Alex had hardly left Division when she was called back in by Amanda. She wasn't told what for over the phone. But walking into Amanda's office as she brushed Sean off and shut him out more than made up for the confusion. Alex could stand to see Sean Pierce treated like that more. Unfortunately, her smug smile over that thought faded the instant Amanda explained why she had called Alex in, "Engineering has traced Nikita's burner phone to its point of sale. There are two motels within a twenty mile radius. I could have sent a strike team, but I know you hoped to approach Nikita on your own. In your heart, you don't want to see her die."
A part of Alex wanted to cast doubt on the idea that the rogues would be holed up in a motel room, but, honestly, what would she know. She had never known where their real safehouse was. They also could've moved since everything had gone to shit. Though, where the rogues were hiding was not the most important thing Amanda had said. She had also claimed that Alex didn't want to see Nikita die. The young woman couldn't comment one way or another on that, so she ignored it. She ignored most of what Amanda said, focusing only on what she could be sarcastic about- that was easiest, "What do you care what I want?"
"Because I like to plan for tomorrow and I need to earn your trust," Amanda answered honestly. Alex was trying to think if Amanda had ever lied to her, and she couldn't think of a solid example. Sure, Amanda had told her half-truths and had manipulated her. But she never told Alex a boldfaced lie, not even then. She truly wanted to earn Alex's trust and give her what she wanted- everything she wanted. The young woman didn't know how much she liked that. She definitely wanted to get what was due to her, but she didn't want to side with Amanda, or be manipulated by her further.
Unfortunately, Alex didn't have much of a choice in choosing what she had to do to get what she wanted. She needed Oversight and Amanda in order to kill Semak and save her mother, which meant she had to play along with what they wanted. She had to go after Nikita and the black box and listen to everything that was being told to her- and hardly snark back like she truly wanted. At least as she followed orders she could do as she pleased. She'd need that freedom to ensure she continued having her desires met, "Right now, Nikita still thinks that I'm on my own. Give me a chance to do this my way."
"That's what I'm doing, Alex. Giving you a chance, one chance. Bring back the black box," Amanda offered with a soft, genuine smile. Alex actually believed her that time. No manipulation, no alternative motives, no more excuses as to why she couldn't complete her revenge mission, if Alex brought back the black box to Division and Oversight, then she could go after Semak without any more stalls. That was her opportunity to save her mother and end it all. Alex wasn't going to squander it.
After the jailbreak, Michael and Nikita didn't risk returning to the safehouse. They could wait until the heat died down before they risked the journey. Besides, a motel along the highway seemed a better fit for the fugitive than the rogues' hideout. They could easily leave for where Tony Merrick had hidden the evidence against Division and Oversight and keep him safe from everyone in the process- all without compromising the location of their safehouse was a bonus. The rogues could gain some much needed ground- thank God. They simply had to calm Merrick down as he startled awake and demanded, "Who the hell are you?"
Although Michael and Nikita didn't share their names, they let Tony Merrick know what was occurring with Division. They then tried to ask him why he insisted he was guilty, yet it took some prying to get him to talk. Eventually, he shared that he had been threatened into silence; more specifically, his son had been threatened. Merrick then promised to keep the evidence hidden, so long as they didn't hurt his son. He had held up his end of the promise; he just hoped whoever had threatened him would too. Upon hearing what had happened, Michael and Nikita decided to promise as well. They'd protect Merrick's son. Division wouldn't hurt him.
While Michael hunted down Tony Merrick's son, Justin, Nikita tried to get Merrick to share more information. She didn't know if he was going to share anything or not, because before he spoke, her phone rang. She didn't believe it was Birkhoff calling; she and Michael had updated him about what was going on after they heard about Justin. Someone else had called Nikita. Since it was one of her burner cell phones, that shouldn't have been possible. However, when she answered the phone, a familiar voice asked shakily, "Nikita?"
"Alex? Where are you?" Nikita immediately questioned. The young woman was absolutely the last person Nikita had expected to call, yet she refused to question it. Whatever Alex needed from her, she'd be there. That was something she should've done more to prove when they had been a team. She should've told Alex the truth and completely trusted her from the very beginning; then, it would've been clear that she'd help her friend no matter what. It was too late to change all she had done in the past. She just had to change herself for the future. So no matter what Alex had called for, Nikita would be there no questions asked.
