The entire trip back to Division was dead silent. Besides informing their team, briefly discussing what had happened, and dealing with the aftermath of the disaster, Michael, Nikita, and Alex didn't talk. So much had been riding on that mission, and so much disappointment seeped into their weary bodies at the betrayal. They were back to square one. They were back to grasping at straws just to survive the day. Obviously they wouldn't talk as they traveled back to their hell. Just breathing took a lot of effort.

Michael had attempted to talk, though. It'd be better if they tried to talk rather than stew in their stress. But Alex and Nikita kept their mouths screwed shut. They also kept their gaze anywhere but on each other. Nikita's eyes were locked on the modified pistol Cyrus had left behind. She wasn't exactly studying it; the weapon was just the focus of her intense thoughts. Alex, on the other hand, cast her eyes everywhere. Her fists clenched and unclenched, and her muscles remained entirely too taut. She was posed for a fight. The fact that she wasn't in one stressed her out more than anything else.

Something was wrong with Alex. She was acting like the recruits Michael had seen pumped full of performance enhancers. She was testy, on edge, violent, and obsessive. She was on something. Michael didn't want to assume Alex was popping pills, yet it made sense- especially regarding her shoulder. He had to talk to her. That wasn't something he could ignore. Whatever was wrong with her couldn't be allowed to fester. There was a chance that could destroy the team more than a random operation would.

However, Alex wouldn't open up to Michael; that moment was no exception. She was too hyperfocused on Cyrus, Amanda, Ari, and Sideswipe. He couldn't divert her course. Maybe for the time being, he shouldn't. The more damaging danger was Amanda. The team's struggles ultimately wouldn't matter if the bitch destroyed the world with her latest weapon. They had to take Sideswipe away from her. Afterwards, they could focus on fixing themselves. Michael fully intended to. Once the world was saved, the team would save each other, "If we just figure out where Cyrus went, we can stick to our plan."

Alex and Nikita glanced at Michael, yet they still didn't say anything. He'd count that as something. In the very least, the two would have more positive thoughts as they considered what to do next. Nikita began to study the gun with renewed interest. While the three finally returned to Division, and Michael and Alex unloaded their equipment from the car, she intently studied what Cyrus had left behind. He obviously did it for a reason. There had to be some sort of message involved with the pistol. Popping open the chamber, Nikita soon found what that was, "Looks like Cyrus took care of that for us as well."

Replacing one of the bullets was a rolled up cocktail napkin. Nikita had seen Cyrus scribble on and pocket one of the napkins when they were dealing with the criminals selling Sideswipe. She hadn't thought anything of it at the time. But reading the coordinates Cyrus had left her, Nikita realized what he was doing. Although he turned on the team, he continued to want to help them stop Amanda and Ari. The coordinates led straight to Romania where the two would use Sideswipe. Coupled with the other information Cyrus had shared, the team could still stop their enemies. Yet they wouldn't be able to stop him.

Cyrus couldn't play both sides of the war like that and expect to come out unscathed. Neutrality wasn't an option in that war. One way or another, you'd have to choose- or you'd pay with your life. Nikita wanted Cyrus to realize that, but then wasn't the time. She shouldn't focus on him and the danger he could potentially find himself in. She had coordinates to track down, and two monsters to track down and kill. The arms dealing Dirty Thirty could take care of himself. That was the path he had chosen.

Nikita hurried to Ops with the cocktail napkin in her hand and with Michael and Alex on her heels. She quickly caught Birkhoff and Ryan up to speed, then jumped right into planning a mission to stop Ari and Amanda. Her full intention was to kill the pair and steal back Sideswipe. Yet, if it came to it, just capturing them was fine. Her team helped her plan, gathering intel, readying weapons, and designating the agents who'd go on the op. They didn't waste any time. They wanted to ensure everything was as perfect as it could be before they deployed. There was no room for mistakes that time.

