Although Sean was soon cleared from Medical, he couldn't leave the underground bunker. His face continued to be plastered across the news as they constantly reported on his death and supposed acts of terrorism. The team attempted to ignore it, especially Alex and Sean. There were other things that needed their attention, more productive and less damaging things. Michael walked Sean through the fake-dead life. Nikita, Birkhoff, and Sonya grabbed necessities from his apartment and from stores; they also made a recruit room as livable as possible for him. And Alex helped Jill and Sandy grieve their brother.

It wasn't a fun process. Sean put on a brave face for everybody, and claimed that his fake death was only temporary; he believed once the team captured Amanda, he could clear his name for good and could receive a presidential pardon like the rest of Division. The others wanted to be as sure and positive as him. Yet they couldn't erase the damage that had been done, especially to his family. Everytime she talked to Sean's sisters, Alex felt terrible for her part in his fake death. It saved his life, yet no one could know that. It was all a lie, but his sisters still had to grieve yet another family member; they had to bury a fake body. It wasn't fair.

Only a new mission could potentially take their minds off the emotional hell. They hadn't received news on any Dirty Thirty. However, Ryan eventually picked up chatter on Ari. He didn't waste time in telling the others, "Ari Tasarov is wanted in connection of Kendrick's murder. After you left Naomi's body in the FBI morgue, people started asking questions. The FBI searched her apartment. They found an encrypted phone she used to communicate with her former Gogol handler. He's got at least three agencies after him, FBI, Interpol, and CIA."

After the hellish weeks they had suffered, Nikita was beyond excited to have a chance at Amanda. Yes, only Ari was in the team's grasp. But he could lead them to Amanda. The two had been scheming together and utilizing each other's resources for years. The perfect person to lead Division to the bitch was Ari- if they could capture him and extract information. Nikita didn't doubt they could. She knew the instant she got her hands on him, she'd get any bit of information she wanted, "Amanda's little games caught up to him. That's what happens when you get in bed with a schemer. Let's fire up Shadownet and see if we can catch him breaking pattern."

"Way ahead of you. Shadowbot coughed up a mention of Ari Tasarov on a phone call. Sounds like it was between an FBI agent and his C.I. -some bartender in Brighton Beach," As soon as he heard Ari's name, Birkhoff fired up his previous hack into the FBI. There was no point getting rid of it after the situation with Sean. Having access to federal investigations and information could help the team tremendously. The hacker had more Dirty Thirties in mind than Ari, yet he wouldn't complain. Ari Tasarov was a better catch anyway.

"Ari's wanted for killing an American official. What's he doing in Brooklyn?" Puzzled, Michael wondered. Although he was glad to have intel on Ari, he didn't think they should rush off on a mission just yet. Something was up. Ari was smarter than to be in the country he was most wanted in. Ryan agreed. Hopefully the phone call the feds had recorded could clear things up. When Birkhoff played it, it became clear how desperate Ari was. He was only at that bar because he was broke and alone. The dissolution of Gogol hadn't broken him, yet the investigation definitely had, "How long ago was that call?"

"Five minutes. Tactical's warming up the SUVs," Ryan answered Michael's question immediately. There were still too many questions for a mission; however, the FBI was on their way to pick up Ari as they spoke. Division had to get to him first. He was far more vital to their hunt for Amanda than any federal investigations. They needed to know everything about the bitch, especially what she was planning. But maybe once they were through with the former head of Gogol, Division could toss him to the FBI. That could help eventually clear Sean's name, and Ari could truly be punished for his crimes.

Whereas Birkhoff, Michael, and Ryan were ready to grab Ari, Nikita didn't rush out of the room just yet. She still believed something was up with Ari. She didn't doubt his desperation. Three (four, including Division) agencies were out for his blood, he didn't have the support of Gogol, and he was out of options. Well, he was out of obvious options. If Amanda always weaseled her way out of things (she probably learned that from Percy) then Ari should've been able to as well. So why was he all alone, and why was he so vulnerable, "So he's in Brooklyn. He's broke. Sounds like he's on the run."

"Why don't you seem too happy about that?" Eyeing Nikita curiously, Birkhoff easily caught her tone. She had been so excited to make a run at Ari and finally get her hands on Amanda. But after hearing the phone conversation, her mood changed. She was about as contemplative as Michael and Ryan, which usually wasn't a good sign. If Nikita wasn't rushing off the second she could- or even the second she couldn't- something worse was on her mind. Something, that if it made her too anxious to move, they should all be worried about.

"Because Ari's alone," Nikita replied. Birkhoff reiterated his question, not understanding what she was talking about. But Michael got it. If Ari was in trouble, where was Amanda. Not even someone as cold as her could leave a loved one high and dry like that. Something was up. Either the bitch was planning another strike, or Ari was in more trouble than they thought, "Where's his beloved Amanda? Why is he on the run and she's not? Yeah, she's not wanted by Interpol; she's got no reason to hide. But why isn't she hiding him?"

