Operatives were moving in and out of Michael’s office, putting back the furniture and equipment that only yesterday they had removed. Michael was quietly directing them where to put things, all the while a storm was brewing inside him. These past few days had shown him how truly despicable Madeline and Operations could be ... not that he had ever really doubted it.

Simply because he had proven to be more adept at Operations’ job than Operations himself, they had decided to exact revenge. In his temporary stint as Operations, Michael hadn’t towed their line and done exactly as he had been told, like the ever-obedient robot they wanted him to be. Plus, he had managed to take down a terrorist that Oversight had been after for quite some time, someone that apparently Operations and Madeline had no desire to deliver. He had shown Oversight that he was very capable of leading Section One. Operations and Madeline realized they had misjudged his loyalty to them. And they knew that together, he and Nikita were the best. The Siamese Twins (George’s name for Operations and Madeline) were worried, plain and simple.

He could have handled their manipulations if they had been directed solely at him. But no, Madeline was into more twisted games. She had to involve Nikita as well. Of course, Madeline had also wanted to punish Nikita for not following her advice. Madeline had visited Nikita once she realized Michael was planning to go ahead with the Bergomi mission. She warned Nikita that the mission would fail and that Michael’s career would be over. She suggested that if Nikita cared for Michael at all, she would either get Michael to cancel the mission or sabotage the mission herself. Yet another Madeline manipulation.

Nikita had tried to get him to cancel the mission. She wanted him to wait until they had more intel. There was only a 50% chance of success. But Michael had pushed the mission forward. He knew Nikita had been disgusted with him at that point ... that she thought he had changed when he was given all that power. She worried he was becoming like Operations ... that all he wanted was someone at his side who would say “yes” to whatever he commanded. But she had been wrong.

Michael had faith Nikita. He told her ... pleaded with her actually, “Don’t fail me Nikita ... you are the only person in the world I trust.” And he meant it. Of course, she more than likely thought that was just another of his many manipulations of her. But he knew if anyone could do the job, it was him, Nikita and the team they had put together. And, after a few heart-pounding minutes when Nikita had decided not to risk any of her team members’s lives and assumed the riskiest part of the mission herself, they had succeeded.

Nikita, however, had not understood the situation. She assumed he just wanted to one-up Operations. She thought he was power-hungry and simply wanted the top job and that was why he had pushed them on the Bergomi mission. But she was wrong. He couldn’t, of course, tell her the real reason behind his desire to succeed. Yes, he wanted the top spot one day, but not because he was hungry for power. He wanted the job so that he could do everything in his power to keep her safe. She was ... simply ... his life. He needed to be near her, with her, to love her ... and the only way they could accomplish that was if he were promoted and could write the rules himself, bringing her up the chain of command as well. To that end, Michael was doing everything he could to become heir to Operations. And now, he had an in with Oversight.

But Nikita hadn’t appreciated his actions and she wanted to make him pay for it. She had even gone so far as to say that she wanted to end their relationship. But Michael didn’t want that ... couldn’t continue to live without her love. So he had pursued their relationship.

Michael’s mind returned to the present. They had finally finished returning his furniture. He thanked those involved and then closed his office door. He would finish rearranging things and unpacking boxes himself. Besides, he needed the time by himself to think. He had to find a way to outmaneuver Madeline and Operations.

Madeline had decided that a suitable punishment would be to force Michael and Nikita to end their relationship -- to “extract the physical component” from their relationship. Of course, Madeline hadn’t spoken to Michael at all. Rather, she had called in Nikita, whom she knew to be the easier of the two to manipulate. Madeline had known that he would not give up his relationship with Nikita without a fight once he had finally acknowledged it and allowed it to happen.

Little did Madeline know, however, that, up until that point, Nikita had pretty much stayed away from him since the Bergomi mission. He had understood that she needed time to come to terms with his actions and her feelings about it. But he was also certain that she would come back to him. He just needed to be patient. Not that he didn’t try and remind her, whenever possible, of what they had and that he wanted it to continue.

