"Nikita, is that Brandt?" Michael managed to snap Nikita out of her shock. She hadn't realized she had stepped away from the computer, until her fiancé steadied her with a comforting hand on the small of her back. Nicholas Brandt was the last person she expected to see on the street cameras. Not only shouldn't he have been there, but how the hell could he have gotten to Senator Pierce. Nikita had her theories about it. But her thoughts weren't truly connecting. Things kept misfiring, she could barely process. If that wasn't proof that she hadn't moved on from whatever happened on that mission, then she didn't know what was. She had to confront those demons, not let them drown her.
Except, that just seemed impossible. Alex was frantic as she tried to calm Sean and get him to focus. He was taking the death of his mother hard. And why shouldn't he have been. It was so violent and so sudden, and it shouldn't have happened. Even if she managed to convince him to come to the safehouse, he would continue to be in shock and horror. It was a feeling that would take forever to heal from. And Nikita knew it was all her fault. She didn't plant the bomb, yet she did set Brandt on his warpath. There was no other explanation for his actions. He wanted to fuck with her. She was the only one who came to that conclusion, however. The rest of the team was so confused, especially Ryan, "Who's Brandt?"
"He's a Division target I took down years ago," Her voice didn't sound like her own. It was hollow and distant and emotionless. Nikita blinked, trying to get herself together. She shouldn't have been the one spiraling. Sean was the person going through emotional hell. She had to square her shoulders and keep marching on, give him the answers and closure he needed. She couldn't let Brandt win by making it all about her. Other things were far more important, like getting revenge. That was what the team's next step had to be. They had to make Brandt pay for what he had done.
"He was handed over to the CIA. But, after we couldn't get the location of the plutonium he smuggled, they moved him to a blacksite," Michael built off of Nikita's explanation. He remembered interrogating Brandt years ago. It was jarring enough trying to get information out of an infamous arms dealer, who had somehow lost his eye, but then he came stumbling home to find Nikita sobbing on his couch. He could barely wrap his head around it at the time. The years didn't illuminate anything. In fact, his fiancée remained silent on the subject, always distracting him with something else- such as Division. Things were crashing to the surface then, however.
Immediately, Birkhoff searched for any information he could get on Brandt. Maybe there would be an explanation of how he went from being in prison to bombing a senator. Alex eventually ended her call with Sean. She helped him somewhat breathe, at least enough to talk to the authorities on the scene before he could break away and join them at the safehouse. Ryan, on the other hand, attempted to get through to Nikita. She began to pace, lost in thought over something he still didn't understand. If it involved Division, shouldn't he know what was going on. Michael for some reason knew about it. Yet before he could ask anything, Birkhoff interrupted with what he found, "He broke out of said blacksite, killing guards in the process."
"How? No way he could've done that on his own," Alex wondered, putting words to Nikita's thoughts. By that point, though, everyone was beginning to think the same. Percy reappearing just as Senator Pierce was killed couldn't have been a coincidence. He was connected; the team just had to figure out how and why. It seemed more complex for revenge against Oversight. Why break a man out of a CIA blacksite for that. A deal must've been struck, one where both parties came out the victor and the team suffered horrifically. Nikita thought she knew what was occurring, she just had to build up the courage to voice it.
"Percy. Only he could've told him about my connection to Senator Pierce. He wants that plutonium. He'd trade my life to get it," Nikita couldn't make eye contact with her team. She remembered Percy trying to obtain nuclear material from Mirko Daidich a little over a year ago; that had to be the reason he reached out to Brandt then. The bastard had the patience to wait for his schemes to come into fruition. Senator Pierce was simply collateral damage- a way to draw the rogue out so her old Division target could get to her. Nikita wouldn't put it past Brandt to have done something so brash for her attention. There were things she had seen him do that made the bombing pale in comparison.
"So he draws you out by killing a senator? What the hell did you do to piss him off so much?" Although Ryan was able to follow the train of thought, he still couldn't wrap his head around it. Percy helped Brandt escape, exchanging Nikita for plutonium. Brandt couldn't get at Nikita, so he killed Senator Pierce to send a message- it just seemed so convoluted. Who could've possibly wanted revenge that badly, and for just being put into a CIA blacksite. The man was undeniably insane. They should be cautious about approaching. Maybe instead, they focused on helping Sean grieve. Yet it was too late for that.
"We need to focus on a plan of attack," Determination (and stubbornness) washed over Nikita. She squared her shoulders and moved towards the computers. Michael knew better than to try and stop her at that particular moment. He could talk to her and calm her down later, possibly when her emotions weren't so volatile. Birkhoff came to the same conclusion as him, and just rolled with whatever the mission was going to be. Alex and Ryan were the ones to hold reservations. Neither liked how fast they were processing things and pushing along. However, any attempt to make the team stop and slow down was halted once Sean stormed in.
His sights were directly on Nikita. He needed answers and he knew she'd be the one to give it to him. Both were emotionless and to the point. They knew what they would have to do to kill Brandt. Michael spoke up then, against the idea of the two walking into the trap that would be set. But they fought him; they fought Alex's reassurance and Ryan's rationality as well. Nikita and Sean were on a warpath- their shock having shifted to rage. It was what fueled them during the days before Senator Pierce's funeral. And it was what caused them to push away those that cared about them. Alex was willing to not push it as they planned and prepared to battle Brandt. Yet once they were actually at the funeral, she couldn't be silent anymore. She had to force Sean to finally breathe, "Sean. Let me watch out for Brandt, while you say goodbye to your mom."
