My brain is working in overdrive, so if something doesn't make sense, or the timeline doesn't line up, PLEASE let me know so I can fix it! Thx, and enjoy!
And just so no one is confused, parts of chapters 1, 2 and 3 are happening simultaneously with each other (at least, I think they are!).
He'd been waiting for this moment for so long. Months of preparation and training were finally about to pay off. He knew everything about everyone, and the whole layout of Division. He'd been taught well by his mentor. He played the part of confused recruit perfectly. He awoke to find himself face to face with Nikita. He'd heard so much about her from Michael, but seeing her in person was an entirely different experience. He had tried to pry once, about their past, but all he could gather was that something had happened between the two of them, and so Nikita was neutral territory. Still, she was Division, and she wasn't to be trusted. Thom got dressed in the sweats Division had given him, and walked to the mess hall for breakfast. "Day One, here we go!" He thought to himself. He sat in the corner with his tray, and looked down as he ate his meal. Suddenly, he felt a presence loom over him. He looked up to see another recruit sit down across from him.
"What do you want?" Thom demanded from the recruit. He studied her – she was an attractive brunette, around his age, and seemed harmless enough.
"So you're the newbie. Feisty one, aren't ya? I'm Alex." She smiled and sat down across from him. "What's your name?" Thom didn't answer her, and he looked away. He heard her sigh.
"Look, whatever your story is, we've heard it all before. You think you have some big, bad past? Well, you don't. At least, not compared to half the people here, so spill."
"Thom. My name is Thom, okay, happy now?" He looked up at her, and was surprised to see that she was, in fact, happy.
"See now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She got up and sauntered off. Thom was left sitting alone. He finished his breakfast and hurried off to his first class – close-quarters combat. He saw Alex sparring with a male recruit, and sat down to watch. She worked him over completely, dropping him flat on his back. She high-fived another recruit, and then spotted Thom sitting down, and walked over to him. She sat down beside him and caught her breath.
"You fight really well," he said to her. She glanced sideways at him and let out a soft laugh.
"You don't survive here if you can't," she informed him. He nodded his head, agreeing. If he didn't already know that half the recruits were cancelled before being promoted to agent status, he was sure he would have figured it out on his own fairly quickly. "It's tough, but you know, who said second chances were easy? Don't waste this opportunity." She smiled at him. Oh, I won't waste this opportunity, Thom thought darkly to himself.
At the end of the day, Thom had said he was going to the computer lab to "practice" the exercises they had learnt in computer hacking class. In reality, he was going to log onto the shell program that Michael had installed, and chat with his mentor.
Knock knock, anybody home?
How did your first day go?
Perfect. They don't suspect a thing. I played dumb, but not so stupid that I'll be cancelled.
Good. Stay alert at all times.
Will do, boss.
Log off now. We'll talk later.
Relax, I've got the lab to myself.
Don't get cocky. Log off!
Thom was about to type something else in, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He clicked the mouse twice and the screen looked as if he was working on the sequencing program he'd been taught earlier. Nikita appeared from behind him, and for a split second, he worried that she'd seen him using the shell program. He relaxed when he saw her expression.
"Working hard I see," Nikita examined her new recruit. He had a stubborn look to him, and suddenly he reminded her of Michael. They looked nothing alike of course, but Thom had the same quiet desperation about him, and demeanour. She swore that their posture was even similar. She found herself missing Michael terribly. It made her feel both angry and embarrassed at the same time. She wondered why he had popped up again after all this time. What do you have planned, Michael? What are you up to? Her arm was in a sling, having been shot by Michael just hours prior.
"Just having trouble with this sequencing, but I'll work it out." Thom looked up at her, and tried to read her. He wondered what had gone on between her and Michael. He saw so much of his mentor, mirrored in Nikita. Makes sense, I mean he did train her too, Thom thought to himself. How ironic, that Michael's two best students would find themselves both in Division, yet on vastly different sides. He snuck another glance at Nikita, having overheard that "some rogue agent" had shot her. He knew it had been Michael, and it made him even more curious. It made him want to outright ask her if she was on Michael's side or not. Thom simply couldn't imagine taking a bullet for a friend, without some ulterior motive. Why had Nikita let Michael shoot her? Or had it been that simple? Why didn't Michael just kill her? Surely her death would have greatly crippled Division. He didn't quite grasp the understanding between the two of them, but he accepted that there was, apparently, some sort of treaty. He lowered his eyes and kept on working.
"Lockdown is at ten, Thom. Make sure you're in your room by then." Nikita said to him and left him in the lab. As she was walking out, her phone buzzed with a new text message:
27th Street Park, green bench.
It was from a blocked number. No point in tracing it, it's from a burner phone, she thought.
Half an hour later, Nikita got out of her car at the park. She looked around, cautiously, and had her gun ready. She spotted the green bench, and made her way over. She inspected it for three seconds before she saw the note taped underneath. She grabbed it, and tentatively opened it, as if expecting it to shoot dye at her face or something ridiculous. Instead, she was surprised to see that it was a handwritten note:
I'm sorry
- M
She smiled bittersweetly to herself, and tucked the note into her pocket. It didn't make up for the pain of the betrayal, or the sting of the gunshot, but it was certainly a start.