CHAPTER SIX — ETHAN HUNT SYNDROME

"My Dad's Spider-Man." — alexia ortega

EVEN WITH GROWING UP ON THE COAST OF SPAIN, ALEXIA HAD NEVER SEEN SO MUCH SAND IN ALL HER LIFE. The desert on their road to Dubai was vast and went much further back than the horizon. It was gorgeous. She stared out at the rolling dunes through a pair of sunglasses with a smile upon her face. Rays of warm light pierced through the windows of the jeep and kissed her cheeks. The light somehow brought a more optimistic atmosphere to their dire mission which Alexia was grateful for.

During their journey to Dubai, the team had taught Alexia a few more basics she would need to know for the mission. It seemed, although they still weren't entirely thrilled about the involvement of a teen, they knew she was useful and wanted to make sure she was prepared. And if she truly was Ethan's daughter, they knew she would be okay. That agent was one unkillable danger magnet.

"So, even if we can double Wistrom and Moreau, how do we keep them in separate rooms while having them think that they're in the same room?" Queried Brandt, voice raised to be heard over the wind outside.

"We give the hotel a facelift." Replied Ethan with a confident grin. Beside her, Benji was biting down on the earpiece of his sunglasses as he focused on the code in front of him. Alexia too had a laptop balanced in her lap and joined Benji in typing away at the keys. They may have been using separate devices, but they were linked. "Wistrom will think he's arriving at Moreau's suite, but, really, he'll be walking into our decoy room."

Without removing her gaze, Alexia added with a hum. "Benefit of hotel layouts being the same."

"And it's where I'll double Moreau." Inputted Jane as she looked to the back of the jeep where the three were squished in. 

"Downstairs, Benji will double Wistrom."

A giddy grin spread across Benji's face. "Masks!" He cheered. Alexia chuckled at his reaction.

"And meet with the real Moreau." Continued Ethan who returned his flickering gaze to the road before them.

"And, uh..." Laughed Brandt who then glanced to Alexia beside him as he noticed neither his nor her name had turned up in this plan. She seemed to notice that too and looked up from her laptop with curiosity. "What are me and Alexia doing?"

Tearing his eyes from the screen, Benji then answered, the sunglasses end still between his lips. "You two? You're both the helpers!" She knew she shouldn't have expected more considering her situation, but part of her did. So reluctantly the teen accepted her situation with a sigh.

Brandt chuckled sarcastically at his assigned role. "Helpers. That's great." He tilted his head back, let out a deep breath and then turned to Alexia. They exchanged the same disappointed look as they wanted to do more but they hadn't been allowed. Then the analyst turned to Ethan. "Okay, so to the extent I understand what you're talking about here...uh... The Burj Khalifa, it's the tallest building in the world, and you want to alter its infrastructure with the hopes of convincing two people that they've had a meeting, which actually really never happened. Right?"

The agent in question just looked back at Brant with a wide smile across his face.

Jane quickly grabbed Ethan's attention back to the golden road and the tires let out a shrill screech as the jeep swerved to avoid the incoming herd of camels. Alexia and the others let out pained groans as their heads and limbs bashed against the metallic sides of the vehicle as it made an abrupt turn. If after everything they had been through, that camels had been the ones to end them, well, that would have been an embarrassing way to go. 

Once the jeep had stopped its jagged movements and returned to a straight path, the three in the back started to to smile and laugh amongst themselves.

"Camels." Stated Ethan with a grin.

Alexia leaned forwards between the front seats, resting her elbows on one each before she asked with a wide smirk on her lips. "Did you know they can camelflouge?"

The team snorted. Then Ethan turned back to look at her with an amused smile. "That joke's sad." 

With a shrug, the teen just giggled before she flopped back down into her seat. "I know, but I don't care."

And so the jeep erupted into laughter once more as the city appeared in their sights. Not long to go now. The entire world was depending on them to get his right.

FOUR AGENTS AND ONE TEEN HELPER STROLLED INTO THE LOBBY OF THE BURJ KHALIFA AS IF THEY WEREN'T FUGITIVES ON THE RUN FROM MANY GOVERNMENTS. There was confidence in their strides and a fierce determination in their eyes as they made their way to their room. Not that anyone could see it behind their dark matching sunglasses. Alexia, too, had a pair upon her eyes and couldn't fight the smile on her face at the sight of the five of them acting like a proper team. She could get used to this.

Their overall plan to retrieve the codes and take down Cobalt's operation was sound, but Alexia was on the edge of her metaphorical seat as she waited for it to play out. After all, the last plan they had had didn't go to plan so she was anxious that this wouldn't either. They had to be prepared but she also had to hope that everything would go to plan.

