"Get me everything on Sean Pierce," Nikita crashed into the safehouse (well, Birkhoff's house in the woods they converted into a safehouse) not entirely sure how to feel. She wanted to scream, she wanted to sob, instead she just stewed in her hurt and pain. She had been betrayed by so much recently, that it was wearing her thin. She didn't want to be thrown around in the dark any longer. She needed something solid to hold onto.

"What?" Birkhoff glanced up from his computer in confusion. She and Michael just got back from Turkey, and a little earlier than they should've. He wanted to know what had gone on over there, especially since he was only given sparse information during the op. Usually they debriefed after everything was said and done. But Nikita appeared like she was ready to punch something, or cry. And Michael was just as confused as he was. Apparently, she hadn't said anything during their entire trip back. She had been silently mulling over her thoughts.

"Lieutenant Commander Sean Mason Pierce," Repeating the name Alex had used, Nikita nearly shouted. She didn't have time for questions. She had to know everything. Honestly, she could probably do the hack herself. But Birkhoff was always so much faster when it came to technology. Speed was key at the moment.

Although he started to run Shadowbot for the search, Birkhoff glanced at Michael for answers. The man must've ruined their mission in some way. That would explain why Nikita was so worked up. It might also explain why Michael was overly concerned, "Who is he?"

"Just do it, Nerd," Nikita was practically screaming. She was coming undone, losing control. It wasn't fair, any of it. And it didn't help that she had recently killed her old partner, left Alex back to Division, and got off of a long plane ride. She was exhausted, drained. Nothing was getting better for her.

Michael neared her, maneuvering around their dropped bags to comfort her. He wasn't certain what was occurring. She was reacting so strongly to something regarding her brother, and he had to be there for her, "Nik…"

But Nikita wasn't having it. All of the facts she had learned that day were racing through her mind. Everything boiled down to Division and Oversight. Both organizations had their claws dug so deeply into her, she couldn't think. She could barely live. Nikita couldn't do anything, but lash out at the two people who had her back despite everything, "No! You owe me! You both owe me!"

"What the hell is going on?" Birkhoff snapped back, more out of anxious worry than anger. Yet Nikita didn't answer. She frustratingly ran a hand through her hair and stomped off. She didn't know where she was going, or what she planned on doing. She simply had to get out of there and do something. Michael attempted to follow after her, but he knew better. She needed to calm down on her own. In the meantime, he could bring Birkhoff into the fold. If she was going to get through her shock, she was going to need all of her friends.


"Who the hell is Nikita?" Alex finally found Sean. Lately, he had disappeared from Division. He was barely there to annoy her or to watch Amanda. It was as though he didn't care anymore. He was more focused on his own things, like at that moment. He was in some sort of evidence locker, digging through old mission reports. Alex was too tired from her latest mission in Turkey and her debriefing with Amanda to figure out exactly what he was doing. She simply wanted answers.

"Shouldn't you know that?" Not looking up from what he was reading, Sean snarked. Alex ripped the paper away from him in retaliation. After all that unnecessary shit the Seal had been putting her through, she deserved to know what was occurring.

His and Nikita's reactions to one another were too strange. It kind of freaked Alex out. Nikita had always been secretive about her past, and Sean seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Could there really be a strong connection between them. Was that why he agreed to work for Oversight. Were they enemies, friends, some weird relation she didn't even want to consider. There was no time for secrets, not with that war, "I meant to you."

Sighing, Sean attempted to choose his words carefully. He didn't want to give too much away. He wasn't only playing with his life. There were so many others at risk, "I told you…"

"No. 'Just a mission' is bullshit. How do you know each other?" Alex crowded Sean's space, her blue eyes staring daggers. She was sick and tired of him having the upperhand in the conversation. It was his turn to back down from her, "Stop lying to me."

"Like you've always been forthcoming," Biting back, Sean closed the gap between them. They were so close, Alex could see the freckle on his lip. But she wasn't going to be distracted by that. She had information to gather, and by any means necessary. She just found out that Gogol and Semak knew she was alive. They knew an Udinov had survived the attack. She was a liability they had to take care of. She wasn't going to let them; she had to remain strong.

It was hard without all of the right information, however. Alex knew she would never get that from Percy or Amanda. But Sean, she could get him to talk somehow. He didn't seem as tough as he pretended to be, "Just fucking tell me. Nikita is never scared. Ever. But when I mentioned you…"

"You talked to her?" His voice softened. All of a sudden, Sean wasn't all hard edges and rough exterior. He seemed lost and confused. And the smallest bit of hope simmered against the hurt in his hazel eyes. It was strikingly familiar. Alex came to a horrifying realization that she had seen that expression before. Although it appeared on another person's face, the similarity was outstanding.

"Are you related?" That was the only possibility that made sense. Nikita and Sean had to have been related in some way. The secrecy, their connection, his fierce protectiveness over her. Alex tried to remember anything Nikita might have told her about her past. The only thing she could come up with was visiting her false grave when she was telling her about Division. And the name that was etched across it, "Nikita Pierce… is she your sister?"


"Nikki has a brother? And I thought my family drama was bad," Birkhoff muttered, attempting to absorb everything Michael had told him. He wouldn't put it past Division or Oversight to screw with a person like that. But he never figured it would happen to someone he knew and cared for. The fact made their war a lot more righteous. The black ops group shouldn't have been in power to be able to do that to anyone else.

