It was unexpected. Everything that happened was unexpected. It all piled up like an insane snowball, barreling towards them at disastrous speeds. There was no way to avoid it. No matter how hard they thought or planned or prepared, the team was thrown around like ragdolls. They had no control in the narrative. It just happened to them and they had to deal. Things might've been easier if it wasn't so emotionally daunting. There were some positives to take away from the story. Percy wasn't running around in the open. Alex could take serious strides against Semak. And the team remained safe and sound. But even those positives didn't hold solid as Nikita collapsed to her knees and cried.
Despite knowing in the back of their minds that something was always going to go wrong, the day started out fairly well. After declaring her war with Semak (in veiled threats during the press conference), Alex followed Zetrov to Russia. Her mother was there, of course she had to be there as well. She'd figure out a way to sneak around Gogol and save her mother from their grasps. If not on her own, then she could always call her team. Even if they couldn't be there in person- the press and Ari weren't their greatest fans- they'd help her in any way they could. They couldn't allow innocents like Katya to keep being abused by those corrupt organizations. Besides, with Ari's and Amanda's ties, a blow to Gogol would be a blow to Division as well.
Sean could make certain of that when he went to Russia as a bodyguard. His covert Seal status had been blown after the events at the Gates House, so he could steal the black box back from Ari no problem. The damn thing had information that had the power to hurt his mother; it had to be destroyed. However, the priority was keeping Alex safe. That was why he had readily accepted the opportunity to join her on her crusade (that, and being able to be by her side). He would do anything to keep her safe and help her rescue her mother. It wasn't as though Gogol could hack through Birkhoff's encryption anyway. Whereas there was time to grab the black box, who knew what would happen if Katya stayed with Semak any longer.
As strange as it was, Alex and Sean in Russia were actually the safe ones. The two had their own stresses to worry about, sure. But at least they had each other. And they had the press following Alex's every move; Gogol couldn't make an attack while she remained so public. The team wasn't as lucky at the safehouse. They were determined to spend the day cleaning as they waited for Shadownet to alert them of their next mission. Naturally, that wasn't how things went. An alert soon came through about dead Division agents. It wasn't anything to question, except they weren't dying on missions or being cleaned by the black ops group. They were dragged from their apartments, their bodies left on the street for the police to find.
All evidence pointed to Gogol. But that couldn't have been possible. Amanda wanted complete control and power over everything- why would she then use her boyfriend's (that was a gross way to think of that) organization to kill her own people. Either something else was going on, or the ballistics were wrong. There had to be some sort of game or conspiracy someone was running against the black ops group. Ryan was the first to suggest as much. He recognized the dead Division agents as part of an anti-Gogol taskforce. Michael then assumed that Percy was the only person to pull off that kind of complicated cover up. The bastard must've found out about Ari and Amanda somehow. Nikita solved who could've possibly told him not long after. She watched Carla enter the safehouse with a burner cell in hand.
No one on the team had given her one. And the only time she was gone long enough from any of them to obtain one had been when she was held by Percy. Nikita should've seen it earlier. Despite the stories they told her and the things they had experienced, Carla remained loyal to Division. She actually wanted that hellhole to survive, so she could return it to its former glory; no matter what occurred or was said, she believed Amanda was the sole reason that place was corrupt. Yet Division was born of corruption. Percy, Oversight, they were all to blame for the atrocities that were forced out into the world. How wrapped in Percy's spell was Carla to make her just see one villain.
Nikita had tried to talk to her old friend after the incident with Alex at the hotel. She thought they had reached an understanding, and it was going to get better between them. It hurt so much to be wrong. She hoped she was just jumping to conclusions. The burner phone and Carla's distant behavior could've been anything. She hoped it could've been anything. But who else would've told Percy about Amanda's and Ari's relationship. The team didn't even know about it until Carla's memory was jogged during the press conference. There was no possible way a leak of information could've come from one of them. However, the woman who refused to think ill of the bastard was more than likely siding with him. She chose him over her friend.
Michael made Nikita share her thoughts about it. He caught her concerned glances, and her strained attempts to push her hurt as far away as possible. She didn't want to dwell on the idea. She refused to believe it was real. She must've been so used to betrayal that she expected it. Her mind was filling in the gaps with a terrible and awful narrative. The facts fit, however. Logic was prevailing, and it was the worst outcome. She never got her old friend back. Carla wasn't the wonderful and caring woman Nikita remembered. She was just as vile and corrupt as the rest of her enemies.
Unsure of whether or not she was glad that her team agreed with her thoughts, Nikita tried to focus on other things. Some more chores needed to be taken care of around the safehouse; she should clean or something. But what Carla was up to couldn't be ignored. If she had shared so much with Percy already, who was to say she wouldn't share more. There was no assurance that she wouldn't turn against the team completely. Her actions with Birkhoff's tablet expressed that much. They had to think of some way to stop her.
