Hell

That was what this week had been for Michael. One mission, after another. Never being able to sit down for three seconds before Birkoff would walk in with another important mission. It was beginning to even annoy Michael, and usually Michael did not allow that to happen.

Hell

Michael thought that right now, hell would be better off than Section One. It was a mad house, like the whole world had decided to fight against each other and Section One was the referee with a machine gun, a couple bombs, and men and women who would die.

Hell

Michael thought and then stopped. He looked around his office and turned on his computer. Where was Nikita?

***

Michael had finally brought his thoughts down off his imaginary suicide plans and sat down at the computer. His emotions had gotten away with his mind for a few minutes, but now he was back, as he sat down for the first time for longer than five minutes.

Michael looked towards the door, half expecting Birkoff to burst in with a new PDA that needed his immediate attention, and half hoped that Nikita would walk in and bother him. It was beginning to bother him that Nikita wasn't here bothering him.

Michael turned and looked at the screen and frowned at the static that crossed the computer screen. He had informed Birkoff that it had been acting up. Michael stood up as his door opened up and he knocked the side of the computer.

"No." Michael said without looking up at Birkoff as he held a PDA in his hands. Birkoff moved closer as Michael sat back down and then all stopped.

***

Hell

Michael's life instantly became everything hell was and more as he looked at the screen. There was a picture of Nikita's face being held in with tight leather straps in something like the mask that was used in THE SILENCE OFLAMBS with Hannibal Lector. Michael stared into Nikita's blue eyes as they begged for release and freedom.

Hell

The image panned back to find all sorts of leather belts cinched across her body, her naked body, but there was not much of her showing. She was tied up tightly, her body being compressed by the heavy straps of leather.

Hell

The noise of Nikita's voice finally breaking the silence, to scream for help. Michael could not image what could be worse than this.

***

"I'll get Madeline and Operations." Birkoff said as he looked at the screen and flew out of the office. Michael looked and saw Birkoff make the beeline to his computer. Michael split his attention between his computer and the image that he forced himself to watch again, and Birkoff slamming his fist to the desk as he could not trace the image.

"Madeline… We have a situation." Birkoff is heard saying and Michael dropped his head slightly, but not showing defeat. No one would defeat Michael until Nikita was one hundred percent gone. That was not going to happen now, Michael would go after her if he needed to on his own.

"Nikita has been taken and we have pictures of the torture." Birkoff said loudly and Michael tried to swallow as Walter walked in front of the door and looked at Michael as he heard the words. Michael nodded his head to confirm what Birkoff had just finished repeating to Madeline.

"It was sent to Michael, personally." Birkoff said as he turned and looked at Michael. He started to nod his head and stood up.

"Briefing… Here, in your office. Walter, you can stay." Birkoff said as he walked into Michael's office and took control over the computer.

Michael was stunned by what he'd found on his computer screen. He'd never seen anything like it in his entire life. On the outside, his fear for Nikita and rage for the person doing this to Nikita did not show. On the inside however, they ran rampant. All he wanted to do was get his hands on the psycho and kill him very slowly and painfully. No one laid a finger on his Nikita without paying the price for it!

Operations and Madeline walked quickly into Michael's office. They walked directly over to the computer and replayed the message and pictures that had been placed on Michael's computer. They knew that this was not something that was intended for Section but for Michael directly.

When they finished watching, they both looked up at Michael. They knew what he must be feeling inside but did not say a thing to him about it.

"Who do you think sent this?" Madeline asked Michael.

"I don't know. There was no message with it as you saw." Michael replied with his blank stare firmly in place. He knew that he had to appear as if he was not affected by the events that had just occurred.

"Could it be an associate of René Dion's?" Operations asked.

"I highly doubt it. They aren't advanced enough to come up with a location for me. All of the ones that knew I was still alive were killed on that mission." Michael replied. He sure as hell hoped that he was right.

"If it's not René, then who is it?" Walter asked angrily. He didn't hesitate as much as Michael did about letting his anger show. That was his sugar that was being treated that way.

"We'll have to find out." Madeline replied. "Can we get a location of where the pictures came from? Background maybe?"

"I already tried that. The message is scrambled and can't be traced back to the origin." Birkoff replied with anger and fear filling his voice. He'd never seen anything like that himself.

"Well, let's get moving and find the person who's behind this!" Operations demanded furiously. While everyone but himself, Madeline and Michael scattered in their different directions.

Meanwhile...

The pain that Nikita was feeling would not go away. She couldn't move. She was bound by all limbs with chains. The chains cut into her skin. She felt the blood running down her arms and ankles. The tears running down her face she could not hold back. The pain was too much for her to handle.

"Michael..." She managed to bite out very softly. It came out as less than a whisper because all of her strength was gone.

