Rogue Nation: Meet the IMF

Chapter 8: The Torus

Ethan and Ilsa jumped out of the plane, opening their parachutes as they approached the facility below. They sailed towards the rooftop, Ethan shooting an electric dart at the nearby security camera as he did.

Kat watched as she was granted permissions into the power plant's security system thanks to Ethan's dart, and she quickly typed at her tablet, switching off the camera that was pointed towards Ethan and Ilsa just as Benji drove up to the gates.

"Card." The guard said as he walked over, holding out his hand and Benji handed it over nonchalantly as Ethan and Ilsa quickly folded their parachutes and ran across the roof.

The guard motioned for Benji to remove his sunglasses, and he did so quickly, apologizing with a sheepish expression: "Sorry."

The guard checked his face against his card before moving to swipe the card on the access pad. Benji quickly jammed all nearby signals from inside his car, preventing the card from reading. The guard frowned as nothing happened, before trying the card again. And again.

"Ethan." Kat said quietly, indicating he was running out of time. He and Ilsa exchanged looks as they hurried across the roof, sliding down to reach the glass panels on the top floor.

Ethan quickly placed his gadget on the glass, sending out sonic waves that vibrated against the glass before it finally shattered to pieces. Ilsa jumped down onto the conveyer below, Ethan jumping quickly after her.

Benji was sweating in his car as the guard returned towards him, saying: "Your card is not working."

"We're in." Ethan called at that moment, and Benji quickly released the signal as Kat switched the security camera on the roof back on. The gate slid open for Benji, the signal having gone through from the many times the guard had tried his card.

The guard looked up in confusion while Benji smiled, reaching for the card as he said lightly: "Thank you."

The guard frowned slightly but handed him the card back, and Benji drove through towards the SCF facility while the guard returned to his security room and checked all the security cameras once more.

Ethan and Ilsa headed quickly along the conveyer, heading towards the maintenance booth in the centre. As soon as they were settled, crouched so that no-one would see them, Ilsa switched on her tablet to monitor what Kat was doing while Ethan called as he removed his outer jumpsuit: "Kat, it's a go."

"Uh, affirmative?" She replied, a little uncertain as to how to respond, and Ethan sighed as Ilsa raised her eyes to glance at him in disbelief.

"Why are you letting the civilian accompany you?" Ilsa asked, more than a little curious.

Before Ethan could reply, the belt moved, taking them across the warehouse and towards the torus. They reached right over the middle of the gigantic whirlpool, and Ethan was about to call Kat to stop, when the belt stopped moving, lined up perfectly directly above the whirlpool.

"Good?" She asked, and he replied shortly: "Perfect."

He gave Ilsa a look that clearly said 'that's why', answering her earlier question. Ilsa raised a brow, but let it go as Ethan began taking deep breaths.

"One more time." She began as he began to loosen his body and take in as much oxygen as he could. "You have three minutes. Two and a half minutes to switch the security profile."

She held up their fake yellow profile, and Ethan took it, sliding it neatly into the sleeve on the right calf of his wetsuit.

"30 seconds to escape through the service hatch." Ilsa finished.