Whether or not Alex truly did the right thing was unclear. She felt great about her actions. She knew it was something she had to do. But there was bound to be repercussions. And there was a possibility she only delayed the inevitable; everything was just going to get worse. She didn't know for certain. Maybe the rogues would've managed without her help. They had before. All she did was provide a distraction. She didn't sway the operation in any direction. It was a thin defense, but she'd stick with it. What else did she have.
Division had been scrambling even before her intervention. Michael had successfully saved their target and disappeared from their radar. He was almost caught a few times, but kept slipping away. Soon, the black ops group couldn't even track him. That was when they turned to their recruits. They had them sort through the report's belongings, hoping to discover who her source was. If they found the source, they found their rogue. Then, they could kill everyone. Although the recruits were told they were only participating in a training exercise, Alex knew it had something to do with the latest op. And she knew she had to do something about that.
Thom made her work with Jaden in an effort to stop them from fighting; though, Alex didn't mind. She was too focused on attempting to understand what was occurring. She also kept thinking about the chatbox with Nikita. Communication with the rogue was dangerous, but she knew it was necessary. It could lead to her getting everything she wanted. The rogues would increase the pressure on Division, which would make her mission rush to the start. She could be far closer to her revenge with the rogues' distractions. Then, she could leave Division for good.
In the meantime, during her attempt to figure out what was going on, she wound up helping Division. Alex found the reporter's source for them. Digging through the belongings and picking up a trail was easy. Unfortunately, that led a black ops group to a college student's door. And Alex had to watch. They said it was a privilege to see the rewards of her work, but she only noticed horror. She didn't want to lead to an innocent's death- even if he was going to out Division. She needed to do something. At least Nikita and Michael crashed onto the scene.
So, Nikita had followed Alex's information to help Michael. That was good. That meant the young woman did something she believed was right. She had to expand on that. When the hackers in Ops were distracted, she decided she had to help the rogues once more. All she did was tip off the police in the area. But that problem let Michael, Nikita, and the reporter Jill escape from Division agents with the evidence they wanted. Silently, Alex celebrated her success. The rogues' victory should definitely freak them out and force them to start her Semak mission. Except, as she smiled, Amanda called for her, "Alex, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Elation quickly seeped out of Alex. What had she done. Yes, she helped save Michael, Nikita, and Jill. But she disobeyed Division to do so. If they found out, she'd lose her chance at revenge; she'd also lose her life. Was what she was doing really worth that. How right could saving people be if it wasn't going to last long. Was it even worth it. Everytime Alex thought she found her footing inside Division, she wound up slipping and falling. She was never going to get what she wanted that way. She had to keep being smart. She had to know what was occurring. And she had to understand her role in all of that, "Do you have any updates on Semak?"
"He continues to keep a low public profile. We are searching for a way to get to him. We'll possibly have to focus on his closest employees before we look at him," Amanda barely had time to enter her office before Alex blurted. She sighed and led the young recruit in, silently asking for her to sit on the couch. The young woman stood. Anxiously, she paced the room, her fingers fidgeting with her sweats. Amanda attempted to not make her observations known. She simply sat, smiled sweetly, and offered tea.
"Then why do you need to talk to me?" Her intense stress and sudden relief mixed into frustrated annoyance. Glaring at Amanda, Alex snapped. She had tried to play off what she had done in Ops by asking about Semak. She didn't think it would work. She thought Division knew about the chatbox and about her notice to the police; except, it was none of that. The mercenary group was in the dark about everything, including Semak. They didn't know she had helped rogues. And they didn't know how to approach her enemy. She worked herself up over nothing.
While she glared, Amanda cast her a warning look. For a brief moment, Alex thought she was being scolded by her mother. She could picture it so clearly. She had snarked about something, or had used bad language, or had gotten a bad grade, and her mom would tell her to sit as she sternly lectured her. Alex was drawn by the powerful memory of all those moments to collapse on the couch and stare at Amanda. There was no fight left in her. She had to listen to what the woman said, "Your attitude has gotten out of hand."
"I'm doing everything you asked. I even found the journalist's source for you. Though, you did just say that it was a training exercise. Not an active op," Although annoyed, Alex ensured she kept her voice even. There were many things she couldn't allow her voice to convey. Amanda couldn't know that the young man's death hurt her- she didn't want the source to be killed. How she helped the rogues had to remain a secret, especially since she planned on using the shell program with Nikita again. And her true feelings about Division had to stay hidden. If they knew how she really felt, they wouldn't help her.
"Information is dangerous here. Everyone cannot know everything. Unless, you want someone like Jaden knowing you're a lost heiress," Of course Amanda found a way to spin why the recruits were lied to. However, Alex found herself having to agree. Information was definitely dangerous where they were. Nikita used it to foil a Division mission, after all. No one could know the wrong thing. As Alex slumped against the couch in defeat, Amanda offered her tea again, "We're trying to help you, Alex."
"By forcing me through pointless trainings and missions that have no relevance to Semak?" Alex took the cup. She thought it would make up for her complaint. She'd comply with Amanda's niceties, if she explained her motives. Training her to kill so she could take out Semak made sense. But why did Alex have to hack as well. Why did she essentially have to be a prostitute for Dadich. And why was she getting in trouble for arguing with Jaden. She wasn't recruited like the others, so she shouldn't be treated as such. She was privately, at least.
"Those 'pointless' trainings are meant to prepare you. Do you think you could survive against Semak if you barely broke away from Dadich?" Despite Amanda's smile, her tone was beyond condescending. She was right, and she knew it. Alex barely survived her encounter with Dadich and those rebels. She couldn't fight them off. If Nikita hadn't been there, who knew what could've happened. The young recruit was lucky to still be alive. She might've been able to hold her own, but she couldn't kill a man. That would've been too much.
