Subject:  Oh boy...this just gets better and better ! I am eagerly anticipating Elena's reaction when she finds out ! |
Author:
Ender
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Date Posted: 11:43:54 03/18/01 Sun
In reply to:
Asrai
's message, "Mirage - 13" on 10:31:31 03/18/01 Sun
>Mirage - 13
>
>The walls of the shower were covered in steam and the
>water was already getting cold again but Elena stayed
>a little bit longer under the refreshing stray, just
>to enjoy the cleansing feeling that came with the
>water.
>When she stepped out of the shower she stood in front
>of the mirror, clearing it from the steam with her
>hand, so she could see her reflection.
>
>The face that stared at her wasn't the face that had
>entered Section six months ago. It was fuller, tanned
>due to two weeks survival training in wilderness, and
>the dark circles beneath her eyes were long gone. She
>looked down at her body; it had changed, too. She'd
>gotten muscles and had never been in a better shape.
>Elena almost didn't recognize herself anymore and
>sometimes she wondered who this girl in the mirror
>was; this girl who sparred daily with her sensei or
>Nikita, who made jokes with Walter while cleaning a
>gun and who almost fell asleep while running sims.
>
>She went to her wardrobe and opened it- today was her
>free day and she was going to spend it with Alex. Alex
>worked at level 10 permanently, teaching her and the
>other recruits how to use the computers. The two women
>quickly became friends, as Alex had been pretty new in
>headquarters, too. And because Elena couldn't leave
>Section alone she'd asked the younger woman to go with
>her. Well, she'd asked Nikita first, but she just had
>had a week downtime herself and had no time to skip
>her schedule for a shopping trip.
>Sometimes Elena wondered how her trainer spend her
>free time. Where did she live? Did she have an
>apartment or a house? Did she have friends outside
>Section, a boyfriend?
>While she decided for a long skirt Nikita would scold
>her for because it was unpractical to run in, and a
>white blouse she made the decision to prod Alex about
>Nikita; perhaps she knew something.
>
>After a week for herself, without calls in the middle
>of the night, not even her full schedule could bring
>Nikita's good mood down. A week with scented bubble
>baths, long sleeps until noon, shopping trips, a good
>book and, of course, the best... Michael. She sighed
>happily and stared dreamily at her computer screen.
>Michael could take only two days off, but he'd managed
>to come home every evening and she'd almost felt like
>a normal wife with a normal husband who was always
>home in the evening... and the nights... her smile
>began to wide to a grin when the intercom beeped.
>Damn, you couldn't even have a decent fantasy without
>being interrupted.
>"Yeah, what is it?" she snapped somewhat impatiently.
>"Could you come to my office, Nikita?" When she heard
>her husband's slightly amused voice, Nikita almost
>blushed as she stuttered out a "Yes" and hurried to
>get out of her office.
>
>Michael was seated behind his desk, reading Elena's
>file. It was good, most of her scores were above
>average. She'd done well; he was a bit surprised by
>that. He'd expected low scores in the first week
>because of Adam's death. The thought of Adam caused
>still pain in him; but it was a small pain and Michael
>had realized long ago that he'd really grieved for his
>son the time he had to leave them.
>But with Elena, it was a different matter: she'd
>watched her son die a terrible death; it was amazing
>how stable her psych profile seemed. Then, on the
>other side, recruits were kept busy during training;
>you hardly had time to think.
>As Michael saw one of Elena's latest pictures he
>smiled. She looked healthy. Almost happy. Perhaps it
>wouldn't be necessary to let her know the whole truth;
>perhaps it would be possible to let out certain parts
>in the story of her father and the role he had played.
>For this purpose he'd called Nikita: Elena's training
>was almost finished; she was ready.
>
>The bright colors and the lively noises of the town
>never ceased to make Elena happy and so she spent a
>very pleasant day with Alex, shopping, watching a
>movie, talking. The chance to ask Alex about her
>trainer came when they had a late lunch. She waited
>until the waiter had taken their orders and asked as
>casually as possible:
>"What can you tell me about Nikita?"
>The other woman looked surprised. "Nikita? She's your
>trainer, I think you know more about her than I do."
>Elena looked down for a moment. "Well, it's just she
>never talks to me about her personal life. She's
>always serious and businesslike."
>"That's funny." Alex said "Nikita's one of the most
>open and friendly people in Section. All people like
>her; especially the people who knew Paul."
>
>Elena nodded. She knew that story: it was an open
>secret that Nikita had helped the current Operations
>to get his power and rumors were that Paul had ordered
>her cancellation more than once. Which seemed strange
>because Nikita was one of the best operatives Section
>had. But she asked nevertheless:
>"What was it like? Was all really so different then?"
>"Well, I'd been in Section just for a short time when
>the commando changed and I was at a Substation; but
>yes, it was different, very different. You got in
>abeyance much easier, for example; only one botched
>mission and you had a nice little number on the
>termination list. Another factor was the permanent
>surveillance. Speaking freely inside Section wasn't
>possible; there were cameras everywhere. And even if
>you got your own apartment eventually, that was
>observed, too. Can you imagine what it was like to be
>watched 24/7?"
>
>The waiter interrupted their talk, bringing water and
>a coke. Alex took a sip and continued. "You could
>handle all this once you'd gotten used it. Kind of
>habit, I guess. But the worst thing was that personal
>relationships were forbidden."
>"What!" Elena exclaimed. When several people looked at
>her she blushed and spoke in a hushed tone. "But...
>how's that possible? They can't prevent that if you
>are in Section all the time."
>"It wasn't exactly forbidden, but unwanted. Besides,
>most of the people stayed to themselves anyway. You
>couldn't be sure if you friend was really your friend
>or just an operative with the mission to watch and
>manipulate you."
>
>Elena stared at her hands. How could you live like
>this? No own life, no friends... now it was
>understandable why Nikita's and Walter's eyes seemed
>so old sometimes.
>Her friend smiled slightly. "That, however, is luckily
>the past. But you wanted to know something about
>Nikita, right? As I told you, I don't know her that
>much longer or better than you do, but there are
>rumors that she and Operations are involved with each
>other."
>For the second time during this conversation all Elena
>could say was "What!"
>
>Alex began to grin. "Have you ever seen her when she
>comes out of his office? Sometimes she smiles so broad
>you'd think she won in lottery. And if you see both of
>them together... considering the looks of him, I don't
>wonder." Her grin broadened. "It should be against
>protocols to have a boss who looks like him, or what
>do you think?"
>"Well..." Elena hesitated. She had never noticed, but
>as she thought about it now, she'd never seen
>Operations. Why not? Yes, she was most of her time at
>level 10, but when she was at the main level he was
>never present except that one time six months ago-
>that strangely familiar person in the perch had been
>him, she was sure.
>
>She was about to answer when Alex' cell phone rang;
>the younger woman scowled and picked up her call from
>Section.
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