"Hey, Dude, look out for your phone. Your rivals tried to steal it and sell out a clone," Smugly, Nikita recorded the message and sent it to the poor victim of Division's latest mission. Her voice was disguised, as was her IP address. The tech genius could heed her anonymous advice and disengage his tech, all without her interference known to Division- as long as Alex handed over the phone in a timely manner. Normally, Nikita wouldn't have doubted that she would. But something the young woman had said before she left kept nagging the back of the rogue's mind. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.
"She wouldn't have…" Nikita stared at her computer, lost in thought. Alex was correct in assuming that she'd still be like that girl in the nightclub had she not gotten clean and found a purpose. That kind of life was nearly impossible to quit on your own; addiction was a disease, after all. But would Alex really return to the club, putting herself at risk of recognition, just to help the girl- give her some of the opportunities she had received. Nikita knew she herself would. Which meant the young woman absolutely did.
Hurriedly, the rogue hacked into the nightclub's security feed. She hoped to find Alex safely leading the girl away from the life she was trapped in. If so, then Nikita could rush to join them; she could take over while Alex returned to Division to finish her mission and not blow her cover. But by the time Nikita managed to pull up the view from the cameras, it was too late for her to do anything. Alex and the girl were held at gunpoint by a group of men. Although Nikita didn't recognize any of the men, she could connect enough dots to know they were the Russian mob. And she could tell by Alex's horrified expression that they were from the brothel, "Shit."
The girl had recognized Alex, and had called her captor- most likely out of fear- to bring back the escapee. Surprised by the mobsters' reappearance, the young agent couldn't defend herself. She was taken and dragged off, just like the girl. Nikita sprang from her computer chair and gathered her gear to chase after them. However, the cameras didn't cover where they went; they didn't even capture a vehicle. Also, Nikita was so underprepared to face the mob on her own. She needed backup, and she needed help. Never before had she been so grateful to have a team by her side, "Please tell me you haven't left yet."
"Yeah, we have. Why? What's wrong? What happened?" Michael answered Nikita's call in confusion. He had told her when he and Birkhoff had left to meet with Owen. They were flying out to Europe to discuss the black boxes at some secret location. It was a strange rendezvous point, but Michael and Birkhoff didn't question it too much. Owen seemed to get weirder and weirder with each new conversation. That was probably just his strange personality outside Division setting in. Nikita, on the other hand, wasn't one to be as weird or forgetful. She sounded like she was panicking over the phone. Something was definitely wrong.
"Alex was taken by the Russian mob," Nikita refrained from cursing. It wasn't Michael's and Birkhoff's fault that they weren't there; they didn't know what would happen. Hell, Nikita and Alex didn't even know the op could go that bad. It was a horrendous situation that kept getting worse. Succumbing to fears or worst case scenarios wouldn't solve anything. If she wanted to save Alex, Nikita had to be calm. That was easier said than done as she kept re-watching the security footage for any clues. Alex looked so scared, it was heart-wrenching.
"What? How?" Still confused, Michael attempted to catch up with the shocking information. As far as he knew, Alex and Nikita were stopping Division from getting their hands on some new piece of technology; they were ruining a corporate espionage mission that had the sole purpose of lining Percy's pockets. It had no connection to any sort of mob. So how could the Russians have kidnaped Alex. Were they connected to Gogol, who was running its own operation. Or was the tech genius secretly indebted to the mob.
"Alex recognized a girl from the brothel at the nightclub, and I guess she recognized her too. The mob took her back," Quickly, Nikita filled in the gaps for Michael; it was far worse than he thought. She didn't have time to fully explain what had happened. She rushed around the loft, gathering weapons and equipment, and attempting to think where the men could've taken Alex. She was going to guess back to the brothel with the other girl; however, she had no idea where that was. She didn't even know where to look. It'd take her forever just to track them down.
