While Nikita saved the CIA agent from Martin and the Chinese intelligence, things spiraled further into shit. There was no denying that their rogue was working for the MSS. If the agents backing him weren't enough evidence, then Michael being traded from local to federal custody definitely was. It was going to be impossible to break him out of jail. Their intervention could only delay the problem. As Nikita attempted to create a hail-mary to rescue her boyfriend, Ryan contacted her through her com. Apparently, Martin wanted to talk, "Nikita. We are in a rapidly increasing situation, and Martin just upped the ante. I want to put us all on the line."
Just nodding, Nikita accepted Martin's call on the CIA agent's phone. Ryan and Division could do whatever. As long as by the end of the day she had Michael in her arms again, she didn't care. She'd listen to whatever the hell Martin had to say, "Hello, Nikita. I know you from your file, but we haven't been properly introduced. I'm the guy who's got something you want. You're the girl who has something I want. So, let's make a deal. I assume you know what I'm trying to get done here in Hong Kong."
"Yeah. You work with MSS as a contract killer. I can't say you traded up from Division," The harsh quip came off her tongue easily. Nikita didn't have time for Martin or his deals. The hackers in Division could trace their call, Ryan could get his intel on a member of the Dirty Thirty, but that was all. Nikita had played enough games with bastards. She was done. Her only focus was to bring him down and save her boyfriend. Martin's deal wasn't going to grant her that. Whatever scheme she could create was.
"No. You got it wrong. I wrote the contract. That's what freelance means. If anything, MSS is working for me. If I tell them to let Michael go, they will. What I want is for you to get out of my way, and let me finish my job," Martin seemed irritated as he corrected. Yet, once again, Nikita didn't care. Freelancing or working for the MSS, he was still killing CIA agents for profit. There was no way he could spin that. He wasn't looking for redemption or a way to escape what Division forced him to be. He reveled in it and made it who he was.
"You mean kill innocent people?" Nikita let her anger known. The CIA wasn't the cleanest of organizations; it had done its fair share of horrible acts. But that didn't mean individual agents weren't innocent. It was almost like Division. People shouldn't lose their lives because of where they worked. They shouldn't be used for another person's gain. Especially if they lost so much in front of their children. The little boy who saw his father die for seemingly no reason wasn't going to recover from that. Nikita had to set things right for him. She was one of the few people who could make certain his father's killer faced justice.
"Amanda predicted you'd say that," Dropping the bitch's name far too nonchalantly, Martin stopped Nikita's thoughts cold. The threat of Amanda still running around in the world had been looming in the back of her mind. She just thought she'd have stayed under whatever rock she crawled under with Ari. Wishful thinking had never been in Nikita's corner, however. Of course Amanda was somehow involved. Birkhoff's theory about whack-a-mole was right. It was a never ending cycle of the same bad guys to face- at least Percy was finally dead.
Curses instantly flew out of Nikita's mouth. She was echoed by many voices inside Division, the loudest being Birkhoff. They couldn't stay clear of the bitch. Taking over Division and trying to gain their pardons meant nothing. There was always going to be something else in their way. First the thirty agents who didn't accept the recall order, then Amanda. It was beginning to feel as though they were doomed from the start. They should've run, not fight. The odds weren't in their favor, "You're working with Amanda?"
"No. But she offered. Maybe two hours after the recall order I got a message from Amanda on the same encrypted channel," Martin provided the information easily. It was as though he was rubbing it in New Division's faces. Since deciding to close up shop instead of abandoning the place, the team has never had anything going well for them. Enemies were waiting around every corner. There wouldn't be peace until everyone against them was long gone. That was going to take longer than they had hoped.
"She must've decrypted the black box. It had the whole roster on them," Birkhoff breathlessly answered everyone's question. They had never recovered the black box Ari had stolen. With the encryptions Birkhoff and the engineer placed on it, and then with Percy dead, there was no rush to try to steal it back. Gogol had never been able to crack it. And Ari and Amanda had lost all their power once the Zetrov coup went bust. Unfortunately, the two villains were more resourceful than that. They were able to make power grabs as though nothing had happened. The problems were simply growing over New Division's heads.
