Sitting still and being unable to do anything to help a loved one was an absolute nightmare for Nikita. It always had been, and she was fairly certain that it always would be. Sitting by and waiting for Michael's surgery to end was by no means an exception. She knew she would have to sit by for hours as his hand was grafted onto his wrist, and she thought she had prepared herself for that. But absolutely nothing could've prepared her for the torment of knowing there wasn't anything she could do if something went wrong. All she could do was helplessly stare at her fiancé and pray that everything would be okay.
Nikita had never put much stock into prayer before. She had never been a believer despite being dragged to church as a kid, and she definitely wasn't going to start to be one then with the way the universe liked to shit on her. But with all the control in the Shop's hands, her power to do anything was non-existent. She had to look towards outside sources in order to ensure that Michael would be able to return home with her one day. That was what she wanted more than anything else in the entire world. She'd do anything to make that happen, including praying to someone she didn't even know was listening.
Her mind being allowed to wander as she paced the office floor and double-checked that there were no Shop surprises was a dangerous thing. Nikita needed a distraction before she went insane with worry. Fortunately, she soon received a call from Birkhoff. She didn't hesitate to answer it. She didn't care if he only called to be annoying or voice his concern about the Shop. Nikita just needed her thoughts on something besides Michael. A conversation with her nerd could help her on that front, "How're things?"
"Michael's in surgery now. Before the operation's over, a car will come to collect the prion. I'll pass it off, he'll wake up, and this nightmare will finally be over," Nikita quickly informed Birkhoff. She fidgeted with the ends of her hair and continued to wear a path in the carpet with her pacing. She had given up on staring at Michael's unconscious body. That had only filled her head with the worst type of imaginations. She couldn't help but be so fearful when it came to Michael. She didn't know what she would do if she ever lost him; she couldn't even contemplate the idea. It just felt like she would die along with him.
"So, you're just sitting and waiting? Must be torture for you," Birkhoff couldn't help but chuckle. The actual situation was not one to laugh at; Birkhoff was sick with worry regarding Michael. But picturing Nikita, who could not stay still or sit back to save her life (literally), being forced to do nothing for hours was a little comedic. The best way for her to help her fiancé was to do the exact opposite of what she normally did; she had to actually be patient. It was definitely a bit of cruel irony- something that Birkhoff couldn't stop from laughing at.
He especially couldn't stop laughing when Nikita groaned dramatically at her predicament. It was good to know that even when extremely worried, she could still be over the top. Birkhoff thought of a million different jokes he could make, and he was just starting to settle on one to share when Sonya joined him in his office. She marched right in, looking like she had something extremely important to share. He forgot all about his jokes to give her his undivided attention. She didn't waste any time in updating him on what was going on in the rest of Division, "Well, good news, we found our rebel."
"Really? Who?" Eagerly, Nikita asked. Discussing the rebellion would be a fantastic way to get her mind off the surgery. Although it wasn't that much better for her anxiety, at least Nikita had some power and control in the situation. She could help the team deal with the captured rebel, figure out how many agents had joined the effort, and diffuse the situation so that the President never discovered it. Although her attention hadn't been that focused on the rebels, she could step up and be there for the team then. Nothing disastrous would happen. Something would end well for them.
"Rachel. She's in Interrogation now. Ryan and Alex are preparing to interview her," Sonya dismissed Nikita's urgency to help. The team had the situation completely under control. As soon as Rachel regained consciousness, Ryan and Alex would press her to reveal the other rebels' identities with the strategy they had prepared. Once names were given and the rebels were talked to, the whole fiasco would be over with. Nikita could keep her focus on her fiancé; he needed her more than the others did.
"Good. Alex has really improved with her interrogation skills; she'll get Rachel to talk. It might help if Sean's there also. Don't let him know or his ego will get too big, but he's actually really good at being intimidating and scaring information out of people," Nikita couldn't help but taunt her brother as she suggested. Even while she was upset about her fiancé, she couldn't bring herself to be nice to Sean. That could mostly be explained by the fact that she needed at least one thing to stay the same while her life repeatedly turned upside down. Picking on her little brother would always be a reliable constant in her life. After all, he was such an easy target.
"Uh… Sean can't right now. He's uh… he's busy with something else," Searching for the right thing to say, Sonya explained. Whereas Nikita accepted the statement as truth, believing Sean was working on his hunch that Amanda had fucked with Alex in South Ossetia, Birkhoff glanced at his girlfriend in confusion. He hadn't heard anything about Sean working on another project. The entire team's focus- besides what Nikita and Michael were doing- had been on the rebels. There couldn't have been something new for the former Seal to suddenly do. Unless the team still wasn't telling each other everything.
