Disclaimer: The characters from La Femme Nikita don't belong to me. Don't sue. All you'll get is this computer, and it's obsolete anyway. All of the other characters are my own. I don't steal...my stuff's better than what you'd come up with anyway. :-)

Rating: PG-13

*italics*

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

Chapter one ___________

It was a captured mission. And there was no way to tell where they were.

A cave, or an underground cavern. Dark, yet warm, with an orange glow coming from somewhere above. Hours upon hours, standing. There was no place to sit, so Nikita was sitting on the floor now, in a corner. She was unusually quiet, legs stretched out in front of her. Eyes closed, arms folded. Michael calmly paced, running his hand almost absently along the wall, stepping over Nikita's legs whenever he passed her. The circle kept going...it seemed the rock was completely unbroken. No one could even tell where the door they had been brought in through was.

Of course, it would happen on the one mission Madeline was participating in.

"Any idea how deep we are?" Madeline was standing, with her hand on the wall and head cocked, as if trying to gauge the amount of rock beyond.

"No way to tell. Could be feet or miles...or it might be artificial, and we could be in a skyscraper." Michael did, however, keep glancing at Nikita. It was an unconscious movement and that very fact was making Madeline suspicious. More and more as time went by. Michael did not make unconscious movements.

Suddenly, a portion of rock swung away. A woman came in, tall and shapely. She wore an old pair of worn and tired jeans, a form-fitting T-shirt and lightweight black work boots with thin soles. Her walk was slightly arrogant, but every step deliberate and perfect. In the woods, her footsteps would never be heard. She was not looking where she was going, but was reading something, pages of a packet. She could not have been more than twenty-five or twenty-six, but she moved with the sureness of those who had lived entire lifetimes.

Once closed, the door disappeared into the wall again. She looked up only after the click of the lock.

Madeline caught her eyes. They stared at each other for several minutes before the woman spoke.

"My name is Lalia. In case you were wondering." She smiled, as though teasing Madeline, who mirrored the smile with one of her own. Lalia turned to Nikita and Michael, who, behind Madeline, had both stood as if at attention.

"So. Welcome home, both of you. I trust everything went smoothly?"

Madeline did not move. Not her eyes, nor her head. Always the professional, she kep her eyes focused on the young woman. Her mind, however, was racing.

************ Chapter Two ___________

"Did something happen?" Nikita was still standing at attention, but she did seem to expect an answer. She was looking at the packet in Lalia's hands.

"Yes...the delay. Sorry, both of you. I wasn't...available.

That said, Lalia's eyes focused on Madeline again...the smile this time was simply friendly.

"Madeline, isn't it? You should go out on missions more often. I believe the last time was a few years ago? A shame; we simply weren't ready yet, and then we had to wait for it to happen again."

Madeline smiled back. "If I had known, I would have attempted to be more obliging." Her smile was not friendly at all. The young woman in front of her, however, just shook her head. Madeline realized that most likely, this person was never even surprised.

"I highly doubt that. But it's not really important anymore, is it?" Lalia's smile faded and she looked Madeline up and down slowly. "You know what? You may want to lose the "Executive" look. It doesn't fly well around here. Just take the jacket off...unless, of course, you want to go through the next year as the office joke."

Madeline's eyes flickered. This was not a concept she had been ready for.

And if Lalia hadn't been looking into her eyes at that moment, she would have missed it.

But she didn't.

Lalia turned on her heel and left, with the same arrogant, self assured walk. The rock in front of her opened the minute she started towards it.

Michael and Nikita followed suit, and Madeline was left in the cave. The door simply shut in her face as she stepped forward.

************ Chapter three ___________

"How long will you leave her in there?" Nikita was relaxing in a large, overstuffed chair, in a large, cave-like room. They were indeed underground, and it was cool, but well lit, just as the cell had been.

Nikita would have looked conspicuously comfortable in these surroundings to anyone at Section. She was relaxed and at home.

Mostly because she had grown up here.

A large screen in the corner showed Madeline, once again trying to judge the thickness of the rock walls. She was walking in circles as Michael had, but slower. She periodically stopped and ran her hand up and down, feeling the cracks of various openings Michael had "missed" during their stay together.

Lalia glanced up at Nikita before answering...she was still reading the same packet of papers, and Nikita had seen her start it over twice. There was something comforting about that. It had been years since she'd seen Lalia, and that odd habit she had of reading things four or five times was nice and familiar. Not that it ever made sense. With a photographic memory, she barely needed to read it once.

"Until she gets used to the idea of staying here. I don't need her trying to drill through the rock, like some people I can remember." She flashed an evil grin at Nikita, who smiled back.

"I was thirteen. I don't suppose I'll ever live that down?"

"Not likely."

"How long do you think it'll take her?" Nikita was looking at the screen...Madeline had found the door again, and was trying to find the crack in the floor. It was the only opening to the door that she couldn't seem to locate.

"To what? Drill through the rock?" The joke was an automatic response. Lalia didn't even look up.

Nikita smiled. "No, to get used to the idea." The exchange was a variation on an old joke...Nikita had been a slow learner when it came to not answering questions.

"Well...how long do YOU think it will take her?" Lalia looked up now, and her face was serious.

"I don't know if time is the problem." Nikita met her gaze, and sat up straight. "I don't know what personal issues she has with leaving Section One."

"You think her relationship with Operations, as you call him, is that strong? I wasn't aware that Paul was that capable of feeling at all." Lalia's voice changed when she said his name. A hardness. And a sign that Nikita had not lost her confidence, as she had been so worried she would, with the passage of time. Lalia only let emotions show to those she trusted.

"I don't know. I don't know exactly what their relationship is."

"Well....I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."

************ Chapter four ___________

"Adrian."

Michael walked in, wearing simple jeans and a black sweater. Nikita had already changed into a blue skirt and long white cotton sweater with sleeves that came over her hands.

