Chapter 80 Chapter 80 Ethan, how do I turn this thing off...
Ethan stroked his chin. "So this is..."
Elio said, "Yes."
He held out the glittering golden card, and Ethan turned it over and studied it for a moment. "I mean, is this why Yannick Vent thought you were into me?"
It must be said that the American agent's vision was quite astonishing. Under his gaze, Elio wordlessly snatched the card from his hand and slipped it back into his pocket. Ethan laughed at his reaction and raised his hands in concession.
"Solomon is a very cautious and cunning man," Elio said, pretending not to notice. "I need a good reason to join in tracking you."
"I agree. We need to stay in touch." Ethan nodded. "I'll do everything I can to catch up with the Syndicate, but you have to be careful there."
Letting Ethan Hunt escape was a dangerous undertaking. Luckily, he was a legendary agent, which made the story of him escaping from a siege of four or five agents with his bare hands, even killing several of them with the aid of local forces, seem somewhat believable. Furthermore, Ilsa and Elio managed to mobilize a large force to track him down—but no one could find Ethan.
Elio was probably the one who chased the furthest, but he also returned empty-handed.
"I'm pretty sure I was just that close," the young man said angrily, "just that close!"
"Don't worry." Solomon Lane, who had actually lost a man in this escape, said slowly, "I know Ethan Hunt. He'll come back again, and then I'm sure you'll have a chance to catch up with him."
To say Elio didn't break out in a cold sweat would be a lie. But he did his best to maintain his disgruntled expression. Like any young man who'd gotten off to a bad start, he asked, bewildered, "Do you know him?"
"I don't know him."
"So……"
"You're not an agent, so you don't know, dear Elio." Solomon walked to the window and looked down. "Almost every agent was once a member of the military. Almost every agent has sworn an oath to their constitution, religion, or monarch, just like the knights of old, swearing that they will protect the weak, keep secrets, and fight against evil..."
Elio walked over to him, and together they looked down at the constant stream of people moving about, working.
"...Ethan Hunt is a prime example of this," Solomon murmured. "A hopeless knight of the old days. Just wait and see, he'll come looking for you."
Elio felt he was vaguely calling himself a "Knight of the New Age," but he didn't want to agree. While the world did have vast swaths of gray, and Elio himself was in that position, he could still clearly distinguish between good and evil.
Yes, his main job was to kill people, but even an assassin knew there were some things he shouldn't do.
"Two nights from now, the Vienna State Opera is performing Turandot," Elio said briefly. "They're going to assassinate the Austrian Chancellor on the last whole note of Nessun Dorma."
"We can't let him do this." Ethan thought carefully, "It would be best if we could catch Ryan that night."
"We'll stop him," Elio said. "To cut a long story short, Ethan, there's a little thing I need your help with."
"Go ahead."
"I need some duds." Elio glanced nearby. "A suitcase full of duds, to be exact."
"Is Ryan going to use a bomb?" Ethan asked.
"At least that's what I'm told," Elio said. "Can you get it?"
Ethan was silent for a few seconds. "Of course. See you in two days."
Two nights later, the Vienna Opera House was brightly lit and crowded with people.
"Okay, let me go over the plan again." Elio, who was sitting in the passenger seat, took a deep breath. "We have someone in the security team, right? Once the Prime Minister enters the opera house and is seated, we'll load this thing into his car? That's it?"
He glanced at the suitcase on the back seat. It was a time bomb that hadn't been detonated yet.
The agent in the driver's seat glanced at him and said, "That's it, rookie."
"Sorry, this is my first time assassinating a prime minister," Elio confirmed. "Is it that simple?"
"The most advanced assassinations often require only the simplest of plans," the agent replied perfunctorily. "Learn from this."
Elio was silent for a few seconds. "So what are they going to do?"
He was referring to the two agents who had been sitting in the back seat. It was time for the guests to arrive, and they got out of the car without a word, carrying their belongings, leaving only Elio and the agent in the driver's seat in the black car hidden in the alley.
"None of your business." The agent in the driver's seat, named John, quickly grew impatient. "We just have to follow orders, understand? The boss has his own arrangements."
Solomon did have other plans, Elio thought. He remained silent for a moment, thinking.
"But..." Elio said again.
"For God's sake!" John interrupted. "He said you were a questioner, but I didn't expect you to be so questioning. Just like my little troublemaker! Just shut up, will you? Just sit still for a moment. How hard can that be?"
Elio obligingly made a zipper-on-your-mouth gesture. John rolled his eyes and turned away. Elio glanced down at the clock, seemingly unconcerned.
"I need to go to the bathroom," he said quickly. "I think..."
"Go away."
Elio easily achieved his goal, gritted his teeth and got out of the car, trying not to look too happy. But just as he slammed the car door, the black window rolled down, revealing John's face.
"Is there anything you need me to bring back?" Elio asked.
