CHAPTER ELEVEN

Borgholm, Sweden –

Ilsa had fallen asleep on her desk in the basement. The jingle of her Nokia phone cut through the air, waking her. She instantly sat upright and put the phone to her ear. Yet again, she answered with a phrase only Ethan would be able to complete. "It's my first time in Venice."

"It's mine too," Ethan replied.

She felt herself smile. "I've been worried. When you didn't call, I thought the worst."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to concern you. We were busy trying to find our way out of Russia."

"When do you think you can get here?"

There was a hollow knock on the door above. Ilsa left her phone on her desk and flew up the secret steps. She ran to the front door where she peered through the peephole. Ethan was standing there in one of his fancy suits. Brandt and Benji were at the end of the drive, leaning on a rented car.

Ilsa threw open her door and balanced against the frame with a sly smirk. "What brings you gentlemen to Borgholm?"

Like he did in Casablanca so many years earlier, Ethan held up a flash drive.

The nostalgic moment was interrupted by Benji's wave. "Good to know you're alive."

"Thank you, Benji. Come in. Help yourself to the coffee in the kitchen. It should still be warm, though I can't say if it's any good," Ilsa said.

As soon as Benji and Brandt were inside the house and on their way to the kitchen, Ilsa and Ethan embraced. They shared a quick kiss before Ilsa's head dropped to the crook of Ethan's neck. He clung to her, grateful to once again be in her gravity.

"You all right?" she asked him.

"Fine. You?"

"Better now that you're here."

Benji's voice came from the kitchen. "If you're wondering, Ilsa, your coffee isn't any good. When did you make this? Last week?"

"The team is back together again, I see," Ilsa chuckled. "I'll make a fresh pot. I need some caffeine. I was up all night finishing the computer."

Ethan put his arm around Ilsa's shoulders, and she held his waist. They went to the kitchen together where the team paused for a coffee break. Later, Ilsa led them to the secret basement and her computer. It resembled a model from the early nineties. Benji looked it over, impressed.

"I say, Ilsa! You did a beautiful job. How'd you do it?" he asked.

"I read books. Actual books. I collected the parts in various ways. A computer shop. Secondhand stores. A few I got from adverts in the newspaper," she replied. She turned the machine on for the team to view. "Now, I haven't connected to any networks for more than a minute to be on the safe side. However, it proves that this computer can connect to various signals."

Benji politely moved Ilsa out of the way and began typing. "Yes. This'll do. I might make a few changes, but if I can hook into a signal I can make some magic happen. It'll take a bit, though."

"Okay. Take all the time you need," Ethan said.

Brandt raised a finger. "Question. Is there a phone I can use around here? I have to call my office and lie about where I am. If I don't call in the next hour, they're going to assume I'm with you and cut off my connections—that we will most certainly need at some point."

"The Entity might be tracking your cellphone. You need something with a landline," Ethan said.

"There are still a few payphones in town. One is down at the inn," Ilsa said.

"Payphone it is," Brandt agreed.

"You two should head upstairs. I need to focus," Benji said.

That suited Ethan and Ilsa fine. Once Brandt was gone, they had the entire upper floor to themselves. They headed for Ilsa's bedroom where she shut and locked the door. She reached for Ethan's face, tenderly caressing his cheek. He cupped her chin with delicate fingers.

"I know you," Ethan whispered. "Ilsa Faust."

"You're Ethan Hunt," she returned. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you."

They leaned in for a gentle kiss. It didn't matter that Benji was working downstairs or that Brandt would be back soon. It also didn't matter that their job was hardly over. In that second, they needed to be together. They needed to get lost in their closeness. It was what kept them going and kept them fighting.

Brandt returned sometime later. He didn't think to check the bedroom. Instead, he went back to the basement where Benji was hard at work. Brandt looked around. "Where are Ethan and Ilsa?"

"Probably passionately entwined in Ilsa's bed. Leave them be. They've been through a lot."

Benji was right. Ethan and Ilsa were snared together under her sheets, skin to skin. She had the shoes, postcard, and Big Ben replica Ethan had sent her on the bedside table. As he held her closer, he spoke softly against her cheek.

"Did I get the right shoe size?"

"You did. If those heels were attached, I wouldn't take them off. Not even during a dramatic escape."

He laughed at the memory. "The rooftop of the Vienna Opera."

"A rope tied to a flagpole. We have had our fair share of adventures, haven't we?"

"We have. I don't want to have another one without you."

Ilsa turned to face him. "Meaning what exactly?"

"I've spent five years trying to run from your memory. I don't want to keep running. Even though you are my weakness, you're also my strength. It's like you said. We're stronger together. We wouldn't be this close to destroying The Entity if you and I hadn't found our way back to each other. But I'm through with finding you. I'd rather stay this time."

She set her forehead against his. "I'm yours. You know that."

"I know. I'm sorry for Columbia. I—"

"You had your reasons," she interrupted. "The point is that we're here now. We're together now. Right when the world needs us the most."

"No one makes a stronger team than us."

"No. We'll get the job done. We always do, one way or another."

As they went in for another kiss, there was a tap on the door. Brandt's uncomfortable voice followed. "I hate to disturb you, but Benji has the computer ready."

"Be right down," Ethan answered.

Ilsa put on her shirt and then tossed Ethan's trousers at him. "Let's go save the world."

As soon as they were dressed, they joined Brandt and Benji in the basement. Benji hopped onto the internet, chattering as he went. "So, The Entity is technically able to go anywhere. That being said, there has to be a main server. It started with the submarine, yes, but obviously it moved on. There must be a concrete place that signal is coming from. It has to be a powerful server, given the power of The Entity. It'd have to be someplace protected. At least a whole room."

"It might be changing servers. If it could leave the submarine and move around, it'd have to be capable of setting up different camps," Brandt said.

"Right, yes, but there are only so many servers that could handle it. If we can find those servers, we can shut all but one of them down. Then, The Entity has to go to the server of our choosing. We can eliminate it from there," Benji replied.

Ethan hummed to himself. "And you can find every server it's used?"

"I can. Luther and I had part of its code in our hard drives on the night of the White Widow's party. I caught part of that code, so I know what to look for. Add that with the server requirements and we're in business."

"You can do all that from this basic computer?" Brandt asked.

"All I need is a signal, Brandt. I'm a master at what I do," Benji assured him.

Benji worked his techno-wizardry. One by one, the servers revealed themselves. Ethan read off the list under his breath. "Hong Kong, Sydney, Johannesburg, Madrid, Toronto, and Rio de Janeiro…a server on every inhabited continent. Benji, we need to figure out which server would make the most sense to target."

"Absolutely. No problem. I can get the details," Benji agreed.

Ilsa got a strange sensation in her gut. Ethan picked up on the change in her posture. "Ilsa?"

"This feels too easy. What if The Entity planned on this? You were able to find the submarine, retrieve the code, and escape Russia. Benji has been able to find the servers in under an hour. What if Gabriel and The Entity wanted us to get the code and find the servers? What if going to the server is exactly what they want us to do?" Ilsa asked.

Ethan paused, though only for a moment. "We can't know for sure. Maybe doing what they're expecting us to do is our only option. It's just like with Lane. We have to play their game. If we do that, I know we'll be the ones who win."

"I like your confidence, Ethan," Brandt coughed. "Could you spare a bit for the rest of us?"