-1

Like Melting Ice

Nikita awoke on a cold, hard floor. Her head was pounding with what felt like a lingering hangover. Her biological clock told her that only a few hours had passed. The space port nearest her apartment was about an hour away, and the nearest base was at least days away. They could be en route, but she was experiencing Earth gravity. Artificial gravity was always slightly less powerful than the Earths. She thought about dropping something to make sure--and do the calculations in her head, but it would be a waste of precious energy. Besides, physics wasn't going to help her headache. Where could she be? She was in a holding cell, so it had to be military. Nikita sighed and brought her hands to her face.

Much to her surprise, she had not been bound.

However, her cell was completely escape proof. There was a tiny light on the ceiling high above her head. It's floors and walls were worn, but sturdy metal. Nikita judged it to be Neo-titanium. There was a very tiny seam making the outline of a fairly tall door. There was a smaller square that looked like it would open up. Probably to give her food--if she was that lucky. Nikita sat up and patted her self for bruises. She was unharmed and in her original clothing: Jeans, black T-shirt and tennis shoes. She searched her pockets, finding that her tiny cell phone, wallet and keys were still there. That's odd, Nikita thought, Maybe this stuff wasn't considered hazardous. She flipped open her cell and her heart leaped for joy. She had battery power. It was only a little, but it was enough to get the job done. She turned it off quickly to conserve battery. What was she going to do? She could figure out how to use the battery as an explosive, or rig the radio waves to reconfigure the locks frequency. But what would she do after that? She didn't have a weapon or any hand-to-hand combat training. She could theoretically get out, and be immediately apprehended.

Nikita almost sighed in defeat, but suddenly remembered the significance of her cellular phone. Elliot had designed it after the first "visit" from Tsubarov. He was terrified of losing Nikita. He added a tracking feature to her phone that was activated through a distressed text message. Only two other phones would recognize her message, and perhaps a laptop. Elliot's phone was still in the apartment, deactivated. If there was any good left in the universe, Nicholas Dubois would have his phone. She turned on her phone and quickly began to compose her coded text. She told Nick the whereabouts of the safe house, how to contact Heero, and how to transfer the tracking data to a computer. She hit send.

The phone dawdled for a few moments before notifying the message had been sent. The phone then self destructed---for lack of a better term. It really just kind of fell into three unusable, unrecognizable pieces. Beneath one piece was a tiny pin-sized chip she recognized as the tracking device. It flashed twice indicating that it had been activated properly. Nikita nearly leaped for joy. Nick got her message! Now all she had to do was hide the evidence.

Nikita unzipped her jeans and slid the pin into the flesh above her pelvic bone. Once the device was secure she reassembled the phone and put it back in her pocket. As soon as she returned to her unassuming, prone position on the floor the door swung open. She closed her eyes, going limp. She could hear the thudding boots of two soldiers. They were muttering. From the sound of it, it was the same two soldiers that over powered her at her apartment.

"She's still out?" One of them asked incredulously. Gloved hands picked her up roughly. She made sure to stay limp as a rag doll. It could work to her advantage, maybe they wouldn't tie her up.

"Maybe they'll cop a feel…or worse," She thought with a bitter shudder.

"She's got tremors, how much did you inject her with? If she's dead, we're dead."

"I gave her the average dose," The other soldier replied defensively.

"Average?! Look at her she weighs like four pounds!" The first soldier cried. Nikita wanted to laugh, but successfully stifled the urge. The rest of her transport was silent and awkward. They placed her down gently as if dumping her unceremoniously would somehow kill her. She watched them leave through her eyelashes. Once they were gone she took in her new surroundings. She was in a room similar to the one she just left except there was a filled bathtub in the corner, a toilet in the other, and a pile of clothes folded on floor. Bathing necessities were on the edge of the tub, even razors. Nikita arched an eyebrow, did they really find her so innocuous that she didn't need a guard?

As soon as the thought formulated in her mind, a petite female soldier burst into the room. She was about the same age as Nikita, maybe younger. She looked frazzled, as if she was running late. She was woofing down the remains of a sandwich when her blue eyes went wide at the sight of Nikita.

