This story is a request from Azaelle, the storyline and most of the ideas are hers, I am merely filling in the blanks. Hope you like it. As usual I don´t own them.
Nikita made her way through the crowd of people in the club. The air was pulsing around her and the heat hit her in waves while the music played and the people moved with it. The song was good she decided, not something she would have chosen but it fit the scene.
She was here to find Alec Ramsey, divisions newest hit. Her informant told her that division suspected he had information that could be damaging for them, so they were going to kill him, and she was here to make sure that didn´t happen.
Ramsey turned to be pretty easy to track down, he apparentley loved clubs just like this one and spent a lot of his time in them. He was also rich, so if she just warned him she was pretty confident that he could take care of the rest himself. At least she hoped so since she could hardly stash him at her place.
She made her way to the bar, if you wanted to find someone always ask the bartender, they knew everything. It turned out that she didn´t even have to do that as she spotted Ramsey in a booth as she was walking toward the bar. She figured a direct approach would benefit her best at this stage. If she could find him this quickly it wouldn´t be long until division would.
When she got closer she noticed he was talking to a man, gliding up to the booth she leveled the unknown man with a stare. He looked up at her, let his eyes slide down her body and up again until he reached her eyes. When her stare didn´t falter and she nodded at him to leave he looked at Ramsey for confirmation. When he received a nod he got up and left, leaving Nikita to take his place.
Nikita waited patiently while his eyes swept over the dark blue, very short, dress she wore. At least that which he could see from across the table.
"Well hello"
He smiled at her.
"You have a problem" She began.
"Oh I know honey, several in fact, but maybe you could help me with at least one?"
Nikita gritted her teeth and got up and slid into the seat next to him. His smile told her that he had no idea what was coming next.
"Shut up"
His eyes widened.
"People are looking for you. You have any idea why?"
He transformed. The smile slid of his face and his eyes turned serious.
"What people?"
"The people who think you have something on them. Do you have something on them?"
She noticed a big guy watching the from the corner and she slid closer to him on the seat and put her hand on his cheek and smiled at him.
"Who´s the big guy? Bodyguard?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"We don´t have time for this, the people looking for you are probably on their way right now, and trust me, they don´t want to talk"
"Division?" He asked
She was surprised. He wasn´t as clueless as he appaered then.
"You know?"
"I have my sources. I didn´t know that they were coming for me though. And I don´t have anything on them"
"You sure?" She looked at him seriously.
"I´m sure"
"Still, you need to leave. Do you have somewhere to go?"
"Yeah I have a place"
"Go there straight away, no stops" She told him sternly.
"Yes mom" She rolled her eyes at him "Who are you anyway?"
"Does it matter?"
"I guess not. Thank you for the warning though."
Nikita didn´t listen. She had just spotted Michael and three other division agents entering the club. He turned suddenly in her direction and their eyes locked on each other before his eyes slid to Ramsey sitting next to her. Shit.
"You need to leave now"
Ramsey made a signal to the man in the corner, who apparently was his bodyguard, and quickly got up, Nikita following behind him. Glancing back she saw Michael making his way over to them, but where were the others?
Ramsey exchanged a few words with his bodyguard who led them out a backdoor where a car was waiting. Ramsey and his bodyguard quickly got in and he turned to Nikita.
"Need a ride?" he grinned
"I think I´ll walk" She smiled at him, before turning and running down the street.
Ramseys car took off in the other direction and was soon swallowed up by the night. Even though everything had turned out fine Nikita had a bad feeling about this, and she had learned to always trust her instincts, and right now they were telling her something was wrong. Michael was still in the club, or at least he hadn´t exited they same way they had, but where was the others?
She got her answer when she was tackled to the ground from above.
Michael was moving swiftly through the club, nearing the door Nikita and Ramsey had exited from.
Nikita gained the upper hand and after slamming the agent head first into the ground and quickly got up to face the other two in front of her. One of them threw himself at her but she avoided him with ease and grabbed his arm and bending it, the man gasped with pain as it broke. She slammed her knee into his stomach making him drop to the ground and quickly turned to face the last of them. She was too late and she received a punch to her stomach making her double over. Despite the pain in her stomach she managed to throw her leg out, hitting him in the knee, when they straightened up and faced each other again she noticed he had drawn his knife. She had dropped her bag when the first one attacked her, the bag in which her weapens were. She tried to figure out where it was without turning her head but she didn´t have time as he attacked again this time managing to slash her upper arm with the knife.
