I sighed as I strolled around division "Michael!" I grinned as I ran towards him "I'm bored" I whined
"And what do you want me to do about it?" he quirked an eyebrow
"Find me something to do? You are my 'handler' after all"
"I'm not your handler, go spar with some of the recruits?"
"Sprained ankle remember, strict orders to rest and be condemned to boredom in the process"
"Didn't stop you from running over here" he groaned
"Couldn't let you get away could I, Master" I smirked as he twitched "What? Can't handle the innuendos?" I grinned as I followed him into op's "Master, take care of your pets! You're being cruel!" I sobbed earning a few odd looks
"Don't push me" he warned
"Is that a challenge?" my smirked turned into a cheshire cat grin, as he sighed and strode over to one of the techies,
"You found anything Birkhoff?"
"Meow!" I grinned as I wrapped my arms round Michael's neck lifting myself onto his back "Mew!"
"Erm...what?" he stared blankly at me
"She's playing, what did you find?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary, the op went just fine..." he looked at me and Mikey,
"That means you can stay and play with me" I grinned
"Play?" Birkhoff smirked, I felt Mikey's muscles tense when I noticed the smirk cross his lips
"Since you have no other missions to observe, Birkhoff. You can keep her entertained" he pried me from his back, standing me in front of the tech, before walking off
"Mikey... I'll make you pay for this" I huffed as I looked to the techie, he was a little rough around the edges, but he was cute, but he works with Mikey, he's probably another stick in the mud.
"Keep you entertained? How old are you? Twelve?" I rolled my eyes
"Well, looks like I was right, another stick in the mud" I groaned "If you're not going to help me then I'm going to go piss off Amanda." he snickered
"Death wish kid? I've never seen you in any of my classes, what's your name?"
"Princess Leia, as if I need to be in your class" I scoffed
"Someone sounds confident"
"I can beat you in my sleep, Shadow Walker" I smirked savouring that surprised look on his face, I knew I got the name right as soon as Mikey mentioned him, Seymour Birkhoff, the elusive Shadow Walker, truth be told I studied his work a lot, he was impressive, didn't think I'd ever meet him. Slowly a smirk crossed his features
"Is that so? Let's see you try" he pushed away from his desk, a computer program running, "Try break the encryption"
"With pleasure" I sauntered to his desk, swiftly clipping up my hair "not even offering me a seat, you're as bad as Mikey" I smirked as I leaned forward, analysing the code before starting my attack. An hour later Michael returned "Don't. Say. A. Word" I warned as I typed in the last bit of code and hit enter, the screen went blank as the computer rebooted with the information decrypted "Done" I smirked as I leaned against his desk
"Impressive, I still don't think you're better than me, the devil's in the details, you'd have managed it in half the time if you'd looked a little harder"
"Maybe you'll have to teach me sometime" I smiled "What do you want Mikey?"
"Percy wants to see you" I groaned
"Do I have to?" he nodded "Later B" I smiled as I headed towards his office.
"How're you feeling?" he asked
"I had fun" I grinned "So how's your day been?"
…
"Hmm..." I grinned as I rummaged through Birkhoff's 'secret' lair, one of the old abandoned rooms that Percy said he could have, some space for when he's pulling some all nighters. I opened his cabinets, "Jackpot" I pulled out Tekken 5 and inserted it into the console grabbing the remote I perched on his bed and started playing.
"You again" I disregarded his interruption as I thrashed Paul with Yoshimitsu's special move
"Hi" I smiled
"How do you even know about this room? Nobody knows"
"I know everything about this place, every room, every exit... want to play?" I beckoned to the tv
"Only if you're ready to be beaten" he smirked as he grabbed the other controller and plopped down beside me.
"No, no, no!" I protested furiously pounding the buttons "How!" I leaned into him, in a final attempt to beat him when he unleashed a special combo, knocking my character dead "Damn it"
"Victory!"
"What was that?"
"That was pure genius at work" he smirked
"That had to have been cheating" I pointed at him "That was not possible" I poked his chest
"I do no such thing"
"Let me check that controller" I leaned over to grab it when he pulled away "Why won't you let me see?" I groaned and pinned him beneath me as I plucked the remote from his hand, I quickly gave it the once over only to find there was no sign of tampering anywhere "Damn"
"You going to get off me?" I glanced down to realize I'd straddled him and was currently sat on a very delicate area. I felt the heat radiate through my body
"Sorry" I mumbled as I climbed off of him "Where'd you learn to play like that?"
