So this story started as a oneshot called 'Reckless' in a series that I started writing to help me get through the week between episodes, but because of the amazing response to it I decided to develop it more. It's still up in my series 'This is War' but if you want to read the rest of the story, this is where it'll be. There will definitely be spoilers, so if you aren't caught up don't blame me. I'm basically writing this to help me get through the whole Michael, Nikita and the hand thing..still in shock. So anyway, Thanks for all the reviews and favorites. You guys are awesome!
"Birkhoff, where's Owen?"
She let go of his headphones, letting them snap back into place painfully before he had the chance to pull them off and discard them among the collection of empty cans and wrappers on the desk in front of him. It was all part of his process and though it had taken some time, the uptight government types who had taken over were finally learning that. It was one of his personal side projects to get Fletcher to pull the stick out of his ass. Other than that he liked the guy.
"Um…Bali?" He looked to Sonya for confirmation, then frowned. "You know this already. We caught that lead on Amanda's location and he went to check it out, remember? The briefing was yesterday…"
She nodded impatiently. "Right…and has Ryan cleared Alex for the field yet? Where is he anyway?" she demanded. Birkhoff cocked his head, watching her pace and bounce on the balls of her feet.
"Fletcher's in D.C, I'm assuming at some kind of top secret government type meeting. Gotta love not being the boss, right?...right. Should be back soon though. And no, Alex is still out of commission… Driving her crazy too, by the state of the bag downstairs…are you alright Niki?" he asked with rare genuine concern as she stared at him, barely focused, eyes diminished by the dark circles they were buried in. "You seem…restless…and tired…when was the last time you slept?.."
Nikita gave a false, harsh chuckle and turned on her heel, headed to the end of the room.
"Where are you going?" he asked, surprised at the abrupt end to their conversation.
"To do my job Birkhoff," she replied, exasperated, waving a hand over her shoulder in farewell. "Stay on the coms."
"What do I tell Mikey if he asks where you went?" he called after her.
"He won't," she snapped over her shoulder, and then she was gone, leaving him extremely apprehensive. Sometimes he missed the agent trackers, if only for his own comfort. He was seriously considering planting some on certain people, for his own personal use only of course... maybe imbed one in Michael's robot hand the next time he worked on it. Couldn't hurt. Nikita would be more difficult. Even her ring came off when she was on a mission. He would have to think of something really good. Cell phones and coms were never a guarantee. Not in his world.
888
"So? How's Bali buddy?" he asked over the headset. Are those waves I hear?"
Owen's voice came back crystal clear.
"I'm not exactly here for the sun and sand Birkhoff…and no, that would be rain. You really have no idea what you're missing here."
"Bummer."
"Ya. Hey, listen, I told Nikita I'd call with an update today. I think I may actually be on to something here though I might just be paranoid… time will tell. Mind getting her and the others together for a briefing? I could really use some more heads on this." The line cut out for a second but was back up in an instant. No distance or bad weather was about to beat his tech.
"I can do all of that except for Niki. She's gone off the farm…"
"Well that doesn't sound good. Hey, how's she doing?"
"She's Nikita…so, honestly…"
"You have no clue?"
"Exactly." His screen lit up in front of him, flashing Nikita's file photo.
"Listen, I've gotta put you on hold, I've got Niki coming through on the coms."
"How about I call back tonight instead…Michael and Ryan know Nikita's on her own?"
"Not exactly.."
"Tell them," he said, "She's been on her own plenty, but I think she could use a bit more than tech support right now…no offense," he said, and the line was cut off.
"None taken," Birkhoff said to no one as he clicked on with Nikita.
"Niki. Could have used a heads up on the mission if you're looking for tech support here."
"It's fine Birkhoff," she said through mild static, which seemed odd after talking to Owen clearly from the other side of the world. "I just need you to pull up some blueprints for me. Yeah?"
"You gonna share what you're up to or is that need to know?.. Though I probably am going to need to know in order to pull up the blueprints of wherever you are right now… I don't suppose this is actually a sanctioned mission or anything…"
"Birkhoff," she cut in in a pacifying voice. "It's fine. I'm just looking into-"
There was a splitting buzz, making him pull back and put his hands over his ears even though it didn't help due to his use of headphones. He then heard Nikita's voice say "Birkhoff?" and he didn't think he was imagining the panic, though it could have been his own.
"Niki! NIKITA!" he practically shouted into the headpiece, perfectly aware that if she was still on the other end he still wouldn't be getting through to her. "NIKITA!
"Birkhoff!"
His head snapped up from his computer screens. He hadn't noticed Michael and Ryan come in, but by the looks on both faces they hadn't missed much.
"Where is she Birkhoff?!" Michael demanded in a strangled voice, twisting his hand around the metal substitute. "What the hell is going on?"
"I…I don't know."