Only Lalia, Meren and Jack wore anything but sweaters down here. But Nikita figured that was because Meren and Jack were here year round. They were just used to it.

And Lalia...well, that's Lalia.

"What about her?" Lalia was reading again, but Nikita knew from experience that she was listening to every word said.

"She's a liability." Michael sat in one of the overstuffed chairs, but he might as well have been sitting in the chair behind his own desk at Section. His manner did not change one bit from one place to the next. The only difference was the look in his eyes. They were clearer than they had been since his son.

"How so? The Circle facility she's in is safe enough. We moved her there....five or six days ago, I believe. I'd have to check. Hang on." Lalia put down the packet and turned to one of the laptop computers on the desk.

Like her neat and calm appearance, her desk was neat, in a cluttered way. Two laptop computers, along with the flat screen and keyboard to a stand-alone, took up a small part of the very large wooden desk. Besides that, papers, pens and books were scattered all over, along with pieces of parchment and even a few scrolls. But somehow, you could see that everything was in an order, of sorts.

"Yes...Thursday. She was moved to a home in, let's see.....California. She should be just fine there." Lalia closed the laptop's lid, and went back to the packet, turning it back to the front page again.

"That isn't what I mean. Operations knows I have her. To get Madeline back, he may call George."

"And tell him what?" Nikita was watching Madeline on the screen again, who was running her hand along the door's opening, with one ear pressed to the wall, listening. Nikita couldn't tell if she was hearing anything, but then, you never knew. To ordinary human ears, that room was soundproof...but to a Savior...even untrained, you just never knew what they were capable of.

"That we know where Adrian is. George would have every Section Head out looking for us."

At that Lalia looked up, but her piercing eyes were still calm and calculated. "He would do that just for her? That's...interesting...". She started to smile, but just a bit...no emotion showed at all otherwise; not with Michael in the room. But Nikita saw it. There was something going on, other than the simple recruiting of a Gifted.

Lalia and her damn history. No one kept a grudge like she did.

************ Chapter Five, Section Interlude ___________

"They're definitely gone. Not a blip." Berkoff was typing furiously at three terminals at once, and the screens were flashing by. He had been here for hours now, ever since he lost the feed from Michael's "glasses". This was the third time Operations was checking on it.

"Try tracing Madeline's locator. She has a second frequency." Operations handed Berkoff a pad. It went right into the computers, but nothing happened.

"No. I'm sorry. She's gone. So are Michael and Nikita. They're just...gone." Berkoff took his glasses off, and looked up to see Walter coming up to Ops.

"Nothing?"

Birkoff just shook his head. He punched a few more keys, but anyone could see it was useless. The signals simply weren't there. Oh, god...Nikita! Berkoff closed his eyes. He just didn't want to think about it. Not this. Not again.

And Walter smiled.

************ Chapter five ___________

"Michael, you have to concentrate just right for this. You can't be totally focused. Let your mind wander just a bit, and try again." And Jack sighed, as Michael tried, again, to explode the middle of three plastic-bombs from across the training room. And again, his mind was too focused, and he managed to explode all three.

Jack moved to replace them, talking to Michael over his shoulder.

"We have been here for three hours. You have got to relax your mind just a bit. Magic is not an exact science, Michael, it's an art, and Gifted though you are, you have to find the balance, or you'll never get this right. The aim and intensity must be perfect. You're so good at Mind Control. I don't understand why you can't get this."

"Every man has his shortcomings." Michael eyed the explosives across the room. He was going to do this, and do it right...and he would stay here all night if he had to.

That was, in fact, how he had mastered Mind Control. But Jack didn't know that, since that had been done on Nikita's balcony, she talking into his ear, he moving the people in the street below. Into the store. No, out of the store. Up the steps. Sit. Stand. Moving innocent people for drilling is not permitted by any Circle rules, but they had recieved special permission from Lalia, since Michael had to have some training so he wouldn't inadvertently hurt people, and living in the caverns had not been an option. So, as long as no one was hurt, and they moved a person only once each, they were permitted to drill. So they did, in her apartment, night after night.

Just one more excuse for them to be together.

Michael was handling his Gift quite well....since Nikita had brought him in, he had only been back to the Circle caverns once before this, but he was just as at ease here as he was at Section. Nikita was at home, completely, but she came here when she was thirteen...what else would you expect?

The only problem was, because Michael was so good at controlling his physical body and mind, it was proving harder than it should have been to gain control of his Gift. As Jack said, he was too focused, too used to being in control to "let his mind wander". And that was essential for pin-point drills.

"Again." Jack was standing next him, ready.

Michael focused once again on the small explosives on the other wall. Just as he was about to let loose, Nikita walked in, in a rather tight sweater and a faded pair of jeans.

"How's it going?"

Michael glanced at her, his eyes moving down her sweater, and his mind wandered, just a bit.

And the middle explosive went off.

Only the middle explosive.

"Hey, that's it! You got it! Let's see if you can do it again." Jack was literally beaming as he got up to replace the spent bomb.

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

Chapter six ___________

"What do you want?" Madeline was sitting on the floor, cross legged. She had taken her jacket off the night before, and now she was using it to sit on. Cross legged, she looked like she had been meditating. Strenuous meditation, judging by the sweat, but that wasn't unheard of.

"I want to know how you're doing. Can I get you anything? A book, a piece of pizza, a bottle of water?" Lalia was in the same jeans as the day before, and a T-shirt of only a slightly different shade, though this one stopped slightly short of her bellybutton. She came over to sit next to Madeline against the wall.

"This isn't Section One. We're much more relaxed. And it isn't a prison, it's a gift." Lalia slipped that in, and waited to see if she got a response. You never know with the Gifted. It's not always such a shock.

But Madeline just smiled. "Nice to know. But I'm not going to work for you."

