Illya and Napoleon were in the small city of Sparks, Nevada talking to a man named Elgin Banks. He appeared to be in his late seventies, but he could have been one hundred. His skin was weathered, wrinkled and leathery from years spent under the sun working as a ranch hand. He still hated being indoors for any great length of time and would drive for miles, park his car and walk far back into the forests or sometimes he would hike along the foothills. He said it was his Native American blood that made him crave outdoors. Whatever the reason, it was what he claimed to have seen one evening on one of his walks that had piqued the interest of the agents.
The two men had been sent to Northern Nevada because Intel had reported to Mr. Waverly that THRUSH, in the form of a Dr. Nathaniel Kingmaker, had somehow managed to develop a nuclear weapon that though enormous in power, was relatively small in size and he planned to test it by blowing up Reno. During their briefing, the Old Man had charged them with not only finding and disarming the bomb, but with securing Kingmaker's notes and formulas so that UNCLE could lock them away from all the world's superpowers. They had been having no luck at all until one night, they overheard a slightly inebriated voice emanating from the other side of the low wall that separated their booth from the next in the steakhouse they had stopped in for dinner.
"I'm telling you," the voice said in a miffed tone, "I was down the road near Hawthorne the other night and parked over there by Walker Lake where the submarine base is and I saw these uniformed guys with rifles hauling all these boxes into a cave in the foothills."
From the sound of laughter coming from the booth, the speaker was sitting with two other men one of whom stopped guffawing long enough to gasp, "A submarine base? In the Nevada desert? And what, were they Nazis you saw, Elgin?"
"No, I told you; I didn't recognize the uniform. It had a black bird on it. I don't know what kind. I was using my binoculars. I sure wasn't getting any closer to ask what they were doing!"
"Whatever, Old Man. It's after eight; I better get home or the wife will kill me. Come on, Benny. I'll give you a ride." The agents watched as two men got up and threw on their coats. "Thanks for the laugh, El. See you later."
When the men exited the restaurant, Napoleon turned in his seat so he could see the original speaker. "Hi, my friend and I couldn't help but overhear what you were telling your friends."
"Bah!" the man spat, "They ain't no friends of mine, just acquaintances from the VFW. Anyway, what's it to you what I was telling them?"
"We're just passing through on our way to Vegas and I know we'll be passing near Hawthorne and I'm curious about this sub base you mentioned. And the men you saw, too, for that matter. Come sit with us and we'll wet your whistle for you." Napoleon smile and slid over to make room while Illya smiled a friendly "How are you" smile.
The man stood and joined them. "Why not?" He stuck out a callused large hand. "Name's Banks. Elgin Banks."
First Illya and then Napoleon shook his hand. "I'm Navarre Solange and he," Napoleon pointed at the blond across the table, "is my business partner, Eddie Case."
"Pleased to meet you, Sir," Illya said respectfully, "I am from England originally so could you tell me about this submarine base? Are we not far from the ocean?"
"Not many people know this," Elgin said in a conspiratorial tone that caused both agents to lean in closer, "but the lake is connected to the Pacific by underwater channels big enough for Fast Attack Subs to travel; the larger class subs like the Sea Wolf are way too big to do it."
The Russian's eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up behind his bangs. "That is amazing! And these men we heard you talk about; they were Americans, yes?"
The man shook his head and took a long pull on the beer Napoleon had bought him. "I don't know what they were, but they sure weren't Americans."
Napoleon pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket along with a pen. "Can you draw a map to show us where the base is and where you saw the…soldiers, I guess you would call them? I would love to check it out tomorrow when we head south to Vegas. Sounds like a hoot." He watched as the older man drew a surprisingly detailed map to show them where to go. When the man finished, Napoleon took it and tucked it back in his pocket. "Thanks so much." He motioned to Illya. "My friend and I are heading to our hotel. Can we drop you off somewhere?"
Elgin shook his head and got up from the table. "No, thanks; I can walk home from here. Nice meeting you. G'night."
