Fortunately, although they had leapt from a plane, Owen and Nikita didn't have to work too hard to find their way home. They had managed to jump before the CIA plane could land in Virginia. They weren't far from New York. All the two had to do was steal a car and drive. There wasn't any conversation as they traveled. Not only were they exhausted after the day's events, they were also both too lost in thought for words. There was a lot to think about and consider. And most of it revolved around Division and the fucking black box.
Once the rogues made it back to the city, Owen suggested they should sleep on those thoughts. They shouldn't make any big decisions while exhausted. They should take time before coming up with any solutions for their black boxes, their war, and how Ryan Fletcher was to be involved in all of that mess (they also had to find a way to get Birkhoff's plane back from Chile). Although Nikita agreed with Owen, she knew she wouldn't be sleeping that night. Her thoughts were too loud, and her emotions were too frayed. She had to do anything but sleep.
So, after dropping Owen off at wherever he was crashing, Nikita went by the same rec center she had broken into earlier (it felt like a month had passed since then, not a little more than a day). Swimming had been a great way to get her mind in order before. Hopefully, that night wouldn't be any different. Exhaustion weighed down her muscles, making her drag through the water instead of glide. Yet the simple exercise mixed with how much she needed sleep silenced her thoughts. Her mind was nothing. She could thankfully be nothing too. At least, for a little while she could- until Owen found her again.
He didn't appear to have been able to sleep either. It was why he had gone looking for her, black box in hand. Sighing, Nikita climbed out of the pool and toweled herself dry. Owen started to say something about how he would be more careful next time. He would think before he acted- be aware of the consequences and the innocents that could get hurt. That was all well and good, yet Nikita stopped listening. They weren't going to worry about black box secrets getting out, because they were going to destroy them as soon as they found them. No one should have the power those damn things contained, including the rogues.
Hidden underneath one of the towels Nikita had taken was her gun. She grabbed it, tossed the black box onto the ground, and shot the vile thing. The rest of the bullets in her pistol were being saved for the remaining four boxes. And after that, Percy. Nothing could stand in her way then. Her vengeance would be had, people would be saved, and her team would be free. The latter two points were beginning to become more important than the first. Nikita just didn't want more people getting hurt. The destruction was too great, as was the weight on her shoulders.
Although Owen was surprised by her quick action, he soon understood it. Destroying the black boxes was their surefire way to get to Percy. Releasing information might've rattled him and led the rogues to potential clues. But the risks weren't worth it. Ryan had almost been killed for Owen's recklessness. Poking around in the box of secrets would never lead to anything good. Destroying them was best for everybody. Though, Nikita didn't have to be so dramatic about it with the quick draw of a hidden deadly weapon, "Lesson learned. Don't fuck with you."
"You think you got a line on another one?" Chuckling quietly, Nikita put away her gun. Owen had mentioned before that maybe with his insights as a former Guardian he could pick up the trail of where the other black boxes were. He had given Birkhoff some intel to feed through one of his programs to see what could potentially pop up. It was possible that the rogues could get ahead of Percy's idiotic Cold War era spy tactics when it came to the boxes. They didn't have much from their preliminary hunt. But what they did have could be enough. It really needed to be enough. Taking their time with the black boxes didn't seem like a viable option.
"Yeah. In London. I'm going to go hunt it down. But don't worry. I won't release any more secrets. I'll just call you," Owen nodded. Birkhoff had texted, claiming there was a possible lead of another Guardian in London. The hacker didn't believe it was anything substantial, yet Owen was determined to discover something. That was the rogues' best chance at making progress in their war. Michael and Nikita would run countermissions. Birkhoff would hack. And Owen would search for their needles in haystacks. The rogues were stretched thin, but they'd be able to work it out. They always managed to.
Nikita made Owen swear he would keep the team in the loop before he did anything drastic. As he left, he promised to report even the quietest of whispers he picked up. He also planned to return Birkhoff's jet as he relocated to London; it was out of the way, but he was traveling anyway. Nikita couldn't stop herself from laughing at the idea of that. Not only was it a point of stress miraculously lifted from her mind, she couldn't believe that she had others she could rely on. It wasn't only her against the world. She had teammates- she had friends.
Not long after Owen left, Nikita decided it was time she returned to her loft. She had to sleep. If she couldn't do that, then she had to clean her clothes and equipment from the mission. A little bit of both ended up happening. After stumbling back into her safehouse, she showered, cleaned some weapons, then collapsed on her bed. Nikita hadn't even known she had fallen asleep until she was woken by a phone call hours later. Sluggishly, she grabbed for her burner cell and pressed it to her ear. Birkhoff's irritated yet snarky voice filled the air, "Next time you want to leave my jet in a foreign country, tell me first."
"Owen should be returning it. Then he's gonna fly commercial to London," Attempting to wake herself up, Nikita caught Birkhoff up on everything he had missed. Her main focus was on destroying the black box and Ryan Fletcher. Those facts didn't stress the hacker out as much as facing rebels, Division, and the CIA did. There was no need for him to worry. Everything had been worked out- for the most part. The team should just focus on their next moves, and how having a CIA analyst as an ally could be extremely beneficial.
"You gonna keep us in the loop next time?" Birkhoff only sighed in response. He was glad Nikita, Ryan, and Owen were okay. He was also thrilled that one of the black boxes was destroyed. Yet he didn't appreciate that he had to find out about everything after the fact. He could've helped on the mission. Michael could have as well. Though, Michael's communication with the others had been nonexistent lately. He was in his world of pain, and he wouldn't let his friends in. They should have probably just kept him out of it until he reached out first.
