Nikita was too lost in thought to pay attention to what she was doing. Her head swam with thoughts of Jason, Michael, The Shop, and the upcoming surgery. It all just felt like one wrong move after another. Nothing was going how they wanted- how they needed it to be. But like Nikita had told Alex, she didn't know how to fix it. She kept trying to make it better, yet it always fell apart. She could do things differently; she could keep trying to make things right for everyone she had sworn to protect. But it just seemed like it was never enough. She always made the wrong move no matter what it was.
And that time, Nikita's wrong move led her to turn a corner and slam right into another agent, "Sorry. My bad."
The agent had only stumbled back after the collision. Both she and the tablet she held were fine. Nikita didn't recognize her immediately. She wasn't anyone she had worked with when she had been in Division. The agent must've been someone who had been recruited after Nikita had gone rogue. There was a chance that the former rogue had fought her before. But she couldn't quite place when. Especially when the agent piled on to Nikita's heavy thoughts, "How's Michael? He must be devastated. He and Jason had gotten pretty close."
"We're all devastated. Jason took a bullet for us. It's no small thing," Nikita answered somberly. It was so strange to think of anyone as friends in a place like Division- save for the team of former rogues. Yet that seemed to have changed with New Division: agents were closer than ever. That just made recent events all the more worse.
"I was in Ops the day you killed Percy. You came in and spoke to us. And you made that promise. You're the reason we're all gonna get out of here someday," The agent continued, seeming hopeful about the possibility of a real future. Nikita wanted to be that hopeful. She had been. But then, she wasn't so sure anymore. The hole of Division just kept getting bigger and bigger. Instead of the bad guys or even the government holding the shovel, however, it was the team of former rogues- it was Nikita.
When Nikita could only vaguely smile in response, the agent left her alone with her thoughts again. A part of her considered just staying exactly where she was: hidden in a hallway, contemplating how she would ever fix things- if she could ever fix things. But she had to get moving. Michael was waiting for her, and she had to help him; she could at least make things right for her husband. When she finally left the hallway, however, Nikita was still too lost in thought to realize where she was going. She stepped into Ops and nearly right into Alex.
Nikita barely managed to stop in time not to hit the young woman. Alex didn't seem to notice, though. She had her own thoughts running in her mind that made her blurt out the instant she saw the former rogue, "So you're leaving again?"
"One last job. Just me and Michael this time," Nikita swore. The Shop and the hand was hers and Michael's problem; they should be the only ones solving it. Dragging Birkhoff and Jason into it was their mistake- a mistake they would be paying for for a long time. They needed to learn from it and stop involving the others- even if what came next was the scariest part.
"Nikita, finding these rebels isn't really gonna matter if you and Michael keep doing side missions. It's just going to make more people want to rebel," Alex immediately protested. To her, it didn't matter what Michael and Nikita's motivations were for their mission. The only thing any of them should be doing is shutting Division down. Securing Michael a better prosthetic could wait. He and Nikita could go on any number of reckless missions once they were free. But while in Division, they had to keep fighting for others. That was what they had promised to do, and that was what they should always do.
"I know. Just find this group for me. We'll make an example out of them," Nikita sighed. She was aware that she wasn't showing the best example of Division's unity by constantly going off and doing her own thing. But getting something better for Michael was important. It was still her way of making things right after she had messed up so much with him. And it was his way to ensure he could protect himself and her as they finally finished their war. The two couldn't wait for another opportunity. Then was their only chance. But once they were finished, their attention would be solely on Division again. The agents didn't have to worry.
"An example? What, torture and solitary?" Stopping Nikita from just walking off, Alex demanded to know. The agents had been promised no more cancellations. If they broke a rule, they weren't killed or tortured. Just because the team of former rogues had broken every other promise they had made, didn't mean they had to break that one too. But then again, it was always the same old shit with them. They could never truly break the cycle Percy had started.
"Neither. We're going to march them out in front of everyone, and we're going to forgive them. This is not the old Division anymore," Nikita shook her head. Of course they weren't going to harm the agents who had set the charge in the server room. They had rebelled; they had made a mistake. That didn't mean they should die. Nikita had no idea why Alex thought that the team would believe that the saboteurs should be punished harshly. Why were the young woman's thoughts always so extreme lately.
