ACT III: "Isn't That What Secret Agents Do?"
After the young lady departed the tavern, the small group waited until they were sure the street would be clear of guards. They returned to their rooms at a leisurely pace that belied their sense of urgency so Dr. Timmons could get his small medical bag.
"We're lucky to have you along on this one," Solo said lowly as they reassembled on the edge of town. "We have just enough time to find Illya and move on with Plan B."
"We haven't finalized Plan B yet," April said, taking his elbow like he was her date.
"Consider Plan B a sort of open ended plan," he answered. "You said Kozlov should be back later tonight. Let's see what we get from Illya first. We have the time."
"Let's go then," Mark said with a nod of his head.
Moisture condensed on the inside of the car windows within moments of the agents packing inside. It was a small Lada, barely fitting the four adults. The ride was blessedly obstacle free and they found the bridge Kat had described without a problem even though the road and countryside were blanketed in white. They parked the car with others just off the road in a spot that had been cleared for the residents in the area. Most of the other streets were still piled high with the white stuff.
"I hope this fresh snowfall doesn't make Kozlov cancel his plans to return home tonight." April pushed open the door and let out a small expletive when the cold air hit her.
"Well, then, we'll just have to move on the Plan C, then!" Mark said cheerfully as he unfolded himself from the back seat. He stomped his feet and stretched as he spoke.
"Right. Plan C." April rolled her eyes. Dr. Timmons let out a short laugh at her expression. "At least it's stopped snowing."
"Let's go," Solo said without humor, worry clear in his eyes. The others fell in behind as they found the creek bed and headed north.
The hike would have been a lot faster if not for the fresh snowfall. Some of the drifts were hip deep. They all had an unspoken drive to hurry, feeling that time was of the essence.
Finally they spotted Kat's bright scarf draped over a branch stuck in one wall of the ravine. Snow, blown from the top of the ravine, fluttered constantly in the air and covered any tracks Kat would have left behind.
"She said there was a cave but I can't see anything." April stopped at the edge of the creek, the scarf fluttering in the weak breeze about fifteen feet from her. Mark and Napoleon made their way to stand right under it. Mark felt the walls, Solo looked down.
"This way," he said quickly, barely noting the trampled path between the boulders; it was disappearing quickly under the blown snow. One by one they worked their way between the boulders.
Solo stumbled into the cave first. A quick motion at the far end immediately caught his attention and his hand automatically moved to his holster. After a second's hesitation he dropped his hand and hustled across the open space.
The jerk of Kat's head in his direction is what had caught his eye. She was kneeling next to a bundled up form and her eyes wide with worry. "You made it!" She blurted in Russian. "Help him!" She held tightly onto his partner's hand.
Illya had not moved. Solo dropped next to him as Kat rattled on in Russian, choked with emotion, and told them what had happened to the wounded agent.
"She say's he's bleeding on this side." April immediately knelt beside the girl and gently moved her back. Solo had already removed the sleeping bag and worked on the heavy coat.
Illya mumbled something and weakly tried to bat Solo's hands away with one arm.
"Stop it, Illya, it's me." The blond agent continued to struggle, but his attempts were easily circumvented and they got the coat open. "Doc, come here."
"Lay him flat. I need to cut open the clothing."
The three agents gently moved Illya away from the wall and pushed him flat to the cold floor. Timmons worked quickly as Solo and April spoke to the wounded agent and kept him still.
Mark moved Kat out of the way. She held his forearm tightly and he spoke slowly and calmly, telling her what the doctor was saying in his broken Russian.
"He's been shot. Some ribs are broken and there's some internal bleeding but it looks like it has stopped. The doctor is cleaning the wound." The calming cadence of Mark's voice is what soothed her.
"I can't find the exit wound," Timmons grunted. "Roll him on his right side. Careful!" The pair did so and Illya groaned weakly. The doctor searched the scarred back, frowned, and motioned for the agents to lay him back down. Timmons leaned in closely to the Slavic face and began to issue directions while looking for physical responses.
"Found it. The bullet angled upward, probably deflected by the ribs. I'm not sure but I think it's managed to miss most of the major organs. The ribs may have nicked something, so we'll have to be very careful moving him." He checked the agent's eyes. "Mr. Kuryakin? Can you hear me? Answer me, please." Illya mumbled something unintelligible. His eyes were unfocused. "That'll do," Timmons replied. He began to apply a pressure bandage to his patient's torso.
Not knowing what was going on was too much for the girl. "What are you doing here, anyway?" Kat asked tearfully. "Illya said my stepfather belongs to some horrible group."
