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redfiona99Title: No one likes to hear I told you so
Author: Red Fiona
Fandom: Mission: Impossible 2
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, Paramount do, and no money is being made from this.
Characters: Hugh Stamp, Sean Ambrose
Pairings: sort of Stamp/Ambrose, background Ambrose/Nyah
Rating: 15 - Villain fic, and I have the urge to yell that Hugh Stamp's views are not my own
Tags: Villain fic, character's opinions are not those of the author, minor character death, canon-typical violence, unhealthy relationships, set before the film
Notes: The lead character is not so much unreliable as biased, horribly biased.
Summary: Hugh Stamp knows that this isn't going to end well, but he'll follow Sean Ambrose anyway, even though he should know better.
~~~~
He develops a reputation after he gets too hot for South Africa to handle him. Yes, he had a reputation before that, it's why he had to leave, but the new one is ... it's just as bloody but more respected. Hugh Stamp, you can trust him with your job, your money and your woman. Yes, he's expensive to hire, but he's worth it.
He forges the reputation in the various combat zones of Africa and the Caucuses, where the best money is to be made, for the least risk. No one outside cares what you do there. He earns enough that it's not worth the hassle of stealing small bills from other mercenaries, and women, he's never seen the point. Not boys either. The whole thing leaves him cold. He does his job, no *excessive* violence, but he doesn't shy away from what's necessary, won't run away at the first sign of trouble and doesn't hang around asking for more money to keep his mouth shut.
He's that rare commodity, a trustworthy mercenary.
He knows of Sean Ambrose long before he ever meets him. Their community, that of competent operatives, is small enough that, at a minimum, everyone *knows of* everyone else.
The first time he crosses paths with Sean Ambrose, he curses his name. Stamp's part of an operation in one of those countries referred to as "formerly known as", nothing too complicated, but the IMF chooses to interfere because the country has nuclear, chemical and biological arsenals. It's Ambrose they send and he does a good job of stopping Stamp's team. Stamp retreats once it's clear that there's no beating that level of superior firepower; he's a mercenary not a fanatic, and he'd rather live to fight another day.
After the debrief, a sorry affair of who was to blame for what and exactly what the survivors will and won't be paid, Stamp goes over the operation in his own mind. This part of the process is important to him, he does it after ever mission, whether the mission is successful or not successful; how can you improve without reflection? Was there anything they could have done differently to lead to a different outcome? As a now more disinterested reviewer, no, there wasn't. Sean Ambrose was good, and Stamp admits to being impressed.
In the spirit of fairness, his first interaction with Ethan Hunt didn't go any better for him, well, Stamp's reasonably certain that one particular mission in a former People's Republic was disrupted by Ethan Hunt, but he was never able to confirm that belief because he never saw Hunt. The mission ended badly; there was confusion and two parts of his team started shooting at each other; the whole set up reeked of Hunt. In Hugh's opinion, it's not that Hunt is a bad operative, he's just not Sean Ambrose. Hunt overcomplicates things for no good reason.
The first time he worked with Ambrose was a retrieval mission in a different Former People’s Republic. While Stamp was never likely to be hired by the IMF, they gave their operatives a lot of leeway in how to get a mission done, as Ambrose explained when he recruited Stamp. Ambrose appeared at his elbow as Stamp was sitting in a bar, somehow not the strangest way he's been approached for a job.
Ambrose explained the situation. There was a rumour that a facility in the former USSR held biological warfare stocks. Once there was a rumour, people would go looking. The IMF wanted to make sure that there was no truth to the rumour, and if there was any, to make sure they were the ones to take ownership of anything that was there. As to why Ambrose chose him, "you've done this sort of thing before, and I need someone who won't burst into tears if someone comes into contact with whatever the bio-nasty is." Ambrose thought contact was inevitable, the Soviets not really having had a concept of Health and Safety.
As to payment, "I move you down Interpol's most wanted list, and a quarter of your usual fee."
"Three quarters." It wasn't a comfortable negotiating position, but Stamp would rather be dead than an easy target, because an easy target was a dead man in the long run.
"Half and I won't tell Interpol about those Swiss bank accounts." Stamp had to agree.
The mission went more or less as planned. Ambrose was right about the state of the cannister, corrosion affecting containment, Stamp had to shoot the man who the cannister leaked onto, putting the bastard out of his misery.
It was the first of several jobs like that. It became clear that, as long as the outcome was success, the IMF really didn't care how Ambrose did it. The rate for the jobs never changed. Hugh did, occasionally, try to get more money, but Ambrose's response was that Stamp wasn't starving and that Ambrose knew about all *five* of the Swiss accounts.
