Eleven Years Earlier
"Bet I can clear the pool and hit Sean from here," Growing bored of dribbling her soccer ball against the outside wall of the garage, Nikita glanced across the backyard. She should probably jump into the swimming pool and practice her laps, instead. Yet it was just so tempting to ruin her brother's football practice with their dad. She didn't doubt she could kick her ball at his back, even from the other side of the yard. Jill and Sandy didn't doubt that either. They paused the recital music they had been practicing their dance to, and started debating how much money to bet. As Nikita readied the ball to launch it, however, their mother stopped her.
"We'll go to that new Chinese restaurant if you can hit your father," Madeline looked up from some reports she was reading, and grinned at the thought. He was farther away than Sean, but the possibility of going out for dinner excited the girls. With the encouraging support of her sisters, Nikita focused intentionally on the ball and drew back her foot. Again, her mother stopped her, "Wait, Nikki. Wait for the right moment."
Madeline always tried her best to teach her children patience. The four of them were rash and quick to act, not taking the time to think. But after years of dealing with congressmen, she had become the expert in waiting for the perfect moment to strike. She reminded Nikita to breathe and relax. She had to think. Setting the ball in front of her, she stepped back. She bounced on the balls of her feet, and steadied her aim. A gust of wind rustled the tree behind her, and she took off sprinting. The wind helped to propel her soccer all the way to her father- just as Sean threw his football. Both hit their dad right in the head.
"Did you actually kick that?" He wasn't angry, however. He laughed in amazement along with his children. And once Nikita nodded in excitement, he cheered loudly as well. Their mother and father both started to shout how proud of her they were- how proud they were of all their kids. The teens groaned in response. A perfect family moment had been ruined by over-affectionate parents. At least they had their siblings to turn to when they made fun of their mom and dad's comments later, "Hell yeah!"
"Ugh. Shut up," Jill, Sandy, Nikita, and Sean hid their smiles as they complained. Their parents laughed.
Present
"Just what the fuck?" Nikita wasn't breathing, relaxing, or thinking. She ended a long string of rants, crashing into the beach house with tears in her brown eyes. What the fuck was happening. She had thought arguing with her adopted mother was terrible enough. But then Ms. Bennet walked to Percy in his damn car. She had called Madeline's office shortly after they finished eating. Nikita and Michael met her by the train tracks to bring her in safely. Then Alex called to inform them that Amanda had the former teacher as her number one kill order. And Carla admitted to knowing who Amanda and Percy were. Then Percy and his goons showed up. And it just kept getting worse.
Michael followed Nikita's frantic path to the living room, grabbing a first aid kit along the way. She was throwing down her things and tearing off her coat in a complete rampage. He understood her confusion and frustration; he really did. But she had to stop. They could figure it out when they settled down, "I don't know. But there's glass in your arm. So please stay still."
Ricochet from a bullet hitting the car window badly cut her forearm. Nikita hadn't really noticed it until then. Her mind had been racing for what felt like forever. She couldn't remember the last time she breathed. Gently, Michael began to clean her wound. The tender touch grounded her, "Why does Amanda want her dead? How does she know Percy? What the fuck is it with Division, that it keeps dragging in people that should be the farthest from it?"
"I wish I could tell you, Nikita. But I didn't know about Carla Bennet until you told me about her," Michael admitted softly. He could hear the tremble in her voice. Nikita was so close to crying; she had been since her conversation ended with Madeline. He wished there was something he could've done. He thought leaving the two of them to talk would've helped. But it was just one more thing weighing her down.
Tensing her jaw and clenching her fist, Nikita attempted to fight her tears. She was exhausted and injured, she wasn't processing anything but hurt. She had to keep pushing forward, not be dragged down by anything. But, God, were her thoughts pieces of shit, "She was a teacher, Michael. She cared about us. So how could she… it doesn't make any… was she working with Madeline? Did they…"
"Whoa. Okay. I know this is a lot right now. And I know your recruitment into Division was different. But I don't think it was planned. You can't groom an agent. And why would they do that to their student or daughter?" Instantly, Michael ended that speculation. Ms. Bennet and Madeline didn't force Nikita to be a Division agent. It was Percy's idea of a terrible deal to keep her from being cleaned. She wasn't listening to him, however. She wasn't breathing, relaxing, or thinking. He moved even closer to her as he wrapped her arm, giving her something steady to hold on to.
"I did it to Alex," Nikita's voice was shaky and quiet as she argued. The tears were going to come whether she wanted them to or not. Her fist clutched onto Michael's t-shirt, instead of digging her nails into her palm. He soothed her bandage, and tenderly tucked a wild strand of her dark hair behind her ear. The affection opened the floodgates, and tears began to fall.
"It was her choice," Softly, Michael reminded her. Alex was an entirely different situation. Nikita shouldn't draw parallels between them. Yet her anguish was betraying her. Although she cried, she fought the sob that threatened to break loose. All of that bullshit didn't get to win. The tears that had been forming since her name reappeared in the news didn't get to win. She was going to stay above it.
However, Michael was comforting her. He didn't know just how long she was battling her hurt, but he was going to be there for her regardless. Nikita couldn't fight to remain strong, when he was being so soft and gentle. It was all about to fall apart. Was it bad luck or good that Sean entered the safehouse at that moment. He distracted his sister with his initial sarcasm, then instant concern when he noticed her teary-eyed and injured, "You know I have an actual job. I can't come everytime you… What the hell happened?"