Madeline had gone so far as to make their vengeance an “internal dictum” -- a Type One Directive. It was, more or less, a binding order written in stone. Once it was executed, it could never be changed. He had never before heard of a Type One Directive being executed in regard to a personal relationship in Section. It was definitely over-the-top. Michael had gone to Nikita’s apartment later and she told him about her visit with Madeline -- that Section did not want them together. He had then asked Nikita the only question he needed the answer to: “What do YOU want?” To his supreme relief, she had wanted the same thing he did -- to continue their relationship. Their time together had been bittersweet, however. He found it truly amazing that they were finally together, loving each other and expressing that love, but the nagging thought was still in the back of their minds that Section would find a way to get even and to take away from them this wonderful thing they had found.

Michael opened a box of books and took out an armful. He placed them down rather forcefully on the bookcase and reached in the box for another. His mind once again returned to earlier events. He and Nikita had been called to come into Section. Davenport was briefing everyone. Michael wanted to know why Davenport was leading the mission. Davenport had looked extremely uncomfortable when he answered “I’m sorry Michael, I thought you knew. It’s my team ... you’re on it.” Michael realized at that moment what was happening. He had been demoted from team leader. He was going to pay for his disobedience.

Nikita had questioned him about it and he’d been honest with her. He told her the games had started and if they wanted to play it that way ... he would play along. But it was when they had returned from the mission that the full force of their plan struck him. He and Nikita headed for his office only to find Madeline having his office packed up and moved to Level 6 with everyone else. He was informed that he would no longer be needing the office since he was no longer Level 5 and wouldn’t be overseeing tactical. In order words “You have been demoted ... bumped down the chain of command so low that we need to lift up the rocks to see you.” And everyone knew it.

He had been surprised at first. He hadn’t realized exactly how serious they were about this. But now he knew. And he would continue to play their game. He assured Nikita that if that’s the way they wanted to play it, it was fine, he could handle it. The only thing that mattered to him was doing his job well ... to the best of his abilities. Eventually, though, the strain had gotten to him. He was willing to continue with things the way they were, but Nikita wasn’t. She saw that he was miserable and she wouldn’t be a part of it. She went to Madeline and told her that they had won ... that the relationship was over. But that, again, wasn’t enough. Madeline told Nikita that it would have to come from Michael ... be his decision.

Then had come the Valenz mission. Michael was on third team ... backup. That didn’t really bother him but for the fact that he knew he was better equipped to run the mission. Oh, Davenport was capable; he just wasn’t as experienced as Michael. He didn’t have the experience to revise a profile in split seconds and then implement it. Michael had seen the mission going downhill fast. He started issuing commands over his comm unit. Davenport questioned him once and Michael explained what he had in mind. Being the intelligent operative that he was, Davenport knew that Michael was better suited to lead the mission and handed over command without question. He then took his place on the team wherever Michael needed him. And they had succeeded.

When they arrived back at Section, however, his world started to fall apart. He told Nikita that they should “go home.” But Nikita had stopped him. She said they needed to do something about this situation. She could see it was tearing him apart. He told her he didn’t want to think about it, but she persisted. Then she said something that made him stop and think. She said, “Michael, when you lead missions, WE survive.” That got his attention. It was the thing that he dreaded most ... something happening to Nikita. He couldn’t let her die. He looked up at her and saw the tears in her eyes. He knew then, more than ever before, how much she loved him. She was doing this for him, because she loved him. He knew what he had to do now. He would concede this battle, but he would never concede the war.

He had gone to Operations and requested his status be reinstated. He told them that his relationship with Nikita was over. Operations immediately reinstated his Level 5 status. Of course, Michael had been lying. He couldn’t do anything about his relationship with Nikita for the immediate future, but he would find a way. He would find a way to be with the woman he loved.

And now, here he was, back in his office. He put another handful of books on the shelf and reached inside the box. As he lifted out another handful, one of the books slipped out of his grasp and landed at his feet. After placing the remaining books on the shelf, he stooped over to retrieve the one that had fallen.

That’s strange, he thought. He didn’t recall ever seeing this book before. It looked rather old. He turned it over and noticed there was no title on the front. Now he knew he had never seen this book before. How did it get mixed in among his things? He opened the front cover and there on the title page in black ink were the words “Adrian’s Journal.”

He couldn’t believe it. Where had this come from? Who had put it in among his things? Why had they put it with his things? His mind was swirling with all kinds of questions about the book and its presence in his office. He laid the book down on his desk and returned to the task at hand ... getting his office in order. However, his eyes kept straying to the book. Finally, he took the book and locked it in his desk drawer. He didn’t want anyone, namely Madeline or Operations, wandering into his office and finding it. He wanted to check it out for himself before he decided what to do with it.