"It's fine. I can do both," Sean was curt with his response. He wouldn't look at Alex. His gaze shifted around the many faces at the funeral, not registering anyone that wasn't Brandt. That wasn't so much for his or Nikita's safety, however. He wanted the vile creature to pay for what he had done. He killed his mother. That was unforgivable. Only death could remedy that. Despite knowing how empty revenge left a person, Sean didn't care. He didn't care about anything besides killing the man who destroyed his family for some petty little reason. It was what helped him keep standing instead of crumbling in grief.
"No, you can't. Listen, I never got to be there for my family when my papa died. But you have the chance to be here for your sisters now. Don't let Brandt take that away from you too. It's okay to take a moment and mourn," Alex fought against his stubbornness. She understood how powerful the need for revenge was. She also understood how easy it was to drown in pain and guilt. Yet she wouldn't allow that to consume Sean. He deserved better; he deserved to heal. The first step would be to finally mourn his mother and know that her death wasn't his fault. The second was to let his family in and to trust people with his heart.
Eventually, Sean's gaze landed on Alex. He seemed so broken. He had lost friends and fellow soldiers in war. And he had also lost his father. But that was different. It was so unimaginably different, that he didn't know what to do. Yet there was Alex by his side. That was some kind of lifeline to hold onto. Not only had she been through a similar hell with the death of her father, but she had cared for his mother too. Their relationship had evolved rapidly over the years, yet one constant was how supportive they were of one another. Nothing could be harmful when they had one another nearby. At least, that was a hope Sean clung so tightly to, "If something happens…"
"Nothing will. There's four of us here besides you. We have this. You don't have to be a soldier all the time," Softly and gently, Alex promised and smiled. She knew the regulations Sean had to stick to while in military dress, yet she still reached out to grab his hand. It was a quick squeeze before she dropped it, her reassurance shared with the affection. She, Nikita, Michael, and Ryan were all on the scene, and Birkhoff had their backs with the satellites. The Seal didn't need to be present or lend another pair of eyes. That wasn't the fact that got him to relax, however. It was how earnest and kind Alex was. Her care helped him breathe.
"You never told Ryan?" Michael, on the other hand, had to keep fighting for Nikita to open up to him. The two of them shared everything with one another, except for Brandt. Even though he knew what was going on and that she did something to Brandt's eye, she remained silent. He ensured his com was off before he addressed her. Although the two were in a car outside the graveyard, while Sean and Alex were at the service, Birkhoff was monitoring at the safehouse, and Ryan was across the street in his own vehicle, they weren't truly alone. They never were, yet they usually found some way to make it work. They should've been able to make it work then.
"He was out of the country on assignment," The defense was weak and Nikita knew it. But she didn't care. It was obvious how little she wanted to talk about Brandt or that mission. Something happened to her during that time and she didn't want to revisit it. A part of her she didn't think existed escaped, and she had spent the past few years shoving it aside and locking it away. Who knew how Michael or anyone else she loved would react to it. She recalled the small look that quickly crossed her fiancé's face whenever he discovered she had taken down the arms dealer for the CIA. There was no way she wanted to return to that moment when he briefly considered her with terror. Hadn't she been through enough heartbreak.
"You don't talk about it with me either," Michael just kept pushing, however. He should probably keep his eyes on the perimeter instead of on Nikita. But she was visibly torn up over the situation. He couldn't leave her alone, no matter how hard she pushed him away. He still didn't understand what had shaken her up so much after the initial mission. She was covered in blood and crying, and he couldn't piece it all together even with the knowledge of Brandt, his eye, and Division. In fact, when he tried to ask her to explain, she focused on other things- just as she was doing in the present. He wasn't going to give up that time though. He knew how damaging pent up emotions could be. She was going to talk to him.
"What's there to say?" She wasn't going to give in without a fight, however. Nikita was challenging as she regarded Michael. What could he have possibly wanted her to say about it- that she blamed herself for everything, that she was fairly certain that she was some kind of monster. Whatever she would say he would dispute, so there was no use in saying anything. Although he would try to argue with her, she knew what she was. That something else that broke out of her seams, she was certain it was evil. It was what made her a monster, after all. A monster that killed and maimed and so many other horrible things without a flinch.
Michael felt like shouting. It was the only way he could think of in order to get through to her. Nikita's stubbornness didn't extend to just missions. Her mind was impossible to change in everything. Yet if she was stubborn enough to push him out, then he was stubborn enough to claw his way back in. She was stuck with him for the rest of her life- she agreed to that when she accepted his proposal. However, by the time he figured out what to say that was both gentle and firm, Birkhoff interrupted with an update. An obvious Division cover van and backup car were in the vicinity. They had to check it out. Nikita was quick to get back on mission, ready to bolt out the door. But Michael held her back to make sure she followed a real plan, "Wait. Ryan's got the car. You get the van, and I'll circle around for any stragglers."
Nikita only nodded, but she did listen to him. Michael was going to take that as a win. They broke off in their separate directions, keeping the team informed of their progress. That was how they felt okay with splitting off from one another. It wasn't as though the team didn't trust in each other's abilities, they were just so paranoid and protective. And for good reason. As Nikita approached the van, she knew something was off. Division should've spotted her by then. The second she caught a glimpse of a dead body in the rearview mirror, she understood why no one had attacked her yet. Brandt must've turned on the support Percy sent him, "Something's wrong. The alpha team's dead…"
Her voice was cut off by a grunt of pain. Silence filled the com, all connection with Nikita lost. Whereas Ryan, Alex, and Birkhoff attempted to call for her attention, Michael immediately sprinted to where she was. Dread seeped into his gut and fogged his mind. He could barely think past the panic clenching his heart. If the Alpha team was dead and she was silent, there was only one explanation. And, God, that couldn't be right. He wouldn't be able to take it if that fear came true, "Nikita? Nikita!"