Ethan Hunt, equipped with a firearm and surveillance gear, waited under the designated riverside bridge for his meeting with Church. Meanwhile, Benji acted as the lookout, while Jane Carter, carrying a backpack concealing an MP7 submachine gun, stood by as backup.
At 11 PM, five minutes before the scheduled meeting, Church, utilizing Sunday's reconnaissance capabilities, confirmed there were no ambushes in the area. Confident, he walked calmly to the center of the stone bridge and waited for Ethan.
When Benji spotted Church on the bridge, he immediately notified Ethan.
"What do you want to say to me?" Ethan asked, stepping out of the shadows and onto the bridge.
Standing with his back to Ethan, gazing at the flowing Moscow River, Church replied without turning around, "My goal is to find the red mercury nuke and clear my name. Yours is likely to track down Kubrick Hendrick. Am I right, Ethan?"
"You're half right," Ethan responded, hands in his coat pockets. "My mission is to find Hendrick, confirm if Edward Bailey is alive, and determine whether the red mercury nuke actually exists. You're here because you lost the red mercury, didn't you?"
"Yeah," Church said, turning to face Ethan. "Looks like we've both been played by Bailey and Hendrick."
After a moment of silence, Ethan asked, "So you're not chasing the red mercury? Why meet me?"
"Because the red mercury is already in CIA agent Jack Horton's hands. Right now, Hendrick is our biggest enemy," Church answered.
"Cooperation, then?" Ethan proposed directly.
"Exactly." Church nodded.
The two men shook hands. As they did, Sunday's voice suddenly spoke in Church's ear.
"Mr. Moses, Mr. Devonshire asked me to inform you that the plane transporting Edward Bailey made an emergency landing at an abandoned airport near London. Fourteen people on board are dead. Edward Bailey, seeing no escape, activated the red mercury nuke and was neutralized by the Kingsman special operations team."
"Damn it! Is Jack Horton a complete idiot?" Church roared. "How does an old man escape? And why the hell was the plane flying to London? Why was the nuke even armed?"
Edward Bailey's Escape:
After being captured, Bailey was escorted by Horton and two CIA operatives to the Moscow River. Using a garbage barge, they slipped through the search perimeter as most of Russia's attention was focused on land and air. Over an hour later, they reached a checkpoint-free area and drove to a small city 100 kilometers away. There, they switched to a light aircraft and landed at a Polish military base within three hours.
By 6 PM, the group had successfully escaped Russian territory.
Feeling triumphant, Horton betrayed Bailey as soon as they arrived at the base. He ordered Bailey handcuffed and prepared to have him secretly detained at a facility where the CIA could extract every ounce of his knowledge.
Bailey, who had always intended to manipulate the Americans, feigned cooperation. Once secured in the holding room of a transport plane, he closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
Two hours into the flight, Bailey subtly opened his eyes and smirked. Noticing the guard watching over him had dozed off, he quietly removed his shoes and unscrewed a hidden compartment in the heel.
Inside were a small vial of nerve gas and a mini antidote injector. Injecting himself with the antidote, Bailey whistled softly, awakening the groggy guard. The guard looked at him in confusion and alarm as Bailey dropped the vial onto the floor.
"You must have forgotten," Bailey said with a grin. "I'm not just a nuclear physicist but also an expert in neurotoxins. Decades ago, I was nicknamed 'The Da Vinci of Death.' Goodbye, kid."
As the nerve gas spread, the guard clutched his throat, unable to breathe as his muscles seized. Helpless, he watched as Bailey used a concealed tool from his coat to unlock the cell door.
Taking the guard's dropped gun, Bailey strolled into the main cabin, whistling. The soldiers and CIA operatives aboard were all writhing in agony, their gasps filling the cabin.
Bailey calmly shot the few who could still move.
"Surprised, Jack?" he sneered as he approached Horton and CIA leader Ray Monroe, both struggling on the floor. Holding up the last antidote, Bailey taunted them.
"This is the antidote. But there's only one dose. So, who should I give it to?"
Shaking the vial playfully, Bailey watched as both men reached desperately for it. Laughing, he stepped back and gunned down the remaining conscious soldiers before sitting on a chair armrest.
"How about this? Whoever can crawl to me first gets the antidote. Deal?"
Monroe, a large man, immediately collapsed onto his side, trying to inch toward Bailey. However, his muscles stiffened completely before he could get close.
Bailey watched their agony with detached amusement, whistling until they died. Methodically, he shot everyone aboard to ensure no survivors, then dragged the pilot's body from the cockpit. Taking the controls himself, he opened the rear cargo hatch to ventilate the plane and clear the nerve gas.
Kingsman Intervention:
At the same time, William Devonshire, monitoring the situation, contacted Kingsman leader Harry Hart. Mobilizing agents Eggsy, Wesley, and Laura—outfitted with Devonshire's latest armored suits—they boarded a helicopter and headed to the abandoned airport near London.
As the helicopter hovered above the runway, the team spotted Bailey disembarking with the red mercury nuke.
"Target identified," Harry said. "The package is likely the red mercury nuke. Capture him alive."
"Understood," Eggsy replied.
The three agents activated their suits. The faint glow of blue light spread across their helmets, arms, and legs as they prepared for action.
"Let's go," Eggsy said, leading the charge.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get early access to chapters by joining my Patre@n!Find me at: patre@n*com/Mutter
You can read each novel for $5 or get them all for just $15.
I Am Zeus, KING OF GODS (Chapter 79)
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 391)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter][+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]