I don't believe I'm very good at action scenes or explaining plans/plots, so I apologize in advance if something if confusing or doesn't flow well. I actually put a lot of consideration into the facts of my stories- sometimes I get too peculiar with them- and for this one I had a map and calendar of events for reference, so hopefully that flows well enough.

This is four chapters long and will be updated once a week.

The two men stood mere yards apart, each with their gun trained dead center on the other.

"Put down your gun, Brandt…" Ethan said firmly but carefully without lowering his.

Brandt frowned at him but chuckled in dark humor. "Why, so you can shoot me?"

Ethan shook his head slowly but didn't promise that he wouldn't shoot. Ethan eyed Brandt, hoping to see that familiar trust, but all he saw was a desperate man on defensive. And, unfortunately, he was having flashbacks to a similar scene many years ago when it was revealed his team leader of the time had been a mole.

MISSIONIMPOSSIBLEGHOSTPROTOCOL

Three days ago-

Ethan grinned as he watched the kids across the street playing cops and robbers. It was so clichéd, and yet still amusing. His team was in between missions right now, and they were each taking full advantage of that in their own way. Ethan was hanging around Seattle, hoping to glimpse his wife on one of her routes. She had many, at the insistence of Ethan.

He mostly stayed away from her general area as a precaution, but he couldn't stay away completely. Any chance he got- after missions or, like now, in between missions- he would go out of his way to visit the city she now called home. This was, of course, after quadruple checking his back and making sure he wasn't being followed or watched.

His head twitched to the side as a thump came from his right. He spied a person casually walking away, but recognized them as a courier. And sure enough, when he lowered his eyes down to the bench beside him, a plain envelope sat waiting. Barely holding back a growl, Ethan grabbed the seemingly harmless envelope up in an irritated movement, hoping that whoever from the agency was watching. How they always managed to find him…

He discreetly pressed his thumb against the area he knew would be the scanner and popped open the seal when it very quietly beeped. The message was short, but sent a foreboding chill up Ethan's spine.

Your presence is required immediately. Do not contact any member of your team.

What the hell? Ethan flicked his eyes around without moving his head and spotted the car down the street. It didn't stand out in any way to the general public but Ethan recognized it as his ride back to headquarters- or what he was assuming would be headquarters. Heaving a deep sigh in self pity for a second, Ethan resigned himself to missing his wife and stood. Breaking a tab off the envelope to activate the self destruct, Ethan dropped it in a trash bin and strode lazily down the street as he heard a familiar, muffled whoosh of destruction.

As Ethan approached the car, a man stepped from the front passenger seat and wordlessly opened the door for him. Ethan slid in and looked at the occupant, taking note of the muscular mass that would be sharing the back seat with him. Neither he nor the other two agents explained anything to Ethan, not that he was really expecting them to. The ride was long and extremely quiet; not even the radio was playing.

They drove to the nearest airport which happened to be a small, private strip and the agent he shared the back seat with escorted him onto a small jet. He was hoping there would be further instructions or information on the small plane but there was still nothing to go by so Ethan just had to wait the ride out until he got to headquarters.

Nearly two hours later Ethan was escorted into headquarters by the agent where another agent stripped him of his gun and cell phone, putting him on high alert. But before he could get an explanation, he was ushered into a room.

Ethan frowned when he found himself inside of an interrogation room; now he was just pissed off. He eyed the mirror that he knew was a two-way and silently demanded someone come and explain themselves. Thankfully, the door opened almost right away and a woman stepped in before closing the door behind her.

"Take a seat, Mr. Hunt," she said.

'Mr.', not agent, Ethan noticed. "What the hell is going on?" He wasn't about to waste time on pleasantries.

"Take a seat," the woman ordered, locking eyes with Ethan.

Ethan glared and pulled out one of the three chairs harshly before dropping into it. He looked at her in exasperated expectation.

Sighing in frustration at his display, the agent introduced herself as Maria Delany. "I'm here to question your whereabouts on the night of the tenth this month."

"My whereabouts?" Ethan repeated. Delany nodded without comment. "The tenth- two nights ago?" Another nod. With a sigh, Ethan said, "Packing some bags. My team had just finished a mission four days prior and was looking forward to some downtime." He stressed the 'was' part, still irked that he couldn't stay in Seattle.

"Yes… And your reason for choosing Seattle?"