Before Birkhoff could complain about how they never seemed to learn, Sonya began to mouth something to him. He couldn't understand what she was trying to say at first. It looked as though she was trying to tell him three words that each only had one syllable. That was all he could comprehend, and his perplexed face expressed as much. So, Sonya began to mime her words. After a moment, Birkhoff was finally able to understand 'Sean' and 'stabbed'. He couldn't contain his gasp in response, "Sean was stabbed?"
When Nikita shrieked and panicked on the other side of the call, Birkhoff realized why Sonya didn't say the information out loud. He glanced at his girlfriend sheepishly and mouthed that he was sorry. But the damage had already been dealt. Nikita freaked about her brother, especially since she couldn't leave her fiancé to see if he was okay. Someone had to calm her down. While glaring at Birkhoff, Sonya did so gently, "It's alright. He's fine. Rachel stabbed him in the arm when he captured her. But it wasn't deep. He's getting a few stitches in Medical now. Soon, he'll be as good as new."
Defeated, Nikita collapsed in the chair she had long ago given up sitting in. Why was there always something life or death to deal with. Why did all of their problems have the threat of losing each other. When would their issues become so mundane that they couldn't even be considered real problems. Didn't the team deserve that after all they had done, all they had sacrificed. When did they actually get to be rewarded for being the hero. Or was that what being a hero was really like. They saved the world, then all they wanted to do was leave it, "I just want this all to be over with."
"It will be," Birkhoff was quick to reassure Nikita. However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he looked to Sonya to see if he was right. Would everything be alright soon- would the war finally end someday- or was the hope that they could live happily ever after a pipedream. Sonya wished she had an answer, but, unfortunately, she couldn't think of any reassuring thing to say. The only thing the team of former rogues and the other agents trapped in Division could do was continue hoping.
Needing to help Ryan and Alex finish preparing for their interrogation, Birkhoff and Sonya ended the phone call. Nikita was left alone with her anxious thoughts once more; now they were plagued with worry for both her fiancé and her brother. She collapsed her head in her hands and resisted the urge to rip her hair out. Nikita didn't know how long she had stayed like that. She could've been drowning in her thoughts for hours. It was a very real possibility considering that the Shop's computer was what eventually brought her out of her head, "A car is on its way, Nikita. Once you've handed over the prion, we'll finish the surgery."
"Perfect," Nikita bounced excitedly out of the chair. Finally, there was something she could do besides think. She could actively help Michael, and she could take back the control the Shop had stolen from her. They weren't the only ones who could think the worst of others and change their deals. She had her own tricks to keep them in line and do exactly what she wanted, "But, there's one more thing you should know. I have the prion rigged to blow. If anything happens to Michael while I'm gone…"
"What happened to our deal?" The computerized version of Heidecker complained. Nikita couldn't stop the smirk from forming on her lips. She didn't think she'd ever not love ruining others' plans. She loved destroying their idea that they were the smartest in the room. She loved proving them wrong, especially in regards to her abilities. She was never one to be kept in a box. Her enemies couldn't predict her, no matter how much they believed they could. Nikita would always keep them on their toes. It was how she had survived that long, and it was how she could ensure she and her loved ones made it to the end of the war- if it ever came.
"Don't worry. We still have one. This is just my insurance," Waving the prion tauntingly, Nikita threw the fake Heidecker's words back in his computerized face. She left him gawking at her on the computer, then- after a final look at Michael- raced out the door towards the stairwell. The sooner she could get to the Shop's car outside, the sooner she could return to Michael, and the sooner he could wake up. The horrid affair would be over, and they'd never have to deal with the Shop ever again.
Tragically- though fairly on par for how most of her missions went- when Nikita entered the stairwell, she heard people marching up to meet her. She poked her head over a railing to get a good look at what the surprise could've been. She had feared it was the Shop. Yet that thought was dispelled the instant she saw a group of men holding guns. They looked like the guards she had encountered when stealing the prion. However, that couldn't have been possible. All traces of Division had been wiped from the scene. They shouldn't have been followed. Nikita was never supposed to worry about those guards outside of China, "What the fuck?"
Nikita seriously had to learn to not share every thought she had out loud, even when she was extremely confused. The men with guns heard her, and immediately pointed their weapons at her. She didn't have time to contemplate how the Chinese had managed to track her and Michael to Buffalo. In fact, the question couldn't even take root in her mind. As soon as the guns were aimed at her, she ducked and hurried back towards the safety of the room she had just come from. Bullets followed her, and she cursed, "Shit!"
