The stolen Directory has ended up in the hands of Red Cell, and operatives are being hit around the world. Section is being forced to evacuate. In order to learn Red Cell's next move, Nikita and Michael attempt to capture Red Cell's next move, Nikita and Michael attempt to capture Red Cell's counterpart to Birkoff, but instead, they themselves are captured and tortured. Neither of them are willing to divulge Section's current location, but when Michael admits his love for Nikita, she breaks, because she can not stand to see Michael tortured any further. Far from destroying Section One, Nikita quickly discovers that this was the intended plan all along, and Section has a big surprise for Red Cell.
