Alex told Nikita everything she knew about the Division operation. The rogue, in return, told her team the whole plan. Division had been hired to kill the Crown Prince of Georgia as he and his wife presented royal jewels to a museum in New York. Alex and another agent, Stephen, were in charge of leading the Alpha team on the strike. They were to disguise themselves as Georgian rebels, blast their way past security, and take out the Prince as he stepped on stage. The whole thing shouldn't take more than ten minutes. And in the resulting chaos, they'd be able to slip away into the darkness. It was a solid plan; Alex and Stephen should be proud of it.
Though, honestly, Alex was more proud of the counter mission she and Nikita created. The Crown Prince hadn't done anything to warrant his murder. It wasn't like he was a dictator or something. He was a man trying to bring peace to his country. Of course, as a result, power hungry monsters would hire Division to keep that from happening; they simply couldn't let the people have the prosperity peace brought. Thankfully, there were those like the rogues who could step in and save the day. They could make sure there was some goodness left in the world.
Once they had all their intel and help from Alex, the three rogues soon made a decision on how they would proceed. Due to the quick nature of the mission, only Nikita would go. Michael and Birkhoff would monitor from the safehouse through street cams, satellite images, and their own private coms. Birkhoff quipped that the mission was like how they operated in their old Division days. To which Michael and Nikita just shared a strange look. The hacker sighed and continued prepping for the operation. He seriously didn't want to keep dealing with the other two at the moment. They could figure it out on their own.
Michael and Nikita didn't. They just moved past the awkward moment and focused on the mission. They established a cover for Nikita to sneak into the museum under Division's radar. She also planned on using that cover to tip people off to what was occurring. To control the chaos, others should know that Division planned on killing the Prince. The first thought was to tell the Georgian's head of security. Yet considering the amount of information the black ops group was given to plan their strike, someone close to the Prince had to have hired them. Nikita's money was on the head of security. It was always the right hand man that wanted to steal power.
That seemed plausible to Michael and Birkhoff. They had seen security heads, and advisors, and people in positions like that turn on leaders all the time. Crown Prince Erik had to be protected from those that were supposed to protect him. Which was why Nikita believed it was a bright idea to involve others close to the Prince so they could ensure his safety. If the rogue agent told the Princess of Georgia what was occurring, she could help get her husband out of danger. Division wouldn't know what happened until they crashed the scene.
At least, that was the plan. It unfortunately didn't unfold like that. When Nikita informed Princess Kristina that the head of security hired Division to kill Prince Erik, the scheme the rogues (and Alex) had created instantly fell to shit. Kristina led Nikita to another room of the museum under the pretense that she was leading her to Erik. Then, the Princess and the head of security overpowered the rogue and left her in a recycling bin. She was taken completely by surprise. Division's operation wasn't hindered in the slightest.
Once Nikita was able to climb out of the recycling bin, she was pissed. There went any calm and collected plans. She had to rush after Erik and let hell rain down when the Division agents started blasting. She was lucky to even reach the hapless target in time. As soon as she yanked him off stage, Alex, Stephen, and the Alpha team stormed into the room, immediately firing off their weapons. Erik stopped fighting Nikita and ran off with her. He recognized a source of salvation when he found one. He knew she'd be the only one to get him out of the situation alive. After all, his security force did nothing.
Prince Erik was fairly calm as Nikita snuck him around the museum. He followed her instructions as they avoided cameras and detection. He was able to handle himself well, despite the situation. Nikita was glad. She didn't think she could deal with the Alpha team searching for them and the Prince panicking. He did ask a lot of questions; though, so did she. While she told him about his wife and head of security hiring Division to kill him, he told her about his marriage. It was only out of convenience. Erik and Kristina came from old ruling families; their marriage could have restored political balance to Georgia. Except, he didn't want to rule.
After the trip to New York, Erik planned to abdicate the throne. Kristina didn't like that idea. So, of course, she hired Division to kill him. If the Crown Prince was killed by 'rebels' before he could give up the throne, then the Princess would be the sole ruler. She probably cut a deal with the head of security to ensure a smooth transition of power. Although that all made sense, Erik didn't like the idea that Kristina had tried to kill him. They might not have married for love, yet they were still amicable- still friends. Shouldn't that mean something more than power did. He couldn't see himself killing her, "People in love don't try to kill each other."
