door. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket, pushed him back so that he was draped over the couch on his back, then she straddled his muscular thighs. Eyes glowing with lust, Ellie stretched out over Michael and claimed his sweet mouth in a ravishing kiss. She giggled when he moaned, then silenced any protests he might have made with her tongue.
Jumping onto the arm of the couch, Princess proceeded to clean herself. She was not amused.
**********
Nikita was in Michael's office, curled up in her chair, awaiting his return. She knew he was having dinner at Ellie's tonight and that he intended to procure the CPU. She couldn't wait for him to get back. As if her thoughts of Michael had the power to conjure him up, he suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Hello," Nikita drawled, sitting up as her eyes roamed over him from head to toe. Biting her bottom lip, Nikita took note of the cat hair on the front of his pants, clinging to the black material in tufts. She also noticed that his hair was in wild disarray, as if he, or someone, had been running their fingers through it. Perhaps in the throes of passion? Nikita could remember doing that, but dissolved the thought as being inappropriate at this particular moment.
A smile started to curve Nikita's lips until she noticed the lipstick on Michael's face. Cherry red lipstick smeared across his cheek and mouth. An ember of anger glowed in Nikita, sparking into a flame when she caught sight of the huge dark bruise on Michael's throat. Only it wasn't a bruise and Nikita knew it. It was a hickey.
Michael could read Nikita's thoughts by one look in her eyes. He resisted the urge to sigh as he glided past her moving to sit down behind his desk. Once there he buried his face in his hands. It had been a long night.
"So.." Nikita drawled, as she twisted a lock of hair around one finger. A gesture that betrayed her anxiety. "I guess you weren't up to my challenge, Michael." Nikita didn't try to hide the disappointment that colored her voice.
He said nothing in his defense, simply reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out an item that sort of resembled a funky circuit board, then held it out to Nikita.
She accepted it with a bit of trepidation. "This is it?"
"I like Chinese take out from Jack Loo's," Michael responded.
"But.." Nikita paused, gesturing at Michael, and his dishevelled appearance.
Michael sighed. "Don't ask," he beseeched.
Suspicion clouded Nikita's eyes. "Are you telling me that you DIDN'T sleep with Ellie?" she demanded. It's what Nikita desperately wanted to believe, but the evidence would suggest otherwise.
"I did not sleep with Ellie," Michael carefully ennunciated as he combed his fingers through his hair in a futile attempt to tame the unruly curls.
"I see," Nikita drawled, as the smile returned to her lips. For some odd reason, she believed him. "Poor Ellie.." Nikita teased. She knew, first hand, what the other woman had missed.
Michael was not amused. "Nikita..." he whispered.
She blinked at him, the picture of innocence. "Yes?" she replied.
"Go away," Michael requested, burying his face in his hands once more.
"Later," Nikita countered, rising to her feet and gliding out the door. For once she was willing to obey.
************
The next day Michael and Nikita were sent on a priority mission. Two days, gone and back. Both were glad to return to Section for they hadn't gotten much sleep. They had just left transport and were heading towards Birkhoff's station when Nikita stopped dead in her tracks. "What the.." she began.
Michael looked in the direction Nikita was staring at and did a double take. Sitting at one of the computers was Ellie, with Birkhoff hovering over her shoulder. Their heads were close together and Birkhoff was gesturing to something on the screen. They looked almost...chummy.
Nikita was furious. Eyes flashing, she turned on Michael. "You told me that Ellie wasn't supposed to be compromised!" Nikita hissed.
"She wasn't.." Michael began, only to be cut off by Madeline who was gliding by them.
"Briefing in the conference room," she announced. "Now."
Michael nodded. "Coming," he said, moving to follow in Madeline's wake.
After glaring at Michael's back for a moment, Nikita followed. Once inside the conference room, she saw that it was packed with the same crowd that had been present when Operations had announced the Sweep. Nikita wondered if this was a progress report. She settled into a chair as far away from Michael as she could get then contented herself with glaring at him. Michael, being Michael, ignored her.
"The Sweep is over," Operations announced, without preamble. But he was smiling as he said it. "I'm happy to say that everyone and everything here at Section One has been upgraded," he continued. "I want to commend you all on whatever efforts you put forth to make this Sweep successful. We scored one hundred percent across the board." That said, Operations then made an introduction. "With us is the auditor from the Agency. She's the one who did the ratification. In other words, she cleared us." Operations turned towards the doorway and announced, "Eleanor Bishop."
Nikita almost fell out of her seat when Ellie entered the room. Not the Ellie she was familiar with, blushing and goo-goo eyed over Michael. But a sophisticated woman in an expensive linen suit with red hair pulled back into an elegant chignon and gold rimmed glasses perched on her nose. She moved to stand next to Operations, then smiled. Nikita felt Ellie's eyes fall upon her and resisted the urge to crawl under the table. Michael had deceived her once again. Nikita glanced over at him, ready to incinerate him with a look, when she realized he looked as stunned as she felt. Nikita frowned. Something wasn't right. So she turned and focused her attention on Eleanor Bishop, hoping for an explanation.
Eleanor, who preferred to be called Ellie, let her eyes flicker from Nikita to Michael, then she smiled. A moment later she explained that Section One had received a gold star, as it were and that she was very pleased with them all. "But I'd like to single out one operative in particular," she continued. "He exemplifies the best that Section has to offer." A glimmer of amusement sparkled in Ellie's eyes as she explained. "Most operatives are content to concentrate on their strengths. Be it brains, brawn or beauty. But the operative of whom I speak combines all three and adds a sharp wit and the ability to improvise on his feet...so to speak." As she drawled the word...improvise...Ellie shot a glance at Michael.
