"That was just to test the chair. I wouldn't get up if I were you. The more you struggle, the more it hurts," After Amanda shackled Alex to her chair with the press of a remote, she smiled cruelly. That was it for Alex; she truly had no escape. All her lies and schemes had caught up to her, and she had nowhere else to run. If it wasn't terrible enough that she had to face Amanda with that fact, Percy soon came into the office. Amanda's cold grin seemed to grow once she saw him, "Good, you're here."
"Not good. I was in the middle of things in Engineering. I can get the report on Jaden's death when you're done," Percy sighed. He had no time for Amanda's games. The death of an agent wasn't important to him. Operation Sparrow was in jeopardy, and he had to salvage it. Alex would've smirked at his frustrations about his ruined op if she wasn't in deep shit.
"I am done. And so is Alex. She's Nikita's and Michael's mole. I intercepted a phone call she made to Nikita for help while she was standing over Jaden's dead body," Amanda was enjoying that fact too much. Although she had looked out for Alex- cared for her in her own fucked up way- she was glad to be ratting her out. After all, she had turned her back against Division, against all they had done for her. To make her suffer for that was going to be fun.
"Is that so?" Percy glanced at Alex with a wicked grin. A jolt of fear shot through Alex. He had known. Somehow, he had already figured out that she had been working with the rogues. Was that why she had been fed so much information lately. Had she been set up.
"She won't answer you, she's all out of lies," Amanda didn't notice Percy's grin. Alex thought that made his knowing smirk more terrifying. The rogues weren't as far ahead of him as they had thought. In fact, no one was. He was so many steps ahead of everybody else, they couldn't even see him; they just assumed he was behind. Alex was in far deeper shit than she could've possibly imagined. She wasn't going to be the only one that died that day.
"That is interesting. Good work," Percy hardly even acknowledged Amanda; his whole attention was on Alex. The young agent (was she even an agent anymore) tried not to squirm. She could already tell that she wasn't going to like what came next. She had a feeling it was going to be way worse than torture and death. After all, Percy quickly dismissed Amanda from the office, "You're excused. I'd like to talk to our friend alone."
Alex was too focused on Percy to really notice Amanda. However, she did manage to catch her sudden crestfallen expression. She did not expect to be cut out. Despite the fact that she was about to go through hell and back before she was more than likely killed, Alex was pleased with that. She couldn't help but smirk at Amanda as she spluttered, "But, there's no need to keep me out. I know what you've been busy with in Engineering. Operation Sparrow. Percy, I don't keep secrets from you. I'd ask you to return the favor. You can trust me."
"You'll forgive me if I don't trust anyone right now. No one outside this office needs to know about Alexandra," Finally giving Amanda his attention, Percy urged for her to leave. She was obviously not happy about that, yet she had nothing to argue. She had to leave. Alex probably should've not been happy about that. Even though she wanted to punish the mole, Amanda could've been a buffer against Percy. However, Alex couldn't help but smile and almost laugh as she left. Things have certainly become far more entertaining in Division. Though, not so much to Percy, "What's the smile for?"
"Glad to know I can still cause dissent," Alex had to be proud of herself for causing the little argument between Amanda and Percy. Otherwise, her nearly crippling fear would be the first thing that killed her.
"Is that what this is? I thought you were out of moves. Nikita and Michael have one of my black boxes and you're going to lead me to it," Percy easily called Alex's bluff. But that wasn't what shocked her. She couldn't believe he had the gall to demand that she worked for him. Alex would never do one of Percy's corrupt, evil, dirty jobs- not unless she was ruining it somehow. He could go fuck himself for even suggesting that she should.
"I'm not gonna lead you anywhere. I started this mission ready to die. So you can try whatever you want, but you're gonna have to kill me," Alex refrained from actually telling Percy to fuck himself. She figured she should at least retain some modicum of decorum. She was definitely beaten, but she couldn't let him take full control. She still had some fight left in her.
"I thought you started your mission to kill Semak prepared to die, not Michael and Nikita's little quest," Relaxing against the desk, Percy reminded Alex of her original mission. She hadn't always been with the rogues. Her purpose in Division was a purely selfish one. She had only wanted to kill Semak. That was why she stuck with the recruit training. That was why she worked hard to be a skilled agent. Being rogue was only secondary. Alex shouldn't have to die for the others' cause, only her own. She had to be selfish again. After all, killing Semak and avenging her family should've been what mattered most.
