On the other side, Ethan was also feeling anxious, as his identity had been completely lost. He was now a person without any identity, not recognized by official forces, let alone by civilian forces.
Just yesterday, his direct superior was killed by a KGB agent.
Only he and another guy named William Brandt survived. This was a targeted operation by the Russians and Americans, completely tearing off their masks after the Kremlin bombing.
Fortunately, Ethan was unharmed and escaped underwater. William Brandt was also in the same situation, and now the two shared a common plight.
Before his direct superior died, he told him that the President of the United States had activated the Ghost Protocol, and the entire IMF would cease to exist, vanishing into thin air. All institutions and members of the IMF would become fictitious.
Even though Ethan had already informed his superior, the minister who had specifically come to establish diplomatic relations, that the briefcase that was taken contained a nuclear missile launcher, and once the other party obtained the code, it would trigger a terrifying destructive act.
But his superior still regretfully told him that due to the Kremlin bombing, relations between the two sides had entered a complete freeze. His current mission was to bring Ethan back to the United States to face sanctions.
However, the minister kindly gave him a special suggestion: to stage an attack on the way to the airport and successfully escape. He also gave him a USB drive containing the next mission, and this mission was crucial: to retrieve the nuclear missile launcher and reveal the truth to the world, clearing their suspicions.
But before he could finish speaking, they were attacked by KGB agents.
The two were now hiding under a bridge, 3 km away from where they were attacked and crashed.
"Damn it, so now I can only complete this mission?" Ethan looked at the silver USB drive in his hand, feeling helpless.
Although he had promised the minister that he would complete the mission, the minister's departure caused great trouble for his identity's reinstatement, as the minister was the only one who knew his identity and was also the direct head of the entire IMF organization.
With the activation of the Ghost Protocol, all IMF personnel would lose their identities and exist like ghosts, and the only minister who knew the truth was no longer alive, making the problem much bigger.
Brandt, beside him, said nothing, just silently staring at the water below.
"Do you have anything to say?" Ethan looked at the silent strategic analyst.
"I'm just thinking about how we can quickly leave Moscow and proceed with the next mission. Time is very tight now."
After Brandt said this, he stopped speaking. Ethan understood that with the minister's death, everyone seemed to have lost their backbone, but the mission was not over, and they still had to continue with their next task.
Ethan knew he had to find his other two partners first.
Dunn and Carter. Once the group reunited, they would have more methods and equipment.
Soon, using a stolen phone, Ethan contacted Dunn and Carter. The two met on the train.
After a brief introduction, Dunn and Carter understood that Brandt was a strategic analyst within the IMF.
They were all from the same organization, so there was no need to be unfamiliar. So the group quickly got to work, starting to gather information. After classifying and summarizing all the information, Brandt stated his opinion.
"The top priority is to leave Russia immediately. It will not be peaceful here from now on. Then we need to find the person who took the box."
Unfortunately, because Zhang Jie was in disguise when he walked out with the box, even Ethan couldn't identify who this guy was.
Even Brandt, the chief strategic analyst, couldn't recognize the guy Ethan drew. Such caution made Ethan feel a headache.
After a series of twists and turns, they finally left Russian territory and arrived in Kyiv.
They replenished their equipment on the train. Ethan also used the train's equipment to read the mission from the silver USB drive the minister had given him, and everyone watched it.
"Maksim, the leader of Russia's Evil Wolf Gang, has contact with foreign terrorists. He sold the briefcase to Kurt Hendricks for 30 million usd."
"Damn it!" Carter couldn't help but curse.
"Now I am very sure that the nuclear missile launcher was bought by this Kurt Hendricks, codenamed Cobble."
Saying that, Ethan used the remote control in his hand to tap a few screens in front, and a person's photo appeared. "Just two days ago, Sabine Moreau killed our colleague in Budapest and stole Russia's nuclear missile launch codes."
After speaking, he pointed to the screen behind him, and a building immediately popped up—the Burj Al Arab building. "Intelligence shows that she will check into the Burj Khalifa Hotel in Dubai in 36 hours."
"Marius Westlund is Cobble's assistant. He is currently on his way to Dubai. The nuclear missile launcher must be matched with the corresponding nuclear missile launch codes to be activated. He wants to buy the nuclear missile launch codes from Moreau."
Then, Ethan turned to his three colleagues, "And our minister was killed. The President has activated the Ghost Protocol. We have nothing now. We are nothing."
"The IMF is gone. We now have no satellites, no safe houses, no support, and no retreat."
Ethan pointed behind him and continued, "Now there are only the four of us and all the equipment in this carriage. This is the IMF's only remaining strength. From now on, all actions are unauthorized. If you want to withdraw, do it quickly."
After his words fell, the entire carriage fell into a long period of silence. Ethan looked at the three of them. They didn't speak, but their eyes all showed eagerness.
Then, Ethan understood what they meant. He pointed to the screen, where Hendricks's photo popped up. "He is our target, and only we can stop him. From now on, no one can harbor any Luck mentality (hope for luck). Everyone associated with him is a valuable intelligence resource to find the target."
"No one can know about our actions. If we don't catch him this time, we won't be able to catch him again."
After Ethan's words fell, Carter asked her question, "So, what's the plan?"
Ethan, who already had a plan in mind, expressed his thoughts, "Westlund will meet Moreau at the Dubai hotel in 36 hours to buy the nuclear missile launch codes, and we cannot let the nuclear missile launch codes leave the hotel, but we need Westlund to find Hendricks."
"Then we have to get the codes first."
Brandt stated the most crucial information: without the nuclear codes, everything would be useless.
"Or make him think he got them."
Carter quietly added.
Thus, with each of the four speaking a sentence, a plan slowly formed and was perfected. In this way, this small team once again confirmed their mission: to get the nuclear codes and eliminate Hendricks.
At this time, Anna finally contacted her organization and obtained information about the whereabouts of that box.
After getting off the car, Zhang Jie temporarily rented a car through his 'money power' and sat in the car, waiting for Anna to return, feeling a bit bored.
As the door opened, Anna got in and only said one sentence, "To Dubai!"
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