Lucky you- three updates today! (I'm such a procrastinator. I need to be working on a research paper, but this is much more fun. I'm mostly done with the paper anyways.)
Disclaimer: I STILL do not own Nikita, nor will I anytime soon.
Chapter 4- What's up with Zetrov?
Cassie was nervous. All of the agents going with her on the mission had told her there was nothing to worry about. But, there was one thing Percy didn't know. She had seen a picture of Nikita from one of the agents on the hit team, as much as Percy had tried to hide them. The resemblance between herself and Nikita was striking, and it had bothered her. There was no way that two random girls could resemble each other so much and she couldn't figure out why.
She had strapped up her bulletproof vest, knowing perfectly well that if any of the three wanted to kill her, they could easily hit her head. The bulletproof vest was just to help ease her anxiety. She was geared up in all of the equipment long before all of the other agents, Amanda insisting she needed to get used to it before the op.
When everyone had gathered, Birkhoff was handing out files to everyone containing their instructions. Cassie opened hers, expecting to see something like 'follow, act as backup' or something like that. But instead, she got a shocker. Inside, it said she was assigned to something more difficult.
Five of the seven were going to attack from the front. From what Percy and Amanda have observed, Alex, Nikita, and Michael are most likely going to try to escape quietly from the back door. So, that left three more. Those three would be Cassie, Randy, and Jaden, two being the most likely to make Alex and Nikita hesitate.
Cassie read the file and almost dropped it. Holy Shit Holy Shit Holy Shit. I am supposed to take out Nikita? How the hell am I supposed to do that?
Cassie turned to Jaden who also had a worried look on her face. She was supposed to take out Alex. She never liked Alex, but she wasn't sure if she could do it. The only true reason she had to hate Alex was for killing Thom, which she learned was an accident anyways.
-In Nikita's Russian safe house-
"Alex, how are you feeling?" Nikita was worried for Alex. She knew that coming to Russia would be hard on her even if she had help. Maybe she isn't ready.
"I'm feeling fine. My neck's a little sore, but nothing big. How on earth are you planning on getting Zetrov back? We don't know anything about it." Alex looked distant, like she wanted to be elsewhere. Nikita didn't blame her; this probably brought back too many memories.
"Well, I was going to go to the store and get some papers, maybe do some internet research. With Michael, we have access to many of division's files. We can find out who called that mission and go after them first. Then we can work from there."
Alex nodded, not seeming to listen to what Nikita was actually saying. "Well, Alex. I'm going to leave you with Michael. I'll be back soon."
Alex nodded again. Michael looked at Nikita, worry in his eyes. "Be careful Nikita. We don't know if division has any spies here or not. I can't access that information from this computer."
"I'll be as careful as I can Michael. I've got cash, rental car. I was thinking about buying some hair dye too. It might throw them off long enough if we need it."
Nikita walked out the door and Alex didn't watch her go. She was too absorbed in her memories, memories of her father and the company. When Alex was a little girl, she wanted to rule the company. Then she found out what her father did, and she wasn't so sure anymore. Now, Alex wanted it in memory of her father but she didn't want to become the Alex from her induced dream-state.
Nikita hadn't seen the dream, she hadn't been there. Alex knew that if she took over Zetrov, she wouldn't be able to have that happy life with Nathan that she saw. That was the single reason she was upset with Nikita; for not asking her first.
-In Division's Car-
Cassie was still freaking out. She had no idea if she could do it. Percy was telling her he had been watching her training and that she underestimated herself, but the reassurance didn't help. Both she and Jaden weren't sure about themselves, which theoretically endangered the mission.
Percy had purposely planned it to send Jaden after Alex and Cassie after Nikita. If Jaden didn't hesitate, Alex most likely would. If Cassie didn't hesitate, Nikita most likely would.
The car had finally gotten to the airport and out to the tarmac where their private plane was waiting. Everyone got in the plane and they soon took off, flying to the closest airport to their destination. During the flight, Cassie tried to sleep off her anxiety.
-Nikita-
Nikita pulled up to the general store, glad to have leftover superdollars. Sometimes she felt bad spending them, but she had no other way. When she went inside, she quickly scanned for security cameras. There was just one by the exit that she easily avoided.
She picked up all of the business magazines and newspapers, scanning for any mention of Zetrov. A few mentioned the CEO and carried them while she looked for hair dye. She couldn't find very much. She thought about bleaching Alex's hair, but then she'd stand out even more in this area and nobody would recognize her as Alexandra Udinov.
After paying for the magazines, she quickly drove home, not wanting to leave Michael and Alex alone for too long. When she got back, everything was the same as when she left. Alex was still lying around looking distant, and Michael had turned on the little TV, watching the subtitles more than the actual show. He laughed a few times. Nikita smiled, glad he was enjoying it.
She turned back to Alex. "Alex, are you alright?"
Without turning to look at her, she answered. "Why didn't you ask me first?"
Nikita could tell there was something wrong. "Alex, why does this bother you so much? I would love to know." She put a comforting hand on Alex's back.
"Well, you don't know what goes on inside my head. When Amanda gave me the Ibogaine, she tried to get inside my head. She made my deepest wants and fears become personified in my dreams. My want…it was…Nathan. We had been married for three years and we had a baby girl. Then, my fear…it was an adult Russian me. And…she…shot Nathan. If I run Zetrov, I can't live that life I want with Nathan. I don't want to become that Russian me. She was ruthless."
So, maybe Nikita's concerns from that video from Vlad weren't needed. Alex wasn't becoming like her.
"I'm sorry Alex. I didn't think about that. I should have asked you, but this was my only plan. I'm sorry."
Alex sighed. "Want to look at those articles now?" Alex sat up.
"Sure, we need to look for any mention of Zetrov. Here's a highlighter. Mark everything you find. We can compare our findings when we're done." Nikita pulled the magazines and newspapers out, handing Alex and Michael highlighters.
They all sat down. Michael on the couch, Alex on the bed, and Nikita at the table. After a few hours, they all met back at the table and compared their findings.
Alex was explaining something when a movement caught Nikita's eye. She looked out the window and saw a big black Chevy Tahoe drive by soon followed by a black unmarked van, the very cars division uses.
There's no way they have found us by now! I was so careful!
When the cars didn't come back for a few minutes, Nikita turned back to Alex and Michael. Alex finished talking and Michael noticed something.
"It seems that the new Zetrov CEO has recently been involved in the attempted assassination of their rival company. Now, we need to figure out if he was trying to assassinate the other CEO or if someone was trying to hit two birds with one stone. I know, if it was a division job, they would be getting both at the same time, but division doesn't fail, so someone else did it. Now, we need to figure out who."
Then, the suspicious cars drove by again. This time, Nikita knew something was wrong and Michael and Alex spotted the cars for the first time. They all jumped up and quickly got their weapons out of their bags, all handguns with silencers stolen from division, thanks to Alex's stash of weapons at her apartment.
Once they were ready, they moved deeper into the house, closer to the back door.
They didn't realize that's exactly what Percy was expecting.
