CHAPTER THIRTEEN - QUESTION AND ANSWER
Michael has had enough of Nikita suffering for him…for other people. She's done enough, given enough of her life to the fight. He's not going to let anything hurt her again or anyone for that matter.
The news of President Spencer's death spread like wildfire. So far, there's no news on who did it since Birkhoff had erased Nikita from the cameras inside the White House but it's been reported that there's been an investigation. That means the agents were being interrogated. Soon, they will know it's her.
"Any news?" he asked Ryan in his office.
The man looks very stressed. He's been up all night figuring out a way to save Nikita and Division once the government turns its eyes on them.
"No one has I.D. her yet, thank god, but I wouldn't be complacent. Besides, if Amanda is really working with the Shop like Nikita said, she's going to be pissed that she took out the double they placed at the highest position in the government", Ryan answered.
Michael understood his meaning behind those words.
"You think The Shop will reveal Nikita to the public", he deduced.
Ryan shrugged. It is a possibility, a big one. Considering Amanda's vengeful nature, it's not that far fetch. Someone will have to take the fall for the "president's death". It wouldn't be the Shop if they can help it.
"I've been thinking. How were they able to replace the president with an impostor? She's in the most secured location in the country. She's barely alone", Michael asked.
"You forgot how Nikita had slipped inside the Oval Office and stabbed the double with a pen", Ryan pointed out.
Michael waived that off.
"That's different. All Nikita had to do was walked through the tunnel, tell them she needed to speak with the president concerning national security and they escorted her inside the office. Even the double knew she's Division and since she's playing the part of President Spencer, she couldn't just let any other Secret Service agent to talk to her. She must do it herself so she let Nikita inside the Oval Office", Michael explained.
That got Ryan thinking. He's been pondering about how the president was taken and replaced.
"Same thing we did with Alexi Markov. They couldn't have done it though the exact way we did because the president is not someone who can go missing for a few hours without anyone noticing. They have already prepared the double before they even abducted the real President Spencer", Ryan mused.
"That would mean they have sample of her DNA, had searched for the perfect agent that got her same build, almost same features…" Michael supplied as Ryan nodded.
The Shop can work miracles with their technology. Michael's hand is the proof of that. It wouldn't be impossible for them to obtain the real president's DNA and mold someone to take her place. They have the time. They have the resources.
"Does that mean the real President Spencer's still out there or did they kill her?" Michael then asked.
If the real president is already dead, clearing Nikita would be impossible. No one would believe them if they say Nikita didn't really kill President Spencer but only her double. They need hard proof, much better if they can get the real president and show to the world that she's alive.
"We have a lot of work to do", Ryan said.
Meanwhile, Alex, Sean, and Birkhoff devoted their time into more and more research. Just like Michael and Sean, they were wondering about the timeline. They got the list Nikita had from MDK containing the doubles placed in the government…and it's a long list. They studied their routines, their daily schedules and looked at the oddities that would indicate that, that was the time they were taken to be replaced.
"The Budget Secretary took six minutes longer in his morning coffee shop on this date", Sean noticed.
Alex looked at the tablet and watched the man leave the coffee shop.
"He didn't have his coffee", she muttered.
"What?" Birkhoff asked.
"He went to get his daily morning coffee and came out without it", she answered.
The three watched it on a loop and saw what Alex saw.
"Damn, he's a double", Birkhoff breathed out.
It's their first lead. Now, they just have to keep an eye on that coffee shop. Wait for the double to be there before the original one and then backtracked the double's path so he would lead them to the Shop's base of operation.
Sean, on the other hand, became distracted by the list he's holding. His eyes scoured it, trying to find any names that would sound familiar but instead, he found himself overwhelmed by the many names listed on the paper.
"This is quite a list. Did Nikita really kill all these people?" he found himself asking.
Alex immediately glared at her boyfriend.
"That was not Nikita. You know that. Besides, those people were doubles. Who knows what the Shop has planned by placing them in the government? Nikita stopped them", she snapped.
Sean raised both his hands in surrender.
"I was just asking. I know Nikita is great at what she does but…" he glanced at the list again. "She took them all out by herself. No backup. Just herself", he explained.
He does not know whether to be amazed or be scared. When he got to Division, Nikita was the enemy number one. She's one woman and he didn't understand how she could be that big of a threat to an organization backed by Oversight. He thought they're just being ridiculous but he went head-to-head with her and she beat him each time. Still, he thought sometimes she's lucky and also the fact that she's not alone. She got Michael, Alex, Owen, Ryan, and Birkhoff. She's got help.
