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Date Posted: 11:21:06 02/28/08 Thu
Author: Mary
Author Host/IP: 66.162.52.3.gen.fullservice.net / 66.162.52.3
Subject: Characters & Shadows - Chapter 36
In reply to: Mary 's message, "Characters & Shadows - Cont." on 11:19:55 02/28/08 Thu

Chapter 36

Michael left the room in a daze. He was stripped from Nikita’s side with news from Brian that her breathing was becoming too labored. They had no choice at this point but to put her on a ventilator. Michael knew that her condition was rapidly deteriorating and there didn’t seem to be anyone that could help at this point. The doctors were trying but it wasn’t going to be enough.

That knowledge drove him as he walked down the long hall alone to the chapel and fell to his knees as he had not done since a child. There, alone, in that small chapel he bowed his head and begged for a miracle from a God he thought he had lost all faith in. But to see his beautiful Nikita failing so quickly, Michael turned to the only place that he thought he could. His tears fell freely down his face as he silently prayed for the woman he loved. He bargained with God pledging himself to take her place, anything to save her. Anything. But in the end he simply prayed for a miracle, divine intervention to save her.

Exhausted he sat in the chapel and took solace in the silence and the peace. Finally he rose on shaky legs and began to make his way back to the situation ahead of him. He couldn’t hide from it, he would face it head on in an honorable manner. Whatever the outcome he would not disappoint his Nikita.

As he came back to the waiting area he saw Madeline, Walter and Birkoff in deep conversation and their faces relayed deep concern. He wanted to get back to Nikita right away but he knew that something was happening and it wasn’t good.

Walter spotted the silent Michael first, “Michael. C’mere and sit down you look like hell. You ok?”

Walter pushed the very pale and shaky Michael down into a chair. Michael hung his head down and rubbed his face as he collected himself. His shoulders sagged with the weight of his thoughts. Madeline was deeply concerned for him, “Michael? How can we help?”

But all Michael could do was continue to stare at the floor and then mumble one small word, “Pray.”

Madeline gasped at the hopelessness that was in his voice and put her arms around him and pulled him against her. “Michael, it will be all right. You have to believe that. Nikita needs you. You can’t give up now. You can’t. You are her hope right now.”

But Michael just shook his head, “I don’t know how to do that right now. The doctor’s have no answers and she is getting worse and worse. They are putting her on a ventilator now. She can’t even breathe.”

*****
Carla exited the elevator and turned down the hall looking for room 418. She hated hospitals and the smell of them ever since she was a little girl. But she brushed those feelings aside as she began scanning the occupants of the hallways. She spotted two other operatives already in place. It would be a few hours yet before they moved into an active phase of this mission but she was expected to be in position now. She passed Nikita’s room as the door was closed and moved down the hall to the waiting area.

There she spotted Michael with his head down and she felt a moment of panic that she was already too late. But her training and instincts kicked in – Adrian would never allow her collateral to die before they had obtained the end game, she didn’t make mistakes like that.

Putting on a concerned face and a panicked tone she rushed to his side, “Michael. Oh my God Michael, don’t tell me, is she….? Is Nikita all right…?”

Michael looked up and recognized Nikita’s friend and saw the terror in her eyes. He felt terrible for scaring her so deeply, “She’s still ok right now. It’s all right.” He stood and pulled Carla into his arms for a hug. He realized then that Madeline was right, that he did have to be strong, he had to see Nikita through this, she had to get better. He loved her too damned much for it to be any other way.

Carla’s tears were real and she realized just how attached she had gotten to Nikita, “What are the doctor’s saying?”

Walter answered for Michael, “It’s a form of meningitis. They are doing everything that they can.”

Walter and Madeline exchanged worried glances behind Michael as he relayed that news to Carla. Walter’s very worried eyes told Madeline everything she needed to know without asking anything more.

Carla didn’t miss the look either. “What can I do to help?”

Madeline took the young actress out of Michael’s arms and let Walter attend to Michael. “Why don’t we go get coffee for everyone? Walter we’ll be back in a few minutes.”

The ladies left and Walter was debating how much to tell Michael about what else was going on with Paul and the company. He wasn’t sure that Michael could take much more right now, but somehow all of this seemed – connected. He just didn’t understand how it could be.

Michael though was very perceptive and caught Walter’s musings, “What is it Walter? I need to know.”

Walter and Birkoff then relayed what they had found out about Paul and the terrible source for the money that was being used for the production. Michael shook his head when they were done, “Was he that desperate to go to that extreme?”

“The data tells the story. The information I was able to find is as good as it gets.” Birkoff answered.

Michael silently absorbed that information for a few moments and then softly asked, “Have you been able to find anything out about Nikita’s condition?”

Birkoff sighed and gave another answer that he hated to give, “Something that I’m still tracking. I don’t know everything yet, but it seems that there was research done years ago by a government agency on strains of meningitis.”

“Government agency?” Walter didn’t like the sound of that at all.

Birkoff rubbed his almost shaved head with a nervous hand, “Yeah. The research was stopped after a sub-committee found out what was going on and deemed the work ‘objectionable’ for public funding.”

Michael flinched, “Objectionable? Why?”

Birkoff hesitated but when he looked up at Walter the older man nodded and Birkoff continued, “The funding was for bio-warfare, they were mutating the disease as a weapon.”

Before Walter could stop himself he mumbled, “Oh my god.”

Michael caught it, “Nikita? You think that somehow she’s come in contact with something…?”

“Whoa, hold on now Michael. That’s not what he’s saying.” Then Walter looked over at Birkoff and saw the look on his face, “Is it?”

Birkoff was really uncomfortable now and he tried to force himself to think logically, “I’m searching for anything that I can find that match Nikita’s symptoms. I’m not drawing any conclusions yet, and you shouldn’t either. Give me a little more time and let me see what else I find that might really be able to help her. This may just be a dead end.”

With that Birkoff moved back to the other side of the room and buried himself in his laptop again – where he was more comfortable. He had no idea that this day was going to get as serious as it had so far. Offshore bank accounts, terrorist organizations, bio-warfare weapons, government agencies….this was all crazy. Who had days like this anyway?

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