Jake Unplugged

Title: Jake Unplugged

Author: MisaGoddess

Spoilers: None, really.

Category: AU of Jake 2.0; crossover w/ La Femme Nikita (Television Series).

Pairings: Kyle/Jake; Jake/OC’s, future Jake/?

Rating: NC 17, in parts

Warnings: angst, slash, violence

Disclaimer – They don’t belong to me, obviously. Jake 2.0 is produced by Roundtable Entertainment in association with Viacom Productions and La Femme Nikita…by some other people - I don’t know. Don’t sue me!! I have no cash but if you persist, you may be awarded custody of a *very* cranky cat.

Feedback: Yes! But no flames please. Constructive (even admiring) criticism is needed.

Okay - decided this first chapter needed a major overhaul. So here it is - hope you enjoy!


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Chapter 1

Jake moved swiftly on his way to the debriefing session. He did not want to be late – Kyle – Agent Duarte, he corrected himself, would be conducting the session with AIC Beckett. He had not been late to a debrief or mission outlay meeting in months. Not since the last one he had partnered with Duarte. Which had gone so far wrong it wasn’t funny. He stiffened at the memory but then forced himself to relax.

He wanted to be as professional as possible when reporting to Lou. That had not bothered him in the past…but things were considerably different now. And getting the job done mattered to her. It was just the kind of person she was. Single-minded, determined and damn near unstoppable. He aed ted that. As for Agent Duarte –he didn’t know if *anything* was important to him except the job. Jake himself was certain he had never really known Kyle at all.

As he walked through the glass and steel enclosed hallways, he tried not to think of the last time he had been in that office. That brief time he thought he was in love. Jake thought cynically, God, what a fool I was.

Absently he wondered where Sarah was now. He had found himself thinking of her often these past months and contemplating whether or not to contact her. He had been infatuated with her through most of college. Until he met Kyle. Sublimination, Kyle had said, laughing, teasing him. That had been the first weekend they had made love. Jake remembered feeling so incredibly connected – he had never felt that about anyone before. And he’d thought Kyle felt the same way about him. That fantasy had been firmly squashed after their last mission. Jake had left quickly afthe dhe debriefing, avoiding Kyle by taking the very next few assignments offered. He couldn’t get away fast enough. At the time, he could barely look at his former lover without feeling sickened and humiliated.

Sometimes he thought about lng bng but that was nearly impossible. If he ever did try he was pretty sure to be buried in a holding cell so deep, he sincerely doubted even his enhanced abilities would be able to get him free. Ironic, when Jake recalled how desperately he had longed to be an agent once.

I guess the old saying was right. ‘Be careful what you wish for’. He just never thought everything he dreamed of could go wrong so drastically. Not to mention that the NSA would consider talent in the bedroom as a viable resource. Pretty funny, considering they built this project around him because of the *nanites*.

Jake remembered how enthused he had been when Diane had told him about his new abilities. He had felt like a kid with a new toy. And then the fear that had set in when she revealed the nanotechnology wasn’t really stable. His near death experience at his friend’s wedding had brought that fact home. I was so lucky Diane was there, he thought gratefully.

And afterwards, the slow realization that he was considered NSA ‘property’. Even when he was off work, he was monitored. Although, after the first few times, he had stopped destroying the bugs since theye jue just replaced. And whoever was doing it was finding more clever hiding spots. Jake thought wryly, better the devil you know…and it should be noted that it was really pretty easy to find bugging equipment when you could mentally infiltrate just about any electronic device in proximity.

And the very ability he used most when he was on assignment. He would distract a target, and steal the information right off any computer it was on – protected database or not. He could work his way through just about any encryption or firewalls used to protect data. Well, just as long as he was close enough.

He snorted under his breath, almost amused as he came to a stop outside Beckett’s office. He’d been in some very odd places (occasionally doing some *very* odd things) because of *that* little hitch in his abilities.

So, maybe he should contact Sarah – she had always been a pretty good friend. Held tld talk to her, and he needed to talk to someone. Plus he’d gotten rather good at lying by default. It wasn’t like he would tell her anything that would put her in danger. If he was careful…and oops he was just about to pass Lou’s office.

Jake nodded to the assistant as she spoke. “Go on in. She’s expecting.”
.”

He smiled wryly. “Thanks.”

As he turned to enter, Jake schooled his face to an expressionless mask. Showtime.


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


Agent Duarte stood, seemingly at ease, by AIC Beckett’s desk as they waited for Jake to report. The sunbeams streaming in through the windows behind the desk caught his attention just as the door opened and Jake strode in. He moved with a liquid grace that was completely dissimilar from when they first met. The sun caught his outline briefly as he moved to sit gracefully into the chair placed there.

