Hey guys!

Wow, I'm really, really sorry that I've kept you all waiting so long for this chapter, but the circumstances were completely out of my control. For the past few weeks I've been staring up at a hospital ceiling after coming off my rather lovely horse Jasmine and having a little argument with a van. I've busted up my shoulder really quite badly (typing with one hand is NOT easy!) and needed it pinning in a couple of places, add that to a couple of broken ribs and a smashed up collarbone and you do NOT have a very happy Alex! I'm sorry if this chapter is a little lower than my usual standard, I'm a little mentally and physically drained right now...

So again, my apologies for this taking so long and for any incoherent mistakes you might find, I'm still a little doped up with pain killers!

Enjoy!

X


False Pretences – Chapter Eight.


"No volunteers?"

Nikita narrowed her eyes into a slight scowl as Percy stalked past her, his shiny leather boots emphasising power with every stride that he exaggerated in front of her and the other recruits. She knew, with some kind of smug realisation that she didn't even need to put herself forwards for this demonstration. After pacing for so long, Percy would get bored of waiting for a brave young soldier to step forwards, instead he would choose one. She knew which one – her, it was always so.

Almost as quickly as she had thought it, his eyes fell upon her. Piercing eyes that held all the power of the corrupt agency that he was running. Back then, Nikita found herself proud of his attentions, perhaps even impressed by the darkness he held within him, the cool resolve that was almost as unwavering as Amanda's. With a curt nod, she pushed her slightly-shorter dark locks from her face, stepping forwards.

"Perhaps you'd like to demonstrate Nikita? You're one of the most skilled here with a firearm, lets see if you can learn a life lesson." Percy's voice, as ever, was cold and demanding, yet reassuring to the young ears before him. He waved a hand towards Nikita's target, beckoning for her to pick up a small-calibre pistol from the table beside her. Usually, the recruits were only allowed to fire shots down the designated firing range, never outside of it's secure walls. They had ear-defenders, goggles, even protective screens to stop one another accidentally shooting each other by mistake.

A slight excitement shot through Nikita as she chose her small weapon, equipped with a silencer. She shuddered as she realised the sudden freedom she had just picked up – it was amazing how something so small could hold so much power, make her feel so big in comparison to the world around her.

"Now we've taught you how to hit targets from near, and from afar. We've taught you head-shots, chest shots, injury shots and how to go for that important fatal blow." Percy's feet moved him once more as he tore his eyes from Nikita and addressed the small group around him.

"Things however, aren't always as smooth as that on missions, some guards and most agents will be wearing this." he beckoned towards the small mechanical dummy a few feet away, "Kevlar – bulletproof clothing." he paused as he continued, looking back to Nikita.

"Designed to stop the penetration of a bullet and to cushion the momentum, impenetrable, even at point-blank range. What it does not do however, is stop the impact that a speeding bullet can cause. Injuries can still be obtained, through these vests. Broken ribs, blunt force trauma to the upper chest – even death."

Nikita looked up to him as he spoke, stepping closer to her until he was almost looking down upon her. She shrunk down into his shadow like the student she was.

"This device is fitted with a monitor, acting as a mechanical heartbeat. It records velocity, accuracy and most importantly impact. Shooting a man in the right spot can cause such a trauma to the heart that it cannot cease to beat. A bullet can be used in many ways, and if no other shot is available, a kill shot can still be performed."

He beckoned to Nikita to raise her firearm, walking to the other side of her so she had a clear shot at the target.

"It just takes a steady hand..." he whispered, so that his words were only audible to her.

She nodded, raising her weapon like she had so many times in that firing range, usually with Michaels guidance beside her. Now, she was suddenly on her own and had the independence that she was long overdue. She fixed her eyes upon the target before her, scanning the machine up and down with a careful gaze. Her eyes fell upon a small blinking red light, beating in rhythm, just as a human heartbeat would. Closing one eye, she took a deep breath, her hands unwavering and still.

She felt confident, powerful – alive.

With no hesitation, she pulled the trigger down hard, effortlessly discharging a muffled bullet from her pistol and watching in satisfaction as the bullet flew straight, exactly towards the point she had been aiming for. It hit the machine before her with a satisfying clunk, made louder by the silence that had befallen the other recruits.

With a sudden clap of his hands, Percy turned back towards the rest of the class, a smile set firmly across his features – if Nikita had known better, perhaps not been so naïve, she would have seen the evil fire behind his actions. Not today however, today she was proud of the soldier she was becoming.

"Now that – that is how to take down a target, even one wearing Kevlar..." he said, his tone final.

Nikita did not tear her eyes away from the human-shaped target before her, her gun still half raised and a small smirk lighting up the corners of her mouth. Her hazel eyes looked towards where the light had been flashing, red and bright.

Now, only the bulb remained, a stark reminder of what would one day be a beating heart – distinguished by a skill-full shot.


Today however – Nikita's world fell completely silent.

Everything sound from around her, from the flames licking around her legs to the man stood before her, his hands still clutching her own gun beneath their fingertips were pushed to the back of her subconscious. Instead, her own heartbeat was the only thing she found herself hearing, it's pace quickening in tempo by the breath she was holding in.

