Sean woke up to the weirdest collection of texts he had ever gotten. Naturally, they were all from Nikita. Either he was still too groggy to make sense of them, or she had been off her shits when she had texted him. Judging by the time she sent them at, he was going with the latter. He didn't want to think about what she was doing in the middle of the night that kept her up and made her messages scattered across hours. Shaking the muddled thoughts from his head, he just focused on the relayed information- that'd be better for all of them, "Ryan knows about us, so he'll probably reach out to your traitorous ass about Oversight questions/ Ryan's at his own safehouse to go full crazed analyst on Division in peace, mostly because having you around makes this place uninhabitable/ Tell Alex this, and keep us in the loop with the harddrive dumbass/ Alex likes fluffernutter sandwiches."
After waking up some more, and ignoring the rude comments, Sean was able to understand what his sister was conveying. She simply wanted to ensure they weren't confused by anything, and wished to have that sentiment returned. He'd text her an update in a bit, once he figured out what her last message meant. Why would he need to know what kind of sandwiches Alex liked. Was Nikita still insistent that he had a crush on her. And was she trying to set him up. It was awkward enough that one of their teammates was her boyfriend. He didn't need his sister meddling in his love life as well. Before he could text back with a biting remark, however, the young woman who just so happened to be constantly on his mind whether he was conscious of it or not appeared behind his shoulder. She startled him as she asked, "What's that?"
"My sister's gone batshit," In a panic, Sean locked the phone and dropped it on the couch he had slept on. Alex gave him a questioning glance, moving around to sit next to him. He tried to cover by explaining what was going on at the safehouse and what Ryan's next moves were. But she was far too suspicious. Why shouldn't she have been- even he couldn't understand why he felt the need to hide Nikita's texts. Maybe, subconsciously, he knew his sister's teases were right; he definitely had a crush on Alex. Except, if that was true, he didn't want her to know. At least, not yet. When things were less turbulent, and they had some of their family drama under control, he could possibly explore how he felt and express that to her.
"The more I hang out with you, the more I can tell you guys are siblings. You both hate sharing things with people," Rolling her bright blue eyes, Alex huffed. Although she finally understood why Nikita didn't tell her about the killchip and which agent killed her father, she was still annoyed by it. Of course Sean would have the same maddening quality; the siblings probably picked it up from their super secretive parents. Though, she couldn't say anything against that. Her father was essentially a mob boss, and her mother was having a decades long affair with a man behind all the hell her family had been through. That, no doubt, messed her up as well. They all had their irksome traits born from childhood shit.
"Hey. Nikita's worse than I am," Sean was just more in denial about it than Alex. He'd admit he didn't share anything when they had first met. Yet he was far better about that then. He knew how crucial intel was. The team couldn't be stumbling around in the dark; they had to know everything. It was something Nikita could wrap her head around in some regards. She was just holding back from letting her brother know exactly what she was thinking. He didn't believe it was right. There was a barrier between them that made him feel like they never actually reunited. They continued to be separated.
He probably shouldn't be thinking of it like that, though. It wasn't fair of him to think that Nikita would've stayed the same after nearly a decade away from her family. She fought through hell- she was still fighting all those demons. It would've been impossible for her to be the same as she'd been at eighteen. Besides, Sean hadn't remained the same over the years either. The siblings weren't reuniting, they were basically meeting. Both had to adjust to that. Especially since Alex had another theory of why Nikita was holding him at arm's length, "Well yeah. After Daniel she got really pressed about keeping innocents away from the horrors of the war."
"What?" His bewilderment was completely ignored. But in Alex's defense, she thought he was confused because he didn't understand how she came to that conclusion. She believed it was an obvious assumption, though. Why else had she kept things from her partner and her team, if not in some vain attempt to save them. She had lost so much to Division and Oversight already; she couldn't lose anyone else. Her brother being involved in that nightmare only made it worse for her. That was a feeling Alex was all too familiar with after discovering her mother's ties to Semak. None of their family members should've been suffering the same pain as them.
"Come on, Sean. You weren't even supposed to be involved in this. And the fact that you keep seeing a good side to your mom doesn't help her," Instead of stating all of that, Alex berated Sean. Sure, she saw the innocence in her own mother. But she was under the influence of heavy medication and manipulation. Madeline was in a sound state of mind when she made her decision. Katya had also revolted and ran when she realized the type of man Semak was and what she had done. Senator Pierce remained where she was and watched her adopted daughter face near destruction.
"No, no, no. Who's Daniel?" Sean didn't care about any of that, however. Well, he cared a little about how Alex and Nikita saw his position on their family's conspiracies. Yet that didn't matter at the moment. He had never heard of a 'Daniel'. The way the man was mentioned, though, made it seem as though he was someone important. Judging by the shock that crossed Alex's expression, his assumption was right. Daniel must've been the catalyst for everything that was occurring. Sean always thought it was his sister's need to finally return home. But it seemed like something else had set her off- something that probably shouldn't have even happened in the first place.
"I… I thought you read Nikita's file," Alex didn't think she could actually answer Sean. Not only was she shocked that he didn't know about Daniel, she also didn't think she should've been the one to tell him. He should've discovered that secret from Nikita herself. Or hell, the file he was supposed to have read about her. Division handed over everything they had on the rogues when Sean was ordered by Oversight to clean up that mess. He was aware of Michael's late wife and daughter. Nikita's late fiancé shouldn't have been anything different.
"I was only given a part of it so I wouldn't know her identity. But once I found out she was alive, I didn't need to read about her- she's my sister. I just focused on you, Michael, and Birkhoff. Now, who's Daniel?" Quickly, Sean explained. He had always been aware of how strange it was that Division didn't give him the complete file on Nikita. Yet he figured it was their way of controlling how much he knew about his sister. He'd have been a better soldier to them if he wasn't emotionally invested. That was far out the window by then, however. He was deeply involved in what was happening with his sister- her war was his. He should know what had started the whole crusade.
