"Alright. Nerd's working the cameras and satellites on a rotation. So we're gonna have to take this step by step," Although Nikita's voice came through a com, Michael half expected to see her right next to him. For years, she had been a stalwart presence by his side. From Division, to being rogue, to working more or less as contractors, they ran so many missions together. The two were partners in everything they did, an absolute formidable team. Not having her out in the field with him felt like a missing appendage- a feeling he knew all too well. It wasn't like the other times they couldn't work together, however. They weren't separated due to their own poor decisions or internal drama. Her staying behind was a good thing; it was a smart move for safety's sake. Despite knowing that, he still felt gutted.

Alex caught the hurt expression Michael was trying to hide from crossing his face. She also caught the quick shift in his green eyes, as if he thought he saw Nikita next to him. She couldn't blame him for it. Being without your partner wasn't an experience to get over quickly. She might have been there to step in, but it wasn't the same. Nothing was going to be the same without the person you trust most watching your back. At least Nikita was watching Alex and Michael from the safehouse, and being as bossy as ever over coms. They didn't get to miss the roguish agent for long, "You're clear on the perimeter. Keep it quiet and steady, Alex."

"Why am I singled out? I've crashed a warehouse before," Hushed, Alex replied. Michael had to bite back his laughter. Maybe it wasn't going to be all that bad. She wasn't there with them, but Nikita still made certain her presence was known. The two agents crept along the perimeter of the warehouse as instructed. They carefully watched for bastards, weapons silenced and at the ready. Birkhoff had his usual eyes in the sky, but he had the technology on a rotation. The team wasn't going to overextend themselves as a precaution; they'd keep everything tight and controlled to ensure the rescue mission didn't get away from them. The less they had to worry about, the more mindful of their actions they could be.

"You also got your ass beat before. Now approach the damn building," Nikita was met with eye rolls that time. Her commands were nothing like serious, stern Michael. Granted, he had lightened up over the years. But she was far more sarcastic. It was her typical philosophy for ops and crusades. Poking fun of things distracted from anxieties and worry. While she paced in front of her computer screen, she definitely had a lot of those. She had faith in her team's abilities; they were going to make it out alive with Kyle Connelly. It was just that the bastards had become too unpredictable. They didn't have the right amount of information to know what to expect next. She couldn't stop herself from feeling like they were scrambling.

Sonya was tirelessly digging for anything they could use. There were still banks, motives, names, and locations to discover. She gave up on the banks for the time being. She had exhausted her resources regarding that avenue. They still had no idea where the bastards funds could've been stored- if it was even coming from one place. She needed a break from those frustrating thoughts, and focus on other frustrating things like identities. Sam and Vasquez had gotten them a couple of names. And the team recognized a few of the agents they had faced off against. But the leaders remained a mystery. Hunched over her computer, Sonya sighed hotly. The sound was barely covered by Nikita's own huff as she ruffled her hair. Birkhoff snapped in annoyance, "Would you relax?"

"Would you get eyes inside?" Immediately, Nikita bit back. She did, however, stop messing with her hair. She twisted her wedding ring instead, continuing to pace. Sonya didn't say a word. She glanced over to see if Birkhoff needed any help. When he waved her off she returned to her own tasks. He was working on getting Alex and Michael inside the warehouse; he just needed a little more time than usual. He couldn't have his ass handed to him by Spyder again. Not that he was doubting his hacking, he simply didn't want to put his team in any unnecessary danger. They were in enough of it with all their uncertainties anyway.

"There. Three guards near Alex and Mikey's position," Birkhoff emphasized his words with a slam of his keyboard. The warehouse was expansive, with multiple storage rooms on two floors. Michael's and Alex's coms were equipped with trackers, so the team knew their locations at all times. Even without active eyes on the two, they could place them around the warehouse with the blueprints they had acquired. It made coordinating a strike with their limited cameras easier. It also gave Nikita something more active to do.

She felt more in control laying out an action plan rather than simply relaying information. Hovering over Birkhoff's chair, Nikita studied the guards stalking around on the hacked security feed. Three remained in the area closest to where Michael and Alex were waiting, yet she believed there was a better point of entry. Although the bastards could be subdued quietly, their presence would be missed. The agents needed to remain in the shadows as much as possible. After a moment, Nikita thought she knew how to secure that for them, "And there's two around the corner. They're patrolling their own sections. Take out those two, I have an idea."

"Is she thinking what I think she is?" Alex couldn't help but chuckle. Michael shook his head, smirking. One of the positives of Nikita staying behind was that she had to tell them her insane ideas before enacting them. Though, the two were able to catch on to what she was suggesting without a further word. They had done similar distractions and infiltrations on other missions. It was a simple recording of the guard checking in, taking them out, and pretending to be them. In a confined space, it had to be a bit more theatrical and complex. Yet with their team, dramatics was a specialty.

"I have a bad feeling about this," As they moved around the corner to the other entry point, Michael quipped. The joke wasn't lost on anyone; in fact, it was perfect for what the agents were doing. They were just surprised Michael had been the one to make the Star Wars reference. Apparently, he had picked up more from the nerds (and his dorky wife) than anyone thought. Nikita was definitely going to tease him later for it, as well as Birkhoff, Sonya, and Alex. But they had to let the agents jump the two unsuspecting guards and drag them out of the warehouse first.

