The characters in this story belong to the Nikita franchise. This story is not intended for children to read and it is a parents responsibility to monitor their children's use of the internet, not mine.
February
Carly sprayed glass cleaner on the top of the jewelry case and wiped it down until it gleamed. She rearranged the row of designer watches and separated the styles to give the display a fresh look. Satisfied with the results, she moved on to the adjacent case that held a sweet assortment of gold and diamond charms to adorn one's wrist, neck or cell phone. They were intermixed with ruby and emerald studs, tear dropped earrings, some with opals, and some with jade and thick gold hoops. All were laid out on a bed of black velvet.
She walked over to the rack of leather coats and made sure they hung evenly, all of them were soft as butter and ranged from full-length dusters to cropped motorcycle jackets. Next, she refolded a stack of cashmere sweaters that were set out on a table and rearranged their color order. She dusted off the stands that held the stores inventory of shoes and boots, making a mental note to put some of the practical flats on clearance, making room for the painfully fashionable heels.
While she straightened up the rack of cocktail dresses, the door opened and a familiar looking customer came in. She gave her the warmest smile she could muster. The woman was in her mid to late twenties, very beautiful and extremely fit. She wore her chocolate colored hair long, it was smooth and shiny and she hid behind a pair of large aviator style dark glasses. When she removed the sunglasses, she could see she had an exotic look and a style about her that was elegant without being stuffy. She remembered she had been in twice before and the brands she wore were fashionable, high quality and expensive. Her demeanor was serious, her eyes darted around the store before she went to the case of watches and studied them with interest.
The first rule of retail is the customer is always to be treated like Royalty. She did her best to pick up on the nuances men and women display and use them to her advantage, to make a sale. The boutique had been successful, making payroll for the meager staff and managing to pull in a small but tidy profit.
"Let me know if I can show you anything." She knew attentive at a distance might be the right approach.
Nikita hooked her dark glasses onto the collar of her dress and smiled. Her face lit up when she saw the platinum bracelet watch with a small rectangular face, embellished with diamond chips.
"Thanks, that one is really pretty." She pointed to the stylized looking watch, it was bold but feminine.
The shop owner brought the item out and set it on top of the counter. "This watch doubles for jewelry, very elegant, but versatile enough to get you through an array of outfits. Here, try it on."
She fingered the large links on the band before, slipping it on her small wrist. "It's a little big."
"No worries, I can adjust the clasp and it will fit quite well. It's very striking don't you think?" She didn't need to pretend, the watch looked exquisite on her.
"I'm really hard on watches. " She looked thoughtful. "I love it, but maybe it's not too practical. Do you have any that are less expensive."
The shop owner smiled, and took the watch back, and set it aside. "These might be what you're looking for." She took three watches out of the case and set them out. Nikita looked at them and picked out a classic tank watch with a black leather band.
Carly looked pleased. "You can't go wrong, it's similar to a Cartier. This one will take you from day to evening, it's an all occasion look."
Nikita looked amused when she said that. "That's exactly what I need, although I do like that other watch, but it doesn't fit my... lifestyle."
She moved to the shelves filled with casual body hugging pants. She took one down, a cross between leggings and pants with zipper embellishments on it's ankles. "I like these, do you have them in a size two?"
"Yes, they also come in red, gray, teal, brown and of course black. They are very well made, they can take a lot of abuse." The store's proprietor commented.
You have no idea, Nikita thought to herself. "I'll take one in black." Her eyes sparkled, and she moved on to the cashmere sweaters. She fingered the ultra soft knitwear and smoothed her hand down the front. "These are really great. I'll take this one, picking up a dove gray colored turtle neck."
Nikita browsed the rack of cocktail dresses, her face lit up with interest. "May I try this on?"
Carly smiled and led her to the dressing room. Nikita quickly stripped out of her own clothes, and stepped into the black silk dress with lace details and subtle rusching. The zipper was hard to reach and she poked her head through the dressing room curtains.
"Would you help me?" She asked, feeling a little bashful.
The shop owner hurried over and helped her with the long black zipper. "It's getting hung up right here. I can send it out to have it fixed, if you like."
Nikita looked at herself and smiled. The dress fit perfectly and was very classy with just enough sex appeal to make her stand out. "No, I need it for a trip, I think it will be okay." She thought about the retrieval mission to St. Petersburg. She would be going alone, but Michael assured her, it wouldn't be dangerous. The idea of being alone wasn't what bothered her, it was being without Michael that killed her enthusiasm.
