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One thing that would always amaze him was the way a child could fall asleep so soundly and instantly. Reese had lost the battle with the Sandman sitting on the floor. He was now snuggled under a light blanket with the teddy bear held tightly under his arm. Michael stacked the last block against the wall and looked around.
Things still laid scattered. Michael had gotten a little too intent on building one tower and neglected to keep a closer eye on Reese. The little tyke had gotten bored and ripped apart the duffle bag laying near him. By the time his attention had been diverted, the bag was empty. With a sigh, Michael started picking that up. In a whisper he said, "You may be little but you have a broad zone of destruction." Some of the things Reese had pulled from the bag were the papers Nikita had taken from Greg. Having not finished them at the cabin, he figured now was the time to do it. Before they went back to Section One. He might need some of the info they contained.
Gathering them together, he sat in the rocking chair by the window to finish them. The first two he just skimmed. He had read them already. It was the letter from Margeaux to Jon Jae. The third one caused Michael's jaw to tighten. It was a birth certificate and it belonged to Reese. It was in Italian but the words were close enough to French for him to get their meaning. He had been born in a midwife center or something like that in Rome but the name of the parents froze Michael to the chair. What it said had to be wrong. Margeaux Linsdon was Reese's mother not...
Michael tried to stand up but couldn't find the strength. "No, this has to be wrong. How the hell can this be possible?" he whispered forcibly. A shaky hand forced some hair back behind his ear as his blood pounded in his head. * Martina....no she couldn't be....her and Margeaux? Related? Were Greg and Margeaux his aunt and uncle? Martina is his mother? Wait a minute. This is unreal!!!* He stood and as he did a smaller envelope fell to the floor. He scooped it up and looked at the front. It simply said 'Reese Daniel'.
Feeling the overpowering need to know what they were facing, Michael opened the envelope. The letter inside was handwritten and was definitely by a female. He looked over at the crib feeling guilty for opening something obviously meant for Reese when he got older. But the need to know so he could protect them all was more important than that.
*Dear Reese;
I imagine as you read this I have been out of your life for a pretty long time. Please I hope that you have never thought it was because I didn't love you. You were the most important thing in the world to me and that was why I made the decisions I did. I am going to be blunt in the hopes you will be able to understand why I did the things I did.
I should probably begin with who your real father was, but maybe it is best that you know me first. You may remember me as tall with short light colored, sometimes blonde or brown hair and eyes the color of yours. Most of the world knew me with brown eyes and chin-length brown hair. You will probably also recall that when you were small I left you with Greg a lot. I had to. My duties left me with no choice. My job was why I was away so much. You came to be because of my job. I always resented it because of that. Not because it gave me you, but because it took me away from your side and eventually your entire life.
I worked for many years being two very different people for a special organization known as the Section. I was a leader for the Section of one of their smaller areas. I was also an agent who went by the name Margeaux Linsdon. Your real father was one of my assignments. We were involved as part of that and I got pregnant with you. Your father wanted nothing to do with you and Greg knew you weren't his son. My superiors saw you as a pawn and a pivotable point of power. I saw you as my child. The only one I would ever have. I only wish that your real father had been that man I loved when I was young but his job with these same people kept us from doing that. Maybe he is still around. His name is Oscar Wolfe. ( I will tell you later how to get in touch with him. Perhaps you already know him.)
Your real father was a man you would not want to know or even meet on the street corner. He was (may still be) an international terrorist whose goals in life were power and control. Of everything he laid his eyes on, including me. And he thought he did. My greatest accomplish ment was proving him wrong. You are part of every good I tried to do for the world. I know you are everything he never even dreamed of being.
For you to live though you had to be protected and hidden. Oscar and I thought we...*
Michael stopped reading for a moment, his head pounding and his body taut with tension. Margeaux was not Martina's sister. They were more than related. They were the same person. He pulled a hand over his now damp face, noticing also how hard he was breathing. He felt like somehow a nightmare had opened up in front of his eyes even though he was still wide awake. *Nikita * his head screamed at him. The woman in the graveyard had been Margeaux Linsdon but had also been Martina, the leader of Section in Israel. She hadn't died with everyone else.
She had somehow managed to get out after she had convinced Nikita to return to him. Martina had saved Nikita's life. Only in turn Nikita had inadvertently taken hers. The implications were bitter and devastating. Not only for Section but for Nikita. There was no way for him to ever let this letter be read by anyone else. It would hurt too many. Especially Nikita and Reese. Movement in the crib caught his attention. Reese rolled over, making noises in his sleep.
