As soon as Michael, Sean, and Alex reported they were on their way back to Division, Nikita rushed to the carport. She knew she would be waiting for them for a while, yet she didn't care. She was just too overwhelmed to sit still. She had to feel as though she had some semblance of control. Birkhoff was trying and failing to track Cyrus and Sideswipe. And Ryan was dealing with the aftermath of a destructive mission. Nikita could've helped, but it wouldn't have made a difference. All she could do was pace and attempt to calm down.
Being calm would allow Nikita to think, and she had to think; she had to figure out what the hell to do next. That was the team's chance at Amanda. That was their chance to finally end things. Yet it slipped completely from their grasp. They had to scramble just to grasp at more straws. It was easy to let the frustrations of that dangerously wash over them. Stalking around the carport, Nikita attempted not to be frustrated. She had to think. She had to find another way to capture and kill Amanda and Ari. They couldn't go unchecked any longer, especially with Sideswipe- especially with everything else that was occurring.
Anxiety climbed up Nikita's throat and choked the air from her lungs. After almost an hour of pacing and trying to think, she wound up rushing to the bathroom to vomit. It wasn't only because of her morning sickness; she hadn't been that nauseous as the day progressed, simply crampy. Her fear of Amanda growing more powerful while she grew more pregnant was just too great to control. Her hormones probably made it worse. But the loss of the opportunity to kill Amanda was so crushing, Nikita couldn't cope. She was supposed to be setting a course for the end of all that hell, not diving into deeper shit.
It was always more, however. There was always so much more to suffer through. Amanda, the mole, the President, Dirty Thirties, Division, it couldn't all be handled in six months (give or take). She was going to have her baby while her enemies were still trying to kill her. She couldn't do that. Nikita couldn't subject her baby and her husband to that. Her mission in Division had to end, but it couldn't without constant betrayal. Nikita was screwed. Trusting Cyrus had ruined everything. The hole that was Division kept growing deeper and wider.
Which was why the team had to find all the new and changing ways to escape. Nikita had escaped before. She could drag herself out of hell again. But she couldn't do it alone anymore. That was made clear by her constantly growing anxiety. She had to rely on her friends and family. They'd be right there with her, even when she didn't have all the answers herself. She definitely didn't have any solutions then. She hadn't calmed down by the time Michael, Sean, and Alex returned to Division. She simply rushed into her husband's arms and demanded to know if they knew what to do, "What the hell happened?"
"Hell if I know," Alex slammed the car door shut. She wished she had a handle on what had happened. She was right there with Cyrus. She should've been aware of what he was up to. She should've caught onto him and stopped him. Yet Alex was completely blindsided. The op slipped from the team's hands, and they were left scrambling back to Division without the Sideswipe or any leads on Amanda. With their string of luck, maybe they should've expected something like that. But, honestly, no one thought Cyrus would turn on them for Amanda. Even while watching him closely, Alex couldn't pick up on those clues.
"Cyrus left this for you," Trying not to move far from his wife's hold, Michael reached into the trunk and removed the gun they had found shoved in the sand. Cyrus had made a clean break while the team was distracted by the arms smugglers attacking them. However, he left behind a modified pistol with a note attached. It was addressed to Nikita. That made sense, as the two had known each other. He was probably taunting her in some way. But neither Michael, Sean, nor Alex could find anything amiss or special about the gun. Besides its modifications, the pistol was a normal weapon. It was just another stupid part of the mystery.
Cautiously, Nikita examined the weapon and the note. Only her name was scrawled on the scrap piece of paper. Looking at it closely, though, she realized it wasn't paper. Cyrus had written on a torn cocktail napkin as if in a hurry. There was a possibility he had left more notes if that was true. Nikita studied every centimeter of the gun, until she popped open the chamber. One of the bullets was missing. In its place was a rolled napkin. She instantly ripped it out and read the coordinates scratched across it, "Romania? Is that where he's meeting Ari and Amanda? Or where Ari's using Sideswipe?"