"Don't worry. Michael will be coming for you. When he does, both of you will die." A voice told her from behind.

Nikita stiffened when she heard the voice behind her. Not so much because she recognized the voice, but at the words that were spoken. Whoever was back there was setting a trap for Michael. They wanted to kill him. She would have to try and figure something out. But right now her mind wasn't working properly. She didn't see a way out of the restraints she was in. But she knew one thing. She would stop calling for Michael. She wouldn't give this person the satisfaction.

She finally summoned up as much strength as she could and spat out the question "Who are you?"

There was laughter behind her. "Well, it's good to see that you still have that fighting spirit. I was afraid we had pushed you too far. That will certainly make this all the more enjoyable. But I am disappointed that you don't remember me. Well, maybe we'll play a little game later and see if that helps jog your memory. But for now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you for a while. My assistant will come and look after your wounds. We will, of course, have to repeat the process if Michael disappoints me and doesn't show up soon."

Nikita shuddered. She couldn't imagine surviving the torture a second time. The drugs, the electric shocks, the mind games, the chains getting tighter and tighter ... Oh Michael, I hope you get here soon, she thought to herself as she heard the door close behind her.

Michael was losing patience. Not only with everyone around him, but with himself as well. He kept the picture of Nikita on his computer, making himself look at it every once in a while ... an incentive to make himself dig deeper and push harder than he thought he could. He had a laptop on his desk as well. He was sifting through every bit of intel he could find on all his previous missions to see who would know where he was and be able to find him. Also, someone who knew about Nikita and how important she was to him.

Madeline stopped by Michael's office. "Michael, you need to eat and rest. You aren't going to do her any good if you are so tired you can't focus, or if you collapse."

Michael barely acknowledged Madeline's presence. He spared her a quick glance and then went back to his computer.

Madeline, not one to be put off, walked over to his desk and saw that the picture of Nikita was still on his screen. She reached over to turn it off. Just as her hand was about to push the button, Michael, with lightning quick reflexes, reached over and grabbed her arm. "Do not touch that" he ordered. Madeline studied Michael's face, then looked at his hand still grasping her arm. Michael released her hand. He sighed. "I need to see it. It helps me to concentrate."

Madeline nodded. "Very well Michael, but you still need to eat and rest. I will have something brought in for you to eat. Then I want you to take an hour and rest. Go to your standby quarters. I will have Birkoff continue going through your files and keep a list of any possibles. When you return, you can check through his list and see if anything clicks." She turned to leave but then stopped. "And Michael, I am serious. If you don't do as I ask, you will be relieved of duty and placed in Holding until this is over. Do you understand?"

Michael glared daggers at her, but she didn't flinch, as he knew she wouldn't. He just needed her to understand how he felt ... and she did. "Fine. But if anything happens to her..." Madeline nodded and walked out of the room.

Michael took a long slow sip of the coffee that had been brought to him, as he did he closed his eyes and images of Nikita ran through his mind. 'Who the hell were these people' Michael thought. He was going to kill them when he found out who they were. When he opened his eyes Birkoff had just walked into his office and was about to walk out seeing that Michael was resting but Michael desperately hoped that he had uncovered some intel that might help them find Nikita.

Michael: Birkoff!

Birkoff slowly comes back in the room surprised by Michael's harsh tone. He knew how much Nikita meant to Michael. Actually Nikita meant a lot to himself she had been someone he had grown to like. He too was furious at what had happened. But he had to concentrate on the situation at hand, he had to help find her.

Birkoff: Yeah.

Michael: What do you have?

Birkoff: Well we pulled up some intel on some people that could have pulled this off.

Michael: (impatiently) Well??

Birkoff: Well we know that it had to be someone who had possible contact with you and Nikita and also knew that you two were... Well...

Birkoff didn't want to say that they had been "involved" he didn't know how Michael would react. Even though he and Walter had known what was between them for a while.

Michael: Birkoff we don't have time for this. Who are the possibilities?!

Birkoff: Well there aren't that many... In fact there's really only one so far.

Michael: Who?

Birkoff: Perry Bauer. From the Peter and Sage mission.

Michael: (impatiently and harshly) Yes I know! But I thought he was killed when he got in the way of a mission to take down one of the people he was delivering intel to us on.

Birkoff: That's what we thought but it seems that housekeeping had never accounted for his body and it was overlooked... I don't think it was on purpose.

Michael: Do have anything on him now?

Birkoff: Not really but I did find something out from that message. Although it was sent to you it had to go through our systems. When it came in the computer automatically searched for its originator. And because they sender was still online... We got him.

Michael: Why didn't we know this before?!

Birkoff: We rarely use this feature. We never have such a problem finding some intel to help us determine who we’re after.

