"How is everything?" Sonya found Nikita slouched on the couch, reading over a report. She scratched at Barkhoff's fur as he gnawed on a bone beside her. The team had spent the rest of the night relaxing and playing around. They were able to sleep peacefully and greet the next day well rested, which helped with the things they had to take care of. Alex checked in on Kyle and the Interpol investigation. Birkhoff rotated his cybersecurity to ensure Spyder couldn't mess with him again. Michael cleaned their weapons and equipment for their next mission. And Nikita reviewed some of their information. Sonya had spent time touching base with their moles and the Connellys, yet she soon became distracted. It was hard to stay focused at times. She really didn't have anyone to blame but herself. She was just preoccupied with so many other thoughts.
"Cyrus should be out of his meeting by now. Just waiting for his report," Nikita replied absentmindedly. She wasn't particularly paying attention to Sonya. She was still attempting to create a way to draw out the bastards' leader. More intel was needed for her regiment idea. And a more persuasive argument was needed to convince Michael that it was a solid plan. Sam, Vasquez, and Cyrus were at least working on the information angle for her. She'd have her homework done before jetting off again. Although the end seemed near, no one could rush. She had to plan and prepare; it was the best way to ensure her crazy schemes actually worked.
"Oh. No. I meant pregnancy wise," Sitting next to her on the couch, Sonya broke Nikita out of her thoughts. She was confused for a second, and had to glance at the hacker for a moment to catch up. To be fair, she and Michael didn't talk about her pregnancy in front of the team. That was a stressor the rest of them didn't need. The married couple discussed their plans, thoughts, and emotions all on their own. It worked well for them, especially when it came to their raging anxieties. Yet it did leave their team in the dark. It wasn't as though they didn't know what was occurring. Nikita's symptoms were difficult to hide. No doubt they were concerned and wanted to know if they were alright.
"Oh. Yeah I'm fine. Morning sickness is a lot better," With a grateful smile, Nikita put away what she was reading and shifted to face Sonya. She wasn't quite lying. As she got farther along, some of the nausea, cramps, and headaches had subsided. The rest of her changing hormones, not so much. Yet she wasn't willing to get into all of that. She barely did with Michael unless he pried it out of her. She'd much rather focus on the things she could control. Taking care of herself and her dog, making plans and preparations for both the war and everything they have to do after, and remembering she was allowed to breathe from time to time was beneficial- as was her husband. It didn't feel like too much all the time.
"How about anxiety?" Sonya just had to ask about the thing she was avoiding. Nikita could only sigh, and make an all too familiar expression. Both she and Michael were struggling not to freak out. The hacker chuckled softly at the fact. She didn't blame them in the slightest. A crusade was stressful enough. To add a baby on top of that was unimaginable. Though, it was the most dramatic thing they had experienced- besides faking Alex's death, and Spyder, and the Connellys. Okay, the team kept being thrown into drama. But they remained together. That was a blessing Sonya could use to tease Nikita, "Can you guys not be so dramatic all the time?"
"Absolutely not. Gotta keep you on your toes," What was the shit they went through if not to keep them on their toes. Nothing ever went according to plan- not for the former rogue, not for her team, and definitely not for her husband. Of course Nikita's and Michael's baby wouldn't be the exception. It was going to be just as surprising as everything else. Not all of those surprises were terrible, however. Running into the situations with bad guys certainly was. But the family finding each other and filling their hearts with love was the best surprise yet. Some of their drama was survivable.
After all, it was never all bad. The losses they suffered hurt like hell. That was always a darkness they could hardly see themselves out of. But there was still hope and lightness. Clinging to that in the past helped the team make it to the very end. Since they had freedom and they continued fighting for others, it was easier to make it through to the end of the day. More than likely, that was how neither Michael nor Nikita had completely succumbed to the anxieties of being pregnant during a war. They knew it was going to be alright. Sonya admired the married couple for their strength to keep pushing forward. However, she continued to have questions concerning the distracting thoughts circling around her head, "But it's not all bad is it?"
