"We can't let her get away with that! You have to do something! She's fucking with us, and you have to expose it," Squeezing Sean's hand so hard both their knuckles turned white, Alex screeched at Birkhoff. Amanda's lies about Sean couldn't be believed. The digital mask, the phone call, they had to be exposed as the fakes they were. The FBI couldn't use the false evidence to hang Sean for Amanda's crimes. It wasn't fair; it wasn't right. The team needed to do something to help him. He shouldn't suffer for trying to help Division do the right thing.
"I'm trying. But I can't do much if I don't know what this guy looks like," Birkhoff did his best not to reply so harshly. But he was panicking as well. He knew how shitty the situation was. He knew that if the team didn't do anything to fix it then, it was only going to get so much worse. However, even he had his limits. He didn't like to admit it, but the hacker couldn't hack everything. If he didn't have a basis of what Sean's body double looked like, then he couldn't dissolve the digital mask. The best he could do was find other camera angles and hope the guy was spotted. With the FBI in the servers, though, it was going to take time.
Fists clenching and jaw tightening, Nikita racked her brain for anything she could do. They hadn't slammed into a deadend yet- nothing was concrete. There was still a way to save her brother from the frame job. If hacking wasn't it, then maybe old school spycraft could be. Someone had to know what Amanda's accomplice looked like. Even if they didn't know who he was, they could describe him- especially if he was creepy, "Someone does. Naomi said a man was stalking her and was probably the one to drop off the flashdrive. That has to be him."
"Where are you going?" As Nikita turned on her heel and stomped out of Ops, Michael called out to her. Then wasn't the time to run off without the team. They couldn't afford any rogue actions while Amanda was causing untold havoc and while the feds were investigating everything relating to Kendrick and the crime scene. Division had to move extra carefully, despite how desperately they wanted to clear Sean of the assassination. The only way they could ensure he'd be safe was if they didn't cause any more destruction.
"Where do you think? I'm going to question Naomi about this guy. Feds are crawling around everywhere. She won't think it's suspicious if one of them talks to her," Nikita didn't want to be careful, however. Amanda wasn't careful, and she was winning. The team needed to catch up. Sean was going to keep suffering if they didn't start unraveling Amanda's threads immediately. Waiting to be careful was just going to lead to someone's death. Who could even care about exposure when her brother's life was on the line. They either stopped Amanda then, or they let her bury them all.
"Now's not really the best time for a black badge," Before Nikita could go too far, Ryan stopped her. It was a good idea to continue questioning Naomi about what she saw. But there was too much heat from the federal investigation to go around flashing fake badges. If they got caught, Ryan didn't think he could hold off Danforth's or the President's questions. And if Naomi discovered the fake after all she had been through recently, there was no doubt that she'd freak and Division would have another incident on their hands. As well intentioned as it was, Nikita couldn't start interrogating people. It was way too risky.
"I don't fucking care! Amanda's gonna get my little brother killed! I'm not gonna sit back and do nothing. So you stay here and figure this shit out. I'm going to actively track down leads," Nikita screamed at Ryan. Ops fell silent at her words. Bewildered glances were thrown her way- not all of Division knew the Pierces were siblings- yet she was undeterred. She furiously wiped the angry and fearful tears from her eyes and continued to stomp out of Division. Michael almost followed Nikita, but he soon thought better of it. Having a task to focus on would calm her far better than he could.
"You heard her. Try looking for some other angles of this guy," Fueled by Nikita's anger, Alex dropped Sean's hands and crowded into Birkhoff's space. She was almost on the verge of tears herself, but focusing on helping Birkhoff track the body double kept them at bay. Amanda's accomplice or the Gogol hackers she employed had to have made a mistake somewhere. There was absolutely no way framing Sean for Kendrick's assassination was the perfect crime. A mistake had to be somewhere. The team was going to find it and use it to tear Amanda apart.
Sean had tried not to think after the revelation came to light. He didn't want to overthink the plan Amanda had for him. He just wanted to take in the situation and what was being done to stop it. He trusted the team to save him. And he knew his sister and girlfriend would protect him at all cost. Yet as the chaos kept unfolding, and no real solutions were found, a thought finally came to Sean's mind. He had a way to end the chaos. However, the others wouldn't like it; they wouldn't even listen to it. There was only one person he could even remotely discuss it with- only one person who'd stay rational, "Michael, can I talk to you for a second?"