They watched as Elgin waved goodbye to the wait staff and headed out into the cool Nevada night. They paid their bill and exited themselves. As soon as Illya started the car and began to head in the direction of Hawthorne, Napoleon pulled out his communicator and said, "Open Channel D, please. Priority One."
Seconds later, Mr. Waverly's voice came through clearly. "Yes, Mr. Solo. You have something to report?"
"It would appear that THRUSH has a bigger target in mind than Reno, Sir. We think they plan to take out the Nevadan Submarine Base."
"Destroying that base could very well destroy the American people's trust in their government. They don't know it exists. We cannot allow that to happen.
"Understood, Sir. We're on our way there now. Solo out."
MFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFU
Just over two hours later, Illya and Napoleon arrived at the lake. Using Elgin's map as a guide, Illya stashed the car and they walked into the woods. The temperature had warmed enough so that a heavy fog was rising from the iced – over lake. "Perfect," the Russian grumbled, "How are we supposed to see anything or anyone in this pea soup?" Just then, a howl broke the night's silence followed by several more. "Wonderful," he groused, "I managed to survive World War II, the Navy and the KGB so that I can be eaten by coyotes."
Napoleon had pulled his Walther when the first howl sounded. "I'm thinking those were wolves," he said as he looked around. I remember reading somewhere that this area was sacred to the Shoshone tribe and the Wolf Spirit was worshipped as their Creator and the Protector of these lands. Translation: There are, or used to be, a lot of wolves around here."
Illya was about to say something sarcastic when a movement to his right caught his eye. A large silvery – gray wolf was standing there staring at them. Napoleon sensed his sudden stillness and turned to see where he was looking. He began to slowly bring his gun to fire when Illya stayed his arm. "Napoleon, have you ever heard of a blue – eyed, blue – nosed wolf before?"
"No." They watched it for a few seconds more and then were astounded when it whined, sat down and continued to stare at them. "Why is it doing that?" Napoleon asked and then watched dumbfounded as it got up, walked into the fog and then came back and whined some more.
"I could swear it wants us to follow it. Do you think it could lead us to THRUSH?"
"Weirder things have happened to us in this part of the world, Tovarisch.* Banks' map is useless in this fog so unless you have a better idea, let's follow the wolf."
Illya rolled his eyes. "Fine, but we are leaving this part out of the mission report."
MFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFU
Forty minutes later, the agents came to the edge of the tree line. The wolf had continued to move through the clearing until it came to what looked like an opening in the side of the foothill. They were about to follow when they saw a light coming out of the cave. As the light brightened, the wolf faded until it disappeared just before the light would have hit it. Five THRUSH soldiers in their trademark uniforms emerged carrying something between them that they placed in a truck.
They turned around to head back inside when one called, "I'll be right there. I've gotta pee like a racehorse!" and headed right to where Illya and Napoleon were hiding. They waited until he had finished to dart him.
Snatching off his beret to discover his dark hair, Napoleon quickly pulled the jumpsuit on over his clothing. "I'm going in and hoping Kingmaker is in there." Waving off Illya's argument, he led the way to the truck where they quickly opened the crate to reveal what appeared to be a bomb the size of a fire extinguisher. "Get this secured and make sure HQ knows how to find it in case we don't get out. See you later." The CEA turned and ran inside as if to catch up with his comrades.
Hurriedly, the Russian removed the bomb and closed the crate so that it looked undisturbed. Racing back the way they had come, he stopped at a downed tree, attached a homing device to it and buried it underneath. He assembled his communicator and asked for Channel D.
"Sir," he said when Mr. Waverly answered, "we have located THRUSH's hideout and we have taken possession of the bomb. I have attached a homing device, frequency Alpha Delta Vector 2249, to it and hidden it under a tree. Napoleon has entered the satrap to attempt to extricate Dr. Kingmaker. I am going in to destroy it."
"Understood, Mr. Kuryakin. A team from the Reno office is on its way to assist. Good luck. Waverly out."
