THE TRAITOR...

By.....Sherry

Sherry walked down the hall of CLHQ in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she had just overheard. She had been walking through the back hallways of Section and noticed a side room door part-way open. She had not intentionally listened, but as she passed, she had heard VOICES. It was Ops and Maddy and another person, she wasn't sure who, but it sounded like Michael, discussing her FRIEND Is. They thought she was a traitor!

How could that be? "I have to do something," Sherry thought to herself. She would have to RESCUE her INNOCENT friend from a charge of TREASON. Sherry passed Aries and Northstar on her way to her room. They said "hi" as Sherry passed by, not even acknowledging their presence.

"What is wrong with her?" Aries asked.

Northstar replied "I don't know. But it must be serious. Did you see the look on her face?" They filed the information away and then headed for their offices.

Meanwhile, Sherry was in her room trying to think this thing through. She had called Is and asked her to stop by for a chat. Until Is showed up, she would have to try and decide what to do. Sherry wandered around her room, trying to think of anything that would make them suspect Is. She couldn't come up with a thing. Whatever happened, had happened LAST NIGHT. She now wished she would have urged Is to come along with her and Michael last night. They could have had a DOUBLE DATE with Is and Roy.

"Well, it's too late for that kind of thinking now," Sherry scolded herself. As she was walking around the room, she didn't notice the plug she had run across the room to plug in her Christmas tree. She tripped over the plug and hit the floor ... it was a HARD LANDING!

"Ouch," she yelled. Trace and Aly had heard the yell and came running to find out what was wrong.

"Hey Sherry, what happened?" Trace asked. "I fell over the stupid plug on my Christmas tree. You'd think I was a new RECRUIT or something." Sherry replied. Aly came over to help her up, and Sherry yelled again.

"Oowwwww, I think I sprained my ankle." Aly and Trace helped Sherry to Medlab. She needed to have the ankle x-rayed just in case it was broken and not just sprained. While Sherry was in Medlab, Is came by her room for their chat. When Aly told her what had happened to Sherry, Is headed for Medlab to see how she was. Sherry was just leaving Medlab, with the help of a pair of crutches when Is found her.

"Hey Sherry, what are you trying to do? I'll bet you I know. Since it's Christmas time you want to get out of any missions in the next few weeks, is that it? Or maybe you just want Michael to wait on you hand and foot!" Is joked with her.

"Yeah, that's it," Sherry replied. "Let's get back to my room and have that visit we were planning."

Sherry and Is headed back to Sherry's room. Once inside, Sherry slid over a panel near her closet and punched in a few numbers.

"What are you doing?" Is asked. "And what was that anyway?" Sherry turned to her and said.

"I am securing the room. Walter installed this little gadget for me, compliments of Michael. You know how he is. OLD HABITS die hard. He doesn't trust too many people around Section, so he had that nice little security device installed for me."

After offering Is a Diet Coke, Sherry decided to try and get some info out of Is. But she had to be careful. Is couldn't know what she was up to.

"So, what did you do last night?" Sherry asked.

"Oh just a little of this and that," Is replied. Sherry was getting frustrated. This was going to be difficult if Is didn't open up a little bit.

"Oh come on, Is, what did you do?"

Is looked at her rather strangely and said "Who are you, my MOTHER?"

Sherry put on her best hurt look and Is instantly felt sorry. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I was going to go to the movies with NIKITA and a THIRD PERSON ... she wouldn't tell me who. She said as I was IN BETWEEN beaus at the time, she thought I would enjoy meeting this new person. Then after the movie, we were going to go to that new nightclub downtown, 'ADRIAN'S GARDEN.' Nikita said there was a new group playing there ... 'PSYCHIC PILGRIM.' She wanted to hear them. So I agreed to go. But, as luck would have it, about a half hour before we were to leave, Birkoff called and said Operations wanted me to meet a new operative, Ashley, and go out on her FIRST MISSION with her."

"So that's what I did. We went out and brought in some terrorist named SIMONE for questioning. After that, I went back to my room and crashed for the night. So there you have it. Not a real exciting night to talk about. So what did you do last night? Come on ... spill."

Well, at least she had a little to go on. But she had to keep playing along as though nothing were wrong so ... "Well, Michael and I went to dinner and then we did some Christmas shopping. That's about it. When we got back, Michael got a call from Operations about a terrorist group called NEW REGIME and was sent to get intel on them. So, I spent the rest of the evening watching tv ... well, actually some tapes. You know, some of those Christmas classics, 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas,' 'Rudolph,' 'The Little Drummer Boy.' That's how I spent my evening."

They spent a little while longer talking, until Is got a call from Birkoff. Operations wanted to see her immediately. "Gotta go. See ya' soon. Take care of that ankle," Is called as she left.

"You too, I will," Sherry answered.

