| Subject: chapter 3 |
Author:
SB
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Date Posted: Thursday, July 01, 03:59:47pm
In reply to:
S.B.
's message, "The Progeny of Four" on Tuesday, June 29, 02:58:59am
**
Madeline stared a moment at the silent intercom, instantly curious at Operation’s behavior but not surprised by his answer. She hadn’t expected him to agree to be in attendance when she met with Michael, not with the way he was feeling as of late toward the latter, but there was more than anger in his voice just now.
It was she mused, pinpointing it in the next moment, anxiety that had tinged his voice. And he was trying to cover it up with anger.
Madeline sat back, her upcoming meeting with Michael momentarily shifted aside as she assessed this new piece of information.
Paul was reminiscing again...
Calm, that feeling of absolute certainty she received when she knew she was right in her assessment of a situation, settled upon her. It was difficult to explain, not that she’d ever felt any need to explain it to anyone other than herself, and even then it was more out of self-amusement rather than evaluation that she did so, but she’d always been good at reading people. It brought her great satisfaction to watch people, assess their behavior, find what it was that made them act that way, and then attempt to make them do what it was she wanted.
She didn’t bother with books and theories –those were for people who didn’t have talent. If you needed to be instructed on how to read people then you were in the wrong business. To study people you had to delve into your own mind, study all the dark recesses of your own soul, and then turn around and apply the insight you gained to those you dealt with…
There was a slight beep and the door to her office opened as Michael stepped silently in.
Her lips curved into a welcoming smile. Here was one of her favorite and most challenging subjects. She invited him to take a seat, noting his quiet “Thank you” as he did so.
“How are you?” she asked, once he’d settled into the chair facing her.
“I’m fine,” Michael answered, meeting her gaze with a blank look.
His answer brought another smile to her lips, warm and gentle. “That’s good. How is Elena?”
There was the slightest shift of his eyes, the briefest flash of emotion before he smoothed it over with a small smile – one that didn’t quite reach his eyes, Madeline noted—and said calmly, “She’s fine.”
“And the baby?” she pressed.
This time there was a more noticeable reaction as Michael shifted his gaze to her right. What was it he was feeling she wondered? Anger? Hatred? Love? Resentment?
He was fascinating to study and she made note of it all in her mind.
He turned back to face her, all traces of emotion safely tucked away.
“The baby’s fine,” he answered, and Madeline didn’t miss the slight tension in his voice.
She turned then to her computer and began typing to pull up the file she wanted him to see. An integral part of her job was knowing what to ask and also when to stop. Right now it was time to shift the line of questioning from Michael’s mission family over to a new topic, one where he wouldn’t feel so threatened.
Once the file she wanted appeared Madeline turned the screen so that Michael could view it too and then sat back and loosely clasped her hands on her lap. “We have a new assignment for you,” she began. “Now that Elena’s expecting we don’t want you going out in the field as much. You should have more regular hours and be able to go home to her at night. Keep her comfortable. Continue to convince her to contact her father.”
“We’ve also decided to utilize you as a trainer.” She paused here, watching for his reaction before continuing. Undoubtedly he’d be surprised by this though she was certain he wouldn’t show it… And she was right.
“This is your first assignment. She’s being processed as we speak. Her file has been sent to your office. I’d like your initial evaluation by tomorrow afternoon. If she’s not going to work out for us then we don’t want to waste anymore resources than necessary.”
Michael studied the photo of the woman on the screen. She was young, nineteen or twenty he guessed. Blue eyes, blond hair. Good bone structure. “A valentine operative?” he inquired, assessing in his mind what type of training she would need.
Madeline turned her attention to the photo too and studied her a moment. “Possibly,” she answered.
“Do you want her in the field?”
Madeline nodded slowly. “She’s had previous combat training, although it was quite a while ago.” She turned her gaze back to meet Michael’s, watching him carefully. “In fact, it was you who trained her.”
She could sense more than see any change in him. Careful to not make him too wary she continued on. “Nine years ago. You were brand new to Section, just completed with your own training when you were assigned to teach her.”
Michael turned to look again at the photo on the screen. Recognition dawned upon him and he remained silent for a long time. Finally, when Madeline didn’t provide any further information, he said, “Nikita.”
Madeline nodded.
“I was told she died.”
“A lie,” she answered, and he looked at her, suspicion and curiosity mixed in his eyes. A rare observance for her in him. It filled Madeline with curiosity to know more but she kept that desire in check, letting Michael take the lead instead.
“Why?” he asked.
“Why the lie, or, why are we giving her to you again to train?”
“Both.”
Madeline breathed in, assessing how much to reveal as she swiveled her chair to face the screen. “I don’t know why the lie. The experiment was Section Four’s and had approval from Oversight. Operations wasn’t pleased with it but there was little we could do to alter it or any of the parameters surrounding it.” Madeline looked over to Michael. “You were selected by Oversight to work with her.”
“Why reveal this to me now?” he asked, and Madeline smiled.
“Because I’m just as curious about the situation as you are,” she admitted.
“Is Oversight ordering her recruitment into Section?”
She lowered her lashes. It was a question she’d wondered about herself over the past few months. Though she had initiated the request to recruit Nikita she wondered too if Oversight hadn’t been counting on that. Had they been gambling on it all along?
The questions were endless… and intriguing.
She shook her head and looked up at Michael. “I requested her recruitment. Oversight complied.”
Michael was silent. She could see the wariness creeping back into his eyes. He sensed the anomaly in the planning, just as she did. “Oversight is up to something,” she conceded, “and we want to know what it is.”
Michael’s brows arched slightly. “We?”
This earned him a genuine smile from her. She even laughed softly. “Alright. *I’m* curious.”
Madeline grew serious again. “Oversight never gave us a plausible reason for the experiment the last time and I want to know what it is they’re up to.” She paused again, her eyes assessing. “Perhaps it’s something we can use here in Section.”
“Latent mind-control,” Michael agreed.
“Yes. If it proves successful it'll open up more options to us for future recruitment.”
He turned to look at the screen again. “What happened to her?” he asked, and Madeline instinctively knew he was referring to the intermittent years since he’d last seen her.
“According to her file, nothing. When she was brought here before it was under the pretext that she was at school. Her mother was an alcoholic and didn’t keep track of where Nikita was most of the time. I suspect that was the main reason she was chosen as a subject. Do you recall that part of her profile?”
Michael nodded. “Were there others?”
“I’m certain there were but she was the only one brought here.”
“Why did they stop her training?”
Madeline noted with satisfaction Michael’s string of questions. As she suspected it would, Nikita’s case was bringing out his own deeply rooted training as a profiler, his need for information as he planned out in his mind how best to handle her. She knew already that he would take on this challenge, even if he did suspect there was an ulterior motive behind it, because like her, Michael thrived on challenges. It was something new, a different test of his skills, and it thrilled him much the same way new challenges elated her.
“I don’t know why they stopped. Perhaps they felt she’d received enough.”
“And now they want to see how much of that training she’s retained.”
“Something like that. Though I don’t know why they kept her out so long.”
“Perhaps they were waiting for you,” Michael returned, gazing straight at her.
Madeline smiled. This was why she enjoyed working with Michael. He had a natural aptitude for grasping situations and people. It hadn’t taken him long to recognize the same thing she had, the possibility that Oversight was testing her.
Leaning forward she turned the screen back around to face her. “I’ll expect your report by tomorrow afternoon,” she reminded. Michael, recognizing the dismissal, rose gracefully and headed toward the door.
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