Days turned into weeks, which turned into months. The slow build to shutting down Division wasn't well received by the team. They couldn't necessarily fight against it, however. Thirty agents either didn't receive or completely ignored their recall order. They decided to go rogue instead of accepting the new command. That meant Division had to track them down and bring them in. There was also Amanda to worry about. She might not have made her presence known since she was ousted by Percy. But her and Ari out in the world together wasn't a good thing. They were simply more rogue elements to deal with.
Unfortunately, the team couldn't deal with that until they managed to track the missing agents. Their operations were ready to go, and they seemed to have settled into their new roles. They were itching for their first op, so they could finally bring down Division and start their lives. Some of the team had no problem having a jump on their futures, though. Michael and Nikita married, bought an apartment, and floated around in marital bliss. Sean and Alex moved in together, and enjoyed a lovely couple's vacation. And Sonya and Birkhoff were attempting some sort of relationship. The former rogues were finding happiness wherever they could.
Ryan was glad that they were, yet his focus was placed entirely elsewhere. He was completely and otherworldly stressed. Due to his position before he went rogue, he was the most qualified to take over Division. Having once been the second in command, he knew how to successfully shift directions and shut the place down. He could do that part no problem. It was the stress and anxiety that was killing him. He knew taking charge would be more stressful than raging a war; the job was even more stressful than when he was a handler. A lot was riding on the team being successful. If they weren't, they could lose more than they had bargained for.
Maybe if Ryan was a bit more open about what the team was facing, he wouldn't have been as stressed. But he didn't want to ruin the joy they had been experiencing. They should keep believing they were on the upswing of things. It definitely gave them passion and drive. Besides, their optimism could rub off on him. He shouldn't let the negatives drown him under the rising waves of bullshit. The political pressure to be perfect shouldn't crawl under his skin. The team simply had to take it one step at a time. Ryan could just make himself focus on one thing- on the most prominent problem, "You still haven't got anything on those trackers?"
"Dude, they're called the 'Dirty Thirty' for a reason. They cut their trackers out, and now they're rogue," Exasperated, Birkhoff sighed. He hadn't realized how long he had been hunched at a computer station in Division until Ryan interrupted him. He stretched, rubbed his eyes, and tried to reorient himself. The hacker needed to set up his old station instead of hopping from terminal to terminal. He had just been so focused on narrowing down the Dirty Thirty, he didn't consider anything else. God, he would give anything to just pull up a map of the exact locations of the thirty agents that didn't return. Then the team could be actively closing up shop.
"I thought they were called 'Dirty Thirty' because Nikita liked that it rhymed," Ryan chuckled, attempting to lift the nerd's spirits. The nickname for the missing agents wasn't meant to stick. It was an offhanded comment made by someone- maybe Michael- that Nikita laughed at. She wouldn't let the joke go, and neither would Alex. So, the term stuck. It was better than calling them the agents who didn't accept the recall order, or whatever other long name they had. Short and sweet was the best for the team. As was anything that made them smile and laugh.
"Yeah. She's been annoyingly happy lately," Birkhoff huffed, pushing himself away from his computer. He couldn't be too upset that everyone around him was so happy. That had been their goal for so long, they should continue to hold to it while their future was delayed. It was just that being back in Division, even if it was for cleaning up, resurfaced a lot of stress and ill feelings he thought had been buried and gone. Returning to the bunker messed with him. He could feel his sanity slipping the more he hacked and the less he did anything else.
There was more to his stressed story than being in Division, though. Birkhoff hadn't shared it with the team, yet they knew something else was going on. It wasn't only the stress of having to continue their work that shook the hacker up. If Ryan was able to notice it while swimming in his own sea of shit, then it must've been bad. The agent turned director thought of asking Sonya about it; however, she didn't hang around the nerd as often anymore. Within the past week, she seemed to have disappeared. Ryan was confused, "What happened to Sonya?"
"I wish I knew," Birkhoff was confused as well. The two hackers had a fun couple of months, testing the waters of a dating relationship. But then, without warning, she disappeared. She was still around Division, helping wherever she was needed. Yet she kept her distance from the team. Birkhoff wanted to question her about it. He wanted to talk to her and figure out what went wrong; he hoped he hadn't done anything to severely ruin their relationship. However, everytime he went to approach her about it, he severely chickened out. He couldn't bring himself to broach the awkward and uncomfortable topic. So, he suffered in not-quite silence.
"Wouldn't it be easier if we all got that sickly sweet happily ever after?" It was meant more as a joke than wishful thinking, yet Ryan couldn't stop himself from daydreaming about it a little. With couples like Michael and Nikita and Sean and Alex constantly around, it was difficult not to imagine that kind of future. It was certainly bright and cheerful. And it was a great payoff for the hell they had all experienced. The former agent just didn't know how much of that was actually in the cards for him. He never afforded himself much time to think about it. With everything he had done, it didn't seem right.
"What, and glow like Nikki?" On the other hand, Birkhoff had to smile. A lovely future seemed nice. After all, the Nikita that ran around Division then was drastically different from when she was a recruit. She was more sure of herself, and a way more happy. The hacker was glad she had carved out a life for herself, even if it was annoying how much she glowed in marital bliss. It was a brilliant example of what could be achieved despite the hellhole and their demons. No one had lost everything.