Sherry still wasn't sure what to do. The first thing to do was to get some info on this new operative. She knew Section was not big on CHARITY -- Operations would show no MERCY if he thought Is was a traitor. Sherry decided she would turn this place INSIDE OUT if she had to to find out what was going on. She would have to play out her GAMBIT and see what happened.

If it didn't work, they would both end up dead. If only she could talk to some of her friends and get their input. But she knew she couldn't. Aries, North, Trace, Aly, Shadoe, Lauren, Carolyn, Doom, N507, Lease, and the other girls ... nope ... they would all be a tremendous help, but she couldn't put them in danger either. And Michael. If only she could ask for Michael's help. But she wasn't sure she could entirely trust him. If it was just her life on the line, she would go ahead and ask him. But she couldn't risk Is' life.

Michael had promised her over and over that he would never betray her, but she knew Section almost always came first with him. There was only one thing to do. Sherry grabbed her coat and her crutches and headed out of Section. First, though, she stopped by Birkoff's station.

"Hey Birkoff, how ya' doin?"

"Hi Sher, I'm fine. Where are you headed? And what happened to you?" Birkoff inquired.

"Oh, just a little accident. I'm headed out of here for a while. Need some fresh air. But first, I need a favor, and you have to keep it confidential. No one, and I mean no one, not even Michael, is to know what I ask you. Okay?"

Birkoff sighed. He didn't know how he always got stuck in the middle of things he didn't want to be in the middle of.

"Yeah, fine, whatever. What do you need?" Sherry told Birkoff to give her everything he had on the new operative Ashley and also everything he had on the mission Ashley and Is were sent on last night.

Birkoff looked at her like she was crazy, but finally gave her what she wanted. "Thanks Birkoff, you're a doll. I'll be sure to put some extra oreos in your stocking for Christmas."

With that, Sherry made her ESCAPE from CLHQ. She headed for a remote location in the mountains. No one knew of this place. Not even Michael. This was her private refuge. She came here when she needed to get away from everything. Michael had also shown her once how to counteract the clock crystal so that if someone tried to track her, they would get such a messed up reading that it would be worthless. So that was the first thing she did before she left CLHQ.

It was dark by the time she got into mountains. There was one small light in the DARKNESS VISIBLE. That was where she was headed. She always kept a small, battery-operated candle in one window of the log house.

Once inside with a fire in the fireplace, Sherry set down her PDA and read all the info Birkoff had given her. It seems that Ashley was a recent recruit that had been picked up for terroristic activities. Okay, that was someplace to start. She had been allied with a group called "New Regime."

New Regime. Okay. That was the group that Michael was checking up on last night. Hmmm. "Good thing I didn't ask Michael for his help," Sherry decided. They apparently wanted to start their own little WAR. They seemed to be OBSESSED with controlling black markets all over the world.

Ashley was recruited two years ago and had just finished training with a division of SPECIAL OPS, led by GRAY, the most difficult trainer Section had. From the file, there was no LOVE loss between Ashley and Gray. Next, Sherry read over the file from last night's mission. Things had seemed pretty routine until Is suddenly went OFF PROFILE. Ashley said she had heard a strange NOISE. Is decided to check it out. That left Ashley to detain the terrorist, Simone, with the other two ops covering egress.

When Is returned to the van, she said that she had not found anything. Sherry's mind began to work overtime. Seems that Ashley may have had an END GAME all her own on that mission. She just needed to find out what it was.

**************

Back at CLHQ, everyone was noticing that Sherry was MISSING. Aries and North called a meeting of all the CLers. Northstar called the meeting to order.

"Okay, everyone. We all know why we are here. Does anyone have any idea at all where Sherry could be, or what might have happened to her?"

Just then Michael entered the room. "I just received a very short e-mail, the origins of which are untraceable, from Sherry. She is in MANDATORY REFUSAL. There's just one problem with that. She was not assigned any mission before she left Headquarters. Operations will have her head for this if we don't get her back. She says someone here is in trouble and she won't be back until she can get them out of trouble. She didn't say who. She also says she won't contact anyone until she is certain of all her facts, unless it is an extreme emergency. I don't like this. I don't like it at all."

Aries picked up the conversation. "So Michael, what do you think we should do? We have no idea where she is. She apparently isn't trusting any of us to help her, what do you have in mind?"

Lease decided to interject a thought. "Seems to me Sherry is using very FUZZY LOGIC. Does anyone know why she wouldn't trust us? Besides PJ Day, she knows she can trust all of us. And you, Michael, why doesn't she trust you? What did you do to her? Or what have you set in motion that would get one of us in trouble? Does anyone have any idea of who's in trouble?"