Fortunately- or unfortunately, depending on who you asked- Amanda interrupted the team. She had a proposition to share with them; her agents were dying, and Division thought it was Gogol, though they all knew that was impossible. Percy was too dangerous to continue running around unchecked. If he'd kill his own agents, then he'd do far worse things to get what he wanted. Whereas Amanda's hands were bound on what she could do about it, the team had free range. They could end his reign of terror and hand him over to Division. Yet, what exactly was their motivation to do so. Sure, they wanted the bastard dead or in jail. But why should they help the bitch.
She had the solution to that. Amanda claimed to have intel on Semak that Alex could use to take him down. She offered some up for free (something about his summer home) as a sign of good faith. The rest would be handed over on a flashdrive as the team passed off Percy. Carla didn't like the idea of a fair trade, of course. Except it wasn't up to her; she just continued to show her disloyalty. The team had already decided they would do anything to help one another. Intel against one of their enemies was vital, especially with Alex and Sean in the heart of his territory. Besides, there was a chance Percy and Amanda would kill each other at the handoff. That would be a win-win.
The problem came with how they were going to locate the bastard. Tracking his killswitch wouldn't work a second time. He more than likely got rid of the frequency. But there was always another way. Nikita was far more okay with what she had in mind than she would've thought. She had been so hurt by Carla being a traitor, that she figured she'd feel guilty about using her. However, she felt fine. It almost seemed as though it was the right thing to do. Birkhoff could track whatever cell signal the burner was using the next time she sent a text. They'd have Percy in no time. They just had to ensure Carla didn't tip him off.
Birkhoff wasn't a fan of roping in Division's hacker, Sonya, into the ruse. When he got a strange look for the comment, he tried to defend himself that he respected the rival; he didn't think it was fair to dupe her. Yet Nikita, Michael, and Ryan caught the praise and compliments he showed the fellow nerd under a bit of sarcasm. They rolled their eyes, but they put off from making quips about it for the time being. When things were lighter and carefree, they'd tease him all they wanted for his developing crush. They were just weighed down by other things at the moment. Planning around a betrayal didn't come without its stress.
At least they could plan. No matter what was occurring, the team could plan or create something on the fly to get them out of a bad situation. So capturing Percy and setting up a meet with Amanda went fairly smoothly. Nikita was even able to tase the bastard and Birkhoff was able to punch him (though, he re injured the hand that had recently healed from torture). Carla was still fooled in believing they found him by some complicated hacker's trick. She had no reason to doubt that, or their scheme for their trade. Sadly, the team was hoping for that. They needed her to inform Roan of what was happening to his boss. It was the only way everything would come together.
Her doublecross helped them fight Amanda's obvious doublecross. They were going to use both opposing sides' need to back out on deals and go behind others' backs to their advantage. And it worked. Although there was a fire fight, Nikita, Michael, and Ryan made it out alive and with the flashdrive of information. They had no idea what had happened to Percy or Amanda. But, hopefully, they got taken out by a flying bullet. If not, well their wrath would be solely focused on the other. It wouldn't come crashing around the team. They came out the victors.
Or so they thought. Birkhoff had gone radio silent as the mission drew to a close. It wasn't a cause for concern, but it was odd. And that was when the story got away from them. Nikita thought they regained control with their mission plan. She took all that betrayal and hurt she experienced and turned it into something useful. She could help Alex and her team; she could be active, and useful, and continue the crusade with renewed purpose. It wasn't going to weigh her down. She wouldn't allow it to any longer. She was going to rise above and be the better person- a hero like everyone claimed she was.
Except, Carla made her own decisions. She had never been the stubborn one; that was all Nikita. But for some reason, she wouldn't budge. She even pointed a weapon at Birkhoff to sell that point. They had to kill Amanda and save Division, not give her what she wanted at Percy's expense. The nerd pointed his own weapon once again. When she advanced that time, however, the gun went off without him meaning it too. His finger slipped off the trigger as if on autopilot. He hadn't meant to shoot Nikita's friend. He knew how much she continued to care for her- how she was going to find some way to forgive her. He didn't want to kill her. That wasn't how things were supposed to go.
By the time Nikita, Michael, and Ryan returned to the safehouse, it was all over. Carla was bleeding out and there was no way to stop it. Birkhoff still tried, however. He was trying with all his might to atone for his mistake. Strangely enough, it was Nikita who pulled him away. She had collapsed on her knees next to him, crying. But she got him to cease trying to stop death. The truth was, she had lost her old friend long ago. She was simply coming to grips with it then. That didn't mean it didn't sting and hurt, and that the sob that gripped her throat wasn't powerful. She simply didn't blame Birkhoff for protecting himself and the team. Carla's betrayal had to have major consequences. It was just something Nikita didn't want to deal with. She didn't want to deal with the fact that the war was far from over.