"How's your boyfriend?" Rachel snarked the instant Ryan and Alex walked into the interrogation room. Despite the fact that she had regained consciousness handcuffed in Interrogation, Rachel seemed completely unfazed by the situation. Ryan didn't doubt that she was the leader of the rebellion. She knew exactly what her actions would've led to, and she saw no problem with it. Her plan could still happen without her. Unless, of course, Ryan and Alex could convince her to share who the others were and the team stopped them.
"Annoyed. They're patching him up in Medical now," Sitting in a chair across from Rachel, Alex remained calm. She didn't rise to Rachel's bait as Ryan had feared she would. She could easily keep her control during the interrogation. Although she had been concerned about Sean after he had been stabbed, Alex didn't remain too angry or upset by it. That was possibly because Sean was perfectly fine. There was nothing to truly be worried about. After some stitches, he'd be fine and back to searching for the other rebels.
"It's a good thing you got caught. This way, I don't have to tell the President another agent went rogue," Ryan pulled the conversation away from Sean and Alex and focused it all on Rachel. He needed to have the power in the interrogation. Not so he could lord it over the rebel and force her into an unwilling confession, but so she could realize that the only way to get what she wanted was to do what he said. There was still a way for all of them to win. The President remained in the dark, and nothing in Division had been destroyed. There was no need for desperation yet, "It also means you can still get your pardon once we shut Division down."
"That day will never come, and you know it," Rachel scoffed at the offer. Ryan had assumed that would happen. The agents who had begun to rebel weren't doing so because they believed in the team and the government. They only believed that they had to forcibly steal what they wanted. In the past, that had been abundantly true. After all, Nikita and the rogues that had joined her had all stormed into Division and forced the government to let them go free. The new rebels were simply following the only thing they knew that had worked. But if Ryan could show them another way, then maybe they'd change their minds.
"Yes, it will if people stop going rogue. Tell me who else is involved, and trust me, we will all get to walk away from here one day. The President will honor the deal," Ryan solemnly promised. Good things were coming to the agents who had decided to wait for their pardons. They would be rewarded for cleaning up Division, and they would be recompensed for surviving hell. Freedom was within all of their grasps; they'd be out of the bunker and the control of others once and for all. If they stopped fighting, they'd be able to clearly see that.
"You don't have to take the fall for the others, Rachel," Alex finally chimed in. It was a weird thing to add right then. Ryan thought for a brief moment that she was attempting to derail the interrogation. Yet that was completely ridiculous. Alex wouldn't side with someone who had stabbed her boyfriend. She probably just realized that Rachel was so argumentative because she was protecting others. If they called her out on it, maybe she'd change her mind and talk. After all, Rachel didn't have to protect the rebels from the team. They weren't going to hurt them. Division had stopped being that place when Percy was dropped down the silo.
Rachel stared at Alex for a long time. To Ryan, it looked like she was searching her eyes for something- like confirmation. After a moment, she seemed to find whatever she was looking for, and she sunk back in her chair. All the fight instantly drained out of her. Rachel wouldn't argue about anything else Ryan had to say. She'd go along with the interrogation, she'd face her punishment, and that would be it. The team had caught her, and it was all over, "Fine. The plan to get everyone out was my idea. Without me, it dies."
"I still need names," Ryan pressed, glancing warily at Alex. Her intense gaze remained locked on Rachel. A part of him felt like he was missing something. No Division agent gave in that easily. Yes, he had wanted Rachel to tell him everything about the rebellion. But he had known that it would take a lot of work to make her trust him and what he had to say. She shouldn't have caved that easily. It didn't seem right. Especially since all Alex had said was that she shouldn't take the blame. Something was off about the interrogation. Ryan didn't know what exactly, but he did know he didn't like it.
"I will take the fall for the others, but I won't let them do the same for me. They're dead in the water without me. You don't have to worry about any tipping point because no one else is going rogue," Rachel shook her head. Although she was willing to give up her fight, she wouldn't give up the other rebels. That was her deal for stopping the rebellion. Only she would be punished. The others would get the pardons they were promised and live the lives they should've been given.
