Something in Particular
TITLE: Something In Particular
AUTHOR: happywriter06
FANDOM: Prison Break
RATING: PG-13
CHARACTERS: Michael Scofield, Nika Volek, OMC
SUMMARY: Michael finds his wife.
NOTES: I don't own PB.
Chapter 1
“Looking for anything in particular?”
“Yes.”
“Am I it?”
“No.”
Michael watches the blonde in the silver g-string and plastic heels walk away seemingly insulted by his answer. He takes another drink and tries to sink even more into the darkness of the corner.
He had never gotten the appeal of strip clubs. Dark. Smoky. Sticky. Watered down drinks. Shitty music. And girls who were lucky if they were ugly. Ugly, not so much because they were not born with the pretty gene, but because of the wear and tear they earned.
“Another one?”
“Yeah.” Michael comes out of the darkness to push the empty glass towards the waitress. If she was a few years, okay more than a few years, younger she might have been the something in particular. He watches her walk away and then leans back, resting his head on the cool leather of the booth. One more drink and I’m out of here.
“You don’t look like you want to be here.”
Michael emerges from the darkness to see who belongs to the Eastern European accent.
She has eyes like Bambi, brown and innocent. Still innocent after working in a place like this. She must be new. Her face is round like it does not want to let go of her baby fat. It makes her look younger than she probably is, than she hopefully is. She does not wear a lot of makeup. And hair is in long, brown curls that hug her face and only make her face look chubbier and younger. I’m going to marry her.
“I can say the same about you.”
“I have to be here.”
“Why?”
The waitress comes back with his drink. “One rum and coke.”
“Thanks,” he says as he slides a fifty across the table. He has nice hands with long fingers. Nika can tell if he touched her, even though it is not allowed, she could pretend they were someplace else.
“I’ll be back with your change.”
“Keep it.”
The waitress smiles her best smile at Michael as she stuffs the money into her bra. “Nika don’t let this one get away.”
“She’s right Nika. I’m quite the catch.” Nika turns back to look at Michael. It does not matter what the guy looks like, you approach them all because it only matters what the money looks like. It is very rare for the customer to look better than the money.
“I’m sure you say that to all the strippers.”
“Do I look like the type of guy that comes here often?” No, she thinks. But he did look like the kind of guy that knew he only had to tilt his head in a certain way, half-smile and close his eyes a bit to make a woman forget her name, if only for a second. The closely shaved head, the light eyes, and the voice only added to his appeal.
“Maybe.”
“You lie.”
“Maybe.”
He reaches his hand out to her. “I’m Michael.” She does not make a move to shake his hand.
“No touching allowed.”
“Oh. See? I didn’t know that. Like I said, it’s my first time.”
“Then it should be your last. You are a gentleman. I can tell. Not like the rest.”
“It says ‘Gentleman’s Club’ in the window.” There is that half-smile again.
“Nika?” A bearded guy about 6’3”, over 200 pounds wearing all black comes up behind her. He grabs her arm and leans down to speak into her ear but he looks at Michael the whole time. Michael cannot hear what he says but can guess from the look on Nika’s face that he isn’t whispering sweet nothings. When he finishes, he pats Nika on the ass as if to say to Michael, “She may dance for you but she’s mine.”
“If you don’t want a dance, I go.”
“I don’t want a dance.” Michael can see that she is not insulted by his answer, just disappointed. She gives him a half-hearted smile before turning to go. “I want to meet you for coffee.”
CHAPTER 2
Nika is early. Way too early or so she thinks. He is already inside. He looks up from his newspaper to see her looking at him through the coffee shop window. He just smiles. If she had plans to walk away, they were gone now.
Michael is relieved to see her standing outside. She came. He was not sure she would. She had no reason, too. He folds his newspaper up, leans back in his chair and just waits for her to come inside.
“Hi.”
“Hi. I wasn’t sure you would come.” He says as he pulls her seat out.
“I wasn’t sure I would either. I told myself, ‘It’s just coffee.’”
“Just coffee.” Michael signals for the waitress. Nika orders cappuccino. Michael has coffee, two sugars. “You look nervous. Are you nervous Nika?”
“Yes.”
“I’m harmless. You can trust me.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
“Tell me about it.”
Nika looks like at him like he is crazy. “Why do you want to know about me?”
“Just making conversation.”
“You are a strange man.”
“So I’ve been told.”
