Illya shifted uncomfortably in his seat in the lecture hall. Under normal
circumstances he would have enjoyed listening to a lecture on Applied
Physics, but now he was on duty and as such could not afford to let himself
be distracted from his mission. So far though, there hadn't been any
trouble. He had traveled to Princeton without incident and had checked into
his hotel before registering for the conference. As agreed with Napoleon,
there was to be no contact between them for the first twenty-four
hours...unless of course an emergency arose. Somehow Illya was half hoping
that one *would* arise...just so he could hear a friendly voice.

Not that the people around him had been anything less than polite...but
there had been a wariness in their eyes when he had introduced himself and
he could almost see them wondering just what somebody with *his* was doing
there. Fortunately there was no such reserve among the scientists he had
mingled with so far. An interest in and knowledge of Applied Physics was
sufficient credentials for his presence, and his accent had gone if not
unnoticed, then certainly deemed of no interest to these people who seemed
to rarely venture out of their laboratories.

Napoleon and he had considered the various strategies open to them. On the
one hand, he could simply attend all the various lectures and
demonstrations, keeping as low a profile as possible and simply watching out
for anything unusual. That had been Napoleon's choice. However Illya had
suggested that instead of blending into the background, that perhaps instead
he should deliberately draw attention to himself in the hopes of attracting
the attention of potential THRUSH kidnappers.

------------------

"No," said Napoleon, firmly. "Sorry Illya, but I don't think it's wise to
make a deliberate target of yourself." He and Illya had been in his office
making the final preparations for the assignment when Illya came up with an
alternative plan.

"But why not?" asked Illya, slightly puzzled. "We do not know who THRUSH
are planning to kidnap and there will be a considerable number of potential
targets. Does it not make sense that we give them a target to aim for? It
would certainly reduce the risk to the others attendees at the conference."

"We have no idea what they're looking for," replied Napoleon. "For all we
know they probably have a specific person in mind and you pushing yourself
forward might only blow your cover."

"But if I sit back and blend into the crowd...there are so many people there
whose lives could be in danger from a THRUSH attack." Illya looked
carefully at Napoleon, "This is my job...this is what I have been trained to
do...to take the risks instead of the ordinary person." His accent was
getting stronger as he stumbled slightly over some words, "You...I...this is
what we do, we cannot put innocent people in danger if there is any
alternative."

So Napoleon had reluctantly acquiesced to the plan, and now it was time for
Illya to put it in motion.

------------------------

Napoleon sat unobtrusively in the lobby of the hotel where many of the
scientists were staying. Pretending to take another sip of his coffee, he
glanced round, but there was no suspicious activity. Glancing at his watch,
he noted that Illya should be making his move around now, and he cursed to
himself for allowing him to go forward with his suggestion. "It's too
dangerous," he thought to himself. "If THRUSH get wind of who he really is,
they won't take too kindly to U.N.C.L.E. interfering in their plans...and
Illya will be the one in their line of fire."
Not for the first time Napoleon wished that he had a more scientific
background. *He* should be the one to take on the riskier parts of an
assignment...he had more experience in the field than Illya...but he hadn't
the background necessary for this one and there was no way he'd have been
able to bluff his way through it. Logically Illya was perfect for this part
of the assignment...but somehow Napoleon didn't feel very logical when it
came to Illya Kuryakin.

----------------------

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