CHAPTER NINE - TRAP
The road to moving forward started off on a good note.
Nikita is finally back on field missions with Michael by her side. They worked on bringing rogue agents back to Division and keeping their end of the bargain with the president. They're down to the last ten rogue agents and their job would be done.
"I found our latest target. Roman Vasquez. He's currently in Michigan", Birkhoff announced.
Nikita nodded, already in the mood to go on hunting. The sooner they finished the job, the sooner they can all be pardoned and be out of Division. She's so looking forward to that future.
"I'll take Michael and Owen. Alex and Sean you run the mission from here. I need both of your eyes. Roman is a very skilled agent. He cannot see us coming or it will turn into a bloodshed", she instructed.
"Got it", Alex replied.
Sonya handed them their comms and Owen and Michael left to suit up and gathered some weapons.
"Nikita…it's very important to keep this under the radar. No unnecessary move that will draw attention to Division", Ryan reminded her.
She rolled her eyes around. "We know. You tell us that every mission", she teased.
Sean covered his laughter with a cough but Ryan already glared at him.
"It never hurts to remind", Ryan muttered.
"See you when we get back", Nikita said and then followed her two partners.
Inside the car, Nikita checked her gun thrice before proceeding to cleaning up her knife. She got another one hidden in her left boot. She knew of Roman's reputation back when she was still working under Percy. The man is a deadly agent. There's a reason she took Michael and Owen with her. She cannot handle Roman alone. She needs backup and she knows those two will always have her back. It's not that she does not think Alex and Sean wouldn't have her back. It's just that, she's way too protective of Alex. Knowing how dangerous Roman can be, she wouldn't voluntarily put Alex in harm's way like that. If it's up to her, she wouldn't put Michael on the line either but it's part of their deal that wherever she goes, he goes too. They're a package deal so telling him to stay put is not going to work.
"Something's not right", Owen muttered.
The van parked in an abandoned warehouse. "Birkhoff, are you sure he's here?" Michael asked.
'Affirmative. Why? What are you seeing?'
"Right now? Nothing. It's just a warehouse. No cars outside. No people. We can bomb the whole place and no one will know", Owen answered.
Nikita scoured the place with her eyes. What could possibly be so special about that place? It's just an empty place but Birkhoff is certain the target is there and she trusts Birkhoff.
"Let's go. Maybe the interior is much better than the exterior", she said with a teasing wink towards the two men.
Michael smirked while Owen rolled his eyes around before following her lead.
She can tell that Owen is already bored when they got inside. As expected, it's just an empty space with a lot of trash inside. The warehouse is huge enough and if Roman is really there, he could have been hiding anywhere.
"Let's split up. We meet right back here. If he's not here, we go back and report", she said.
Both Michael and Owen nodded, and they all went on separate directions to make the search quicker.
"Nerd, talk to me", she muttered with every quiet step.
'I thought about my latest addition to my bat mobile',
"Oh yeah? What is it?" she asked.
'Rocket launcher!'
She frowned. "Don't you think the car is a bit small for that?"
'No! I don't mean huge rocket. Custom-sized, of course, for the bat mobile with an extreme precision to target. Imagine how sick would that be in a car chase!' he said excitedly.
Nikita chuckled. Birkhoff can really talk for hours on end about his tech inventions and remain excited.
'So, if you put a…then…there would be—'
"Birkhoff?" there's no response. "Michael, do you still have communications with Birkhoff?" also nothing… "Michael? Owen?"
Her heart pounded.
A dead zone inside an abandoned warehouse? Owen was right. Something is wrong about this whole thing. She tightened her grip on her gun and sharpened her senses. If she calls out to Michael or Owen out loud, she will reveal her position to Roman. She could retrace her steps but she's not really the type to cower and hide during a fight. It's not her style.
Nikita kept on walking farther, deeper into the dreadful warehouse. Something clunks and she turned way too fast that she saw a shadow moving among the rusty machineries. She followed it, hoping to catch Roman but what he did not expect is coming face to face with Amanda.
"Amanda?"
The woman smiled at her and she felt cold all over.
"Hello, Nikita. It's been a quite a while", she greeted before something hit her head and everything went black.
'Guys! I lost Nikki!' Birkhoff yelled.
Michael stopped walking, hand immediately shot up to his comm, hoping he heard it wrong.
"What do you mean you lost her?" he asked.
'One second, we were talking and then the next her comms got cut off. I cannot locate her comm tracker either. There's a dead spot in that warehouse', Birkhoff answered.
'It must have been one of Roman's traps. He knows we're coming for him', Owen cut in.
