No sooner did the alarms go off than Illya emerged from his hiding spot. Napoleon had told him to check the window at the far end of the hallway, and he did. But knowing the kind of trouble his partner attracted, he'd decided to return and keep watch. And a good thing he did too...

CRASH!

Napoleon exited the room with far less grace than usual and went headfirst into a stack of boxes. Slightly shaken, he attempted to get up and glance around a moment to regain his bearings. Reaching over, Illya grabbed his arm and had started to speak:

"OK, Cow- OOF!"

Just like that, Solo jerked his elbow back and landed a punch square in Illya's jaw, ending with a kick that sent Illya stumbling backwards into a wall.

Not surprise Cowboy next time, he thought as he got back up and chased after Solo's rapidly vanishing figure. And none too soon, because right then, a group of guards swarmed out from a nearby staircase with guns raised.

"Halt! Halt or I shoot!", shouted the apparent leader.

Without thinking twice, Illya dashed off in the direction Solo had gone. A bullet whizzed by not two inches from his ear. So far he had put a little distance between himself and his pursuers. Turning another corner, he noticed the only door left in this hallway was at the very end, along with a small window.

No problem, he thought as he rapidly approached the door. Suddenly, he heard a tumultuous crash on the other side of the door, followed by a "Ha!" and quickly fading footsteps.

Napoleon!

Looking around, he saw the window and groaned before forcing it open. Sticking his head out, he saw the ground three floors down; no trees, just small rose bushes. With that in mind, he clambered out the window, and hanging on to a gutter pipe, shimmied over to the next window. Unlocked. Good.

Climbing inside, he saw the cause of the crash he heard earlier. Solo had toppled over the filing cabinets, effectively blocking the door. Aha.

"Move!"

Illya snapped back to attention and crept towards the corner, listening carefully. As he poked his head around the corner, he quickly sized up the situation. Only one guard, a pretty good size though, and lightly armed. Ahead of him, Napoleon stumbled a bit before walking on.

Best follow and take chance.

As Illya slowly caught up to Napoleon and his captor, he heard Napoleon abruptly yell, "Look at that!"

Oldest trick in book, Illya thought. No wonder the guard ignored that. He had to smile at Napoleon's next comment. Illya mentally reminded himself to ask Solo what exactly a 'stick in the mud' is. There still was a considerable distance between Illya and the two, who were already halfway down the hall. Napoleons next actions were surprising. He had fallen to his knees, feigning illness, only to have the guard knock him down (presumably by accident) and land on top of him.

Illya quickly flattened himself up against the wall, no sense in getting caught this far. The two got back to their feet, Napoleon doing so a little slower than usual. They were close to the end already.

Now or never.

Illya quickened his pace, noticing Solo had stalled yet again, something about 'Aha', but was caught off guard by his next words.

"What you need is a kiss."

Everyone but Solo froze. He must have taken one too many hits to head, Illya thought, yet... Maybe Solo had seen him. Illya got up behind the guard, readied himself and SLAP!

Napoleon smiled contentedly as he dropped his arms to his sides and turned to his friend.

"How long had you been following us anyway?"

"All time you walk down hall until I get closer. Wait for good opportunity."

"There was a perfectly good chance back when, oh I don't know, the guy fell on me!"

Illya rolled his eyes to keep from laughing; that had been funny, big guy squished him like a pancake.

"Not good opportunity, too far away"

Solo opened his mouth and shut it promptly before opening it again. Satisfied, Illya walked past Napoleon, intent on leading the way out himself until something stopped him short.

"You are a terrible spy."