By keeping low the to ground and by moving very quietly, Birkoff
managed to
re-enter the house
without being caught. He tiptoed in the front door. From what
he had seen since his arrival, there were only his uncle and two guards
on site. They had all left the house when the outraged guard dog
started barking. He realized that he did remember the house, but
there had been some changes to the interior. He walked cautiously
to where he remembered the computer system was located, but it wasn't
there! Birkoff quickly and surreptitiously cased the rest of the
house. Nothing, he thought. It's inconceivable that there is
no computer.
Birkoff spied the door to the basement and tried it gingerly. It
opened smoothly
on well-oiled hinges,
and Birkoff tentatively peered into the basement. Instead of the
dark and dank basement that he expected to see, he saw light and an underground
computer systems center. The area appeared to have been enlarged
at least three times the floor space of the small farmhouse. This
was quite an undertaking, his uncle had engineered in the last eight years.
Was his uncle's operation this successful, he wondered.
Birkoff cautiously took one step down. He was certain that there
would be
someone in attendance
with the computers, and the last thing he wanted was to be caught.
He took another step down the stairway and held his breath. He prayed
that there would be no tell tale creak to alert anyone who might be there
of his presence.
He stopped abruptly. He could hear two men speaking softly in Russian.
Unfortunately, since
his emigration from Russia as a small child, Birkoff had spent most of
his life speaking English, and what little Russian he had known had been
erased by time in Section One. He wished now that he had continued
to study his native language as Madeline had suggested more than once,
but the memories that hearing the language generated had been unpleasant
ones--ones he'd rather forget.
He knew that with his limited hand-to-hand skills he would not be able to handle two men--one, maybe, if he could surprise him. Birkoff inched down the rest of the stairway and silently placed himself behind a huge carton and waited. Sooner or later, he thought, one of them would have to take a break.
The terrain became more and more rugged as they approached the Teneree
Mountains.
Nikita continued to observe Michael as he drove toward their still unknown
to her destination. His mind appeared to be far away, and she wondered
if he were merely focusing on the upcoming mission, or if he were remembering
the last mission. He ‘and Simone' were both on the mission that brought
Birkoff to Section One. How stupid I am, she thought. Of course,
he's remembering and comparing.
"Michael," she said hesitantly.
"Yes," he responded tensely.
Nikita placed a hand on his thigh, but he flinched in response. Nikita was taken aback, but said, "I'm sorry. This must bring back a lot of memories." As he heard her words of understanding, Michael acknowledged that her touch was not a thoughtless, sensual overture, but a gesture of comfort, and he relaxed.
"It does," was his soft response. As he gave her a quick glance, she could see that his jade eyes were shiny with emotion. Nikita said no more, remembering that Madeline was on the other end of the comm.
Operations strode into Madeline's office. "Where are we with them?
Have they
reached the target
zone yet?" He was carrying his usual brown cigarette, the one he
no longer smoked. It was a comfort just to have it in his hands.
The surgeons had warned him after his massive chest wounds that any further
damage to his lungs would shorten his life dramatically.
"No, they are still en route to the Tenerees, but they will be there soon." Madeline offered him little encouragement personally, but she was flawless in the execution of her duties to Section.
"Have we heard anything from anyone? Is Michael so sure that his family has him? I'm still not convinced of it myself, but I'm at a loss to explain no other sign of a ransom demand," Operations paced as he spoke.
"My calculations show that Michael has a 78.2% chance of being correct. Birkoff's family has begun to re-establish its power base. I've been tracking them for a while now. Birkoff is a very valuable commodity to whoever has him, but I doubt his family wants him for his computer skills. There's an old saying, ‘Revenge is a dish, best served cold,'" she added.
"I've heard that one before. Exactly who said that?" he asked. It sounded Chinese to him.
Madeline looked at him with an unusual twinkle in her brown eyes as she said with a slight smile, "I believe the source is from the Klingon philosophy."
"Oh, well, of course. They would know," Operations responded. Madeline as always mystified and entranced him. ‘Klingon philosophy' indeed, he thought.