She may think he is strange but not so strange that she does not tell him about herself that day and the next and the one after that. How she grew up poor in Romania. How the only way she could help her family - a father who was sick, a mother who worked all the time to take care of everyone, and three younger siblings - was to dance. Nothing else paid like dancing so after working as hard as her mother since she was 16, she gave in. She was 23. That was 3 years ago. Then one day last year some guys made her an offer. They offered her a life in America in exchange for her working for them for a year to pay them back. She has been working for them for two. They said to bring her to America it cost more than they expected, so according to their calculations, her tab would be paid after three years. Now she knows she was stupid for believing them but she had to believe.
Michael did not have a lot of time but he took his time with Nika. He knew what he was looking for when he went searching for someone to be his wife. He wanted someone who needed something from him as much as he needed something from her. Someone, who because of that need wouldn’t have a problem marrying in name only and sneaking contraband into a prison. It figures the person he’d pick would really, really need someone to believe in.
He hated what he was going to do to her. But it had to be done. He had no time to find someone else and hope they would stay just business associates and not friends. This is not the time to be making friends, he thinks for himself as he waits for her.
Nika interrupts his thoughts. “Hi,” she says smiling. He stands up to hug her hello.
“Hi. You look happy.” They sit down on the park bench.
“Good day today.”
“Well your day is about to get better." He pulls a brown envelope out of his inside coat pocket. He hands it to her.
She looks down at it. “What is it?”
“Open it.”
“No. I can’t take this. You work hard for this.” She hands it back but he doesn’t take it. “Take it back. Michael, take it.”
“No. It’s for you to pay off your tab. I won’t take it back.”
“Michael…”
“No.” She does not say anything for awhile. She just sits and stares down at the envelope.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you a million times.”
“You’re welcome. But that’s not all. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the ring box.
“Michael…”
“Shh. Let me say this. I’m pretty sure that when you imagined this happening the guy was better looking and you two are in love. I wish it was like that for you.” He takes a deep breath. “I can’t just give you the money. If you want to stay here, become an American citizen, you have to get married. Will you marry me?”
He is wrong. There is no one better looking. He is wrong about that but he is right about everything else. She wishes the person proposing is in love with her. She knows he isn’t.
“Yes.”
Nika pays off her tab. They are married a week later. They celebrated her freedom over dinner. After dinner he gives her a credit card. He tells her not to use to it, to not lose it, but most important of all, to bring it to him when he asks for it.
And the day after that, he robs a bank.
AUTHOR: happywriter06
FANDOM: Prison Break
RATING: PG-13
CHARACTERS: Michael Scofield, Nika Volek, OMC
SUMMARY: Michael finds his wife.
NOTES: I don't own PB.
Chapter 1
“Looking for anything in particular?”
“Yes.”
“Am I it?”
“No.”
Michael watches the blonde in the silver g-string and plastic heels walk away seemingly insulted by his answer. He takes another drink and tries to sink even more into the darkness of the corner.
He had never gotten the appeal of strip clubs. Dark. Smoky. Sticky. Watered down drinks. Shitty music. And girls who were lucky if they were ugly. Ugly, not so much because they were not born with the pretty gene, but because of the wear and tear they earned.
“Another one?”
“Yeah.” Michael comes out of the darkness to push the empty glass towards the waitress. If she was a few years, okay more than a few years, younger she might have been the something in particular. He watches her walk away and then leans back, resting his head on the cool leather of the booth. One more drink and I’m out of here.
“You don’t look like you want to be here.”
Michael emerges from the darkness to see who belongs to the Eastern European accent.
She has eyes like Bambi, brown and innocent. Still innocent after working in a place like this. She must be new. Her face is round like it does not want to let go of her baby fat. It makes her look younger than she probably is, than she hopefully is. She does not wear a lot of makeup. And hair is in long, brown curls that hug her face and only make her face look chubbier and younger. I’m going to marry her.
“I can say the same about you.”
“I have to be here.”
“Why?”
The waitress comes back with his drink. “One rum and coke.”
“Thanks,” he says as he slides a fifty across the table. He has nice hands with long fingers. Nika can tell if he touched her, even though it is not allowed, she could pretend they were someplace else.
“I’ll be back with your change.”
“Keep it.”
The waitress smiles her best smile at Michael as she stuffs the money into her bra. “Nika don’t let this one get away.”
“She’s right Nika. I’m quite the catch.” Nika turns back to look at Michael. It does not matter what the guy looks like, you approach them all because it only matters what the money looks like. It is very rare for the customer to look better than the money.
“I’m sure you say that to all the strippers.”
