The Lucretia Affair
Illya Kuryakin dove under the beautiful blue-green water of the lagoon. He wore no special scuba gear or wetsuit but instead wore a tight-ish black t-shirt and dress pants. He left his shoes, socks and gun on the shore. His gadgets, though he was reluctant to part with them lay on the shore next to the shoes and socks. His holster, though remained on.
As he dove under the water Illya's hair halo'd around his head. His elegant movement cut through the water. The object the Thrush agent had dropped into the water was long gone.
During his search, Illya nearly ran into a woman. As his fingertips touched her shoulder, her prodigious eyes popped open and her mouth opened in a tiny 'o' of surprise. She quickly shot to the surface Before Illya touched her; anyone would have sworn she was dead.
Illya followed her gracefully to the surface. She shook her long strawberry-blonde, shoulder length hair out before it plastered itself to her forehead.
"Who are you?" The woman, appearing naked asked.
"Illya Kuryakin. I work for an agency called the U.N.C.L.E. An object was thrown into the water I went to retrieve it, and," he paused, "the same could be asked of you."
"Lucretia," She said extending her hand and continuing to kick her feet to avoid sinking, "And I dare say, anything that may have been thrown into that water, is long gone."
"Yes, I was afraid of that," Illya says ignoring her hand.
Lucretia moves past him towards land. Illya turns to follow this strange display and as she gets out of the water, Illya notices that she wasn't in fact naked but wearing a nude semi-transparent one piece that started at the chest and tied up the back. Under the dark water, anyone would have made the mistake. Lucretia walks over to a tree and puts on a pink floral robe and bright red heels.
"Whatever was thrown in that water," she says repeating herself and pinning her hair up as if to restart her train of thought, " you'd best get a replacement from your uncle."
She pauses before continuing, "Not to be presumptuous, Mr. Kuryakin, but perhaps you'd like a cup of tea back at my place?"
Lucretia gestures towards her house up the hill and smiles.
Lucretia and Illya are sitting on her couch in the living room of her house. Lucretia has changed into a more respectable outfit of wide pants and a dark blue and white striped top. Each holds a china tea cup and saucer.
"So, what exactly does U.N.C.L.E. do?" Lucretia asks him.
"Well, Lucretia, U.N.C.L.E. stands for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. We work with governments to prevent internal crime and to stop the efforts of a group called Thrush."
"Thrush? What an odd name for an organization. And please, Mr. Kuryakin, called me Lucy."
"Lucy," Illya repeats softly.
At that moment, two Thrush agents crash through her window. Illya quickly pushes Lucretia behind him. Lucy moves besides him.
"I will not be made to cower in my own house," she retorts, nostrils flaring.
One of the Thrush agents comes at her; an evil glint in his eye. Lucy karate-chops the wrist of the Thrush agent and he drops the gun. She picks it up off the floor. Illya flips the other one on his back before knocking him out and taking away his weapon. He looks at Lucy standing in the middle of her living room pointing a gun at the Thrush agent and sees that she wouldn't hesitate to use it if the Thrush agent gave her the reason. Illya knocks the agent out.
Lucy rounds on him gun pointed at his chest.
"Lucy, give me the gun," Illya says extending his hand towards her.
A look of recognition passes over her eyes where before there was only hatred. She hands him the gun without pause. Illya nods, happy that she handed the weapon over as he was uncertain of her ability with it and unwilling to be shot if she was in fact a turn coat.
"Have you ever seen the inside of a spy headquarters?" Lucy shakes her head 'no'.
Waverly's office, U.N.C.L.E headquarters, New York, New York. Alexander Waverly, Napoleon Solo, Illya Kuryakin, and Lucretia Killknave are standing around the rotating table in the middle of the room.
"You say you found Lucy here in the lagoon?" Mr. Waverly asks regarding Lucy with just a modicum of suspicion.
"Yes," Illya replies appearing equally flummoxed by their meeting in the small lake.
"What was she doing there?" Napoleon asks closing his briefcase and leaning on thigh on the table.
"I was meditating. The lagoon being so close to my house, I often go there to escape from the drudgery of life," Lucy says entering the conversation.
"But under the water?" Solo asks her.
A quick smile plays across her lips and Lucy looks at Illya briefly out of the corner of her eye.
"Never mind what she was doing down there, Napoleon," Illya admonishes his friend and frequent collaborator, "Why would Thrush be interested in Lucy is the question."
Lucy smiles and then realizes everyone is looking at her expecting an answer.
"I have no idea why they'd be interested in me. To my knowledge, I have done nothing to attract such attention and I certainly have no special talents that would be of use to anyone."
"Well, I'm sure that's not entirely true," Napoleon says gently to her and Illya shoots him a sideways glance.
"We need to figure out what they're up to and stop them before they can implement their plan." Mr. Waverly says.
"What can I do to help?"
"You can forget this ever happened to you," Napoleon says standing slowly, suddenly all business.
