It makes me really happy that you seem to like my story, I can´t even tell you how happy every review makes me. Thank you so much. A special thanks to bk-1205 for the help! As usual I don´t own them...
The numb feeling was starting to slip away, just to be replaced with sadness. Nikita was still walking, she didn´t know where she was, but she started to come back to herself, as if she had been asleep for a long time and just woke up. She was cold. She looked down at herself, she wasn´t wearing a jacket, of course she wasn´t, she had left in a hurry. She wondered if the cold was from the weather or from inside her. Either way it enveloped her, making her whole body tremble.
She lifted her head and looked around her, she was still in the city, walking down an alleyway. Now that she felt more like herself again she started to take notice of things around her. She tried to remember if she had been in this part of town before but she didn´t recognize the streetname.
A shiver ran down her back and she knew something was wrong. She looked around her, at first seeing nothing, but soon human shapes materialized from the dark around her. She was surrounded. She got in a fighting stance, never one to give up, even though the odds were bad, at best.
"Nikita. There´s no point in fighting. Your heavily outnumbered"
"Like that would stop me" Her voice didn´t sound like her own, it was a strangers voice.
The only reply was a chuckle. Then they attacked at the same time. Nikita was a good fighter, one of the best division had ever trained, but even she couldn´t stand against such a large attack at once, not when her body was still sore from her last fight. Still, she fought on, her body moving and twisting as if it was designed for it, which in a way, it was.
She received a punch to her face, making her drop to the ground and before she could move they were on her, holding her down.
She stared up at the dark sky, the stars looking down at her where she lay in a dirty alleyway. Was this it? Was this the place where she would die? Would this be her last breath, her final resting place?
She felt the prick of the needle as if it was a knife, everything felt more intense. Before she closed her eyes she thought of Michael.
Michael was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. The container of whiskey lay in a broken puddle on the other side of the room, behind a broken chair. He figured it was only a matter of time before the manager came knocking again, but he couldn´t find it in him to care. What did it matter anyway.
He wondered where Nikita was. He wondered if she would come back. He didn´t think so. Why would she? He was a mess, a mess to complicated for anyone to deal with, least of all someone like Nikita, who radiated light to everyone around her. He felt like an eclipse to her light.
Where had she gone? How long had she been gone? He had no concept of time, he raised his arm to glance at his watch. He forced himself to concentrate. Was it really that late, she had been gone for two hours already, it felt like she had just left.
He stood up. She had left in a hurry, not taking her gun with her, and she hadn´t fully recovered from her injuries yet. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Something was wrong with Nikita. He couldn´t explain how he knew, he just did. He quickly found his gun and dug through his bag for the others he had with him.
He shrugged his jacket on and left the room.
Standing outside the hotel he paused. He had no idea where Nikita had gone. He thought of taking the car but decided against it, he could travel more freely by foot. He started jogging down the street, his eyes wandering in every direction in search of something unusual but seeing nothing. He searched, he checked every alley he came across, stuck his head in every bar he passed, but nothing.
The feeling of unease grew stronger and his heart was beating frantically in his chest.
He ventured down another alley and once again found nothing. Still he continued. He caught sight of a man hiding behind a garbage can. At first he thought nothing of it. Moscow was full of homeless people, looking for a place to sleep or hide.
He decided to ask him if he had seen a woman with Nikitas description, but when he got closer he realized that he had been wrong. The man was not homeless, at least not if you counted the suit he was wearing. Something was off, his gut was telling him something wasn´t right. When he got closer the man looked up at him and promptly got up and ran.
"Shit" he swore and chased after him. The man was nearing the end of the alley and Michael quickened his step and closed in on him. Just as the man was about to exit the alley a foot struck out and he crashed to the ground holding his knee and wailing.
"Need a hand?" Owens voice rang out.
Nikita came to, only to find herself tied to a chair in the middle of a big room. Her vision was still a bit blurry, she had to concentrate to focus. She tried to take in her surroundings, but she was so tired, and even though she tried to fight it, darkness once again took over.
Michael slowly walked forward to the man wailing on the ground and turned him on his stomach, planting his knee in his back. The man cried out but Michael paid no attention to him.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Same as you" Owen stepped closer.
"And what am I doing pray tell"
"Well I could be wrong, but I´m guessing you´re trying to find Nikita"
Michael glared at him.
"If you´ve done something to her..."
"Of course not. I just happened to hear a few interesting things from a source of mine"
"Like what?"
"Like the fact that rumour has it the famous Carter has napped himself a division agent"
"Nikita" Michael breathed out
"Most likely. Do you think he knows?"
"That she´s gone rogue?"
Owen nodded.
