"You wanted to see me Sir?"

"Yes. I did."

Birkoff's mind was spinning... what had he done now?....... were they finally going to cancel him for that under estimation of the time limits when Brutus was here?.... or maybe Operations was still upset with him for disobeying his direct order during that virus outbreak..... the possibilities were endless.

Operations watched the play of emotions cross the young man's face and he smiled his Cheshire-Cat smile and lifted the cheroot to his lips for another taste. He let the boy worry a few seconds more before putting his mind at ease.

"We want to try something new. "

As Birkoff's head snapped up the look of surprise was so comical that Ops actually laughed out loud. "Don't look so surprised Seymour! (laughing) We have been waiting for an opportunity like this."

As Birkoff shifted from foot to foot nervously he heard someone enter the office behind him. Operations looked past him over his shoulder and greeted the latest arrival.

"There you are Aly, Madeline. Come in. Aly, we want you to meet Seymor Birkoff. He will be training you."

Madeline placed her hand on the young woman's back and gently nudged her forward to meet the awkward looking young man shifting nervously in front of the man known as Operations.

Aly reached a hand out hesitantly, not really knowing what exactly to do in this situation. "Hi. Nice to meet you.... I think."

"Likewise, I'm sure."

Operations and Madeline both laughed at this exchange and went about explaining the scenario for the upcoming weeks to the two young people before them.

*************

Birkoff and Aly left Operations office and, even though still a touch nervous with each other, they looked at each other and both heaved a huge sigh of relief. As they walked out to the Comm Center, the hub of activity for Section, Birkoff was asking Aly a few questions.

"So....Aly? How are you finding Section?"

"How am I finding Section?(laughing)I wish I had never *found* it to begin with! The training and all has been really... like... tough."

Birkoff, upon hearing that word *like*...rolled his eyes and thought *Oh No* to himself.... I bet she doesn't even KNOW anything about computers! He led her over to his station and rolled a chair over for her. She was to shadow him and he was to teach her to run simulations and gather intel.

"Ok...do you know anything about computers, downloading, uplinking, networking... anything?"

Aly only stared at him with a blank look that would probably even give Michael a run for his money.

"You mean... like... surfing... or... booting... and ..... chatting and stuff?"

Birkoff groaned inwardly when he heard this. Where did they FIND this girl? And what possible use could she be here in Section?? He just scooted his chair closer to his terminal and started speaking.

"Ok... first you log on then you access files. When you have the needed files opened you can copy to a disk and save for review later. Then, just go on over to the CD drive and....." As his voice trailed away in a jumble of Computer-lingo, Aly let her mind wander until she saw the little thingy slide out and she knew what it was.

"Oh my GAWD!! I know what that is!! It is the pop-out cup holder!! Lemme just get my coke and try it out..."

Birkoff screamed!! "NO!!!"

Unbeknownst to the two young operatives, they were being observed from above by Operations and Madeline.

"You know Madeline..." he says laughing, "I think this will definitely help the boy to appreciate his position here at Section even more when he completes this excercise."

"I hope you are right. This should prove quite interesting."

*************

4 WEEKS LATER

Operations and Madeline made their way over to the Comm Center where they saw Birkoff and Aly laughing together secretly.

"So you two...any progress?"

Birkoff looked at Aly and gave a slight nod of his head.

"Yes sir. I have completed the sims you requested, have relayed the intel to the needed Ops panels and even managed to plot a mission profile just for fun."

Operations looked over to Madeline with barely concealed surprise. She just smiled her secret smile back at him and turned to walk to her office. Operations followed her and left Birkoff and Aly at their station.

"Whew!! That was close Aly. I hope they bought it!!"

"Me too Birkoff. Me too."

Aly and Birkoff watched the leaders of Section retreat from the Comm Center and wondered when their charade would be discovered.

The End

This story © Copyright 1999, Aly