Nikita was perfectly silent. In the mean time, Michael expertly guided her unresponsive frame, gliding back and forth to the music. Her face was static, but inside fear, worry, outrage and jealously frothed and boiled in the inside of her stomach.

"Alex being the newest rising star of Division?"

"It's debatable. She may not be around for too long."

Nikita looked at him starting to become nervous. There was no way she was going to let him touch Alex. She was just about to moved into the outside world, but would remain inside the clutches of Division for a little while longer. Two, maybe three weeks at most. There were some skills Alex needed to be taught, like how to drive and some other simple things like doing laundry and cooking. Sliding on the silky face of indifference, she plainly asked Michael the question she knew he wanted her to ask.

"What do you want Michael?"

"I want to know why you didn't just let me be. I was less then a foot away from him!"

The look of undulated hatred in his eyes that night came back to her. Kasim might have been dead, but so would he. Just like Nikita knew that she would not allow Alex to die, Michael wouldn't be allowed to die either. Maybe she loved him. Maybe she didn't. So she said what she wanted to believe, but not what she knew to be true.

"It would have been a waste."

"Is that all? Somehow I think there's more." His eyes flashed with menace. Michael had always seen through her more then anyone else she had ever known.

"Don't flatter yourself." The words hurdled themselves at him the way a snake spats venom, and Michael response was more frigged then ice.

"Never."

"Let. Me. Go." The three words were as much of a threat as they were a plea, but he was in no hurry to forgive and forget or anything else particularly merciful. Anguish colored her thoughts. Why couldn't he see she had done this for him?

"Or what, no one will get hurt? Like I care." That was when Nikita started to become worried. Michael had always been so much more human then anyone else in Division. Nikita could just see the bluff in his eyes, but when he said something unfeeling as that, she knew he was hurting. There were only two paths she could walk on in this position. Let anger shine through, or let her hurt and vulnerability be uncovered. After a moment Nikita deduced the later would be more effective. Fury was far harder to enable forgiveness then hurt was. So she let her pain at his wrath filter through the many masks decorating her face, hoping that his own masks would begin to crumble.

"What happened to you Michael?" Nikita asked him softly.

"Hmm. Oh yeah, you."

"Don't do this." She said leaning up against him, resting her head on his strong chest. Nikita listened to his heart beat thump in a steady rhythm. He tensed up at her touch, and she could feel his hands clench up slightly at her slender waist.

"What is it exactly you want me to do?"

"Let me help you. Let me keep my promise to help you take him down."

"And for that you need my trust. However, trust is earned. Not given Nikita." Those deep green eyes were almost too intense to be true. So serious, so full of emotion, yet so cold. He couldn't do this to her. Not now. She wouldn't let him.

"As for that mole of yours, she'll be safe for now. I'm leaving for a mission in a few days and if I even see a single hair from your head, Alex will be dead before you can say goodbye." With that his hand slipped down to the hem of her dress, his knuckle stroking her bare thigh, as he fingered the small listening devise. Nikita barely caught the involuntary gasp forcing itself out of her mouth.

"And no matter what little fragments of Intel you gather, I do not want you interfering. Clear?"

"It's Kasim isn't it." This time she really did gasp. Nikita could just see the answer in his eyes. It had only been a few months! Something wasn't right here. Anyone who was powerful enough to royally piss someone off didn't just reappear after such a short period of time once confronted with an enemy. Nikita's mind was already buzzing with ideas and schemes. For now Michael would have to believe that she wasn't even going to try and interfere.

"You don't want my help? That's fine. It's your pathetic little half life after all." No emotion betrayed his facial features, but his hands left her body like she had burned him. Michael's arms were now firmly crossed against his chest.

"And if you even try and kill Alex... Then you truly are the monster Percy engineered you to be." His knuckles turned stark white. A type of vindictive pleasure flared up from her heart at the guilt she could have sworn flashing through his eyes. Threats were nothing more then threats if they were not followed up on.

" Have fun with your mission."

"Oh I intend to." Michael's eyes were green ice, steely with an emotion she couldn't quite place.

