Archive of Our Own

"Jacques, come in," the anonymous voice instructed. "Assemble your team."

Michael sat up and swung his legs off the bed. Frowning, he recalled last night's mission. The profile called for him to get very cozy with the target's girlfriend and steal her PDA. A sick feeling came over him. He closed his eyes and saw again the look of total disbelief and then anger that crossed Nikita's face. Her panel had not contained the full profile.

Needless to say, the ride back to Section was a frosty one with Nikita pretending to be very interested in a new program Birkoff had written. Rousing himself now, he pressed a button to call his most valuable team member.

Nikita snaked an arm out from under the covers to grope for the phone.

"Yeah?" she mumbled.

"Joséphine. . .come in."

Her only reply was a loud sigh. She snapped the phone together and let it drop to the floor. She lay there another ten minutes and then punched her pillow, pretending it was Michael's face.

How dare him act like that in front of me, even if it was the profile? she thought. He was enjoying himself too much. Moving his body against the brunette's as they danced at the charity event and giving her the look Nikita thought was reserved only for her.

Nikita suddenly grabbed the pillow and flung it across the room, knocking a candle off the dresser in the process. She got up and stomped into the bathroom, showered quickly, and pulled on black leggings and a long black sweater. She twisted her wet hair up and stuck a clip in it.

When she reached Section, the first person she saw was Michael. He was talking to Moen in the middle of the hall and his back was turned. Hurriedly, she scooted down another hall to avoid him.

He has no right to look so unbelievably good in that black suit, she thought. The tailored clothes accented his trim, muscled body, a body of which she had some knowledge. She made a determined effort to wipe the scowl off her face as she headed for Walter's area.

The two men finished their conversation and Moen moved on. Glancing over his shoulder, Michael sensed that Nikita had arrived. He was very intuitive about her. He knew what she was thinking about last night and he needed to talk to her. Needed to make sure he hadn't lost her.

"We're all going out today, Sugar." Walter barely looked up when Nikita came into his domain. He was grabbing weapons from one shelf and ammo clips from another.

"What do you mean?"

"Me, Birkoff. . . them." He nodded in the direction of the Perch. Madeline and Operations were clearly visible and deep in conversation. Madeline's arms were crossed over her chest and Operations' finger was punching the air as if to make a point.

"Operations is launching a full-scale attack against your target from last night. It seems they were both officers in Vietnam and Birkoff discovered that he's a major player with Red Cell."

"I thought he owned shopping malls and laundered money," Nikita said.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg. He has his hands in a lot of cookie jars."

The intercom buzzed. "Walter, briefing in ten minutes."

"Sure thing."

Nikita threw up her hands. "Great, just what I need to start my day."

"There's something else." Walter looked around to be sure they weren't overheard. "Michael's already been in here twice."

Nikita stared at him. "Why?"

"Why? You know why! He's worried about last night. You know he cares about you."

"Does he?" she asked bitterly and turned to walk out.

"He was only doing the job, Sugar," he said to her retreating back. "Like the rest of us." Walter shook his head and went back to work. "What's the matter with those two?" he mumbled to himself.

Operations was droning on and on about the target, Cornell Montgomery, and flipping images up on the holographic screen. Nikita tried to concentrate, but it was rather hard to do when Michael was sitting so close to her. She could smell his cologne. Didn't I give him that for his birthday? she wondered idly. Ordinarily, she liked being close to him, but this morning she was all squirmy, like a small child who has to go to the bathroom.

Michael could only see her out of his peripheral vision. He was listening to Operations and made no effort to acknowledge her. Somehow he had to get her alone for five minutes and discuss last night.

"Michael, you and Nikita will pose as newlyweds on a shopping spree. You will spend obscene amounts of money in the mall, which will get Montgomery's attention. We have two opportunities to take him. He always comes out to congratulate the shopper who spends the most money each day during December. If we can't lure him out then the only other way is to crash his meeting with Red Cell. Unfortunately, the PDA Michael lifted last night does not indicate exactly where in the mall that meeting will take place."

Another reminder about last night, thought Michael glumly.

Nikita interrupted with a question. "What if we run into his girlfriend?"

