Chapter 1

The sensations upon regaining consciousness seemed to be familiar. Let's see, hanging from the ceiling, arms stretched out to maximum, legs secure, fresh bruises. What was missing? Oh yes, no Napoleon strung up beside him, that's an advantage. With any luck this would be a short interrogation because when Solo was free, Kuryakin would be rescued shortly. You could always count on it.

Illya opened his eyes and looked around, there didn't seem to be anybody else in the room for the moment. He was in what looked like a laboratory and there were some pretty nasty looking pieces of medical equipment laying on a tray well within reach, if he was able to reach out. They must have been left there to make him worry and wonder what was to come.

Okay, he thought to himself, what happened? He remembered having dinner with Napoleon; they weren't even on duty. It was a nice dinner at a small Mexican restaurant in New York. He remembered excusing himself to the restroom and walking down a dimly lit hallway. Then a pain in his head and blackness.

"Good Evening Mr. Kuryakin," a deep voice announced. He looked up as a tall dark haired man was just coming into the lab. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced, my name is Glenn Hardy."

"Mr. Hardy, most THRUSH operatives are not this polite," Illya replied quietly, "and, I don't believe I've ever heard of you before."

"No, Mr. Kuryakin, you haven't heard of me before, but U.N.C.L.E. will be hearing a lot from me in the future, not that you will be around to hear. I have been put in charge of a new department, whose only aim is to eliminate enforcement agents. You are to be the first in a long line," Hardy almost seemed to be laughing while he was talking.

Hardy walked over to the tray sitting beside Illya. He lifted up one piece of equipment that looked like a pair of large pliers with large teeth. "THRUSH has decided that they are tired of you and Mr. Solo interfering with their plans. We figure if we eliminate the two of you and the next few agents to take your place, maybe future enforcement agents will decide it's not a job they really want."

Hardy set the pliers down as another person walked into the room. This man looked more like a Doctor, in a white lab coat and carrying a syringe. "Hello Doctor, Mr. Kuryakin is ready for his injection, aren't you Mr. Kuryakin?"

Illya looked at the needle than back to Hardy before answering, "I would really have rather finished my dinner before any shots, it's never good to take vitamins on an empty stomach." He was trying to stay calm knowing that Napoleon would be searching for him right now, all he had to do was stay alive long enough to be found.

The Doctor didn't even bother to swab down his arm, just reached up and injected him. There was a sharp pain as the needle went in and he could see a golden liquid was being injected into his body.

It took less than thirty seconds before he began feeling hazy. It was as though he was there, but was slowly fading away.

Illya could see Hardy and the Doctor having a conversation, but it was impossible to hear what they were saying, a huge bubble seemed to be over his head. He knew that it was important that he remain coherent as long as possible so he shook his head as hard as he could. Finally he could just hear what was being said.

"Are we supposed to kill him?" he heard the Doctor ask.

"No," Hardy replied, "Just the shot and some small abuse, Lee wants him alive so he can tell U.N.C.L.E. about our new plan. Lee figures they'll start working on combating us and let other things go."

"Wouldn't it be easier if he was out of Lee's way, then there wouldn't be anyone who might get suspicious about a double agent."

"Doc," Hardy laughed, "Do you really want to be the one to tick Lee off, I don't so we'll just do what we're supposed to do and our friend here will be dealt with in Lee's own time."

Suddenly, the lights went out, at first Illya thought he was passing out. But Hardy and the Doctor reacted immediately running towards the door. He heard two shots, that sounded like sleep darts and both men slumped to the floor.

Solo was beside him in a minute. "Hey friend, did you figure if you skipped out I'd have to pay for dinner?" He reached overhead and cut the ropes holding Illya to the ceiling, he immediately slumped and would have hit the floor if Napoleon hadn't caught him. Illya's legs were made of rubber and wouldn't support him.

Napoleon held him tightly against his shoulder, "Illya, are you okay?" he began to look concerned. "Can you hear me?"

Illya tried to answer, he knew he had to tell him what he just overheard but his mouth didn't seem to want to work any more than the rest of his body. "Gave.. me.….shot…..," he managed to croak out.

Napoleon looked over at the two bodies stretched out on the floor and saw a syringe in the hand of one. He sat Illya down on the floor and left him propped against the wall. He ran over to scoop up the syringe, looking around the room and finding a test tube he quickly slid it into the tube and put a stopper over the end, shoving it into his jacket pocket.