"God, I'm so late--I'm really going to get fired," She muttered. Nikita glanced at her nameplate. Schbeiker. She really wanted to instantly dislike the girl, but it was going to be difficult. Besides, she could at least be friendly with the person who was going to be watching her bathe. And maybe if she played her cards right, Schbeiker could leak some useful information.

"It's alright, they should give you more time for lunch," Nikita stated. Schbeiker blushed for a moment before she nodded vigorously in agreement. Her expressions were very animated, very---unsoldierlike.

"They always give the guys the full 30 minutes, but as soon as I sit down its-BAM! Schbeiker do this, Schbeiker do that! It's no wonder my sister deserted!" The girl froze as if she had said a curse word in front of her mother. Nikita smiled. It was going to be very difficult to dislike the girl.

"Don't worry. As you can see, I'm not in a position to tell on anybody." Nikita said with a sweeping glance at her bathing quarters. Schbeiker chuckled and ushered her towards the tub.

"Go ahead, get undressed--give me your belongings and take a bath."

Nikita nodded mutely and followed the instructions quickly. They were going to check her clothes for bugs, and other dangerous things. Lucky for her, the tracking device under her skin was undetectable.

Nikita sat down in the tub with her knees drawn to her chest. The water was tepid. She grabbed the packaged washcloth and military issue soap. As she washed, Scbeiker manually checked her clothes for bugs. She put her wallet, cell and keys into separate bags. A few moments later she used a hand held scanner to go over the clothes. The machine didn't beep. The entire process took about three minutes. Afterwards, she just stood in the corner looking awkward and uncomfortable. Nikita decided that now would be a good time as any to make a friend---or at least loose an enemy.

"Schbeiker?" She asked uncertainly. The girl looked up, with an eagerness in her eyes that spoke of her loathe for silence.

"Yes, 577319?" She asked hopefully. Nikita couldn't help but laugh. She couldn't really explain why it was funny to herself, let alone anyone else.

"Only my mother calls me that. I prefer Nikki."

Schbeiker laughed, "Alright. You can call me Heidi. If you promise not to tell. Not that anyone knows anyone's first name around here. To be frank the whole number think skeeves me out. I mean. This is not a concentration camp. I don't think they torture people."

Rookie, Nikita thought sadly. She felt the fear rising in her spine. The thought of concentration camps reminded her of her position, no matter the kindly disposition of the rookie soldier before her. Flashes of her older brother filled her mind's eye. She dropped the washcloth and covered her face. She spoke through her wet, soapy hands.

"Are you sure they wont torture me? They had my brother once…he was never the same. If they're going to torture me, if they're going to rape me…just tell me. So I just figure a way to kill myself now." Nikita whispered. Tears escaped from her eyes. Heidi looked like she wanted to drop the clipboard and run to hug Nikita. But she didn't, she looked down at her paper with watery eyes. Maybe her training was kicking in. Maybe it would have been awkward to hug a naked stranger who was in the tub.

"You don't like this job do you?" Nikita asked. The girl just shook her head.

"I need to pay for school. I want to be kindergarten teacher, but I can't afford it. My father's been long gone, and my mother's sick. My sister Hilde joined for the same reasons, but she deserted. She said she was on the wrong side of the war. She's probably right. She's probably dead. But…"She trailed off red in the face, "Shizeh. You're not supposed to know this much about me."

Nikita had grabbed the towel and dried herself off. She noticed that Heidi turned away to give her privacy. Once she was dressed in the drab jumpsuit of a prisoner, she walked up behind Heidi and gave her a hug. She whispered.

"I know this room has to be monitored. Heidi, these men will ask them to die for you. How can you die, how can you kill for something that you don't believe in? If this war continues--there wont be any schools left, your family will be dead, and you will be on the side that sees triumph in the destruction. All because you wanted to pay the bills…"

Nikita withdrew, and Heidi's face was ashen. A tear snaked out of her eyes, but she wiped it away. She turned around and bound Nikita's wrists behind her back. They cuffs were intentionally loose. She gave Nikita a sad, knowing smile as she lead her down the corridor to her original cell. Her chances of escape were increased, but still low. As Heidi gave her one last lingering look, she felt the tracker heat up beneath her skin. She smiled at the petite soldier girl. Someone was coming.

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What did you guys think? I wrote this when I should have been running errands and studying for calc II, so I hope you enjoy the fruit of my procrastination!

Syl