Illya's expression remained cool as he greeted the woman standing in the hall. Everyone else in the room retained a similar professional calm, except for Bibi. She had seen this woman talking with Napoleon and Illya at the event the previous evening, and knew her to be someone of interest to the investigation.

"Good morning, Serena. Won't you come in and join us?"

Illya stood back so that Serena could walk past him easily, her gaze going first to Napoleon and then perusing the room as she sauntered in, ignoring the obvious question as she thanked the blond.

"So nice to see you, Illya. And you, Napoleon. Perhaps you will introduce me to your friends."

Napoleon cleared his throat and gave a sideways glance towards Mark and April, caught the expression on his partner's face and then faced Serena with the patent Solo smile.

"Serena, how lovely to have you… here. Why, exactly, are you here, if I may ask?"

She smiled like a predator; there was no mistaking it. April felt a tangible sense of … well, something she wasn't sure of. This woman was dangerous, and she instinctively felt a wave of concern for all of the men in the room. Bibi was similarly affected, although she lacked the training to understand just how dangerous a female THRUSH agent could be.

"Please, you should not all feel so defensive of my presence. I am here to help you find the Mercury Diamond."

Illya made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort of derision, and Napoleon merely made a tisking sound as he walked toward Serena and took her coat. He leaned in, nearly close enough to touch her ear with his lips when he spoke.

"Serena my love, you have some ulterior motive for being here. Why don't you just tell me … tell us… what it is."

"Napoleon, why don't you just believe me? I really do want to help. THRUSH did not take the diamond. I promise you, it is the truth."

Illya was not easily convinced, especially when the emissary was Serena.

"And we are to simply accept your word on this and proceed how? You were there, and when the diamond was discovered missing, you were also gone."

Serena merely smiled at the Russian, letting her mind wander to another time…

"Illya, think about it. When I saw the empty container, I knew that you and Napoleon would suspect me. I had to leave, for my own sake, I assure you. We were not involved in this."

Napoleon was scrutinizing Serena along with the other people in the room. If there was one thing he knew about this woman, it was her ability to survive by using her wits.

"It still doesn't explain why you're here now, and why …"

Bibi jumped in before Napoleon could finish. This was her suite, her affair. Affairs. Oh, damnit, who was this woman anyway?

"I think what we all want to know, Serena is it? What we all want to know is why we should believe you. You are THRUSH, and with the missing Mercury Diamond and the death of Lord Fitzsimmons…"

Now it was Serena who interrupted.

"What? Lord Fitzsimmons is dead. I … I promise you I had nothing to do with that. This is not a THRUSH operation. Someone else has engineered this entire thing. Poor Andrew…"

Serena look genuinely stricken by the news of Fitzsimmons demise. Bibi was struck by that as well, wondering what everyone else wondered about the relationship between the two.

April was the next voice in this conflagration.

"So, Serena… you have no knowledge of where the diamond is now? Why did you come here unless you had information to help us find it?"

Mark was looking at Bibi, wondering why she cared about Serena's involvement with Fitzsimmons. Had she been involved with him?

Illya was watching Mark look at Bibi, and Napoleon was trying to figure out what the heck he was going to tell Mr. Waverly about this unusual meeting.

"We need to get back to headquarters. Mr. Waverly is waiting for us, and we need some answers and a course of action. Serena, what can you tell us about all of this? And, like April, I want to know why you came here."

A great sigh escaped her lips, and Serena looked from one face to the next until she had completely read the room and the people in it.

"I came here to help in any way that I can. THRUSH is capable of many things, and I am not likely to change my affiliation. But we are not responsible for this, and we don't need UNCLE coming after us for something we didn't do. I think you should look a little closer to the source, Mr. Solo, and see what you find there."

Illya rolled his eyes and huffed involuntarily. This was turning into a circus.

"If THRUSH is not involved, are you suggesting then that the perpetrators are the house of Van Meter and Gruen? Or someone who works for them? It is such an obvious suggestion that I am almost persuaded to believe it could be true."

"What do you mean Illya? You aren't going to take her word for it, are you?"

Bibi was not at all convinced. She didn't like this woman, and she didn't like how familiar she was with Illya and Napoleon. It came as a revelation to her that she was jealous, and immediately set upon the task of denying it.

Mark moved in and put his hand on Bibi's shoulder in an attempt to calm her. He saw the effect that Serena was having on the Baroness and didn't like it. He didn't much like Serena.

The entire scene captivated April. She was quite certain that there was a triangle, or a rectangle perhaps, involving at least one of these women. How did they have time for this and saving the world too? She was going to have to start making room for romance.

It was time for the communicator to sound off again, and Napoleon uncapped his and answered.

"Uh, yes… Solo here."

"Mr. Solo, are you planning on coming back to headquarters any time soon, or have you found something else of more importance to fill your morning?"

"Oh, no sir. No, nothing more important, merely a … well, a new development on this end. We are being… well, you see…"

"Yes, I should very much like to see something, Mr. Solo. Fill me in when you arrive. And, Mr. Solo, I expect that to be very soon."

Napoleon turned to face the others and made a quick decision.

"Let's all go. You too, Serena. You'll not be taken into custody, just come with us and we'll all sit down and discuss things together, in Mr. Waverly's office. I'm sure you'll find him… charming."

Serena smiled, a knowing sort of smile that made all of the men in the room distinctly uncomfortable. April and Bibi looked at each other and without words reached an agreement.

Three men, three women, UNCLE and THRUSH. There were some secrets in this room, and they were of much more interest than who stole the Mercury Diamond.

Much more.