| Subject: Chapter 10 |
Author:
Juli
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Date Posted: Monday, July 31, 04:49:04pm
In reply to:
Juli
's message, "Anti-Virus" on Wednesday, May 17, 05:25:56pm
Chapter 10
After Michael had checked in with both Birkoff and Walter, he crept back upstairs again and slipped into bed with Nikita. Although she didn’t wake up, Nikita snuggled up against him and sighed in her sleep.
Michael’s heart constricted at the feel of her body close to his. He was astonished at the depth of his feelings for her already. They had only really known each other for less than two days, but it seemed like longer. He wondered if all the intel-gathering had made her more concrete in his mind.
He put his arm around her as she cuddled against his side, resting her face on his chest. Michael realized suddenly how tired he was, and he quickly fell asleep too.
Later that evening, a pounding on the front door brought Michael immediately awake. Glancing at the clock, he realized that it was only 8 o’clock. He quickly got out of bed, careful not to disturb Nikita, who was, surprisingly, still asleep, and hurried downstairs.
Opening the front door, he let in Birkoff who supported a belligerent Walter, obviously drunk. Michael rolled his eyes and helped take Walter’s weight off his computer expert’s slim shoulders.
“What the hell, Walter?” Michael complained. “We have Davenport meeting us here in the morning, and you are on a bender?”
“I’m fine,” Walter slurred, collapsing on the couch where Michael dropped him.
“I need you at the top of your game for this one,” Michael scolded.
“I know,” Walter whispered. “It just reminds me too much of Belize.”
Michael nodded seriously, recalling the mission they had worked for the CIA. He had not been entirely truthful to Nikita about the work they had done. He hadn’t wanted to scare her. But he had not told her the extent of their work. In truth, he and Walter had been less of consultants and more of full-fledged operatives working on the outside. Both men had killed many times; both men had seen others die. Michael didn’t want Nikita to know about that dark time in his life.
“I know, Walter. But I need you sober,” Michael replied quietly.
Walter nodded.
Birkoff said, “I’ll go make some coffee.”
“Where’s Nikita?” Walter asked, putting his arm across his eyes.
“She’s upstairs, sleeping,” Michael told him.
Walter waggled his eyebrows, noticing Michael’s post-nap appearance. “Did you wear her out, boy?”
Michael just shook his head, an indulgent smile on his face.
“Are you going to get serious?” Michael asked.
Walter shrugged.
Nikita walked into the living room rubbing her eyes. She was barefoot, and Michael thought she couldn’t have looked more enchanting.
“What’s going on?” she asked, smothering a yawn.
“We’re trying to sober up Walter. Davenport is coming tomorrow morning,” he told her.
“Here?!” she asked, waking up completely.
Michael nodded. “And he said he wants to talk to you. You better start working on that fake illness.”
Nikita coughed forlornly, making Michael chuckle.
“Damn, Sugar. If I was twenty years younger….” Walter muttered from the couch.
She giggled at his antics.
Birkoff returned with a mug of coffee for Walter, saying hi to Nikita.
They all sat around the table.
“Did you bring all the data from Section One’s system?” Michael asked Birkoff.
Birkoff pulled an external hard drive out of his bag. “I downloaded it all onto this. You can give it to Davenport,” Birkoff replied.
“This contains the information about Wednesday?” Michael asked.
Birkoff nodded. “It’s all there.”
“I still have to go in and talk to Wolfe without letting on that we know. I’ll have to work on that proposal tonight. It’s the first time I’ve gone in empty handed,” he mused.
“And we really did find something … dangerous, this time,” Birkoff mentioned.
Nikita nodded solemnly, still feeling a bit guilty for her involvement.
The next two hours were spent working on the proposal for Wolfe and discussing how the next morning’s meeting with Davenport would proceed. Birkoff ordered pizza and after the serious topics were exhausted, the talk turned to previous stories of Red Cell’s adventures.
“So why did you name the company Red Cell?” Nikita asked, taking a bite of pizza.
Birkoff answered. “There was a particularly nasty computer virus going around about the time that we formed the company. It’s a little tongue in cheek, but we decided to use the name as sort of a warning against what viruses and hackers can do to a company’s systems,” he explained.
“So you use this Josephine to sleep with your client’s employees so you can get their access cards or whatever?” she asked.
“You’d be surprised what a beautiful and willing woman can get a man to do,” Michael said, staring intently at her.
“Josephine’s a pro,” Walter said, more sober now.
“She’s 1 for 14, right now,” Birkoff said, quoting her success rate.
“Who was the one?” Nikita asked with a curious smile.
“He was gay,” Birkoff replied with a sour face. “There was nothing in our intel about that.”
Nikita laughed. “I guess that would be a problem,” she said, taking a sip of her beer.
“You were the hardest one we’ve ever had,” Walter remarked with a wink.
“Really?” she asked.
“No kidding,” Birkoff exclaimed. “We sent … how many? Five? Six? You shot them all down. It’s a lot easier with guys,” he complained.
Nikita smiled. “I guess I just was waiting for the right guy,” she said, looking through her lashes at Michael.
Their banter continued for a little while longer, and then Walter slapped his hands to his knees and stood up.
“Well, I think we’d better get a good night’s sleep,” he said, grabbing his jacket from the back of the sofa. “At least some of us,” he said, giving Nikita a wink.
“I’ll make sure he gets home,” Birkoff said, grabbing his laptop bag and following Walter to the door.
“Walter, you need to be here at 7:30. Birkoff, hang out at the office and we’ll let you know what we need. I don’t want to flaunt you in Davenport’s face,” Michael said, getting ready to close the door behind them.
“Will do,” Walter said, waving. “G’night, Sugar.”
“Good night, Walter,” Nikita said.
Michael put his arm around her and closed the door behind his departing partners.
“Feeling rested? You napped a long time,” he asked.
“I feel great. I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep for a while,” she told him with a suggestive smile.
“We’ll just have to see what we can do to keep awake then, won’t we,” he said, his arm pulling her against him. He was hard and ready for her.
Nikita giggled. “I have some ideas,” she whispered against his ear.
Michael pointed her toward the stairs and said, “By all means, I would love to hear them.”
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