Mission: Possible 007 (Chapter Three)

 

Chapter Three: The Mission

            Ethan Hunt arrived at the rendezvous point early in the afternoon, revving into the parking lot in a black 2021 BMW M850. He blended in with the many tourists there, wearing civilian attire that included sunglasses, a jacket, and jeans. As he passed the information center, he was provided with a brochure from one of the staff standing outside; though Ethan’s instincts kicked in when the staff member advised him, “Be sure to stop by the gift shop, sir. It’s the only way to see the sights of the memorial.”

            It was a coded message. The staff member was an agent, though Ethan was unable to determine if he was IMF or one of the other organizations they were allied with for the mission. Regardless, he went to the gift shop. Following the message, he determined what the “only way” was that he could “see the sights of the memorial.”

            He eyed some sunglasses on a nearby rack and plucked one from it. He removed the pair that he was wearing and tried on the new pair. They seemed like ordinary sunshades at first until Ethan looked on the map of the memorial in the brochure. Sure enough, the sunshades were designed with black light lenses that picked up on markings invisible to the naked eye.

            According to the markings, Ethan was to take the Presidential Trail to a specific spot where he would rendezvous with the other agents. When he got to the spot, he saw there was no one else there. This prompted him to ponder on the fact that he was the first to arrive.

            While he stood and waited, he detected something blocking the sun. Looking up, he was taken aback by what he initially perceived as a lost kite floating through the skies. As it started descending towards his location, Hunt realized it wasn’t a kite but a hang glider operated by a platypus.

            But not just any platypus – the one with the fedora.

            “Son of a…” he muttered, as he watched the platypus make his descent near him, executing a perfect landing right along the Presidential Trail. Ethan was flabbergasted. It was the same platypus from San Francisco…the same one that saved him from Dr. Drakken, while he was still in disguise as Alistar Krei. There was no denying it.

            Ethan recalled seeing the name of this certain platypus from the briefing I.M.F. sent him in France. “You’re Perry…right?” he asked, not expecting to have received an answer from a semiaquatic mammal incapable of human speech. Then again, Perry seemed intelligent enough to have understood Ethan, nodding in response to his inquiry.

            Hunt gave an approving nod. “Good. Nice to meet ya, Perry. I’m Ethan Hunt.”

            Perry activated some type of wristwatch device strapped on him, and a small holographic projection of Ethan’s dossier popped up. It had most of Hunt’s personal information in it, including his date of birth and a few bits that should’ve been redacted.

            “How did you get all of that?” Ethan asked, again assuming Perry was going to give him a direct verbal reply. But Perry didn’t even bother to provide a physical answer, making it seem as if the details of how he got Hunt’s file were classified.

            This unusual interaction between them was cut short just as they were approached by two individuals, both of whom Hunt and Perry recognized. One was a blond gentleman who looked like he had recently been in a scrape; the other was a redheaded teen girl in a cheerleader uniform.

            “Mr. Hunt, I presume,” the blond gentleman greeted, holding out his hand.

            Ethan accepted the handshake. “Mr. Bond. It’s a pleasure to formally meet you.”

            “Is it?” a skeptical Bond remarked. “Since we’re now working together, I’ll offer the same advice you gave us: don’t get in my way.”

            The tension between the two men was already evident.

            It was just as evident as the awkwardness between Kim and Perry. “Uh…hi,” she told the platypus. “You, uh, wouldn’t happen to know of any naked mole rats that’re secret agents, would you? ‘Cause my friend has one that might be…”

            “How about we spare ourselves of any further absurdities and figure out where we go from here?” Bond insisted. As austere as he was, he did bring up a good point.

            There the four of them were, merely standing along the Presidential Trail like the clueless tourists that passed by. It was then that Ethan noticed a small pile of large rocks perfectly stacked atop each other. Curiously, he kicked at one of them – it didn’t budge; in fact, it sounded very hollow on his kick.

            Kim, Bond, and Perry soon took notice of Hunt’s activity. “Are ya that bored, Agent Hunt?” Kim teased.

            “Maybe,” Ethan remarked. “But I think my boredom might’ve found us a secret passage.” Following on his hunch, Perry decided to approach the phony rock pile and twist the topmost rock until it made a click sound.

            The result of this was an entranceway opening within one of the wider trees outside of the Presidential Trail. Even Bond was slightly impressed with Ethan’s discovery. “Congrats, Mr. Hunt,” he told him. “You’ve already proven your usefulness to the rest of us.”

            “Stick around longer and you might just start to like me,” Ethan fired back.

            The four agents made their way through the secret tree entrance.

            “Why does it feel like we’re going to Narnia?” Kim said of the experience.

            Together, they descended down a long stairwell until they reached a big, cast-iron door that could only be opened from the other side. “Should we knock?” Bond wondered aloud, though Ethan did so without hesitation.

            The door opened halfway and the floppy-haired head of a young bespectacled man peeped out.

            “Q?” the flummoxed Bond recognized the individual.

            “It’s about bloody time you made it,” Q said to not only Bond but the other three agents with him. He opened the iron door all the way, permitting them to enter a vastly-spaced, cavernous area that resembled a war room. There was even a digital spreadsheet of the world map looming over a round conference table.