"I can't calm Nikita down; you know that," Michael whispered when Sean pulled him away from the others. He would love to be able to slow Nikita down and make her take a moment to think and breathe. However, he hadn't been able to do that since she was a recruit. Once she was on her warpath, she was going to stick to it- especially if it involved those she loved. She was going to clear her brother's name if it was the last thing she did. Hopefully it wasn't. But Michael wouldn't be able to talk her out of it if it was. Even if she had to give her own breath to do it, she'd never let a loved one die- not again.
"No. Just… look, I'm not really a part of Division. So don't… don't let Alex or my sister put themselves at risk just to clear my name. I can do that on my own," Sean made certain Alex couldn't hear him before he told Michael what he really wanted. He knew neither his sister nor his girlfriend would rest until his name was cleared. However, they didn't need to risk themselves for him- nor did the team. He wasn't a part of Division, so they didn't need a risky mission to save him; if he went down, it wouldn't expose them. Sean could handle the situation on his own, the legal way. The truth would have to come out eventually.
"Absolutely not. You're family. We will help you, no matter what," Shaking his head, Michael instantly negated. He knew how easy it was to push people away and carry all the burden yourself- believe him, he knew. But it never solved anything. He had learned the hard way what happened when he tried to solve his problems without the support and help of his loved ones; he almost lost everything because of his stubbornness. Sean couldn't experience the same pain. Michael wouldn't allow it.
Unfortunately, what happened next wasn't up to Michael. Along with monitoring the FBI investigation, Birkhoff had Shadowbot scanning news outlets for updates. One report called Sean out by name as the number one suspect in Kendrick's death. He couldn't hide from it anymore. Neither he nor his loved ones would be safe. He had to follow through on his idea, "I should turn myself in. The feds are raiding my place, talking to my friends and family. There's no use hiding. Only guilty people hide. I'll go, take the heat off you, and you prove my innocence."
"There's no way Nikita and Alex will let you do that," Michael tried to stop Sean. Regardless of the fact that it was a good idea, he couldn't hand himself over to the FBI. His innocence would be proven soon. He could stay in the bunker until then. The exposure to Division didn't matter when such serious allegations were raised against him. Assassinating the director of the CIA wasn't a charge he could charm his way out of, no matter how innocent. Sean would be safer in Division where the team could protect him.
"That's why I'm talking to you. The feds don't have anything solid against me yet. I'll be safe there. Just make sure the girls stay safe too," Sean argued. The case was circumstantial at best. The FBI couldn't charge him without motive, which they obviously didn't have. He could answer their questions and take suspicion off himself while Division cleared his name. Everything would be alright soon. He was sure of it. Well, he was mostly sure of it. Although Michael soon agreed to his plan, Sean had to assure himself further that it was the best one. He kissed Alex on the temple before he left to give himself strength, "I'll be back. I promise."
As Sean left Division, Alex tried to follow. Michael gently stopped her. He waited until Sean was gone before he explained. Again, she tried to follow, and again, he stopped her. Sean was doing what he could to help; they should respect his choice. Though, that was becoming far easier said than done. Birkhoff couldn't erase the digital mask, and Nikita got nothing from Naomi. She stormed back into Division, complaining that the analyst couldn't describe the guy. She also asked to see her brother. When Alex told her what Sean had done, Nikita rounded on Michael. She shoved at him and frantically screamed, "You let him go! How could you?"
"What other choice do we have? Naomi couldn't describe the man, and we have nothing. He'll be safe with the FBI until we do," Ryan answered for Michael. Once the situation had been explained to him, Ryan had completely agreed with Sean's choice; it was safer for everybody if he took the heat of the federal investigation off Division. Although Alex still felt uneasy about it, she soon came to grips with the decision- after all, he would be safe. Nikita, on the other hand, remained livid. Michael had to hold her tightly to get her to settle down (and stop pushing him). The investigation was still circumstantial. Sean would be alright. He wasn't in danger yet.
"No he won't. Amanda is up to something," Nikita staunchly refused to believe her brother would be okay with the FBI, however. Just because the investigation had scant evidence against him then, didn't mean it'd stay that way for long. Amanda was up to something. The bomb was about way more than just Kendrick. She had called Sean, she had baited him with intel about Madeline, and she was framing him. She was going to do something awful to him, Nikita knew it. And she couldn't just sit back while it happened. She had to save her brother.