"How is Nikita holding up on this mission? She appears to be very fond of Birkoff. I don't want any problems with her, if Birkoff has to be sacrificed."
"She is fond of him, in a sisterly fashion, of course. There ‘will' be problems if that scenario arises, but I feel Michael will be able to handle her. He always has before. So far, she's been a little impatient. Michael has been not very communicative with her right now, but she seems to have developed some understanding of what Michael is experiencing on this mission."
"He's thinking about Simone," Operations said quietly.
"Of course, he is. How could he not?"
While Michael and Gregori sat down to work out the financial details of their alliance, Simone quietly watched. Her powers of observation were one of her most acute senses, and she did not sense any duplicity from Gregori. Like Michael, she too had felt Gregori's interest, and she was, as Michael had stated, quite able to defend herself.
Michael was possessive like most young men, but Simone knew she was capable of performing in any mission profile. If the profile had called for her to seduce Gregori Birkoff, she would have no qualms about it. Michael, on the other hand, would have. He still had a problem with detaching himself from Simone the operative. Intellectually, Michael knew the difference between Simone the operative and Simone his wife, but emotionally, he wasn't quite there yet.
Michael was several years younger than she, and had fewer years in Section, but he was coming along nicely. At least Operations thought so. Simone loved Michael as much as she was capable, but her separation of emotion and self-preservation was complete. She was the perfect Section One operative, and her mission had always been to assist Michael in making the same transformation.
She remembered the day she had arrived at Section One headquarters from the Hong Kong substation. Madeline had outlined her responsibilities in the task of ‘perfecting' Michael.
"We need you to bond with him, as rapidly as possible," Madeline had stated. "He has the potential to be one of the most superior operatives we have ever trained, but there is still an underlying emotionality that must be suppressed. We are counting on you to teach him how to do that. Whatever he wants from you, do it. Our records indicate he is highly sensual and he needs an appropriate outlet that will not put him at risk for other more unfortunate liaisons. He has strong romantic leanings that a ‘relationship' with you will fulfill. In the process, you will have to teach him how to separate the job from your relationship."
"Of course." Simone had responded. "I suppose it's too much to hope that he's reasonably good looking," she had added saucily with shrug of her shoulders and a toss of her head.
Madeline had smiled and turned a monitor toward Simone, "See for yourself."
"Not too shabby," Simone had responded as she looked at the handsome features and jade green eyes. "How soon do I get to meet him? What does he know about me?"
He knows that there is a new team member coming in from Hong Kong to join Jurgen's team. That's all he knows, and you can meet him now." Madeline smiled. Simone was the perfect choice for Michael. Simone would do quite nicely without becoming so emotionally involved that she lost all sense of purpose.
"What does Jurgen think about this plan? Is he aware of my intended role with Michael?" Simone had queried. There were some complications that needed to be addressed before she met Michael.
"Basically, he is aware of your role. He's not thrilled, given your history with him, but Jurgen will be able to function as required. Since Michael has been granted full operative status, he and Jurgen have formed an uneasy truce, so the less Michael knows about your prior relationship with Jurgen, the better."
"Section is a hot bed of gossip, Madeline. It's not a secret that Jurgen and I were a ‘team' for two years. Michael is bound to find out," Simone had protested.
Madeline had smiled and said, "Then I will leave it to your judgment how best to handle it when he does. I have faith that you will do quite well in that instance."
Simone jerked her attention back to the present. Michael stood to shake hands with Gregori. Simone rose to do the same, but Gregori's hand lingered a little longer in hers than was necessary. Michael noticed and Simone could feel his tension mount.
"I think we are all going to make a good team, Michael and Simone. Let's have a drink to celebrate our new alliance," Gregori began as he opened a desk drawer, removed a bottle of Russian vodka and began to pour them each a drink.
The three lifted their glasses in a toast as Gregori gave the Russian equivalent of "cheers!" Simone continued to feel Gregori's gaze on her body. The mission profile might need to be tweaked a bit she decided. Distracting Gregori would allow Michael the time he needed to destroy the computer system.