Anya
Everyone crowded around Birkhoff and Sonya's mini Ops and began briefing one another. Alex talked about the press conference, Ryan talked about Janet helping them out and the President's conversation with Taylor and his strange fifteen minutes meeting with a woman named Rebecca Lewis. Nikita explained to everyone the information she received from Bauer. Sam sat back and soaked everything in.
"I'm going see if Janet is able to let us listen into the meeting President Allen has today," Ryan said.
"We definitely need to know who Rebecca Lewis is," Michael said.
"We also need to find out where Bauer sent the girl. If we find her, we find Amanda," Nikita told everyone.
"But how do we do that?" Sonya asked. Nikita thought back to the conversation she had with Bauer.
"Bauer said that he was told by Jaeger to give the girl away for free and that he would be paid later...do you think you can hack into Bauer's accounts, Birkhoff? Maybe there is evidence of a money transfer?"
"I'll check it out."
"There is a girl who was rescued during the raid that has been getting a lot of attention from the press. If we talk to her, we can find out if she knows something," Alex suggested. Sonya began searching the news.
"Analisa...Kaufmann. 22 years old. She was solicited into prostitution when she was sixteen, she says. She is currently in the States doing interviews," Sonya said and looked up at Alex.
"Looks like she is getting a call from Alexandra," Alex said and turned to look at the TV. Analisa was on a morning talk show. Alex walked away to make some calls.
"I found Bauer's account. There is a steady flow of money coming from the same place in Germany," Birkhoff said.
"That's probably where the Shop facility is that the girls were being transferred to. Anything jump out at you?" Nikita asked. Birkhoff scrolled down until he came across one money transfer from an account in the States.
"This one has a note. It just says Anya," Birkhoff said.
"That must be her. It was sent to him days ago. If we can track that transfer maybe we can track down Amanda."
"On it."
While Birkhoff worked on hacking into Bauer's bank account, Alex made some phone calls to set up an interview with Analisa. She was eager to ask her questions, but then she realized that she would have to do a public interview.
"It would be great for her to sit down and talk to Alexandra Udinov!" Maryam said. Great.
"Good news: I was able to get an interview with Analisa. Bad news: it's a TV interview. I won't be able to ask her about Anya." Michael put his hand on his chin the way he usually did when he was thinking.
"We already got passed the hard part. When you are done interviewing her, Nikita and I can follow her and ask her questions."
"What should we be: FBI? CIA?...FBI." Nikita concluded on her own.
"Perfect," Alex smiled though her smile quickly faded. "Too bad I can't talk to her about it myself."
"Without you they wouldn't have access to Analisa. You're doing your part, Alex," Sam chimed in after sitting back watching everyone come up with plans and strategies. Michael and Nikita looked at Sam remembering that he was there. Even as Owen, he never said anything unless it was necessary. Alex smiled at him.
"Thanks Sam." He gave a small smile and then looked at Nikita and Michael.
"So, I guess I should sit this one out, huh? Let you two go out in the field like old times. I'll be watching just in case you need backup" he said with hint of annoyance in his voice. Without giving them a chance to respond he walked away.
"So, after the interview with Analisa we will have to find the right opportunity to stop her as and as her questions. We'll have Birkhoff keep an eye on her whereabouts."
"How?" Alex asked. Nikita paused trying to think of a way to keep track of Analisa.
"Put a tracker on her," she said nonchalantly.
"What? How would we do that?" Michael asked.
"Alex can do it during the interview."
"What?" Alex said in shock. "What do you mean?"
"At Division we had trackers that were so small they could go completely unnoticed by the person being tracked. All you'd have to do is find a way to get in close contact with her. You can stick it almost anywhere."
"I will be on live television."
"I know, but if we want to find out more information about Anya, we are going to need you to do this."
"Are you sure that is safe, Nikita?" Michael asked feeling unsure of the plan.