When she took out the doubles, she got no one. She did it all by herself and no one had caught her. She even got inside the White House and killed the president's double. He just now started to understand why Nikita was enough to shake the entire Division and Oversight. They were right to fear her.
"She's extremely capable and when she wants something, there's no stopping her. That's Nikki. That's what makes her so amazing because she would do anything for the people she cares about but that also makes her the most dangerous. If anyone tries to stand in her way, well…you know how that would end up", Birkhoff said.
He meant the people on the list or the people Heidecker had her killed for Michael's anti-rejections meds.
"Well, if it was me…I think I would do it too. No, scratch that. I will do anything for the people I care about too", Alex smiled. "I mean…no one is more important than you guys…not this Ronald Peller, that's for sure", Sean replied.
The name made Birkhoff froze. At first, the other two didn't seem to notice but when he turned a shade paler than usual, they began to worry.
"What is it? Did you know him?" Alex asked.
Birkhoff snatched the list and yes, indeed, the name was there. Nikita had killed Ronald Peller.
"Birkhoff?" Sean called.
"I need some air", he simply said and walked away.
Nikita still couldn't believe that Michael is alive, that the things she thought she saw were all a lie, nothing but a construct of Amanda to mess with her head. When they got home, she cuddled with Michael, unwilling to let go of him. She fears that if she let go, he would vanish, and he will be dead again.
That night, the nightmare bothered her in her sleep. Michael held her tight and saved her from the horrible images in her head. She did terrible things, and she needs to live with it. Her only consolation is that Michael is with her and he keeps her from losing her mind…possibly what little's left her soul too.
She understood when they had her benched. She agrees that she's not stable to be on a mission and with her recent killing spree, she's only a liability on the field.
The rest of the team are trying to find a way to clean up the mess she made. The best she can do to help is to stay out of the way and let them handle things from now on.
The thing about taking a step back, there's not much for her to do. Being an agent is all she knows how to do. She never had any semblance of normal life. She does not know how to anyway. Being out on the field or being inside Division is how she knows how to kill her day. Standing inside the living room, she's at a lost on what to do next. There's that part of her that wants to help the team. She wants to do something or at least help with the paperwork but she accepted the time off.
"Birkhoff?" she uttered when she went to the kitchen and saw him sitting there while drinking a can of soda.
"Hey, Nikki. Hope you don't mind", he greeted.
She smiled.
"Actually, I am dying for someone to talk to. Being idle is not my forte. You know that", she joked but it is true.
He chuckled and raised his can to her in salute. She laughed at him and joined him by making herself a cup of tea. The soda game is not something she can join. She tried once and she only ended up with a stomachache.
"So, did you skip the office on your own or did you get kick out as well?" she asked teasingly.
She's not kicked out. She's just benched for the time being. Something in his expression tells her that her friend is not alright. It worries her.
"I sneak out. I wanted to see you", he answered.
"Oh yeah? Did you miss me?"
That earned her a smile from him which made her happy.
"I wanted to ask you something. When you targeted those doubles…" her smile diminished. "Did you know what happen to the original people? Do you think Amanda and the Shop killed them after the doubles died?" Birkhoff asked.
She really does not want to be reminded by her recent escapades, but Birkhoff genuinely does want to know. There's no hate in those eyes nor judgment. He just wants answers.
"I honestly don't know, Nerd. One time I targeted the FBI Director…"
"Saw that. Messy…a bullet on the head on live television", he supplied.
"Well, he's hiding inside his house and crammed his place with agents once he heard the others were dropping like flies. It's the only way I could get to him. Anyway, when I was there, Amanda called. I barely remember it then but after you guys saved me, things started to come back clearer now. She called and asked me to stop but I was so out of it to even bother listening. She asked me to speak with someone. I just now realized who that was. It's the real FBI Director",
"He asked about his wife and I told to him straight that his wife was dead. Amanda said that if I shoot the double, she will shoot the original as there would be no use for him anymore. He yelled for me to do it. He didn't want Amanda to win as much as I do…"
"What did you do Nikki?" he asked.
"I pulled the trigger and shot the double in the head on live television. After that, I heard the gunshot on the other end of the line. Amanda killed him", she answered point blank.
There is no other way to say it. She might as well face what she has done. She could have let it go at the time. That would mean Amanda and The Shop would win but at least that man would still be alive. She didn't. She went on ahead and murdered him knowing all too well what would happen.
This time, Birkhoff stared at her in disbelief. She couldn't figure out why he's looking at her like that.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You just killed him", she frowned. "Ronald Peller. He's my father, Nikki, and you just killed him", he responded.