She kicked him in the stomach throwing a quick glance down at her arm, just a scratch, still it was bleeding and she knew she needed to end this quickly before she got weak from the bloodloss. A swift kick to his kneecap and a punch to the back of his head and he was down.
Locating her bag she took off down the street not knowing that someone was following her.
Michael caught sight of Nikita running down the street, on closer inspection he noticed three bodies on the ground and he took off after her. Following Nikita was no easy task, she was fast, faster than most but so was he. Still she had a head start and he had to struggle to keep her in his sight. Suddenly he noticed that she was slowing down and turned left down another street. He pushed himself even more and got to the crossroad and glanced down the street just as she entered through a door on the building to the left.
He approached the door slowly and carefully. It wasn´t like Nikita to be so careless that she didn´t even look to see if someone was following her before entering her hideout. If this was in fact her hideout. Trying the door he found it locked. Upon closer inspection he found it was pretty standard and easy to pick though.
He didn´t even think about calling for back-up. He knew how that would turn out and he didn´t want to risk anything. Meaning he didn´t want to risk Nikita. When the door slid open he again thought it strange that Nikita was so careless, almost anyone could have picked that lock. Still maybe this wasn´t her usual residence. He entered with his gun drawn, quietly closing the door behind him. He hadn´t taken more than three steps before he felt the familiar press of a gun to the back off his head.
"Drop it"
Nikita was in pain. Her arm was throbbing painfully and she felt almost dizzy. Still she couldn´t stop now. Just a little bit further. Taking a left she breathed a small sigh of relief as she spotted the door she was looking for. She unlocked it and quickly entered. After closing and locking it she sagged against it, forcing herself to stay upright. She had lost quite a bit of blood since the start of her run and she needed to take care of it now.
"What happened?"
"Division"
She let a small smile grace her lips as she looked at Owen who was looking at her arm.
"You need to dress that"
"Yes well, I haven´t had the time yet"
He grinned at her sarcastic reply.
"Get on with it then, you look like you can barely stand and we should move out soon"
"I know" Nikita pushed away from the door "Give me 20 minutes and I´ll be ready. Where´s the bathroom?"
"Down the hall to the left. First aid kit under the sink"
"Thanks"
She started walking down the hall when Owen called out to her.
"Need help?"
"Not likely"
He laughed.
While Nikita was busy patching herself up he started packing his things into a bag. It was time to leave. When he reached for his gun he heard it. The door. He backed away into the shadows of the room and into a corner. From there he had a clear view of the door. He saw it open slowly, a gun coming into view. A man stepped inside and did a quick sweep of the room. Luckily, he couldn´t be seen from that angle.
When the man closed the door without making a sound Owen recognized him. Michael. Division. Everyone who was ,or in his and Nikitas case, had been, in division knew who Michael was. This was not good. While Michael was busy scanning the room in front of him he Owen took four quick steps and came up just behind the other agent and pressed his gun to the back of his head.
"Drop it"
He felt Michael tense and could almost see the wheels turning in his head.
"I said, drop it"
He pressed the gun a little harder to his head. Michael reached his arm out and let the gun fall. It landed with a soft thud on the thick carpet.
"Walk to the middle of the room"
Michael did as he said and stopped in the center of the room. Owen circled around him and came to a stop in front him, gun ready. He saw Michaels eyes widen slightly but he gave no other sign that he had recognized him. If Owen hadn´t been trained as well as he was he wouldn´t even have noticed it, it was that subtle. Still, it told him what he needed to know. Or part of it at least.
"What are you doing here?"
Michael raised an eyebrow.
"What are you doing here?"
They regarded each other silently for a few seconds. Both of them trying to see the others weaknesses, and both of them finding none.
Michael was shocked. Owen was here. And Nikita was not. Not in the room at least. Where was she?
"Where is Nikita?"
"You can´t really expect me to answer that?"