Nikita wasn't able to contain the incredulous look on her face. She should've just left the Prince's optimism be- he could believe the best in people. Yet the expression overcame her. Even people who claimed they loved you could hurt you. That was a fact as old as time itself. Love didn't always save lives; sometimes, it ended them. But Nikita didn't have the time to delve into all that. The crisis at hand needed to be resolved as quickly as possible. Fortunately, she had some backup. The team of rogues could figure out what to do together, "Hey. So I was wrong."
"There's police everywhere. What happened?" Michael responded into their private com immediately. He and Birkhoff had been waiting for an update from Nikita, especially as they watched things dissolve from their safehouse. They tried to keep communication to a minimum so Division couldn't catch onto them. However, it seemed like they already did. The police presence Michael and Birkhoff spotted through street cams and satellite images screamed that something went awry with the mission. Nikita stating that she was wrong screamed even louder.
"The head of security isn't the only one behind the plot. Princess Kristina is too. Prince Erik wants to abdicate. She wants the throne. It's a tale as old as time," Nikita whispered as she stealthily led Prince Erik through the museum. She felt like she couldn't even complain about how much the mission slipped away from her. She was the one to assume that the head of security would be the only one to make a power grab. Maybe if she had just done more research, or paid just a bit more attention, she wouldn't have waltzed right into danger with the Crown Prince of Georgia. They could be on their way home, along with Division's hostages.
"Didn't you tell the Princess what was happening so you could save her husband?" Hacking into the museum's cameras, Birkhoff asked. He had tried to stay directly out of the museum's system, knowing Division would be poking around in there. However, there was no use in hiding anymore. Kristina had tipped them off to Nikita's presence. They probably figured out that Michael and Birkhoff were involved as well. The hacker could invade their system and finally know what was going on. Watching the Alpha hold the guests hostage certainly put things into perspective. The situation was far more dangerous than they intended.
"Yeah, I'm aware of my mistakes. Division is now hunting us down," Nikita bit. She knew damn well the kind of hell she had created for herself by trusting the wrong person. Some of it came to bite her in the ass while she and Prince Erik hid in another room. Two Division agents were able to track them down, and there was no way to escape them unscathed. Nikita doubted the Prince had any tactical training, so she handled the two herself. A samurai sword was on display in the room. She grabbed it and used it (feeling not as sorry as she should've for using a priceless artifact). The agents went down. She and Erik were able to move.
It wouldn't be long before they ran into more Division agents, however. And Nikita might not be able to surprise them next time. She was going to need a partner to get her out of the museum. Birkhoff could guide her over coms, but someone else had to be in the field with her to diverge Division. Alex could do that for a short amount of time without blowing her cover. For something substantial, though, Michael decided he had to join her, "Nikita, I'm on my way. Birkhoff, see if you can create a secure channel between Nikita and Alex."
"Gonna have to piggyback off of Division," Already on it, Birkhoff warned. He couldn't magically create a secure channel between Nikita and Alex- contrary to popular belief. All he could do was interfere with Division's communications. If the rogue and her mole could find a way to talk to one another, then the hacker could ensure the Alpha team couldn't listen in. He'd have to time it just right so it didn't seem suspicious. On top of their hurried change of plans, Alex's cover couldn't be blown. She shouldn't have to lose everything on that operation.
"It's okay. I have a walkie-talkie. Just get us connected," Nikita had managed to grab a walkie-talkie off one of the agents she had killed. She and Erik listened through it as they snuck around the Alpha team looking for them. She had thought about taunting the agents through it as well. She could possibly get a secret message through to Alex that way- like the young woman had done when the rogue was held captive by Division. But if Birkhoff was going to open a direct line of communication between them, that'd be so much better. The less of a chance there was of a misunderstanding, the better off they'd be.