Whatever the reason, Nikita didn't have the time to delve into it then. If there was something going on with Alex, Sean would know and would tell the others. Nikita didn't have to worry about her at the moment. All her concern, instead, had to be focused on Michael, his hand, and The Shop.
She and her husband prepared themselves for every possible scenario, grabbed their weapons and the bio-prosthesis, and hurried to Buffalo. Again, they were met with an empty office building once they arrived. Nikita felt uneasy about how quiet and still it was. That didn't seem appropriate for an operating space- or for anything related to The Shop. Instinctively, she reached for her weapon, and she whispered her concern, "What if they have armed security?"
"They're thinkers, not doers, remember? Just make sure they're comfortable operating on me with a gun to their head," Michael squeezed Nikita's hand. He was just as worried as her, yet he had faith that it would be okay. Maybe it was just hope. But the hope that things would finally turn their way filled them with enough courage to walk further into the room and pull his wife with him. They had gone to great lengths to get him a better prosthetic; it couldn't turn against them then. That was when they finally got what they wanted.
"Honey, I am an expert at making people do things with a gun to their head," Squeezing Michael's hand in return, Nikita smirked. Unfortunately, her confidence didn't last long. As the two neared the end of the floor where a light shone in a lone cubicle, they didn't see any other person, not even a doctor. All there was was more advanced technology that set Nikita on edge. A doctor, she could threaten to stay in line. A computer, not so much.
Just as Nikita shot Michael a wary glance about their situation, one of the computers came to life. The face of Heidecker greeted the two once more. Neither were surprised by it anymore. However, they were still cautious about trusting anything it said, "You've made it. Michael, have a seat. Nikita, a car will meet you outside. Once you have given us the prion, we will begin the surgery."
"No. No deal till the surgery's done. We have a bad history with people like you," Nikita refused to move. They had followed everything The Shop had wanted up to that point. But Nikita had never been good with following orders. Especially from creeps like The Shop. It was time she rebelled. It was time for her to take control.
"Since the day you first made contact with us, we have only offered to help. Now we have given you a gift in good faith. Why not give us ours in return?" The computerized version of Heidecker tried to reason with Nikita; however, she stubbornly stood her ground. Although the digital mask hardly showed emotion, she could've sworn she saw an eye roll. The fake Heidecker sighed, but he didn't concede to her new deal. Instead, he almost seemed to threaten her, "We knew it'd come to this. Well, that's why we have insurance."
Before Nikita could ask what kind of insurance The Shop would have, Michael stopped her. He pulled her aside, away from the computer, and tried to reason with her. He had always tried to teach her that there were some things that weren't worth fighting over. When to make the trade with The Shop was one of those things. She couldn't be in control all the time. She needed to trust people to do what was promised. Not everyone was going to hurt them. It might not seem like that in their war. But it was true, "Nikita, we're talking about surgery. This is going to take hours. At some point, we're gonna have to trust these guys."
"No, I won't do it. Not if it puts you at risk," Nikita refused to trust The Shop. Maybe it was in their best interest to not hurt Michael because that meant they'd get the tech they wanted. However, she couldn't take that risk when it came to her husband. She couldn't put his life in someone else's hands.
"It's not your decision. You can't control this anymore. Just let go. For me," Gently, Michael urged his wife to make the deal The Shop wanted. If they played along, he was going to be fine; he knew it. Nikita wasn't the only one who could control what happened to him. He had a say, after all. And he was saying that they just trusted The Shop on that one. The worst case scenario wouldn't happen- neither of them were losing each other that day.
Nikita's gut response was to keep arguing. But, deep down, she knew her husband was right. Ultimately, what happened was Michael's decision; he was the one getting the surgery. And if he trusted The Shop enough, then so would she. Though, she would keep her eye on them, and the bomb in the bio-tech, "Alright, start the procedure."
"Shortly before we revive Michael, we'll signal you to deliver the prion," The computerized Heidecker responded brightly. Nikita didn't exactly like that tone. But at least The Shop had compromised enough to start the surgery before the trade. That made her feel slightly better about the whole thing.