He skimmed the rest of the letter. Martina described the plan she and Oscar had come up with and why they had to do it. There was a conspiracy within the upper echelons of the agency and it was going to come down on Section One's head. Oscar knew he was going to be fingered and Martina knew she was marked for death. Keeping Reese alive was the most important thing to her. Then his and Nikita's names caught his attention...
*Oscar and I have planned for two special people to keep you safe until all of the games are over with. They remind me of how I was with Oscar when I was their age. You may even remember them. Michael is intense, very handsome, strong, intelligent and stable. He has eyes the color of yours. You remind me of someone he lost a long time ago. A loss that hurt him very deeply. I speak of his small son, Merle. But that is Michael's story and I would not presume to put my interpretation to it.
With him would have been Nikita. Beautiful, vibrant, also strong, loving and so wonderfully full of life. Her hair was so blonde and those blue eyes of hers... She was a wonderful person to get to know. She was a such a good friend. So sad though...I hoped that while you were together you were able to make up for the child I know she left behind somewhere...
My wildest dream is that as you read this, you are sharing a home with them. That you are all safe and happy, as a family. What they have together, I could only appreciate from afar. I envy you for the time you must have had with them. I told the world of my choice but I have no way of knowing if it was heard. For that I can only pray. I wish that my life would have given me the gift of time to have been there for you. But Fate decided that it had other plans for me. I hope I was able to cheat it, for you to have a better one. Everything I have done since the day I knew I was carrying you was to make sure you grew up to be safe and happy. I hope that I succeeded. I did it all out of love. Please, Reese tell them all thank you. For their sacrifices and the love I know they shared with you. I watch over you and them.
M...(finish as you feel is right)
P.S. If you are with Michael and Nikita, they can put you in touch with Oscar. If not, there should be a video tape with this letter. Bring it to someone powerful and ask them to play it. Section One will be at your side within only a few hours and then perhaps they can take the burden from you...
Michael leaned his forehead against the glass of the window as the world swirled around him. *Burden? What in the world is she talking about? What are these animals up to?!* The letter didn't even begin to explain everything but it was a bomb that would shattered them all. He had to defuse it before it did.
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This pond was a good place to sit, think and cry some more. It was quiet and secluded. Nikita sat down on the bank and drew her knees up to her chest. The birds twittered as they flew among the trees and bushes around her going about their lives. *I wish mine was as simple as theirs. Get some worms and bugs for dinner. Find some dead grass for a nest and that's it. Must be pretty good.*
She turned her attention back to the pond. Occasionally a ripple broke the surface but otherwise its mirrored effect was intact. Bits and pieces of the talk she and Michael had during the night floated through her head. He was right, no matter how she had twisted it around on him last night. And as she did the same thing now, he was still right. He was worried in spite of his stressing their safety to her, no matter what. She felt an ominous feeling gathering inside.
The effects of this on all of them were yet to be seen or felt. And what they could entail or what damage they might inflict was a problem. Being here was a danger not only to Reese and Katie but the rest of Claude and Annie's family. The repercussions for Simon and Christine for this were also very uncertain. It all depended on the control that Madeline had once they got back. This could all turn on them and result in cancellation.
At that thought Nikita squeezed her eyes shut tightly, trying to stop the tears. The thought of never seeing Katie and for that matter, Reese too, was overwhelming. She had left Reese and Michael up in the nursery playing. It had felt good to sit there and watch him on the floor helping Reese stack the large cardboard blocks Claude had pulled down from the attic. At first she had joined in but it was plain they were more intent on each other. A few days ago that would have hurt but considering it might be a long time till they saw each other again, she couldn't begrudge them the time together.
Reese and Michael fit seamlessly together. Almost as if they were really father and son. The look in Michael's eyes as he looked at the little boy made her feel almost happy. It was obvious that he loved this child into whose life they had intruded and ripped apart. And Reese's feelings towards them were clear as well. He had named her "mama" soon after she had started her part of the mission. And just as they were playing together, he had said something that caused Michael to halt what he was doing..
Reese had snatched a brick from him and slapped it down on the floor. He had scowled at Michael and clearly said "Na dada, eeses."
Sitting there, she had stared at him in shock, while Michael's face literally lit up. He tried to take the brick away and Reese slapped him this time.
