After the movie and another night of resting and relaxing (and talking and kissing in the couples' cases) the team was ready to dive into their next disaster. Well, they hoped it wasn't a disaster. They should consider it their next mission instead, keep their positivity going. Though, how positive could they be since Percy had traded Nikita's and Michael's life for plutonium. A huge storm was coming and they had to be prepared to beat it, fight it, whatever. Once the team was gathered back together, the rogue tried to get them to think of just that, "So. Percy's gone nuclear. How the fuck are we going to stop him?"
"If he's building a bomb, it'll take more than just plutonium. He'll need casings and projectiles. And money," Michael shared his thoughts on the matter. He wasn't sure what else Percy would do with nuclear material besides a bomb. Ever since the Mirko Daidich mission, the thought of Division and nukes had been pulling at the back of the former analyst's mind. No doubt, the weapon would be used in some sort of power play. What was more threatening than a nuke, after all. Michael just hoped it wasn't as terrible as the sarin gas attack on the CIA.
"Hit him where it hurts the most- his funding," Remembering a threat Nikita had once thrown at Percy, Ryan suggested they simply take a run at the bastard's money. He couldn't obtain casings or projectiles without money. Sure he could use Division resources. But with Oversight out of the picture, there was no government funding. The black ops group's money all came from the dirty jobs Percy had done on the side. If the team took that out of the equation, Division would surely begin to crumble.
"Great. So where does Percy bank?" Nikita focused on the main issue with that plan. It wasn't as though the team couldn't stop Percy's cash flow. They simply had no idea where to begin. His money wouldn't be in a normal bank, or even something with easy access. He was smarter and more paranoid than that. The team had no intel to run off on for that puzzle. They'd have to piece it all together from scratch. When it came to Division, that was going to be nearly impossible. After all, the rogues needed moles and a black box just to get where they were.
Wait, the black box- there had to have been something on there about Percy's bank. All eyes turned to Birkhoff, searching for answers. He had spent the most time with the box of secrets from encrypting and decrypting it. If anyone knew anything about what was held in there, it would've been him. Except, the nerd had nothing. He had tried to find something damning on Percy, besides the obvious corruption, but it was a deadend. They still didn't have any leads, "Don't look at me. That was nowhere in the black box."
"Of course not. Those were just threats against Oversight. Percy has an eidetic memory. He doesn't need to write stuff like that down," Sean supported Birkhoff's defense. Whatever personal things Percy wanted to keep locked away, he'd simply keep it in mind. The most secure place in the world would be his own thoughts- a black box could be cracked but not him. Although what the Seal claimed made sense, the team had no idea how he knew that. Eyes shifted towards him, beyond curious for some sort of explanation. He sighed, "I had to deal with him a lot when I worked for Oversight."
"Did he mention anything about banking?" It was a long shot, yet Alex asked anyway. Percy enjoyed as much mind games and manipulation as Amanda. He could've said something to Sean to bait him or trick him. Even the smallest of details could help the team. They could run off of a faint idea or a partial name- they had done so before. Racking his brain, the Seal tried to remember anything vital from his conversations with the bastard. All he could come up with were the annoying runarounds he put him through. But maybe that held something- anything to put the team on the right track.
"Yeah, actually. He wanted me to make sure Amanda wasn't touching his money. If I did that for him, he'd give me intel on you guys," Sean explained sheepishly. Since Amanda was so blatantly lying to him about the rogues, he had reluctantly turned to Percy for information. The account he opened and the subsequent file he poured through was what alerted the remaining Guardians to break their boss out of his cell. He continued to feel guilty for his involvement in that chaos, despite the others reassuring him that it was nowhere near his fault. He still should've been cautious and mindful instead of jumping at the first chance of the truth.
"Do you still have the information?" Fortunately, Michael gave him a chance of redemption. If Sean still had the account number, then Birkhoff could trace it to a bank- assuming Percy hadn't closed the account. The Seal hurried to his mission bag to check if he kept the notepad he had written in. Attempting not to put all their hope into one possibility, the team tried to think of other ways to solve the problem. They had nothing. But before they could let the frustrations of that roll over them, Sean found the notebook.
Instantly, Birkhoff searched up the account number (after poking fun of the Seal for his messy handwriting). It couldn't have been an account Percy kept all of his money in. He was smart enough to divert his funds, and he would never give someone access to that much of his money. Yet the team would take what they could. Besides, just the small lead could give them a huge advantage in their war. They had run out of those fairly quickly. The information the nerd gathered could give them the boost they needed, "It leads to one of those Swiss banks. I can't hack it from the outside."
