Alex rolled her eyes tiredly and paced around the barren, white room. She let out an instinctive shiver at the hidden hostility it held, masquerading around as a place of trust and friendliness. Even the flowers seemed to be drooping; as if covering their eyes from the cruelty and maliciousness they witnessed.

"Thank you for joining me, Alex," the door behind her shut quietly and the sound of footsteps echoed off the walls. "If you'd be so kind as to have a seat, we can get you back out with the other recruits as soon as possible."

Alex cautiously sat down in the chair across from Amanda, tensing as the older woman poured her a drink. "You don't expect me to drink that, do you?"

Amanda smiled and took a sip of the questionable liquid. "That's perfectly fine; all I want to do is talk."

She felt her pulse speed up; had Jade reported her? Alex tried to keep her voice even, "About what?"

"I work with every single recruit that comes in through those doors," Amanda gently placed her tea cup on the table that rested between them. "I mold them into their true-selves; help them feel good about who they are, let them realize their full potential as a human being. Each recruit is like family to me, and, for me, the proudest day of my time with them is when I get to tell them the words I'm about to tell you. Congratulations Alex, you're graduating."

"Excuse me?"

"We get about twenty new recruits every six months," Amanda recited in her usual impersonal tone. "And a fourth of them don't ever make it out into the field. But you, Alex, you have something we haven't seen in a recruit in a long time; you have a confidence in yourself like no one else here. And even in the short time you've been with us, we've all seen it. So with my firm recommendation, Percy has granted you a position on the latest op."

Alex scrunched her face up, trying to process all that she'd just heard. "What do I have to do?"

Amanda smiled proudly and handed her a single, blue folder. "Everything you need on your target is in there; Michael will fill you in on the rest," she paused and stared directly at Alex, sending every bit of emotion she felt into her gaze. "I don't need to remind you how important it is that this mission goes perfectly, right?"

Michael scowled out the medical window, knowing that Nikita was somewhere inside the building getting stabbed and struck with knifes, needles, and questions. He turned his frustrated gaze to his bloodied, injured leg and willed it to heal itself...nothing happed.

"How long until I can leave?" He asked exasperatedly for, what had to be, the twelfth time that hour.

The doctor held up Michael's x-rays to examine them more closely. "Percy sent strict orders not to let you out until you're fully healed."

Michael grunted doubtfully, and shifted his leg to a more comfortable position. He knew Percy just didn't want him to see Nikita; probably still questioning the extent of his loyalty to his former friend. "Can I at least get some more pain medicine, then?"

"Two every four hours," the doctor quoted with an apologetic smile.

..

"It was all a lie, wasn't it?" Thom accused savagely. "All the times I thought we had something; it was all just an act!"

"Thom," Alex whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "You don't understand-"

"Okay, Alex," he declared sarcastically. "Tell me, tell me more lies!"

"It's not like that!" She yelled uneasily.

"Tell me," he muttered, the gun trembling in his hands. "Did you ever feel anything for me?"

Alex stepped forward, her watery eyes shining, all fear momentarily forgotten. "The only thing I felt for you, was sorry."

..

Boom!

Michael sat up instantly, briefly woozy from the rapid movement. "What was that?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," the doctor shrugged, peering through the window. "You just rest; I'll go see what's going on."

Michael was prepared to argue, but a sharp pain exploded in his leg, putting all plans of leaving on hold. He didn't need to get up to know what was happening, however. After all, Nikita did have a mole on the inside; did Percy really think whoever it was would just let her hang around and be tortured until she revealed who her informer was (not that she would ever give into them)?

There was more shouting in the distance and Michael rolled his shoulders and glanced out the window, catching sight of whoever was running around the empty hallway.

Nikita...

The two enemies froze at the sight of each other. All Nikita could see was his crimson, bandaged leg. And all Michael could see was the panicked, lost look on her face. He felt himself wanting to go help her; help her get out of this place and somewhere safe.

But then, he remembered what she had done. How close he had been to Kassim, and how she had betrayed him when he trusted her most. Michael jumped over to the phone, dialing the number to security, and as he looked up, he caught a glimpse of her crestfallen face. He knew what she was feeling. Betrayal.

..

Alex sobbed as she felt Thom slowly losing consciousness. Just a few days ago, they'd been cheerfully talking about her becoming an agent and now he was leaving her...forever.

"You're gonna see me."