Solo had stood many times in a morgue before.
Why should it make this time any different.
He wondered.
But he couldn't help but freeze as he saw the brown hair peaking out under the white sheet mated by blood.
Her blood.

With all his strength he turned to Illya.
The tall Russian walked up to the table, where their partner lay under a white sheet.
Solo followed him on shaky legs.
He didn't want to see her like that.
He wanted to hold on to the hope to find her.
To find her alive.
To know he could tease her about Illya or any other thing.
He wanted to see her laugh and annoy Peril.
He wanted to see Peril glance at her full of love when he thought none would see.
Solo wanted her to banter at Illya when he fussed over her.
The doctor nodded at them and lifted the sheet.

Bruises in all sizes and shapes from dark purple to brown yellowish covered her body.
Some were so detailed that they could make out a fingerprint or part of a shoe.
There were also cuts and burns scattered across her body and her arm was clearly broken again.
He wouldn't have recognized her.
Her face looked swollen and her nose was broken for sure.

Solo had to turn around otherwise he thought he might gonna lose it.
Anger boiled up inside of him towards the people that did that to her.
To their partner.

„How do you know it is her?" He heard his partner's voice cut through the silence. His accent thick.

„Your Commander said something about a ring?" The doctor answered cooly and lifted her arm.

There in the light of the room glittered her ring she never put off.
Solo hadn't seen her ever without it.
He glanced at Illya, who starred at the ring.
Unmoving.

„Can I have it? It is mine!" He said clearly without any emotion in his voice.

„Of course agent Kuryakin!" The doctor removed the ring with great effort and gave it to the Russian.

„Thank you!" Illya turned to his partner. „We have to go!" Without another word he walked to the exit, leaving Solo dumbfounded.

At the door the tall Russian turned to his partner and friend.

„What are you waiting for? Christmas?" His voice as cold as a blizzard.

Solo blinked irritated and hurried after his partner.

„What was that?" He asked when he finally caught up with Illya.

The Russian glanced at Solo a small smirk forming on his face.

„It is not her"

Solo stopped in his tracks.

„What? How? But the ring?!" He hurried to keep up with Peril.

„Yes, the ring is very clever idea… But it fit Gaby perfectly and doctor had to struggle with pulling it off!"

„Her finger must be swollen or something!" Solo intercepted.

Illya turned around to face him.

„It is not her!" Solo could see the monster behind his eyes threatening to come out.

„What makes you think that?" He asked calmly.

Better to address it now as having Illya chase a ghost.
Solo could see the Russian's finger twitch.

„She didn't look like Gaby and her hair was wrong!" The Russian started.

Solo looked at him with all his sympathy.
This was going to be hard to convince Peril.

„She was tortured Illya… of course she doesn't look like the Gaby we knew…"

„Then that woman didn't have the cut" Illya continued, ignoring Solo's comment.

„What cut?"

„It is long story… I tell you in the car, but we have to go… and besides all that the ring was on the wrong hand!" Illya turned and walk in a brisk pace to the elevator.

„Wait… why the wrong hand?" Solo had to run to keep up with Illya and just reached him as the Russian entered the elevator to bring them away from this depressing place.

As the door shut closed Illya turned to him. „We have an understanding… Gaby and I" Solo rose an eyebrow. „An understanding?"

„дa… like a contract…"

„When did that happen?" Solo was baffled.

The Russian shrugged and Solo couldn't help but notice that his partner looked quite smug about the whole thing.

„One of the points was that if Gaby gets ever taken she changes the ring to other hand…"

„That proves nothing… They could just put the ring on the wrong hand…" Solo could feel his anger boil to the surface.

He had been always the calm and collected one of the trio, but Illya was pushing his boundaries today.
God damnit they just had lost their partner and friend.
Illya glared at his partner.
Not happy about his reaction.

„I know that!" He snarled. „That's why I told you about the cut… none knows about it… and … I might have other tracker on her…"

Just in that moment the doors slid open and they emerged into the hospital wing.
Busy with people.
They remained silent until they reached their hotel.
Methodically they searched the room for bugs.
It had come natural to both of them.
Even to Gaby.
To first check their rooms for bugs.

