Dedication: To my daughter, Amanda, without whose help this story wouldn't have been possible.

Section briefing

Operations spoke, "Richard Anderson, CEO of a major weapons software company, has been receiving death threats against himself and his only family member, his young son, in an effort to extort a new piece of guidance software that his organization is developing. Mr. Anderson has refused to cooperate with their demands and is understandably concerned about his son's safety. We have developed a plan to protect Mr. Anderson and his son, Kevin, while an investigation continues into neutralizing the threat. Mr. Anderson will have round the clock bodyguard protection, but has requested that his son not be informed of the threat. The boy is only 9 years old and attends the..." Ops looked at his notes, "Highland Elementary Academy. Michael, I want you to discover the identity and plan of attack of the assassins and try to stop an attack before it is even made. Just in case, though, Nikita, you will ensure young Kevin's safety in his school, by becoming his classroom teacher. Other personnel will be inserted into the school to cover any gaps. Birkoff has your PDA ready. Nikita, you start on Monday."

*****

Monday morning

Nikita drove her rental car to the Highland Elementary Academy and parked in their lot in front of the main entrance door. She had dressed in a loose, below-the-knee skirt, button down long sleeved shirt with a sweater vest, and knee high boots. Her hair was loose with the sides drawn up and clipped high on the back of her head. She presented a wholesome, fresh appearance and completely looked the part of a fourth grade teacher. She smiled to see all the students from kindergarten to sixth grade who were entering the front doors. They looked so sweet with their freshly scrubbed faces, precious outfits, and backpacks on their shoulders. This is going to be fun, she thought. Kids, I love them.

She checked in at the front office and spoke with the receptionist. "Miss Williams looked fine on Friday," the matronly lady told her. "Funny how these things can hit you." Yeah, Nikita thought, especially when Section is arranging the illness. Nikita put on her sweetest, friendliest face, and agreed how strange those viruses can be.

The lady continued, "Miss William's class is in the second hall that branches off from the main hall outside this door. It should be clearly marked. There will be a folder on her desk labeled 'substitute information' that will tell you her class's schedule and some helpful hints." Nikita smiled and nodded her understanding. She turned to leave for her new classroom. "Good luck, dearie," the receptionist called out. Piece of cake, Nikita thought.

Nikita found the classroom with no problem and smiled to see the bright and cheery decorations on the walls. A bulletin board featuring the wonderful world of insects was on one wall next to a blackboard. Another wall, also featuring a blackboard, had homework assignments written on it, plus a discipline chart was hanging on the board with a magnet. Hmmm, Nikita thought, maybe I should read this, although I don't think I'll have any trouble with the kids. First infraction of the rules, a warning. That's fair, Nikita nodded. Second one, time out. Time out? The light dawned. The corner routine. Third time, loss of recess. Harsh, she thought. Fourth time, note home and a visit to the assistant principal. And fifth time, God forbid, call the parents and possible suspension. Wow, they don't fool around. Nikita noticed a sign on the teacher's desk. 'Zero Tolerance. I am here to teach and you are here to learn.' Sounds very logical.

Nikita looked around the room and found a small cache of library books for casual reading along with a few bean bag chairs. Nice. One wall was entirely filled with small cubicles filled with individual notebooks and textbooks. Must be one for each student. Check. Posters filled all leftover available space in the classroom. Multiplication and division tables. I can do that. Rules of proper behavior: saying please and thank you, no name-calling, no swearing, no pushing, shoving, or spitting. I'm sure it won't come to that.

Nikita walked to the teacher's desk and sat down. Comfy chair. The desk was located in the corner and the students' desks were arranged in five rows facing one of the blackboards, the one with the homework assignments written on it. Nikita noticed piles of ungraded papers on the desk, school bulletins, and a folder. Ahhh, the substitute folder. Nikita picked up the folder and leafed through its contents.

The day's schedule. Morning announcements over the P.A. system. Language Arts for an hour, Mathematics for an hour, bathroom break, Computer class, lunchtime, gym class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, art class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Science class, and Social Studies. Nikita started feeling slightly uneasy. Sounds like a full day.

She pulled herself together with a healthy dose of self-confidence. Each subject had its own sheet of paper, with instructions on textbook pages, worksheets available, and lecture topics.

Nikita turned to the last page. What on earth? Miss Williams had made a few notes about some of the students. Alexander (with a double red line under his name) - don't turn your back on him. Watch his bathroom habits. What? That is strange. Keep the paste away from Robert. Melissa is the best source for information. If Christopher says he feels sick, take him very seriously. Caroline, Rachel, and Martha should not be allowed to group together too often. Julie is very sensitive. Nikita's eyes widened as she read down the list. Sounds like an eclectic group.