With the turn of her heel she whisked off the dance floor and nearly jogged over to where Analise and Nigel sat, still engaged in their conversation about gang violence. Nikita didn't remember the excuse she came up for her and Michael, but neither Nigel nor Ana noticed any inconsistencies. Ana's babbling was somewhat dreamy and idealistic, but reasonably entertaining all the same. Would Michael go and inform on her? Somehow she didn't think so. Nikita had realized that he probably didn't care about whatever Percy was discussing with whoever he was meeting with. Michael must have obtained some major Intel if he was so confident his newest plot to annihilate Kasim. What did he have this time that he didn't have last time? Whatever it was, a promise was a promise, and Nikita was going to find out exactly what he was going to do.


Ana was beginning to get bored. Nigel was almost too sweet and all this enthusiasm was getting to her. Another hour of this and she wouldn't be capable of sarcasm anymore. She had seen Michael slip off to talk too a senator from Arizona after his convo with Miss Nikita.

"How far did it go?"

"Farther then it should have."

Now that was what Ana called an understatement. Talk about tension! Now that was a relationship that had gone way beyond 'farther then it should have'. Ana could see it happening though. Two good looking, talented agents finding a challenge in each other, and eventually falling in love. It was the Daniel guys part on the Michael, Nikita equation she couldn't quite grasp. She had seen a picture of the guy and well... Yes, he was cute, but certainly not in Michael's league. Not that she had any romantic feelings for the man, but Ana knew a good looking guy when she saw him. Michael wasn't really bad either. There was just something about him. Like he still was struggling not to see the gray areas in their line of work. Oh well. Maybe she would broach the subject come their mission. Besides, Ana had plenty of pain in her past and if there was anything she knew for certain, it was that whatever had happened between them... That was Michael's story to tell.

Speaking of Michael, Ana wondered. Was he going to stop talking to the blasted senator, or was he going to leave her to lose her sarcasm? When he did finally start to walk back toward the table she, Nikita and Nigel were all sitting at, Ana almost cheered. Michael made a rather clever excuse about wanting to introduce his lovely date to a famous journalist who was also attending the gala. Together they smoothly exited from Nigel's absolutely fascinating lecture about, well, Ana couldn't quite remember. The character Analise had been paying rapt attention, but Ana hadn't. Something about illegal gun trade.

"How did your conversation go?" Ana asked him just as they left the party thirty minuets later.

"It was very illuminating." He said shortly. Michael's answer sparked her curiosity. Ana had known he was angry at her, but by just occasionally glancing at them in the corner of her eye she realized he wasn't just angry. He was positively furious at her. But about what?

"If I may ask, why are you so angry at her?" Yes having a former friend/lover trying to destroy the person you work for would probably be seriously annoying and occasionally infuriating, but not induce such a magnitude of fury.

"I'll tell you, but not tonight." He said tiredly pinching the bridge of his nose.

" Thank you for the distraction, your quite good."

"Your welcome." Ana told him with a soft smile. She dropped the subject of Nikita, confidant that he would tell her when he was ready. Ana had never been one to pry.


Amanda scanned her office thoughtfully, contemplating her next move. Her motives for helping Michael were the same as any of her other reasons; For herself. Leading others to believe she was doing something because it was right or some other pathetic righteous excuse like that was just apart of the game. People were far too willing to hope then she could fathom. However in the words of Abraham Lincoln; "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time". Some people such as Michael were clever enough to simply never trust her. He would never totally believe anything that came out of her mouth, regardless how she twisted it. No, this information had to delivered from a different, more trusted source.

That would be tricky for several reasons. Three years ago Nikita would have been her first choice, but that was obviously not an option. Alex was a potential news way, but a young newly minted agent was nearly unreliable as Nikita. His Gogle partner had potential as a leak, but Amanda had read the bulk of her file, and it would be unlikely that Amanda could gain the upper hand. Miss Anastasia would be just as if not more skeptical as Michael would be. Before Kapstov had taken second in command, she had held the place of lead interrogator, the same place Amanda held. The woman's file was rather extensive for only a seven year agent, with numerous successful missions and interrogations respectively.

It was only when Amanda came across the name of Kaptsov's deceased twin sister, did she connect the dots to who Anastasia Kaptosv really was. Her first protege, and coincidentally, her niece.


AN: Thank you so very much for the reviews, and for the get well wishes. It means a lot to me. I shall now send you all a big ol' plate of virtual brownies. As always, reviews much enjoyed.

Thanks, Juag