"This new recruit is a royal pain. I don't think he'll ever shut up and if he doesn't I may have to kill him myself. What an ego-maniac." These thoughts were randomly passing through Ken's mind as he led the recruit in question to Walter's counter. "Hey, Walter," Ken said as they approached. "I need two 9mm's. I need to put in some training time for Jason here." Ken indicted the young recruit beside him, while grimacing at Walter.

Walter glanced once at Jason, who was smiling arrogantly while he scanned the area with his eyes. Walter's gaze left the recruit and returned to Ken and he smirked evilly at Ken, "A new one. What did you do to deserve this?"

"Well, I still don't think I've been forgiven for letting Nikita get past me when we were hunting Michael. I've been given every shit job they can think of since that time. I have had to dispose of bodies, haul in dirt for Madeleine's new plants, and I've even had to clean Birkoff's room. Do you know how difficult it is to get Oreo crumbs and chocolate smears off of computer equipment? And it's not as if the mission was really a failure. Nikita saved both of them anyway." Ken spoke these words with the righteous indignation of a person who was being punished for no good reason.

As Walter and Ken had been talking Jason had been watching the operatives walk by. He suddenly straightened and Walter and Ken heard him whistle softly in surprise. "How I wouldn't like to get me a piece of that," Jason said crudely as he watched a beautiful operative head toward Birkoff's work area. Ken and Walter turned to see whom Jason was talking about.

As the seasoned operatives saw the woman in question, they both responded at the same time.

"Boy you really don't want to live long do you?" came out of Ken's mouth while Walter uttered, "Shut your trap, boy, and keep it shut."

"Hey," Jason exclaimed, "What did I say? I was just admiring a beautiful woman with a beautiful walk. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"There is when it's that woman," growled Walter.

Jason's eyes were still on the woman who was sitting casually on Birkoff's desk as she teased him about something or other. Her long blonde hair was tied in a braid that flipped against her back as she turned her head. She was looking back to the other hallway that led to the training areas. She seemed to be looking for someone. "I'm just saying that I would give a hell of a lot to spend some time with her," Jason grinned. "Who is she?"

"That is Nikita," answered Ken. "But I don't think you'd want to give up want it would take to spend some time with her."

"Oh yeah," answered Jason, as he turned back to them with an exaggerated swagger. "And what exactly would it take?"

"Your life," growled Walter. He turned away to get the items that Ken had requested.

Ken turned toward Jason to explain. "Okay, I guess I have neglected to explain a few rules to you. I explained where you are and what we do here. I told you about what your role in life is from this point on, but I need to explain a very basic code of survival that we all operate under."

Walter returned as Ken stated this and smiled. Jason didn't notice the older man as his gaze had returned to studying Nikita. "Oh yeah, and what's that," Jason demanded.

"Don't mess with Michael." Ken answered very seriously.

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

"What?" Jason turned back to Ken in surprise. "Who's Michael? I thought we were talking about Nikita."

"Remember when we were passing the training rooms and we stopped to watch that martial arts lesson?" Ken asked, as he casually inspected the 9mm Walter had handed him.

"Yeah," Jason answered in confusion.

"Remember the man who was systematically dismantling the class members?" Ken continued.

"Yeah," Jason answered again more faintly this time.

"Well, that was Michael. You never want to mess with him." Ken uttered these last words as he snapped a clip into the weapon.

"What does that have to do with the blonde fox?" Jason asked, still intently leering at the topic of discussion.

"Nikita is Michael's." Walter stated matter of factly.

"You mean she's his material?" Jason looked at the grizzled older man.

"No, she was his material. She is not any longer. I said she was HIS," answered Walter.

"Oh, so your saying that she's his "piece of ass," in Section," laughed Jason. " I didn't know we got to keep women like a harem."

Walter dropped the clip he had been working on as he went to reach for Jason, "Listen you crude son of a..." Ken reached up and gripped Walter's arm.

"No Walter," Ken quietly said. "I'll take care of it." Ken looked at Jason and grimly smiled. "Let me make this a little clearer for you. Nikita BELONGS to Michael and Michael BELONGS to Nikita. They love each other. Everyone in Section knows this and everyone in Section stays out of their way."

As Ken had been making this statement, Michael walked out of the hallway and walked past Nikita. He didn't even glance at her. She watched him walk off and then sadly smiled. She took a deep breath and returned to her conversation with Birkoff.

"Well, that doesn't look like love to me," Jason sneered.

"Yeah, well life in Section is complicated." Ken frowned as he watched the woman he had learned to admire. She hadn't had an easy time in Section and it probably wasn't going to get any better.

"I think when we're done shooting I'll look her up." Jason grinned arrogantly at Walter and Ken, his ego not a bit dimmed by their warnings. "I'll just let her know that my "love" will keep her warmer than Michael's."

Walter smiled grimly as he handed Jason his weapon. "Why don't you just do that. I'd enjoy seeing happen to you what has happened to everyone else that has had the guts to talk to Nikita about Michael's love." Walter turned to Ken and hissed, "Get this idiot out of here."

Ken shrugged his shoulders as he smiled weakly at Walter in apology. He turned to lead Jason away.

"Wait," Jason said. "Tell me what happened to "everyone else"?"

"They died," Ken quietly stated as he led the way out of the area. Walter watched them leave with a grim smile on his face.

***********

"Hey, Walter, how's it hanging," Nikita greeted Walter with a wide smile.

"It hasn't been hanging at all since you walked in the door, sugar." Walter leered at his favorite operative.

"Oh yeah! Nikita laughed "You are just what my ego needs." She reached over and gave him a peck on the cheek and then settled against the counter. "Hey, did you hear what happened earlier," Nikita questioned Walter.

"Nope, I've been here all day, working on faulty equipment." Walter made a point of not looking at Nikita as he made this statement, instead concentrating on the com-unit he was working on.

"Well, Ken took that new recruit of his, James or Jason or something like that, to the shooting range, and when the recruit went to shoot, his gun exploded. He was dead in an instance." Nikita was explaining all of this while she leaned on Walter's counter.

"You don't say," Walter muttered as he glanced up. As he looked past Nikita he saw Ken passing by. Ken paused and looked at Walter and then nodded his head and continued on his way.

"What do you think was wrong with his gun," Nikita asked.

"Hard to tell, hard to tell," muttered Walter as he returned to fiddling with the com-unit. A little smile flitted across his face. "Sometimes accidents just happen."

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