"You son of a bitch. You dumb, stupid, son of a bitch," That wasn't what Michael was expecting when he woke in the basement of hell. In order to find Nikita, the thing he had to sacrifice was himself. Percy laid out the details, and he readily agreed to give himself up to Brandt just so he could save his fiancée. The choice was easy for him to make. Birkhoff and Ryan, on the other hand, weren't fans of the idea; however, they didn't voice their concerns. He wouldn't back down, no matter what they said. And since they wanted Nikita back as well, they simply supplied the analyst with a com and informed Alex and Sean of the plan. Although it was Percy's idea, the team was desperate enough to run with any lead.
When he had gained consciousness wherever Brandt had them held, Michael told Nikita all of that. She had to know there was a plan to get her out, and that there was a light of hope in that brutal darkness. She barely listened to him, however. The instant she learned he had sacrificed himself, she snapped. She went on a rant about how he was a stupidly selfless martyr that had risked his life for someone who didn't deserve it- for someone who was already dead. He honestly couldn't keep track of what she was saying. He just knew he had to reassure her, "You think I can't be selfish? This is the most selfish thing I've ever done. I had to see you one last time, even if that gets me killed. Because I love you."
"Don't. You don't know who I am," There were tears in Nikita's eyes. Michael wanted to rush to her and wrap her in an embrace. Except, he was tied to a chair and she was chained to a metal bedframe. Her body slacked against the restraints as if she had given up her fight. She appeared so exhausted. Whatever Brandt had done to her drained her of her strength. Michael assumed it was intense electrocution based on the wires connected to the bed. But he wouldn't allow himself to dwell on that thought. He unfortunately knew Nikita had been tortured before. Yet, that time was different. She wasn't the same afterwards. And that terrified him deeply.
"Yes I do. You're Nikita. You're my fiancée. You're the woman I ran away with. You're the woman who saved so many lives at the risk of her own. You're light in a world of darkness," Michael was beyond sincere. He attempted to move closer to her, but the damn restraints held him back. Instead, he poured every ounce of love he had for her into a powerful look in his eyes. The two were usually so great at reading one another's thoughts based on the glances they shared; however, Nikita was out of it. The same expression she had after her first encounter with Brandt crossed her features. She was gone, replaced by something else.
"But I have evil inside of me," Nikita barely whispered the words, yet they impacted hard. Michael could only stare at her in disbelief. A part of him wanted to know what had happened in that basement to make her think like that- what exactly did Brandt do to her. Yet he knew, overall, it didn't matter. What mattered was breaking that damaging thought process and helping her see the truth. His reassurances weren't just empty words, but the woman he saw her as. She wasn't the monster she thought she was- the one that had been born after a lifetime of abuse and rose from the shadows after a day of torture. No, she was stronger than all of that.
"If you do, then that is just a part of you. It isn't who you are. And that's who I love, is all of you. I love all of you," She had asked him once how he was able to say such comforting things so easily. Michael only shrugged at the time; however, he was beginning to realize that it was all because of her. Opening his heart to Nikita was the most natural thing in the world for him. The strength, support, and love she had given him over the years empowered him, especially when he didn't believe he deserved it. She didn't give up on him while he went off the deepend regarding Kasim. So why would he let her suffer alone in return.
Tears rolled quickly down Nikita's dirty and bruised cheeks. Although she wanted to accept his words and the love he was offering her, she was fighting it. Michael didn't blame her. He figured the thing that had yelled at him, believed she was evil, fought his confessions, and caused her to shut down with a dark expression covering her face was some kind of defense. He had seen it happen to agents and soldiers before. The world constantly tore Nikita apart. The only way she could survive it was by pushing things away and becoming something else. Even when she was exhausted and drained and defeated, that defense was controlling her. It tried to protect her heart from any hope that might burn her, "He's going to kill us."
"At least we'll die together. 'Til death do us part, right?" Michael had made that promise before. He had made that promise several times, in fact. The engagement ring he had placed on her finger was proof that he would never leave her side. Nikita could only stare at him, though. She seemed to be coming around, and a small grin lifted his lips at the thought of it. But then Brandt stormed back into the basement. The darkness that had been surrounding her instantly filled her every being the second the psychopath struck her fiancé. That something else didn't exist just to protect herself, but her loved ones as well. So when Brandt went to torture Michael more, Nikita broke free of her chains. Spurred by pure fury, she attacked him.
"Dammit Birkhoff, we lost their signal," Slamming the dashboard, Alex huffed. She and Sean had immediately raced off towards Michael's signal once they received it. About a couple miles from his location, however, the tracker stopped broadcasting. The young woman felt as though she had had control over the situation until then. She had helped her team focus and chase down leads. But they were back to a spiraling point. Not only was Nikita lost, but so was Michael. It was their last chance to save everybody and not allow Brandt to take anybody else from them. Why the hell did it have to get blown to pieces.