Nikita started violently when a loud bell rang. She looked at the schedule. First bell. The students should be coming into the classroom. Another teacher stuck her head in the door.

"Hi, can't talk now, but if you have any problems, give me a yell. I'm in the room next door. Toni Rogers."

Nikita only had time to smile and give her name, "Nikita Samuelle." And Ms. Rogers disappeared.

Immediately afterward, Nikita heard the sound of students filling into the hall and putting their coats and lunches on hooks and into more storage cubicles lining the walls in the hall. She mentally braced herself and stood, putting a pleasant smile on her face as her students started filling the classroom.

"Good morning, I am your substitute teacher, Miss Samuelle. I'm sure we are all going to be great friends."

****

Alone again, at the end of the day, Nikita sat with a dazed expression on her face. Her hair was not as smooth as when the day began. Pieces of hair stuck out from her head in different directions, as if she had grabbed handfuls of it and pulled. Nikita's shirt was pulled slightly from her waistband and she had rolled the sleeves up to her elbows. Her feet ached terribly inside her boots. A few thoughts kept running through her mind. I can't come back tomorrow. They'll eat me alive. Nikita started her deep breathing techniques and tried to get on top of her feelings of growing insanity.

Her gaze took in the discipline chart. It should list cattle prods, she thought. I know it's against the rules, but what would I have given to be able to have smacked a few bottoms today. No, I don't mean that. But, my class was certainly out of control. Out of my control, she thought.

Suddenly, she felt the need to get out of the classroom.... heck, out of the school. Nikita gathered a stack of papers that needed grading, and the grade book. On the way out, she turned off the lights to her room. In the hall, she met the other three fourth grade teachers. They took in her frazzled appearance and gave her commiserating looks.

"Rough day?" Mrs. Rogers inquired. She didn't wait for an answer. "Don't worry, you'll do better tomorrow. The first day with a class is always the worse." Nikita managed a small smile at that thought. Some hope to cling to, she thought.

Mrs. Courtright continued with some advice, "Go home, soak in a hot tub, eat a huge dinner of something rich and very high calorie, and go to bed early. Oh! I see you have some papers to grade. Try to work that in somewhere." She seemed like a very nice lady. Funny, she doesn't looked half as whipped as I feel. There's got to be a trick to handling these kids.

All of them urged Nikita to the door and she went gratefully. She got in her car and drove away, feeling her tension drain as she got farther and farther from the school.

*****

Back at the hotel, Nikita lay on her bed with a wet, cool cloth over her eyes. When she had reached her room she had closed the drapes to the windows, gotten the cloth, taken a few aspirin, removed her boots, and collapsed on the bed with a huge tension headache. An hour later, she heard a key opening her door. Moving sluggishly, with a tenth of her normal reaction time, Nikita reached under her pillow and had just gotten her hands on her gun, when she saw Michael entering the room. Nikita took her hand off the gun and flopped back onto the pillows and replaced the cloth over her eyes. She sensed Michael approaching the side of the bed. With her eyes closed, she could imagine his visual scanning of the room, his puzzlement at her slowness in retrieving her gun when he came in the door, and then his assessment of Nikita's appearance. Wonder what he came up with, Nikita thought.

Michael lifted the cloth and Nikita opened her eyes. She squinted in the low light of the room. Michael's eyebrows raised as he asked his first question, one of many she could see in his mind, "Not feeling well?" Nikita took the cloth from his hands and sat up.

"Just a headache. Teaching was a bit harder than I had thought." When did I become the master of understatement, she thought. Michael caressed her forehead with his fingers and Nikita closed her eyes in enjoyment.

"Feeling hungry? What would you like for dinner?" Michael helped Nikita to her feet when she stiffly made the motion to rise.

Nikita suddenly felt ravenous. "I'm starving. I had to skip lunch today to clean out my desk." Michael's eyes indicated his question. She answered, "You don't want to know what I had to clean out."

Nikita sat in a chair and pulled on her favorite, most comfortable shoes. "What would I like for dinner?" She repeated Michael's question. "Someplace elegant and extremely civilized. A place where you wouldn't be likely to find children." And regaining her sense of humor, "and paste and crayons are not on the menu." Michael had lots more questions, she noted. Nikita linked her arm with his.

"Never mind. I feel the need for some adult conversation. Let's go." A smiling Nikita led Michael from the room.

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

Ms. Rogers was right. The second day was not as bad as the first and the third day was even easier. Once Nikita had taken to heart the advice that Miss Williams had given her about Alexander and applied it to the entire class, she started gaining control over the kids.

