The two agents met each other's eyes and nodded; their communication was silent but effective as they moved towards the altar and the priest who was praying fervently at the base of it.
"Father Enrique, we have a way in that has been hidden, even from you. We intend to go through it and investigate what lies within it. Perhaps there is another way to what is beneath us. We won't know who or what is down there, or how much resistence they might put up. Please, if you hear anything that sounds like an explosion or guns firing...leave the church". Napoleon had little hope that the man would surrender his position at the altar, but he needed to at least make the request. He thought briefly of the possibility that the prayers of this old priest might actually aid them in this venture.
"My son, I will remain here and pray. I can promise you nothing else". His manner was resolute, leaving the UNCLE agents nothing to do but retreat to the recently discovered doorway. Illya led the way across the front of the church and back towards the confessional booth. When he reached the heavy drape that covered the entry, he pulled it back and began to feel for a spring or some other mechanism that would open. Within a few minutes of searching, his fingers felt a movement beneath them and the snick of the latch as it released, causing the door to open inward towards the dusty room beyond.
"Here Napoleon, it's here. Wait a minute and let me go in first..." The senior agent grasped his friend's shoulder, the unspoken assurance that he would cover his back at all costs.
"I'm right behind you partner".
Illya pulled out his penlight and began running the beam over the floor, up the walls and ceiling; he was looking for signs of use, but could see no indication that this passage had been visited recently. That was good, for it meant they still had a chance of surprising someone by arriving via this route. Next was the search for a way to the room beneath the church. Although the recent excavation for that space would not have involved the place where he now stood, the plausibility of finding a way into the newer section was what he was counting on.
He could hear the gush of air flowing; it was forced air, and not coming from the passage in which he now traveled. The probability that a fresh air system had been installed was high, and if so...
"Hey, any luck in there?" It was Napoleon, and he moved up behind the Russian as he asked for an update.
"I think they have an air system of some type...perhaps air conditioning, considering our location".
Napoleon considered that and agreed it would be an expected accomodation for the underground lab. "So, do you think we can get in that way? I don't see anything that looks like air ducts here". Illya put his ear to the floor and listened, hoping for a clue to come up through the dirt and stones.
"They must have put in the system, just above their ceiling and below where we now stand. That means we can get to the lab from here by digging and then entering the duct system they've installed. Not very high tech, but it will get us in". "I don't care it it's high tech or not. Are you sure this will work?" The CEA would nearly always bow to his partners expertise in these matters, and was willing to do so now. But, he would like some reassurance that wouldn't land in the arms of some Thrush goon.
"Napoleon, it would appear that this will get us below, but I have no idea where it will place us. Do we proceed?" What choice did they have? Napoleon nodded, a piece of hair falling on his forehead as he did so. The small space was already feeling cramped and the air stale. The thought of being in the air duct had some appeal to the man, and he moved back in order to allow Illya a spot to start moving earth and stone. Very quickly it seemed, they could see signs of metal. It was just a small spot, however, and the actual digging away of adequate earth was going to take them an hour or so. Illya began the process, clearing away a few inches at a time. He worked for about 15 minutes, and then Napoleon took over. It was hot in the small space, and each man was glad for the break he received when a shift of digging was completed. On Illya's second go'round with the process, they had cleared a space about fifteen inches in diameter. Still too small to accomodate either of them, he was widening the opening when a second gust of air started blowing into their workspace. The sound of it was just a whisper, but each man was alerted to the intrusion almost immediately. With little room for moving quickly, it was only a matter of minutes until they realized what was happening; it was a few minutes too late however. Napoleon spotted the small vents near where the dirt floor met the wood reinforced walls. Illya, being closer to them, collapsed first as the senior agent watched, unable to move away and succumbing to the gas a few seconds later. Neither of them saw the girl Maria enter from the opposite end of their workspace, through another hidden doorway.
She had tried to give them every opportunity to leave here; drugging them and leaving their weapons close by, and an easy escape had been intended to provoke them to abandon this place. Her grandfather was insanely pursuing this wicked plot, his poisonous virus a terrible discovery that she had tried to remove from his lab, only to be caught and reprimanded as a foolish, idealistic young woman. She was a member of an emerging group of peace loving people, and she hated that someone in her family could be responsible for such evil. Still, he was family, and he had raised her without complaint, and always in a loving way. Whatever had overtaken his mind in these past few years still made her shudder as she compared the man in the laboratory to the grandfather she loved. Now, more than ever, she needed to protect him from men who might kill him, and at the same time she must find a way to destroy the virus herself. These two were persistent, but they couldn't succeed if it meant harming the old man. There would need to be sacrifices.