"Probably. He must have known who she was when she was grabbed"
"Maybe he´ll try negoiating with Percy, depending on how much he thinks Nikita knows about divisions secrets"
"Or" Michael sighed "he´ll try to sell her to Percy"
The man under Michaels knee let out a whimper and Michael hauled him up and slammed him against the brickwall.
"Why did you run?"
The man only whimpered in response as Michael pressed down harder against his windpipe.
"Uh Michael"
Michael slammed him against the wall again.
"Why did you run?" he hissed at him.
"Michael" Owen said again.
"What?" Michael snapped at Owen.
Owen nodded at the man who was still struggling to breathe.
"That´s my source"
Michael looked at him and then back at the man.
"I see"
He let go of him, making him fall to the ground wheezing for air.
Michael turned to leave.
"Hey hey, wait a minute. You can´t do this alone"
"Watch me"
Michael continued walking, but stopped when Owen voice reached him.
"Okey then, then I guess you don´t want to know where Carters lackeys wind down after a days hard work"
Michael closed his eyes and sighed before turning around.
"What do you want?"
"I want in"
"Why?" Michaels voice was hostile, showing how much he didn´t trust him.
"Because it´s the right thing to do"
"Try again"
"Because I love a suicide mission"
Michaels eyes narrowed and he turned to leave.
"Okey okey wait, wait"
"I don´t have time for this" Michael growled at him.
"I owe her, okey"
For a few seconds Michael hesitated. But he knew that his chances of finding Nikita would increase if he had help. But did it have to be him.
"Fine. You can come. But we leave now"
"Of course"
They walked away quickly, their conversation drifting back to the man who was finally able to breathe properly again.
"You stink by the way, what did you do? Shower in Jack Daniels?"
"Shut up"
"Just saying"
When Nikita woke again there was a man standing in front of her. She blinked and tried to regain her focus.
"Good, you´re awake"
She tried to speak but her throat was dry.
"Oh no need to speak yet, the boss is coming in a few hours, then you can talk, or not. Of course it might be better for yourself if you did, but I have to be honest" he smiled at her, a cold smile "I really hope you don´t"
Michael and Owen entered a bar who had seen better days, most of the guests had too. They casually walked over to the bar and ordered.
"So, who´s the guy?" Michael spoke quietly.
"I think, him" Owen did a subtle headnod in the direction of a very large, or rather huge, man sitting in a booth on the other side of the bar.
"You think?" Michael hissed.
"Well we have to find out for sure. I have a plan"
"God help us all" Michael muttered sarcastically.
Owen rolled his eyes and continued.
"I say we pistolwhip him and drag him out of here, keep the others at bay with the guns, then steal a car and travel to a secret location where we can extract the information we need and dispose of him".
Michael stared at him.
Nikita didn´t look up as a glass of water was placed before her.
"I´m not stupid enough to drink that"
"It´s okey, it´s not poisoned"
She looked up and was surprised to see a young man looking back at her.
"Why should I believe you?"
He sighed and sat down in the chair in front of her.
"Because, if they wanted you poisoned, or even dead, they wouldn´t wait for you to drink it yourself" he stated matter of factly.
She supposed that was true. She reached forward with her bound hands and lifted the glass, but it was a strange position and the water slushed over making her curse.
"Here, let me help you"
He reached out his hands to steady hers, her eyes flew to his, and he smiled. In them she saw kindness. She drank deeply, she had been really thirsty.
"What´s your name?" She wondered if the kindness she saw in his eyes was real.
"Andrej"
"Well, Andrej, what are you doing in place like this?"
He grinned at her.
"I could ask you the same thing".
"We should have gone with my plan" Owen grumbled.
"Yeah, we could have done that, but I don´t feel like getting sprayed with bullets today. Not that it will matter if she..."
He trailed of at the end.
Owen stared at him. They stood leaning against the wall outside the bar smoking. Michael had after a while noticed that the man they were looking for, and a smaller one often went outside to smoke. Fortunately Owen smoked when he was drunk, so he had cigarettes and a lighter on him. When he had planned to get drunk in Moscow Michael didn´t know, but he figured he couldn´t really blame him since he himself had been on that path not long ago before... He sighed, and rubbed a hand over his eyes. Before he realized something was wrong.
When Nikita left, he felt empty, he still did, his heart had seemed to stand still, now it was aching. Was it because he knew she was in danger? He didn´t know. He just knew he wouldn´t rest until he got her back, and God help anyone who tried to stand in his way.
"Hey"
He looked over at Owen, who was staring at him with a sympathetic look on his face.
"We´ll get her back"
"Or die trying" Michaels voice was dark and serious.
"Or die trying" Owen echoed.
Nikita was actually starting to like this guy, well as much as you could like someone who was helping to keep you prisoner anyway.
"and my girlfriend always tells me, Andrej , your face is going to stay in that position for all eternity if you´re not careful..."
