Chapter 210 -- LFN Storyboard 2

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Date Posted: 18:17:29 02/08/12 Wed
Author: taurus2124
Author Host/IP: CPE-60-224-186-176.vic.bigpond.net.au / 60.224.186.176
Subject: Chapter 210
In reply to: taurus2124 's message, "Repost ... Chapters 206 -210" on 17:53:39 02/08/12 Wed

Chapter 210

Closing his eyes briefly Michael opened them to stare up at the ceiling then cast a glance to his right. In his mind's eye he saw Nikita lying on her cot.

She is much too pale. As I study Nikita, my eyes watch the rise and fall of her chest. I worry because her breathing is shallow and she seems distressed. I know she is thinking about me, just as I am her. My eyes caress my love's bruised face just like I did in air transport on our return to Section One. Her bruises have deepened. They are so much more pronounced on her porcelain skin than before. Her lip looks more swollen too. In fact she looks black and blue all over her beautiful face. If only I could kiss her better. I would cover her face with gentle kisses to take away the hurt and erase the memories from the monastery.

I'm unable to leave Nikita's bedside.

I cannot drag myself away from her side and I reach down and touch her, stroking my hand ever so gently across the arc of her brow. I didn't think that the retrieval mission would affect me so much � but it did. Longing floods my body to make her pain go away. I want to wrap Nikita in my arms and cocoon her in my love. I lean down and place a kiss to her swollen lips. My tongue caresses them gently, absorbing her hurt and easing her pain. There is an agonising ache deep inside me at what I see. I didn't think that I would feel this angry at the perpetrators of her injuries � but I do. My beautiful Nikita has been sullied by Andy Koo and for that he will pay dearly. I love her so much more than I thought possible and she has been harmed beyond measure by the triad members of the Rising Dragons. I protect the ones I love and those who did this to Nikita will feel the full extent of my wrath.

Michael suddenly opened his eyes with a start.

Thoughts of Nikita had flooded his mind with an uncanny clarity as he wondered about her. He felt a bead of sweat on his lips and he licked the salty liquid with his parched tongue. Michael's vision of Nikita in the next room had been more than vivid. He only hoped that she wasn't as bad as he thought she may be. All that separated him from her was a wall, but nothing could separate Nikita from his heart or mind. He pictured her lying in her room no doubt hooked up to as much equipment as he was. Michael hoped that Nikita could feel his love � so near yet too far away. With steely determination he willed a speedy recovery not only for his own wounds but for his Nikita's as well. What he needed was for Walter or Birkoff to see her and let Nikita know how he was doing so that she wouldn't worry until he was able to see her for himself. Michael was determined that he would find a way to visit Nikita as soon as possible, but in the meantime he needed a go-between to be his eyes and ears and there was no one better than Walter.

Closing his eyes once more, Michael sank back into the pillows and waited for the time when Nikita's friend would appear at his bedside as he knew he would eventually.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

But as he lay there he began to brood over in his mind the visit he'd just had from Madeline.

He'd watched her leave the ICU knowing that she'd examined his every move whilst she was there. Although he'd done his best to suppress how he felt it was obvious even to blind Freddy that his injuries would take a while to heal. It was inevitable too that he would have a visit from Section's head strategist at some time. Yet, what did surprise him was that Operations did not come with her. Hence Michael knew all too well the results Madeline sought. Any concern was certainly not altruistic on her behalf ... it was purely calculated. Madeline's visit had everything to do with checking for herself the situation at hand and to see if there was any possibility of a speedy return to the Rising Dragons' mission. She'd come alone to check for concrete evidence of how bad his and Nikita's injuries were, how long it would take to recover, would their absence affect the mission and how soon they could return to the field. However, Section's leaders would have to deal with his medical situation as well as Nikita's mental condition before there was any chance of that happening.

No doubt because of the injuries to himself and Nikita, Madeline and Operations were probably in a spin about how to proceed with the mission. Failure to contain the triad members and more importantly to capture Sun Yee Lok would be uppermost in their minds. Their absence meant that a pre-emptive strike by Section One on the triad would now be delayed. Until he and Nikita recovered fully, contingency plans would need to be set in motion. That, however, could prove to be either disastrous or fortuitous for the Section. As head strategist Madeline would need to profile a new mission scenario. It could mean that another team would take over the mission profile or they'd wait until he and Nikita were recovered and have first team proceed with the End Game. Either way she and Operations had some major decisions to make.

To their way of thinking, Nikita and his injuries would set the mission back for a while and because of this the momentum would be with the triad. This fact would not be lost on the two leaders. Michael realised that Operations would be livid that all their efforts to attaining an End Game had been thwarted. Surveillance of the protagonists would have to begin again but a timeout could also prove beneficial as well. When cooler heads prevailed, Section's leaders would no doubt see the benefits in what had occurred and gain more positives than negatives from the result. Madeline and Operations would want them to recover as soon as possible, but on the other hand if the triad thought they were dead then certain members may drop their guard. It may mean that Sun Yee Lok could surface if he thought that all hostilities towards his members had now ceased with their death. This method had been successful for Section One before and Michael saw that complacency could be the Rising Dragons� downfall too.

