Chapter 4 – Beautifully Broken
It was the first time she had opened her heart to someone, she wasn't scared or nervous she felt relieved like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders she had finally found someone who she could see herself slowly with time developing trust in.
"So now you know" she said as she wiped her tear stained face with a tissue he had handed to her
"I…I don't know what to say" He said as he tried to process everything Nikita had just revealed to him
"That's because there is nothing to say…it was a long time ago…it's in the past" she said looking away from his gaze…one thing she hated was the sympathetic poor you look but really she just found it plain uncomfortable.
"Is it really Nikita?" He said as he took her head in his hand to look at him
"YES" she lied
"Somehow I don't believe you…I think your past still haunts you but someday soon you're going to have to let it go so you can move forward" He realised he was getting to close and dropped his hand back down to his side
"If only it was so easy"
"Believe me I know just how hard letting go of the past can be…but you have a chance to change yours…but the only person who can make that decision is you" he said before leaving.
Five days had passed since her revelation and she was worried that she might have revealed too much from her troubled past. She wished that she had kept her mouth shut…after all he'd probably use it against her in some way at some point she thought, but once again she knew she was probably overreacting he seemed fine in training but he was very formal and wouldn't really speak and that's exactly what was bugging her he was acting differently towards her and that in itself bugged her.
"Ahh Nikita just the person I was looking for"
"Amanda" she said rather too alarmingly
"Why don't look so frightened…I was merely coming to check up on you…you do look rather distracted…is that why you forgot we had an appointment an hour ago?"
"It must of slipped my mind…I've had…I mean I've just been so focused on my training that I lost track of time…it won't happen again"
"I see Michael mentioned he'd had a word with you after I'd shared my concerns with him"
"He did?" she said whilst at the same time the words Traitor formed in her head
"Of course we don't keep secrets in here Nikita it's best you learn that now and don't worry he's assured me you're a promising recruit…I'll just have to wait and see for myself " she said with a devilish smile and walked away
"Hey don't touch the hardware man…that's my job"
"Calm down Birkoff no need to get so sentimental"
"Haven't you got something better to be doing?"
"Percy I was just getting to it" said Birkoff
"Good…Michael about project Millen, are the team all set and aware of what will happen if Jason fails this Mission"
"Yes Sir…the team and Jason both know what they have to do, this will not be a repeat of the last Op he was on"
"Good because Roan will be on standby just in case it does…now if you'll excuse me I have an important meeting to attend to"
"Anything I should be aware of?"
"Not for now Michael…I shall let you know if there is" He calmly stated before leaving
"Ohh someone's got major anger issues"
"Bitch I'm not in the… mood for you today…so I suggest you back away now… before your face becomes this punch bag" Nikita said as she was taking all her pent up frustration out on the punch bag
"Is that a threat" she smirked
Nikita stopped hitting the punch bag and turned around to face her
"No….it's a promise" she said as she got up in Natasha face
"I'm not scared of you….what not had a Ket hit in a while…junkie"
"Oh it is so on" Nikita said as her fist collided with Natasha jaw knocking her to the floor
Natasha responded instantly and flew for Nikita, throwing punches left, right and centre and failing with each punch she shot at her.
"You really need to up your game sweety" Nikita practically laughed as she continued to dodge her punches
"BREAK IT UP NOW!" shouted Michael as he headed towards them with five guards
"But we were just warming up" teased Nikita as she caught the hand that was now heading straight for her mid-section and with one swift upper movement Natasha was on her back wincing in pain
The guard's immediately got in between the pair of them
"NIKITA COME WITH ME NOW!" demanded Michael as he headed up the stairs towards the corridors
"If I must" she replied with attitude and followed him
As they walked down the corridor he waited till they were out of sight
"Care to explain what that was all about?" he said as he turned to face her
"Oh so all of a sudden you wanna talk?"
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"You know perfectly well what I mean…five days ago ring any bells"
His facial expression said all she needed to know as he looked away and swallowed hard before responding.
"Of course it does but now is not the time for that…I'm more concerned about what the hell happened out there and how I am going to explain it to Percy when he gets back" he said looking back at her.
"Oh of course not, we wouldn't want to go upset your precious Percy now would we" she said as she went to turn away but Michael grabbed her by the arm and pinned her up against the wall
"He is the head of Division Nikita…if you do not lose this attitude and start behaving he will have you cancelled just like that" he said clicking his fingers to emphasise what he was saying and he was getting rather wound up at her careless attitude
"AND?" she snapped
"AND…IS THAT REALLY WHAT YOU WANT? TO BE A DEAD!" he shouted at her before releasing her and backing away
"Maybe….what do you care…you barely know me" she said as she tried to fight back the tears forming in her eyes
"I..i…just don't want to see anything bad happen to you" he shocked himself as the words came naturally out of his mouth without a thought
"but why?...I'm just like all the other recruits and add the ex-junkie part into it and well…I'm hardly the perfect one am i?"
