Military Helicopter en route from Vinciguerra Island, 1963
"So it's a decoy?" Napoleon asked as they all stared down at the missile strapped to the large helicopter's floor between them.
"Oh no." She laughed, leaning back in her seat. "It's a real bomb; nasty one too." She told them as Kuryakin glared down at it. "But it's not nuclearized."
"There's no uranium it." Waverly explained from his seat on the bench next to her as Napoleon, Kuryakin and Gabby sat opposite them.
"There was a second warhead in the lab." Gabby told them, shouting over the sound of the propellers, and Eva's head snapped up to meet her eyes.
"A second bomb?" She asked.
"There were two." Gabby confirmed and Eva let out a groan as Waverly was out of his seat like a shot and directing the pilot to land on the deck of HMS Ark Royal immediately.
"Then this just got a hell of a lot more complicated."
HMS Ark Royal, 1963
The helicopter had barely touched down on the deck of the HMS Ark Royal before Waverly was striding across it to the man dressed all in white waiting for them at the deck entrance.
"Did you check everything I asked, Captain?" Eva heard him say as she ushered the three very muddy operatives to follow as a group of men strode forward waiting to retrieve the warhead.
"Radar, sonar and aerial support all confirm that no other vehicle has left the island since last night, including submarines." The Captain informed them.
"Status of the missile, ma'am?" Eva turned from the group now striding towards the entrance to the belly of the ship and faced the soldier.
"Definitely a nasty one but no uranium so we should be safe." She told them as two moved forward to claim the missile. "Though I have had a bit of a prod around inside so if it seems particularly angry…" She paused as it was jostled around before sliding comfortably into the waiting arms of the men. "…it's entirely my fault and you need to dump it over the side immediately." She flashed the commander a grin.
"We'll bare that in mind ma'am." She rolled her eyes at the stoicism of the man and promptly turned away from the now silent helicopter and headed for the direction Waverly had disappeared in.
She entered the bridge just as a scruffy-looking man began to address the assembled people.
"The boats go out every morning at dawn." He told them as she joined the large table completely covered with maps and shipping routes of the mainland's small boats.
"I saw them." Illya spoke up. "How many of them are there?"
"Fishing boats?" The man asked, scratching his head as he eyed the maps. "Almost a hundred." He gestured to a smaller map with a circle inked onto Italy's coat. "They are spread out over a 60-kilometer radius by now."
"And that radius is expanding every minute." The Captain sighed. "We don't even know what boat we're looking for." He added before turning to Eva. "Is the warhead secured or is my ship going to explode, Agent Green?"
"It's safe and sound in the hold, Captain." She told him, frowning lightly when Napoleon seemed to jolt before snatching the ship register from the table and flicking through it wildly. "Along with the prisoners from the island." She watched as Napoleon stopped at one of the last pages on the register and began to scour it more intently. "When does the submarine surface?"
"0800 hours." The Captain told her. "That gives us 20 minutes."
"Do we have a rough location?"
"If by rough you mean we know it'll surface in the Mediterranean, then yes." Waverly sighed, shedding his jacket as he stared at the maps.
"Good enough for me; give me command of five men and a motorboat and-"
"Diadema." Napoleon cut across her as he stabbed a finger at the register. "That's Sergio Vinciguerra's old fishing boat; I suggest we start there." He looked up from the register and turned to the scruffy man. "Can you get them on the radio?"
"I'm the Harbour Master – I can get anyone on the radio."
"Excellent!" Waverly exclaimed. "And we can get a bearing from the radio signal, yes?" He asked the Captain.
"If we keep them broadcasting for long enough."
"Pick your team and get into position…" Waverly turned to Eva. "…once we have a bearing you're in charge of getting there before the hand-over."
She nodded once to her Commander before turning to a loitering sailor.
"I need-"
"I have an idea which might make things quicker." Gabby interrupted. "Sorry…" She shot her an apologetic smile. "…but there's a coupling device in each missile." She told the room as Eva felt a grin blossom on her lips. "Do you think you could…?" She trailed off as Eva let out a small laugh.
"Use it against its sibling?" Eva asked. "I most certainly can."
"Diadema, venite in Diadema. Questo è il padrone del porto."
Napoleon was silent as the Harbour Master attempted to contact the fishing boat from the Ark Royal's bridge. Eva had disappeared only moments ago with Gabby and Illya hot on her heels as she led them down to the hold where the missile and a group scientists hired by the Vinciguerra's were being kept.
