Chapter 9- fight for life

Will Brandt end of day 1 at sea (1 day ago)

The light was fading rapidly making it harder to keep focused on both the enemies, the finned and human kind. He could just make out the two men sitting quite calmly on a very solid piece of house. His own piece was not floating as highly in the water now, as his struggles with the shark took a toll on its buoyancy. It was getting water logged and soon would not be suitable for him to use as a floatation device. Maybe it would not matter, shivers ran through his body as the effects of being soaking wet made themselves apparent, then there were the cramps that assailed his stomach as it begged him to get it something to eat. His lips were dry ,cracked and bleeding and he raised them to the glass face of his watch to lick off the moisture there. This had been his only source of water. The salt of the sea had forever damaged the watches ability to tell time, but it had been a lifesaver in this all important way. Not that it matters either his fatigued mind told him, he had also now lost a fair amount of blood as the impact wounds he had suffered during the explosion still bled. He had forced himself to examine the bleeding gash upon his arm and noted that as well as being deep he could see something imbedded within the wound, most likely small pieces of house or cliff. While he could still feel his arm stinging he was finding it increasingly difficult to hold anything in the fingers of that hand, they felt a little numb and pinching them did not feel as painful as it had previously. So he had some serious issues facing him and admitted to himself that his hope was fading rapidly.

He shook himself firmly once he gave in he would die. Keep fighting he told himself.

The water rippled as the sharks circled again, "do me a favour and go scare the bad guys", he told them. Strangely enough the sharks seemed to listen heading off in the direction of the other men.

It was then that Will saw a very familiar looking fin. His previous JAWS like attacker had a small notch out of its fin and that fin was now baring down upon the men. Even though they were the enemy Will found himself sending a mental blast of strength toward the men, nobody deserved to be ripped apart by hungry sharks.

Without really thinking about it he used his uninjured hand to pull the belt out of his trousers. He was glad he was ambidextrous as he spun the belt over his head in a circle, faster and faster until he could hear the whipping sound it made clearly . Then he let it loose, it flew in whizzing swirling circles like a mini helicopter unti lit impacted firmly with jaws rear end. "I bet that stung", Will muttered.

Indeed the shark stopped its approach on the other men and turned around, 'oh shit", Will muttered as once again the thing bore down upon him. Quickly Will bent down and removed his shoes, they were steel tipped which made them heavy, great for preventing foot injuries during missions or occasionally clouting white pointers. He spun one around like he had his belt, pretending it was a discus and aimed it right for a spot between the shark's eyes. Letting it fly he was satisfied when it hit hard.

The shark immediately surfaced again and Will expected that any second it was going to come up underneath him and teach him a lesson he would not live to remember. He closed his eyes and lay back upon the wood, no longer wanting to fight. "Sorry', he said as he thought of everyone he knew.

Any second now the impact was going to come. Indeed a scream rose out loud and filled with terror. But it was not he who was screaming. Rising himself up again Will watched in horror as Jaws barreled into the other mens piece of wood. One man held on, using all the strength he possessed to stop being thrown. The other one was not so fortunate flying up into the air , his arms and legs trying desperately to propel him to safety as they flailed about. It was no use though, he simply plummeted into the sea where the hungry sharks awaited him.

The screams that issued from the mans mouth as he hit the ocean was the type that spoke of an unsurvivalable terror. Will could not bear to watch as the sharks sped in to grab pieces of man in their mouths and simply ripped him apart. The screams broke off seconds later and an eerie silence hung over the sea. Blood red water lapped at his wood, bt not a fin was in sight. Sated the sharks had decided to return home . It was not an escape but a reprieve he knew, sometime they would be back for supper.

Darkness was falling rapidly now. Will looked over at the other man floating on the wood. He could almost feel him staring back. Both of them would get no sleep tonight.

Soon the mans form was lost to the darkness and Will could not even see the water around him. He could hear it lapping and feel the current as his piece of house was tugged in a new direction.

He would now have to rely on his other senses to detect sharks, surely they would make some sound when they came to get him. The darkness was so black and absolute it was even more scary than before.

Then he looked up at the star filled sky and suddenly felt not so alone. The stars stood out in there amazing brilliant splendor and a large full moon shone a small trail of light upon the sea. It would have been beautiful had he not been on a slowly submerging piece of wood out in shark infested sea.

Despite the fact he was terrified of a shark attack , he could feel himself fighting the urge to sleep, or perhaps fall unconscious. Maybe it would be better if he did go to sleep, he might not feel the pain of his death. But some part of him would not give in, every time his eyes fluttered he'd force them back open.

He could feel water lapping higher on his body now as the wood moved lower again. Most likely it would not sink all together but he would be partly submerged and a more easy target for the sharks.