"What happened to Ms. Bennet after I died?" Nikita asked rather than explain anything. That was the part that was confusing her the most. How did Ms. Bennet go from being a highschool teacher, to living by the tracks out of her car. Maybe Sean's answer could fill in some blanks. It might even explain why Amanda wanted her dead.
Shrugging, Sean glanced at Michael to help him understand. His attention was solely on Nikita, however, ensuring she was alright. She was wiping her tears, and staring at her brother like he was a lifeline. He had to have been able to help her. Except, he was so completely lost, "I don't know. Where's Alex?"
"No one cares about your stupid little crush right now, dumbass! Ms. Bennet. My death. What the fuck happened?" Nikita just snapped. Lividity took over her anguish. She didn't want to be held in the dark anymore. She needed to know everything. How else could she understand- how else could she move forward- if she didn't know the truth. It was so frustrating to be continuously lied to. That fucking war should've uncovered secrets, not throw her deeper into more.
Sean only asked about Alex to see if someone else was around to explain what was occurring. Obviously, he wasn't going to get anything out of an angry Nikita. The best he could do was snap back at her, and hope he'd figure it out along the way, "I don't know! A week after the crash, she was just gone. No one knows what happened. And I don't have a crush."
Nikita somehow managed to convey two sentiments with the same glare. She was going to kill Sean for being so stupid, and her earlier argument about Carla was right. Ms. Bennet disappearing after she 'died' wasn't a coincidence; she had to have been involved. Michael shook his head. He wouldn't believe that. There was always another explanation, "Alright. Maybe, like you, she saw something she shouldn't have and was on the run. Division must've picked up on her trail then. Percy used you to find her now. Maybe something happened ten years ago."
"How did they even connect her to me? I never talked about anyone in Division," Despite Amanda's digging, Nikita refused to talk about her friends and family as a recruit; she didn't want to delve into that pain. Sure, that hellhole could've discovered anything about her past. But why would they look at her teachers. They shouldn't have been a threat to Division's power.
"School records. Your funeral. Hell, maybe even Madeline or Sean or your sisters. They must've found something while erasing your past," Michael suggested. He was as lost as Nikita. Although he had always known Percy and Amanda kept things from him, he never thought it would be that extensive or dire. After learning of Division's involvement in his family's death, however, he shouldn't be shocked by the horrors they swept under the rug.
"Your backpack was missing after the crash. Division must've taken it and looked through it. They could've found your schedule," Taking a moment to breathe, relax, and think, Sean remembered a weird detail about the car accident. Nothing had been removed from the car, not even the spilled gallon of chocolate milk. But her backpack had disappeared. He didn't think much of it at the time; he had been too swept up in grief. Yet with Division, it was starting to make sense.
Beginning to pace again, Nikita shook her head. It was a good theory, but she didn't have anything substantial in her backpack. Especially by that point in the school year; she had already been accepted into college. There had to have been something else, "No. I didn't have it anymore… But the card. I wrote Ms. Bennet a thank you note for everything she's done for us. That's probably how she popped back up on the radar."
"But why was she on there in the first place?" Sean was starting to think he knew what was going on. Division wanted Ms. Bennet for a reason nobody knew. That didn't explain why Alex wasn't around, though. Or why Nikita was so hurt. When everyone calmed down, he was certain he'd hear the whole story. For the time being, he would help them find some answers.
"The only thing I know is that I want to kill Percy," Eventually, Michael sighed. They wouldn't be in that situation had it not been for the bastard. The anguish and lies were eating away at the team. Hell, Nikita was still fighting the tears in her eyes. Anger had overpowered her sorrow, but it was going to erupt soon. She hadn't even processed her fight with her adopted mother. Everything was tearing at her heart, and she was never given a break to mend it. He wanted so desperately to help. Yet she was back to her bad habit of pushing everyone away.
"Well we can now with the black boxes out of the way. His deadman's switch is useless," Nikita huffed. That was one of the great things they had. The team could finally kill Percy without consequence. She didn't want to delve into why that reason was the thing that got her to breathe, relax, and think. It was possible that it was something positive she could focus on. She could end one of her problems, "Hey. That sends out a signal, right? We can reverse ping it?"
"Birkhoff and I already tried. We need Division servers," All for the idea, Michael informed her of the limitations they faced. Nothing was ever that simple for them. Easy solutions almost always had complicated paths. That didn't seem to deter Nikita, however. A plan sparked in her eyes, and she smiled wickedly. Her course was set.
"And we know people inside who want Percy dead, just as much as we do," Squaring her shoulders, Nikita went over to the computers to enact whatever she was thinking. Michael watched her for a moment. She was back to her kick ass, take names, self-assured attitude. But he knew it was going to be easily destroyed. One more blow, and she'd be drowning all over again. She had to talk. They all had to talk. But damn action was taking precedent.
Confused, and hurt himself, Sean looked to Michael one last time for answers. He wasn't just dealing with the Seals and the team, he also had to assure his other sisters that it was all okay; he couldn't stand lying to them. Sean never told Nikita when he went to spend time with Jill and Sandy. The siblings didn't know how to actually deal with her fake death. Michael didn't either. Besides, he had his own things to talk to Nikita about. They were swimming in complications. The Seal couldn't take it, "Can I know what's going on now?"
"Keep up, Boy Scout," Michael muttered, following Nikita. Sean rolled his hazel eyes, but joined the two at the computers anyway. They just had to work through it all together.