"I want my money now. I want my freedom now," Forcefully, Martin snapped their attention back to him. As far as he was concerned, Amanda wasn't that dangerous of a threat. Whatever sick, twisted, manipulative games she was thinking up next didn't matter to him. It was all about his own selfish needs. Ryan attempted to talk sense into Martin. He could have all that with New Division if he just came in. Yet their rogue was done listening. He was on his own mission to secure his own happiness. No one else could interfere.
Martin thought he could find an ally in Nikita. She had been a rogue agent before. She had fought for her freedom while everyone else tried to kill her. Except, the two were not the same. She didn't kill innocent people in front of their children for money. She didn't kill a person she loved just for a mission. And she didn't accept calls to join forces from Amanda. She might have been a rogue- and she might have done a variation of those things- but she wasn't a self-centered jackass. Martin would just have to make his plea somewhere else, "I don't work well with a gun to my head. Or a gun to my friends' heads either."
"That's your problem, too many friends. Amanda always told us loved ones were a liability," Saying it as though it meant something, Martin tried to chastise Nikita. She simply rolled her eyes. Obviously if she had never listened to Amanda's 'advice' about loved ones, then she wasn't going to listen to Martin. Besides, having friends and family around was the reason she was alive. She wouldn't be there to kick the Dirty Thirty's ass if it weren't for her team. She couldn't wait to teach him that.
"Is that why you killed Lynn?" Nikita was aware that she crossed a line. Even if she was talking to a man willing to kill his girlfriend, hunt down agents, and use her boyfriend as a bargaining chip, emotionally baiting him with someone he cared about went a little too far. She couldn't gauge what his reaction would be. He'd either contemplate and regret his actions, or things were about to become worse for her. She really hoped it'd be the former. Why else would she say it if not to get through to him. Well, maybe also to piss the bastard off.
"I want you out of Hong Kong tonight. When the other four 'innocent' spies are dead, which may take me a few weeks, Michael will be released and you'll get his location. Or you get stupid, and he gets dead," Instantly full of anger, Martin warned. A quick shot of panic coursed through Nikita at the threat of Michael being killed. She could handle Amanda returning, she could take care of the Dirty Thirty, but Michael's death would destroy her. Instead of dwelling on that fear, however, Nikita allowed her anger to wash over her. If Martin wanted to be pissed off, then she could match his lividity. She was taking him down.
"Alex, where are you? There's a change in plans," The second she ended the call with Martin, Nikita contacted Alex. Martin couldn't be reasoned with. However, he wasn't the only major player in the field. The MSS station chief was outside the Hong Kong police awaiting Michael. Nikita and Alex could intercept, draw Martin out of hiding, and save the day. They'd need a lot of equipment, and they were going to make a lot of noise. But the two could pull off their rash mission. They had done worse, after all.
Ryan quickly tried to stop Nikita and Alex. The agents had made enough noise in the field. They were supposed to remain quiet. New Division was supposed to have even smaller footprints than Old Division. Their presence couldn't be known- or else. Ryan probably should've made that clearer to the team, yet then wasn't the time. He just needed Nikita to listen to him. For once, they had to be safe and patient, "No, Nikita. You are not going after the MSS. We have to play this quietly. If that means we wait…"
"So I was thinking we could lure Martin in and…" Ignoring Division's new director, Nikita pressed on. She might have lost Alpha Team to his command, but she still had Sean and Alex on her side. At least she did, until Ryan cut her off. As she told Alex a place to meet and Sean to get them a getaway car, her com shut off. Static filled her ear. For a moment, she thought she had lost connection; she thought something had gone wrong. But then, realization struck her. She had been disconnected. Ryan actually silenced her, "Fuck!"
