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Date Posted: 05:34:06 01/26/08 Sat
Author: taurus2124
Author Host/IP: CPE-124-188-5-16.nsw.bigpond.net.au / 124.188.5.16
Subject: Chapter 148
In reply to: taurus2124 's message, "The Rising Dragons ... continued ..." on 23:47:08 01/19/08 Sat

Chapter 148

Nearing Comm., Michael saw Birkoff’s head bent over his computer obviously immersed in his work and stealthily walked over to his work station.

Even though he heard footsteps approach, Birkoff took no notice as he carried out tasks associated with an upcoming mission that needed his attention.

“Birkoff.”

“Just a sec. I've got to finish downloading this.”

Suddenly a gloved hand reached over and stopped his hand on the keyboard. “You’re finished!”

Seymour immediately reacted. His body became ramrod stiff as the person startled him. His head shot up from the computer screen. Looking over his shoulder Birkoff turned and saw that it was Michael who had approached his computer terminal and was standing next to him with a grim expression on his face. “You scared the hell out of me!” he gulped as he was caught completely off-guard.

Michael ignored his statement and stood forebodingly behind him.

Feeling the hairs rise on his neck Birkoff watched his face. Michael never did things by halves. He knew that he wanted his undivided attention. He wanted something from him and Michael wanted it now. Once the initial shock of seeing him standing at his work station left his face, Birkoff’s eyes registered surprise remembering that he was supposed to be elsewhere and he gave him another inquisitive look. “What are you doing here Michael? Aren’t you ...?”

However he didn’t let him finish. Leaning forward Michael spoke softly. “I need your help.”

Judging by the look on his face, Birkoff knew at that precise moment that it was something that obviously involved Nikita. His fears were confirmed when Michael continued, “Nikita's been kidnapped.”

Birkoff could feel the churning in the pit of his stomach when he’d uttered those words. He peered back at him disbelief lacing his voice. “By whom?”

Michael locked eyes with his. “I don’t know but I suspect someone connected to the Rising Dragons.”

“She's alive?” Birkoff queried unaware of the fact that he was holding his breath as he waited for an answer. He looked up at him.

“I don’t know,” was Michael’s reply almost too softly spoken for Birkoff to hear.

Birkoff could see it in his eyes and he knew immediately that Michael realised that Nikita could already be dead while they were here talking and wasting valuable time. His eyes flashed with determination and purpose. “What do you want me to do?"

“Lock onto Nikita's signal.”

Birkoff quickly looked from Michael's face to the computer screen. His need for urgency geared him into action. Michael's expression had him mentally scrambling for a way to retrieve any data that would pinpoint Nikita’s location. “I'll have to recall the back trace.”

“Do it ... Now!” Michael replied anxiously. “I need a location on her.”

Thinking out loud amid the trepidation of some impending doom Birkoff racked his brain for what he could do. “I guess I could try rerouting a bit stream ... piggyback onto some databases ...”

Section’s Level 5 operative never minced words and his order of, “Just do it” …. made Birkoff’s brain go into overdrive to find a way of retrieving the data Michael wanted.

“Okay.”

Birkoff knew Michael was deadly serious. Alarmed, he immediately began a search. His fingers were furiously doing his brain’s bidding on the keyboard and flew over the keys. He tried everything he could think of that could provide a location on Nikita’s whereabouts.

Moving to stand on Birkoff's other side; Michael looked over the young Tech's shoulder at his computer as if willing it to spurt out the data for him by some form of osmosis or telepathy. “Are you getting anything?”

Some results ... any result was paramount and impatiently Michael counted every second that Birkoff worked on his computer. “What have you got?”

“Nothing yet.”

“Did you back trace her signal?”

“I’m still trying, but there seems to be a problem.”

“What?” Michael softly replied with his patented bank stare. “Are you saying she can't be found?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Birkoff pulled up another program on his monitor and keyed in Nikita’s data. “Wait ... Michael; I think I might have something.”

“Good.”

But what Birkoff saw was cause for alarm not celebration. “Nikita's implant went off a while ago.”

Elation soon turned to deflation. “Last known location?”

His monitor showed a map of the world and a small box outline moved across the map every which way before settling on Vietnam. A small red dot appeared confirming the location of Nikita’s body clock. “Okay, here you go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep ... Looks like a couple kilometres outside the city.” Birkoff keyed other data into the computer and read the result. “Wei Chow Yung has a team in Saigon. They’re the closest ... but that’s miles from Hong Kong Michael. That can’t be right. What’s going on?”

“Patch me in.” Michael replied ignoring Birkoff’s question.

Birkoff swivelled his chair over to another computer and called up the Saigon teams and waited for the Team Leader to respond.

“Wei?”

“Yeah, Birkoff. I'm here.”

“Stand by.”

Michael took over the communications with the team leader. “Wei, your priority's been downgraded.”

“You want me to come in Michael?”

“No. Birkoff’s attaching an address. He will give you instructions on the way.”

Before Michael could relay further Intel, Birkoff noticed something wrong with Nikita's locator and brought it to his attention. “Michael, something’s happening. Something’s not quite right. Now it's telling me she's not in Vietnam.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her clock's now reading ... Korea ... Wait a minute ... there’s another change.”

The map was full of glowing dots; all stating Nikita was at that location.

“Forget it. Signal's all over the place. ... She must have tampered with her clock.”

“How? She doesn't even know she has one.” Michael replied despairingly closing his eyes as he deciphered this latest Intel.

“Oh no ...!” Birkoff stated alarmingly out loud as his eyes watched his computer screen. His voice faltered somewhat as he turned to Michael. “Nikita's off the board! We’ve lost all tracking on her!”

“Check again!”

His fingers went to work trying to log in to anything that could help them. “I have ... but she appears to have disappeared.”

Images of previous times that Nikita had been captured suddenly flashed through Michael’s mind. He remembered how terrified she had been of the rats Red Cell had used to torture her but she hadn't caved in. She’d been steadfast in her refusal to divulge what she'd known even when confronted with her deepest fear. He couldn't bear the thought of her suffering such a fate again at the hands of a triad that had primitive oriental torture methods at their disposal to call upon. Her incarceration could be more sinister than any other time. He knew he had to do everything humanly possible and then more to reach her before her life was hanging in the balance. Nikita knew too much about the triad ... and if they were able to extract information from her she would be doomed. She was too vulnerable.

Michael didn’t immediately reply, and Birkoff looked at him a little anxiously. “I'm sorry, Michael...”

Birkoff’s voice cut through him to the quick as Michael fought to bring his emotions back under control, but he pulled himself back to the present, his unemotional mask back in place. He glared at him.

“We’ll find Nikita ... You’ll find her. She knows how to rely on instinct rather than fear ... Nikita’s a survivor.”
The mere mention of her name sent fresh rivulets of agony cutting through Michael like a knife.

What are you going to do?” Birkoff dared to ask.

His eyes were cold and Michael focused his thoughts on the belief that Nikita was alive and waiting for rescue. However, behind them he was as worried as hell. “I don’t know yet ... but I will find her.”


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Play on text from ... DD, AG, LN and KTPG.

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