She didn't have forever; Nikita didn't even have a day. If the man who had held Alex captive in the brothel didn't kill her for escaping, then he'd rough her up and put her back to work. That was a fate worse than death. Alex couldn't suffer through that again. Unless, the mobsters had something else in mind for her- something more than death or torture. If Division had managed to discover Alexandra Udinov was still alive, the Russian mob could too. The older she grew, the more she looked like an Udinov. And there had been so much conspiracy around her 'death'. She couldn't stay hidden for long, "Shit. What if they realize who she really is?"
"Do you need me to come back?" Although he was still in the air (able to talk on the phone thanks to Birkhoff's tech abilities) Michael asked. He could catch a flight back to New York once they landed, and Birkhoff could meet with Owen alone. It'd be a long trip- almost too long to truly help Alex. But going after the mob and attacking a brothel was too dangerous to do alone. Not only could Nikita get hurt, but so could Alex and so many other innocent girls. Michael had to find a way to help them all, even if it wasn't the best idea.
Nikita was already shaking her head 'no'. Waiting for Michael would take up too much time. She'd just have to go it alone. She could figure it out. There had to be a way she could play it smart and get Alex out as safely as possible. She just needed information. Maybe her mafia contacts could help. Nikita hadn't dealt with them in a while, and they didn't work in the human trafficking side of the illegal operations. But she didn't have any other options, "No. No. I know a spot where some of the local mobsters like to hang out. I can scare some intel out of them."
"That steam room, right? Tell them Misha sent you, asking about a weapons sale. Maybe you don't have to torture them too much," Michael could guess where Nikita might go for intel; it was were he would go if he was looking into the Russian mob. If that was the case, then she might as well use his old cover to at least get through the door. He couldn't be with her in person, but he could still help. Birkhoff could even take a crack at the security feed from the nightclub- see what his magic could yield. Nikita wasn't truly left on her own. The whole team would do whatever they could to save Alex.
"Thanks. I'll keep you updated," Finally feeling calm enough to formulate a plan, Nikita ended her call with Michael. She sent recorded footage of Alex being kidnapped to Birkhoff, then she wiped the camera's memory and looped the feed. She didn't want Division suspecting something was wrong with Alex. They'd either suspect she ran off, or they might notice Nikita poking around the alley on her way to question the mob. Nothing could link the young agent and the rogue. Nothing could tip Division off to the horror that had occurred. The black ops group, though well equipped, would ruin any safe operation to save Alex. Nikita couldn't take that risk.
Scanning the alleyway for any clues wasn't as helpful as Nikita had hoped. She couldn't find anything. However, she wouldn't let that discourage her. She could get information from hers and Michael's mafia contacts. That had to be enough. Even if all she received was the location of the brothel, she could stake it out for the rest of the information she needed. She refused to look at the negatives of the situation. She couldn't let them drag her down. Alex needed more from her than that.
Thanks to Michael's cover, Nikita made it into the steam room with the mobsters easily. It didn't give her intel, though. But she had planned for that. She threatened the mobsters with a (disarmed) mine, scaring everything she needed out of them. It was working just fine until there was a loud commotion outside the door. As Nikita turned to examine it, Kelly crashed through the door while fighting the guards. The rogue nearly laughed at the sight. She just couldn't help it, "Kelly, hey. Was wondering when Division would show up."
It was a poor choice of words. Kelly immediately turned her attention on Nikita. The two fought one another and the guards that just seemed to keep multiplying. The rogue attempted to keep her grip on the mine trigger, continuing to sell the illusion that it worked. She hoped that once she defeated her adversaries, she could keep scaring information out of the mob. With Kelly in the room, however, all her plans went out the window. Nikita was forced to drop the trigger just as the last guard went down. When the mine didn't go off, the Russians were onto her. And before she and Kelly could tear into one another, more guards were called in.
Sparing a glance at one another, the two women miraculously had the same thought. They ran out of the room together. Nikita thanked God that she at least managed to get the location of the brothel before she had to bolt. As soon as she broke away from Kelly, she could rescue Alex. But that wasn't as soon as she thought. Cops had been called at the sound of the guards' gunshots, so the two women had to keep running. It was several blocks later that they could rest. Well, Nikita thought she could. Kelly had other ideas- because of course she did. She quickly trained her gun on the rogue. Instantly, she retaliated, "And I thought we made it."
