| Subject: The Outside Operative 37 |
Author:
Nikita507
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Date Posted: Friday, January 24, 11:50:02pm
In reply to:
Nikita507
's message, "The Outside Operative 28+" on Friday, October 18, 08:14:15pm
“Are you comfortable standing there?” Lope asked as she stood beside the sink where Nikita stood, her hands in the soapy water. Nikita looked at the woman with contempt. “This isn’t physical therapy. This is a chore.”
Lope smirked as she head learned that Nikita could be lethal with that tongue of hers when she wanted to be. When she was using it, she either felt really good or really bad. It was hard to tell which it was most often. Even after ten days of working with Nikita, Lope still was trying to figure this woman up and the mysteries that obviously were contained by everyone in this household.
“It is more like occupational therapy… along the lines of having you up and about,” Lope explained as she looked at the dishes and stepped back. “I think you are doing great.”
“And you are going to include the dishes from the construction people used for lunch too?” Nikita inquired and Lope shrugged her shoulders. “I think you got the easier end of this deal… you are going to stand there at the sink… I’m going back and forth to get the dishes.”
“Only because you know I can’t do that,” Nikita spoke as she didn’t turn to look at Lope as she was starting to cross out of the kitchen. Lope knew that she had to, as did others, move away from Nikita and give Nikita time up on her feet by herself. At least she was being left near the sink where she could lean or hold onto something and the chair at the table was only a step or two away.
If Nikita just was willing to admit that she needed to sit down before her body gave out.
Michael was in the dining room and Lope looked at the stack of dishes. “I can’t have you go in there and help her.”
“When I first... when she moved into her first apartment… she didn’t know how to do the dishes…” Michael stumbled with the words as he was thinking about so many things, many of which he couldn’t tell Lope about. For some reason, he couldn’t think of a way to explain having to break into Nikita’s apartment to find her with her feet in the sink while she was dealing with the phasing shell.
“She knows how to do them now,” Lope shrugged her shoulders as she didn’t think it was odd at all. She knew that there were things that she was informed not to ask about – mostly it was about Nikita’s history, so Lope assumed that it meant that she had some sort of abuse in her history.
Nikita exhaled as she picked up the dish and started to clean off the pasta sauce that been the feature of the lunch. She didn’t understand why lunch had to be so elaborate, but Mick had insisted on it today. Nikita moved the cloth against the melamine surface of the lightweight dish.
As Nikita transferred the dish to the sink to rinse later, she glanced out the window and swallowed hard.
Nikita’s hand trembled as she thought about washing the dirty teacup that had held tea that she had tried to drink while her stomach churned. She was to be studying for her first set of finals, but her mind wasn’t on the tests, despite what Adrian told her to focus on.
Nikita hadn’t even really heard about the term mandatory refusal. In ways, it was like how it was most days for Nikita – no contact from Michael. But this was different because he was out there, with no contact, on a mission that was dangerous. Nikita had wanted to be helping and Michael told her to focus on her studies.
Blinking back tears, Nikita dunked the teacup again and then stopped to look out the window as a car drove by, her mind wondering if she had seen it pass a couple times already. Perhaps it was Michael.
She had asked Adrian if Michael could take this opportunity to just disappear. Nikita didn’t understand the woman’s answer that it would be even more difficult for Michael to disappear now, because Section One was looking hard for him.
So Nikita’s next argument was that since he wasn’t allowed to contact Section, why couldn’t he contact her? The answer as the same, it would be too difficult because Section One was looking hard for him.
Nikita jerked her hand and this time, slammed the cup into the side of the sink, breaking it. Nikita felt the tears rolling down her face in frustration.
She knew that Michael wanted her to be in this nursing program. He had selected it, but Nikita was sure that not just because he wanted Nikita to get an education. This program was too traditional. She had courses and tests that she couldn’t manipulate and squeeze for flexibility. It made it impossible for her to do anything to help Michael.
Nikita wasn’t going to stay in it after this round of finals. She had to do something. Instead, she found herself in the kitchen with broken teacups, tears rolling down her sunken face, and no clue where Michael was and if he was safe.
What if things didn’t go well? What if something happened to Michael and all that Nikita was doing in this state of waiting yielded her no Michael in the end? Passively waiting for things to change was not doing Nikita well and it made it physically impossible to even think of studying.
And then Nikita felt the guilt come in – for the anger that she had for Michael.
Yes, anger.
It was his own reasoning that caused her to be in this little condo, wondering where he was and if he would be safe to make it out of this bad situation. If he would have taken her back to Section One, she would have been able to do something – and not just be stuck in a kitchen. She could have looked for Michael and tried to find a way to help him – to protect him as he had done for her. How dare he do this to her and keep her locked away from helping?
Lope carried the dishes in and tilted her head as she looked at Nikita as she was holding one plate in the air and not moving. “Are you ok, Nikita?”
Still moving to bring the dishes to the sink, Lope didn’t get a response. She placed the dishes on the counter as Nikita’s hands shook. “Are you having a muscle spasm? It helps to keep moving…”
“He is missing,” Nikita stated as she dropped her hands to the sink and leaned forward. “They don’t know where he is.”
Lope frowned. “Michael’s in the dining room.”
“He is… in... mandatory refusal… and I’m stuck… studying… to be a damn nurse… that I don’t want to be…”
Lope lurched as Nikita’s body tilted but Nikita held the edge of the sink and continued to stare out the window. It was in that instant that Lope finally got the clear picture of what everyone had mentioned as of lapses of memories, but this was damn confusing. While Lope knew that she needed Michael, her priority was Nikita’s physical well-being and that meant that Nikita needed to sit down.
Lope moved closer to Nikita, but slowly to not scare the
woman. “Let’s sit down… and you can tell me about who is missing…” Lope got her arm to about Nikita’s arm and Nikita pulled away while she almost fell. “No!”
Nikita shook her head. “I have to help him… maybe I can hack in… find a signal… I know how he works… he trained me… I can find him… so we can be together…”
Lope tried to get closer again. “You are just a bit confused, Nikita… Let’s get you to sit down… and I’ll make you some tea.”
“No damn tea!” Nikita tossed her arms up and nocked it against some of the dishes that were washed while Lope had started Nikita on the dishes. Lope knew that she was in trouble and she also knew that she didn’t know enough about who she worked for.
“Kita,” Michael spoke gently as he appeared in the other doorway, closing the gap between himself and Nikita’s weak body. She turned but didn’t have her feet underneath her. Lope closed her eyes, but Michael eased in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m not lost.”
“Adrian said… you couldn’t contact anyone… and not even me… and I’m supposed to study… but I want to help… and you should have taken me back in… I can’t do anything… like this…” Nikita sputtered as she moved her arms around Michael. She pulled way and looked up at Michael’s face. “If you are here… and in mandatory refusal… are you free? Is my wait over?”
“Kita… look at me… that was the past, Kita…” Michael stroked at Nikita’s face. She shook her head and pushed it towards his chest. “Eight days…. I’ve gone thru the motions… eight days, Michael.”
“Years ago it was nine days…” Michael rubbed at Nikita’s back. He was able to turn and sit down on the chair that Lope had hoped to get Nikita to sit on. He placed Nikita up on his lap. “You are tired, aren’t you?”
“I just… needed… you… safe.”
“We both are safe.”
“You were missing…” Nikita whispered as she closed her eyes against Michael’s shoulder. Michael rubbed at her back and looked directly at Lope.
And knew that he needed to tell Lope some more details.
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