It didn't take long for the team to be gathered in Ryan's office. They mostly waited for Alex and Nikita to make their way in from the city. The women tried to hurry, but there was only so much they could do about traffic (and their desire to be back in Division). They were all together soon, though. And they were all confused as to why they were in Ryan's office instead of in Ops. Something must've been wrong. If New Division's director wanted to meet in private, then something disastrous must've occurred. Nikita had to bite back her anxiety as she asked, "So, why are we not in Ops?"

"Because of who our target is," Ryan admitted simply. The team was going after another Dirty Thirty, but that target was different than Martin. Martin didn't have much of an impact on the other agents. He was either out in the field, on extended assignment, or just a self-centered ass around the others. The new Dirty Thirty had a bigger hand in what had happened in Division. He had been far more involved with the agents and their duties. There might be lingering emotions that could be dangerous if they went after him. Ryan wanted to be careful. After their last mission, the team had no room for mistakes.

"Whoa. Wade," Birkhoff gasped the second he saw the image on the screen. Ryan had posted the information of their Dirty Thirty on the monitor for all to see, yet Michael and Birkhoff were the only ones to react. They were the only two who recognized the Dirty Thirty. Wade had been Division's handler when Michael was recruited. He and the hacker remembered Wade well, mostly because of the abuse he brought. Fortunately, the two didn't have to deal with him long. Percy soon had him reassigned; though, they thought he had had him killed.

"I thought it best to discuss this in private. I didn't know if there was any remaining loyalty among the agents," Explaining his need for privacy, Ryan flipped through more intel on the monitor. It was mostly for Nikita's and Alex's benefit. Michael and Birkhoff already had what they needed on Wade. Ryan was certain whatever they knew would be more valuable than a file. The two could give more personal details about what kind of agent the team was up against. Judging by their expressions, though, Wade would be a tough son of a bitch to bring down.

"Trust me, there isn't. He was ruthless as a handler. Awful. He did have a perfect record of his recruits succeeding in the field, though. Probably why Percy kept him around. Until he killed one of his agents for not completing a kill mission," Michael corrected Ryan's assumption immediately. There was no love lost when Wade got demoted. No one could stand him, and recruits were afraid of him. And for good reason. Which was why Michael and Birkhoff were surprised Percy didn't cancel him after he killed an agent. Maybe he had some kind of twisted future use for him. It was a good thing they didn't have to find out what that was.

"So, Percy replaced him with a younger, broodier model," Keeping the team's mind off of Percy's horrific motivations and morals, Birkhoff finished the story by making fun of Michael. Whereas the former handler glared at the hacker, his fiancée chuckled. Michael had been freshly promoted when Nikita was recruited. She remembered just how broody he used to be- still was at times. Birkhoff was completely apt with his description. Even if the man at the butt of the joke didn't appreciate it.

Clearing his throat, Ryan got the team to refocus. They could reminisce and discuss Wade later. He had to tell them the facts of the operation first. There was a small window of time in which the team could operate before things went to hell. By the time Ryan had gotten the intel, they had already lost so much time. Wade needed to be dealt with immediately. Especially when he had a military grade bomb in his hands, "Wade has been connected to a theft of a highly volatile bomb. It has to be used within a certain timeframe, or it's not usable. So, he has a target, and he's going to kill them soon."

"Any leads on where to begin?" Instantly, Alex asked. She didn't like what she had read and heard about Wade. He seemed like the kind of Dirty Thirty to give them hell, and not just because he stole a bomb. His kill mission appeared to be something he had been planning for months. It was something he would've gone through with when Percy was still in charge of Division. That kind of thinking was terrifying. He was unhinged. He was dangerous. The team was bound to get into more trouble than they had in Hong Kong.

"His job at a travel agency," At least they had a place to start. Ryan informed the team of Wade's civilian cover, and sent Michael and Nikita out to recon for intel. The two had the perfect cover to slip in and out of the Dirty Thirty's job without raising any red flags. Since, as Birkhoff pointed out, hardly anyone besides newlyweds used travel agencies. Wade wouldn't know they were on his trail, which they had to use to their advantage. After the mess they had caused on their first mission, they had to be extra quiet on their next. More was at stake.

Michael and Nikita were quick to roll out. They changed clothes to seem less formal and secretary agent-y (Nikita's words), and made up a story as to why they were going to a travel agency on the ride over. The two didn't go too in depth with it, leaving room to improvise in the field. They were always better with those kinds of loose plans. Something about the freedom and flexibility to make their own choices worked well for them. It also allowed them to quickly change tactics when things didn't go their way. Like when the travel agent informed them about Wade, "I'm sorry. But Wade quit a couple weeks ago, and took his computer with him."

"Oh no. That's a bummer," Michael fake pouted and glanced at Nikita. She had the same thought reflected in her gaze. It was time for a change in plans. Silently, they decided that he'd stay and distract the travel agent while she went snooping. Nikita easily excused herself by asking to go to the bathroom. Luckily, the restrooms were near the office area of the business. She could successfully sneak around as long as no one else worked there. She doubted anyone did. The travel agent at the front seemed frazzled at her lack of staff.

That probably had something to do with the fact that travel agencies didn't receive as much business as they used to. The thought of Wade working with the perky agent and having to be nice to the rare customers made Nikita chuckle to herself. It didn't match the image of the Dirty Thirty she had in her head. It also made her wonder why Percy would place him there. Maybe because it was so torturously boring and lame. Or, he had some ulterior motives. Nikita didn't want to think about what those could be then. So, she reached out to Birkhoff over her com. Hopefully he could help her narrow her search, "Birkhoff, you hear that?"