Birkoff spoke up. "Montgomery's private jet took her to Hawaii after the fundraiser. He plans on joining her today after his meeting with Red Cell."

"But Mr. Montgomery will not make that flight," Operations gloated. "Birkoff and Walter will be on site to provide assistance. Your panels are being uploaded. We leave in half an hour." He tossed the remote on the briefing table and headed toward the Perch.

Nikita wanted to crawl into the floor. Another mission playing the happy couple. Can this day get any worse? she thought. Michael was standing and looking down on her.

"Ni-ki-ta, come to my office."

She hesitated and he added, "Please."

She pushed her chair back and sulkily followed him, practically dragging her feet.

Once in the office, he closed the blinds and disabled the surveillance.

"You realize that last night was a mission. No personal feelings were involved."

Well, I certainly felt personally violated, she thought. "Of course. All for the good of Section and the free world." She couldn't keep the sarcasm from her voice.

Michael stared at her for a long moment. He wanted to say more, but didn't trust himself just yet. He removed a small packet from the desk. Two fake wedding bands. "You should put this on," he said as he indicated the smaller one.

As she was doing that, he went to the closet in the corner and took out a pair of jeans and a hunter green sweater. He started undressing.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nikita demanded.

"I'm getting ready for the mission," he answered coolly.

"Do you think you could wait until I leave?" With that, Nikita stomped out and slammed the door behind her.

Michael laughed to himself. I think I'm going to enjoy this mission.

"Paul, what are you doing?" Madeline asked with a frown. Operations was leaning over a blueprint of the mall.

"I'm making my list and checking it twice. But I already know who's been naughty - Cornell Montgomery," he said with an evil gleam in his eye.

"I knew he was up to no good even back in Vietnam. We let him fall through the cracks before, but not this time. And I'm going to be there when he goes down."

Madeline was only half listening. She was transfixed by the tie Operations was wearing. Where on earth did he find that hideous thing? It needs to be cancelled, just like that shirt he thinks the dry cleaners lost, she thought with satisfaction.

He looked up at Madeline. "Where's your purse? We're going shopping for a terrorist!"

The van was rumbling along toward the Harbour Oaks Mall. It had close to two hundred department and specialty stores and a large food court. Naturally, I have to sit next to him again, Nikita thought. The female operatives on second team would have gladly traded places with her. But they knew that Michael was interested in only one woman.

Nikita admired the sweater Michael was wearing. The color made his eyes even more arresting and those tight jeans didn't leave anything to the imagination. She noticed Jessica checking him out as well. Suddenly, Nikita felt jealous, even though she was still mad at him. He's mine, honey, all mine, she thought smugly.

Michael was unaware that he was being analyzed. He was too busy tapping away on his ever-present laptop. Nikita decided to set Jessica straight and inched her way closer to Michael until their thighs were touching. His fingers paused briefly and he turned his head a fraction.

"Is there something you need?" he asked quietly.

She had to fight the urge to say, Oh yeah! Your naked body in my bed! "No, just getting into character for the newlywed game," she said with a smile. Michael nodded slightly and let out the breath he had been holding. He felt a tightening in his groin.

The van had stopped and operatives were filing out. They were dressed as holiday shoppers, but beneath the colorful sweaters and jackets was body armor and loaded weapons. Birkoff looked with envy as Michael touched Nikita's shoulder.

"Why does Michael always get to play her husband?" he whined.

"They're a team – both field ops. He watches her back and vice versa. They complement each other. Why, it's the same with you and Gail. You're both into computers and you work well together," answered Walter.

Birkoff looked downcast. "Most of the time we do. Yesterday she forgot to format and I yelled at her."

"Ooh, not good, amigo."

Michael reached up and removed the clip from Nikita's hair. "I like it better down," he said as he ran his fingers through the luxurious strands. "It softens your face." The scent of her citrus shampoo floated up to him. He closed his eyes briefly and inhaled. "Now we're ready," he whispered and took her hand. Nikita had to give him credit. He knows how to push all my buttons, she thought.

Operations and Madeline were the last to leave the van. While Montgomery was his top priority, Operations had another reason for going on this mission. Things had been so hectic in Section that he hadn't had time to get Madeline's Christmas present. He was considering a delicate gold necklace, but he wanted to do some comparison shopping.

