Alex really could've used Sean's support right about then. Protecting her mother in Greece was more important, however. She was so grateful that he had agreed to help her. Though, she didn't really have to ask him. He'd do anything to help her out. Despite her mother waiting and watching in the car, she expressed her strong gratitude and affection with a kiss. The thoughts were constant in her mind, but it was so undoubtedly amazing that they were together. She felt grounded and secured- at least one part of her life made sense and brought such bright joy. She could manage everything else with that reassuring her. She could square her shoulders, lift her chin, move forward, and breathe through her struggles.
Zetrov remained her biggest obstacle to battle. Even with Semak dead, Alex had to ensure the powerful organization didn't become corrupted once more. With its ties to Gogol, the CEO couldn't be another greedy, selfish bastard. In short, the head of Zetrov couldn't be Ari or Amanda. Alex had to find some way to ensure the two never got the position. They had tried and failed numerous times; their last attempt was going to be at the board meeting. Her plan was to stop them once and for all then. She just needed someone trustworthy to take over the company. Hopefully, she found that someone.
Ilya Levkin was an old friend of her father's. If her memory served her correctly, then he was a great man and upstanding member of the Zetrov board. Her memory had served her terribly before, however. Fortunately, she had Birkhoff to help her with an extensive background check. Ilya was as she remembered and as he presented himself. He would do her father's company justice, create the legacy he always wanted. Alex simply had to convince him to accept the CEO position. Her Zetrov shares would help solidify his place. But ultimately, it was up to him to decide if he wanted that much responsibility, and if he wanted to face off against Ari's next grab for power.
During the meeting, Alex found herself talking to Ilya as herself. She didn't have to utilize the persuasion techniques she learned in her spy training, or some of the underhanded techniques she picked up on the streets. She was just herself, explaining all the good that would come if Ilya accepted the job offer. He was the best suited and the most kind. He would lead Zetrov into a bright future. Her enthusiasm got him to agree. Besides, he wasn't fond of Ari, and was skeptical of the energy device the head of Gogol claimed would launch Zetrov into a new age. Alex didn't like the sound of that either, but she kept her mouth shut for the moment. She and Ilya parted ways, with a promise to meet before the Zetrov board meeting. Until then, she had much more important matters to attend to.
Keeping each other in the loop was basically the team's number one rule. While they were running on separate missions and in separate countries, they had to be aware of the other. It was how they were going to keep one another safe. All that communicating was also how they were going to beat their enemies. They could share the right amount of information to win the day. That meant a lot of phone calls. Yet they were used to picking up whenever one of them called. Alex only had to wait a second before Nikita answered, allowing her to spill everything instantly, "Pretty sure Ari's got a detrimental gamechanger he's bringing to the board meeting."
"Yep. We're looking right at it," Watching the Division agent Dina wait to initiate her handoff, Nikita replied. The intel Senator Pierce had for Michael dealt with a stolen energy device. The FBI couldn't make sense of it, but the team could. It all tied back to Division. Well, specifically, it tied back to Amanda. She was using the black ops group's resources for her own gain. Nikita, Michael, and Ryan were on her trail, however. Birkhoff located Dina with the tracker information he still had, and the agents stood at the ready for the attack. They had begun to wonder why the handoff was happening in an abandoned junkyard instead of Division, when Alex called with the answer. Of course it came down to the bad guys securing more power.
"So. You put a stop to it with the action espionage and I keep handling the corporate espionage," Alex wrapped up the point optimistically. There was no doubt in her mind they could stop Amanda and Ari. After everything they had been through recently, from numbness to heartbreak, they could win their next battle. They deserved to move forward in their war. The team had dealt with enough internal and familial drama. It should only be about the crusade from then on. They could finish the fight once and for all.
"Hell yeah," Nikita echoed the positivity before ending the call. Amanda had rolled up on the scene. It was time for the agents to attack. The three fanned out of the car, Michael and Ryan heading towards the agents while Nikita went straight to Amanda. They didn't necessarily have a plan, but they were confident in their ability to just make it up as they went along. They were only stopping a hand off. Kind of like intense capture the flag, they'd shoot their enemies, grab the object, and retreat to the safehouse. The rogues were amazing enough to handle that.
Unfortunately, Amanda surprised Nikita. She hadn't seen her coming. Which, wasn't that always how the bitch got the drop on others. She knew she couldn't take the rogue in a fight, so she ensured her hands were tied first. Nikita still gave her all with kicks and swipes, but she'd have to cut the wire from her wrists in order to win. She didn't get the chance before Amanda grabbed for her dropped pistol. The bullet slammed into her shoulder in an instant. The rogue didn't have a chance to register it. The only thing she knew was pain blooming across her body. Her Kevlar might've taken the brunt of the blow, but the stunning pain was still there- as was Amanda standing over her with a gun.