Lalia sat there for a moment and watched her. Nothing.

Alright, guess not.

She stood up, and walked to the door.

"OK. You let me know how that works out for you. But I'll tell you what...I'll have someone come in with some water and food for you anyway." A slight smile touched her lips when she turned to Madeline, who was now watching her. "You don't strike me as the kind that would starve to death for her cause, but I'd rather not take the chance. Just don't make the poor attendant force-feed you, alright?"

Madeline closed her eyes. "I don't think that would accomplish anything."

Lalia watched her. Simple meditation position, nothing special about it.

Not that she'd really been meditating. Not according to the screen-feed.

Interesting. Didn't she think she was being watched? Probably. But she was putting on the act anyway.

Hmmm...

The door clicked shut.

"This will be interesting, to say the least." The guard who had closed the door smiled at Lalia as she walked away. Not that Byron understood what she was talking about, or even cared. Working this close to Lalia was enough for him. Very few people had access to her at all...his roommate was actually very jealous at not being chosen to stand guard for this wing. But who was in the cell? Just one more recruit. She was supposed to be very Gifted. They went to a lot of trouble to get her, and now that she was here, she was being stubborn. Well, some were like that.

But still, she's just another recruit. Byron went back to his book.

And not being particularly Gifted (hence, only a guard) he did not hear the sounds now coming from the other side of the cell door.

************ Chapter Seven, Section Interlude ___________

Berkoff glanced up at Operations office. Still not there. Good.

He wandered over to Walter, who was busy working on a pair of faulty remote controls.

"I think I know where they are."

"Oh yeah, kid? Who's that?" A spark went up from Walter's hands. Damn. Fried circuit.

"Michael and Nikita!"

Walter's head whipped up, and he shot a glance at Operation's still empty office. Then he grabbed Berkoff by the arm and dragged him into the back.

"Now, look. Nikita and Michael are gone, ok? You just leave them alone. understood?"

Berkoff just stared at him. "Are you insane? I'm telling you, they're not dead! I think I found a way..."

"Of course they're not dead!" Walter was practically hissing now. "Now you leave this alone, or you're going to start a war, and I promise, it's the good ones who'll get dead!"

Walter was pushing Berkoff out of the alcove. With that last word, he gave Berkoff a shove, and closed the gate behind him.

"Just leave it alone, man!" And Walter was gone.

Berkoff turned around. Operations was standing in his window, watching.

************ Chapter seven ___________

Nikita sat in one of the large, comfortable overstuffed chairs in Lalia's office, watching Madeline on the screen. Michael was still training with Jack, and while Nikita's presence was apparently helpful for pin-point drills, for the more focused problems, she had proven to be...distracting.

Besides, look at Madeline go!

She already had about three inches of rock dug out from around the panel in the wall opposite the door.

Actually, the wires in the box behind that panel simply controlled the lighting and ventilation for her cell.

Turn it off....suffocate in the dark.

Not that Lalia would let it get that far. Nikita figured that if Madeline actually got the box open, she would simply be moved to a new cell.

It was interesting to watch, though. Nikita had never thought that a stiletto heel could do so much damage to a solid rock wall. But then, you never know unless you try. And Madeline was very inventive.

"What are you doing in here?" A guard Nikita had seen only once before, outside Madeline's cell, poked his head into the room. A routine check of the door had shown it unlocked. Byron knew Lalia wasn't in here...he'd just seen her on the public floor, reading something.

"You aren't supposed to be in here."

Nikita gave him her most winning smile. "Don't worry about it. It's fine."

"I'm supposed to take your word for it? I don't think so." Byron grabbed Nikita's arm and stood her up. "You're coming with me."

"Wow. Could you get more cliched?" Lalia was standing in the doorway, reading that same packet of papers. She never even looked up. Nikita eyes were drawn to the header on the dangling front page....it was Red Cell. What was Lalia doing with Red Cell information?

"Sorry, Ma'am, but this woman was in here..."

"With every right." Lalia was still reading. Nikita smiled to herself. That's Lalia. Never give more attention to subordinates than necessary.

"And I'd let go of her arm, if I were you. Nikita could kill you right now without straining a muscle. Though, she might die laughing." Lalia snickered and glanced at Nikita's hand. It was already holding a knife.

Byron dropped Nikita's arm, and mumbled something about "sorry".

"Excuse us, please."

And you'd never seen a guard move that fast. Lalia finally looked up when he was gone. "Why didn't you just hit him? You could have taken him with no magic whatsoever."

"I was hoping not to have to do anything at all. Look, it worked." Nikita dropped the knife on Lalia's desk, sank down into her chair and looked back up at the screen. "Wow. She has the panel open. That was fast."

Lalia only glanced at the screen before going to the corner, where there was a small refrigerator. "Something to drink? I have anything not alcoholic. I caught some guards dipping into my stash in here, and I had to move it. But I have sodas, ciders, juices, bottled water...and I think I might have some soup. Ugh. Forget it." And a very old container of soup went into the garbage.

"Water's fine." Nikita was watching in fascination as Madeline crossed wires in her panel. "Should we be letting her do that?" A spark went off in the cell, above Madeline's head. She looked up, and then kept working.

"Sure. If she can get out, more power to her. I'd like to know what she's capable of."

Lalia sat down next to Nikita, and dropped the papers in her lap. "You might want to read those."

Nikita took the proffered water bottle and looked down.

The packet of papers *were* Red Cell issue.

And they were titled "Headquarters' Directory and Mission list".*Section One's*directory...in a hardcopy print-out.

************ Chapter eight ___________

"What is Red Cell doing with this?" Nikita picked up the packet and started flipping through it.

"I have no idea. But I've read it a dozen times. It's all accurate. And it lists every name...including Paul's." On the last word, she almost sounded pleased.

Nikita kept reading. "How did we get it?"

"Same way we get Section Materials."

