Illya knew he'd never forget the first time he'd ever had to kill someone in the line of duty. It had been only a few weeks after he'd first joined UNCLE. He and some others had been sent to investigate the kidnapping of a famous scientist's young daughter. It had been suspected that the little girl was being held hostage in exchange for a secret formula that THRUSH hoped to use to dominate the world.
At last the secret hideaway where the child was being held captive had been found. Two of the THRUSH goons had been holding the screaming girl, who was naked from the waist down, so that she couldn't get away, while the third was unfastening his belt buckle and lowering his pants.
When Illya looked at the little girl, all he could see was his little sister Masha, who'd died during the Battle of Kiev in 1941. Automatically he found himself reaching for his special, aiming it at the man's head, and pulling the trigger.
Blood and brains flew everywhere as the man's head exploded. Realizing that they were surrounded by UNCLE agents, the remaining THRUSH operatives fled, leaving the sobbing girl alone.
As a female UNCLE agent held and comforted the child, Illya just stared at the bloody stump of the man's neck. Mere moments ago, he'd been a living, breathing human, and now nothing was left of him but a headless corpse.
Illya didn't regret what he'd done. His actions had prevented the rape of a child. He knew that eventually he'd become accustomed to ending lives, but he suspected that it might take awhile.