Madeline ran the briefing. Nikita sat next to Michael and her face screwed up into an expression of distaste as she listened to the other woman describe the details of the next assignment. In a nutshell, a man by the name of Guy Campbell, was a rich sleaze ball who made porno films. He had a list of the names of government officials who were his *clients*. A list that he kept for Black mail purposes. He was extorting a high ranking official at this present time, and the fall out could cause a major conflict. It was up to Section One to get the list.

Nikita would meet with Guy for an audition, and Michael would go with her as back up. They were to leave in one hour. Nikita sighed as she rose from her chair. Although she already knew what the answer would be, she had to ask just one question. "If this GUY hires me. What then?"

Ops offereded a cold smile. "You do whatever it takes," he drawled.

"Easy for you to say!" Nikita hissed. But it was said to his retreating back. She looked over at Michael and saw...compassion....in his, beautiful, green gaze. But it was just a flicker that quickly faded.

Guy Curtis was a pig. That was Nikita's first impression of him. He was of medium height, had two chins, a fat belly, and a thick pelt of dark body hair. He was chomping on a cigar and when he smiled, two gold, teeth glinted at her. His eyes were small, and beady as they eyed her up and down. Nikita felt as if she were covered in slime, and he didn't even touch her. "Seen enough?" She challenged, forgetting to stick to her character.

"Yeah," Guy acknowledged, with a nod of his head that made his jowls jiggle. "Can't use you," he said bluntly. "Your boobs are too small."

"Too...small?" Nikita countered, nearly choking on her words. Not that she was upset, but she was rather....surprised.

Guy swiped at his runny nose with his shirt sleeve as he grinned at Nikita. "That's right, babe. Need big knockers to make it in this business. Sorry."

Nikita grimaced, but stayed in character. "Me too," she replied, pretending to be upset. "I really need the money." Her cover was that she had a gambling debt and need some quick cash. Five thousand dollars, to be exact.

"Well.." Guy dragged at his cigar for a moment, then turned to point at Michael, who was roaming about the film set as he waited for Nikita. "Your friend...him I could use." "Michael?" Nikita's surprise was genuine. "Um...he's my brother. My step brother." She remembered their cover. "What do you want him for?"

Guy laughed, then shook his head. "Babe, let me tell you, a guy like your brother...a real HOT STUD....pair him up with a beautiful babe, bring in another stud, do the rape/seduction/bondage thing...especially now that all the gays are coming out of the closet... and you've got a runaway best seller of a video!" Drool dribbled from the corner of Guy's mouth and he sucked it back in.

Nikita found it hard to hide her disgust. "Well...I don't think my brother would be interested," she said. There was no way she was going to put Michael in that position. Section be damned. "Thanks for your time." Nikita moved to step around Guy, but he blocked her way.

"You might want to think about it, babe." Guy fished in his pocket and pulled out a card. "Give this to your brother and tell him to call me if he IS interested. We're talking $2000 a day for his efforts. And it ain't so bad, making out with a pretty bimbo and getting paid for it."

"I'll tell him," Nikita replied, forcing a smile. She turned and headed for Michael, the card buried in her pants pocket. She had no intention of telling him anything.

Michael watched Nikita approach him, and saw the fire that blazed in her sky blue eyes. "How did it go?" he asked. Nikita glared at him, although he wasn't the one she was angry at. "It didn't!" she snapped. Then she stormed past him and out the door.

Operations was perched on the edge of the table, his ice-blue eyes locked on Nikita. "So....you failed?" he drawled.

She glared at him. "Don't blame this one on me," she shot back. "It's not my fault I don't have big boobs. You should have known better and sent a Pamela Lee look a like." Nikita saw a strange expression in Operation's eyes and hastened to add, "I am NOT getting a boob job, either!"

Michael was sitting beside her, and he nearly cracked a smile. To distract himself, he addressed Madeline. "So now what do we do?" She smiled at him. "We send you in."

Nikita was stunned. "Um...wait a minute. Send him in as what?" she countered. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. In response to Nikita's question, Ops pressed a button on the console beside him and voices were heard. It was Nikita's conversation with Guy Curtis. The part about him wanting to use Michael.