Ambrose also knew why Hugh didn't say no, beyond the money and the threats. That made life awkward and uncomfortable for Hugh, in a way he would normally have no time for. That was when he should have walked, before everything got even more entangled.
That was Sean's major skill, not the violence, not the planning, no, he knew how people worked. He could see the levers to press to make them do what he wanted them to do, and he enjoyed the power pressing them gave him. It was part of why Hugh admired him, but he wished Ambrose wouldn't use that ability against him.
"Would it help if we had sex?" Hugh almost spat his drink over the table. The awkward, terrible, bizarre and out-of-place question probably came during the fallout from the first time Nyah left Ambrose, no, it was while they were still together, just about. Ambrose adored her, Stamp hated her, and he was mostly sure it wasn't only jealousy. Some of it probably was jealousy. Possibly too much of it. Which was why Ambrose had made his suggestion. He wanted Stamp to get on with Nyah, or at least be less generally poisonous in her direction. Having asked his question, Ambrose clapped Stamp on the shoulder.
"No. I'll take the offer in the spirit in which it was intended." Or not quite, because it's Sean so it was offered in the spirit of causing chaos, but there was no malice behind it, this time. "But no." It wouldn't solve anything. Whatever it is he feels for Sean Ambrose would not be solved or sorted by sex. He's not sure what it is, but he is sure that whatever it is, it's not something he's got an easy word for.
It's not awkward between them, because for all that he and Sean had completely opposite views on sex when it came to frequency and necessity, they both held it in the same complete lack of regard. Even so, Hugh's not a complete fool, and does make plans in case it all goes wrong. Sean Ambrose isn't used to anyone saying no.
It does go wrong, of course, but not that way. Nyah leaves, and it does nothing good for Sean's personality.
He breaks Hugh's nose the one time he says anything that could be interpreted as 'I told you so', but Hugh thinks he got off lightly, since Sean shot someone else in the face for saying something similar. He feels he got off especially lightly as, through pain and blood, his response was "well I did."
"It's not a helpful thing to say." Sean's face is still murder, but he doesn't hit Hugh again, and Hugh will take that as a victory. He knows that's when he should have left, had some self-respect and gone. He doesn't though, and he wishes his reasoning were better than 'Sean might need me.' However you'd describe it, he's got it bad.
He stays, despite the broken nose, and despite knowing that it's not going to end well. Sean's right, 'I told you so' is not helpful in these situations, even if it's yourself you're telling.
Nyah leaving is when everything starts to change professionally too.
The IMF never understood Ambrose's worth. That much had always been clear. They preferred to use him as Hunt's back up, or for the missions that don't require Hunt, rather than letting Ambrose loose and do what was necessary. Ambrose had never been happy with that, constantly complaining about their lack of respect but, other than the occasional taking of cash from the targets he was given, Ambrose had never done anything about it.
After Nyah, he does.
Stamp wondered if Nyah had said anything to Ambrose, mocked his lack of ambition, or his relative lack of money. Women like her, they like their expensive pretty things.
Whatever the reason, Stamp's not party to it, but he's there for the effect.
Ambrose becomes more violent, more disruptive, more determined, a distilled version of himself. He has a plan. He's going to go rogue, but because he's Sean Ambrose, he's not going to do it quietly. It's going to be one mission to make all his money, and then retire behind its safety. That means whatever the mission is, it's going to have to be a big one. So Ambrose waits, develops patience from somewhere, and tries to find a mission with a big enough payoff.
Stamp only knows about the discarded ideas, ones where the payoff was big enough but when Ambrose planned it out, or when he planned it out and needed Hugh's help or his second-check, the missions were actually impossible (as opposed to the unrealistic definition the IMF used).
While Hugh waits, he carries on taking other jobs on the side, there’s no point growing rusty while waiting, because he knows Sean, if he wants something to happen, it will, so there will be a mission one day and Stamp will need to be at his sharpest.
Eventually, one day, Ambrose comes to him obnoxiously happy. Which Stamp knew meant either Nyah had taken him back or Sean'd found a suitable job that was going to make them all rich beyond the need of ever working again.
Hugh asks him, choosing to ask whether it’s finding the job that’s making Sean smile, because he’s got too much sense to mention Nyah. There is a job, and it’s very big indeed. That’s almost all the information Ambrose is willing to give him at that point. He gives Stamp one more titbit, "it's even better than that, Ethan Hunt will give me everything I want." Not exactly comforting words, because, even though Hugh is convinced Sean is the better operative, he doesn’t particularly want to tangle with Hunt again.
Hugh asks for more details, he likes details, it helps him plan. "All in good time," is the answer he gets. Definitely not comforting. And yet, Stamp knows he'll follow Ambrose like lamb, like a fool, wherever this leads.
