Madeline and Nikita ended up talking for hours. It was stiff and slightly awkward, not at all like the conversations they used to have. But they were making steps towards reconnecting. There was still a long way left to go, yet they would get there. That was some sort of hope both could cling to. Eventually, Sean had to take Madeline back to her office for a meeting she had. She parted with an even more stiff and awkward hug. They weren't at that point yet, but Nikita hugged her back. It was nice for a moment- a chance to pretend everything was normal again. That faded when the Senator left, however. The rogue remained in her spot for a while, trying to wrap her head around everything. It was how Michael found her. He reached out a comforting hand, snapping her from her thoughts, "Hey. Are you okay?"

"I will be," Nikita barely responded. She at least turned towards Michael, a soft smile gracing her features. He wanted to pry more out of her. There were plenty of things they had to discuss as well; her family situation was just one more thing to add to the list. But she wasn't willing to open up. She distracted him, as she always did with serious subjects she didn't want to broach, by placing a kiss to his lips. The affection held the same passion as their interrupted kiss from earlier. He had no power to resist it, all thoughts left his mind. However, as he pulled her in closer, Birkhoff and Alex entered the safehouse (apparently, he had picked her up from the airport). The couple just couldn't have their moment. She chuckled, "Later, Sailor."

And that was it for the couple's discussion. Nikita moved to talk to Alex about Katya, and all the money she had inherited and earned from selling her Zetrov shares, while Birkhoff rambled about the tech he acquired. Michael couldn't be too upset that she was ignoring him- she did the same thing to Sean when he returned later that night. She was bound and determined to not share her emotions over Madeline. Considering the mess of shit they were still sorting through, Michael didn't push it. He'd let Nikita come to him on her own. Even if Birkhoff called him out for it the next morning, "That is what you guys want, right? Life where you're not evading hitmen, dodging the odd predator drone."

"That was the plan," Michael shrugged, dodging Birkhoff's punch and striking with his own. The two had decided to spar that morning, while Alex and Nikita went on a run along the beach and Sean performed his Seal duties. It was strange to remember that he had an actual job. Whereas the rest of them were rogue, he remained a soldier. That wouldn't change once the war finally ended- it was the only thing that wouldn't change. The team had to figure out what was ahead of them. They might have won, but they weren't out of the woods yet. Everyone had to keep fighting for their freedom.

"So what's the problem?" Wondering, Birkhoff paused for a moment. The men didn't discuss their thoughts and feelings much. Maybe they should've. It was as much of a stress reliever as boxing was. And it was never said that talking didn't help. Michael also hadn't had the chance to discuss everything with Nikita. Both of them didn't even try. He knew why he was hesitant. What could he have possibly said to make her feel better in regards to her family. And how the hell could they make everything work in their future together. There was a chance she wanted to figure that out first before he got involved. But even then, what was there for either of them to really do.

Things had gotten complicated. Too much had happened around them. The two couldn't pretend that they were the same couple they had been, which was further proof of their need to talk. Their excuses used to center around their missions- they hardly had time to settle down. But for the past couple of days, time was all they had. It was getting kind of ridiculous how the couple kept dancing around the serious subjects. They'd talk and joke about everything else, but whatever was complicated. If Birkhoff managed to call them out for it, then it must've been bad. Michael just wasn't certain what to do, "I don't know."

"It's like you guys need some kind of life and death crisis just to make it work," Birkhoff wasn't necessarily judging. He had simply known Michael and Nikita for a long time, and he knew they could make anything work if they tried hard enough. The two had to get over whatever was occurring between them. It wasn't quite a fight, yet it also wasn't peace. Although the nerd had no experience to stand on to really weigh in on the matter, he didn't want their relationship to fall apart. He didn't watch them annoyingly flirt in Division and be a little too comfortable with their PDA at the safehouse for all the shit they'd gone through to get to them. Weren't they supposed to be stronger than that.

"Seems like, when it comes to our future, Nikita and I are in some kind of holding pattern. I don't want to push it. Baby steps, you know?" Slamming Birkhoff to the mat, Michael confessed. He and Nikita were holding tight to their relationship; they just weren't moving past where they were. Their future was unclear, and the only way to make it right was to talk. It always came down to talking. And it always came down to not knowing what to say. Michael really had to stop thinking about it and just do it. Even if he didn't want to upset Nikita by pushing too hard, he had to try- anything for them to be happy.

"Yeah. Maybe it's time you took some grown up steps, huh," Sluggishly, Birkhoff got to his feet and put words to Michael's thoughts. The agent didn't have a response, though, he was going to use Alex and Nikita coming back inside as an excuse. He should initiate a conversation then- pull his girlfriend aside and lay everything out in the open. She cast him a look he thought meant she was thinking the same. Maybe the time he had left her alone after she talked to her adopted mother was a good thing. She had processed and she was ready to move forward with him by her side. However, they didn't get their chance to act. Birkhoff's computer chimed with an incoming call, halting everyone, "It's one of Senator Pierce's lines. Welcome to the show, caller. You're on the air."

The team gathered around the computers in order to hear the call better. They weren't sure what it could've been about, but they hoped it wasn't another mission. Removing jackets and sparring gear, they glanced at one another warily. Discussing their chance at freedom as often as they had, they must've jinxed their opportunity. Any temporary plans of having conversations or otherwise had to be placed on the back burner once again. Sean echoed the team's exhaustion as he replied, "It's me. A black market arms' contractor passed along word of a weapon request from a domestic covert group. CIA says it's not them. Which means…"

Division- it always came back to Division. Nikita sighed, biting back a groan. Everytime she thought she was done with that place, it dragged her back in with its blood-covered claws. Even when it didn't make sense, or it had no reason to be involved, the hellhole made itself present. It was tied to her life and all those she loved whether she wanted it to or not. And, God, she didn't want it to. Wary glances turned to annoyed and confused glares. Alex was able to find her voice first and ask, "Division doing business without Amanda?"