"Look for something else with a harddrive. Like a fax machine or something," Birkhoff sighed. He was hoping to work with a computer; that'd be easier to pull information from. But anything else in the office could work. He'd just have to dig harder for information, and hope Wade slipped up and left personal information behind. He had removed his tracker, and the file they had on him didn't list his address (probably in case a disgruntled agent wanted to enact revenge). The team had to track him down old school.

"What about a copier?" Stumbling across the massive copier, Nikita wondered. Birkhoff perked up on the other side of the com. He instantly asked for the make and model, and pulled up the schematics of the copier. Directing Nikita, he had her steal the harddrive for him. Birkhoff could easily pull the data off of it in Division. Memory could be stored in it for years, so anything Wade would've copied, printed, or scanned could be found. Birkhoff was excited for the lead. Nikita just yanked at bits of machinery, "Got it. Now what?"

"Great. Now just imagine how I felt being the last person to find out about the engagement, and use that anger to rip off the panel," The dig about the engagement wasn't necessary, but Birkhoff couldn't help himself. He still wasn't satisfied after his conversation with Michael that morning. Sure, he understood Sean finding out first; he was Nikita's brother after all. And telling Alex made sense since she was Nikita's best friend. But then Birkhoff discovered that Sonya and Ryan knew before him, and that just drew a line. He was Michael's best friend. He should've been told about the happy news too.

Nikita sighed. She had expected Birkhoff to be upset. She heard how the news of her engagement had spread. Michael told Sean, who told Alex. Then Michael told Ryan, who told Sonya. Poor Nerd had to find out while deleting their presence in Hong Kong. In her defense, though, she didn't know her fiancé had told people. She understood his need to keep Sean in the loop. But she didn't understand why he told Ryan. Maybe it was to explain where she stomped off too after their argument. Yet it didn't matter then. She had to make amends, "Birkhoff, I'm sorry. I didn't know Ryan told Sonya. Hell, I didn't even know Michael told Ryan."

"Whatever. Did you get the harddrive?" Birkhoff huffed. It wasn't worth being angry anymore. He had said his piece to the engaged couple, and hopefully they learned their lesson. As their closest and longest friend, he should be more involved in their lives. He better as hell be at their wedding and serving as best man, even if it was just a little ceremony. After all, he was happy for Michael and Nikita. He was glad they had gotten their shit together and were going to be married. They were living out their happily ever afters; it was a hope and inspiration the rest of the team could look towards.

"Yes I did, because you're a genius Birkhoff. A genius," Ripping out the harddrive from the copier, Nikita beamed. She knew she was laying the praise on thick, but Birkhoff did deserve it. There was no other tech nerd like him. There was also no other friend like him. She'd find a better way to make it up to her nerd for not telling him about the engagement. Really, Michael had to make up for the fact that he kept his best friend out of the loop. The three could just do something together, like they used to. Preferably after their mission, though.

"It's gonna take more than that to make it up to me, Icky Nikki," Although he grumbled, Birkhoff smiled at her compliment. He also laughed when she gasped at his use of her brother's nickname for her. There wasn't anything she could do to retaliate, however. They were even then. He'd have to get Michael back later- probably build off of his 'broodier' comment and tease him further. That seemed reasonable for all the hell the engaged couple put him through, and continued to throw him through. Their drama would be matched with his taunts.

"Just tell me what you find," Nikita stuffed the harddrive in her purse and returned to Michael's side. The two talked to the travel agent for a moment longer, just to sell their covers, then rushed back to Division. While they were out, Alex and Ryan looked closer into the bomb threat. Either Wade wasn't working alone, or he was more dangerous than they thought. The need to hurry grew. Fortunately, once he had the harddrive from the copier, Birkhoff didn't need long to find information on Wade. Apparently, he had scanned a copy of his driver's license for some kind of shipping company. That worked great for Division; they had his address.

Alpha team was armed and ready in no time. Nikita and Michael led the charge to Wade's house in the suburbs. They were all prepared to the teeth for a fight. There was no way their Dirty Thirty would go down easily. He had an extremely dangerous bomb, after all. Except, when the team crashed into his house, no one was there. It was completely empty. They wished that that only meant Wade was out running errands and not actually putting his kill mission into action. They still lacked all the necessary intel to stop him.

So, Michael, Nikita, and Alpha team searched high and low for any clues. There had to be evidence somewhere around the house of who he wanted to kill and when. Wade was an obsessively perfect agent; he had to have a staging area somewhere. Yet, they found nothing. Until they opened the door to the basement. Walking down the steps felt as though they were descending into hell. Everything was dark, damp, and broken. Tattered and very used training equipment filled the space. It almost seemed like a perverse version of the recruit training room.

Deep dread settled in Nikita's stomach. Something very wrong was happening in that basement. She was almost afraid to explore the room. She didn't want to discover what that horror was. It was no doubt nightmare fuel. That thought almost seemed to come to life as a dark figure leapt from the shadows. Automatically, Alpha team prepared to shoot. Maybe it was Wade waiting to attack, or something else equally dangerous. Only Nikita managed to see what it really was. And as she did, she screamed, "Don't shoot! Stand down!"

Just as the team followed her orders, a young girl, no older than thirteen, stepped into the light. She didn't appear afraid of the people holding guns around her. In fact, she was angry. She attempted to lash out at them, but Nikita was faster than her. She held the girl securely, ensuring she couldn't hurt herself or others. Despite the agent's hold, she kept trying- all she wanted to do was hurt the team. That wasn't why Nikita and Michael glanced at one another in shock and horror, however. There were worse things to fear than the preteen trying to hurt them. For example, what the fuck was a young girl doing in Wade's basement.