Chapter Eight
Birkhoff nervously knocked on the door, then walked into the conference room. Amanda and Percy were there, and he was surprised to also see Macy there. "Birkhoff! Nice to see you." Amanda greeted him, "Have a seat."
Seeing Percy there, Birkhoff knew this meeting wouldn't be good. Birkhoff sat down as Macy gave him a small smile in greeting. "So what are we doing here?" Birkhoff asked.
"Always to the point. I love that about you Birkhoff." Birkhoff replied. "We brought you here today because we are going to send you on a mission."
Birkhoff immediately laughed. "I haven't been trained for missions. Look what Nikita did to me!"
"Don't worry Birkhoff. You're good enough to perform the mission." Amanda replied.
"What's the mission?" Macy asked.
"There is a club we believe Nikita may be at tonight." Percy replied.
"And why are you sending me?" Birkhoff asked, completely confused.
"She would never be looking for you. Especially not with a date." Amanda replied.
"But if she sees me, she'll make me." Birkhoff replied.
"She's not supposed to see you if you are doing your job correctly." Amanda smiled in reply.
"Great." Macy replied in her cover, "The guy insults me, then I have to go on a mission with him as his date."
"It will be a great way to prove your talents." Percy replied.
Birkhoff had to remind himself that Macy was only denying their relationship because it wasn't allowed in Division- in Amanda and Percy's eyes. She had no idea that they already knew all about it. "I ain't too happy about it either sweetheart." He replied.
"Now, now children. Here-" Amanda handed Birkhoff some clothes. "Go get changed."
Birkhoff grabbed the clothes and left the room. "I'm heading back to Operations. Macy- you and Birkhoff meet me there once you return."
"Okay sir." Macy replied.
Once Percy had left the room, Amanda handed Macy a dress. "Get changed." She pointed at a small changing room. As Macy went into the room and started to change, Amanda continued to talk to her. "This is a good chance for you to put it on strong for Birkhoff and try to draw him even further in after your little date."
Macy stifled a laugh. Somehow she had to know Amanda would say something like that. "I'll try to turn on the charm." She pulled the dress down, then looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was very slinky. Quite a bit of her chest poked out from the contrast of the blue fabric and the dress barely covered her rear. "Are you sure this is the best dress for staying low key?"
Amanda laughed from over the partition. "Don't worry, we are just making sure you get into the club and that you fit in."
Macy was nervous. This wasn't something she would normally go out in. Not to mention she wasn't exactly comfortable with Birkhoff seeing this much of her so soon. Sure, she was warming up to him a little, but his was more than she would have done as a next move. "I don't even want to come out of this fitting room."
"C'mon Macy, I'm sure you look gorgeous." Amanda tried to reassure her.
Macy tugged on the dress to pull it as far down as possible, then walked out to Amanda. She watched as Amanda's eyes surveyed her and a smiled slowly crept across her face. "You look fantastic." Amanda told her.
Eyeing herself in the mirror, Macy looked herself over. Even though she was overweight, she did not notice it so much in the dress. After Amanda had done her hair and make-up, Macy was stunned by the transformation. Her chestnut brown curls were no longer frizzy, falling at her shoulders in perfect curls. Her make-up accented her best feature, her jade green eyes. She wondered what Birkhoff would think when he saw her. "You look beautiful." Amanda told her.
"Thanks." Macy blushed.
"So you and Birkhoff will be going to the Swagger club. Birkhoff and you are there to see if Nikita shows up and to observe what she does if you do see her. I also want you to observe Birkhoff if he sees Nikita."
Nodding in understanding, Macy acknowledged, "Of course."
Macy had to shake her head in disbelief as Birkhoff came back into the room. Birkhoff had been changed into a tight pair of dark blue jeans, shiny black oxfords, a t-shirt with a graphic design up one side, under a charcoal grey, collared leather jacket. His blond hair was neatly combed and tucked behind his left ear, an English cap topping off the outfit. His facial hair had also been neatly trimmed, making him look less like his normal scruffy tech. "Wow." He beat her to comment, "You look beautiful Macy."
"You don't look so bad yourself." She smiled in reply, "And thank you."
Birkhoff tipped his hat in reply with a goofy smile. "Okay. Head out to the club. Stay there until closing unless Nikita shows up sooner. Report in if you see her to get further instruction. Don't let Nikita make Birkhoff." Amanda replied.
They both nodded and headed to the SUV. Once they had walked out of Amanda's office, Birkhoff waited for her and then gave her his arm. With a smile she put her arm in his and they walked to the garage. "So do you like clubbing?" he asked Macy.
"Never been." She replied.
"Really?" he replied with a laugh.
"Not my style." She answered, opening the garage door.
Macy was pleasantly surprised when Birkhoff opened the SUV door open for her. "Thank you." She replied, climbing in.
It didn't take too long for them to get to the club. They didn't say too much, knowing Division was monitoring their trackers and could easily be bugging the car they were in. Once they got to the club, Birkhoff again let her out, opening her door for her. To convey the appearance of a couple, Birkhoff put his arm around Macy's waist. "Now we'll have a real date." He jokingly told her.
To passersby and Division it would sound like his cover, but Macy would know he actually meant it as his operation to really seduce her. She was meanwhile trying to imagine what Birkhoff would be like at a club dancing. It wasn't difficult for her to imagine that he didn't have much club experience- but for a very different reason than her. She was a goody-two shoes, he just didn't seem to have the opportunity to leave his bat cave during his hacking years- nor the social skills a club goer would require. Birkhoff paid the cover charge and Amanda had been right- their outfits got them immediately in.
