Everyone felt substantially calmer in the morning. After food and rest, the team was able to stand being in the same room together. Nikita apologized to Alex for snapping. Alex apologized for bringing the topic up in return. Birkhoff and Sonya made up, and agreed to simply enjoy their engagement for the time being. And Nikita told Michael her relapse story. He listened with rapt attention, comforting her as needed. He also told her his own story of trying to overdose on morphine after Hayley and Elizabeth. They had both been in severe pain and were suffering alone. Yet that wasn't the case any longer. That would never be the case ever again. Despite their arguments, the whole team- family- had each other's backs.
They were all awake fairly early, going about their morning as normally as it was for them. The analysis on the paper scrap Nikita found would be available later, so for the meantime they worked on some details and information. Birkhoff was focused on studying the electronic bugs that had been placed in Alex's luggage. He was dismantling the devices and messing with the wiring. With music playing and their own work to hold their attention, the nerd's tinkering was more or less ignored by the others. Until he poked at something and a listening device began to smoke.
Sonya and Alex moved to the other side of the living room to get away from him. The two were creating encrypted files on the bastards and improving the beach house's security, and the smoke messed with their sight. Nikita was fine sitting next to Birkhoff for a second, drawing a blueprint of the warehouse she had explored. However, the smoke's smell quickly started to bother her- really bother her. She leapt off of the couch and hurried to the bathroom. Michael started after her, confused. He wanted to check in on her, yet Birkhoff held him back with a question. Since his fiancée was out of earshot, he could bring the topic up safely, "You've had a big wedding and you've eloped…"
"You gotta find what's best for you, man," Michael brushed him off. He seriously didn't want to be involved. His wife was seriously worrying him. He knew Nikita wasn't telling him something. She was anxious and stressed, and for a while he thought it was the bastards' fault. But her half attempts to talk to him tipped him off that it was something bigger. She was freaking out about much more important things. He had an idea of what that could be, and it honestly scared the shit out of him. Not because he didn't want that outcome, but because then was the worst possible time for it to happen.
Nikita nearly crashed into her husband on her way back from the bathroom several minutes later. She ran an unsteady hand through her hair, taking in a calming breath. She was definitely about to tell Michael something then. He stepped closer to her, placing a soothing hand to her waist. She opened her mouth, and combed her hair out of her face again. Unfortunately, a cell phone ringing effectively cut off whatever she was going to say. She fished the burner out of her pocket and sighed. It wasn't a call they could ignore, "It's Sam."
Placing the phone on speaker, the team gathered back around to hear what Sam had to say. The bastards had contacted him, and laid out a pretty difficult trial operation. Although they were willing to do anything to insert him as a mole, he had his reservations, "Yeah. So they want me to kill Alex. Prove I'm not with you, and I'm up to speed with my old reaper skills."
"Time to fake your death," Nikita instantly concluded, ignoring the slight pang she still felt over one of Sam's past cleaner missions. They had faked a lot of deaths before, what was one more. Besides, Alex knew the drill; they'd do the mission, she'd lay low (which would be beneficial with her injuries), and then they'd kick some ass. Everything should work out alright. That didn't mean they enjoyed the idea, however. Especially Alex, as she slumped in her chair.
"Again," Maybe the third time would be the charm. After that, Alex wouldn't have to pretend she was dead for another time. She didn't want to delve into the life she led that made those statements true. It was too complicated. She loved helping people, she really did. But God she would like to have some peace in her life. One day she'd be able to go home at a reasonable hour, curl up with someone she could talk about her day to, and not be concerned about somebody wanting to harm her. It was a goal she could fight for. Hopefully taking out the bastards would get her there. Or that not so stupid NGO idea Nikita had.
"Hey. Take one for the team. I died three times," Striving to make light of the situation, Nikita nudged Alex. She shoved back, causing Barkhoff to jump on them wanting to join their play fight. They distracted him with one of the few toys he hadn't completely destroyed yet. While he chased and attacked it, the team either rolled their eyes or chuckled.
Michael returned everyone's attention to their conversation by disagreeing with Nikita. It wasn't over faking Alex's death; that was the best plan they had to ensure Sam became a bastard. He was arguing with the amount of times his wife had 'died'. If anyone was keeping track of every single instance he had to endure hearing she was killed, it would've been him, "Four. You died four times."
"No. Three. Getting into Division. Escaping Division. Alex shooting me," Nikita was ready to argue with her husband, counting off on her fingers. She ignored the glare Alex shot her for her third remark; she knew there was more to the story than that, but her point wasn't going to be made any differently by expanding upon it. The nerds on the other hand were silently considering how many times they had their deaths' faked. Sonya proudly held up one finger. Birkhoff was a bit ashamed of his two instances.