Just then Is came into the room looking as while as a sheet. "I think I can help you with that question. I just came back from a meeting with Operations and Madeline. They have accused me of treason. They think I have sold Section secrets to that terrorist group New Regime. They gave me 24 hours to come up with an explanation of how New Regime got the intel, or I will be canceled."

There was a collective gasp in the room as Is started talking. Trace asked what everyone else was thinking "Is, why would they suspect that of you? What happened?" Is explained what she new of last night's mission. "But they didn't seem to believe me when I said I went to check out a noise. They think I left to meet with the terrorists and give them the intel. I can't prove that I didn't and no one else was with me. All they have is my word and that doesn't mean much with Operations. I am to present my findings tomorrow and then he will pronounce his VERDICT."

Michael was beginning to get a picture of what might have happened. "I think this might explain where Sherry is. Somehow she found out that Is was in trouble and decided to find out what happened. I just wish she would have told us so that we could help her. But she has such a big OPEN HEART that she didn't want any of us to get in trouble in case she failed. We have to find her and inform her we know what's going on. I'm going to check with Birkoff and see if he can locate her by her crystal. If any of you hear from her, let me know immediately."

With that, Michael left. Michael had no luck with Birkoff. Once he saw the readings Birkoff was getting from Sherry's crystal, he knew what she had done. "Sometimes" he thought, "I think I trained that girl too well." About that time, Operations called down to Michael.

"I want to see you in my office, immediately." Michael headed for Operations' office. Once he arrived, Operations began to speak. "It seems that we have a traitor in our midst. I believe it is Is, but she denies it. I want you to get to the bottom of it. I also have been informed that Sherry is missing. Somehow, I believe the two might be connected. Those two are very good friends. Is there anything you can tell me about it?" Operations watched Michael's face closely for any signs that he might be stalling or lying.

Michael answered simply. "No."

Operations started at the young man for a few more seconds and then said, "I better not find out that you had anything to do with her disappearance Michael, or you will be cancelled too. Do you understand?"

Michael answered that yes he understood and then left.

********

Twenty hours later ...

Michael was getting very nervous. He hadn't heard from Sherry and he wasn't having much luck in proving Is was innocent. He knew she was, but he couldn't prove it. He decided to pay North a visit to see if any of the other had heard from Sherry.

When Michael knocked at North's door, he was surprised to see Shadoe answer. "Hi Michael. Come in." Michael entered the room. There sat Aries, North, Trace, Aly, Is, Carolyn and Shadoe. "What's going on? Did you find out anything?" The girls looked at each other and then to North.

Finally, she answered him. "Michael, Sherry contacted Aries about an hour ago. When Aries asked her where she was, she said she couldn't say. She didn't want us to tell you."

Michael stared at Aries. "Did she say why?" Aries didn't like it when Michael gave her that blank stare, and she fidgeted.

"Well, not really. Just that I wasn't to tell you. Said she would be back soon. She said she was sorry about how worried everyone was. I told her NOT WAS worried... is worried. But she only said she'd explain as soon as she got back. Then she said something about letting them find her location. And then she hungup."

Michael was nervous now. If Sherry had let them trace her location, then Operations was probably having her brought in right now. He had to get to van access and be there when she arrived. Things were quickly spiraling out of his control. He hated this situation. And he still hadn't been able to prove Is was innocent. His mind was working in ten different directions all at once. Once Sherry arrived, he would have to have a plan in place. If not, she and Is would both be canceled. He knew the time they had left was APPROACHING ZERO.

About an hour later Michael was standing by van access when Ken and Mentz brought Sherry in. She was handcuffed and she was hobbling pretty badly. Michael stopped them in their tracks as soon as they stepped out of van access. "What happened? What did they do to you?"

Sherry looked at Michael and tried to read his expression. He was doing to same with her. He could tell she didn't completely trust him at this moment. Something was up and he didn't like the feeling he was getting. He tried to express to her through his eyes that she could trust him, but she wasn't buying it. Not for a minute.

"They didn't do anything to me, Michael. I sprained my ankle yesterday. But since they've handcuffed me, I can't use my crutches."

Madeline and Operations had called all the CLers to the big conference room. Everyone was waiting there when Mowen brought in Is. Just then Michael led Sherry, Ken and Mentz into the room. Operations stood to speak.

"Now that everyone has arrived, I think we can begin. We are here to decide the fate of one, possibly two traitors in our midst. Is, since it is your fate on the line, what do you have to say in your defense?"

Is was as white as a sheet. She hadn't been able to come up with anything to prove her innocence. No one had seen her going to check out the anomaly during the mission. She couldn't prove that she hadn't met with anyone. How could you prove that you didn't meet with anyone when there was no one to ask? She finally looked Operations right in the eye and spoke.

"All I can say is what I said yesterday. I did not betray Section. I did not meet with a terrorist. I did not leak intel. I can't prove a negative, so there is no way I can prove I didn't meet with anyone. All I have is my word."

