Illya and Angelique arrived back at the boarding house two minutes before the skies opened again. She immediately went to her mother's room to set up the dehumidifier while he went to the dining room in search of Toby.
It was lunchtime and Toby was at a table alone. He waved Illya over and pulled out a chair in invitation. "So," he said, "Were you able to speak with your editor?"
"I was. He seemed pleased with what I gave him. He wants me to call him after four o'clock. Will that be possible?"
"Yeah, dammit. Thunderstorms are gonna be in the area until around three AM, so we ain't goin' nowhere today. We'll be lucky to get out on the water by dawn tomorrow. I'm goin' to go see my wife, I'll see you later, Nigel." Toby pushed his empty plate away and stood to leave. He nodded to Angelique as he passed her.
She came and sat with Illya. "How is your mother?" he asked.
She shook her head. "She's telling me she's fine, but she's not. The dehumidifier should make a difference in her breathing, but she really needs solid medical care and she's determined not to leave the bayou." She glanced at the blond. "Thanks for letting me ride with you to get it for her. Have you ordered yet?" When he shook his head no, she grabbed Toby's plate, went into the kitchen and came back with two plates loaded down with fried chicken, corn on the cob and collard greens. "Bon appetit," she said as she put a plate in front of him.
"Thank you," he said and began to eat.
The two ate in silence for several minutes before Angelique said, "I saw Tommy as I was coming down the stairs and he said it's going to rain all day and almost all night."
Illya nodded. "Toby told me the same thing."
"So, do you still think Hebert is the reason the gators are going crazy around here?"
"I do."
"Then tonight might be our best opportunity to stop him."
"'Our best opportunity?'"
"I meant what I said earlier; if it's him, he is endangering the lives and livelihoods of people I care about. I can't allow that to continue." She waited as she watched the UNCLE agent think about what she was proposing. Leaning in closer she said, "No one was on the water today, I guarantee. That means no one is working at Hebert's tonight. We could go in, look around and hopefully, find the source of whatever concoction he's using to agitate the alligators."
"You do realize that you are proposing that we work together?"
"Trust me, 'Nigel,' I don't like it much either, but if you think about it, you need me. You can't go to Hebert's with your high beams blazing and I know the swamp and the roads like the back of my hand."
The thing was, Illya did need her and he knew it. Hebert's building was so large, it would take him hours to search it alone and he didn't have that kind of time, he wasn't as knowledgeable about the roads and shortcuts and tonight was his only foreseeable chance to do it fairly well – rested. He looked at the clock on the wall and said, "It's one – thirty. I won't be able to find out the information I requested for another three hours. You made good points. I am going to my room to sleep. If you are serious about helping me, I suggest you get some rest, too."
Angelique nodded. "I will, after I see to my mother. I'm sure that everyone will take advantage of the fact that they're home early because of the rain and go to sleep early. If you decide to go, we can sneak out around eleven. It will take us about an hour to get there in this weather. We need to be back here no later than four to be certain we are not missed. That leaves approximately three hours to search that workspace."
"It is settled, then. Meet me at the front door at ten – thirty. If we awaken anyone, we will know it. If we hear nothing, we can leave."
Illya woke up at four – thirty and went into his bathroom to call Agent Jackson. "Open Channel N. Local relay scrambled, please."
Moments later, Jackson's drawl came through the communicator. "Hey, I've got your results! I've already apprised Mr. Waverly. This is a very bad business, this sample you gave me."
"What is in it?"
"Alligator testosterone. A very high dose of it. Any male gator exposed to it either by ingestion it or having it introduced into the water he swims in would go into heat. This is not mating season for gators; the females aren't interested so what you end up with is lots of sexually frustrated male gators taking their frustrations out on anything that moves, including each other."
"That would explain the mutilated carcasses some of the hunters complained about and the unusually aggressive behaviors."
"Precisely. The only way to have that large a dose in what you gave me would be to manufacture it. You're looking for a lab close by the water. It can't be transported too far because my guy believes it would lose its viability."
"Thank you, Agent Jackson; I have an idea where to look. Please send me a copy of the analysis when you send Mr. Waverly's. Kuryakin out." He sat for a few moments and then called Mr. Waverly. "Sir, I know you have received the report on the sample I have to Agent Jackson. It is my plan to see if I can find the lab where the testosterone is manufactured tonight."
"Good luck to you, Mr. Kuryakin."
