Chapter 9: Final Destination

Alex blinked several times, trying to clear the blurriness from her vision. She stared up at the ceiling in confusion, momentarily forgetting where she was. Feeling slightly panicky, she tried to sit up—but almost immediately clutched a hand to her head as a wave of nausea hit her.

"Easy there," a cool voice said, and someone placed a hand on her shoulder gently, "Don't get up too fast."

Alex sat up slowly, the pounding in her head increasing with every movement she made. She blinked again, and focused on Amanda's face. "What's going on?" she croaked, her head reeling.

"You've just completed the simulation exercise," Amanda informed her, "How do you feel?"

"Awful."

"Well, that's to be expected," Amanda replied briskly, consulting a clipboard. "The side effects of the simulation range from a mild headache to...well, more serious things."

"Side effects? You never said—"

"During the exercise," Amanda cut in, "Your mind is forced to enter a dream state. Pulling the mind back into reality can be disorientating. For anybody."

"How long will these effects last?" Alex winced as she massaged her stiff neck, "Will it affect my training?"

"You should be fine in a few hours," Amanda smiled at her briefly. "There is one more evaluation, but we won't run that until tonight. For now, why don't I get one of the guards to escort you back to your room?" Without waiting for an answer, Amanda walked over to the double doors and slid a keycard out of her pocket. Within a second, the doors opened smoothly to let her out. She stepped into the hallway, and the doors closed behind her with a muted beep.

Alex screwed her eyes closed as she tried to hear what Amanda was saying to the guards, but all that reached her was a low murmur. Then, quite suddenly, there was a loud thud and the sound of raised voices. Frowning, Alex opened her eyes, just in time to see Michael stalking in through the doors.

"What—"

"You have no authority to be here, Michael!" Amanda walked in quickly behind him, but kept her voice controlled. "You know that these are my evaluations."

"And you know that these are my recruits," Michael retorted, injecting the right amount of venom in his voice. "Alex is done here. I'm taking her back to her room. Now."

Amanda met his gaze with hooded eyes, "I was going to send her back up with one of my guards."

"Not necessary," he said shortly, and grabbed Alex's arm roughly, "Let's go." Alex stumbled as he pulled her off the bed, not daring to look up at Amanda.

She tried to regain her balance once they had reached the hallway, but only stumbled again as Michael dragged her along. They came to a sudden halt, and Michael let go of her arm. Surprised by the loss of support, Alex fell sideways. "Whoa, steady," Michael grabbed her wrist. "Are you okay?"

Alex shook her head, and leaned back against the wall next to the elevator. "That was...intense," she said finally, taking in deep breaths. "It felt so real..."

"I know."

Something in Michael's tone made Alex look up sharply. "What do you mean you know?" she demanded, "There's no way you could have—"

"Percy designed your simulation," Michael interrupted, his voice low as he glanced upwards. Alex followed his line of sight to a security camera above them. "He had some code that could use the security feeds to hack into your exercise."

Alex swallowed, "So...Percy saw—"

"And Birkoff," Michael met her gaze, "And myself."

"Oh," she said faintly as the elevator doors opened. She shuffled in behind him, feeling uncomfortable. "Um, so you saw everything that happened?" Or didn't happen, she added silently.

Michael nodded, his hands in his pockets. "Percy wanted to test your loyalty to Division, hence adding Nikita to your simulation." He paused, and Alex looked up. "You handled yourself well back there," he acknowledged. And then he gave her a brief grin, "I knew you could do it."

Alex smiled back, relieved that things weren't awkward between them. At that moment, the elevator doors binged! open and Alex winced as the sound triggered another wave of nausea. She staggered out of the elevator blindly, and felt someone catch her, "Alex! Are you okay?"

She looked up and saw Thom staring at her in concern. He kept his arms around her as he helped her regain her footing. "I heard you just had your evaluations...how are you feeling?"

"Like I was just attacked," Alex muttered, but she gave Thom a grateful smile, "Thanks." She turned around to see Michael standing a few feet behind her, his eyes narrowed as he looked between her and Thom.

"I was just taking her back to her room," Michael said belligerently. "How did you find out about the evaluations?"

"Oh, I can take her back," Thom offered, avoiding the question. "I'm sure you have other important things to do."

