A/N: I am so, so, SO sorry that this story is taking me so long to write! I am determined to finish it before the new movie comes out though. There is not that much left of it… Or is it?

Thank you to those of you who are still following it and please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I still don't own either of the movies or their characters.

Chapter 20

Benji moved through various empty corridors like a sole ant in an abandoned nest. He knew the bastard was somewhere there, inside, mocking him. He heard the sound of footsteps going deeper into the building, always distant and yet clear. The images of his brother, agonising and horrifying, kept flashing in front of his eyes every few seconds. He tried to will them away, to make them leave. Eventually he stopped, shutting his eyes tightly and taking a deep breath. Blind rage wouldn't get him anywhere, he'd learned as much. Then there was complete silence, and the agent froze, looking around him and almost sniffing the air. Suddenly his phone gave a buzz, making him jump where he stood. He didn't want to pick up, and yet he knew it could be important. Cursing the fact that they hadn't had the time to get intercom connection, he answered the call.

"Benji," it was Jane, and she did sound rushed. "You okay there?"

"Yeah," the techie replied shortly, still looking around for any threats.

"Listen," Jane proceeded with little to no pause after his response, "Ethan thinks something is wrong here. He's going to you. I'm gonna stay outside to watch the ways out and deal with the sweepers when they arrive", there clearly was some annoyance in her voice because if her staying out of the main action, but she just as clearly had no time to argue with Ethan. It was pointless arguing with him even in less dire situations anyway.

Benji merely nodded, not bothering to give that any verbal acknowledgement even though he knew that was no good while on the phone. Instead, he asked the only question that mattered to him at the moment.

"How is he?"

It took Jane a mere second to understand who her colleague was talking about.

"Taken to the hospital. Brandt went with them," she wanted to add something comforting, but she wasn't really that good at it. Besides, they had slightly more pressing matters at hand…

It was then that everything went to hell. She heard the sound of gunfire, and the line went dead. Five seconds later she rather felt than saw Ethan rush past her and into the building. Leaving her to wait in silence for painfully long minutes that felt like hours… Until everything went to hell.

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"No-no-no-no-no" Ethan kept shrugging and mentally swearing as he ran along the mazes of corridors, scanning his surroundings for any presence. He should have thought about it earlier. The Phillip Black guy they were after was connected to some earlier events, that had cost IMF the lives of several agents. But even more obviously and alarmingly, Black was nowhere to be seen and was most likely the one now being chased by Benji. And if he had wanted to run away, he wouldn't have gone further inside the building… So what did he really want to do?

His hands shaking with the nerves and frustration, the team leader took out his phone from his pocket and dialled Benji's number. There was no reply.

"Shit," Ethan hissed, pocketing the phone and resuming running after the faintest noises he heard further inside.

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Benji was just about to put the phone down after his conversation with Jane when he heard a slightest noise somewhere close. Acting on pure instinct more than anything else, he dived behind the nearest corner just before a bullet hit the wall behind where his head had just been. He contemplated firing back, but decided against it, as he had no clear idea of where to shoot. The sound of rushing footsteps getting away made him get out of his hiding place and get going again.

His heart was pounding heavily in his ears as he ran and ran, but even the noise of the pumping blood could not completely silence the little voice inside him screaming "Something is off". His phone vibrated again but he ignored it this time. He was not in the right moment to talk.

Finally, he found himself reaching a rather big room. Keeping his gun on the ready, he carefully moved forward.

There he was. Phillip Black, the scumbag behind all of this mess. Benji took a deep breath as yet another glimpse of his brother's mutilated body flashed through his mind again. Slowly, the agent entered the room, trying his best to control the shaking.

Immediately, Black turned around, raising his arm, but before he even got the chance to use his weapon, a bullet tore through his shoulder, and his gun fell to the floor with a clattering sound. His gaze, however, never left the face of the man in front of him. The man he had thought he had had as an asset, but who was now standing still, white as a sheet, right in front of him.

Benji had no idea why he hadn't just killed Black and chosen to disarm him first. Maybe he wanted to ask him something. Or maybe he wanted to just watch him suffer before killing him. It was such an odd and alien feeling for him that it made him cringe. Whatever it was, however, was now forgotten as he stared at his target in complete silence. Something was very wrong with the man's face. There was a huge, insane-looking grin plastered across it. And as Benji stared, the grin grew wider and wider, despite the man's bullet wound and the situation he was in.

Just as Benji was about to force himself to say something, Black's lips finally parted and gave way for a loud, almost hysterical laughter. The agent took and involuntary step back, his eyes going wider, shivers running along his spine. The laughter kept getting louder, until there was yet another BANG, and Black fell down with a little round hole in his forehead.

Startled and unsettled, Benji moved to turn around and look at the person who had made the shot, but at that very moment he felt a hand land on his shoulder and squeeze it, and he was being pulled backwards with a considerable force…

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The hospital was like a beehive, but the noises and running around went unnoticed by the two men sitting in a waiting room. Nicholas Angel had been taken into surgery a while before, and Danny and Brandt had nothing left to do but wait.

Danny found himself shaking all over at the nauseating feeling in his stomach. He wondered if that was what Nicholas had felt when he had been shot. It must have been. He closed his eyes and easily recalled those sharp snappy moments he still remembered… His sight had been close to zero back then, but the thing that was embedded into his memory with distinctive clarity was Nicholas's voice asking him to hold on and telling him that everything was going to be fine…

"It's gonna be fine," he suddenly heard and opened his eyes to see Brandt next to him, looking a bit too shaken to be convincing.

The American had his phone in his hand. It was about time for the guys to check in… Sighing, he decided to call them by himself. He dialled Benji's, then Ethan and Jane's numbers, but none of them responded. An uneasy feeling was spreading through the agent's chest when his phone suddenly rang in his hand.

"Brandt," it was Luther, and even from that word the former analyst could hear the underlying message 'something happened'.

"What's wrong?" Brandt was in no mood for chatting right now. He heard Luther sigh on the other side.

"So you don't know…" there was another sigh. "I just got this from the sweepers. The place they've been called to… is no longer there".

"What… what do you mean?" Brandt's throat clenched and he had to swallow.

"It blew up," was the answer. "The whole building exploded. They've found Jane, and she's still alive, albeit in a bad condition… probably on her way to the same hospital you're in".

"And what about the others?" Brandt's heart was practically stuck in his throat now. "Benji and Ethan… they had gone inside…"

"They haven't started looking through the ruins yet. Jane was outside, and it pretty much saved her life. The whole building fell like a bunch of dominos".

There was silence, and Brandt simply used it to end the call, unable to say anything more. Looking up, he found a pair of big brown eyes looking at him with concern, obviously noticing his worry. Still in shock, for a moment the agent doubted whether he should tell the news to the policeman but then figured he'd find out about it anyway, so no need to hide it from him.