16 hours... The words echoed in Alex's mind.
Alex didn't waste more time. As soon as Amanda left her sight, she took out her phone and dialed a number while she was walking with a fast pace towards her car. She got inside and started, she stopped and gestured Meredith and Tom to get inside and she started driving again in a crazy, dangerous speed.
" Come on Birkoff pick it up" Alex yelled frustated when her phone kept calling but none answered it.
" Where is my phone?" Birkoff shouted to everyone when a ringtone started echoing through ops and he started searching for his cell phone, lifting keyboards, looking under the desks.
" I got it" Nikita said and picked up the phone.
" Hello?" Nikita asked calmly.
" Give me Birkoff" Alex ordered from the other end of the call.
" Alex?" Nikita asked in shock.
" NOW." Alex yelled at Nikita and Nikita annoyed passed the phone to Birkoff. She was tired of fighting with Alex and she knew that it was pointless to do so especially now, when Alex had just come out of a meeting with Amanda. She wanted to know what was wrong because she had seen Alex's face suddeny darkened in the video, she had as worry passed through her eyes but she was clever enough to do it now. Alex needed to speak with Birkoff and for now she would follow her wish.
" Yeah?" Birkoff asked hesitantly.
" Put a clock on the screen counting down from 15h 58mins and 34secs" Alex ordered.
" What?" Birkoff asked confused.
" Do it Birkoff!" Alex yelled frustated and worried. Why everyone wanted to have chit-chat right now?
Birkoff ran to his desk and started typing.
" 15hs 58mins and..." Birkoff let his sentence to trail.
" 30secs... 29secs..." Alex said and kept counting for him.
" Done" Birkoff exclaimed and Alex sighed in relief.
" Alex, watch out!" Tom yelled when Alex made a dangerous manouevre.
" Call the pilot! Wheels are on air in 5" Alex ordered.
" Wheels to where?" Meredith asked confused.
" Back to Division." Alex whispered and her heart sank in coldness.
" Alex, there is no way to go there on time" Tom said softly.
" It will take us 15 hours and 30 mins just to reach the airport and then we need 2 more hours to reach to Division" Meredith explained with shaking voice. She knew that look at Alex's eyes. It was the one that she had when someone close to her was in lethal danger.
" Then, I will jump and let's hope that I don't get myself killed." Alex said firmly raising the speed of the car.
" Alex, do you want to explain to me what exactly that clock counts?" Birkoff asked softly sensing Alex's nerves.
" I will as soon as it is confirmed. In my recruit room, behind the wareboard, there is a hidden door. If you open it, you will find 6 safe vaults. When you are there, tell me to give you instructions." Alex ordered calmly.
" I don't know how to open secret doors!" Birkoff exclaimed angrily and scared about what was going on.
" Then take with you someone that does!" Alex yelled.
" Nikita with me. Now." Birkoff ordered and ran out of ops followed by Nikita. He ran through the halls and entered Alex's room.
" What are we doing here, nerd?" Nikita said and stopped to catch her breathe as soon as they entered Alex's recruit room.
" Behind her wareboard, there is a secret door. Do your magic" Birkoff said calmly and started pacing up and down feeling his own nerves to tense up.
Nikita walked towards the wareboard and started to examine it after awhile she smiled.
" Clever girl" Nikita whispered to herself and pressed a little hidden button and a secret door opened exposing six safe vaults.
" OK. What now?" Birkoff asked Alex.
" The code for the second one is Bratt. B-R-A-T-T" Alex informed.
" Like Nikita's Bratt?" Birkoff gasped in shock.
" Yes" Alex replied sadly. Now, she was in big trouble. How she was supposed to explain that she gave his name as a code to one of her vaults. Nikita would get mad before she even manage to open her mouth. She gave that code because she never wanted to open this vault, because it was a vault with a context that she didn't want to see or use.
" Ok. It is opened. There are 4 syrignes with different colours and some science-piles where we keep example of liquids." Birkoff informed her.
" I know what I have in my vault, nerd" Alex commented.
" Take them with you, call the others and go somewhere private" Alex added.
Alex violently stopped the car and they all jumped out of it and ran towards the jet.
" Up. Up. Up. Up" Alex yelled to the pilot and he obeyed immediately.
" Where do we go?" The pilot asked confused and tired. He was called unexpectedly and he was still confused.
" We will fly above Division. I will have to jump" Alex said and the pilot nodded in understanding. He knew by now that it was pointless to fight with Alex.
" Alex?" Birkoff shouted again when Alex didn't respond to his last call.
" Sorry!" Alex said calmly. That was insane, she was leading several conversations at the same time.
" We are in Ryan's office. Why do we need privacy?" Birkoff asked worried. He wanted answers. He wanted to know what was going on.
" Because you might have another mole inside Division" Alex explained calmly.