He was still in shock at the fact they were on the same ship, let alone the same county. But two years was a long time and adding in the fact that they were yet to exchange more than two words with each other; it was almost as if they'd never actually met.
He wasn't sure who this woman was; before she'd been a mere foot soldier like him but now, now she knew so much more and had probably done so much more and he was left feeling a little…inadequate in her heeled shadow.
Of course, he'd noticed how Gabby seemed at ease with her and he wondered exactly how far back that friendship went and if Gabby liked her then it wouldn't be long before Illya warmed to her too. And then it would just be him; the man who fell into this life by chance and who had been torn away from perhaps the only person who had seen him as more than a list of crimes.
"Diadema, venite in Diadema. Questo è il padrone del porto." The Harbour Master continued, the captain clearly becoming impatient as no reply filtered through from the small boat and he wondered if perhaps Eva had been right about sending out a boat and not wasting time with this.
"Maestro de porto, questo è Diadema."
They all perked up at the reply from the fishing boat's captain and with a nod the Harbour Master gave the agreed reply.
"Sì Diadema, ho un messaggio per Victoria Vinciguerra."
"Non so di cosa stai parlando."
Napoleon could feel the entire bridge roll their eyes at the Captains denial of knowing who they spoke of.
"Ten minutes and counting." The Captain helpfully told them and Napoleon could feel his fists curl at the thought of Victoria Vinciguerra getting away with this.
"Mr Solo." Waverly turned to him. "I think this may be your cue."
He nodded to the man before retrieving the radio handset from the Harbour Master and with a deep breath, addressed the fishing boat.
"Hello, Victoria." He began, turning to stare out into the open waters ahead. "I suspect that you're already listening so I'll give you this message directly: earlier today I killed your husband."
He paused, waiting for a response from the woman.
"We're wasting our time; this isn't working." The Captain bit out as time ticked down on the clock behind him.
"If you could just shut up, thank you very much." He heard Waverly instruct. "Ramp it up, please, Solo."
"I'd like to report that he died honourably, courageously and selflessly. But he didn't." He said. "Instead, it was a rather pitiful affair involving tears, begging and offers to trade anything and, indeed, anyone so that I would spare his life."
"Napoleon." Victoria's voice crackled over the radio as a pair of heels clicked through the bridge and towards the Captain. "I appreciate your message and now I hope you'll appreciate mine: any relation of yours still living will be dead within the year. They will die slowly and painfully. And you know from personal experience, this is an area in which we excel."
"Bearing 0-4-5, Captain." He heard a sailor call out from behind him as Victoria continued to speak.
"There's nothing you'll be able to do but witness their suffering as you await your own death, which I will save for last. This I vow on my husband's soul."
"Locked and loaded, gentlemen." A female voice added behind him. "It's all yours Captain."
"Won't you have to inform your organization to achieve that?" He asked, turning slightly from the window to watch the Captain slip a chain from his neck with a small key dangling from it and insert it into a nearby console.
"After we deliver the warhead you so desperately sought...it will be the first item on my agenda." Victoria told him. "And you will die, Solo, knowing you failed completely. We have the professor's disk: we can build as many bombs as we need."
"Ready?"
"Yes, proceed, please, Captain."
"I see one flaw in that plan." Napoleon said, focusing back on the radio in his hand and not on the blonde currently punching away at buttons. "While you've been telling me how dangerous you are...we've been locking on to your radio signal and now we have your general location."
"It won't help you much. I'll be gone in five minutes."
"I haven't finished." He interrupted, taking a breath and readying himself to launch into his spiel. "The coupling device that you so considerately left us on your decoy warhead is, according to our Weapons Specialist, accurate to 10 feet. That warhead, although not nuclear, shouldn't have any trouble obliterating a medium-size fishing boat. The aforementioned warhead launched..." He paused to check his watch. "45 seconds ago...giving you about 30 seconds until impact. It won't trigger the nuclear warhead as that requires fission. So...if you do want to make good on your vow...I suggest you abandon ship immediately. How's that for entertainment?"
His finger released the transmission button just as a bright yellow cloud of fire boomed in the distance.
"Target obliterated." A voice said from behind him and he turned to flash the British spy a grin as he dropped the radio and let Waverly take his spot to watch the flames from the now wrecked Diadema continue to rise in the distance. "Mission accomplished."