"And if I don't, he dies?" The part that still held Nikita back, however, was the fake Heidecker's comment about insurance. Surely, if The Shop didn't get what they wanted, they would kill Michael. The threat on his life was the best way to keep Nikita in line. She would never do anything to jeopardize his safety. Even thinking about that outcome made her want to grab her husband and run. She just wanted them to be happy and finally live happily ever after. That shouldn't have been something they had to keep fighting for. But with places like The Shop and Division around, they always would.
"No, we'll revive him, but he will not get the necessary anti-rejection serum. He will lose the hand in a matter of days. And it will be painful," The computer stated plainly. Michael wouldn't die, but all their struggles in getting him a new hand would be made useless if they didn't cooperate. They had already decided that Jason couldn't die for nothing. And Nikita had sworn to do everything she could for her husband's sake. So they had to agree.
Fake Heidecker beamed, "That wasn't so difficult, was it, Nikita? Place the bio-prosthesis on the table. The machine will do the rest. Michael, remove your prosthetic, position yourself in the chair. And Nikita, you will have to administer the anesthetic."
"Make sure you're the first thing I see when I wake up, huh?" Before following the orders, Michael made Nikita promise. She kissed him, and tried not to think that that might be the last time she'd be able to do that.
While Michael and Nikita raced off to do their own thing once again, the rest of the team was left to solve who had planted the charge in the server room. Alex, Sonya, and Ryan returned to the scene to see if they could find any clues that might've been left behind. Ryan was the most hopeful that there would be something they could use to track down the rebels. But besides the stolen brick of C4, there was nothing, "I thought this would be easier."
"No fingerprints?" Alex wondered, studying Ryan's increasing frustration. Division agent's fingerprints were wiped from crime scenes and law enforcement systems, but they weren't erased in Division. If an agent had left a print on the server while setting the charge, they could match it. Unfortunately, that was too much wishful thinking on the team's part. Things just could not go that easily for them.
"Casing was thrashed by the explosion. Whole area around the server was clean too. Whoever's running this mutiny really knows what they're doing," Ryan huffed. In every other circumstance, he would've been glad that agents were being that careful. But knowing that an internal threat was looming over them, growing more and more dangerous by the second, filled him with dread. Even if they could find who planted the charge, word was spreading. The team wasn't competent enough to run Division. That thought- that dissent- would become more popular, and it'd end them all.
Although Sonya was growing just as frustrated as Ryan, she wasn't as defeated. She continued to hack away on her computer, scrubbing for anything that could give them a hint as to who had broken into the server. After some time, she eventually got what she had been hoping for, "I may have something. Residual code from a hack- an active script left inside the access terminal at the armory."
"That was me. We know that they got the explosive from hacking access to the armory, so I laid a little dummy code, make them think they forgot to scrub it, so when they scrub it, we get an alert," Joining the other, Sean explained the plan he had finally been able to come up with. He was still at a loss about what to do concerning Alex and what Amanda could've possibly done to her. However, he knew how to lure the saboteurs out of their hiding spots. One of his Seal buddies had employed a similar tactic on a mission. The execution was different, but the goal behind it was the same, "You wanna catch a fish, you gotta have a hook."
"Clever boy," Sonya beamed. She took Sean's computer from him and built an alert system for when the rebels found the bait. She honestly should've thought of something like that. Yet she wasn't going to let herself be hung up about it. She was simply glad someone else on the team was thinking clearly enough to outsmart the saboteurs.
"Isn't he, though?" Alex smiled at Sean. He almost returned the grin. However, the way she smiled didn't sit right with him. He couldn't quite put his finger on why. Maybe because her blue eyes didn't sparkle like they normally did. Or maybe because it almost seemed like she was disappointed that he had found a way to trick the rebels. That didn't make any sense. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling. He seriously had to find out what Amanda had done to her in South Ossetia. Once he did, he knew things would get better for her, for him, for everybody.
It wasn't long after Sean set the bait that Sonya got an alert. She sat up excitedly in her chair when she heard the chime, and instantly informed the others, "We have a bite. The thief is trying to erase the script. It's coming from Ops."
