THE WINGS AFFAIR
ACT V: "What's Your Contribution Been So Far?"
It was just past dawn when the two agents met again. The handsome, dark haired Napoleon was rubbing his eyes tiredly as he nursed a steaming cup of black coffee when the wiry Russian jogged up to him in a grey sweats with 'UCSD' emblazoned on the front. Illya kept the hood of the sweatshirt up over his head as he stopped behind his partner slumped on yet another park bench.
"We have to stop meeting like this," Illya puffed as he began some stretching exercises. "It looks like it's wearing you out."
"It's not the meetings, it's the night life," muttered the senior agent.
"Well, then, keep your mind on the job instead of the dating pool," Illya quipped.
"I am, I'll have you know. I've been doing your and my homework."
"Finally. Payback for all those reports I've done for you."
"Well! Aren't we contrary this morning!" Solo quipped in reply. "Youth and exuberance wearing you thin?"
"Not exactly, but trying to watch for odd behavior is quite a challenge. Odd behavior seems to be the norm in that place." Illya sounded perplexed and determined at the same time.
"Maybe this will help. I have the lab results on the cookies."
"Already?" Illya replied, surprised. "You got them in the middle of the night?"
"Yes, that and a roll of film developed. What's your contribution been so far?" Solo growled.
"Sweat, obviously. What did you find out?"
"You were right about the cookies. They were laced with a tranquilizer that the lab guy says would make someone much more susceptible to hypnosis. I also searched Lindt's office and got pictures of some hidden documents."
"What kind of documents?"
"Here's a copy of everything for you," Solo slipped an envelope from his breast pocket and handed them to Illya, who slipped it under his sweatshirt. "Basically it's a list of Delts that I assume have been hypnotized and used as couriers, Lindt's investment records and an offer of employment."
Illya frowned as he continued to stretch. "Could you see if they were related somehow?"
Napoleon pinched the bridge of his nose to clear his tired and fuzzy mind. "I saw a several dates correlate between what I think are courier runs and Lindt's investments. I think Lindt has peeked at some of the documents and made investments based on the information. He makes money on the courier operation, too. Quite the self employed individual."
"Any links to Thrush or is he working alone?"
"There's where the employment offer comes in." Solo explained what he'd seen.
"The Wings Corporation?" Illya questioned with a frown. "Never heard of them. But Donald Weddel is the sure indication that Thrush is involved somehow. He's their top counselor, isn't he?"
"Yup. Donald Weddel has drafted the biggest contracts for Thrush to date. Graduated top of his class from Harvard Law School and is known as a tough litigator. Since he's involved, there has to be something big cooking."
Illya was thoughtful for a few seconds. "So, Lindt isn't Thrush yet?"
"We can't even be sure if he knows who Thrush is, but it looks like they'd make a good team." Solo sighed. "Look those over. And I think there's a delivery scheduled for today so keep your eyes open." He stifled a yawn.
"I could say the same to you. Get some sleep. I can't afford to have my only back up fall asleep at the car."
"'At the wheel', you mean. And your heartfelt concern is overwhelming. I've managed to save your behind many times just fine." Solo waved his partner off with a tired flick of his hand. "Go. You have Rush Week duties to attend to."
Illya rolled his eyes in displeasure. "Yes. It's been so much fun so far."
As Illya jogged off towards Fraternity Row Napoleon Solo headed to his apartment to rest his eyes. He knew how tired he was when he wasn't amused at the thought of what Rush duties his partner may have to encounter.
**********
When Illya returned to the frat house, he received a hopeful gaze from the goat staked by the back door. The agent paused. "Trust me, that grass is better eating than anything you'll get in there," he said lowly as he passed. When he entered via the kitchen door, there wasn't much motion. Many of the occupants were up but barely awake, proving the time honored theory that most college students would sleep until noon if allowed. The only other person that seemed to have his act somewhat together besides Illya was Jimmy, the house president. He was posting a paper on the refrigerator.
"All right brothers, here's the timetable for the day. The Rush Dance starts at six so we need to at least try and stay on schedule."
"When are the new brothers being announced?" One bleary eyed boy mumbled, his head resting in his hand at the kitchen table.
"It's on here. Two o'clock." Jimmy spied Reggie coming down the stairs and intercepted him as Illya eyed the schedule. He groaned inwardly as he saw his name listed as one of the attendants to the Man in the Box, scheduled for 2:30. The only good thing about the detail was that he knew it couldn't possibly be too difficult to learn his duties, and it probably involved beer. Probably only involved beer. Then he began to wonder how beer could be involved with a Man in a Box. . .
The phone ringing disrupted his thoughts. As he turned he saw the receiver batted off the wall by a fumbling, not yet awake brother. "What?" he grumped in the mouthpiece. "Just a minute. REGGIE!" He let the phone drop and it hung there, swinging gently back and forth against the wall like a pendulum.
Reggie shuffled into the kitchen, eyes droopy with sleep, and he grabbed the receiver. "'low?" he asked sleepily. Illya was about to go to his room to look at the pictures, but something about Reggie's face stopped him.
With the receiver to his ear, the once droopy eyes had suddenly widened and unfocused. "Yes," he said quietly after a minute, then listened a bit longer. Without another word, he hung up and stared at the phone for a few seconds, then shook his head and continued on with his morning routine as if nothing had happened.
