La Femme Nikita: My Soul to Keep Chapter 2 By, Rosemary Warrington Codename: Deveraux Daria tosses the disk to Birkoff. He catches it effortlessly. He smiles. Suddenly, he shifts his attention to the hall behind her. She glances over her shoulder. Michael is standing a few feet away and he is steaming. Why is he so upset? I pulled it off, didn't I? She turns and heads in the opposite direction across the main room. She mentally shrugs and pours herself a cup of coffee. Before she can take a sip, she hears a voice from behind her. His voice. "Daria, what did you think you were doing? I told you to abort the mission," he hisses, very close to her. She sighs. She’d known it was coming. He'd been stoic during the ride back to the Section. He'd barely even glanced in her general direction. She turns around. He steps back slightly. She raises her cup to her lips and takes a long swallow. Let him wait. "Michael, I honestly don't see what you're so upset about. I recovered the disk and the mission was a success. What's the problem?," she asks, setting her cup down and folding her arms across her chest. He draws a deep breath. Damn, but she is beginning to try my patience! "The problem is, you failed to obey a direct order. I am your superior, am I not?," he demands, meeting her eyes with his own icy stare. "My superior? Direct order? I was under the impression that Oper- ations gives the orders around here. Has the chain of command been altered and I wasn't informed?," she asks, dryly. If he's trying to intimidate someone, he's barking up the wrong tree. Michael sighs, exasperated. "I was heading the mission. The rules were that we maintain visual and audio contact at all times. You broke the rules, Daria," he says, turning and stalking off. She shakes her head and returns her at- tention to her coffee. She knows he'll cool down. Confident that she'd done the right thing, Daria turns and heads up the stairs into Operations office. It's better to go in willingly without being sum- moned. Best to get to the old man before Michael has a chance to. Michael lowers himself into his chair. He'd just left Daria standing in the main room. As usual, she was being stubborn about everything. He sighs. Sometimes, there is just no dealing with that woman. Suddenly, there is a soft knock on his door. "Come in," he calls, wearily. To his surprise, Nikita walks into the room, closing the door softly behind her. She's the last person he'd expected to see. However, her presence is a welcome distraction. He smiles faintly as she sinks down onto the edge of his desk. "Make yourself comfortable," he comments, dryly. "I was planning on it," she replies. "Jeez, Michael, you look like you're about to spit nails," she comments. "Something like that," he admits. "Refresh my memory, Nikita, what's the penalty for murdering another operative?" She smiles, her blue eyes sparkling. "Let me guess. Daria?," she inquires, knowingly. After all, the beautiful redhead had been the bane of Michael's existence ever since she was brought into Section One three years before. He sighs and leans back in his chair. "Who else?," he demands, running his fingers through his unruly auburn hair. "That woman is too damned stubborn for her own good and someday it'll get her killed!," he says, bitterly. "What happened?," Nikita asks. "We were on the mission and we were supposed to maintain visual con- tact with her at all times. Well, the contact showed-up and the two of them walked around the corner. Needless to say, we lost all visual contact with her," he says, straightening a pile of folders on his desk. Hearing the tone of his voice, Nikita becomes concerned. "Michael, you know the rules," she says, slowly. He looks up, meeting her eyes for a long moment. "Was the mission successful?" He nods. "Yeah. She recovered the disk and the contact is dead," he replies. "That’s all that matters, right?" "She could've been killed," he says, woodenly. Nikita smiles. She knows he is in love with Daria and that is the only reason why he is behaving this way. If she hadn't known it before, his words and his tone would've convinced her. "Michael, Operations wanted that disk back at all costs. Everyone was expendable. You knew that," she says. "I know, I know. Now, you didn't come in here just to talk about Daria, did you?" She shakes her head. "Madeline wants to see you when you have a moment," she says, standing. "Now, I'll get out of your hair. I have a workout." He watches as she saunters out of his office. He sighs and stands. No point keeping Madeline waiting. After all, she probably has some interesting insights into the success of the mission. I'll just be careful. She can't analyze me, if I don't let her. He walks out of his office and heads in the direction her office. Daria turns around when she hears someone enter the training room. She smiles when she sees Nikita. The tall blonde had been her trainer, along with Michael, when she’d arrived three years ago. Shortly after her arrival, the two women had become friends. Daria values her friendship above all else. "Hey, Nikita. Training for a mission?," Daria inquires. "Not really. I just needed something to do. You and Michael just got back, right?," Nikita asks, stretching. "Yeah. Another successful mission," Daria answers, proudly. "Good. I was talking to Michael a minute ago," Nikita says, deciding to broach the subject. She knows the other woman knows how Michael feels, but it might do some good to discuss Daria's own motives. After all, it may be common practice for some operatives to lay their lives on the line, but Daria isn't just any operative. "I figured as much. Is that why you're here? He send you down here to talk to me?," Daria demands, punching the heavy bag with much more force than she had been when Nikita had walked in. She suppresses a smile at her friend's pent-up rage. "No. Michael does not SEND me anywhere. I don't take orders from him anymore, remember?" "Whatever," Daria says, stopping for a moment to tighten her boxing gloves before attacking the bag again. "So, what did the great one have to say?" "He said you broke the rules on the mission. He said the two of you were supposed to maintain visual contact and you broke it. He said you could've been killed." Daria laughs. "Oh, like he cares! Come on, Nikita. You know the way things are. I was told to bring the disk back at all costs. Everyone was expendable, including me. I followed orders and I recovered the disk." "I'm glad, but would it have been worth your life? That guy could've been leading you off into an ambush. Michael wouldn't have been able to back you up, if he couldn't see you," Nikita says, continuing her warm-up. "I didn't need back-up," Daria declares vehemently. Nikita shakes her head slightly. Michael was right, Daria is too stubborn for her own good. "This time. Daria, you're one of the best in Section. How could you do something so stupid? There are people here who care about you. If you had been killed, what would we do without you?" "You'd go on, same as always. You’d forget about me in time," Daria replies, stoically. Nikita stops stretching and bounds to her feet. She walks over to her friend. "How could anyone ever forget you?," she demands, throwing a quick punch at Daria's head. The other woman dodges it and rallies with a kick at Nikita’s midsection. She jumps back, barely avoiding it. "Must not be that hard. My family forgot about me fast enough," Daria says, bitterly. So, that's it! I'd known it had to be something to get her to risk her life like that. She's feeling abandoned again. Must be that time of year. Nikita racks her brain. Sure enough, it had been three years to the day when Daria had first arrived at the Section. "Daria, you know how it had to be," Nikita reminds her, softly. "Yeah, I know. I know," Daria replies, her eyes downcast. Nikita slings an arm around her shoulders. "We all go through this. Even Michael," Nikita says, smiling faintly. Daria raises her eyes to the other woman's. She laughs. "Somehow, I doubt it. Nothing phases Michael," Daria says, pulling off her gloves and dropping them to the floor. Nikita laughs. "You’d be surprised. He's not as cold as he'd like everyone to think he is," Nikita says, following Daria out of the training area, her workout forgotten.