Set sometime in season 3. Inspired by how tired I was yesterday, silly mission ideas, and requests for Sonya out in the field.
"Nerd. Nerd," Nikita's harsh shout ringing through the speakers in his office snapped Birkhoff awake. He had only meant to close his eyes for a second. The mission was supposed to have been a standard, straightforward one. Nikita and Owen, with Sean and Sonya providing backup, were only intercepting a flash drive full of information, before Amanda could get her dirty little hands on it. Birkhoff wasn't too happy about his girlfriend out in the field, especially after what Amanda had done to her. They successfully disabled the killchip, but the idea of it continued to haunt Sonya. It haunted Birkhoff as well, though he wasn't willing to share that with everybody.
Despite all of that, Sonya was needed in the field with the others. Nikita and Owen needed backup, and Sean couldn't do it solo. Michael was out indefinitely. And Alex was still recovering after her relapse. Sonya was the only best option left. After all, she had field experience and she worked well with the team. She geared up with them, and rolled out. Birkhoff wanted to keep her safely in ops with him. He almost lost her not that long ago. He didn't want to feel like that again. She needed to be safe.
The nerd was just too tired to argue once everything was said and done, however. He had been feeling so exhausted lately. It must've been the stress. Moles, killchips, relapses, lost hands, and Amanda were taking their toll on the poor man. Not even his energy drinks were a match for his sleep deprivation. He was dead on his feet. So when the mission had taken a lull, the team were managing to search an empty warehouse on their own, he decided to rest his eyes. It was meant to be for a second. He'd be awake once they needed him. To his horrible luck, that second was thirty minutes.
"Can you do your nerdy magic on the drive if it gets corrupted?" Nikita's voice sounded strained, like she was in a tense situation. Birkhoff rubbed his eyes, sitting up straighter in his chair. She instantly became impatient at his lack of response, "Well can you?"
"Yes. Who do you think I am?" The nerd replied grumpier than he meant to. But in his defense, the nap didn't do anything to take away his exhaustion. If anything, he was even more tired. He had to shake it off, however. The mission was more important than whatever was wrong with him.
"Good. Cause I just swallowed it."
Nikita's words took a moment to make sense to Birkhoff. He blinked in surprise, stammering, "What? Why?"
"Amanda's men arrived with a scanner for the flash drive. It must have a tracker on it. The digestive tract should hide the signal, however," Sonya explained logically. She sounded worried, and that put Birkhoff on edge. He was definitely awake then. Cursing himself under his breath, he scanned through the footage on the scenes. If he hadn't fallen asleep, he could've caught the men before they surprised the team. Then, Sonya would've been safe and sound.
Michael entering the tech office went unnoticed by the nerd. Intently focused on finding the tangos for the team, Birkhoff jumped when the lead agent spoke, "How's it going?"
Owen was quick to answer through the coms, his voice dripping with annoyance, "Oh you know. Amanda's men showed up early. And your girl swallowed the drive."
He too had to take a bit to register the information, "Okay then. Where are they? Can you exfil the same as before?"
The men in question were a few rows of shelves away from the four agents. Nikita, Owen, Sean, and Sonya had grouped back together after the arrival of the tangos. They had chosen not to engage, hoping to keep the mission under Amanda's radar. But that wasn't going to be a possibility much longer. The men were in the way of their exit points. If they were going to escape, they'd have to fight their way through. Birkhoff shared the info with the team, and Sean huffed in frustration.
"We can take care of them no problem. But not before one of them radios for backup. Then we'll be swarmed," The Seal's theory was more than likely correct. The nerd had spotted a few unmarked vans around the warehouse. Amanda had gone all out to get the information on that flash drive.
"You have to take the chance," Beginning his typical mission pacing, Michael advised.
Birkhoff dove into typing. He had to be able to do something to help them out. He felt as though he had ruined the operation by falling asleep; he could more than make up for it then, however. He could block out any communications so the men couldn't call for help. Or he could cut the power to the warehouse, and the men would be in the blind. Except, both options would've left the team at a disadvantage as well. Birkhoff normally put all his money on Nikita, Owen, and Sean to come out on top, but Sonya was with them. Although she was capable of anything, he couldn't place her in any unnecessary danger. He would never do that.
Sonya quickly peered around the corner of the shelf the four were hiding behind, watching the tangos approach, "One of us could distract them while the others engaged."
"You three against those seven. Sounds good to me," Nikita agreed with the suggestion, holstering her drawn weapon. Sean, Owen, and Michael immediately disliked the idea. They started to argue with her, their voices overlapping on the coms. She rolled her eyes, "I'll be fine. Amanda has a 'no kill' order out on me. And, I've got a killer idea."
That shut Sean and Owen up, but Michael continued to disagree, "No. It's too dangerous. We have to come up with a better way."
And the nerd really was trying to find that way. There had to be a solution that left them at the advantage. He just hadn't found it yet. Sonya ended the search, by shaking her head and directing her attention to Nikita, "We'll circle around back, and give you the go ahead."
The agent nodded in agreement. Sean, Owen, and Sonya silently moved through the shelves to position themselves behind the men. Michael ceased pacing, clutching the back of Birkhoff's chair tightly instead. The nerd could only stare at the camera feed and pray that Sonya would be alright. The plan had to work, it was all they had. When the three were ready to pounce, Nikita slipped out of her hiding spot. She smirked at the tangos and their raised guns. But before one of them could speak into a radio to alert the others, Nikita implemented her distraction. She lifted her shirt and her bra.
Standing stock still, the men lowered their weapons and stared at the beauty in front of them. Birkhoff avoided his gaze, while Michael gaped. Nikita sure was full of surprises- first the drive and then her breasts. If she just let them know what she was thinking, they could get more words in argument wise. Or, at least they could've prepared themselves. Silenced gunshots filled the air, and the men dropped to the ground. Nikita replaced her clothing as the last man fell dead, heading towards the exit. Sonya followed unfazed. Sean and Owen, on the other hand, remained where they stood processing what they had seen.
"Boys, come on," Nikita ordered. She didn't have time for their reaction.
"We tell Alex I saw nothing," Sean eventually muttered, and hurried after the woman. Owen breathed a laugh, before he joined them also. Birkhoff was on autopilot as he scrubbed the camera footage. He couldn't look at or speak to Michael. He was afraid to do so.
After the four got into their getaway car and drove back to Division undeterred, Michael relaxed his steely grip on Birkhoff's chair. The lead agent awkwardly left the room mumbling something about Medical and Nikita needing to vomit. Sighing, Birkhoff rubbed his eyes once more. It was never a dull moment with those two. He was glad he didn't live in the same house as them anymore.
The anxious events alleviated his exhaustion for the time being. Except as the adrenaline died down, Birkhoff found his eyes dropping again. He desperately needed to sleep. Stumbling out of his computer chair, he crossed to the couch in his office. It wasn't the best, but he could at least rest there. The instant his head hit the cushion, he was more or less unconscious. His stress was still present; just at the moment, his exhaustion was too powerful. And honestly, his mind was slightly more at ease. Birkhoff continued to have plenty to be anxious about, but Sonya wasn't one of them.
If he had learned anything from watching his girlfriend on the mission, it was that she was a capable agent- as capable as Nikita. He already knew she was intelligent, and strong. But then, the nerd was aware of just how amazing she was. She could hold her own against the worst of the worst, and she could keep up with Nikita's insane ideas. Birkhoff didn't have to worry so much about keeping Sonya safe and sound. She could do that all on her own.