Nikita's head snapped up. "You got Section materials from me. You mean, you have someone inside Red Cell?"

"We *had* someone inside Red Cell. Emphasis on "had". Several someones, in fact. We pulled them the minute we got this. We didn't want them getting killed when Section got wind of it."

"You still have a few someones in Section." Nikita went back to reading, but she was watching Lalia out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes, we do. And they're all listed there. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that. I don't really want to pull them. Section has a habit of recruiting the Gifted, and it's so nice to bring people into the Circle who've already been trained in physical combat. Cuts down on training time so much. Not to mention the fact that they're better at it than we are." Nikita kept reading, but she was listening closely. Lalia thinking out loud was always fascinating to listen to; her mind worked in odd ways, and her reasons for doing things were always....interesting, at least. Sometimes they could be downright frightening.

And Lalia just kept talking.

"On the other hand, I don't want them dead. Only 2% of the population are Gifted. We need to hold on to all the trained Saviors we can...and all the people we have in Section are upper level. One other is at *your* level...or will be when he gets back." Nikita smiled. Walter? Probably. He'd been there practically forever. Definitely in line for a promotion.

"I suppose we'll just have to play it by ear. I'll have Meren and Jack pick some replacements just in case we have to plant new people. And I'll see if I can't get a warning in to Section...probably wouldn't be a bad idea to warn them, anyway. I want Paul to suffer, but I'm not so sure I want him dead. Until I'm sure, I guess I'd better err on the side of life. I'll be back. Keep an eye on the inmate, ok?" Nikita nodded, but Lalia didn't see it. She was already out the door.

With a very loud sigh, Nikita dropped the papers into her lap. She just didn't want to think about it right now. She took a quick glance at the screen as she got up to get something other than water.

And stopped.

The cell on the screen was empty, the door half open with it's emergency fuse still smoking, and that guard...what was his name? Byron - that was it... lying unconscious on the floor.

Well, well. Not bad. What was that, a half hour? And using only a stiletto-heeled boot.

Very well done indeed.

Nikita picked up the phone on Lalia's desk and had her paged.

************ Chapter Nine, Section Interlude ___________

"Shit!"

"Berkoff!" Walter wasn't running, but Berkoff had to look twice to see that. He might as well have been.

"What? I'm tracking a virus. I don't know how it got in, but I can't even tell what it's trying to do."

"Man, we have to talk." Walter looked up at Operations in his office...he was working on something, not really looking up. "Now!"

Berkoff got up, and the two headed for the weapons alcove.

"Walter, what is going on?"

"We got problems kid." Walter closed the gate, and pulled Berkoff into the back. "Red Cell has the Section directory."

"No. No, that isn't possible. Operations would know. And how would they get it?"

"I don't know how they got it! They just have it. The mission log, too."

Nervously, Berkoff looked over his shoulder. "How do *you* know, and no one else?"

"I have my sources. Man, we have to get people out of here. Now! At the very least, ourselves."

"Don't we have to tell Operations?"

Walter thought about that for a minute. Lalia's transmission had said something along those lines, but it wasn't specific. Given her feelings about Operations...

"No. Let's just scram."

************ Chapter nine ___________

"Where ya goin'?" Lalia was leaning against an open doorjamb. She looked up the elevator shaft. "Long way up...longer than it looks actually, because this elevator only goes to the main floors, about a fourth of the way up." She smiled down at Madeline. "But I guess you'd just have to climb it anyway, since you don't have a security pass. Not that you'll find anything once you get to the top, even if you managed to get outside. We're pretty secluded out here."

Madeline just glared and pulled herself up and out of the shaft. She was breathing hard, and she sat in the doorway against the wall to catch her breath.

"One thing about this place, though. The main floors are all connected by open stairs, not elevators, so someone would have seen you anyway. You don't exactly fit in, looking like that." Madeline was sweating, and her slacks were filthy from the oil on the elevator cables. Lalia almost smiled. Even with all that, the woman still managed to look imposing and important.

Very nice. And rather impressive.

"There are twelve main floors...you probably wouldn't have gotten from the third stairway to the fourth. Opposite ends." Lalia smiled again and sat down next to Madeline. "Then, down below, you've got the holding cells, interview rooms and submarine launches. Yes, we're right on the water." Madeline had looked up at that. "There are sections, in fact, that are underwater. That's why it's nice and cool in here, even when we turn the heat on."

"Just above the main floors are the upper level offices. All these caverns were hand built, you know. The elevators and such were put in later. We left the stairs in the main floors because of the layout, so the upper level offices were built closer to the main floors for convenience. "

Lalia stopped talking for a minute to gauge reaction, but Madeline's face was blank. She wasn't giving anything away.

Good for her. God, Section training was great!

"Above those floors are all the lower level offices, and then the specialty training rooms, though the rooms you'll be using at first are all on the main levels. Above those are..."

Madeline interrupted her there. "I won't be using any of the training rooms. I'm not staying." She looked at Lalia and smiled. "I believe I've mentioned that before."

"Yes, and I wished you luck. But the fact is, you're sitting here - still out of breath, I might add - having climbed up seven stories in an elevator shaft. You're lucky you didn't fall...it was twelve stories down from where you started. And what if someone had *used* the elevator? Did that not occur to you?"

Madeline shrugged. "Just how long ago were the cavern's built?" She made it sound casual, but she was definitely interested. Hand built? Impressive.

"It doesn't matter anyway." Ignoring the question, Lalia looked up the shaft again. "I had all the lower level elevators turned off the minute you got the shaft door open. Everyone's been using the stairwells." Lalia was almost disappointed. That got a reaction...Madeline went completely limp. "Yes, stairwells. In fact, you went right past one on your way to the elevator...of course, it's the same type of door that was in your cell. You would have had to be looking for it."

