Convincing Birkhoff to go along with their plan was easy. As soon as he heard that they were going to use the CIA to hack into Division, the nerd was all for it. The fact that recruits were being implanted with killchips encouraged him further. He excitedly planned his hack, prepping a spare computer for the incursion. Nikita almost didn't have the heart to tell him the full plan she and Michael had worked up on the drive back to the safehouse. It'd immediately steal his excitement. And he'd complain like no other.
In order to get Birkhoff into a CIA field office, he had to be renditioned. There was a chance Division would catch wind of that. Yet if the rogues pretended it was a result of his Shadowalker past, they might not be suspicious. The three could slip under the black ops group's radar for a bit. Hopefully, it'd be long enough for Birkhoff to do what he had to. With enough planning, it should be. The nerd's whining just had to be dealt with first. And, of course, Ryan had to know what was occurring.
While Michael and Birkhoff worked out exactly what they were going to do, Nikita went to bring in Ryan Fletcher. She didn't doubt that she'd be able to convince him to help the team of rogues. He had been hellbent to discover and stop the ghost unit of the government before; things wouldn't be different then. Nikita just had to convince Ryan that performing an illegal rendition would be worth all the trouble it'd bring. Michael had been quick to tell her how reckless and potentially disastrous her idea was. But he didn't have anything better to suggest. All he could do was help her ensure the plan would work without a hitch.
The half-baked scheme made up mostly on the fly wasn't what had Nikita's stomach twisted up in knots. She normally wasn't worried about how her missions played out; she and her team had enough skills to make it through no matter what. She was just worried about Alex. There was no guarantee that the killchip wouldn't be activated before they could save her- there was no guarantee it could be dismantled. The rogues had to try, though. They had to do all they could. Alex had been the victim of Division too many times.
It didn't take Nikita long to locate Ryan Fletcher. After what had happened in Chile, he had received a sort of celebrity status in the news. He had survived corruption and an attempt on his life. He was a hero; though, he didn't really like it. Nikita didn't blame him. But she was able to use his twenty minutes of fame (that also made him untouchable to Division) to track him down to a nice restaurant. Although he didn't seem to be having much fun, he was on a date with a very excitable and awestruck woman. Nikita couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. However, she didn't make her grand entrance until Ryan's date was in the bathroom, "She really likes you."
"You're alive?" Lamely, Ryan gaped. Nikita just smirked. He shouldn't have been that surprised she was alive. Although the last time he had seen her was when she leapt out of an airplane, he shouldn't have been shocked that the rogue had managed to live. Even from their brief encounter, he knew she was resourceful and stubborn enough to find a way to live. It was just jarring to see Nikita waltz right up to him after the life threatening situation they had faced together. A part of Ryan still clung to the belief that the whole thing had been a shitty dream and she had been a figment of his imagination. Yet the horror in Chile had been real, and so was she.
"You know, I never get tired of hearing that," Sitting in the empty seat, Nikita flashed a proud smile. She didn't tire of her enemies constantly being surprised she was alive. Her unpredictability kept her alive most of the time. However, she didn't like that her friends and allies were so worried about her life. With everything else they had to be concerned about, her life shouldn't have been one of them. They shouldn't be carrying around that stressful weight. She didn't want to cause any unnecessary harm.
"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Once his shock had passed, Ryan quickly interrogated Nikita. As wonderful as it was to know she was alive, her presence wasn't necessarily a good thing. Another world shattering event was about to occur. Ryan shouldn't have been completely upset by that. Being a CIA analyst should've made him accustomed to discovering secrets that changed his perception. Yet Division and the rogues seemed so different. The threat that had been placed on his life because of his knowledge was probably the reason. That certainly changed things.
"You owe me Ryan Fletcher," Her smirk remained, yet her tone turned dark. Ryan wouldn't be able to escape from Nikita. Besides, if he had really wanted to, he could've left as soon as he noticed her. The analyst was deeply involving himself with the rogues. To get the answers he sought, he'd do anything the three needed. Nikita hoped to not involve him too much, however. That was hers, Michael's, and Birkhoff's (and Owen's, and Alex's- somewhat) war, not Ryan's. He shouldn't put himself in danger. If only he wasn't needed, "I really need your help."
