Nikita did not receive a warm welcome inside Langley. She was immediately brought to a holding area and questioned relentlessly. She tried to respond. She told them what she knew of CIA protocols and who to contact about her information. Unfortunately, that only made the agents more skeptical. They wouldn't listen to her. They perceived her as the threat, not the intel she presented. She was close to losing her patience and control, "How about… How about this? I tell you everything I know, make you heroes. All you have to do is call the SCIF room and tell them that your bosses are about to get their faces melted off. Just be a hero and make the call."
"Fuck yeah!" Birkhoff shouted in triumph. Once he had had access to high-tech CIA computers, cracking the black box took no effort at all (honestly, a part of him could admit that one good thing about Division was all the tech at his disposal). After the initial biometric sensor was unlocked (thank you, Dana Winters), Birkhoff only had to run through a couple series of decryption softwares and efforts to unlock the rest of the box. He had access to all of Division's dirty little secrets in a few short hours. Operation Sparrow could be stopped in no time.
"You did it," Ryan sighed in relief. He didn't doubt Birkhoff's skills. If anyone could crack Division's encryption, it'd definitely be that hacker. He was simply relieved that the box was cracked in a few hours. That gave the CIA- and the rogues- plenty of time to learn about Operation Sparrow and form a counter attack. The CIA could also have tangible evidence of Division's misdeeds and finally arrest Percy and shut that place down. No more innocents would be hurt. No more corruption would spread across the government. The evil of Division would end as soon as Ryan called in the Director of the CIA.
"A little easier than I thought it'd be," Smugly, Birkhoff replied. He honestly thought that even with the SCIF room equipment, it'd take him at least half a day to decrypt the black box.. But he must've been that good. The noobs in Division couldn't touch him. He could use the information stored in the black box to take down the damned black ops unit of the government once and for all. It'd start with Operation Sparrow. Yet Birkhoff wondered what other secrets were worth prying into. Obviously Pale Fire and the operation that had killed Michael's wife and daughter. But what else was there. What other families could they help with the intel on the box.
"This line's dead. I'm getting Abbott," Ryan broke Birkhoff out of his thoughts. The phone in the SCIF room strangely wasn't working; he had to walk down to Abbott's office to retrieve him. In the meantime, it was best if Birkhoff didn't poke around in the black box. Who knew what other hell could be released if he did. They should just focus on Operation Sparrow- the imminent threat- then. And when Division was taken down and Percy was behind bars, they could examine the other contents and gain much needed answers.
No matter what Nikita said, she was not listened to. Everytime she warned the CIA agents about the attack, they simply asked more and more questions. She understood that was their job, but at a certain point it became excessive. She had all the right information and urgency to have been taken seriously. Any delay meant certain death. What about that wasn't clicking with the agents. They had to pull Ryan, Birkhoff, and whoever else out of that SCIF room immediately, "We need to get in there now! There's no time."
As Nikita continued to beg the agents to listen to her and save her friends and the CIA, two more agents entered the room. For a second, she thought they were her rescue. She thought Ryan and Birkhoff had received her calls and had stopped decrypting the fake black box. They then sent agents to escort her upstairs so they could discuss what had happened. Ryan probably also wanted her and Birkhoff to come clean about Division. But that'd be another hurdle to jump over later. For the moment, they should focus on the fact that they had been saved. Or so Nikita truly believed, "This woman's a security threat. I'm gonna take her into custody now."
"What's going on here? What did she do?" Upon hearing the two new agents' words, both Nikita and the agents she was with became confused. She hadn't done anything besides share information. How could she have been a threat. Unless, those new agents weren't CIA. Nikita knew Percy had hidden agents in multiple intelligence organizations- he even had one in Al-Qaeda for God's sake. Those two agents could've been the ones he had in Langley. Percy must've realized where Nikita was going once he knew she was alive and activated his agents. They were going to kill her once and for all.
"She just killed two intelligence officers," Drawing his weapon, one of the Division agents shot and killed the two CIA agents. Nikita hated herself for not seeing that coming. It was no surprise that Division would destroy everything in its path, company men not excluded. Nikita should've protected the agents; she should've realized the new agents were Division sooner. Yet it was too late to do anything about that then. Nikita could only focus on the present. She couldn't save the CIA agents, but she could save herself. And she could save her friends.
When Ryan returned with Abbott, Birkhoff had surprisingly sat patiently still. The serious situation must've subdued his curiosity. Or the amount of secrets held within the black box had terrified him into not even attempting to open Pandora's box. Regardless, their only focus had to be on Sparrow and ending Division for good. Delving into the newest attack would get them what they needed. Everything else was a distraction- a distraction Director Abbott couldn't help falling for, "Bring up Black Arrow. That name came up during the Safwani investigation."