"Personal reasons." He wasn't about to say he was going to try to catch a glimpse of his supposedly dead wife.

Delany stared at him for a long time. "I'm going to need more of an answer."

"Well I'm afraid you're not getting one." Before she could argue he continued with, "Let's just say that someone's life depends on this secrecy."

Delany's eyes flashed. "In other words a certain woman from your past."

Ethan froze for a second. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Assistant Inspector General of this agency's O.I.G."

"Office of Inspector General… Why, exactly, are you here and why am I talking to you?" He hadn't asked that out of rude defiance, just mere curiosity- with some suspicion.

Delany didn't reply for a while. "You're whole team is under investigation for treason."

A moments silence, then "What?" To any outside observance Ethan was calm, but his mind was racing with questions.

"One moment," Delany said and exited before Ethan could stop her.

After about six minutes Ethan was about to get up and bang on the mirror when the door opened. Delany entered followed by two armed agents who were escorting Jane and Benji.

"Ethan! What the hell is going on?" Jane immediately asked when she saw him.

Benji was nervously eying the agents and their guns but he turned to Ethan hoping for an answer. The three quickly noticed the absence of their newest member, but before Ethan could say anything Delany ordered the other two to sit down as she placed a laptop on the table. Benji and Jane seated themselves in the two remaining chairs by Ethan's side and waited.

Delany fiddled with the laptop before turning it towards them and hit play on the video. The three watched a deserted hallway when eventually a group of armed, masked men entered the screen. Ethan felt his stomach drop when the only unmasked man of the group entered the screen and directed the men about. While the man wasn't facing the camera, Ethan felt a horrible recognition. That didn't prepare him when he saw William Brandt turn around and smirk at the camera before drawing his gun and shooting the camera out.

Jane gasped beside him and Benji stared with his mouth open in disbelief.

"This was recorded from the archives building. Some very important information was taken at gunpoint by this group, led by William Brandt. Two agents were killed in the resulting gun fight with three more wounded," Delany stated coldly and methodically.

"I don't…" Ethan took a deep breath. "It can't be him."

Some sympathy showed in Delany's face as she said, "The video clearly shows his face."

"Masks!" Benji blurted out. When Delany turned her attention onto him he flustered a little. "I mean, it's not improbable. Right?"

"That is true. However, Brandt is currently missing. And there is further evidence that it was he who led this attack and robbery; in his apartment were notes of guard shifts and blueprints of the building and archives room."

Ethan shook his head. "Ok, that's… Not to incriminate Brandt here, but he is smarter than that. He wouldn't have left evidence behind. Doesn't that strike you as suspicious? This has to be a set up."

"I understand you want to believe the best in your teammate, Hunt, but there is still further evidence."

Ethan's stomach dropped as he stared. "Which is?"

Delany looked each of them in the eye. "When our people looked into it, we found contacts made from Brandt's private cell phone to unknown persons for the last three months leading up to this event."

"That doesn't prove-" Jane was cut off when Delany held up a hand.

"One of the masked men was shot and their phone dropped. It was traced and matches to one of Brandt's contacts."

None of the three teammates could say anything but sat in shocked silence.

"Until the pending investigation reveals all three of your innocence from this, you are to be removed from any future missions and will be under supervision at all times." All three made to argue until Delany continued right over them, raising her voice just a bit. "The reason the three of you aren't behind bars right now is that the initial investigations have found no incriminating evidence against you, as your alibis check out. Plus your reputations are reputable."

"And Brandt's isn't?!" Ethan jumped out of his chair as he banged a fist on the table. Jane and Benji slowly followed when the armed guards stood in defensive stances, weapons raised slightly.

Delany gave him a cold look. "It was. But the reality is people turn. You'll meet your guards outside with further instructions. Someone from the office will be in touch."

And with that Delany exited with the armed agents, leaving the three in silence.

Benji looked at the other two with a lost expression. "You don't think Will-"

"Not here, Benji…" Ethan mumbled before leading the way outside. Right outside the door were four guards and the director. "Director! Surely you don't think-" he started.

"Hunt!" The director simply shook his head. "The three of you are virtually under house arrest for the time being; these four will escort you to your temporary quarters. This is Marcus Vacher and he will act as your handler." The director looked at each of them and sighed. "I am sorry about this, but it's out of my hands now." The man shook his head sadly before walking away.

"Gentlemen, ma'am." Their handler gestured them forward.

