The woman, Nikita, was back. She appeared far more distressed than when Alex saw her a few hours ago. She definitely wasn't apathetic anymore. Her bronze skin was also a bit paler, and her brown eyes were panicked. Alex almost wanted to ask her about it; she knew something was drastically wrong, and was afraid of what that might mean for her. However, ultimately, she didn't care. She had her own shit to worry about. The situation was insane, plain and simple. And she wanted any further part in it, "Now, what? You're gonna show me my potential?"
"Cut the shit. Being an angsty teen isn't cute," Rounding on her, Nikita snapped. Alex took a step back from the fury brewing in those brown eyes. The fear she thought she had battled after her first encounter with the woman returned with a vengeance. She knew she needed to take the words back, despite the fact that she hadn't even been that snarky. To her own ears it seemed that way, at least. The teen only responded to the attitude the woman had previously given her. But that had been a terrible decision. Just when Alex thought she knew what was occurring, the world shifted out of her control.
She didn't know what else to expect from Nikita in retaliation for her sarcasm. Would it be more yelling, would she actually break her wrist that time, or was there a punishment far worse than that. Considering that place was run by the government, Alex settled on the last option. As she prepared herself for a horrific blow, however, Nikita turned her attention away from her. She searched around the bare room, looking high and low for something. Alex could only stare at her. Why could she never figure out just what the hell was going on, "What…"
"How did you get here?" Nikita's harsh whisper was demanding and desperate. She didn't find what she was looking for, so all of her focus returned to the teenager. Urgency radiated off of the woman's body as she moved closer. Alex backed away again. She had believed waking in that government facility after being thrown in prison for something she didn't do was enough of a whirlwind. Hell, her whole life had been a hectic vortex of death, destruction, and cruelty since the night her parents were murdered. But whatever was happening with the woman seemed worse. Nikita had all the control, leaving Alex scrambling.
"Shouldn't you know that?" Somehow finding her courage, Alex bit. Her voice shook, yet she held her ground. She tried to make herself appear taller and stronger than she felt. Yet she was fairly certain the attempt fell flat. The woman was in a suit and she was in sweats, after all. There was also something in Nikita's eyes that the teen couldn't reflect in her own. It was frantic and nearly insane. Alex's blue eyes only showed her fear and confusion. After everything she had been forced to face, she had finally met her match.
"How did the heir to Zetrov end up here?" The words were strained as if Nikita was afraid she would be overheard. Her gaze cast around the room once more, and she cautiously closed the gap between them. Alex remained rooted in her spot. Her heart stopped beating for a moment. Her breath halted in her lungs. Her mind fizzled and froze. She hadn't heard the name 'Zetrov' in over five years. She hadn't mentioned it, and she had actively avoided the topic, knowing any connection between her and that empire would get her killed. Or worse, get her sold back to the Russians as another object to be used and abused.
Alex couldn't allow that to happen. She hadn't escaped, forced her accent and other Russian qualities away, and survived all those years on the street to be tossed back into hell. She had to be stronger than that. She had to go out on her own terms. Unfortunately, the anxiety of where she was and the dangerous woman she faced rattled her core. Fighting and remaining strong had become increasingly difficult. Her refusal of the truth broke apart on her lips, tumbling awkwardly to the ground, "I… I don't… I don't know what you're talking about."
"Shit. Fuck. Shit. Dammit," A slew of curses escaped Nikita. There was no denying it then. She had hoped startling Alex and demanding answers from her would reveal a different truth; the teenager was just another abused and discarded girl, that was all. But Nikita had never been lucky. Whenever she had a handle on things, it crumbled apart at the seams. She couldn't succeed at anything she wanted to- anything good. She only ever made things worse. Maybe that was why people always stayed away from her, "You're not supposed to be here."
"You're the one who brought me here!" Tears threatened to spill while Alex screamed. She just wanted to know what was happening. Why was she in that place. Why wouldn't anyone listen to her. How did the woman know who she was. Why was Nikita so terrified of her identity. Why was she still alive while everyone else was dead. Shouldn't that last question at least have a solution by then. Alex was revealed to be the lost Udinov, so didn't that mean it was finally time to die. She could return to her parents' arms and there would be no more pain. She could sink into oblivion, and the confusion and hurt that surrounded her would disappear.
