Chapter 8

They began pulling rocks and cement from one side of the room. By the way the flame of the lantern blew, a breeze was coming in from that side. Napoleon wiped dirt and sweat from his face.

"Well, at least we know Marie's son and nanny are safe..." He huffed as he pulled another large rock from their path.

"That woman is going to do you great bodily harm, Cowboy. Sleeping powder? Really?"

"Had to keep her out of this, Peril."

Illya looked over at Napoleon and saw his hands were beginning to bleed. Shaking his head, he said.

"Stop for now and wrap your hands with your handkerchief...you can get serious infection from this type of rock and cement."

"I'll live. Been through worse."

Just then Napoleon frowned. He thought he heard something.

"You hear that?" He asked. Illya nodded, and then they both walked over to the opposite wall. They both put their ears on the cement.

"Sounds like machinery?" Napoleon said.

"Yes. Could be bulldozer." He looked to where they were digging.

"Could have sworn that was way out." He mumbled almost to himself.

Napoleon kept listening. Suddenly his face turned red. He looked at Illya.

"Peril...did you make any calls the last few days?"

"I was charged with your safety. Yes, I made calls. Anyone in particular you want to know?"

Napoleon was becoming increasingly agitated.

"Waverly?"

"Yes. I let him know gold story was legitimate and he said he was going to get U.N.C.L.E. agents to assist."

"Is that them now?" He pointed in the direction of the noise, which was coming closer. The vibration was loosening rocks from above.

"Yes. Could be."

Napoleon had one more question before he decided if he was going to battle with Illya.

"Did you plant a transmitter on me? So you track me?"

"No."

Phew, Napoleon thought. Then the rescuers found them another way, not through Illya's deceitfulness.

"I have it in my pocket." Illya said.

Bloody wounded hands and all, Napoleon dove at Illya. They've been here before. Round and round in their limited space, each took their turn punching and subduing the other. Suddenly, during their brawl, a crack was made in the wall, and a cool breeze stirred around them. They stopped their fighting as a French policeman entered their area. Behind him they could see other police, along with a bulldozer.

"Messieur Solo? Messieur Kuryakin? I am here to escort you to Mr. Waverly...are either of you in need of medical care?"

They both answered together, a resounding

"No!"

Eyeing Napoleon's bloody hands, and both men's swollen eyes, bloody lips, and bloody noses, the officer thought differently; but he just stood aside as Napoleon and Illya practically staggered out of their cement prison.

Alexander Waverly was waiting for them just behind the bulldozer. He was talking with a plainclothes gentleman when he saw Napoleon and Illya approach. He raised his brows at their condition.

"Solo, Kuryakin...let's get you to the hospital for repair. We can talk then..." Before either could protest, he grinned and stopped them by holding up his hand.

"No negotiations, please. Just get in the car..." He stepped aside and opened the back door to a large black limousine. He got in and sat across from them. Sliding open the glass separator, he asked the driver to take them to the nearest hospital.

"Now we can begin... After Kuryakin called, I set in motion U.N.C.L.E.'s French counterparts. Police and agents secured Miss Ansile's son and nanny's safety. Miss Ansile was removed from her residence and taken to be with them..." He stopped and looked directly at Napoleon.

"She was still slightly under the influence of the sleeping powder she said you slipped into her coffee. Quite amusing what she babbled she was going to do to you when next you meet..." He grinned. Napoleon cringed.

"Anyway, thanks to the transmission of your location, we started our rescue. Unfortunately we were one step behind this Henri Pinet. Quite a despicable character, I must say. But we found the gold. It was in another room near where you were, cemented up and we found an exit adjoining the room to an underground escape route that leads to a street at the Autoroute de l'Est. There were several large moving trucks there. We assume they were going to drive it all to Germany. We currently have plainclothes agents and police in the area beginning to load the trucks and get the gold to a safe location."

They arrived at the hospital.

"Ahh...here we are. You two get fixed up and I will be back to pick you up."

"Will I be able to see Marie?" Napoleon asked getting out of the car.

"We'll discuss that later..."

Illya and Napoleon watched as the car pulled away.

"You bled all over his car, Cowboy..." Illya commented, looking down at Napoleon's still-bleeding hands.

"Yes, I know." He turned to him, frowning.

"Who will hurt me more do you think? Marie or Waverly?"

They walked into the emergency room.

"I think Marie...She is a strong woman."

"Yeah, I think so, too..."

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The three men sat around the table with a street map of Paris. They were discussing how they were going to find Pinet.

"The weasel, Schmit, hasn't talked yet?" Illya asked.

"No. He is more afraid of his Nazi comrades than of Pinet. But I believe our next plan will work..."

Waverly told them what U.N.C.L.E. decided to do.