"I don't think we're gonna get much from just searching 'Gary and Caroline'. We need to narrow it down somehow," James sighed, frustratingly brushing his hair out of his face. He and Pj had been at a public library for what felt like hours. They needed a place where they could rifle through records and dig around on the internet. Where better than a secured building with public Wi-Fi access and files on demand. The two still hid themselves away in a back corner; the computer screen was out of sight of any passersby, and their connection was encrypted so their search history and hacking stayed hidden. Despite their preparedness and research skills, however, they hadn't discovered any new leads. They were hopelessly stuck.
"Well if they are doubles, then they might be important business or government people. So we can try those terms," Pj knew she was grasping at straws. Two names that might not have been accurate or even real (if she was being honest with her current state of mind) wasn't anything to go off of. Yet they had to try. Going rogue had to be worth it. She and James had to end the war once and for all, something their parents never managed to do. Immediately, she shook that bitterness and anger away. There were far more important things to focus on than that.
"And if they're not?" He was trying to be realistic. Even with the new parameters Pj set, they didn't get any hits. The information was too incomplete, and they had no idea what they were supposed to be finding. James was afraid they had slammed right into a deadend. He didn't think they were going to get much anyway. Whatever she was remembering seemed jumbled and not at all coherent. The fact that the two of them had gotten as far as they had surprised him. He wouldn't dare say the thought outloud; it just felt as though everything in front of them was far greater than they could comprehend.
"See if they're tied to Division or the Shop," Undeterred, Pj kept pushing. There had to be something they were missing. At least, she hoped that was the case. It was so much easier being rogue the first time when she had a specific goal in mind; she found the black books and their parents. She even had some information to run off of. But trying to uncover Amanda's plot and stop it seemed just out of reach. For a terrifying moment, she felt as though she was in way over her head. Maybe her mom was right when she tried to get her to calm down and think. Again, Pj shook off her thoughts of Nikita. Yet that time it wasn't in anger. The slightest of ideas gripped the back of her mind, and she desperately ran with it, "Or try the last name Mears."
Casting a puzzled glance at Pj, James had no clue where she was going with her statement. Although he didn't doubt that Amanda would target Nikita, he just couldn't follow the train of thought revolving the supposed Gary and Caroline. The more they searched and hacked and brainstormed, the more he was worried that her conditioning was worsening. Her emotions certainly had as the days since her rescue passed. What if the same was happening to her thoughts. He had to fight those anxieties away. She had jumped to wild conclusions before. Not everything had to be so stressful. They finally got a hit, after all, "Look, obituaries. They don't seem too important, though."
"I think they were my mom's foster parents," She was never told any details beyond the fact that her mother had been raised in an abusive foster home. That confused her when she was little. However, as she grew older, she understood Nikita's need to keep all that information from her daughter. Pj knew the pain of what it was like to live without her parents. Whereas she was surrounded by support and love, her mom hadn't been so lucky. For the first time in a long time, Pj felt something other than anger in regards to Nikita. She felt sympathy. And underneath all the confusion and complication and pain, she felt the need to make Amanda pay for digging up all that heartache.
"So why would Amanda bring them up now? What's the connection?" Bringing her back on track, James asked the important questions. His earlier disbelief had been stupid. He needed to have faith and trust in their actions, and- of course- in Pj. Doubt, fear, and cynicism would just slow them down and hold them back. She had kept pressing and created a breakthrough (somewhat). So why couldn't he match that drive. He wanted her safe and secure, he wanted his family together and happy. If that was the case, he couldn't continue to have one foot in and the other out. Despite the confusion to wade through, he jumped right into the craziness.
"Hey. I know that date. It's two weeks after the first mission," However, Pj dove onto another track James couldn't follow once more. She ignored his question, distracted by the date on Gary Mears' obituary. Sighing, he focused on whatever her discovery was. The day the newspaper claimed Gary died had no significance for him. It had happened years before any of them were born (save Max- but his situation was different than the rest of the kids) and before the team had become aware of the Shop. Thinking hard enough, the year could've been the same as when Alex and Nikita started their crusade. But Gary would've been out of the picture by that point, so what did it matter.
"First mission? Like the Shop's first mission?" It had to be all about the Shop; that was the only connection James could make. He figured Gary was killed by the organization as their first move against Nikita. That was flimsy, though. Caroline Mears didn't fit into that mess; she had died of a blood clot too long ago to be relevant. Also, why would the Shop even need to send a warning to Nikita all those years ago if she hadn't known they existed. They had been safely in the shadows, no need to lash out at a woman whose only concern was a black ops group. That seemed like something only Amanda would've done. So then, was that her trial to join the Shop.
Head shaking, Pj dismissed James' guess. In his defense, she knew a lot more about their parents' old missions than he did. While the other kids had focused on the present, she attempted to dig into the past to better understand their parents' thoughts and actions. It never got her anywhere, until then, "No. Remember Owen's- Sam's- deal that if you beat him in sparring he'd answer any question you might have? Well since I'm the best there was, is, and ever will be, I know a lot of Division details. I thought it'd help find our parents. Anyway. It says here that Gary died two weeks after your mom went to jail to be recruited by Division."
"But that happened in Detroit, and he died in Jersey," Voice lowering, James tried to keep up with Pj. As the day dwindled, more people started to fill the library. They were probably coming in to unwind after work, or to start on homework and projects for school. The two had to whisper and somewhat shield themselves in order to keep their secrecy. Yet in their own little corner, hunched so close together they were touching, the two could pass for any of the other college-aged kids studying around them. Maybe in another life that could've been them. Except, their reality was too clouded in conspiracies for that to be a possibility.
