VALENTINE'S DAY
By Atlantis (naughtism@yahoo.com) 1998.
*** I'm sorry in advance for any grammar and/or spelling mistakes I might have in any of my fictions. I tried my best, but since I'm not an english speaker, I might have some that I haven't noticed.
*** I wrote this story in 1998, during Season 2, a lot of things changed since!!!
*** I have no copyrights on the characters.
"Smells wonderful". Birkoff said smiling and walked inside the apartment.
"Yeah, well I hope you didn't spoil your appetite with junk food." Nikita pointed her finger at him, as she let him walk in.
"No, he behaved, sugar, I watched him myself". Walter was sitting on her couch. Nikita smiled.
"It's so good to have you two for dinner. You've never been to my apartment before".
"Oh, You know you've just had to snap your fingers, sugar". Walter smiled. It's been a while since Belinda's death. Birkoff and Nikita both were worried about him, but he seemed to recover, at least they thought so.
They talked for a while, about almost anything besides the Section. They felt normal that evening.
"Dinner was great, did you cook it?" Birkoff asked, licking his fingers.
"No, I ordered". Nikita patted his shoulder.
"So, how about a little walk?" Walter offered.
"I can't. I should go back and check if everything's all right. You know you can never leave these people alone there with my stuff. One time I went out and..."
"Birkoff, shut up". Nikita cut him off. "You should loosen up a little, and burn some calories, if you want me to let you eat more cookies".
Birkoff sighed. "Okay... Mom". He mocked her.
Both of the men helped Nikita clean the table, and put on their coats.
"Whose idea was it to go for a walk in a temperature below zero?" Birkoff complained.
"Oh, geez, you little whiny". Nikita teased him and pushed him aside a little.
He stopped walking. "Hey Niki..." He called out. She turned around and got a snowball at her chest. "You're not a very good shot!" She said as she grabbed one herself and threw it at him. They started a snow war and Walter joined. They were happy, cold and soaking wet.
"It's mine". Birkoff's face turned serious again. Walter and Nikita reached out for their own cell phones. Walter's was ringing too.
"I need to go back".
"Me too".
They both turned to look at Nikita. "Don't worry, I'll find my way back". She smiled.
"It was a great evening, Nikita".
"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've had so much fun". Walter said.
They left her in the park looking after them. She wondered when she would be called in. She never knew how long it took to put on a mission and assemble the cold ops. Actually, when she thought about it, she already had down time for almost two weeks. She tried to think of a mistake she has done in her last mission that might get her into the abeyance group without her knowledge.
Michael on the other hand seemed busy. Walter told her it was now his 3rd day of a mission in Peru. And even before that, she couldn't reach him. He didn't call her, or visited her. Birkoff said he's been tied with missions.
Nikita was so immersed in her thoughts, she jumped when she felt a hand touch her shoulder gently, she was ready to knock whoever this is down.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you". Nikita looked at the handsome young man that stood in front of her. "Are you all right?" He asked softly. She nodded slightly, unable to take her eyes off his face.
"What are you doing here in such a cold night alone?" He asked quietly. She smiled.
"I... was just... I wanted some fresh air..." She murmured.
"Oh, me too. It's a great night isn't it?" He asked, his eyes shimmering.
"Yeah it is". She smiled again, still unable to look away.
"I'm Russell". He offered his gloved hand and she shook it. "Nikita". He smiled.
"So... wanna walk with me?" He asked. "Sure".
"Are you cold?" He asked her. "It's okay". She said. She felt embarrassed of her weird attraction to a complete stranger. She thought of Michael and smiled bitterly. In a way, Michael was no better than a stranger.
She talked with Russell and found out he's not just good looking, but also intelligent.
"I'm between jobs". She answered unwillingly.
"That's okay, you'll find something you like. It took me some time and millions of other jobs to finally land where I am now".
She didn't notice how the time passed, she shivered.
"You should go home now, Nikita. You're totally wet and you'll catch a cold". He said and took off his coat. "No, that's okay. You should wear it". She refused the gentlemanly offer.
"Come tomorrow to dinner with me?" He asked in a soft voice. She was caught in his magic and was only able to nod.
Nikita took a hot shower, her mind was full of thoughts about this new man she met.
It was noon already when Nikita woke up. She glanced at her dead phone and turned it to check if it's working, in case she gets a call. Surprisingly, she already wished she would.
While she was eating lunch, the phone rang. Nikita jumped, waiting to hear the soft french accent-- "Josephine", but as she picked up the phone she only heard--
"Nikita?"
She sighed. "Yeah it's me".
"I just wanted to check if we are still on tonight".
"Of course".
"I'll pick you at eight? Is that all right with you?"
"Yup".
She hanged up the phone and sighed again. "Michael, where are you?" She whispered.