'Don't turn your back on them.' Nikita figured that fourth grade teachers must develop incredible senses of awareness. By learning the personalities of her students, Nikita started to master the meaning of the body language, giggles, whispers, and guilty expressions that predicted a disaster in the making.

Starting with Alexander, her problem child. The undisputed practical joker of the fourth grade. Nikita learned very quickly what the 'bathroom' warning was about on Miss Williams' tip sheet. What trouble a 10 year old boy could produce in a boys bathroom was amazing! So far, she had been able to foil Alexander's mischief, at least in the bathroom.

Alexander asked to visit the restroom constantly. Nikita had thought nothing of it, other than making a mental note to ask him, gently, out of the earshot of the other children, if he had some kind of medical problem that required frequent trips to the bathroom. Nikita then had begun to notice the childrens' expressions when Alex had left the room. Anticipation. Significant looks of amusement were exchanged. Some rolled their eyes in exasperation with the boy. Nikita had found out that fourth graders couldn't keep a secret if they were directly asked a question, so she waited until Alex had left the room and pinned her gaze on her class, moving her eyes from student to student, making sure she had their full attention.

"Ok, what gives with Alex? Why does he want to go to the bathroom so often?" They started squirming in their seats. It wouldn't be long before someone cracked.

Melissa, who seemed to take special delight in snitching on her classmates, raised her hand. Seeing that no one else was jumping to give information, Nikita called on Melissa, even though she had warned the girl previously not to spread stories if she wanted to ever have any friends. Nikita figured that Alex may be up to something dangerous. Better find out what the child is doing as quickly as possible.

"Miss Samuelle, Alex goes into the bathroom and causes trouble." Not very helpful, Nikita decided. But the dam had been broken and other children jumped on the bandwagon and spilled their guts.

"He empties the soap all over the sink."

"He takes the toilet paper off the holder and jams it in the bottom of the toilet."

"He takes out all the paper towels and throws them all over the room."

"He waits until he can get away with it. He's always checking it out to see if he can do it."

Nikita bit her lips to hold in a smile. Not exactly felonies, but this was malicious mischief, vandalism. She got to her feet to investigate the boys bathroom.

"Work on your science worksheets until I get back." Nikita gave them all a you-had-better-not-give-me-any-more-trouble look on her way out the door to the boys bathroom located in the fourth grade hallway.

Pausing at the boys bathroom, overcoming the learned reluctance that all people experienced about entering the other sex's bathroom, Nikita abruptly pushed open the door. A startled squeak and a rain of paper towels greeted her arrival.

"Alexander, what are you doing?" Nikita put her most stern expression on her face.

"Nothing, ma'am." Alexander tried to lie even with the overwhelming evidence of his guilt facing Nikita. The paper towel holder was empty and the floor was literally covered with towels. Taking a few steps forward and peering into a stall, Nikita noticed the roll of toilet paper jammed into the bottom of the toilet. The water had caused it to swell, causing an effective plug. Alex obviously intended to flush the toilet repeatedly on his way out of the bathroom. He tried again to deny his guilt. "It was like this when I came in."

Nikita sighed and moved her face down to his level and stared him in the eye and using her best Madeline imitation. "The way I see it, we have a few options, none of them pleasant for you." Alex's face grew still and he waited to hear her words. "First, you will never be allowed into the boys bathroom alone again. Either I," his eyes grew wider at the thought of a female being in the boys bathroom if he really needed privacy, "or another adult will always accompany you to the restroom. Second, we may have to go down to the nurse together and have a long embarrassing talk about what the possible reasons are for your needing to use the restroom so often." Alex's eyes grew even more panicked at the thought of that scenario. Nikita felt she had made her point. "Do we need to go to these extremes, Alexander?" He shook his head, understanding that he had met his match in Miss Samuelle.

"Good. Now please go find the janitor and ask for a large garbage bag. You need to clean up this room and return to class." Nikita straightened up and left the bathroom. Holding the door open for Alexander, he exited and turned in the direction of the janitors' closet.

*****

Robert loved to eat paste. Nikita kept his glue bottle in her desk and released it to him when it was needed for a project. She learned to do the same thing with the crayons when she noticed him chewing something and when questioned, was taken aback by his multi-colored teeth.

"Robert, don't you get enough to eat at breakfast or lunch?" Nikita asked in exasperation. She got a blank stare worthy of Michael in return.

"Why do you do eat art supplies?" This kind of behavior just didn't make sense to Nikita. Would anybody understand it? Nikita dropped her head in her hands when she received the standard reply to these kinds of questions.

Shrugging his shoulders, Robert replied, "I don't know."

