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Round
Robin: Hobson's Choice Affair |
"Well perhaps we should find out just who our 'black widow' is," said Illya.
Moving quickly, he retrieved Napoleon's suitcase and brought it back to where
the bodies were. "Let us hope that you managed to get a clear picture of her."
It took only a few minutes for Illya to expose the hidden camera and retrieve
the still photos, which it had taken.
Napoleon glanced over Illya's shoulder. Although the angle was awkward, there
was a clear shot of a woman in her early thirties with long blonde hair. "Hmm,
she looks pretty for a murderess, doesn't she?" Illya didn't respond and Napoleon
could see his hands shaking as he held the photos. "Illya? What's wrong? Do
you know this woman?"
"No...it cannot be so...she...she is dead..." Illya's voice was unsteady and
he slumped to a chair, clutching the picture with whitened knuckles.
Napoleon sank to his knees beside him. "Who is she?"
"Her name...her name is Angelique and I killed her over five years ago."
Napoleon's eyes were wide with shock. "You killed a woman? How...why?"
Illya looked at him with pain in his eyes. "This is not the time...we must
check those machines...see if we can trace their origin..."
"Look, if this woman is your Angelique, then maybe this *is* the time to be
telling me this...just so I know what we're up against. Come on Illya; don't
keep me in the dark. Tell me all there is to know."
"Were I to tell you all there is to know about Angelique, your hair would
turn white overnight, and you would have to sleep with the light on. She is...*was*...a
dangerous woman." Illya looked away before he spoke again, "And we were lovers..."
Napoleon blinked. "You and she? Oh...okay...so why did you kill her?"
Illya sighed as he pushed his hair back out of his face. "It was self-defense...I
let my guard down around her. Foolishly I thought that our relationship offered
me some protection...although there was always an element of danger involved.
But I believed that even if her employers ordered her to assassinate me that
she would hold her fire, out of respect for what we had together. Obviously
I was wrong. She attacked me with a knife and I...I slit her throat and left
her for dead. Clearly she survived."
"Whoa," said Napoleon. "And now she's back and after your blood?" He was feeling
a little twinge of jealousy towards this woman, this 'Angelique', who had
affected Illya so much.
"It would appear so." Illya pushed himself up off the chair. "Angelique was
always fond of games...it would be her style to leave a clue here for us.
We must search for it." He reached out to Napoleon with his good hand.
Napoleon frowned as he stood. "You said that Angelique attacked you on the
orders of her employers...who were they?"
"THRUSH," replied Illya matter of factly.
Napoleon pulled his hand away from him, "You were involved with a THRUSH agent?
Jesus, what did your bosses have to say about *that*?"
"Who do you think assigned me to *get* involved with her in the first place,"
snapped Illya. "Mr. Waverly believed that having one of his agents in close
contact with one of their agents would provide the opportunity not only to
pump them for information, but also to supply misinformation to them. And
so, I seduced her." Illya tried to keep his voice neutral, but his mind was
filled with memories. True, he had not been in love with Angelique, but they
had had an 'understanding', and he had truly grieved when he had been forced
to kill her. A part of him had always had the hope that one day he would have
been able to persuade her to leave THRUSH and work for the side of good, but
it wasn't meant to be.
There was an expression of shock on Napoleon's face and he found it hard to
believe what he was hearing. "You were *ordered* to seduce an enemy agent?"
Illya's emotions were on edge and he snapped back at Napoleon. "I do what
I am told...I would even seduce *you* if I was ordered to do so." He regretted
saying the words even before he saw the expression of pain flash briefly across
Napoleon's face. "Napoleon...I..."
Napoleon interrupted him, "I think maybe we should start looking for whatever
was left for us...I'll take the other room. And don't worry, if I find something
odd, I'll call you." He walked away, willing himself not to look back at the
Russian.
Illya sighed heavily, knowing that he had offended Napoleon. It hadn't been
intentional...and he wanted to go after him and apologize, but now was not
the time. Angelique was bound to have left a surprise for him to find.
Several minutes later, Illya was sure that Angelique had left nothing in that
room. "Napoleon?" he called as he walked down the corridor. There was no reply
and something set Illya's nerves on edge. Pulling his gun, he edged his way
around the corner until he could see into the room where Napoleon was searching.
To his horror, the American was on his knees on the floor, his hands behind
his back. A large man in a black coat and mask was standing behind him with
a gun pointed at his head. Another masked man was standing a few feet away.
"Ah, Mr. Kuryakin, please place your gun on the floor and join us, otherwise
we shall shoot your friend," said the second man.
"How about you tell your trained ape to put *his* gun down, otherwise I will
shoot you," replied Illya, his voice icy.
"Tsk tsk," replied the man. "If you shoot me, then your friend will die, followed
by you. Put your weapon down, and you both shall live...at least for a little
while."
"I'm sorry, Illya," said Napoleon, "He jumped me..." The gun digging into
the back of his head cut off his words.
"Mr. Solo is not involved in this. Let him go and I will put my gun down."
"Illya, no!" said Napoleon, before yelping as the man behind him grabbed a
handful of his hair and jammed the gun into his cheek.
"The clock is ticking, Mr. Kuryakin," said the second man.
Illya weighed up his options. He could shoot the man holding Napoleon. True,
the second man would most likely shoot *him*, but Napoleon would possibly
be able to disarm him...assuming that the impact of the bullet didn't cause
the big man to shoot involuntarily. Or he could shoot the second man and hope
to be able
to shoot the big man before he shot Napoleon. Backing away and calling for
assistance was not an option. With a silent sigh, Illya took the only way
out. Dropping the gun, he raised his hands in the air and moved forward.
"Illya, don't do it," yelled Napoleon, before the big man hit him with the
barrel of the gun. The room started spinning around him and then everything
went black.
"You said you would not hurt him," yelled Illya.
"I said that he would not be killed...yet."
The big man reached out and grabbed Illya. He tried to struggle, but even
in an uninjured state he would have found it difficult to defeat the man.
A punch to the head ended the fight and Illya slumped to the ground unconscious.
When he regained consciousness, he was bound hand and foot, and lying on the
floor of what appeared to be a moving van. Testing his bonds, he found them
to be well tied and impossible to squirm out of. The windows were blocked
out, but there was enough illumination to make out the equally bound figure
of Napoleon Solo lying on his back only a few feet away from him. Moving slowly
and painfully, Illya
wriggled over to him. "Napoleon?" he hissed in his ear. There was no response.
Turning around, Illya maneuvered his bound hands until he was able to check
Napoleon's pulse. To his relief, it was strong
and steady. A sudden lurch as the van presumably turned a corner sent Illya
sprawling, and it took him a few minutes to get back to his position beside
Napoleon.
Breathing heavily, he let his head fall onto Napoleon's chest. "I am so sorry
for dragging you into this mess, Napoleon," he said softly to the unconscious
man. "We are probably going to die...if you are lucky, they will realize that
you know nothing, and will kill you quickly. But there is something I wish
you to know first..." He took a deep breath before saying, "I would *not*
have had to be ordered to seduce you."
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