"I was attacked in my own home, that's not something one easily forgets."
"Lucy's right. It's too dangerous for her not to be involved," Illya says.
The nest day inside Lucretia's house in the hills, a house alone in a land where cabins typically prevailed, Lucy paces uncomfortably in loud pink and orange mod print dress and white flats. Illya, dressed as normal, checks on a few last minute touches around the room including an anti-spying device attached to one of her lamps.
"I'm not so sure about this, Mr. Kuryakin," Lucy says nervously.
"Don't worry, I'll be here in case something goes sideways," Illya says with a reassuring smile before hiding in her closet.
"Is it really the best idea to leave things to chance as to whether or not they're interested in me or something I own?" Lucy asks thin air.
"No but we don't have any other choice," Illya says his voice a bit muffled.
"And what if they aren't interested in my things? What if they want me? Certainly you won't let them take me, will you?"
"Of course not, but then we'll know why they were here yesterday if not what they wanted with you," Illya sighs. He knows this won't be easy but as eager as she is… "The goal is to interrogate whomever we can bait into coming here."
"Oh," Lucy says and sits on the sofa, trying to look more at ease.
She opens a book to page near the middle. She looks at the page and attempts to read it but her vision grows fuzzier the longer she looks at it. She stares at the page awhile before tossing the book aside frustrated.
"Can't we just talk?" Lucy pleads seemingly with no one.
"No," Illya says arms crossed rolling his eyes in the dark.
"Why not?" Lucy pleads turning on her sofa to be kneeling on it facing the door.
"Do you normally talk to yourself?"
"No, why?"
"We're trying to present a picture of normalcy. Thrush won't attack if you they don't think everything is perfectly normal."
"Well, normally I'd be swimming at this time of day and if Thrush is monitoring me as closely as you think they are, they'd know that."
Illya steps out of the closet and closes the door behind him.
"Alright, let's go swimming."
Lucy slide gracefully into the water, this time she's wearing a dark blue bathing suit with a hole cut out in the back and a matching cap to keep her hair from getting wet. Illya stands apprehensively at the edge of the water.
"Come on," Lucy says a little annoyed; she had suggested this venue because she wanted to have a little fun, not so that Illya could stare at her from the shore. Although she could think of worse people that could be staring at her, "You're not exactly being a covert spy."
"I really don't think I should," Illya says with a grimace and glance at the edge of the lake.
"Well, you can't protect me if you can't see me!" Lucy declares diving under the water and it wasn't long before even her shadow seemed to disappear.
Illya reluctantly strips to his shorts and follows where he had last seen her. He moves beautifully through the water and soon finds her, arm crossed in the middle of the lagoon. Waiting for him but not moving. Again she looks dead. Illya moves to check her pulse across the small distance between them; almost no heartbeat. Illya's own heart skips a beat.
She can't be dead, he thinks to himself, she can't.
Illya moves to whisk her to the surface; to save her. He's certain she's in danger. But Lucretia floats a few feet away from him.
Undeterred and determined to save the damsel, Illya goes for her again, this time his arm under her legs to lift her. And she floats away again, this time with a small smile playing across her lips. Illya catches on and begins the chase.
There's no harm in having a little fun, he thinks, it might even get her to settle down later if Thrush does show.
Lucy's big eyes pop open as the water from his movement rushes by her face and she weaves through the water like a dolphin to escape him. From one end of the lagoon to the other almost effortlessly. Lucy lets Illya chase her a bit before she allows capture. His arms around her, they break the surface of the water.
"That was fun!" Lucy says, gently breaking the grip Illya had on her.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Illya says voice devoid of sincerity, as it so often is.
Lucy turns to face him and starts to say something when a man shoots up from the water and grabs her from behind.
"Illya!" Lucy exclaims using his first time for the first time since meeting him. She wanted to say more but was unable to think of any words to say it.
Illya starts toward her.
"Don't move," the man from the water says, "Come any closer and my associate on the hill will shoot the girl."
Lucy tries to scream and the Thrush agent clamps his hand over her mouth. There's no one that would hear her but it would be a terrible annoyance. She bites down hard and the man on the hill shoots her in the neck – with a tranquilizer dart. Lucy pulls the dart out and faints, falling into the water.
Illya easily takes out the man in the water and dives to see Lucretia swimming under the water almost half asleep. A moment longer….When Illya puts his arm under her legs, she puts her arm around his shoulder and stops moving; a dead weight.
Illya then sees the reason Lucy was able to stay underwater so long without ever appearing to break the surface: a cavern hidden by the water. Illya pushes Lucy into the relatively small opening ahead of him with some difficulty and she floats to the top of the tiny lake inside the cavern in such a manner that Illya worries for a moment maybe he was too late. Maybe she had already drowned. Illya follows and as his head breaks the surface of the water, he sees the reason why someone would be after someone as "ordinary" as Lucretia.
"You lied," Illya says simply to the unconscious woman floating beside him.