"I'm just good" he smirked "Gaming talent"
"Pfft, keep your secrets, I'll keep mine" I slipped off my shoe checking my ankle, "couple more days and I should be back in business" I smiled
"What's your name anyways? I'm pretty sure you're not Princess Leia, and recruits really shouldn't be skipping class to play someone else's video games"
"My name is one of my secrets. And I'm no recruit"
"Well. You're no field agent either, I've never observed you on a mission"
"My missions don't usually need observing" I rose to my feet "I'm just. that. good... later B"
*Birkhoff's POV*
"Michael, you going to explain why you keep ditching that girl on me?"
"I ditched her on you once, Birkhoff. Now I think about it, she's been less of a pest this week..."
"Yeah, cause she's infiltrated my batcave," I snarled, earning a smirk from Mike "What?"
"She's not usually so forward, you must've made an impression on her"
"Who is she? She won't tell me her name and she's not in any of the rosters, she's a ghost"
"She's just keeping herself entertained, she's been down here longer than everyone, with the exception of Percy and Amanda. As long as she's happy, you're safe"
"That doesn't help" I mumbled as he walked off and I slumped at my desk when a twizzler was dangled in front of my face I leaned back to see the mysterious resident "Princess" I smirked
"Open" she smiled as she lowered the treat into my mouth and I turned to her "Hi"
"Don't you have anywhere better to be?"
"Nope" she popped as she perched on my desk "Not allowed out unless I'm escorted, and Michael's so busy with this new op, I'm stuck here... I miss my apartment" she sighed
"So you're not a recruit but you're still being babied by Michael"
"By Percy, he's the one who doesn't want me left alone. It's so frustrating, I just feel like I'm missing out on the real world"
"You're not missing out on that much"
"Why don't you take me!" she beamed "I'm sure he'd allow it, I mean you're a techie but I've seen you fight, you're, well not brilliant, but you're good" she smiled, her eyes were full of hope
"I'm not taking a nameless girl out into the world, I'm certainly not going to ask Percy if I can"
"I'll deal with that!" she volunteered as she leapt to her feet "Katherine" she smiled "You can call me Kat" she kissed my cheek and skipped out of Ops, I chuckled as I turned to my screen
"Katherine..." what an interesting girl...
…
"So you'll be keeping an eye on her for the next three days then the two of you need to report back" Percy stated "You're on call, if you're needed you will return to Division when instructed"
"Yes sir" I nodded along with her exclamation
"Enjoy your downtime, Katherine" She nodded as we headed to the lift
"How did you manage to pull off this one?" she smiled as we headed to the garage and she dug out her keys "We're taking your car?" she nodded
"Today's my treat, I just have to swing home and get changed"
"O.K."
"Trust me" she smiled and I just shook my head, what the hell have I gotten myself into?
…
I smirked as I looked at the poster in her room, it was fairly ordinary, though at first glance you'd think it was a boy's apartment, games consoles, computers, photographs that could be classed as near sci-fi pornography.
"That was from an op." She stated as she grabbed a clip from her table "The guy was a arms dealer, though he had a very geeky hobby. The best bit was that prop, was converted into a real gun. Amanda let me keep the costume... Slave girl Leia... surely I could use it for something" I looked to see her lick her lips as she slipped on her cardigan "Shall we" She offered me her arm "Loosen up, forget about Division for a while. Become Seymour, the adorable computer genius"
"Adorable?" I raised my eyebrow
"Yes, adorable" she kissed my cheek "Now come on before I start thinking Michael's a better date, and he hates this stuff" I smiled as we headed out. "Here we are"
"An Arcade?"
"Not just any arcade" she smirked "My arcade" she slipped the key from her necklace and opened the door, then disabled the alarm, turning on the lights "My own personal playground"
"This place is awesome, how'd you afford this?"
"Division salary, plus my dad gave me a loan"
"You're still in touch with your dad? Even though you're in Division?"
