Chapter IV
Illya sat in his lab staring through his microscope at his latest experiment or, at least that was what he kept telling himself. He was working on a new veridical and had mixed it with a blood sample and was supposed to be paying attention to how it was affecting the cells. Unfortunately, his mind kept wandering away from the task at hand to wonder about the status of the search for Napoleon. There are a thousand miles between Los Angeles and Puntas Arenas, Chile. There are agents and mercenaries fanned out from border to border looking for anyone matching the descriptions of Napoleon Solo and Arnold Leopold. There are two agents on twelve hours shifts stationed at President Ibanez Airport in Puntas Arenas. It has been two days; why have I not heard anything?
He sighed loudly. Maybe I should go back to the office; I am not accomplishing anything here. Though truth be told, there wasn't much for him to accomplish there, either.Unlike his partner, Illya was good with paperwork. He had reviewed and signed off on all the agents' status reports, expense reports and requisitions. All the performance evaluations for his probationary Section II agents were completed and awaiting The Old Man's signature. Illya Kuryakin might not be the charming, charismatic leader of Section II that Napoleon Solo was but, Mr. Waverly did not have to pin him down to get his reports and, he also had the loyalty and respect of his agents because they knew he would not order them to do something that he would not.
He had been keeping Mr. Waverly apprised of the progress of the search for Napoleon. Mr. Waverly had, to his surprise, authorized Wolf Schmidt to have a modified pen communicator sent to him that only connected to Illya and Mr. Waverly himself.
He exited his lab and, on impulse, headed to the Commissary for a cup of coffee. Just as he finished paying the cashier, his special communicator chirped. Immediately, he opened it and responded, "Kuryakin" as he walked quickly to the stairs to avoid curious ears in the elevator. "Wolf, has he been found?"
"They were spotted, Illya. This Dr. Leopold is taking no chances. My understanding is that he still believes Napoleon is a THRUSH agent and they were trying to steal his research. So, to avoid unfriendly birds, he decided not to fly out of Los Angeles and instead, they drove south from Los Angeles to Teniente Gallardo Airport where the doctor chartered a small plane to take them to Rio Gallegos International Airport in Argentina where they think he will either rent another car or catch the bus that goes to Chile. The assumption now is that he is making a straight run to Puntas Arenas."
The Russian stepped out of the stairwell onto his floor and moved swiftly to his office. The door swished open for him and he sat at his desk where he pulled a large Atlas from his bottom drawer. "Yes, yes, I see it! A highway called the Paso Integracion Austral runs directly between the two cities. It looks to be a five hour drive or bus ride."
"It can be as long as eight hours depending on the weather as there is a rough patch of road that stretches about sixty miles. Question: Do you want my team to intercept them?"
Illya wanted nothing more than to have his partner rescued and returned safely to New York but…That would leave us still not knowing about those weapons the doctor had bragged about to Napoleon. "When exactly was the last time one of your operatives had eyes on Leopold and Napoleon? In what condition did Napoleon appear to be? Did he appear injured?"
"Not according to my reports," Wolf replied. "Both men seemed to be in good shape; well fed and hydrated. That was the case when they were seen on the way to the Chilean airport twelve hours ago. It takes five hours to fly to the airport in Argentina. A few thousand pesos in the right hands got five of my men on a flight that departed for Rios Gallegos fifteen minutes after Leopold's chartered plane. They have quite a bit of luggage; my men do not. They should be able to get to the car rental counter just before Napoleon and Leopold and follow them regardless of what means of transportation they use. They have instructions to continue surveillance and under no circumstances are they to engage unless I provide new instructions."
Illya pulled out the small suitcase he kept under his desk at the ready and said, "I am going up to see Mr. Waverly and then I am on my way to Puntas Arenas. Tell your men that when they have determined where Leopold's lab is, they should pass that information to you immediately and then return to Rio Gallegos to await further instructions. I will contact you as soon as I get there."
Wolf's snort could be heard through the phone. "Somehow, that is what I thought you would say."
MFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFUMFU
"Mr. Kuryakin, UNCLE and I owe you and your brother – in – law our most heartfelt thanks and I owe you an apology. I was wrong to doubt you." Mr. Waverly was puffing on his pipe as he sat at the conference table opposite his CEA. "Are you certain you do not want a Strike Team to accompany you?"
Illya momentarily fingered the vial he had gotten from his lab before going to see The Old Man. He lifted his chin and stated, "I am sure, Mr. Waverly. Puntas Arenas is remote enough and small enough that so many strangers would only arouse suspicion and cause people to talk. I do not want to tip off Dr. Leopold and cause him to run or harm Napoleon. If Napoleon is still under the influence of the mind control drug, he may not recognize me. He may fight me. I will need to find the antidote, destroy the lab, bring in Dr. Leopold and get us out of Chile. It will be, as Napoleon says, 'a piece of cake.'"
Mr. Waverly smiled around his pipe at his agent's bravado and said, "I hope that you are right, Mr. Kuryakin. Good luck to you."