Michael: Have you determined a location yet?

Birkoff: We're working on it now.

Michael: Good. That's all.

Birkoff turns and walks out. Michael turns back to his computer and looks at Nikita's tortured face. He picks up the coffee again still warm and comforting in a way... He closes his eyes and takes a sip and thinks one thing... 'Nikita'...

The leather straps were being tightened again, and Nikita concentrated on slowly breathing in and out. She didn't think her body could take much more. Death now seemed much more peaceful than this. Nikita was beginning to welcome the thought of hell where she was going, over this.

There was a rumble outside and Nikita's eyes opened, even against the pain it caused her. She could barely keep a thought, but the thunder, it echoed into her body. She knew they were making a new tape to send to Michael. She would not yell for help. She would not mutter Michael's name.

"A thunderstorm.... I wonder if lightening would like Nikita's body." Perry said slowly as he moved in front of Nikita, and now his identity opened to her discovery. Nikita choked back a sob, as the men started to pull at her chains and straps. Nikita blinked as she heard the thunder again.

"String her up on the steel bars. I think they get hit with lightening." Perry said happily as they started to drag Nikita's cinched up body.

Perry moved out of the room that was holding Nikita and moved down the hallway. He took the bottle of Merlot and entered the plush bedroom. Perry smiled at the curly brown hair at the woman staring out the window, as Nikita wiggled against her confines.

"This hasn't brought Michael, yet." She said turning around, showing her youthful face and Perry smiled as he filled her glass up.

"Dear Lisa... if you can get past your lust for Michael, you will realize that Nikita is the way to him." Perry laughed and Lisa smiled broadly. He had chosen Nikita over her for the last time.

Perry looked out to the yard as they pull Nikita's body between the two bars and continued to laugh.

"I don't want to see this end. I love making her cry." Perry said and then licked his lips.

"Well... maybe I won't let you let her go." Lisa said with a smile and a wink.

***

Michael moved to his office, not caring about the orders Madeline had spat at him. He rubbed his chin and looked back at Birkoff, who was working quickly on a location. Michael knew that it could still be hours.

Michael turned on the first computer, intent on retrieving the first message, when he found there was a new one. Michael did not run it first. He simply moved to the hallway and motioned his hands to Birkoff. Birkoff started to shake his head. Birkoff did not want to see more pictures of Nikita's torture.

Birkoff's movement towards Michael's office was a motion that Madeline noticed and she moved quickly behind him, which caused Walter to do the same.

Walter closed the door, not caring if Operations was there or not. Nikita was never a worry to him.

Michael carefully opened the file as the other three people joined in for the view from behind Michael.

First there was the picture of the chains and leather restraints being tightened, and then Nikita being dragged. Then there was the outside picture, of Nikita between the two poles, and the flashes of lightening that caused all four people to flinch.

"Birkoff... we have a location." Gail's voice piped in as Michael pushed the video to run again. Madeline stepped forward and shut the computer down. Michael would have to leave his office if he was going to bring Nikita back.

The pain Nikita was feeling was drowned out as fear of being electrocuted heightened. It was raining hard now and lightening bolts coming more frequently. It wouldn't be long before one of the bolts was attracted by the metal polls she was hung by and the metal chains holding her there.

The fear made her forget her vow not to call out to Michael and she screamed his name out over and over again terrorized by her situation. Perry and Lisa heard her screams inside and smiled wickedly. They were enjoying her terror.

Lisa turned to face Perry with a wicked grin on her face.

"What is it?" Perry asked her uneasily. He didn't like it when she got that grin.

"We should take her down from those polls before a lightening bolt actually does hit and fries her. She does us absolutely no good dead." Lisa said the smile on her face broadening.

"Do we have to? I'm enjoying her screams of terror." Perry whined to Lisa Fanning.

"Yes. We need her alive to get Michael here. After Michael gets here, you'll have the pleasure of killing her as I will have the pleasure of killing Michael." Lisa said loathingly. She had wanted Michael dead ever since the first time he'd seduced her. The second time, when he'd returned her to David, had set her over the edge. She wanted revenge. She tasted the sweetness of it.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Perry asked Lisa curiously. He'd never figured that she of all people would enjoy this.

"Yes, I am. You see, Nikita helped Michael to seduce me the first time. She deserves to pay as well for her deceit." Lisa said with hatred and loathing bathing her words.

"You really do want me to bring her in?" Perry asked sadly.

"Yes. Do it now before it's too late. After you get her dressed, I will be down to have a nice little chat with her." Lisa told him. "Now go!"

Lisa's arm swept towards the door indicating that there was no more to be said and if there were, he'd be right beside Nikita for the torture.

