| Subject: Re: Jericho II: 06 |
Author:
Anon
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Date Posted: 06:44:54 02/11/02 Mon
In reply to:
Anon
's message, "Jericho II" on 23:17:33 01/28/02 Mon
**
After leaving Nikita, Michael made his way to his private quarters in Section to shower and change. He put in a quick phone call to Elena, checked on her and Adam. Elena asked if his business trip would still take the full two weeks he had said it would and Michael, hearing the loneliness in her voice, assured her that he would try to wrap things up quickly and return home as fast as possible.
After hanging up, Michael sat and wondered about the moral implications of what he was doing. Elena loved and trusted him with all her heart. How would she feel, he wondered, if she knew who he really was and the lengths he, on Section’s behalf, was going to in order to capture her father? She would be devastated, Michael knew. And then she would hate him. It was, he felt, nothing short of what he deserved.
Simone had been against the bloodcover from the beginning. It had been difficult enough for her to accept that Michael would be married to another woman, but to know that he was under orders to produce a child with that woman… The news had torn Simone apart.
Simone.
Michael sighed as he went over to the closet and picked out a coat jacket to wear. Thinking of her still brought an overwhelming sense of sorrow and regret. If only he could go back and re-do some of his earlier decisions. But what would he change? If he had not accepted the Vachek mission, he would not have Adam. And if he desired to go back even further in time, back to when youthfulness and foolish idealism had ruled his life, if he were to change his choices back then, then he would have never entered Section and never met Simone. Perhaps the best path, he thought, if he were able to go back and alter his path in life, would be to make it so that Simone never fell in love with him. As much as he loved her, he would give her love up if it meant he could spare her the pain he had caused her in the end.
As for Elena, Michael vowed that he would treat her the best he could for the remainder of time they were together. He couldn’t love her as he had Simone – he had too much guilt to allow that – but he did care for her, very much. Adam, of course, would be lost to him forever once the mission was over, but that was a just price, Michael felt, for his betrayal of Elena’s trust.
**
The next evening, Michael took Nikita out to dinner. Part of the next mission would require Nikita to gain Alex Chandler’s interest so that she could gain entrance into his private office. It was the one part of the mission that Michael had reservations about. One thing that remained unchanged about Nikita throughout her training was that she did not like to be touched.
Nikita was still wary of his intentions, so Michael allowed her to choose the restaurant they went to. Much to his regret, she chose a pizza parlor where there were lots of bright lights, loud music, and teenagers. Nikita seemed oblivious to it all as she ate.
Michael managed to eat a small slice of pizza, but that was all that he could stomach. As Nikita bobbed her head up and down in tune with the jukebox music, he studied the room and the people in it. Nikita noticed and she narrowed her eyes at him. “Why are you looking around like that?” she said, disbelief filling her eyes. “This had better not be another mission…”
“It’s not,” he assured her.
“Then why are you doing that? Will you stop it, you’re making me nervous.”
Michael looked at her. “This isn’t a mission, Nikita. But I do admit that there’s another purpose I wanted you to come to dinner with me.”
“I knew it.” She put the slice of pizza she’d been holding back down on her plate and, picking up her napkin, wiped at her mouth. “So what is it?” she asked, voice tight. Michael reached over and placed two fingers under her chin, tilting her face up so that he could look into her eyes.
“It’s nothing like what you think,” he told her. Nikita’s gaze shifted back and forth across his face, and then she relaxed slightly.
“All right. Then what is it?”
Michael lowered his hand. “There’s one part of your training that I think you still need help on.”
Nikita waited. Several seconds passed and Michael still didn’t say anything. “Well?” Nikita asked, impatiently.
Michael leaned forward, his gaze holding hers. “Your social skills.”
“Excuse me?”
Michael looked around the room. The place was filled with a younger crowd. There was no one there suitable for the exercise he had planned for Nikita. Turning his attention back to her, he said, “You need to practice drawing a man’s attention, Nikita. You need to be able to get close enough to him that you can tag him if need be, or just gain his interest.”
Nikita shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I’ve already learned that. Madeline covered it.”
“You need more practice.”
Nikita looked away. Eyes frowning, lips set in a tight line. Michael leaned forward, his gaze intense. “I’m only saying this because it’ll be expected of you, Nikita. You have to be able to do it.”
He waited. Several emotions passed through her eyes, and then she nodded slowly. “All right,” she agreed, sullenly. “What do you want me to do.”
After they left the pizza place, Michael drove Nikita to a popular night spot. He parked the car, reached into his pocket again, and this time retrieved two com units. One he gave to her and the other he placed behind his own ear. “We’ll enter separately,” he said. “I’ll choose the target, you tag them.”
“That’s it?”
“It won’t be as easy as it sounds, Nikita.”
She made a sound of disgust as she opened the door and said over her shoulder, “Nothing ever is with you, Michael.”
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