"I had to break Trina's heart," Illya said to Napoleon. A very hectic week had just come to an end, and the two men were now relaxing around a camp fire. The flames blazed bright and orange, taking sharp licks at the kindling below and bringing a warm flush to their faces.
"Oh?" Napoleon's eyebrows went up. From the expression on Illya's face, he could tell that his friend was deeply troubled.
"I was just getting too serious about her," Illya continued. "When you think about a woman night and day, you realize that she has too strong a hold on you, and in this profession, you know that that would never work."
"And how did she take it?" asked Napoleon.
"She did not get angry or pitch a fit. She just sat there looking at me with those big, brown, sad eyes of hers. 'Well, you have to do what you have to do,' was all she said. Then she told me that she would never forget me."
"I've been there too, pal," Napoleon said sympathetically. "She'll find someone else, and in the meantime, welcome back to the singles life." He winked at his partner and grinned, but Illya didn't smile back.
After the return from the camping trip, Illya tried very hard to follow Napoleon's example, and for awhile, he even rivaled his partner's proficiency for charming the ladies, but no matter what he did, where he went, or who he was with, the memory of Trina's sorrowful eyes still haunted him.
One night a few weeks after the camping trip, Illya was at a jazz club which he frequented often. The dim lighting gave a sense of mystery to the interior, and the soft music flowed over Illya, soothing his soul. Then he saw Trina and gave a gasp of dismay.
It wasn't that she was in the company of a man; he'd fully expected her to move on. It was that the man she was with was one whom Illya recognized as a dangerous THRUSH agent. He wondered what lies the man had told Trina to get her to go out with him.
Deeply concerned, Illya decided to follow them after they left the jazz club. It was the dead of night, and although he was well trained in self defense, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous when he realized what neighborhood he was driving through. At one point, he lost track of Trina and her companion and had to search for awhile before he spotted the man's car parked outside an apartment building.
Illya found a discreet place in which to park his car and approached the dwelling with trepidation. He noticed that the drawn shade was partially open at the bottom, and by shining a small flashlight through the window, he could see what was happening inside.
The man lay atop Trina on the sofa, thrusting into her as she screamed and tried to get away. Adrenaline flowed through Illya's veins as he swiftly picked the lock and flung the door open.
Unaware that he was being watched, the THRUSH agent continued to attack Trina. "You're mine now," he growled.
"I do not think so." Enraged, Illya pulled the man off Trina and sent a fist flying squarely into his jaw, snapping his neck and killing him instantly. That was for Trina, he thought grimly as the lifeless body slumped to the floor.
Next he turned his attention to Trina, who sat curled up on the sofa, sobbing her heart out. "I am so sorry, Trinochka," he murmured as he tenderly embraced her.
"I'm so ashamed," she gasped. "I never would have wanted you to see me like this."
"You have no reason to be ashamed," Illya told her. "It is not your fault at all."
He held her and comforted her until her sobbing subsided, then helped her to gather her torn clothing. Then he got a blanket from his car and wrapped it around her, carried her to the car, and drove her to the police station.
It is my fault, he told himself as he drove along, feeling his breathing and pulse rate slowly return to normal. If I had not broken things off with her, she never would have gone out with him.
Right there and then, he decided that he would never leave Trina again. Despite his career situation and its inherent risks, he knew that he could no more stop caring for Trina than he could stop breathing, and somehow, he knew that he would have to make it work.