"Division's my life" she rummaged through her drawers pulling out two cards slipping them into the reader "My dad had me raised inside division, I was raised to be a human weapon... at some point I just refused to let it affect me emotionally, I'm not chipped and I get a little more free range around headquarters, but I just miss being a girl..." She tossed me a card "Unlimited credit" she smiled "I told you today was my treat."
…
"Seymour!" She yelled from one of the upper platforms "I set it up! You're going to love this one!" She looked so alive, I headed up into the room she'd disappeared into "Welcome to my baby" she chuckled as she stood between two rooms, a large screen behind her with the demo playing, for a war shooter. "This is our main attraction, virtual reality, total immersion. Tweaked to my own design, two rooms one per player. We're stood in the viewing area, everyone can watch the match out here."
"Not bad, but don't think just because I'm a computer genius, I can't out shoot you"
"We'll see... see you on the other side" she mock saluted as she entered the other room. I followed suit entering my card into the slot the entire system came to life, a variety of gun controllers docked, I looked up at the screen as my stats came up, "customized avatars?" I smirked at what she'd designed "Shadow? cute" I reached for the rifle, it looked realistic enough but in contrast to the actual thing it was a lot lighter. I watched the countdown begin when her stats came up, "Red Viper? You're more of a pussycat..."
"Game. Start" I raised my gun as all the screens kicked in and we were thrown into modern day combat. I ducked behind a corner and peered round a shot narrowly missed hitting the wall behind me,
"Sniper?" I peered around to see the only place she could be, the funhouse, "You seriously put an old fairground in this?" I shot down a clown as I headed closer to the funhouse I entered a room of mirrors, "You obviously have way too much time on your hands" I mumbled at the sign of the reflections in the mirrors when I caught a glimpse of red, I turned to see her avatar, Jessica Rabbit, her avatar was dressed like Jessica Rabbit... I raised my gun and shot only to result in the shattering of the mirror I cursed as my screen froze at the sound of a gunshot, when she walked out in front of me and mock saluted as the screens blacked out revealing the scores, true to her word she'd beaten me, in a blaze of glory. I chuckled as I headed out to find her perched on the ledge
"Have fun?" She leaned back and smiled
"It was interesting, though Jessica Rabbit?" she chuckled
"I don't usually play these arenas... I usually play the Vegas shootouts, I like the music, she's designed to blend in"
"Custom avatars, so there was a reason for them"
"They're useless for the older games, but they can be incorporated into a lot of the new ones, and they make the scoreboards a lot more interesting... most of which we've brutally murdered the past few hours"
"Well, it gives them something to aspire to" I smirked
"Come on, we can pick up some Pizza and beer on the way"
"Sounds like a plan"
*Katherine's POV*
I groaned at the sound of that blasted division phone, I reached over Birkhoff to pluck it from the table "Hello" I yawned
"You and Birkhoff need to report back in an hour. You have a mission"
"Alright. I'm going to shower first so forgive me if I'm a little late Percy"
"Try not to be. And Katherine, your father picked this mission" I groaned
"Great" I hung up, resting my head on the armrest as I grabbed the remote turning off the titles of Die Hard. "We must've fallen asleep through the movie" I yawned as I headed to the bathroom. When I emerged, Birkhoff was sat nursing a red bull "Shower's free, we have to be in division at eight" I stated as I grabbed my panties slipping them on beneath my towel
"Great, How can you be so chipper, it's 7.15... in the morning"
"It's my job to be able to be awake whenever they need me" I sighed as I looked for the matching bra "My dad's picked the mission, so no doubt it's something bad"
"Who is your dad? If he has such a big influence"
"He's one of the higher ups. He's a thorn in my side... I'm only staying to protect someone... then I'm gone"
"Protect who?"
"The friend of a friend" I smiled as he headed into the bathroom. "And you"
…
"You're joking right?" I glared at Percy "You know I work better on my own!"
"It's only as part of your cover"
"What, are we back in the old days when women can't go out on their own?" I growled.
"Choose, or I'll pick for you"
"Fine, I'm taking Birkhoff, at least I can hold a conversation with him and he's less likely to get all pissy and controlling like Michael there" I pointed before glaring at Percy,
"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Michael mocked
"Maybe I'm just sexually frustrated. Some of us actually had sex lives"
"You don't have time for a sex life" he retorted
"Does he have to be here?"
