While Nikita and Owen helped clean the debris in Medical, the rest of the team prepared to grab Markov from his hotel room. If they wanted to kill the rogue before the situation completely spiraled out of control, they had to make the switch immediately. Markov couldn't meet the President, and he couldn't return to Uzbekistan. The window of opportunity to kill him, replace him, and complete that whole crazy plan was tiny. The team had to act as quickly as they could, while also planning as best as they could. It was certainly a lot.

But the team found a way to manage. Sean and Michael running the op was helpful. The two were able to supply Naval and CIA mindsets to a stealthy, rushed, and potentially dangerous operation. Those, combined with Alex in the field and Birkhoff on his computer, led to a successful mission. Markov was in Division's custody without his many guards even knowing. The team could hurry and make the switch, then the rest of their plan would come to fruition. How exactly that'd come to pass remained up in the air. They hoped to nail it all down once Sean posed as their rogue, "Alright, we got Markov. Now how am I supposed to replace him?"

"A hyper-realistic mask. It seems like the same technology as the killchips and trackers, but way more creepy. The CIA's masks got nothing on us," Birkhoff did his best to explain the mask that was being created off Markov's likeness. However, he was too exhausted to be clear. It felt like the team was running and running without any semblance of rest. The thought of the mole with its unbreakable encryption was a particular point of stress. Birkhoff knew he should take a break from it, but he kept glancing at his computer. He had a program working on the encryption. Yet that wasn't enough. It'd never be enough. Not against Amanda.

"Whoa. That's cool," Alex's excitement over the mask the hacker created thankfully pulled Birkhoff from his morose thoughts. The technology that allowed Sean to go undercover seamlessly was cool, and it proved the team really could find their way out of terrible situations. Replacing a foreign leader was tricky, but they could pull it off. They were already on their way. If that was true for the seemingly impossible Dirty Thirty operation, then finding Amanda's mole and defeating the bitch could be accomplished. The team just had to keep pushing forward.

It was what Nikita and Owen were doing. The shock of the explosion didn't hold them down for long. They searched through Medical's logs to see who was around to open the gas line and leave behind the flame torch. The two soon had a list, they simply had to narrow it down to who could possibly be working with Amanda. That was where Owen and Nikita were stuck. They couldn't answer that question from the list they had. Nikita considered asking the other's for their opinions. However, when she walked into the nerd's cave and saw a mask form from an unconscious Markov's face, she became sick. She could barely hold back her bile.

"What? You have another concussion?" Noticing Nikita's struggle, Birkhoff asked. It was the only explanation he could find for her sudden sickness. She managed to nod before bolting out the door. Sean and Alex did their best to hold back their laughter. Nikita nearly vomiting wasn't that funny. But Birkhoff's cluelessness mixed with their stress (and just the timing of the moment) made any ridiculous thing comedic. The hacker felt like he had to add to it, let his sarcasm not be so harsh or stress-filled once more, "We gotta check that girl for brain damage."

"Continue working on the disguise. The sooner we get this done, the better," Sighing, Michael followed his wife. She was probably fine, just nauseous again. The sight of a fake flesh-like mask molding wasn't the easiest thing to walk in on, especially without context. Regardless, Michael still wanted to check on Nikita. He hadn't gotten over the fact that she was so close to yet another explosion. He had to keep assuring himself that she and the baby were alright. He had to know that he wouldn't lose everything again.

Birkhoff was the only one to stare after Michael in confusion. He was definitely missing something. Maybe it was due to his sleep deprivation. After all, Alex and Sean appeared unbothered by it; though, they were choking on laughter. The two attempted to refocus on preparing Sean's disguise. They had to get the clothes and wig just right. But the fairly simple tasks couldn't hold their attention long enough. The two just wanted to laugh and smile with one another. After a moment, Alex found the compromise in adjusting Sean's tie. She grinned, dwelling on their relationship, "It's gonna be weird without you home for a while."

"We've been apart before," Sean matched her grin, placing his hands on her waist and pulling her closer. He and Alex had been apart several times in the years since they had met. It wasn't as though they had spent every minute together, even if it did feel like that. They could handle the few weeks it'd take to finish the mission. The two just had to find a way to communicate with one another without exposing his cover. Maybe they could treat that mission as practice for when he returned to the Seals. They needed to start preparing for that anyway.