Michael opened his mouth to argue, but suddenly the elevator doors opened again and someone walked out.

Percy.

Alex openly glared at him, but he either didn't notice or chose not to care. "Ah, Michael, there you are," Percy said briskly. "I have some matters to discuss with you. Shall we go into my office?"

"Of course, sir. I'll just make sure that Alex is alright and then I'll meet you in your office," Michael replied, starting to brush by Percy—who grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Let the new agent take care of her," Percy ordered, and he leaned closer to Michael. "The information I have to discuss with you is of a time-sensitive nature," he said pointedly.

Michael frowned, "What is it?" Alex's interest was sufficiently piqued, and she narrowed her eyes at Percy.

"Our friend Kasim has just made an appearance in Yemen," Percy muttered, and Michael's head snapped up.

"You're sure? Kasim?"

"Positive," Percy handed him a folder. "Everything you need to know is in here. I've already booked your flight. I know how much this means to you."

"Thank you, sir." Michael glanced back at Alex just before walking away. He looked conflicted, and he looked back down at the folder in his hands. "Make sure she gets to her room, Thom," he nodded at them and then quickly disappeared around the corner with Percy.

Alex tried to smile as Thom tucked her into bed. He fluffed her pillows and then pulled the covers tightly around her, looking like he was deep in thought. "Hey," Alex touched his arm softly, "I'll be okay."

Thom took a deep breath and sat down on the edge of her bed. "I know," he admitted, "But I also know what Amanda's evaluations are like. Especially her simulation mind control thing...it's a lot to handle."

"I'll be okay," Alex repeated. She shifted on her bed, "Do you know what Percy and Michael were talking about back there?"

Thom shrugged, "I know it's a top secret mission. Michael is the only one going."

Alex frowned, "He's the only one? Isn't that...dangerous?"

"I'm sure he can handle himself. He's been doing this for a long time, after all," Thom said reassuringly, not sounding worried at all. "So, anyway, is there anything else I can get you?"

"You've done plenty. Really. I appreciate it."

Thom nodded and stood up, "Well, I'll let you rest. Let me know if you need anything else."

"It's good to know you haven't changed," Alex blurted out, and Thom turned to look at her. "I thought that once you became a field agent..." She trailed off as he walked quickly back to her. He paused and knelt down, brushing a kiss over her forehead.

"I won't change, Alex," he whispered. "The way I feel about you, our friendship...it won't change. I promise." Before she could respond, he hurried away, closing the door behind him.

"You wanted to see me?" Amanda asked, walking into Percy's office without knocking.

"Have a seat."

Amanda raised an eyebrow, but sat across from him nonetheless. She crossed her legs, and then folded her hands in her lap. "What seems to be the problem?"

Percy cut straight to the chase, "What news do you have on Alex's evaluations?"

"We monitored her heart rate during the subliminal test," Amanda began. "It spiked slightly during the images of the fire and blood, but she was able to control her response to the stimulus surprisingly well."

"Did you include the other images I requested?"

"I added in pictures of all the recruits, as well as Michael and Thom, like you asked. She didn't have a response to any of them...except for one."

"Oh?" Percy looked interested, "Which one?"

"I included a picture of that recruit Sarah. You remember, the one that was involved in the environmental issue a few weeks back?"

"Michael said she died."

"Yes. Well, I included a picture of her near the beginning of the test...and Alex's heart rate increased dramatically for that split second."

"That's odd. What do you make of it?"

"I presume she's hiding something. Maybe harboring a secret about Sarah...I'll have to find out somehow."

Percy nodded, "And? What did you think of the simulation?"

Amanda appeared thoughtful, "It was certainly interesting. What did Michael think?"

"He wasn't very happy about it. But that was to be expected."

Amanda regarded him curiously, "Kasim picked a convenient time to come out of the shadows, I see."

"Convenient for us, yes...Michael will be on the other side of the world by tonight."

Amanda stood up, "And I trust you'll give Thom something to do tonight as well?"

"I'm sure there's a mission we can send him on," Percy agreed. "Is everything set for Alex's final evaluation?"

"It will be," Amanda smiled, her eyes glinting. "And this time there'll be no one around to save her."

*amanda + percy = EXTRA evil. haha what do you think they have in store for Alex? ;)