"What is this?" Ryan finally noticed the file Nikita had with her. It was easier for him to focus on that than whatever she and the other former Division agents needed. He suspected it involved defying the black ops unit and raising hell. From his scant amount of information on his ghost unit and of his experience with the rogues, he knew that much to be true. What exactly they had in mind for him, however, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. The file Nikita had brought him seemed overwhelming enough. Just flipping through the contents had him frozen. Just what had he gotten himself into.
Nikita had thought bringing a peace offering would help sway Ryan. There was a chance he wouldn't fight her on her plan, if he had more information first- tons more information. He deserved a file full of intel on Division anyway. His position in the CIA could only get him so far. And if he were to survive more battles against the black ops unit, he needed an inside scoop. Neither Michael nor Birkhoff fought Nikita on that decision. In fact, they gave her even more information to share. Ryan would be prepared to handle the new shit that would be thrown at him- hopefully, "It's information you need on Division in order to help us take them down."
"Us, as in you and Owen," Ryan briefly glanced up from the file to ask. He vaguely knew about other rogue agents involved, yet he hadn't heard Nikita talk much about them. Maybe they weren't that important. Or maybe they were involved in other things. Diving into the file was sure to give Ryan all the answers, and he intended to do just that; however, he'd prefer to hear the facts from Nikita. Things could be made more clear. Also, he could discover whatever fact she held to be the most important.
"And Michael and Birkhoff," Nikita clarified. She'd have to go over the team's exact dynamics later. The analyst shouldn't be confused about them and Division. But that conversation would just have to wait for after the mission. Knocking out killchips was far more important. They also didn't have the time to hash everything out. Either Alex could be killed, or Ryan's date would return from the bathroom before they could finish, "You'll meet them later. For now, we need your CIA resources. It's to save a young woman just starting her life."
"What do you have in mind?" Closing the file, Ryan gave Nikita his full attention. She wasn't able to tell him much at the restaurant. She simply gave him a time and place to meet, then left just as his date returned from the bathroom. The rogue didn't doubt that the analyst would meet with her in a few hours. He had poured over that file and became beyond interested when she had mentioned saving someone's life. Ryan was on board. After that came the hard part- it was difficult just convincing Michael of it. Yet there was no other way around it. Nikita had to talk the analyst into abusing his CIA powers.
Since Birkhoff was in on it, it wouldn't be true abuse. But Ryan probably wouldn't see it that way. Nikita would just lay it on thick that all of their actions were to save someone- and potentially more people in the future. The analyst didn't even have to do much besides get the rogues into Division. They could take over from there. Birkhoff had worked up the perfect hack for CIA servers that would let him dismantle Division's, and Nikita had developed a Trojan horse type virus to distract the black ops group. Her plan was to have Alex plant it for her. She had the easiest access, and it'd free up the others to stress about the rest of the mission.
Birkhoff sent Alex the virus while Nikita talked to Ryan. She said she would do it, but the hacker was already messing with the burner phones. Also, he wanted a chance to talk to Alex. It was only fair that he somewhat met the person who had helped the team so much, and who he was helping in return. The team shouldn't have been kept separate from one another, "Alex, this is Birkhoff. I'm sending you a virus Nikita wants you to upload into Division's servers. You can do it at any time; it just has to be before midnight. I don't know what it is. I didn't make it, so if it goes wrong blame her. Also, it's nice to meet you."
Scoffing, Alex sent a sarcastic reply (mostly aimed at Nikita rather than Birkhoff) and prepared to head into Division. She didn't question what sort of virus the rogues wanted her to upload. It probably had to do with a mission they were planning to undertake. After the feats they had been able to pull off, she didn't doubt the kinds of miracles they could pull. She'd simply help wherever she could. As long as it didn't interfere with her own mission, of course. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. Alex could run right off with her virus. And nearly knock over Nathan in the hallway in the process, "Hey. Perfect timing. You coming in?"
Alex had to take a second to register what Nathan was talking about. Hearing the music and chatter in his apartment, and spotting the bags of food and drinks in his hands, snapped her memory back to her. There was a party that night. She had agreed to stop by, hoping to relax and pretend like she wasn't a trained assassin. Although the burner phone with the virus burned in her pocket, she considered following Nathan inside. She had time. As long as she got to Division before midnight, it would be alright. She should keep her promises. Especially when Nikita had been the one to tell her to enjoy her time, "Yeah, of course."