"It's different now, though," Playing with Sean's tie (Markov's tie that they had stolen so his outfit would be an exact match) Alex admitted. The two weren't living together, or even in that serious of a relationship, when they had been separated before. It was different then. The two would be countries apart, and their ability to communicate would be questionable at best. It was going to feel as though a part of their heart was missing for those long and torturous weeks. Sure, the couple could survive that. But it would be absolutely awful.

Smiling softly, Sean kissed Alex tenderly. It wouldn't be as awful as she thought. He knew he could make that promise. However, as Alex smiled back at him, cruel laughter ruined their moment. At first, the couple thought it was Birkhoff, and they were prepared to hurl mean taunts his way. Yet when they turned, they saw that Markov had woken up and was laughing at them. That concerned the two. He was their captive, but he taunted them. The rug was definitely going to get ripped out from under them, "Disappointing. Killing your own and focusing on hopeless relationships, Percy gave you this gift, and you're wasting it."

"Percy didn't give me shit," Alex instantly seethed. She slipped out of Sean's arms and stomped towards Markov. That was potentially the reaction he wanted, and she was only feeding into his smugness with how livid she became. But she had no other reaction when it came to Percy. That bastard agreed to kill her father, hid her mother from her, and constantly tried to kill her. If Nikita hadn't dropped him down a hole, Alex would've killed him herself. She was glad he was dead. The world was a far better place without him in it.

"As for killing you, you brought that on yourself. That's where corruption gets you," Sean bit, matching Alex's anger. Countless times he had seen the effects of a person so desperate for power they became too corrupt. He had witnessed a person become unrecognizable due to their corruption. Death was the only end to the path Markov and everyone else like him was on. His hubris would get the best of him, or someone else vying for power would murder him to gain it. The team killing him was basically fate. If they didn't cause his death, someone else would.

"That's fair. But corruption also makes you untouchable," Markov continued to laugh- practically bragging as he chuckled. Annoyed and frustrated, Birkhoff barked at him to shut up. He also ordered Alex and Sean to keep their rogue still. The scan for the mask wouldn't be perfect if Markov kept moving. They had to get that mask completed so they could replace him and kill him. The team shouldn't have to listen to his mocking ramblings. He wasn't important enough for that. He was just another crazed Dirty Thirty in their way.

"Go ahead. Kill me. But the second you do, a video will be released revealing all my secrets," Before the three agents could put Markov back to sleep, he threatened them snidely. The team didn't want to believe him, yet he told Birkhoff where to find it on the computer. Sure enough, there was a video exposing everything about Division set to release the instant he died. Markov really had Division's moves pegged. They might've captured him, and had a great plan to remove him from power, but he would always be one step ahead.

Pumping Markov full of more drugs to knock him unconscious, Alex, Sean, and Birkhoff rushed to update the rest of the team of the new disaster. The three managed to group Michael and Ryan into the latter's secluded office, and anxiously dumped the information. At some point, Nikita joined with the intention of telling them the update on her mole hunt. However, she shut up once she heard what was going on. That was obviously the more pressing problem. All their hard-fought plans were ruined. Unless there was some plausible way they could keep fighting Markov. Michael turned to their hacker to see if that was true, "Can you delete the video?"

"I hack the system, the video gets released," Regretfully, Birkhoff shook his head. The first thing he did was try to delete the video. But the second he noticed the failsafe, he backed off. It was possible that if he had more time with the video and system, he could find a way to delete it for good. However, he doubted he had that much time. The team had to bring a Markov, whether fake or real, back to the motel before his security became suspicious. The team was out of options and time once again.

"So we can't kill him," Ryan decided sternly. Alex and Sean refused to believe him. They refused to give up just like that. Although the video couldn't be deleted, there had to be another way to stop it from being released. The team had found their ways out of complex problems before- they just did it earlier. They could find a way. However, Ryan was adamantly set in his ways. He refused to see any other option. The mission they had considered was risky enough. They shouldn't suffer anymore, "We can't let those secrets out."

The team couldn't argue with him. They knew Ryan was right. They had seen what would happen when Division secrets were released after Owen let black box secrets out. Any more shattering information leaked from the black ops group could destroy the world. Which was why the team shouldn't try to handle the situation on their own. It was time they brought in reinforcements. Or, as Michael suggested, they involve those with more power, "So why don't we tell the President what's going on? We could use the help."