The little boy knitted his eyes together and glared at Michael. This time he yelled, "NA, DADA!"
The glittering green eyes that caught hers were slightly wet. "Did you hear him 'Kita? Did you hear what he called me?" Quietly she had nodded, unwilling to break the spell. Never had she seen him so happy except maybe the first time they had made love and she had told him she loved him. A dream had come true for him, just as it had for her. Unfortunately, it would have to continue without them. It contrasted totally with the talk of the night before.
Michael felt very guilty about not keeping his promise to Greg. Leaving him here with Claude and Annie was not taking care of Reese like he had wanted to. It wasn't being a father he had insisted. She remembered reminding him that he wasn't the only one facing the same problem. What about Katie? Didn't he realize she felt like she was abandoning her daughter once again?
He had countered that with the comment of giving her a good family to live with. Her reply was to ask him the same thing, only to insert Reese.
He had been quiet for a long time after she had said that. Then he had started talking about some of the feelings he had been having in the weeks that they had been apart and over what had happened since then. The way he took the blame for so much all the time bothered her. It was time he stopped it but there was no way to convince him to place any of it where it really belonged. So much of the pain he experienced came from there. Michael was a man who just couldn't let go.
Slowly Nikita lowered her head to her knees. The way he kept looking at Reese worried her a lot. There was so much sadness in his eyes and regret. She could feel in his touch too. His fingers lingered as if afraid once losing contact, he would never have it again. Losing his son as he had was a tremendous blow to him. And now he was reliving it in a way. It wasn't hard for her to understand his feelings either. She was having them too. The guilt over having to leave Katie again, in effect giving her up to someone's probably permanent care was staggering. It was almost like being seventeen again.
Tears fell one by one from her eyes. *It's had been 10 years since I got to hold her and now she was being taken away again because of stupid decisions I made. And now I've done the same thing to that little boy. I took his mother from him, helped to take his father and now I'm leaving him too. I don't deserve either of them. I've wronged them both and that means that I've earned every bad thing I feel.*
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Michael watched as the paper withered from the flames and turned to ashes in the sink. The kitchen door swung open and Claude entered. He carried several plastic bags in his hands. He saw the still and silent figure at the sink and the smell of something burning. He leaned over Michael's shoulder to see what he was doing.
"What are you burning?"
"Paper." Claude rolled his eyes. Michael's short answers like that were always an indication to butt out of what was ever going on. That was where his answer of 'Fine' always came from. It was meant to shut you up and keep you out. This time he wasn't going to get Claude to do that.
"Mon ami, dit moi ." He watched as Michael washed the still smoldering bits down the drain.
"C'est bon. Pardone..." Michael pushed away from the sink and started for the back door.
Claude followed him and grabbed the door handle. "Michel, tu te nous souviens? Qui sommes? Qui etions?"
Dark green eyes that were tinged with a gleam akin to silver raised their deeply troubled gaze to Claude's steady and probing one. "That is why I can not share this with you. Please move."
"Tell me what that was Michael." He tighten his grip on the door with one hand and his other hand went to Michael's shoulder.
"No." He tried to roughly shove Claude off. He didn't want to talk to anyone about that letter. It was his to know and keep hidden. He was not about to see what it could do to Nikita.
Claude's temper flared. They grappled and the screen door opened. Michael wasn't about to fight Claude and offered no resistance. Besides he would have hurt himself if he did. He ended up face first against the house outside. His left arm twisted up behind his back and Claude's arm around his throat. There was no pressure just an attempt to hold him still. The pull on his chest and ribs was light but it still hurt.
Claude's mouth was close to his ear. "Like Simon told you earlier. THIS concerns ALL of us. What was on that paper? Who was it about? Who was it from?"
"I have endangered you all enough. You don't need to get in any deeper, Claude."
The snarl from Claude was out of place for him. "I'm in deeper than you could possibly know." He pushed Michael hard into the clapboards and then he let go, backing away and wiping his hand across his mouth. "What the hell is your problem?! Why do you think it is always just for you to deal with. We're not kids anymore. This concerns both of us...both of us deal with it." The dead eyes that suddenly fixed on him sent a shiver down his spine.
Michael tried to feel nothing as he turned to face the man he had known since childhood. "Just promise you'll keep our children as safe as you've kept the other Section children."
