Taking time away from their war had been the right call for the rogues. They had been able to relax, breathe, and settle their tremendous anxiety. The drone strike in Columbia had left them rattled, upset, terrified, and demoralized. It had been difficult to want to continue fighting their war when that much death and destruction was the possible- and highly likely- outcome. They could lose so much and gain so little as they continued to take on Division and Oversight. It hadn't seemed worth it. After all, why should they be heroes- fight for truth and justice- when they could lose their happily ever after.
After taking a break, however, Michael, Nikita, and Birkhoff were able to rally and come back with renewed energy, purpose, and drive. Their dark, morose thoughts had been dissipated, and they were no longer willing to just give up. Whereas Birkhoff found that strength to continue by laying low in the safehouse, Nikita and Michael needed to get away from everything. They spent the weekend in Barbados like they had planned, but it wasn't all fun and light like they had originally thought. There had been a lot of tears, a lot of embraces, and a lot of reassurances that they were very much alive.
Fortunately, by the time they returned to the safehouse, Michael and Nikita were back to their normal spirits. They had healed, they had grown closer together, and their conviction to burn down Division was stronger than ever. To ensure that they never lost one another, they had to destroy the people that were tearing them apart. Yes, of course, they would still bring justice to those who had been wronged, and they would also protect the innocent. But they also had to bring justice to themselves and protect each other. Giving themselves the life they deserved seemed like the best way to go about that.
When the couple eventually returned to the safehouse with bright, relaxed smiles on their faces, Birkhoff realized that he had missed them. Although he had been glad to be alone, and he had been extremely glad that the two had been in another country as they dealt with their 'I almost lost you' and 'holy crap we're still alive' emotions, he had discovered that he had a better state of mind when others were around. No one was meant to be alone for long. They needed interaction and care, no matter how annoying it was. Birkhoff could gripe about that fact, yet he wouldn't dismiss it. He'd greet it with a smile, "How was the sand, surf, and sun?"
"Needed. Thank you," Nikita embraced Birkhoff tightly. She had been too wrapped up in Michael to have thanked the nerd properly for the vacation he had managed to gift them. It had been incredibly thoughtful of him to fly them away to a beach paradise to recover after their brush with death. A few years ago, Nikita would've never believed that Birkhoff could've been capable of something like that. Maybe a few years ago he wouldn't have been. But he had grown so much over the years. They all had. The influence they had over each other was immeasurable.
Michael also hugged Birkhoff as a thank you for the vacation, yet it wasn't as long as Nikita's embrace. That was mostly because he had to reach in his bag and present the souvenir that had been brought back for the nerd. It wasn't anything major, just a magnet with a punny saying that reminded the couple of their friend. Birkhoff accepted the gift graciously and rushed to place it on the fridge. After securing it proudly in place, he then opened the door to grab yet another energy drink.
The refrigerator, much to Michael's and Nikita's surprise, was full of drinks and takeout. They had assumed it would've been empty since the three of them had been gone. But that was far from the truth, which then led the two to believe that Birkhoff hadn't gone on vacation like he had said he would. Considering how enthusiastic he had seemed about getting away from the war, that seemed odd. So, with a judging lift of his eyebrow, Michael questioned Birkhoff about it, "You don't look like you got any sun at all. I thought you were going to take a break too."
"I did. I spent time making my own parts instead of fixing old ones. I caught up on my movies and comics. And I got some new lines of code I think I can test out," Birkhoff explained excitedly. He hadn't needed a grand vacation like Michael and Nikita. All he had needed was time to relax and work on his hobbies. Although the fact that he had done so much made Birkhoff proud, the couple shared an amused glance. It was one of their looks where they silently talked about the person in front of them. Birkhoff knew that look well and suddenly grew self-conscious. God, he hated that glance, "What?"
"Nothing," Nikita flashed another knowing look at Michael, then brought her luggage to her bedroom. She couldn't necessarily fault Birkhoff for being so nerdy as he relaxed. That was just who he was. She was glad that, despite the hells of the war with Division and the stress of being rogue, that fact hadn't changed. Birkhoff was still as predictable and dependable as ever- if not more so for the latter. He was also as easy to poke fun of and rile up as ever. Nikita had no problem taunting her nerd, no matter the situation. The thought made her smile even brighter.