"It's getting a lot more complicated now," It wasn't an actual answer. Although Nikita had made Owen promise he wouldn't do anything on his own, she wouldn't make the same vow to Birkhoff. Obviously, she would tell him everything before it happened and let him stay in the know. A lot of information was how they were going to get anywhere in their war. Except, Nikita wasn't sure if she wanted her friends to shoulder the same weight she had placed on herself. She was glad they were there to take some of the burden, but too much could hurt them. She didn't want Owen and Birkhoff pulling away like Michael had.
Pushing her groggy body out of bed, Nikita had to keep distracting herself from her thoughts. Continuing to clean her gear seemed like a great way to shut her mind up. However, the more she did the monotonous action, the more chances her mind had to wander. It was the opposite effect swimming had. Nikita was going to have to face her thoughts whether she liked it or not- and she definitely didn't like it. Fortunately, before she had to force herself to come around to the idea, her computer chimed. Alex needed her on the shell program. Instantly, Nikita abandoned everything to see what was the matter, "Nikita. I really need your help."
Alex had debated whether or not she should message Nikita. It was her kill mission. She didn't need anyone's help. If she could do it completely on her own (minus Division's support) then she could prove that she was ready to take on Semak. She had to be ready. However, she couldn't move past the killing factor. Although she knew she had to do it, and she wanted to pull the trigger, Thom had said that taking a life wasn't what it seemed. When she began to doubt herself, he wouldn't elaborate. The only person Alex thought that would answer her was Nikita, "I have a kill mission, and I don't think… I need help pulling it off."
"Whatever you need," The reply was instant, despite the dropped off sentence Alex had typed. The young woman had no reason to doubt Nikita. She had always been helpful and forthcoming, even when she didn't have to be. That was another reason why Alex ultimately decided to reach out to her. She knew her relationship with Amanda was all about how they could benefit from one another. Even though she relied on the softness the other woman could provide at times, Alex needed something more realistic at the moment. She needed honesty.
"Whatever way I can kill a mobster for Division," Alex wouldn't tell Nikita everything yet. She was still a rogue agent trying to destroy the organization she needed to be successful. Yet Alex would tell her enough to get her perspective on things. A mobster was a bad man. Killing him shouldn't be the crisis of conscience Thom was suggesting. It should be just like killing Semak. The evil men had to be taken out of the world. She shouldn't feel overwhelmed by the fact. She shouldn't hesitate. It was a necessary thing to do to remove evil- wasn't it.
Instead of discussing how difficult it was to actually kill someone, no matter how bad they were, or delving right into the facts of the mission and what was at stake, Nikita changed course. Alex probably should've expected it. Staying vague about their activities couldn't sustain their strange partnership. They had to be completely open if they were going to continue sharing intel. Their individual missions weren't really individual if they constantly involved each other. Just like a real team, they had to be in the loop. Which was why Nikita finally asked, "Why kill for Division anyway? I get a mobster needs to be taken out. But if there's another way…"
"I do what Division wants, they give me what I need," Alex didn't wait for Nikita to finish typing her suggestion. She gave her a quick explanation of her deal with Division, hoping that'd be enough to satisfy her. Maybe it was about time Alex told Nikita the full truth. She deserved it after all the honesty she had shown her. The rogue had also pulled through on the missions Alex had given her. She proved time and time again that she only wanted to help. Knowing the full truth wouldn't be hurtful. It'd only be more beneficial.
"And what's that? Why would Division keep a former target alive? What do they need from Alexandra Udinov and vice-versa?" Nikita fired back with the questions Alex knew had been on her mind since the beginning. Percy and Amanda didn't do anything that didn't benefit them. Killing Alexandra in the first place was so Semak would do something for Division and its bosses. The murder of an entire family was a fucking business transaction. So, keeping her alive once they found out she never died couldn't help them- unless a new deal was struck. The hellhole was always in the business of hurting others. If people suffered, they thrived.
Fingers hovering over the keyboard, Alex knew she had to be honest. She didn't have to share every single detail. But she had to explain herself. She shouldn't be concerned with Nikita's reaction. It wasn't about what she'd think or feel. That was about Alex and her life. She was in charge of how much she shared and what that all meant. At the moment, it was about her trust. She needed to be able to trust Nikita. She had to know that together, the two could accomplish what had to be done, "The man who hired Division to kill my family went back on the deal. Percy, Amanda, and their bosses want him dead, and so do I."
That wasn't enough. Alex knew it wasn't. If she was Nikita, she'd demand more answers. She'd want to know more about what was occurring. Or, she might fight the deal she had made with Percy and Amanda. At times, it seemed too good to be true. Somehow, it was going to bite her in the ass. Alex knew it, so Nikita had to as well. Except, there was no message that tried to appeal to the young woman's rationality. Instead, all Alex read was the support she was looking for. Nikita was with her, "You've helped me with my revenge mission. I have your back on this."
"Thank you," Relieved, Alex typed. She didn't know why she had expected Nikita to react negatively to the information. She was on her own revenge mission, after all. She'd understand Alex once she explained herself; she'd understand that helping her escape wouldn't save her, but helping her kill the man who had hurt her would. Nikita felt the same vengeful anger as Alex. It wasn't worth diminishing. They had to help one another control it and utilize it to get what they wanted.
"Of course. Now. What's the plan?"