Unfortunately, just when the team thought they were on a roll, and that things were beginning to go their way again, Sideswipe was turned off. All of a sudden, they had Cyrus' location. His tracker showed him in Spain. That must've been where he was meeting Amanda and Ari before they moved to Romania to deploy their new weapon. For a moment, the team considered converging there and stopping the monsters in their tracks. Yet, they weren't prepared to change course. They'd have to file away the location for later, possibly when they had to take out the rest of Ari's and Amanda's army.

Their mission was too good not to employ. It helped that they had the element of surprise working for them. Ari and Amanda wouldn't know what hit them until it was too late. Hopefully. At least, it should've been that way. The team was banking on it to be as they put the finishing touches on their schemes. But there just had to be one more odd stacked against them- as always. At some point, Birkhoff's computer chimed with a message. He was hesitant to open it, worried about who could've sent him a video. It turned out his apprehensions were correct.

Amanda menacingly popped up on the monitor in Ops. She had a bloody Cyrus bound to a chair and beaten severely. Nikita had thought it'd be longer before playing both sides caught up to him. But he paid the price almost immediately. He was tortured. And based on the guilty look he shot the camera, he had given the team up. No one could blame him for that. It was difficult to face the Inquisitor and not speak. Cyrus had done what he could to survive. It was then on the team to try and do the same.

Tauntingly, Amanda baited Cyrus in front of the agents. If they didn't rush off to Spain, he'd die. Nikita adamantly refused to let that happen. He wouldn't have been in that situation had it not been for her. And he had protected her against Percy once. She could protect him against Amanda in return. She wanted to kill the bitch anyway. Then was her perfect chance. As soon as the tormenting video ended, Nikita hastily began to plan for a new mission. She had to rush out to Spain. So consumed with that need, she didn't think to communicate with her team first. She just acted. Michael had to be the one to try and pull her back, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going after Amanda," Nikita stated as though it was obvious. It should've been. Her goal was to kill the bitch; of course she'd storm her hideout in Spain. It didn't matter that she was goaded there. And that she'd be abandoning the Sideswipe mission. Nikita couldn't let anyone else die at Amanda's hands, including Cyrus. For once and for all, the manipulative bitch would be dead, and she'd be free. The whole team would be free. That was their goal, wasn't it. They didn't care about saving the world, just being able to live in it.

"What about your plan to get Sideswipe? It's a good one. We have to follow through," Ryan disagreed. He wanted Amanda killed as well. Her death would help Division shut down a whole lot faster. However, the team couldn't allow a dangerous weapon to fall into even more dangerous hands as a result. Believe it or not, Amanda wasn't always the priority. There were going to be more troubling things than her. The team had to control their blinding rage when it came to the bitch. They had to keep thinking and being smart.

"I can do it. I'll bring the Alpha team with me," Alex eagerly chimed in. Nikita wasn't the only one who could run missions. Alex could lead. She was going to act as Nikita's partner in the field anyway. She knew the plan just as much as the woman who had created it. With the performance enhancers helping her, she'd be more than able to take care of Ari and Sideswipe with just a few agents as support. Everything should still work out fine. Like Ryan had said, the mission was a great one. A split team couldn't ruin it.

"Alex can more than handle Ari. I'm killing Amanda," Although Nikita knew the stakes, she wasn't going to back down. She was going to dive head first into what had to be her last kill mission. Ryan couldn't stop her. So, he agreed to the change of plans, as long as Michael went with Nikita and Alex utilized a full Alpha team. Naturally, they went along with Ryan's orders. Rushing out into the field and last minute changes wouldn't stop them from remaining smart. They knew keeping their heads would get them everything they wanted. Their wild emotions simply gave them the drive to act.

With determined nods, Alex and Nikita split on their respective missions. Birkhoff and Ryan remained in Ops to run point and help facilitate the two simultaneous missions. Michael recognized the help that would be. However, he knew there had to be more. He and Nikita would be fine- more or less. Yet Alex needed more support. The Alpha team and Ops weren't enough to face Ari, Sideswipe, former Gogol agents, and whoever was being shown the weapon. They needed more. As Michael jetted off to Spain with Nikita, he thought of the perfect person to call for help. The only question was whether or not Sean would agree.