"Come back with your men in fifteen minutes, but don't bring that mouth," John deadpanned, "or you'll never come back."
The window rolled up again eagerly. Elio shrugged. "Roger that."
Of course, John didn't respond. Elio turned around, put his hands in his pockets, and walked towards the opera house as if nothing had happened. The performance hadn't started yet, and the audience was still entering. Elio blended effortlessly into the crowd.
Ethan and he had agreed to meet in the restroom in the top floor standing area. If things weren't going well, the agents would leave the duds there for Elio to pick up. When Elio walked there and saw the "Under Maintenance" sign on the door, he knew Ethan was probably busy with something else.
This also meant that Solomon's arrangements in the theater had drawn the agents' full attention. Elio hoped that wouldn't put Ethan in a difficult position, as he probably wouldn't be able to help.
He thought about this, looked around, and then chose a time when no one was looking. The assassin's fingers lightly touched the lock, and in a few seconds, the door opened. Elio slipped in, turned on his eagle eyes, and quickly found the thing Ethan had left on the top of the last compartment.
"So old-fashioned," Elio muttered, standing on the toilet lid and poking the movable tile. He fished out the dud, with the attached headset hidden deep inside.
"Hi, Ethan." Elio put on his headset and adjusted it. "I found what you left behind."
"Good," Ethan said. "Now I'll tell you how to hide it on your body."
Elio grabbed the duds and walked out of the cubicle. In front of the mirror, he quickly shook off the jacket and tossed it aside. With Ethan's guidance, Elio successfully strapped the duds to his body.
"Okay?" Ethan asked.
"Okay." Elio looked in the mirror and grabbed his coat again. "Do you know what I look like now?"
"I know." Ethan smiled. "Now put on your coat and don't scare the others."
"Luckily it's the kind that won't explode," Elio muttered. "You're sure it won't explode, right?"
"One hundred percent sure," Ethan said. "I made it myself, don't worry."
Elio took a deep breath. Just then, he saw a green dot knocking on the door. It meant an ally, no doubt. Elio checked it several times, then pulled open the door while putting on his coat. "I thought you were busy."
"Busy making duds for you," Ethan said. "Yeah. I can't really let Ryan blow up the Austrian Chancellor."
The agent's voice still came through the headset. There was no echo from the doorway. But it was too late. Elio froze in his tracks, stunned by the sight of someone he hadn't expected to be in this situation, and by the realization that he really, really, really should give Leopold a different color for his logo.
But that was all for later. Leopold's face paled as he saw the bombs tucked into Elio's still-open jacket zipper.
"Wait." Elio quickly zipped up his pants. "This isn't..."
"And, in case you need to deal with an inspection," Ethan, who was completely unaware of Elio's situation, added, "I designed a small simulated lamp."
The bomb on Elio's body lit up with a flashing red light, which even penetrated his black coat.
"This isn't a real bomb!" Elio cried under his breath.
In this situation, Leopold still remembered to close the door. But he was obviously frightened by the scene before him. Without saying a word, he struggled to pull up Elio's coat, while the latter tried his best to keep his zipper.
"Of course not," Ethan said, puzzled. "You just press the button on the side and you can turn off the light."
"Every time I see you in a situation like this," Leopold said as he picked at Elio's coat, "you're almost always busy killing people. Now I'm worried you might be busy killing yourself!"
"Wait, who is that?" Ethan finally noticed that there was a second person here.
"Thank you, Ethan, but please be quiet for now." Elio struggled. "Leo, please, calm down!"
"You told me to calm down?" Leopold didn't even look up. Elio was pinned to the edge of the sink. "You haven't replied to my messages or calls, you bastard! I finally ran into you, and now I see you wearing a flash bomb vest. What do you think I should feel?"
"I know, I know," Elio grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry, but I'm really busy. Listen to me, Leo."
Leopold finally calmed down a little and looked up at him.
"I'm fine," Elio said. "Really, I'm fine. It's a dud. I'm not going to die."
He pushed Leopold away. Though still skeptical, Leopold's expression was noticeably calmer. They stood back up, and Elio unzipped his long-protected zipper in front of him.
"It's a little lamp that's designed," Elio said to Leopold. "I just press this button and it turns off. Watch."
He fumbled and found the button on the left. Leopold's expression softened. He watched Elio press the button.
The red flash stopped. But just as Elio breathed a sigh of relief, a countdown suddenly started on the bomb, accompanied by a ticking sound. The red light flashed more and more rapidly.
Even Elio was stunned for a moment. At that moment, Leopold, gritting his teeth, lunged at him again.
"You idiot!" he whispered. "You must have been deceived!"
"Wait, wait," Elio kept saying, "There must be some misunderstanding... Ethan! Ethan, how do you turn this thing off?!"
"Did you press the left switch?" Ethan coughed. "Press the right one."
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