The halls of UNCLE headquarters were chilled to a steady 70 degrees during the entire year. That temperature, according to research aimed at producing the most efficient environment for work, had reached the determination of 70 degrees as the optimum in comfort and productivity. But, when Napoleon Solo entered the reception area after his meeting with Illya, he felt a chill.
His partner hadn't shared any of the details of the meeting with the Thrush, nor had he indicated that any information would be forthcoming. The man who occupied the top position of section two was in the dark, and he didn't like the feeling. All he could gather from the oblique conversation was that a sting was in motion, and the person most likely to feel the inevitable discomfort would be the Russian. Now, walking into his office with his head reeling from the discovery of this covert operation, Napoleon realized he would not be able to help Illya until he saw the problem in motion. His partner was being set up, not only as an infiltrator into Thrush, but as a fall guy here at headquarters. That meant it was a double sided affair. Why else would he remain here if it weren't to draw someone out? Normally an infiltration meant only that; you went into the enemy camp and hoped they would embrace you as a defector who was bringing information as the door was swinging shut behind you. But that wasn't the case here. Illya was remaining in UNCLE while posing as a traitor. If Waverly suspected someone of being a mole, why hadn't he been included in this?
He felt a headache coming on. His blood pressure must have jumped up twenty points from the shock and then his concern about the situation. He realized that he could probably spot something if he were to examine files on the most likely suspects. Perhaps recent activities would point him in a direction that might be useful. Unless Illya and Waverly already knew who it was, how could it not help to have one more person working on this? He kept asking himself questions but the answers were eluding him.
Illya was literally out in the cold. If Thrush stopped long enough to start questioning his supposed defection, he would be in danger from them. If certain people in UNCLE caught him in the act of whatever he would be doing, then reprisals here could get ugly. It was already a stretch for some to accept the Russian agent. He had built a stellar reputation within the agency, but some things die hard; prejudice was a tough enemy.
His phone rang twice before he actually heard it. "Mr. Solo...' It was Lisa Rogers, the woman behind the man. Mr. Waverly's secretary knew everything, saw everything...
"Mr. Waverly would like to see you...now". Oh, the summons he had waited for. The old man would want to know how the meeting had gone. Now how was he to handle this? Lie to Waverly. More questions, more pain in his head.
"Thank you Lisa. I'll be right there".
Alexander Waverly sat very still at the same spot he always occupied as he waited for Mr. Solo's arrival. This time, he did not pick up the briar pipe, nor did he fidget and look for files. Somehow that activity held less appeal to him at present. He knew, of course, that Mr. Kuryakin would have tried to alert his partner to the scheme at hand. That was understood. It was also accepted for the time being. Trying to separate those two was like tearing school children apart from their games and making them come in for a nap. So much fuss over the matter. Still, he knew they were the best and that their commitment to one another was the glue that held their missions together; they had the best record in the organization and it was due, in large part, to the way they worked together. Individually they each had all that was required to be a top notch UNCLE agent. But, together they were beyond top notch. They were the standard to which all other teams aspired. Pulling the Russian out in order to use him as bait was a hard decision, especially considering the decision to exclude his CEA from the plan. On the other hand, Kuryakin was the right choice; he was the one most people would accept as a traitor due to their ignorant fear of him simply because of his place of birth. It would be easy to fabricate the disgruntled accounts of a lone wolf who had tired of suspicions and arrogant prejudice. Yes, Illya Kuryakin would make a very viable traitor.
"Mr. Solo, do come in". The entrance of Napoleon Solo split the swooshing noise of the pnuematic doors as they closed behind him. He showed no indication of the turmoil he had left in his office; the headache was under control now and his demeanor reflected the cool personna of Waverly's top agent. He had determined to remain quiet on the issue of his exclusion from the plan in question. He would wait for his superior to broach the subject and, include him or not, he would try and follow orders. His concern for the safety of his partner was running on par with his reaction to the threat of an enemy agent inside of UNCLE. Working together was the solution, and he was yielded to doing whatever necessary to bring in the offending agent. But, he would also do whatever was necessary to protect Illya.
