It wasn't long after Amanda's plan was ruined that Division dropped the jamming field. The rogues' coms were finally free of the black ops group, and they could communicate openly with one another again. Nikita didn't take the chance to immediately reach out to Birkhoff and confirm everything was alright, however. Instead, she reached into hers and Michael's ears, ripped out their coms, and smashed them under her boot. She didn't care that Birkhoff had worked hard on getting those coms for them- he could get new ones, better ones, ones that Division couldn't intercept. She only wanted to be completely free of Amanda, "Fuck that bitch."
"Come on, we need to get out of here," Placing one more kiss to Nikita's crown, Michael softly suggested. As much as he wanted to learn about everything he had missed while he had been trapped in the safe room, he could wait until they were out of the field. The two seriously needed to get out of Columbia. Not only was it not safe to remain near all that smoke and fire, but also, the explosion Amanda had caused was bound to alert the authorities. If Michael and Nikita wanted to keep breathing and being in each other's arms- which they undoubtedly did- then they had to leave immediately.
Although Nikita nodded in agreement, she didn't move. She didn't believe she could just yet. Her body simply needed to remain as close to Michael as possible. While they hiked back through the forest to where their getaway vehicle was that'd take them back to Birkhoff's jet, it was possible that they could be close. However, it wouldn't be the same. She wouldn't be able to feel his heartbeat pounding against her chest, she wouldn't be able to feel his breath on her neck, and she wouldn't be able to look deeply into his eyes. She needed a few more moments of that- of him- before she could even think about turning away from Michael.
In all honesty, Michael couldn't move from Nikita just yet either. His fear of not knowing what was happening to her while he was in the safe room had had him in the chokehold. Seeing her alive and well- at least, physically well- was a huge relief. He couldn't let go of her until the remaining anxiety eased from his heart. Hopefully, it would be soon. Though, after the shock and horror they had just experienced, it might take days to actually recover. At least the two would be together through it all.
Who knew how long Michael and Nikita remained standing in the smoldering debris of the missile attack. They simply continued to hold one another tightly, feeling each other's steady heartbeat and intake breath. Until the burner phone in Nikita's pocket rang. She had forgotten it was there. Perplexed, she pulled it out and studied the caller ID. For a brief moment, she feared that it was Amanda calling. But, thankfully, it was only Birkhoff. The instant his call was answered, he sighed in relief, "Mikey… Thank God you're alive, man."
"We can actually thank Ramon for that," Michael aimed for a bit of humor, wanting to lighten tensions and prove that things really would be alright. Yet his attempts fell flat. Birkhoff fell silent over the phone, and Nikita looked at her boyfriend with fresh tears in her eyes. Michael had seriously underestimated just how much he had missed once Division had interfered. Something must have occurred between Nikita and Ramon that had led to his escape. He wanted to hear all about it. However, it wasn't his girlfriend that told him; it was Birkhoff.
"Something you said must've gotten through to him, Nikki," Birkhoff praised Nikita; though, there was a hint of confusion in his voice. He also wasn't entirely sure what had happened between the rogue and their target. Indeed, he hadn't even known that Ramon had called Michael until after the explosion. There were some serious gaps in the team of rogues' knowledge that needed to be filled. Preferably, they filled each other in before they moved on to better things. They should expunge the incident from their minds completely and immediately. It was the best way to move forward; it wouldn't drag them down as they fought for peace.
Nikita was well aware that Michael and Birkhoff wanted a full explanation of what had happened between her and Ramon. However, she couldn't bring herself to say anything about it. She couldn't talk about what was said, especially what he had said to her. She couldn't admit to what she had almost done. And she couldn't re-examine those thoughts that she had had. The only thing that truly mattered was that Ramon had decided to go against Division and save Michael. The rogue was safe and the assassin was free, "He was probably just serving himself. He saved us, and we'll let him go. He's free of Division and Interpol."
Michael fought the urge to press Nikita for more. The fact that she had pulled away from him when she had replied had been enough to let him know that she was not in the right place to talk about what had happened. She might be eventually, but it certainly wasn't then. So, Michael changed the subject. He took his girlfriend's hand in his, squeezed it reassuringly, and finally led them away from the burning house. She stayed close by his side, and even seemed to gravitate closer as he said, "Birkhoff, just work on getting us home."
"You want a layover in Barbados?" Recalling what he had overheard the couple say over the coms (the two seriously needed to learn how to turn them off before they had a personal conversation), Birkhoff offered. Besides leaving Columbia, there was no pressing issue for the rogues to attend to. It was possible that they could take some time off from their war, relax and recuperate after the hell they had just gone through. They deserved to take a break, at least. Facing the loss of a loved one put a serious strain on their emotions and mental well-being.