A few minutes before eight o'clock, Nikita picked up the phone and decided to call Russell and cancel the dinner, she heard a knock on her door, and when she looked at him, all the thoughts about right and wrong and cancellation were gone. He was a god.
He smiled widely. "You look so beautiful".
She blushed. "Actually, I was thinking the same about you".
"It was dark last night, couldn't see exactly how beautiful you are".
She laughed shyly, and they headed for dinner. Nikita saw a shadow slipping away, and turned her head hoping to see it was Michael. She only saw a few people sitting on a bench.
"So where are we going?" Her full attention was back with the man beside her.
"My car is right there..." He murmured.
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Michael finished his debriefing and sank tired into his chair. He had reports to finish, and just got new intel for another mission. He sighed. He had so much pressure lately, it seems that everyone had their missions transferred to him, no down time, only going from mission to mission. He could hardly remember the last time he spent in his apartment.
"Birkoff, do you know where Nikita is?" Michael approached Birkoff from behind and surprised him. "Uh... maybe at home".
"She's not on a mission?"
"No, she had a lot of down time recently". Birkoff said and reached for another cookie, not taking hieyes off his monitor.
Michael walked away, heading out. "Michael". Operations stopped him at the south exit hall.
"Where are you going?"
"Grab something to eat".
"Did you finish all your reports?" Operations asked in a hard voice.
"Not yet".
"You should. We are getting new intel all the time".
'Am I the only operative in the Section?' Michael thought to himself. As if Operations read his mind, he said-
"I understand you are working overtime. I'm under a lot of pressure too, but you've been here long enough to understand there are rough times. We are lacking man power and team leaders, and we need more from you". Michael feared that Operations didn't finish his lecture, only took a breath. "I want you to finish the reports and get ready for the mission in Zaire".
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Nikita woke up early and got ready for her morning run, which she neglected for a few days.
"I should've guessed you do something to keep yourself in such a great shape". He smiled and approached her. "You're not so bad yourself". She pushed him aside and kept running beside him.
"So you go out for a run every morning?" He asked after a moment of silence.
"I try".
Michael watched Nikita running with the handsome young man. He wanted to take a glimpse look at her before he had to go out for another mission. He wanted to talk to her, but instead stood in the shadows and watched her giggles and exchange smiles with this man as they ran.
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Nikita took a shower and then sat to eat breakfast. She looked at her watch and then at her phone. Still no mission and she was getting suspicious. She picked up her coat and went out.
"Hey Birkoff". Nikita came closer to Birkoff, he looked serious and didn't even raised his head.
"What's up?" She sat on his desk.
"I'm very busy, I'm sorry". He murmured.
"Mission?"
"We are drowning in missions! so much work..." He muttered.
"Really?" He didn't raise his head, so he couldn't see her worried face.
"Did Michael came back?"
"Come and gone".
"What do you mean?"
"He left an hour ago to Zaire. He only came yesterday from Peru".
Operations looked down from his office. He saw Nikita talking with Birkoff. He stroked his chin and look at the two of them. He wondered why she came.
"What are you doing here?" Nikita turned around and saw Operations gazing at her.
"I just dropped by to see what's going on. I haven't been called in for quite some time".
"We don't need you for now". He said.
"I heard there is a rough time here".
"If we needed you, we would have contact you".
"Am I on abeyance?" She dared to ask.
He stared at her and chuckled. "No".
"And if I were you wouldn't tell me".
"Of course not".
Nikita smirked. "Guess I'll wait till I get my call".
Operations nodded. "Thought you'd enjoy your down time".
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"Hi Walter". Nikita smiled at the old man, who looked older now and tired.
"Hi sugar". He managed to curve his lips into a smile.
"What's up? you look exhausted".
"I'm a bit worked up". He admitted.
"Seems like everyone is busy except me". She sighed and looked away. Something caught her eye in the training area. She left Walter and went there.
She watched him in disbelief. "Russell?"
He turned around and looked at her surprised. He took off his boxing gloves.
"Nikita!" He smiled, but she sensed his smile wasn't honest.
"What are you doing here?"
"Working out".
"You are an operative".
"Yeah... you don't know what a relief it is to find out you are too". He said.
She looked at him suspiciously. "Are you on a mission?" He asked. "No... are you?"
"Nope. How about working out with me?" He offered in a bright smile. She couldn't resist his smile and took off her shoes, stepping forward.
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"What was Nikita doing here? I thought you said you'd keep her away from the headquarters".
"She came by surprise".
"Now she knows I'm a Section Op. She's suspicious".
"Doesn't matter. You must continue as planned".
"It will be harder, now that I can't pull out the innocent roll".
"You're a valentine op, you do what you have to do".
"She will be mine. I'll succeed".
"Good, because failure is not an option. Now, Nikita is a good operative, and we need more manpower. I'll have to use her, now that she knows you're an op it doesn't matter anymore".
