The bullets were flying around them thought, it seemed Thrush wanted to keep them pinned down rather than kill them.
Napoleon and Illya had escaped from their prison earlier in the day, grabbed guns from their captors, managed to get a message to UNCLE, and found refuge in an old deserted cabin. There they were pinned down on their way to the pick-up point as Thrush had caught up to them.
"I only have a few more rounds," Illya informed Napoleon. He was exhausted and in pain but neither came through in his voice.
The two had been beaten badly while in the hands of Thrush and were holding on now by pure adrenalin.
"I'm not in any better shape; only one more clip. Any ideas?" Napoleon asked.
"Keep them busy. I'll see if there is anything we can use in here." Illya began searching and opening a cabinet, he let out a shout of success.
"What did you find?" Napoleon shouted back as he got off a few last shots.
"These guys are getting closer. We don't have much time left."
Illya turned, showing a gleam in his eyes as he held out two bottles of Grand Marnier Liqvor.
"Oh now that's a drink to die for. You're not thinking of wasting it, are you?" Napoleon asked, knowing his partner's love of blowing things up.
"Napoleon, it is either we use this to blow them up, or go back into their tender loving care. Which would you prefer?"
Illya was exasperated with the whole affair. It was supposed to have been an easy fast in and out, but turned out to be a disaster from the moment they retrieved the information they were sent after. They were caught just after hiding it. Thrush couldn't figure out where they had concealed the information and had been working on them for two days.
With a sigh, Napoleon ripped a few strips of cloth from his torn shirt offering them to his partner.
"You're right but it a shame to have to use it like this. It's so expensive, I've only have been able to afford it once and now I have two bottles which I'm going to throw. Let's do this fast before I can change my mind."
Napoleon used the last of his rounds and the Thrush agents were now too close for comfort. It Illya was going to do something, it would have to be now or never.
Illya smiled at his friend as he handed him a bottle, having lit the strips of cloth. Napoleon sighed once more, took a quick drink from the other bottle before Illya prepared to light it, then threw his bottle into the middle of the men outside.
Following Napoleon's lead, Illya lobbed his bottle into the same area, and as the fire raged, the two agents ran from the cabin. No bullets chased them.
Arriving at the pick-up point, they saw the helicopter waiting for them.
"Please tell me you still have the data,"
In the back of Napoleon's mind he wouldn't have minded having some of that Grand Marnier at the moment and said so to his partner.
Illya peeled off a fake scar on his arm, pulling out the microfilm and showing it to his partner. Grinning, he pulled a bottle of Grand Marnier out from beneath his shirt.
"There were three bottle and we only needed two," he smiled, much to Napoleon's delight.
Sitting safely in the helicopter, Illya opened the bottle took a sip and handed it to his partner.
"Down the hatch tovarisch. We did it again."
"Na Zdorovie."