Alex wished she had something to say in response- something that'd shut Percy up and hopefully prove him wrong. But she had nothing. All she could do was just glance up at him. He, on the other hand, paid her no mind. Percy knew Alex had nothing, and he didn't care. He simply continued talking as though he had never given her a moment to respond, "I have a limited amount of time to deal with the rogues. I need you to help me with that."
"No way in hell," Alex seethed. Okay, maybe she was more willing to die for her chance to kill Semak than for the rogues. However, working for Percy remained the last possible thing she wanted to do. She wasn't even working with him to get her revenge; she was working with Oversight. Percy was only a bastard in her way.
"Well, we'll see about that," Pushing off the desk, Percy continued to smirk. If Alex wasn't restrained to the chair, she'd wipe that smug look off his stupid face. Even if she could, though, she was positive that that would only encourage him. He was enjoying the kind of power he had over her way too much. It was like some kind of game to him. He even waved the black box he had waved like it was a prize, "Do you know what this is?"
"Yeah. It's the only thing stopping Michael and Nikita from putting a bullet through your brain," Of course Alex knew what the black box was. Percy had sent her on black box missions; he should know that. Unless, that was part of his set up. He had learned she was the mole, and he had used her as a tool to set up the rogues. Something was going to happen to them. Something bad. Alex had to find a way to escape and warn them.
"No. It holds the truth. Which can be ugly sometimes, but we all deserve to see it. And the truth about you is that you've been manipulated by those closest to you," While Alex hurriedly thought of a way out of that situation, Percy plugged the black box into a computer. That must've been the part where he revealed his master plan. She should probably keep him talking, then. That could give her enough time to break out of there and warn the rogues. Though, what exactly did she have to warn them against. Did it all revolve around Operation Sparrow, or was there more to it than that.
"It was my choice to bring you down," Testing the restraints on the chair, Alex didn't bite Percy's bait. The only people who had tried to manipulate her were in that bunker. The rogues had helped her at every turn. In fact, the first person to have helped her in a long time was Nikita.
"Okay. But why? Why me? Because Division killed your family? Wrong. Division was just the weapon. Someone else ordered the hit," Percy instantly dropped his smug demeanor. The suddenness of it forced Alex to be still. She had to look at the computer monitor he swung her way. And she had to watch the video he played. Her whole being froze at the sight of it. She couldn't comprehend it; she didn't want to. Percy, however, just stared at her and sneered, "You're so innocent. How did you get from there to here?"
Alex's mouth could only hang open for a moment. She was staring at a video of her old house. She was watching herself at thirteen, smiling and laughing. She saw her papa again. And she got to see her mother one more time. Alex wasn't able to think of anything else for a long time. She hardly even registered that Percy was there. Until she caught his smug grin. Then, murderous rage replaced her shock, and she tried to lunge at the fucking bastard, "It started the night you burned my house down."
"We used this video to plan the strike. It was given to us by your father's right-hand man. By Semak. For what it's worth, I regret our involvement in the action. If I had it to do over again, Division wouldn't be there," Percy explained the video's existence on the black box, but he continued to not look at it. He only wanted to get his sick, twisted satisfaction from watching Alex's shock, horror, pain, and grief and seeing her parents again.
It took everything in Alex to not crumble at the sight of the video. She really wanted to. Yet, again, she couldn't let Percy win. So instead of letting her grief overwhelm her, she focused on her rage. That at least helped her tear her eyes away from the computer so she could glare at the bastard, "Are you apologizing?"
"I was following orders. I have someone ordering me to spy for them too. They call themselves Oversight. And they made a deal to replace your father with a man more friendly to U.S. interests," Percy actually was trying to buy sympathy from Alex. Yet it wasn't going to work. She would never forgive him for what he had done, no matter how he spun it.
"I know this already," Alex huffed. She knew all about Oversight; she had her own deal with him. So Percy's attempts to win her favor were pointless. Yes, Semak and Oversight made the deal to kill her family. But Percy had agreed. He was just as evil as the rest of them.
"You do. Which is why I'm confused. Because if you know this, then why are you here when your real enemy is on another continent?" Percy had a right to question Alex. She could've just focused her revenge on Semak. He was the one who ordered all of that shit. He was the one who had wanted her family dead just so he could have an oil company. He was the only one that should've died. She'd finally be at peace if he did.