Although her getting cut off was a sign to back down, Nikita instantly rushed to where she told Alex to meet her. She wasn't going to listen to Ryan. She wasn't going to give into Martin. She was going to save Michael and stop their rogue in one fell swoop. Fortunately, Alex and Sean agreed with her. After her brother secured them a getaway vehicle and her best friend found the rooftop that would serve them the best, Nikita broke into the MSS chief's vehicle. She waved her gun before he could speak or shout for help. It was time for her to be in charge, "You're going to survive this just fine. As long as I get my man back."
Knowing he was beaten, the MSS chief ordered Michael's release from holding. The police would be bringing him out shortly. All Nikita had to do was wait. But she had always been terrible at that. She impatiently asked Alex if she was in position, when the Chinese intelligence agent got a call on his phone. It was Martin. And he was angrier than he ever had been. Nikita took that as a good sign. His irritability meant her rash plan was working. Even though he continually threatened her boyfriend, the mission was proceeding as she thought, "You should've left Hong Kong. Now it's too late. You're gonna have to watch him die."
"You know what, Martin? You were right. Loved ones are a liability. It's a good thing I have more than one," It was definitely a brag. Nikita made certain her smug grin was heard over the phone. She wanted Martin to squirm. There was no hiding how valuable having more than one loved one was. After all, she wouldn't have been able to pull off that rescue mission without her friends. She was lucky Alex had her back, and Sean was securing their escape. She didn't need Division or Ryan. Her team was enough.
The Dirty Thirty wasn't given much time to understand what Nikita was saying. He slowly turned from his rifle to see Alex standing behind him with her gun drawn. Knowing he'd kill Michael if Nikita made a move, it was easy to locate which building Martin would try to snipe from. The young woman had the drop on him easily. He unholstered his sidearm, yet it was too late. As he moved to attack, Alex shot. He fell dead within an instant. That was one threat gone. The rest should clear easily after that, "Clear."
"Anything happens from here on out you can blame on Martin. His body will be on that roof, along with his rifle," Informing the MSS chief of his cover story, Nikita shoved him out of the vehicle. Chaos instantly ensued. Alex shot at the ground from above. Police and agents tried to shoot at her. And Michael fought his way out of custody. Nikita attempted to rush to him and assist, but he was already well on his way to her. She reached for him and tried to help him into the car. However, he fought her off. His only focus was her gun.
"Give me the damn Glock," When Nikita wouldn't listen to him, Michael practically wrestled her gun from her grasp. The handcuffs pinching into his wrists weren't going to deter him. Sean hadn't been able to grab her engagement ring before he had to help steal them a vehicle to escape in. Michael needed to return to the station in order to grab it. Luckily, he had seen the detective in charge slip the ring into his pocket. It should be easy to steal. He simply had to make his girlfriend let go first.
"Where are you going?" Finally, Nikita let Michael rip the gun from her hands. He didn't need to stop any more agents or police officers. They had everything covered. The two could escape, rendezvous with the rest of their team, and flee from Hong Kong. The mission was over, and their covers were blown. He always said they had to know when to quit. Well, then was definitely the time to quit. Hanging around any longer only put them in more danger- it also gave Ryan more to yell at them about later. Nothing could've been worth all that.
"To get your engagement ring," Shouting over his shoulder, Michael sprinted back to the police station. Oh, so that was what Sean was talking about in the hotel suite. Her boyfriend was going to propose. He wanted to marry her. Michael actually wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Nikita should've helped him grab her ring, but she was rooted in her spot. She stared at the man she loved in complete and total awe. An overwhelming wave of happiness crashed into her; it was so strong she couldn't move. She just stared and smiled. Until Michael rushed back to her, shouting in urgency, "Go!"
Nikita was able to snap herself out of her thoughts. She rushed to the driver's seat and hurriedly drove her and Michael away from the scene. Alex radioed that she'd meet them at Sean's location, but Nikita had stopped paying attention to the op. She tried to glance at Michael through the rearview mirror. As he broke out of his handcuffs, he caught her staring. There were so many questions in her gaze. He wouldn't answer them then, however. He just replied to the golden excitement in her eyes with a brilliant smile. She couldn't help but smile back.