"They must've gone underground," Birkhoff's voice was tight as he suggested. He tried to regain Michael's signal, as Ryan paced behind him. The agent wanted to tag along with Alex and Sean, but they were already mobilized. Him joining would've delayed them longer. So he was stuck at the safehouse with the nerd, attempting to think of any ways they could help. Getting the tracker back online was their main priority, though. It was the team's surefire way of finding Michael and Nikita and bringing them home. They weren't supposed to lose in that war, especially not against a crazed man who had no real stake in the fight.
"Think. If you were Brandt, where would you go?" Surprisingly rational in that moment, Sean helped the others settle their attentions. A mission or a task always helped him battle whatever stress might've been eating away at him. There was something about a goal that got him to calm and focus. He seriously needed that for when he faced Brandt. It wasn't a matter of if; he knew the team would locate Nikita and Michael- they were frighteningly good at those types of things. He was going to confront his mother's killer, and he was going to shoot him. Only then, did he feel like he could truly mourn.
That was what Alex wanted him to do- grieve and mourn the loss of his mother. Yet Sean couldn't with Brandt still out there terrorizing people. He couldn't be with his sisters when he knew he could do something about the pain they were all experiencing. Killing the psychopath wouldn't just be for himself and his mother, but for Jill and Sandy as well. And maybe Michael and Nikita if the team didn't arrive in time. They were going to, though. The team was determined and desperate and smart enough, as proven by Alex, "If I've got two bodies, then I want somewhere I can drag them in without anybody noticing."
"So somewhere isolated, not an apartment or somewhere in the city," That helped Sean turn left instead of right. Not having to search through the sprawling city was hopeful; they just had to narrow down everything else in the area. Ryan was jumping off of that point. While Birkhoff hacked, he explored possible places Brandt could've gone. None of them could really think like the villainous arms dealer, yet they could imagine needing to hide people they had to torture. Although they were the good guys in their crusade, the team unfortunately still had to perform harmful acts like that. They were soldiers, not angels after all.
"The signal let off in a residential area," Birkhoff confirmed their assumptions. He had located Michael's tracker to a five mile radius, but that was all he could manage. It was good enough for the team to pick up on, however. Alex and Sean had a destination to speed towards as they worked on narrowing their choices from there. Maybe there weren't too many, and they wouldn't have the fear of running out of time. When had the team ever been that lucky, though. They had to continue giving it their all, especially since they were so close to the end. That was usually when things turned on their head.
"Does Brandt have a house?" Wondering, Ryan searched for any properties under his name. There was a slim chance that was true, but Brandt couldn't just barge into a place that was already owned. Somebody would've called the police. Either the house was his, or it was abandoned. There weren't any hits under the arms dealer's name. But at least searching for deserted properties gave them something. Being on the same page was something as well. The team had shown time and time again that they were stronger whenever they worked together. No matter how impossible it all seemed, the team had each other to hold to.
"No way he could've gotten one in time," Alex's head shook, frustration seeping into her once more. Nikita and Michael had always been there to save her. Yet when they were relying on her, their leads kept burning out. It wasn't right and it was fair. She couldn't give up, though. The others didn't appear to falter- she couldn't either, even if she was far less experienced than they were. Except, hadn't she proved that her lack of experience wasn't a setback. She had taken down Semak, Ari, and Amanda. She could take out Brandt as well. All she had to do was focus, think, and breathe. It could come to her, "Wait. The foreclosure."
"Got a hit. It's in Allentown. You're ten minutes away. Hopefully that's not too far," Fortunately, Birkhoff knew exactly what Alex was referring to. When they had questioned the man who had been held with Brandt, he admitted that the arms dealer had laughed when his mother's house was foreclosed. That must've been where the psychopath was at then. Sean and Alex tore through the streets towards the location, arriving just under ten minutes. Neither fully stopped to search the area as they jumped out of the car. Their sole focus was on the house. They burst through the door, and were instantly met with a brutal, soul-crushing scream coming from down the stairs. It was Nikita.
Sean located the entrance to the basement and crashed through it first. Alex was close on his heels, gun at the ready. The scene before them was hellish. Michael laid on his side, strapped to a chair and trying to break free. And Nikita was being strangled to death by Brandt. They had to act fast. That was when the Seal training kicked in. Sean shot at Brandt several times. Each bullet hit its mark, none straying to the hurt woman behind him. Once the psychopath fell, Alex rushed in to help untie Michael and get him to his feet. Sean and Nikita, on the other hand, simply stared at one another. He approached her and Brandt as she struggled for breath, both deadly silent. Until the arms dealer began to stir.
An understanding quickly passed between Nikita and Sean. The revenge kill belonged to him. He got to kill the man who murdered his mother, while she got to see if her fiancé was alright. They also came to the realization that the action would make them even. She had saved his life before- she had saved his mother's life before. It was about time he returned the favor by finally taking Brandt out of the equation. No one stopped him. They all needed the psychopath dead. With one final shot, they all got their wish. Brandt died, and Nikita collapsed into Michael's arms.