ETHAN ABRUPTLY WOKE UP to find himself tied up like the time where he first met Ilsa. But this time, Lane made sure he couldn't just escape by doing vertical sit-ups.
"Oh, you're awake. About time," Said an Australian accent. Ethan turned his head to his right to see the man he had seen earlier, also tied up against a pole like Ethan, but Lane seemed to underestimate him and didn't tie his legs up.
"Who are you anyway?" The man asked. Fortunately, Ethan and the man were alone.
"You know who I am: Ethan Hunt of the IMF. You refused to surrender until you saw me. Why?" Ethan asked, head still slightly throbbing. His aching stomach didn't help either.
"That's classified," The man answered.
"Who the hell are you?" Ethan asked with his guard up.
"Agent Brendan Sebastian Foster of the CIA, born in Australia and raised in America. Anything else?" Brendan replied.
Ethan opened his mouth to speak but the door opened and Solomon Lane walked in.
Ethan angrily began to try and break the cuffs that held him.
"That's no use, Ethan. Even I couldn't break them apart," Lane said comfortably.
"My partner wants to meet you. As for you," Solomon turned to Brendan. "We agreed to kill you."
"Fat chance," Brendan spat confidently.
"Prove it," Solomon said.
"Yeah sure, in a minute," Brendan assured.
Ethan looked at him as Solomon ignored them and walked towards a table of torture tools. Brendan returned a reassuring look.
Ethan didn't pay attention to the look and began to struggle against his bonds again. Then he heard Brendan tapping his finger casually against the pole, making a sound so soft Ethan could barely hear it. Some were held for long, some were just normal clicks. Morse code.
"Distract him," The message said. "Make him focus on you completely."
"So, how do you feel? Failing the Fallout so badly. To work so hard into something you didn't succeed," Ethan started, making Lane tense and walk towards Ethan.
Lane stopped walking as soon as he was nose to nose with his nemesis. "Do not make me change my mind about keeping you alive, Hunt. I can very well kill you right at this second."
"Be my guest," Ethan taunted. "You need me alive, Lane. Just like last time."
Solomon glared at Ethan. He was right. If he killed Ethan now, Walter will not hesitate to kill Lane for not going by their plan.
Brendan took this chance to do the vertical sit-ups that Ethan did the last time he got captured. However, unlike Ethan, he was so stealthy Lane didn't realise it until Brendan elbowed Lane in the head, knocking him out.
"Easier than I thought," Brendan commented.
"Easier?" Ethan asked.
Brendan ignored that and tried to find the keys to the cuffs. He then searched Lane and found them. He unlocked his cuffs and unlocked Ethan's. Brendan took out a knife and cut the rope off Ethan's legs.
"How do we get out of here?" Ethan asked. "There's a whole lot of soldiers in the base. We're lost too."
"Don't worry, I've got back-up," Brendan assured. "Or at least, your back-up."
"What?" Ethan muttered cluelessly.
Right on cue, gunshots of a machine gun and screaming guards were heard.
"If you wanna live, tell me. Where's Ethan?" A male voice asked outside the room.
"I-I'm not allowed to say anything!" A guard stammered.
"I can literally cut your head off right now!" The first person threatened. He was probably grabbing the neck of the guard with one arm and holding a knife into his throat with the other.
"No, no, don't! He's in there!" The guard surrendered.
"Okay, thanks," He released him. Before the guard could make a run for it, a gunshot of a pistol was heard.
Immediately, Ethan went towards the doors and struggled to open them. Strangely, he felt way weaker than usual.
"Ethan? You in there? It's me, Brandt!" He called, trying to knock the door open.
"Yes, it's me," Ethan said. He tried to open the door again. He only managed to open it with the help of Brendan.
"Oh my god, Ethan. Did they do anything to you?" Brandt asked with worry. Behind him stood Ilsa.
"I don't know. I was unconscious the whole time. Where's Benji?" Ethan answered.
"He's still at the base," Brandt answered.
"How did you know they would come?" Ethan asked Brendan.
"Lucky guess," Brendan said as he shrugged.
"And how did you know where I was?" Ethan turned to Brandt and Ilsa.
"Tracker— Behind you!"
Ethan turned to see Lane coming towards him, but Brandt smacked him in the head with a metal rod he found while infiltrating the base.
"We'd better go," Ilsa said as the four ran.
Barely escaping the base in one piece, the four headed back to their base.
"Do you know who he is?" Ethan said, referring to Brendan.
"I do. I met him. Once," Brandt answered while he drove the car.
"Ilsa?" Ethan asked.
"Oh, I have no clue on who he is," She answered.
"Brendan Foster, nice to meet you," Brendan greeted. Ilsa nodded back in response.
"Was he from..?" Ilsa asked. William nodded.
As soon as they were back in base, Benji stood up and asked, "Where were you guys? Ilsa and Brandt just ran off." Benji then returned back to his seat.
"Oh, nothing happened," Brandt reassured.
"Nothing much," Ethan corrected, leaning against a pillar while massaging his head and stomach.
"Ethan just got captured and then I, along with Brandt, rescued him," Ilsa added. Benji then looked at them in shock.
"You alright?" Benji asked Ethan, earning a slight nod from him.
"I assume you're Brendan Foster," Benji said to Brendan.
"How did you know?" Ethan asked.
"Lucky guess," Benji shrugged. "Nah, I'm only kidding. As soon as I saw him, I tried to find his fact file, which I did."
Benji turned the computer screen towards the team to show his fact file.
"Your middle name is Sebastian?" Brandt asked incredulously.
"Well, at least I don't have a middle name like Alexander," Brendan mocked back.
"Guys, Alexander and Sebastian are two perfect middle names," Ethan cut in before Brandt could fight back.
"Trouble's my middle name," Benji said comfortably.
"You don't have a middle name," Ethan noted.
"Whatever," Benji mumbled. He meant it metaphorically, so he was slightly disappointed that the team didn't recognise it.
"Anyways," Benji continued. "I'm having trouble tracking the cure without Luther's help..."
"Luther?" Brendan asked.
"A friend," Ethan sighed, clutching his stomach even harder.
"Can we help?" Ilsa asked.
Benji was relieved of Ilsa's suggestion.
"Sure, why not?" He asked happily. "Let's start."
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So, who do you think Brendan is, really? Is the fact file that Benji showed the team fake? Does he work for Lane and Walter? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!
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