****

Caroline, Rachel, and Martha loved to put their heads together and giggle and whisper. Taken apart, the girls were manageable and docile. When they grouped together, Nikita was dismayed to see that their behavior would turn catty and sometimes they would be cruel to the other children. The girls were seated at opposite corners of the room, but at every opportunity possible, they would cluster together: lines to the lunchroom, restroom, or library, recess on the playground, before or after class. Nikita's strength in dealing with them lay in the fact that they seemed to idolize Nikita. She was constantly being asked about her toiletries (what shampoo she used, what was the name of her lipstick), did she have a boyfriend (Nikita smiled and declined to answer), and the girls emulated Nikita's moves and words. Nikita tried to gently show the girls that being mean-spirited was unattractive, at the very least, but it was an uphill battle.

The girls favorite target was Julie. Julie was an extremely shy, sensitive girl who was also the smallest one of the class. With her gray-green eyes (so much like Michael's that Nikita was reminded of him every time Julie looked up at her) and her soft, bright red curls, she was a personal favorite of Nikita's, although she was careful never to show preferences. Julie's skin was white and delicate and some adorable freckles covered her nose. She would be a stunning beauty someday. Julie was gentle, so soft-spoken that to hear her speak was unusual without some urging, and she was kind and sweet to all her classmates. Which made it harder for Nikita to keep her temper when the terrible trio would tease Julie and make her withdraw into herself even further. Nikita kept her eyes on Julie and tried to protect her as best she could.

*****

And so, Nikita learned about the different personalities of her eighteen students. Her assignment, Kevin, was a sweet, undemanding child and was very obedient and helpful. His grades were excellent and his disposition was cheerful.

Seth was a Birkoff in the making and Nikita had to watch him carefully in the computer lab. He was always trying to hack into the mainframe or break down the codes of the educational software that the children used. Nikita urged Seth to use his abilities to help the school system, and the computer teacher was amazed when Seth solved her problem with an error message when she attempted to print some test results. The lady resolved to utilize Seth's abilities more often and Nikita was pleased to see Seth get some guidance.

Emily had so much artistic talent that Nikita was stunned. Nikita had some wonderful drawings that Emily had given to Nikita. She planned to frame her favorite for her apartment. Christopher was on a bland food diet and shouldn't eat anything but his lunch, but usually did. Elizabeth was an outgoing child, class president, always volunteering. She would probably go into politics, Nikita thought. Matthew was an athletic child, so much so that he would run, rather than walk, would wait eagerly for gym class and be the first in line out the door when it was time.

Nikita fell in love with all of them. Even with Alexander. She discovered his problem when she was walking down the aisles during Math.

Nikita had written a multiplication problem on the board, a more challenging problem. 349 times 268. The children labored over the problem at their desks, but Nikita noticed that Alexander was working on folding a complicated paper airplane. She wandered over to his side.

"Alex? Have you finished the problem?" Alex seemed engrossed in deciding whether his plane needed some nose weight for proper balance.

"Yes, Miss Samuelle." Without looking up, he pulled his paper out from under his plane and handed it to Nikita. She was stunned to see that he had indeed finished the problem and without making the long columns of numbers to be added, as all the other children were doing. His answer was correct. Nikita knelt down next to Alexander's desk.

Nikita chose her words carefully and spoke quietly for Alexander's ears only, "Alex, does Miss Williams know how easy this math is for you?"

Alex answered absently, "Yes, ma'am, she's going to see my Mom next week about getting me some harder stuff to do." Nikita stood and nodded. Yes, it makes sense. Alex was bored because he was extremely intelligent and he had become mischievous. And thankfully, Miss Williams was addressing his needs and would get him the enrichment he needed.

****

On the evening of the fourth day as a substitute teacher, Michael informed Nikita that his team had not been able to ascertain the identity of the assassin, but had discovered that a strong possibility existed that Kevin would be attacked in his school on the very next day. Michael would be coming to her classroom to strengthen the surveillance and try to prevent the hit. Nikita's mind burned at the possibility that anyone could come to harm her beloved students and she resolved to protect them all with her own life.

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

"Kids, this is Mr. Carter. He is going to be in our class today for observation." With this announcement, 18 pairs of eyes were uncomfortably focused on Michael. Nikita admired his appearance in his classic dark grey suit, white shirt, and power tie. Michael must have felt that he presented the picture of a professional educator. He looked too good. The students eyes widened in astonishment at his sophisticated appearance. This wasn't a common sight for them. Michael nodded in response to Nikita's introduction and made his way to an empty desk in the back of the room. All eyes followed his progress down the aisle. The girls seemed to have fallen in love at first sight. The boys sensed Michael's intense masculinity and they responded to it as if in the presence of a rock star. There weren't many male role models in the school, Nikita noted, and they would use every opportunity to study Michael and emulate him. This is going to be a very interesting day, Nikita thought.