"Matches up with some recent chatter about a weapons cache being emptied in Europe and Asia. My mother says it was set up by Division, but not by Amanda. Dates back before her time," Quickly, Sean explained. His mother called him that morning to inform him of the latest development. He thought he would've been released from his Oversight duties, and he could go back to Camp Pendleton and rejoin his Seal unit. He wasn't so lucky. Michael voiced exactly why that was: Percy. Apparently, he wasn't as in the wind as the team had thought. He managed to continue pestering the team like the cockroach he was.

"Percy back at Division? How?" Again, Alex questioned. That shouldn't have been possible. When she had been misguidedly using Division's resources, she didn't notice any chance Percy could've taken over the place. Yes, he figured out a way to escape his cage. But there was no way Amanda would've given up control to him. Oversight was gone, as well as his Guardians. With those facts plus the guards that patrolled the bunker, there was no way he could have scurried his way in. Something must've happened- something terrible.

"Must've gotten in while Amanda was gone. Staged a coup," Although it was only speculation, Nikita was certain she was right. Division was ripe for descent. She had told Percy that once. With Amanda out of the picture, the agents would've looked to anyone to lead them. Why shouldn't they choose Percy. He might've been an evil bastard, but he could fix the damage Nikita and her team had done. Division was scared for their lives; they'd look to anyone to save them. If only they could open their eyes and see that he wasn't their savior- he was the villain.

"He must've found evidence of her double dealing," Building off of Nikita's theory, Michael suggested. That would explain how Division would willingly put Percy back in charge. Not only could he protect them from the rogues, but his corruption wasn't on the surface. The agents were surrounded by lies. They'd cling to anything that seemed like the truth. Considering Percy was better at hiding his deception than Amanda, they clung to him. Securing the team's freedom suddenly became a lot more complicated. The chess pieces hadn't even cleared the board yet.

"I did send Sonya that video of Amanda addressing the Zetrov board," Birkhoff sheepishly explained how that could've been. Sonya had messaged him while the team was in Moscow, admitting that his comments about Amanda had gotten to her. So he sent her the bitch's confession to using Division for her own means as further proof of her evilness. Nikita couldn't help but glare at him for that. It wasn't his fault, yet he had still sent Percy the tools to take back control. Despite being aware of his mistake, the nerd still tried to defend himself, "What? I thought it was going to help bring Amanda down. How was I supposed to know Lex Luthor was in the building?"

"I'm not taking any chances. I'm taking my mother to a safehouse. Who knows how far Percy would go to kill the last member of Oversight," Sean interrupted the team from making any comments directed towards Birkhoff. They'd just have to deal with that later. Percy became their goddamn priority again. Michael spared a glance at Nikita, hoping to be able to read her thoughts. She seemed serious, and was obviously thinking over something- most likely a scheme to end things once and for all. If she was worried about the safety of her adopted mother, she didn't show it. The two really needed to find time to talk.

That moment wasn't it, however. All of a sudden, the team heard Sean shouting through the phone. They couldn't make out his words, yet he sounded frantic. Nikita slowly approached the computers, somewhat afraid of what was occurring. Maybe it was nothing; he could've simply been relaying a command to Madeline's security team. Before anyone could reach the Seal and get some kind of answer, though, what sounded like an explosion blasted through the speakers. Deadly silence filled the air immediately. No one thought they could speak. Michael had to take in a sharp breath to keep himself from shrieking, "What the hell was that?"

Nikita thought her ears were ringing. She had no proof that an explosion had occurred, but she had been around enough bombs to know what one sounded like. She felt her body turn cold. She couldn't hear her brother anymore. Other sounds of commotion were coming through his phone, but not his voice. Anger was quick to follow her shock. It was Percy. Whatever it was, it had to have been that vile bastard. She had hurt him, so he attacked her family. She should've killed him when she had the chance, black boxes and trades be damned. However, once Birkhoff pulled up a satellite image of the area Sean was in, Nikita was no longer angry. Ice returned to her veins. Alex had to be the one to frantically ask for her, "Sean? Sean are you there?"

"Sean?" Nikita's voice didn't sound like her own. She stared at the flames on the computer screen, unable to blink. There had been an explosion. It was a car bomb, with a resulting fire too dangerous to survive. Sean finally managed to respond after hearing his sister. He was tearful and panicked as he relayed what had happened. Percy sent a man on a motorcycle to kill their mother. She was dead, and they had to act immediately to avenge her. Nikita remained stock still, causing Michael to leap into action. He ordered Alex to grab a com and calm Sean down, and he had Birkhoff track whoever had planted the bomb to see where he went. He also tried to move his girlfriend away from the computers. She shouldn't have to witness that. She should take a moment to herself. But she wouldn't budge, "Mom?"

Michael gently took hold to Nikita's arms and attempted to drag her to another room. He knew first hand what it was like to lose a loved one so violently. She did too, which was probably why she had stopped thinking. He had to think for her, and remove her from the situation. She had to process, let herself feel instead of diving right into the disaster. That was why he had Alex talk to Sean, after all. She could convince him to come to the safehouse away from all that pain. Both Pierce's were stubborn, though. They needed to know how everything fell apart so quickly. Nikita fought off her boyfriend and approached the computers once more. Birkhoff had been able to track the man on the motorcycle. Yet he made it easy for them. He stopped at an intersection, removed his helmet, and chuckled at the streetcam. The unflappable rogue turned pale. All shock left her system, turning into absolute and horrible despair, "No."