"Birkoff, sequence started," Michael said as he and Nikita entered a furniture store. Nikita was amazed and somewhat embarrassed as Michael went around bouncing on each mattress. "Come on, honey. You know we need a new one. Even though we've only been married two months, we've almost worn out the other one!" He said this so loudly that other shoppers began staring at the handsome young couple. Nikita suddenly wished she were invisible. I'm gonna strangle him before this mission is over, she thought.

Now he was pulling her down onto a king-sized mattress. "What do you think of this one? Firm enough for you?" He rolled over and gave her a big kiss. This brought a flurry of whistles and clapping from a group of passing teenagers, but one grey-haired matron simply snorted with disgust, "Newlyweds."

"Cut it out, Michael," she muttered tightly. She could hear Birkoff snickering in her ear. No doubt he was enjoying their little performance. A salesman was approaching and after a few questions, they bought the mattress with Section's credit card. Birkoff would hack in and delete the order before it could be processed.

"Well, darling, how about some new sheets to go with that?" Nikita said brightly. I can play his little game, she thought. "Great idea!" he answered.

They strolled down the mall until they came to a bath linens shop. "Look, Egyptian cotton sheets – 300-thread count. Can you imagine how those would feel under our naked bodies?" Every woman in the store heard Nikita and envied her when they saw the man beside her. Now it was Michael's turn to be embarrassed as she stepped close and ran her hands up his chest. She really wanted to reach around and cup his firm buttocks, but she thought that might be overdoing it. He gave her a look that said he knew exactly what she was doing.

"You'll have to make it up to Gail," Walter said. He tried to give Birkoff advice from time to time, but it didn't always pan out.

"You know, I was thinking of getting some of that fancy perfume for Belinda. If you're half as smart as I think you are, you'll do the same for Gail."

"Walter, are you forgetting that this is a mission? We can't just drop everything and go shopping. What if Operations or Madeline saw us?"

"Oh, I know it's a mission. But I don't see why we can't take a little detour through Women's Fragrances. Nobody has to know about it but us."

The next stop for Michael and Nikita was a high-end jewelry store. Nikita immediately found a bracelet she liked with an appropriately expensive price tag. "Are you sure this is the one you want, sweetheart?" asked Michael, slipping an arm around her waist.

Nikita held out her arm, turning it this way and that. "Yes, definitely this one." Too bad I can't have it for real, she thought sadly.

While Nikita was oohing and aahing over other items in the display case, Michael slipped the clerk his own personal platinum card instead of the Section-issued one. This will be part of her Christmas, he thought. He had already bought her a cashmere sweater that was in a box under his bed. He knew material things couldn't make up for his neglect of her, but at least it would buy him some time.

Madeline ducked into an exclusive men's shop where she knew Paul had an account. She looked through the large selection of ties and isolated two that she particularly liked. These will go nicely with those dark suits he favors, she thought.

"Madam, how may I be of service?" A stuffy sales associate appeared at her side unbidden. "May I suggest some of these shirts?" He indicated a floor-to-ceiling cupboard stuffed with dress shirts.

"Thank you, but I already know which ones I want."

"But madam, those shirts really don't do those ties justice." The wrangling continued as shirts were presented and then rejected. A full-blown argument erupted between Madeline and the clerk. Voices were raised and insults were hurled back and forth. In a huff, Madeline paid for the ties and stomped out of the shop. He has no idea who he's dealing with here, she thought darkly.

"First team leader, report." Michael was startled when he heard Birkoff's voice in his ear. He was enjoying himself so much that he almost forgot this was a mission.

"There's nothing to report. We're spending money like water running through a sieve," Michael answered.

If only we were newlyweds, he sighed as Nikita was dragging him into a lingerie shop.

This should be fun, she thought happily. She grabbed a handful of items and went into the dressing room, leaving Michael to cool his heels while the other patrons, young and old, gave him the once-over.

"Darling, I need your opinion on something," she called out from behind the curtain. Michael hesitated. He could feel the eyes of every woman in the store on him. Finally, he got up and went over to the curtain. "What is it, sweetheart?"

