| Subject: Chapters 12 & 13 |
Author:
Deb
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Date Posted: 19:11:02 12/13/01 Thu
In reply to:
Deb
's message, "For the Love (continued)" on 19:07:41 12/13/01 Thu
For the Love
Chapter 12
Walter watched Jurgen as he walked toward Birkoff’s station. He tried unsuccessfully to hide the disdain he felt for the man, a feeling once harbored in his subconscious, brought forth with the knowledge that two people he cared about deeply were suffering from his mere presence. He had once admired the man, had even gone so far as presenting him to Nikita as a member of his self-made 5 percent club. He knew now that this was not true.
Walter had been in Section a long time and through the years had established his own pipeline of information. He learned that the strength of character Jurgen portrayed was simply a reflection of the fact that there were no consequences. His façade of power and conviction proved to be a mask, for beneath it, in Walter’s eyes, there was cowardice. Walter knew about Jurgen’s blackmail and grudgingly he admired the man’s intestinal fortitude to even attempt such a process against Section, but the admiration was dulled quickly with the reasoning behind it….fear. Walter shrugged visibly as he continued his ruminating…even fear was an acceptable catalyst in his eyes. When it came right down to it he settled on the one thing that bothered him most about Jurgen…. That he used this sense of power to sway Nikita. He presented himself as someone who could provide all that was lacking in her life. She felt trapped….he offered a form of freedom…. She felt stifled….he provided release. That Nikita was emotionally open for his Knight in Shining Armor portrayal was obvious.
The fact that Jurgen could really care for Nikita did not get by Walter. He smiled briefly in thinking about his Sugar ‘What’s not to like?’ but the smile faded with the surety that Jurgen’s agenda had started out as the opportunity to destroy Michael. A touch of guilt washed over Walter as he remembered his constant attack of the young man when he thought Nikita had died. In retrospect he now saw clearly the fact that Michael was hurting.
And now, Michael had made the ultimate sacrifice, showing the soul he kept hidden for much too long. If Nikita were to ask again about Walter’s 5 percent club with regard to Michael there would be no question….he was definitely one of them.
Chapter 13
Birkoff walked through the darkened hall, the hairs at the nape of his neck standing at full attention. It was late… very late as he had waited for the day’s activities to settle down. He hated Med Lab….it gave him the creeps. Just the thought of coming here had turned his stomach into knots but he had to make sure. He knew the deceptions of Section and was not about to base his future actions on what was listed in the computer system. ‘Seeing is believing’ he thought to himself.
He walked into the room, stopping short as he cleared the door-jam. He let his gaze wander about the room, not registering anything in particular, just gathering up the courage to switch his attention to the bed and its occupant. The stony silence was heavy save for the various beeps, whirrs, and hisses of the machines. Walking forward with a hesitant step he finally stood beside the bed and stared at the man laying in it. His initial shock of seeing Michael helpless and fragile lingered. This was Michael….the man that represented strength and leadership….the man who instilled fear in others while at the same time earning their respect. He was seeing but his mind had trouble catching up to believing. Reaching out to touch Michael’s arm he leaned in to whisper his name. No response. He shook his arm while calling out his name again a little louder. Nothing. Realization dawned and he began to back out of the room……..backing out, as he couldn’t remove his eyes from Michael.
He had confirmation…..now he had to honor his friend’s request….
Jurgen plopped down on the couch in exhaustion, both mental and physical. Immediately after debriefing he had searched out Nikita expecting a warm greeting….what he got was not exactly that. She ran into his awaiting arms not with the thrill of having him home but with the search for solace from her grief. She sobbed uncontrollably making it difficult for him to understand all of what she was saying…. It didn’t matter….he heard the one thing that made his blood run cold…….. Michael.
Adrenaline coursed through him negating the exhaustion. Michael…. He had trained him with a brutality that even surprised himself. An unspoken competition between the two had been there from the beginning. Jurgen wasn’t sure exactly when the competitive feeling had turned into full-fledged hatred yet he questioned if it was there from the start. He did his best to break the young man but with a silent determination he had refused to be broken. Jealousy…. There was that too. Despite many years in Section Jurgen had yet to earn the respect and admiration that came so easily to Michael….. and when Operations himself took Michael under his proverbial wing Jurgen had to succumb to blackmail to portray his superiority.
Still the unspoken battle had Michael the victor….that is until he was presented with his latest assignment….. Nikita. He had discovered Michael’s Achilles heel. He could easily reveal the fact that Michael had given Nikita freedom and watch his final fall from grace…..but he waited…..that would be his final card. Nikita had proven to be an easy target for manipulation and Jurgen reveled in the glory of having defeated Michael in the one game he never thought him capable of….. love. That of course was until today….
That Michael would die in a blaze of glory was not acceptable….. He would use his final card ….. and the added bonus of bringing Nikita down with him merely sweetened the victory.
Moving to his desk he turned on the computer. In addition to the files being used against Section he also had precise and well-documented information that would lead to the destruction of his nemesis. He had done his homework …… Nikita had relinquished enough information to bring Michael down but he wanted more… He knew how Michael worked……knew that the prisoner from the Freedom League would not be allowed to betray Michael’s secret. A well-placed digital voice analyzer had successfully provided a recording of Michael’s conversation with the prisoner prior to his demise at Michael’s hand. He had evidence of the offer of a swift death to the prisoner in exchange for the fabrication of Nikita’s six-month imprisonment.
With a smile he waited for the computer to power on……..The smile faded quickly as he stared at the words…… “ALL FILES DELETED”
It was the second screen to come up that pushed him over the edge……
“Appropriate files have been transferred to Section”
Michael
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