Michael shook his head in disbelief. He shouldn't have agreed to split up. "Birkhoff, send me the location on where you last traced Nikita. Owen, meet me there", he barked.
When they reached the spot, Michael followed Nikita's steps. It's just something he can do. He knows how to track her. Call it a gift but it's like he develops a sixth sense when it comes to her. Owen trailed behind him, watching his six as he retraces Nikita's path. It stopped in front of him with her comm left abandoned on the floor. There are a few drops of blood around it.
"Roman?" Owen asked.
Who else could it be? They didn't hear anything. Nikita would've fought back. At some point, her gun would have gone off. It's part of their training. When one finds himself in a struggle with a target with no backup nearby, he should fire his gun to alert the rest of the team. Nikita didn't do that which means she was caught by surprise.
"No…he was not alone. We would have known he's here if it was just him. Someone else was here", he concluded.
Owen nodded as he understood Michael's drift.
"Someone important enough to distract Nikita?" he suggested.
Michael felt dread coiling in his guts. Of course, who else could distract Nikita?
"Amanda", he gritted between his teeth.
Nikita opened her eyes, head still throbbing from the blow she received earlier. She then found herself chained to the wall like an animal. The entire place is lit up in red. Is she still at the warehouse?
"It's about time you wake up, Nikita. I am starting to get bored", Amanda greeted.
She tensed. Roman stood behind Amanda which tells her that he has been under her payroll.
"Why are you following her? She's no longer with Division. We weren't trying to hunt you down, Roman. We're trying to make you an offer to set you free", she said to him.
"No offense, love. Amanda got the money. I am a rogue agent. Therefore, I need to make a living. It's nothing personal. As for what you're trying to offer, we both know that's quite a reach, yeah? It's the government. You, of all people, should know how they tend to screw people like us", he responded.
She recalls everything Ryan said. Yes, she has been screwed over by the government multiple times. She never trusted the government but she trusts Ryan. The man is working his ass off to get them the pardon they're all yearning for. He puts his life on the line for them when he does not need to. He does his best filling the shoes of the head of Division to save everyone from getting killed.
"People can change, Roman", she muttered.
That's when Amanda chuckled. Nikita watched as she handed him a case full of money before walking towards her.
"Oh, Nikita. I thought I taught you better than that. People do not change. They just keep getting better at pretending, at developing another layer to their shell but deep down at their core, they still remain the same…just like you",
"You're wrong!" she spat.
"Am I?" Amanda raised a brow in challenge. "Tell me when you killed that cleaner with your own fists, how did it feel?"
Nikita flinched. She does not really want to remember that night.
"When you assassinated all those people just so you can get Michael's anti-rejection drugs, how did it feel? Did you feel disgusted with yourself? Did you feel guilty? Or, did you feel alive and elated?" Amanda asked.
Nikita wanted to say she feels horrible but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth. Amanda's lips twitched already knowing her answer. She couldn't say them because they weren't true.
"Did you bring me here so you can psychoanalyze me to death, Amanda? I thought we're way past that", she deflected.
Of course, the woman saw it for what it was. After all, she did mold her into the perfect assassin. Percy was nothing but a manager, a delegator of missions. Amanda was the puppeteer. She pulled the strings of the agents, made them dance accordingly to what was needed. There's a reason why most agents in Division feared her more than they feared Percy.
"As much as fun as that, no. You're right. We're way past that, Nikita. I brought you here because I need something from you", she then walked towards her with a syringe. "Something important…your rare talent", she said.
Nikita tried to crawl away from her but the wall wouldn't let her go any further.
"What are you going to do to me?" she asked in panic.
"Ssshhh…" she felt the needle pierced her skin as the hot liquid ran through her veins. "Just calm down. Everything's going to be alright", Amanda's voice is the last thing she heard before she closed her eyes.
Meanwhile in Division, the rest of the team had already pinpointed Amanda's location by the time Michael and Owen got back.
"We traced the car they used from the warehouse. It's too sloppy for my taste. It could be a trap but they're in that building just a few blocks away from the warehouse", Alex said.
"We're also coming for backup, just so you know", Sean added.
Michael nodded in appreciation before snatching the keys from Owen. "I am driving this time",
"Fine by me. I need to sharpen my knife anyway so I can gut that bitch thoroughly", Owen responded.
Ryan gave them the blessing to go while Birkhoff and Sonya promised to be their eyes on the field.
Michael settled behind the steering wheel, focused on the goal: saving Nikita with a promise…if anything happens to her, Owen will never get the chance to kill Amanda. He will do it himself…with his bare hands preferably.
