Epilogue
Destroyed By Fire
"I am under the impression," said Swanbeck, "that asking you if you managed to recover a sample of the Firestorm, for tests, would be a silly idea."
Ethan shrugged. He just wanted to go home. His entire body was still complaining, but he had dozed off on the journey back to IMF headquarters, and felt slightly better. He would probably have a scar or two, through.
"Now," said Swanbeck, pacing the room, "you will remember that a similar thing occurred when we asked you to hunt down Sean Ambrose and stop him releasing the Chimera virus. We wanted a sample of it to study, but you failed to provide one. Your excuse was that it was destroyed by fire. What's the excuse this time?"
Ethan grinned. "Well, it's funny you should say that, because as a matter of fact…"
Swanbeck raised his hand to silence Ethan. "I don't want to hear it. It's probably best this way, in all honesty. And we are all indebted to you, Ethan. Without you, we'd all be toast." He smiled. "All right Mr Hunt, you can go."
Ethan gratefully headed for the door. He paused before leaving, and turned. "If there are any other assignments…?"
Swanbeck looked up in surprise. "I was going to let you rest for a while, after that Firestorm business. Sending you on assignment now would make things difficult, nearly impossible for you."
Ethan grinned again. "As the late Seymour Wray discovered, impossible is my business."
THE END