No reaction this time. Ok...so it had been a minor slip, probably due to exhaustion and exertion. They could fix that. She was still better than most upper level Saviors.

"I'll tell you what....how about a change of clothes and a meal? We can continue this battle of wills comfortable just as well as not."

Madeline smiled that half smile of hers. "Alright."

Lalia stood up and waited for Madeline to do the same, and then led her down the hall to the nearest stairwell.

************ Chapter ten ___________

"Let's see....venison stew with fresh baked bread, barbecued lamb cooked Lebanese style with rice - or fettuccine Alfredo. Ugh. Apply directly to thighs. Venison stew? Serge must have sent someone hunting for that." Lalia skimmed the leather-bound menu again, and decided on the lamb. Madeline had the stew.

Once they had ordered and the waiter took their menus, Madeline finally allowed herself to look around the "restaurant".

It was a very, very large rock cavern, and, like the rest of the place, well lit and rather cool. It really felt like they always had an air-conditioner running down here. Madeline was wearing a sweater now, with a pair of black slacks. She managed to look just as executive as always.

The room was set with a very high ceiling. Thick burgundy carpet, heavy, hand-carved furniture, crystal candelabra with candles, not light bulbs, hand-woven tapestries, detailed gold fixtures, gold trimmed china and place settings, crystal wine glasses and silk napkins - it definitely gave off an aura of elegance and luxury.

And power. Calm, self assured power. To Madeline's trained eye, it said that no one here ever worried about being shut down, or beaten. It wasn't a consideration. This was established power, in the purest form...so much that it never crossed anyone's mind that it might be otherwise. It wasn't cocky; it was simply a feeling of being secure in itself. Confident, slightly arrogant, yet deliberately perfect and subdued...like Lalia's walk.

And for the first time, Madeline was starting to feel a little nervous.

Until the food arrived...then she realized how hungry she was.

*********************** Lalia finished eating, and waited until Madeline had finished eating, before she finally answered her question.

"The Circle caverns were built in thirteen-hundred and twelve."

To her credit, Madeline didn't move a muscle. She didn't flinch or start. She just took a drink of water and put her glass down.

"Hi! What's Serge serving today?" Nikita came up from behind Madeline, and sat down across from her, next to Lalia.

"I'm starved. Are you going to finish that?" Nikita didn't wait for an answer. She just picked up a fork and started eating the rest of Lalia's lamb, not oblivious to Madeline's very subtle glare, but studiously ignoring it.

Not much she could do about it anyway. Lalia obviously hadn't gotten to her speech yet, and until then, anything Nikita said would just be confusing.

"How about some wine?" ************ Chapter Eleven, Section Interlude ___________

"Ok, I think it's down here." Walter led Berkoff down another tunnel, and then under yet another archway. Berkoff couldn't figure it out. These looked like natural tunnels, but the archways...those were definitely man-made.

And there was something else. The farther they got down here, the weaker his signal got to the Section computer. And that just did not make sense, because these signals were designed to run through solid rock, and the rock above them, if these tunnels were any indication, was anything but solid.

The two had escaped during a mission. Berkoff and Walter were stationed in the van, and the minute the operatives had been out of danger and heading back, the two had ran. Walter had insisted that he knew where they could go and not be found, at least until the situation with Red Cell blew over.

They turned another corner, and Walter stopped. They were in a cave about six feet by six feet...and completely squared off. There was no doubt in Berkoff's mind. This was shaped by hands, not by nature.

"You see that large rock there?" Walter pointed to a piece of wall that jutted out a bit. It didn't quite fit with the rest of the room. "It's connected to a pulley."

Walter took out flashlight, and started searching along the walls. "Start looking. We want a little shelf of rock, no bigger than your thumb, that anywhere else would look like a light switch."

Berkoff found it a few minutes later, just beside the arch they had come in through.

"Ok...now, watch this, and you might want to close your ears." Walter broke the piece of rock off the wall with the flashlight handle, and there was a small noise, like a piece of wire snapping.

Then, with a very loud rumble, the large piece of rock fell away from them, hit the ground just inside the "door", and broke into two pieces.

"This way."

************ Chapter eleven ___________

"What were they building them for?" Madeline couldn't help it. She was interested in the caverns. Anything that old had to have an interesting history...her only hobby besides botany.

"Building what?" Nikita finished off Lalia's lamb in time for the waiter to come over and clear their plates. Lalia ordered a bottle of 1928 Château Lafite Rothschild Red Bordeaux for the table. Madeline waited for the waiter to leave before speaking.

"1928. Showing some age, but a very good wine. There aren't many bottles left." Madeline watched Lalia for a reaction. There was something odd about her. She never showed any kind of reaction.

It actually reminded Madeline of herself.

"Well, no there aren't, because most of it is in our wine cellar. Serge finds a good vintage and just starts buying it." Lalia wasn't really paying attention now. She was staring off into space, engrossed in her own thoughts.

Madeline turned to Nikita. "The caverns. I wanted to know why they were originally built."

"For the Circle." Lalia nodded, having tasted the wine. Madeline started a little...she hadn't noticed the waiter come back. The waiter poured each of them a glass, put the bottle on the table and left. Madeline noticed that all the waiters were very respectful of Lalia, and almost in awe.

"They were built for the Circle, so that the Gifted of the world would have a place to call their own. They were built below ground and on the water for two reasons. One, because magically inclined people function better in a cooler, rather than a warmer environment, and they wanted to be comfortable. And the second reason is obvious. The founders wanted to be able to practice and live in seclusion and safety. "

"Magically inclined?" Madeline's eyes clouded for a minute. There had been a time when she wondered...

"The outside world calls us Witches. Very cliched, and with rather a nasty connotation. But in fourteen-hundred and twenty-seven, a gypsy priestess called us her saviors, and it stuck. So, now, that's what we are. Saviors. And that's what we do. Or, we try to."