"Either way, we have to intercept and grab that weapon," Sean didn't care to guess the implications of the note or Cyrus' betrayal. There had to be some clear reason for it. Yet with Sideswipe out in the world and in monsters' hands, motives didn't matter. The team simply had to keep moving and keep finding new solutions. Fortunately, they weren't as completely in the dark as they had first believed. They could still have a fighting chance against Amanda and Ari- if Cyrus' note panned out. Hopefully, it would.
"Alright. Location, schematics, and teams. Let's see what we can do," Clutching the note and weapon in her hand, Nikita finally found her thoughts. Division had their course and they could stick with it. Once they had a mission to plan for, things didn't seem as stressful. They knew there was something they could do to handle the shitstorm they had found themselves in. Creating operations they could execute meant they were still active- they were still in the game. Everything wasn't lost when they had their missions. They weren't out for the count yet.
Hurrying to Ops, the others quickly informed Birkhoff and Ryan of the situation. They didn't hesitate before diving in on a new plan. The coordinates were pulled up, and everything they knew about Ari's Sideswipe deal was jotted down. The team was going to plan until they couldn't plan anymore. Then, they were going to steal back Sideswipe and kill their two targets. Nothing could get in their way or stop them. Except, of course, a ping on Birkhoff's computer, "Whoa. Wait. Sideswipe just got turned off. We have Cyrus' location. He's in Spain."
"That must be Amanda's and Ari's hideout," Michael guessed. Cyrus wouldn't make the trade as Ari was showing off the weapon. He'd do it somewhere else, far from the action. Before he'd take off, however, he'd show Division where they could take down their targets. Michael was sure that was what Cyrus was up to. He could've removed his tracker when he escaped. Instead, he left it in. He continued to help the team, even if he worked with Amanda. It was like he was trying to remain neutral- play both sides of the field. But there was no neutrality in that war. If you didn't pick a side, you were dead.
"So do we raid it, or just meet them in Romania?" Examining the tracker location and the plans they had already hatched, Alex wondered. Division could easily split their teams and raid both places. Amanda and Ari couldn't run to their safehouse if an Alpha team was destroying it and ridding them of their resources. They'd have nowhere to go except into Division's grasp. If the agents planned and executed their operation efficiently enough, then the two wouldn't be a threat anymore. It'd all be over. It'd be the beginning of the end, but in a good way.
"Romania. We can't afford to split teams now," Ryan didn't have to think long before he decided. He didn't want to risk pulling Division's attention in two separate directions. Running multiple missions at once had been simple and without problems in the past. But nothing about their current situation was simple or without problems. The less distractions they had, the more of a chance they had at succeeding. The full might of their wrath and power had to be aimed at Amanda; she didn't deserve any less.
No one would argue with Ryan. They didn't want to do anything that might risk their mission. Even if there were other options, the team could only choose the best one. They wouldn't settle. Enough missions had been rash and reckless. It didn't matter if that had been their only choice. The team had to keep being better than before; though, the universe kept fighting against them. Everytime they got up, they were knocked back down. As the team finished their planning, Birkhoff received another ping on his computer. Unfortunately, that one wasn't as lucky, "Uh. Are we so sure about not splitting teams?"
Before the others could ask what he meant, Birkhoff displayed the message he had been sent for all to see. It was a video recording. It was a video recording of a snide Amanda and a tied up Cyrus. He looked as though he had been tortured. He was covered in open cuts, blood, and bruises, and he gazed at the camera guiltily. He more than likely gave up whatever information Amanda was fishing for. Yet the team couldn't worry too much about what that was. The bitch soon began to speak, emotionally tormenting them as always, "Hello, Nikita."
Although the message was directed explicitly at Nikita, it affected the entirety of Division. They had to choose. They'd either go after Ari with Sideswipe, the dangerous weapon they couldn't allow on the market. Or they saved Cyrus, a Dirty Thirty, from Amanda. The choice wasn't difficult for Nikita to make. As soon as the video ended, she knew she was going to do both. Ryan didn't want to split the teams, yet that was no longer their best option. If Ari and Amanda were separated, then so were they. Choosing who to prioritize was pointless. They both should die, "I'm going to kill that fucking bitch."