"No. It's actually pretty exciting," Nikita found herself beaming. Underneath the worry that something terrible might happen, she was excited for the future ahead. Michael definitely was as well. His eyes lit up and his smile brightened whenever they discussed life with their baby. He couldn't wait to start that adventure with her. There were going to be challenges- because when weren't there. But he knew without a doubt that they were going to have so much fun and joy. She could watch him talk about it for hours. He was just so deliriously happy. It made her happy too. And most of the time, the excitement managed to outweigh her fear. He was going to be such a good father. She couldn't believe she was giving him that chance again.
"That's good to know," Talking more to herself than to the rogue, Sonya grinned. She figured Nikita and Michael would be excited. They had been beyond excited about adopting their dog. A baby wasn't too different in that regard. However, the hacker wasn't necessarily thinking of the married couple. She had her own future in mind concerning the engagement ring on her finger. She hoped it was a far off future; she didn't need to fall into the same dramatics as the others. But it could potentially be where she and Seymour landed. They had talked about it briefly before while spending time with his family. They often had a lot of fun with his nieces and nephews that left questions of what ifs in their minds. Marriage was already their next step, so why not eventually children.
"Are you thinking about kids with Birkhoff?" It was nearly a shriek. Nikita managed to track Sonya's thoughts and she beamed. Imaging herself and Michael with kids was one thing. It was always able to fill her with a sort of peace as well as butterflies in her stomach. But the nerds with kids seemed hysterical to her. Not that it wasn't far fetched. Just picturing Birkhoff trying to wrangle a baby was the funniest thing she could imagine. If the way he interacted with Barkhoff whenever anyone played with the dog too close to his tech was any indication, then he was in for a wild ride if he ever became a father. Nikita couldn't wait to see if that ever came to be. Hell, she couldn't wait to see how he'd be with her kid.
That was probably how Sonya got to those thoughts in the first place. Nikita's pregnancy had everyone thinking about kids in some way. It wasn't something the team had entertained before. When Max came along, they were more concerned about protecting him than thinking about what kids would look like for them. But since they had their happily ever after, it was a possibility they had to look for. Michael and Nikita were expecting, after all. And they were happy and excited for it. Besides, it was so natural for the two to be parents. Any of them could be, really. They could do anything they set their minds to, defeating Division and the Shop proved as much. So Sonya simply shrugged and replied, "It's hard to ignore."
"Cyrus is on the phone," Unfortunately, before Nikita could pressure the hacker into sharing more of her thoughts, Michael entered the living room. Sonya at least shared a look with the former rogue that promised they'd continue the conversation later; she wasn't finished talking about it either. That satisfied her friend enough to settle back on the couch, and toss Barkhoff's bone so he'd run off and allow others to sit. Although Alex enjoyed that when she walked in, as she was able to play with the dog for a moment, Birkhoff became a bit panicked over how close he was to his computers. Nikita tried to bite back her giggles, yet failed. Despite all their surprises, her family was still predictable.
"Hey. What happened to email?" She was spared confused glances, so she ignored them by addressing Cyrus. Michael had placed the phone on speaker, allowing the whole team to contribute to the conversation. However, Nikita had set up a way for the weapons dealer to contact them without having to call. It was similar to how they communicated with Sam and Vasquez. It secured their safety as well as their privacy. Something must've happened to make Cyrus change protocol. Or, there was something urgent to share.
"Your guy is certainly off his rocker," Sounding a bit frazzled even for his calm and collected self, Cyrus confirmed that he was sitting on something vital. The meeting wasn't all too productive for a weapons sale. But for gathering information for a team of do-gooders, it was a goldmine. The bastards' leader didn't seem to have been completely there. He was a more unhinged man than the one he had first spoken to. Cyrus wasn't too proud to admit that the fact freaked him out a little. It was no secret that the team was the cause for the madness. They had landed one too many blows against the leader, and he was losing control. There was no better time for them to strike.
