Alex's and Owen's search of the bomb site didn't reveal anything they didn't previously know. Not only had Amanda provided the terrorists with equipment, she had also trained them. The terrorists, Crimson Resistance, were basically a mini-Division. The black ops unit was fighting themselves, which meant that they were never going to find any physical evidence that'd track their enemies down. But maybe that could be useful. Division could follow the trail of their own technology. They could locate the terrorists by locating themselves, "Hey. B. If Amanda gave the terrorists Division tech, do you think she also gave them ghost phones?"

"Probably. They are untraceable," Shrugging, Birkhoff replied to Alex. If the terrorist's video used the untraceable and unbreakable encryption he had created for Division, then it'd make sense if the terrorists used more of that spy tech. Amanda would've made sure that her new agents weren't traceable. They were to be ghosts- poltergeists- spreading absolute terror throughout the world. They were also, according to Ari, supposed to be setting Division up. So of course they'd have all the Division tech Amanda could've gotten from the black box.

"Okay. But we can track the encryption on them, right? I mean, you built it. You can recognize it. So if they were to use the ghost phones, we'd know," Alex continued to share her thoughts. If Birkhoff had been able to recognize the encryption when he had tried to hack the terrorist's video, then he could recognize the encryption when the ghost phones were used. The next time the Crimson Resistance made a call, Division could locate them and stop their next attack. It wasn't perfect. And agents would have to already be in the field and near the location. But it could work- better than nothing anyway.

"There's evidence of the encryption on the cell towers at the time of the attack. But if I were to scan the entire country for the encryption just so we could guess where the terrorists are, I'd have to hack every cell tower in the country," Birkhoff had to admit that Alex had a great idea. She had been right about the ghost phones and the encryption being recorded at the time of the bombing. But Birkhoff couldn't actually trace the encryption. He could scan for it. He could set up an alert for it. But even that was a long shot. Just to look for it, he'd have to gain access to every cell tower in the nation. That was too insane of a task.

"Are you telling me that Shadowbot is not up to snuff?" Alex snarked. Although she would admit that her plan was a long shot, and that it was more like grasping at straws than anything solid, she'd continue to have hope in it. The team couldn't afford to be pessimistic then. If they let Amanda and the terrorists strike fear and despair in them, then the bad guys would win. Division had to keep going- they had to keep doing all they could to save the world. Any scheme they had in mind had to be put to use. Even if it didn't work, it'd at least be something that'd keep them in the fight.

"Bite your tongue, Princess," Birkhoff chuckled dryly. Of course Shadowbot could scan every cell tower searching for the encryption. Once he hacked into the system and coded the bot to search for the encryption, Division would get a ping the next time the ghost phones were used. It'd take some time, yet he should have it up and running before the next attack. The problem then came with stopping the attack once they discovered where it might take place. There was no way they could be fast enough traveling from Division. Agents would have to be placed all over the field. Maybe Michael and Sean could coordinate that though. They could make it work.

While Alex and Owen investigated the site of the bombing, and while Ops settled on a game plan, Nikita remained in the interrogation room with Ari. He continued to stay silent about the terrorist. He wouldn't tell her anything useful, simply demanding the fifty million. Nikita was so close to giving up on talking and just torture the information out of the bastard. But he was trained to resist that. So she should try striking a better deal first, "You owe me, you know. I had the chance to kill you, but I refused to do so in front of your son. I lied to Division and spared your life. The least you could do is tell me what I want to know."

"You simply acted how Amanda believed you would. She told me to bring my son to the game, knowing you wouldn't murder me in front of him. A killer with a conscience," Ari informed Nikita with a callous grin. Of course she had saved his life that night; Amanda had wanted it that way. She knew the young assassin wouldn't put a child in harm's way. She knew Nikita would disobey her orders if Ari was with his son. So technically, Amanda had saved him. Nikita was just a predictable pawn.

"You used your own son as a prop?" Nikita stared at Ari, appalled. Putting children at risk, using them as tools to further her own agenda, made perfect sense for Amanda. Only she would think of using a child as some sort of shield. Ari, on the other hand, wasn't a sociopath. How could he have let Amanda convince him to treat his son like that. Didn't he love him. Didn't want to protect him. Wasn't the safety of his child the most important thing. Why did people in their business keep using their children like they were props. Why were they always involved in stupid power grabs and fucking mind games.

"You're used to that, aren't you?" Ari smirked at Nikita. She knew what he was doing. He was a skilled negotiator. He had been trained by the KGB, then he had been the head of Gogol. He was smart, manipulative, and more of a spy than a terrorist- he liked to get things done without firing a single shot. And he was damn good at his job. Nikita could actually learn from him in some areas. After all, there had been times when he had outsmarted her. But she wasn't going to let that happen that time. Ari wasn't going to get under her skin so he could undermine her interrogation. There was no way he was getting what he wanted.

However, Nikita struggled to keep her cool. She tried to get Ari to see Amanda as the enemy. She tried to get him to turn on her. But he still wanted that damn fifty million. And he kept smugly reminding her of what her mother had done to her. She couldn't take it anymore. She was about to snap. Fortunately, she was able to leave the room before she did. She stormed into the hall where Michael and Ryan had gathered to see how she was doing. One look at her aggravated expression was all they needed to know that she hadn't been successful. Her curse was just further proof, "Tell me why I can't just beat the shit out of him right now."

