Illya released his hold on April slowly as he mentally tossed away the temptation to pick her up and carry her back to their bungalow to explore this fascination they held for each other.

"I forget, are we Nick and Rita, or Illya and April?" He pushed away a strand of hair that was dangling in front of her eye, kissed her on the forehead and casually waived goodbye to the other surfers he'd spoken to out on the water. It was difficult for Illya to surrender himself to the idea of pursuing April Dancer, knew that it would violate any number of tenants of professional ethics within the Command. She was young; younger than he by at least ten years.

Perhaps that was part of the attraction. She was less tainted by their profession, less cynical. April had the ability to brighten a room with her buoyant personality and effervescence. She was everything he was not in this life, and that made him want to be with her.

April let him lead her back to their place, felt her heart racing with anticipation of what she could only hope was his intention. The question of names was not her priority.

"I think we're registered as Nick and Rita Ramsay. Funny how that detail seems to have slipped our minds. Do you think there's something to that?" She did. She thought perhaps that was the only way they might justify intimacy, if they were someone else.

Illya was following the same pattern of thought, and as much as he hated to, he rejected it as reason enough for him to start breaking rules.

"April…' Having reached the lanai on the front of their bungalow, he lifted her up onto it and spoke to her from the sand below it.

"We cannot afford to lose sight of our purpose here, our duty to perform at the highest level of integrity. Our act must be that, a performance for the benefit of those watching, if indeed anyone is watching us. Do you understand why I'm saying this?" He hoped so, fervently. He needed her to be alert and professional, able to have his back should the need arise, without any emotional interference.

His expression was not stern, rather it had the look of someone speaking to a child; soft and expressive.

April straighter up and looked beyond him to the ocean. Waves were breaking on the shore as more surfers populated the water, waiting and riding…

"I understand perfectly. I promise to behave myself Mr. Kuryakin. I apologize if I have overstepped the boundaries of our performance."

Why did she say it like that? Grow up April! This is a job, he is your partner in this job and … She thought she might throw up.

"April, please understand I am trying to protect you, us… the mission. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you because I …" There it was, he might mess up if they were too close. He might miss something, it would be his fault. April caught the micro expression that betrayed his own emotional state, and it made her own heart beat a little faster.

"I know Illya, I know. I understand and I'm sorry for… Sometimes I act spoiled rotten, don't I." That made him smile, and they both knew that, if and when the time came, it wouldn't be where either of them would be endangered because of it.

"On duty, cross my heart." She made the gesture of crossing her heart, but it wasn't to close it off. She was more enamored of him now than before.

As had been agreed, all four UNCLE agents were to meet for breakfast in the lodge. Mark had gotten in late the night before, so this would be his first time with the others here at the Village. Napoleon was there already when he arrived. The scene with Sharon had been on his mind all morning, and now he needed to inform the others of this new kink in the situation they were facing.

The truth was, Napoleon was nowhere regarding this affair. Bali was both a tourist mecca and a political hotbed of conflicting forces. Indonesia was unstable, China was wooing them with promises of military support and financial stability. Communism in this place was not the Stalinist version, although the Soviet Union had no qualms about supporting their cause if it would ultimately serve the USSR purposes. A revolution in paradise seemed so contradictory, Napoleon had trouble envisioning the scenario.

When April and Illya walked in it was to the sight of two heads bowed in serious conversation, as though avoiding all others in the room.

"Hello darlings, are we all good this morning?" April was ready to start the day off with a positive attitude, and she was so glad to see Mark. He rose to greet her, giving her a hug worthy of their friendship. It seemed the facade of their roles here was fading fast.

"Napoleon, you look rather worse off than I would have imagined." Illya noted the change in his partner's demeanor; the recognizable pallor of disappointment was something with which he was very familiar.

"I have some interesting news, a peculiar change…' He looked around the table at his friends, hoping he didn't betray his own emotional state regarding Sharon's deception.

"Miss Landers is no longer with THRUSH." He waited, wondered if anyone might venture to guess the rest of his news.

"Well, that's good, right?" April thought her boss seemed less than happy about something as positive as getting out of THRUSH.

Illya's expression became stern, his jaw twitched slightly. "She has switched sides?" Napoleon nodded, his eyes on the Russian as Illya slowly allowed the formation of an idea.

"CIA?"

"Yep."

April and Mark exchanged looks before settling back on Napoleon. What did this mean for them, they wondered.

"And she told you right away, or did you have to coerce the information from her?" Illya had to assume that there was an interest in the situation here on Bali, that it had nothing to do with him. Still, they had brought in someone who knew Napoleon, and knew him as well.

"She told me, although she waited until, um… " April colored slightly, she hadn't really thought of Napoleon's evening, but now she realized where he'd spent it.

"This morning?" She tried to convey to Napoleon that it was perfectly fine to refer to his romantic exploits in front of her. Well, sort of okay.

"Um, well… yes, this morning. She announced it as though I should be happy. And I was, considering she was out of THRUSH." Illya caught the hesitation.

"Do I hear a but?" Napoleon smiled at his partner's insight.

"Yes, ye me in the bar last night. It wasn't a surprise, she had me on her radar."

"And that means what? I don't think I understand." April sometimes hated that she was so new, that she didn't always get the undercurrents that never quite grabbed you and pulled you into the knowing parts of these intrigues. If she was CIA, then Sharon was still on their side of things. At least she wasn't THRUSH.

"What it means is that the Agency has it's eye on us as well as whatever is going on here in Bali. They were very succinct in pointing out that they knew Illya's background, and trust me, in the past they've not always played nice." Napoleon's sigh registered more than just frustration. He didn't have a plan of action. THRUSH was, so far, invisible. No one had them in their sights, and even though Sharon had sworn that was her mission on Bali, Napoleon was unsure of even that.

"I need to talk to Mr. Waverly, and I need you three to start looking for THRUSH, any sign of them or that suggestion that they're doing something to … I can't believe I'm saying this, to steal the ocean."

Breakfast came just then, a platter full of tropical fruits and a large crab and swiss omelette big enough for the four to share. A mango bread pudding was also brought to the table along with fresh pineapple juice and coffee. Illya was ready to dig into the feast, his morning workout had primed him for a big meal. The others followed suit, and for as long as their meal lasted, the conversation turned to less stringent topics.

At the end of breakfast, as the table mates all rose to leave, Napoleon had one last word of caution.

"Remember, THRUSH is no doubt here somewhere, doing something that we need to put an end to. But, with the CIA watching not only THRUSH, but us as well…"

"We'll be careful, and look both ways." Mark winked at the American, but his words didn't conceal a serious mind set on thwarting the enemy. Napoleon shot a look at Illya and April.

"I will if you will." The standard response from Illya, his concern for his partner no less than for himself.

"Okay then, let's meet back here for dinner and hopefully, we'll have something to talk about."

Everyone nodded their agreement as they headed out to prepare for the day ahead. No one saw Sharon Landers seated in the corner of the room behind a convenient palm. She just needed to figure out who to follow, and how much she would report to Roger Durning.