"Awesome. I love it when we're right," With a mixture of sarcasm and genuine enjoyment that they were making serious moves against the bastards, Alex quipped. No one could really argue against her. They made themselves comfortable around the livingroom, adding more notes to their immense pile. Between what Sam somewhat confirmed about the leader being former Gogol and the regiment they found, a clearer picture was coming into frame. Those things also explained why he was so paranoid and meticulous about things. His inane procedures were obvious attempts to ensure he didn't fail like his predecessors.
Being too controlling and meticulous caused some slip up eventually, though. At least that had been the case with Oversight and the Shop. Those organizations had been so smart, operating in the shadows. Yet the team always found a way to draw them out. More specifically, Nikita drew them out by being insane. That was starting to work with the bastards' leader. One little push, and he'd make himself known and the team could take him down. As exciting as the thought was, Michael wanted to dig for more information first. They could be just as prepared and knowledgeable as their enemies, "Did you get confirmation on his name?"
"He's using a different one than Iosef. But that doesn't mean it's not a fake. He's also suffering from his lack of funds. We couldn't complete the sale. You guys hit him hard at the docks," Cyrus caught the team up. He shifted the weird feeling he came out of the meeting with into a sense of pride for the do-gooders. There was a reason he sided with them all those years ago. They had a talent at knocking egotistical bastards down a peg. They also weren't afraid to stir up so much trouble. No doubt they were about to walk into a lot of shit. But they could handle themselves just fine.
"Is he looking for a way to recover his losses?" Michael wondered. The team had once caught Percy when he made a desperate push after they burned the majority of his funds. The leader was going to do something rash and damaging; they had been right about that as well. It was a great accomplishment that they could lead their enemies to that predictable point. However, that was usually when things became even more dangerous and out of control. They had to keep doing their homework and be prepared. No one could fall into complacency and sacrifice being smart. That was the time they had to be their all.
Especially when Cyrus confirmed Michael's thoughts. The bastards' leader was looking at missions that required a lot of fire power. Whatever he was up to, it couldn't have been good. Yet another insane scheme pulled at the back of Nikita's mind. She reached for some of the intel she had been examining, attempting to form the idea into words. They knew how the bastards found their mercenary and corporate espionage jobs. The team could possibly set up a fake operation to trap them with. That had happened to them enough times, so why not flip it, "What if we baited him with the perfect op?"
"First the regiment, now a mission? You really want to draw this guy out with the stupidest schemes," Birkhoff instantly fired back. He wasn't one hundred percent against the idea. But it didn't quite fit the 'being smart' route they were trying to take. They weren't ones for playing chess with their opponents. Their strong suits were running and gunning from mission to mission. Everything could come to a quick end if they played the game, however. They could be the masterminds of fate for once. God knew they deserved that instead of being thrown for loop after loop.
"But it could work. We give him everything he wants, then pull the rug right out from under him," Alex was instantly on Nikita's side. Both women voiced that it was time for them to take control of the direction of the war. They couldn't follow the threads anymore and end up in constant danger. They were going to set the path and lead their enemies down it to their destruction. The two's optimism pulled the others into agreement. It would be great for the tables to turn in their favor. Besides, weren't they taught that deception was far better than a direct assault. That had worked against their most formidable enemy, after all.
"If we do this, we involve Interpol," Laying out his conditions, Michael was the last to come to terms with the idea. Yet his statement went without saying. Involving the international police was the best way for them to stop the bastards for good. There were just some things the team couldn't do, and punishing criminals to the full extent of the law was one of them. They would need help in that regard. It would also give them the chance to return to their happily ever afters as quickly as possible.
"Let's set 'em up and knock 'em down," Alex and Nikita concluded with a high-five. There they went again.