"I'm so glad you've found items to your liking. If there is anything special you're looking for, I can keep my eye out on our next buying trip." Carly said sincerely.
"That's really sweet of you." Nikita replied thinking about body armor and holsters for her weapons. She took out a small leather wallet and handed her a credit card.
The transaction was rung up, the watches placed in their cases. They, along with the clothing were wrapped in tissue paper and everything placed in two shiny blue shopping bags.
Nikita slid her aviator glasses back on, and with her purchases in tow, she left the store.
It was a great sale and repeat customers made her very happy. Carly admired the pretty woman with her eclectic but refined taste.
About fifteen minutes after Nikita left the store, a tall lean man dressed in a conservative looking overcoat over black slacks came in. He removed his black leather gloves and stuffed them in his pocket before taking off his dark glasses.
Carly was immediately taken by his masculine good looks. He had a hard angular face when he walked in, but it softened and his eyes looked kind when he spoke to her.
"A friend of mine was just in here, the woman who left with two blue bags…" Michael asked quietly. He felt a little bit self conscious and tried his best to hide his discomfort.
"Yes, she's a friend of yours?" The shop owner asked cautiously.
"We work together. She's a really dedicated worker and… well I'd like to do something nice for her…" Michael searched for the right words.
Carly's instincts kicked in. "Of course. That's really wonderful of you. Is there something in particular you were thinking about?"
Michael looked a little lost as he looked around the woman's clothing boutique. "Well, maybe something useful, but not too practical." He mumbled.
"That's an excellent idea. You know she was looking at some watches." She pointed to the case. "Do you like any of these?" She wondered how well he knew Nikita, and hoped there was a mutual attraction there, instead of being one sided.
Michael looked at the watches and he zeroed in on the platinum one with the diamonds. "I like that one." He pointed to the watch that Nikita had coveted.
"Wow, you must know her pretty well. She was looking at this one, but felt it wasn't practical enough for work." She wanted to ask what they did, but felt it wasn't wise to be so forward. "She tried it on and it looked beautiful on her wrist, she has delicate bone structure. It was slightly too big, but I can take out a link and tighten the clasp to make it fit perfectly."
Michael picked up the watch and turned it over in his hand. He could see her wearing it and knew it was right. "I'll take it. How much?"
"Eighteen hundred dollars." She said casually, hoping he wouldn't balk over the price.
Michael pulled out a money clip and counted out a stack of one hundred dollar bills. Carly picked them up trying not to act too excited.
"It'll just take a moment to adjust. May I wrap it up for you? I use a signature blue paper and satin ribbon." She suggested.
"Thank you." He knit his brow at her. "There is one more thing. Could you send it to her anonymously? I want her to have it, but she might not accept it… she might think it's… awkward."
Carly looked at him kindly, he must have a massive crush on her, she thought to herself. "Of course, but you should send a card with it, so she doesn't think it was sent to her by mistake."
"I have these." She pulled out a plain white card with a blue border. It was a little larger than a business card.
"That should work." Michael said. He watched her work with a pair of jewelry pliers, fixing the clasp, and then wrapping it with care. He thought it looked special, not common. She wrote the card out following his direction.
When they were done, Michael thanked her. "I appreciate your discretion, it is important to both of us."
"She must be special to you." She said casually, not wanting to make him feel self conscious.
Michael looked slightly troubled. "She is."
Nikita had returned to her apartment from Division Headquarters feeling discouraged and outraged. Percy and Amanda had sent out one of the other new agents on a mission and when she looked at the parameters, she was shocked to see it was basically a suicide mission. When she asked Birkhoff about it, he shook his head solemnly. "It's better then being executed on Level Six, this way they still have a chance to escape and if they don't, they die as heroes."
She knew, since her first mission with Victor Han, that Division was ruthless and Percy was without morals, but she had been in denial. This was a slap in the face and wake up call.
She took her keys out to unlock her door and saw a small bag had been left for her. She was immediately wary and looked around suspiciously, but nothing seemed amiss. Inside the familiar blue bag was a small box. She gingerly pulled the card from the box and opened it. She had completely forgotten what the date was, and it took her by surprise. Written in plain block letters was:
For Nikita,
Happy Valentine's Day
She picked up the box and entered her apartment. She would take precautions, but was very anxious to see what was inside.