"Haven't heard from you in a while. You okay?" Sean ran across Nikita in Division's evidence locker. Apparently, she was taking it upon herself to catalog and/or destroy some of the old items taken during past missions. That confused her brother. He knew she'd never willingly be in Division if she didn't have to. Whereas Sean, Michael, and even Birkhoff would check in with Ryan between missions, Alex and Nikita wouldn't come in unless they were called. So, it was weird that the former rogue was doing busywork. Unless, of course, something was wrong.
"Yeah. Just a tough mission," Nikita brushed off Sean before he could begin to figure out what was up. He couldn't even read her features. She kept her back to him. She examined various items on the shelves, keeping a sorted list of their uses. Sean guessed his sister was attempting to see which items could be repurposed and which could be tossed. But the evidence locker shouldn't be either of the siblings' concern at the moment. They had to talk. A lot had happened since they last saw one another.
"Alex told me about it. At least the girl is home safe, right?" Nodding, Sean tried to move into Nikita's line of sight. She kept her nose practically pressed to her clipboard. He sighed. He should've expected that. He and Alex had met for dinner and caught each other up on all they had missed. She gave him a rundown of their recent mission, excitedly ranting about how great it was to save a girl and bring her home. She had admitted that terrible memories sprang up as well. Focusing on the good they had done helped her, though. Sean didn't think Nikita would be as positive; she was usually more stuck in her head.
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm glad Liza is home. She can be happy," The briefest of smiles pulled at Nikita's lips. She was always happy that Liza was home. That had never been a question. Sean could read it in her smile, even though it was small. The success of the mission wasn't what weighed heavily on her mind. It was a good op; someone got to achieve their happily ever after. Though, something related to it had to have been affecting her. She was so tense talking about it. And her eyes didn't leave the shelves. She didn't look at one thing in particular, however. She was just avoiding her brother.
He could've let her freeze him out. Sean could've left Nikita to stew in her thoughts alone instead of being dragged right into them. Yet stubbornness ran deep in the Pierce family. He moved closer to her, attempting to discover a way to make her talk. She wouldn't open up about the mission, but that was fine. The two could find lots of things to talk about. The engagement ring shining on her finger was a great conversation starter. They hadn't really talked about her engagement since it had happened, "Hey. We haven't celebrated your engagement yet."
"Michael and I have. Though, you interrupted some of it," Finally, Nikita looked up from her clipboard. Although it was to smirk at her brother and tease him, Sean was going to take that as a win. He used that split second she glanced at him to study her. She had always been stellar at hiding her emotions from him. She never wanted to freak him out or cause him to panic. He appreciated the sentiment. He really did; there were times when he preferred to stay in the dark. But he was trying to help her. He wanted to comfort her. She had to let him in eventually.
"Gross," Sean wrinkled his nose in disgust, mostly to make his sister laugh. Nikita chuckled softly. Before she returned her gaze to her list, he stole a glance at her eyes. Her smile hadn't reached her eyes, regardless of her teasing. Maybe he could finally catch sight of the emotion she was trying to hide from him. All he saw was hurt, however. Something had her in pain. Considering the latest mission involving a girl lost from home, he believed he knew what it was about. Fortunately, he had a way to help her, "I meant a sibling celebration. Go out and goof around. Scream about all the good things."
Nikita's back stiffened. Sean didn't have to see her face or her eyes to know what she was thinking. She was going to say 'no' to his idea. She was going to keep ignoring him and phasing him out, and he hardly knew why. It couldn't have been something he did. He had to miss the mission; he had to do his Seal duties. She understood that. She had expressed as much. She was just icing her brother out. She'd rather be alone, "Yeah, no. It's okay. The wedding won't be for a while. So, we have plenty of time to celebrate."