Michaels eyes darkened.
"Where is she?"
"None of your business" Owen snapped.
"And what, it´s your business? You can´t tell me you two are working together?"
"And why not?" Owen gritted his teeth.
"You know why"
The air in the room was suddenly tense and Michael saw a flicker of something in Owens eyes. There it was, the chink in armour he had been looking for.
"Does she know?" He asked casually.
"Does she know what?" Owen tried to sound unconcerned. He almost succeeded. Almost.
"Does she know that you are the one who killed Daniel?"
Just saying his name made him furious. But there wasn´t any time for those thoughts now. Not when Owen was taking a step closer to him and refocusing his aim. Soon he would be close enough.
"I know"
They both snapped their head around to look at Nikita who stood with her gun drawn and pointed at Owen.
"Back away from him" When Owen didn´t immediatley do as she said she repeated forcefully.
"Back. Away"
This time he listened.
"Put that away" She nodded to his gun that was still pointed at Michael.
The look he shot her told her that he was not happy with her orders, still he did as she said. Simply because he honestly didn´t know what she would do if he didn´t. Michaels voice interrupted his musings.
"Nikita"
"Michael"
Owen, he was about to add but thought better of it. He watched Michael and Nikita stare at each other for a few moments, the tension making the hair on his arms stand out. Or maybe it was because of the energy in the room, who knew.
"You´re hurt"
"Just a scratch"
"You´re careless"
Nikita wondered if he meant that she was careless for getting hurt, or for not checking to see if she was being followed or for working with Owen. Maybe all three.
"I can handle it"
Their eyes which had been locked on each other since she had entered the room challenged each other.
"Can you?"
She wanted to scream. She didn´t. Everything happened quickly then, Owen grabbed his gun and hit Michael on the back of the head making him fall to his knees. Nikita rushed forward.
"What the hell are you doing?" She screamed at Owen and pointed her gun at him.
"What the hell are you doing?" He snapped back. "We need to get the hell out of here, preferably in one piece and minus any division agents!"
"You didn´t have to hit him so hard!" Nikita snapped back, ignoring the fact that she herself had actually shot Michael at one time. That was different a voice inside her argued. It was to protect him.
"Well it was obvious you weren´t going to do it!"
Nikita was on her knees beside Michael and stroked his cheek, making his eyes open slowly.
"Are you alright?"
He groaned and tried to sit up.
"Yeah, I´m fine"
Nikita let her hand slide around his head to check for blood, finding none she was relieved. Michael let his eyes drift from her to Owen and his eyes narrowed. Nikita glanced between Michael and Owen and felt the tension rise in the room.
"We need to go"
Her voice was directed at Owen who nodded without taking his eyes of Michael. She glanced at Michael one more time before getting up and backing away.
"We need to tie you up as I´m sure you understand" Owen told Michael who didn´t answer.
Owen left to get a chair and some rope he found and ordered Michael to sit, which he did, slowly. When he was done tying Michael up he backed away and looked at Nikita.
Nikita and Michael were busy staring at each other.
"I´ll catch up to you soon"
Owen sighed, but left after throwing a warning glance at Michael.
For a minute they didn´t speak, then Michael broke the silence.
"So, you know?"
Nikita swallowed.
"I do"
"How can you even..." Michael trailed off and took a deep breath. "How can you stand even being in the same room as him?"
"I know you don´t understand..."
"You´re right about that. I sure as hell don´t understand! You devote all your time and energy to take down Percy and you won´t stop until division is burned to the ground or..."he swallowed "or you´re dead. But here he is, the man who killed... Daniel" His name left a bitter taste in his mouth "And not only are you letting him live, you´re working with him!"
Nikita didn´t answer. How could she explain this to Michael. He had spent the last several years trying to find the man who ruined his life, and she knew he would kill him. Wouldn´t stop until he was dead. How could she make him understand something she could barely understand herself?
"I don´t know if I can explain it"
"Try"
Michaels voice was hard and suddenly she was angry. What right did he have to judge her choices in life? He had turned his back on her long ago when he chose Percy over her.
"You know what, this is none of your business" She snapped at him.
"It is my business when you decide to just trust every man who walks through the door!"