"No. We're in Spain, she's in Romania. Yeah. I sent you the location. We really need your help. Thanks," While Nikita scouted Amanda's hideout once they arrived, Michael called Sean. He kept his words quiet. It wasn't so much that he didn't want Nikita to hear him, he just wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do. Undoubtedly, Alex needed help. And Sean worked great as her partner. However, him showing up out of the blue might set Alex off again. Michael didn't know exactly what had happened between them, yet he knew it was bad. An unexpected reunion might make things worse, especially with the emotional state that she was in.

"Hey. We good?" Rejoining her fiancé in their hiding spot in the bushes, Nikita doublechecked. Michael looked ashen; he was deeply concerned and stressed- maybe also frightened. But when she moved to assure him, he smiled softly at her. Everything would be alright. At least, everyone would be alive. He had made sure of that. Nikita remained cautious, though. She didn't want Michael or anyone else to worry. She just had to complete the mission. She just had to end it, "Look. I know I pushed too hard on this…"

"Hey, no. Listen, if Amanda's in there, you keep pushing hard. You kill the bitch," Michael interrupted. Sure, everything was rushed and desperate. But that was what was necessary. They were facing someone who could possibly manipulate her way into world power. Hesitations and growing anxiety couldn't exist. Division had to take any opportunities it could to kill Amanda. Michael was worried about his fiancée's and his friends' lives, yet he still knew they had to go about their mission the way they did. Whatever it took to get the bitch.

Apparently, however, whatever it took was more than Nikita and Michael were prepared for. Amanda was nowhere to be seen. The whole place was empty. After searching for several minutes, the agents finally stumbled across somebody. It was Cyrus. He was still bound to a chair, yet it was different than before. He warned Michael and Nikita what it was before they moved any closer. He was strapped to a bomb. And if that statement wasn't enough of a shock, Amanda's face appeared on a screen behind him. Her smirk was vile, "It's time to learn, Nikita. You can't save everyone you love. Even the people you care about a little, like Cyrus."

She continued on that diatribe for a while. Amanda repeatedly taunted Nikita that she couldn't save everyone, and that her team in Romania was going to suffer. It was the lesson she had to learn. Michael and Nikita attempted not to react to the fact, yet it was hard not to. They thought they had everything under control. But they were in just as much shit as they always had been. Nikita became sick of it. She wanted to actually take charge. She didn't want to be pulled along by her strings under the illusion that she had any say. She wanted to make people jump instead, "You wanna pull the trigger? Do it. Kill me."

"No," The word choked and drowned in Michael's throat. While his fiancée stalked closer to a bomb, he was frozen in place. He should've chased after her. He should've yanked her away from danger and held her in his safe arms. Yet he was terrified Amanda would detonate the bomb at his sudden movements. He couldn't be the cause of Nikita's death. He couldn't watch her die because of his stupidity. All he could do was remain frightfully rooted in his spot and silently beg her to come back to him.

"You want to teach me a lesson? Then do it. Make me learn," Despite her fiancé's pleading eyes on her back, and despite her better judgment, Nikita continued to dare. Even through a video screen, she could tell that Amanda wouldn't actually pull the trigger while she was standing in front of the bomb. She hadn't been able to kill her before, and she wouldn't be able to do it again. She could pretend that it was all about teaching a lesson. Yet Nikita knew that deep down Amanda cared about her. And she was going to twist that, using it for her advantage.

Staring at Nikita through the screen, Amanda finally cut the feed and undetonated the bomb. Michael remembered how to breathe, and Cyrus apologized for giving up the team. Nikita told him not to worry about it. She understood. While she untied him from the chair, Michael tried to reach the others before it was too late. He kept his eyes on her the whole time, ensuring that she was still there. Cyrus couldn't believe that fact either. He was surprised the bluff had pulled off. Glancing back at her fiancé, Nikita muttered that she was too, "Wasn't bluffing."