" What do you mean another mole?" Nikita asked in shock.
" I mean that Amanda knows things that she shouldn't." Alex replied coldly.
" Birkoff, I need you to take a blood example from Michael and mix it with two cm of the green liquid and 1 from the blue one" Alex ordered.
Birkoff didn't say anything. He knew that he wasn't going to get an answer until he fulfilled Alex's demands. He walked towards Michael and he followed Alex's instructions.
" Ok and now what? Birkoff asked trying to understand what exactly was going on.
" Tell me the colour that the liquid has now." Alex requested.
" Orange" Birkoff replied immediately.
" Damn!" Alex yelled.
" Alex, do you want to explain me what is going on?" Birkoff yelled worried.
" Take the phone with you and leave the others and I will tell you." Alex ordered.
" Fine" Birkoff said frustated and picked up the phone and exited the room.
" Now talk" Birkoff ordered firmly.
" The clock counts Michael's remained life. His hand is infected with a lethal virus that Amanda will trigger when the time is up. The only way to save him is to transferre 51% of my blood into his system. That means that if I managed to be there on time, you will have to bleed me out and save Michael. I will do my best to be there to save him on time but with Amanda, you never know." Alex informed him sadly.
" You can't be serious." Birkoff cried in shock and horror.
" Unfortunately, I am. She will send you a video which will show how the virus work. Just in cast take the test all of you. I am sorry Birkoff, I have to go" Alex said and hang off the phone.
" She is crazy." Alex cried to Tom.
" It is going to be ok, Alex. You will save Michael. Don't worry." Tom reassured her and Meredith hugged her tight as Alex left some tears to fall.
" What am I suppose to tell them?" Birkoff whispered to himself.
Slowly he took a deep breathe and entered the room. He went towards the medical tools and with shaking hands he repeated the test for everyone inside the room. He sighed in relief when none's blood turned orange.
" Nerd, what is wrong?" Nikita asked worried looking at Birkoff's figure. His face was pale like a ghost, his eyes full of unshed tears.
Birkoff didn't manage to reply when the heard a beep beep. Birkoff knew what that was going to be, he accepted the video and showed it to everyone. They show in horror a man suddenly screaming in pain and then bleeding from every inch of his body. The watched as the man got covered from his own blood and then died. Birkoff couldn't take if anymore. He didn't want that to happen to Michael.
" What is that?" Sean asked in shock and horror.
Birkoff looked at Michael.
" This is how you are going to die when the time runs out if Alex doesn't manage to save you." Birkoff whispered staring at Michael.
Nikita gasped in shock and felt tears in her eyes.
" What?" Ryan yelled confused.
" His new hand is infected with the virus. The cure is Alex's blood. The problem is that Amanda's timetable doesn't give Alex much chances to be here on time and if she does, we will have to bleed her out by taking 51 % of her blood and put it in his system" Birkoff explained with shaking voice.
" This isn't happening!" Nikita yelled devastated. She couldn't lose him, not now, not ever. She just couldn't lose him and it was killing her that she couldn't do anything to save him, his life was on Alex's hands.
" Michael, let's get you to medical and prepare you for the transfusion." Sean stepped up not wanting that to end in a heated fight. He needed to be calm and give the others some hope.
Michael nodded trying to hold himself together and kissed Nikita gently. He didn't want to say goodbye. He didn't want her to lose hope. He didn't want to say his last ' i love you'. He wanted to be strong for Nikita. He sighed defeated and followed Sean.
" Michael.." Nikita shouted and let her tears to fall.
Michael turned to look at her.
" Have faith in Alex." Michael said gently and exited the room.
Michael and Sean walked in silence for awhile. Michael suddenly stopped Sean.
" If something happens, promise me that you are going to take care of her" Michael pleaded Sean.
" Michael, Alex will save you and I will always take care of Nikita." Sean said and opened the door to the medical.
" But you are going to be fine." Sean reassured him and Michael gave him a small smile.
Sean was worried to hell. But he had to stay strong, they needed them now. He needed to hold himself together for them.
The clock was counting down. Nikita was pacing up and down the ops with wet face and worried to death. She glared one more time at the clock 00h 18mins 8secs. She felt like her heart was being ripped out from her body every second that it passed. Suddenly, Birkoff's phone started ringing again and she run to pick it up. But Birkoff stopped her and took the phone.
" Yes, Alex?" Birkoff asked.
" I want the entrance from the farm to be secured, I will jump in the free space in front of Division and run to you. I need to know that everything is ready over there" Alex said with a bossy voice.
" Everything ready." Birkoff replied firmly.
" Open the door and fly lower" Alex ordered and her team followed her instructions.
As soon as Division got in their sight, bullets started flying towards them.
" Alex what is going on?" Birkoff yelled hearing the gunshots through his cell phone.
