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Date Posted: 23:27:15 05/04/11 Wed
Author: asiacheetah
Author Host/IP: ppp-71-128-195-9.dsl.sndg02.pacbell.net / 71.128.195.9
Subject: Chapter 2 Discovery - Part 1
In reply to: asiacheetah 's message, "Trust is Never Easy - episodic" on 01:00:19 04/22/11 Fri

This chapter touches slightly on: Any Means Necessary

Chapter 2 Discovery – Part 1

The question is what do I do now?

If I report my suspicions to Operations and Madeline, a full inquiry would be made and Nikita would be put through an intense interrogation. Even if my suspicions prove unfounded, there will forever be a mark against her in the future, and Section might just decide to cancel her to be safe. After all if I, who have always protected her, believed her guilty, they would not hesitate to remove the problem.

No, it would be better if I find out more facts before making a decision. I carefully place a tracer in the pouch and made my way back to the cemetery to plant the shadow disc again.

I returned to Section and start running a tracing program to alert me to the package’s movement. It was hard focusing my attention on the day to day work carried out in Section. However, I’ve always been able to separate my emotions from thoughts so that I could continue to function.

My concentration was broken when Nikita entered my office.

“Hi. Got a minute?”

“Hello.”

I studied Nikita for a moment. Her eyes were rimmed red from recent tears and her face showed sadness. She glanced down at the security key pad and I obeyed her silent request and secured the room.

“How are you?”

“I’m okay, just wanted to talk for a minute.”

“Is this about Birkoff?”

She shook her hair and then stopped. “Yes. Why was Section so ready to sacrifice Birkoff?”

“What do you mean?”

“First they sent him out on a deep cover assignment he’s not trained for, then they were ready to just leave him in there, and when he couldn’t handle the pressure, they were ready to kill him.”

I answered truthfully: “I don’t know.”

The lost look in her eyes hardened: “Don’t know or can’t tell me?”

Her question brought back the endless circle of questions to the forefront. Nikita has always been an inquisitive person, unwilling to accept orders without explanations or justifications. Now I wonder if she had really been asking in order to fill out her reports.

The silence stretched between us. Nikita rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “Forget it, Michael. I don’t know why I even bother asking.”

She moved to get up.

“Nikita wait.”

She paused before leaving back into the chair.

“What’s really bothering you? Is it because Birkoff used you to get himself out of that situation?”

Her eyes watered and her head dropped down dejectedly. “I’m sorry, Michael. I didn’t mean what I said.”

“I know.”

She smiled wryly at me. “It’s almost a force of habit, blaming you for what goes wrong.”

“Birkoff did what he had to do to stay alive. It’s what he was taught; it’s how you were taught.”

She shoved a hand in her hair in frustration and sighed again.

“It doesn’t change how he feels about you, and he did what he could to make sure you would be safe.”

“I know. What should I do?”

“Let him know you forgive him, or if you can’t show him that you still cared.”

She graced me with a beautiful smile, the first I’ve seen in days. The light of it thaw some of the icy fear that had encased my heart since the moment I discovered her betrayal.

“See you around, Michael.”

*****

Daily life in Section seemingly returned to normal. Birkoff was still extremely skittish after the events over the past few weeks. However, some of the guilt he felt at setting up Nikita seemed to ease after Nikita extended her friendship again.

That normalcy ended when the tracing program alerted me to the shadow disc’s movement. The disc was taken to a private residence in Salzburg, Germany. I knew that wasn’t the location of Oversight. Public record indicated a cover identity. Now I had to begin the painful process of discovering who was located at that address while not alerting them of its discovery.

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Replies:

  • Chapter 2 Discovery - Part 2 - Section skewed -- asiacheetah, 23:31:57 05/04/11 Wed
  • Editing question -- asiacheetah, 02:40:19 05/05/11 Thu
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