Muscles tense and ready to go, Nikita already began planning how she was going to storm wherever Amanda was hiding out and kill her. She was going to ensure the bitch was gone for good, never able to hurt anyone ever again. Yet as Nikita schemed, she remembered she had removed herself from the field. And when, for a brief second, she thought that was a stupid decision she should immediately change, she recalled exactly why she wasn't putting herself in danger. She couldn't face Amanda. It was too dangerous. Not only was the mission too much for her and the baby, but the bitch could discover the pregnancy and make everything worse.
"But…" Stopping herself short, Nikita felt her fear creeping back up on her. She wasn't exactly showing, and her pregnancy wasn't that obvious. Yet Amanda consistently saw right through her. She'd know. Nikita couldn't let her know. If she wanted her baby safe- and she desperately wanted that- then she had to stay in Division. The decision didn't feel right. It was her only choice, and she'd make it again and again. However, she felt as though she was abandoning her team. That was when they needed her the most, yet she couldn't step up. For the time being, she couldn't be the agent she once was.
"I'll go. Michael and I will take Amanda. Alex and Sean can tackle Ari. You can run both missions, right?" Ryan quickly suggested. Nikita didn't have to admit her struggle to her team. They knew (neither Ryan nor Birkhoff had solid confirmation about Nikita's pregnancy, yet they still knew). She didn't have to feel guilty about leaving them in the field. They had her back. They were also more than capable on their own. Everything would work out just fine. After all, she could still lead them on coms; she'd still be the agent she always was.
"You doubt me?" Nikita soon found herself smirking. Just because she was stuck in Division, didn't mean she was out of the mission. She was simply out of the way of flying bullets. She was still in the fight. She could continue to work and help her team. They'd need someone to watch over them, see and hear the things they couldn't. That'd be a stretch on two simultaneous missions, but Nikita was determined enough to do it. All her rageful energy she wanted to put into killing Amanda could be redirected into leading operations against her.
"Great. Alpha team stays with Sean and Alex- they're going to need the better support. A stealth approach on Amanda is our best bet to handle her and save Cyrus," Finalizing the new plan, Michael tried to push things along. The team didn't have time to hash things out more. They had to prepare the Alpha team, gather their equipment, and jet off to their different locations. Any lingering doubts or anxieties had to be shoved aside. They needed to trust the scheme they had as well as each other.
"Birkhoff, you think Sonya can help with our duel missions?" Nikita wondered. It'd help her assist Ryan and Michael sneak into Amanda's safehouse and Sean and Alex coordinate the Alpha team if there were two super genius computer experts on her side. There wouldn't be any frantic hacking or ordering around just to make it all work. She could remain calm in Ops, supplying a rational head while her team dealt with hecticness. And Birkhoff wouldn't be too stressed either. He had far been enough with Markov's videos and the mole's messages.
Birkhoff wanted to bring Sonya in on the mission. Nikita was right, having the other hacker would be a great help. However, he couldn't shake the thought of the mole hunt ending with her. It must've been a mistake. He was sure Sonya would never try to harm the agents in Division. But that didn't discount that something was going on. He could feel how strange it all was. There was something he was missing. Until he figured out what that was, Birkhoff didn't want to bring Sonya in on more missions. It was just in case. Then was the time to be cautious, not sorry, "Uh. I can handle it. Sonya should stay on the mole."
"Sounds good to me. You ready to kick ass?" Unlike Nikita, Sean didn't question Birkhoff's hesitation. He was simply ready to roll out and complete the mission. Although the plan had changed course, and had the possibility to change again, it remained solid and nearly perfect. It should see Division through to the end. Alex definitely believed so as she enthusiastically replied to her boyfriend. The team had no choice but to follow suit. They were going to do it. They were going to win.