AHaving successfully deactivated the missile, sending it harmlessly to the bottom of San Francisco Bay, Ethan is confronted by Russian agent Anatoly Sidorov (Vladimir Mashkov), who realizes now that Ethan and the IMF are innocent of the bombing of the Kremlin. Eight weeks later, as Ethan and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) are sharing a beer together at Seattle's Pier 4, Luther gets called away for a mission in Kandahar, and Ethan is joined by Carter, Dunn, and Brandt. Ethan compliments them on a job well done and invites them to become members of his team. Carter and Dunn agree, but Brandt confesses that it was he who got Ethan's wife killed in Croatia. Ethan reveals that Julia is still alive. She survived the attack by the Serbians, and her faked 'death' was actually used as a ruse to get Ethan into Rankow Prison where he was assigned to make contact with IMF informant Bogdan (Miraj Grbic). He assures Brandt that he was not responsible for protecting Julia, they shake hands, and Brandt accepts membership on the team. As Ethan gets up to leave, he sees Julia walking along the boardwalk and entering a latte shop. They smile at each other, and Julia gives him a slight wave. In the final scene, as Ethan walks away, he gets a call from the IMF briefing him on his next assignment, should he choose to accept it.
AGhost protocol is a black ops contingency that occurs when the IMF is completely shut down. Any agents still in the field do so at their own risk, without promise of extraction, support, or safehouses. Any work they are doing is unsanctioned and will be disavowed.