For a moment, a horrible few seconds that passed at the speed of days, she found herself completely immobile, the smoke creeping up and around her body like a snake. Her eyes were fixed to her partner, awaiting a steady rhythm of breathing to confirm that she hoped she was very wrong. As every second passed, the sinking feeling within her gained momentum, Alex's eyes remaining closed. It brought her suddenly back to Daniel, the same horrible ice cold shiver shooting down her body, even against the ever increasing heat of the roaring fire around her.

Her mind took her unwillingly back to that day, to when she had found the one person she truly cared about, truly needed, face down in the water. She wasn't going to lose Alex too, not like this.

It wasn't until a flicker of movement from the man next to her graced the corner of her eye, her own weapon being turned towards her menacingly, that she tore her eyes away from Alex's lifeless body.

Sudden anger coursed through her veins as she looked up into his cold eyes – her world exploding back into chaos.

The roar of the fire met her ears once more as she leapt forwards to disengage the threat before her. This time, she sprung from her place with complete accuracy, reaching her target first. She roughly grabbed his wrist in a vice-like grip, just behind the butt of his gun. With narrowed, loathing eyes she pulled it upwards, twisting with a slight amount of pressure. It was a move Michael had taught her many years ago when she had been a recruit, designed to bring any man to his knees before her, even one twice her size.

Kneel he did.

With satisfaction, Nikita brought his arm up quickly, forcing her foot down upon his elbow joint hard as she did so, a slight smirk forming at the corners of her mouth as she felt the bone snap beneath her pressure. The scream of agony that he let out rang in her ears as she moved behind him, placing both hands on each side of his head, roughly twisting his neck further than it should go. With an almighty crack, one that rattled through her fingertips, his burly neck snapped and he fell, face-first into the smoke below.

Nikita wasted no time staring down at his corpse, she panted out the breath she had been holding as a big portion of the kitchen ceiling fell, it's structure weakened by the blaze. She found herself covering her head in reflex as it's decent was stopped by the worktop beneath it, sending a cloud of dust up around the room.

The house was crumbling and she needed to get them out of here.

That's when she turned her attentions back to Alex, it was when the anger faded back to panicked concern. Without thinking, her feet carried her forwards until she was skidding to a halt next to Alex's lifeless form. If Nikita hadn't known a little better, the young Russian would have just looked as if she was sleeping, her light brunette hair falling almost perfectly across one side of her face. Nikita found herself brushing it backwards as she dropped quickly to her knees and raised a hand to check for any signs of a pulse.

"Alex, come on Alex..." she whispered, placing her fingers to the other girl's pale skin. Pressing down lightly upon her neck, she scrunched her stinging eyes tightly as her touch felt nothing, no sign of any kind of heartbeat.

"No, no... Don't do this to me Alex, I cant lose you too. I wont lose you." Nikita couldn't help but hear the quiver in her own voice as she tried to think logically. She had to get them out of here first, before anything else.

Brushing her emotions to one side, she hastily straightened up, coughing to clear her lungs of their fog-like substance. The smoke had darkened, it's hold had become more choking, more claustrophobic. The kitchen around them seemed smaller somehow because of it's death-like hold.

She quickly grabbed Alex under the arms, trying to haul as much of her limp body off the floor as she could. Alex was no longer the thirteen-year old that she had once rescued, Nikita found herself unable to lift her entire weight, instead she found herself dragging her partners body as quickly as she possibly could towards to doorway.

She coughed once more at the sudden effort, blinking back tears as her eyes streamed and her nose ran, trying to clear her system of all of it's smoke.

When her back pressed against the back door, the one she had used earlier to enter the house, she hauled as much as she could until it swung backwards and she and Alex stumbled out into the open air. To her weary lungs, the sudden assault of fresh air was like breathing for the first time. It washed a clear feeling through her, like she had just woken up from being drugged.

Dragging Alex further backwards, she quickly collapsed onto the cool grass below, it's touch instantly soothing her burning skin.

For a minute, she just wanted to lay still, the welcome oxygen washing tiredness through her. Her muscles felt like they had seized, like they needed oil to function but she forced her body to move once more, pushing the aches and pains to the back of her mind. Out here, her head throbbed from where she had been struck, the oxygen also returning a painful sensation to her body.

Sliding herself out from underneath the dead weight of Alex's body, she was quickly on her knees once more, moisture from the lawn below seeping through her jeans and down to the skin below. She paid no heed to to cool water, instead she placed both shaking hands on the side of Alex's head, trying to push the irrational thoughts running through her mind away. Alex had no heartbeat, she had no pulse to feel. With the same shaking hands, she pulled the front of Alex's pinstriped clothing apart, applying enough force so that the buttons popped from their threads. She breathed in a sigh of relief when her eyes fell upon the Kevlar beneath, to the bullet lodged perfectly in it's hard surface.

Alex always wore her bulletproof armour – just like Nikita had taught her.