After receiving their key cards from the front desk, the quintet headed up many stories to their room so they could prepare for the upcoming mission. Alexia had been designated the position of 'helper' so that was what she was going to do. So as soon as they crossed the threshold, Alexia got to work. 

She pulled up a chair besides Benji and they both whipped out the laptops and instantly started setting them up. Alexia looked up when Ethan spoke up. "ETA on dry cleaning?" He asked Jane over their established comms.

"On my way up."

Alexia heard Jane's reply in her ear but she said nothing and just continued to help Benji open up the equipment and prepare everything for what was going to happen next. There were a lot of moving parts in this one, so they had to work together otherwise it wasn't going to go as planned.

An anxious Brandt looked down at his watch and phone before he proceeded to set the timer. "Okay, 34 minutes to door knock." He announced to the team which only made an already nervous hacker sigh.

Both her and Benji were busy typing away on the screens as they attempted to get into the network. Which wasn't going well. Beside them, Brandt put down the timer and sat down but he didn't notice the looks of worry and panic across the faces of the two tech wizards. Alexia just stared at her screen, wide-eyed in disbelief, as she realised what it was telling her and what they would have to do next. 

For the love of Turing they were screwed.

Benji cleared his throat awkwardly to gain the attention of those in the room and both him and Alexia looked up at Ethan. "Wow, um..." He blinked nervously. "Okay, this is a slight wrinkle." Slight was an understatement. "But nothing to worry about. We're just going to have to go into the server room from the outside."

"What?"

As a glare was sent their way, Alexia glanced at her screen then back up at the man she thought was her Father. "Well, the firewalls on this buildings server are military grade." She informed with a small groan.

Benji pointed to her to verify and then added. "This would be a cinch if I could call Youssef back at Headquarters." He said as Brandt made his way over to look over their shoulders. "But Youssef doesn't exist anymore and neither do we."

"We could hack it." Alexia proposed, drawing their attention to her. "But even with both me and Benji, it would take too long."

After glancing between the two tech wizards, Ethan then said. "Then hardwire in."

But that wouldn't work either.

"And there's four layers of next-gen security between us and the server room." Benji carried on which just made them lose more and more hope with each sentence. "There's no way we can get to it from the inside."

Alexia ran her hands down her face in irritation as her mind ticked away and attempted to come up with a solution to their problem. And it wasn't simple like calculus. 

Then Brandt pointed out. "If we can't get to the server, we don't control the elevators, we don't control the security cameras. This operation is over before it even begins." Sadly, he was right about that.

Benji looked to Alexia with an expression that made her realise that he had an idea. And it didn't take her long to figure out what that was. Her eyes widened at his plan. Because it was absolutely crazy — possibly suicidal — but they had no other option. "We're telling you, we can get to it from the outside."

"'We'?" Echoed Ethan.

At the agent's raised brow, Benji practically flinched in his seat. "We're..." He motioned between him and the fifteen-year-old hacker. "We're on the computers." Alexia rolled her eyes at the man.

Then Ethan redirected himself to the analyst. "I'm, just, uh...." Brandt stammered. "The helper."

There was no distinct expression on Ethan's face which led Alexia to believe that he was keeping it strong no matter what fear and panic he was feeling inside. "What floor is it on?"

"130."

Alexia gulped at how high the number was as Ethan made his way towards the large windows that looked out over the city. From there, he could see how high they were from the ground. And that was from where he was meant to start from. "130?" Rummaging inside the bag beside her, Alexia withdrew an item and tossed it to Benji, knowing he would need it. "Vent ducts." Suggested the agent.

"Pressure sensitive." Alexia dismissed.

Brandt added. "Not enough time."

"Elevator shaft."

A sigh left Benji. "Infrared sensors."

"Not enough time."

"How am I supposed to do this?" Ethan questioned as he stared out of the window in disbelief. 

But Alexia had faith. After all, they were called the 'Impossible Mission Force' for a reason. If it seemed impossible, then the IMF could figure out how to do it: somehow.

Ethan sighed as he continued to gaze out of the large window. Beside her, Benji removed a glove from the case and chuckled lightly as he tossed it straight at the window so that it stuck directly next to Ethan's face. The man just looked at it in shock when he realised the plan Benji and Alexia were cooking. But he hung his head in defeat as he too knew there was no other way.

Once the plan was decided on, Benji and Brandt removed one of the large panes of glass from the window which instantly created a cold draft in the room. They were very high up. Alexia winced as her and Benji peered over the edge. She had never been this high before. It was frightening.