As if his legs could no longer hold him, Claude collapsed in a chair. He looked at his friend with incredulous eyes. "How long have you known?"
"I didn't. You just confirmed my suspicions. But I know you are the only one I can trust with Reese and Katie."
"But Section..."
"If they knew where you were, they would have already shown up. For now we are alright." Michael looked towards the deck, far off in thought. "But later..." he shrugged, knowing Claude would understand his meaning.
Claude ignored the warning. He didn't want to think about what Michael was saying. It meant the end of too many things. "What did that paper say?"
Michael sighed, he knew what Claude was doing and it hurt to see him do it. Especially since it was all his fault. "Things that will hurt too many. I can't say anymore about it. I'm leaving tonight to take care of some matters. I made sure Katie overheard me talking to Reese about leaving. She knows Nikita is her mother. That will keep Nikita occupied. Make sure she stays here. I'll be back for them."
"And then what, Michael? Are you planning to try to run?"
"No." He looked over Claude's head out to the thicket beyond the house. "To work out payment for too many personal sacrifices. We've paid more than we ever owed. A promise was made to Nikita. I intend to see it is kept."
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Although she sensed the presence she didn't feel threatened. It wasn't Michael, so why stop crying. "Why are you crying?" the low voice whispered as a small hand stroked her hair. With a jerk Nikita's head came up and pulled away. Katie stepped back, her hand still in the air. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Why are you so sad?"
Quickly Nikita wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn't want Katie to see her crying. A weepy sad woman was not what she wanted her daughter to remember. Shaking her head, she said "Nothing, just thinking about something from a long time ago."
"Are you sure?" Katie looked down at the ground, scuffing a sandaled foot in the grass. "I heard Michael talking to Reese. He was telling him you were going to be going soon. 'To take care of what had been started.' He was saying how much he was already missing Reese and his sister and he hadn't even left with you yet. And he was saying how much you and him loved the two of them. Nikita, who is them? You only brought Reese. And why do you have to leave? Why can't you stay? Don't you like it here?"
"It's a long really mixed up story. It would take me as long as you are old to explain it. I love it here and want to stay so much. But we can't. There's no way. No way at all." She couldn't keep the sadness out of her voice and she knew Katie heard it because of how her eyes seemed to darken.
Katie was scared. Hearing Michael telling Reese about why they had to leave told her nothing. It only make her feel really scared and gave her a funny-bad kind of pain in her tummy. Nikita couldn't leave without her. Michael couldn't either. If Nikita was her mommy then Michael was going to be her dad. Maybe he already really was. The lawyer had said that soon her mom and dad would be there to get her. Well they were here and now they were talking about leaving her.
"That doesn't tell me why. I want to know."
Feeling like the weight of the world sitting on her chest, Nikita got to her feet. *Break away now Nikita. Let her hate Nikita the woman not Nikita her mother. Start walking away. It will be easier on both of you. Eventually...* She dusted grass off the back of her pants, trying to kept herself from shaking and to find the strength she needed to walk away from Katie. "Sometimes adults have to do things that a child should not and can not understand. This is one of those things."
"I want to know why! I thought we were getting to be friends. Friends tell each other secrets. Tell me that one! I'll never tell anyone! Who wants to take you away from here?!" Katie felt like a baby with the tears starting to come out of her eyes but she couldn't help it. *Mommy you just got here, don't leave!!!!*
Nikita could hear the panic in Katie's voice and felt the tears that were streaming down the small face like a knife cutting into her skin. She turned almost unable to breathe. Katie was hurting and Nikita could do nothing to stop it. She felt such pain that her limbs felt numb and cold. Hate as black as anything she could think of was boiling up at Section One. Everything that was anything to her had been touched by that place and spoiled. With the greatest of efforts, she started to walk away from Katie.
"I...You don't need to know that." It sounded so cruel and heartless to say that to her. But how could she tell her the truth. It would have made no sense to her. There would have been no way for her understand it. *I don't understand it myself. How could you?* She had gotten about five feet before Katie's yell stopped her and nearly her heart too.
"MOMMY, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!!!! I WANT YOU AND DADDY TO STAY. WHY DON'T YOU TWO WANT ME?"
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Simon's hair was easy to smooth out, the waves in it falling in their accustomed places to the nape of his neck. Christine managed to get most of the debris from the thicket's earthy floor out of it as well. Still on her knees she moved around to his side and Simon pulled her unto his lap. She reached up and adjusted some more to pull out another twig. "Who did you get your hair from, your mother or father?"
