ACT II: "I'm Your Cousin Androv?"
Talia Inova explained her involvement in a matter-of-fact tone. She had been plotting against her fiancé's family for nearly a year. Talia, a talented programmer in her own right, had met David Danzig two years before at a conference. He was intelligent and kind, apparently content with leaving the family business to his brother and father, claiming to be nothing like them. He had an idea of his father's ultimate goal, but tried to keep out of the loop. His brother wouldn't let him.
As they dated, Talia began to notice an increasing influence by Marcus' on his brother. Her own research revealed the power of the family. It was a temptation that David eventually found hard to resist. He explained to Talia that it was his destiny to stay with the family no matter how much she pleaded for him to leave and start his own life.
She helped David organize the Odysseus program and when she realized the implications of the software she set her own agenda. For the past year she had gathered all the information she could on the program, the family businesses, and everyone involved with Arthur Danzig. She couldn't copy the program, but could get access to the program tapes and key cards.
With the program nearly perfected, she knew it was time to act. Her research on possible allies to help her resulted in only one: U.N.C.L.E. She didn't elaborate on why she felt she could trust the agency other than they were the most knowledgeable about Thrush. She had been in the Brussels office for three weeks as they checked her, her story, and what she could remember of the Project codes.
"I left the compound with the excuse that I had to visit a sick relative in the Ukraine." Illya's head jerked up at that note, his blue eyes icy. "I knew they would check out my story."
"So how did you get here without them knowing?" Neiman inquired.
Her grin showed that she held some cards she wasn't willing to show. "I have my ways," she said evasively. "And I know you have checked them out from this end. Getting any information from the Ukraine is most difficult, even for Danzig. I came here from there."
Napoleon noticed that statement resulted in an ever so tiny grin from his partner, whose eyes seemed to warm with a connected thought. The dark agent leaned aside; his chin propped in his palm, and regarded his blond partner. Illya, feeling the look, glanced at him, momentarily squirmed in his seat, and returned his attention to his files.
Mr. Felling rose to his feet. "This is how we will proceed: Mr. Kuryakin will join Miss Inova when she returns to the compound. You are to get the program if you can and, if not, destroy the program tapes and cards and the lab itself. Mr. Solo and Mr. Neiman will terminate the external lines to the lab, and act as back up. Pick up your papers from my office. Dr. Reese is going to attempt to tap into their computer system from here, outside the U.N.C.L.E. offices, to possibly act as a diversion if needed and to see what he can find. If we can get any information from their database that way, we will consider it a bonus."
"Sir?" Solo asked, rolling a pen between his fingers. "If I may ask, why were Mr. Kuryakin and I assigned to this? It sounds like a routine search and destroy mission." The question was posed to confirm his suspicions.
"Because I asked for Illya specifically," Talia interjected as she slowly swiveled her chair back and forth with crossed legs. An aura of weariness seemed to settle over her as she spoke. Her eyes rested on his blond partner. "I can't do this without him."
There was a heartbeat of silence as the two looked to each other and then Felling dismissed them. Dr. Reese and Neiman followed Mr. Felling out as Talia slowly rose to her feet. She fiddled with the temporary laminated U.N.C.L.E. identification card attached at her waist as she moved to the door. Napoleon waited to follow Illya, too many questions forming in his mind at one time. His partner fell in behind Talia as she passed through the doorway.
"Oh!" she yelped as the ID card jumped from her fingertips. Illya snatched it from the air in a blinding motion without even thinking.
He looked at the picture on the card then extended it to her. "You always took a good picture," he said quietly.
She accepted it with a fond smile, not at all surprised by his reflexes. "That's because I smile for the camera. You should try it sometime," she teased lightly.
Solo could see that you'd have to be blind to realize that they knew each other well. Very well.
Solo stepped up between them and took her elbow politely. The trio walked to the desk to get their documents where Talia handed over the temporary ID to the secretary with a sigh. "I guess I don't need that anymore." The woman took the card and put it in an envelope.
Illya was reading his documents. "I'm your cousin Androv? I'll have to learn some inane jokes," he commented.
"You'd have to double your weight, too, if it wasn't for your unfortunate recent illness, cousin," she giggled. She took his partner's elbow in an intimate way, and Solo was surprised that Illya accepted it without a second glance but noted that his posture stiffened slightly. "That's the reason why you are to come back to Essen with me. You need warmer weather to recover." She patted his arm.
Illya grinned a tight grin and tucked his papers under his free arm. "Let's go, then," he said. Solo detected a touch of nervousness at the tone.
Talia's small suitcase was waiting for her in the reception area. She released Illya's arm and he stepped aside quickly. "Bare essentials," she explained to Solo, who offered to take the bag. "I had to travel light across the border. The rest of my things are waiting near the train station there."
The two agents picked up their bags at the entry, and the three of them left the building. Illya kept just out of her reach and Solo happily filled in, chatting amiably all the way to the airport.
When Illya slipped into the pilot's seat of the small U.N.C.L.E. jet Talia requested to sit in the right seat. His stony faced partner didn't flinch, but Solo thought he saw a flash of panic cross his eyes. Solo was delighted at the entertainment value that was possible here.
As Illya piloted the craft eastward towards the border with the Ukraine, Talia quietly initiated conversation in their native language. Illya responded but focused on flying the plane and kept his responses short. Napoleon cursed his lack of knowledge of the Russian language, and glanced at Neiman. Neiman shrugged his shoulders in ignorance. Apparently, Solo wasn't the only one wondering what was going on between the two.
Finally, he asked about her English.
"I learned at University. I had a good teacher." Her eyes strayed for a moment to the blond pilot.
"Where did you go to college?" Solo asked.
"In the Ukraine."
