Recruitment Drive: Divisions

By Michael Weyer

Agents of SHIELD owned by ABC and Mutant Enemy.

Nikita owned by the CW.

For those who don't know, the terrific "Recruitment Drive" series by Afalstein is a series of short tales where, in the wake of the season 1 finale of Agents of SHIELD, Phil Coulson and his agents start looking to rebuild the agency, reaching out to operatives from other spy-themed series such as Person of Interest and Covert Affairs. I had asked Afalstein if he was planning to use Nikita but it turns out he isn't familiar with that show. So he gave me permission to use this myself, hope you all enjoy and lives up to his great bar.

It was odd how used she got to a boring life.

Deep down, during all those years on the run, formulating her plans to take down Division, Nikita had sometimes wondered if she could handle the aftermath. A life without fear, without the thrill, without the danger. It was an old question for many a spy, the idea that they secretly loved the life and couldn't give it up. Nikita had feared she would hit that same feeling, that once Section was done, she'd have no idea how she could go on.

She was quite happy to be very, very wrong.

It just felt so normal, a nice day shopping at a store for groceries. Driving down a quiet village block, passing people without having to automatically check for sentries or hidden weapons. Coming home to cook dinner with her husband. Watching some TV and then getting to bed. It was quiet, it was nice, it was normal and dammit, Nikita was loving every minute of it.

Thus, she was not at all happy when she heard the telltale sign of steps below on the first floor.

She was up and alert in seconds, happy that, as always, she had gone to bed in a sports bra and thong. Fighting in the nude was never a good thing. It wasn't modesty, it simply served as too much a distraction to roll around with your breasts flopping about. She brushed her long black hair back as she reached to her dresser, tapping the hidden panel to allow a pistol to drop out. In a flash, she had it loaded and ready as she moved to the doorway. As she expected, Michael was already up and right there with her, his own gun in hand, clad in just boxers. They moved to the door, looking to each other to ensure they were on track. Michael was the first to slide the door open and exit, gun before him, alert to any danger. Nikita was right behind as they slowly made their way down the stairs.

Nikita moved swiftly into the living room, gun pointed at the man sitting calmly on the sofa. He was sipping from a bottle of water as he looked up at her, a nondescript figure in a blue suit, head balding and a friendly smile. But if Nikita knew anything, it was that the most innocent someone looked, the more dangerous they could be.

"Ms. Mears," the man said in a friendly, if somewhat flat, voice as if confronting a gorgeous, half-naked black-haired woman with a gun was a normal event for him. "Mr. Bishop. My compliments on the security, pretty high-run for such a small place."

Nikita's gun didn't waver in the slightest. "How many more?"

"Enough," the man said. "But this isn't an attack. I'm simply here to talk." He put the water down. "I'm Phil Coulson. I represent SHIELD."

Nikita and Michael just stared back. "If that's supposed to be a reassurance, it's not," Nikita stated.

"I'm aware our reputation isn't that sterling anymore," Coulson allowed. "But I do think that you're hardly in the position to give lectures. If anything, you should relate to working for an organization that ended up being completely different in goals and methods than what you believed it to be."

He was met by a pair of glares that melted his small smile. "Unless that's a sore subject with you."

"I'd have a little more respect for SHIELD if they'd been doing a damn thing to get Division off the world's backs," Nikita snapped. "Unless you somehow think a guy blackmailing the entire United States government isn't something to get excited about."

Coulson sighed. "I agree that it should never have come to that. You have to understand, it wasn't just normal secrets Percy had in those Black Boxes of his. He had a lot on the world SHILED operates in, secrets of our own that we would not want to see out in the public view. Plus, we had…bigger interests on our plate for much of our time. We regarded Division as a trouble but Fury didn't have them high on his list of priorities. Our liaison to Division assured us that, problematic as Percy could be, he wasn't on the threat level needed to take action." He coughed. "Of course, the fact that the same liaison turned out to be a Hydra agent explains a lot."

"I can't be the only one to see the irony in how you people were being run by a guy with only one eye, can I?" Michael dryly asked.

