"That's not possible," Michael blinked. He stared at Kosta Bechiraj's leg, unable to think or truly process what he was seeing. There was no way he just had a new limb. It had to be a trick- a mistake. Maybe it was only an edited photo to cover a prosthetic. No one could regrow limbs. Even in a world full of killchips, cryptokeys, hyper-realistic masks, and mostly uninterrupted trackers and coms, a leg couldn't be regrown. Michael couldn't believe it, nor could he imagine what kind of actions it spurred Nikita to do.
"It is. As far as we can tell, it's not a prosthetic. It's flesh and blood grown over carbon fiber bone," Birkhoff explained gently. He and Nikita had done their research. From the information they were able to hack and steal, Bechiraj really did have a new leg. It wasn't made out of real bone, but the rest was so very real that it was kind of frightening. Who knew what kind of miracle or horror of science had created it. Considering Heidecker used to make deals with Percy, Birkhoff was leaning towards the latter. He'd reserve most of his judgments for when Nikita returned, however. Despite them, he still wanted Michael to have a better opportunity.
"How?" The images and files on Birkhoff's computer were too much for Michael. What the hell was going on. Where the hell was his wife. Did she go after Bechiraj and whoever Heidecker was to get answers. Was she planning on securing her husband a hand just like Bechiraj's leg. Was Nikita putting herself at risk just for him. Michael needed answers, and he needed them immediately. Birkhoff, unfortunately, couldn't provide them. He had no clue how the leg was possible, just that it was. And as for the other answers, Nikita had to supply those. She needed to talk to Michael, preferably face to face.
"Alright, Birkhoff. I have Heidecker in my sights. I'm going to make my move," Nikita's voice played through the speakers in the room. She obviously hadn't heard what had been occurring in Division; she believed it was still mission as usual. By turning off his com, Birkhoff had tried to keep her out of the loop. He didn't want her distracted. If she was on her own, she could at least pour all her focus onto the op. But Alex ruined that by wiring the coms through the speaker system. She and Michael were very much involved in the mission then. Nikita couldn't keep to herself anymore. She wasn't as alone as she wanted to be.
While Birkhoff stammered for a response, unsure of what to say to Nikita, Michael stared at her tracker location. He wished he could actually see her. Birkhoff probably couldn't get access to any satellite images or camera footage without revealing that Nikita was sneaking around. But Michael hated being blind to her situation. She was already in plenty of danger going after Heidecker on her own. But creeping on Bechiraj's compound was close to a death sentence. Her husband had to get her out of there. He needed to save her before it was possibly too late, "No, Nikita. You're going to stand down."
"Michael?" Nikita paused at the sound of her husband's voice. How did he know what she was doing. She had thought he'd be too focused on locating Dirty Thirties or Amanda and Ari to realize she was up to something. Maybe if she had given a better excuse for her absence, he would've never known. It didn't matter anymore, though. Her secret was out. Yet she'd deal with the fallout of that later (she would've had to have done that when she returned, anyway). She still had a mission to complete, "Michael, I have to do this."
"Nikita…" Her com cut out just as Michael tried to reason with her. He slammed his fist on the table, frustration boiling over him. What was going on with Nikita; why wouldn't she listen. And why wasn't Michael fighting harder to make her listen to him. He couldn't just give up. He had to have Birkhoff patch him back through. He needed to speak to his wife and make her come back home. However, all he did was silently watch her tracker rush to Bechiraj's house, pause for a moment, then sprint away.
Maybe Nikita could actually pull off her mission. Maybe she could achieve her objective and make it home safe and sound. She just didn't have the luck. Michael, Birkhoff, and Alex watched in bewilderment as Nikita's tracker stopped at the perimeter of the compound, then slowly move back to the house. Curiosity, and fear, overcame the hacker then. He turned her com back on. All they heard were dragging sounds, terse words in some Slavic language, and Nikita's labored breath. Michael, Birkhoff, and Alex didn't need to see anything to know she had been caught and captured. They needed to inform Ryan and start a rescue mission.
Whereas Alex and Birkhoff took off to do just that, Michael froze. He was going to kill the hacker. Nikita was kidnapped, and Michael was going to kill Birkhoff for leading her there. How could she go on a mission alone. How could Birkhoff let Nikita go on a dangerous op by herself. How could he help her and keep his silence, knowing she could get hurt. Michael was going to kill him. After he beat himself up for never knowing what his wife was doing first. He should've known. He should've stopped her. Birkhoff did know, however. And he definitely should've said something, "You helped her storm into Kosovo alone? Why didn't you stop her?"
