"It's so good to see you. Well, when you're not on my television," Nikita and Alex wrapped each other in a tight embrace. After everything they had been through recently, it felt comforting to be together as a team again. Well, they were almost together- Birkhoff was completing some tech thing, and Owen was God knew where. Either way, reuniting felt like a resting point. They could take a moment to breathe amidst all the craziness around them. They could also reset before rushing off on their next mission- whatever that might be. Hopefully, they had a while until they were needed to save the world. They needed to catch their breath.
"How is everything?" When the women finally parted, Alex wondered. She hadn't been kept in the loop since sending Nikita the file on Cassandra. She understood why, yet she still wanted to know how the rest of the team was fairing. In Russia, she and Sean hadn't made that much progress. The two read through more of Ari's harddrive, but there continued to be no contact from her mother. Alex couldn't make a move against Semak unless she knew Katya was safe. Who knew what would happen in Zetrov with their leader gone. There was an appalling chance that her mother could be in serious danger.
"It's… it's a work in progress," That wasn't a great explanation, but it was all Nikita had. Ryan was still upset and spiraling over Max. She and Michael (though it was mostly Michael) were doing the best they could to help him stay rational. He had to confront Cassandra with a cool head. Exploding in fury wouldn't do anyone any good, especially Max. They had to continue being smart and cautious, just like how they rushed into any other situation. Except, it wasn't like any other mission; it was worse.
That honestly went without saying. And they were doing what they could to survive it. For the first time in- well forever- Nikita willingly took a backseat to Ryan's command. She let him handle anything he needed to, while she and Michael provided backup. Although that played out as them pretending to be CIA agents to rescue a MI6 operation, the Gogol situation was more or less figured out. Cassandra was done as a mole and as an agent after that mission. She was free to go and live peacefully with her son. Max's father would be able to visit anytime he wanted, enjoy that happy life as well. It seemed simpler than it really was, but Nikita was just going to let it be for a moment. Ryan should be the one to determine the next move. She could focus on other things in the meantime, like Alex and her mother, "Any word from your mom?"
"No. I'm starting to think she didn't get my message," Alex tried not to sound too negative. Reaching out to her mother through a news broadcast was a reach anyway. Despite being popular coverage in Russia (and the majority of the world) there wasn't a guarantee that her mother had gotten the message. Maybe she should attempt another way to get through to Katya. She couldn't give up when she was so close. All those plans she had created with Sean couldn't go to waste; they led to her happily ever after. There had to be some other way.
Nikita didn't have a solution for that either. She felt like she was letting her team down. She couldn't help Ryan, her best friend (though they hadn't quite yet settled back into how things used to be between them) deal with the heartache he was enduring. She couldn't help Birkhoff process the fact that he had killed someone (mostly because he shot her old friend). And she couldn't help Alex, the person she thought she could've kept from the war but got dragged back in anyway, with her mother (she had no idea how one was supposed to reunite with their family). They were all overwhelmed, and she had no idea how to fix things. Fortunately, Nikita didn't have to carry the weight of her world alone. They were called a team for a reason. Returning to the room after retrieving a message, Sean carried with him a beacon of hope, "I wouldn't discount her yet. There's a message for you from the front desk."
Devouring the note, Alex tried not to assume anything. The message could've been any number of things. But she wasn't going to dismiss the feeling that something was finally going right. They needed some kind of solid win; they had to know that their actions and sacrifices in the war were worth it. Being able to save innocents and stop Division's and Gogol's destruction should've been enough to keep them afloat- if they were successful. That had been a struggling point for them as of late. But not for long. Alex beamed as she finished the message. There was no doubt in her mind, she knew exactly who had contacted her, "It's her!"
"You sure?" Michael was hesitant. It wasn't as though he didn't believe Alex. It was just that since she had become such a public figure, anyone could be trying to reach her- from friend to enemy. Ari and Amanda were still vying for a whole lot of power. And, though he wanted to find Katya as well, Semak was still determined to kill Alex. She had to be careful in identifying who had sent her an anonymous note. The team was running into enough trouble as it was. Although they didn't have much time, they should slow down.
"Yes. She's at our old family cabin. She's waiting for me," Yet Alex was determined. She hadn't heard anyone mention the name of the old cabin since she was a child, even before she lost her family. The only ones alive who knew that place existed was herself and her mother. No one else could've been behind the message. She wouldn't believe so anyway. That was her chance to finally save her mother from Semak's clutches and move her somewhere safe. Then, the final stages of her plan could be put into effect. She'd have her revenge on the man who ruined her family and killed her father, and- God- she couldn't wait for that to come true.
"Gogol could be too," Whether Ryan intentionally meant to be a downer or not was unclear. But the team wasn't going to fault him for thinking the worst of the Russian black ops group. He had managed not to explode in fury as he talked to Cassandra. Together, they were able to work through the trouble she was in, and ensure that no matter what Max would be safe and sound. However, he continued to struggle to come to grips with the heavy emotions he was feeling. It was all so new to him. Nikita had been right about him not knowing how to be a father, even with Michael's calming advice here and there. With everything else going on in his life, how could he sufficiently be there for his son.