~~~~
The end
Author: Red Fiona
Fandom: Mission: Impossible 2
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, Paramount do, and no money is being made from this.
Characters: Hugh Stamp, Sean Ambrose
Pairings: sort of Stamp/Ambrose, background Ambrose/Nyah
Rating: 15 - Villain fic, and I have the urge to yell that Hugh Stamp's views are not my own
Tags: Villain fic, character's opinions are not those of the author, minor character death, canon-typical violence, unhealthy relationships, set before the film
Notes: The lead character is not so much unreliable as biased, horribly biased.
Summary: Hugh Stamp knows that this isn't going to end well, but he'll follow Sean Ambrose anyway, even though he should know better.
~~~~
He develops a reputation after he gets too hot for South Africa to handle him. Yes, he had a reputation before that, it's why he had to leave, but the new one is ... it's just as bloody but more respected. Hugh Stamp, you can trust him with your job, your money and your woman. Yes, he's expensive to hire, but he's worth it.
He forges the reputation in the various combat zones of Africa and the Caucuses, where the best money is to be made, for the least risk. No one outside cares what you do there. He earns enough that it's not worth the hassle of stealing small bills from other mercenaries, and women, he's never seen the point. Not boys either. The whole thing leaves him cold. He does his job, no *excessive* violence, but he doesn't shy away from what's necessary, won't run away at the first sign of trouble and doesn't hang around asking for more money to keep his mouth shut.
He's that rare commodity, a trustworthy mercenary.
He knows of Sean Ambrose long before he ever meets him. Their community, that of competent operatives, is small enough that, at a minimum, everyone *knows of* everyone else.
The first time he crosses paths with Sean Ambrose, he curses his name. Stamp's part of an operation in one of those countries referred to as "formerly known as", nothing too complicated, but the IMF chooses to interfere because the country has nuclear, chemical and biological arsenals. It's Ambrose they send and he does a good job of stopping Stamp's team. Stamp retreats once it's clear that there's no beating that level of superior firepower; he's a mercenary not a fanatic, and he'd rather live to fight another day.
After the debrief, a sorry affair of who was to blame for what and exactly what the survivors will and won't be paid, Stamp goes over the operation in his own mind. This part of the process is important to him, he does it after ever mission, whether the mission is successful or not successful; how can you improve without reflection? Was there anything they could have done differently to lead to a different outcome? As a now more disinterested reviewer, no, there wasn't. Sean Ambrose was good, and Stamp admits to being impressed.
In the spirit of fairness, his first interaction with Ethan Hunt didn't go any better for him, well, Stamp's reasonably certain that one particular mission in a former People's Republic was disrupted by Ethan Hunt, but he was never able to confirm that belief because he never saw Hunt. The mission ended badly; there was confusion and two parts of his team started shooting at each other; the whole set up reeked of Hunt. In Hugh's opinion, it's not that Hunt is a bad operative, he's just not Sean Ambrose. Hunt overcomplicates things for no good reason.
The first time he worked with Ambrose was a retrieval mission in a different Former People’s Republic. While Stamp was never likely to be hired by the IMF, they gave their operatives a lot of leeway in how to get a mission done, as Ambrose explained when he recruited Stamp. Ambrose appeared at his elbow as Stamp was sitting in a bar, somehow not the strangest way he's been approached for a job.
Ambrose explained the situation. There was a rumour that a facility in the former USSR held biological warfare stocks. Once there was a rumour, people would go looking. The IMF wanted to make sure that there was no truth to the rumour, and if there was any, to make sure they were the ones to take ownership of anything that was there. As to why Ambrose chose him, "you've done this sort of thing before, and I need someone who won't burst into tears if someone comes into contact with whatever the bio-nasty is." Ambrose thought contact was inevitable, the Soviets not really having had a concept of Health and Safety.
As to payment, "I move you down Interpol's most wanted list, and a quarter of your usual fee."
"Three quarters." It wasn't a comfortable negotiating position, but Stamp would rather be dead than an easy target, because an easy target was a dead man in the long run.
"Half and I won't tell Interpol about those Swiss bank accounts." Stamp had to agree.
The mission went more or less as planned. Ambrose was right about the state of the cannister, corrosion affecting containment, Stamp had to shoot the man who the cannister leaked onto, putting the bastard out of his misery.
It was the first of several jobs like that. It became clear that, as long as the outcome was success, the IMF really didn't care how Ambrose did it. The rate for the jobs never changed. Hugh did, occasionally, try to get more money, but Ambrose's response was that Stamp wasn't starving and that Ambrose knew about all *five* of the Swiss accounts.
