<>

Part 26

Illya watched forlornly as the ambulance took his friend further away from
him. He knew that his presence would prove of little value, and in fact
might even be a hindrance to the doctor's efforts to help Napoleon. At
least that was what the rational part of his mind was telling him...he
should get back to doing what he was trained for. But there was another
smaller part that was telling that he should have stuck by his partner...his
friend...he should be there for him...he should have *been* there by his
side when the bullets were flying. "This is all my fault," he said almost
to himself.

"I sincerely doubt that, young man," came the brusque tones of Mr. Waverly.

Illya started slightly, having almost forgotten that the older man was
standing there.
He hesitated only momentarily before blurting out the words, "I...I
froze...for a second..." His hands clenched into fists as he looked down at
the pavement. "When the shooting started..." he swallowed hard before
raising his head and looking Mr. Waverly straight in the eye, forcing the
words out through gritted teeth. "I froze...I was unable to respond to the
situation as quickly as I should have. My hesitation...could have cost Mr.
Solo his life." Illya didn't even want to think of that possible outcome,
but he felt it his duty to inform Mr. Waverly of his failure and inadequacy.

"Come come, Mr. Kuryakin. Mr. Solo is an experienced agent. I hardly feel
that any momentary hesitation on your part is to blame for him not being
able to avoid a bullet here and there. No, given that this was your first
experience under fire so to speak, I am quite sure that such a reaction was
more than understandable." He affixed Illya with a steely glare, "And I am
equally certain that you will not hesitate a second time."

"Sir..." Illya was unable to think of a suitable response. Finally he
asked, "Was anybody else injured at the hotel, apart from Na...Mr. Solo?"

"Hmph," grunted Mr. Waverly as he walked back to his car. "What? Oh no.
By all accounts you and Mr. Solo managed to remove the assassin from the
picture before anybody was hit."

Illya's eyes narrowed as he said slowly, "Nobody was hit? Apart from
Napoleon?" A thought that had been nagging away at him ever since he had
seen the assassins face, now started to push towards the front of his mind.
"Sir, the assassin had a clear view of every person who walked through that
hotel...there was no way they could have missed their target, unless..." He
looked up to see Mr. Waverly looking at him with the expression of a teacher
waiting for their student to figure out a particularly fiendish equation.
"Unless they weren't trying to hit a target...Sir, this was all just a feint
to draw us out into the open, to expose us so they could make their move!
We, U.N.C.L.E. were the real targets!"

"Not exactly, Mr. Kuryakin," said Mr. Waverly. "U.N.C.L.E. was not the
target, at least not directly. According to our sources, *you* were."

---

This page is an unofficial site that exists only for the fun of it. All characters and situations from the television show "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." are property of Norman Felton and Warner Bros. Nothing ill is intended by this use of any television characters in these amateur efforts. Any fiction linked to these pages is the intellectual property of the amateur author who created it and is not presented here for profit.