Ever since kissing Alex, Thom had been extra careful around her. He'd sat up in bed all night trying to analyze what exactly had happened. It was a mistake Thom, you just got carried away in the moment. Live the lie until you become it, right? Thom was battling with himself, and tried to justify his actions. He kept telling himself that it didn't mean anything, and that he was just playing the part of recruit. But that annoying, nagging part of him kept recalling back to what Michael had told him, just months earlier. You'll connect with the recruits, Thom. You can't keep your walls up all the time, and sooner or later, someone will slip through the cracks. Just be careful. At the time, Thom had rolled his eyes and shrugged it off. He was going there with the sole purpose of taking down Division – the people behind the death of his family. There was simply no way that he would be distracted by something so petty and meaningless as a friendship. Thom sat back and thought about the mission, and reflected on how similar he and Michael were. Both men had lost their families. Both sought to avenge their loved ones. Thom honestly couldn't decide which was worse – a young boy losing his parents, or a young man losing his wife and young daughter. He shuddered, and snapped himself out if his own pity party. He had work to do.
He had caught wind of an op going down in Uzbekistan, and that flagged his attention immediately. He logged onto the shell program and typed to Michael:

Uzbekistan alert, boss!

Are you sure?

Positive. They're sending Nikita.

Thx. Msg you when I'm back.

Good luck.

Thom logged off and sat pensively for a moment. This was the moment that Michael had been waiting for, for eight long years. He could only imagine the anticipation, anxiety and excitement that Michael would be feeling. Thom wondered when he would finally get to feel that way. When Division is gone and Percy is in the ground, Thom thought to himself. He smiled sweetly to himself and walked back to his room. I'm counting down the days, you bastards. Michael and I are going to burn you down…

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Division, Nikita was contemplating her upcoming mission. Percy had received word from a contact that Kasim had surfaced in Uzbekistan. It was the perfect time to flush out Michael, and kill Kasim. Two birds with one stone, Percy had said. Nikita didn't know how to feel about the mission. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that Michael would catch wind of Kasim, and be there in Uzbekistan. She didn't think she could bring herself to kill him while he was out on a vendetta for his family. Percy had purposely put her in this tough position, and she knew he'd be waiting for his results. Anything less than perfect would be unacceptable, and Nikita wasn't sure if she could lie her way out of another situation. She let out a long sigh, and began to plan out just exactly how she could save Michael and let him kill Kasim, all while making it look like she had done everything in her power to do just the opposite. Things had to be perfect, she knew that. She had to not only account for her own moves, but that of Michael's as well. She had to predict his movements. She pinpointed one area specifically, the dealer's house, which would be perfect to strike. She knew Michael would be thinking the same thing.

Does he have a mole? How can he know all these things… I know he has contacts from being in Division for so long, but there are just some things I know that he couldn't have known…

Nikita thought long and hard about Michael's intel, and the real source of it. Maybe it was a simple hack job… Sure, Birkhoff was great and all, but maybe Michael had picked up a little something-something along the way to bypass Division's firewall. "Yes, that has to be it," she said out loud to herself.

Michael sat looking at his computer screen. He reread Thom's words for the twentieth time. It still hadn't sunk in. Is it really him? Michael wondered to himself. He immediately whipped out his phone to confirm the news with his overseas contact. After a few minutes his phone blipped with a text and an attachment. It said, "It's him," and the attachment was a somewhat pixelated, black and white photo of Kasim. Michael clenched his jaw and stared at his phone. Suddenly there was a sour taste in his mouth. He scrolled away from the photo and took a deep breath in. He needed to focus and plan everything carefully. He knew he only had one shot at this, and he wanted to make sure that everything went perfectly. He knew Nikita would be there to foil his plan, and so he'd need to take care of her first – whatever that meant.

Percy sat back in his office, a smug grin on his face. Michael had been a thorn in his side for a little too long now, and he was about to remedy it. Actually, he was going to send Nikita to remedy it. His eyes flickered with a dangerous glint in them. Sometimes you really outdo yourself, old boy. He thought to himself, as he poured himself a glass of scotch on the rocks. Just hours earlier, he himself had telephoned Kasim to tell him of his troubles about Michael. The terrorist seemed amused that the same man could have done so much damage to Percy's operations. Kasim had agreed to "surface" in order to flush out Michael, in return for doing the arms deal and getting to keep all the money. Percy had agreed. Unbeknownst to Kasim, Percy had already made plans for the terrorist to perish along with Michael. It was a perfect plan. Not only would he take out an international terrorist, he'd take out Michael, acquire some new weapons, and make a cool three million dollars. Just another day at the office, thought Percy. He finished his scotch, straightened his tie, and left his office.

Michael entered his hotel room in Uzbekistan and set his things down on the dresser. His ears pricked up and the back of his neck tingled. In one swift motion, he grabbed his gun and turned around to point it at the intruder.

"Nikita? What the hell are you doing here?" Michael was surprised. He knew she'd pop up somewhere along the way, he just didn't expect to see her in his hotel room. Nikita was leaning casually against his doorway. She smiled at him, and held her hands up, in a peaceful gesture. He pointed his gun at her, probing her for an answer. Her expression hardened and turned serious.

"I'm here to help you, Michael." Well, this is an unexpected twist, mused Michael. Still, he didn't quite trust her…

"I don't trust you." She looked hurt, and he felt a little guilty, but he pressed on, "Gun, on the floor, now." She carefully placed her piece on the floor and kicked it towards him.

"The knife in your boot, and the baby, too." Nikita nearly rolled her eyes, but seeing as how Michael's gun was still trained on her, she complied. She placed her knife and backup gun on the floor alongside her main piece.

"Honestly, Michael, if I wanted to bring you in, don't you think you'd be swarmed with a dozen agents by now?" He considered that for a moment, before refocusing.

"Then why are you helping me? Did you leave Division?" He was somewhat sarcastic in his delivery. Her face softened before she answered, "I want to help you because I know what you lost. Let's leave Division out of this. You and I both know that this op will be complicated. There's only one location that we can strike from, and judging from the terrain and target, this is at least a two man op." Michael lowered his gun from Nikita, and looked down. Deep down he knew she was right, and it would be nice to have her help. Can I really trust her though? While some doubt still lingered in his subconscious, he felt that he could trust her for this, and he hoped someday soon her could trust her with everything. He sighed.

"Am I at least one of the men?"

An: Sorry for the delay, been super swamped! I'll try and update again soon! Hope you enjoyed :)