Illya was in a very good mood, though externally, he looked the same as usual. If Napoleon had been with him as he handed in his badge before leaving Headquarters, he would have seen the fleeting smile the blond gave Glenna and known the Russian was a happy man. She saw it, but figured it must be gas because he never smiles her way.

One of the reasons he was happy was Napoleon himself. Their mission had been successful, but the price of success was almost the CEA's life. He had seduced the information Waverly wanted out of Gwendolyn von Siebenhoven with promises of love and marriage and when she discovered none of it was true and that he was a spy sent to get her formula for a new bomb, she had stabbed him in a fit of pique and fury.

Napoleon had been wearing a wire and Illya had begun running to his partner's hotel room when he heard the conversation between his partner and the woman starting to go south. He had burst in just as she was raising the knife to stab the prone man again. In one swift motion, he had drawn his weapon and fired a sleep dart into her neck before grabbing the blade from her.

It had been touch and go for him; she had managed to knick an artery. If I had been any later, he would have bled out. It was very fortunate that the ambulance I called got there so quickly and the surgeon at Columbia Presbyterian was so skilled. Two days there before being transferred to UNCLE Medical. Today was the first day he complained about being there, so I know he is feeling better. Such a weight off my shoulders!

Napoleon's injury aside, they had actually concluded the mission ahead of schedule and now that he had completed the mission report and spent time with his partner, he was now unexpectedly free on a Friday evening. He had decided to ask April to join him for dinner. Charlie Mingus is playing a late set at The Village Vanguard; perhaps we will go there, too.

He exited the subway and was walking down the block to April's building when he saw her emerge in the company of a man he had never seen before. He slowed his pace and stepped behind a group of passersby just as she checked the street for danger. Satisfied, she placed her arm through the arm of the man and they began to walk in the opposite direction from the Russian.

He felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He couldn't help it, he began to follow at a discreet distance so he could observe their behavior. He could see by their body language that they were enjoying each other's company immensely. When he could see their profiles, both were smiling and laughing. A few times April leaned into him and gave an affectionate shove. They walked for three blocks and entered a restaurant he and April had discovered together. He stood a block away and after waiting for ten minutes, he turned around and headed back toward the subway. New plan, he thought. I will stop at the liquor store, buy two bottles of vodka and then go home.