Ambrose also knew why Hugh didn't say no, beyond the money and the threats. That made life awkward and uncomfortable for Hugh, in a way he would normally have no time for. That was when he should have walked, before everything got even more entangled.
That was Sean's major skill, not the violence, not the planning, no, he knew how people worked. He could see the levers to press to make them do what he wanted them to do, and he enjoyed the power pressing them gave him. It was part of why Hugh admired him, but he wished Ambrose wouldn't use that ability against him.
"Would it help if we had sex?" Hugh almost spat his drink over the table. The awkward, terrible, bizarre and out-of-place question probably came during the fallout from the first time Nyah left Ambrose, no, it was while they were still together, just about. Ambrose adored her, Stamp hated her, and he was mostly sure it wasn't only jealousy. Some of it probably was jealousy. Possibly too much of it. Which was why Ambrose had made his suggestion. He wanted Stamp to get on with Nyah, or at least be less generally poisonous in her direction. Having asked his question, Ambrose clapped Stamp on the shoulder.
"No. I'll take the offer in the spirit in which it was intended." Or not quite, because it's Sean so it was offered in the spirit of causing chaos, but there was no malice behind it, this time. "But no." It wouldn't solve anything. Whatever it is he feels for Sean Ambrose would not be solved or sorted by sex. He's not sure what it is, but he is sure that whatever it is, it's not something he's got an easy word for.
It's not awkward between them, because for all that he and Sean had completely opposite views on sex when it came to frequency and necessity, they both held it in the same complete lack of regard. Even so, Hugh's not a complete fool, and does make plans in case it all goes wrong. Sean Ambrose isn't used to anyone saying no.
It does go wrong, of course, but not that way. Nyah leaves, and it does nothing good for Sean's personality.
He breaks Hugh's nose the one time he says anything that could be interpreted as 'I told you so', but Hugh thinks he got off lightly, since Sean shot someone else in the face for saying something similar. He feels he got off especially lightly as, through pain and blood, his response was "well I did."
"It's not a helpful thing to say." Sean's face is still murder, but he doesn't hit Hugh again, and Hugh will take that as a victory. He knows that's when he should have left, had some self-respect and gone. He doesn't though, and he wishes his reasoning were better than 'Sean might need me.' However you'd describe it, he's got it bad.
He stays, despite the broken nose, and despite knowing that it's not going to end well. Sean's right, 'I told you so' is not helpful in these situations, even if it's yourself you're telling.
Nyah leaving is when everything starts to change professionally too.
The IMF never understood Ambrose's worth. That much had always been clear. They preferred to use him as Hunt's back up, or for the missions that don't require Hunt, rather than letting Ambrose loose and do what was necessary. Ambrose had never been happy with that, constantly complaining about their lack of respect but, other than the occasional taking of cash from the targets he was given, Ambrose had never done anything about it.
After Nyah, he does.
Stamp wondered if Nyah had said anything to Ambrose, mocked his lack of ambition, or his relative lack of money. Women like her, they like their expensive pretty things.
Whatever the reason, Stamp's not party to it, but he's there for the effect.
Ambrose becomes more violent, more disruptive, more determined, a distilled version of himself. He has a plan. He's going to go rogue, but because he's Sean Ambrose, he's not going to do it quietly. It's going to be one mission to make all his money, and then retire behind its safety. That means whatever the mission is, it's going to have to be a big one. So Ambrose waits, develops patience from somewhere, and tries to find a mission with a big enough payoff.
Stamp only knows about the discarded ideas, ones where the payoff was big enough but when Ambrose planned it out, or when he planned it out and needed Hugh's help or his second-check, the missions were actually impossible (as opposed to the unrealistic definition the IMF used).
While Hugh waits, he carries on taking other jobs on the side, there’s no point growing rusty while waiting, because he knows Sean, if he wants something to happen, it will, so there will be a mission one day and Stamp will need to be at his sharpest.
Eventually, one day, Ambrose comes to him obnoxiously happy. Which Stamp knew meant either Nyah had taken him back or Sean'd found a suitable job that was going to make them all rich beyond the need of ever working again.
Hugh asks him, choosing to ask whether it’s finding the job that’s making Sean smile, because he’s got too much sense to mention Nyah. There is a job, and it’s very big indeed. That’s almost all the information Ambrose is willing to give him at that point. He gives Stamp one more titbit, "it's even better than that, Ethan Hunt will give me everything I want." Not exactly comforting words, because, even though Hugh is convinced Sean is the better operative, he doesn’t particularly want to tangle with Hunt again.
Hugh asks for more details, he likes details, it helps him plan. "All in good time," is the answer he gets. Definitely not comforting. And yet, Stamp knows he'll follow Ambrose like lamb, like a fool, wherever this leads.
~~~~
The end