"My mother. She was Egyptian."
"What about your dad?"
"My father was a solider stationed there from the States. We were apart til I was 8."
"Do you resent him for that?"
Slowly Simon shook his head. "No he fought with everything he had to get me back." He chewed thoughtfully on his lip as he looked up to the sky.
"What happened?"
"It is a long story. Suffice to say that I have all the respect, love and gratitude in the world for what he did for me. My only regret is the shame I caused him in the end." The deep sadness in his eyes prompted Christine to kiss him. They kissed for a while, enjoying the closeness. Simon pulled back and looked down into her eyes. "Where are we going to go from here?"
Christine shrugged and leaned her forehead against his chin. "I don't know. We would have to keep our relationship on the outside. We can't let anyone know about this. Not even them."
"I thought you were going to say that."
"Do you regret it already?" She held her breath. Christine knew it was coming. She told herself not to lose it and start to cry in front of him.
"Not in the least. I just hope we didn't fall too fast into this." He kissed her on top of the head.
"It means we need to work harder at keeping each other. That is, if you want to try for the emotional level or leave it here on the physical."
Simon grabbed ahold of both sides of her face forcing her to look directly at him. "We made love, not just had sex. There's a difference. Making love requires emotion. Sex is just physical. Do you understand me?"
"Yes." * But our world isn't the normal one. We won't have anything beyond here and now*
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Nikita's legs didn't want to hold her but she forced them to anyway. She tried to gulp in air but her chest was gripped by an unseen steel hand. *She knows. My God, she knows. My God.* She had no tears, just all numbing pain. Never had anything hurt like this. Not even when she had thought Michael had died in her arms all those months ago.
She swallowed hard past the pain and straightened her shoulders. Digging her nails into her palms, she turned to face Katie. "I'm not sure what signals I gave to make you think you were mine and Michael's daughter. I don't know where your real mother or father are. Perhaps what that lawyer told you, she didn't say very well. Maybe she meant that Claude and Annie were your new parents."
"Then why do we look alike? Why don't you like me? Aren't I good enough to be your little girl?" Katie couldn't believe what Nikita was telling her. *What did I do? Why doesn't my mommy want me to be with her?*
"I would love to have you as my little girl but that isn't possible. You will just have to see me as your friend. Would that be ok?" Inside Nikita was screaming, the words coming out of her were Section One words. Words meant to appease and deceive. They had no right to be here and used against her daughter. But she had no choice. Her life only put Katie's in jeopardy.
Katie felt more anger and hurt that she had ever before. *So you don't want me or like me Mommy? Then it goes double for me!* "NO! You're a idiot! You're gross! You're mean! I wouldn't want you to be my mommy anyway! I hate you!" With the words still hanging in the air, she ran away from Nikita.
The silence of the trees enveloped Nikita as she dropped to her knees, clutching her hands to her chest. The pain that just a few minutes ago she thought couldn't get any worse did. She could feel the pain of breaking Katie's heart. A strangled sound like a wounded animal broke from her throat. "HOW MUCH MORE OF MYSELF DO I HAVE TO GIVE YOU PEOPLE?!?!?"
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Chapter 10
It was a typical house from one of those sentimental and sickening American movies. Jon Jae's mouth curved in disgust. It actually turned his stomach to think she had lived here. To think he had somewhat cared for the woman. Especially now that he knew her whole history. He had been deceived more than he had ever thought possible.
With a bang, he thrust open the front door. It had stood ajar and he was curious as to why. Slowly he walked into the house. It was empty and still. No furniture, no decorations on the walls and the carpets rolled up. A frown formed on his face. Obviously someone had been here to clean up the evidence of what had occurred here.
He heard footfalls on the bare wooden stairs. He slipped under his jacket to grab his gun. He aimed at the legs as they descended. He didn't relax when he saw it was George. He had no trust for the man.
"They do a good job don't they?" George laughed at his own comment as he surveyed things again. He stopped at the bottom step and ran his hand down the wall. "I still see a little blood stain here but if you change the wall paper no one will ever know." He looked up at Jon Jae. "Is there another problem?"
"You never took care of the initial one. I still am without that child."
George laughed again and sat down on a step. He reclined back leisurely and with the same manner regarded the man in front of him. "Kids are over-rated if you ask me. Cause a lot of trouble for what they're worth." He waved a hand in Jon Jae's direction as he scratched his forehead. "Case in point...look at your situation."
