Alex was so goddamn confused. Sean left her. He made a big ass deal about saving Lisa, then he abandoned her on the way to their transport. What the hell was that. He even said something about how great it felt to complete a mission that didn't involve black boxes, revenge, or Nikita. She had to agree. Saving the day was always amazing, and it broke up the despair she had begun to suffer through. Why did revenge have to be so goddamn difficult. Killing Kochenko was easy; she was glad that the bastard was dead. Except Gogol was on her ass. She was unsure if they knew exactly who she was, but it wouldn't take them long to figure it out. She was in danger. She needed to kill Semak and fast.
How the hell was she supposed to get to him, though. His security had no doubt tightened, and Gogol was on red alert for her. Oversight and Amanda weren't of much help. She was aware they were withholding information from her. After all, she was doing the same. Alex wasn't going to do as they pleased. She was her own agent- her own person. Division and its missions could be damned. The black ops group was simply a tool to use to get what she wanted. And all she wanted was revenge for her family. She didn't give a shit about black boxes or Nikita. Okay, she did care for her old partner. She wasn't going to hurt her. She might have been upset, but Alex wouldn't kill Nikita; she couldn't.
That didn't matter anymore. It was all about getting to Semak. Attempting to save Lisa and taking down a tyrant were great distractions. Alex felt relaxed knowing the good she could put out in the world. Maybe killing Semak would do just that. Her family would be avenged and a bastard wouldn't be running Zetrov. Someone better and more worthy would lead her father's company. She hadn't considered who that might have been, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. The hardest part would be destroying the man who murdered her family.
Sean had given her some advice about it. And although it was annoying, it was sound. Begrudgingly, Alex had to admit that the Navy Seal was right. If he hadn't just up and disappeared she could go over more plans with him. She wasn't too concerned about him, however; she had an idea about where he had gone. He was desperate to find Nikita and leave Oversight and Division. That whole situation confused her the most. Complicated revenge stuff and hiding intel she understood. Joining the organization that was trying to kill your sister though, what the fuck was that.
Nikita never said anything about her family. All she had ever told Alex was that she was adopted and that her death was faked by Division. She figured her past was too painful to bring up, so she didn't mention it. That was how Alex felt about her own tale anyway. And maybe it was, considering Sean. However, also considering Sean's feelings for his sister, it couldn't have been that bad. Alex was stumbling around in the dark when it came to the Pierce siblings. She definitely didn't know shit concerning them. So much was being held from her, which made sense considering where she spent her days. But knowing one little thing would've been nice.
There wasn't anyone she could turn to about any of it. Alex had to reserve her communications with Nikita for real emergencies- family mysteries didn't count. And Sean was gone. All she had left for answers were Percy and Amanda. And God was that a fucking joke. She wasn't getting answers about her own family, and no way would she bring up anyone else's. That was their business to sort through. It was also their safety she had to keep secure. Division loved to exploit secrets, especially when it came to their own.
Alex needed to focus on herself. Gogol was after her, and she had a path of revenge to follow. That was a whole complicated mess to sort through. She couldn't be distracted by friends and their family drama; her own was bad enough. Besides, she didn't want to be relying on Division, Amanda, Percy, and Oversight much longer. She wanted free of that hellhole. The only way to do so was to kill Semak. The only way she could know peace was to murder that bastard like he murdered her parents. Sean and Nikita needed to be pushed from her mind. No offense to them, but she had far more important things to attend to.
Talking was the last thing Nikita wanted to do. She dragged herself out of bed, ignoring the pounding headache and shaky limbs. Saying she overdid it the night before was an understatement. God, she was incredibly stupid. Getting drunk did nothing besides make her feel worse the next day. At least Cassandra was in the same boat; they were paying for their mistakes together. It was a good thing their drunken chaos only contained oversharing. It could have been so much worse. All the women had to do in the morning was clean their mess and hope the other didn't remember exactly what was said.
Michael helped, taking Max to eat some breakfast while Cassandra and Nikita collected themselves. Nikita was starting to feel guilty about how much her boyfriend supported her. She loved him, and greatly appreciated everything he did. But it felt as though she wasn't doing enough for him. She should fix that. Where to start, however, she had no idea. She could barely fix her frayed emotions. Sean hovering in the hotel suite didn't assure her. Not only did she have to give some half-assed explanation to Cassandra, she also had to deal with her brother.
She didn't say anything to him. That was a terrible solution, yet it worked in the short run. After breakfast, Max wanted to go to the park. Neither Cassandra nor Nikita felt like they were up for it, and with Sean it was bound to be awkward. So he and his mother went somewhere safe, while the rogue, the agent, and the Seal flew back to the safehouse. Michael was the one to advocate for Sean. He swore he was on their side, and had given them solid intel on Division and Oversight. Nikita just went along with it. She couldn't argue; her boyfriend was usually right about those types of things. She didn't really want to argue anyway. She was too tired and too strung out.
The silence of the plane ride was broken by Michael. He spoke softly to Nikita, hoping she'd open up about what she was thinking. Because Sean sat far from them, she shared. It was barely above a whisper, and it was something she wished to never consider. However, there was a chance the thoughts were going to consume her whole. With her family's involvement in Oversight and everything she was forced to do for Division, things weren't as simple as saving the day and going home. What if she couldn't go back home.
Her boyfriend only held her hand and kissed the top of her head in response. Michael had thought the same about himself. He didn't think he had a home to go to anymore. Nikita helped him see that wasn't the case, however. She had him see the rainbow at the edge of the storm. He'd do the same for her, but it was going to take some time. Comforting words and actions were the way to get them there. They just had to let everything settle first.
That was difficult for the time being. Nikita had to inform Birkhoff what was happening with Sean once they reached the safehouse. And Michael had to inform the two of what Sean told him during the interrogation. All of that information would keep them busy for a while, at least until the next Shadowbot hit or Division strike. It would also allow Sean to become comfortable with the team. He figured that was going to be the hardest thing for him to do. His sister continued to freeze him out. Her boyfriend regarded him with guarded trepidation. And Birkhoff was still confused about what was occurring. It was a fucked up situation, one they saw no end to.
Their enemies were easy to blame for all of that shit. None of them would have been there had it not been for Oversight, Division, and all of its players. Yet, they should shoulder some fault for their ill feelings. They weren't talking, especially the siblings. What was there to say to one another. The team would focus on burning down their opponents and that was all. Complicated thoughts and emotions would just have to stay that way. Saving the world was far more important anyway. Family drama could be pushed aside indefinitely for that.
All of that shit caught up to the team a week later, however. Alex contacted Nikita about an opportunity to get Semak through the black box. That turned out to be a bust, yet Birkhoff found something else. Something that held a lot more information. Nikita's birth certificate was on file. A lot about her family was on file, actually. And it all culminated into a lead on her birth mother.