" Up. Up! " Alex yelled to the pilot to take more hight.
" Why are you shooting on us?" Alex asked confused Birkoff.
" What? I am not shooting at you!" Birkoff yelled confused and went back to his desk and started typing.
" Amanda" Birkoff whispered in shock.
" What do you mean Amanda?" Nikita yelled in shock.
" Alex, Amanda is controlling the automatic machine guns. I can't regain control" Birkoff yelled worried. He was doing his best to help Alex but he couldn't pass Amanda's programming.
" I will jump inside the forest and then come to you." Alex informed Birkoff.
" Amanda will keep shooting at you as soon as you get in her sight!" Birkoff yelled in shock. What Alex was planning to do was suicide.
" Then wish me good luck" Alex said and jumped out of the jet.
She could see the ground coming towards her and she opened her parachute but she knew that her landing won't be a nice one. And she was right, in order to land on the ground, she passed through the trees. The branches scratched her body and her face causing her some deep cuts and she started bleeding from several spots including her wounded arm. But her problems didn't end there. Her parachute was caught on a tree and she was hanging up several meters above the ground. She looked at the ground and then at her clock. She had less than 10 minutes out. She had to do it, no matter what, she had to try. She sighed loudly and she took out her knife. Carefully she cut off the ropes and fell on the ground. She screamed in pain as she landed on her ankle and she sprained it. But she couldn't stop now. She stood up and she started running, as soon as she got out of the forest, bullets started flying towards her. She ran like hell, making manoeuvres trying to avoid the bullets and she jumped inside the farma relieved that she didn't die. She wanted to stop and catch her breathe but she couldn't. Her whole body was arching, her ankle was killing her but she couldn't stop. Not now. She had only 3 minutes left. She ran inside the elevator and got inside Division as soon as the doors opened she ran and she heard a guard yelling " 2 minutes", she threw her jacket and flied to medical, she passed Nikita and she entered Michael's room. She saw the clock '30 secs' and she let the doctor start the procedure.
" You made it" Michael said and smiled.
" Of course and I did." Alex replied softly and saw as her blood was running through a pile to Michael's body.
She sighed in relief and let the tears that she was holding all that time to fall.
" Nice try, Amanda" Alex whispered.
" It was a close call" Michael admitted.
" We aren't letting you go anywhere anytime soon" Alex smiled to Michael and kissed his forehead softly.
" Thanks" Michael said honestly and stared at Alex's blue eyes.
Alex didn't reply. She didn't know what to say, she just nodded in relief that she had managed to come on time.
" Alex, we need to take care of your wounds or you will bleed out to death if you keep bleeding and donating your blood to Michael" a doctor said firmly and Alex nodded letting the doctor take care of her cuts and wounds.
" What exactly is wrong with your arm? I can't close the wound!" The doctor asked confused and annoyed.
" Don't bother working on my arm, Amanda had taken care of it. Just put the bandage on" Alex said defeated and the doctor obeyed. He had heard the name Amanda and he knew that he couldn't do anything if Amanda had done her tricks on it.
" Your ankle needs rest. It isn't broken but it is badly sprained." the doctor said.
" Ok." Alex said sadly. She didn't want to be bent down right now. She needed to finish her mission.
" Are they ok?" Nikita spoke for first time since Alex came in Michael's room.
" Michael is fine. Alex will be fine when we put some blood in her system but we need to finish with Michael first" the doctor said.
" Do you need anything?" Nikita asked and looked at Alex. She didn't know what to say.
" Just be kind with Tom and Meredith, they will come in few hours and kick Amanda out of Division's system. I don't want her to kill my team" Alex said softly and she started feeling dizzy as she was losing more and more blood every second. She placed her hands on Michael's bed trying to hold herself in a standing position.
Nikita was just staring at her. She knew that she needed to stay away until the procedure was over. She couldn't think anything. Her mind was numb. She couldn't think straight. She was mad at Alex for leaving her and acting so coldly around her, she was frustated that she almost lost Michael just because Alex was away, she was grateful to Alex for saving his life by endangering hers, she loved Alex and she was worried aboout her. Her feelings were so confused. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard doctor's voice.
" We are done here" the doctor said and smiled to Alex.
" See you later, Michael" Alex said and passed out falling on the floor with a thumb.
" Start the transfusion to her. She had lost a lot of blood" the doctor ordered a nurse and they moved Alex on a bed.
For now everyone was fine, safe and sound. Amanda didn't win, but the things aren't always as it seems. Little scratchs on the surface will start opening and gaps will be created. For now Michael was safe but Alex will have to leave again and none was ready to let her go one more time, none was ready to face what is coming next because of their will to keep Alex near to them, none was ready for the unimaginable heartbreaking fights that they will have to go through . But for now, Alex was shallowed by the darkness and everything was calm.