"You can't give your opinion unless you come in here," she said coquettishly. Taking a deep breath, Michael stepped in. The sight that greeted him was beyond belief. Nikita was modeling a very short and very sheer peach-colored gown. One spaghetti strap was off her shoulder. It was so sheer that she might as well have been naked.

"Do you like this?" she purred. They both knew she was not referring to the nightgown. Michael moved closer, flicked the other strap off her shoulder and covered both breasts with his hands. He felt her nipples grow hard under his palms. Nikita's head rolled back and her lips parted. Michael pinned her hips against the wall with his own as his mouth descended on hers.

He kissed her hungrily as his hands continued to knead her soft breasts. "Oh, Michael, yes!" she moaned.

Then Birkoff was in their ears again. "Michael, there's a possible hostile outside the Lebanese bakery. I need a visual on him."

Michael pulled back slightly from Nikita. "We will finish this later," he breathed against her ear before squeezing her nipples one last time.

Operations had been to three different jewelry stores. Now in this last one he had found exactly the necklace he wanted for Madeline. The clerk wrapped it in fancy gold paper and he slid it into his inner breast pocket.

He went into the mall and stood beside a column to watch the giggling and crying children as they took their turns sitting on Santa's lap. He thought about the grandkids he would never know. He kept tabs on his son, Stephen, and knew that he had recently become engaged. Operations had accepted his life for what it was, but at least he had Madeline. While he was lost in thought, a short plump woman dressed as a Santa's helper accosted him.

"There you are! Stop standing around like that. You've got to get into your suit."

"What? You have the wrong . . ." He was unable to finish because the woman was jostling him through the back door of the North Pole Workshop. "I'm not who you think I am," Operations insisted.

"Oh, hush up! It's not about you – it's for the children," the woman said with finality as she stripped off his suit jacket.

What the heck, thought Operations. He remembered taking Stephen to visit Santa just before he shipped out to Vietnam, all those years ago. He felt unusually sentimental as he pulled on the red pants and coat. "Hurry up!" the woman urged. "The other Santa goes on break in ten minutes and let me tell you, he won't be a happy camper if he doesn't get a smoke."

"Alright, Walter. We gotta make this quick," Birkoff said as he looked around nervously for any sign of Madeline or Operations. The two men were standing in front of the perfume counter. A clerk came up to them.

"I'm looking for "Eau d'Ooh La La." Walter looked puzzled for a moment. "Or maybe it's "Fa La La. Oh heck, let me smell both of them!" Before long, he and Birkoff were surrounded by beautiful clerks shoving various scents under their noses. Then a plate of rum balls and fudge was being passed around. It was sniff, sniff, munch, munch. Soon their voices and laughter floated out into the mall where they fell on the acute ears of a woman in a severe black suit.

I might have known those two would be goofing off somewhere, Madeline thought angrily. However, her back and feet were hurting from all this standing and walking so she didn't feel like confronting them. She turned and went in the opposite direction.

She came to a dead stop in front of Santa's throne. There was something not quite right about the scene. She peered at Santa.

"Paul?" she whispered incredulously. "Have you taken leave of your senses?" Fortunately, no children were waiting in line at that moment.

"Ah, Madeline! Come here and tell Santa what you want for Christmas!" He pulled her into the room behind the throne. "Let's have some éclairs and eggnog. They're quite good. I do hope you've been a good girl this year!" He was excited about the necklace he had bought.

Madeline was flabbergasted as she watched Operations begin to eat the confections. Crumbs were falling into the fake beard, but he didn't care. This was so unlike Paul, who was very fastidious about his appearance. He seemed to have forgotten all about his hatred of Cornell Montgomery, too.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon. Michael and Nikita had made the rounds of the majority of stores where they purchased clothes, shoes, appliances, stereo equipment, etc. They had schmoozed in the food court in the morning while consuming coffee and donuts. Around one-thirty they had eaten lunch in a little bistro and ordered the most expensive champagne on the menu. Nikita was feeling as bubbly as the champagne, but no sign of Montgomery yet.

Birkoff's voice crackled in their ears. "Michael, your spending patterns are good, but you need to increase it. You're about to be overtaken in dollar volume by a teenage girl who is currently shopping in the shoe department."