"What are you doing here?" Seething, Kelly tightened her grip on her pistol and dared to step closer. Nikita held her back with a glare and her finger on the trigger. Was it weird that the rogue was almost relieved to see her old partner planning to kill her. Probably. But, it was so calming to know that despite the hell that was raining down around her, at least one thing remained constant. Nikita could always count on Kelly to want to hurt her. Hopefully, she could also always count on being able to talk her way out of that.
"Looking for that tech. Same as you," Nikita bluffed. She had a feeling that if Kelly was sent to question the Russian mob, Division knew what was going on. They must've retraced Alex's steps when she didn't report on time. Although Nikita wiped the footage outside the club to hide her steps and what looked like Alex making an escape with the girl, Division probably reviewed the cameras inside. Once they saw their agent talking to a heavily made-up girl on drugs, it wasn't difficult to connect the dots. Amanda knew where the young agent came from. So of course she'd send Kelly to hunt down the lead that'd bring her star home.
"I'm looking for an agent," Kelly confirmed Nikita's suspicions, right down to her disdain for the mission. She didn't like how much priority Amanda placed on Alex. If she was any other agent, no one would've been sent to save her; she'd either have to save herself or suffer the punishment of being caught. Yet Alex received special treatment. Nikita wondered if Kelly knew why. She probably didn't. Alexandra Udinov and her deal with Percy and Amanda was a well kept secret. Kelly was forced to remain in the dark. And knowing something was being hidden from her probably pissed her off even more.
"The one taken to the brothel?" Nikita tried to sound like she was only vaguely aware of the details. She tried to keep the fear out of her voice. Kelly couldn't know why she was really looking for Alex. Actually, she couldn't know how much Alex meant to her. Kelly could know that Nikita wanted to at least save her from the brothel. The mob was difficult enough to fight by herself. Add Division to the mix, and Nikita and Alex were fucked. But if the rogue worked with the agent, the young woman could be saved. And hopefully so could all the other girls in the brothel, "You're gonna need help getting her out."
"Like I'm supposed to trust you? How do I know you won't kill both of us and steal the tech for yourself?" Rightfully, Kelly suspected Nikita's motivations. There was absolutely no reason for her to trust the rogue. Although they had been partners, their relationship had always been rocky at best. They annoyed one another, they never had each other's best interest, and they'd turn on one another in a second. That had only gotten worse since Nikita had escaped. One mission wouldn't change all that. Nothing could make them friends, or even true partners.
Slowly putting away her weapon, Nikita raised placating hands. Her actions, thankfully, stunned Kelly enough to not immediately take the shot. The rogue had time to make her plea. She knew there wasn't anything she could say to make her old partner change her mind about her. Yet the situation wasn't about Nikita. The mission was all about Alex. The two needed to save her no matter what. Their war, their rivalry, it wasn't important. Saving an innocent girl from fates worse than death was the only thing worth giving a damn about, "Cause I don't want a girl to suffer like that. Do you?"
Kelly paused. Her gun remained aimed at the rogue, but she lost her intention to shoot. Her finger soon left the trigger. She couldn't fight Nikita, as much as she wanted to. Division had sent her alone to talk to the mob. Once she discovered where Alex was, then she would've called for any necessary backup. But an Alpha team storming a brothel would cause more casualties than it would save lives. Usually, Kelly wouldn't have cared about the loss. Yet that seemed like crossing a line- those girls had suffered enough. Nikita was right. She didn't want anyone to get hurt, and she needed help, "You follow my lead. Got it?"
"No one else like us, Kel," When Kelly hesitantly lowered her pistol, Nikita nodded. For a brief second, the two almost smiled at one another. There were a few moments like that when they had been in Division together. They had understood each other at times- times when they connected over shared abuses and realized they had similar traumas. In those moments, not only could they have possibly considered themselves friends, but they also came to an agreement. The two would do whatever they could to ensure no one else suffered the same as them. Although Nikita and Kelly eventually took different approaches to that promise, they'd never break it.
They could work together to save other girls.