"No!" Unable to control himself, Ryan anxiously shouted. He shouldn't have done that. He had to keep himself composed. He had to remain strong. But with all the frightened attention on him, he just couldn't do it. Nikita cautiously stepped towards Ryan, attempting to soothe him. His eyes dropped to her lower abdomen. Staying quiet wasn't protecting his team, nor was it protecting their futures. It was finally time he told the truth, "If the President knew one of our rogues is a world leader, she'd believe we failed. If we fail to clean up Division, or if we are exposed in any way, we're dead. There's a kill order on our heads to make sure we stay in line."

A horrible silence followed Ryan's confession. The team didn't want to believe what they just heard. If Division screwed up, or if the President deemed them unfit, they were dead. Everyone would die, including those that hadn't even been involved in the black ops organization in the first place; they were dangerous and noisy liabilities, after all. It was almost like Clean Sweep all over again, except so much worse. At least Clean Sweep had a failsafe. There was no solution to that deadly problem.

Ryan finally looked Nikita in the eyes again. So much rage and fear boiled behind her irises. Gaining her presidential pardon was the only option for her and her husband. They couldn't run if the kill order went out. And they certainly couldn't die. More than just their lives were dependent on the pardons. If all that went away- if her future crumbled apart- all because her friend never told her the stipulation to keeping Division open, she'd never recover. That anger inside her that she kept at bay would explode. It nearly did then. But Nikita held it back by biting her lip and storming out of the room.

She wasn't surprised no one followed her. Obviously, Michael held them back. He had recognized the look on her face and knew she needed to be alone. Except, Nikita didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to think about what Ryan admitted. She knew it was true. Of course she didn't doubt it. The President didn't trust Division, so she'd rather kill them than deal with their mess. The futures they thought they were fighting for were even harder to obtain. The happily ever after Nikita was supposed to have with her new family might never happen.

Tears sprang in her eyes. However, Nikita refused to go down that road. She couldn't think about losing her husband or her baby. That was too much for her to face. Her mole hunt, on the other hand, wasn't. Owen had eventually recognized one of the names on the list they had compiled. The agent had no connection to Amanda. But maybe the explosion in Medical didn't either. Just like with everything else, something more was going on. Owen had the agent in an interrogation room to get that information out of him. Out of patience, Nikita decided to burst into the room and shout, "We already have enough people trying to kill us. Why you too?"

"Why kill Juliet and not me?" The agent snapped, turning towards Owen with murderous tears in his eyes. Nikita glanced between the men, confused. That was certainly one way to distract herself. So the explosion did have nothing to do with Amanda. It all came down to something Owen had done. Honestly, that made more sense. Another attack on Medical was too bold for a mole. Yet, if it was an attack on a specific agent, it was the perfect opportunity. Everyone would be too scrambled to pin it on one person. They could claim it all as an accident.

"Juliet? That's right. I remember her," However, Owen quickly began to understand what was occurring. He remembered why he recognized the agent's name. And he realized why he wanted to kill him. Owen was the Cleaner who had killed the agent's girlfriend. It was years ago, but that only meant the pain had had time to fester. Owen could definitely understand that, "She liked yellow flowers. You two were caught in a relationship, but she was the only one with the kill order. She put up a fight before she died. She wanted to live."

Upon hearing the memory, the agent snapped. He lunged at Owen, a knife hidden in his pocket suddenly in hand. He only managed to scratch Owen's arm before Nikita tackled him, however. She knocked away his blade and secured him so he couldn't hurt anyone else. The agent calmed down in the hold, but he still directed a rageful gaze at Owen. He appeared unfazed by it. In fact, he wasn't bothered by the attack at all. He simply squatted down to the agent's level and spoke softly, "I lost someone I loved to Division. Her name was Emily. But the best way to remember them isn't rage and death. It's continuing to live despite everything."

Owen locked eyes with Nikita. An understanding passed between them, and the tense hold she had on the agent slackened. Dwelling in pain, stress, and the loss of their hope obviously didn't get them anywhere. They were just as worse as they've ever been. The only way to keep surviving was to keep fighting. It didn't matter the circumstance or what they faced, "We have to keep fighting."