Chapter 7 - A good day
The past two days, combined with the tiredness accumulated on the London mission, were beginning to take its toll on Nikita. Her whole body was sore and her head was pounding, so she decided to have this night all to herself. As she was heading for the bathroom, she put on some relaxing music and then she began discarding her clothes, feeling lighter and lighter. She prepared herself a nice, hot bath and, as she was immersing in the steaming water, she felt like everything in the world was fading away. She sat like that, just soaking in, allowing the water to soothe every muscle in her body and listening to those soft tunes that always managed to relax her completely. By the time she got out of the bathtub the headache subsided almost completely, so she decided to pour herself a well deserved glass of white wine. Then, she made herself comfortable on that big, soft couch that she liked so much, enveloped in her favorite blanket. It was a perfect moment and Nikita would have given anything to stop the time and stay like this forever. No Division, no evil in the world, no more killings or mission, no Percy or Amanda, no Alex…
Alex…..she thought, the girl suddenly back on her mind. She couldn't help it. As much as she wanted this evening to be void of any thoughts concerning her job, she just couldn't avoid it. To say she was concerned about the situation with Alex, was an understatement. She was downright worried. She knew all too well that Division was about "second chances", as they liked to call it, but not about third ones. If Alex didn't show signs of improvement soon, she would be canceled. And giving her attitude and her lack of interest in her own life, Nikita doubted that it would be much longer until that possibility was brought into discussion by either Percy or Amanda. So what could she do? The only way was to continue to push Alex, to be hard on her and at the same time to try to show her that she was worth living. It was a hell of a task, but she was decided to do everything in her power to save the girl from cancellation. But, in the end, it would be all up to Alex. Feeling her head heavy again, Nikita decided to call it a night. She turned off all the lights, apart from a small lamp on her vanity and she got into bed. As tired as she was, sleep came soon, erasing everything from her mind.
A week later, Nikita felt better than she felt in ages. The two days she had to herself, with surprisingly no interruption from Amanda, worked miracles on her. The rest of the week was also a quiet one inside Division for her. No active missions, no meetings with Percy and Amanda, all she had to do was follow up on old mission, making sure that everything was in order. It also gave her time to arrange a few more things with Henry, her guy on the outside that would provide her with every weapon and piece of technology she would need to survive after her escape. A soft knock on the door interrupted her from the work she was doing on the computer.
"Come in!...Alexandra…." she said, as the girl stepped inside her office.
"Hey….Amanda told me to report to you so we can begin our training or whatever. I'm clean from any drugs, so…..here I am".
"Good, I'm glad to hear that. And have a seat. Water?" Nikita asked, heading for the mini bar.
"Sure…"
"How's your leg?"
"Completely recovered. I'm surprised you care".
"Well, I see Amanda didn't have time to teach you any manners yet, but I am sure it will follow soon".
"I was raised in a mansion with a private tutor to teach me everything there is to know about manners and etiquette, so I don't think there is anything Amanda could teach me that I don't already know. In fact, I bet I could give her some lessons."
"Oh, that would be fun to watch" Nikita said with a small laugh. "But anyway, I'm glad you're Ok, regardless of what you think of me. Now let's go."
"So, the first thing we'll do is get you in shape. After the detox you went through, your body needs to build some stamina before we start with the fighting techniques. This week we'll work on the cardio part. It will be intense, because we're already behind schedule, so be ready".
"Great…."
"It is! And you should enjoy it because it's the easiest part of your training."
For the whole morning, Nikita worked Alex very hard. She needed to get her in shape fast and she also hoped that exercise and gaining some physical strength would help her feel better about herself.
"So, how was it? How do you feel?" Nikita asked when their training session was done.
"Do you really need to ask that? Can't you see I can hardly breathe?"
"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad. You should see what the other trainers do to their recruits. I was more than easy on you" Nikita said, knowing that, in fact, she was anything but easy with Alex.
"Now go shower, grab something to eat and try to learn something in your computers lab. Birkhoff is a genius you know. Pay attention to him and try not to be a smart ass. He doesn't like that. And he does have an important word to say in your evaluation."
"As if I care….."
"Well I care! See you back here at 4. And by that I mean 4, not 10 minutes later! Understood?"
"Loud and clear!" Alex said defiantly.
"Good! See you then."
The rest of the day went well for Alex. Computers was rather boring and she couldn't wait to get out of there. At 4, and not one second later, she was back in the training room. They worked continuously for 4 more hours, until even Nikita was beginning to feel a little worn out.
"I think it's enough for today."
"You think? Nooo, I say we stay here for the whole night. I'm just getting warmed up", Alex said between heavy breaths."
"Very funny, Alexandra, very funny. Look, I know it's hard, but it's the only way. Your first evaluation it's in three months and the way you lived before got your body in a very bad shape. You have a lot to catch up. Now go eat your dinner and get some rest for the night."
"In case you didn't notice, dinner time was an hour ago. I doubt they're still waiting for me to show up…"
"Oh, you're right, I didn't even realize what time it is." Nikita lied. She knew exactly what time it was. She extended their training time on purpose, just to see if Alex would protest or try to leave without permission, like the last time. When it didn't happen, she was pleasantly surprised. Maybe she was getting through to her after all. "Well, since I don't want to be responsible for you going to bed with an empty stomach, I will get you something to eat. Hurry up, take a really quick shower and meet me in my office. I'm kind of hungry myself, so we'll eat together."
"Fine…..but nothing with fish in it! They cook it horribly in here! Alex said while heading for the shower.
"Picky, aren't we?"
"Always!"
After what must have been the quickest shower of her life, Alex hurried to Nikita's office. Lights out was at 9 and she had to be back in her room by then. They enjoyed a delicious meal, thanks to Nikita's status inside Division and the conversation was light.
"Well, thanks for dinner. I guess I should leave now." Alex said, somehow reluctant to be back in her grey room again, alone with her nightmares.
"No problem. I hope you enjoyed it."
"I did, it was good" Alex said, standing up to leave.
"Alexandra…" Nikita said, stopping the girl midway to the door, "today was a good day. You did well under the circumstances. Everyday will get better, I promise you."
"Nikita….I did what you told me to and I will continue doing it, but just because I don't want to get back to that room in medical and I certainly don't want another session with Amanda trying to instill in me the desire to live. But whether I do good or not, what happens to me at the end of these 3 months…..I don't really care…..I told you that before and it hasn't changed…..Good night. See you tomorrow."
Nikita nodded with a heavy sigh, but didn't say a word. She just stood there, watching Alex close the door behind her and feeling that helplessness creeping up on her again. But she couldn't let that be. She had to shake it off and move forward. Regardless of what Alex said, today was a good day. The fact that the girl's self defense system kicked in and she didn't want to be hurt again or face Amanda was a good sign. Alex may not realize it, but she was on the right track. Nikita only hoped that 3 months would be enough to bring her to her full potential.
Here we go….