"We break in and steal the information. Sounds good to me," Nikita immediately suggested. An intel gathering mission seemed so nice and simple after the hell they had been experiencing lately. She already had plenty of ideas rushing through her mind on what the team could do to successfully complete the op. Before anyone had the chance to agree or disagree with her suggestion, she pulled up schematics of the bank and the information about its computer system. It didn't seem too difficult. The team could pull it off without a problem.
"It's a Swiss bank. We have to be a bit more prepared than that," Except, as Ryan pointed out, stealing from a Swiss bank would be different than stealing from a regular one. First of all, the things they needed were on a computer, not in a vault. And secondly, there was a reason Percy and so many other powerful people kept their money there. The measures the banks went to in order to keep their assets safe were insane. The team would have to plan thoroughly before jumping right into action.
"How about a distraction, pull all their focus away from what's happening right under their noses," Ready with another idea, Nikita was quick to rush out into the field. She really wanted to put action behind the threat she had leveled at Percy over the phone. She wanted him scared of her for a change. It just might make him desperate, which would lead to a mistake. The team would be there once he slipped up, and they'd finally burn Division to the ground. As hopeful as it was to think of the last phase of the war like that, Nikita had to stop. She needed to remain in the moment. That was what she could control, and that was what she could succeed at.
"A fake robbery with guns could distract them from a real robbery on the computer," Michael supported his fiancée's suggestion. Distraction and misdirection were steadfast ways the group of spies could get what they wanted- it was standard spycraft. Lending their skills to bank robbery was pretty simple. The team just had to plan and be prepared for anything. The intel they needed was already pulled up. A solid scheme could fall into place, as well as any backups. Though, if they worked hard enough on their plan A, they wouldn't need a plan B.
Soon, the team created a seemingly airtight operation. One of them would pose as a high value banker, looking to open an account. That would draw the manager out in time for the others to rush in with guns as they pretended to rob the place. The 'banker' would then attach Birkhoff's device that allowed him to hack computers to the bank's hardware. And that would be it. They'd have a way to end Percy's cash flow. They just had to assign each of them a role in the operation. Though, Ryan had some ideas on that as he turned towards Alex, "All we need now is someone rich and powerful to be the ultimate shiny object."
"You want me to play myself on a mission?" Alex had been able to track what the more experienced agents were scheming easily. Yet when expectant eyes turned towards her, she was bewildered. Sure, she had played up the lost heiress angle to rescue her mother. But bank robbery was different. Hell, an active rogue mission was different from her previous operations as Alexandra. She'd have to merge the spy and the princess into some strange mix of operative and persona. She couldn't wrap her head around it.
"You are an attractive heiress," Despite the tease, Sean tried to bolster Alex's confidence. She had done so many other remarkable things. A mission as Alexandra Udinov should've been a piece of cake. Besides, she was the best suited for the job. No one else could switch between a spoiled heiress and a secret agent as rapidly and as effectively as her. It was like a strange talent, one the team shouldn't take for granted. It was also one Alex had to recognize. She could have the best of both worlds and help save the day.
"Fine. But I get to pick out my outfit. And, I don't want things coming back on the Udinov name. We've been through enough shit," Taking a second to consider, Alex was able to agree with her own terms. No one was going to argue with her. The young woman could control her cover, and of course they wouldn't let her name be linked to their activities. She and Sean were the only two out of the team who had real lives outside of the crusade. They couldn't allow that to fall into ruin. The two deserved more than that.
"Deal. Mikey, Fletch, and I will be the fake robbers. Nerd's got the hack. And Princess will be our distractor. That just leaves you, Boy Scout. You want to be a bodyguard again, or do you want to turn to the darkside?" Nikita distributed the rest of the roles. Although the nicknames she used caused eyes to roll, the team accepted their duties for the mission. The only hesitancy came from Sean. He had been given the choice between helping Alex or helping Nikita, Michael, and Ryan. However, he couldn't make a decision. It wasn't because he didn't want to assist the team on the operation- it was because he couldn't.
The time the team planned on storming into the Swiss bank interfered with a previous engagement. Normally, he'd rearrange his schedule to help out. Yet he was busy with something vital. Sean had also been avoiding it for a while. He couldn't anymore. He had to finally tackle the issue and at the time scheduled. The others would just have to operate without him, "Sorry. I, uh, have to do some legal stuff with my sisters. We're still handling the paperwork and legal side of our mother's death. But, you guys can call me and I'll be right there."
Sean was apologetic and hesitant as he explained, as if he felt guilty for having to run out on the team. It wasn't his fault, however. They completely understood that he had to take time off and be with his sisters. Alex expressed as much with a small smile and squeeze of his hand. They would be alright without him for one mission. He at least helped them finalize their plans before he left. Everything was airtight and ready to go. Clapping his hands together in eagerness, Birkhoff eventually gave the commanding order, "Alright. Let's get this show on the road."