Two weeks. That was how long it had been since Alex's world came crashing down around her. Two fucking weeks since she stumbled upon Nikita and her team in the alley and the truth started spilling out. Technically, her world first came crashing down around her when she was thirteen. Her father was shot and killed in front of her, while she could hear her mother's screams through the flames. Although her father was dead, her house wasn't burned to the ground; Semak had rebuilt it to its former glory. And although she was sold into slavery and fought for her right to live, her mother was standing right in front of her alive.
The shock of everything was starting to tear away at Alex. The attack on her family was a government sanctioned hit. Her father's best friend and business partner was the man behind it. The woman who had saved her life repeatedly was the person to shoot her father (she understood the events that led to that, and understood Nikita wasn't truly at fault- it was still a lot to process). Her boss and future boyfriend worked for an organization that was comfortable with murdering an entire family. And her mother wasn't dead the entire time. How she was to deal with all that whiplash was beyond her. Even Nikita was stupefied.
"Alexandra?" At least her mother was also surprised that she was alive. It would explain why she never looked for her over the years. Alex didn't like that that was one of the first thoughts to pop into her mind when she saw her mother. First was the shock. Then was the question of why she never fought for her daughter. She lived in their old house, not considering her old family. No, there had to have been an explanation- there always was. Her mother not knowing she was alive was one of them. Semak holding her captive must've been the other. That was the only thing that made sense.
"How?" Alex wasn't certain if she was asking her mother or the rogue standing by the door behind her. Nikita shrugged, continuing to be absolutely bewildered. She started to take out her burner phone as if to text Michael. He might've been able to solve that mystery. However, Katya's survival was nowhere on the black box. According to the files, she died along with everybody else. Obviously the file had been wrong about Alex. So it had to have been wrong about her mother as well.
That didn't matter at the moment, however. Alex was wrapped into the tightest hug she had ever received in a long while. Her mother held her close to her, and she couldn't stop herself from crying. She finally felt as though she were home. The soothing Russian her mother spoke to her solidified that. Everything melted away in that embrace. There were no shadowy organizations, conspiracies, hurt feelings, or detrimental secrets. It was simply Alex and her mother. When the two eventually separated, though, her mother innocently reminded her of all the pain she endured over the past seven years, "What happened to you?"
Alex decided not to answer. She'd tell her mother later, when they were both safe from Semak's clutches. She needed to change her plans since her mother was in the house. She wouldn't risk putting her in danger. Her need for revenge could wait. Hopefully, Nikita would understand that. If not, well then maybe she'd have to force her to. There was no way she could take her in a fight. But maybe if she had more drive and passion she could make her point clear. For that instant, though, she had to focus on her mother. They had to escape, "We gotta get you out of here. Semak he…"
"On his way," Nikita interrupted. Footsteps from down the hall snapped her out of her shock. She might have been a part of Operation Pale Fire, but she knew absolutely nothing about the mission. That was going to change. First, she and Alex had to hide. Who knew what would happen if they were caught. Besides, Gogol and Zetrov still thought Alexandra was dead. That could help them out later. How much help, neither Nikita nor Alex knew. The way Katya spoke with Semak didn't appear like a woman in distress. But that could've been the drugs. Alex hoped that was all it was- that her mother was still her mother.
After Semak and his men left the room, Nikita started planning some way they could escape the room and create a new scheme. Alex, on the other hand, promised her mother she would come back for her. She wasn't going to leave her. They were going to be a family again. It wasn't something she had thought before, other than brief moments with Sean and the Pierces. Yet that feeling with them had been shattered by Oversight. She was going to control her future from then on. She was going to save her mother, kill Semak, and live happily ever after. No one was going to get in her way. So when she and Nikita ran down to the basement to reassess (and Nikita took out the guard), she demanded, "We're getting my mother out."
"I know. We're gonna save her, kill Semak another day, and call that boy scout with a job offer," Nikita nodded. Alex was slightly stunned by her agreement. She had been so determined to get a black box, she thought she wouldn't change her mind. However, the rogue appeared to do so in a heartbeat. She had even found some paper to draw up a new battle plan. The mission was serious for her. The young woman almost didn't know what to say.
"Boy scout? You mean Sean?" She found focusing on Sean easier. The only boy scout Alex had heard Nikita talk about was the Seal. By 'job offer' she probably meant joining the team of rogues. She had to call him. She had ignored him long enough. It was time for her to swallow her pain and make him understand what was occurring. She hoped he didn't already know. It'd be easier if he was clueless. Because once he knew the truth, he'd be on their side. If he did know the corruption he was working with- she didn't even want to consider it.
