Bullet to Beijing

Forced into early retirement from MI5, Harry receives a call offering a mysterious job. He is flown to Saint Petersburg, where a young man named Nikolai meets him. They are promptly followed and shot at by Chechens as they seek to deliver Harry to his mysterious employer, Alex.

Alex explains that the target is a stolen binary biological weapon named Alorex and wants Harry to recover it. The offer includes a lucrative fee of $250,000 for the dangerous mission. Harry agrees, unable to turn down the payday.

Louis tells Harry that Alorex will be on the Bullet to Beijing train, where Gradsky and his men, along with Nick, Natasha, and Craig, are also passengers. Harry and Nick try to uncover Gradsky's crate, but Gradsky dismissively throws them off the train. The stakes rise as the search begins.

After being expelled, they board a ramshackle Aeroflot flight in Siberia. The plane runs out of fuel and must land 300 miles from the train's next stop, but Harry and Nick manage to get back aboard the Bullet.

Back on the train, Natasha is revealed to be Gradsky's daughter, and Gradsky is revealed to work for Alex. The revelations complicate loyalties as the group moves toward the confrontation.

Harry suspects Alex is selling Alorex to the North Koreans for heroin, with Craig possibly involved. Nick refuses to believe the accusation, defending Alex as a potential leader for Russia's future. The tension between trust and betrayal heightens on the moving train.

Louis's grandson's gift, a Matryoshka doll, hides a vial—the second deadly component of Alorex. Harry realizes the weapon has two critical parts and the hunt intensifies. The clue forces tighter coordination among the group.

They pretend to deliver Alorex at the North Korean embassy, where Palmer meets Kim Soo, who has orders to remove him. Nick phones that Alex will deal with Harry later, buying time and averting an outright assassination at that moment. The embassy scene raises the stakes and shows the double-dealing network.

Nick confides that he believes Harry is his father, citing a Cold War seduction attempt. Harry denies the claim, but Nick's belief remains unresolved as they part ways at the embassy.

Back on the way to Saint Petersburg, Harry explains that Alex planted Alorex specifications in his passport; Harry destroys them and tips off a rival gangster and the police about the heroin shipment. The move disrupts Alex's plan and alerts authorities.

An assassination attempt by Kim Soo's men nearly ends Harry's life, but Craig foils the plot. The tense moment showcases the dangerous web of espionage surrounding their mission.

The American ally Craig is revealed to be working for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, adding another layer of intrigue to the operation.

Despite the chaos, Harry and his friends survive the final shootout with relatively few injuries. The mission ends with an uneasy relief, leaving the wider conspiracy unresolved.