"Ok, eyes up front," and the class reluctantly swung their eyes back to Nikita. "We were studying the different parts of speech, specifically the pronoun... please get your homework papers out and let's go over them." With groans and sounds of notebooks opening, the students did as Nikita had requested. Michael sat back, kept himself alert to the possibilities of danger, and observed Nikita in action with her class.

****

In the library...

"Charlotte, didn't Mrs. Bennett recommend some books for you? Boxcar Children? Let's go see if we can't find one of those for you.... Alexander, what are you up to?...... Caroline, Rachel, and Martha, split up and go find something to read....no, Melissa, I don't want to hear what Robert is doing." Michael stood back and watched Nikita handle minor problems with the ease of a long time teacher.

During Math class.....

"Alexander, try this problem, it's a bit more difficult..... Kevin, stop chewing on your pencil....Chris, honey, are feeling okay?.... Stephen, good work....Ok, class, did anybody get anything different than this number?" Michael sat in the too small desk and noticed Nikita's enjoyment of her students. She interacted well with children.

During the bathroom break....

"Ok, boys, I will give you one minute to do your business in the rest room and then I am coming in after you." Looking at her watch, "starting... now!" The boys rushed into the rest room. Miss Samuelle would come in, she didn't bluff! She smiled over at Michael and winked, "I'll give you an extra half a minute." He passed on the opportunity.

"Girls, what's that giggling about? If you're done, move it out of there!" Nikita managed the kids with the ease of a Drill Sargent. Michael was being entertained greatly by it all. Still, his eyes were always in motion, looking for threats, checking out possible strangers and looking to Nikita for confirmation of identities. She was on guard, too, and would nod with confirmation of an adult's clearance. That woman was a teacher, that man a custodian, that woman an assistant principal. With each passing moment, Nikita's worry increased. Where was the threat going to come from?

Computer Lab

In a low voice to Michael, "Look at that kid, Seth. He could force Birkoff out of his job in a few years." Michael looked over at the boy who was currently setting up the drivers for the computer teacher's new scanner. He did have the intensity of look on his face that Birkoff had when hunched over his keyboard. Michael nodded his understanding. Some people were born that way.

"Alex, what are you hiding in your hand?.... Emily, try that problem again. That's what the dancing bear is trying to tell you.... David, don't abuse the equipment. That's your warning. Don't make me put you in time out!" Nikita was always in motion walking from student to student, encouraging them, gently disciplining them. She would have been a great teacher in another lifetime. Michael felt regret for her lost opportunities.

Lunchtime

"Ok, class get your lunch money or your lunches and line up." Michael learned that every outside-the-classroom visit necessitated a lining up procedure. The kids had it down to a science. He stood and moved next to Nikita.

"Christopher, only eat your lunch today. Class, don't feed Chris anything, no matter how nicely he asks.....Julie, sweetheart, what's wrong? Someone smashed your lunch? Let me look. It isn't ruined. See?.....Martha, lead the line to the cafeteria please. I'll come up the rear...." Kevin was near the end of the line. And softly to Michael, "Stuart is acting as a custodian in the lunchroom. He'll cover Kevin in the cafeteria. I'm expected to eat in the teacher's lounge. You're in luck, today. It's pizza day in the serving line." Nikita smiled when she imagined what the other teacher's reactions would be to Michael in the lounge. They'll go nuts over him. And they did.

Gym Class

"Class, it's time for .....Matthew! I know you're excited about gym class, but let me make the announcement first before you get in line. You almost tipped your desk over getting out so quickly.... Aren't you all so excited? The gym teacher told me you are going to be square dancing today!" And the class erupted in groaning and moaning at the prospect. Even Matthew looked horrified at the planned activity. "Miss Samuelle, no basketball?" "Sorry, big guy, Mrs. Clark wants to dance today." The class dragged their feet about lining up for this excursion, Michael noted.

Back in the classroom

"Miss Samuelle! Look, Harvey is on his wheel!" Nikita looked towards the back of the classroom in Michael's direction. He looked around in puzzlement and his gaze fastened on the large aquarium that previously had just seemed to be half full of chewed paper bits and a empty toilet paper roll. A rodent wheel and a water bottle hung from a wire mesh lid. Michael had not seen any evidence of life in the tank before now. A small golden hamster was running like a hamster maniac on the wheel. This must be Harvey, he thought.