Illya disassembled his communicator and went back to the cave entrance. Thankful there were no guards out front, he proceeded down the path. He was pleased to see two guards with sleep darts protruding out of their necks, but as he moved forward he could hear someone yelling in an absolute fury. Edging closer, using the shadows and pieces of gear as cover, he manage to get to within thirty feet of where a man wearing a white lab coat was verbally and physically berating a tied up Napoleon.
"You thought you could stop me? Me? Once my bomb destroys that base, the American government will be forced to admit how much they have been keeping from its citizens. The arrogance (slap) of you to come here alone! (slap) The Central Committee will be happy to fund my building more bombs! They'll probably offer me a seat!"
Napoleon's head lolled back as he glared at his captor. "What they'll offer you is a bullet to the brain once they get a hold of your notes, idiot!"
(slap slap slap!) Illya forced himself to stay where he was while Napoleon was brutalized by Kingmaker. And he tells me that my mouth gets me into trouble, he thought as he looked around for a way to create a diversion. Finding it, he decided to wait a few minutes more to see if the angry man in front of his partner would take the bait Napoleon had put out there.
Kingmaker was outraged by Napoleon's comments. "My notes are in here!" he screamed as he pointed at his head. "Nothing is on paper! They will not harm me!"
That is all I need to know, Illya thought as he aimed for a crate labeled "Caution, Flammable Materials." His silenced gun spat out a bullet that entered the crate and ignited the contents. The soldiers immediately began to move to put it out and Illya darted each one as they came into his view.
Doctor Kingmaker realized there was more going on than just a fire and he moved to escape, but was stopped by a sleep dart to the butt. "Tovarisch!" Napoleon called, "I think you got them all!" There was no answer, but he didn't expect one. Illya would show himself when he was convinced there was no longer a danger and not before.
The Russian looked around and listened for any sound, but there was none. Cautiously, he raised himself up and came to Napoleon's side. He pulled his knife from underneath his sleeve and cut the ropes that bound his partner's wrists and ankles. "Can you walk?"
"Yes. Help me drag this piece of crap out of here. Before they got the drop on me, I was able to ascertain that there was only the one bomb that we took. If you set charges along the path to the cave entrance, I don't think anyone will be able to get in here again."
"Da. I will take care of it. Then all we have to do is wait for the team the Old Man is sending from Reno; they are on the way."
"Good." Napoleon's face was starting to swell. Great, my left eye is going to swell shut, he thought as he and Illya dragged Kingmaker out of the cave. Marian is not going to get the pretty boy she's used to, but it can't be helped. They pulled the unconscious scientist to the place where Illya had stashed the bomb. Illya doubled back to place the explosives in the cave. Napoleon sat with his gun in his lap on the off chance Kingmaker awoke. He looked around and a movement in front of him caught his eye. The blue - eyed wolf stepped out from behind a tree. "Thank you," he said to it, "I don't understand what's going on here, but thank you for your help." He swore the animal nodded before it turned around and disappeared into the woods.
MFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFU
Three days later, the CEA and his partner were doing paperwork in their office. Kingmaker had been turned over to Section III for interrogation and the bomb had been disarmed and placed in UNCLE's vaults.
"Napoleon, do you think we should have told Mr. Waverly about the Shoshone Wolf Spirit that helped us?"
"I have no desire to spend time with the Psych Unit, so no, I don't think so."
The Russian grunted his agreement and went back to work. Ten minutes later, he leaned back and said, "Do you think the American government will ever tell the citizenry the truth about the Naval Undersea Warfare Training Center in Nevada or Area 51?"
Napoleon leaned back in his chair and regarded his partner with affection. "I don't know. I think Mr. Waverly spoke with President Eisenhower about coming clean once, but it didn't go well and I don't think he's brought it up since. When it comes to things like that, I'm just a soldier taking orders.
Illya shrugged. "I guess you are right. Maybe one day it will happen, but it is not our call."
*ref. "The Truest Thing"
Author's Note: I got the idea for this story after I read this: Navy Base Under the Nevada Desert