"Who is? And believe it or not you'd be surprised how many recruits Amanda has helped get clean" he said moving back beside her
"Well at least I know now that I'm not the only messed up one in here" she tried to laugh off
"You're not messed up"
"Then what would you call it...beautifully broken or damaged goods?" she questioned him with more than her words as she stared into his green eyes
"You can't still believe that..after all he did to mess with your head Nikita, you really don't know the affect you have on people…and that alone amazes me" he slipped up he knew he did the minute the words flew out of his mouth
"Wait a sec...i amaze you….are you for real?" she couldn't help but smile and forget the first part of his sentence
"yes…everyone who works here is amazed by how quick you pick things up…even Percy is asking how long he thinks till you will be ready for your first op"
"oh" she said disappointed
"Don't worry I convinced him that you wouldn't be ready for a while yet"
"And why would you do that…after all I'm just another recruit….riiight?" she said the last part sarcastically
"Because I thought it would be in your best interest…after" he stopped himself from going any further
"After I confided in you, but that didn't stop you running and telling Amanda now did it?, was that also in my best interest?" She said defensively
"No…you're getting the wrong idea…Amanda was concerned about your attitude and didn't think you had it in you to make it as an agent….i didn't want her to look any further into the matter so I told her a simple white lie …which will keep her off your back…for now. But you do need to straighten yourself out or she will look more into it"
"So you didn't mention what we discussed?"
"When I told you that you could trust me I meant it…I did not tell Amanda anything about your foster family or what happened to you after you ran away…it is not my secret to tell" he said with a genuine smile
"But you work for Division, your second in command, shouldn't your loyalty be to them?
"And it is…I think that you will make a good if not great agent someday and I wouldn't want to see such talent go to waste just because of the past that still haunts you" he admitted
"Really? I guess I just have a hard time believing that anyone would look out for me like that…I guess I should say thank you, I owe you one" She said with a big warm smile
"I guess you do" He smiled back at her and found himself getting lost in her big brown eyes…it was as if for the first time he was seeing her…really seeing her. She was nothing like Amanda thought she was he thought to himself, she was just badly misunderstood.
"Well I'm sure I can think of something" she spoke softly which sent tingles down his spine
"Just stay away from Natasha, keep a low profile, focus on your training and try to not get in anymore fights" he said whilst mentally telling himself over and over again that she's a recruit and that is all…just like the others except he knew deep down she wasn't.
"Michael…your wanted by Amanda" said Birkoff coming up from behind them
"Everything will be fine…I promise" he said as he nodded at Nikita before heading off
"Oh someone's been a very bad girl" teased Birkoff
"Shut up nerd"
"Ahh Nikki Nikki Nikki there's no need to take your issues out on me…after all you're the one who got in a fight not me" He said as he turned and headed back in Michaels direction
"For the millionth time STOP CALLING ME THAT!" she shouted
"Whatever NIKKI" he said as he looked back over his shoulder and winked
"Keep a low profile, Focus" she whispered to herself reminding herself what Michael had said to her just moments ago
It had been a few hours since her conversation with Michael, she was lost in thought as she headed back towards her room
"Hey you got a minute" Said Natasha who had her arm in a sling
"Yeah but just not for you" replied Nikita as she came to a stop outside her door
"Well this won't take long…I don't want any more trouble, I'm on my last warning and I'm guessing you won't be far behind so how about we call a truce, you stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours"
There was an awkward pause for a moment
"Truce…this doesn't mean I like you…but for once I agree with you. As much as I dislike you…I don't want any trouble either" Nikita admitted
"So it's a deal then" Natasha said feeling slightly awkward
"I thought I told you both to keep out of each other's way" Michael said
"We've made up actually…well were not going to be bff's anytime soon but we've both come to a mutual understanding right " said Nikita as she looked at Natasha
"right…were just going to keep out of each other's way from now on…well I best be heading back to my room before curfew " Natasha forced a fake smile before making a quick walk back to her room
"Glad to see you making an effort" smiled Michael as he followed Nikita into her room
"Well I have someone to make an effort for…" she smiled at him
"Well I just came to say that I've covered things with Amanda about the fight earlier and she assured me Percy doesn't need to know about it as long as she sees some progress in your behaviour, so you've got nothing to worry about as long as you… "he said trying to keep things on a professional level
"Keep a low profile, focus and keep out of trouble…I get it" she said practically finishing his sentence off for him
"Just double checking. Well I better be going, you really should get some rest, you have an early start tomorrow morning…goodnight Nikita" He smiled as he made his way to the door
"Good night Michael" she smiled as she watched him leave and yet part of her wished he'd stayed…part of her wanted to take comfort in this person she now felt a strong bond with...but that was forbidden …Amanda had told her so…so things would remain as they were she the recruit and Michael well he was more than an agent he was Percy's second in command so co-workers and friends would be all they could be she told herself as she lay on top of her bed lost in thoughts…thoughts she knew she shouldn't be thinking…thoughts of Michael.
Next Chapter - Deadly Thin Line