The unfocused look was familiar to the agent. It was the same look the group had when Lindt had spoken to them the night before. When Reggie went upstairs to change, Illya raced to his room, locked the door and spread out the photos. After studying them a few minutes, he came to the same conclusion as his partner: There was a delivery scheduled for today. Quickly, he changed into casual clothes and grabbed his books, stuffing the photos between the pages as he went down stairs. Not seeing Reggie, he asked around and was satisfied that the boy was still upstairs. Illya sank onto a lumpy couch and automatically opened a text book.
"What're doin'?" A huge brother mumbled as he flopped on the couch next to the agent, who bounced roughly as a result and had to grab the notebook on his lap to keep it from launching from his lap.
"Studying?" Illya replied brightly.
"Oh. Yeah. Gotta try that sometime." The big boy covered his yawning mouth with a huge hand. "You passed Algebra already?" The jock asked.
"I think so," Illya replied, thinking 'when I was ten years old!'
"Then you can help me pass it this time," the giant stated. "Coach says if I can get a 'D' this time I can keep playin'"
"If I may ask," Illya said after a moment, "how many times have you taken Algebra?"
The beefy boy frowned and held up his hand, counting out four fingers. "Three. Actually, I'm not sure. Coach keeps track for me."
"Three times." Illya repeated calmly. "OK, then, I know where to start."
The boy looked confused. "Where?" he asked curiously.
Illya looked at him carefully. "Why, at the beginning, of course," he said slowly.
The big student smiled after a moment and clapped the agent heartily on the back. "I knew you looked smart!" he said happily, not noticing he'd nearly unseated his new tutor. He stood and offered a ham-sized hand. "I'm Buck. I'll get with you later, OK?"
"Fine," Illya replied as he accepted a handshake that swallowed his hand completely. He was relieved when he saw Reggie coming down the stairs. "Gotta go, Buck. See you later."
"OK!" Buck headed towards the kitchen as Illya fell in to follow Reggie. There was a lot of foot traffic heading to the campus but following the jock was easier that he'd expected because the boy stayed to the edges of the campus, sometimes going the opposite direction of the crowd.
When Reggie got to the intersection of two streets he pulled out a stack of colored papers from his notebook and, starting with the first parked car on the corner, began putting papers under the windshield wipers. He continued on methodically, car by car, and when he got to the eighth car Illya sidled up to the first car and read the paper. It was a flyer for the football team's opening game the next night with Arizona State. Although the flyers seemed innocuous, the agent suspected the distribution to be a cover for an exchange.
He was right. When Reggie reached the last car parked on the curb, Illya saw an envelope appear out of the car window as Reggie placed the flyer under the windshield. The student then tucked the envelope in his notebook and crossed the street. As the agent shadowed his movement from mid block, he was able to see the license plate of the car as it pulled away from the curb. Memorizing it, he continued to follow the student as he pulled out his communicator.
****************
Solo's pen warbled for his attention as soon as he stepped from the shower. He wrapped the towel around his waist and snatched the nagging pen from his pile of dirty clothes on the floor.
"Solo here."
"Did I wake you?" The Russian accented voice sounded hopeful.
"Almost. That was my next destination."
"I hate to shatter your sweet dreams, but the drop is going down and I have an idea who the recipient is. We're headed to the Psych building."
"Lindt. Any idea who passed the papers?" His partner passed on the license plate number and car description. "I'll run it right now. You keep an eye on that kid." Solo adjusted the pen, and spoke into it again. "Open Channel D."
**********
Nearly a half hour later Illya's pen called him. "Kuryakin."
"Where are you?" Solo's voice asked.
"I'm in the quad area south of the Psych building sitting on a bench. My target has been sitting on another bench with an open text book, but I don't think he's studying."
"What makes you say that?"
"Remember, I've live with these boys. Unless he's been hypnotized to study, I doubt any of those kids have developed that habit."
"Maybe he's a changed man." Napoleon's voice was right behind him.
Illya didn't jump from surprise, but instead calmly closed the pen and raised his eyebrow at his partner as he turned to glance at him. "A heard of elephants would be quieter than you, Napoleon."
"And you're as obvious as a horse at an opera sitting here and not even giving the pretty girls a look." Solo said quietly as he smiled at a passing pair of co eds. "I have the car registration information. Does the name John Lighten sound familiar?"
Pretending to read his text book, Illya replied, "The scientist? He's part of the design team at San Onofre. Looks like we found the leak."
"I wonder what he's leaking now?" Napoleon mused.
"One way to find out. I saw Reggie over there slide an envelope under Lindt's door, then he came out here and sat down. Doesn't look like he's going anywhere."
The agents began to move to the Psych building when Solo pushed Illya back down on the bench with a hand to his shoulder. "Hang on a second. Look."
Both agents watched as Lindt stepped from the building and glanced around. His eyes stopped on Reggie, and he walked up and greeted him with a handshake. When the boy rose to his feet, they saw the professor pass an envelope to him and pat him on the back. They parted, Lindt heading to the main campus and Reggie walking the opposite direction along the front the Psych building and away from the agents.
"Back to work," Illya mused, standing again.
"I'll check Lindt's office to see if he recorded anything," Napoleon said as they moved off, disappearing in the building.
Illya easily followed Reggie now, as the crowds had thinned with the start of classes. He ducked his head to slip on his dark glasses when he bumped into someone. "Oh, pardon me," he turned and said automatically. The man he'd bumped scowled at him and moved to button his jacket closed, but not before the agent saw a glimpse of a shoulder holster beneath. The man continued on without comment, and Illya noticed a second similarly dressed man join him.
The agent stopped, turned slightly, and saw the pair enter the Psych building where Napoleon had disappeared moments before.