The moment Owen stepped into the hall, his eyes locked onto the massive nuclear bomb.
It lay silently on a table, surrounded by a group of people who seemed to be working on it.
"Mr. Salim, it's a pleasure to see you again…"
A white man, who appeared to be the leader, stepped forward and extended his hand. Owen took it without hesitation. He had expected the man to greet him in Arabic with a "Salam Alaikum" or something similar, but a simple handshake was a relief—it saved him from having to respond in a language he didn't speak.
The real problem, however, was that Owen had no idea how to address this man. "It's a pleasure to see you again" implied that Salim had met him before, but Owen had no intel on their past interactions.
Fortunately, Colin stepped in to cover for him. "Salim, Mr. James has repeatedly expressed his desire to personally thank you on behalf of Cruel Angel. Their leader is very much looking forward to this collaboration…"
Perhaps out of respect for Cruel Angel, Colin spoke in English this time. Owen nodded in acknowledgment.
James added, "Our leader, Mask, is deeply grateful for the Red Front's assistance. However, due to his sensitive status, he cannot appear in the U.S. at this time. That's why he couldn't be here personally, but he asked me to extend an invitation—should you ever visit Europe, he will personally host you."
"Please convey my gratitude to Mask for his generosity," Owen replied with a smile. Then, with a touch of enthusiasm, he added, "May the friendship between the Red Front and Cruel Angel be everlasting."
Owen had initially thought James was the leader of Cruel Angel, but it turned out he was just a liaison. Clearly, Mask took great care in keeping his identity hidden.
Still, this was useful intel. Owen now knew Cruel Angel's leader was called Mask, and their base of operations seemed to be in Europe.
"Those people at three o'clock—are they hostages?"
Owen asked casually, but in reality, he was passing information to his team behind him.
James seemed slightly puzzled by Owen's choice of words but assumed it was just Salim's way of speaking. "Yes. We chose this location last minute to maximize the element of surprise. Even if there was an informant, it wouldn't matter. These people are just local staff—we're keeping them together for easier supervision."
"Cruel Angel's methods are certainly… unique."
Owen wasn't just being polite—Cruel Angel's unpredictability made their operations incredibly difficult to anticipate. Even their own operatives didn't know where a deal would take place until the last moment, which significantly increased security.
Owen was about to probe for more intel when a cold, ruthless voice came through his earpiece—Jack Bauer.
"All units, prioritize securing the nuclear bomb. If necessary, the hostages can be sacrificed. I repeat: the nuclear bomb is the top priority."
Owen could hardly believe his ears, but he knew Jack was right. Compared to the lives of tens or even hundreds of thousands of people, these dozen hostages were expendable.
Sometimes, choosing logic over emotion was the hardest choice of all. Owen forced himself to push those thoughts aside and continued questioning.
"What's going on with the nuke? What are they doing to it?"
He had been wondering this for a while. The men around the bomb seemed to be modifying it, which was never a good sign. He had to time his curiosity carefully to avoid suspicion.
Just then, a bespectacled man from the group walked over, looking distressed. "Mr. James, the modifications are complete. Please… honor your promise and release my family."
Owen glanced at James for confirmation.
Colin explained, "This man is a Ukrainian nuclear weapons expert. James kidnapped his family and forced him to modify the bomb."
"Modify the bomb? In what way?"
"Cruel Angel wants to convert it for remote detonation, making it more flexible to deploy."
"Excellent. I've been considering that myself, but we lack the technical expertise. Mr. James, would you mind explaining the details?"
"Of course. Yuri, explain everything to our esteemed guest. And don't worry—we will keep our word regarding your family."
James spoke with absolute confidence, giving the order as if it were routine. The scientist, Yuri, had no choice but to comply.
"We've altered the detonation circuit design," Yuri explained, his voice resigned. "Without interfering with the safety mechanisms, we've added a remote control module and a new detonator. This allows us to bypass the timer and trigger the bomb remotely. However, the security codes remain unchanged—they must still be entered manually."
Owen nodded, his eyes shifting toward a laptop-sized device nearby—the remote detonator Yuri had mentioned.
Elsewhere in the building…
Ethan Hunt, gripping a Glock, carefully entered a hall. Seeing it empty, he moved toward another room. But just as he turned the corner, he suddenly backtracked and grabbed a few oranges from a table, stuffing them into his pockets.
10th Floor
"I'd like to confirm something," Owen continued. "Now that the bomb is controlled via the detonator, are there any alternative detonation methods? Could it still be triggered manually or set on a timer?"
He was both gathering intelligence and stalling for time.
Yuri shook his head firmly. "Impossible. The modifications are irreversible. The only way to detonate the bomb now is via the controller. All other methods are disabled. Reverting to other detonation methods would require extensive reprogramming."
"What about direct fire?"
Meanwhile…
Ethan was crouched behind a wall. A guard stood just down the hallway.
Suddenly, Ethan sprang forward, gun in one hand, an orange in the other—held directly against the barrel.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
Two silenced shots. The guard crumpled, a clean bullet hole piercing the orange. Juice leaked from the center.
Ethan tossed the fruit aside and pulled another from his pocket before moving on.
Back in the hall…
Yuri adjusted his glasses, his anxious expression fading as he finally discussed something within his expertise. His voice took on a rare confidence.
"You don't need to worry about external detonation. Nuclear weapons are the safest weapons in existence. They have multiple physical and chemical safety mechanisms, and the conditions required for detonation are extremely precise. A specific chain reaction must occur, or they won't explode.
"To put it simply, even if you threw this warhead on the ground and set it on fire, it still wouldn't go off."
Hearing that, Owen felt relieved. Now, he just needed to find a way to destroy the remote detonator.
Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the hallway.
"What was that?!"
James stepped back, signaling his men to investigate while the rest eyed Owen warily.
Yuri panicked, grabbing James's arm. "Mr. James! You promised to free my family—please, you promised—"
Bang!
The once-refined James pulled a gun and shot Yuri dead, then turned his weapon toward Owen.
"My apologies, Mr. Salim, but something has come up. I need to leave immediately."
"Of course."
Owen gestured politely—then moved.
Ducking behind a nearby guard, Owen used him as a shield. James's men were fast, but Owen was faster—every shot aimed at him was absorbed by his human barricade. Snatching the guard's SMG, Owen swept the muzzle across the room.
"Salim—"
Colin, slumped on the floor with a bullet wound, murmured weakly. Even in death, he was calling out to the man he idolized—unaware that his so-called hero had already joined Allah long ago.
Owen's gunfire forced James and his men back. Then, he turned his aim toward the remote detonator.
"NO—" James screamed, but it was too late.
Owen emptied his clip into the laptop-sized device, shredding it to pieces.
It was done.
The bomb was now harmless.
_________________________
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