Guts Over Fear ◇ NIKITA

The Mission

Alys was slow approaching the door of her new apartment. Flat, she corrected her thoughts, she had to get back into her British mindset. She'd been Reassigned and sent to London, tomorrow she would recieve her first orders. Tomorrow, she'd be a Bratva Captian. Slowly turning the key in the lock, Alys entered her new living quarters warily.

Instead of that New Home, Need to Explore sensation she'd grown accustomed to in all her frequent relocations, she was filled with a sense of dread. It wasn't just the hollow in her chest, or the bracelet on her wrist that minorly filled it. Something felt off.

She examined the dark space cautiously, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end when she felt a shift in the floorboards beneath her. Quickly splaying her open hand so a key or two fell between each finger, Alys quickly made a fist and turned on her heel, swinging at a man in a dark hoodie.

He easily pushed her wrist to the side and jumped back to avoid the other, only moving defensively. Lifting her leg as to kick him, she chose to stomp her foot down onto his at the last second, using the other to kick out his knee. Drawing her keyed fist back for a deadly blow, the man threw off his hood and held up his hands. "Wait, wait!"

Frowning and holding her fist at the ready still, Alys threw on the lights and glared down at the blonde on her floor. "Owen? How the hell did you get here? I just got here!" she whisper yelled, lowering her fist but keeping an incredilous stare.

"Nikita gave me some help," he informed, watching her warily. "Now I need yours."

"So you break into my flat and scare me half to death?" she growled in disbelief. Shaking her head, the blonde dropped her keys to the counter and moved to what looked to be a wine cabinet. It proved promising, and Alys pulled out a bottle of white wine. "What makes you think I'd help you?" she tacked on, watching him over her shoulder as she looked for a glass.

"Nikita." Alys scoffed and poured herself a good drink. Alex probably gave her the location, so that meant Nikita knew where she was too - she'd need this. Her Russian bloodlines gave her the luck of no hangovers, she'd be fine in the morning. Besides, she owed herself a drink; it was taking a lot out of her to do this. Being blindsided by Owen was only bonus stress. "She helped me in Chile, with--"

"I know what happened in Chile," Alys interupted. She was being far more curt with him now than she had been at Nikita's apartment, and she realized this as she took a drink. Well, the situation caused major stress on Birkhoff, so it was at least a bit due. Deciding she should try to change that, she grabbed a second glass and filled it as well. "I have my own job to do here, what makes you think I have the opportunity to help you?"

"You're on Nikita's side, aren't you?" It was a redundant question, Alys didn't acknowledge it as she left his glass on the counter and brought her glass and the bottle to the livingroom. "I'm looking for Percy's Black Boxes, and there's one here in London." With a sigh, Alys sat on the sofa and looked to Owen, eying the glass he held with a small curl to her lips.

"I have to infiltrate the Bratva in the morning, what makes you think I can help you?" she reiterated. With a sigh of his own, he ran his eyes over the blonde and sat across from her.

"Guardians don't stay with their Box," he explained. "It would take time to find the Guardian and even more time to find where he hid the Box. It'd be nice to know I have an ally here if I need it." After examining him too, her green eyes came up to his blue ones and they held each other's stare for a long, tense moment.

Taking a drink, Alys set down her glass and leaned back, giving Owen a polite smile. "I can't promise your safety if you sneak into my flat again, but if you're taking down Percy, you're in good with me." Taking a deep breath and rubbing her temple, she gave a soft wave of her hand muttering, "Finish the drink and get out of here, I've got work to do."

"You're out now," he pointed out. "You don't have to do this." Alys frowned but didn't open her eyes, Owen's words only pressing her needs for a drink.

"It's out of anyone's hands. For now, I do have to do this." At a prolonged silence, she opened her eyes and found him finishing off his drink.

"We don't have to be what they made us - we aren't." Alys couldn't help the upward pull on her lips, having to turn away from him.

"I'm glad someone believes so," she honestly replied, leaning forward to grab her drink but then sinking back into the same spot. As Owen set down his empty glass, she raised hers to her lips, but instead of drinking she watched him go, only letting the alcohol touch her lips after the door had shut behind him.

With a tense breath, she set down her glass and walked over to her bag, grabbing her laptop before returning to her spot on the sofa. She turned over a flashdrive as she started the computer, glaring at it after a moment. Percy had given her the Eye, but she still had to check in with him before she could use it. Even then, she was almost sure he would be monitering her activity on it. Tucking it into a compartment on the laptop's base, she began typing code into a small bar, smirking when the box enlarged and gave pixelated text of her old screen name.

Nikita helped her create the system when the latter was still a Recruit, even then influencing deviance within the blonde. Sending the guard dog to my doorstep? She didn't know if she would respond, or if she even used the system still, but she scoffed with an amused smirk when a jumbled line of text came through, slowly decoding itself but the same screen name remaining - Nikita's screen name.

Thought you'd appreciate some company. Shaking her head, Alys finished her drink and was tempted to pour herself another. She hadn't decided on how to respond to that before another line of text decoded itself. Are you willing to let me help? With a frown, Alys grabbed the bottle and poured herself another glass before turning back to the keys.

No, my decision hasn't changed. My place is still Division. She hated the words, hated herself for being able to type them so easily. It took a minute, as Nikita was likely to react to that somehow, but another line came through, only furthering her turmoil.

You're outside of Division, now. I can get you to a neurosurgeon.

With a tense sigh, Alys typed a simple, No, and signed off, closing her laptop soon after. She didn't need temptation tonight, not Nikita-wise anyway. She had too much to deal with in the morning.