"Don't assign her to Michael. It will draw her backwards".
"Don't worry. You're dismissed".
Russell left Operations' office. "Russell Burke". Operations smiled to himself.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Nikita was charmed by Russell's interest in her.
"You know, I heard a lot about that operative named Nikita, but I couldn't believe it was this innocent woman I ran into in the park". He told her one evening, while they were having dinner in his apartment.
"Really? what exactly did you hear?" She rested her chin on her hands and looked at him smiling.
"That you are a rebel, compassionate, beautiful..." He stared at her. "But I see you're even more beautiful than I thought".
She blushed, smiled slightly uncomfortable, and lowered her gaze.
"There are also rumors that there's something between you and Michael".
"You know Michael?" She raised her eyes.
"Everybody knows him, his one of the best cold ops". He looked at her, they both were silent for a minute. "I need to know if there's a room for me in your life". He took her hand and caressed her gently. "Hmmm... there could be..." She said quietly, she felt like she's been there before, an image of Jurgen came to her mind. "Are you all right?" Russell looked concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine".
"You seem disturbed. Did I say something wrong?"
"No. Just old memories of a friend I... lost". Nikita hesitated.
"Look, I don't want to scare you. I'm happy that you are also an operative, that way I can be honest with you every time I go out on a mission". He said.
"What does Section know about honesty?" She said in a bitter grin.
"I'm not Section. I'm Russell Burke". He said, smiling.
"How did you get into Section?"
"I was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing my father. I died in prison. Suicide".
"Why did you kill your father?" Nikita couldn't help it, she was curious. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to be nosy". She said right away.
"It's okay. I told you I'd be honest with you. My father was a piece of shit. Alcoholic son of a bitch. He abused my mother and my sisters... and me". He said slowly and looked at her.
His expression of pain touched Nikita, and she felt her stomach scramble. She remembered all the beating she had received from her mother and her mother's boyfriends. The memories surfaced and she wanted to shrug them off.
"I'm sorry". She said.
"It's okay, we can be just friends. Will you run with me tomorrow morning, Nikita?" He asked and looked deeply into her eyes. "Sure". She smiled and watched him go.
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The phone finally rang, Nikita walked out of the shower, drying herself up, looking at the machine that came back to life. She didn't think it was Russell since she's just met him and ran with him in the park.
"Hello?" She finally picked up the phone.
"Josephine". She heard Michael's voice. She's never thought she'd be so happy to hear her codename. She wanted so much to talk to Michael, see how he was, it's been over two weeks and she missed him.
"I'll be right there". She managed to say. She knew he wouldn't talk to her. Not on the phone. Not in the briefing.
Nikita came in and looked at the briefing room, several operatives were already there, but no sign of Michael.
She recognized only two out of the seven members of her team, even with that, none of them were operatives she's ever been with on missions. She feared they might be on abeyance.
"He's not on this mission". He said. Nikita nodded and suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
"But he returned from Zaire?"
"Yeah, I think his new mission is loading now". Darren mentioned.
Nikita walked fast to the van access. Michael was there in the corridor, waiting for his team members to enter.
"Michael!" She reached him. He looked at her. "Why aren't you in the briefing?" He asked.
"Why am I not with your team? I've never been with these people before". Nikita ignored his question.
"They decided you suit better for that mission". Michael was calm, he looked behind her shoulder to see the last member of his team approaching.
"I have to go, and so are you". He added.
"Michael, am I going on a suicide mission?" She dared to ask finally. He gazed at her, his face blank.
"I haven't heard anything about a suicide mission".
"I didn't get a call in for over 2 weeks, ever since our last mission together". She said.
"Don't worry, it's just a mission". He managed to control himself and tried not to touch her.
"Go". He whispered and got inside the van.
Nikita returned to the briefing room. Operations was already there and gave her a hard look but didn't say a word.
Michael sat next to Birkoff after giving a few reminders of the briefing to his team.
"Birkoff, who's observing the other missions... from Comm?"
"We have there almost all our people. There are way too many missions going on at once to handle. We never had anything like this".
"Is there an abeyance team operating?"
"No. They can't handle a suicide mission right now, they are waiting for things to calm down. You could think all our enemies have allied against us, many are operating at the same time..."
"Okay, thank you". Michael hushed him down. He's already heard what he wanted to hear. He still didn't like the fact that Nikita was taken from his team, he never felt calm when he knew she's on a mission alone, when he was unable to protect her if necessary, when he wasn't in control.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"My feet hurts". Nikita complained and took off her shoes.
"How about a feet massage?" Russell offered and winked at her. She laughed. He grabbed her legs and put them on the sofa, Nikita groaned as she gave herself to his magical fingers work.
"You are so good!"
