Chapter Text
TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015 - IMF HQ
Ethan pushed the door of the IMF building very early that morning. He had been called an hour before by Brandt, asking him to come for a new mission. He hadn't had many details over the phone, but apparently it was something big since MI6 was also involved. He knew he had to join the team in the meeting room and that members of the British intelligence would be there as well. This context alone had been enough to pique Ethan's curiosity, who was now climbing two by two, the steps of the stairs leading to the meeting room.
When he entered the meeting room, only Luther had already arrived. However, it only took a few minutes for the rest of the agents to arrive as well. Brandt first, accompanied by Benji and finally two people he did not know. The first was a man about 60 years old, around 5ft7. He wore glasses and a suit that went perfectly with the superior look he was trying to give himself. The second person was a woman in her thirties who was slightly shorter than Ethan. When everyone was seated around the table, he met the young woman's gaze for the first time and was momentarily destabilized. By the depth of her gaze, by the piercing blue of her eyes, by her beauty or by the fact that he had the impression that she was reading his soul, he could not tell. The eye contact was broken by the young woman who turned her attention to the two men who had remained standing at the end of the table. Ethan took longer to do the same, captivated by the woman in front of him.
"If you are gathered here today, it is for a mission of the greatest importance." Brandt began. “We have been informed that an auction will be held shortly, with a deadly virus at stake which, in the wrong hands, will be our worst nightmare. The auction will take place during the wedding of Levi Arlov, son of Sherali Arlov, known for his extremist leanings and terrorist claims. As you can imagine, the marriage of his son is for him only a pretext to acquire the virus. A significant number of members of his criminal network will be present for the occasion and we have every reason to believe that the virus will come from Britain. Thus, to avoid any transaction concerning the virus without causing a diplomatic incident with the English, we will team up with MI6. I would like to introduce you to the people who will be working with us for this mission.”
Pointing to the woman with a wave, Brandt continued:
“Agent Ilsa Faust. She is the one who will go into the field with you. She is the best MI6 has to offer.”
Continuing without seeing that the woman had rolled her eyes when he said his last sentence, he now pointed to the man:
“The head of MI6 operations, Chief Atlee. He will oversee the operations alongside me from our premises. Chief Atlee, Agent Faust, let me introduce you to Agents Ethan Hunt, Benji Dunn and Luther Stickell who will therefore be your collaborators for the next few days.”
Each gave a brief nod of greeting to the others and Brandt ended his presentation:
"Chief Atlee I'll let you continue explaining the mission if you don't mind."
“Most certainly. To complete what has just been told to you by your referring agent, your mission will take place under cover for two of you and apart for the other two. Agent Faust, Agent Hunt, you'll both be at the wedding for the next four days. Your goal will be to infiltrate this marriage as a married couple and identify the seller and the buyer. You have been added to the guest list as Iris and Edward Anderson. Knowing that the auction will probably be initiated by him, we ask you to be particularly vigilant with regard to the slightest actions and gestures of Sherali Arlov. To do this, you will participate in all stages of the wedding, all the boring dinners, the traditions lacking in originality and so on. The details of your new identities are in the files at the end of the table, we'll let you take a closer look. Meanwhile, Stickell and Dunn, I'll let you gather everything that would be necessary for the mission, listening equipment, cameras, something to identify the virus, you know what to do. Questions?"
When no one came forward, Atlee concluded:
“Leaving first thing tomorrow morning, making contact every day from tomorrow evening. Thank you.”
On these words, Benji and Luther got up to go to the upper floor of the building to retrieve the requested equipment. Brandt and Atlee also left the room, having each finished what they had came for, leaving only Ilsa and Ethan in silence.
Ethan thought to himself that the situation could have been much worse. Undercover missions were often quieter than others, requiring fewer perilous stunts and more finesse and stealth. Besides that, he wasn't going alone this time, the boys wouldn't be far away. And he would be with Agent Faust. It promised to be particularly interesting.
“We're gonna need to work on a backstory if we want to be credible.” said the main concerned in a calm voice.
It was the first time he had heard her and he couldn't help but be a little more intrigued by the woman sitting across from him. In addition to her British pronunciation, Ethan could detect a slight Nordic accent. Sweden? He couldn't place it with certainty but it sure as hell was attractive.
“Yes we do. You have any ideas?” replied Ethan.
“Let’s check the files and we’ll see afterwards what we have to add.” suggested Ilsa.
"Sure. This is gonna be fun.”
"You do know that's not a game we're in, right?" asked Ilsa, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Yeah of course, but we'll still be able to have fun, you'll see."
“I don't know what they teach you in the IMF, but we're spies, we don't do fun. I'm gonna be absolutely clear now so I don't have to repeat myself. We're both gonna take that mission very seriously. If the virus is bought and disappears in the wild, the whole world will be in big trouble. I know who you are Ethan Hunt, I've read your file. You're running before even thinking of where you're going to go. I don't want any of your risky and stupid stuff on this mission. We go to this wedding, we do what it takes and we each go our separate ways once the mission is successful. Am I clear?” she asked as calmly as possible.
Ethan, who had maintained eye contact throughout the exchange, replied just as calmly, a slight smile appearing on his face:
“Not here to have fun, got it ma’am.”
Ilsa nodded, satisfied with his answer, and picked up her file. After one last look at Ethan, she left the room.
Once alone in the hallway she shook her head doubtfully. She couldn't describe what was happening, but something was definitely happening. The way their eyes had locked did not leave her indifferent. And according to the reaction of the second person concerned, the attraction was mutual. But they had a mission to complete and that came before everything else.
Meanwhile, Ethan was still standing in the meeting room, a smug smile frozen on his face. He grabbed his file and headed for the door. This mission was indeed going to be very interesting.