"Because you won't let me kill him!" However, Alex had good reasons to want Division and Oversight to burn as well. If they had never existed in the first place, Semak could've never hired them. Also, if they didn't exist, they wouldn't be in her way. She could actually be free. And, maybe, she could be happy.
"Oversight won't let you kill him. I personally don't care," With a shrug, Percy clarified. He couldn't have cared less if she killed Semak or not. It was Oversight that dictated that action. They controlled every little thing, which was why he had to carve out power where he could.
"Fuck off!" Alex shrieked. She didn't want to hear it anymore. She just wanted it to stop. She wanted it all to stop.
"I'm trying to show you the truth. The whole truth. You don't have to take my word for it. It's all right here," Percy snapped. He played the next clip on the black box. But it wasn't a video that time. It was all audio. Alex heard horrific things through the speaker- her family being killed, her house burning down, her own screams. She tried to make Percy stop, but he wouldn't. He kept making her hear the worst night of her life over and over and over.
Then she heard a familiar voice confirm her father's death. It was Nikita's voice. Alex knew she had been there. Yet she didn't know her involvement. She didn't know Nikita was the one who confirmed her father's death- the one who had pulled the trigger, "You wanna know who really pulled the trigger? That's your answer. Or did she forget to mention that?"
Michael had been right; Division had been tailing Ryan. Meeting him at the train station was a bust. Luckily, Nikita had planned for that. She set up a trap for Division to fall into, then had Ryan meet her at another location. He went along with her wild plans and changes. However, once she explained everything that was going on, he began to have reservations. Operation Sparrow was too big for the rogues to take on their own, and there was no way that it was as simple as Nikita painted it to be, "You're gonna sneak us into the CIA. Once Birkhoff decrypts the box, we split, and Division goes down. Win, win."
"No way," Ryan was already shaking his head before Nikita finished. Yes, he was all for stopping whatever Percy was planning. But there was no way they could sneak around the CIA, even with the rogues' skills. They had to approach things differently that time, especially if they really wanted Division to be shut down for good.
"We will be in and out before anyone notices," Nikita argued. She, Michael, and Birkhoff had snuck in and out of the CIA without being noticed when they had deactivated Alex's killchip. How could things be any different then. The CIA would never know they were there. They'd only know about Division and Percy. Then, the world would be saved once and for all.
"This isn't some field office. You're talking about breaking into Langley. What you want has to be done in a SCIF room. And nobody gets in there without SCI clearance, which I don't have. Tom Cruise on a harness couldn't get in there," Ryan countered. Running around unnoticed in a CIA field office was one thing. But a high clearance level special room at Langley, there was absolutely no way. The rogues couldn't do it on their own. They had to bring other people in.
"There has to be a way," Pacing the secluded alley they had found privacy in, Nikita tried to think of a solution. Birkhoff needed a SCIF room- that was undeniable. But maybe Ryan was wrong. There were always other options. Nothing was that impossible.
"There is. I'll give it to the people who can, and I will convince them to let you and Birkhoff sit in. Director Abbott is a good man," Ryan suggested. They needed actual government officials on that one. It was the only way to decrypt the black box, and it was the only way to ensure Percy and Division burned for what they did. The rogues' actions and accounts wouldn't be enough that time. Things needed a permanent end.
Maybe Ryan was right. Maybe the rogues needed to bring in more people, and maybe director Abbott was a good man. However, it still didn't sit right with Nikita. The box should be destroyed, not pried open- especially with men in positions of power looking over their shoulders. The box was too dangerous to be public. Unfortunately, Operation Sparrow appeared even more dangerous, "Look, if it wasn't for this attack, we wouldn't even be looking into this box. I'd be destroying it."
Nikita didn't need to go into specifics. After learning about the black box, Ryan knew the kind of power they held. Not only could they destroy the world with their secrets, but they could keep their agents in line. The rogues had the right to fear the box. One little secret could end them, "There's things about you on there. Things that could send you to prison."
"You know we won't get that luxury. They'll burn us," Nikita sighed. Ryan was putting it mildly by stating they'd go to prison. The things Nikita, Michael, and Birkhoff had done would get them killed. Their secrets couldn't get out. No one's could.