Madeline was studying her face while she spoke and believed her. Operations, however, didn't.

"Well, then it seems we have a problem here. I don't think that I can just take your word for it." he said. "Michael, when we are finished here, Is will be canceled. I want you to do it personally."

Michael stared at Operations. He wanted to kill the old man right there. There was no way he was going to cancel Is. She was his friend. He did not, however, give away any emotions. He just stared at the old man. Operations then spoke again.

"Now on to the other matter. It seems that Sherry decided to leave Section without any notice to anyone, without authorization and also to disable her clock crystal. I am wondering if maybe you two aren't working together. Is was caught, so Sherry decided to make the next meet and leak more intel. What do you have to say for yourself, Sherry?"

The room was very still. No one made a sound. Finally Sherry looked at Operations.

"First, I want the handcuffs removed." Operations stared at her and then nodded to Ken to remove the cuffs. Once that was accomplished, Sherry stood and spoke again. "You, Operations, are a complete idiot. How you could take that new recruit Ashley's word over Is', who has been a loyal member of CLHQ for quite a while now, is beyond me. You just jump to whatever conclusion you want and then take action, regardless of whether you are right or not. I don't know how Madeline puts up with you sometimes."

Madeline smiled. She was enjoying this. Looking around the room, she could tell that everyone else was stunned. No one spoke to Operations like that. Of course, Sherry would probably be severely reprimanded for doing so, but she was trying to make a point and it was a good one.

"Apparently, no one bothered to check too closely into Ashley's background or her current status. It seems her time her at Section is only her HALF LIFE. She spends quite a bit of time outside the Section with a man named Jurgen. Jurgen, it turns out, is very connected to New Regime. Apparently during one of their little visits, Jurgen decided to BRAINWASH Ashley, although I doubt it would have been necessary. She is the one who gave the intel to New Regime. While Is was running on a wild goose chase to check out that anomaly during the mission, Ashley was left alone with Simone and, apparently, Jurgen was there as well. They left her capture Simone, but before they left, Ashley fed Jurgen all the intel he wanted. By the way, if you are interested, Jurgen is now locked up in a cabin about a mile outside of town. You can pick him up whenever you want. I placed a tracker on him, so Walter can give you a location. So there you have it. Is is not a traitor and I did not meet with any terrorists. I went into Mandatory Refusal to right a wrong that Section was about to commit. If that warrants cancellation, then so be it. I am willing to make a SOUL SACRIFICE to save any of my friends if the need arises. So do with me what you will."

With that, Sherry sat down. Madeline was proud of her. She had not only saved a fellow Operative from unwarranted cancellation, but she had stood up to Operations. Not many people would do that.

Is was quite relieved. She couldn't believe what Sherry had done for her. She couldn't believe she was off the hook. But she was worried now for Sherry. Operations didn't take kindly to being challenged.

Michael was sharing Is' worry. He knew Operations would need to punish Sherry and make an example of her. He just hoped that it didn't go too far. And, he also hoped that Operations didn't want him to carry out the punishment. Everyone waited for Operations to speak. Finally he walked around to Sherry and spoke.

"Congratulations. You saved your friend. Michael, you can forget about cancelling Is. However, I have a new assignment for you. You will carry out Sherry's punishment. No one, and I mean no one, talks to me that way. No one goes behind my back and makes a fool out of me. Sherry, you should have come to me with your suspicions. Do you think I am stupid? I would have let you or someone else check them out. However, since you decided to ignore Section protocol completely, you have to be punished."

**************

Michael was reading the newspaper on the couch in the living room when he heard noises in the bedroom. Sherry had been pretty sick with the flu today and had stayed in bed. He went to check on her. When he arrived in the room, he noticed that she was thrashing around in the bed. And she was calling out "No Michael, please don't. How could you Michael? I trusted you." He went over to the bed and touched her forehead. She definitely had a fever. He shook her and called out to her.

"Sherry, wake up. Can you hear me? Sherry, wake up."

Sherry sat bolt upright in bed. She stared at Michael as if she had never seen him before. She was afraid of him for some reason. Michael decided to try and find out what was wrong.

"Sherry, it's me Michael. What's wrong? You seemed to be having quite a nightmare. Sherry .... Sherry."

Sherry finally focused her eyes and looked at him. "Michael?" Michael felt relief. At least she was coherent now.

"Yeah, it's me Michael. You know ... your husband."

"Oh Michael, what a nightmare." Sherry proceeded to tell him about her dream. Michael couldn't believe her wild imagination. Then he happened to look down and saw a book laying on the floor. He reached down and picked it up.

"Ah, this explains it. No more Robert Ludlum books for you, my dear wife. At least not when you are sick!"


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This story © Copyright 1998, Sherry
Used by permission