Nikita didn't say much when she returned from talking to Ryan. There wasn't much for her to say. The three rogues had rescued Alex, they sent Division spiraling, and a CIA analyst was completely on their side. The rebels didn't necessarily have to say anything. They just had to prepare for their next operation. That'd be easier if one of them wasn't so distracted. Birkhoff was digging through Shadownet while Michael took stock of their inventory. Nikita was supposed to be combing through their contacts for any intel, yet she was staring off into the distance. Michael had to whistle to get her attention, "So is Ryan still with us?"
Slowly, Nikita turned towards him. Her fingers kept absentmindedly playing with her bottom lip. The last thing she was supposed to have done was set up a secure way to communicate with Ryan. But after figuring everything out, she got lost in thought. Michael believed her intense thoughts had something to do with the analyst. Maybe he backed out after realizing how daunting the task was, or after witnessing all the disasters Division caused. Yet Nikita didn't answer Michael immediately; she didn't seem to even register what he had said. Birkhoff scoffed at her lack of focus, "Are you still with us?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Ryan's all on board. He's pissed he got demoted from counter intel to the basement archives. But he's studying that file like his life depends on it," After another few seconds, Nikita shook her head and replied. She didn't mean to let her thoughts wander. She had wanted to contact Alex next, gather intel on whatever Division was up to at the moment. Talking to Ryan, however, left her reflecting. Reflecting on exactly what, she hardly knew. But she did think about normalcy for just a moment. And a lingering tingle on her lips.
"It might," Birkhoff's snide comment brought Nikita fully back to the moment. He wasn't being rude- just stating a cruel fact. Ryan put himself in severe danger by aligning with the rogues. Studying that file to take down Division would be the only thing to save his life. The CIA didn't offer him any protection. That had been made very clear. Division had agents everywhere. Percy had his hands in pockets everywhere. Fighting a war against the secret black ops unit stacked the odds against you a million to one. Death was more likely than success.
"Don't remind me," Nikita sighed, ruffling her hair out of her face. She never wanted to drag anyone into danger; though, Ryan had accidentally stumbled into it first. Working with the rogues could save him a lifetime of further torment for just learning about Division. All of the rebels could benefit from working with one another. There was some safety in numbers. And once the black ops group was demolished, their lives would no longer be in danger. That seemed more like a pipedream the longer the war went on, however. There wasn't much of a way out. David taking down Goliath was a myth, after all.
While Nikita tried to straighten her shoulders and ignore her morose thoughts, Michael studied her. He wasn't surprised she had fallen to dark thoughts. He also wasn't surprised that she was trying to battle them. She had gotten better at trying to find hope in their mission. What Michael was trying to figure out was Nikita's thoughts surrounding Ryan. She kept worrying her bottom lip. She didn't do that when she was nervous- she usually messed with her hair. Something else was in her mind. And he had to know what, "What's up between you and Ryan?"
"Uh. Nothing? Why?" Nikita dropped her hand from her mouth. There wasn't anything going on between her and Ryan Fletcher. They were simply allies in their war. The kiss they had shared meant nothing. She had only kissed him to shut him up and reassure him. It was entirely platonic. Even though he stuttered afterwards, even though she thought about how cute that made him, there was nothing between them. So why, of course, did that make her so defensive and nervous to tell Michael. It wasn't as though anything was going on between them either.
"Just… if he had any intel," Clearing his throat, Michael backed out of his real question. What did it matter to him if Nikita and Ryan Fletcher had anything going on. Michael had made it clear that he and Nikita should stay as they were until he could extinguish the ghosts of his past. He didn't exactly ask her to wait for him. That would be unfair of him; he didn't have a claim on her. So why did he feel so annoyed- so hopeless- by the thought that she might move on to someone else. It probably wasn't true, but the thought wouldn't escape him. He just wanted to know so he could assure himself.
"Nope. But uh… I should check in with Alex," Nikita only shook her head and moved away with the burner phone. She and Michael had been so good at talking earlier. So what held them back then. A part of her knew what. However, Nikita didn't want to explore it. Neither did Michael, apparently. They both just ignored the problem. It would probably just fizzle out eventually. If it truly meant nothing, then whatever they were feeling would just fade into obscurity; there would be no weight to it.
At least, that was what Michael and Nikita believed. Birkhoff, on the other hand, watched as something unnamed- unexplored- brewed between the two. It wasn't new. The thing had been between them before- almost always had. Silently watching it fester again, Birkhoff felt as though he should say something. The looks, the strained conversations, the refusal to address anything, the two had to knock it off. There was only so much the hacker could take. He wouldn't be able to live with the others much longer if they didn't talk. Or if they didn't acknowledge there was something going on, "What the hell was that?"
"Shut up," Michael bit maybe a little too harshly. He could've simply ignored the nerd like he was ignoring everything else, yet he wanted Birkhoff to drop the subject before it could ever begin. Although that was the worst way to get the hacker to move on- if anything, he'd want to bug the others more- it was too late to say another word. Michael just wanted to refocus on preparing for a potential operation. It had been silent from Division for a while. A new mission had to have been brewing. That was more worthy of their attention than whatever was between Michael and Nikita; though, honestly, both could be disastrous.
In an attempt to keep her mind off of everything, Nikita played with her burner cellphone. She was being ridiculous. Michael was being ridiculous. It was all nothing. It was just a stupid moment that caused silly feelings. It didn't have to cause them to act so childishly. They were adults. They should talk and address their thoughts and feelings, instead of running and hiding. But it was too late for that. They couldn't just go back and start the conversation over; it had already been messed up. And other things had begun to take precedence. For example, Alex called before Nikita could even manage to dial her number, "Got a mission for you."