Once everything was back in place, Michael sat down at his desk and turned on his computer. He checked for updates on current missions that he would be needed for, and found that nothing urgent was waiting. He did some preliminary work on an upcoming mission and then sat back and sighed. He was finished for the day. But he didn’t want to go home and face his empty apartment alone. This past few weeks with Nikita had been like a dream come true. And to have it end so abruptly, and not of their own choosing, was almost too much to bear. But he couldn’t ... no, make that wouldn’t ... stay here and be the good Section operative who spent his life doing only for Section. Not anymore. He had seen the possibilities and he wanted more. He would have to find a way to make it work. He wouldn’t rest until he did.

Remembering the journal, Michael opened his desk drawer and removed it. He placed it into his briefcase and then headed for home. He could spend the evening going over the journal. Find out what was in it and figure out what to do with it. He still had no idea how it could have gotten into his things.

Once he arrived at home, he carefully laid the journal down on the coffee table. Then he threw some leftovers in the microwave. Then he moved to the stereo and turned on some soft music. He poured himself a cup of coffee, sat down on the couch and ate. As soon as he finished eating, he picked up the Journal. It was almost like the thing was calling to him. He was becoming obsessed with finding out what was in it. He didn’t know why, but he felt he needed to read it.

Stretching his legs out on the sofa, he opened the journal and began reading. On the title page were the words “Adrian’s Journal” and beneath them it read “My observations regarding S1 and its personnel.”

Michael was intrigued. He turned to the first page and started reading. “This is my attempt to capture my thoughts, feelings, and observations of S1 and its operatives.” Michael let out a sigh and continued reading. Adrian had written down all her hopes, dreams, ideas and even observations about her personnel. Again Michael wondered how such a book had made it into his belongings. And who even knew that Adrian had such a book?

Michael continued reading well into the evening. The CDs he had put on when he first arrived home had long since stopped playing. He needed to stretch. Placed the book on the coffee table, he stood up and went to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee. Once it was finished, he poured himself another cup and went back to the book.

He picked it up and noticed that he was at the beginning of a new section. It was entitled “Trouble Brewing?” He quickly started reading again. He was only a third of the way down the page when he saw the names Paul and Madeline. He quickly forgot about his coffee and concentrated on what was in the journal. Adrian had written about Madeline and Operations ... well, actually he was still Paul then. But she knew they were trouble. She explained that they were both very good operatives. Madeline was exceptionally good at reading people and was doing well in psychological strategies and behavioral manipulation. No joke, Michael thought. She seems to have only honed her craft since then.

But there was a tone of worry in Adrian’s writing. She thought Paul was out to take her job. She certainly called that one right, Michael mused. And she knew that Madeline would be his second in command if he ever became Operations. Those two were lovers and were practically inseparable.

Michael glanced at the clock. It was getting late, but he had to finish. He was just getting to the interesting stuff. He got up, got another cup of coffee and then started reading once more. Adrian had truly seemed to understand Madeline and Operations. And she was drafting ideas on how to keep them under control. She had also noted that George was not very fond of either one of them. Michael smiled. Well, that was one point for his side.

Michael continued. He absorbed all of Adrian’s knowledge and insights into Operations and Madeline. He was beginning to understand a bit more than he had before. And he was also starting to come up with the beginning of a plan that just might allow him to be with Nikita. It was still in the very early planning stages, and it would take a little while to implement, but he thought it would work.

As he read on, Michael noticed that the latter part of the journal were Adrian’s hopes for Section ... for all the Sections. No wonder she had recruited Nikita to help her take down Section One. They were so alike in many ways. And they had the same ideals of what Section should be about. It was too bad Adrian hadn’t still been here when Nikita was recruited. Perhaps their lives would have been much simpler and certainly much less painful.

When Michael reached the last page, a note fell out onto the floor. He picked it up. He saw on the outside that it was addressed to him. He opened it carefully. It read: “Michael, I think this might help you with your problem. I hope so. But be vigilant and plan carefully. The end result will be worth it. I will help when I can. You two deserve your happiness.” It was simply signed “A Friend.”

Michael reached for his cellphone. He hit the speed dial button and waited. It took a while, but the phone was finally answered by a very sleepy voice. “Hello.” Michael smiled. “Kita, I’ve found a way.”

The End
This story ©Sherry, 1999