"I didn't miss you," Birkhoff shouted after Nikita. She called his bluff immediately and flipped him off. He had to stifle his laughter; he wouldn't let her know that she had won. He'd find a way to get back at her and force the couple to tell them what they were thinking about him later. In the meantime, he could play with his new tech and ignore Michael's snickering laughter. Time away from one another hadn't truly made the team of rogues nicer to each other. But the playfulness, sarcasm, and teasing worked for them. Otherwise, how else were they to smile and laugh while the world constantly gave them hell.
Alex had been avoiding Division since her argument with Sean Peirce. She didn't want to run into him and have to resist the urge to punch him; she was fairly certain that she would lose to the temptation. She just couldn't understand his problem with her. She was the one doing everything asked of her; she went after the rogues, she killed Kochenko, she waited to kill Semak. What had Sean actually done besides be annoying and challenging. Another blessing of finally getting her revenge would be getting rid of Sean Pierce. Alex seriously didn't need all that trouble and drama in her life. She had enough as it was already.
So, Alex decided to only go to Division if she was called. She wouldn't hang around to do research; she could do that in the seclusion of her apartment. That way, she could avoid Sean entirely. For a few days, her strategy worked wonderfully. Then, Amanda demanded to talk to her. Alex carefully surveyed the bunker as she entered, praying not to see Sean. Fortunately, all she saw was an overactive Ops. Although that was strange, it was nothing for her to worry about. She could easily lift the weight from her shoulders, move on to Amanda's office, and snark, "It's very busy out there. Getting ready to overthrow some poor unsuspecting government?"
"We'll get to that. First, I'd like to discuss what happened with the Kochenko assassination," Amanda easily brushed off the snarky comment. A part of Alex wondered if she could ever get under the new head of Division's skin. She hadn't been able to as a recruit, when she was discovered as a mole, or even then when she was constantly battling against whatever she had to say. None of Alex's sarcasm and harshness ever seemed to have an effect on Amanda. She simply kept pushing with whatever was on her agenda. Either her will was extremely strong. Or, she also utilized those masks that she had once taught Alex all about.
"Not much to discuss. You asked me to kill him, and I did," Alex crossed her arms. Admittedly, she did have to thank Sean for their argument earlier. She was still unbelievably angry with him- seriously, she didn't believe she had ever had that strong of an emotional response from someone before. But because of their fight, most of her irritation and annoyance had been released. Alex could then address Amanda calmly. It was important that she kept her head when dealing with Division and Oversight. One wrong step, and she could lose everything.
"I ordered you to abort the mission, and you disobeyed that order," Amanda reminded Alex of her mistake. Except, only Division saw it as a mistake. They saw her unwillingness to follow an order as an act of rebellion that needed to be correct. Alex, however, saw what she had done as necessary. If she hadn't killed Kochenko then, she would've never had another chance at him, and then, she would've never had a chance at Semak. Precautions didn't matter when her mother's life was at stake. Alex had to do everything she could to kill Semak and save her. Division and Oversight knew that. So why were they upset that she was still on her mission.
"Sergei Semak stole everything that mattered to me, and Kochenko helped him do it. If you didn't want me to take the hit, you shouldn't have put the gun in my hand," Alex bitterly reminded Amanda. She had been following orders up to that point. She had played along with Oversight and Division, so where was her reward. The only times Alex had made any gains in her revenge mission were when she had gone out and taken it for herself. What was she even doing waiting around for Division and Oversight. By that point, she should simply steal the weapons and equipment she wanted from them and finish her mission by herself.
"I understand why you disobeyed me. Because of that, I'm giving you a second chance, an opportunity to redeem yourself," At least Amanda responded directly to what Alex had to say that time. However, the young woman didn't like the answer that she had heard. How could, after everything, Division still believe they were in the right. Yes, having Ramon as a cover story would have made the assassination perfect and wouldn't have led to an investigation. But the hit had still been completed. Everyone had gotten what they wanted. Why couldn't Oversight see that as the win that it was and let it go.