Whereas Michael continued to be all for an island paradise vacation with his girlfriend- they deserved one more then than after his undercover kiss- he glanced at her to see what she was thinking. Unfortunately, her thoughts were obscured from him at the moment. All he could see were the tears in her eyes, and all he could feel was the desperate way she needed to be near him. Considering the situation, he couldn't blame her for any of that. He simply kept his grip on her hand as tight as possible, and he gave her the space to come up with her own response, "Just get us as far away from Division as possible."
Despite the fact that he complained otherwise, there were some benefits to staying in the same safehouse as Michael and Nikita; Birkhoff knew the two incredibly well. And even when they weren't in the mood to talk, he knew what was on their minds. After a few minutes, he had exactly what the couple needed, "I've got you two days in Barbados, completely isolated on your own private beach. If you guys don't take it, I might. Depending on how you react to a near death experience, I might need to stay far away from any room you might be in."
"We'll take it. And you should get away too. It's about time we take a break," Instantly, Michael replied. It didn't necessarily have to be on a beach in Barbados, but the couple did need a few days completely separated from their war and completely alone. Michael knew that he wouldn't be able to leave Nikita's side for a long time, and the feeling had to be the same for her. The two needed some time to reassure themselves that the war had not torn them apart. They were both still standing and still breathing. Which meant that they could continue to love each other and fight for their peaceful happily ever after together.
"With how much damage we've just leveled at Division, I think we can actually take a break," Birkhoff smirked, finally feeling the triumph after that mission. Division would have to lay low for a few days to recover from the loss of Ramon and how that had impacted their hit on Kochenko (whoever that was), which meant that the rogues could lay low too. There would be no guns, no explosions, no near-deaths for at least a couple of days. That was the best award that the rogues could've ever received.
Alex had feared that the chaos created once she shot Kochenko would've made it difficult to escape. Fortunately, she had been wrong. She had been able to slip through the crowd easily and make it back to her transport. She was back in Division in no time. Although there was no one to take the blame for the assassination, no blame fell on her for Kochenko's death. She had kept her anonymity, which meant she could stay on her revenge mission. The rogues' asinine interference hadn't ruined anything for her. Alex finally had a victory on her path to revenge. Or so she believed before she ran into Sean Peirce in the hallway, "Are you fucking stupid?"
Blinking, Alex regarded Sean Pierce in absolute confusion. She had thought that she would be reprimanded by Amanda or Oversight the second she returned to Division. However, she didn't expect Sean Pierce to be the one to yell at her. She also hadn't expected anyone to call her stupid for eliminating her target. She was so taken aback by his choice of words, that it took her a second to respond. A part of her wanted to start screaming at him in return. But she knew she had to be better than that. Alex wouldn't stoop to Sean's level, "Excuse me?"
"I said: 'are you fucking stupid?' Because only a stupid person would be so stubborn, so reckless, so pig fucking headed as to paint a giant fucking target on their back," Sean snapped at Alexandra. Of all the reckless things he had seen her do, he had never believed that she would willingly make herself a target. Yes, she was fiercely determined to get revenge for her family. But he had never thought that she'd try to get herself killed in the process. She had seemed so much smarter than that. Unfortunately, Sean's assumptions about her continued to be wrong.
It took everything in Alex's power to not punch Sean in the face. Where in the fuck did he get off talking to her that way. Not that long ago, he had helped her plan her assassination. Now, he was pissed at her for actually going through with it. Could he not make up his mind with what he wanted from her or Division or Oversight. He couldn't keep flipping between being an asshole and being helpful. He had to pick one annoying thing to do. Preferably, Sean would decide to stay away from Alex. There was a chance that she could force him to do so by sticking to her decisions and never wavering, "I did what I had to do."
"No, you did what you wanted to do. What you needed to do was stand down and wait. You had no cover, no clear exit. There's no one to blame for your stupid decision, and now they're going to come after you," Sean continued to ream Alexandra out for her decision to kill Kochenko even after Ramon had been burned. If she had only waited, then they could've found another cover story for her. She could've gotten another chance at Kochenko, and that one would've been safer. Instead, she didn't think. And now, Gogol, Zetrov's security force, was going to hunt her down for their own revenge.
"Stupid? I killed Semak's right hand man. I'm finally one step closer to actually killing him. I can finally get justice for my family. Something Oversight has promised me for over a year, but I had to do everything on my own," Alex didn't care that she was screaming in the middle of a Division hallway. Her rage had been simmering since she had first been told to stand down. It was now boiling over, forcing her to explode. Sean was the best target for her outburst. After all, he had no fucking idea what he was talking about. Also, he had been on her for weeks, and she had grown so sick of it, she wanted to shoot him too.