"She made a pretty compelling argument," Birkhoff couldn't hide the squeak in his voice. Michael was very scary and incredibly intimidating whenever his wife was in danger- even more so when he wasn't around to protect her. All that fear and anger was directed at the hacker, who honestly should've known better. Despite Nikita's argument, Birkhoff should've told Michael what she was doing. It wasn't safe or smart to keep the mission secret. That was how disaster struck. And no one was prepared to swoop in and save her.
"And what could've that possibly been?" Michael snapped. He couldn't begin to imagine what Nikita's motives for a secret, dangerous mission could've been. He was perfectly fine with his prosthetic; he had been for a decade. Nothing had changed that'd make her rush off to somehow secure him a new hand. Yes, he had had a rough time adjusting to the change in prosthetics. It wasn't as great as the one he had lost. But he was managing. He was getting better everyday. What was going through Nikita's mind to make her believe differently.
"You two seriously need to talk," Although Birkhoff wanted to tell Michael what Nikita had confided in him (especially when Michael glared at him for his comment) it wasn't his place to do so. The married couple had to have that discussion on their own. They had put off talking about the serious subjects for far too long. The miscarriage had hurt both of them, but that wasn't enough to push them away from each other. They should've leaned on one another, no matter how difficult it was. Not talking was more damaging than addressing what had happened. Even from the outside, Birkhoff could see that.
"In Birkhoff's defense, it's not like he could've talked Nikita out of it anyway. Once her mind's on something, good luck to the rest of us," Alex stepped between the men, putting an end to the argument. They weren't going to help Nikita by tearing each other's heads off. Besides, even if Birkhoff had tried to stop her, or had told the others about her plan, she'd still have gone to Kosovo. She was too determined to get her husband a new hand. Honestly, they were all lucky that Birkhoff had agreed to work with Nikita. Otherwise, she would've been completely alone.
"Whoa. Whoa. Shut up. Nikki's close to her com," Once they were in Ryan's office, and doing a poor job of catching him up, Birkhoff heard commotion over Nikita's com. It must've fallen out of her ear when she was dropped off wherever she was dragged to. Since she had regained consciousness, she was being addressed- most likely by Bechiraj. Birkhoff patched the coms through the speakers in Ryan's office. They could hear everything Nikita could. Which wasn't the blessing it should've been, not when they heard Bechiraj's gun and death threat.
Michael couldn't breathe. He tried to focus on what he overheard through Nikita's com, but he was distracted by the gun cocking and by Bechiraj's threat. His wife was in danger- she could very well die- and anyone who could possibly help her was thousands of miles away. There was nothing he could do to save her. All he could do was listen in horror and silently beg whoever was in charge of the universe that she found a way out of that situation. He couldn't lose her then- or ever. Michael needed Nikita. That wasn't how things were supposed to end.
Luckily, it didn't. Some sort of higher power intervened and made Heidecker save Nikita's life. He claimed that if Bechiraj shot her, he'd never help fix his leg. Since his vanity was too high to lose, Bechiraj gave in to the demand. Michael finally breathed. The threat on his wife was gone. He could then focus on getting her out of Kosovo. The rest of the team could focus on that as well, if they weren't so confused about Heidecker's actions. Though they were grateful, they couldn't make sense of them- especially Alex, "Why'd he keep her alive?"
"Maybe he finds her interesting," Ryan suggested lamely. He could barely rationalize what Nikita was thinking by infiltrating Kosta Bechiraj's compound, nevermind what was going through Heidecker's head. He probably found what Nikita was doing too intriguing to not figure out. Ryan certainly did. Going on her own to kidnap a man to do something for her husband was a desperate act. Her mind was running wild; she wasn't herself. She didn't even defend herself against Bechiraj's threat. Heidecker probably couldn't let her die without getting answers.
Although Michael was so very glad that Heidecker saved Nikita, he wasn't going to waste time dwelling on his motives. He needed to join his wife in Kosovo. Who knew how long she'd actually be kept alive. Michael just begged that it'd be long enough for him to make the eleven hour journey. She wasn't going to be alone anymore. He was going to rescue her and ensure she was safe. Then, on the way home, they'd have a serious discussion about what was going on between them, and why she had felt the need to go off on her own. Michael wasn't going to leave his wife. He'd fight for her to stay with him forever, "I'm going after her."