"With Illya? Is that where you know him from?" There. He'd said it.
"Yes, with Illya. We also went to state school together, before University."
"You were a ward of the state, too?" Solo got an annoyed glance from his partner, which only fueled his curiosity.
"Yes. Somehow the Nazis missed me. I really don't remember much, except that they were Romanian gypsies." Her voice softened with the memory.
That made sense to Solo; she had thick, dark hair and a darker complexion and sensual brown eyes. When asked how a blond haired, blue-eyed Illya could pass as her cousin, she laughed shortly.
"Russian bloodlines are varied and complex. It isn't unusual, really. My people were … well, gypsies. They moved around a lot."
"So you and Illya grew up together."
Her smile was disarming, but also communicated that she wasn't saying much more. "You could say that." She changed the subject and focused on U.N.C.L.E., Solo and Neiman.
The whole relationship between Illya and Talia was confounding to Solo, especially since his partner had never mentioned her before. He resolved to get to the bottom of it, but right now he and his partners had some serious problems to overcome in the terrain surrounding the Danzig compound.
Solo and Neiman picked her brain in that area. They realized that communications were going to be difficult at best due to the mountains, and if any large contingency were to be needed for an assault, there was no handy area for the cavalry to assemble. Therefore, an all out assault had to be the very last option on the list; success would rest on Illya and the mysterious gypsy woman.
Solo leaned back in quiet on final approach and sorted his thoughts while Talia and Neiman observed the countryside through the windshield. Although the Brussels office had checked her out as best as they could, they had admitted that access to the records in the Ukraine was difficult and unreliable. Solo was finding that he trusted her only because his partner seemed to trust her, and he began to wonder at his partner's frame of mind concerning her. He'd come to respect Illya's judgment, but this time he felt he needed a little more confirmation. He instinctively knew that love was an issue here somewhere, and he also knew how blind love could be.
+++++++++++++
They found their way from the small airstrip to a small town just outside the Russian border. The train from the Ukraine stopped here, and this is where Talia and Illya's return journey to Essen was to begin. Illya had time to buy some slightly oversized clothes to give the illusion of recent weight loss. He transferred his collection of ordinance-laced clothing to his suitcase with Talia's help. Napoleon observed them from afar as he and Neiman made a list of equipment needed for their extended time in the woods.
Solo noted a change in his partner since Brussels. When they'd first seen Talia, Illya had been cool and guarded. With time together he had melted into someone quite different. He actually laughed with Talia and became more animated as they conversed in their native tongue. Solo's concerns about his partner's judgment grew.
They had to talk.
The opportunity came as they were preparing to leave for the train station. Napoleon stopped his partner and pulled him aside when Talia left to secure a taxi and retrieve the luggage she had stashed somewhere in this small village. He sent Neiman to follow her discretely.
Illya frowned at the order. "There's no need for that," he said levelly.
"Look, Illya, a lot is depending on that girl and something about her makes me nervous."
"There's no need to be nervous. I trust her."
"That's just it. I don't get why you trust her. In all the time we've worked together you've never mentioned her. When was the last time you saw her? What has she been doing? What are her motives? My life may depend on this, too, my friend. How well do you really know her?"
Solo saw a wave of discomfort in his partner's expression. He knew Solo had a point. Finally, with a little sigh and a glance to make sure they were alone, Illya told his story.
He'd first met Talia in state school where she had been teased and distrusted due to her heritage. Illya, however, became her friend and they stuck together because they were both targets for the school bullies. She was quick minded, smart and adventurous. Illya was her mental equal, but a bit more reserved. They made a good pair, strengthening each other's weaknesses and backing each other up without question.
Both were involved in a Soviet 'underground' that ferried secrets and, eventually defectors, to contacts outside the country. It was an idealistic time. Both felt they were doing a great service to people stifled by an iron-fisted government. They were sent to same college where their studies leaned heavily into the sciences. While there, they continued their underground services.
"Eventually, at University, we went different directions," Illya said carefully. "After graduation, she left and I never saw her again. I know her ideals, though, and I trust her."
Solo cocked his head and studied him. "You loved her, didn't you?"
The slight flush to his cheeks gave him away and the hesitation before speaking was more telling than the reply. "We were both young."
"That's not what I asked."
"I know."
"She dumped you?"
"No, that's not what happened," Illya bristled. "We simply grew apart. I was willing to continue the subterfuge while serving the regime. She wanted a clean break from the system."
"Same thing."
"To you maybe, not to me."
"Are you sure she's the same girl?"
Illya nodded. "She has not changed."
Solo thought that one over for a few seconds. He hoped that was a good thing. "All right, then. If you trust her, I trust her." He had the feeling that there was something else, but had to trust that it didn't matter right now. Satisfied, he nodded.
When Talia returned they had a final briefing and set up a loose schedule for checking in. Finally finished, they boarded the Essen bound train.
Solo watched from a discreet distance as his partner and the dark woman walked the platform to board. Physically they were match, his lightness complementing her darkness, and they appeared very comfortable together. The carriage of his stoic partner's chin, however, and the ever so slight hint of stiffness in his back told the agent scores about his friend and partner of so many years. It was a posture that was a rare sight to Solo these days, but one clearly remembered from Illya's first days in the agency.
Illya may trust Talia, but it was clear to Solo that Illya did not trust himself.
That was a sight that Solo wasn't used to seeing in his partner anymore and it made him more than a bit uncomfortable. He realized how little he really knew about Illya Kuryakin and the events that had made him the man he was today.
"I hope you know what you're getting into," Solo mused in his partner's direction as they disappeared into the train. He scanned the small platform and station for any possible surveillance, and was satisfied. With a turn and a nod, he and Neiman stepped aboard several cars down the line from the couple.