"Boom! Got 'em! Got him across the street tossing a cellphone- without gloves," Birkhoff exclaimed triumphantly. He finally found an image of Sean's body double. It wasn't the greatest picture he could've gotten, but it was enough for the team to start clearing Sean's name. If they could get prints off the cellphone Amanda's accomplice had thrown away, they could start building the case against him. Then they could present the evidence to the FBI, and Sean would be free. Nikita tried to immediately run off and gather the crucial evidence, yet Michael held her back. A nearby team should handle it. It'd save time and give her a chance to breathe.
Nikita only slightly breathed, however. Once the team returned with the cellphone, Birkhoff ran the fingerprint, and they finally had the body double's identity- confirmed by Naomi- she and Alex took off. Neither were concerned about the fact that the accomplice was just some local thug Amanda had hired. Michael and Ryan were confused why, with formal Gogol agents at her disposal, the bitch would use a car thief. Yet Nikita and Alex weren't going to question anything. They were just going to clear Sean's name.
It should've been easy once they located Amanda's accomplice. They had a case built against him; they just had to drag him to the FBI. Unfortunately, when Alex and Nikita reached his apartment, he was gone. He had been cleaned. While Nikita cussed and kicked at the walls, Alex stood stockstill and nearly cried. Each new step they took in clearing Sean's name only made the path crumble beneath their feet. There was no getting ahead of Amanda. And she knew it. She knew when to call her accomplice's burner phone and gloat, "Just one question, Nikita. Do you really think I'd have my operative drop his phone in the trash for you to find?"
"Stay away from my fucking family," Nikita didn't even attempt to play along with Amanda. She wasn't going to do that thing where she traded jabs with the bad guy to prove she was superior or to show that she couldn't be ruffled. She neither had the patience or the mood to taunt the bitch right back. Instead, Nikita seethed so harshly, even Alex was afraid of her. She could've sworn her eyes turned black while she clutched the phone with an iron-like grip. Amanda fell silent for a second. Either she was surprised by Nikita's fury, or she had no way to respond to it. Honestly, Alex couldn't blame her.
"What are you trying to teach us now? That every operative is disposable?" Somehow Alex found her voice first. It was probably her own rage bubbling to the surface. Wasn't Amanda content with escaping prosecution with Ari. no one had chased after them after their failed Zetrov coup. They could've destroyed the black box and lived happily- albeit criminally- ever after. But by decrypting the damn box and by going after Division, she had made herself an enemy- a dangerous one that needed to be killed. She couldn't be left alive after all she had done. To save more people, to save Sean, the bitch had to die.
"Alex, how nice to hear your voice," Amanda decided that responding to Alex was easier than to Nikita. The young woman's rage hadn't completely taken over her like the former rogue's had. At least not yet. The more Alex heard the bitch talk, the more she wanted to rip the phone out of Nikita's hand and throw it at the wall. Yet she had to contain herself. Maybe Amanda would reveal her plans, "I think you're beginning to see that running Division is difficult work, work that requires hard choices, hard sacrifice. First Michael's hand, now Sean's life."
Alex couldn't help but gasp. Tears flooded her eyes, and she desperately looked at Nikita for some stability; she needed some strength to keep from crying. Yet Nikita wasn't there anymore. Her eyes were black, her breath was shallow, and her body shook. The woman next to Alex was pure rage. She doubted she could even think. She just nearly broke the phone with her grip and spoke with a tone so dark and hateful that Alex had to take a step back, "If you even fucking breathe in his direction…"
"I don't have to go near him at all. You see, the evidence I had made does all the work for me. Turns out Sean was ordered to see a Navy psychiatrist after your mother's death. The loss, combined with latent PTSD, caused increasing levels of paranoia. The doctor was meticulous. He took copious notes on his digital recorder. The notes prove Sean believed your mother was assassinated by the CIA in retaliation for reducing their funding. So he plotted his revenge- a car bomb for the director of the CIA, the same way they killed your mother. Poetic justice," Amanda gloated over the line. Nikita and Alex grew deathly pale and deathly silent.
"So, Nikita, you did the right thing by throwing Sean to the FBI. These are the sacrifices we make to protect Division. Your mother understood that," As Amanda kept talking, Nikita dropped the phone and sprinted out the door. She screamed and cursed over the coms, desperately updating the team in the hopes that they could do anything to save her little brother. Alex, on the other hand, remained frozen in her spot. She should've moved after Nikita. She should've rushed off to join in the scramble to rescue Sean. Yet she was frozen in fear and left horrifically to hear, "Oh, and yes, Alex, the lesson is that every operative is disposable."