Nikita raised her hands slowly. She felt the barrel of the gun touch the back of her head. She took some calming breaths; she knew what she had to do, but wanted to wait for the right time. She counted away the seconds in her mind; one, two, three.
Nikita felt the shift of the man behind her; he went from his left to his right leg. Using that moment, Nikita dropped to the floor and with a roundhouse took his legs out from underneath him. The man was startled and pulled the trigger on the silenced weapon as he fell. The bullet hissed out of the chamber and sailed towards Nikita; it hit her in the shoulder, sending waves of pain through her arm. She kept fighting. She knew she had to make it out of this room and to find Michael.
She leveled the man with another swift kick. She then grabbed the discarded gun and aimed it at he man, who had not long ago had been aiming it at her. Nikita studied the man's face. She knew he was just a soldier, following division orders. She had been just like him herself. She shook her head, 'I'm sorry.' The man looked up at her, his eyes like bolts of steel, 'Go to hell." With these words Nikita fired; two shots to the head.
Michael slowly began to regain consciousness. He couldn't see anything or move his arms; which seemed to be chained to something above him. His legs dangled into a liquid; he prayed to god it was water. He couldn't remember what had happened; what had landed him here. 'Hello?... Is anybody there?'
Without hearing a reply, Michael felt the rest of his body begin to be submerged in the water. His head slipped under and everything went silent. Above him, Nikita had entered the room. 'Zach put your hands where I can see them.' The man raised his hands and looked at Nikita with a smile on his face. 'Oh Nikita, always coming to the rescue.' Nikita looked at him and frowned, 'Where's Michael?' Zach laughed and took a few steps towards her, 'Stay where you are. Tell me where Michael is…' He kept advancing and Nikita cocked the gun, 'I wont tell you again… stay where you are!'
Zach stopped and looked at the tank beside him, 'The funny thing about water Nikita, is that, it eventually gets in everywhere.' Nikita looked at the tank and frowned. She noticed the air bubbles rising to the surface, 'Michael… Zach, get him out of that tank right now!' Zach laughed, 'You have a decision to make Nikita. You can either have me or you can save Michael? What's it going to be?'
Nikita stepped towards Zach, 'I don't need to decide, your gonna bring him up right now.' Zach smiled devilishly, 'The outside world has made you soft Nikita; you used to be so hardened and cruel.' She looked back over at the tank, the air bubbles had slowed their ascent dramatically; forgetting about Zach got just a split second.
Zach took this opportunity to strike. He grabbed the gun off Nikita and began to fight her; she responded vigorously. She had to save Michael. Zach came at her again but this time didn't hit her but rather pushed her. She lost her balance and fell into the tank. She knew there was no way she was going to catch Zach, so she turned her efforts to saving Michael. She swam over to him and lifted the hood. His face was lifeless; Nikita's heart dropped. She felt his neck for a pulse; there it was, but it was faint.
She gently lifted his face in her hands; feeling the beginning of a five o'clock shadow coming through. Placing her lips to his, she kissed him, breathing air into his lungs. Michael felt air filling his lungs and his chest rise. His first instinct was to struggle but he could feel the calming touch of Nikita near him. Michael opened his eyes and looked into Nikita's. She released his lips and signaled to him to hold his breath for just a few moments longer. She swam to the top of the tank and found the switch to the cables that were bound to Michael's wrists.
She pressed the button and Michael's body began to rise up out of the water. She helped him over the edge of the tank and onto the floor. Michael inhaled deeply thankful to the air filling his lungs once more. Both lay on the floor breathing heavy, holding onto one another's arms, making sure that each knew the other was there.
Nikita sat up and clutched at her shoulder. Michael removed his shirt and tore it into a makeshift bandage. Cutting her arm free from her singlet, Michael inspected the wound; it was a through and through but would require attention when they got home. Wrapping the shirt around her shoulder, he tenderly made sure that the wound was covered and that she would be ok till they got her medical attention.
Michael's hand hovered over her naked neck; his fingers carefully caressing her skin. She turned her head to look at him and she smiled as he cupped her chin with his hand, stealing a slow kiss. After a few moments, Michael released Nikita from the embrace. Both their eyes met with a fleeting glance of fire. They loved each other, and once again had saved each other's lives.