"Escaping from Percy in Montreal with Sam," Michael reminded Nikita. She had forgotten about jumping into the St. Lawrence river all those years ago. She had pulled so many stunts like that, it was hard to keep track of all of them. She was also unaware that Division thought her dead during that time. It made sense, considering the whole clip of ammunition Percy unloaded into the river and her inactivity in the weeks that followed.
Almost a decade later, however, she didn't care what that fucking black ops group thought. It was Michael's expression that concerned her. He was still upset about thinking she was dead, not that Nikita could blame him. The years they were separated were hard on the both of them. There were so many unsaid thoughts and emotions, that it nearly ate them alive. Even then, the memory of having lost one another was strong, "Oh. Well. Alex, suck it up."
"Ugh. Fine. But while you talk about how you're gonna kill me, I'm calling my mom, and Jill and Sandy. Not to tell them what's going on, just to talk to someone actually normal," Struggling to push herself out of the chair, Alex muttered. Just as Nikita had stayed in touch with Ryan's mother, she had remained in contact with Sean's sisters. They were each other's connection to the life he had lived and lost for those he loved. The three had also grown incredibly close, and considered themselves great friends. Alex was always able to relax whenever she talked to Jill and Sandy. They were normal people to enjoy her time with. Not that she didn't feel the same way with her team, she simply needed a sense of the life that could be waiting for her. One day she'd have that steady life with barely any problems. At least not life threatening ones that left her with broken ribs and planning her own fake death.
"She handled that well," Sam eventually commented. He had thought she would've exploded and panicked at his news. Instead, she rolled with the punches. They pretty much all did, almost as if they were expecting some kind of blowback from Alex spying on the bastards. The team had long ago learned how to take the surprising twists and turns of their lives with strong shoulders and heads held high. They might have succumbed to stress here and there, but they always bounced back ready for more. They couldn't let their world break them apart.
"I'm sure she'll throw a fit later," Birkhoff chuckled. He might have been over exaggerating, yet they all knew Alex would complain about the situation as they put whatever plan they came up with into action. The team shoved that thought aside for the moment, focusing on how exactly they were going to fake her death. Sam shared some more information about what the bastards wanted from the hit to help solidify something.
Drawing from the intel and past experiences, Nikita began to formulate an idea. She started to sketch it out on the back of her blueprint of the warehouse, but Michael gave her a notepad to work on instead. She came up with a couple of solid ideas, yet she swore all of them weren't going to be permanent. That crusade wasn't going to be as long as the others. They were going to finish the fight as quickly and as efficiently as possible. No one disagreed with her. They all wanted to stop the threat before things became even worse. Fortunately, Sonya got a ping on her laptop alerting them to some good news, "Got a hit on the paper scrap. It is definitely from a money band, and it matches a couple of banks."
"Which banks?" Michael rapidly started to track down that lead. It was a wide net to toss, but hopefully Sam could narrow it down once he became a mole. Their money trail strategy seemed the most plausible with that new mercenary group. They had little information to go on besides them being guns for hire and where they had received their training. So why not track down something as solid as money.
Or maybe track down the electronic bugs they had discovered. Might as well put some use to the devices they had painstakingly searched for and dismantled. Birkhoff was working diligently on that. He even had some ideas of how to use them to their advantage, "I think I might be able to find a manufacturer or something."
"Just don't set it on fire," Michael warned. The others voiced the same sentiment, not wanting any more smoke. Birkhoff nodded, getting right back to the bugs. Sonya watched him carefully as she continued her work on the security. Michael had the banks to focus on, and Nikita talked through some ideas with Sam. They were holding tightly to the hope that things were going to be alright- that everything would resolve quickly.
"So now all we have to do is follow up on some leads, initiate the dead drop, and kill Alex," Nodding in determination, Nikita summed up their current mission plan. Sonya, Birkhoff, and Michael each gave her a look for her wording. Although he was talking to them over the phone, Sam also expressed how strange it sounded. With a roll of her brown eyes, Nikita sighed deeply, "Shut up. I know. We live weird lives."
They did, and they were alright with that. But it was time to fight for a more secure and steady future. They had many great leads and strategies to hold onto to get them there. Taking down the bastards was going to be substantially better than taking down Division and Gogol, and far greater than taking down the Shop; they already had a better plan to start off with other than just revenge. The team wouldn't accept any other outcome. They were going to win, and fast.