He laid back down for another hour and then went downstairs to the restaurant to eat. It was almost six and it was the earliest he had eaten dinner since arriving in Houma. When he entered, he saw that Angelique was right: All the hunters were in having dinner. He saw an empty seat next to Toby and took that seat. As usual, the food was served family style and Illya helped himself to the roasted gar, crawfish jambalaya, fried okra and fried green tomatoes. Pouring himself a tall glass of sweet tea, he caught Angelique's eye as she entered the room and nodded.
She nodded back in understanding and then spoke to the table. "Hey, everyone. I'm eating upstairs with my Mama. I just came down to get our food."
"How she doin', Angel?" Tommy asked.
"Stubborn as hell, which I guess is a good sign. I told her I would stay with her tomorrow and she said she'd kick my butt if I put you in a trick bag by not showing up. So don't worry; if the weather permits, I'm going out with you."
Tommy relaxed visibly. "I wouldn't blame you if you stayed in, but it does make my life easier that you still goin' with me. I'm gettin' in my bed early. At least I can get more than four hours sleep tonight."
Toby smiled and raised his tea glass. "I know that's right! I went to visit my wife so I really need to get some rest!" He looked at Illya and winked. "She was real glad to see me."
Illya laughed and slapped Toby's shoulder. "It will be awhile before I see my wife, so I am glad for you!" Just then, Angelique came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with two plates and full glasses. "Have a good night, Angel!" he called to her.
"Thanks, Nigel. I'll see you later. 'Night, everyone!"
The other men waved goodnight and went back to their dinner. I'm going to miss this food!, Illya thought as he reached for seconds.
Ten – thirty found the UNCLE agent and the former (he hoped) THRUSH at the front door dressed all in black. The dining room had closed early to accommodate the fact that the hunters were in bed. They listened intently, but couldn't hear anyone stirring upstairs. Stealthily, they headed outside to Illya's car. Rather than starting it right away, Angelique put the car in neutral and they pushed it farther away from the house so that it would not be heard when she started it. When they were a distance from the house, Illya jumped in and she started the car, turned on the parking lights and drove.
Illya was impressed with the way Angelique stayed on the road despite the steady rain and her use of just the parking lights. He didn't speak to her so that she could concentrate and his reward was that they got to Hebert's meat processing plant in fifty minutes. She had cut the lights off the last tenth of a mile.
"So," she said, "What is it we're looking for?"
"I believe it is a lab of some sort that manufactures synthetic alligator testosterone."
"Male gators with an excess of testosterone this time of year would be crazy. This bastard endangers everyone on the bayou!"
"I have to say, Angelique, that I never thought you could be this passionate about something other than THRUSH."
"I was not always Angelique DeChien, Illya. I grew up as Angel LeDoux here in the swamps. I loved it here, but my mother was a religious nut when I was younger. My father couldn't take it. He left us. Mama did her best, teaching me what she knew, but I couldn't take all the crazy religious rules she put on me, so when I got a chance to leave, I did."
"I am sorry."
"I don't want your pity. I am only telling you this in case you wondered why I'm here. Mama was made to realize years ago that her attitude drove away the people she loved. She changed. That's why I was able to come back. And I'm glad because my people needs agents to help them now. So let's get going." They moved to the door which the Russian easily opened with his lock pick. There were no lights on inside and they both had small flashlights. "How do you want to do this?"
On the drive there, Illya had been thinking about possible places to look for a lab and had come up with one strong possibility. "The barrels of blood in the far corner; no one goes over there unless they have to because of the smell. That is the logical place to start looking."
They walked to the far corner where the barrels were and began moving them to look around. Angelique moved one and said, "Look! There seems to be hinges here!"
Illya produced a knife and was able to find the outline of a trap door. They managed to open it with little difficulty to reveal stairs.
Just then, the lights snapped on and Hebert's voice came from behind them. "Put your hands in the air and turn around!" They complied and saw Hebert standing with four men, THRUSH rifles pointed at them. "Nigel," he said, "you're really getting into your research for your story, aren't you?" He turned his attention to the blond's companion. "You look familiar, but I'm not sure why. Who are you?"
Angelique didn't answer.
Hebert looked at one of the gunmen. "Search them."
The search yielded their weapons and Illya's communicator. When the henchman handed the items to Hebert, he looked and remarked, "Aha. UNCLE agents. We're going to have fun finding out how much you know."