Furthermore, George would be breathing down their necks when he found out both he and Nikita would be incapacitated for a while and if there was anything more that Operations and Madeline loathed was interference from George. Hence they would need to have their priorities in order if he made a surprise visit. If Section One appeared to be at all incompetent, then George would have a field day. Operations had a vested interest in capturing the triad members and for that he needed Nikita and he needed him to do the job properly.

One thing he was surprised about was Madeline's veiled compassion of sorts for his situation. Michael lay still in his bed as her words echoed in his head. "There will be time for that later. Right now you need to rest." Normally despite his injuries, and once he was conscious, she or Operations would have demanded his debrief about the mission, but by granting him some leeway until they spoke again was uncharacteristic to say the least. His suspicions were raised somewhat by Madeline's gesture, but he was really in no condition to comply with a debriefing. For that reason, his reply had been equally as non-committal. He'd kept his expression devoid of all emotion and had replied with an innocuous, unemotional and cool, thank you.

In Michael's opinion, Madeline's parting words had held more underlying meanings that she expressed to him. She and Operations would want to know everything that went on during the mission and no doubt Madeline would probe him in the psyche sessions he knew were inevitable. Michael was pensive yet it was not about what Madeline had said or left unsaid but rather his concern for Nikita. Her presence in Med-Lab had brought up several scenarios in his mind. But paramount to anything she may have said Michael's thoughts were not that focused on his own recovery or how Madeline and Operations would deal with their situation. Rather they were centred on the one person in the other room � his Nikita.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Although his recovery was important, Michael felt powerless; he was hindered by his own injuries and all the medical equipment he was attached to. He couldn't do what he wanted to at the moment to help Nikita, but once the transfusions had kicked in he would begin to feel better and stronger. In fact he certainly did feel some improvement now that they had replaced the blood he'd lost. The intravenous drip also needed to be removed. Any lack of self-regard for his own condition that he'd demonstrated on the retrieval mission and return to Section One were irrelevant now, and despite his injuries, Michael had regained a new sense of purpose. Nikita was safe in Medical and that was all that mattered. She was his sole priority. The only thing that frustrated him was his inability to see her but the moment he was free of all his restrictions he would rectify that. He would then be making a personal visit to see how she was faring. When he knew how Nikita was then he could help with her recuperation and healing process.

Even though he would need time to recover, Nikita would need more. She had been through much, much worse than he. Her psyche had been affected by her incarceration at the hands of the triad and Michael knew she was fragile because of it. Nikita needed some time away from Section One and he'd do his best to have that time spent with her together. Michael knew his own prospects for survival were good and despite the gunshot wound he was confident that he would be up and out of Med-Lab sooner than the doctors thought. He knew that his recovery time from injury in the past was fairly quick and he hoped that this time would be no different. Thus he needed to improve as quickly as possible and get out of Med-Lab to set in motion his plans for the two of them � plans that Dr Johnson thought were imperative to their recovery as well. Michael vowed that he would find a way for them to recuperate together and it looked as though he had a steadfast ally in their doctor. If the good doctor's medical reasons were not sufficient to sway Madeline and Operations, he would think of several other possible scenarios to support their rehabilitation.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Madeline and Dr Johnson had visited they'd been unaware that Michael could hear them speaking and he'd given no indication that he was awake. He'd overheard the doctor say to Madeline that once this last unit of blood had been used there was no need for more. That was encouraging; however, if Madeline thought that there was even a slight chance of his returning to the fray sooner than expected, she would order that to happen. Consequently when Dr Johnson had championed both his and Nikita's recovery timeout over a quick return to the mission he had listened intently.

The more he thought about Dr Johnson taking care of them the more Michael liked him. His precautionary words to Madeline that he would be in ICU for a few days was a bold attempt to give him more time to stay off her inquisition about the mission. Then on overhearing his recommendation that it was crucial that both his patients needed adequate time to rehabilitate was admirable to say the least. Dr Johnson had obviously gone out on a limb to suggest how both of them would benefit from some downtime and Michael applauded his temerity in standing up to Madeline for his patients. No doubt he'd given his reasons for his ideas as Dr Johnson's carefully chosen words were pointedly directed at her and Operations. He'd given Section's leaders concrete ideas and medical reasons to ponder before making a decision about sending them back into the field.

It was now up to Madeline and Operations to make their decisions. Time would tell if they would indeed act on Dr Johnson's recommendations or if they had their own agenda for him and Nikita. If they ran true to form� that, however, was the only logical answer.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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