"You could call THRUSH that, yes." Mark told her, and then he glanced to Solo, not wanting to continue.
"Are you here to kill him?" Kat's voice was in a matter of fact tone.
Mark hesitated. "Ah, not exactly," he replied.
April joined them to give Dr. Timmons room to work. Solo stayed by his partner's side.
"Then why are you here? Are you following him?"
April took over the questions, much to Mark's relief. "We'd like to, Kat, but he has very good security."
"Yes, I know," she snorted. "They follow me constantly."
"They follow you constantly, you say?"
Three sets of agent eyes turned to her quickly. "Do they know about this cave?" April asked.
"Yes, but I made sure they didn't follow me this time. They think I am in my room."
"We can't count on that for long. You have to go back." April put her arm around the girl's shoulders.
"No." Kat couldn't pull herself away from the drama unfolding in front of her. The dark one, Solo, was very scared for his partner; she could tell by his eyes and the way he hovered over the down man. She couldn't leave until she knew if Illya would live . . . or die. Suddenly she felt sick. "I can't go until you tell me why you're here. And I need to know if Illya will be all right."
April translated for Napoleon. The senior agent looked to them, and after a thoughtful second, nodded his head. April continued. "We are here to tag your stepfather."
Kat looked at her blankly. "Tag?"
"Yes. That's why Dr. Timmons is with us. Illya was supposed to wound your stepfather. When he went for medical treatment, Dr. Timmons was going to implant a device that would let us follow him. He's meeting with several top Thrush officials soon. We couldn't simply tag his clothes or his car because he changes them. We found a small window of time where his regular doctor was out of town and managed to slip our Dr. Timmons in there. It was supposed to happen last night, but this happened instead." April nodded to Illya.
"Yes, a guard came back unexpectedly." Kat thought about that for a moment. An idea popped into her head. "You don't have to put a tag under his skin. He wears the same jewelry all the time. A necklace and a ring. He never takes them off." She hesitated a beat. "Well, there is one time he takes the necklace off - when he showers."
April glanced at Mark, her interest piqued. "We knew about the ring, but not about the necklace."
"Yes, it's a pendant that he wears against his skin so you probably never see it. It opens up. It's about this big," she held her fingers up in a circle. She was willing to chat because it distracted her from the business going on around the blond agent.
"Really?" April said with a bright look.
"Yes." At that moment, Kat made a decision. "And I could put your tag inside for you. Is the tag small enough to fit in the pendant?"
The bright look on the woman agent's face darkened. "We can't let you get involved like that." April looked at the small group and translated what Kat had just told her.
Kat's eyes, flecked with anger, turned on April. "And you aren't going to leave until it's done, are you? Isn't that what secret agents do? Get the job done? What's going to happen to him in the meantime? He needs help now!"
April cracked a tight grin. "You're pretty smart, aren't you?"
"I've been outsmarting my stepfather's security for years. It's the same kind of thinking, I bet. It all depends where your loyalties lie."
April guffawed. "How old are you, really? 30?" She came to her and took Kat's hands. "That offer is more dangerous than you can even know. We can't allow it."
Kat's stormy eyes didn't back down. "So his life is forfeit? You're going to have a hard enough time getting him out of here unseen. And you won't risk being sighted until the job's done, right? Am I right?"
April glanced at Mark, whose head dropped in reluctance. What the girl was saying was true.
Kat continued. "I'm the best chance you have right now."
"Plan C," Mark said quietly.
April sighed. The girl was right, and she said as much to the senior agent.
The sound of the sleeping bag being tucked around Illya drew their attention. Napoleon straightened wearily, rose, and stepped away from his partner with a single backward glance. Dr. Timmons remained at Illya's side. April and Mark immediately read the sag of Solo's shoulders as bad news.
"Something has caused Illya to lose control of his left arm. The doctor thinks the bullet is lodged near the nerve bundle and swelling has caused paralysis. The bullet has to come out, but moving him to a surgical facility may cause the bullet to move and sever the nerves." Solo rubbed his eyes.
"How do you know the nerve isn't severed already?" April's tone was matter- of-fact, but it carried a question that no one else dared to voice.
"We don't." Solo said tonelessly. Sometimes being in charge was not worth the pay; he had to be the one to make the call that may or may not paralyze his partner for life. He turned his attention to the girl. He studied her carefully as he ran the goal of their mission through his mind. He caught April's eye and nodded to the frightened but angry girl.
"Kat," Solo said thoughtfully after a while. April translated rapidly. "You are quite right. We are against the wall at the moment and running out of time. You may be what need, but we won't use you unless we can insure your safety."
