A/N: So here is chapter 2… I hope it's good enough…
Disclaimer: I don't own Mission: Impossible…
Chapter 2
"…They said you were good, agent Dunn".
How does he know my name? Why is he here? Is Brandt alright? And just WHAT on EARTH is going on? All those thoughts rushed through the technician's head, but he never got to ask any of those questions, as the barrel pressed against his head harder.
"Just flinch," the voice hissed, "and you're dead".
Benji froze on spot, not having much of a choice. At the same time he felt sharp pain in his shoulder. He gasped, not daring to react.
"Never mind that, we'll get back to it later," the voice behind his back said calmly. Benji assumed it was Tom Henderson. Who else could it be?... "And now would you mind opening the file "Targets" for me?"
Dunn fought the shiver in his hands as he obeyed. His insides froze when he saw every member of his team on the screen: Ethan standing by the van, Jane sitting on a bench not far from the hotel, and Brandt still in the same corridor just outside the room.
"Needless to say, I have a way of… dealing with them," Henderson sounded absolutely contented. Benji swallowed hard. That and the fact that Henderson knew his name, combined with their obvious disinformation, meant it was serious. There must be a leak in the headquarters…
"But it's not the best part," Henderson cooed, putting his free hand on Benji's shoulder, which now felt slightly numbed. "The best part is that in about two hours you will become a threat to everyone except for me and my people".
The technician unwillingly raised his head, making the gun push at it even harder.
"You see, what you got there…" he squeezed the shoulder, and it felt like electric impulses were sent through it – a feeling Benji knew shouldn't be there, "was my new invention. It's like a virus. A fatal one. A painful death – and nobody will find the cause. Only it's a bit more predictable. In two hours it will become contagious. Unless the people around you have taken the antidote".
Benji rolled his eyes. It was just cartoonish. Such rubbish just couldn't exist, it was like straight out of an overly clichéd spy movie.
"I know you think I might be bluffing," Henderson seemed to be reading the tech's mind. "You can think that. But would you risk it all?"
Ethan and Brandt were yelling in Benji's earpiece, which made him flinch. Maybe, if he didn't answer, they would break in and end this madness?
"Come on, you don't want to make your friends worry," Henderson purred. Great, so he's listening to our line.
"Yes, I… I just need to focus… I—I'm sorry," Dunn hadn't expected his voice to shake that much.
"Very good, Benjamin. But let us get back to our business. What I need from you is a little favor. I could find another technician, but I heard you were one of the best. Besides, I like the thought that an intelligence agent will be helping me – such irony! So, if you help me with my plans, your team will live. And you will get the antidote. If you refuse… or attack me when I let you go, you are all dead. If you don't come back in time, your team will be dying because of you. Or whoever happens to be near you. So you have less than two hours to make the needed excuses so that you won't be followed"…
Benji's mind was racing. He couldn't contact the headquarters because there obviously were Henderson's people there. Telling the team the truth wouldn't probably work, either. Not enough time. However, there was another thought. He could bring Henderson's plans down from the inside. Agents sometimes work as "moles" in such schemes. Here he was invited into the scheme. It was like his personal mission. And he chose to accept it.
Suddenly he spotted movement on the part of the screen showing Brandt. Not surprised by the fact that the gun wasn't at his head anymore, he sped up towards the door. Brandt will possibly be mad at me for throwing the bin at his head. But at least he'll live. Or will he?
"Brandt?" Benji ran up to him and knelt by his side, still holding his gun. "Brandt!"
For a moment the tech felt the panic inside him rise higher than ever, as he saw all the blood his friend was losing. The Brit barely registered his own apologies when he heard Henderson's voice in his earpiece.
"You've got 90 minutes to come back here. No cheating. You know what is at stake".
"Are you alright?" Brandt sounds so weak…
"Let's get you out of here".
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Benji could almost physically feel the adrenaline wearing off, as the horror of the situation finally dawned on him in its full volume. Trying to keep his thoughts in order, he just sat staring into the air. Maybe Henderson wouldn't kill the team, but he was unlikely to let Benji live, despite his own promise. Especially if Dunn ruined his plans, as he had determined to be his mission. And how on earth was he supposed to leave the team without them looking for him? And then he had an idea. Maybe it wasn't that plausible and was quite cruel, but he was desperate, running out of time. He took a piece of paper and started writing. His little talk with Jane might just fit in…