"For a while? Don't you want to marry Michael?" For a moment, Sean thought that was what was wrong. If Nikita and Michael had gotten into a fight, that'd explain why she didn't want to talk to her brother. She never dragged him into her relationship drama. He stumbled across their public displays of affection. But he didn't see or hear them fight. Usually, Alex was the one Nikita vented to afterwards. Or, she had Michael made up immediately. If it was a terrible argument and she needed to cool off, it made sense she'd hide in the evidence locker. Though, the engaged couple arguing didn't make much sense. They seemed disgustingly happy.
"I do. We just have to wait. You know, with the Dirty Thirty and Division. We just gotta wait for the perfect time," Moving to the other side of the shelves, Nikita shrugged. Sean finally understood why she was so upset. She had watched someone else go home, while she was still stuck where she was. She was probably pushing Sean away so she wouldn't get hurt even more. Until she could be home with all her siblings, it was easier to push the one she had away. But he refused to let that happen. It wasn't the time to be isolated.
"You'll be home soon," Sean shoved aside some of the items on the shelves. He mostly did it so he could look at his sister. But the move also annoyed her, so that was a nice bonus. Nikita gave him a brief glare before she moved towards the door. He hurried to block her. In times like that, he was lucky he had grown bigger and taller than his older sisters. He could successfully keep Nikita in the storage locker. She continued to stare daggers at him, however. She slammed down her clipboard on a shelf and crossed her arms in haughty defiance. Sean echoed her stance. Two could play at that game.
Sighing hotly, Nikita soon gave up on trying to glare Sean to death. She ruffled her hair and scraped her teeth across her lip. She hadn't talked to Michael or Alex about her feelings regarding home. She wasn't going to start with her younger brother then. It wasn't as though she didn't trust him to understand. He had to live a double life, after all. He hadn't truly been home in a long while. Nikita simply didn't want to bring him down to her level. She had to get her head right on her own, "Yeah. I know."
Leaving his post at the door, Sean moved to comfort his sister. She instantly took the chance to escape from the evidence locker. He forgot how fast Nikita could move when she wanted. She was already halfway down the hall before he could catch up to her. She wouldn't turn to face him; she was done looking at him. He lost his chance for her to let him in. Frustration and harmful confusion had been building inside Sean since he first found Nikita. It was about to explode out of him at that moment. But then her phone chimed, halting the eruption. She sighed once more, "Ryan's got something for us."
"Yeah. I'm coming this time," Sean didn't need a second to think. If he had any other responsibilities, they didn't matter. He was going to tag along with his sister- he was going to make her talk- whether she liked it or not. Throughout the briefing with Ryan, Sean wasn't actually able to tell how Nikita felt about him there. Once she learned Ryan had authorized a mission Percy sanctioned to continue, she directed her anger and ill feelings towards him. They were supposed to be shutting Division down, not continuing missions. Who cared how righteous the operations were. There were other government agencies to call on.
The mission Ryan continued really was a great one. An agent, Mia, was undercover with a homegrown terrorist organization. She had gathered leads on their next attack and on their leader when she had asked Ryan for an extension. Of course he agreed to the idea. That was the country's chance to take out a dangerous group threatening the lives of innocents. They shouldn't give up the opportunity. Though, it wasn't exactly working in Division's favor. The FBI raided the terrorists' compound. Since Mia didn't have an ID to flash, she was arrested with all the others. The mission was stalled until they could break her out of jail.
Ryan asked the team what Division's policy for recovering captured agents was. Silent glances passed around the room. Nikita, Michael, and Alex shared hurt and nearly shameful looks. Alex also cast that expression towards Sean. He might not have been in Division, but he was well aware of how much the organization used to disregard their agents. He had seen it first hand. No one used to care what happened to one of their own. It was a fact the former agents regretfully told Ryan. They had gotten used to no one giving a shit about them.
Except, Nikita was determined to change that. Division was supposed to be different moving forward. They weren't continuing missions from Percy's corrupt reign or Amanda's egotistical run. And they weren't going to leave their own to rot in jail. Mia was going to be given the same chance of life they all were. Although Ryan agreed, Nikita couldn't just break into a federal prison. They had to take the time to plan and think. But she and Alex were already on their way to raise hell. The former rogues had done so before after all.