"A situation caused by one of your people!" Jon Jae watched as George mulled over the comment.
Puckering his lips, George looked towards the ceiling. "No I'd have to say that actually this situation was caused by you thinking with what's hanging between... well you know what I mean... than with your head."
The red that clouded his vision was the desire to see George's blood on his hands. He lunged at the scum on the stairs. Only to feel George's knee in his crotch and the muzzle of a gun in his mouth. His hands closed around the other man's throat. George remained relaxed and kept his voice calm. If he died, he died. It didn't matter but he was going to enjoy himself if that was going to be the outcome here.
"See what I mean? I insult your manhood and you rise to the occasion to protect it." Jon Jae backed away, seething. "So you can use your head...I'm proud of you. Good, now answer me this. While Michael was with you and Genghis Khan there, was he close to anyone?"
"Do not insult the memory of the man who was my father. But no, I don't remember Michael being close to any one. Elouette tried the short time she was there but he wanted nothing to do with her. There was someone else, but that person is dead." The last word was forced out of Jon Jae's mouth. It tasted like spoiled meat to him.
George raised an eyebrow at the statement but let it go. "So L' Araigne knew where he was every minute. No friends either huh?"
Jon Jae shrugged, remembering how every time he saw his father, Michael was somewhere close by him. There were times though as he thought back that the little worm would disappear and he would have to look for him. He would never find him though, someone always distracted him. And that was the only transgression for which Jon Jae was punished. And he made sure that Michael always received his share when he appeared again. It was not something he liked to think about. Something would always happen to him after he went after Michael. Something humiliating or degrading...
"No, he would disappear now and then, never for long." Then he gave a brief mocking laugh. "You might say that I was his only friend. I tried to keep him in line to keep him out of trouble."
"Oh ,I can just see that. Yeah...How far from here did you two grow up?"
"Is this really going to get us anywhere? Maybe if you were closer to their lair you could pull the weasels out? From the other side of the clearing, it is hard for a fox to see the vermin in the tall grass."
George started to laugh. The rich peals of it echoed through the empty shell of the house. "Aesop resurrected before my eyes!!! Where are your pals, the tortoise and the hare? Hanging out with that missing kid of yours?"
Jon Jae did not heed the question . He glowered at the man on the stairs as the laughter echoed around him. *Your tally is getting higher Michael. I shall enjoy doling it out to you.*
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Operations watched as the sly smile spread across CC's lips and the spiteful gleam get brighter in her eyes. She turned and inclined her head to Madeline. "You can claim victory now if you feel you have to, Madeline."
Madeline frowned and glanced at Operations before she returned her attention to CC. "I was not engaging in any type of contest with you. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for you."
CC gave a derisive snort as she sneered back at Operations. "Yeah you're just pleased as pie that you're still on your throne. So, Oscar, what did she do so you'd acquiesce? Favors or promises?"
Operations sat down and folded his hands on his desk. "Neither, but there is no reason to stockpile all the talent in one place. I have to say I'm a little disappointed here. I find your attitude disturbing. I had hoped that it was due to a distaste left from the situation with George but now I'm beginning to doubt that."
Standing up and pulling herself to her full height, CC glared at him. "I belong here and you know it. That's the only reason I busted my ass so hard to get you clean again, Oscar. To prove myself to you and Martina. I want to be in Section One and I deserve it. Why do you have such a problem with it?"
Shaking her head, Madeline leaned forward. "I think you're missing his point. He feels you are more suited to a command than as an underling."
"Oh, shut up Madeline! I'm not missing his point in the least." CC spoke with absolute annoyance and dismissal. Now Madeline had gotten to her feet. Operations could feel the tension growing. This was one of the very reasons he didn't want her here. She was antagonistic and demanding; and she was unwilling lately to curb either tendency.
Suddenly she snapped her fingers and pointed one at Operations. "No, I really have your point. You've got a handle on Madeline. Well, she's got one on herself. But it's the other one you're worried about. You're afraid of me being around him. Hell, I'm not afraid to admit I'd jump at the chance to do him, what woman in her right mind wouldn't? I've always kept my eyes open for the chance but you want to defuse it before I get it close to that chance. Anything to keep the little protegee happy, right? I was stupid to open my fat trap about her. Should have let you cancel her the first time you wanted to. "
"Are you finished with your little tirade yet? If not, I will place a call and inform them I've changed the set up. We will have to search for a new head for the Investigations Area. The original candidate was cancelled due to her unmitigated gall and insubordination. Not to mention the way she is rapidly pissing me off."
