Ch. 1 Here we go

Three months, she thought, three more months and I can begin to live again…..

Nikita was sitting in her office, staring at the computer, but not really working. The wheels in her head were spinning fast, still having a lot to do before the big day. The day she will leave Division for good. She was planning to do so on her birthday, which was exactly 3 months from today, because she wanted to give herself the most important gift of all: Freedom! She had the money, the safe house and the fake IDs. All she had left was to plan how she would make her move and that was the hardest part. She had a few ideas, but she still had to find the right person to help her. Someone she could trust completely. Someone inside to communicate with for a few months after her escape. She needed to know everything Division got on her, so she could hide her tracks best and get moving if they got to close to finding her. But who could she trust in here? They were all robots. Percy held a gun to their heads and Amanda's mind games turned them into puppets. The only person that she could think of was Birkhoff. They've always had this weird kind of friendship. She called him Nerd, because, let's face it, you couldn't be the country's best hacker ever without having your face stuck to the computer all day. He called her Niki, which bothered her some times and he was very much enjoying bugging her. But the way he said it was almost…endearing, in a creepy kind of way and sometimes she kind of liked it. She would roll her eyes, smack his head and leave so he couldn't see the smile on her face. It was a rare thing to have such a relationship down here and Nikita treasured it more than Birkhoff would ever know. She would surely miss him. But even if they were friends in here, could she trust him to not reveal her plan to Percy and Amanda? Could she risk it? Would he be willing to risk his life to help her? Maybe she could offer him a large amount of money. But what would he do with money in here? Or maybe she could promise to help him get out once the heat goes down. And she really would come for him. She wanted nothing more than to see him out of this hell hole.

Nikita was suddenly brought back to reality when her phone rang. It was Amanda.

"What now? You saw your first grey hair and you want to talk about how that makes you feel?", Nikita mumbled out loud while reaching for her phone. "What?", she said in a plain voice.

"And I tried so hard to teach you manners….well….I need to see you in my office, I have an assignment for you".

"Be there in 5" Nikita said closing her laptop.

Great! Now I've pissed her off. I have to stop doing that or she'll make these three months here a bigger hell than it already is. Nikita made a mental note to apologize to Amanda. And what's that about a new assignment? I just came back from London, can't she give me a damn break? Oh, God, what if it's another one of those extended covers! It can't be, that would ruin my whole plan!

"Oh, hey, Nerd, how are you today? All good?" Nikita said, seeing Birkhoff coming around the corner. She needed to start working her magic on him and gain his support as soon as possible.

"Someone's chirpy today! Was London that….satisfying?" , Birkhoff said, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh, Birkhoff, wipe that smirk off your face! My mission was a success and what, can't I just be nice to you? I like you, you know that. You're my only friend down here or…anywhere for that matter", Nikita said with a sad smile on her face.

"So I'm you friend, huh?"

"Of course you are, Nerd! Never doubt that!" Nikita said in an honest tone, affectionately touching his shoulder.

"Ookk…that's not weird…not at all…" Birkhoff said looking skeptically at Nikita's hand. "Well something's definitely off today. Either I need to cut on my energy beverages or you're really, really strange! And I'm not even considering the first choice!"

"Oh, Birkhoff, you're such a dork. Don't ever change, ok?" Nikita said laughing a little. "Got to go now, the Ice Queen is waiting for me and with all this accelerated global warming she might melt till I get there"

Nikita turned around and headed into the direction of Amanda's office.

"What just happened?" Birkhoff said, still glued to the spot.

"Come in" Amanda's voice could be heard from inside her office.

Nikita braced herself and went inside. White! All she could see was white! Oh, and mirrors…lots and lots of mirrors. No matter how many times she was in here, this…hollow space still gave her the creeps. It was making her uncomfortable. It was always the subject of her worst nightmares. And after all the time spent in here with Amanda, it was to be expected.

"Amanda…hi…hello! Look, before we talk about anything else, I want to apologize for earlier. It's just the jet lag still bothers me and I was just in a mood. So….yeah….sorry about that…." Nikita said while walking towards the center of the office.

"No need to apologize dear, we all have our bad days. I understand. Now, have a seat, please"

Well, who should understand better than you, Nikita thought, nodding with a weak smile.

"Tea?" Amanda asked

"Tea would be wonderful, thank you"

"Weeell, I guess it really was just a mood"

"It was, trust me", Nikita said reassuringly. "So, you said you have an assignment for me."

"Right to the point. I like that!" Amanda said and took a sip of her tea. "Yes, I do. A new recruit just came in and I want you train her".

"But….I thought you were talking about a mission. I thought we agreed I won't be handling the recruits and just focus on missions. Why the sudden change?"

"Nikita, you are the best agent Division has ever seen and yes, we want you to focus 100% on your missions. But you are also our best trainer and believe me, this girl needs the best"

"And may I ask why?"

"You may, but I don't have to answer", Amanda said with a smirk.

Here we go again, Nikita thought, another one of her word games….

"Oh, relax dear, I was just kidding. Where is your sense of humor?"

Nikita scoffed internally, but chose to stay silent. She just smiled and nodded.

"You see, Alex had a particularly difficult life. She saw her parents killed right in front of her eyes at the age of 14 and then she was sold to sex traffickers and brought to America on a ship. Many of her…..companions died on their way here and she developed survivor's guilt. She is practically an addict with no desire to live, but I think she has tremendous potential"

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, if she survived all of that without giving up her life, it means that somewhere, deep inside her, she still wants to live"

What Amanda was saying made sense and it was frightening Nikita to see how well she could read into someone's mind and soul, without even talking to that person. Just by analyzing their life.

"And that's why I need you to handle this. You two have been through similar things and that makes you perfectly qualified for this job. You can relate to her and you will bring her to full potential"

"And what if I don't succeed?"

"We cancel her, of course. But give yourself a little credit, Nikita. You can do this. I know better"

Of course you do, Nikita thought with a shudder.

And with that, their conversation was over. Nikita stood up and left Amanda's office, glad that she didn't have to be there a second longer. The hum in that place was driving her insane.

Oh, God, here we go! Nikita said to herself, while walking towards Alex's room.

So, what do you think? Reviews are very welcomed. Good and bad! Than you!