"Because all Alex and Owen have is a long shot idea to isolate the terrorists' phones," Michael informed Nikita of Ops' current plans. As Birkhoff worked on locating the ghost phone encryption through Shadowbot, Michael and Sean scattered agents across the country. They'd be prepared to intercept the Crimson Resistance. Hopefully. Not knowing what the next attack would be- could it be another bomb, would it be a shooting, was there some other horrific thing they weren't thinking of- made preparing to stop them even more difficult. Division just had to be ready for the worst and go from there.

"So we just pay the fucking bastard?" Nikita refused to believe that. There had to be something else they could do that wasn't giving in to Ari's demands. Yes, Nikita would do anything to save innocent people from Amanda's psychotic schemes. No one else should die. But she didn't want to give Ari the satisfaction of winning, especially not after what he had said. Division had to have some other plan. Alex and Owen had to have learned something else. They couldn't be out of options. Giving into a bastard's demands couldn't have been their only play.

"We can't," Luckily, Ryan agreed with Nikita. Division couldn't pay Ari. Either they found a way to negotiate with the former head of Gogol, they discovered a lead somewhere else, or Nikita finally tortured the information out. They had to do anything but pay the fifty million. A part of Ryan hoped that in tracking the ghost phones, an agent could capture one of the terrorists. They could be a very useful source of intel. However, there was a strong possibility that that wouldn't work. If Amanda had trained them, then they'd never talk. There were dead ends no matter where Division looked. Even their hope couldn't get them that far.

"Birkhoff can track the money through satellites. We can find out what Ari's up to and stop it. Maybe also recover the money," After scattering teams, Michael and Sean ran through the possibility of paying Ari the fifty million dollars. The bank account he wanted them to transfer the money to was set to close once the transfer was finished. They couldn't see who he was paying. However, the money could be followed through satellite. They could see where it ended up and stop whatever plan it had enacted. Birkhoff could probably also recover it if they really needed it. Paying Ari wasn't the worst option. Doing nothing was.

"No. I mean, we don't have the funds to pay him," Shaking his head, Ryan clarified what he had meant. It wasn't that Division couldn't pay Ari because he was a bastard and they wouldn't stoop to his level. Division couldn't pay him because they didn't have the money. The amount that they had solely went to operations, equipment, upkeep, and agent allowances. There wasn't even fifty cents to spare, let alone fifty million dollars. If Division paid Ari, they'd be running on fumes. They'd be shut down before they could deal with the remaining Dirty Thirty and Amanda. They wouldn't be able to finish their mission; they wouldn't get their pardons.

"What are you talking about?" Confused, Michael and Nikita demanded an explanation. Division had always had way more money than it needed. How else could they afford all those weapons, expense all those missions, travel all over the world, and pay all their agents. Surely fifty million dollars was just a drop in the bucket for them. They were funded by the government, after all. And the government was always spending more than they had. Division should have the funds to pay Ari. They should have way more than that.

Sighing, Ryan realized that he should've explained Division's funding issues sooner. Everything had changed when the team of former rogues had taken over operations; of course that included the money situation. Nothing was like it was before. They wanted to be legit, didn't they, "Oversight used to tear off black budget earmarks for Division. But the President doesn't want taxpayer money flowing into this place anymore. Besides some seed money Birkhoff and I managed to grow into a sizable pile of cash- legally of course- we have nothing to spare. Fifty million dollars is all we have."

"Unless we want to start taking murder for hire jobs again," Michael replied sarcastically. Obviously, that was the last thing Division should do. They could not become criminals serving corrupted people again. They were supposed to only be on cleanup duty anyway. Blue files from the government, doing missions for money, they couldn't do any of that. Dirty Thirties and Amanda should've been Division's only focus. Though, staying on task was getting harder and harder with each passing day. There were just so many problems and too few solutions. It was easy to see how others before them had caved to temptation. They were close to it themselves.

"Guys. Crimson Resistance just struck again," Frantically, and slightly out of breath, Sean called to the three. Whatever they were discussing had to be forgotten. Once again, there were worse things to attend to. Nikita, Michael, and Ryan hurriedly followed Sean to Ops. The news played across the monitors again, reporting on another tragedy. That time, random innocents at a roadside fruit stand had been gunned down. It had happened in broad daylight. But there were no surviving witnesses, and no leads on who it could've been. It was just a goddamn tragedy that struck so much fear and panic.

Not long after the news broadcast began, the terrorist and leader of the Crimson Resistance interrupted with another video. There was no use hacking it to reveal his identity. The encryption was still intact. His voice was disguised and he was hidden in shadows as he discussed his plans. In an act of revenge for the military's collateral damage, his agents would kill innocent civilians. It could be in the cities, in the suburbs, anywhere. People were going to die, no matter who they were. Division fell silent, and Ryan gasped, "My God. They're all random targets. How many more of these are coming?"

"This is the last one," Nikita seethed as she swore, she turned away from the screen and stormed back towards the interrogation rooms. Everyone else in Division was rushing to Ops; they needed to know what was going on and how they could help. The terrorist's video was being broadcast through the bunker's speakers so every single agent could be kept in the loop. To save those random innocents, every scrap of information had to be shared. However, Nikita had stopped listening to Amanda's terrorist's words. She only had one thought screaming in her mind, and that was how badly she was going to beat Ari Tasorov.

The broadcast could be heard in the interrogation room. Ari knew what was going on, and he was not surprised to see Nikita return. He was surprised, however, when she stalked towards him silently. Rage boiled in her eyes, yet she didn't let that crack her steely expression. She just tightened her fist. She didn't care that Ari was still handcuffed to the table or that the terrorist was still on his diatribe. Her rage had reached its tipping point, ready to explode. It was about time that she let her frustrations and anger win with one solid punch that'd send him flying, "Tell me the terrorist's name!"