"I didn't know I needed to be redeemed," Alex fought the sudden wave of fresh anger. What happened to her being her own agent. She was free to come and go out of Division. She was allowed to only take missions that led her to Semak and her mother. So why did she have to pay for her mistakes like any other Division agent. She wasn't like the others in every single way. She shouldn't be treated the same- as a pawn. Alex deserved to be treated as a partner. After all, she had made a deal with Oversight. In order to uphold the deal to the best of her abilities, shouldn't she be treated as an equal.
Amanda actually appeared to contemplate what Alex had to say that time. Her pause helped the young woman dispel the rest of her anger and focus on what came next. Hopefully, there was another reason she had been asked to come to Division than to be yelled at. Since it had been days since the assassination, that was a strong possibility. Amanda didn't make Alex wait long for that information. After another moment of thought, she passed over a file and explained, "I want you to go to Turkey and track Kelly."
"Kelly?" Alex asked in utter bewilderment. Why did she have to track down Kelly. Wasn't she in Division. Though, thinking about it for a moment, Alex wasn't so certain about that. She realized that she hadn't seen or heard from Kelly in weeks. She had been so wrapped up in Sean Pierce, Oversight, the rogues, and Semak to notice that the head of agents had been gone. Maybe a part of her had noticed, and she thought she had been lucky to avoid her. But if Kelly needed to be tracked down, then there was no luck involved. Something had happened to her, something awful, and Alex had been too self-involved to notice.
"She had been captured on an assignment. You know what the punishment is for that," Amanda confirmed Alex's suspicion. Not only had something bad happened to Kelly, but also Division was running other missions. And Alex hadn't noticed any of that. It wasn't as though her knowledge about the situation would've changed anything. Alex wouldn't have been able to stop Division from performing ops, she wouldn't have been able to help Kelly in the field, nor would she have been able to save her when she had gotten caught. The outcome would've been the same no matter what.
However, Alex still felt guilty that she had been so focused on her own problems that she hadn't noticed anyone else's. What else could've escaped her notice while she was so involved with her revenge and what pissed her off. She seriously needed to start paying attention to the things around her. She could start with Kelly and the rest of the briefing. Fortunately, Amanda didn't prey on Alex's guilt as she continued. She let Alex's mind do all the beating while she expressed the urgency of the issue, "Kelly has escaped, and now I believe Nikita may try to help her. She abandoned her partner once. She won't do so again."
Honestly, Alex didn't believe she should stop Nikita or the rest of the rogues from helping Kelly. Division's rule about abandoning captured agents was cruel and absolute bullshit. The black ops group had the skills, intel, weapons, and power to save an agent that had been captured. Yet they refused. They preached family until someone went against their values. Alex was sick of that. Kelly shouldn't be abandoned; she should be saved. And if Nikita wanted to do that, Alex should let her.
She opened her mouth to say all that, then quickly decided against it. As much as she was tempted to, she shouldn't burn her bridges with Division. Amanda was right about her being on rocky terrain after the Kochenko hit. Alex had proved that she was wild and untrustworthy. She needed to shape up if she wanted more of Division's and Oversight's help. And, unfortunately, She still needed them. So, she'd listen to Amanda despite her desire not to, "And you expect me to drop everything to go after them? What do I get in return?"
"Sergei Semak is not a fan of Russian winters. Every year, he picks a sunny spot to spend a month or two. His location is a closely guarded secret. We have eyes and ears inside his broker's office. You would have all the intel you need to plan a hit," Amanda offered exactly what Alex wanted. Finally, she could have her revenge. Finally, she could be with her mother again. Her choice was clear with that knowledge within reach. Alex would track down Kelly. And if the rogues got in her way, she would stop them.
The rest of the day wasn't as exciting for the rogues as the morning had been. Michael and Nikita unpacked, Birkhoff worked on his projects, and the three talked lightly as they ate lunch together. The day was shaping up to be a relaxing one, a perfect way to ease back into their war after their break. That was, until Birkhoff got an alert on his computer. It took him a second to register the urgency of the alert at first. He couldn't make sense of it. Yet, once he did, he gasped, "Whoa. Facial recog just tagged Kelly."