"And you said I was unpredictable," Once Michael and Alex had cleared the area, Nikita responded. They replied with more eye rolls. The two managed to hide the unconscious bodies, and cover their faces as they donned the uniforms. Despite the ability to sneak inside of the warehouse and search for Kyle, they didn't have all the time in the world. Speed was the name of the game. Fortunately, Nikita provided distinct objectives to focus on, "Okay. Babe, do your whole take out their transpo thing. Alex, play on their incompetence."

"I want a nickname," Whereas Michael moved to disable any vehicles the bastards had on hand, Alex made a complaint. Well, it was more of a tease of how the married couple called each other terms of endearment on missions sometimes. Her sentiment was made clear, regardless, as she studied the guards around her. She couldn't catch a glimpse of all of them. They were too far spread. Listening through the stolen walkie-talkie helped, however, as did the information Birkhoff fed her. Taking a moment to plan and think, she tried to come up with some plan to deal with the remaining bastards.

Nikita was on the same page. She had a better view of the guards with the security cameras. She counted up the total number, and attempted to guess where Kyle was located based on their positions. She'd need Alex to confirm, but she was going to assume he was held in the back room on the second floor; it was isolated, and difficult to gain access to. Michael's and Alex's covers might have allowed them to do something about that. Considering they could gauge the situation better in the field, Nikita shared what she had discovered and let them take over. But not without a parting shot at her best friend, "How 'bout dumbass."

"Sorry to interrupt your name calling, but what was Kyle's job again?" Sonya wasn't sorry at all. She just had to put an end to whatever that was going to turn into. Bringing up a hit the computer found on the flashdrive seemed like as good of an interruption as any. Besides, Michael and Birkhoff were grateful for the distraction. Nikita and Alex simply rolled their eyes and refocused on the bastards.

"Assistant museum curator. It checked out," Birkhoff reminded his fiancée. Kyle Connelly's job appeared completely normal. The team even tripled checked his credentials to ensure it was his actual occupation. Nothing about him was out of the ordinary. The bastards probably only wanted him to pressure his parents to spy on Nikita and Michael. Once the agents rescued him, they'd interrogate him and make sure that really was the case. But they had no doubts that he was just a normal guy, caught up in something way over his head.

Sonya was beginning to question that belief, however. She stared at her computer screen, contemplating the fact she was reading. Nikita noticed her confusion, and became perplexed as well. She told her husband where he could meet back up with Alex after eliminating the bastards' transportation, then joined the nerd at her station. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to make much progress on all the other intel they still needed. But a hit on the flashdrive could take them in that direction, "Why? Did you find something?"

"His name is on drive. He's linked to smuggling investigations," Turning her screen to face Nikita, Sonya shared. Birkhoff took a brief moment from his hacking to glance over. There wasn't much to the information other than that. But since they had stolen the information from a CEO who dealt in smuggling and who hired the bastards, they shouldn't have expected anything else. Just like always, they were going to have to dig for more.

"A fed or a criminal?" Having listened in on the conversation, Michael suggested a starting off point. Sonya searched for that information, while Birkhoff returned to assisting on the op. If Kyle was a criminal, he hadn't been convicted- that at least would have shown on the team's preliminary search. And if he was a federal agent of some sort, then their covers have become much more intricate than the last time the nerds had hacked government servers. Taking in all that was happening around her, Nikita started to feel as though something else was going on. She had had that sense before. Yet then it seemed more palpable.

"Neither. He's called in to consult," Sonya confirmed the roguish agent's suspicions. It wasn't odd for an assistant museum curator to help the feds in smuggling cases; most are historians or archaeologists after all. But the tie in to a company suspected of smuggling that hired the bastards to clean up their mess had Nikita curious. The black ops group could have threatened the Connellys to spy on their neighbors in other ways; their son didn't have to be involved. Unless the mercenaries wanted him to be.

Those thoughts flew around in Nikita's head while Michael informed her of his idea to get past the remaining guards. All she could do was absentmindedly agree to it, trusting the rest of her team to figure it all out. She couldn't believe she was considering the Connellys as the key to the whole thing. Maybe she shouldn't have dismissed them so many times. Well, she wouldn't go that far. Something important was being revealed, regardless. She just had to connect all the dots, "Hey, Alex. Is Houston big in smuggling?"

"Well it's huge in human smuggling, so…" Alex let her sentence drop, her point made clear. Houston was a massive trading center, trafficking of all kinds were bound to occur. But she couldn't get into specifics at the moment. She and Michael were about to make a run at the bastards. They weren't going to reveal their identities, yet they were going to inform them that something was amiss and someone there was an imposter. Mass confusion and accusations would fly, making guards leave their posts. The agents would be able to grab Kyle in the chaos and escape.

However, Nikita wasn't paying attention to that. She started to smile as puzzle pieces came together in her mind. She figured it out. The team's question about the bastards' funds wasn't going to be answered with banks. It all came down to their business deals and warehouse locations. Multiple criminal organizations were bound to coexist, "That's where they're getting their funds. The jobs are profit. But operations are paid by smuggling."