On a speeding train, in one of the carriages.
A phone rang.
A man in a suit picked it up, then handed it to Max, who was reading a newspaper next to him.
"This isn't what we agreed on, Ethan," Max said into the phone. "Our deal was for you to be here, face to face with me."
"Please forgive my rudeness, Ms. Max," Ethan said from the other end of the line. "I have to do this for my own safety."
And so... they began their deal on the train.
A blond man sitting in the seat behind Max rubbed his forehead. This was Morin, who was now wearing a human-skin mask and was disguised as an ordinary tourist. Morin felt a bit helpless and... ridiculous. He had so many things to say.
"You guys..."
"You're too brazen!"
"You're doing a deal in public like this?"
"There are ordinary people, passengers, all around!"
"You're doing a deal without any soundproofing or security measures?" Morin was completely bewildered.
"Is a ten-million-dollar deal really this reckless? At least
get a private room, right? Are you guys that short on cash?"
Although he was ranting internally, Morin didn't show it. He still looked drowsy and a bit dispirited.
Meanwhile, Max and Ethan's open-and-shut illegal deal continued. Morin listened in while continuing his internal monologue.
Ethan: "The list is on a disk under your seat, stuck there with black tape."
Morin (Internal Monologue): "Great. A list of all CIA agents is under a train seat, casually taped there with black tape."
Hearing this, Max reached under her skirt... under her seat, pulled off a disk, and gave it to the man in the suit next to her to verify.
Morin (Internal Monologue): "Great. They're opening a laptop and verifying the CIA agent list on a train in plain sight, without even trying to hide it."
"I really wish I could see you and thank you properly, Ethan."
Max smiled when the list was successfully unlocked by the key she had and all the CIA agents' names appeared on the screen.
"I think I'd rather just see the ten million and that 'Job,'"
Ethan replied.
"I'm willing to pay ten million for it. It's what you
deserve, Ethan," Max said.
"The ten million dollars are in a silver briefcase in the luggage compartment, on luggage rack number three. The lock combination is 314."
Morin (Internal Monologue): "Great. She just blurted out the location and combination for ten million dollars, without even trying to lower her voice..."
"What about 'Job'?" Ethan asked.
"I'll tell him where you are. You have the money, so he'll come find you. For someone like him, who would sell you out for one million, what wouldn't he do for ten million?" Max said.
"Then our deal is done," Ethan said. "Have a pleasant journey."
"You too."
After hanging up, Max immediately motioned for her subordinate to start transferring the list to her organization. But after he tried, a warning popped up on the computer: "No signal."
"What's going on?" Max frowned.
"There's a problem with the signal. I can't transfer it," the
subordinate replied.
"I have eyes, I can see that," Max said, annoyed. "I'm asking why this is happening! Is there a problem with the signal transmitter's battery?"
"Impossible!" The subordinate shook his head. "This can't be a battery issue!"
"Then check what's wrong! We need to send this file before we enter the tunnel!" Max urged.
Morin looked at Luther in the seat to his left. Luther was also using a laptop and had just entered a line of code.
On the screen, the words "Interception successful" appeared.
Morin gave him a thumbs-up in his head.
"Why don't you just go to Max and show her?" "You're intercepting a signal just a meter away, where they can see you if they just turn around?"
Morin covered his face with his hand. "I can't take this anymore. My intelligence is being insulted."
He stood up and walked over to Max, looking down at her.
"..." Max and her subordinate both looked at Morin. After a few seconds of staring, Max hesitantly asked, "Sir? Is there something you need?"
Max was on guard. Even though the man in front of her looked listless, why had he suddenly come over and looked at her like that?
"You're all too loud," Morin said, his eyes a little wide.
"I'm trying to sleep, do you understand? Be quiet, please be quiet!"
"Uh..." Max was stunned, then finally replied, "O-okay?"
"Hmph, no manners!" Morin said in a perfect London accent, then returned to his seat. Max and her subordinate exchanged a look.
"What are you looking at me for!" Max said in a low voice. "Hurry up and transfer the files!"
The farce of a deal finally came to an end with Morin's interruption.
A while later, Morin muttered that he had a stomach ache and walked toward the bathroom.
"He called me rude? That phony Englishman, a fake
gentleman, ugh!"
After Morin left, Max rolled her eyes and mumbled. The feeling of being watched was finally gone. She looked at her subordinate, who was still checking the program, and urged him again,
"Hurry up!"
Morin walked right past the bathroom and headed toward the luggage compartment.
Inside, Ethan, Jim, and Claire were in a standoff. To be
precise, Jim was threatening Claire and Ethan with a gun.
Jim, the cuckold, had done a good job. He had successfully pushed his wife, Claire, toward Ethan... and now, Claire was slightly on Ethan's side.
But this wasn't surprising. Jim was old and unattractive, while Ethan was young, strong, and handsome. The difference between them was too great to overcome.
If it weren't for the money, Claire would have been in Ethan's arms long ago.
During this mission, Claire and Ethan had gotten very close. Since Morin had given him the information, Ethan had guessed that Jim was the mastermind behind everything, so he had no guilt at all and played along with Claire's flirtations.
Just a few days ago, Ethan had a real heart-to-heart with Claire. And this wasn't the first time.
Just a little while ago, Ethan, wearing a human-skin
mask, had pretended to be Jim and met with Claire, and Claire had suggested that they get the money and leave without killing Ethan.
So you can imagine how complicated Claire's feelings were when Ethan took off the mask. It was indescribable.
Right after that, Jim walked into the luggage compartment with a gun pointed at the two of them.
"Feel the wrath of a cuckold!"
Just as Jim was about to shoot Ethan and Claire...
"Knock, knock, knock!"
The door to the luggage compartment was knocked on.