Despite Nikita's lingering question, she and a strike team had to beat the FBI to Ari's location. Michael ran the mission from Ops while Nikita led the strike team. Sean couldn't go on missions yet, Owen should remain hidden from anything Amanda related incase she fucked with his mind again, and Alex was too emotionally strung out after spending the day with Jill and Sandy. So the three stayed behind. They all wound up in the gym, hoping to distract themselves from the ongoing mission. It was a tactic they found themselves constantly doing as of late. Owen just so happened to comment on it that night, "Is this all you do around here, train?"

"Helps kill time," Sean shrugged. He had a lot of time to kill being stuck in the bunker. He also had a lot of thoughts to keep quiet. Staying positive and hopeful helped him adjust to being fake-dead. His painful, guilty, horrific thoughts couldn't catch up to him if he stayed happy and distracted. Alex and the training room were a great help. As was a terrible sense of humor that helped him stay light, even if it didn't for others, "It's not so different from being in prison. Plus, they have a yard. So at least I see some sun. Actually, no, they'd keep a domestic terrorists like me in supermax. No sunlight there either."

While Sean smirked and Owen scoffed and rolled his eyes, Alex grew serious. She appreciated Sean's sarcasm and sense of humor most of the time. But she didn't believe she could ever joke about his fake death. He had been so close to actually dying. His family was in mourning. Everyone believed all the lies about him, never knowing the truth. And he was forced to remain trapped in the bunker like a recruit. There was no humor in that; there was also no hope. After all, the only way Sean could escape the underground bunker was if another tragedy occurred, "You're not going to be down here forever. Just until…"

"The next big American tragedy bumps me off the nightly news," Sean played it off like it was nothing. He absolutely didn't want the country to go through another tragedy. Yet he was aware of how fickle the news cycle was. They'd move off him once their attention was captured by something worse. Then his picture wouldn't have been plastered everywhere, and he could breathe fresh air. Until that moment, he was trapped in Division. He might as well make the most of it. Thankfully, he had Alex there with him, "On the upside, we have some free time, so I can kick your ass in sparring."

"If that is your idea of a good time, then we've gotta get you topside soon," Alex managed to crack a smile. Sean beamed. There was his Alex. She didn't need to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders all the time. She didn't need to harbor everyone's negative emotions and try to solve every single problem. She was allowed to joke and play around as well. Relaxing for a few seconds wouldn't destroy the world. If it did, there were others who could take care of it. She wasn't the only superhero. Though, she was his favorite.

Sean and Alex did begin to spar. Owen, on the other hand, moved to pummel a punching bag. Focusing on their punches and strikes, and trying new takedown moves, settled the three. They felt more relaxed and less anxious- especially about the current mission to capture Ari they had to miss out on. Eventually, when Alex managed to flip Sean onto his back, he noticed Owen had removed his shirt. That was the first time the Seal had seen his numerous tattoos, and he was shocked. He couldn't stop himself from blurting out as he got to his feet, "Whoa. You've got like a billboard over there."

"And you? You're like a walking conspiracy theory," Owen couldn't help but quip in response. Although Sean just rolled his eyes, Alex became guarded. What was Owen talking about. Were rumors spreading around Division about Sean. The team didn't share a lot of details about what happened, so that was plausible. But what kind of rumors were they; were they damaging, hurtful. Before Alex could pester Owen too much about it, he quickly explained, "Everyone thinks he and Naomi were working together. A Navy Seal in bed with a Gogol sleeper. That's almost funny."

"No. It's not," Alex huffed. She didn't understand how a rumor like that could spread. Was it because he had been gone for long stretches of time. He had been with the Navy or his sisters. He hadn't had to devote his whole time to Division; he had had other responsibilities. Alex didn't think that was something that had to be explained. Were rumors also spreading about her because she hadn't participated in every single mission. What was wrong with the other agents. They had gone through enough hell. Was it really necessary to add more drama.

Alex angrily stormed out of the gym. Sean considered following, yet he wasn't quite sure why she was upset. Owen was only joking around. Of course he didn't believe the rumors, nor did he feed into them. He was simply matching Sean's earlier sarcastic quips and trying to make light of the situation. All the rumors meant nothing anyway. Who cared what the others thought. Also, letting their harsh words affect them just meant that they won. They had to remain above it all and stay positive. Owen still felt like he had to apologize, though. He didn't mean to bring all that up while they were attempting to relax, "Hey. I was just messing with you."

"Not offended. I kind of like how she was offended for me, though," Sean shrugged. He'd follow Alex once she calmed down. He was positive that her long day with his sisters caused her to be overwrought. Once she was able to breathe, he'd talk to her and comfort her. Until then, he could continue trying to relax with Owen. Or, maybe, he could take the time to get to know him. He didn't know him as well as the others. That definitely had to change. They were on the same team, after all. Also, he really wanted to know the story behind all those tattoos.

"Yeah. Still, I'd cool it on the jokes. She doesn't seem to be taking it as well as you," Owen nodded towards where Alex had disappeared, then returned to his punching bag. He was probably telling himself as well as Sean to quit joking around. But Sean still became upset. He knew Alex had been struggling; he had attempted to make it easy for her with his easy attitude. However, it obviously wasn't working. He feared he had made things worse for her by being so sarcastic and nonchalant. That needed to change. None of them should be so upset, especially with everything that was about to come next.