"What is?" More to buy time than anything else, as she was still digesting that last bit of information.

Lalia grimaced. She really hated this part...it always sounded so "high and mighty." And fraught. And, well, kind of dumb. But there was just no way to work around it.

With a sigh, she said: "We save humanity from itself."

************ Chapter twelve ___________

Madeline didn't say a word, so Lalia relaxed a bit, and kept going.

"Humanity follows a path, and walks the same path over and over. There is a time of sameness, where everyone does, or tries, to think in basically the same way, or believe the same things. During this time, people who think differently, hide."

"Then there is the time of discovery, when people who think differently get tired of hiding, and announce themselves. Usually just a few. And the people who are 'normal' look at them and say 'Well, it's only a few people. What harm can they do?'."

Lalia stopped to take a sip of wine, and then continued. "Then, there is the time of purging. 'Normal' people realize that there are many more outsiders than they ever thought, and they start to realize that many of these people are very prominent, and are causing most of the changes that, now, don't seem so great. So the majority demands that the government, or whoever is in charge, get rid of the minority, or outsiders. OR, the government bickers with itself about it. The result is the same."

"The 'normal' people start killing the outsiders. A few at first, and without organization, until they begin to pick up momentum. Soon, it becomes very organized, and then it becomes policy. After a while, when there are very few outsiders left, the few 'normal' people who the entire time were against the purging, are finally listened to; usually because someone important dies. Never underestimate the power of one man."

"Then comes the time of tolerance. Where there are no 'normal' or 'outsider' labels, at least not openly. People make an actual effort to remember what happened, and to live with each other in peace."

"Then people start to forget what happened, or so much time goes by that it loses it's power. Those who think 'outside' the majority begin to hide again, as their views become less and less acceptable. The cycle starts over."

"And you do, what?" Madeline wanted to think that Lalia was insane, but her surroundings said otherwise. If Lalia was not legitimate, this place could hardly exist.

And she kept thinking of that child from Section Four.

And that day when she was ten.

"We...well, it depends on the situation. For example, you have probably figured out that we have Saviors inside Section. We do, by the way, plan to send you back when you've finished your training. Only if you want to." She said this quickly, just in case. "With a Gift as strong as yours, that would be definitely be on a volunteer basis." She still couldn't read Madeline's face. And she wasn't ready to credit that entirely to Section One.

This woman had some stock of her own.

"The Saviors in Section One have simple instructions, really. Just try to keep as many Section Operatives alive as possible, and keep an eye out for Gifted recruits."

"You support Section?" This was starting to get slightly confusing. And the compliment to her "Gift" was slightly unsettling.

"We do. They mean well, and they do not actively persecute any one group, other than those who *do*. It's a good concept. I wouldn't have expected anything else from Paul."

She forced it to sound casual, and ignored Madeline's questioning look.

"We also had some people in Red Cell until recently, but their instructions were different. They were supposed to keep an eye out for the Gifted, of course. Both groups have a habit of recruiting them. But they were also supposed to work lower level sabotage, and some insider assassinations." Lalia had been talking out into space. Now she turned her stare to Madeline.

"You don't believe me." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"I'm not sure, actually." Madeline had her eyes closed. The longer she sat here, the more she felt at home. And the clearer that day, so long ago, became.

The day that huge black spider crawled up her leg. At ten years old, it was almost as big as her hand. She was so scared, she didn't want to touch it, and she could barely look at it.

So, she threw it across the room...and she never had to lay a finger on it.

************ Chapter Thirteen, Section Interlude ___________

"I don't get it!" Berkoff was running another scan along the rock walls of the cavern.

They had been here close to seven hours, after finally winding their way down that steep staircase from the entrance above. And after the third flight of stairs, Berkoff completely lost his connection to the outside world.

And it just didn't make any sense.

"Man put that down already, and eat something." Walter had broken out some emergency rations. Berkoff took one look at them and his stomach turned...they'd already had them for two meals.

"No thanks. I don't think I'm hungry enough yet." He kept pacing the wall trying to figure out why he wasn't picking up anything past them. He should at least be getting a radio signal, or a satellite broadcast....

He switched the frequency of his scan, and the machine started going berserk.

"Jeez! Look at this! There's a...I don't know what, but there is something in these rocks! It's bouncing everything *back* at me! Look at that!" Berkoff was almost jumping up and down, he'd never seen anything like this.

"Do you know what this is worth? No one on earth has anything this powerful! It's almost not there, you would have to actually be checking for it to see it! This is incredible!"

Berkoff ran back to his pack and grabbed an ore analyzer cup for his computer. He grabbed a piece of rock off the ground, and dropped it in. "I bet this was put here recently. Maybe if we find out how long ago, we can put the activity reports against it and see who it is!"

"I don't think you should do that." Walter's voice was nervous, but Berkoff was too excited to hear it.

"Why not? Look, there it goes...ok....wait...what?" Berkoff stopped talking and just stared at his screen.

"Walter, how did you know to come here?" He turned around to look at Walter, who was standing in one place, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Why does that matter? I told you Section wouldn't be able to see us. Man, can't you just put that away? Why does it matter? Are we dead? No."

"Walter, the rocks in this place had that element literally injected into them. And it was over a hundred years ago." ************ Chapter thirteen ___________

"Madeline." Nikita snapped her fingers in front of Madeline's face, to no avail. "Wow. I've never seen anyone go quite that deep."

"She's remembering something that happened quite a long time ago...for her, anyway. She pushed it out of her mind. That coupled with the strength of her Gift, and I think we should give her a few minutes." Lalia drained her wine glass and called the waiter over.

"In the meantime, I think we should look at the desert menu. Serge was singing about something this morning, and I swear, I think I saw tiramasu."

A waiter brought three large leather-backed menus. Nikita and Lalia were still looking at theirs a few minutes later when Madeline's eyes cleared.

