Two Sides of the Same Coin

by alynwa

After a successful affair, Napoleon sees someone he knows. This is a sequel of sorts to "Once in Cancun" and that should be read first. That tale is also on this site.

Napoleon tested the ropes binding his wrists for what seemed like the thousandth time and just like the other 999 times, they didn't budge a millimeter. I would get captured by a knot – tying expert, he thought. Not only were the knots tight, they also bound his arms to the back of the chair. His ankles were each tied securely to a chair leg. He had been in this uncomfortable position for the last forty minutes.

His mind wandered back to the moments before two THRUSH goons had gotten the drop on him as he was about to make his getaway from the possible satrap he had discovered in San Diego. He and Illya had come to California to intercept an American Naval Officer who was about to betray his country by selling high – level secrets to the Chinese. They not only succeeded in stopping the sale and taking the officer into custody, they were also able to capture the agent he was going to hand the information to who turned out to be a mole working within a company that had several contracts with the military.

They had each driven a rental and after they had handed over the two men to the FBI, Napoleon told Illya that he would meet him at Avis where the Russian had rented his vehicle and together they would drive to Budget Rental, drop off Napoleon's car and catch the shuttle into the airport for their flight home. Illya had driven away and Napoleon walked the half – block back to his car, started it and was about to pull away from the curb when he spotted a familiar face come around the corner across the street.

That's Lorenzo Natale! Though he doubted the man saw him, he still ducked instinctively to avoid being seen. I haven't seen him since Cancun! *

When Natale had walked a couple of storefronts past Napoleon's car, he sat up and made a U – turn to keep him in sight. He hoped that wherever the THRUSH was going, it wasn't far because he knew he might as well have a sign above his vehicle proclaiming, "I AM FOLLOWING THAT MAN!"

Luckily for him, Natale never turned around. When he was almost at the end of the block, he walked over to a shop and entered. Napoleon took a chance and pulled in as if to park in front of the store so he could read its name. The Birds' Nest, he thought, how on the nose.

Suddenly, a large man with a grin on his face and a small gun in his hand leaned in the driver's side window and said, "Put the car in park and shut it off. Now." When Napoleon complied, he said, "Get out and no funny stuff or my friend there will plug you and we don't use sleep darts."

Napoleon glanced right and saw another man with his hand in his jacket pocket and he clearly saw a gun's outline. Not wanting possible collateral damage to Innocents walking by, he did as he was told. Passenger Side Thug backed up as he came around the car and held the door open for him to enter the store while Driver Side Thug brought up the rear. A few people inside saw what was happening and pointed to a doorway that led to the offices in the back.

Lorenzo looked up from a file in his hand when the men entered, recognized Solo and smiled. "Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you here! How've you been, Napoleon?" Anyone not knowing would think they were old friends by the tone of his voice.

Driver Side Thug gaped at him. "Mr. Natale, you know this guy?"

Napoleon smiled broadly. "Lorenzo! I was completely surprised to see you, too! Haven't seen you since your wedding day! How is the Little Woman?"

"Very well; thank you for asking. I also want to thank you for telling me you were leaving Cancun when you did. It was wonderful being able to relax with my bride. I appreciate that more than you know." He looked at his muscle men. "Mr. Solo here is an UNCLE agent and you were right to bring him to me. He did me a favor the last time I saw him. Thanks for that, Napoleon."

"You're very welcome, Lorenzo. I have thoroughly enjoyed our conversation, but I really must be going…"

The smile slipped from Lorenzo's face. "Oh, but I would be bereft if you left! I've already made plans for you. I was just given a few samples of a new veridical to test by some of our local scientists. I want to try it out on you." He looked at the two men holding Solo at gunpoint. "Take him downstairs and secure him to a chair. Search him well before you do and then tell Dr. Smith to administer the drug to him." He looked back at Napoleon and his smile returned. "See you shortly, Napoleon."

As the two men had tied Napoleon up, one said to the other, "I thought we were going to have to beg for our lives! I thought we grabbed one of his friends!"

"I'll never get why the higher – ups act so frickin' 'civilized' to the enemy. Screw that! If you're on the wrong side, I'm gonna shoot you, end of story."

I'm glad he's not in charge, Napoleon thought. A sound at the top of the stairs pulled him from his reverie. A man he assumed was "Dr. Smith" descended carrying a small case that he assumed contained the veridical Lorenzo had mentioned. He was already mentally preparing himself for the assault on his senses that the drug would surely perform. When I fail to meet Illya at the car rental, he'll know something is amiss and he'll begin to track me. Napoleon's trust in his partner was so complete, it never occurred to him that Illya wouldn't be able to find him. All I have to do is resist the drug until he gets here.