"For now" I groaned
"Make it quick then"
…
I smiled as we swayed on the dance floor "I never knew you could dance"
"Amanda taught me when you picked me for this" he sighed
"Oh but I get to be all lovey dovey with you and nobody can see" I smirked lightly kissing him "Or would you have preferred it if I brought Mikey?"
"Not really" he smirked "But we still have to be careful" I nodded when I caught a glimpse of the target, I sighed
"She's here, Wait ten minutes before you look for me." I stated as I chased her out of the building into one of the alley's blind spots when she stopped running "Hey Nikki, long time no see"
"You too Kathy," I hugged her
"Response time will be 10 minutes after last contact so, 5 minutes from now"
"Come with me, I know you hate being here, more than I ever did"
"I have to protect them"
"Michael... I know I asked you to keep an eye on him but..."
"There's someone else too... When they're safe, I'll leave"
"One of the new girls, Alex. She's my key to the inside, don't make any contact with her. They were suspicious of me when you started sparring with me in secret"
"Then they paired us up for more secret missions"
"Yeah" she chuckled "Stay safe"
"You too... make it count"
"Sorry" she smiled as she hit me causing me vision to fade as her footsteps echoed away.
…
I looked up at the sound of Seymour entering his apartment "What the hell are you doing here?" he cursed "Gave me a bloody heart attack"
"Sorry... I'm hiding" I muttered as I sipped my beer "I brought beer"
"Why?"
"I didn't want to steal yours"
"Cute" he smirked
"I needed out, just for one night, I needed to be with you without being so damn cautious" I groaned as I strutted over to him wrapping my arms around his neck pulling him closer as our lips met in a furious passion as we tumbled through to his bedroom.
…
I walked in as Seymour handed Michael the black box, Michael turned as he pointed the gun at me, I smiled "Calm down Mikey. You'd better go, you need to be far away from here when Percy comes to" he nodded "Be safe"
"You too kid" he kissed my forehead as he left towards the elevator. I kissed Seymour
"You should leave too. As soon as Amanda finds out you decrypted that box..." I paused "Please"
"Come with me"
"I need to make sure you and Michael get clear. I'll provide as much cover as I can from here, then, when you're safe, I'll disappear" I kissed him "I'll find you. I promise"
"Remember. The devil's in the details"
"As always" I smirked as I slapped his ass "Now go." he smirked as he shook his head and left. I turned to the computer "Let's see how much damage I can do"
…
I groaned "For a tech god, you really need to tighten your security" I noted two people who were not Seymour. I reached for my knife as I crept closer, when I entered the knife was knocked from my hand as I struck the person and we tumbled to the floor "Nikki!" I gasped as I pinned her to the floor "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Hiding" A familiar voice stated
"Mikey!" I grinned as I jumped off of Nikita and hugged him
"Since when have you known Nikita?"
"She played back up once or twice" I smiled "Isn't that right Nikki?" she nodded slightly as I hugged her "It's good to see you again"
"How did you find us?"
"Took you too long, as per usual" I grinned at that voice
"Seymour" I broke away from Nikki and hugged him
"Why did it take you so long anyway?"
"I had to take care of some things, then I had to wait for you to leave some more breadcrumbs"
"I thought you didn't leave a trail"
"People don't look for something in plain sight" he smirked
"The devil's in the details" I leaned in kissing him "I missed you" We pulled apart at the sound of a cough, I smiled a little as I turned round
"When did you start dating the nerd?" Nikita smirked
"Hey!" he protested "Don't call me Nerd"
"A couple months?"
"And here I thought you rescued us because you were lonely"
"Oh, that reminds me" I grabbed my bag and pulled out a file "As much information on Oversight as I could muster, unfortunately most of it is about mon-papa"
"You sure about this?" I nodded
"He's no family of mine, especially since he just put a nice big target on my back" I stood tugging Birkhoff's sleeve "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm stealing my nerd" I smirked as pulled him away from the main room "How about a tour?" I whispered into his ear "We could start with the bedroom" I smirked as my hands snaked around his waist "God, I missed you" he smirked
"Yeah, he missed you too."