The doorway led into a large but abandoned room. Old electronic equipment was strewn about the chamber in a seemingly random fashion, and Ethan thought the room might have been searched. Taking care to close the door behind him, Ethan ventured farther into the room.
Ethan pulled out a small pocket flashlight and turned it on, illuminating the room for a few feet in front of him. There seemed to be no one about, but then Ethan had come in through the back way. Maybe this is a storage area, Ethan mused.
After a few minutes searching, Ethan had found nothing of great import, but he had discovered another door. According to his scanner, the passage behind the door led deeper into the base, toward the super computer.
Ethan cautiously tried the door and found it to be unlocked. He turned off and pocketed his flashlight before venturing past the door and into a slightly less forbidding corridor than the brick one he had been in earlier. It seemed to be lined with sheet metal, giving it a sterile feeling, but it was significantly more illuminated than wither the first corridor or the storage room. No guards were in sight, but Ethan gripped his pistol anyway.
Closing on the computer, Ethan whispered.
Jim asked.
A minute perhaps, Ethan replied. Be ready.
Jim replied. Phelps out.
Suddenly Ethan came to a window in the sheet metal corridor. It was rather large and looked out into a huge atrium filled with steaming water. In the center of the pool was a large metal island with a bank of computers on it. Two KGB stood, absently guarding the computer. A single, narrow bridge led onto the island, and the guards had their attention turned to it. The entrance was apparently one level lower as the narrow bridge disappeared out of sight below Ethan.
Ethan checked the map on his field scanner and quickly located a spiral staircase that led down. He found it in seconds and started down, pausing at first sight of a guard at the base. Ethan hadn't been discovered, but he would if he continued down. After glancing to check if the guards in the atrium could see into the stairwell, Ethan jumped down onto the guard, gagging him immediately. The guard tried to fight back, but Ethan rendered him unconscious almost instantly by depressing his upper vertebrae.
I am at the computer, Ethan said, breathing a little heavily. Two armed guards stand watch. Please advise.
Get the data by any means necessary, Jim said calmly. If you can't avoid casualties, then don't avoid them. Jim out.
Ethan again thanked Jim's cool reasoning ability when outside the field of action. He wanted to see how Jim might reason while in action, but that would likely come another day.
Ethan crept to the open doorway that led to the atrium. He drew the silenced pistol and leaned into the doorway, one guard was diverted from the doorway at the moment, apparently tying his shoes, so Ethan chose the second, more alert guard. He crumpled to the ground after one shot, and before the occupied guard could react, he joined his fallen comrade.
Ethan ran across the bridge, pulling out a disk as he went. There were several drives, so Ethan chose one and rapidly searched for any information regarding the Operative Vladimir Taretchnakov. Luckily, the KGB had decided not to list their operatives only in code on their mainframe computer, and although the written Russian was a little much for Ethan he was able to quickly find what he needed and downloaded it onto the zip disk he had brought.
What is it with me and hacking computers? Ethan asked himself as he waited for the download to finish. I certainly hope I don't do this too much.
As soon as the transfer was complete, Ethan yanked out the zip disk, immediately triggering an alarm. Ethan cursed his confidence and ran toward the entrance. The steam from the water pool, quite obviously the cooling bath for the computer mainframe, scalded him a little as he ran by.
I have the disk, but it sounded an alarm, Ethan explained on leaving the atrium. Are you ready?
All set here, Jim said. Hurry, Ethan.
Ethan drew his pistol once again, ready to fire if a guard were to appear. He made it back to the storage room without seeing a single agent and was soon to the brick corridor.
Rolling to the landing site, fifteen seconds, Ethan said on entering the off load dock. Suddenly his luck had run out; a solitary guard stood with his 9mm aimed at Ethan's head. Ethan slowly raised his hands and dropped his own pistol. The guard said what Ethan translated as Who are you?'.
Do you speak English? Ethan asked, not wishing to botch a translation.
Of course I do, the guard replied with a heavy accent. And you are under arrest, you American Pig.