Hayley Atwell | One-Shots

G - The Key Pt. 2

Odessa:
Dressed all fancy, Grace and I walk into the party together. Ethan and Ilsa are a good distance ahead of us. We didn't want to walk in as a large group. Out of nowhere, Grace taps me and leans over.

"Gabriel's here," she says loud enough for me to hear over the music but for no one else.

"I know."

"You know him?"

"Not me. Ethan."

Grace nods then we go silent again, eventually joining Ethan and Ilsa. When we approach, Alanna Mitsopolis is there with them. She looks over at us and her eyes stop on Grace. I watch the interaction carefully.

"Grace," Alanna says. "Do you have what I asked for?"

Grace pauses a moment then says, "Wait, you're the one who hired me?"

"Yes, I hand-picked you."

The three of us–Ilsa, Ethan, and me–all watch speechless. I guess it makes sense, knowing how Ethan talked about Alanna and his past with her.

The meeting takes place upstairs from the party. Gabriel, Alanna, Grace, Ethan, Ilsa, we're all here. There's talk of the AI and the keys. We learn more about what the keys do and why so many people want it. Most of it we already knew. But knowing that Gabriel wants it is something that cannot happen. Ever.

Ethan discretely leans over to me on the couch when no one's paying attention to us. "When I give the signal, grab Grace and go."

"What?" I have to keep myself from yelling.

Ethan doesn't answer. Instead, he stands up and faces the men and Alanna. There's a small verbal altercation then, all of a sudden, Ethan's lunging at Gabriel. I guess that's the signal. The fighting starts. I go to grab Grace but I'm grabbed by someone else. I fight back, elbowing the man who grabbed me. My bone punches him in the side and he crumbles from my strength.

"Go!" I yell to Grace. She hesitates. Luckily, I took down the guy who grabbed me in time to join Grace on the way out.

We sprint down the staircase, through throngs of people, and out the doors. We jump across two boats that are on the canal. Literally. We jump onto the roof of both and successfully cross the canal. There is a moment where we run through a crowd of people. I lose sight of Grace. I stop in my tracks, looking in every direction.

Grace:
I'm only running so far when I realize Odessa isn't next to me. She told me to get out of there no matter what. I would assume "no matter what" means with or without her by my side. So, for my safety, I keep going without her. I feel bad about it, don't get me wrong, but I can't stay here.

I run until I reach a lonely bridge. Except, it's not so lonely. Gabriel.

And I think he's here to kill me. These assumptions are proved correct when he pulls out a knife.

Odessa:
"Ethan, come in!" I call through my earpiece.

Nothing. Radio silence. I curse to myself but keep trying to find my way around. These roads and alleyways are confusing. I've never been here before and I'm alone. A recipe for disaster.

"Ethan, come on!" I try again. Still nothing. It looks like I might be on my own. I just hope he's okay. I'm sure he is, right? He can handle himself. He's Ethan Hunt, for God's sake.

Finally, after a while of running, I come to an opening. I turn up next to the canal. There's a bridge. And people.

"Oh my god," I mumble to myself. It's Grace. I see her lying on one of the steps.

I run over to her. Crouching down next to her, I check her pulse. "Oh, thank God," I whisper when I feel a light pulse. Before I can think of what to do next, I hear some grunts and footsteps. I look up.

"O, get out of here!" Ilsa calls to me while fighting... Gabriel. Shit.

I stand to join the fight. I will not let Gabriel hurt another friend.

"Odessa, no!" Ilsa tries again. But fuck that. I have to help.

I join the altercation. I whip out my own weapon–just a small knife–and take a stab at Gabriel. Quite literally. I slice the blade through Gabriel's arm. He stumbles back, holding his arm for a moment and pulling it away to find a hand covered in blood.

"You shouldn't be here," Ilsa says as we fight the man.

"Neither should you," I respond.

Finally, Gabriel gets a hit on me. His blade stabs my stomach. Luckily, he missed the vital organs. I know this because I've been stabbed before and have done the stabbing. So I know things. I stumble back, holding my stomach, currently too weak to move or fight anymore.

"O!" Ilsa calls worriedly.

"I'm... fine! Just... need a sec!"

But I fall to my knees, weakening every second. I can only watch now. I watch Gabriel and Ilsa fight. It doesn't last too long before Gabriel also overpowers Ilsa.

"NO!" I scream, my voice a screech, when Gabriel pushes Ilsa up against the railing of the bridge and pushes his blade into her shoulder. "You son of a bitch!"

I try getting up but the pain stops me. I fall back to my hands and knees. I watch Gabriel push the blade deeper into Ilsa's shoulder. She's motionless now. So he stands. We make eye contact. He smiles and then leaves. Why he didn't kill me, I don't know.

Just seconds too late, Ethan appears on the bridge. He drops next to Grace first, finds her pulse, then comes to me.

"No, no. I'm fine. Just..." I point to Ilsa. He notices her lifeless body. I think we all know.

He rushes over to her. She's lying on the ground. He kneels next to her. I can only watch him grieve her death. My own tears slip. It hurts even more knowing I couldn't save her and had to watch her die.

-

"I'm so sorry, Ethan," I say weakly.

My stomach is wrapped and I'm lying in a bed. I'm assuming we're back at the safe house. He's sitting at the foot of my bed with his head in his hands.

"It's not your fault," he mutters sadly.

"God, it feels like it. I should've just gotten up."

"You were stabbed. What could you have done?"

"Anything."

"Don't beat yourself up, kid."

Before I have a chance to say anything else, Ethan leaves the room. My eyes start closing but the door to my room opens again. I briefly look up and see Grace.

"You're welcome," she says instantly.

"For?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"Why do you think you look so good?" she flirts. My stomach does a small flip. "I cleaned you up."

"Well, thanks, I guess. I'm kind of surprised Ethan let you lay a hand on me. He doesn't trust easily." She smirks. My smile drops. "What are you not telling me?"

Her smile grows as she says, "The look on his face when I told him I've seen every inch of you was priceless."

I close my eyes tight out of embarrassment. "Please tell me you told him in an appropriate way."

"I thought you preferred me not to lie?"

I sigh heavily. "Damnit Grace, you make it impossible for me to make friends."

"I miss you. I'm gonna just put that out there. I miss being partners, working together, being together."

This time, my sigh is sad. "We had our fun, I'll give us that. But we've never fully trusted each other. What would possibly change now?"

"It already has changed."

"How so?"

"We trusted each other through this mission. I trusted you and you came through. You trusted me, even though you were incapacitated. Still counts."

"Things take time."

"I have patience."