"Their mother's also a possible member of Oversight," Michael shared the last bit of intel, holding onto that 'possible'. They didn't have anything that could prove that statement correct. And he wanted to remain in denial about it. He couldn't imagine anyone sacrificing their child to the likes of Percy and Amanda. If Madeline was Oversight, she would've known what handing Nikita over would've done. Michael didn't know what kind of parent could have done such a thing.

"Then why haven't we made a move yet?" It was an instinctual reaction to hearing about Oversight. They take them out, Division would fall as well. Yet as soon as the words left Birkhoff's mouth, he realized what he had just said. Things were a lot more complicated than they were at first glance, "Oh right."

Michael collapsed in a chair next to the computer nerd, his head in his hands. Nikita must've discovered something horrible about her brother in Turkey. It would explain why she was spiraling much more than after she saw him in the alleyway. She couldn't rationalize away the information. She also wouldn't let anyone in to help her breathe, "Look if her family is fighting against her…"

"I got it. Delicate touch," Returning to the search the rogue had demanded he do, Birkhoff nodded. Nikita had done so much for them; it was the least he could do. He'd help her get answers. He'd help her find some sort of peace.

"How many lives have we ruined blindly following orders?" After a long moment of silence, Michael asked. He was staring absentmindedly at the black box. The three of them wanted to reverse the crimes held in that destructive thing. However, they didn't consider that some of those would've been irreversible. Some sins couldn't be repented for. They were too damaging.

"Not us. Percy," Softly, Birkhoff seethed. The things that man could get others to do was insane. He could own a person's soul, and control all of their movements without them noticing. Trying to burn him was bold. Fortune favored the bold, though. It was time to see if that saying was true.

Sighing, Michael tossed the black box away from himself. The team could deal with that later. Finding everything about Sean Pierce took precedent. Also, he was starting to feel the exhaustion of travel and missions. He'd need rest before delving back into that god awful thing, "Regretting digging through the black box now?"

"Are you kidding? I'm in this all the way," He might have had his reservations in the past, yet Birkhoff was with Michael and Nikita one hundred percent. Sure, he'd continue to taunt and tease them. But what else was a superspy team supposed to do. They'd have one another's backs through thick and thin, and joy and pain.


"No. No way," Shaking his head vehemently, Sean backed away from Alex. He was more panicked than bewildered, though. She knew he was lying. She chased after him, not letting him just walk off that time. She had him.

"Yes. Yes, way. You have the same, stupid expressions and say the same, stupid things," They weren't that stupid, but her point was clear. Everything added up that they were siblings. There were a lot of puzzle pieces missing. Alex couldn't make sense of her conclusion. Sean and Nikita's relationship was hardly a solution, but a door to even more questions. Except it was something to build off of. She could focus on that and force her way forward.

Sean was going to keep denying the fact anyway. He wasn't going to give in easily, especially not while they were still inside Division. Too many people would turn on them in an instant to Amanda. The information was powerful to have. He had to be careful, "That doesn't mean we're related."

"You have the same last name. And you're obsessed with her safety. She's your sister," Alex didn't care. She was going to solve everything. She deserved to know it all. Her life was in even more danger since Semak was starting his hunt for her. If she was going to risk getting killed for her revenge, she'd want to go out without any secrets being held from her.

"Shut up," Ensuring no one had heard them, Sean snapped. Alex had to stop. However, judging by the look she was giving him, that was never going to happen. He had to quit before things went too far. So he sighed, "Okay fine. But don't you breathe a fucking word to anybody."

"You're the one hunting her down," Alex pushed against him. How could he berate her for leaving Nikita, when he was tasked by Oversight to bring her down. And what could've made Sean follow those orders so blindly. She was his sister, they had obviously grown up together. Alex couldn't understand why he would agree with Oversight. Why would he hurt his family.

"Not to kill her," Sean was adamant. He had already made up his mind over the matter; that was why he was digging through old files. He needed to find a lead on Michael and Nikita. Hopefully there was something he could use that would help him find them. Then he could finally leave the hellhole that was Division. And protect his sister like she had him so many times before.

Alex's blue eyes rolled- yeah right. Division and Oversight would rather destroy their own than lose. Of course they were going to kill Nikita. Sean wouldn't be able to do anything else. It was either burn the threat or face the same fate, "Then what are you gonna do?"


"What do you got?" Nikita returned, ready to roll. She continued to be apprehensive, but she was substantially calmer. Her walk through the woods allowed her to clear her head. She was able to listen to Birkhoff's information (Sean was a Navy Seal with a stellar record) without fuming in rage. She did make a snide comment when she heard he was on leave, however, "Which gives him plenty of time to follow his mother's kill orders."

"What if he's just trying to bring you back alive?" Michael attempted to speak reason. They didn't know the full story. Just because her brother was working with Oversight, didn't mean he was going to kill her. His service record proved how valiant and honorable he was. He wouldn't turn against his family. That didn't seem possible, "He's your brother. He wouldn't do that to you, would he?"

"People change," Squaring her jaw, Nikita mumbled. Later, Michael would get her to talk as he massaged her shoulders and held her in front of the fire. She had been through a lot that day; they all had. He'd get her to smile and laugh and relax, and they'd be able to process and breathe as a team- as partners. But for the moment, he let her walk off once more. She'd realize soon enough that she wasn't alone, not anymore. No one was going to leave her ever again.