"Hang up. Think. How does she have this number?" Michael instantly questioned. After Operation Sparrow, the rogues had gotten rid of any connection they had with Alex. Anything Division could track to them through her had been destroyed and replaced. They doubted she had told Division much, but the black ops group wouldn't have needed her to talk to be able to follow her to the rogues. For the sake of all of their safety, the rogues had to cut all ties with their compromised mole. Which meant, Alex had no way of contacting them. If she had managed to call Nikita, then she must've had help she shouldn't have had.
"It was an emergency back-up. It can't be traced. It's a wiped number," Nikita shook off Michael's worry. Although Michael and Birkhoff made sure to wipe any remaining connection to Alex, Nikita kept the emergency number. She didn't want to completely sever her ties with the young woman. What if something happened and she needed help. Nikita wanted her to be able to reach out whenever she needed. Alex shouldn't be left alone, even if that was what she wanted. She should always have support and help as needed. And then, she sounded like she needed it. Her voice was shaky, and she seemed troubled as Nikita asked, "Are you alright?
"No, you were right. I'm pretty bad. I tried to do it on my own, now I'm somewhere I don't wanna be, and it hurts," Alex sounded as though she was close to tears. Nikita's heart broke for her. She had wanted the best for her. She wanted her as far away from hell as possible. But of course she didn't get what she wanted. The war was still raging. Birkhoff and Michael were still in danger. And Alex was still hurt. Things just kept getting worse. And despite what Michael had claimed, Nikita knew it was because of her influence.
She wondered just what kind of hell Alex found herself in then, when Nikita noticed how Alex was breathing. Her breath was hitched and erratic, not like she was having a panic attack or like she was dying, but like she kept forgetting how to breathe. It was the type of breathing someone high off of the worst kind of drugs would do. A fearful thought crossed Nikita's mind. She prayed it wasn't true, only paranoia. But she still had to make sure- assure herself that the worst had happened, "You're not using again, are you? It sounds like…"
"Well, I was… It was just a little bit. You know, something to get me by," Alex slurred her words, proving Nikita's worst thoughts correct. Not only was she using, but she was high at that very moment. It was a miracle that she had decided to call Nikita for help. That at least meant she was hoping to get better; she knew her drug use was a problem and she had to get better. Nikita was going to focus on that positive; otherwise, her despair and heartbreak for her friend would consume her whole.
"Where are you?" As Nikita asked- fighting to keep the panic out of her voice- Michael passed her the keys. He had heard Alex over the phone and knew Nikita had to go to her. That wasn't a question or a debate. Even if Alex hadn't relapsed or had begun to spiral, her calling for help was enough to drop everything and run. It was the least the rogues could do after all she had done for them. Nikita had to rush to Alex's side and help bring her out of hell. Michael and Birkhoff could help Tony Merrick in the meantime.
"Brighton Beach. I was looking into the Russian mafia to get a lead on Semak," Alex confessed. Of course it was on her path of revenge that she had fallen. When Nikita had first escaped Division, she had slipped down a similar path. It was so easy to stumble back into the world of drugs when anger and pain controlled your every move. You just wanted to shut it out by any means possible. Since the only thing Nikita had learned to cope with was drugs, she had picked up the terrible habit again. Alex seemed to be in the same boat. She had no other way to heal herself, so she turned to what she had believed was a former comfort.
Michael urged Nikita to leave immediately. He could handle Tony Merrick and his son; she should focus on helping Alex and getting her clean. He knew how desperately the young woman needed that help- especially from a friend who had been in that situation before. Her desperation wasn't something to ignore or to push off. Nikita needed to go to her and save her from further harm, "I'll take Tony, we'll get his son. I looked him up. He's in Manhattan. We won't lose any time."