“Do I look like the type of guy that comes here often?” No, she thinks. But he did look like the kind of guy that knew he only had to tilt his head in a certain way, half-smile and close his eyes a bit to make a woman forget her name, if only for a second. The closely shaved head, the light eyes, and the voice only added to his appeal.
“Maybe.”
“You lie.”
“Maybe.”
He reaches his hand out to her. “I’m Michael.” She does not make a move to shake his hand.
“No touching allowed.”
“Oh. See? I didn’t know that. Like I said, it’s my first time.”
“Then it should be your last. You are a gentleman. I can tell. Not like the rest.”
“It says ‘Gentleman’s Club’ in the window.” There is that half-smile again.
“Nika?” A bearded guy about 6’3”, over 200 pounds wearing all black comes up behind her. He grabs her arm and leans down to speak into her ear but he looks at Michael the whole time. Michael cannot hear what he says but can guess from the look on Nika’s face that he isn’t whispering sweet nothings. When he finishes, he pats Nika on the ass as if to say to Michael, “She may dance for you but she’s mine.”
“If you don’t want a dance, I go.”
“I don’t want a dance.” Michael can see that she is not insulted by his answer, just disappointed. She gives him a half-hearted smile before turning to go. “I want to meet you for coffee.”
CHAPTER 2
Nika is early. Way too early or so she thinks. He is already inside. He looks up from his newspaper to see her looking at him through the coffee shop window. He just smiles. If she had plans to walk away, they were gone now.
Michael is relieved to see her standing outside. She came. He was not sure she would. She had no reason, too. He folds his newspaper up, leans back in his chair and just waits for her to come inside.
“Hi.”
“Hi. I wasn’t sure you would come.” He says as he pulls her seat out.
“I wasn’t sure I would either. I told myself, ‘It’s just coffee.’”
“Just coffee.” Michael signals for the waitress. Nika orders cappuccino. Michael has coffee, two sugars. “You look nervous. Are you nervous Nika?”
“Yes.”
“I’m harmless. You can trust me.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
“Tell me about it.”
Nika looks like at him like he is crazy. “Why do you want to know about me?”
“Just making conversation.”
“You are a strange man.”
“So I’ve been told.”
She may think he is strange but not so strange that she does not tell him about herself that day and the next and the one after that. How she grew up poor in Romania. How the only way she could help her family - a father who was sick, a mother who worked all the time to take care of everyone, and three younger siblings - was to dance. Nothing else paid like dancing so after working as hard as her mother since she was 16, she gave in. She was 23. That was 3 years ago. Then one day last year some guys made her an offer. They offered her a life in America in exchange for her working for them for a year to pay them back. She has been working for them for two. They said to bring her to America it cost more than they expected, so according to their calculations, her tab would be paid after three years. Now she knows she was stupid for believing them but she had to believe.
Michael did not have a lot of time but he took his time with Nika. He knew what he was looking for when he went searching for someone to be his wife. He wanted someone who needed something from him as much as he needed something from her. Someone, who because of that need wouldn’t have a problem marrying in name only and sneaking contraband into a prison. It figures the person he’d pick would really, really need someone to believe in.
He hated what he was going to do to her. But it had to be done. He had no time to find someone else and hope they would stay just business associates and not friends. This is not the time to be making friends, he thinks for himself as he waits for her.
Nika interrupts his thoughts. “Hi,” she says smiling. He stands up to hug her hello.
“Hi. You look happy.” They sit down on the park bench.
“Good day today.”
“Well your day is about to get better." He pulls a brown envelope out of his inside coat pocket. He hands it to her.
She looks down at it. “What is it?”
“Open it.”
“No. I can’t take this. You work hard for this.” She hands it back but he doesn’t take it. “Take it back. Michael, take it.”
“No. It’s for you to pay off your tab. I won’t take it back.”
“Michael…”
“No.” She does not say anything for awhile. She just sits and stares down at the envelope.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you a million times.”
“You’re welcome. But that’s not all. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the ring box.
“Michael…”
“Shh. Let me say this. I’m pretty sure that when you imagined this happening the guy was better looking and you two are in love. I wish it was like that for you.” He takes a deep breath. “I can’t just give you the money. If you want to stay here, become an American citizen, you have to get married. Will you marry me?”
He is wrong. There is no one better looking. He is wrong about that but he is right about everything else. She wishes the person proposing is in love with her. She knows he isn’t.
“Yes.”
Nika pays off her tab. They are married a week later. They celebrated her freedom over dinner. After dinner he gives her a credit card. He tells her not to use to it, to not lose it, but most important of all, to bring it to him when he asks for it.
And the day after that, he robs a bank.