Angelique, lost in the gray of the falling water, heard Illya's voice cry out. Had she truly heard him say his partner's name, or was it her imagination. She was aware of bodies around her, yet saw no one. Gun at the ready, she moved cautiously, trying not to slip in the wet dirt. One slide could lead to a concussion or worse.
The wall of falling rain parted for a moment. She caught a glimpse of men, several men, all clad in archaic outfits, one carried the Russian slung over a tanned shoulder. Napoleon? She kept her query silent and followed quickly as the men seemed to disappear into the shadow of a huge boulder. The world spun, disorienting her as she tried to keep up with the others. Vertigo took hold of her senses and she fell, grabbing at the earth as she landed. The THRUSH agent squeezed her eyes shut and used her other senses to feel out what had happened.
The rain slacked off to a drizzle, chill but not obscuring. She opened her eyes again to look up into a sky of pale gray, clouds that were almost through dumping their life giving moisture on the land. Looking around she discovered she was no longer on the side of the mountain strewn with boulders but lying in long grass that concealed her from what could only be described as the walls of an ancient city. Rolling over, she lay on her stomach and stared into the grass. There had been patches of growth around the bases of the boulders, but nothing like the tall stalks with waving seed heads that now hid her from sight.
"What the hell?" she said quietly, making certain the safety on her gun was in place before shoving it into her holster as she sat up, the grass still tall enough to hide her. She heard voices, female voices, their tone excited.
"All that pale hair and eyes, he looks so strange, the friend of our King," one noted.
"But he is a King, also. Our King said so and welcomed him like a brother," another woman chattered on.
"It is good he is married already," a third voice, stronger and more mature sounding added. "There will be no sacrifices because of the King's friend," she continued.
Silence followed that pronouncement until the second voice sighed and wished that the King would take a consort so they could all stop worrying.
The mature one made a dismissive noise. "He has taken no one to his bed for many moons. I doubt he will choose a bride from among the women of the city." Her voice dropped so that Angelique could not hear the next words, although she could sense the shiver of fear that went through the other two,.
"Perhaps one night in Gilasham's bed would be worth an eternity as handmaiden to the gods," a new voice cut in.
The women moved on, toward the walls and a gate that the THRUSH agent could now see. The conversation she'd overheard gave her much to think about. So did this city where none should be. That she was still on the flanks of Kilimanjaro was obvious as the snow-capped mountain rose above her. For a while, she lay in the grass turning over her options. The Russian was inside the city that shouldn't be there. There was also the probability that Solo was inside the city. The description of the visiting king fit the blond agent, so there was every possibility that the king the women spoke of would turn out to be Solo.
Why he was masquerading as the king of a possibly antediluvian city made her curious, but that was not her mission. D'Hanson was her mission and had been recovered. Coda might be an adjunct and making certain that the two UNCLE agents did not interfere in her mission was, of course, imperative. She chose not to examine that thought as closely as usual, hardly wishing to admit to herself in the privacy of her mind, that the game would not be nearly as satisfying without the two opposition agents to tease and annoy.
Twinges of hunger and a developing thirst forced her to consider entering the city. She worked her way to the clear space between the grassland and the wall until she felt safe in making the dash from one to the other. The issue with hiding in tall vegetation was that while it obscured one's presence, it gave one little chance to observe the people around one. Evening was coming and although the temperature was not dropping the way it did in the desert regions of Africa, she would need shelter from the creatures that inhabited the night just as the people of the city did.
By twilight, there seemed to be no one heading in or out of the city. With due caution, she moved to the gate she'd seen. It stood propped open. Unlike all the historical and fantasy movies she'd watched, she saw no guards. Were they that trusting around here? She briefly considered the walls. No, but when you're the biggest, most well-armed entity in the area, maybe guards weren't necessary? She snorted delicately at the idea. Guards were always important, whether as sacrifices to allow one to get away or simply as the first line of defense against intruders.
Angelique decided that in for a sheep as a lamb was the order of the day and walked up to the gate. Nothing. There really weren't any guards anywhere near the gate which opened onto a broad avenue paved in stone slabs and sand. The avenue seemed to extend to the other end of the city with several others crossing it at even intervals. A group of people crossed the main thoroughfare.
"Talk about the Sons of Hercules," she muttered as she took in their clothing. From a distance she could tell there was draped fabric, leather and a lot of skin.
As the sky darkened, people came out of the buildings to put torches in the wall sconces carved into the walls. The light was flickering and provided deep pools of shadow between the halos of fire. Moving toward the center of the city, more of a huge walled town now that she looked at it, Angelique kept an eye out for anyone near her build so that she could acquire a more local look.
She noted that the population seemed a mix of races, from deep, nearly ebony skinned to tanned Mediterranean looking types. There were levels of the society she could see, from middle class to what she took to be slaves, although no one seemed overly concerned with nudity, most of the dress consisting of wrapped lengths of fabric on the women to tunics and various items of what looked like leather armor on the men. Sandals and bare feet along with jewelry completed everyone's outfits.
Wonderful. She stepped into what looked like an abandoned building, no torches filled the street-side sconces and the sand and debris were piled against the threshold. Inside, her small flashlight showed signs of disuse, but also a leather chest against the far wall, listing slightly to one side. Angelique checked the chest. The leather was stiff, the fastenings seemed jammed. A sharp knife took care of the problem and inside lay the answer to her blending in to the populace outside.
She wished she had a mirror to check her change. As long as she thought of the disguise as a sari or haute couture, she was fine. At least the sun was down, no one would look too closely at her as she made her leisurely way toward the center of the place and what she hoped was the location of the King's home. Palace? She needed to reach Solo and Kuryakin to find a way out of this place and back to Moshi.
For a moment, she considered leaving the city and heading back for the jeep, only she wasn't entirely certain exactly where she would find the vehicle, or what might be waiting there when she did return to it.
Mfumfumfumfumfumfumfu
"I thought the monsoon wasn't due for another month," Ms. Petrie yelled over the sound of water as she and Carleton took refuge inside the jeep Angelique was considering with longing.
"It's not. Where did they go?" Carleton referenced not the missing Russian and THRUSH agent, but the horde of men they'd briefly seen through the downpour.
She shrugged her soaked shoulders. "I neither know nor care. They're not here and they're not interfering, that's the important part. I'm wet … soaked through," she complained, stripping off her khaki jacket.
"We could have stayed in Moshi," he pointed out, taking the jacket and spreading it on the rear seat where it might have a chance to dry in the next day or so.
"No be watch the breaking if we in Moshi," the other voice answered him.
He shuddered slightly. "Very true," he agreed. "Very true."
NOTE: Edited version. I realized while looking through it that I'd missed some important points … LOL.