"No. I gave you to a family friend. He was supposed to keep you safe," Whether lividity or anxiety shook the woman's tone, Alex couldn't tell. And neither could Nikita. She still couldn't understand how Alexandra had wound up in Division. Was the story in her file true. Had she actually been smuggled into the country by sex traffickers. How the hell could that happen to the heir to Zetrov, especially when there was someone watching over her. She wasn't supposed to have gone through more hell. The girl deserved to be protected and safe, not eternally punished for things she never did.
Although she fought against them, hot angry tears spilled out of Alex's simmering blue eyes. What was she hearing. The woman had been there the night her family was killed. How was that possible. How was anything that was even happening to her real. It didn't make any goddamn sense. She just wanted to scream, sob, collapse on the floor, and wait for the nightmare to be over. Maybe it was all just a bad trip; though, that was too much to hope for. Besides, the terror she felt was far too powerful to be synthetic, "What? Who are you? What is this place?"
"This place is Division. It killed your family, and it tried to kill you too," Nikita confessed. There was no use in lying to Alex. She deserved the truth a long time ago. She should know everything that happened to her family and why her life had been so atrocious from that night forward. Being kept in the dark only amplified things in the most horrific of ways, "Division is a hired gun, and an enemy of your father's contacted them to wipe out everybody in your house that night. But I got you out. I made sure you stayed safe. So how did you get here?"
Somehow, Alex wasn't as shocked by that statement as she had been by everything else. It made sense, in a fucked up way. She knew her father had enemies. She also knew her family's life had been threatened before- why else would she have been enrolled in a private school under an alias. Of course someone vying for more power caused the destruction of that night with mercenaries. Though, the fact that Americans were involved was confusing. Yet Alex didn't dwell on that. Her anger had reached a tipping point, "That person you thought I'd be safe with sold me to traffickers. But I escaped. I survived. Now I'm here, when it wasn't even my fault!"
Nikita blinked. It took her thoughts a second to catch up to her instant anger. How dare he. How dare that rat bastard of a driver sell an innocent girl he promised to protect. Who the fuck cared about any excuse he came up with so he could sleep at night. How dare he hand Alexandra over to monsters. She really had lost everything when her parents were murdered. Nikita had to ensure she didn't lose anymore. Although she had failed Alex the first time, she wasn't going to abandon her again. If she wanted to believe she had saved an innocent's life, then she'd actually had to do it. She had to help her escape, "No. Now you're getting out."
"I'm not going back to the brothels," Alex forcibly ripped her arm away. She didn't fight when she was sold to the traffickers the first time; she wasn't going to go quietly anymore. She would raise hell until somebody finally listened to her. She was going to be in charge of her own life for fucking once. She was so sick and tired of others dragging her around, telling her where she had to go and what she had to do. Her father had taught her better than that. She was better than that. It was about time she proved it.
"Alex, if they know who you are, they will kill you. Division will not let a job go unfinished. You need to run," Nikita yanked the teen towards the door, nearly pleading with her words. Saving her from the fire and the strike team had been so much easier when she was unconscious. Yet carrying an unconscious recruit out of Division would be impossible. The two had to escape through the silo that led to the deserted farmland. From there, they could run and never look back. Alex just had to agree to do so.
"I don't want to go back," Shoving Nikita away from her, Alex regained her composure- and her stubbornness. Her strength surged through her once more, granting her the courage to stand her ground and refuse the woman. Division seemed like the better option, even though they destroyed her life. She'd go anywhere but the brothels, or that crackhouse where she had met Ronnie. She hated the person she was forced to be in those places. At least as a government trained agent she could have a choice. She could be the one in control of all the pain.
"You don't have to. I can get you a new identity, a better one. I can help you stay clean. We can survive out there together. This place can't take any more lives," It wasn't just a promise. Nikita put her entire soul into the vow. She extended her hand to Alex, completely open and serious. The teen almost didn't take it, yet the promise of getting clean was too great. She had tried and failed so many times to quit the junk the sex traffickers had hooked her on. She didn't want to keep shooting up, but the drug had her in a chokehold. Horrible pain overwhelmed her body and mind whenever she wasn't high. She desperately wanted to get rid of that.
