Mission: Impossible II (2000)

Bio-chemical expert Dr. Vladimir Nekhorvich sends a message to the IMF for Ethan Hunt, an old friend of his. He warns that his employer at Biocyte Pharmaceuticals forced him to develop a biological weapon to profit from the cure. He arranges to meet with Ethan to deliver the Chimera virus, and its remedy, Bellerophon. With Ethan on holiday, the IMF sends agent Sean Ambrose disguised as Ethan to meet Nekhorvich on a passenger plane. Ambrose goes rogue, killing Nekhorvich and stealing Bellerophon, destroying the aircraft to cover their escape. IMF director Swanbeck informs Ethan of the circumstances of Nekhorvich’s death, and they determine Ambrose is responsible. Swanbeck tasks Ethan with recovering the virus and its cure and has him recruit Nyah Nordoff-Hall, a professional thief presently operating in Seville, Spain — and Ambrose’s ex-girlfriend. Ethan successfully recruits her to trace Ambrose and his team, and to spy on Ambrose, despite her reluctance.

Ethan assembles his team, computer hacker Luther Stickell and Pilot Billy Baird, in Sydney, Australia, where Biocyte laboratories are located, and Ambrose is staying. As Ethan stakes out Biocyte, Nyah rekindles her former relationship with Ambrose and relays information to Ethan’s team. Ambrose meets with Biocyte’s CEO, John C. McCloy, and shows him a video of Chimera infecting one of Nekhorvich’s colleagues before blackmailing McCloy into cooperating with him. Nyah steals the camera’s memory card and delivers it to Ethan. They learn that Chimera has a 20-hour dormant period before it causes death by mass destruction of the victim’s red blood cells. Bellerophon can only save the victim if used within that 20-hour window. When Nyah discreetly returns the memory card to Ambrose, he notices it is in the wrong pocket of his jacket.