"Semak is a shrewd businessman. I can take him no problem," Setting her cup back on the coffee table, Alex attempted to argue. She knew her 'Uncle Sergei' (though, he had lost that title once he tried to kill her). She knew he couldn't be too difficult to kill. Dadich was a former dictator, a weasel, and was kidnapped by other mercenaries. There had been a lot going against Alex. But against Semak, it should be an easy match. She was learning new fighting skills everyday. In no time, she could be ready to kill someone- someone who deserved it. She couldn't do Division's dirty work and harm an innocent. What happened to the young source was enough.
Wordlessly, Amanda reached for a tablet on the stand table next to her. Alex watched intrigued as she pulled up a file and scrolled through the screen. When she found what she was searching for, her penetrating gaze returned to the young recruit. She felt the need to hide from it, yet Alex forced herself to stare back. Amanda continued to hold the tablet, not sharing the screen and tapping her nails on the back. Eventually, she asked, "Do you know which organization became Zetrov's security force after your father's death?"
"No. I was too busy escaping from a brothel," Alex deadpanned. She had no idea what happened to Zetrov after her father was murdered. She knew Semak took over and rapidly expanded the corporation. But that was all. She didn't really care to know the rest. What did it matter what men in business suits behind a table did. The fate of Zetrov wasn't anything she ever worried about. The company could fall to ruin for all she cared. She just wanted the man that destroyed her family to suffer. That shouldn't have been so hard to achieve, not when she was supposed to be getting help from a governmental black ops group.
"They're called Gogol. They are ruthless mercenaries, former KGB. Even Division agents struggle against them. Percy tried to take out their leader, Ari Tasorov. But the agent failed. You'll need to be better than the best to face them," Amanda handed Alex the tablet. She let her scroll through the contents as she spoke. Her voice portrayed no emotion. She was unflinching as she relayed the facts. Gogol wasn't an organization to mess with. If it could hold its own against Division, then it was something to fear.
Alex absorbed the information silently. She wasn't sure how she should take it. Obviously, she'd have to plan around Gogol. But with her limited skills and knowledge, that seemed impossible. She'd have to train more, gather more resources, and delay her revenge. God, she hated the last thought. However, what else was she to do. She couldn't go after Semak if he hid behind Gogol. She might not have cared about a suicide run, but only if Semak died with her. That wouldn't be the case with his security force. He was too protected, "So trying to kill Semak would be like trying to kill Percy."
"Not quite. You'll have resources to help you. And you wouldn't be rogue," Amanda couldn't help but chuckle. She took the tablet back from Alex and smiled. The young recruit studied her. She wasn't entirely sure what that was about, but she decided not to dive into it. Percy wasn't her concern. Another woman on another revenge mission could handle him. The recruit and the rogue weren't exactly alike. For starters, Alex wasn't being hunted. And secondly, she had a whole force behind her back.
"I'd have information and a team?" Leaning forward, Alex hoped she was reading Amanda correctly. Resources from Division would mean more than weapons and tech. She could receive information on Semak and Gogol. And she could have a full team of well-trained agents backing her when she finally put her revenge into action. A strike team could handle security while she focused on her main target. They could all escape easily together. If anything went wrong, she could have backup in all its forms. It seemed too good to be true. Yet, she had it.
"Of course you'd have a team. I wouldn't send you in there alone. I don't want you getting hurt," Amanda grinned warmly once more. Except, that time, it seemed genuine. Alex didn't believe the woman was scheming or trying to get something from her. She was real. The young recruit was unsure of how to proceed with that. Why would Amanda suddenly be nice to her. It wasn't as though she had stopped being a brat. And the two were still fighting over who had the true control in the situation. Alex couldn't allow Division to get away with everything, after all. Yet, she was being cared for like none of that mattered.
"Why?" Alex didn't want her voice to sound so small. She meant to be judgmental. She meant to try and call Amanda on her bullshit. But hurt just had to express itself. It had been so long since anyone had cared for her. Even if the woman had ulterior motives, she did seem to care. She wanted the teenager safe. In their other talks, Amanda wanted to know if she was comfortable and happy with her decision for revenge. When was the last time anyone had asked her if she felt okay. Alex couldn't believe she was being cared for again.
"Because I like you, Alex. You have amazing potential. You can be wonderful, strong, brilliant, beautiful, and special. You just need to listen," Gently, Amanda moved next to Alex on the couch. She kept her distance, but she sat close enough that the young woman had to turn to face her. Nothing in her gaze gave away that she was lying or trying to deceive her. Amanda spoke the truth. Even if Alex didn't believe that about herself, someone else did. It seemed impossible. Yet so did a conspiratorial hit on her family, and there she was.
As she thought, Alex had to tear her eyes away from Amanda. The woman was offering so much. If she took it, she had to be better than she had been. She needed more trust in Division. She couldn't be distracted by the rogues or by what they could bring her. And she had to get along with others (how annoying and awful and mean they were didn't matter). Alex had to put in more of an effort if she were to receive everything she wanted. There wasn't a shortcut to killing Semak. Plans, information, training, and patience were her only choices. She had to comply, "If I stick with the training, and not be a brat, I can have Semak and my team?"
"You can have everything you want. I'll make sure of it," Amanda squeezed Alex's arm. It wasn't a strong hold, trapping her in place. The touch was comforting; it was kind. Once again, the young recruit thought briefly of her mother. She couldn't help but grin softly and melt into the touch. Amanda moved closer to her, warmth radiating off of her. She was so soft and kind, Alex had to hang on to every word she said, "Why don't you take a break? You did great today. I'm proud of you, and I can't wait to see what you accomplish for yourself and for Division."