"It is up to you Alex whether you want to do it or not. This is not Division. You don't have to do anything. It would just make things easier." Nikita said. Alex now felt more nervous than ever. One little mistake could expose not only the real Alexandra Udinov, but her friends as well. She couldn't have that happen.
Alex went into a studio to do a live interview on the news. She was in her dressing room when someone knocked on her door.
"Come in!" Alex yelled.
"Ms. Udinov. We are ready when you are."
"I'm ready now," Alex said and got out of her chair. It's show time. Alex knew what she had to do. She walked out onto a stage set up to look like an upscale house with white carpet and white chairs to match. She sat down across from Analisa. She was very skinny, had dark brown hair with blonde highlights, and a nose piercing. Alex watched her, her movements, her posture. She was checking to see if the girl was hooked to any drugs. She could tell that from a mile away, but this girl seemed to be clean. However, Alex could see the pain in her eyes. She had been through a lot even though she was only 22 years old. They weren't very different from one another.
She got the cue from the director to start.
"Analisa Kauffman. Can I just start by saying it is a pleasure to meet you and have the opportunity to speak with you. I know you have been through a lot these past couple of weeks. I want to commend you for having the courage to speak and thank you for sharing your story."
"Thank you very much Ms. Udinov. That is a lot coming from you. You are like my idol," Analisa said with a strong accent. "You encouraged me to speak out."
"I'm happy to hear that. So, can you tell me about the day you escaped from Dominik Bauer's brothel?"
"Well, it started as any normal day. We got dressed, ate, and then waited for clients to come. I never takes very long. This day was a little different. It was slower, not as many men came. Then, all of a sudden we see people with guns walking through and they tell us they do not want to hurt us, they want Bauer. Next thing I know, I am being taken away and I never looked back."
"It must have been an amazing feeling."
"It was. I am one of the lucky ones who got out of that terrible life." Alex thought about the girl who tried to fly off of the rooftop. Some girls never make it out.
"I understand. I've lost friends too." She watched Analisa clutch at her necklace.
"That is beautiful," Alex said.
"It was my friend's. Her name was Anya." Alex's heart sunk when she heard that name. Then she remembered what Nikita asked her to do.
"Can I see it?" Analisa nodded and Alex got up and took a close look at the necklace. The necklace was of a purple and green butterfly with golden trim on a golden chain. Alex let the necklace shine in the light and was able to place the tracker onto the back on the necklace with her pointer finger.
"It is beautiful," She said and sat down. "I love butterflies. They represent change. A second chance at a new life."
"You're right. That's why I wear it everyday, to remind me of that second life."
"Alex was able to put the tracker on Analisa," Birkhoff told Nikita and Michael as they sat in their car waiting for the signal.
"I knew she could do it," Nikita smiled.
"Now, all we do is wait until the interview is over," Michael said. "You know...I think what Alex is doing is great. She has done so much already through the UN to help in the effort to stop human trafficking. She's really made a name for herself."
"Yeah...I'm proud of her." Nikita looked at Michael and smiled. She forgot what it felt like to have him there with her.
"I just wanted to say, Michael, that I am glad you are here with me. It feels like old times."
"It does, doesn't it?" He smiled. "We made it through a lot," he said while looking at his right hand. "It is a big motivation to know that once all of this is over, we can finally do everything we've wanted to do and be happy." Nikita smiled and leaned over to kiss him.
"Can't wait."
Once the interview was over, they waited for Analisa to leave the studio.
"Birkhoff do you see where she is going?" Nikita asked.
"Yes, sending coordinates to your system navigator now," Birkhoff told her. They began following her route. They saw that she stopped and went into a hotel.
"Perfect timing. Let's go." Nikita said to Michael. They both got out of their car and went into the hotel. They were dressed in suits. Nikita had on glasses with her hair pulled back. They walked up to the concierge and the man behind the desk looked up at them with curiosity in his eyes.
"Can I help you?" He said professionally.
"Yes. My name is Jane and this is David. We are from the Federal Bureau of Investigations," they both showed their badges at the same time. "And we would like to speak to Analisa Kaufmann. We have very important information to share with her." The man looked between the two of them unsure what to do.