"But the priority should be Sparrow; that's the imminent threat," Ryan didn't have to stop Birkhoff from clicking on the file for Black Arrow; he wasn't going to do it anyway. The analyst had to stop the CIA director from becoming too greedy with the information. Yes, gaining a black box was a great score; the CIA could do a lot of good deeds with that. But all that information paid a price they couldn't afford at the moment. Little steps had to be taken with the monumental weight that was the black box. First, they stopped Sparrow and the fallout that'd follow. Then, they'd uncover all the dirty secrets.
Gunshots outside the SCIF room startled the men away from the monitors. Birkhoff's mouse hovered over Operation Sparrow, ready to click it and finally gather vital information, when violent sounds stopped everything. Ever curious, Ryan reached for the phone in the room to see what was going on. The line was still dead. Ryan and Birkhoff started to grow concerned, yet Abbott ignored it all. He clicked on Operation Sparrow, desperate to stop whatever evil that was occurring in the country. The instant he did, though, more gunshots hit the door. Then Nikita burst through the broken door, screaming, "Get out of there!"
"Go, now! Go, go now! Go!" Ryan instantly noticed the smoke coming from the black box. The white fumes already began to choke their lungs and sting their eyes. The men in the SCIF room didn't need to know anything about black boxes to realize that wasn't normal. They followed Nikita into the hall and sprinted as far away from the room as possible. Coughing up the filth that had entered only did so much to clear away the sting. And it didn't do anything to clear away their confusion. What the hell was that. Where they attacked. Had they been played. Was that what Sparrow truly was- a trick. Did Nikita just save their lives.
Birkhoff believed so. He was certain he knew what that gas was without Nikita having to say anything. Somehow, Percy had gotten a hold of the Sarin gas from Geneva, and he decided to use it against the government. From there, the hacker couldn't figure out what else the bastard's plan was. He assumed Nikita knew. But before he could ask, CIA agents flooded the floor. They all trained their weapons on Nikita and yelled at her like she was the threat, "Drop it. Drop the weapon. Hands where I can see them. Do it!"
"Birkhoff, go," Dropping the gun she had taken from the Division agents, Nikita pushed for Birkhoff to run towards the exit. As long as he got out then, the CIA wouldn't suspect that he was a part of the attack. He could save himself, Michael, and Alex. Nikita would be fine inside Langley. She already took out the Division plants. And Ryan would protect her. However, Birkhoff refused to move. He refused to leave her behind. Under normal circumstances, Nikita would've thought that was very gallant and sweet of him. But he seriously had to go. He was the others' last chance of survival, "Seymour! Michael and Alex are trapped in Division! Go!"
"Get down!" A CIA agent shoved Nikita down to her knees. She kept her eyes locked on Birkhoff's, pleading him to go. He didn't hesitate any longer. By the time the guards turned to him, wondering if he was also a threat, he sprinted out of the hall. Hopefully, the CIA would remain too preoccupied with Nikita to follow him- Ryan could probably deflect their attention. Birkhoff could continue sprinting out of Langley without delay. Though, what he was supposed to do once he escaped was beyond him. How was he going to get Michael and Alex out of Division. How was he going to take on Percy. Especially after Nikita just tanked his entire plan.
Chaos continued to unfold in Division. Alex could only guess that it was Nikita causing trouble- hopefully, she had managed to meet up with Birkhoff and Ryan. Amanda was in and out of her office, dealing with the mess and paying little attention to Alex. Yet when she returned for the last time, the young woman received all of her attention, as well as a sly smile, "This is all about Nikita. You reminded me of my best student and now we know why. You hate me, but it's misdirected. You became the infiltrator, I was just doing my job. I never lied to you, when all you ever did was lie to me."
"Sucks to be us," Rolling her eyes, Alex huffed. What did it matter what she and Amanda were to each other. Besides, it wasn't as though Alex always lied to her. There had been moments when she had been truthful, especially when it had guaranteed her a step closer to her goals. There had always been moments in the very beginning- before she had found the rogues- where she had relied on Amanda and the comforting words she had said. It hadn't all been lies and hatred between them. But being held back from her goals had certainly made it that way for Alex. She couldn't trust Amanda or her words. Just like she couldn't trust Percy or the rogues.
"Why are you still alive, Alexandra?" Amanda asked suddenly. Alex was a little taken aback by the words. Why was she still alive- seriously. After Nikita had survived Percy's best efforts to kill her, wouldn't he want the girl who had doublecrossed him dead. Wouldn't he want to gloat as it went according to his plan anyway and he finally killed Alexandra Udinov. Where was Percy. Why wasn't he there. And why hadn't the killchip in Alex's brain gone off yet. What new game was Division playing.