"How did you...?" Nikita began. But she broke off when she realized that she had been wired. Walter strikes again. But she glared at Ops. "You don't really expect Michael to perform in a porno film, do you? You can't!" But she realized that the could, and did, expect that. Madeline looked at Michael and said, "Call him and set up a meet for tomorrow." At his nod, she and Operations walked out of the room

Nikita turned her attention to Michael. He was rising to follow Madeline and Ops and Nikita jumped up to intercept him. "Um...Michael...I'm sorry," she told him. "Sorry?" he repeated, his eyes glimmering.

"That I couldn't protect you better," Nikita replied. When he still looked confused she added, "I was hoping that Ops and Madeline would't find out about what Guy said about you." Michael looked down at the floor for a minute, as if lost in thought, then he raised his head and his eyes locked with Nikita. "I don't need protection," he said softly.

Nikita eyes flashed, for Michael's words were like a slap in a face. What she heard was...I don't need *your* help, Nikita. "Fine!" she spat. Then she shook her head and muttered, "Why do I bother?"

"Good question, Nikita," Michael countered, and his eyes shimmered. "Why?" "Ooooooooh!" Nikita found herself resisting the urge to smack the smug expression off Michael's face. But even as her hand twitched, she realized that there was no expression on his face. When was there? So Nikita turned on her heel and stormed out.

Michael stood where he was for a long moment, and his lips curved into a soft smile.

THE END...of part one

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

The rain fell in hard pelts, blurring the snow-covered streets in a crystal embrace. The windshield wipers on the old dodge whined and strained against the pounding pressure of the shower and did nothing to clear off the foggy vapor which was beginning to glaze over the entire windshield..bluring Nikita's vision as she flew down the icy streets.

"Nikita...try turning on the defroster," Michael cracked...his face expressionless. For a brief moment, Nikita could have sworn he was teasing her, but as she looked into his mute face..she could read nothing within it.

"I know that, Michael," Nikita snapped, as her hands reached down to pull on the knob. As it broke in her hand, she held it directly in front of Michael's face and issued a silent challenge.

He saw the button in front of him and looked over at her very angry expression. She was not amused...but it was taking everything he had not to laugh. Fine, so the section gave her a lemon for their assignment..so she was driving around in a beat up, 77 Dodge. So the car had black smoke coming out of its rear, and only one headlight worked and...Nikita was not all that adept at handling a car.

"NOW What?" Nikita hissed, as she reached forward to try and wipe off the excess moisture with her sleeve. "Why not hang your head out the window like a dog and look for cars?" Michael offered helpfully. He turned his head to stare out his window in time to miss the look of shock which came across Nikita's face and swallowed a grin as he turned back to look at her, stone-faced.

"Was that a joke?" She finally managed to ask, her patience beginning to grow very thin. It was the morning of Michael's first shoot and 'production meeting' with Guy Campbell and he had been...almost giddy all morning..well, giddy for Michael.

She had picked him up at section and he was wearing an outfit that he had worn when they had posed as husband and wife when they tried to trap Bower, seem tame in comparison. He wore a striped florescent orange muscle shirt under a black leather jacket with some funky seventies style plaid tight pants. She was almost embarrassed to be seen with him as they walked out.

As they neared the car in which Operations had told her to use..as she was the one who had to drive her *brother* to his new job and watch out for him, Michael reached around and grabbed her arm. "This is going to be a long week," he said, his tone not revealing a single emotion. But then he kissed her, passionatly..right there in the snow, in front of Section One.in front of the world. Then he let her go, got into the car, and told her they were wasting precious time. Was Michael having a nervous breakdown? Had he finally cracked? As she pondered the thought and drove off down the street, she became quickly agitated by how...frustrating it was having Michael as a *back-seat driver.*

As they later turned down the dingy streets and turned into an abandoned warehouse, she cringed. It was too late to back out now and...it looked as if Michael was actually going to enjoy this. She saw a brief smile cross his face as they exited the car and he...ran up to the door and inside it, leaving her to lock up the disheveled heap and then crunching through the snow towards the 'funhouse.'

She walked in to find Michael standing beside Guy and a very buxom woman. She walked over to stand next to her *brother* and was astound to find this woman's..hand curving around Michael's butt. And he didn't even flinch, in fact, he actually smiled down at the woman.