"Miss Samuelle, can we sing the Harvey song for Mr. Carter?" Nikita grinned and said, "Why not?" The class seemed to be in gleeful anticipation of singing a song to Harvey. Nikita cleared her throat and started them.

"Harvey, Harvey, Harvey the wonder hamster!

He doesn't bite and he doesn't squeal, he just runs around on his hamster wheel!

Harvey, Harvey, Harvey, the wonder haaaaaam-steeeeeeeer."

And a cheer followed immediately afterwards, "HEY HARVEY!!!!"

(Author's note: this is a real song. Reference: Weird Al Yankovic's album Alapalooza)

Nikita and the class applauded their enthusiastic rendition of the ode to Harvey and Michael had to allow a small smile to curve his lips. Nikita was so happy right then.

Science Class

"Can anybody tell me why a spider is not considered an insect?" Nikita looked over the faces turned up and engrossed in her lecture. Kids love bugs, she had already decided. This wasn't a hard unit to teach.

David's hand leapt into the air. "David!" Nikita was pleased to see him act so excitedly about answering the question.

"My sister ate a bug. Think it was a centipede." Gagging sounds and general comments along the line of 'that's gross' followed his statement. Nikita's mouth curved in her frequent smile.

"That's interesting, David. Tell me, did she eat an insect?" David's eyes furrowed as he tried to comprehend her point. His eyes lit up with her meaning.

"No, she didn't! Insects only have six legs. Centipede's have bunches of them!" He beamed with his insight.

"Excellent, David. Kids, that's also why spiders are not insects. They have eight legs. Insects only have six legs. Spiders and centipedes have their own classifications." Nikita looked down the aisle and noticed that Christopher was looking pale.

"Christopher, are you feeling sick?" With that question, every student in every desk within five feet of Christopher jumped out of their chairs with loud scraping noises and back away from his proximity. Christopher nodded and Nikita came down the aisle and gently helped him to his feet.

"Guys, I'm going to help Chris to the rest room." Nikita looked around and made eye contact with Michael. "Mr. Carter will be in charge while I am gone." Nikita led the trembling Christopher from the room. 17 expectant pairs of eyes focused on Michael and he stared back.

Nikita steered Christopher towards the boys restroom. She noticed a man dressed as a plumber entering the top of the hallway. This was a frequent visitor to the school (Alexander accounted for quite a few of his trips) but Nikita didn't personally recognize this man. She got Chris into the stall just in time before he lost his lunch in the toilet bowl. Poor kid. Someone broke down at lunch and gave Chris something that didn't agree with his tender stomach.

Nikita's thoughts drifted back to the plumber. Internal alarms went off, but she couldn't pin down the reason why. "Chris, honey, stay right here. I'll be right back." The boy hung over the bowl, but nodded his head wearily in comprehension. Nikita exited the bathroom warily.

The man was just drawing even with Nikita. "Excuse me," she asked him, "Are you here to fix the leak in the girl's bathroom?" The tall, swarthy man looked down the hall, and back to Nikita, then nodded. Nikita indicated the girl's restroom next to the boys restroom that she had just come out of. "Right in here." There was no leak in the girls room. The man preceded Nikita into the restroom and Nikita, with her years of experience, felt his menacing intention. He was intending to kill or incapacitate Nikita before moving on to Kevin's classroom.

Because the man wasn't expecting her moves, she was a wholesome looking teacher after all, he was unprepared when she swept the back of his knees with a kick and knocked him down to his knees. With a smooth motion, she grabbed his greasy hair and slammed his head into the porcelain sink in front of him. He slumped to the tile floor in unconsciousness. Nikita had a thought. Hope he really isn't a plumber. I don't quite know how I'd explain my attack if he is. But, when she frisked him and searched his supplies, she found an automatic weapon in his tool box. With the amount of ammunition loaded, he could have wiped out her entire classroom just to hit Kevin. Nikita resisted the urge to snap his neck. He deserves some time with Madeline first, she thought. Nikita spoke aloud to Birkoff who had been monitoring her movements all day.

"Birkoff, send in some housekeeping. I have neutralized an assassin in the girls bathroom in the fourth grade hall." Nikita removed handcuffs from her pocket and secured the man to the plumbing pipe under the sink. "Keep it quiet. Let's not alarm anybody." When Nikita left the girls bathroom, she saw Stuart heading her way with a large garbage cart. Perfect. She nodded to him and returned to Christopher in the boys bathroom.

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

When Nikita and Christopher returned to the classroom, she was amused to see how the class had clustered around Michael at the back of the classroom. He looked bemused by all the little ones who vied for his attention with their comments and questions.