"How do you feel?" Lalia didn't look up, but she knew Madeline was back, and she didn't want to make the woman uncomfortable by staring.

"What was that?" Madeline was straightening her hair, and carefully not looking at either of them. She *never* lost control like that. She was angry at Lalia for creating the situation, and even more angry at herself. This was *not* going to happen again.

"Do you remember now? You were gone quite a while." Actually, Lalia was impressed. The longer it takes to remember, the stronger the mind that buried it.

And that had taken much longer than expected.

"Yes." Madeline looked at Lalia straight on, forcing her to look back. "Why did you do that to me?" It was asked with anger. Lalia shook her head.

"I did nothing to you. You did it. You had complete control, and you chose to remember, rather than continue to repress. I have to say, I'm impressed. Your eyes are completely clear now." Lalia was indeed looking into her eyes. They were perfect. "That never happens. You've really got complete control, don't you? That is one amazing mind." Lalia said the last with respect, and without smiling, because it was the truth. She knew only a few people with minds like that...

Madeline smiled. "I'll take that as intended. Thank you." She looked at Lalia again, carefully this time. "I suppose this means I have to work with you."

"I tell you what. We won't even think about it until tomorrow. We'll have some dessert, and I'll walk you to your new room. Room, not cell." She smiled. "And we can discuss it after you've thought about it a little."

Madeline smiled and made a conscious decision to relax. "I think I might be in a state of mind to enjoy dessert. What is it?"

************ Chapter fourteen ___________

After walking Madeline to her new room, (an Inner Circle apartment, though she didn't know it yet.) Lalia sank into her chair and started leafing through the briefs that had amassed on her desk while she was gone.

- A situation in Honduras...fine, I'll send Darwin and company for that. War in the middle-east....I needed a brief to tell me that? Please.

The Section directory fell off Lalia's desk in the shuffle, and when she picked it up, Paul's name caught her eye.

She sighed, and decided to check and make sure he, and everyone else, had gotten out alright. Last night she had come to the conclusion that she still loved him way to much to let him die. While she had moved on long since....she still needed to make sure Paul was at least ok. And yeah, she wouldn't really mind him being happy....damn, damn, damn!

Pulling her laptop computer over, Lalia started browsing through the Section computer system. She had long ago had a connection set up to her computers, masked as "Section 11". Supposedly still in the works.

- Ha.

- OK...here's a sim for the recovery in Bosnia...that was two weeks ago. A memo about the mission in Honduras. Aha! That's what that was. Ok....a mission in Africa...wait.....they're looking for Walter and Berkoff? What? "Missing since Africa mission...".

- Son of a bitch.

- They have no idea. None. Look at this, they're still planning missions.

He just took off.

- With Berkoff, granted. Points to his favor there.

But he hadn't said a word, not one word, about the directory or the Red Cell leak. It wasn't anywhere in the system at all

"The next time I see Walter, I am going to strangle him."

************ Chapter Fifteen, Section Interlude ___________

"Where are they?" Operations was practically yelling at the new tech. He was livid, and not hiding it as well as he should have been.

If Madeline was here, then maybe it would be easier. She always could talk him down.

But she wasn't here. She was dead. He was going to have to accept that.

Easier said than done.

Oh, god....Madeline!

Ok, focus.

Operations ran his hand over his eyes.

"Sir?" Operations looked towards the voice. She was probably about 20, red hair going every which way. All in black...well, so was everyone else. Section One, after all.

"Yes?"

"I think you should see this." She was staring at the screen, without looking up. Data was flashing by faster than Operations could read it at that distance, so he came to read over her shoulder.

He watched it for a minute before speaking.

"Where is this coming from?"

"Section 11. Someone there sent this to us."

"What's the login name?

The tech leaned forward. "Elemental." She sat back. "It came with a note saying that it was confirmed, and they thought we should know."

"Have we confirmed it?"

"Just now, sir. It's real." She looked up at him.

Operations stared at the screen a second more, and then whirled and hit a red button on the main console. The evacuation alarm sounded.

************ Lalia watched on her screen as the alarm went off.

"Good. Now get the hell out of there, Paul." She put her hand on the screen, willing him to move.

And pulled it back almost immediately. She'd felt a shock. She'd felt *him*

Damnit.

************ Operations pulled his hand away from the alarm button and stared at it.

No. That wasn't possible. Losing Madeline must really be affecting him.

He stared at the computer and shook his head.

No.

"I'm going crazy. I have got to get hold of myself."

Even while thinking it, he got up and started packing with the techs.

He suddenly wanted very much to be out of there. *Right now*

************ Chapter fifteen ___________

"Goddamnit."

Lalia just sat there, shaking.

Forty years since she'd felt him.

She'd forgotten the power they'd shared, and now it was sitting on her chest like a twelve hundred pound weight.

A small voice in her head went off at that.

"Twelve hundred....forty times three. What did you do?"

"Ok......just breathe..." Talking out loud drowned out the voice. She closed her eyes, and started counting back from one hundred, to calm down. 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92.........just breathe.....nice, deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth..........

...wait.....

"Shit!" If she'd felt him, he'd felt her!

Damn, damn.

Wow. Ok, she was really going to have to start watching her language.

But now she'd have to run a cleansing. Ugh. Such a pain in the butt.

But he'd never remember it, even if he wanted to. He was out of practice. He'd never even notice something was missing. Even if he did, he wouldn't recognize the feeling. You go so long without using it.....

Lalia got out the supplies and set them out in the non-carpeted area behind her desk. She was about to sit down when Michael pushed the door open...he and Nikita were open-door. They weren't supposed to knock.

"What's this?" Michael picked up a long stick and held it in both hands.

"It's a birch branch." Lalia glanced at his face, and closed her eyes in frustration. "Please, oh, please, tell me that you've been taught about the power in a birch tree."

He shook his head.