"And just how do you plan on doing that?" April asked.
Solo turned to the shapely agent and grinned, but his expression was tired. "By sending you in with her. Kat, meet your dressmaker."
"Dressmaker!" April exclaimed. "I can't even sew on a button!"
"Maybe not, but you can wield a measuring tape with the best of them. It can't be any harder than assembling a .45 blindfolded."
"That I can do." Dancer crossed her arms over her breasts. "But I always draw blood when I attempt to sew. Mine."
The worried look on her face made Solo grin and it felt good. "Tell her what I said," Solo ordered. April complied with a frustrated sigh and told Kat what her boss had come up with.
"A dressmaker would be perfect." Kat replied excitedly. "There is some sort of big dinner I'm supposed to go to in two weeks, and I do need a dress. You can bring some selections to my house along with the tag."
April rolled that over in her mind. "That just may work," she said to the girl as she patted her arm. Then she turned to her boss. "Now that we have that figured out, how do you plan on getting Illya out of here?"
Silence hung in the cave as the lead agent weighed his options. "We don't. Dr. Timmons will have to do the surgery here."
"What?" Timmons barked from Illya's side. He jumped up and continued his conversation in a low tone. "I can't do that here! I don't have the supplies I need!"
"We'll get them."
Mark and April started to voice their disapproval when Solo stopped them with a sharply raised hand and a cool glare. "We have no choice," he said firmly. "First, he can't be moved until the bullet is out. Field surgery of that sort is not unheard of; I remember Korea." He looked directly into Timmons' eyes. "Second, if we take Illya to a medical facility around here there will be questions. Lots of them. We can't afford to be on the hot seat and risk the entire mission. When that dead guard outside is found, every bullet wound reported in this area will be investigated. And finally, we still don't know how deep THRUSH influence is in these parts."
Timmons' mouth compressed into a straight line. At the start of Solo's reasoning, he was clearly displeased. By the time the CEA had explained himself, the physician accepted the idea. "I need supplies," he said tightly.
"Those we can get. You're still able to access the hospital from our original plan. Make a list then you and Mark get the things you need. Meanwhile, Katherine here needs to go home and wait for you, April. Looks like you need to do some shopping. Meanwhile, I need to alter the tag so it will fit in Kozlov's pendant. Now go."
After the young lady departed the tavern, the small group waited until they were sure the street would be clear of guards. They returned to their rooms at a leisurely pace that belied their sense of urgency so Dr. Timmons could get his small medical bag.
"We're lucky to have you along on this one," Solo said lowly as they reassembled on the edge of town. "We have just enough time to find Illya and move on with Plan B."
"We haven't finalized Plan B yet," April said, taking his elbow like he was her date.
"Consider Plan B a sort of open ended plan," he answered. "You said Kozlov should be back later tonight. Let's see what we get from Illya first. We have the time."
"Let's go then," Mark said with a nod of his head.
Moisture condensed on the inside of the car windows within moments of the agents packing inside. It was a small Lada, barely fitting the four adults. The ride was blessedly obstacle free and they found the bridge Kat had described without a problem even though the road and countryside were blanketed in white. They parked the car with others just off the road in a spot that had been cleared for the residents in the area. Most of the other streets were still piled high with the white stuff.
"I hope this fresh snowfall doesn't make Kozlov cancel his plans to return home tonight." April pushed open the door and let out a small expletive when the cold air hit her.
"Well, then, we'll just have to move on the Plan C, then!" Mark said cheerfully as he unfolded himself from the back seat. He stomped his feet and stretched as he spoke.
"Right. Plan C." April rolled her eyes. Dr. Timmons let out a short laugh at her expression. "At least it's stopped snowing."
"Let's go," Solo said without humor, worry clear in his eyes. The others fell in behind as they found the creek bed and headed north.
The hike would have been a lot faster if not for the fresh snowfall. Some of the drifts were hip deep. They all had an unspoken drive to hurry, feeling that time was of the essence.
Finally they spotted Kat's bright scarf draped over a branch stuck in one wall of the ravine. Snow, blown from the top of the ravine, fluttered constantly in the air and covered any tracks Kat would have left behind.
"She said there was a cave but I can't see anything." April stopped at the edge of the creek, the scarf fluttering in the weak breeze about fifteen feet from her. Mark and Napoleon made their way to stand right under it. Mark felt the walls, Solo looked down.
"This way," he said quickly, barely noting the trampled path between the boulders; it was disappearing quickly under the blown snow. One by one they worked their way between the boulders.