"Awesome. Is it some international intrigue? Assassinations? Betrayal and romance?" Instantly, Nikita dived into the new mission. Considering the other operations Alex had informed the rogues of, the new one had to be beyond interesting. It could be the perfect thing to distract from complicated emotions. They weren't that complicated if either Michael or Nikita gave themselves a second to actually think about them. Yet that was where complicity in relationships lied. No one was brave enough to accept truths and consequences. No one wanted to feel uncomfortable. So, they buried it under complicity and attempted to move on.
"Uh, yeah actually. That's spot on," Taken aback, Alex replied. She wasn't certain what had Nikita so eager- and she wasn't certain if she even wanted to know. Yet, the rogue was right about the type of mission they were going to face. Alex had been planning it with other agents for a while. Since the plan was finalized, she thought it was about time she brought in the rogues. The three could train to stop the operation as Division trained to pull it off. Comparing their skills, it was clear who would come out on top. Once they had all the information, of course.
"So who hired Division?" Instead of diving straight into the mission, Nikita asked about the background information. She didn't care for it so much. Except, Birkhoff had mentioned that it could help them search for future Division missions. He could log the information into one of his Shadow-programs and create an algorithm that'd lead them to other Division clients, and therefore other missions. He had done something similar before. But with more intel, he could be more accurate. Nikita didn't understand all the technobabble behind the system, yet she'd help Birkhoff obtain intel. It'd at least stop them from relying too much on Alex.
"That I don't know," Alex admitted. She knew everything else about the mission: where it was going to take place, who they were supposed to kill, who all the important people were, and what Division had to disguise the mission as. However, Alex had no idea who asked the black ops group to carry it out. She assumed it was a political rival. The agents were killing a political head; it made sense. Alex just didn't want to speculate over the phone. Nor did she want to share important intel while pacing her Division controlled apartment. She and Nikita had to meet in person, somewhere safe and secure, "Is there some place we can meet to go over this?"
For a moment, Nikita considered having Alex come to the safehouse. But that might've been too much for the young agent. A lot was happening in the crowded safehouse/command center. Also, Alex didn't seem to be comfortable enough with Michael and Birkhoff to be spilling secrets. They should work on that. But maybe not on huge missions. They could take baby steps. After all, Nikita had kept a place available for the very purpose of having a staging ground in the city. It was about time she returned to the loft, "I've got the perfect place."
Once Nikita gave Alex the time and place, the two hung up the phone. The young agent was relieved to be working hands-on with the rogues. She felt like it could be further practice for her mission against Semak. The more she planned top-secret and successful operations, the better prepared she would be. Yet that couldn't occupy too much of her attention. Alex had to focus on saving Division's latest target. She could let her other mission fall to the back burner for once. The rest of her life seemed to. She hardly remembered she had made friends around her apartment building, until they snuck up behind her as she left, "Off to work again?"
"Shopping," Alex replied with a half-truth (she did intend to go shopping after meeting with Nikita so Amanda and Percy wouldn't grow suspicious of her activities) before she even registered who she was talking to. It was only Sean. He always appeared to be outside his apartment the same time she did. It could've been a coincidence if she wasn't in and out at weird hours so often because of Division. She was curious about what her neighbor did to be able to talk to her all the time. He had to have worked, "What do you do all day?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," Sean flashed a smarmy grin. Alex was instantly put off by it. She didn't think that sort of question should've been given a sarcastic reply. She just asked what he did for work- or even for fun. Most people would have replied with something. It was a basic question, after all. But Sean was just weird, almost as if he was trying too hard at being flirty. It definitely didn't come off as him being cute. Alex was annoyed. She couldn't quite figure out Sean, and he just made it worse. She was so ready for another mission.
"Hey," Thankfully, Nathan entered the hallway, cutting the tension between Sean and Alex. He smiled and waved at both of his neighbors. But Alex received the warmer gesture. She smiled brightly in response and repeated the greeting as she left the building. She could've sworn Sean's eyes followed her while she made her exit. He didn't respond to Nathan. He hardly even acknowledged him besides a brief contemptuous glance. Alex caught the look over her shoulder when she adjusted her purse. If she wasn't puzzled by Sean before, that certainly had her perplexed. What was all of that about. What was Sean's deal.
A part of Alex wanted to solve that mystery immediately. She wanted to march up to Sean and question him about the way he stared at her, studied her, and the irritation he had for Nathan. However, she had more important things to attend to. An overly sarcastic man who was able to look right through her with one glance could wait. At least her feet expressed that as they carried her to Nikita's staging ground. Alex's mind, on the other hand, kept running with thoughts of Sean- and Nathan, somewhat. She couldn't make it stop. When she finally joined the rogue, she was ready to explode. Her frustration became that palpable, "What's up with guys?"
"Fuck if I know," Nikita scoffed. She wasn't expecting Alex to burst into the loft all huffy and upset, but she wasn't going to complain. The young agent deserved a place to rant; though, Nikita didn't need to know what Alex was thinking about. She had her own problems with men she had to deal with. They could both bitch and moan about their issues and not get anywhere. They were both too caught up in their own bullshit to help each other with stupid guys. A mission, however, the two women could excel at together. They were both determined to put all of their thoughts into something else, "What do you got for me?"
"More fucked up men," Laying out her blueprints and dossiers she had hidden in her purse, Alex sighed. She was so willing to join Nikita in forgetting her problems with a mission. She could put her training to the test and see if she was prepared to take on Semak. But even that didn't offer her the solutions she wanted. She just wanted to forget about the complicated men in her life, so she could clear her head and breathe easier. Saving the Crown Prince of Georgia from getting killed by political enemies after his recent marriage seemed like the perfect head clearing mission. Alex could focus on other people's complicated problems for a change.