Taking a steadying breath, Nikita approached the woman. She didn't know what she was doing. All she knew was that helping Jill Moretti felt good- it felt right. For once, it wasn't about destroying Division or killing Percy. She helped someone in need and ensured the truth was known. Although she left Michael to deal with Jill after escaping from Division at the college with the damning videotape, Nikita thought for just a moment that she could be considered a hero. It didn't last long. However, she learned that she could do something good; she wasn't all bad. She knew she could do something else right.
So, Nikita approached the woman in the park. She had no right to be there. In fact, she was fairly certain that when the woman saw her, it'd make things worse. But she couldn't leave the woman and her daughter in danger- not again. Nikita was full of apologies as she spoke to her. The woman wouldn't hear a single word of it. She had done the worst thing possible to the family. She didn't deserve forgiveness. Except, that wasn't why the rogue was there. She only wanted to offer safety to the woman and her daughter. It was the least she could do.
What she was doing hardly even made sense to herself. All Nikita knew was that it was right- and smart. The woman could recognize that as she accepted the escape to safety. The rogue was going after the person who had hired her to kill the woman's husband. She wanted to find whoever wanted Division to kill Homeland Security Agent Victor Han. His wife and daughter shouldn't be caught in the crosshairs. The two had suffered enough. Nikita had made them suffer enough. Then was her chance to give them vengeance, just as she was doing for herself.
Victor Han's murder never sat right with Nikita. It wasn't just because it was her first kill. But also, why would Division kill someone who worked for the same government as them. There was no rationality behind that besides Percy and his money. The people who hired him were just as bastardly as he was. Nikita had to take them out; get justice for Han's family. If she was going to be rogue, she might as well be a vigilante as well. She'd need help, though. Then wasn't the time to be alone. After debating with herself over that fact, she ended up at the damn safehouse in the woods. She entered and sighed as she approached the other rogues, "I need your help."
"What is it?" Michael immediately moved to her. He had grabbed his knife when he believed Division had found the safehouse and broken in. Upon seeing Nikita, however, he set down his weapon and rushed to her. She appeared distraught. After all, she wouldn't be going to him or Birkhoff if it was a simple problem or just nothing. She always left them after encounters and missions. Something had to be wrong. She could've gotten herself in trouble chasing down a lead or doing something reckless. No matter what it was, he had to be there for her.
Nikita didn't answer Michael right away. She was distracted by Birkhoff. Whereas the agent rushed to her and put aside his tasks, the hacker remained by his computer station. He clutched a desk toy in his grip as though it were a weapon. He could easily throw it at Nikita if he had to. Which, based on the look in his eyes, he believed he was going to have to defend himself. She deserved that look. Yet, she couldn't face it. She'd much rather turn to Michael and his too-concerned gaze than stare at Birkhoff, "Well, as you know, we're in this for revenge…"
"We're in this because it's the right thing to do. People deserve freedom and life," Michael couldn't help but interrupt. He just had to set the record straight. It wasn't only revenge he was after. Yes, he wanted Percy to pay for what he did to his family, what he did to him, and what he did to others. But it had become far more than that. All of Division and Oversight had to be destroyed. The whole world was being hurt by their actions. Saving others from the pain he had experienced became the priority. No one else should have to die or lose their loved ones.
"Right. But you know who's responsible for Hayley's and Elizabeth's deaths. Birkhoff, you know who used and abused you. And I know who… did this to me. But what about Division's other victims? Shouldn't they know what happened to their families?" It was better if Nikita just ignored Michael's comment about being heroes and got straight to her point. They were sure to get into another argument that would've led them nowhere. There were more important things out there than whatever they were trying to prove to themselves or to the other. When it came to the two of them, focusing on missions was for the best.
"You want to release black box secrets once we have them?" Birkhoff pulled Nikita's attention away from Michael. He had let go of his desk toy, but he continued to keep his distance from her. She didn't dare approach. Just as it was best that she and Michael only focused on missions when they were together, it was better if Nikita and Birkhoff kept their distance. They weren't anywhere near what their friendship had been when they were inside Division. Too many things had been burned between them. The two had to take baby steps back towards each other. However, they hadn't quite figured out how to do that yet.
