I know that is has been a while, but I always meant to continue and to finish this story.

"At this point, Ashenko could be anywhere; release the Influenza anywhere in the world," Irina said. "We don't know and we could never get there on time to prevent it." She sat down, feeling dejected.

"Maybe not," Gaby said. She raised La Republica, the morning paper to eye level. The others looked at her expectedly barely daring to hope that there was still a way to stop the mad man. "Look." Gaby pointed to the society pages.

Solo took the paper and began reading out loud, translating into English as he went.

"A first of its kind, the 'Global Symphony' is scheduled for this Saturday, August 15." It will be the largest and most important show at the newly renovated Paris Opera House. President de Gaulle and the First Lady will be hosting visitors from over 50 countries in a bid to demonstrate that world peace is, in fact possible."

"If I were him," Waverly mused, "I would do something big and impressive that would hurt and kill a lot of people; make a statement. The lucky survivors, "Waverly's voice was full of irony, " will bring the sickness back to their own countries increasing the global chaos."

Solo looked up from the paper. "I have never met Ashenko, but somehow I think that this would appeal to this crazy bast..." Solo stopped before uttering the obscenity, "...this crazy man. He would create the incident and the growing chaos," he nodded at Waverly, "will destabilize all countries and weaken or destroy any alliances. Countries will go to war and he hopes that Mother Russia would be victorious." Solo shook his head in disbelief.

"He's a madman," Irina proclaimed, jumping up from her chair and pacing. "He would kill, hundreds of thousands...millions...for what?"

"Redemption." Kuryakin said coldly, "and revenge."

Irina nodded. Her brother was right. They both knew Ashenko and knew that he would not stop until he got what he wanted.

"So, what do we do now?" Irina asked, voicing the questions everybody had.

"Cowboy and I will stop him," Kuryakin's bland response left no room for discussion. Gaby and Irina had other ideas.

"You are not leaving me behind," Irina said. Her tone was casual, but the steel in her voice was obvious. She met Kuryakin's gaze with her own hard stare. The two glared at each other in a silent battle of wills. Solo looked on, his gaze shifting between brother and sister. After what seemed to be hours, Kuryakin drew a deep breath and simply nodded.

"We will speak about this again."

"Ahem," Gaby nudged Kuryakin in the ribs. "You did not really think I would wait in Rome, did you." Kuryakin considered his words and considered whether he wanted another fight. He blew out his breath.

"No, I suppose not," he admitted.

"Well, its settled then," Waverly said. "Since we have less than 36 hours to deal with this mad man, an airplane will be waiting for you at the airport within 4 hours. The expression is, I believe," he looked at Solo, "Mount up, Ladies and Gentlemen."

They landed in Charles de Gaulle airport at night and immediately went to their hotel. A large suite had been booked for them at the Paris Ritz. The luxurious accommodations went unnoticed. Maps and diagrams were spread on every surface. Waverly had made connections with the local Gendarmerie as well as the military and they too were represented both in terms of manpower as well as in the fire power they were able to provide to the team. The discussions were robust, but kept to a volume slightly above a whisper. The meeting finally broke up late into the night with the exhausted teams heading to their rooms or to their respective homes in Paris.

Irina was so tired she could not see straight. She undressed and put on her pajamas. She slipped under the covers thinking that she would be asleep immediately, but her mind chased itself and she found herself tossing and turning. Ashenko was here; he was within her reach. She was so close. She would finally be able to get justice. Irina watched the darkness in her window, unable to relax enough to sleep. She barely heard the door open. He was almost silent. The only thing she heard was the rustle of fabric as he moved. She felt the bed shift as he sat down and then as he stretched out next to her. She felt his heat and was drawn to it. He reached out and pulled her into an embrace. Finally, Irina was able to sleep.

The concert was scheduled to start at 6, so all the security would be in place hours before and it was clear that Ashenko would need to take his place prior to the arrival of security. The team was up early to finalize plans and prepare. They would be going in as part of the Gendarme force, but with weapons provided by the local military base. They were scheduled to leave by 2. Kuryakin and Solo met in the living room at 1:30. Both were dressed in black from head to foot and both carried both semi-automatic weapons as well as side arms. Gaby would remain with Waverly.

A few moments later, another door slammed and both Solo and Kuryakin turned to see Irina step out of her room. She too was dressed in black and her hair was pulled back into a tight pony-tail. Without hesitation she walked to Waverly and asked, "Where do I get my wepons?"

Waverly opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted. "Nyet." One word. Hard and cold. Irina turned to see her brother, standing in front of her, his arms crossed on his chest. He face implacable. "You are not going."

Irina was momentarily too shocked to respond. Then she got angry. "How dare you," she hissed. "How dare you dictate to me that I cannot seek out the man responsible for my team's death. I owe him justice." She stared up defiantly as her brother towered over her. "You have no right to keep me from him. You have no right to keep me from killing him."

"Peril," Solo's voice was clear but soft, but the Russian almost jumped and spun around as if he'd been shocked by an electric bolt. "She's right," Solo continued, his voice soft, his eyes full of sympathy. He knew that his friend was trying to keep his sister safe; knew that he desperately wanted her to stay back at the hotel where it would be safe and he also knew that he could not ask that of her. "She needs to be there, Peril," he said again, "She has to do this and you have to let her."

Kuryakin looked from his friend to his sister. He hated it, but he knew that Solo was right. He acquiesced with a curt nod. Solo walked up to Irina and handed her his Colt 1911. His eyes begged her to be careful, but he only said, "This has brought me luck."

"Thank you," Irina whispered as she holstered the weapon. She also took a 9mm sub machine gun from one of the Gendarmes with another nod of thanks. The team was ready.

Thank for reading and if you are so inclined, please review and let me know what you think.