Benji typed away at the computer as Kat watched, and her brow rose with his as they read the contents of the flash drive… after some minor hacking of the security protocols of course.
"Well, that's interesting." Benji commented and Ethan asked immediately: "What is?"
"It's a SCF." Benji explained as he pulled up his screen on the monitors. "Secure Computer Facility. Offline, ultra-contained, it's impossible to hack in from the outside. It's essentially a digital safety deposit box. Very strange thing for a young lady to be carrying in her sundries."
Kat snorted, while Ethan's eyes narrowed in thought and he asked: "Where's it located?"
"Uh…Morocco." Benji read, and Ethan turned to them with a raised brow. Kat met his gaze and she smiled expectantly.
"Morocco?" Ethan asked and Kat shrugged.
"As long as I'm not seducing a rich guy." She teased, and both he and Benji grinned.
Casablanca
The trio walked down the dusty road, wearing sunglasses to protect their eyes from the hot Moroccan sun as they looked for the right house. Ethan paused as he saw a door with a small white paper taped to the front, a single kiss mark pressed onto it in the exact same purplish-red shade as the lipstick they'd taken from Ilsa.
He led the way inside, Kat staying between him and Benji as he'd ordered, as they walked through the estate, looking for their new 'friend'. Kat frowned as they made their way through the living room and out into the pool, overlooking a large green field, with no sign of Ilsa anywhere.
They paused as a woman broke the still pool surface, gasping for breath as she checked something on her wrist. She was breathing heavily, indicating she'd been under for quite some time, before she pulled off whatever she'd been wearing on her wrist and turned around.
Ilsa raised a brow as she spotted the three standing in the doorway to her patio, while Kat noted, with faint amusement, the way Benji and Ethan raised a brow as they in turn noted Ilsa's black bikini. The woman stepped out of the pool confidently walking towards them and if Kat was being honest, she couldn't fault the woman. Her entire body was toned and the muscles defined, evidence of her hard work, and while the bikini hid almost nothing, there was nothing she needed to hide.
Ethan calmly picked up her towel for her, handing it over without any outward sign that he'd noticed Ilsa's body as he kept his eyes trained on her face. Kat certainly admired his professionalism- Benji was having a slightly harder time keeping his mouth closed.
"Now," Ilsa purred as she stopped before Ethan, "what brings you gentlemen, and lady," she nodded at Kat, "to Casablanca?"
Ethan simply lifted the lipstick tube, and Ilsa smiled.
Somewhere near CIA headquarters
Brandt drove up to the helicopter-landing pad he'd agreed to meet Luther at, arriving just as the helicopter arrived. Brandt climbed out of his car, carrying a folder as he called to the man exiting the helicopter: "Good to see you."
"What couldn't you tell me over the telephone?" Luther replied over the noise of the helicopter blades as they walked away from the chopper.
"The Chancellor of Austria was assassinated." Brandt replied as the helicopter took off. "We believe that Ethan and Benji were there."
Luther frowned, but listened silently as Brandt continued grimly: "Hunley's handed this over to Special Activities Division. We need to find Ethan before they do."
He turned to the other man, finishing: "That's where you come in."
Luther stared back at the other man for a moment before he replied shortly: "Not interested."
"Okay, look, Luther-" Brandt began with a sigh, but Luther interrupted: "Look, man. I know Ethan. I don't know you."
He stared at Brandt, a hint of accusation entering his eyes as he pointed out flatly: "All I know about you is that you chose to work for Hunley."
"Yeah," Brandt countered, "all I know about you is you chose to resign."
Luther chuckled in disbelief, before he told Brandt: "You don't have to worry about Ethan. They'll never catch him."
"No, they're not going to catch him." Brandt replied flatly. "No. This is the CIA, this is Hunley, we're talking about. Things are out of control… And they're going to kill him."
He looked at Luther, his tone just on the edge of pleading as he said: "They're going to kill Ethan. They're going to kill Benji. And… they'll kill Kat."
Luther's eyes narrowed as he caught Brandt's tone when he said the last name, and Brandt knew he was walking a thin line. Very few had known how deep his affiliation with 'the civilian', as she had become known within the IMF, went, and it was for a good reason. It was to keep her safe. But now, he needed Luther to do exactly that, and so he was offering his secret as a sign of peace.
"She's with them as well, and that's painted a target on her just as it has on Benji- we have to get to them first." Brandt begged as Luther eyed him thoughtfully, just a hint of relenting entering his expression for the first time since the IMF was shut down. "Are you going to help me?"
Luther stared at Brandt for another long moment before he sighed. He walked closer to Brandt, leaning in as he said seriously: "You need to understand something."