Michael watched as Madeline shut off his computer. He was furious with her, but he didn't show it. He knew she thought he couldn't handle the situation. She figured he'd go off half-cocked and get himself and everyone else killed. Well, that's where she was wrong. There was only one thing that mattered to him... Getting Nikita back alive. And until that was accomplished, he would be the perfect machine-like operative. No one and nothing would stop him or get in his way. Everything would be checked and double-checked. He would assemble the best team available. He didn't care what Operations or anyone else said.

Madeline watched Michael closely. She saw his eyes glaze over and realized he was becoming what Nikita hated most -- the perfect operative. No emotion, no compassion. Simple machine-like behavior. She knew, however, that it was the only way he could deal with Nikita being captured and tortured. And she knew there was no use in trying to get him to let someone else handle the situation. He would never trust anyone else with Nikita.

Birkoff had secured the location from Gail. Michael had gone to assemble his team and brief them on his mission profile. Madeline punched the intercom in Michael's office to inform Operations of the latest. Operations didn't answer. She tried again. Nothing. Where could he be?

"Birkoff, find out where Operations is, please." Madeline instructed. Birkoff nodded his head and punched some keys on Michael's laptop. After a few seconds he looked up confused.

Madeline noticed the look on Birkoff's face. "What is it Birkoff?" With worry lacing his voice Birkoff answered "It seems he's not in Section. He's been gone for quite a while. No one knows where he went."

Walter couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could Operations leave in the middle of a crisis like this? With one of his top operatives missing, Operations should be beside himself. He should be yelling instructions to everyone and anyone. Walter glanced at Madeline and could see that she was having the same thoughts. They shared a look and then Madeline sent Birkoff out to check some data on his computer.

Once Birkoff left, Walter spoke. "How is this possible? There's no way he should have left. I can't believe he just went off like that. I know he doesn't care about Nikita, but he has to be worried about what information they might get from her." Walter was pacing back and forth in Michael's office. Just then he had another thought. "Oh no. What if he got the location first and went in himself to kill her. If that's the case, I won't give Michael the chance to..."

Madeline interrupted. "Walter, stop. You know he doesn't go out in the field himself. He would have sent someone to do it. But he has been acting strangely lately. His resentment of Michael and Nikita seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. I haven't been able to ascertain the reason for it yet. I'll have Birkoff run a check on every operative that is out. Find out what mission they are on. If anyone is out but not listed on an official mission profile, then we'll know."

Just then Michael came back into his office. "We leave in 30 minutes. Walter, here's a list of the inventory we'll need. I'll be by shortly." Then he turned to Madeline. "I need to speak with Operations. Where is he?"

Madeline and Walter exchanged glances. Madeline looked back to Michael and answered "I don't know. He seems to be away from Section."

Michael took in the news without blinking. "What do you mean, 'away from Section?' There is no way he would leave with an operative of Nikita's status in the hands of terrorists. Where is he?"

Madeline sighed. "He's missing. He's been out of Section for a while and no one knows where he went."

Walter knew the explosion was coming. He just hoped that it didn't throw Michael's focus off. The most important thing here was getting Nikita back.

Operations shifted into 5th gear as he sped down the countryside. He HAD noticed that Perry's body hadn't been accounted for, and he knew that he had been still alive but they had had an agreement. Perry informed him about some people that he didn't exactly want anyone to know he was watching... And he let Perry live. But when Perry took Nikita and double-crossed him like this he was furious. He was going to kill Perry. He didn't especially like Nikita but she was one of their best operatives and that had ticked him off even more. Operations knew, he always knew exactly where Perry was... Section had implanted a clock in him when he started working for them. Well, he was going to take care of this right now. He pulled in to a long driveway and suddenly pulled the car off the path and parked it out of site. He opened his door and got out. He reached back into the car and pulled out a gun and cocked it. He slammed the door and started walking along side the drive but out of site.

BACK AT SECTION

Michael looked at Madeline. He to thought that Operations might have gotten Nikita's location and he was furious. Madeline had to calm him.

Madeline: Michael we don't know where he is, and don't start to make assumptions. It's not going to help your trying to find Nikita. Go and finish prepping for the mission. You too Walter... Go.... And get together the equipment... And Birkoff you're not doing us any good standing there like that.

Walter and Birkoff surprised at the least... (Madeline usually didn't feel the need to instruct them on their jobs... They knew something was up and she was concerned).... Scattered to their stations. Michael stood looking at Madeline... He wanted to get ready and Madeline was still in his office... He was getting impatient but he knew better than to say anything.

Madeline: Well then... Michael get finished... And hurry. We don't need this to carry on any longer than it needs to.

Michael was really running short on patience... Did she think he was an idiot? Something was up and Michael wasn't quiet sure what to make of it.