[AUTHOR'S NOTE: THANKS TO SUPER BETA READER JDRAGONFIRE29 FOR HELPING ME TACKLE THOSE PESKY GRAMMAR ISSUES.]
Chapter 4 – Day 2
Michael's abrupt return from his down time was met by a few raised brows, and speculative looks at his attire of leather jacket and pants instead of his customary black suit. He ignored the glances and made his way to Comm where Jason was busy sexually harassing Quinn. He spared a brief thought about how different Jason was from his twin. Hopefully, some things are still the same, and Jason would prove willing to help Nikita like his brother did before him.
Jason caught his glance and temporarily gave up his pursuit of the tall brunette and walked toward him. He stated without preamble: "I need a DMV trace."
"No can do Michael. You know the drill." Jason looked in the direction of Quinn rolling his eyes behind her back and then motioned Michael to follow him. "Trust me pal, I've been there, done that. Forget it. You know the iceberg that sunk the Titanic? An amateur. Really. What do you need?"
He had a hard time following all the various colloquialism Jason was spitting out. He handed a sheet of paper to Jason with the license plate number on it and repeated: "I need a DMV trace."
Nikita slowly came awake with a pounding headache and new aches and bruises from her latest botched escape attempt. She looked around, being careful not to move her head too much, and noticed Henry blocking the window with blocks and cement. She felt under the pillow for the fork she had hidden there and found to her despair it missing.
Henry finished his home improvement project and moved toward her with a stern look. He lectured to her: "No good deed goes unpunished. Always trying to pound that into me, but I always resisted. I guess mother knows best. Nikita, you and I are friends now and we should treat each other like friends."
She watched in dread as Henry poured milk through a funnel into an IV bag. She was starting to get extremely concerned with her chance of living at the care of this nut case.
"You really do need your milk." She cringed back into the mattress as Henry prepped her arm for the needle. "You are so beautiful Nikita, so very beautiful."
She moaned in pain as Henry inserted the needle and started the drip. She watched in horror as the milk made its way down the tube and into her arm. A burning pain started at the location and spread throughout her body. She concentrated on keeping her breath even in order not to give in to a panic attack. She turned her mind away from the pain and focused on her touchstone, Michael.
She concentrated on various memories of Michael. The way he looked that morning in her bed when they decided to pursue a relationship, the heartbreak in his eyes when she was brain washed to stop caring for him, the light shining on his beloved face through the fabric of the hyperbaric chamber when he brought her back to herself.
She focused on those memories and barely heard Henry's last words: "Won't mother be happy when she learns of our surprise."