Ryan, Alex, and Sean didn't waste any time sprinting towards Ops. As soon as they entered, they searched for anyone doing anything suspicious on their computers. One agent, a young woman named Jaden, stood out to them. As they approached, she was instantly spooked. That was it; they had found their saboteur.
The three chased after Jaden, attempting to stop her before she got away or did something else to harm Division. Ryan was the first to reach her, yet she was prepared for an attack. She lashed out with a knife, stabbing him in the stomach. He recoiled back with a grunt of pain. Jaden then tried to shove past him, but Sean and Alex had caught up by then. They quickly and effectively knocked her unconscious.
Thankfully, Ryan was fine. It was only a flesh wound. While he went to get stitches in Medical, Sean and Alex dragged Jaden to an interrogation room. They had no doubt that she was working with others; she hadn't had the C4 on her, which meant it was still out there. If Sean and Alex could get their names, then the whole mess would be over with.
It seemed that simple in theory, so of course that wasn't the case in actuality. Once Jaden gained consciousness, she was not cooperative. She smirked at Sean and Alex and instantly taunted, "How's your boss?"
"Annoyed. They're patching him up in Medical now, thanks," Alex glared at Jaden. Sean didn't know much about the agent besides something Alex had said offhandedly after Clean Sweep. He had never interacted with her, and he wasn't aware of the missions she had performed. The only thing he did know was that she was heavily involved with the saboteurs. And that was enough for him to press for information.
"It's a good thing you got caught. This way, we don't have to tell the President another agent went rogue," Sean took the more diplomatic approach in the interrogation. Although he wasn't used to that, with Ryan in Medical and Michael and Nikita busy, it fell on him to take the lead. He had thought that Alex would've been the good cop while he was the usual bad cop, but she seemed content just glaring. Sean still couldn't figure out what had changed her so drastically, and it was starting to tear at his insides. Something was wrong, and if he didn't figure out what it was soon, he just knew things would get worse.
"Awesome. For you. It means you can still get your pardon once we shut Division down," Alex informed Jaden. Although the agent didn't react to the words, Sean glanced at his girlfriend in confusion. The other day she had sworn that Division would never shut down and they'd never be free. But now she was saying the opposite. Maybe it was so she could get Jaden to answer their questions. Yet even if that were true, the rapid changes in her beliefs and mindsets put Sean on edge.
"That day will never come," Crossing her arms, Jaden huffed. Her despondent attitude made it easy to understand why she had decided to rebel. However, Sean and Alex weren't looking for motive. They only cared about accomplices and stopping another attack.
"It will if people stop going rogue. Now, just tell me who else is involved, and trust me, we will all get to walk away from here one day. The President will honor the deal," Sean attempted to reason with Jaden. He wasn't so trusting of the President at that point either, yet Division couldn't lose all hope. If they completely gave up, then the contingency would go into place. Or, worse, Amanda would win and kill them. Either way, giving up and giving in meant death. And Division was stronger than that.
"It's not a deal. It's an ultimatum," Jaden repeated words Sean had heard a million times from Alex. Though, he was certain that was because she had been the one to tell everybody about the contingency. Of course her opinions on the matter would be the ones that were echoed. It was the only ones the others had heard.
Despite knowing that, however, Sean couldn't help but glance at Alex. She had fallen silent, yet she was still glaring at Jaden. Sean would give anything to be able to read his girlfriend's mind at that moment. A part of her had to have been agreeing with the rebels. What she had said to him in private was being expressed by Jaden. However, Alex's expression didn't give any of her thoughts away. And he shouldn't waste too much time contemplating it. His attention had to be on the interrogation with Jaden. What she could tell him was the more pressing issue, "You don't have to take the fall for the others, Jaden."
"The plan to get everyone out was my idea. Without me, it dies," Jaden glared at Sean. She silently dared him to contradict her, and he opened his mouth to do so. She quickly shut him up by continuing to shoulder all of the blame for what had happened in the server room and for whatever else had been planned, "I will take the fall for the others, but I won't let them do the same for me. They're dead in the water without me."
