Only Hope {Ethan Hunt/OC}

* Job *

"Claire?" Ethan asked again, making sure his eyes were not deceiving him.

Laura still kept the gun trained on the intruder as she studied her appearance. The woman was very beautiful, her pale complexion fit with her full pink lips. Her light brown hair framed her face well too.

"Let's calm down," she said in a soothing voice, not seemingly worried about the complete stranger holding Ethan's gun.

"You were in the car," Ethan stated, still unsure whether or not he was dreaming.

Claire explained in a quiet voice, "No, I wasn't. I heard on the radio-"

"Shut up!" Ethan suddenly yelled, making Laura shudder, but she still held Claire at gunpoint. "I saw you!"

"No, I got out of the car. I ran to the bridge," she stated.

Laura could tell something was off, the woman seemed like she had just woken up herself.

"What happened to Jim?"

Ethan yelled again, "Wake up, Claire! Jim's dead, they're all dead!"

There was a slight pause before Ethan checked behind him to make sure no one was there. He turned back to Claire, who now leaned against the post of the bed, tears filling up her eyes as Ethan questioned who had sent her. He rushed over to her, and body-checked her, making sure she had no concealed weapons. He began getting aggressive with her when asking her about who sent her. Laura had to pull Ethan back so he wouldn't damage the woman, who looked as if she'd already been through enough in one evening.

Ethan walked away, taking in the information and the fact that one of his team members was still alive. Laura kept the gun with her, in case Claire made a move against her or Ethan. Claire only had to ask once who the other woman in the room was before Ethan answered, "This is Olivia Manning."

Laura didn't want to seem suspicious, so she made no sudden movements to indicate that Ethan was lying, but she was glad Ethan decided to cover her identity up with a simple alias. With her introduction out of the way, Claire questioned what had happened.

"I've been disavowed," Ethan admitted, sitting down at the computer desk, arms spread across the table. "They actually think I killed Jim along with everyone else. And somehow," he stood up from his seat, "$100,000 finds its way into my parents' bank account. Kittridge assumes I'm the mole, and in the employment of an arms dealer named Max, for the last two years to get him the NOC list."

"What are you going to do?"

Ethan responded simply that he was going to get the list for Max. Claire pinched the bridge of her nose before telling Ethan he wasn't making sense as Laura leaned against the frame of the wall, listening intently, but keeping her mouth shut. She reminded Ethan of a bodyguard, someone intelligent enough to not say anything, but taking in every word that was spoken.

Ethan continued to stare at the computer screen as he spoke, "Whoever the mole is: I think they go by the name of Job. I can't find him, but if he knows I have the NOC list, he'll find me."

"I'm gonna go in and I'm gonna talk to Kittridge myself. And I'm gonna tell him you had nothing to do with this," Claire whispered back.

At last, Laura opened her mouth and made a point, "If you're not dead, don't you think he'd assume you're with Ethan?"

Claire's gaze went back to Ethan when Laura spoke her piece. The message notification beeped with new mail, causing Ethan to turn to the computer with relief. Laura walked over with Claire, each woman standing over one of Ethan's shoulders. He clicked on the message which told him where to go and what to do in order to see Max. Ethan smirked as he read the message and began getting ready. He went into another room to change into more suitable attire.

Laura was not too thrilled with him jumping into a situation such as this. Yes, she had just met him a few hours ago after recognizing him from college, but she immediately felt protective over him.

"Ethan, are you sure about this?" she questioned in a hushed tone, following him into the other room.

He turned back to her, a small smirk hovering in the corner of his mouth, "I understand your concern, but I know what I'm doing."

She sighed, "You better," before closing the bedroom doors and keeping an eye on Claire.

Claire walked into a different room, and found a closet full of women's clothes, plenty of options to choose through. Claire, hesitantly, offered some clothing for the other woman. Laura sifted through the business skirts, and professional attire until she found a pair of simple dark navy pants with a matching navy jacket. The outfit was just her size and also very comfortable, strangely enough. Ethan walked out of his room as Laura and Claire did the same, each wearing a different outfit than before.

"I'll be back," Ethan comforted both of the women in the room as he headed out to meet with Max.

During the time he was gone, Claire tried to understand where "Olivia" came from and what she wanted. Laura told Claire bits of information, telling the other woman she was there for Ethan's protection, and that was all. When Ethan had returned around an hour later, he carried in a brown paper bag, and walked over to the desk. He shoved his hand into the bag, and took hold of whatever was inside, pulling it out and slapping it on the table. He took off the overcoat he wore while Claire and Laura wondered what had happened.

"Max made a deal with you?" Claire questioned, taking a hold of the money as Ethan sat down in his seat before the computer, loosening his tie.

Ethan said simply while he typed something out on the computer, "I deliver the NOC list, Max delivers Job."

Claire nodded as Laura informed the two, "There's 75 rounds left for the Beretta, but only 20 for the Sig Sauer I found. There's also a pair of Visco glasses with monitor, plenty of passports..."

Laura trailed off as Ethan kept his gaze on her, and Laura couldn't help but wonder if he would allow her to go with them.

"Are you both sure about this?" Ethan asked quietly.

Claire mentioned that if she's not dead, she'd be with Ethan. Laura, instead of speaking, gave a slight nod and a gentle smile.

"Well,  we're gonna need some help," Ethan stated. "And we don't have a lot of time, so they're gonna have to be local."

"What kind of help?" Claire asked as Laura leaned over Ethan's shoulder to look at the computer screen while he typed in Disavowed.

Several names popped up on the list, which surprised Laura, yet she continued with Ethan's lead. She just hoped Ethan truly knew what he was doing, otherwise this could all end up getting ugly.