While Nikita had been attending to Chris, Michael had been grilled mercilessly by the nine and ten year olds. Did he have a cool car? Wasn't Miss Samuelle pretty? Did he have a girlfriend? Was he a teacher, too? In between the questions, he learned more of what the last few days had been like for Nikita. Michael learned what she had to clean out of her desk the first day. Seems she learned the hard way to get Christopher to the rest room as quickly as possible and why she should always close her desk drawer after using it. The kids were vocal in their praise of their teacher. They would miss her when Miss Williams came back. She had actually held a huge beetle in her hands yesterday. She knew her times table backwards and forwards. Miss Samuelle was tough, she wouldn't let them get away with anything (Alexander nodded ruefully at that comment), but she knew how to make school fun and exciting. A shy little red head with green eyes stood back from the rest and watched Michael intently. She would be Nikita's favorite, he deduced. A gentle spirit. Very innocent and wary.

Michael had heard the news about the assassin over his own receiver. He made eye contact with Nikita and she understood his concerns. One man. Might be the only one. But, it wouldn't do to drop our guard just yet. Both Nikita and Michael listened intently as Birkoff informed them that another hit man had been found. The plumbers' van had been investigated and another man had been inside the van with more weapons. He was now in custody along with the man that Nikita had subdued in the rest room. That might be all of them. Nikita and Michael would still be on alert until the men had been interrogated.

"Everybody, get out your cardboard boxes. Let's decorate them for Valentine's Day." That's right, Michael thought. It was February 14th. The kids were excited as they got their boxes and sat at their desks.

Nikita brought out a stack of pink, red, and white paper. "Use your scissors and cut out hearts or any shape you'd like and paste it on your box. Use your markers to decorate further and be sure to put your name on the outside of the box." The kids stood up and started grabbing paper out of her hands. She smiled at their unbridled enthusiasm for the art project.

"Miss Samuelle?" It was Alexander.

"Yes, Alexander. Is there a problem?" She looked at the boy who had not taken any paper from her hands. The rest of the class had returned to their desks and scissors were busy cutting through the paper.

"Ma'am, can I have another color?" Nikita's eyes asked the question. "Black, please. It's my favorite color." Nikita smiled at Alex and cut a glance over to Michael in amusement.

"Of course, you can. Many people have chosen black as their signature color. I'll get you some black paper right now." Alex smiled back and returned to his seat to wait for the paper. He picked up his box and planned his decorating scheme. Nikita returned from her desk with the requested black paper and a glue bottle for Robert. "I'm keeping my eye on you, Robert. Don't eat any glue." Unfortunately, ten minutes later, Nikita had to pry Robert's hand from his forehead. He had smeared glue on his hand and wanted to see how strong the bond would be. Very strong, it turned out. Nikita helped him peel the glue from his hand and forehead. "Robert, why did you do this?" And she got the expected answer. *Sigh.*

The end of the school day was almost there. With another bathroom break called for, the entire class could use their hands washed, Nikita led her kids to the facilities. Michael trailed behind, examining corners and alert as always. The outing passed uneventfully until many of the group were standing in line at the water fountain, waiting for a drink.

Michael was leaning against the wall, next to the water fountain, his eyes looking over the heads of the children and watching a teacher go by. Nikita had cleared this one already. He looked down at the children, getting their drink. A dark, curly haired moppet had just left the water fountain, Rachel?, and Nikita's favorite, Julie?, hesitantly stepped up to take a drink. She threw him a quick sweet smile and started to lean down while simultaneously pushing the bar to activate the water stream.

The water fountain malfunctioned and water sprayed in a hard stream into Julie's face. She coughed as water entered her nose. The sound of girls giggling immediately followed the accident. Michael's eyes narrowed and pinned on a group of three girls, one of which was the dark haired girl who had preceded Julie at the water fountain. The girls were unaware that Nikita was approaching from behind them until she loomed over them with an angry look on her face.

"Over here. I want to talk to you three." The girls reluctantly followed Nikita away from the group. Nikita crouched down and began talking earnestly to the girls. Her face radiated her displeasure and the girls were crushed by their idol's disapproval. The one named Rachel had conspired with the other two to push a piece of gum into the spout of the fountain, thereby causing it to build up pressure and burst suddenly. Michael looked back to Julie.