"What? Where? How?" Falling from the yoga pose she had been doing to battle stiff muscles caused by traveling, Nikita demanded to know. She scrambled to her feet and hurried to Birkhoff's computer to see what had triggered the alert. Usually, Division was so careful about exposure to their agents. They would've never let cameras capture their image. Hackers monitored that like hawks. It wasn't like them to slip up in their abilities then. Something else had to have been going on. And whatever it was, it was putting Kelly in danger.
"News footage triggered the match in our system. Apparently, Kelly was tossed in a Turkish prison four weeks ago. She broke out today. Cameras flagged her about an hour after her escape," Birkhoff shared what he had been able to find. He had thought it was odd that the rogues hadn't run into Kelly in a while. Yet he had assumed that she had been busy with all the changes in Division. According to the news, unfortunately, that wasn't necessarily the case. Kelly had gotten herself into serious trouble- trouble Division had refused to save her from.
The last time Nikita had seen Kelly, she had helped her save Alex from the Russians. The two had formed a mutual agreement then: to save another person, they could become partners again. With that goal in mind, they weren't complete enemies. Unlike with Percy, Amanda, and the members of Oversight, Nikita could find some commonalities with Kelly. They had both been trapped, and they had only wanted to survive. They both wanted to protect others from their fate. Whereas Nikita was succeeding on her goals, Kelly was constantly left running. Nikita's heart broke for her, "Look at her. She looks so pale, like a ghost."
Nikita's eyes did not waver from the image of Kelly running from the authorities. She tightly crossed her arms over herself and stared transfixed, nearly turning pale as well. Michael easily spotted her distress and moved to comfort her. He honestly hadn't expected that reaction from her. She and Kelly hadn't been the closest of partners in Division; the two fought all the time even before Nikita had gone rogue. There had been no love lost between them. Yet those facts didn't change Nikita's emotions. She was incredibly upset and needed a hug. Michael, of course, attempted to give her one, "Hey, it's alright."
Michael only managed to hold Nikita for a second. When her shock over seeing her former partner in so much trouble and distress had subsided, she burst out of her boyfriend's arms and began to shift into mission mode. It was clear to her what they needed to do next. The rogues always wanted to help people- well- that didn't end with people outside Division. Everyone deserved their help, even Kelly, who had hurt them so bad in the past, "You're right. Kelly will head for the border. We need to help her."
"The woman in that video didn't look like she needed anyone's help," Michael huffed. The news footage Birkhoff had pulled up showed Kelly beating the shit out of several cops and sprinting off into the unknown. She had been handling herself in her escape attempt just fine. With the resources she could gather and the skills she had, she could reach the border in no time. And once she did, she'd be free. There was a chance that Division might even pick her up. Kelly was fine on her own. The rogues didn't need to risk themselves by interfering.
"When I escaped, Michael, I believed that she would be okay- that she'd survive. I was wrong," Nikita shared some of the thoughts racing around her head. As partners, she and Kelly had sworn to look out for one another when no one else would. Although they failed in that mission from time to time, they had never let each other get seriously hurt. Even on opposing sides of the war, Kelly and Nikita had found a way to protect each other when they had saved Alex. Their mission to keep one another safe had never ended. Nikita couldn't let Kelly down.
"She won't be happy to see you," Michael honestly wasn't happy with the idea of seeing Kelly either. The last time he had seen her, she had taunted him about Nikita's believed death. That was not something he wanted to revisit. Nor did he want to revisit all the other times Kelly had hurt the rogues. She was still a Division agent, even if she had been abandoned by them. Her past actions had not been absolved. She was still that same person. In fact, there was a strong chance that given the opportunity she would reject the rogues' help and turn them into Division. Helping Kelly would only put the rogues in danger; they wouldn't be saving her from any.
"She's been trapped in Division and now prison because I left her behind. Who'd be happy about that?" With her eyes still glued to Kelly's image, Nikita had already made up her mind. She had believed that even without her watching Kelly's back, her partner would still survive Division. Yet Nikita had never been so wrong. No one could survive Division on their own. Everyone needed someone to take care of them because that hellhole wouldn't. Kelly should've had Nikita, but she had abandoned her. She wouldn't do that again. She was going to go back for her partner and ensure that she made it out alive that time.