"Unless that's for an entirely different reason," Scoffing, Ryan couldn't help but share his thoughts. With all the honeymoon activities the married couple had been up to- before, during, and after their vacation- he wouldn't have been surprised if there was another reason for Nikita's glow. It was stupid of him to think that (and very old wives' tale-y). He should've kept it to himself. Birkhoff glanced at him in confusion, the need to comment on it rising. Ryan had to distract him immediately, "Let's see if tracking their last known location gets us anywhere."
Birkhoff had to take a moment to catch up with the subject change. Ryan meant the Dirty Thirty, not the newlyweds. The nerd shouldn't have been too startled by the shift in topic. The agent had always been a bit weird- a bit judgmental- towards Michael's and Nikita's relationship. Maybe it was remnants from when he found out about them. Her mole status had been revealed, and she dragged a civilian into the dangerous world of being a Division rogue. It probably didn't sit right with Ryan. Yet it was none of Birkhoff's business. He just hacked, "I should check the chatter in the area to see if the Dirty Thirties went rogue in a big way."
"We did," Ryan shrugged. Well, to be more exact, Nikita went rogue in a big way. First, she was a CIA analyst's mole. Then, when that turned against them, she and Michael started attacking Division head on. Ryan- just needing to help her- provided intel when he could, until he also had to run from the hellhole. Fortunately, Birkhoff was able to pick up the slack when he joined them as a hacker. Owen floated in and out as he hunted black boxes and the Guardians. And Sean and Alex crashed onto the scene to help the team finally serve justice. The former rogues had always been loud with their movements. That had to change moving forward.
"And some say we still don't know how to be quiet. Especially with Seal team six-pack and the Princess of Russia on our team," Laughing at his own joke, Birkhoff began to follow Ryan's suggestion. If the team was going to bring in rogue elements, then they needed to think about what they had done. Rogue was a weird phrase to throw around, however. It wasn't as though everyone was a villain or a dastardly scoundrel; they were simply setting their own path. That could've been dangerous when it came to Division. But Sean and Alex had never been dangerous. They weren't even rogue agents. They just did what they thought was right.
Although there were people on their team that had identities and families to return to, that wasn't Ryan's concern at the moment. He would have to talk to Alex and Sean separately. A Navy Seal and the Udinov heiress couldn't be caught with Division. Their lives, and the lives of so many agents, shouldn't be needlessly risked. Especially when the Marines would be ready to raid the place the second they fucked up. Everything had to be perfect. No more rogues, no more craziness, and no more brash and loud actions, "About that…"
"Yeah, I know. Why are those two even sticking around? Maybe good people actually exist, and they really want to help us. It's rare, but they have good intentions. Also, I'm pretty sure there's some illegal activities they want forgiven," Theorizing, Birkhoff ignored whatever Ryan was going to say next. Alex and Sean didn't need to stick by the team. They got their revenge; their duty was done. But after their vacation, the two had decided to stick around for good. The whole team would be together as they ended Division.
"No, not… I get Sean and Alex. They're not ones to leave their team behind. I meant, we can't be as loud as we have been," Ryan clarified. Not making their presence known was one of the stipulations the Vice President- soon to be President- was beating into him. News coverage of Division operations couldn't exist anymore. No one could know massive coverups and corruption were occurring. The team had to keep Division quiet as they shut it down. Their silence meant gaining the freedom they so desperately wished for; it meant their lives.
"Right. Division means shadows. What happens underground, stays underground," Not understanding Ryan's grave concern, Birkhoff nodded. He did know the team had to perform as they had when they were Division, in the CIA, as a Seal, or when they were hiding their identity. They had to care about their actions again from that moment onward. It wasn't simply their lives at risk, but so many others. That responsibility was definitely another layer to the stress and anxiety the hacker felt. But at least he had a full team of support in case anything went wrong.
"Let's hope it stays that simple," Ryan really should've told Birkhoff what was occurring. He should've told Nikita and the others as well. Everyone should be aware of the stipulations they were facing. It wasn't only the loss of pardons and freedom awaiting them, but the loss of the life they fought so hard for. The government didn't care about what they deserved; hence, why it was a group of former rogues fighting for the Division agents. Not knowing exactly what was going on could be dangerous. Lack of information was always deadly. Except, Ryan couldn't ruin their hope. They had to believe their actions and words meant something.
Noticing how tense Ryan became beside him, Birkhoff tore his eyes away from the computer screen. The former agent turned new director hadn't been himself in the past few months. It wasn't so much that leadership had changed him; he had had a leadership role before. He seemed to be holding onto something he refused to share with the team. Hadn't they learned by then that keeping secrets was a bad thing. The truth, no matter how much it stung or burned, set them free. And they always wanted freedom, "You good, Fletch?"
"Looks like scanning newsfeeds paid off. I think that's one of our Dirty Thirties spotted in Hong Kong. Let's call it in," Excitedly tapping the hacker's chair, Ryan rushed off to do just that. He could put all his stress and moping behind him with a mission. Though, the first mission of Division's new course could set the tone of how everything else was to follow. If it went horribly wrong, then so could everything else. Quickly, the director shook the thought away. The team was better than that, especially when they had high goals in mind. It would be fine. He had to believe it'd be fine. They could save the day once more.
Notifying the others of the information, Birkhoff stared after Ryan. Either that man needed serious anxiety medication, or he had to talk to his team. In all honesty, the hacker settled on both. Who was he to judge about the lack of communication, however. He wasn't doing much of that either. With a sigh, Birkhoff waited until Ryan was out of earshot before he muttered. The team wanted things to be different, but they remained in the same patterns. It was like they couldn't learn, "First op already starting off weird. Guess nothing has changed at all."