The man swabbed an area of Napoleon's neck with alcohol and then unceremoniously stuck a needle just above his clavicle and injected the liquid within into his neck. Warmth began to emanate from the injection site up to his head and down into his body. It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling; indeed, he felt quite good.

Another ten minutes or so later, Lorenzo came into view. "So, Napoleon, how are you feeling?"

"Not bad, actually," Napoleon replied. "That's the truth."

"I certainly hope so; I would hate to think our researchers failed in their mission to create a truth serum. Where is Illya?"

"I don't know; however, did you know there are 57 czars buried in the Kremlin in Russian?"

"Oh? How interesting. I would be more interested in knowing if UNCLE has a field office in San Diego and if so, where is it?"

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you that, but I can tell you that in San Diego one has to have a valid hunting license in order to put mousetraps in one's home."

"What?!"

"It's true, Lorenzo!"

The THRUSH lead agent pulled a chair closer to Napoleon and sat facing him. "I do believe you, Napoleon. I wonder…" He rubbed his chin and stared at the CEA while he thought. "Napoleon, when is the next Summit meeting?"

"I can't tell you that, but did you know that summit is another word for peak and apex?"

"Hey!" Lorenzo yelled up the stairs, "Tell Smith to get down here now!"

Illya checked his watch again. He had left Napoleon almost an hour ago. He should have been here by now! Something is not right. He pulled out his communicator and stepped further into the parking lot. "Open Channel S1: Napoleon? Napoleon, come in, please." When no response was forthcoming, he adjusted his devise and spoke again. "Open Channel D."

"Mr. Kuryakin," Mr. Waverly said, "Is there a problem?"

"I am not sure, Sir. Our affair was successful, but I have lost contact with Agent Solo. I am requesting that the homing device embedded in his shoe be activated."

"I will inform Communications to activate it immediately. Do find your partner, Mr. Kuryakin; good agents are hard to come by."

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Natale?" The smile he got from Lorenzo Natale caused his blood to run cold. It was like watching a crocodile smile. "Are you getting useful information?"

"See for yourself," the THRUSH agent replied, "Ask him a question, any question at all."

"Okay," Smith said as he pulled up a chair to sit next to Natale. "Agent Solo, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine, just a bit warm on my neck, but fine."

"Good! What's your favorite cuisine?"

"Italian. I love pasta, pizza and panettone! I could eat it every day!"

"Excellent! Why are you in San Diego?"

"I don't know, but did you know that Cleveland spelled backward is DNA Level C?"

Natale stared daggers at the scientist. "What good is a veridical that allows people to pick and choose what they answer?"

"I object to that!" Napoleon said. "I have answered every question asked of me truthfully!"

Dr. Smith was perplexed. "I don't understand, my test subjects answered my questions exactly as I asked them! All of them!"

Lorenzo's voice dripped ice. "How many of your test subjects were trained agents?"

A flush of red bloomed from the top of Smith's collar and rushed up his face and past his hairline. "I, I, I," he stuttered, "I didn't think it would make a difference!"

The THRUSH Lead Enforcement Agent stood and glared at the scientist who seemed to shrink under his gaze. "You didn't think, period! Here I had an opportunity to gather valuable information from UNCLE's top American agent and you give me some potion that any competent agent can resist! An agent like Napoleon Solo doesn't even break a sweat!"

Napoleon's smile lit up the room. "Thank you, Lorenzo! And speaking of sweat, did you know you can drink your own?"

"I knew that."

Lorenzo whipped around to see Napoleon's partner standing on the stairs pointing a gun directly at him. "How did you get down here?!"

"First things first, Natale; untie my partner." He watched as Napoleon was slowly released from his bonds. "Napoleon, stand over there. You!" he said as he hazarded a glance at the other man. "Tie him to the chair!"

"I don't know how to do that!"

"I will walk you through it." After Natale was tied up to his satisfaction, Illya secured the clearly frightened man to the remaining chair. "Just so you know, Lorenzo, I came in with a small team who quickly and quietly overpowered the people upstairs. Napoleon, who is this?"

"That's Dr. Smith, the scientist who developed the truth serum he injected into me. Do you think he knows that mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature?"