Kyle barely managed to keep his tongue from hanging out.

The way Jake felt about him now - it would definitely not be appreciated. And Lou might have a few comments to make as well.

Lou nodded to Kyle who turned on the digital recorder to start the debrief. Jake delivered a concise account of his mission and for the next hour Duarte and Beckett questioned him intensely until they were both satisfied. Lou sat back in her chair. “Good work.” She stated with satisfaction. She watched Jake carefully. “Are you up for another assignment right away? Just a simple extraction. Like a vacation. You could use a break.”

Jake eyed her with a cynical look on his face. Kyle could almost see him thinking – ‘since when?’ Unfair, but then he guessed Jake was entitled to a little bitterness. Trouble is he seemed tomakimaking it a life’s work.

“If this is so simple, why me? Any agent could be assigned.”

Beckett exchanged glances with Kyle who arched an eyebrow at her. “I told you.” A hint of satisfaction entered his deep voice. Jake switched his gaze to him, his face carefully blank.

But Kyle had been doing this job nearly as long as Jake had been alive. He could see the struggle as Jake suppressed the anger and resentment that always surfaced when they were together. Beckett shrugged and sent one of her patented glares his way, “So you were right. Don’t gloat.”

“As much as I enjoy being discussed as if I’m not present, I would like to ask again – why me?” Jake narrowed his eyes at Kyle as he stepped around the to the front of the de Aut Automatically he concentrated, feeling the familiar tingling sensation as the nanites began to work. His senses seemed to expand outward and searched the room, feeling for any electronic listening devices. Theas nas nothing he could sense. “Is this a job for Director Skerrit?”

Beckett answered “No!” emphatically. “In fact, no other NSA operative outside this room will be aware of the true nature of this mission. Kyle will be your contact when you are in the field.” Jake opened his mouth to object and then subsided seeing her implacable expression. “Jake, this is *too* important to let personal matters get in the way.”

Jake nodded, resigned. “So what is this all about? Who am I supposed to find and why don’t you want anyone knowing? I really don’t feel like ending up in front of another NSA Inquiry Board.”

He looked to Kyle as the dark agent began to speak. “A former black ops agent. He was presumed dead. But the particular ‘agency’ he worked for is very thorough. They had a detail placed on his young son, who was in foster care after his mother was killed.”

Jake interrupted. “If they thought both parents were dead, why bother watching the kid?” He was starting to get a bad feeling about this-

Kyle grimaced inwardly with distaste. He had been appalled upon learning about the activities of this particular agency. And to add insult to injury they were still being actively funded. “This man worked for an ‘invisible’ branch of the government. All ops were off the books. Complete and total deniability. This man was ‘recruited’ by their antiterrorist division ostensibly because he was a former terrorist himself.” Jake looked clearly surprised as Kyle continued. “While at a Paris University he became involved with an anarchistic student group called L'Heure Sanguine (The Bloody Hour).” Kyle paused and extended his hand to retrieve a file from Beckett. “This is our file on the agent in question.” He handed the thin folder to Jake who frowned, puzzled.

“This is it?” Jake waggled the anemic folder in Kyle’s direction. “This guy worked for our government and this is all we had on him? Come on, guys.” yle yle smiled humorlessly. “This is all we were able to reconstruct. Just before his supposed ‘death’ all mission data and personal history was deleted from the servers by an unknown party. At least that’s what we were told. We know the intel these people had compiled was *quite* extensive. With their level of paranoia, there is no way they would not have had backups to the main system. In lieu of this very happenstance.” He stopped, his eyes boring into Jake’s. “That means he had help from inside Section One Command and Control. It would be helpful to find out who it was. But your main objective is to find Michael Samuelle.”

Jake sighed to himself. He could tell this was going to be *so* much fun.

‘Vacation’ my ass.


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


So okay, when Beckett and Kyle had first mentioned getting him into Section, he’d had the idea it would be, you know, the usual clandestine deal. Lou had quickly disabused him of that notion. She had been frighteningly clear and insistent. There was no way to ‘sneak’ into Section. If he tried, he would probably find himself inside - with no way out. And Kyle had described * in detail* how Section worked.

Jake shivered; even reading the small amount of information in Samuelle’s file had given him the creeps. The idea of forcing someone to work for you under pain of death was –well, honestly, not that *unfamiliar* to him but Section operatives were under a constant threat.

My God, Jake thought again, numbly. Murderers, psychopaths - with nothing to lose, and in fact Section prized eagerness to kill (as long as it was on command, of course). And these ‘agents’ were set loose to actively work for the United States Government?

He had been literally speechless.

And now he was on his way to a clandestine meet with the Operational Control of Section One.

Arguably one of the most dangerous people he was ever likely to meet.


End Chapter 1