"Well, I guess that's it." Bryn sighed after Sully disappeared back into Zed's house. "God, I hope Bert knows what he's doing."

"He's chosen to stay. We can only hope for the best," Illya replied. "The meeting's over. I'll contact the police and have the Baroness and her men released now."

A horrified expression suddenly crossed Bryn's face. "Illya, wait!" she cried.

She leaned closer to him, and he looked at her in puzzlement. "What?"

"The Baroness!" Bryn whispered urgently in his ear. "When you had the police detain her, we weren't expecting Bert to continue as Raymond after the meeting. She can still let the cat out of the bag, and he'll be sunk in nothing flat!"

"Agh, you're right!" Illya thought for a moment, his mind racing. "Even if Sully thinks of this, he doesn't know where she is. We'll have to deal with her."

"Did the police say where they're holding her?"

"Yes. The officer said not to worry, they won't leave this place till the police say they can." Illya pressed his hand to his forehead in concentration. "Driver, take us to the Tower Heights District. I'll tell you when to let us out."

The driver started the car and eased into the street. Illya took out his communicator.

"What are you doing now?" Bryn asked.

"Calling for backup," Illya replied.

They left the cab a short distance from their destination, the Tower Heights Detention Facility. After the driver disappeared from sight, Illya led Bryn to where a disguised Agent Paul Westcott* was waiting in another car. Paul, whom Napoleon and Illya had once saved in the nick of time from death by THRUSH, was currently assigned to UNCLE London until some Section Two vacancies there could be permanently filled. Before the team left New York, Waverly had arranged for Paul to be their local assist in case they needed backup. Since their arrival they'd kept him informed by communicator of their movements from one destination to the next. After Napoleon was shot, Paul sent a Section Three agent to the hospital to keep an eye on him.

Illya and Bryn climbed into the back seat where a knitted cap, a headscarf and two pairs of dark glasses awaited. After introducing Bryn and Paul to each other, Illya asked, "Were you able to do it?"

"Yes," Paul replied. "This is a smaller short-term holding facility, with only one public phone. I disabled it. The Baroness will have to come out that door, and go at least two blocks to contact anyone."

"Good." Illya and Bryn were now wearing their disguises, and he readied his communicator. "All right. I'm having the London office connect me to the police. When I'm finished, pull up across the street from there and be ready to drive."

Ten minutes later, three familiar figures appeared and looked around as if searching for either a public phone or a taxi. Without hesitation Illya aimed his silenced pistol through the car window and fired three shots. Each bullet struck its target dead center in the forehead, and the Baroness and her two men sank to the pavement.

Paul stepped on the accelerator, and they were gone without anyone seeing them or what had just happened.

Section Seven had to scramble, but in the end they made the deadline; and the agreed story appeared in the next edition of the London newspapers. In the city's Tower Heights district, three people were killed in an apparent hit-and-run traffic incident. The victims, Celine de Fracasser and her two cousins, had been tourists visiting the United Kingdom from France.

MFU MFU MFU MFU MFU MFU

That was another call too close for comfort, thought Albert Sully as he settled back into his plane seat. Especially after his cigarette blunder at the club, he should have thought of the Baroness before jumping headfirst back into Raymond's skin. Bryn had asked how long it might be before the enemy caught up with him. He had flippantly replied, let's find out. Which would have been in record time had Bryn and Illya not thought of this loose end, and acted swiftly to protect him.

Now he had to stop winging it through this affair, and start focusing on delivering results. Hollander had indicated that some leaders were already eyeing the late Baroness's operation for themselves. If he could play them against each other, they might become too absorbed in the resulting competition to see UNCLE waiting to scoop them up.

Yes, that would be Marcel Raymond's opening move in this new game after Sully arrived in Paris.

* ref. S1 The Deadly Decoy Affair