"We need to know who they are," Sean pressed. He could believe that without a leader the cause would fall. But a missing brick of C4 was still out there. That needed to be recovered. Who knew what an upset and desperate Division agent could do with that amount of explosives. That wasn't something Sean wanted to find out.
"That doesn't matter! You don't have to worry about any tipping point because no one else is going rogue," Jaden snapped. She refused to be a snitch. They had caught her, and that was all they needed. Everyone would back down now that she was captured. They had tried, and they had failed. No one would try again.
Although that was important for Sean to know, he had stopped listening to Jaden. His ears had perked up on a specific phrase she had said. He had only heard the phrase uttered one other time. In general, no. But specifically about that situation. It couldn't have been a coincidence that Jaden mentioned it again. She wanted to assure Sean's fears about the mutiny by using phrasing the team had used. But they had only talked in private. So where had she picked it up from, "What did you just say? 'Tipping point'. How could you know about that?"
"It's just a phrase. I don't know," Shrugging, Jaden glanced at Alex- almost like she was searching for help. Sean caught the look immediately. For a moment, he wondered what it was about. But then, he began to connect the dots.
"Ryan said that once, when he was talking to…" All of a sudden, it clicked. What Alex had been doing when she would stay late in Division. The things she had promised Sean when he had tried to question her. Her intense drive to save people and be free. It all made sense. Sean finally knew what was wrong, "Jaden says that she's the leader, but that isn't true. Is it? She's not taking the fall for the others. She's taking the fall for you."
As Sean studied Alex in complete and utter bewilderment, he watched her change right before his eyes. Her demeanor instantly melted and she began to panic. It was like she had to defend herself about everything. It wasn't enough to just calmly state her reasonings. If she did, Sean was certain he could understand them. Or, at the very least, he could pick them apart and figure out what exactly Amanda had done to her. But, instead, she spiraled. She leapt out of her seat and wildly paced the room, "Well, somebody has to look out for them. If they stay, Ryan and Nikita and this place, they're gonna get everyone killed."
"Alex, you can't possibly believe that," Sean said gently. She had wanted to stay; she had wanted to fight. There was no way Alex actually thought the team and Division was going to keep killing agents. That had to have been Amanda's influence. She had implanted that idea in her head somehow and it took root. Now, that was all Alex could think about. It was the only thing she could believe in. Unless Sean could talk her out of it. He was still missing too much information to be sure if that would work. But Alex was always calmer with him. That couldn't change, even with Amanda's influence.
"I have seen it. If Division is left standing, more people are gonna die. Just like Jason and Larissa… And all the other girls," Tears sprang to Alex's frantic blue eyes. Sean snapped up out of his seat as well, yet that didn't seem to help. Alex was lost in whatever memory her mind had brought her to. It was like those few moments after she woke from a nightmare when all she could think of were those terrible images. Yet she was wide awake then. And Sean didn't know if that was better or worse.
His first instinct was to soothe Alex's tears, yet he knew she wouldn't let him near her, not in that state. So he had to focus on his next instinct, which was simply confusion. What girls were Alex talking about. Had there been another person in that hospital with her and Larissa. Or was she talking about the brothels. But what connection did Division have to the brothels. What exactly was running through Alex's mind. Or, more precise, what did Amanda make run through Alex's mind, "What? What other girls?"
"No, I will not let you hurt them," As Sean took a step towards Alex, she reached for her gun and aimed it right at him. Though, he wasn't so sure that she realized it was him. Her eyes remained unfocused- still lost in whatever memory she had been sent to.
"Alex, what are you doing?" Sean fought to keep the panic out of his voice. He fought with himself to believe that Alex wouldn't actually shoot him. Yet looking into her frantic blue eyes, he wasn't so sure if he was dealing with Alex anymore. Whatever claws Amanda had dug into her were too deep now. There was no shaking Alex loose. Which meant Sean had to approach her like he would any other unstable assailant with a loaded weapon, "Alex, think. It's not too late to fix this. Alex, give me the gun."
Before Alex could think, and before Sean could close the distance between them, the trigger was pulled.