The club was very crowded. It quickly reminded Macy of another reason she never went to clubs- the hordes of people. She had never been comfortable in big crowds- and this was one of the most crowded places she had ever been. Birkhoff lead her by the hand to the dance floor where it would be very easy for them to blend in. Macy had never been much of a dancer, so she did the only thing she could think of, putting both hands on Birkhoff's lower back. They both started moving slowly to the music. It wasn't pretty, but it wasn't so bad that they stuck out either. Macy laughed to herself when she realized there was room for another person between her and Birkhoff. "This is Ops." Macy heard over her earpiece, instantly recognizing Michael's voice.
Birkhoff keyed his earpiece. "Go ahead Ops."
"Could you try to look a little more like a couple?" Michael asked, "Not brother and sister?"
Opening his mouth to make a sly comeback, Birkhoff instead opted to leave it for when he saw Michael in person. Instead he pulled Macy tight against him, hands gently on her hips. He drew in a deep breath of her fruity perfume and realized once again how nice it was to have Macy against him. Her petite body seemed to fit perfectly against his. She leaned her head against his and they continued to dance.
As they danced, Macy was pleasantly surprised by Birkhoff's dance moves. For a nerd, he had been hiding some impressive moves. "You're a good dancer." She shouted into Birkhoff's ear over the loud music.
"There are a lot of things people don't know about me." Birkhoff replied. "Just because I'm a tech God doesn't mean I don't have moves."
Macy laughed at his cockiness. Birkhoff always had a way of working it into a conversation. In this case she couldn't fault him for it, he really was impressing her. He gingerly held onto her hips as they moved to the music. After a couple more songs, Macy knew she needed a break. "Hey Wyatt." She used Birkhoff's cover name. "I could use a drink."
Birkhoff nodded and put his arm around Macy's waist, walking to the bar. He ordered their drinks and they headed to a table in the back, somewhat hidden from plan view. Macy wasn't too surprised when he moved his chair next to hers so there wasn't an inch between them, then slung his arm over her shoulders. "You two make the worse couple ever." Michael's eye roll was clear over their earpieces.
After hiding his mouth from any passerby in Macy's hair, Birkhoff replied, "Would you like me to take her to a bathroom or better yet do her in the middle of the dance floor? Might draw a little attention."
Macy stifled a laugh, knowing Birkhoff's comment probably really pissed Michael off. "That's not what I meant." Michael replied. "It would be nice if you would kiss her or make out a little."
Looking sideways at Macy, their eyes met, and with a sparkle in his eye, he leaned into Macy and began to kiss her. Once the shock wore off, she started to kiss him back. He gently slipped a hand through her hair and cupped the back of her head, deepening the kiss. His other hand rested on her back, pushing her gently towards him. Macy's heart began to pound. She had momentarily forgotten how good of a kisser he was. His tongue traced her upper lip and she opened his mouth to him, his tongue gently caressing hers. Before she could stop herself, an appreciative moan escaped into his mouth. "Thank you." Michael sarcastically replied.
When Birkhoff finally pulled apart from her, he wore a cocky grin on his face. Macy could feel her cheeks were hot with embarrassment. She barely knew this guy, she was only pursuing him as a mission, and yet a little tongue from him made her moan like a horny schoolgirl. As Birkhoff sipped his drink, Macy chastised herself. His cocky smile turned to a frown suddenly. "She's here." He quickly keyed his earpiece while looking off behind Macy.
"Hide your face." Michael directed him.
Birkhoff leaned into Macy and started kissing her again, hiding his face in her hair and neck from Nikita's view. Apparently that wasn't good enough as Michael commanded, "Macy, get in his lap and hide his face." Michael directed.
Hesitating briefly, Macy climbed into Birkhoff's lap, facing him, then they continued to make out. Macy pressed her body tightly to Birkhoff's to try to hide him as much as possible. She noted that Birkhoff made no effort to look at Nikita or to try to make any kind of contact with her. Finally Macy spotted the dark-haired woman she had recognized as Nikita went by, paying no attention to Birkhoff and Macy. As Birkhoff buried his head in her neck, she watched as Nikita took an elevator to another floor. Birkhoff kissed her neck as Macy watched the floors to see where the elevator stopped. "She just went to the fifth floor." Macy took Birkhoff and Operations.
"Follow her." Michael told them. "See what she is doing, but don't let her see you."
Climbing off Birkhoff's lap, Macy straightened her dress and they walked over to the elevator. Birkhoff called it and they waited quietly. "You're quite the kisser." Birkhoff quietly admitted to her.
Once again she turned bright red from embarrassment. "Thank you."
The elevator pinged open and then climbed on. "Hopefully she won't be expecting someone to be following her and won't shoot at us." Birkhoff filled Macy in.
Suddenly there was a horrific screeching noise and the elevator slammed to a stop, almost causing them to fall to the floor. Macy found herself grabbing Birkhoff's arm to steady herself on her heels as the lights flickered,, then turned off, leaving them in the dark. "Well that can't be good." Macy commented.
"Just hold tight. We'll figure out what is going on." Michael reported.
"Meanwhile we're sitting ducks." Birkhoff commented as Macy sunk to the floor in fear.