Ghost Protocol: Meet the Civilian

Chapter 1: Bad Luck

*A/N I do not own Mission Impossible, or any of the characters. I only own my own character. Story contains spoilers for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

Moscow

'How did I let them talk me into this?' Kat wondered.

She and two of her friends were currently outside the Kremlin, and Kat honestly had no idea why. It wasn't that she couldn't appreciate the culture and history behind the building; sure, she had never really liked history but that was mostly because she hated being tested on the material. And she loved culture, one of the reasons she had studied so many languages throughout highschool and college. No, what she couldn't understand was why she had to be standing outside the Kremlin while her friends flirted with a few of the young men from a British tour group.

This was the fourth time that day, and Kat was honestly starting to get tired of 'touring' the old Russian city. When her old college roommate had invited them to her home, Kat had thought she would enjoy a five-day trip to Russia; so far, she was at day two and already regretting taking her friend's offer. The first day had been all about 'touring' the local bars and clubs, the other two girls chatting up any man they could - even though Bella couldn't even speak Russian. In some ways, you had to admire the redhead's skills. And today, they'd gone around the city on what Kat had been hoping would be an actual tour but had turned into finding all the good-looking men they could and flirting with them in front of famous landmarks.

'I really just want to go home.' Kat sighed, brushing back her long brown hair as she stared blankly at the Kremlin walls once more from where she stood a few paces away from where Bella and Anya were chatting with the British men. 'Why did I think this was a good idea again?'

As the thought passed through Kat's mind, she spotted someone coming out of the Kremlin, slipping out a side door not too far from where she was. While that, in itself, might not have been cause for suspicion, she frowned as she watched the man slip his jacket on... backwards. Except, it looked like it was supposed to be on backwards. Except she was pretty sure she'd seen military insignia on the other side of the jacket.

His brown eyes met her green ones as she frowned at him, and she watched as his eyes narrowed just slightly- as though he was gauging her reaction. But a few seconds later, they were all distracted as the entire ground shook beneath their feet, almost knocking Kat off her feet. Bella and Anya also finally paused in their flirtations, joining the rest of the crowd as they all looked around in confusion. Kat turned to look back at the strange man just as he turned and met her gaze once more, this time in horror.

Kat found out why a second later. An entire section of the Kremlin suddenly blew up, the building starting to crumble as the ground gave way. Kat gasped as she watched with wide-eyed fear and then terror as the explosion caused a ripple effect and she screamed as the ground began to collapse all around the Kremlin. She spun, starting to run away as she heard Anya and Bella also scream, but she tripped as the ground shook once more.

She hit the floor, feeling the pain flare up on her knees but she tried to ignore it as she started to get up in panic. She had to run, she knew that, but she also knew she wasn't going to make it. She had already been too close, and the fall had cost her seconds she didn't have. As the despairing thought gripped her, she heard a man yell: "Get down!"

Kat didn't even have time to act on the order before someone grabbed her from behind, dragging her down as he shielded her with his body and the ground exploded behind them. Kat flew through the air, the force of the blast knocking her out before she even hit the ground.

********

Kat slowly regained consciousness, groaning slightly as she opened her eyes and squinted, trying to focus through her bleary vision. She was lying flat on a bed somewhere, maybe back at Anya's house - although she had no idea where or why or how - and from the sound of it, someone had turned on the TV. She couldn't quite remember how she'd gotten back; it was somewhat of a blur...