"It's not my place to tell," But Alex kept holding back. His explanation about why he didn't know made sense, yet she still wouldn't tell him. Daniel belonged to Nikita. She should get to decide who knew about him and who didn't. She must've had a reason for not telling her brother, even if he didn't appreciate it. Fortunately, a laptop pinging distracted Alex from Sean. The encryption on Ari's harddrive had finally been broken through. They could start looking for her mother instead of delving into past tragedies. That seemed like a far better option anyway, "Hey. The decryption's done."
"Was Daniel someone Nikita loved?" While Alex poked around on the laptop, Sean kept digging. He'd let it drop after he got that answer. Well, he'd let his current inquiry drop. When he saw Nikita again, he planned on asking her about Daniel and all the other things she wasn't telling him. There was a chance she wouldn't open up and shut him out even more. But he had to try. Maybe he could share some of his Seal stories no one knew about in return. He knew he should talk to someone about that pain; he could just never do it. Brother and sister should find solace in one another again. It wasn't enough that they bullied each other. They had to fully support their sibling as well.
"He was someone she wanted to bring home with her," Softly, Alex replied. She wasn't entirely sure if that was true or not; she only knew the basics of Daniel and Nikita's relationship. But she did know how determined the rogue was to run away with her fiancé. The two could've possibly made it home one day, yet it wasn't definite. Sean should still know how important the man was to his sister, though. Daniel was difficult to talk about. Alex and Michael understood that- they also blamed themselves for a loved ones' death. If the Seal saw it in those terms, then he might understand why he remained such a secret. He thought his partner's death was his fault too, after all.
Silence filled the room for a while. Alex continued to scroll through the information on Ari's harddrive as Sean sat and thought. Of course Nikita had her reasons for hiding things. He just wished she trusted him enough with that hurt, especially when she shut down everytime he mentioned their mother. That had gotten worse after the Gates House. He had the suspicion that she knew something he didn't. Maybe their mom said something to her when she reached out for help finding Ms. Bennet. Madeline was aware of what was happening inside Division; it could've been related to that. Realization struck Sean. He sharply turned towards Alex, anxiousness eating away at him, "Does our mom know about Daniel?"
"You're gonna have to talk to Nikita. After we tell her about this mole," Even though Alex wanted to assure Sean, her attention was drawn elsewhere. Besides, it wasn't like she knew the actual answer to that. It would be horrible if Madeline knew about Daniel and still did nothing to help her adopted daughter. But that trail of pain would have to be explored later. According to the files, Gogol just reactivated a mole they had for a new mission. There was a chance that it could be Division related with Ari's and Amanda's connections. If so, that wasn't going to bode well for anybody.
"A 'mole'? How can you tell? It's all in Russian?" Sean wanted to blame the whirlwind of information he had just learned for making him say something so stupid. His mind was spinning; he couldn't think straight. Alex, however, shot him a look that was a mixture of bewilderment and amusement. He did his best to ignore it. Shifting so close to her their shoulders brushed, he focused on the laptop. Her eyes rolled once again, but she clicked on the right file for him. Later, she'd tease him for being a Seal but not knowing Russian. They had more pressing things to deal with at the moment, "Let's just check it out."
"Oh shit."
"Here. Let me," Michael gently reached for the spackle in Nikita's hands. The only thing remaining of Ms. Bennet's betrayal were the bullet holes left in the wall. Whereas the rogue was willing to fill them in, her partner didn't believe she should have to pay for her former teacher's mistakes. She didn't fight with him; it would've been pointless to. He wanted to do anything he could to make her feel better. She appreciated that more than he knew, so she relented to his request. He flashed her a grin, and a small one graced her full lips as a result.
Nikita thought she should've said something. Although she had been talking to Birkhoff (and her brother a little bit) about what had happened with Ms. Bennet, she hadn't said much to Michael. The two hadn't really talked about a lot recently. They hadn't gotten over the rift that had formed when she left him in London and he didn't follow. They seriously needed to, however. How were they supposed to have that future they had once envisioned for themselves if they didn't talk. But a ringing burner phone distracted her. It was Alex. if she was calling instead of replying to her texts, then it must've been important, "Hey, Alex. What's up?"
"I'm sending you a personnel file we got from Ari's harddrive. It's about a mole," Alex sounded shaken up over the information. It immediately filled Nikita with concern. Her first thought was that it was somehow Division related. Ari's and Amanda's relationship was due to rear its ugly head eventually. A highly placed mole was more than likely activated so the two could make another run at power. With Katya still missing, Alex probably feared she was in danger. Yet it would be alright. The team would stop the threat no problem. It would just be one more step to finally destroying the organizations.
"Who is he?" Preparing herself for the start of another mission, Nikita started a mental list of all the things they'd need for an operation. Obviously, they had to plan. But the team could do that once they had all the information. Weapons and Kevlar were also a necessity. They'd have to take stock of what they had and what they had to acquire. That was on her to-do list for the day anyway. She hoped she would've been able to do it before another mission. However, she was great at improvising. She could make what they had work.
"It's a she. And she works for MI6," The statement stopped the rogue cold in her tracks. No wonder Alex was shaken up. There was only one woman they knew who worked for MI6, and she just so happened to be Russian. There was no doubt that Cassandra was the mole. Brown eyes couldn't help but stare at Michael. Hadn't the team been through enough betrayal. And hadn't he been through enough loss. Elizabeth and Hayley had already been taken away from him. Why did he have to face the threat of losing Max too. He soon caught his partner's anguished expression, and concern overcame him. He reached for her, attempting to comfort her.
"What? What is it?"