That actually brought a small smile to Coulson's face. "We made mistakes. I will not deny that. You can agree with me there, Mr. Bishop. You trusted Percy, you served with him loyally for years, completely unaware that he was the one behind the deaths of your wife and daughter just to force you into Division more." He saw Michael tense at the memory. "I can relate to that. A man I trusted as a friend for years was Hydra. So was one of my own people. I know the way you can get hurt by this but I also know that, in the end, the work is what's important."

Nikita raised an eyebrow. "You're rebuilding SHIELD."

Coulson nodded. "Yes. That's why I'm here, Nikita. Because you know exactly how this goes. The chance to start over, to clear the bad out and begin again. The world is far more dangerous now, the threats greater every day. SHIELD is needed to stop those threats and protect the people. Starting over gives us-"

"Not interested."

Coulson stopped in mid-word. "All right. I admit, I thought I'd at least be able to get through my initial pitch first."

Nikita lowered her gun but her attitude stayed strong. "You're right, we have tried doing what you want. We tried to rebuild Division. And you know what happened? We got compromised, we got forced into jobs we didn't want, we made concessions to our ethics and it got a lot of good people killed. We're not doing that anymore."

"You still take jobs."

"Which we pick. We are not going to be put through this again."

Coulson licked his lips. "I know it was bad. But we're trying to remake SHIELD over, make it better…"

"And maybe you even believe that," Nikita interrupted. "But it doesn't matter. You're going to find yourself compromising, telling yourself it's just once…and then it grows and grows until the next thing you know, you turn into the very thing you were trying to fight." She shook her head. "We did that once. Not again."

"With all respect, SHIELD is not Division," Coulson stated. "We always had a different way of doing things…"

"And that worked out well for you," Michael pointed out. "Full scale infiltration and exposure, followed by destruction and now mistrust from every government on Earth."

"Granted," Coulson admitted. "But you still have insight to how these things work. I can use people who'd recognize the warning signs and call them out to me, help steer us on a right path."

Nikita shook her head. "There is no right path. Not with this." She turned around. "You've got a minute to walk out of here before I throw you out. And I will."

"Amanda is free."

Nikita froze in place. She slowly turned her head to face him, her face in shock that was mirrored by Michael. "What?"

Coulson glanced between them both. "In retrospect, I probably should have just led off with that."

"How?" Nikita demanded, marching toward him. "We had her locked up!"

"She was transferred to a federal facility used by SHIELD," Coulson explained. "Said facility was one of several hit when Hydra revealed themselves and Amanda is confirmed among the escapees."

"Amanda is with Hydra?" Michael asked with a frown.

Nikita shook her head. "The only cause Amanda ever serves is Amanda. She's using Hydra like she did with Gogol, to get her own goals met."

Coulson nodded. "That's our assessment as well. As you can imagine, one with Amanda's….skill set is quite in demand by various forces and what's left of Hydra can use her quite well."

Nikita rubbed at her face. "Dammit, Amanda as Hydra…" She blew out a long breath before looking to Michael. He let out a tired sigh, his eyes showing an argument was not needed as he headed upstairs. "I'll start packing."

Coulson kept his eyes on Nikita. "You know her best. You know where she might go and how she-"

"Okay, drop the pitch, boy scout," Nikita cut him off. "You knew what button to press with Amanda and you're getting the result." She crossed her arms and focused him with a stare. "This is just for her, to take her out once and for all. I'm not agreeing to signing up with SHIELD in any way."

"Understood," Coulson stated. He lifted out a cell phone and dialed a number into it. "Transport will be here in ten."

"We'll be set in five," Nikita announced. She studied Coulson carefully. "You truly believe that you can do this? Make an agency that does so much dirty work stay so clean?"

Coulson shrugged. "I can try. And sometimes, even the attempt to battle the darkness is enough to bring some light into this world."

"They teach poetry in SHIELD too?"

"Workshops are on Tuesdays. I can fit you in if you want."

Nikita had to smile as she realized how Coulson was right. Some fights were worth waging no matter what it took.

I wanted to touch on the obvious bit of Nikita knowing full well that building an agency back up is not as easy as it sounds and slamming Coulson on that made sense. As for Amanda, I figured it would take a lot to get Nikita and Michael back into this game and she would certainly do it. All comments welcomed and while this can be a one-shot, I am tempted for a follow-up of Alex so let me know if more wanted.