            Sitting at the table as Bond, Kim, Ethan, and Perry arrived were their allies and superiors: M, Luther, Wade, Alan Hunley, Major Monogram, Carl, and Dr. Betty Director.

            “What is this place?” Ethan asked.

            “Welcome to the Think Tank, Ethan,” answered Alan Hunley, the I.M.F. secretary. “Our base of operations underneath the safeguard of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln.”

            “How American,” Bond uttered in a very docile (and vilifying) tone.

            “Let’s try to be civilized while in the Tank, 007,” M advised. “Here, the four of you will be briefed on your mission and receive whatever tools necessary from your tech support.”

            “That’s us,” Wade said, waving as he sat along one side of the table with Luther, Q, and Carl.

            “Wade, how did you get roped into this?” Kim asked, finding her communication guru’s presence there in the Think Tank as baffling as it was rewarding. “They didn’t threaten you or your family, did they?”

            Wade chuckled over her concern. “Not at all, Kim. They were so impressed with how I managed to hack into MI6’s 00 department that they offered me a position in the tech support.”

            Kim was amazed by the arrangement. “Beats getting arrested, I guess.”

            “If you all will be seated, we can proceed with the briefing,” Betty Director instructed. Once everyone was seated at the war table, Dr. Director began, “I’m sure we’re all asking the same question by now…”

            “Yes, how did a platypus get to be a secret agent?” Q jokingly queried.

            There were a few chuckles among the group, except for Monogram, Carl, and especially Perry, who Monogram held back from attacking the quartermaster. “Stand down, Agent P,” he advised. “He’s not worth it.”

            Dr. Director got the briefing back on track. “The League’s primary target is this young man…” She tapped one corner of the table and the digital world map spreadsheet was swiftly replaced by a photograph of a 14-year-old Asian American boy with messy black hair and a slight gap in his teeth. “His name is Hiro Hamada.”

            Kim closely analyzed the photograph of Hamada. “He was there that night in San Francisco,” she indicated.  “But I thought the League was after Krei.”

            “Not according to this recording supplied by Mr. Stickell,” Dr. Director said, prior to playing the audio recording, which was of the brief exchange between Ethan (disguised as Krei) and Drakken.

            Why are all of you people after me?!

            Because you’re in the way of our future!

            “So, the future Drakken’s talking about is Hiro Hamada,” Kim surmised.

            “Hamada is a child prodigy,” Hunley addressed. “At 14, his intelligence surpasses even that of Edison or Einstein. We have no idea what the League intends to do with a boy of such brilliance, but it’s our job to prevent it from falling into their hands.”

            “We’ve discovered from one of the League lackeys we’ve apprehended that L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. has arranged for a special gathering that they call the ‘Unification of Evil Ceremony’,” Monogram informed.

            Bond shook his head in disgust. “That name is more absurd than the organization’s own acronym.”

            “Glad I wasn’t the only one who thought that,” Luther agreed with 007.

            “Where is this ‘unification’ being held?” Ethan asked Monogram.

            “At the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated complex in Agent P’s hometown of Danville,” Monogram replied.

            “Agent P and Kim Possible will infiltrate the ceremony in disguise,” Dr. Director gathered. “Agent P will go as evil scientist Lloyd Wexler, while Kim will be Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who has been M.I.A. for quite some time.”

            Kim raised her hand as if she were in class. “Sorry, but…how am I gonna be disguised as Doofenshmirtz? Wouldn’t Mr. Bond or Mr. Hunt better fit the profile?”

            “Bond and Hunt are being assigned to protect Hamada in San Francisco and also find out what they can from the boy that might be useful against the League,” Dr. Director told Kim.

            “That still doesn’t answer my question,” Kim refuted.

            “Don’t worry, Kim,” Wade said. “Your disguise will be provided by I.M.F.’s greatest gadget: the Latex Mask!” Luther presented a large case to the table, opening it to reveal a machine that came complete with a featureless mannequin head. “One will be created for you as an exact replica of Doofenshmirtz’s face.”

            “Your voice, on the other hand, will be automated to sound like Doofenshmirtz’s, via a voice modulation strip you’ll wear over your throat,” Luther added. “I’m sure you’re familiar with this sort of technology, considering you’ve already seen Ethan with it.”

            Kim gazed over to Hunt, who gave her a flashy smile. “You’re gonna love it.”

            “I’m sure I will,” Kim half-heartedly remarked.

            “We’ll monitor your activities here from the Think Tank at all times,” Dr. Director concluded the briefing.

            As the meeting adjourned, Bond spoke privately with M.

            “You cannot honestly expect me to take this assignment seriously,” 007 expressed his disdain to his superior.

            “Treat it as seriously as you do all your assignments, 007, especially with SPECTRE involved. If this is our chance to catch Blofeld, we’ll take whatever necessary risk we can – no matter how ridiculous it may be.” Bond stiffened directly at M’s mentioning of Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE and a man Bond was more than acquainted with.

            Elsewhere in the Tank, Wade asked Kim, “How did Ron take not being part of your special mission?”

            “It was a major letdown for him,” Kim lamented. “Mr. Bond didn’t help much by barring him like he did. What’s his deal anyway?”

            Wade only told Kim, “If you knew his story, you’d have a lot of respect for him.”