Sacrifices for the Greater Good
Recovery II
When the dart had first struck Illya in the chest, he had felt a moment of bemusement as he looked at the smiling face of the woman who had just shot him. It was likely a common tranquilizer. Luckily for him, he had spent years building up a resistance to many tranquilizers and poisons in preparation for such an occasion should it arise. Instinct kicked in and he let himself limply fall to the floor, giving the illusion of unconsciousness. Building up a resistance to particular substances was a useful habit, but only if it was used appropriately. Staying conscious would have only prompted another shooting, and twice the dose may have been more than he was equipped to resist. He needed to lie and wait for the perfect opportunity, then when he struck he would have the element of surprise on his side.
Illya continued to lie there unresponsive, but closely listening to everything that was happening. He knew the moment that George walked in that he had done the correct thing. If he could succeed in subduing George, it would be easy enough to take down Rose. The tranquilizer gun would be useful in that regard. When George was occupied with questioning Gaby, and Rose was busy doing something else. He took a chance and opened his eyes and glanced around quickly for the gun, and he found it on a nearby table, already loaded with two darts. In his search he felt a sudden rage overtake him as he saw Gaby, tied to a chair and defiant despite the dark mark on her cheek.
With a huge amount of restraint he closed his eyes again and forced himself to stay calm, rehearsing chess plays in his head until he felt like he had some control again. He continued to stay there, waiting for the opportunity. That control slipped again when he heard the thinly veiled threats Rose and George made to Gaby, but this time he didn't need to make an attempt to calm down as a casually uttered sentence rendered him too shocked to do anything.
"It would not be a pleasant way for you to lose that baby." He heard Rose say, and that one word was the one that stuck with him and struck him with disbelief.
"She's pregnant?" George's voice asked.
"Yeah I know, stupid right?" The confirmation was almost too much for him to take, especially when Gaby did not bother to protest against the statement. He heard himself mentioned again, and kept very still as he felt all of them turn towards him, and he heard George dismiss him arrogantly. The man was confident that his drug had worked, and for anyone else he probably would have been right but Illya only mildly felt its effects, just enough to know that it was one of the drugs he had trained against.
When the attention was taken away from him, he stole another quick look to see where all the players were positioned. Satisfied they were all turned away from him and distracted, he began the process of quietly shuffling himself nearer the table that held the tranquilizer gun, and listened with a heavy heart as he heard Gaby attempt to bluster her way out of an attack, in the process providing further evidence of her current condition.
He heard light footsteps head in his direction, the slight clatter of heels on the floor indicating it was Rose that was moving nearer to him. She seemed to be examining the explosives she had set up near him. He chose this as his moment, and with exceptional speed for someone of his size he rose up. One hand circled around the smaller girl's neck before she could even gasp in surprise, the other already grabbing the tranquilizer gun and aiming it. George only had the time to look at him in disbelief before Illya shot both darts straight at his chest.
"Illya!" Gaby cried out in shock. He didn't get the chance to reply, as Rose had now realised what was happening and was struggling to get out of his chokehold, legs swinging about as she tried to find somewhere to kick that would make him let go long enough for her to do something. Already annoyed, he dropped the gun back on the table and caught the back of her neck with his spare hand.
"If you don't stop struggling," he said not bothering with the fake accent, "I'll break your neck and end it now." Anger had deepened his voice and he knew that he sounded lethal, Rose slackened in his grip immediately.
He dragged her over to a spare chair and shoved her in it, one hand holding her firmly in place as he removed the tie from his neck to secure her to the chair using a complicated and secure knot. He pulled his knife from a holster and began the short process of cutting Gaby off the chair, he eyed the fresh bruises and tear tracks with fury, and nearly destroyed what was left of the chair until he felt Gaby's hand trembling against his cheek. He took a deep breath and forced himself to regain control.
"Zip ties in left kitchen drawer, gun in right." He said shortly, she nodded and left to retrieve the items.
"You aren't American." Rose spat over at him, trying to get free.
"Correct. I'm Russian." He said with unearthly calm, finding himself more proud than angry when he saw how hatefully she glared at him after that revelation.
Gaby returned and handed him the zip ties, the gun in her right hand dangling by her side. With extra gentleness he took her gun wielding hand and lifted it up, removing the safety function. She smiled at him weakly, and with that cue aimed the weapon between their two would-be murderers as Illya busied himself securing their hands and feet with the zip ties, ignoring the slew of racial insults Rose was throwing at him. Under different circumstances, he might have reacted more violently but he felt strangely calm.
Work completed, he stood back and returned to Gaby. She was still shaking like a leaf, not anything like the fierce and collected agent he knew her to be. He placed his hands on her shoulders, his stillness seemed to communicate itself to her and she shook marginally less.
"Are you hurt?" He asked slowly. She shook her head.
"I'm fine, I just-" She changed her mind and switched topic. "How did you-"
"I have built up resistance to the most commonly used tranquilizers." He said with a shrug, the revelation caused her to look at him in disbelief.
"Didn't you think that was something you should have told me earlier?" She demanded.
