Now Ethan was a trained agent. Nothing really bothered him into the point of making him break his cover. But seeing the girl he had been tirelessly looking for over the past few weeks literally sitting right in front of him nearly made him run up to her and demand to know everything a about her.
But being the man he was, Ethan kept with the plan and got a table with Luther. They ordered coffees and made small chat about fake jobs and lives. Every once in a while though Ethan would carefully flit his eyes over to the girl. She was still bent over her textbook, nodding along to music that Ethan was about 95% sure wasn't on. After about ten minutes a woman who Ethan assumed was the buyer arrived. A lean woman in heels and a tight buisness suit. She was done up and looked quite smart. She took a seat and ordered tea and a scone. They conversed for about an hour, with the alley girl taking a trip to the bathroom. She eventually left, with books tucked under her arms. She passed by Ethan's table, tripping and scattering everything she was carrying. Ethan knelt down to help her pick up her things.
"Leave."
The word was whispered just loud enough for Ethan and no one else to hear. But he went on picking up books, choosing to ignore her comment.
She whispered again to him, "If you want to live, leave."
He looked at her in the eye, "why should I trust you?"
"Because." Her answer was simple as she stood, Ethan handing her the highlighter, "merci monsieur, je vous suis très reconnaissante."
She turned and left before Ethan could respond, leaving him contemplating her words. Should he listen and leave? Ethan turned to Luther, who's eyebrows were raised practically to the sky. Ethan knew that once he gave the word, everyone would follow him without a question. He looked over at the target table. The target stood and started to walk away.
Ethan put his phone to his ear and pretended to make a call, "Ilsa, stay on mission. Everyone else leave the cafe."
Luther immediately stood and patted Ethan on the back, mumbling an excuse under his breath as he left. Ethan went the opposite way as him, opting to go down the street the girl traveled. He kept his eye open for anything out of the ordinary. But nothing caught his attention until a block or so down from the cafe he noticed a pile of textbooks sitting by a dumpster. He turned his head every which way without being to indescrite. The girl was no where to be found, so Ethan went down a side street, hoping to intercept her. Just then a crackle came over the comms.
"Uh Ethan. We have a problem."
He kept walking, "Wha-"
Just then he was cut off as a huge explosion happened. Ethan could feel the heat even though he was two blocks away. Without any information he knew that the cafe had been the place the bomb was planted at.
"Ilsa."
"Right, okay." She sounded somewhat out of breath, "the target has already been taken down."
He stopped, "What?"
"I found her in a side alley behind a dumpster, she was still breathing but there was no file on her."
"Did you see anything?" He started moving again.
"There was a pile of school books next to her but-"
Ethan started to jog, "I know where you are."
He turned the corner and ran to Ilsa, who was standing by a parking meter. They both started searching the area. Ethan scanned every inch, and his eyes came to rest on a flash of brown hair disappearing into another street.
He nodded, "There."
Both him and Ilsa started to sprint. They turned the corner and Ethan saw the girl, she was staring directly at them. He slowed down to a slight jog, Ils easily keeping pace with him. The girl looked like sh was expecting them and turned into another side street, the both of them hot on her heels. Ethan vaguely heard Ilsa call into her comm for a car, and heard Benjis reply in his own ear, he would be at their location in two minutes.
As Ethan and Ilsa crept deeper into the alley they heard a door squeaking. The door was still swinging, which meant it had just been opened and closed in a rush. They glanced at each other, nothing pulling guns, they went inside. It was an abandoned apartment, but equipped with furniture and a rusty light was hanging from the ceiling. Ethan stayed in the main area while Ilsa searched the rest of the rooms. There was a crackle in his ear.
A crash came from further inside, sending Ethan running. He found Ilsa on the ground, a red lump quickly forming on her forehead and her gun lying on the ground. She cursed.
"We have to follow her." He wheezed as he helped up Ilsa and they got out of the apartment.
They set off and just as a figure came into view, a single gunshot was heard. They slammed on the ground out of instinct and hid in a doorway. The cry of pain that followed sounded young, alerting Ethan the shot hadn't been aimed at them. He made out the sound of a car speeding away and the muttering of someone talking. The reply sounded pained, but confident.
Ethan peaked around the corner and saw the girl and a man, obviously there to kill her, starting to fight. He pulled a gun but dropped it when a knife blade made contact with his fingers. The girl kicked it away and plunged the other knife into his shoulder, twisting hard before she was thrown against the wall and a foot stepped on her injured leg, right on a bullet wound. Her screams were something Ethan knew would haunt his dreams for a while. The man smiled, obviously enjoying himself, but before he could kill the girl Ilsa took aim and hit him squarely in the head. His body fell on the girl and she shoved him off, trying to stand and looking everywhere for the shot. Ethan and Ilsa dashed over to her and they both examined the person they had been chasing.