Solo stumbled into the cave first. A quick motion at the far end immediately caught his attention and his hand automatically moved to his holster. After a second's hesitation he dropped his hand and hustled across the open space.
The jerk of Kat's head in his direction is what had caught his eye. She was kneeling next to a bundled up form and her eyes wide with worry. "You made it!" She blurted in Russian. "Help him!" She held tightly onto his partner's hand.
Illya had not moved. Solo dropped next to him as Kat rattled on in Russian, choked with emotion, and told them what had happened to the wounded agent.
"She say's he's bleeding on this side." April immediately knelt beside the girl and gently moved her back. Solo had already removed the sleeping bag and worked on the heavy coat.
Illya mumbled something and weakly tried to bat Solo's hands away with one arm.
"Stop it, Illya, it's me." The blond agent continued to struggle, but his attempts were easily circumvented and they got the coat open. "Doc, come here."
"Lay him flat. I need to cut open the clothing."
The three agents gently moved Illya away from the wall and pushed him flat to the cold floor. Timmons worked quickly as Solo and April spoke to the wounded agent and kept him still.
Mark moved Kat out of the way. She held his forearm tightly and he spoke slowly and calmly, telling her what the doctor was saying in his broken Russian.
"He's been shot. Some ribs are broken and there's some internal bleeding but it looks like it has stopped. The doctor is cleaning the wound." The calming cadence of Mark's voice is what soothed her.
"I can't find the exit wound," Timmons grunted. "Roll him on his right side. Careful!" The pair did so and Illya groaned weakly. The doctor searched the scarred back, frowned, and motioned for the agents to lay him back down. Timmons leaned in closely to the Slavic face and began to issue directions while looking for physical responses.
"Found it. The bullet angled upward, probably deflected by the ribs. I'm not sure but I think it's managed to miss most of the major organs. The ribs may have nicked something, so we'll have to be very careful moving him." He checked the agent's eyes. "Mr. Kuryakin? Can you hear me? Answer me, please." Illya mumbled something unintelligible. His eyes were unfocused. "That'll do," Timmons replied. He began to apply a pressure bandage to his patient's torso.
Not knowing what was going on was too much for the girl. "What are you doing here, anyway?" Kat asked tearfully. "Illya said my stepfather belongs to some horrible group."
"You could call THRUSH that, yes." Mark told her, and then he glanced to Solo, not wanting to continue.
"Are you here to kill him?" Kat's voice was in a matter of fact tone.
Mark hesitated. "Ah, not exactly," he replied.
April joined them to give Dr. Timmons room to work. Solo stayed by his partner's side.
"Then why are you here? Are you following him?"
April took over the questions, much to Mark's relief. "We'd like to, Kat, but he has very good security."
"Yes, I know," she snorted. "They follow me constantly."
"They follow you constantly, you say?"
Three sets of agent eyes turned to her quickly. "Do they know about this cave?" April asked.
"Yes, but I made sure they didn't follow me this time. They think I am in my room."
"We can't count on that for long. You have to go back." April put her arm around the girl's shoulders.
"No." Kat couldn't pull herself away from the drama unfolding in front of her. The dark one, Solo, was very scared for his partner; she could tell by his eyes and the way he hovered over the down man. She couldn't leave until she knew if Illya would live . . . or die. Suddenly she felt sick. "I can't go until you tell me why you're here. And I need to know if Illya will be all right."
April translated for Napoleon. The senior agent looked to them, and after a thoughtful second, nodded his head. April continued. "We are here to tag your stepfather."
Kat looked at her blankly. "Tag?"
"Yes. That's why Dr. Timmons is with us. Illya was supposed to wound your stepfather. When he went for medical treatment, Dr. Timmons was going to implant a device that would let us follow him. He's meeting with several top Thrush officials soon. We couldn't simply tag his clothes or his car because he changes them. We found a small window of time where his regular doctor was out of town and managed to slip our Dr. Timmons in there. It was supposed to happen last night, but this happened instead." April nodded to Illya.
"Yes, a guard came back unexpectedly." Kat thought about that for a moment. An idea popped into her head. "You don't have to put a tag under his skin. He wears the same jewelry all the time. A necklace and a ring. He never takes them off." She hesitated a beat. "Well, there is one time he takes the necklace off - when he showers."
April glanced at Mark, her interest piqued. "We knew about the ring, but not about the necklace."
"Yes, it's a pendant that he wears against his skin so you probably never see it. It opens up. It's about this big," she held her fingers up in a circle. She was willing to chat because it distracted her from the business going on around the blond agent.
"Really?" April said with a bright look.