Looking to Michael for help, Ryan continued to fight for control. Michael ensured Nikita was out of earshot before he argued that he could never make Nikita do anything. Sean scoffed in agreement. Nikita was going to get what she wanted no matter what. She'd fight tooth and nail for it. At times, it was better just to let her run off on a mission. At least she had Alex with her. The two would watch out for each other. In the meantime, the rest of the team could focus on other pressing matters, "The girls are on their warpath, we gotta be on ours."
With Michael's advice, Ryan told him and Sean what Division already had against the terrorist group. The most substantial information was a private video sharing account Birkhoff had found. The videos posted could give the team a clue of the attack that was to come. Sean and Michael decided to chase the lead in case Mia wasn't able to tell them much once she was broken out of jail. Division had to do everything it could to stop the potential terrorist attack. Yes, they were only supposed to be stopping the Dirty Thirty. Yet they couldn't just let atrocities happen when they had the power to stop it. They were supposed to be heroes, weren't they.
It was a point they all agreed with. Some of them were just distracted by other things. Sean thought about asking Michael about Nikita. If anyone knew what was going on inside her head and her heart, it'd be her fiancé. Michael would be willing to tell Nikita's brother what was going on. He knew Sean only had good intentions in his heart. He just wanted to help her too. However, the Seal decided against it as they prepared to investigate the terrorist group. It wasn't the time. And he should actually talk to his sister instead of going behind her back. That definitely wouldn't make things any better.
On the other hand, Nikita was doing everything she could to ignore her thoughts and emotions. As always, they were too much. But working on a mission helped her concentrate on things she could control. She, Alex, Birkhoff, and Sonya worked together on a breakout scheme. Apparently, security in the prison was tricky. The hackers would have to pull out all their tricks to be able to work around it. The agents believed in them, though. They knew they'd have their backs out in the field. The hurried mission could be a success.
For the most part, the op went well. Nikita and Alex were able to sneak through the prison until they reached Mia's isolated cell. Convincing her they weren't going to kill her, and that it was alright to come with them took some time. But soon, Mia was sneaking through the halls with them. Birkhoff and Sonya argued over the security the entire time. It was difficult to tune out of the coms. Alex and Nikita were making progress, however, so they wouldn't chastise the two nerds. They simply had to refocus them every once and awhile.
That problem escalated once the three agents stepped outside, however. Nikita, Alex, and Mia just had to slip past the loading bay to their awaiting getaway car around the corner. Unfortunately, an unexpected guard crossed their paths on patrol. Birkhoff and Sonya could find a way to maneuver around the security. The three were trapped two seconds from a clean escape, unless they could think of something. Nikita believed she had an idea. She just needed a second to ensure it would work. In the time it took her to think, though, Mia leapt ahead of her.
Neither Alex nor Nikita knew what was happening until it was too late. Mia attacked the guard, grabbed his gun, and began shooting. Sonya and Birkhoff were frantic over the coms, attempting to figure out what went wrong. Nikita and Alex couldn't help them. They had to deal with an armed and dangerous Mia. The two couldn't understand why she would turn on them like that. They couldn't wrap their heads around anything. Then wasn't the time to try and think, however. Mia was pulling the trigger. They had to dodge the bullet. Well, Nikita had to. She was the one being shot at. Alex was just the one who jumped in front of it.
"Alex!" Nikita screamed. She didn't care about the guards that might hear her. She didn't care that Mia was getting away. She didn't even care about the weighted thoughts and emotions that had been floating around her head the past few days. All she cared about was Alex. She pressed her hands fiercely into her bleeding shoulder. Alex barely winced at the sting. She just gasped for air, her eyes unfocused and glazing over. Nikita begged her to stay with her. She wasn't going to slip away then. She was going to hold on. She was going to fight her blood loss just like she had fought everything else. Alex had to keep staying strong.