Nathan led her excitedly into his apartment. He was all smiles as he told her what was going on and where she could grab food. Alex echoed his smiles easily, until he had to leave her to attend to some things. Once alone, she didn't know what to do. She thought about joining a conversation, meet the other people in her apartment complex, yet she was rooted in her spot. She had no idea how she was supposed to approach normal people. Maybe if she stood still, someone would come to her. She didn't have to wait long for that to happen. A man soon brushed her shoulder with his and snarked, "I expected this party to be way more wild."
"Not lively enough for ya?" Alex shot back with a smirk. She wasn't sure what the man was talking about, but she was certain he was her other neighbor, Sean. she should at least try to be cordial. Even if she didn't want to make deep connections, she shouldn't make her life in her apartment hell. There were also going to be times like that one, where she'd want to relax with those around her. She couldn't do that if she scorned whoever talked to her. She could make connections, just not friends.
"How does this compare to parties where you're from?" It was an obvious fish for information. Even if Alex wasn't aware enough to recognize those sorts of lines, she could spot it in Sean's pained expression. He didn't like what he had said either. Instead of getting annoyed, however, Alex thought it was a little endearing. Sean simply wanted to get to know her, as awkward as he went about it. There was no harm in that. He did believe they were two normal people striking up a conversation. They could talk about anything they wished.
Although Alex loved the idea of that, it could never happen in reality. In order to survive both Division and Semak, her true self had to be locked away. No one could know everything about her, including Nikita and Amanda. Secrecy was her ultimate weapon. But besides that, she also had a Division cover to keep intact. To excuse her need to rush off unexpectedly while she lived in the complex, she was some sort of social media consultant. Her fake job didn't make a lot of sense, yet she could work with it. Where she was from, however, she just stuck with where she had been for the past few months, "Uhhh. I'm from Jersey. So not much fun."
"You're right. Cali is way better," Sean chuckled as he took a sip of his drink. His hazel eyes bore into Alex's blue, somehow both studying her intently and gazing at her in humor. She found herself laughing with him, yet only slightly. She was mesmerized by the way he regarded her. She couldn't quite catch what he was thinking. Normally when men stared at her for so long, they were thinking about undressing her. But that wasn't what was going through Sean's mind. She knew he wasn't leering. There was something else behind his look that had her enthralled.
"Where I could get crushed by an earthquake?" Alex fired off the first reply she could think of. She didn't know much about California besides the stereotypes she had seen on television or overheard from other people. She was sure there was a lot more to the state than just that. But, then again, she had been in New York the majority of her time in America, and it was close to what her father had described it as. Obviously, some of his old Cold War beliefs weren't proven true. But he got the rudeness and crime down exactly. Alex experienced both harshly.
"Oh, you've definitely made this party so much better," Bursting into laughter, Sean claimed. There was no hint of sarcasm in his voice. He generally meant that. Alex beamed. When he glanced at her again, his hazel eyes were all humor; he wasn't studying her anymore. She relaxed more under that look. She felt normal under that gaze. Extending his hand out to her, Sean's full lips lifted into a wide smile. It almost seemed to echo her grin. Immediately, Alex grabbed his warm hand. He chuckled as he spoke, "I'm Sean."
"Alex," Nathan interrupted. He had some friends that he wanted her to meet. Despite wanting to interact with more normal people, she had to force herself away from Sean. It didn't help that he kept his eyes on her the entire time. But she was quickly able to distract herself with Nathan and his friends. They all seemed as nice and kind as Sean was. Alex felt like she could truly belong. Until one of the other party guests decided to get a bit too pushy. Then the Division training kicked in and ruined everything. The party came to a standstill as Alex flipped the man who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. All eyes stared at her in shock and fear, and she froze.
"I'm… sorry," Alex hurriedly sprinted out of Nathan's apartment. She didn't dare look back. She just broke for Division. She should've gone there in the first place. She shouldn't have gone to the party. She shouldn't have tried to be normal. That life wasn't meant for her.