"She sounds bad, Mike," Before Michael could leave for Manhattan, Nikita gripped his arm. She had never heard Alex like that before. She knew the young woman had been forced to do drugs in the brothel and had never gotten clean. And Nikita had seen what those drugs did to her after Vlad had kidnapped her. But that time was different. Alex intentionally fell into the dark bliss of drugs. She had messed herself up and was struggling- bad. Nikita was terrified for her. Something could happen; she could easily fall into a worse situation and get hurt. She needed help. Nikita needed to run to her, "Alex, stay where you are. I'm coming to you."
Nikita hardly registered what she'd need before she left the motel for Alex. She simply raced to the car and prayed that she'd arrive in Brighton Beach before anything happened to Alex. However, just as she was about to climb into the car, she noticed a handful of black SUVs rolling into the parking lot. They looked like Division vans. Curious and terrified, Nikita moved to take a closer look. Just as she did, someone else in the parking lot moved to curiously study the vans as well. Once Nikita saw her, she recognized her on sight: it was Alex.
And the vans were definitely Division.
As Nikita realized that, agents poured out of the SUVs and began to shoot at her. She barely ducked behind vehicles in time. If it wasn't for her adrenaline, she wouldn't have moved as quickly- her shock at seeing Alex with Division overpowered her panic at seeing guns. It took her a second to snap herself out of it and start shooting back in return. Her bullets didn't do anything against the assault. Division had her severely outnumbered. She was nearly out of bullets before Michael and Merrick could join her, but the Division agents just kept coming.
The rogues were out of bullets and pinned down. Division was going to advance, kill them, recover the black box, and find Birkhoff and kill him. Unless Nikita and Michael- or even Merrick- found a miracle way out, the war was going to end right then and there. However, all Nikita could think about was seeing Alex back with Division. What was she doing there. Why had she drawn her out. Why had she looked as shocked by the SUVs she was clearly with as Nikita was. Unfortunately, the rogue never got any answers for her questions. Suddenly, two attack drones flew onto the scene, starting explosions and spraying everyone with gas.
Everything turned dark once the gas settled, and the world slipped away.
When Michael woke, he was on the floor of his and Nikita's bedroom. He shook the fog out of his head and tried to figure out what just happened. The best he could remember was that attack drones had saved them from Division. But that didn't make a lot of sense. So, he ignored that thought and focused on finding Nikita. Merrick was on the floor next to him. But Nikita, thankfully, was in the bed behind him, unscathed yet still unconscious. Michael pushed himself shakily off the ground and moved to wake his girlfriend. As soon as he shook her, she snapped upright and gasped, "Division. Michael, Alex is with Division."
"Shh. We're not in Division. We're back at the safehouse. How do you feel? Can you move?" Having Nikita sit up, Michael asked worriedly. He felt fine after whatever it was that had knocked them out, but he needed to assure himself that Nikita did too. When she nodded, he helped her slide off the bed; then, he went in search of Birkhoff. There was no doubt that he had been the one to send the attack drones. Though, how he had gotten them was a complete mystery. By the time Michael found the hacker carelessly eating a bag of popcorn, the only thing he could blurt wasn't 'thank you' but, "Hey. What the hell was that? Those attack drones were…"
"Advanced? Next level? Illegal? Expensive? Uh, yeah. You guys owe me big for this one," Birkhoff rattled off. Through some hacker connections of his, he had recently acquired a couple of attack drones that he definitely shouldn't have had access to. He had never thought he'd actually have to use them. He simply figured it'd be nice to have as they fought an enemy with an unlimited amount of resources. Turned out, his paranoid planning came in clutch. Hopefully, though, the rogues would never be in that much trouble again. Birkhoff didn't know how many times he could bail them out with drones.
"Oh, Nerd, you're our hero. Our big, nerdy, glad-to-spend-money-on-us hero," Nikita gushed over Birkhoff, making him roll his eyes. She also wrapped her arms around him in a playful hug to further emphasize her praise and tease- a hug that he hardly reciprocated. However, during the brief hug, thoughts of Alex and Division crept into Nikita's mind. She had seen her friend right before the fire fight. She had seen Alex standing among their enemies before the rogues were ordered to be shot and killed. Nikita hugged Birkhoff tighter, needing comfort. He didn't hesitate in hugging her tightly in return.