"UNCLE will find out what he knows. He and Natale will be taken for interrogation. Perhaps our scientists will be able to tweak the formula so that it works on field agents."

After the team of agents that accompanied Illya took the two THRUSH away, he and Napoleon resumed their plans to return Napoleon's rental and head to the airport. They bought tickets to New York City at the Pan Am counter and went to sit at the gate. There weren't many people waiting for the flight, so they were able to sit off to the side by themselves.

The trilling of Napoleon's communicator startled them both and Illya partially blocked his partner's body so that Napoleon could assemble the device. He then leaned forward, making it look like he was talking quietly to Illya. "Solo here."

"Yes, Mr. Solo. I just received word from our San Diego office that Lorenzo Natale has escaped. We do still, however, have custody of the scientist, Doctor Smith."

Illya spoke up. "How was he able to escape, Sir? Napoleon and I searched him ourselves! We even removed his shoes! There was no homing device on him."

"The car they were driving in with the prisoners was rear – ended while they were waiting at a red light," Mr. Waverly replied. "When Mr. Brown exited the car to assess the damage and exchange insurance information, two other cars surrounded the car and Mr. Natale was pulled out by a man who rifled through Mr. Brown's pockets until he found the keys for the handcuffs. He released Natale and Mr. Brown overheard him tell his rescuer to leave Smith behind."

Napoleon asked, "Did Brown hear anything else that might help us find Natale?"

"He said he heard Natale say 'Thanks' and the other man said something to the effect of 'One of these days, you'll learn to just do what I say instead of arguing with me.' Gentlemen, I just wanted to update you. I have a conference call to prepare for; I look forward to hearing your report tomorrow. Waverly out."

Napoleon put his device away and both men leaned back in their seats. Napoleon glanced at Illya. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If you are thinking that Natale's rescuer was his partner, Robert Shane, then I am thinking what you are thinking."

Passengers started boarding the flight to New York and though they gathered their things and moved closer to the gate, they were going to board last. "You know who they are, Illya?" In response to Illya's look of confusion he said, "Natale and Shane. They're us. Think about it: Partners and best friends. Remember, Shane was Lorenzo's best man at his wedding. He snatched his partner back from UNCLE in broad daylight; that's something we would do for each other. That's something we have done for each other."

They boarded and made their way to the last row. They were pleased to see that they had the row to themselves. They settled in and after the plane took off, Illya plumped up the pillow the stewardess had given him and prepared to fall asleep. A thought occurred to him that he decided to share. "If you are right and their partnership and bond are as strong as ours, if we see them again, it could mean a fight to the death. Now, let me sleep." He closed his eyes and Napoleon could swear he was asleep twenty seconds later.

He signaled the pretty brunette stewardess who had been eying him appreciatively to bring him a scotch on the rocks. As he sipped his drink he mused, I think you're right, Tovarisch.

Two days later on a beach in Cifuncho, Chile…

The two men lay baking in the mid-afternoon sun, drinks in hand and a half-eaten charcuterie board on a small table between them. Lorenzo opened his eyes, grabbed a couple of olives, popped them into his mouth and sighed in contentment. "Life is good, Partner."

Robert finished his drink and sucked an ice cube into his mouth. "Yes, it is," he said around it. "I'm just glad you're not sitting in some UNCLE holding cell. I have better things to do than have to make up stories to tell your wife about why you're not coming home."

Lorenzo sighed loudly. "You're not going to let me live it down, are you?"

"Why should I? You better be glad I like you, otherwise I would broadcast to all of THRUSH how squeamish you were when I inserted that homing device under your skin! Honestly, all that complaining about not needing it and it's the only reason I could find you so quickly!"

Lorenzo rolled his eyes and stretched back out on his chaise lounge. Tomorrow they'd be heading back to Kansas City, and he'd be reunited with Bambi, but for now, he was enjoying some downtime with his best friend. That thought caused him to look at Robert. "You know who Solo and Kuryakin remind me of?"

"No, who?"

"Us."

"What?!"

"Think about it: Illya tracked Napoleon down to that little satrap and came in with a small Strike Force to save his partner. I think if there were no other agents available, he would have done it by himself. That's the kind of thing we would do for each other."

Shane chewed on that for a while. Finally, he said, "If that's true, Lorenzo, running into them again might be the death of them. Or us."

Aloud, Lorenzo said, "I'm not going to worry about it, Brother. It seems whenever I hear some intel about them, they're never in the same country or continent we are." To himself he thought, but you might be right.