"Because you haven't killed me yet," Alex answered testily. What she wouldn't give to know what was happening in Division at that moment. She wanted to know if the rogues had actually fucked with Percy's plans. She wanted to know if both sides of the stupid war were at a loss. And, most importantly, she wanted to know why she hadn't been killed yet. She had wanted that; she had wanted a chance to survive and escape. However, she thought it'd be harder than what was actually happening. She thought she'd have a showdown with Percy and the rogues. Instead, it seemed as though she had become an afterthought.
"How did you survive the night your family died?" Amanda changed topics once again. What was Amanda doing. Didn't she know how Alex had survived Operation Pale Fire. It was Nikita's first rogue act. Although Michael left Division first to go on his crusade to avenge his family, then Birkhoff followed because it was the right thing to do, then finally Nikita after her actions caught up with her, Nikita had technically been rogue the longest. She had defied her orders to save Alexandra. She had never killed her thirteen year old target. Instead, she pulled her from the burning house and brought her someplace she thought she'd be safe.
However, Alex hadn't been safe. The person who had promised to protect her sold her to traffickers. That wasn't Nikita's fault, though; she hadn't known Nikolai's driver would be that evil. Of all things Alex could blame Nikita for, her being trafficked wasn't one of them. But she could still harbor resentment for all the lies the rogue had spun. And also for the fact that she had killed her father. Yes, another Division agent would've killed Nikolai. And yes, Alex's father would've wanted Nikita to save her, not him. But the rogue could've told Alex. She could've been honest with her. She didn't have to make things so hard, "Nikita."
"Yes. But how did you survive after that? When you were sold on the black market? And when you were alone for four years, hiding and homeless?" Thankfully, Amanda turned the conversation away from the rogue. There was no need to think or talk about Nikita anymore. She wasn't important, especially not to Amanda then. Her icy blue gaze was completely locked on Alex. It was almost as if she seriously wanted to know how the young woman had survived all those years on her own, like she genuinely cared what had happened to her.
"Me," Although Alex jutted out her chin in pride, her voice was quiet. She still didn't like thinking about her time in the brothel and her time on the streets. She might've survived it, yet she definitely wasn't the same person. Those years took something from her she could never get back. She had tried to with drugs. She had tried to forget the pain and had tried to be happy with artificial bliss. But it wasn't sustainable. The only thing that had gotten her through hell was herself. No one else had been there. No one else had cared.
"Why? Why didn't you die then? Why are you still alive?" Continuing to probe, Amanda asked Alex questions she had once asked herself. Why was she still alive after the brothel and the streets. There had been moments when she had wanted to die. There had been moments when the pain was too great and the urge to wipe it all away with drugs was too powerful. Yet her efforts never worked. She always woke back up, facing the cruelness of the world. She used to think that was a curse. A part of her still did.
So why did she keep fighting, especially then. Alex wanted to wake up one morning without feeling sad, but could fighting really bring her there. Could her vengeance against Semak really make her happy. Or was she just reacting in anger. Why was she still alive despite hers and others' best efforts. It couldn't have been spite. No, the feeling was stronger than that. The fight to live was more powerful than anger, vengeance, and spite. It was even more powerful than her wanting to be happy. It was just plain and simple desire. The desire to live, and breathe, and scream, and laugh, and everything else she could do with her life, "Because I wanna live."
All of a sudden, intense pain Alex had never felt before coursed through her body. She tried to scream, yet she couldn't. All she could do was convulse in pain as her heart felt like it was about to explode. Then the world turned dark. The next thing she knew, she was gasping and spluttering, and Amanda was standing over her supine body with a needle. Alex tried to speak, but all she could do was gasp for air. Thankfully, Amanda was already answering her, "Yes, you were clinically deceased for about twenty-five seconds. I needed to disable your killchip, and there was no time for surgery. Now the chip thinks you're dead, which means you're free to go."
Even more confusion etched its way across Alex's features. She continued to gasp for air and tried to settle her racing heartbeat. Yet she couldn't settle down when nothing was making any sense. What did Amanda mean that she was free to go. There was no way it could've been as simple as that. There had to be a catch. There had to be strings attached; there always were with Amanda. Except, not that time. Alex was truly free, "I'm not gonna hold on to you the way I tried to hold on to Nikita. My advice to you, don't return to her. For any reason. You don't need Nikita anymore. You need to make your own choices."
The restraint holding Michael in place was released. His wrist was free, and the lack of resistance caused him to collapse to the floor. For a moment, Michael didn't even bother getting up. Nikita was dead. What was the point of fighting anymore- what was the point of living. But then the door to his cell popped open. There was his chance to escape. He could leave Division and reunite with the tattered remains of the team. Or, he could run straight to Percy's office and finally kill the bastard. The thought of revenge- of killing the man who had taken so much from him- finally brought Michael to his feet. He took off running.