Brandt nodded, listening, and Luther said flatly: "Ethan is my friend. And if I have one second of doubt whose side you're on…"
He trailed off pointedly, and Brandt replied shortly: "I believe you."
"Not even 'Miss civilian' will be able to stop me." Luther warned, but there was a slight teasing note to his voice. Brandt tensed a little but he nodded.
"All right." Luther said at last, and Brandt nodded as they reached an agreement, agreeing: "All right."
"What do I have to go on?" Luther asked and Brandt replied grimly, handing over the file he'd been carrying: "Not much. And not a lot of time."
Luther opened the file to reveal the two drawings. The drawing of their mystery man… and a drawing of Ilsa Faust.
Casablanca
"His name is Solomon Lane." Ilsa explained as they gathered in her sitting room after she'd gotten dressed. "He created the Syndicate."
"Where does he come from?" Ethan asked from where he was standing, leaning against the wall. Kat was standing beside him at his signal, while Benji stood in the doorway that lead to the pool.
"He's former British intelligence." Ilsa replied from her seat at her dining table.
Ethan's eye twitched but he didn't look too surprised. He moved thoughtfully as Benji turned back to the room, asking with a frown: "Well, if British intelligence knows the Syndicate exist, why don't they just tell the CIA?"
"Because they don't want anyone knowing the Syndicate was created by one of their own." Ethan guessed as he leaned against one of the dining chairs, looking to Ilsa for confirmation.
She met his gaze, silently agreeing while she continued her story: "I was sent undercover to earn Lane's trust. And eventually, identify the members of his organization. And for the first time in two years, I'm close to knowing who they are."
Benji glanced over, before sharing a look with Kat as Ilsa explained: "Lane had a ledger. It contained the identities of his operatives, his terrorist associates, the entire inner workings of the Syndicate. One of his agents stole it hoping to blackmail him."
Kat raised a brow in disbelief.
"He kept it in a secure computer facility for safe keeping." Ilsa continued, not looking away from Ethan. "He died being interrogated for the access code. Leaving Lane with a serious problem."
"So the key," Ethan summarized as he straightened slowly, "to crushing Lane is sitting in a computer just waiting for someone to take it?"
Ilsa smiled, while Brenji frowned, the latter asking slowly: "So why hasn't Lane just sent someone to steal it?"
"Oh, he has." Ilsa replied as she looked right at Ethan. "He sent me."
Ethan raised a brow, while his friends' brows lifted as Ilsa continued- her smile disappearing: "And I can tell you. It's impossible."
"His specialty." Kat commented dryly and Ethan turned to grin at her while Benji shrugged, agreeing with Kat, and Ilsa raised a brow in surprise.
The group relocated to her living room so she could show them visually while she explained: "The facility is hidden beneath the local power plant under military guard. And the only way to download the ledger is through the central computer terminal located there."
She stopped the blueprint, pointing at the chamber.
"To reach the terminal, you'll need to pass the main gates. Access the elevator with fingerprint recognition and open three separate combination locks."
"Well, that's easy." Benji shrugged. "We just impersonate the agent who stole the ledger in the first place. And," he added cheerily, "I get to wear a mask."
Kat sighed at his enthusiasm for masks, while Ilsa corrected: "Unfortunately, even if you can make it through every other security measure you won't beat the last one. That's because it's protected by gait analysis. A step beyond facial recognition."
Ethan sighed this time while Benji frowned and Kat pursed her lips as Ilsa explained: "These cameras actually know how the agent walks, how he talks, how he moves, right down to his facial takes."
"So, what you're saying is," Benji said flatly, "no mask can beat it. Busted before we could even get into the vault. And I wind up in a Morocco jail, playing mommies and daddies with Omar the strangler."
Kat wrinkled her nose, while he sighed: "Okay, I don't get to wear a mask."
"And there's no other way into the computer lab?" Ethan checked, and Ilsa confirmed: "No other way in."
"Air Shaft?" Ethan asked, and Ilsa replied: "Six inch diameter pipe."
"Foundation?" Benji tried, and Ilsa answered: "Twelve feet of concrete, top and bottom."
Benji glanced at Ethan, and the pair asked at the same time: "Electrical conduit?"
Kat sighed at them, while Ilsa replied: "Bottom line is, there's no way into that terminal unless your profile is pre-installed in the security system."
Benji rubbed his head as he felt a migraine coming, while Ethan perked up.
"Profile?" He asked. "Where are the profiles stored?"
"All security data is stored offline in the liquid cooler aid." Benji took over, showing them on the screen. "Here," he pointed it out, "inside the torus."
"Liquid cooled." Ethan repeated incredulously. "You mean that thing is under water?"
"Yes." Ilsa and Benji replied together and Kat wrinkled her nose. She had a very bad feeling about this.