"You can't go into Kosovo without a plan. It is far too dangerous politically for American agents to make an attack on their deputy prime minister," Reiterating what he had been trying to tell the others, Ryan warned. After the botched CIA operation, Bechiraj had increased his security. It was also near impossible to slip in and out of Kosovo's borders. The fact that Nikita had done it was sheer luck. But after her attack, it'd be even harder for anyone else to get in. A rescue mission would cause an international incident. Or worse, death to Division.
"Their prime minister who's a criminal douchebag," Alex huffed. Before Nikita's mission revealed more information about him, the young woman had read about some of Kosta Bechiraj's atrocities. He was awful and corrupt and honestly deserved to have died during the botched CIA mission. Maybe Division could take him out when they rescued their agent. Completing a CIA operation would earn them some favors. Alex certainly didn't mind the idea. Any plan that would take out corruption and save Nikita at the same time was fine by her.
"I have a plan: fly to Kosovo and kick ass," Michael ignored the discussion between Ryan and Alex. He stomped out of the office and hurried to prepare for the rescue operation. He didn't care about political red tape or causing trouble. How could that even be important when Nikita's life was on the line. It was already going to take too many hours to reach her. They shouldn't waste time discussing the legitimacies of their actions. Michael just had to act, whether the team was behind him or not.
"I'm pretty sure he means that," Birkhoff sighed. He knew Michael was spiraling by the simple fact that his prosthetic had remind in a fist since hearing Nikita threatened at gunpoint. He wasn't going to calm down until he and his wife were both home. Which, of course, meant he wasn't going to have a clear head as he rushed off to save her. He might get into the same danger as her, or worse. The team had to watch his back and think for him. They couldn't worry about political incidents. That ship had already sailed.
Alex couldn't just watch Michael leave. She had to go with him. They had made a big deal about Nikita going on a dangerous mission alone. Michael couldn't be allowed to do the same. Besides, Alex was stable enough to be his partner. She'd get him in line and help him keep his head on straight. She could also help him create a more solid plan during the long journey to Kosovo. Though, that might've been more of a stretch. Ryan and Birkhoff were better suited to be the masterminds. Alex just had to calm Michael down and get him to channel his rage, "I'm going with him. Create a plan for us while we fly out."
"Try to calm him down too," Ryan shouted after Alex. Nikita was obviously out of her mind for running a secret mission. He couldn't have Michael go crazy as well. Though, Ryan figured it might've been too late for that. Michael had lost his mind the instant his wife was in mortal danger. He was going to be useless on the operation unless Ryan gave him direction. He had no idea how he'd achieve that, however. Nikita had definitely dragged them into a shitshow. Any solution he could come up with only caused more problems for Division.
As Ryan contemplated what to do, his gaze fell to Birkhoff. It wasn't exactly voluntary, but a part of him did blame the hacker for what was occurring. Nikita would've embarked on her reckless mission regardless of what anyone said or did. Yet, the team could've helped her plan and not cause problems if they had known about it. There was no excuse for Birkhoff to keep things a secret. He had figured that out by that point, however. He didn't need Ryan of all people to admonish him for it, especially when it looked like he was holding something back as well, "Alright. Alright. I should've said something. Now what is it?"
"I need to make a call," Shifting his attention to his phone, Ryan sighed. There was nothing he could do to stop the team. And a part of him didn't want to. He wanted Nikita safe just as much as the rest of them. But if they were going to invade Kosovo and create chaos, then he had to cover Division's ass. Bechiraj was going to overreact to the assault, and news was going to spread. Ryan needed to get on top of the story before it reached the President. Maybe he could spin it in their favor. Their government didn't want Bechiraj alive, after all.
"More secrets you're holding from us?" Rolling his eyes, Birkhoff huffed. He didn't understand Ryan. No matter how many times the team fought over their lack of communication, specifically the information Ryan didn't tell them, he continued to hide things. He wasn't protecting the team or Division from the harsh truth. He was only making things worse by not being honest. What just happened with Nikita was a prime example of why the team had to share things. All the secrets they kept would kill them faster than either Amanda or a Dirty Thirty.
"Not for long," Ryan promised. Once he had things figured out, he'd tell the team everything. Not only did they need all the intel to get in and out of Kosovo alive, but holding back information wasn't saving anyone. Most of their problems came from not being completely honest. The team should've learned that lesson a million times over by then. But it was so difficult being open; the tough subjects they discussed simply made it harder. They needed to get better at it. Talking had become an increasingly life or death issue.