"It was actually I who walked through the door" She responded smartly making Michael grit his teeth in frustration.
It was silent again before Michael decided to ask the question who was burning on his tongue.
"What is it that is so special about him that you can overlook something that changed your life so much?" And mine he added silently.
"It wasn´t his call" She spoke softly.
"No, it was Percys. We all know that. Still, Owen is the one who executed the act. You can´t tell me that dosen´t bother you? Or maybe Daniel didn´t mean as much as you wanted everyone to believe" Including me, he again added silently.
"Shut up! You don´t know anything!"
"Oh I know enough"
"I can´t believe you"
She was angry, good. Now maybe he would get the answers he needed.
"You wouldn´t understand" She spat at him.
"I understand the longing for revenge Nikita, probably better than most, you know that. That´s why I can´t understand this. Unless there is something you´re not telling me"
"Why would I tell you anything"
"Just tell me why"
"No"
"Why can´t you tell me? How could you forgive him so quickly?"
Nikita snapped. Her anger had been boiling since Michael started with his questions and now it was reaching the point where she didn´t know what to do.
"Stop it!"
"Tell me why you won´t hold him responsible? How can you overlook the fact that he took him from you?" Michael spat angrily.
"Because I was him!"
They both stilled, shocked at her words. Tension crackled in the air and the only sound heard was that of their harsh breathing.
"I was him.." Nikita whispered.
Michael swallowed. Oh Nikita...
"Nikita" His voice was tender.
"No Michael. I was. I was exactly like him. I´ve killed people. People with families, with girlfriends and... fianceés" She could barely get the last word out. "How am I any different from him?"
"They were bad people Nikita, who had done horrible things"
"That may be true, but it dosen´t make a difference to the people who lost them does it? They still lost someone they loved, because of me"
"You didn´t have a choice"
"And neither did he. Now I do. It dosen´t mean that I´ve forgotten about it, or that I´ve forgotten Daniel. I just realized that I need to place the blame where it belongs".
They were both silent for a while while they stared at each other. After a while Michael spoke up.
"It wasn´t your fault Nikita" He continued when she averted her gaze. "You can´t help who you fall in love with".
They exchanged a glance that said more than they ever could with their mouths.
"Just" He took a deep breath "Be careful. I don´t trust him"
She smiled.
"I don´t expect you to. I need to go"
"I know"
After only a moments hesitation she pulled out his knife. His eyes widened at the sight, then he smiled.
"I thought I was going to have to fight you for it"
"Another day maybe?" A teasing smile.
She placed the knife on a table near him.
"It´ll take some time but you´re a smart guy, you´ll figure it out"
"I´m sure I will"
They exchanged another long look before Nikita turned at walked to the door. As she opened it Michael spoke again.
"Nikita" She turned around "Be careful"
"I will. You too"
He nodded and she walked out the door.
Later Michael was walking down the halls in division while Nikita and Owen were meeting up in her lair.
"We have a problem"
Nikita looked up at Owen from her place at the table. He continued.
"Michael is division Nikita"
"I know who Michael is" Her voice was sharp, the words a warning. Owen ignored it.
"If anyone else had been following you, that person would have been dead by now"
When Nikita didn´t answer he continued.
"Maybe we should have..."
Before he could continue Nikita had her gun pointed at him.
"Michael is off-limits. We take down division, and Percy get whats coming to him. A bullet between the eyes. Michael has nothing to do with that"
"Michael is practically Percys right hand. You can´t tell me that´s not going to be a problem?"
His voice was steady despite the fact that a trigger happy assassin had a gun pointed at his head.
"You let me worry about Michael, and you secure the next black box location"
He knew a order when he heard one, still, this was his life too, and he had to ask.
"And if he gets too close?"
"I´ll handle that. The only thing that you need to know is that you don´t touch him. Ever. Is that clear?"
"Crystal"
"Good" She smiled and lowered the gun "Now, any news on the box?"
Hope you liked it, Azaelle presented an interesting question, what would Michael say if he knew that Nikita knew that Owen had killed Daniel, and still worked with him? I couldn´t resist ;) Azaelle, I hope it´s kind of how you imaginied it!