As soon as Ethan Hunt stepped into the hostage room, he subtly observed the captors and hostages. But he wasn't the only sharp one there; before he could get a proper look, a gang leader-type captor pointed a gun at him.
"I want a fully fueled helicopter and one hundred million dollars in cash. Once the helicopter and money are here, I'll release the remaining hostages. Deal?"
The outside experts had anticipated that the captors wouldn't play fair, so Hunt wasn't too surprised by this demand.
Despite his flawless disguise, there was one unavoidable issue: Benjamin Arthur had talked a lot with the captors before to keep them calm. So Hunt, understanding the risks, avoided speaking as much as possible, using expressions and gestures to convey his reactions.
Being held at gunpoint, if this were the real Benjamin Arthur, he would naturally show some fear. But since he was there to exchange for hostages, he couldn't appear overly timid. Hunt played the part perfectly, portraying subtle fear with micro-expressions that even the lead captor found believable.
Satisfied, the captor lowered his gun and relaxed his tone. "If you agree, I'll release half of the hostages now, and once the helicopter arrives, I'll let everyone else go. Deal?"
If releasing half the hostages could improve the operation's chances, Hunt was more than willing to agree. Still, he paused a moment to avoid suspicion, feigning hesitation with Benjamin's voice, and replied that he needed to think about it.
After a half-minute, the command center relayed approval through his earpiece, and Hunt nodded.
"Good," the captor smiled, gesturing to about ten people. "Congratulations, gentlemen; you're free to go."
The chosen hostages, thrilled, hurried out of the room as the captors opened the door. Once outside, Delta Force operatives quickly escorted them from the White House, handing them over to FBI agents who debriefed each one to ensure no captors tried to escape disguised as a hostage.
Among the released hostages, one caught the FBI's attention: Alexander Dunning, a defense contractor, arms dealer, and billionaire.
When an FBI supervisor learned that Dunning was among the second group released, he immediately grew suspicious. One look at Dunning's attire confirmed it. The billionaire was dressed so unfashionably that it didn't fit his wealthy status; everything he wore seemed to be cheap, off-the-rack items.
With his extensive experience, the supervisor didn't question Dunning immediately but discreetly assigned agents to monitor him closely.
Unaware he was under surveillance, Dunning felt proud of his clever plan, convinced his shabby attire had gotten him released. The captors had chosen prominent, wealthy figures as primary hostages, and to the captors, Dunning appeared as a useless old man.
Having narrowly escaped, Dunning vowed to cultivate political influence to avoid being coerced by the defense conglomerates into such a risky situation again. Regret soon followed, though, as he realized the entire crisis had stemmed from a foolish plan he'd proposed in a moment of weakness. This entire disaster was the brainchild of the seemingly inconspicuous, short-statured man.
It might have remained a harmless idea, but Dunning had foolishly shared it with his biggest weapons supplier, a young man who'd recently inherited Hammer Group. This new CEO had suffered severe losses in the stock crash, constantly worrying about the group's plunging stock price.
At first, Hammer found the plan amusing but didn't take it seriously; his company wasn't yet on the brink, so he treated it as a joke. But things took a dark turn when Benjamin Arthur, after surviving the London Crisis, returned to the US and quickly pieced together that Amir Bakavi's vendetta against the financial world stemmed from actions by the arms industry.
The American defense conglomerates had gone to extreme lengths to regain the profits Bakavi had taken from them, including covert assassinations and bribes. Finally, in desperation, they struck during Bakavi's daughter's wedding, sending a missile to wipe out Bakavi's entire family.
While the strike succeeded, it killed only Bakavi's daughter, son-in-law, and several relatives, while Bakavi and his three sons escaped, as if protected by some unseen force.
Being stripped of his daughter and loved ones drove Bakavi to relentless revenge, and after three years of plotting, he launched a retaliatory attack.
The previous president had already stepped down, leaving newly appointed Benjamin Arthur as Bakavi's prime target.
Bearing the brunt of this attack, Arthur was furious. But his family, the Arthurs, was influential in American politics—his father was a former president. Driven by revenge, the Arthur family quietly rallied several politicians and groups that had already been advocating for gun control.
However, Benjamin Arthur's plans were ambitious. He wanted not only to enforce stricter gun control but also to leverage the stock crisis to cut defense spending.
These intentions directly threatened the livelihood of Hammer Group, which relied on civilian firearms and government contracts. Now on the brink of collapse, Hammer Group found itself cornered.
Desperation drives people to extremes, especially an entity like Hammer Group, with its wealth, connections, and resources.
With the company on the line, Mr. Hammer began seriously considering Dunning's once-playful plan. As he reached out to others discontented with Benjamin Arthur, he unexpectedly discovered many like-minded allies. Within days, he even made contact with Speaker Eli.
By this point, Hammer had gone too far to back down, no matter how scared he might have been.
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