The team shared a look before moving. As they all fell into step, the four guards surrounded them and saw them into an SUV. Vacher took the front passenger seat and two guards took the very back seat leaving the team in the middle seat. Ethan looked around, watching the other two guards and saw that they would be led and followed by separate vehicles.

After a long ride that crossed into the next county, the small convoy pulled onto a side road on the outskirts of the city. The long dirt road revealed a medium, one story house that was made to look more like a cabin than an actual house.

Two more guards were waiting when they pulled up and Vacher had a short talk with them before they left and then he ordered the team inside. One guard entered while the other three stayed outside.

"Let's have a seat, shall we? I'm sure you have questions. As Director Massey stated, I'm Marcus Vacher and I will be your handler. If anything comes up, whether on your end or the agency's, I'm the go-to guy."

Ethan nodded, splitting his attention between their handler and the house. He noticed Jane and Benji scoping the place out as well. It was a house the agency would choose as a safe house, and Ethan wondered if there was a supply and weapon cache here or if they made sure the team wouldn't have access. If they were smart, they would have emptied the house. They would have to test that later.

"What do you know about the theft?" Jane asked suddenly.

Vacher didn't appear surprised or annoyed at the question. "Not a whole lot has been released; the agency is trying to keep it under wraps."

"They don't want word getting out that one of our own supposedly turned, infiltrated our base, and stole valuable information," Ethan guessed. Vacher nodded shortly in agreement.

"I have been instructed to keep you three out of the loop, as I'm sure you've guessed, for the specific reason that your team member is the forefront suspect."

"This is ridiculous…" Ethan muttered.

"Be that as it may, those are my orders. Along with keeping the three of you from any technology that can give you access to I.M.F. or possible communication with Brandt. Your weapons and gadgets have already been removed from your persons and there are none here. Besides what the guards and myself are carrying, in any case," Vacher informed them.

"So we're… prisoners, basically," Benji said.

Vacher sighed. "I do not wish for you to see it that way."

"Well we do," Jane said harshly.

"And I'm sorry for that," Vacher said without much sympathy in his voice. "You two," he pointed to Ethan and Benji, "are in the room down the hall and to the right. Carter, you're in the room across from them. The bathroom is the one on the first left and my room will be across from that, which none of you have access to for any reason whatsoever. Nor are you to leave this house, even if it's to step onto the porch."

"Really? No breath of fresh air for us?" Ethan asked sarcastically.

Vacher didn't dignify that with a response. He just gave Ethan a hard look and nodded to the guard before disappearing into his designated room. The team eyed the guard, who was stationed by the door in the kitchen slash dining room. The man pointedly ignored their scrutiny and Ethan turned to the other two.

"Well… Shall we?" Ethan stood and made his way to the back rooms that would serve as their bedrooms for the time being, noting that Vacher had his door closed. Ethan and Benji entered theirs while Jane glanced into hers before joining the boys.

"So what do we do?" she asked in a low voice.

Ethan dropped onto a bed and rubbed his hands over his face. Looking up, he saw that Jane and Benji were looking at him. "Honestly? I don't know…"

Jane and Benji shared a look before turning back to Ethan. "Really?" Benji asked. "Because you always have a plan."

Ethan looked pointedly at the wall that shared Vacher's own room and the other two nodded their understanding. Aloud, he said, "We're pretty much stuck at the moment- nothing we can do…"

And that really wasn't a lie, Ethan hated to admit. They were cornered with nothing. In the silence he heard a familiar noise and automatically looked at Benji. Benji looked back at him and shrugged in question having not heard it. Ethan quietly stood and approached the wall, hearing the noise continue sporadically. Grinning, he waved the other two over and mimed for them to listen. They did, and when they recognized the sound Benji shared Ethan's grin.

"How do we get it?" Jane mouthed.

Ethan scrutinized the wall and figured that if they could hear a keyboard being typed on through it then Vacher could easily hear them talking, even if they were talking in their lowest voices. He pointed out the door to Jane's room and they quickly but soundlessly switched rooms. Ethan closed the door to their room and then closed Jane's door, happy to see that the hallway wasn't in view of the only guard in the house.

Huddling in the furthest corner away from Vacher's position, Jane repeated her question quietly. "How do we get that laptop?"

Ethan was eying out the window and caught sight of one guard pacing a short route on one side and figured the other two were doing the same elsewhere. "We take these guys out, get that laptop and find out what we can on the theft and the group."