"Let's go, sweetie!" Michael said as he pulled Nikita to her feet. He put his arm around her shoulders and they headed to a travel agency to book a cruise to South America.

The mall was closing in an hour and Michael and Nikita had been outspent by the teenage daughter of a Saudi Arabian billionaire. Instead of Montgomery coming out to congratulate her, a senior vice-president did the honors.

"The meeting must have already started," Michael said.

Nikita wandered into a bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. She had fun today pretending to be married to Michael, but she was ready to go home and put up her feet. Maybe Michael will massage them for me, she thought hopefully as she examined a blister on one heel.

As she was coming out of the bathroom, Nikita spotted a shifty-looking man at the end of the hall. Birkoff quickly confirmed that he was one of Montgomery's goons. Creeping up behind him, Nikita jabbed her silenced weapon into his ribs.

"Where is your boss having his meeting?" she asked quietly.

Using the intel Nikita obtained from the man, Michael's team now put away their credit cards and shopping bags and reverted to the highly-trained operatives they in reality were. With Michael leading, they stormed Montgomery's secret sub-basement office, apprehended him, and cancelled everyone else in the vicinity.

"Target acquired, sequence complete," Michael reported to Birkoff.

"Proceed to egress point at the south end of the mall," Birkoff replied. "The van will arrive in six minutes."

"How did you get the location of the meeting?" Michael asked Nikita.

"Very simple. I threatened his genitals," she laughed.

The mission was a success and Michael and Nikita were strolling down the mall to the egress point. Nikita made a mental note about which store the carved chess set was in. She would come back tomorrow and buy it for Michael. She knew he would love it. Maybe he would even teach her how to play. They paused to listen to a children's choir singing Christmas carols.

"Aren't they precious, Michael?" Nikita asked sweetly as she threaded her arm through his. Michael felt a clutching at his heart. No doubt Adam was singing in a similar choir wherever he was. Pushing aside that thought he answered, "Yes, they are."

They listened to another selection and then Michael said, "We should have one of our own." Nikita looked at him as if he had two heads. "Michael, the mission is over. There's no need to talk like that." She was very sensitive whenever "children" and "Michael" were mentioned in the same sentence.

She started to remove the wedding band, but Michael reached out to stop her. "We can pretend a little longer." The intense and meaningful look he gave her sent shivers down her spine. "It's Christmas – anything can happen," he whispered. Unexpectedly, he held a sprig of mistletoe over her head and kissed her passionately, which caused some envious stares.

Michael's Apartment

Lying in Michael's arms, Nikita's body was limp and sated after making love – several times. She pushed the hair out of her eyes and asked, "Michael, you remember in the van when you asked if I needed anything?"

"Hmm. . ." His eyelids were heavy after their marathon lovemaking.

"I really wanted to say something different, but me naked in your bed works just as well."

"It certainly does." He laughed as he rolled over to kiss her. Looking deeply into her eyes, he said, "Ni-ki-ta, now do you understand that you are the only woman for me? We all have to play our parts in Section." He paused to rub his thumb over her eyebrow.

"What we have together is real. It's not an act. It's not a mission. It's how I really feel about you. I hate it when you're with other men because I want you all to myself."

Nikita was moved by his honesty. This unburdening of his feelings was something new. For too long all she had gotten was the blank stare and silence.

"You have me all to yourself for tonight and as long as you want," she smiled.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear." He suddenly threw back the covers and got out of bed.

"Put the seat down," Nikita called out. He turned and laughed, "I'm not going to the bathroom." Instead, she heard him go into the living room and rummage around in the coat closet.

In a moment, he came back with a slim black and gold box from the jewelry store they had visited this morning. He managed to hide it in the closet when Nikita was making some tea earlier.

Nikita looked suspiciously at the box. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Merry Christmas, Ni-ki-ta!" He removed the lid and fastened the bracelet on her arm.

"Really, Michael?"

"Oui."

"Thank you, thank you. I love it!" She threw her arms around his neck.

He thought about the cashmere sweater under the bed, but right now he didn't want anything covering her body except himself.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!