"Did you just say, 'tipping point'?" Bewildered, Ryan questioned. Rachel attempted to persuade him into believing she had said something else, yet he knew what he had heard. The rebel had used specific phrasing that he had only used once to discuss the rebellion. There was no way she could've known it, unless she had someone spying on his office. With all of Percy's former paranoia still lingering in that office, that was highly unlikely. Which meant someone had to have told her about it. Except that made as much sense as the spying idea, "But… How could you know about that? I said that once, when I was talking to…"
Glancing at Alex again, Ryan began to make sense of a lot of things. How Alex and Rachel regarded each other. How Alex had reacted to Sean's plan to lure out the rebels. How Alex had questioned the tipping point idea. How Alex had been so defensive about causing a rebellion. How Alex had been so secretive and distant. All those things could only make sense if she was the true leader of the rebellion, not Rachel. Ryan didn't want to believe it, but the truth was staring him in the face. Alex betrayed the team, "Rachel says that she's the leader, but that isn't true. Is it? She's not taking the fall for the others. She's taking the fall for you."
All of a sudden, it was like a switch was flipped in Alex's mind. She finally turned away from Rachel, and she looked at Ryan with unreadable cold blue eyes. Her face was stern and set, and she seemed to be radiating rage. She was no longer his partner in that interrogation room. She had become his advisory. Whereas his mouth dropped in shock, hers turned into a sneer, "Well, somebody has to look out for them. If they stay, you and Nikita and this place, you're gonna get everyone killed."
"Alex… you can't possibly believe that," Ryan continued to stare at Alex in shock. How could she have been behind the rebellion. She had been a part of the team since the very beginning; the war on Division had started with her and Nikita. There was no way that she could've just gone against what she had so heartedly believed for so long. Especially since she had trusted the team to help her get a pardon for her boyfriend. She knew freedom was coming. So why would she ruin that with a rebellion. Why would she risk her boyfriend and her friends never getting out of Division by causing trouble that would call the Seals.
"I've seen it. If Division is left standing, more people are gonna die. Just like Jason and Larissa and all the other girls," Alex shot up from her chair and began to pace the room. She looked like a wild animal trapped in a cage. Ryan studied her movements, but he couldn't make sense of them. It almost seemed as though he wasn't with Alex- like, the young woman in the room with him was not the young woman he had been working with for years. Being discovered as the rebel leader had done something to her. If only Ryan could figure out what.
"What? Larissa? What other girls? What are you talking about?" Stammering, Ryan questioned. Though, looking into Alex's hazy and panicked blue eyes, he didn't think that she had heard him. She was not in that room anymore. Something he had said or she had thought had caused her mind to travel to an entirely different situation. She was not aware of what was occurring in that moment. Fearing that that would make her dangerous, Ryan tried to keep his distance from her. But that was ultimately useless. Wherever Alex's mind was, it made her scared and frantic. And she was going to lash out to protect herself.
"No, I won't let you hurt them!" Alex screamed at Ryan. He suddenly wished that another member of the team was in the room with him. Not only could someone like Nikita or Sean have a better chance of calming Alex down, but also someone like Owen or Michael could physically restrain Alex if she became violent. Ryan was not at all equipped to handle the situation. Alex had seemingly gone insane, and he had barely any skills to deal with what she might do in that mindset. He had absolutely no idea what she was talking about or why she was screaming. He was hopelessly confused. And he could do nothing when Alex drew her gun.
Seeing a gun pointed at him by a teammate- a friend- Ryan froze. Just what the hell was going on. It was incredibly clear that there was something wrong with Alex. If she had been in the right state of mind, she would've never threatened to kill someone she cared about. She wouldn't even threaten to kill a stranger- only an enemy. There was something not right in her head. Ryan couldn't hazard a guess as to what. A suspicion made him believe that it was Amanda's doing. Yet he had no proof. He couldn't make assumptions. All he could do was try to reason with Alex, "Alex… what are you doing?"
"Stay away from me," The gun shook in Alex's grasp as she waved it at Ryan. Rachel called from her seat for her to shoot him since he was going to expose the whole plot, yet she was ignored. Ryan's entire focus was on the loaded pistol shaking in front of him. Alex was far too unstable to be holding a weapon. Although he continued to have absolutely no idea what was going on, he could at least ascertain that. One wrong move on both their parts and the trigger would be pulled. And in that small of a room, there would be no stopping a bullet.
"Alex, think. It's not too late to fix this. Just give me the gun, and everything will be alright. I promise," Ryan forced himself to remain calm. He slowly reached for the gun in Alex's hand, praying to diffuse the situation before it got even worse. Unfortunately, his prayers were not answered. The instant he took a step towards Alex, the gun went off. A look of absolute horror crossed Alex's face at the action, like she had never wanted that to happen. Yet it was far too late to take back what she had done. Pain and blood bloomed across Ryan's abdomen as the bullet found its mark. He collapsed on the ground and tried not to lose consciousness.
All his efforts failed. The last thing Ryan saw before he passed out was the shock and terror etched across Alex's features.