"Just let go Will, its okay you have fought hard and long, it's okay", his tired, fatigued mind told him. His eyes focused upward again and he smiled, yes maybe it was time. His eyes fluttered again and then popped back open as that stubborn streak that was still present disagreed with that other part of him.

He had no idea how much time passed as he sat fighting the urge to sleep and feeling the water lapping higher around him. It felt like an eternity but he guess it most likely was only an hour or so.

Finally everything his body had gone through caught up with him and his eyes fluttered shut one final time and did not reopen. There he lay under the beauty of the starry sky barely clingning to life on a half submerged piece of wood. The current was still carrying him and it was as if he was following the corridor of moonlight to some unknown end…

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Lila Craddocks place.

Tony Stark was man who enjoyed supplying answers for others. He was sure a program that would fix the position of Clint, Ethan and perhaps even Will was something that would once again give him a moment to shine. "Sir I have finished the positioning program", Jarvis told him. "Good", Tony smiled, finally a chance to make some progress. He had already tried to be a little sneaky and hack the IMF to get more information on Will Brandt . That effort had failed miserably so it was just as well he did not tell anyone about what he'd done. IMF had a very impressive defense system in place and it had stood firm against the cyber attacks he or JARVIS had designed. Idly he wondered who had been brilliant enough to design that system.

"Here is the information for the location program", Jarvis sent the data to his screen. "What", Tony stared at what he saw ,a mass of data. 'I thought this would give us one probable position instead it gives as several possible positions, why is that", Tony spluttered. He thought he had the best system in the world. "You are used to dealing with machines and people Mr Stark not nature. There is only a certain level of monitoring happening of the sea currents and wind flow in that area. Unless there is a major weather event data is not stored on a minute by minute basis. Therefore we can only anticipate where any current would lead. As you can see these are the patterns from two days ago when Will Brandt went into the ocean. Using the data there are 4 possibilities for where he may end up if he survived."

Tony found following the pathways Jarvis had interposed onto his screen confusing, "just give me the details JARVIS, can he make landfall". "Yes in three out of four scenarios, he will make land of some sort within the next few hours. Only one of those is an actual island though." Still that was fairly good odds ", Tony told himself. Then JARVIS had to tell him about option four, "I am afraid that in the 4th scenario he would move to this current and be carried out into the deeper sea. The likelihood of his present survival in that option is less than 1 percent'". Machines had that matter of fact way of telling you bad news that humans would stumble over. But the news was not totally grim in Brandts case." What about Clint and Ethan Hunt, do they have the same chances", Tony asked.

Jarvis had already calculated that path as well. "The currents were almost the same when Clint and Hunt went into the sea". So Clint was not totally crazy when he'd made the assessment that by jumping off the cliff he may end up in the same place as Brandt. Sometimes Tony admitted he underestimated the archer.

JARVIS he realized was still speaking. "However there have been some changes in the last hours that mean that the odds are 2 out of four that Clint and Ethan will make landfall. In the other 2 scenerios they end up out at sea." Tony swallowed, that was not good news. The currents are a lot faster now so essentially Clint and Hunt could arrive at the same position as Brandt within the next couple of hours."

It was mixed good and bad news which was not something he wanted to present to the others. Still if he could get a search plan initated based on the data it might give them all some hope. "Sir", Jarvis cut into his thoughts again. "I have some new data". What now thought Tony grimly, "we were just got access to IMF",Jarvis stunningly told him."I thought we could not break into their system, Tony remarked. "We can't however it seems someone on the inside has just made sure we can access certain information".

Now that sounded interesting Tony thought, "so what have we got", he asked. As information filled his screen Tony knew exactly who had given them access and why.

Xxxxxx

Benji, Jane and Luther were tired of feeling useless and sitting around waiting for either good news or bad. They needed to feel that they too were helping to locate Ethan and Will. "I know some people who could give us some helicopters and be willing to start a search pattern", Luther told them. It was the best thing they had. "Good, Benji decided, I know you are not positive about Will Jane but let's at least do something to locate Ethan. I can check on recent wind and current patterns and get a least some idea of where to start the search". Jane just nodded in agreement.

