Aprilʼs discovery regarding the black bird carving and the shop ownerʼs remarks about stealing the ocean had the three agents on alert. THRUSH was on Bali, hidden in plain sight as in so many other schemes.

Snooping around in the shops would have to be another day, for now they needed to take the jeep rides and get settled in the vacation village. As expected, the waiting jeeps were for other couples, but not the ones they had encountered on board the ship. Was it out of the question to think that there were more agents from the CIA and MI6, possibly the people now climbing into the yellow jeeps?

The ride to _ was bumpy in places, offering a view of the coast that ambled in and out of trees and small houses that dotted the roadside. They were heading towards another fishing village that would be their ʻnative experienceʼ, according to the brochure. The trip was about forty minutes, longer than most people would want to endure in an open jeep. Aprilʼs hair was captured beneath an orange scarf that. with the large sunglasses she wore, made Napoleon think she resembled the Presidentʼs wife, Mrs. Kennedy. Then again, behind those big sunglasses almost anyone could pass for the young First Lady.

The sun was just beginning to settle atop the horizon as the jeeps turned onto an unpaved road and headed towards the beach. Several small buildings came into view, with thatched roofs and gauzy looking fabric billowing in the afternoon breezes. As they drew nearer it was clear that the buildings were small bungalows, Balinese style, situated atop poles that were burrowed into the sand.

"Is that where weʼre staying?" April was at first surprised and then intrigued. They looked to be far enough beyond the tide line to avoid being washed out to sea, but what an experience it would be to sleep in one of these odd rooms.

"I would say yes, although I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to." Illya was not yet charmed by the surroundings. Napoleon was taking it all in, already trying to figure out a strategy for finding the THRUSH installation while appearing to be a free spirited vacationer.

The jeeps pulled up in front of what appeared to be a main lodge that was situated in the middle of the row of bungalows. Each room, or bungalow, was about fifty yards from the next one, with the lodge in the center; there were five bungalows on either side of it.

There was no denying the allure of this location, each bungalow had an ocean view. It was also significant that the space between each of them allowed for a degree of privacy, in spite of the open air design.

The jeeps pulled up in a line at the lodge. The passengers were invited to step into the artfully designed building that would serve as concierge and bar. Checking in was accomplished as Napoleon kept an ear open while the other guests registered. He didnʼt believe for an instant that some other agency wouldnʼt have come along to monitor the UNCLE agents, or Illya.

"Mr. and Mrs. James Delmont,ʼ the first couple looked innocuous in their Midwestern clothing.
"We are here to go native!" The man, James, was loud and slightly uncouth, based on that exclamation. That alone made Napoleon think he wasnʼt what he was intending to portray. The concierge agent was polite but reserved in his manner; heʼd probably been accosted by rude foreigners more times than he cared to remember.

"Jimmy, please keep it down. We donʼt know these people."

Maybe not CIA. She seemed genuinely embarrassed.

The second couple were less boisterous but appeared to be friendly. The accent put them somewhere in the British Isles.

"Welsh perhaps, by the sound of it.ʼ Illya had caught part of their conversation.

Napoleon had to smile at his partnerʼs keen ear. I guess that was part of why he was so gifted in languages.

"Do they seem like MI6?"

"Hard to say, it will take some socializing perhaps to get a better view of things." Illya knew that would be his and Aprilʼs assignment. Infiltrating couples was something for which he was gaining considerable skills, something he found peculiar; he seemed to always be the one posing as a husband to an agent or an innocent. Napoleon was left free to investigate among the more suspicious looking, beautiful women.

Funny how that worked out.

After the reception in the bar everyone was anxious to see their rooms, so pleasantries were exchanged as they headed out towards their individual bungalows. Napoleon spotted a woman in the bar who seemed vaguely familiar. He caught up to Illya and April and told them heʼd seen a THRUSH agent named Sharon Landers.

The last time he saw her was during a mission that put Illya in the hospital during an affair** in which they investigated an occurrence of spontaneous combustion. The man Illya had been escorting was consumed by a fire, the explosion from which had sent the Russian hurtling into a tree. The eventual conclusion of that mission was intercepted by the beautiful Sharon Landers, a THRUSH agent neither of them had encountered again, until now.

Illya had little recollection of the woman, he'd been mostly unconscious while Napoleon established a sort of quasi relationship with her. It was actually thanks to her forthrightness that some of the mystery involved in that unfortunate affair had come to light, settling some of Illya's discomfort with what had become of Dr. Wilhelm Droeste.

"Are you certain it is Sharon Landers?" April wasn't familiar with the mission in question, but she wondered once again how many times Kuryakin could suffer injury and come back to serve. She worried about him, in spite of the knowledge that this was their life's work and therefore, an unending series of risks.

Napoleon considered the question.

"Yes, absolutely. And if she's here in Bali…"

"Proof positive, I'd say." Illya was right. THRUSH was here, and the presence of Miss Landers in combination with the information April had obtained meant they had no time to waste.

"I'll handle Miss Landers. She probably saw me, I have no doubts about her effectiveness as an agent. You two get settled in, I think I'll go back to the bar and see about our little bird."

With that the three went their separate ways. Illya and April had housekeeping arrangements to make, including a sweep of their room for bugs not indigenous to the island.

Napoleon headed back to the bar to hopefully spend some time with Sharon Landers. It was not an entirely unpleasant prospect.

**A Questionable End