"We will only be a few minutes," Michael added.
"I'll call her now to see is she is available," he said and picked up his phone. "Yes...Ms. Kaufmann? Yes, hello, how are you? Great. Uh-I have two agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations here to see you...uh yes...okay should I send them up? Okay, thank you." He looked up at them. "She will see you now. Please take the elevator to room 504." The two of them nodded and got into the elevator.
They knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Analisa opened the door still in the same clothes from the TV interview.
"Hello. Please come in." They stepped into the cozy hotel room and decided to stand by the window.
"Hello Ms. Kaurfmann, sorry to bother you. We just wanted to talk to you about Dominik Bauer...and one of the girls that lived in the brothel," Michael said.
"I'm surprised. I already talked to the police in Germany. I didn't know American cops were involved as well."
"Yes, well, Bauer was doing business with people in America that we are currently investigating."
"Okay, so what do you want to know?"
"We don't want to waste your time. First, can you describe to us your experience living in Dominik Bauer's brothel?" Nikita asked. Analisa let out a sigh and stared off at the wall behind Nikita and Michael.
"Well, we were all happy to get out. Living there wasn't the best years of my life, I can tell you that. I started when I was sixteen. A man asked me if I wanted to help make money for my family. At the time we were living in a shelter, my mother, my younger sister and I. My father had died the year before. He made it sound like it could save my life; it did the exact opposite. I was on drugs, being yelled at when I wasn't bringing in enough money, and I don't ever remember touching a dime of what I earned," she let out a scoff. "It is amazing how people can manipulate you."
"Do you remember a girl named Anya?"
Analisa looked up at them.
"Anya...she was my best friend. Why do you want to know about Anya?"
"She went missing," Michael started. "We are trying to find out what happened to her." Analisa sighed.
"Anya was taken away. Anya...she came in about a year after me. She was very smart. She went to college. She spoke fluent German, Russian, and English. She just went through some bad times in her life that she never liked to talk about much and then she ended up in Bauer's hands."
"When did she disappear?"
"Well, she didn't really disappear. She was told that she was going to be taken to America to work. Bauer said that she was specially chosen. We were all surprised. Most girls are sent somewhere else in Germany. None of us really understood why. Bauer just said that it was 'for experiments.' We were always working hard to have a lot of clients, because the girls who didn't make a lot of money were always the first that were sent off..."
"Why do you think they chose Anya to go to America?"
"I think they had special work for her. She was very smart and very beautiful."
"What did Anya look like?" Nikita asked.
"Tall, slender figure, blond hair...she was a beautiful girl," Analisa said. Nikita thought for a moment trying to figure out what Amanda could possibly have been planning.
"Thank you so much for your time Ms. Kaufmann. We really appreciate all of your information," She said to Analisa. Michael and Niktia got up and walked to the door.
"If you find out anything about Anya, please contact me," Analisa said.
"We will...I promise," Nikita said and smiled.
Everyone stood in Ops and listened to the information Nikita and Michael received from Analisa.
"I don't know if speaking to Analisa got us anywhere..." Michael said.
"I feel like we are headed in the right direction, but we just haven't put it all together," Alex said.
"What would Amanda want with a woman stuck in prostitution?" Sonya asked.
"Who knows what kind of experiments she is doing," Sam scoffed. Experiments. Nikita dozed off as thoughts swarmed to her. Anya, tall, blond, Bauer, experiment, the Shop, cloning, prosthesis. Kosta Beciraj...Michael's hand.
"Nikita...Nikita..." Michael was saying. She focused her vision on Michael then looked around at everyone.
"President Spencer isn't dead," she said to everyone after coming to her own conclusion. They all stared at her in disbelief. They had no clue what Nikita could have been thinking now, but they were all hesitant to find out. Figuring out Amanda's plan was like standing over a deep pool that they all really didn't want to dive into.