Nikita quickly tore the Velcro straps from across her shoulders, releasing the armour and revealing just a small tank top beneath. Placing her hands above the younger girls heart, she tried her hardest not to notice the pale colour Alex's skin had become as she started chest compressions. She was no stranger to CPR, Division had taught her not only to take life, but on the rare occasion how to save it as well.

This time however, it wasn't some test dummy that she was practising on. This was the real deal, she was the only person that could get Alex breathing again. She was the only person that cared whether or not Alex breathed again. She blocked out everything else as she desperately worked, ignoring the ever increasing sound of sirens creeping closer and closer. Every time she pressed her hands down hard upon Alex's chest, she cringed at the impact she was causing. Her hands would, undoubtedly, leave perfect bruises across the other girls pale skin. The crackle of flames behind her grew ever louder, the heat intensifying across her back and making her wish she had dragged them a little further away from the fire. She didn't get time to look back at the burning inferno, she focused all of her energy on keeping a steady rhythm, the rhythm of an artificial heartbeat.

Dipping her head down, she ceased her compressions, tipping Alex's head slightly backwards so she could lightly pinch the younger girls nose and drop her lips down against hers, gently exhaling, trying so desperately to inflate the young Russians lungs with air. The impact of the bullet had been enough to jump Alex's heart into ceasing to beat, that and the combination of all the smoke she had breathed in wasn't helping either, her own lungs even burned with all the hammer they had received.

"Alex. Don't. Do. This. Please..." she found herself panting, through gritted teeth upon every compression. To tell the truth, she wasn't sure when the last time had been that she had felt so scared. She could stare point-blank down the barrel of a gun and feel nothing, but when it came to something like this – to losing Alex, she wasn't sure quite how to cope. She would take physical pain any day.

She continued to press down, her desperation becoming apparent in how hard her compressions had become. It felt like an eternity to her, kneeling next to her partner, unsure if Alex would even respond, even if she would try to respond. So when she felt something beneath her fingertips, something that beat against her palms in a relatively uneven manner she found her own heart fluttering. Quickly ceasing CPR she let her hands hover against the younger girl's chest, just to confirm what she thought she had felt, hardly daring to breathe herself.

Her heart skipped even harder at the steady rise and fall rhythm of Alex's chest.


She couldn't quite decide whether the feeling running through her body was a good thing or not. On the upside, she could indeed feel every part of her body. On the downside, not every part of her body felt as if it was healthy.

The first thing that she could recall was a hard surface beneath her back, a nice cool one. To her hot skin, it felt like an ice cold shower on a hot-summers day, refreshing and welcomed. Her eyes felt heavy, almost as if she had been sleeping for too long and they resisted opening, an aching feeling shooting through her body as if she had just run a marathon. A strange pain resided heavy against her chest, a bruised feeling almost as if someone was pressing down upon her ribcage too hard.

Even before she opened her eyes, a dull ache was already shooting through her head and she knew as soon as she sat up, a horrible dizzy feeling would overcome her.

Taking in a breath, her eyes shot open as her throat restricted, causing her to sit up quickly to try and get air into her empty lungs. She felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her body as she sat vertical, letting out a series of choking coughs as she did so. She felt claustrophobic, her body twitching in panic as the smoke refused to shift from her airway.

"Alex, you're alright I've got you." she heard a soft voice whisper into her ear as she latched onto it's speaker tightly, trying her hardest to take in some oxygen. She couldn't remember what had happened. She could remember fighting in the kitchen with one of the guards, but after that her mind was blank.

As her limbs began to tremble, she felt the arms wrap a little tighter, skilled hands running small circles down her spine in an effort to calm her down, another hand brushing lightly through her hair. Nikita's voice was calming as she spoke softly into her ear and Alex leaned a little closer, almost returning the embrace that Nikita was giving her.

When her heartbeat had began to slow, oxygen returning to her limbs and restoring a little stability to her body, she pulled away from her mentor and forced her eyes back towards the burning building. Her baby blue's widened at the smoke plummeting into the sky around them, driven upwards by the inferno that they had managed to miraculously survive.

Looking at the bright white heat before her caused everything to come rushing back. She had seen the weapon, seen the guard take up aim before her, but her feet had rooted her to the spot. The fire around her had been immobilising and she had nowhere left to run. She had seen, almost in slow motion, Nikita diving for the man in a ditch attempt to force the gun from his hands. She could even faintly remember the bullet being dispensed from it's chambers, all before her world had gone completely black.

She should have been dead.

Turning back to Nikita, she couldn't help but keep the look of shock written across her face. Nikita had gotten her out, gotten them to safety. For the second time in a week, her mentor, her partner, had saved her life. She felt a flicker of emotion at the worried expression on Nikita's face, the older woman's arms still holding her upper body tightly, offering her support. Alex looked into those hazel eyes, seeing the tears swimming beneath.

"Alex – you're alive." Nikita whispered, relief and almost disbelief ringing in her voice.

Alex nodded, taking in another breath simply to make sure she wasn't dreaming all of this, that she truly was indeed living. Her reply was somewhat hazy, her voice crackly and unwilling to adjust to any kind of reassuring tone, but confirming that she was very much alive.

"Yes..." she stammered, just as surprised herself. "Yes I am..."