"Always at your service". He sat next to her. He lowered his head and moved closer. Nikita closed her eyes and waited. She felt his warm breath. Then they heard a knock on the door.
"Michael". She somehow was not surprised.
"I've just came back from the mission, and thought I'd check on you".
She smiled. "Everything's fine".
"May I come in?" He asked quietly. Nikita bit her lips. "Sure..." She said finally and opened the door. Michael saw her uneasy smile. "Is that a bad time?" Then he saw Russell. The man that ran with her in the park a few days ago.
"Maybe I should leave you two alone". He said and smiled briefly at Russell who returned a smile. "Having some down time, Michael?" Russell asked and Michael looked at him surprised.
"He's an operative". Nikita was still at the door.
"Really". Michael's tone was low and calm as usual.
He turned around and walked away from there, not saying a word. Nikita closed the door.
"That... was Michael".
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Birkoff, I need you to access an operative file for me". Michael stood above Birkoff in the Comm area. Section was finally over its tough hour and things returned to normal and to a lower speed, and Birkoff was finally able to play his computer games.
"Can I do this later, Michael? I really want to finish this le..."
"Now, Birkoff, or I'll pull out the plug". Michael leaned down.
"Okay, okay". Birkoff gave up and saved his game.
"What do you need?"
"An operative, hanging out with Nikita lately".
"Oh you mean Russell, they are spending a lot of time together lately". Birkoff donated intel, not knowing it was not something Michael wanted to hear.
"Show me his file".
"He's a valentine op". Birkoff mentioned as he clicked on his keyboard. "What is he doing with Nikita?"
"There you go". Birkoff smiled and let Michael look at the screen.
"A true valentine op indeed. Somehow it looks familiar... as if..." Birkoff murmured to himself. "I think I've seen this file before".
"Try and see his current missions". Michael ordered.
Birkoff typed something. "There. Um, no recent missions except this one, and it's classified. Operations' code, I can't go further".
Michael brushed his lips, and looked at Russell's picture. Could he be sent to seduce Nikita? for what purpose? Michael was determined to find out. He knew the valentine ops section, and he knew how they worked and manipulated, he himself received a partly training in the past, a long time ago. He knew even the strong willed Nikita wouldn't hold long to this op's "magic", and she'd be hurt and abused and he wasn't gonna let that happen.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Michael raised his head from his laptop and stared at the window. He couldn't concentrate on his reports, he saw Nikita walking in the passage. He stood up and watched her walking away, not even looking at his direction.
"Nikita, wait". He got out and went after her. She turned around. "Hi Michael", She smiled.
"Nikita," Russell stood behind her and she turned away from Michael. "There you are".
"Hi Russell", She smiled slightly. "Are you busy now? wanna grab something to eat?"
"Sure..." She turned to face Michael. "What were you saying?"
Michael looked at her, "Nothing, I have reports to finish". He turned to walk away.
"I thought you had down time..." She looked at his blank face, confused. He just walked back into his office.
Nikita looked at Russell, "Would you mind if we delay this to later?"
"How about this evening?"
Russell smiled. "It's a date". Nikita smiled back and walked inside Michael's office.
"I thought you were going out". Michael didn't raise his head.
"I'll go out with him later, I'm not really hungry right now".
"I see".
"So what's going on?" She tried to catch his attention and pressed her shoulder against the wall. "Why are you hanging out with this guy?" He asked finally. Nikita let a little sigh to escape and smiled. "He's nice, I like hanging out with him".
"He's dangerous".
"Is he?" Nikita chuckled. "You'd say that about anyone".
"He's not who he seems to be, you should know that by now".
"And what about you? Are ywho you seem to be?"
Michael just stared at her blankly.
"Look, Michael, I hang out with him cause he's nice. I didn't even meet him at the Section". She sat on the chair.
"And you think this is coincidence?" The calm somewhat cold expression never left his face.
"You are paranoid". She got up and turned to leave.
"You have to be paranoid in this place".
She folded her arms. "I disagree".
"Russell is not a cold op, Nikita. He's a valentine op". Michael said quietly.
"What?"
"Look at his file". Michael motioned the screen with his head.
"I don't need to. I somehow find all of this familiar". She gazed at him. "Oh yes, you said some things about Jurgen, then you admitted you lied".
Michael sighed and got up. "That was different".
"Really? I fail to see the difference". And with that she left his office, leaving him gazing at the spot where she was standing a few seconds ago.
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"Hi Walter". Nikita smiled as she approached Walter who was busy working on one of his projects. "Hi sugar, what's up?" He raised his head briefly to smile at her and lowered it back.
"Nothing... just wondering".
"Wondering is good... I prefer fantasize though".
"Walter... do you know an op named Russell?" Nikita leaned besides him.
"A few".
"Michael told me he's a valentine op". Walter stared at her. "Oh... that Russell".
"So you know him?"
