"One of our agents has been captured by the FBI," The team didn't even have time to adjust that morning before Ryan sprang the news on them. They had responded to his urgent call and had just entered Ops for the morning, when they were thrown into immediate chaos. By that point, they really shouldn't have expected anything else. Shutting down Division had been nothing but crazy, dramatic, and eventful since they had started. Of course they wouldn't be given a break. The team simply had to keep jumping into the fray.
"How?" Michael had to ask. One of their agents just didn't get captured. The arrest had to have been deliberate. Either their next Dirty Thirty was into something criminally awful and nasty, or one of their own had turned against them and gotten into trouble. Michael didn't know which was worse. The team had been up against two absolutely terrible Dirty Thirties back to back; they deserved a lack of adventure for once. On the other hand, an agent acting up could only lead to disaster. If dissension occurred in their ranks, Division would be dead in the water.
"Mia has been undercover with a homegrown terrorist group, trying to discover their next move and stop them. But the compound was raided by the FBI, and she couldn't escape in time," Ryan quickly explained. The team didn't have any criminal activity or dissension to worry about. An operation had simply gone wrong. In the past, that would've been when Division retreated. If a mission failed, that was it. The agents left in the field weren't recovered; they had to make their own way back, or remain in captivity. That wouldn't be the policy any longer. Bringing agents in also meant those in captivity. However, to do that the right way, it was going to take some time.
"How long has she been undercover?" Demanding to know, Nikita stalked closer to Ryan. She could already guess that she wasn't going to like his answer. The only missions they were supposed to be running were ones meant to shut Division down. Unless there was a member of their Dirty Thirty in the terrorist group, there was no reason for Mia to be undercover. The operation was a good one; terrorists should be taken down. But that wasn't Division's job anymore. Their agents weren't going to be forced to do anything the CIA or the FBI or any other three letter agency could handle. They were done and ready to be free.
"About six months," Taking a step back from Nikita, Ryan replied. He knew how it sounded. And he understood why shocked and lived gazes were thrown his way. He didn't necessarily like the decision himself. The missions Percy sanctioned weren't always for the best. In fact, many of them were self-serving and lined his pockets. However, that didn't mean there weren't some good missions Division took on. They had stopped terrorists and killers before. That was all Ryan was continuing. He wasn't agreeing to something Percy had done, he was trying to help the country. That had once been Division's purpose, after all.
Nikita and Ryan had had a similar conversation before. What felt like forever ago, when it was just the two and Michael against Division, they had discussed a good side to the hellhole. She never believed there could be. Even when she discovered Carla had started Division as a way to help people and the country, Nikita never thought that could be true. The black ops unit had always had the root of evil in it; it didn't matter what they did or tried to strive for. It was evil, and it had to stop, "A Percy Mission? We're not supposed to have any active ops. We're supposed to be shutting this place down."
"I know. But Mia believed she had a line on their leader, Joshua, and she wanted to pursue it. I thought it was a good idea, so I agreed," In an attempt to stop Nikita's fury-filled advances, Ryan raised placating hands. He also glanced towards Michael and Sean for help. The two Navy men would understand him. According to Nikita, he hadn't been making the right calls lately. But keeping a mission active to stop terrorists was a good one. They could save so many people. And wasn't that always what they wanted, to save innocents.
"Well now we gotta break her out of prison to save her and see what she knows," The second point was more of an afterthought; Alex was far more focused on helping Mia out of jail than seeing what kind of intel she had gathered. Alex wasn't so much concerned with the mission Ryan continued. She simply didn't want them to leave Mia in jail. She didn't deserve that. It was worse than being trapped in Division. At least in Division there was a chance for freedom (well, at that moment there was). She didn't even do anything wrong to land in prison. She simply wanted to help. The team couldn't allow her to be punished for that.
"What was Division's policy on recovering captured agents?" Michael was on the same page as Alex. The continued undercover mission was one thing; they'd have to deal with that later. For the meantime, the team had to concentrate on recovering Mia. There had to be a policy or strategy in place for recovering captured agents. They couldn't just abandon them out in the field. Sure the black ops group did terrible things. But Nikita always told Michael that they'd preach that the agents and recruits were a family. They wouldn't just abandon their family.
Ryan and Nikita shared a look. She hadn't told Michael everything about Division. He knew enough to help her fight a war against them. And he knew the hand they played in his family's death. Yet, she kept the heavier stuff to herself. She didn't want to open up those cans of worms with him. Sean, on the other hand, was an outsider who knew just how awful Division could be to their own. He had witnessed it. Although he tried to stop it, he rushed into the field to save an agent from her captors, it was no use. Division devoured their own, "There were none."
"That's changing today," Nikita stared directly at Ryan as she declared. Fierce determination burned in her gaze. He wasn't going to argue with her. They had to break Mia out. However, the team couldn't do it that day. Their agent was being held in federal prison. That was too much security for them to take on all at once. They had to plan. They had to create a whole operation revolving around the rescue. Rushing right in was bound to lead to disaster. The amount of uncontrollable and unknown variables was going to hurt them.
Except, Nikita was ready to dive right in. Nothing would sway her; she had broken someone out of federal prison before. She could do it again without problem. Alex agreed with her. When Nikita left to plan and execute her mission, Alex followed. The two were better off with one another anyway. All the times they had gone against orders, they had done so together. They'd be great on one more operation. Ryan didn't doubt them. He simply wished they'd stop to think. Division couldn't afford to lose any agents- or for them to make too much noise. The women couldn't get into trouble, "Michael, you think you could…"
"Just because we're married, doesn't mean she listens to me more," After making sure Nikita was out of earshot, Michael negated Ryan's idea. He wouldn't be able to tell Nikita anything. She and Alex were on their own warpath, it was best for the rest of them to stick to theirs. Birkhoff had been missing from the meeting to continue hacking into the terrorist group and find the team answers. That was a point the men could jump off of while the women saved Mia. It was a benefit of having a strong and capable team. They could divide and conquer, "What intel do you have on this group?"