"I'm still not sure about this," she whispered to him, but Guy heard her loud and clear. Crunching on his cigar, he leaned towards her and she stepped back from his stench. "Your brother is going to be just fine, and besides he's a big boy, and he doesn't seem to mind Jessi here at all. Too bad, his other co-star Bobby won't be here till tomorrow but until then, we'll just have a little fun. Why don't we all go into my office and have a little fun ourselves?"

"I don't think.." Nikita began, her voice deep with anger. She was this close to decking Guy when Michael grabbed her arm and began pulling her towards the office. "Come on, Sis. Let's have a little fun." She glared at him, and barely noticed the nod which he gave Michael was prepared for Nikita to distract Guy--not in the way in which Nikita was thinking him too, but simply by having Guy focus all his attention on her. And in that time...he would steal the disk.

Three hours later, they all stood on the small make-shift set. There was a simple, raggedy brown bedspread on top of a full sized bed. There was an iron headboard, and it was up against a 'wooden' wall which was supposed to resemble the inside of a cabin in a rickety ship. Nikita glanced over at Michael, who guy was instructing on how this scene would be set up: Michael would play a captured sailor and the mistress of the Captain of this ship..played by Jessi, would have him tied up to the headboard and gagged. It wasn't too difficult of a scene really, but the thought still made Nikia gag.

She glanced at Guy's one black eye and swollen lip..and really wanted to deck him again. For the past two hours in his office, he had done nothing but try and come on to her. And Michael did nothing to stop him...so she winded up having to defend herself..which was fine with her. She really wanted to kill Michael right now.

Yet as she watched him lie down on the bed in nothing but an old pair of loose-fitting pants, she felt for him. She then saw as two burly men began to crawl onto the bed and tie him up. Feeling disgusted, she walked over to the bed to look at him and...tripped over the camera wire, sending it careening down onto the bed. The camera crashed down onto one of the guy's legs and barely missed the other one. Micheal was smart enough to roll off the bed as soon as he had seen the camera coming.

"Oops," Nikita mumbled as about 4 stagehands rushed over to clean up the mess. They carted the one guy off in a gurney and the other one walked off ran over to Guy. Nikita could read their minds..and she was correct in her assumption as Guy stormed over to her. He chewed her out about the camera equipment and said that she did it intentionally and that if she didn't want to find herself out on the street without her brother, to shape up. Fake tears came to her eyes and she held back the fire which aroused within her and humbly apologized. For now.

During the lunch break, Nikita decided to make amends..with Jessi. She went and bought lunch for them both and they had lunch sitting on the stairwell discussing Michael. Actually, it was more of the Spanish inquisition. Jessi told Nikita all about how she was going to seduce Michael and if she was his type and exactly how big her breasts were. Nikita was disguisted..but she held her grin. She pretended like they were the best of friends. Because within the hour, little miss Jessi would be too sick to do much of anything...after all, what was a little food poisoning among friends?

Jessi would be too sick to work, Guy would have to call it a day, and they could find the stupid disk and go home. Nikita had it all planned out.

Yet, her plan would soon blow up in her face. As Guy ordered one of his crew to take Jessi to the hospital, he picked up the phone. "What is going on, Nikita?" Michael asked, his face expressionless. He once again sounded like her trainer...*the machine.* "I have no idea." She turned away from him and smiled as they lead the pale woman outside. And she missed the flicker of a smile which came across Michael's face as he mouthed, "Right."

After thirty minutes of wandering around the set, Nikita finally saw Guy wave Michael over to him. As she saw Michael walk out of a dark hallway and towards the large man, she was suspicious for one moment. Michael was grinning..a full fledged smile. Nothing good could come of this.

"Nikita..come here. I want you to meet someone." Guy called the beautiful blond over. Nikita walked over and stood by Michael as a very large, very built man came and stood beside Guy. "This is Bobby, Michael's other co-star. Since Jessi is..sick..today, we will film Bobby and Michael's scenes. We will start with the initial bondage scene, go to Wardrobe," Guy instructed the two men.

Nikita whirled in front of Bobby and decided to change tactics. "Excuse me, you are a big man aren't you? Why don't we leave my lame excuse of a brother here and go have some fun...of our own." Nikita whispered as she leaned forward to nibble on Bobby's ear. Michael nearly choked on his own laughter when he saw Nikita's reaction to Bobby's next words.

"No Thanks. I'd prefer playing with your brother anyday."

The End..of Chapter 2.

--By Shelly (Odd Chapters) and Laura (Even Chapters).