"Never have taken very kindly to threats, Oscar." CC leaned her hands on his desk. "Don't worry, I take the command and I'll make it mine. The first chance I get, I'll be right here to check you out."
Madeline reached over unto Operations' desk and slid a crystal case towards CC. "One of your first duties is to review the new report to structure. There have been a few changes."
The glare switched from Operations to Madeline. "You people have it all tied up don't you?"
Operations chuckled. "No not quite. If we did, George would not be running around loose. And my two best operatives, their self appointed bodyguard and our CMO would be here instead of hiding out. Protecting one small but very important little boy. You have an assignment, my dear, before you take over your new position."
"Oh, I'm good enough for you when they're not here?"
"No, I just expect you to finish what you started. After all, it is your mission. You profiled and you initiated. In my book, that means you finish. Finish the job, CC. I don't like unfinished work. Questions?"
CC's answer was to glare at Madeline in silence.
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The cottage had been cleaned as had the house. There was no trace of who the last resident was or when that had been. George leaned against the wall staring into the center of the room. Maybe he had just been behind his desk for so long that he had lost his edge. The dense mahogany of it having worn smooth his senses. When in the field, he could sniff out whatever he wanted. Now he was almost at a loss.
Leads were non existent and his usual contacts refused to meet with him. Oscar had his whole network saturated. The news media's 'intelligence community' was closed off to him. Any recent communication with him meant a visit from Section One. Oscar had sent out the more ruthless operatives after him. Even Jon Jae had slunk back out of the country. George knew better than to believe that he had given up. No, he knew things were too hot for him so it was best to retreat and pay others to work for him.
The wiped cottage gave him no hint as to where Michael had taken Nikita or the child. He was a more than worthy quarry. No one was better at hiding in the shadows and appearing as Oscar's favorite operative. L' Araigne and Oscar had forged quite an enigmatic and resourceful creature when they developed Michael. If the process could be developed into a pill, the results would have been amazing for this game they all played.
But Michael was not just a creature. He was a formidable man who had proven himself to be more than a match for all he met. One way or another he always came out on top. And if he had a problem accomplishing it on his own, there was always the other one at his side. In one of the biggest mistakes he had ever allowed to be not rectified, it was not demanding Oscar have Michael cancel Nikita. CC had said the girl could be a good operative, and at the time Section One, as well as other areas, needed good recruits. He had relented and now found himself in the present.
"Where did you take them, Michael? How long to you propose to hide? Sooner or later, you will have to go back to Section One. I understand how you work. I threatened you and Nikita. And from everything I've seen, the little boy I need to recover so badly looks eerily like your late son. That in itself has only made your defenses that much more difficult to get around. Loosening the noose around L' Araigne's neck was supposed to put you out of commission, perhaps for good, since Lyon didn't work right. But she slipped you out of that one too. You made her into just what you needed didn't you? Nikita is your ultimate failsafe. Just like you are for her."
George pushed himself off the wall and walked into the bedroom. He stood in the center of the room and looked around. Just as in the other room there was some furniture but not much of it. He frowned as he turned slowly in a circle. How did the man's mind work? Nikita and the child were the lynchpin in all this. An idea slowly began to form in his head. He remembered Michael's methods with Bauer. A smile slowly slid across his lips. Other small incidents came to mind. All hinged on interference with Nikita, any threat to her....
Revenge was the answer to his problem. It was sought whenever she was threatened. The relationship between Oscar and Michael had grown apart since she came into the picture.. It was strained and he had sensed a great deal of resentment towards Oscar from the younger man. Almost as if Michael was questioning himself as to whether or not his loyalty and debt of life owed to Section One were really worth it. Especially now, with Oscar attempting to break them up. He had been allowed the relationship with Simone for reasons George still didn't fully understand. But Michael was constantly pushed from being with Nikita. Perhaps he was not enjoying the bitter taste of betrayal.... The sudden brightness of the lightbulb in his head startled him.