"Then we should plan something instead of rushing in," Nikita compromised. Even if it was all for nothing, it was better to be over prepared than not at all. Alex agreed, grabbing some pen and paper to jot down whatever she could remember about the cabin. The rest of the information they had to grab from satellite images and old property reports. It didn't take long to have enough intel to build a scheme; the team just had to know how much to over prepare for. Michael suggested that it'd be best if not all of them go. Alex and one or two other people would suffice. Besides, they didn't want to frighten Katya. She was probably terrified enough as it was.
Sean was the first to volunteer. He was going to tag along with Alex anyway- she needed her partner. Then was simply a better excuse to make certain he could watch her back. Nikita voiced that she'd join in too. But after her last encounter with Katya, that might not have been the best idea; someone more calming should round out the rescue team. However, before they could settle on Michael as a solid choice, the suite's telephone rang. Curious and wary eyes glanced around the room. Instantly, the team's guard was up. Instincts told them that the call wasn't anything pleasant. With slow, careful movements, Alex answered the phone and placed it on speaker. The second she heard Ari's stupidly familiar voice, though, she rolled her eyes, "What do you want, Ari?"
"I'm calling to let you know Semak has been killed," Ari was matter of fact and emotionless. Yet, Alex's ears rung as if she had been smacked with a harsh blow. Confusion and shock shot around her, yet she didn't feel any of it. She barely heard the follow up of how no one knew what had happened, but they were going to get to the bottom of it. She wasn't entirely certain if she cared or not. Her body collapsed onto the couch, attempting to catch up to the myriad of information. It didn't seem right. Ari could've been lying to her. But her team confirmed it with a simple search on a computer. Semak really was dead.
"Are you okay?" Sean asked the second the conversation with Ari ended. However, Alex didn't know how to respond. Shouldn't she have been elated. That was all she wanted (though, she thought she'd be the one to pull the trigger). She wanted the bastard dead and gone, hurting him like he had hurt her father. A part of her was ecstatic that she didn't have to deal with Semak anymore. And she was even more elated that her mother couldn't be trapped by him any longer. But overall, she just felt nothing. Numbness washed over her and she couldn't understand it.
How could everything she ever wanted leave her feeling like a husk of herself. She should've been celebrating and dancing around the room. Less than an hour ago, Alex had been more than prepared to kill Semak and end all of that suffering. Yet since she had reached that point, all excitement vanished. If she could put any kind of thought towards it: it was as though she had completed her one purpose, and she had nothing else to do but to list aimlessly. It was so strange and odd, yet she couldn't shake it off, "I don't know. I just feel…"
"Empty," Michael finished the thought for her. He had been where she was not that long ago. After Kasim died he thought things would be alright again. But Hayley and Elizabeth were still gone, and he still had his prosthetic. Revenge did nothing but place an empty hole in your heart. The only way to truly survive it was entrusting someone else with the knowledge of your pain. He had had Nikita to help him see the light again. And Alex had her team, who had been through their own tales of heartbreak and emptiness, at her back. No one was alone. They'd get through it all together.
After she processed the news of Semak's death, however, they had to figure out what exactly happened. Ari wasn't telling them something. He probably had an idea of who killed his boss, and wanted to deal with it on his own. The team might as well let him. But there was a possibility that the power vacuum that had been created in Zetrov was going to affect Katya. Power hungry board members would kill to get their hands on the empty leadership position. The wife of two of the former CEOs was bound to be caught in the crosshairs. When they rescued her, the team would have to continue to protect her from the onslaught. Sean just wanted to know how much that would cost them, "How did this happen?"
"MI6," Ryan was quick with an answer. The team shot him bewildered glances, yet he answered them by turning his computer screen around. As they had talked to Ari, the agent had dug through the files that had been decrypted from his harddrive. He never trusted the head of Gogol, despite his efforts in helping Alex. Amanda and Ari wanted power or Zetrov or something else that would've solidified their control over everybody. The team of rogues couldn't let that happen. So Ryan poked around for any information, until he found which organization was taking the blame for Semak's death.
"Shit! Cassandra. That's why they were going to let her go. She's the scapegoat," Readying herself to spring back into action, Nikita nearly shouted that revelation to the others. That was why her op had gone so badly. Gogol was setting her up to take the fall for Semak's death. Leave it to Ari to get rid of a mole he no longer had use for in that way. She was going to get hunted by both of the organizations she worked for, leaving Max in the line of fire. The team had to do something to stop that from happening. Ari couldn't play them, only to turn around and hurt a little boy; he didn't get to win.
"You guys focus on that. We'll get Katya," Sean broke the team in two; he and Alex would save her mother, while Nikita, Michael and Ryan saved Cassandra and Max. No one disagreed with his decision. They were back to feeling stressed and frantic. Ryan and Alex more so than anybody else. It was different when their crusade affected their family. They could handle the pain when it was directed towards them. But the instant their loved ones were in danger, all bets were off. Someone was going to have to pay.
"We can't catch just one break?" Despite the quip, Nikita was serious. There couldn't have been one second where they didn't have to rush off and save the day. Maybe when all the hell was over. But for the time being, they had to be the goddamn heroes that they were.