Her face was wet with the water from the fountain, but also with the tears leaking down from her eyes. Michael didn't quite know how to deal with the tiny girl's crying. He crouched down to her level as he had seen Nikita do and removed his handkerchief from his pocket to gently mop the moisture from the lovely little face. The other children froze in place and watched as the tall, stern faced man ministered so gently to Julie. His face had softened and his eyes were not so cold as before. Julie stood quietly as Michael finished drying her face. When he asked quietly, "Are you going to be okay now?", she nodded, and quickly darted in for a soft kiss on his cheek. She turned and moved away into the group of children. Michael stayed crouched for a few moments, touching the spot on his cheek where Julie had kissed him. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt his heart tug at such an innocent gesture from a child. He straightened up, thoughtfully, and followed Nikita and her students back to their room.

Valentine Card Exchange

Every student had been told to bring a valentine for every other class member. In this way, no one child would be slighted. Many had brought small pieces of candy to give with their card. It seemed to be a much anticipated holiday for the kids.

Nikita told the kids, "Ok, get your valentines and deliver them to your classmates' boxes. If you have any for Miss Williams, put them here on her desk. I'll put them in a drawer so that they'll be waiting for her when she gets back." The kids grabbed their bags of valentines and started walking around the room. It was pandemonium, but the kids didn't get wild and Nikita laughed at their exaggerated antics as they filled each other's boxes.

Nikita opened her bag and removed her own valentines. She had bought a box of a Daffy Duck valentines and had taped a sucker to each envelope for her students. She joined in the confusion and delivered her own valentines. Michael sat in his chair and watched the children. His face held a softened expression.

Some of the children had brought extras and Michael found himself the recipient of a few valentines. Julie shyly placed a card in front of Michael and deposited a few small candy hearts on top of the envelope. Michael stared down at the desk in front of him and pick up the candy hearts. I LOVE YOU and BE MINE were printed on the small hearts. He smiled gently at Julie and told her quietly, "Thank you." She nodded and walked off to deliver more valentines. Michael opened his cards and studied the colorful pictures of popular cartoon characters delivering valentine greetings. Nikita wondered what was going on in his mind.

Alexander walked up to Nikita's desk as she sat grinning and looking over her own cards, while chewing on a tootsie roll that had come with one of the cards. He placed a picture in front of Nikita. She looked closely at the picture.

"Why, that's a class picture. You all look wonderful in it." Nikita studied the picture of the students that she had grown to care about so deeply, then tried to hand the picture back to Alex.

He waved her off, "No, that's an extra that my Mom was going to send to Grandma and never did. You can have it." Nikita noticed that most of her students had clustered around her desk while she had been studying the picture.

Nikita was touched by his gesture and was suddenly conscious that her time with these wonderful kids was almost at an end. She told them, "Miss Williams will probably be back on Monday." The kids looked at each other and then at Nikita. "I bet you're going to be so glad to see her back." They were all uncharacteristically silent. Then she heard quiet "yeahs", "you bet" and "she is nice."

Alex spoke again, "It's good that you got a picture of us so that you won't ever forget us." Nikita looked down at the picture and traced her finger around the outside of it, as her eyes watered. She looked up at them all, everyone of them a precious individual who had touched her heart, and she murmured, "No, I won't ever forget any of you." Then, trying to break the emotionality of the moment, she told them, "Time to get ready to go. Let's clean up and get your backpacks." And with the rambunctiousness of spirited children, they noisily dispersed and went to pack up for dismissal.

*****

Michael and Nikita walked across the school parking lot to her car. Birkoff had just informed them that the hit men had already cracked and the threat to young Kevin was over. Michael's team would take the weekend and clean out the rest of the cells.

Nikita carried a large satchel that contained artwork that her children had presented to her, valentines, candy, and the class picture that Alex had given her. Michael walked silently by her side. Nikita waited by the passenger door while Michael opened the door with the key. She threw her bag in the back and started to slide into the seat.

Michael stopped her before she could get in the car. They stood looking at each other and Michael opened the buttons to his suit jacket. Nikita gave him a puzzled look. He reached into an inside pocket and pulled out a silk rose and presented it to Nikita. Nikita was stunned by this totally romantic gesture from Michael. He leaned in and kissed her cheek and murmured in her ear, "Miss Samuelle, would you be my valentine?" He leaned back to study her face. Nikita smiled and touched his cheek gently and answered him back, "Of course." Then leaning in closer to his ear, she whispered, "I'm wearing your valentine present. Red silk. Want to go unwrap it?" Michael shuddered slightly, drew back, and pinned Nikita with his most intense stare. That look said it all. She slid into the car seat and Michael closed her door and went around to his own side. He got in and started the car and drove competently, as always, towards the hotel. Nikita sat quietly, smiling, and stroked the soft petals of her silk rose over her cheek.

Disclaimer: All names are fictitious and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Except for Harvey, the wonder hamster. He's real and busy chewing up empty toilet paper rolls. HEY HARVEY !!

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