"This isn't about revenge either. Betrayal... that's your trigger! You have given absolute loyalty and you expect the same thing back. Anything less to you is betrayal. Just like Jon Jae... Philippe must have drilled that into both your heads. And that's what the report said too. You were really going at her with that. You will be out soon. You'll go for Section, for Oscar. He 'betrayed' your trust in Section and went after your woman and child you are obviously starting to care a lot about. You hate unanswered questions Michael, I know you do and there is a big one over your head right now..WHY. You won't let that go, not in a million years."
He paced a little more, a definite smile on his lips now. "I just need to watch Section One. You'll be back soon. And with you the rest will be in tow. You think she'll stay put... nope... she'll be right behind you. Get a hold of her and what's left of your family...then Reese is mine... and with him comes control of Jon Jae and everyone else...very well...now just to pick my watch tower and castle guards..."
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Darcie's head came up from the schematic even before the tall redhead finished crossing the threshold into Walter's alcove. With narrowed eyes she watched CC enter. No one had to tell her to dislike the woman, she was doing quite well in that area of development on her own. She sensed that the older woman held no love for her either. Maybe she knew it was her who set Walter on her trail.
"Since you do so well at pointing, how about getting your master, like a good little pup, ok?" CC was annoyed by the girl's stony silence. "Do you not understand English?" she asked with an annoyed tone.
"Perfectly well....gave me a mock SAT the other day.....scored a perfect 800 on that side...how about you?" Darcie didn't give her a chance to answer. "Don't worry about it. No need to embarrass yourself. I'll get Walter." She turned and flinched back as she saw Walter behind her.
His look at CC was not entirely warm. "Darcie isn't anybody's lap dog or watchdog. I don't like you referring to her that way either. Apologize now."
CC raised her eyebrows at him and smirked. "Really?"
Walter slapped the device in his hand down on the work table. "You know kid, I've been hearing about your mouth since you woke up the other day. It's not cute and it's not welcome. Cut it out or just turn around and walk away. I don't want it in here and I don't want it aimed at Darcie."
"Always the protective Uncle Walter."
Darcie stepped forward. She came right up to CC, her folded arms almost touching the other woman's. "You like to intimidate with your words and your body language. Keep practicing. You're not that good at it yet. Though at your age, you'd think it would be old hat for you. Oh well, new tricks, old dogs....you know the saying right? If you have the time and you want some lessons, look me up. I'm willing to share." With a quick sarcastic smile, Darcie ducked out of the room.
CC heard the soft chuckle from Walter and swung her head back in his direction so she could look at him. "You thought that was funny?"
"She made her point. Lay off, CC. Your comments aren't welcome, remember?" He grabbed a hammer, walked over to the pegboard and slammed it down in its place.
"Besides my attitude and mouth what's your problem?" Walter usually didn't get like this. At least, she had never seen him like this.
"Somebody heard your comments about Michael and Nikita. I didn't like them. You have no right to say anything about either of them. You don't know them and you have never worked with either of them. If I could help them get away from here with that child, I would jump at the chance. Regardless of what it would mean for me."
"Even your life?"
"Yes. They've both gone out on that limb for me. I wouldn't even think twice about doing it for either Michael or Nikita. You weren't here to see how he was. How far he had fallen. Then she came up and he latched on to her. He couldn't help himself. She's got a spark like I've never seen in anybody else. Not even you."
CC gave a low bitter laugh. "She really has found a niche for herself here. I thought when I saw her status reports, I had been wrong. But she certainly has this place under her spell. Between her and Madeline, all of you males are like bewitched or something."
Walter watched her for a moment and then gave a small shake of his head. "I'm going to ignore that. Why are you here anyway? Just to run your mouth? Then go, I've got things to do."
"I came in an official capacity."
"Official pain in the ass?"
She looked down at her feet as she kicked out a leg. Walter was the last person she wanted to be mad at her. "Truce ?" she looked up at him. "Sorry for the mouth. I feel really slighted and I'm not happy about the payment for services rendered in the least."
Walter sighed as he studied the young woman in front of him. "Section One is a hard place to be. You don't just walk into a position here with one good deed. You've really got to earn your place."
"I was willing to earn it."
"No, you tried to mouth and bully your way into it. Basically you demanded a reward. Here they are given. You've got Investigations. Run with it. You'll do great. So what's your official capacity?"
"I'm George hunting. What's your favorite bait for that animal?"
With a deep breath, Walter answered, "A little boy named Reese. With a heavy coating of Michael."
End of Part 5
continue on to Promises to Keep, Part 6
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