Michael glanced between Nikita and Birkhoff, attempting to decide if he should step in on mending their relationship or not. He chose to leave it alone for the moment. He had to focus on what Nikita was planning. If she was thinking about releasing black box secrets, he had to stop her immediately. Just because they helped Jill share the video of the Air America cocaine scandal, didn't mean they could share all Division's secrets. Nikita was well aware of the danger, however. She stared at Michael and shook her head, "No. This country won't recover. And you guys are in there. You could get hurt if the public knew what you were forced to do."
"So what do you have in mind?" Michael asked. He tried not to dwell on the fact that Nikita used his words as an explanation. He knew she listened to him sometimes; some of his warnings and guidance got through her stubbornness. But that was different. She was at the safehouse with him and Birkhoff. She was asking for help. And she actually cared about reckless and dangerous consequences. Nikita was coming around to Michael's side of thinking. Hopefully, that was a sign of better things to come for the rogues.
"Victor Han. He was the Homeland Security agent I killed. His family still doesn't know what happened. I want to give them closure," Taking another settling breath, Nikita began to explain. She knew better than to tell Han's wife about Division, yet she had to know about the person who hired the black ops group. She also had to know that that person would no longer be on Earth. That path of revenge was alright with her and Nikita. There was just Michael and Birkhoff left to convince. And who knew how exactly they'd think about it.
"Victor Han, as in your first kill? You really want to revisit that?" Second guessing Nikita's decision, Birkhoff studied her over. He knew how bad her first kill mission had been for her. He was there for the aftermath. She had to pose as a baby's nanny, then plant a bomb while mom and child were out of the house. She betrayed trust. She was used as a government agent to kill another- a seemingly innocent one compared to those inside Division. Her actions tore her up. It gave Birkhoff emotional whiplash as well. What happened was fucked up. The mission wasn't something to delve deeply into.
"There were rumors it had to do with the Triad. That's who Han was working on taking out," Michael, on the other hand, was instantly ready to help Nikita. At the mention of getting closure for Victor Han's wife and daughter, he was willing to jump right into the mission. The original operation had never sat right with Michael either. He hated that Division had gone after a seemingly clean Homeland Security agent, and he hated that a baby was almost harmed in the process. It was about time the rogues set things right.
"I want to start with a local sweatshop of theirs and work my way to the top. It should be easy to find out who hired Division from there," Nodding, Nikita explained what she had thought about already. If Han was waging a battle against the Triad while he was in Homeland Security, then it made sense that one of the Triad leaders would want him dead. Percy wasn't above working under criminals' orders. As long as he gained money or power from the deal, he didn't care. Division was only a weapon for others to exploit, after all.
As Nikita and Michael discussed the Triad controlled sweatshop they could break into, destroy, and follow any of the workers to their headquarters, Birkhoff gaped. He couldn't believe the two were actually considering it. He was all for helping people and screwing over Division. But they had to draw the line somewhere. Not everything had to be a crusade or a path of vengeance. Going after the Triad was definitely somewhere the rogues shouldn't go. Weren't they in enough danger, "You want to go after the Triad?"
"That's why I need your help," Nikita practically pleaded as she faced Birkhoff once more. She wasn't going to be reckless and rash on that mission. Facing the Triad wasn't a joke. And she wanted to survive that operation. She wanted to do something right again. The family she had hurt so long ago needed their chance at vengeance too. She had the power to help them. It wouldn't absolve her of any of the pain she had caused. But she wasn't looking for retribution. She only wanted to give others what she couldn't have. They deserved more than her.
"Do you have any information from your mole?" Although he wanted to ask more about Nikita's mole (and so did Birkhoff, based on the confused look he cast his way), Michael kept his question brief. Maybe the mole inside Division could get them an old mission file or past information they might not have. There was no doubt that Percy only told them the basics when it came to the Han kill mission. After all, they didn't know who ordered it and why. The secrets had kept them in line, and the threat of death kept them from asking questions. Fortunately, the rogues weren't under those conditions anymore. They were free to get all the intel they needed.