„What do you mean… you might have another tracker on her?" Solo asked exhausted while he watched the Russian pull out another suitcase, which surely didn't have clothes in it.

„Remember the time she got mad at me?" Illya asked, looking over to his partner, who rubbed his neck while nodding.

How could he ever forget that night?!

„I realized then that the ring could get lost or thrown away… so I put another tracker on her"

„Does she know?"

„I'm not suicidal…. It is sleeping until I need it… like now!" The Russian glanced down at his workstation to wake the tracker on Gaby.

„So are you gonna tell me the story about the cut?" Solo asked as he stood up and walked over to the liquor cabinet.
He needed a drink.

Waverly had sent Solo onto a solo mission.
Gaby had snickered about that word play the whole time they had driven back to the safe house.
Waverly had made them stay there until Solo would return and Illya hadn't mind to be locked up with the small German woman.
Besides there was not much he could do as his wounds from a previous mission still needed to heal and Waverly didn't dare to send Gaby alone with Solo.
Not after Illya had glared at him.

„I'm gonna take a bath!" She had announced as soon as Illya had closed the door and had made sure none could enter tonight.

He had watched her disappear into the spacious bathroom and had decided to lay down as he needed rest.
With a soft smile he had listened to her humming to herself and the splashing of the water.
He must have drifted away as he was suddenly woken by a string of curse words.
Illya had jumped up and pounded against the bathroom door.

„Gaby?"

„I'm fine, Illya!" She shouted back, but she couldn't fool him.

„Open up!" He tried to open the door and to his surprise the door wasn't locked.

She confessed to him later that after the incident on an earlier mission she never locked the bathroom door again.
Confident that the two men wouldn't walk in on her while she was in there.
The bathroom looked like a battlefield.
There was blood everywhere.
Gaby sat on the floor already in her pajamas pressing a towel to the bottom of her foot.

„What happened?" He had asked shocked.

Taking in the whole scene.

„Remember when Solo let that small bottle fall to the floor and it broke? He didn't pick up all the pieces… I found one!" She had grimaced.

Her face was frightenly pale.
He knew she wasn't good with blood.
He had picked her up with mild protests from her side.

„You can't walk!" He had argued.

„And you shouldn't carry heavy things around! Remember doctor's order!" She had shot back.

He had cocked an eyebrow at her and carried her to the couch.
Carefully he had patched her up and they had sworn to tell none.
The cut was still visible on the sole of her foot.
But only Illya knew of it.

„So let me guess… the body in the morgue didn't have that cut?" Solo gulped down the rest of his drink.

„Yes… it is not her…"

„So she is still out there?" Solo asked hopefully. „Why would they go to such length to find someone that looks like Gaby and let us find her?" The two men stared at eachother.

„They could just let her disappear…" Solo murmured still struggling to wrap his head around it.

„This is sick Illya" He had murmured before he felt silent and watched his partner install the rest of his tracking stuff.

The ringing of the phone let them both jump and Solo picked it up hesitantly.
It was just Waverly.

„How is he?"

„Good…"

There was a long pause.
Solo watched his partner bustle around in the room.
Eager to get the tracking machine working.
Peril's hope was intoxicating.

„I received a film this morning…" Waverly's voice sounded grave and Solo decided to wait.

„It's…bad…. They filmed the whole thing…. It's actually for Kuryakin… but …" Waverly didn't need to say more.

There was no way in hell they would let Peril see the film.
Tiredly Solo closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
One side of him wanted to believe the big Russian, but part of him also started to realize that their German friend might really have died.
A horrible death.
The picture of the woman came up in his mind.
Broken on that table.
She looked like Gaby.
Maybe Illya was wrong.
Maybe it was Gaby.

„I have a request sir…", he began slowly, aware that his supervisor would probably grant anything he wanted, „we have a little mission of our own…."

„Watch your backs!" Was the only comment Waverly gave and hung up.