The final shot never came, however. Amanda's cold blue eyes stared down at Nikita's expecting brown, but she never pulled the trigger. The bitch actually hesitated. She had the rogue stunned; she had to take the opportunity to strike before she recovered and sprang to her feet. Yet both women could only stare at one another. Nikita was surprisingly ready to die. She accepted that fate, and as long as her team survived she was alright. It was Amanda who stalled. For all her talk about needing to get rid of the rogue, she couldn't do it. She couldn't kill her.
"Nikita!" Michael's shout broke the moment. Amanda ran to join the Division agents who had the device, leaving Nikita slumped against a junked car. She didn't have time to process any of what just happened. Ryan was shooting at the getaway vehicle and her fiancé was untying her and holding her. She should've responded to him, and she should've done something about the searing pain in her shoulder. But the rogue couldn't stop staring at where the bitch had disappeared to. Nothing made sense. It clouded her mind so much she almost missed Michael's question, "Hey. Hey. What happened?"
"I don't know," Was all she could mutter. It was probably the shock of being shot. She could answer him fully once she got herself together. But first, Nikita, Michael, and Ryan had to get out of the junkyard and follow Amanda to Russia. There, the three and Birkhoff could meet up with Alex and finish destroying Amanda and Ari. The mission wasn't over yet, even if the rogue couldn't shake it off. Her fiancé couldn't move past it either. Her silence over the coms had scared him. And the dark bruising that appeared on her shoulder after she removed her jacket to assess the damage frightened him even more. Something had happened when he wasn't there to protect her. The implications of that were far more terrifying than anything else.
She managed to calm him on the jet to Russia as she explained what happened. Birkhoff and Ryan had called ahead to Alex and started working on their next move, while Michael helped Nikita with her injury. It wasn't the worst she had sustained, though the situation was insane. No one could make sense of it. It wasn't like Amanda to hesitate on a kill, especially against one of the rogues. She had hurt them time and time again. So why not then. The question continued to rattle Michael's thoughts, even once the team had settled in Alex's hotel suite. He knew he had to focus on other things. The bitch's actions just concerned him, "Why didn't Amanda take the shot?"
"All I know is that she's not going to make the same mistake twice," Shrugging into a fresh shirt (as her one from the mission was torn up) Nikita mumbled. She really didn't want to keep delving into it. She was ready to simply move on and finally take the bitch down. A part of her was also concerned that Michael's questioning was going to draw out that fact that she had stopped fighting. Although she was aware that she'd let death win in a battle, she couldn't have her fiancé know. It was only going to start an argument between them. He'd say her life was worth it, while she mentioned that he deserved to live far more than she did. Nikita wasn't in the mood to get into that at the moment. She'd much rather kick some ass.
"You'll be ready for her," Michael encouraged, placing gentle hands on her waist. A calming breath was able to wash over Nikita, and she grinned softly. But it wasn't for long. Birkhoff popped his head in the room to inform the couple that the team was ready to go over the op. Ryan had scanned Zetrov's building, finding the best routes for each of them to enter. And Alex had created a diagram of the things not released to the public. Focusing on all the intel got Michael and Nikita to settle. Raging thoughts and feelings were pushed aside for planning. It wasn't the best method to cope, but at least they weren't hung up on the past.
Jokes flowing between the team helped with that as well. The diagram Alex drew wasn't the most artistic. In fact, it looked like something a kid would draw. Nikita and Michael tried not to share a knowing look at the fact. Instead, they concentrated on how much Alex had grown since they met her. Only months into being a spy, and she was formulating plans to destroy a corrupt organization. It was something to be proud of. If only Birkhoff didn't rip them out of that moment too. He poked fun of the young woman's drawing, causing her to snap about what it all meant, "That's Ari. And that's Nikita, dumbass."
"Well, I say we're ready to kick some ass," Covering her laugh, Nikita got her team back on task. They could take the information Alex gathered, the systems Birkhoff hacked, and the plan Ryan created to successfully ruin Amanda's and Ari's night. The two wouldn't be getting a hold of Zetrov, and hopefully their reign of terror on Division and Gogol would end as well. Things had finally fallen into place for the team. There was still so much left to work out. But they could do it. Their ability to always get back up after being knocked down proved as much. And, God, did they get knocked down a lot.