"Yeah. And we don't really need to worry 'bout the black box just yet. Doubt Gogol can crack it," Nikita was putting a lot of faith in Gogol's inability. But Birkhoff was the Engineer, and he was the best hacker she knew. Ari's men wouldn't be able to crack the black box. They had time to create a better plan (preferably with Michael's help) and focus on other things. Alex's mother was far more important than some war, anyway. She was family. Nikita would always fight for family.
While the rogue ran through possible ways to rescue Katya, Alex attempted to figure her out. She never completely understood Nikita's motivations. Ending Division and Oversight out of revenge, and justice, and saving the world she got that. But why help her. Other than the information on Senator Piece she supplied, she was useless to the team. They wanted to help her get revenge like them, and she had an emotional and personal involvement with the cause. Yet they didn't have to take her up; they didn't have to listen and share. And Nikita didn't have to give up her mission to save her mother. She might've wanted her to. Except, that wasn't a driving factor- certainly not one to make her so readily agree, "Why are you doing all of this for me? We barely know each other."
"I'm just helping you get the life you deserve," Nikita was prepared with that line. She also wasn't paying that much attention to Alex. Getting Katya out of the house was going to be tricky with Ari, Gogol, and the young woman's lack of skills. The rogue had pulled off impossible before. She had no doubt they could do it. She just needed to plan spectacularly well. The two of them could take Ari's car after disabling the other Gogol vehicles, leaving them free and clear to take off with Katya. That sounded reasonable. They simply had to get her to the car past Semak and all the guards.
"Okay. But why? You could've dumped me back in that alley. Why help me get revenge?" Alex wasn't letting the topic go. Rescuing her mother from Semak wasn't a normal mission. Not that she necessarily knew what a normal mission was. But if she was going to risk her life and her mother's she needed to know she could trust Nikita with everything. The rogue sighed. She finished her plan of action, glancing the young woman over. Her stubbornness made her shrug.
"Cause honestly, fuck Division," It was a simple enough answer that could get Nikita by with anybody else. But Alex demanded more with the stern cross of her arms. She continued to see so much of herself in the young woman, it was almost terrifying. Except, it opened her up a little bit more, made her share something she had only told Michael in vague terms, "And I'm doing for you what I wish someone did for me."
Recognizing that look in her brown eyes, things became a lot more clear to Alex. Nikita was like her. They weren't exactly alike. But that pain, the one that appears after someone survived such harsh abuse, was present in both of them. Alex didn't know the full extent of Nikita's trauma, and she doubted she'd ever know. Yet they were alike. That was something to hold onto, "So you're…"
"Not a Russian heiress, tell you that much," Nikita deflected. She wasn't one for pasts. She had buried it a long time ago, before Gary was killed and before Amanda started poking around in it. She barely told Birkhoff, Ryan, or Michael about it. To her, it wasn't important. So she could make jokes. She played it off as she refocused on more important tasks.
The strategy never worked with any of them, so of course it didn't work with Alex. She stepped closer to the rogue, earnestness shining in her blue eyes. She understood pushing it away. However, if her therapy taught her anything, it was that talking helped. The two couldn't delve into anything then. There was her mother to save. She could open the line of communication, though. Let her know she wasn't alone, "Like the girls in the brothel."
"Scummy little orphan trash," Again, she brushed it off with words others had used to describe her. Nikita tried to get Alex to listen to her plan. Katya first, then their little bonding session. She didn't want to make that promise; she didn't think she could. Actions were her strongest asset. So, she'd save Alex's mother- she'd save an innocent life like she had done seven years prior- and that would be the end of it. No talking necessary.
"A survivor," Alex got the last word in, however. It was to let her know of her strength. Both of them had escaped their abusers, gotten clean from their drug addiction, protected innocents, and were saving the world. They still barely knew one another. And there was a lot left for Alex to learn from Nikita about being a rogue agent. But they had one another. It was a start.
Nikita gave Alex a grateful smile, then dove into her plan. The young woman listened with rapt attention, asking for clarification and giving her own suggestions here and there. It didn't take long for the two of them to come up with something solid. Together, they were an amazing team. Maybe things wouldn't be as difficult and painful moving forward. They'd save Alex's mother, recruit Sean, and defeat the evil. It would all be okay, "Ready to save your mom?"
"Hell yeah."
"Here we go."