The three of them all turned to Director Martin, "we will be leaving now", they told him. The director shook his head and indicated to some agents standing behind them to come forward. "Agent Dunn, you have already given us some information on the outcome of Operation Cliffhanger. It has raised some serious questions." He eyeballed them all slowly, "it seems that there is a traitor in our midst and it has to be one of you". Benji swallowed, he'd been sure he'd been careful not to mention any suspicion when he'd given a report. He knew Ethan had also delayed a report for that reason, he trusted all of them and had to think of some other way they had been compromised. "None of us would betray IMF or Ethan Hunt", Benji said firmly. He had no doubt whatsoever about that fact. "Yeah, he's like my brother man", Luther growled, "and mine as well. Ethan never has to ask for our loyalty we just give it, we'd all die for him", Jane told Martin. The director though just stared them down, "yet only one of your team actually did die, he remarked grimly, "all of you are still alive ". I have to have the question of how information was leaked answered agents. As of now your active agent status has been revoked. You will each accompany an agent to an interview room where you will answer any question given to you". He looked at the anger present in their faces and bodies, "if you resist we will use force and then treat you like a hostile witness", he threatened. "You already are, Benji replied, 'we did not do this", he said forcefully.

It felt like he was talking to a wall. Ethan was not here to protect them from the fallout and he felt very alone. Since none of them were guilty is was probable they would all be disavowed because of suspicion then sent to a IMF holding facility. So who would help them out of this one. Benji had heard of the brilliance of Tony Stark and decided that he was the best option to try and dig them out of this hole. Before he was taken away Benji pushed a button on a remote device he had in his pocket and gave one of the computers in the room a very specific task."

Xxxxxxx

Tony joined the others in the living room of Lila's house. This place was becoming almost like a home to them, he reflected . The doctor did not look as uncomfortable in having them present as before either.

He presented his data, on the search program and gave them his thoughts on a rescue plan before they could all go into a debate on odds of survival. "If we sent a helicarrier to this point, he indicated a spot out in sea,' and worked backward towards the other probable landing spots we could cover a lot of ground. Since we have sophisticated search apparatus I think we could also conduct a search quickly and effectively", he told them. Natasha looked at the furthest point, far out to sea, "if thye went out there then we are going to have to locate them very quickly", she remarked. Tony nodded, "yes on that retrieval point only survival of Hunt and Barton would now be probable, Jarvis says it would already be too late for Will Brandt".

While everyone grimly took in tht fact, Nick decided to act. "I'll order out a helicarrier to begin a search pattern. We'll also give IMF our data and see if they want to join in the search", he told them.

Tony cleared his throat, Nick had given him an opening to mention their other problem. "I doubt IMF will be interested, he told them. "They have taken into custody the three remining agents from Mission Cliffhanger on suspicion of treason". There were stunned faces all around as that announcement hit home.

Nick gave him one of those no nonsense looks he knew so well. "How do you know this", he asked.

At least Tony thought he had not hacked the system to get this information because he 'd be in a whole lot of trouble. "An agent called Benjamin Dunn, allowed me to get access". He is on Hunt's team ".

Tony brought up the file on Mission Cliffhanger, "as yet Hunt has not filed his own report, so what is known comes from Agent Dunn. They were after a group of 5 men, who were storing weapons and recruiting fellow terrorists. IMF have some very good stealth equipment and used it to make an approach upon the men that should have worked flawlessly". "Only it didn't, Cap guessed. "No ,the men somehow knew they were coming and they walked into a firefight", Tony reported. Dunn states that he tested everything for a tracking device but could not find one. So it seems that the only other option is that one of the team fed the enemy information". Now IMF is questioning them and if they don't get answers from one of them all will be held accountable." He sighed,"this action even extends to Hunt, who as team leader is ultimately responsible for the others. Then of course there is the chance he could have done it himself. I guess that is why IMF is not initiating any type of search for him. Jumping into the sea, was perhaps seen as his own way out."

Tony finally finished his presentation and sat back to await their thoughts. "We'd have to have more information, to get an accurate picture", Nick told him. That would include other mission details. " For instance, what do we know about these 5 men they were after". He had always thought that knowing more about the enemy could provide insights into all sorts of questions. Tony immediately asked the system for names and photographs of the men. "Here", he said as he put them up onto the screen. Beside him he clearly heard Natasha suck in a breath, seconds later their own system reported, "SHIELD match found".

"This one is not called Dent Baxter", Natasha told them, tapping one man's picture. "He is Ivan Ivanoff who was only a what small fish when we first had dealings with him, a few years back. It is only for that reason he is still alive, the big fish was more important. He was supposedly sent to prison. Obviously he is out now and has moved out on to bigger plans". "The man is a fish, I wonder how that is possible", Thor remarked. The others rolled their eyes. It was easy to forget that Thor was from another planet and hadn't caught on to some expressions used in the English language". "It means he was not important then", Bruce told Thor. Steve waited patiently for Bruce so finish then remarked, "So there is a link to enemies on our list, that is hardly surprising, IMF seems to deal with similar types of hostiles". "Yes that is true and because of that I find myself wondering something", Nick told him. "Natasha who was on your team". "My usual Nick me and, oh shit I think I see the problem. "Clint was with me years ago when we took down this guy. He busted Ivanoff up quite seriously. I'm sure that type has a very long memory. So what would he think when years later he catches a glimpse of IMF agent Will Brandt", Natasha asked.