"Like I told Waverly, I was waiting until it became relevant. It became relevant today." She growled in anger and hit him in the shoulder without any real malice. "Are you really pregnant?" He asked, he knew the answer but he needed her to tell him. The tears returned and she nodded sharply.
"I didn't find out until a week ago. I wanted to tell you but we were so close to finishing the mission." He shushed her before she could continue her explanation, knowing that the more she talked the closer to hysterical she would become.
"I understand." He breathed out a sigh, this would complicate things. The KGB would not be pleased, they would never let him leave to raise a family with her.
"Are you angry with me?" Gaby asked, misinterpreting his body language.
"Of course not!" He was quick to reassure her. "I am trying to think of the best course of action."
"We should call the FBI, let them know we've caught them." She made a move to go to the kitchen to get the phone, but he caught her arm before she could get too far. She looked back at him in confusion.
"That may not be the best idea." He said, the beginning of an idea starting to form in his head. He looked over their two captives, Rose still ranting despite there being no listeners. Rose was slightly taller than Gaby, but not by much and they had roughly similar body shapes. He could make a similar comparison between himself and George.
"Illya, what is it?" Gaby asked, she could see the cogs turning in his head but had no idea what he was considering.
"Do you know what will happen when we return to London?" He asked, he knew his plan was going to be a difficult one to accept, and he would not go ahead with it without her explicit permission.
"They won't let us leave, will they? MI6 and the KGB." She said it with a defeated attitude, she had clearly already given the subject some thought.
"No they won't." He agreed. "And if we run, they will chase us until they find us. I know too much, and if they discover we are involved they will assume you know what I know."
"What do we do then?" She knew him well enough to realise he was going to get to a point.
"As it stands," he began cautiously, "we have two options. The first option is we return to our respective agencies, and you lie about the baby's father. We wouldn't be able to see each other again, but you would both be safe."
"Fat chance of that." Rose shouted. "I'll tell anyone who will listen the truth." They both ignored her.
"And Option 2?" Gaby asked, the first option clearly not one she found terribly attractive.
"It is considerably more difficult." He said cautiously. "I stand by what I said, the KGB and MI6 would chase us if we disappeared…" He paused. "But not if they thought we were dead."
It took Rose less time than Gaby to realise what he was suggesting, and she bucked about in her chair furiously against the restraints. Seeing the other woman's reaction, realisation dawned on Gaby and she looked at him in horror.
"It is a viable option." He told her. "But I realise that it is a lot to pin on someone's conscience. I won't do it if you have doubts."
"How would that even work?" She asked, still trying to understand the plan.
"The house is rigged to explode." He said simply. "There would be little left to identify. With a few careful suggestions, anyone who came to investigate would think it was us. We are both foreign agents, they would not waste enough energy to perform further identification processes." Rose's shrieks were becoming irritating so Illya paused to retrieve George's tie to use as a gag.
"But what about them? Wouldn't it be suspicious if we all disappeared at the same time?" Gaby said, indicating at the two of them.
"Not necessarily. We take their belongings, and the car they arrived in, leave a few clues scattered about. Abandon or torch the car near a state border. They were probably planning a getaway to South America, the FBI will expect them to disappear."
She nodded slowly, and looked over at the people he was suggesting they kill to save themselves. Illya had no way of knowing how she felt about the situation, but he had very little sympathy for the two people. He might have been a little more hesitant if Rose had been as innocent as she had seemed, but now he had few qualms about ending her life to protect Gaby and their baby.
"We will still be in hiding." She said, the lack of objection suggesting she was slowly coming around to the idea.
"Yes, but with no one in pursuit." He explained. "After we've led the FBI on a little chase, we could settle down in some village. I have a friend who deals with identities that owes me a favour. We could have a fresh start somewhere."
He knew the idea would be appealing to them both, they could be brand new people in a new location where no one knew about her Nazi relations and no one knew about his father and mother's shame. She didn't reply, and to his surprise she walked over to where Rose was sitting. Her words were muffled behind the gag, but she seemed intent on saying something. He watched as Gaby removed the gag with surprising gentleness. Rose seemed too surprised by the gesture to speak up.
"You had something to say." Gaby said quietly. "Go on then."
"You won't kill me." Rose said confidently. "We were friends, and you don't have the guts to do it." Gaby had her back to him so he couldn't see her face, but whatever had appeared on it rendered Rose mute and suddenly looking uncertain.
"Your father said something that first time we all had dinner. I remembered it just now. Do you know what that was?" Her voice was surprisingly calm, and Rose could only shake her head. "He told me that a parent would do anything to protect their child, I've heard such things before. But I never realised exactly how true it would be until now." Gaby turned back to Illya, and he saw what had startled Rose so much. She had a small strange smile on her face. "I pick Option 2."
Author's Note: Did I turn Illya into Wesley from the Princess Bride? Yes I did, and I regret nothing. And there was the vaguest hint of this in Mission I when Illya suggested he had other hidden talents. So fun fact, I actually wrote this and the rest of the flashback chapters immediately after completing the writing for Mission. The idea behind it was to try to avoid inconsistencies between Mission and Recovery since this chapter parallels and immediately follows on from Part 1 Chapter 9. Thanks for all the reviews and support guys, it's been wonderful to read!