Nikita laughed.
"What´s your girlfriends name?"
"Olga" he had a dreamy look on his face and was most likely picturing her before him, his brow creased and he cast a worried look at her "I shouldn´t have said that. You won´t use that against me will you?",
She leaned forward to place her hand on his knee, but the ropes stopped her.
"I promise I won´t. Andrej, I´m not like that"
"I believe you" he smiled at her "When they first brought you here, I was shocked, you looked so normal, not at all like the poeple who usually end up here"
She laughed again.
"Uhm thank you, I think"
She coughed, and her ribs ached.
Andrej noticed the look on her face.
"I´m sorry, am I tiring you? Maybe you should rest..."
"No no. Stay. It´s nothing" suddenly a thought occured to her "unless you have to go? Aren´t they missing you?"
Andrej scoffed.
"Them? Oh please, they barely notice when I´m around, they hardly ever talk to me"
"What are you doing here then? You look so young..." she trailed off.
"I´m going to be 25 next year" he said proudly
"Ah, such an old man" she teased
He mock rolled his eyes.
She didn´t know what it was about him, he was so carefree and pure somehow, she wondered how that could be, in this environment. He reminded her of herself, her first year at division. So light and open. Though she doubted he had her life history, but who knew.
His voice interrupted her thoughts.
"So which do you like better, Katy Perry or Lady Gaga?"
She stared at him uncomprehendingly.
Michael was walking back to where Owen was still standing.
"It´s done, it´s right around the corner"
"Good, it´s almost time"
He handed Michael another cigarette and lit it.
The door opened and two men came out for a smoke, one of them was the guy Owen thought had the information they needed.
"So..." Owen started, turning slightly to Michael "I´ve been meaning to talk to you about something..."
"What is it bro?" Michael inwardly cringed.
"This is hard for me you know, I want you to keep in mind that I´m just a man, and no matter what, I´ll always be your friend, right?"
"Of course, you geek, out with it" Michael laughed
"Well, you see, I´m kind of in love with your girlfriend"
"What did you just say?"
Now they had the attention of the other two.
"I´m in love with your girlfriend"
"Please tell me this is a bad joke man"
"I´m sorry man, it just happened" Owen shrugged.
"After everything I´ve done for you, this is how you repay me" Michael screamed.
The two men standing near was grinning at the display.
"I´m sorry okey! I didn´t mean for it to happen!"
"Oh yeah sure you didn´t, you´re after everything in a skirt you dick!"
Michael took two steps forward and pushed him, Owen pushed back. Then Michael punched him in the face making him crash into the smaller man, sending them both to the ground, Owen immediatley hit him across the face and slammed his face to the ground.
Michael punched the other man, but it was like hitting a wall, still he aimed another punch at his face and kicked his right knee. The man roared in anger and punched Michael in the stomach, making him double over. Michael quickly recuperated and slammed into him, they stood like that, wrestling back and forth until Owen jumped on the mans back and locked his arms around his throat.
The man let go of Michael and started to spin around, trying to throw Owen off, but he held on. They spun again but this time Michael was ready and he punched the man hard in the face, he slowed down and slowly tipped over, Owen still on his back.
Owen stood up and looked over at Michael, at the same time rubbing his jaw.
"You enjoyed that way too much"
"Yeah"
They hid the body of the other man and then proceeded to carry the other one to the car Michael had stolen earlier, tying him up and throwing him in the backseat. Without glancing back they drove off.
Nikita was listening to Andrejs reasons for loving Lady Gaga when the door opened. In came the man from before. Nikitas eyes immediatley turned hard and calm. The man spoke.
"Andrej, Out"
Andrej cast a sad look at Nikita and stood up to leave. He hesitated in the doorway, then left, closing the door behind him.
Nikita looked up at the man.
"So it seems like the boss have gotten a bit delayed, so I changed my mind. Maybe we can talk while we wait"
When she didn´t answer, he slapped her hard.
She slowly turned back to face him, her face a calm mask.
At the same time Michael and Owen were dragging the man in to an abandoned barn, at least they hoped it was. He was starting to come too and they quickly tied him up. Owen went to get a bucket of water while Michael fished out his knife. He saw Owen glancing at it when he returned, but didn´t say anything. Michael nodded at him and Owen emptied the bucket over him, making him cough and shake. He blinked and looked up at them.
"Hi. I´m Michael. I want you to tell me some things I need to know"
"Never"
"But you don´t know what I want to know yet"
"It dosen´t matter. I am not going to tell you anything"
Michael sighed.
"I don´t really have time for this, so either you tell me what I want to know, or..." He made a sudden move, stabbing his knife down in the mans thigh making him scream "we can continue on with that until you talk, your choice"
What did you think of Michael and Owen pairing up? It is for a good cause at least ;)