"Okay." Ethan muttered as he began to formulate his plan. "So, to get the ledger, one of us needs to enter the torus and change the security profile. So that the other one can access the computer without being caught."
He looked at Ilsa as he checked: "That's the only way."
"That's the only way." Ilsa told him flatly.
Ethan turned back to examine the blueprint of the torus, and he asked suddenly: "Can I get in through there?" He pointed at a small hatch, which Benji lighted up in red. "What's that?"
"That's the service hatch." Ilsa replied. "It can only be opened from the inside. If you try and open it from the outside, you'll be hit with 70 thousand gallons of pressurized water."
"Where does the water come from?" Ethan asked and Kat leaned in attentively as Ilsa explained: "Desalinized seawater flows through the intake. In the power plant."
They manipulated the image to show the pipe, and Ilsa added: "And before you ask, the system is designed to shut down automatically if any metal enters the intake."
Kat's mouth dropped open while Ethan turned to look at Ilsa.
"No oxygen tanks." He deadpanned, and her expression was all the answer he needed.
"All right." Benji tried. "Well, how long will it take to free swim from the intake to the service hatch?"
"Two minutes." Ilsa replied shortly. "With the current at full power."
Ethan frowned while Benji said dismissively: "Well, then, you just have to hold your breath for two minutes."
"But he has to put in the security profile." Kat pointed out as Ethan's eyes narrowed and Benji shrugged: "Well, that's gonna be like a minute tops."
"Benji." Kat said flatly, while Ethan deadpanned: "So, I have to hold my breath for three minutes."
"You can do that." Benji replied confidently, making Ethan raise a brow as Kat gave him a look.
"The thing you're overlooking," Ilsa interrupted, "is the physical exertion. The more you exert yourself, the faster you consume oxygen."
"Don't worry about him." Benji replied, ignoring the looks Ethan and Kat were giving him. "Alright? All he has to do is install the fake profile before I get to the gait analysis."
Kat glanced at Ethan to see him staring at Brandt as incredulously as she was feeling. Benji went on, not noticing their expressions as he addressed Ilsa: "You said it yourself, it's the only way."
He chuckled a little as he scoffed: "That doesn't sound impossible."
Ilsa turned to look at Ethan expectantly, and he just gave a tight smile in return.
"Benji." Kat piped up and he finally looked at her.
"Yes, Kit-Kat?" He asked, before he froze at her expression.
"Maybe we should throw you in for three minutes." Kat said sweetly. "I can handle the computer while you're gone."
Benji gulped as Ethan grinned at Kat while Ilsa raised a brow, glancing between the three with a slightly surprised and thoughtful expression.
Virginia
"Satellite over-watch covering all seven continents." Brandt muttered as he stared out of the CIA office, overlooking the surveillance room. "DNA profiling, facial recognition, drone surveillance, drone strikes."
He turned to Luther as he demanded: "So, how are we suppose to find Ethan, Benji, and Kat before they do?"
"I'm not even looking for them." Luther replied shortly as he scanned Ethan's drawing while typing on his laptop to start the search. "I'm looking for her."
He nodded at the picture and Brandt frowned, walking over as he asked: "What do you mean?"
"These sketches," Luther nodded at the two, "what do you see?"
Brandt leaned in, examining them more carefully. He took in the rough outlines on the man's face, none of the detailing clear and only really capturing the prominent features.
"Ethan's not exactly sure who this guys is." Brandt said slowly as he tapped the drawing. "But this woman…"
He picked up the heavily detailed drawing, examining all the smallest details about her that Ethan had captured. But more than that, the way he'd drawn it, the angle of the curves and the softer touches around the eyes and lips…
"He knows her." Brandt murmured, and Luther corrected: "He trusts her. Bet you would be able to draw Miss civilian's face just as well- maybe even better."
Brandt winced at the jab, but Luther pretended not to notice as he moved on: "I'm betting that if Ethan's not already with her, he's on his way. Find her, find Ethan."
"Tell me it's possible," Brandt said urgently, "to pull facial recognition of a sketch."
"For mere mortals, no." Luther replied as he turned back to his computer. "For me, I could've done this at home."
"Alright." Brandt chuckled slightly, patting Luther's shoulder and letting him work.
He caught Hunley glancing back at them and quickly gave a curt nod, muttering to Luther anxiously: "How long is this going to take?"
"Found her." Luther replied as he punched a button on his laptop. "CCTV picked her up at the airport in Casablanca."
They watched as the scan made a match, before pulling a file and Brandt's blood ran cold.
"What the hell?" He murmured, staring in horror at the MI6 report on the woman – Ilsa Faust – and the red warning that flashed across the screen: 'Disavowed'.
"She's bad news." Luther whispered grimly.