The two techies then went to assist Ethan as he put on the sticky gloves after he had changed into something much more aerodynamic for scaling the world's tallest building.

A high-pitched noise emitted from the gloves as Benji began explaining them to him. "Okay, now remember, it's a rolling off motion that disengages the bond." He demonstrated the movement for the agent as Alexia busied herself with tinkering with the wiring of the glove. She hoped to increase its efficiency and likelihood of maintaining its stickiness to surfaces. After all, she had only just found her Father, she didn't want him to die from falling off the Burj Khalifa of all things. "When the meter is blue, that's full adhesion."

Alexia stood in front of Ethan as she put down her tools. She then reached up for the goggles upon his head and proceeded to pull them down over his eyes. He could see the worried look across her face so sent her a reassuring smile as she released her hold.

"Easy way to remember: blue is glue." Benji told him and Alexia couldn't help but chuckle.

"And when it's red?"

"Dead." He said simply. Alexia then sent a glare at the tech guy but he ignored it and instead started to pull out Ethan's equipment. "Here's your cutter, okay? And your server interface. Both going back here." He placed them on his friend's belt. "One, two."

Brandt didn't even glanced up from the screen when he said. "Okay, Ethan, the hotel server is eleven stories up and seven units over." Then he pulled his eyes from the computer to raise a radio to his lips. "Okay? Comm check?"

"Yeah. Copy."

"So...."

Alexia spun around to catch a glimpse of what was left on the timer. "We have 26 minutes till door knock." She informed them.

This was it. It was now or never

May Newton help them. So much was riding on this. This had to work. 

Ethan slowly made his way to the now glass-less window and took in his non-surroundings. She couldn't bear to watch as he started to manoeuvre himself onto the exterior of the Burj Khalifa. Fortunately, the gloves held. 

A small gasp came from Benji as Alexia's father started to scale the glass wall. They were all extremely worried for him. The only thing holding him up was a pair of sticky gloves. Nothing else.

"My Dad's Spider-Man." Alexia breathed out as he began his ascent. 

Benji let out a snort as Brandt actually managed to crack a hint of a smile at her words. It seemed this climb wasn't the only incredibly dangerous thing her Father had done over the years — according to Benji, He seemed to have a habit of putting himself into risky situations without care for his own life or the consequences. Ethan Hunt Syndrome. That was what Alexia decided to call it. 

With Ethan outside and on his way the server room, Benji redirected his focus to making the masks. But Alexia was waiting for Ethan to reach the server room so she could immediately get into their system. She started to bit her nails — an old nervous habit — as she looked out at the gap in the window. 

"25 minutes to door knock." Brandt reminded them all.

But Alexia was too distracted to tell him that he was being distracting. Because she was staring at a giant dust cloud on the horizon. "What the hell is that?" She asked which made the men in the room turn to see what she was talking about.

"Yeah, what the hell is that?" Ethan asked as he paused to stare at the incoming sandy cloud. 

"It's a sandstorm." Benji and Alexia replied simultaneously once she realised what they were looking at. The tech guy grabbed his tie, as it had his mic on it, and pulled it up to his lips. "It's a long way off, Ethan. Shouldn't be a problem."

"24 minutes to door knock."

Brandt's constant reminder of the clock was starting to ger very annoying.

They all turned when the door to the room opened and Jane walked in, carrying the bellhop uniform over her shoulder. "Where's Ethan?" She inquired as she glanced between the three of them like a Mother would to find out which child was about to be in trouble. No one said a thing. Instead, Benji simply pointed out the empty window frame. Jane sighed in exasperation. "You've got to be kidding me."

Alexia shook her head. "Unfortunately not."

All of them were pacing, anxious for news. So then, of course, Brandt cut in. "23 minutes to door knock."

Suddenly, Ethan's voice echoed through the comms, making Alexia sigh in relief. "I'm at server level." He announced. Brandt instinctively checked his watch whilst Benji fiddled with the device in his hands. Both Jane and Alexia just stood there, unsure as to what to do. 

The Ortega girl winced as an abrupt loud groan came from Ethan as well as a thud. She knew he must've fallen, but luckily, he managed to save himself. It was a very high drop.

"22 minutes to door knock."

Alexia had the sudden urge to throttle the analyst.

His countdown wasn't helping any of them.

"The countdown is not helping." Ethan told him. Alexia just smirked to herself at his words. It seemed they shared something else in common.

Jane was, meanwhile, glaring at Brandt who just threw up his hands with exasperation. Not long after that, there was another loud noise — this time a crash. 

Then they heard Ethan announce. "I'm in."