"Body not found, place cleaned spotless, missing and presumed dead. That's a Cleaner staple if I ever heard one," Indicating some of the facts in the obituary and subsequent news article, Pj clarified her thought process. Gary had to have died in relation to Division. It occurred at the start of her mother's war, and he was her foster father. There was no way it was just a coincidence. Also, she had heard of the Cleaners who had worked for Division disposing witnesses, recruits, agents, and the people who happened to fall in love with someone inside the black ops group. They must've gotten rid of any connection to Nikita as she reared her rogue head. They must've wanted to cancel her presence in the world as much as possible. Fortunately, they had been nowhere near completing that operation.
"My mom infiltrates Division, and Nikita goes to kill her foster dad or threaten him or whatever? What's the link?" James still needed more to go on, however. He was starting to wish that he had dug for more information on their parents' past than just the summaries and rundown of major events they had been told. With an enemy like Amanda, who had such strong ties to the team, they had to be able to understand how deeply and fucked up her relationships with their parents were. It definitely helped explain one of the reasons there was such a rift between parent and child. Yes, because of the whole running off to protect their kids thing. But also, because the war didn't necessarily affect the younger agents as much as it did the older.
"I think to let Percy know she was coming after him. Sam said she gave them a message. That must've been it," Pj had to return to speculation. The course of events didn't quite make sense to her either. However, she knew there was a connection between it all. Whether that conviction came from her own confidence or from her time with Amanda, she had no idea. James believed in her, though. He was seriously considering what she was saying. And not only did his questions help him follow along, it also helped her focus and think. It was a great back and forth. God, it was so awesome having a partner by her side.
More specifically, it was so awesome having James with her. Their hands had started to brush as they clicked around on the computer, and sometimes their foreheads connected when they read the same information. Pj just wanted to beam at how comfortable it was being incredibly close to him. It might've been bordering on PDA. Except with the other college-aged kids around them, it simply helped them blend in. Besides, it felt nice and oh so right to be able to touch and to share that much space. His voice had become soft and low at the fact, revisiting an old question, "Again. What's the relevance now?"
"Maybe whatever's happening now started all those years ago in Division," Her tone was just as soft while she shrugged. Hazel eyes bore into green, and that was suddenly the only thing in the world worth focusing on. Pj and James stayed nearly nose to nose simply gazing at one another for a while. It wasn't until somebody sneezed nearby that they snapped back to reality. She shifted a little bit away from him, but only so she could remain attentive to their current situation. The two could possibly delve into that intense moment later. Able to read her thoughts on that subject, he forced himself to refocus as well. Problem solving first, then whatever else was brewing between them.
"How are we supposed to figure all that out? It's not like they have public records. And even if we knew their targets, we wouldn't have operational details," The two couldn't hack their way into Division servers (they didn't even exist anymore) and read up on every single operation. They were pretty sure Birkhoff was able to once, but they were also certain that was because the team had secret files on a harddrive. As much as James and Pj would've liked to explore that potential lead, there was no way for them to do so. A secret governmental black ops organization didn't last as long as it did if it was flippant about its information. That was going to be more heavily guarded than certain politicians.
An idea suddenly struck Pj, and she glanced at James wickedly. He realized in that moment that he had a love-hate relationship with that expression. Although he loved whenever she smiled or was excited, he hated the scheme she was cooking up. Maybe 'hate' was a strong word. Yet she was thinking something wild and unpredictable. They were about to run off into parts unknown again- he just knew it, "You think the bunker's still around? I mean with the Dirty Thirty, and the team having to go into hiding because you, Oliver, and Kara decided to be the worst surprise ever, the facility might just be hanging around underground."
"You want to explore Division? What is with you and these field trips for clues?" James kind of wanted to laugh. It wasn't the worst plan Pj had ever had. But it certainly wasn't great. Unlike the Shop facility and the underground fighting ring, there was no guarantee that Division was still around. Decades had past since anyone had roamed those hellish halls. It could've fallen into ruin, or collapsed, or even been blown up by the team when they had left. The two also had only a vague knowledge of where the bunker could've been (somewhere in rural New Jersey). Her plan was so incredibly thin. What were they supposed to do with it.
"Well it's not like we're gonna find these things online," Regardless of the drawbacks, exploring Division was their only option. James had to sigh. Yet his sense of defeat didn't last long. Pj was smirking at him, full lips pulled in an ever so familiar half-smile. He was drawn to it, shifting to be close to her again. She did that ghost of a kiss again that sent his heart soaring, and her green eyes sparkled. Another brilliant plan was definitely forming in her mind, "Besides, we can make a road trip out of it. Stay at a motel to regroup…"
"You're incorrigible, Pipes," Not able to help it, James cut her off. He knew exactly what Pj was suggesting. Despite a hesitant part of his brain that screamed about her being mind controlled by Amanda, he wanted to follow that idea like he had followed all the others. Her smile grew, and he matched its brightness. Together, they wiped the drive on the computer and shut it down. She slipped her hand into his, and pulled him to his feet along with her. Off the two went again, exploring someplace new and hopefully promising. There was still danger ahead, but it seemed far off when the other was by their side.
"Come on, Jamie. Let's see where all this shit began."