Nikita followed Ellie's gaze and swore that Michael blushed. At the thought a giggle nearly escaped her, but she choked on it at Ellie's next words.
"Michael...would you please stand?" Ellie requested. "I'm honored to proclaim you as Section's...Top Op." After praising Michael, Ellie clapped, and the others in the room soon followed suit. Even Operations.
But all too soon the happy moment was brought to a close. "You all have work to do," Operations announced. "Dismissed." He barked the words then turned to Ellie and thanked her for coming. Then he strode out of the room.
Nikita remained in her chair, watching everyone file out, including Ellie and Madeline who were chatting away like old friends. Waiting till the room was empty, except for Michael, who still looked stunned, Nikita then stood up and approached him. A smile curved her lips as she realized what Ellie's presence as the Auditor for the sweep meant. "Madeline and Operations set you up," Nikita drawled, locking eyes with Michael.
He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Birkhoff, who had popped his head back in.
"Actually...I did it," the computer whiz confessed. And he was grinning as he said it. "I wanted to win." "Win what?" Nikita countered. She and Michael exchanged puzzled glances then pinned Birkhoff with a glare.
The young man shrugged then explained. "The Internal Sweeps were conducted Section wide. All five were included. The Section which scored the highest...and that would be us...would receive the CPU." Birkhoff's grinned widened as he locked eyes with Michael. "I wanted it so bad I could taste it. And when Madeline told me that the Agency wanted to test our best Operative...."
Nikita found the need to interject here. "Which would be Michael.."
"That's right," Birkhoff confirmed, then he continued. "Well...I knew that the win was in the bag. So I set up the *mission* with Ms. Bishop's consent. Great job, Michael!" Birkhoff enthused. "Thanks."
"So....the CPU that Michael procured was legit?" Nikita countered feeling a bit confused.
Birkhoff nodded. "Yeppers. Don't know where the Agency procured it from. But when Michael snagged it from Ellie..uh..Ms. Bishop, he pushed us into first place." A sudden thought occurred to Birkhoff and he chewed at the inside of his mouth as he glanced over at Michael. "Um....are you mad?" he queried.
Michael blinked. "No," he said softly, then he glided towards the door, sweeping past Birkhoff. Only on his way by one hand lifted and delivered a resounding *smack* to the back of Birkhoff's head.
"Ow!" Birkhoff exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot and wincing. Michael had a heavy hand.
"Be glad he's not MAD," Nikita stated, dissolving into laughter, then gliding past Birkhoff herself. She ran to catch up to Michael, who was heading for his office. "So...Michael...I guess you do know what it's like to be on my side of the fence," she commented. And the thought gave her a measure of comfort, oddly enough. "I never would have expected that of Birkhoff," Nikita confessed.
Michael resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he replied, "That's because you can't see the forest for the trees, Nikita."
She frowned at him, not understanding the analogy. Then she shrugged it off, deciding that it wasn't all that important anyway. When Michael fell silent, Nikita commented, "So...I gues this means the challenge is null and void. Not that I'm a welsher or anything. I'm still willing to buy you dinner, Michael. Are you hungry?" As she asked the question, Nikita followed Michael through the door into his office then grunted when she slammed into his solid back. He had stopped dead in his tracks. "What the..." Nikita began, but fell silent when she saw what had captured Michael's attention.
Sitting on his desk was a vase filled with red roses and a silver box the size and shape of a small hat box. Nikita headed straight for the roses, zeroing in the white envelope nestled in the greenery. She held it out to Michael. When he did nothing but blink at her, Nikita pulled out the card and read the message out loud. "Thanks for the memories...Ellie." Nikita waited for a response from Michael.
Michael blinked again.
Nikita pointed to the box. "Open it," she commanded. Then she sighed when Michael continued his impression of a statue. "Fine!" he huffed, then she pulled on the ribbon. Brushing it aside Nikita popped off the top then gasped. Reaching inside the box, the slowly pulled out something red and lacy. Shook it out to reveal a large-sized teddy. "Care to explain?" Nikita prompted, eyes flashing.
"No," Michael replied. He reached out, snagged the teddy, then stuffed it in his jacket pocket.
"There's a note," Nikita remarked, reaching into the box once more. She plucked it out and read it. Out loud. "Dinner is on me." Attached to the note was a twenty dollar coupon for Jack Loo's. Nikita giggle as understanding dawned. Ellie had been listening on her conversation with Michael. Had known all along about the challenge. Nikita would have given anything for a video tape of what had gone on at Ellie's house on the fateful night that Michael had procured the CPU. But she knew better than to ask him about it. So she simply smirked.
Michael was relieved when it was apparent that Nikita was going to let him off the hook. As a reward he stepped forward and plucked one of the roses from the vase. Eyes glowing, he offered it to her.
Nikita accepted the rose then caught her breath when Michael's fingers snagged her wrist. Locked her eyes on his face as he drew her arm towards his lips then brushed a kiss to the sensitive skin on the of her wrist. He then tangled their fingers before leading her towards the door.
Michael clicked off the lights, then answered the question Nikita had asked him when they had first entered the room. "I'm very hungry," he whispered, his meaning crystal clear.
"Me too," Nikita replied and a happy sigh escaped her as she thought about dessert. Michael...covered in whipped cream and strawberries.
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