"Birkhoff was able to find a Vimeo account from one of the other terrorists. It's full of home videos of a hockey arena," Sighing, Ryan pulled up the information for Sean and Michael to study. He wasn't a huge fan of what was happening, but it was too late to argue. It was also too late to issue a command to stay put; though, there was no way Nikita and Alex would've listened to that. Ryan had to give up on trying to control the two. The best he could do was help them with whatever they wanted to do.
"It's probably for their next attack. We have to check it out," The conclusion was easy for Sean to make. If the FBI raided their compound, the group was up to something nasty. The home video that was captured was the team's best bet of discovering what the terrorists' plans were and stopping them. Ryan agreed, sending Michael and Sean to the hockey arena posed as FBI agents. The two could black badge their way into gathering intel. It'd be a good insurance policy incase Alex and Nikita failed in releasing Mia.
They were far too stubborn to let that happen, however. Nikita and Alex involved Birkhoff and Sonya in their schemes. With their help, and their ability to find blueprints and security for the prison, the women were able to formulate a plan quickly. Yes, if they gave themselves more time it'd be better. Yet what they had was good enough. They'd simply have to be willing to improvise. Alex and Nikita were great at that. And the hackers could be as well. It was just Mia they'd have to look out for.
Fortunately, she was held in solitude in an isolated wing. Nikita and Alex didn't have to worry about anyone else as they smuggled her out of the prison. Birkhoff and Sonya were directing them around the cameras and guards. The two agents were alone, and had the time to execute their plan comfortably. Once they reached Mia in her cell, though, she was ready to attack them. She recognized Nikita instantly; they had crossed paths a few times when they were both Division agents. She believed the agents were there to kill her. Yet, Nikita only shook her head and tossed her new clothes, "Relax. I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to break you out."
Mia didn't question Nikita further. She easily went along with hers and Alex's plan, ready to leave the prison behind her. She had spent enough time trapped behind concrete walls. She had to escape when she had the chance. Alex and Nikita were quick to make that happen. They tried not to take up too much time as they snuck through the prison. However, Sonya and Birkhoff were beginning to have trouble with the cameras. They were struggling for control and shouting about something. Alex didn't necessarily care about what that was, as long as they could get out of there safely, "Birkhoff, Sonya, how are we doing on cameras?"
"You're clear," Sonya shouted over Birkhoff's argument. The two hackers had been fighting over who had control over the prison cameras since Alex and Nikita arrived. It was something involving how hightech and advanced the security was. The hackers had to do some fancy tricks to stay on top of it, especially since the plan was so rushed. The agents trusted them to get the job done, however. They knew that given enough time the nerds could figure it out. Unfortunately, that didn't mean there wouldn't be any hiccups. It was far from the perfect op.
"Shit. There's a guard," As Alex, Mia, and Nikita rounded the corner into the back loading bay, they spotted a guard on patrol. The three were able to hide behind the wall out of sight. Yet there was no guarantee that they'd be safe there for long. They had to get the guard out of the area. Sonya and Birkhoff were trying to think of something. Maybe they could give him a false signal on his walkie talkie. Or, find another route for the three agents to take. They couldn't have gotten that far only to be stuck then. They were so close to making it home.
"I got it," Before Nikita could stop her, Mia rushed to confront the guard. For a second, Nikita believed her rashness was simply a strong desire to escape prison and return to Division; she'd be one step closer to freedom. Yet that positive belief was short-lived. In the blink of an eye, Mia grabbed the guard's gun, shot him, and turned towards the two agents. Her sights were on Nikita. She was prepared to shoot her would be rescuer. Before she pulled the trigger, though, Alex jumped in front of the gun. She took the bullet.
"Alex!" Nikita caught Alex as she fell. She barely registered Mia hopping into the truck in the loading bay and tearing down the street. All of her attention was on Alex. The bullet was lodged deep into her shoulder. It wasn't through and through. Blood erupted from the wound, marring everything in dark crimson. Focus narrowing on the blooming red, Nikita wasn't able to process anything else. Alex was bleeding. Alex was shot and bleeding terribly. And it was all her fault for dragging her into that mess, "No, no, no. Alex, no."
Ripping off her shirt, Nikita pressed the fabric into Alex's bleeding shoulder. She had to stop the bleeding. There was so much blood for just a normal shot to the shoulder. The bullet must've nicked something. There was a chance Alex could bleed out before she could reach help. Nikita couldn't let that happen. Despite the wince of pain, she pressed her shirt tighter into her best friend's wound. That should staunch the bleeding. It had to stop her from bleeding out. Though, Alex didn't seem too worried about that. Her only focus was on Nikita. With a shaky hand, she touched her friend's lower abdomen and whispered harshly, "You're safe."
"Hold on. Hold on. Ops! I need a medevac, now! Please!" Frantic, Nikita screamed into her com. She didn't care if someone in the prison heard her. Their getaway car was just down the street. The backup team could reach them in time if they hurried. But Nikita was terrified they wouldn't make it to Medical before something terrible happened. Alex wouldn't look at her. She wasn't focusing. She was losing too much blood. She was losing consciousness. If they didn't make it out of there soon, she was going to be lost. Nikita couldn't let that happen. That couldn't be how it ended for Alex. She had to be safe. It was what she deserved after all she had done.