"Right, where you then got involved with rogue agents and became a traitor. Great going," Sean scoffed. He wouldn't pretend to know the exact details of the dealings between Alexandra and Oversight- he didn't need to know that information to complete his mission. However, he did know that in not trusting Oversight, Alexandra had made numerous mistakes. Killing Kochenko without a cover story was the latest harmful rash decision. If she didn't stop, everything she was hoping for would be destroyed. Then, no one would get their happy ending.
"I'm not American! How can I be a traitor?" Fed up with the accusation, Alex shouted. Why was everyone she talked to obsessed with serving their country or whatever the fuck. Oversight, Division, Sean fucking Peirce, they were all intently focused on protecting the United States from the rogues and numerous other perceived threats. And they all wanted Alex to side with them on that mission. Except, she wasn't American. She didn't give two shits about the country; it had never given two shits about her. All she wanted was revenge and her mother. That shouldn't have been so hard to ask for, but apparently it was.
"A traitor to Division and Oversight," Sean corrected. Yet as soon as he did, Alexandra burst into laughter. It wasn't the light, melodic sound that Sean had heard before. No, her laughter was bitter and cruel. Maybe he deserved that reaction. After all, what did Alexandra truly owe to the black ops group that had killed her family. He honestly shouldn't be so hung up on the fact that she had betrayed Division. But then again, they had been the ones to save her. They had given her a second chance at life. If that couldn't make her loyal, then how could she ever be trusted, "You're gonna laugh at the people who gave you a second chance at life?"
Alex continued to laugh. That was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. Division and Oversight had ruined her life; the so-called new one they had given her paled in comparison. She would never thank them for all they had done for her; if anything, she'd tell them to fuck off and burn in hell. In fact, there had been numerous times she had done so in the past. The only thing holding her tongue then was the promise of saving her mother. But even that wasn't enough to keep her completely loyal and compliant. After all, Division and Oversight had done absolutely nothing to actually help her.
Of course the idea of singing Oversight and Division praise was something to laugh at. Except, Alex soon realized that Sean was being serious. He really believed that she should be grateful. She stopped laughing immediately, "Oh. You're serious? Division and Oversight haven't given me shit. I had to take everything for myself. I keep upholding my end of the deal: I'm going after their rogue investment, Semak, and I'm going after their rogue agents. But what have I gotten in return: scant information and bullshit. Maybe if Oversight wasn't being such cowards, I wouldn't be so- what did you fucking call me- pig fucking headed."
The way Alexandra talked about it, Sean thought that maybe he hadn't been given the full information. He hadn't been given information about the black box until Michael had stolen one, and he hadn't known about P9 until Mars had returned. There was a chance that more information was being held from him. Though, even if it was, that had nothing to do with his argument with Alexandra. His possible lack of information didn't change the fact that Alexandra was going to get herself killed unless she finally listened to him- to reason, "Oversight is looking out for your safety. That's why they have been holding you back."
"Right. My safety. That's why you're here: to make sure I live long enough to get Oversight what they want. But, incase you haven't noticed, I don't need your protection," Rolling her eyes, Alex called bullshit on what Sean claimed Oversight really wanted. She didn't know what exactly that group was up to, but she didn't care. She just wanted her revenge. Alex began to move past Sean so she could continue down the path she was carving on her own. However, he grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her back. She didn't stop herself from striking him that time, "Don't you dare fucking touch me."
"Then fucking listen to me. You're never going to get what you want if you keep being reckless. It might make you successful now, but you will suffer in the future," Trying not to show how much the slap had affected him, Sean spoke sternly. He regarded Alexandra with a gaze that could not be fought. She would accept what he said, and that would be final. Except, when her striking blue eyes met his, Sean couldn't stop himself from wavering. His gaze softened. He wanted to explain his side of the argument more gently. However, before he could stay anything, Alexandra's blue eyes turned cold, freezing him in his spot.
"If you're gonna make a threat, make sure it isn't empty," Noticing the torment in Sean Pierce's hazel eyes, Alex remarked darkly. He stopped back from her, surprised that she had managed to see right through him. She, on the other hand, remained unfazed. She glared at him, daring him to say something else, to keep arguing. When he couldn't, she turned on her heels and marched out of Division. Sean was left staring after her, unable to move for a long moment. When it finally clicked that she was walking right back into danger, despite all he had said, he suppressed a scream.