"Nikita, I can protect you. You were forced to do those things," Ryan tried to comfort Nikita. There probably wasn't a lot he could do to protect the rogues from prison or even death. However, he could argue that they were forced to follow orders. It was killed or be killed in Division. Some people might say that they would choose the moral high ground. But faced with a decision like that, most would do anything to save themselves.
"I should have said no!" Shouting with all the self-hatred that she had, Nikita couldn't allow Ryan to shift the blame. She should've told Division 'no'. She should've let them kill her. The world could've been a better place if she had.
Taking a deep breath, Nikita stopped herself from going down that dark, twisted path. Those thoughts couldn't distract her then. She had to stay on mission. And the mission was a whole lot bigger than just her, "I always looked at this as my mission. My responsibility. And I would have died for it."
"You don't have to do this alone," Ryan reminded Nikita. She had a whole team at her back. She wouldn't suffer alone; they were going to thrive together.
"I'm not alone. That's the thing. It's not just me. I have someone- multiple someones- to live for, and they're on that box too," Nikita felt the weight on her shoulders lift at just the thought of Michael, and Birkhoff, and Alex. She wasn't fighting alone- for once in her life. She had people in her life that would actually look out for her. And she'd look out for them too. It wasn't just her life in jeopardy when it came to the box. It was everyone's she cared about. She couldn't let them get hurt.
Ryan couldn't say anything against that. He didn't want people to get hurt if they looked into the black box with Director Abbott. However, that was the only choice they had. If they wanted to stop Sparrow, then risks had to be made. Even if they didn't like their options, they could at least win, "Going through the official channels is the only way I can help you. You have a tough choice to make."
"You've gotta start thinking for yourself, Alex. Alexandra. Whoever you are," Percy scoffed. Alex tried to open her mouth to answer him- most likely with another cuss- but he cut her off. He wasn't done speaking. And he wasn't done turning her whole world upside down, "I'll tell you who you are. You're the girl with a bomb in her brain. I must admit that Michael and Nikita demonstrated some very skillful tradecraft when they managed to disarm it. Your killchip has been reactivated."
Alex blinked. What the hell was Percy talking about. There was no bomb in her brain. She only had a tracker at the top of her spine. What the fuck was a, "Killchip?"
"No. They didn't tell you about that either? You really are a pawn," Percy laughed (which was definitely a weird sound to hear) at Alex. She wanted to be livid at his reaction; however, she just felt lost and confused. How had she lost that much control. Weren't the rogues winning just a few hours ago. How was it then that they were all defeated.
"You're lying!" Alex desperately wanted to believe that Percy was lying. She refused to accept anything he told her that night. Nikita didn't kill her father. The rogues weren't hiding a killchip from her. Percy was manipulating her. He had been the villain and always would be.
"No. No more lies. For the first time in your life, somebody's telling you the truth. There is a killchip next to the tracker on your medulla that will drop you instantly at the touch of a button," Percy showed Alex the killchip he had turned back on, and the button he could use to detonate it. She immediately fell silent. There was nothing like a life hanging in the balance that made people pay attention, "Now, earlier today you said you were prepared to die. If that continues to be the case, I respect it."
There was no fight from Alexandra Udinov. She just slumped in the chair she was trapped in and looked helplessly at Percy. He smirked, "On the other hand, you could leave Division and return to the rogues. I'm not asking you to take their lives. I'm not asking you to pull the trigger. All I'm asking you to do is exactly what they've done to you. Lie."
Finally, the plan Percy had been formulating for months was coming to fruition. It would all be over soon. His pieces were all lined up for the attack, "You will be bugged and monitored. If you choose to run, if you choose to warn Nikita or Michael, you choose to die. Or you can choose to live. Whatever happens in the next few hours will be your choice."
"Alex? Alex, are you there? It's Michael. I just want to know if everything's alright," Michael knocked on Alex's apartment door. There was no reply. Tentatively, he tried the doorknob. It was unlocked. Michael hovered his hand over his weapon as he crept into the apartment. He didn't know what was going on, yet he did know that something was wrong. The further he stepped into the empty apartment, the more sure of that he was. However, before he could finally get an answer for his terrible suspicion, something struck the back of his head. He tried to maintain consciousness. But a needle in his veins had other plans.