While Michael hurried to Nikita, Birkhoff worked on securing communication for the women. Nikita taunted the Alpha team- specifically Stephen- in the meantime. She wanted them to know that the rogues had control. And she continued the torment by only wanting to address the agent who had 'captured' her months ago. Alex took the hint to connect to the conversation with her com. After the woman traded a few quips, Birkhoff caused their channel to fizzle out of earshot. They had a minute of privacy before Division caught on. Alex sighed when she realized that. She moved away from the others and whispered, "Nikita? Thank God. Where are you?"
"We're headed to the roof. Is Kristina with you?" Curtly, Nikita huffed into the walkie-talkie. Her latest scrape with Division left a fairly decent sized gash along her calf. She could ignore the blood and sting as she raced with Prince Erik to the roof of the museum. Her injuries weren't nearly as detrimental as the Crown Prince's safety. Or any of the hostages' lives. The rogues believed that Division wouldn't actually hurt them; there was no need for collateral damage on that mission. But the innocents could be caught in potential crossfire, especially the woman the Prince kept expressing such concern for- the one he cared about deeply.
"Yeah. Why?" Alex glanced cautiously over her shoulder. Princess Kristina had stayed huddled with the rest of the hostages. Besides certain weighted glances towards the head of security, she didn't seem too panicked. The young agent believed that was because the aristocrat had been trained to keep her emotions in check while around the public. Alex's father had taught her to control her thoughts and feelings when others were watching her. She couldn't appear weak- affected by anything. That had to be the same for the Georgian Princess.
"She's behind it. She wants the throne for herself. And she might hurt that assistant, Leela," Nikita quickly changed Alex's mind, however. The Princess wasn't stoic simply to save face. She wasn't afraid of what was occurring because she was behind it. Kristina would have to be dealt with later, as would the rest of Division. Prince Erik still needed to be saved. And after some of the things he had told Nikita about his personal life with the Princess, so did their assistant, Leela. Erik loved her. He wanted to divorce Kristina in order to marry her. That could put a serious wrinkle in the traitorous Princess's schemes. Leela should then be protected.
"Okay. Got it," Shifting her focus to Leela, Alex nodded briefly. The assistant was definitely more frightened than the Princess. Alex had to find a way to comfort her and let her know that Erik was looking out for her- it would all be alright soon. But maybe not as soon as the rogues would've liked. The Alpha team was informed by Kelly that the FBI agents surrounding the building were actually Division. They were going to break out the 'rebels' and kill the Prince. They could be trusted by the Alpha team. Yet if the rogues and the Prince interacted with them, they were dead, "Hey. Watch out. The Feds are Division."
Quickly, Nikita breathed her thanks. That was all the time she and Alex had for their conversation at the moment. They'd have to try for a longer one later. But hopefully, Prince Erik could make it out of the museum before then. Birkhoff led him and Nikita successfully to the roof. Division wouldn't catch up to them there. Erik could drop down into safety, and Nikita could find a different way out. She was planning to expose Kristina as she did so, yet she'd need Michael's and Alex's help to pull that off. She'd work it out when she could talk to them, which would be after Erik was saved, "Head to the police, not the Feds. They'll take care of you."
"What about Leela? I'm not leaving her here. I won't leave her in danger while I'm somewhere safe," Refusing to climb down the fire escape to the street below, Erik finally fought Nikita on a direction. He hadn't just told her about Leela so she'd understand his complicated relationship with Kristina. He wanted the rogue agent to save Leela as well. He loved her with all of his heart. If she died, so would he. Erik couldn't freely escape to the police if he knew that she was still in danger. What kind of man would he be if he left his love to die.
"Alright. We're going back for Leela," Nikita wanted to roll her eyes. She wanted to sigh and express how ridiculous the idea was. But she had to admit that she admired the Prince for his decision. He could've easily ran to the police and saved himself, yet he had decided to put himself in more danger just to save the woman he loved. Who said prince charmings only existed in fairy tales. Erik was the walking embodiment of a knight in shining armor. He'd make a great leader to the people of Georgia if he didn't want to abdicate. His moral compass and passion gave hope. Nikita certainly couldn't fault it. She dove right into it.