"So we are going with revenge then, Ivanoff thinks Will is Clint and decides to take him out ". "He waited a very long time to take action", Tony mused. "So, you think that is not right", Steve prompted. "I know a little something about revenge", Tony told them grimly. "If you feel angry you want to hit that person where it would hurt the most. Sometimes just attacking them is not satisfying enough. You would want their pain to last a long time so would go for their friends and fam…", he broke off. "Family", Nick Fury finished the word for him, "that would mean that Ivanoff knew that Will and Clint were two different people. He wanted the brother to use against Clint". "Not that effective when Clint did not know about Will", Bruce countered. "If Ivanoff had tried to use Brandt as leverage Clint would have just suspected a trick of some type. He'd have to have some very persuasive evidence to be believed. Even then there is a chance that Clint would not do what they wanted."

So you think it was just mistaken identity then", Steve mused. Natasha sucked in a breath again, making them all turn toward her, "neither SHIELD or IMF knew about Will either. So how easy would it be for Will Brandt to walk in here pretending to be Clint. He could potentially cause havoc before he got discovered." Nick went pale, "it is essentially what Clint just did to IMF, though not the havoc part."

"Yes Will Brandt would be a wonderful asset for anyone wanting to get revenge on SHIELD. That would be the ultimate revenge for Ivanoff", Nick told them. "Okay I get that, but that does not tell us who is responsible for leaking the information on the teams movements", Steve reminded them. "No it gives us a bigger problem, if we go for the scenario that Ivanoff knew there are two of them, then we have to ask ourselves how he knew." If two powerful agencies have over all these years not discovered the fact they each have one of set of identical twins working for them then that information was buried deep. Who would have the ability to do that so well",Nick asked. "And why is it no longer working", Bruce added. Now that was yet another interesting question, Nick Fury mused. How were they going to untangle this web. "There must have been people long ago who knew about Will and Clint. The man who undertook the surgery was one, but he is dead. If they are any others still alive today then it might give us a place to start", Tony told them. "Yeah but how do we find these people, they won't advertise themselves", Steve asked. It was a good question and right now none of them had the answer.

"For now lets just try to get Clint back. With the return of his memory of past events he just might be able to give us some clues to this puzzle", Natasha responded.

"Well it will be about now that both our missing parties destinies will be shaped by mother nature, Tony told them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ethan Hunt fished the arm out of the water ,gave it a moment of scrutiny then passed it to Clint. "I'd say it has been in the water for about two days, Ethan told him. With a hammering heart beat Clint made himself look at the arm. He compared it to his own for a while. Ethan watched him soberly feeling his own emotion simmering at the surface. He did not want this search to end this way. "It does not belong to Will", Clint turned to him and offered a small smile. He bent down and gently place the arm in the water. It got taken up by the current and drifted away. "Then we still have hope", Ethan patted him on the back. "Yes, hope for Will , but we have a choice, he watched the arm. "There is more than one current out there. We have to decide to stay with this one or paddle hard to move into that one", he pointed after the drifting arm. "That current is faster than this one, but that does not mean it is the better choice. " Ethan debated with himself, making a decision on currents was not within his realm of knowledge. "I don't know", he confessed. "Well then lets go with chance then, Clint fished in his pocket and came up with a wet dime." Ethan stared at him, "I thought you might have some ideas", he remarked. "Yeah I do, Clint affirmed," I am an archer so I know something about wind currents. But even when I fire I know things can change and my arrow can end up somewhere else." So in this case I am simply going to say heads or tails".

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Will Brandt came awake as he felt himself slip into the sea. He did not try to swim back to the piece of wood as it had sunk low beneath the waves and he could no longer ascertain its location. This was it, the end, time to surrender to the inevitable. His body was simply too exhausted to muster the strength to swim. He let himself sink, keeping his eyes upward at the glory of the stars above. His legs went down first ,unresisting ,he felt his body following them tugging him down to the bottom which was probably meters below. "Ouch", he remarked as his foot hit something rather solid .Will found a laugh barreling out of his cracked lips as he realized there was ground beneath his feet. That will teach you to give up, Will Brandt, he told himself. As yet it was too dark to make out much in front of him. He could easily be on one of the many atolls that were part of the Hawaiian Islands. But for now land or any type was far better than the sea. He began to walk, monitoring the position of the water upon his legs as he went.