With more determination and surety than her anxiety would allow her to feel, Nikita led Alex to the opening of the silo. She had found it once when she was a recruit, and used the maze of air ducts as a way to escape the hell of training. Hopefully the path to the outside was still clear. She and Alex could slip through Division's defenses and escape its clutches. They weren't moving that quickly, however. Not only did Nikita have to watch for others, the teen trudged slowly behind her. She continued to debate following the woman into the unknown. After all, she didn't know her, "You were on that mission too. How am I supposed to trust you?"
"Honestly, you can't. But it's either work for the people who killed your family, let them kill you too, or run," Nikita couldn't believe she was saying that. She couldn't believe she was so willing to escape. All she had ever known was inside those walls; she had reached her greatest potential there. Yet she couldn't stay. Once Amanda and Percy knew Alex had escaped and who she really was, Nikita would be killed. She couldn't leave Alexandra alone again. If the teenager was going to be safe that time, then she'd need a partner. The two needed each other to survive.
"What if I want them to kill me too?" Coming to an abrupt stop, Alex mumbled. Her thoughts kept returning to the question. What was the point of getting clean if she was still running from everything that was trying to hurt her. What was the point of continuing to live if she had to have yet another false identity. She could be strong and fight, but she couldn't be herself. She could never rest. Yes she was sick and tired of being controlled, but she was also just tired. Couldn't she just start to let go.
"What? No, no, no, no. Death is not a solution. I know it hurts, Alex. And the only thing going through your mind is to end it all. But that won't fix anything, trust me. The best way to fight is to survive. You can't let these people win. You need to prove that you're stronger. Get revenge for what happened to your family by living. Be the strong girl they knew you could be," Gripping tightly to Alex's biceps, Nikita nearly shook the words into her. That couldn't be it for Alex; Division couldn't be the thing that broke her. That place didn't get to keep winning.
Managing to nod, Alex followed Nikita down one last hallway. The woman led her to a sizable air duct in a secluded section of the maze they just walked through. She wanted to ask her about it, and about how exactly they were to escape. However, Nikita was too focused on forcing open the vent. It was a bit stuck, and it made a terrible sound as it opened, yet their chance at freedom was finally available. For a second at least. Soon, footsteps echoed down the hall followed by Amanda's voice, "Nikita, you were supposed to take Alex to the training floor."
"Go, Alex. Now," Muttering just loud enough for Alex to hear, Nikita shoved the teenager behind her back towards the open air vent. She set her feet firmly into the ground, prepared to fight off Kelly, Amanda, and the armed guards that were filing into the hallway. She shouldn't have expected things to go as smoothly as they did. But she at least thought they could've gotten outside before disaster struck. Again, she never had that much luck. It'd be a fight to the finish, just like it always was.
"What is going on?" Bewildered, Amanda attempted to study the scene before her. When her ice blue eyes landed on the girl hiding behind Nikita, her confusion increased. But only for a moment. As Alex stared at her, her gaze softened. The teen felt strangely assured by the look. She couldn't help but recall the conversation the two had had after Nikita introduced her to her new life. Amanda had offered her a home, a place to finally stop running. Alex wanted to believe it. Even after learning the truth of Division, she still wanted to believe the comfort she was extended. It had been so long since she was home. Could she really stop running.
"Александра, мне нужно, чтобы ты бежала. Теперь!" Why wouldn't Alex move. Nikita shoved for her to go, yet the teenager remained still. Maybe the guns frightened her too much. Maybe the sight of men threatening to kill her sent her right back to the brothel, or that fateful night. Regardless, Nikita's urges meant nothing. Alex was glued to her spot, staring fixedly at Amanda. There had to be another way to escape- somehow get out of that moment alive. Except, that possibility was quickly slipping away. The two were fucked.
"Alexandra… as in Alexandra Udinov… oh, Nikita. What did you do?" Amanda actually seemed hurt by the question. She came to the same conclusion about Alex Nikita had, and realized her protégé had betrayed her five years ago. Her heart shattered. That didn't stop her from sicking the guards on the rogue agent, however. As Kelly ripped Alex away from Nikita, she shouted and tried to hold onto the girl. That couldn't be it; they had to keep fighting. But then the guns rang, and destruction and loss fell on her one last time.
"No!"