"I don't want to put them in danger over something like this. Besides, Shadownet would be more useful here," Nikita smiled softly at Birkhoff. She didn't want to involve Alex into the mess that was Victor Han. How much information could she really obtain anyway. All she could relay were Division's movements- if that. Nikita shouldn't bother her with that operation. Birkhoff, however, well she could maybe start to apologize for all she had done to him by recognizing his genius with Shadownet. It was an amazing program and tool. The rogues definitely needed it, just as they needed the nerd who ran it.
"Oh no. You're not buttering me up. It won't work. I'm not fighting the Triad. The target on my back is huge enough with Division. This is above and beyond the call of duty," Shaking his head, Birkhoff held his ground. There wasn't a chance the Triad would know of his involvement if he used Shadownet- his hacks were too good to be tracked. Yet he didn't want to risk it. Besides, there had to be other ways to discover who hired Division to kill Han. Maybe when they got a black box they could peak inside; though, that'd be like opening Pandora's box.
"Come on, Birkhoff. We're helping a family," Michael pleaded the same case that had won him over. He approached Birkhoff, needing him to understand that going after whoever hired Division to kill Victor Han was the right thing to do. Burning Division and Oversight to the ground was about helping and protecting the innocents they had hurt just as much as it was about black boxes and destroying their sources of power. Michael and Birkhoff (and Nikita) had to be heroes as well as rogues. They had to help the Han family.
Birkhoff was almost swayed. He could recognize how important the mission was for Michael. Of course he would do whatever he could to help him. It was just the thought of the Triad that held him back. Nikita was the one to fully persuade the hacker. They shouldn't keep focusing on the Triad or on families. Percy was involved as well. And the rogues would do anything to get under his skin, "It'll piss Percy off too. If we find out who hired Division, he might go running to a black box to check on its security."
"And your mole can tell us when he's off and running," While Michael flashed Nikita a half-smile at her brilliant plan, Birkhoff attempted to catch up on the 'mole' conversation. That was the second time his partner mentioned the other rogue having a mole inside Division. The hacker couldn't make sense of it. When did she have someone on the inside, and why hadn't she mentioned it before. Shouldn't that be something they could use to help them in their war. However, Nikita was too focused on smiling back at Michael to answer Birkhoff. He just sighed.
"Whatever. Just gear up and get out of here," Waving them away, Birkhoff plopped back down at his computer. He'd get the agents the intel they needed and help out with any tech support, but he didn't want to be directly involved with an attack on the Triad. He was smarter than to wage war on two criminal organizations; Division was enough. Nikita and Michael were perfectly fine with his decision. Once the nerd gave them information, they could take it from there. The two could handle the fieldwork themselves- having a partner certainly helped. They gathered the necessary weapons and protections and took off.
Attacking the sweatshop was easy. While Nikita battled the guards, Michael helped the enslaved workers flee. His Mandarin was rough- Nikita had to help him- but he was able to inform them of a shelter that would provide safety. When he returned to his partner (was that what they were in the field) she was already dosing the place in gasoline. Only one guard was left, yet she let him go with a bug on his jacket. When the building went up in flames, he'd run to his boss, and the agents would be able to track him. Michael had the feeling that she hadn't needed his help taking the Triad. What she needed was someone to ensure she didn't go too far.
He had seen it in the way she fought. Nikita fought like something was trying to claw out of her. It was as though with every punch, a demon could consume her whole. She had to keep herself in check, or else- Michael was very aware of what could happen when she allowed her demons to control her. Having him around seemed to help. So, he would undoubtedly stick by her to ensure their mission for justice went perfectly. Unfortunately, he didn't have as much of a say in that as he thought. When Michael and Nikita traced the Triad to their headquarters and fought their way to the boss's office, they were met with a surprise on the computer.
The head of the Triad, who had facetimed his workers from China, was none other than Victor Han. As Michael took a step back in surprise, Nikita scowled, "Why am I not surprised?"