"You don't really think Will is involved in this, do you?" Benji asked again, looking back and forth between the other two. Ethan and Jane shared a look. "Oh, come on!" Benji exclaimed loudly.

Jane reached over and slapped a hand over his mouth, reminding him to be quiet. He gave her a small glare before pushing her hand off.

"Listen, Benji, none of us wants to believe it, but Delany is right, people do change. We have to be prepared for the possibility…" Ethan only voiced what had to be said. "However, that's why we need that laptop. I need you to hack into our server and find that recording."

Benji gave Ethan a surprised look. "You mean… hack into I.M.F…."

Ethan frowned. "What else was I supposed to mean?"

"Er, well…" Benji made a face before shrugging. "Alright, I'll just hack into the highly secured I.M. bloody F. database using a laptop stolen from our handler after taking him and four massive bodyguards out. No problem." Benji muttered sarcastically.

Jane grinned at him as Ethan merely shook his head. "We have faith in you, Benji," she said.

"Alright, now we know what our plan is, how do we go about this?" Ethan asked, mostly talking to himself as he wondered over to the window and studied the guard he had in sight. He stepped out of the room and back into the other to look out that window and saw a second guard positioned on that side- so three locations known, the fourth most likely securing the front of the house.

Ethan motioned for Jane and Benji to stay before walking casually past Vacher's closed door and making his way into the kitchen. He gave the guard at the door a quick glance over before moving to the cabinets. The window in the kitchen was small, but by pretending to rummage through the cabinets he used the multiple angles to look around.

He could feel the guard watching him and tried to look casual enough as he pulled out a box of crackers. He held up his findings to the guard in a satisfied manner before making his way back to Jane's room. He carelessly dropped the box onto the desk before pulling the two back to the corner.

"Alright, we have one guard on this side, a second on the other, and a third in front. I don't know their schedule yet, so we should give it some time to see when our best time of action will be," Ethan said.

"And that action is…" Benji questioned.

Ethan paused. "In any case, I doubt they'll shoot to kill."

Benji glared at him. "That's not exactly comforting."

Shrugging, Ethan said, "Sorry, I make no guarantees of an easy mission here. We know what weapons the guards are carrying, but I'm not sure about Vacher. He did hint that he had one and I wouldn't doubt otherwise."

"So, who do we take out first- Vacher or the guard?" Jane asked.

Ethan eyed Jane and then Benji. "Both. Jane, you try to seduce Vacher and distract him while Benji and I take on our pal at the door."

Jane gave Ethan a skeptical look. "You really think seducing him will work? He's I.M.F. as well- we're trained for this kind of thing."

"It's worth a shot. And kind of the only option we have here," Ethan pointed out. "We'll wait at least through the night, figure out their schedule and routine and go from there."

Jane and Benji nodded before the tech stood suddenly. "I'm hungry…"

Jane and Ethan grinned at the normality. Ethan said, "Well, I did grab the crackers, but there is more food out there. Just be forewarned that you will be scrutinized by the big guy out there."

Benji shrugged. "Do you guys want anything?"

Ethan shook his head but Jane requested water. When he left, Jane looked at Ethan. "What do you really think about this, Ethan?"

Ethan sighed. "I honestly don't know… I mean, how well do we really know Will?"

"We've been working together for over a year now, and he's never let us down. He's always had our backs."

"It's the smart enemy who bides their time."

Jane frowned. "I don't like to think that William is our enemy."

"Neither do I, Jane. I think it's safe to say that Benji is certain Will is innocent, in any case."

With a sad smile, Jane said, "Yes… Benji still has that naiveté. I'm a little jealous sometimes, to be honest."

"Well, the lives we lead get complicated. But I do hope he never loses that…"

Jane nodded in agreement and the two went silent as they waited for Benji to come back. He did soon afterwards with a very irritated expression.

"What happened?" Ethan asked.

"That goon, that's what! I tried making simple conversation, and he has to be a bugger about it."

Jane patted him on the back as he handed the water over. "Don't worry. Tomorrow they'll get theirs," she said happily.

Ethan nodded. "I suggest we take turns with a short nap starting now so we can do surveillance tonight."

The other two nodded and each went about their own activities with the same thought- was William Brandt innocent or guilty?

Does anybody know what is up with ? I can't use my usual line breaks, which are the equal sign and a vertical line. Did they totally do away with the use of symbols now?