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Ilsa sat quietly in the corner of the room, heavily guarded outside by Lane’s men, as she watched Vinter prepare Benji for the show Lane was about to put on. The man was leering at the IMF agent, his hands lingering a little longer in places they didn’t belong, which made Ilsa want to cross the room and throw him out of the window. In her line of work, the same lust and inappropriate touches were directed her way more times than she could count on her fingers.
In fact, she was once in the same position Benji was right now, her hands bound to the chair while her captor lingered over her promising the lewd things he wanted to do to her. Needless to say, when she got out of that chair, the man was not vertical anymore. So it made sense, why she wanted to go over to the torturer and rip his throat out.
Benji just sat there, tears filling his eyes in fear, as he tried to get away from Vinter and shake man’s hand off of his body but to no avail. His resistance got him a punch to the stomach, which made the blonde topple over in his seat and groan in pain. He was uncontrollably sobbing now and Vinter just teased him mercilessly. He grabbed the IMF agent’s face and made him look at the Bone Doctor in the eyes.
“You’re pathetic,” he huffed and then a smirk appeared on the sadistic bastard’s face “But there’s something appealing about you. If Lane wasn’t about to use you against your boyfriend, Hunt, then I would have made him hand you over to me. I would have enjoyed watching you break under my hands” The words were spoken softly and menacingly, but Ilsa heard each of them anyway.
Her hands clenched into fists by her side and she looked away, not wanting to do anything she would regret. She was already being tested by Lane and if she did something to help Benji right now, she was certain that, it would earn her a bullet to the head.
So she just sat there, listening to the horrifying things Vinter murmured in Benji’s ears, as he strapped the bomb onto his body. Soon it was just the sound of velcro and Benji's soft sniffs that filled the air. Ilsa turned around when she could no longer hear Vinter speak but regretted immediately when she noticed how the man had now pulled Benji's lithe body forward, while securing the velcro behind him. One of his hands traveled down Benji's back and he grabbed his ass.
Without any warning, Benji bit Vinter's upper arm that was right near his face gaining a loud curse from the man, as he jumped back.
"Oh that's it!" he growled and charged forward, making Benji cower.
Before he could do anything, Ilsa was up and out of her seat and in between Vinter and the Brit.
"You hurt him and the boss will have your head" she reminded the thug.
He seemed like he had something else to say, but decided against it. Good move, thought Ilsa to herself.
"Put the rest of it on him" he ordered, making Ilsa roll her eyes. She didn't understand why the man thought that he was in charge here. "And you" he continued, after turning to Benji "If you make it out alive somehow, you're mine" he winked and walked away.
Ilsa turned to Benji and noticed just how scared he was. Any rational person in his position would be just as terrified.
The former MI6 agent got in front of the man and just watched him intently.
Benji looked away from her, refusing to meet her eyes and Ilsa understood.
"You're gonna make it alive. If I've learned anything about Ethan in the past few months, it's that he doesn't know when to give up" that was as reassuring as she could get.
"You don't know anything about him" the IMF tech snapped.
"No, I don't. But you do. You trust him"
"More than anything" he replied almost automatically and that's when it hit Ilsa.
She understood why Benji didn't leave Ethan's side since Vienna. Why he stood beside Ethan every step of the way while the other members of his team were back in America.
All this time she just assumed that he hero worshiped Ethan, but now it was becoming clearer.
"You-"
"Is he ready?" Lane's calm voice came from behind her before she could finish her sentence.
"Almost" she replied without looking at the man, as her eyes were fixated on Benji and the horrified expression on his face.
She picked up the in-ear monitor and placed the earpiece into Benji's ear. She then put the lens in his eye and he was finally ready for the show Lane was about to put up.
"He's ready now" she informed Lane and turned around to finally look at the man.
There was a satisfied smirk on his face and Ilsa knew this was not going to end well.
"You know where to take him," was all he said and turned to leave the room but then stopped at the door "And please, don't try to be smart, Ilsa. It won't do you any good."
Ilsa didn't say anything and just opened the bindings on Benji's hands. The guards were right behind him with guns and Ilsa grabbed him by the arm as she escorted him to the car.
The wait for Ethan was long and Ilsa was starting to think that maybe he won’t turn up.
She looked at Benji, who was sitting upright and still, knowing well enough that any movement could end his life. His breath was short and labored, and he looked on the verge of tears again.
Ilsa actually felt bad for the man.
"I’m not sure he’s going to come” she finally blurted out.
“He will” Benji replied curtly
Ilsa smiled at the fact that he was so quick to defend Ethan despite the fact that Lane had warned him not to speak. He obviously to lose all rationality when it came to Ethan.
“You love him” Ilsa stated, as a matter of fact, making Benji’s eyes widen in shock.
That was all the proof she needed. Lane must have warned him against opening his mouth again, that’s why he was quiet she guessed, but his expressions were revealing everything.
He gulped and his breath hitched and Ilsa knew Lane must have said something to him again.
Shit. She hadn’t realized that Lane must’ve heard her asking that and now he knew too. Or maybe he always knew. The man did seem to always be two steps ahead of everyone.
“Yes, I do love him” he finally admitted, reluctantly and then he was openly crying and Ilsa knew Lane must have made him admit that.
Ilsa slowly put her hand over Benji’s to reassure him, but Benji pulled his hand back.
Ilsa just silently sat there, watching the grief-stricken man.
The minutes counted down and with the passing time, Ilsa’s faith in Ethan wavered.
She knew what Benji meant to Ethan in the few days she was with them, so it was hard for her to believe that Ethan would just abandon the blond like that.
Benji stopoed crying but now showed no expressions, so it was hard for Ilsa to read him. He looked determined so she guessed he still had faith in the man he loved.
Just when Ilsa had almost given hope, accepting the fate that she was going to die tonight in a bomb blast in the city where she spent most of her life. It almost seemed like her life had done a 360, coming back where it all started.
But just when there were only 5 minutes left, Ethan Hunt appeared out of nowhere, standing in front of them, looking terrified, yet determined himself.
His eyes were only on Benji, he looked relieved for a bit, as if he had been longing to see the blond, and maybe he had.
When his eyes finally left Benji, he looked at Ilsa. She tried to look at him reassuringly but failed.
Ethan saved her life so many times, but she failed to protect the one person he cared so much for.
She shook her head and tried to stop him when Ethan moved Benji’s coat to look at the bomb.
That’s when Ilsa saw it. That look in his eyes, which revealed so much. He looked like he was about to lose the most precious thing in his life. Maybe it hadn’t occurred to Ethan that he was going to die too if the bomb went off, but only seemed to care about the life of the person before him.
And Ilsa just knew. She knew what Benji meant to Ethan. He didn’t just love him, he couldn’t live without him.
The extent of his love for Benji was proven in the 5 minutes he sat in front of the man he loved, hearing him speak the words of the man he had a blood thirst for.