He muttered under his breath as he dodged another bullet. Too close. Making his way up the stairs, he slammed the door shut behind him and noisily knocked over some filing cabinets in front of it. That'll buy some time.

Rushing through the building, he pushed the blaring sound of the alarm out of his head as he tried to remember the layout of the third floor; there'd been a balcony overlooking a cluster of trees and bushes, perfect if he could find it. Tucking the precious files away in his jacket, he turned to his left and resumed his search.

Where's Peril when you need him, he thought as he rounded the corner ahead, looking for an exit, instead finding the business end of a gun.

"Hands up, no sudden moves!"

'Whoa, take it easy." Solo held up his hands in a placating manner.

"Hey, maybe you can help me. I'm looking for party room number 12, I got lost on my way back from the restrooms, absolutely great party too though. I can even introduce you to the guest of honor, I know she'd-"

"Shut your mouth and move", the guard gestured the direction with his weapon. "And watch it, I believe my boss wants you alive, but whether you stay that way is entirely up to you."

"You're no fun, you know that. And your uniform has a despicable amount of wrinkles in it."

"Move!"

Napoleon almost tripped as he was roughly shoved forward. His mind raced with ideas as they walked down the dimly lit hallway. This fellow was definitely bigger than him, and therefore it was safe to assume he was stronger as well. Very bad odds. Neither Solo nor his suit would last long in a one-on-one fight. And not really eager to see Mr. Rieck again so soon, he tried the first thing he thought of.

"Look at that!", he yelled, pointing in one direction as he shielded himself with his other hand. Unperturbed, the guard simply walked on, pointing his gun dangerously close to Solo's head.

"Nice try"

"Well, if at first you don't succeed-"

"Keep going!"

"You sorry stick in the mud", Solo murmured.

" What?"

"I said I borrowed six from my bud", he rephrased, not pushing his luck.

Halfway down the hall now, what else?, Napoleon thought. His stomach growled loudly. He hadn't eaten since his lunch yesterday. Hmmmm...

Napoleon groaned, clutching at his stomach and unexpectedly dropped to his knees. This may have worked too, if the guard hadn't barreled into him, causing Napoleon to fall the rest of the way, headfirst into the concrete floor... And then have the heavy guard fall on top of him.

"Dumb American."

He barely registered the guard's comment as he felt himself get pulled up to his feet by his collar and pushed forward again.

Remind myself to never try that again on an empty stomach, Solo thought. Got it. If he was feeling a little weak before, no food and all, he definitely felt worse now, with a pounding headache and most likely a couple of bruised ribs to boot.

At this point, they passed by some empty offices. Looking out of the corner of his eye at the reflection in the glass, he saw a figure moving silently behind them. It wasn't another guard. That could only be... Peril. Finally. Still, how to deal with Mr. Heavy Mud Stick here before he saw Illya too.

Maybe if I can distract him...

"Aha! I've got it", Napoleon declared, brimming with confidence and swaying like a drunk as he spun around pointing to nowhere in particular. The guard blinked. Undeterred, he went on.

"What you need is a kiss."

The guard blinked again before shaking his head. What was this American's problem? Maybe he really was cookoo.

"Enough with your nonsense already! Move!"

"Aww, come here you big lug", Napoleon stumbled towards him with his arms outstretched. Despite the situation, it was still a comical sight.

The guy unconsciously took a step back and then-

SMACK!

He never knew what hit him.

"Yup, a nice big kiss for you buddy", Napoleon smirked as he turned to his friend, his smile turning into a confused frown.

"How long had you been following us anyway?"

"All time you walk down hall until I get closer. Wait for good opportunity."

"There was a perfectly good chance back when, oh I don't know, the guy fell on me!" The last three words were clearly emphasized.

"Not good opportunity, too far away"

Of course, a reason for everything, Solo thought before speaking.

"You are a terrible spy."