Lalia sighed, went to a bookcase behind her desk and chose a very large, old volume, wooden-bound. "Ok, sit."

Lalia handed him the book, sat behind her desk and put her feet up on top. "Now, pay attention. This is one of my more boring lectures." Michael smiled and sat down, setting the book on the floor. She always said that, and it never was.

"The silver birch is also known as 'The Lady Of The Woods'.*Beith*, in the Gaelic, also means beginning and inception. We use the birch branches in several rituals, though you won't notice them most of the time, because they're usually just in the brooms. To use a branch alone, first you must...."

Michael, as always, paid close attention. For some reason, he always found this kind of thing fascinating...Nikita said he liked the idea of controlling the elements as well as he controlled himself.

He really couldn't argue with that. Lalia continued to explain the lore and uses of the birch, and the cleansing was never finished. By the time she was done with Michael, she decided that she probably didn't need to do it at all.

Later that night though, Lalia admitted to herself that really, she just didn't want to play with Paul's mind. It seemed too much like a betrayal.

And she really didn't want to turn into *him.*

************ ************************************ ************ Music playing in the background....."Heaven" by Lamb:

*soon come soon sweet so sweet falling soft between the sheets

this could be heaven right here on earth this could be heaven this could be heaven right here on earth this could be heaven

please you please mine be mine forever and all time

this could be heaven right here on earth this could be heaven this could be heaven right here on earth this could be heaven

sleep to sleep sigh on sigh on a lovers lullaby

this could be heaven right here on earth this could be heaven this could be heaven right here on earth this could be heaven

this could be heaven this could be heaven this could be heaven this could be........

heaven....**

Chapter sixteen - "rated 'S' for 'Suggestive'" ___________

"So...how did she take it?" Michael was sitting on the couch in their suite, reading the book Lalia had given him. He was already about halfway through it.

The suite of rooms Michael and Nikita shared were right next to Lalia's, and only just down the hall from Madeline's. All the Inner Circle quarters were on the same floor, since there were only twenty of them...that included Madeline, though not Lalia. She was in a separate category. The same floor held their dining room and the heavy-impact training rooms.

"She took it like... Madeline. I don't think anything ever fazes her." Nikita dropped onto the couch next to him, and kicking her shoes off, pulled her knees under her chin. "Turns out Lalia was right when she said that the more relaxed we are, the more relaxed Madeline will be, but....Michael, do you have any idea how exhausting it is to be relaxed? I wanted to throw something across the room."

Michael pulled her legs to him and started rubbing the sole of her left foot. "You might try actually relaxing." His hands slid up her left thigh and unhooked her stocking. "And you might try taking these off."

Nikita's eyes closed as Michael's hands slowly slid down her leg, dragging the stocking. He worked the material between her toes before pulling the silk from her foot.

As his left hand slid up her right thigh, Michael pulled Nikita halfway into his lap, and started working on her neck with his right hand. "Well, on the plus side, I'm sure there are some meat grinders that are less relaxed than you." Removing her right stocking, he concentrated on the knot behind her left shoulder.

"Her recovery-trance lasted almost five minutes." Nikita's eyes were half closed, and her legs stretched out in front of her.

Michael's hands were putting her to sleep.

"Does that mean something?" Michael started running kisses down the right side of her neck, but he was still rubbing. The knot in her shoulder was refusing to loosen.

Nikita sighed. "Yes. It means she really is perfect. No one ever stays in a trance that long. I saw it in Lalia's eyes; she was impressed."

"You've been Lalia's favorite since you were thirteen. I don't think Madeline is going to upstage you anytime soon." Michael's teeth started to nibble her ear, and his left hand slid back down her thigh. "Do you?"

"Do I what?"

************ Chapter Seventeen, Section Interlude ___________

"Walter, what's going on? No one had this kind of technology a century ago. How did you know to come here?" Berkoff was still running the data through his computer. The numbers just didn't add up.

"Look man, you of all people know not to ask questions!" Walter came over and slammed the laptop lid shut.

"Hey! That's expensive!"

"You have to learn to let things go. You're going to get us both dead." Walter was all but screaming.

"If you thought I was such a risk, why did you *bring* me? Why take the chance?"

"Because I'm supposed to take care of you!"

Aw, shit.

Walter was sorry the minute he said it.

Berkoff got very quiet."What do you mean, you're *supposed* to take care of me?"

************ Chapter seventeen - "rated S" ___________

"Good morning." Michael was tickling Nikita's chin to wake her up.

She squinted up at him. "Is it morning?" She groped for the clock on the night stand...then noticed that they were on the floor. "Wait...when did we fall out of the bed?"

"I'd say around three-thirty." Michael picked up the clock, now broken and frozen.

Nikita snatched it out of his hand The glass over the face was cracked and missing a few pieces. Springs were coming out of the back, and one of the hands was bent.

That must be how she got that cut.

Nikita put the clock down and stretched. Her eyes went to the ceiling and she started to giggle.

"What's so funny?"

Nikita smiled. "Nothing. But Jack would be so proud. Look, you only burst the middle light bulb."

Michael looked up, and Nikita had to laugh. His expression was priceless.

Nikita rolled over onto his chest. "Hey, how do you feel about breakfast?"

Michael's eyes were closed again.

"Michael, I'm going to start tickling."

Michael opened one eye. "Breakfast. That would require my getting up, wouldn't it?" He closed the eye again. "Do I have to?"

"Yes. I want to talk to Lalia, and you have more pin-points drills today." She glanced at the ceiling as she stood up. "Not, apparently, that you need them."

Michael smiled up at her. "Pin-points, huh? You going to help me?"

Nikita pulled on the shirt Michael had been wearing yesterday, and went into the bathroom. "Only if you get up."

He watched her turn on the shower. "You want some company?"

Her face turned wicked and she glanced at him in the mirror.

"Only if you get up."

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