That was the signal for Benji and Alexia to put in their earpieces. Now, it was their time to do their bit. "That's great, Ethan. You're halfway home." He said encouragingly. They then gathered around a small device and waited in anticipation.

"Located server." Her Father told them and it only took a moment for all the previously red boxes on their screens to shine a bright green. And the word ONLINE appeared in big bold letters. "Please tell me we're online." He pleaded.

Alexia just smiled and gave a faint chuckle. "We're live." She announced as Benji went straight for the keys. Through the comms she could hear Ethan let out a relieved sigh at her words.

It seemed their crazy plan might just work after all.

"We now have control of the elevators and the security cameras."

After retrieving something from one of the bags, she threw it to Benji, who managed to catch it with both hands. "Time to redecorate."

Benji looked at Brandt and then pointed at the computer. "Alexia's in charge." He said, much to the dismay of the analyst. "And both of you look out for Wistrom and Moreau." Brandt then sat down next to the teen as both Jane and Benji left to ensure their plan succeeded. 

It was going to be time

Both their eyes widened when a familiar blonde made their way onto the screen. And she was in the elevator. Brandt piped up. "Moreau is at the elevators. Ahead of schedule." 

That was enough for Jane to come running back to their set up. After all, she needed to be ready to double Moreau. She was going to double the woman that killed her friend. Alexia wasn't looking forward to that part.

"We can't open this door, can we?" Ethan's voice came through once more as he referred to the door within the server room.

Alexia sighed sadly and shook her head. "That door? Unfortunately, no."

A worried look was exchanged between Brandt and Alexia. "Ethan, you gotta get down here now."

"He's right."

Alexia scanned her code for any possibility she could open that door. But she couldn't. Not with the time and equipment she had. Now he was stuck.

"Ethan!" Exclaimed Brandt. "Is there a problem? Ethan!" 

There was no reply from Ethan which meant one thing: he had an idea. A no doubt, dangerous, probably suicidal idea. Ethan Hunt Syndrome was attacking once more it would seem. Alexia just had to hope that whatever crazy plan he came up would work.

The analyst made his way to the empty window just as Jane re-entered the room. "We're not going to make it."

"We have to make it." Both Jane and Alexia protested.

As the older of the two women began to get changed, she looked around and noticed their team leader was nowhere to be found. "Where's Ethan?"

The sound of glass shattering met their ears. Alexia perked up at the sound and she immediately went over to join Brandt by the window. It seemed her Father had implemented his dangerous plan.

When they looked up, they saw him. He was running down the building, attached to some sort of cord around his waist. Alexia couldn't believe it. 

Ethan kept on running until he couldn't anymore. Because he had reached the end of the cord. But he was metres short. Many metres short.

He tried to pull himself as far sideways as he could to see if he could reach the team waiting for him seven units over. They all watched with matching looks of concern on their faces. William cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted. "Your line's not long enough!"

No shit, Alexia thought.

"No shit!" Ethan yelled back.

The teen raised her eyebrow curiously as he started to run in the opposite direction. But then her eyes widened when she realised what he was going to do: he was going to swing. He was trying to create enough momentum to get him into the window. 

Oh for the love of Poincaré, this better work.

Alexia braced herself as her Father suddenly came into view before he let go of the cord, sending him flying through the air towards them.

And he missed.

His torso smacked against the top of the frame, sending him backwards. Alexia yelped in surprise. Luckily for them all, Brandt lunged forwards and caught the agent by the legs. Jane surged towards Brandt and grabbed him before he could do over with Ethan. Then Alexia grabbed her to hold her in place. 

Together they worked to pull each other up and onto solid ground. And once they were all back onto solid ground, they all sighed in relief. They had done it. Alexia couldn't really believe it.

She laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling made no attempt to move. She just needed a moment. It was all a bit much. 

When Benji re-entered the room, she didn't move either. The man sighed deeply as he made his way inside. "Whoo!" He cheered. "That was not easy, but I did it." Alexia would have given him a look of disbelief but she didn't even bother. When Benji saw his four friends on the floor, he stared at them in confusion as he asked breathlessly. "What'd I miss?"

A lot.

He had missed a lot. But at the end of the day, it didn't matter. Because a storm was coming and she didn't just mean the sandy one rolling over the horizon.

CHAPTER SIX IS HERE!!!

Sorry it's been a while but I've been focusing on other fics at the moment. At least this act is technically already written, I'm just rewriting it. 

This rewrite is 1000 words longer than the original. So, that's something.

I love her so much.

Thank you for reading!!!

Sincerely Rosie aka Winter326