Mark Slate was in a near panic as he searched for his missing partner.
She'd been taken prisoner by the very man they had been sent to capture, Professor Hamish MacPherson, a noted scientist of the feathered kind whose latest plan to subdue humanity was in the works.
What that plan was exactly, no one was sure, but intelligence had confirmed a lot of chatter in regards to it on the the supposedly secure T.H.R.U.S.H. airwaves.
Their radio codes had again been secured by Kuryakin and Solo, at near cost to their lives, and as they were recuperating in the infirmary at London headquarters, the team of Slate and Dancer had been sent to find MacPherson somewhere in the highlands of Scotland.
"Overseas relay, Channel D," Slate whispered into his communicator.
"Yes Mr. Slate, what have you to report," Waverly responded in his usual brusque manner.
"I'm sorry to tell you sir that Miss Dancer is still missing and since I'm unable to locate the Professor as well, it's my opinion that he has her with him."
"Well find them both and do it quickly Mr. Slate. Time is of the essence, as radio chatter indicates this latest scheme is due to be launched very shortly...within the next twenty-four hours."
"Yes sir, out."
"Oh bother," Slate mumbled. He had no idea where April or MacPherson were.
His communicator suddenly warbled. "Slate here."
"Mark it's Napoleon," he was calling from his hospital bed with both legs in casts and a bandage over one of his eyes. "I just heard about April."
"Yeah, mate. I'm in a bit of a quandary"
Kuryakin who was in the bed next to Solo called out, "Was she wearing her charm bracelet when you last saw her?"
Mark scratched his head for a moment. "Yes she was mate, why?"
"Because," Solo added," Illya told me he put a tracking device in one of the charms, and if she's activated it, then voila...you can locate her.
Solo gave him the frequency for the tracker. "Good luck Mark, bring my girl back safe and sound."
That was the first time Solo had publicly alluded to his relationship with Dancer, even though April had let her partner know what was going on between her and the CEA; no one else but Illya was in on the secret.
"Will do, and thanks, Slate out."
He adjusted the signal in his communicator…
.
April Dancer was standing tied to a support beam in the middle of a room surrounded by electronic devices with brightly colored flashing lights and what looked like a large laser mounted on a tripod near a large open window.
The scene reminded her of a mission that Illya had described to her once, though she was sure this wasn't a monastary in the Alps occupied by the monks of St. Thomas making Acquitine...
"Och Miss Stewart...if that's yew're name Missy. Yew'll be the first witness to ma plans, and then I'll be turning ma machine on yew." MacPherson spoke with a thick Scottish accent.
"It's Dancer, April Dancer of U.N.C.L.E. and whatever it is you're up to, you won't succeed."
"Threats Missy? Yew are in new position to be making them, and yewr people dinna even knew where yew are."
April was busy working her hands behind her back, the first thing she did was activate the new homing disc on her bracelet by pressing a charm that looked like a navel orange. The second thing she did was manipulate the sharp edge of another charm that resembled a feather as she started the process of cutting through the ropes that bound her.
"So are you at least going to tell me what your big plan is Professor," she said, turning on the charm. "You wouldn't send a girl to her death and not tell her the where's and why's...would you?"
The Professor, like all of his T.H.R.U.S.H. cohorts loved to brag...but this time he relegated the task to his underling.
"Mr. Smithers?"
"Yes sir?"
"If yew would be sew kind to dew the honors?"
"Gladly sir," Smithers relished the opportunity to brag for once.
"You see with this laser we're going to activate a series of satellites orbit in space, they each have their own lasers mounted to them and when activated they will fire on strategic targets located around the world...specifically Washington D.C. Moscow, Paris, London Peking, Tokyo, just to name a few. Once they fall, the United Nations will be sent our demands. Surrender all control or we will continue to destroy the major cities of the world and the people living there."
"You people really are insane, you know that?"
"No Miss Dancer, not at all," Smithers countered. "It's a shame a beautiful woman such as yourself will not be around to see the establishment of the new world order."
"I'd rather be dead than to see you succeed."
At that exact moment April pulled free of her bindings, kicking Smithers in the chin with the pointy toe of her boot and knocking him to the floor. As a guard charged her she spun, kicking him in the stomach and as he bent over in pain, she karate chopped him to the neck.
MacPherson though came up behind her, pinning April's arms.
"Nice try Missy, but ah told yew, ye nae wouldna win."
April raised her right leg, and brought the heel of her boot smashing down on his foot, catching him off guard. She spun, hitting him in the adam's apple with her fist, sending the mad Scotsman staggering to the floor where he shuddered a moment before he died.
She stepped over the body without a thought, heading straight for the laser, and pulling one of the charms from her bracelet; she jammed it into the machine and ran for cover.
Ducking behind a control panel, she covered her ears as she counted down, "3-2-1...BOOM!"
The auburn haired agent stood, dusting off her clothes as the smoke cleared.
"April!" She heard Mark's voice call from behind her. He'd heard the explosion and rushed in, hoping against hope his partner was still alive.
"Over here Mark darling."
"Are you all right? I got your homing signal and got here as fast as I could."
"Well you missed the show, but your timing is still impeccable none the less. Let's go home. MacPherson is dead and his scheme is too."
Slate reached out wrapping his arm around April's shoulders.
"Oy, that's my girl," he grinned at her.