"Yes." At that moment, Kat made a decision. "And I could put your tag inside for you. Is the tag small enough to fit in the pendant?"
The bright look on the woman agent's face darkened. "We can't let you get involved like that." April looked at the small group and translated what Kat had just told her.
Kat's eyes, flecked with anger, turned on April. "And you aren't going to leave until it's done, are you? Isn't that what secret agents do? Get the job done? What's going to happen to him in the meantime? He needs help now!"
April cracked a tight grin. "You're pretty smart, aren't you?"
"I've been outsmarting my stepfather's security for years. It's the same kind of thinking, I bet. It all depends where your loyalties lie."
April guffawed. "How old are you, really? 30?" She came to her and took Kat's hands. "That offer is more dangerous than you can even know. We can't allow it."
Kat's stormy eyes didn't back down. "So his life is forfeit? You're going to have a hard enough time getting him out of here unseen. And you won't risk being sighted until the job's done, right? Am I right?"
April glanced at Mark, whose head dropped in reluctance. What the girl was saying was true.
Kat continued. "I'm the best chance you have right now."
"Plan C," Mark said quietly.
April sighed. The girl was right, and she said as much to the senior agent.
The sound of the sleeping bag being tucked around Illya drew their attention. Napoleon straightened wearily, rose, and stepped away from his partner with a single backward glance. Dr. Timmons remained at Illya's side. April and Mark immediately read the sag of Solo's shoulders as bad news.
"Something has caused Illya to lose control of his left arm. The doctor thinks the bullet is lodged near the nerve bundle and swelling has caused paralysis. The bullet has to come out, but moving him to a surgical facility may cause the bullet to move and sever the nerves." Solo rubbed his eyes.
"How do you know the nerve isn't severed already?" April's tone was matter- of-fact, but it carried a question that no one else dared to voice.
"We don't." Solo said tonelessly. Sometimes being in charge was not worth the pay; he had to be the one to make the call that may or may not paralyze his partner for life. He turned his attention to the girl. He studied her carefully as he ran the goal of their mission through his mind. He caught April's eye and nodded to the frightened but angry girl.
"Kat," Solo said thoughtfully after a while. April translated rapidly. "You are quite right. We are against the wall at the moment and running out of time. You may be what need, but we won't use you unless we can insure your safety."
"And just how do you plan on doing that?" April asked.
Solo turned to the shapely agent and grinned, but his expression was tired. "By sending you in with her. Kat, meet your dressmaker."
"Dressmaker!" April exclaimed. "I can't even sew on a button!"
"Maybe not, but you can wield a measuring tape with the best of them. It can't be any harder than assembling a .45 blindfolded."
"That I can do." Dancer crossed her arms over her breasts. "But I always draw blood when I attempt to sew. Mine."
The worried look on her face made Solo grin and it felt good. "Tell her what I said," Solo ordered. April complied with a frustrated sigh and told Kat what her boss had come up with.
"A dressmaker would be perfect." Kat replied excitedly. "There is some sort of big dinner I'm supposed to go to in two weeks, and I do need a dress. You can bring some selections to my house along with the tag."
April rolled that over in her mind. "That just may work," she said to the girl as she patted her arm. Then she turned to her boss. "Now that we have that figured out, how do you plan on getting Illya out of here?"
Silence hung in the cave as the lead agent weighed his options. "We don't. Dr. Timmons will have to do the surgery here."
"What?" Timmons barked from Illya's side. He jumped up and continued his conversation in a low tone. "I can't do that here! I don't have the supplies I need!"
"We'll get them."
Mark and April started to voice their disapproval when Solo stopped them with a sharply raised hand and a cool glare. "We have no choice," he said firmly. "First, he can't be moved until the bullet is out. Field surgery of that sort is not unheard of; I remember Korea." He looked directly into Timmons' eyes. "Second, if we take Illya to a medical facility around here there will be questions. Lots of them. We can't afford to be on the hot seat and risk the entire mission. When that dead guard outside is found, every bullet wound reported in this area will be investigated. And finally, we still don't know how deep THRUSH influence is in these parts."
Timmons' mouth compressed into a straight line. At the start of Solo's reasoning, he was clearly displeased. By the time the CEA had explained himself, the physician accepted the idea. "I need supplies," he said tightly.
"Those we can get. You're still able to access the hospital from our original plan. Make a list then you and Mark get the things you need. Meanwhile, Katherine here needs to go home and wait for you, April. Looks like you need to do some shopping. Meanwhile, I need to alter the tag so it will fit in Kozlov's pendant. Now go."