She was about fifteen or so. Her hair was dark brown and pulled up in a bun, a slight glimmer of something resting in her hair. She was dressed very plain and practical. She was obviously afraid but staggered to her feet despite the blood seeping through her jeans. Her hands went to her hair and pulled two things from it. Upon closer examination Ethan saw they were knives. She gripped them with the comfortability of someone who was experienced. And Ethan remembered the knife she had thrown two weeks ago into the back of her attackers skull. He put his gun back in its holster and slowly began to approach her.
"I don't want to hurt you," he said calmly, "I'm not like them." He motioned to the body of the man laying at his feet. She only rolled her eyes.
"I'm not stupid, they all say that. Then suddenly you're pinned against a wall in an alley with a gun at your side and a death threat hanging over your head." Her voice broke a few times, evident of the pain, and both agents could tell she was close to passing out.
He glanced at Ilsa and they had a silent conversation like they always did in the presence of those they didn't want to say things in front of. They reached a decision quietly, but before any further actions could be taken the knives dropped to the ground as the girls eyes rolled back in her head and her body began to fall. Thankfully for Ilsa's quick reflexes she was able to catch the girl before she hit the concrete.
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Ethan and Ilsa had moved the girl back to the apartment she had most likely been occupying. They took her knives and searched her for other weapons, then found a first aid kit and set to work patching her up. The bullet had come just shy of being completely buried in her thigh. Instead it appeared that it had only taken out a chunk of skin. Ilsa cleaned it while Ethan threaded a needle and prepared some bandages. The girl awoke while they were sewing her up but didn't say anything. Instead she seemed to be studying the two as they worked. Ethan did not look at the girl once, for fear he would see a scared child in her eyes, even after seeing her kill three men. Ethan Hunt was and could do many things, but he had never been good with children, much less did he know how to comfort one. After Ilsa was done they stood in silence for a few minutes, all of them waiting for someone else to speak. Ethan broke it.
"Do we have to be worried about being attacked anytime soon?"
The girl only shook her head, "Do I have to be worried about you and your girlfriend here?"
They exchanged glances, "I'm not his girlfriend." Ilsa told her, "And we told the truth before, we're not like them." She only nodded.
"Who are you?" Ethan asked, "Are you part of a terrorist organization?"
She shook her head at him, "I'm only a kid." But she was obviously lying.
At that Ethan gave a chuckle, "A kid who killed three men in one night."
Ilsa gave him a questioning look at that, "You know her?"
"We haven't been formally introduced." They shared a smile at that, and Ilsa felt a surge go through her. A feeling she had not felt in a long time. She knew exactly what it was, but wasn't even ready to admit it to herself yet. Much less anyone else (cough, Ethan, cough cough). Clearing her head they focused back on the matter at hand.
"You need to tell us who you are," Ilsa stated, "And you must do it soon."
The girl looked her straight in the eye, "Tell me who you guys are then. And what business you had with Cole."
"You know who he is?" He asked sharply. another nod was received in return but no other explanation.
"Ilsa Faust, this is Eth-" Ilsa began but was cut off.
"I know who he is." She smiled and extended Ilsa her hand, "Pleasure to meet you Miss Faust. I'm Andromeda, you may call me Andi though."
Ilsa shook her hand, "Well Andi, you must call me Ilsa. As I'm sure you won't be leaving us any time soon."
"What do you mean?!" The panic in her voice was obvious, "I will not stay with you!"
Ethan sighed, "You were injured and we need to make sure that you're stable. Besides, I still have some questions for you and I think that they are better asked on a secure location."
Andi contemplated that for a second, "Let me pack a bag, then I'll come." Ilsa nodded in agreement and she disappeared down the hall, leaving Ethan and Ilsa with a hundred unanswered questions and no answers.
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Andromeda took down her battered backpack from the shelf in the closet. She packed three changes of clothes . Then took a hairbrush from the bathroom and her meager amount of money from under the loose floorboard. After the main part of the backpack was filled she looked in the hallway to make sure neither of her companions were lurking, then ran her fingers along the thin seam on the inside fabric, catching the minuscule tear and sliding open the complicated hooks she had designed. She then placed some photos and papers in the hidden compartment. Including several passports and travel documents. She had always been told to be ready in every situation and always followed the advice. She resealed the compartment and slid in a box of cartridges and a small handgun along with several knives into the main part of the pack. A knife also went into her shoe.
She turned as footsteps stopped outside her door, finding the face of Ethan Hunt looking back at her.
"Ready?" He asked.
Andi zipped the backpack up and stood, grabbing her jacket lain haphazardly on her mattress/bed. She nodded. This was it.
"Ready." She said, because there was no other answer.
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