"Come on Tovarisch, we have to get out of here, now!" Napoleon ran back over to his partner who was still sitting against the wall. He reached down to pull Illya back to his feet but the man was still unable to stand on his own, weaving back and forth.

Leaning over he took Illya onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry, holding his partner with one arm and his special in the other he headed out the door. Surprisingly he made it to his car without encountering a single person. Knowing that was strange but silently pleased at his luck.

Once they made it to the car, Napoleon was able to relax a little and could take the time to check on the condition of his friend. He gently sat him in the passenger seat and checked to find a normal pulse. "Illya," he said lightly tapping him on the face, "can you hear me?"

There was no response at all other than Illya's head lolling sideways; he was totally out of it. Deciding that it was time for a Doctor's opinion, Napoleon strapped his partner into the seat and drove as quickly as he could to U.N.C.L.E. Illya hadn't regained consciousness when they reached Del Floria's so he had to carry him in. Napoleon knew if his partner was conscious he would be furious at being carried in like a baby. He was always surprised at how light Illya was. As strong and forceful a personality as he is he was amazingly small.

It hadn't been very long since the last time so no one inside U.N.C.L.E. was surprised to see him arrive with Illya in his arms.

The receptionist attached a badge to both Illya and himself, "need any help Mr. Solo?" she asked.

"I think I can handle him this time," he replied walking swiftly on towards the Medical section. He was beginning to become concerned; Illya was still unconscious and showed no signs of waking up. He strode into Medical and with an air of having been through this before, gently laid his partner on the table.

Doctor Morgan came right over, "Hello Napoleon, what's the problem today?"

"Hi Doc," he replied, "He was given some type of shot," reaching into his pocket Napoleon pulled out the test tube, giving it to the Doctor. "I'm pretty sure this is what they gave him. He's been out of it since I cut him down. His legs wouldn't even hold him when he was conscious. He's only said a couple of words since I found him."

"Okay Napoleon, it doesn't look to serious, I'll analyze the contents of the syringe and give you a call as soon as he wakes up."

He could tell the Doctor was trying to get rid of him but he was reluctant to leave his partner alone and unconscious. "Doctor….."

"Napoleon," the Doctor interrupted, "you need to get out of here so I can do my work, I promise, I'll call you the second I know anything, or the second Illya is conscious."

Solo reluctantly left, heading for Mr. Waverly's office to give him a report.

It had been more than four hours, with no word from the Doctor. Napoleon had waited the entire time in his office. Deciding he had waited long enough he headed back to the Medical section. There was an armed guard standing in front of the door, something he had never seen before.

"I'd like to see the Doctor," Napoleon said forcefully, He didn't recognize this guard and wasn't sure if the guard knew who he was but he was determined to find out what was going on.

"Mr. Solo." the guard said, "This area is off limits to all personnel until further notice, you are to contact Mr. Waverly for additional information." He then went back to staring straight ahead, ignoring Napoleon still standing there.

Deciding that he would get more information from Mr. Waverly than the guard, and that arguing with a brick wall was a waste of time, Napoleon headed for Mr. Waverly's office. There was no one outside the office and the door was ajar so he knocked and walked in. "Mr. Waverly."

Waverly was sitting at his desk as though he was waiting for Solo's visit. "Come in Mr. Solo, have a seat. You probably have a few questions for me."

"Is Illya okay?" there were other questions, but this was the most important to Napoleon.

"Mr. Kuryakin will be fine, the drug he was given has caused a temporary memory lapse regarding some important information we must have, which is why he is being guarded…." Waverly paused as though there was something else he wanted to say.

"Mr. Waverly," Solo stated emphatically, "I volunteer to guard Illya, what else do I need to know?"

"Mr. Solo, it is very important that you listen to me and do exactly as I say. You will stay completely away from Mr. Kuryakin until further notice. You will not see him or talk to him. Mr. Kuryakin has come in to some important information regarding the existence of a double agent within U.N.C.L.E. ranks. He remembers only one piece of the information. We're hoping that when his memory completely returns he will be able to identify the traitor, until then he is to remain isolated." Waverly was looking at him with the look that said he would not permit argument. "In fact, you are placed on leave, effective immediately, I need you to go home and stay out of this."

"Mr. Waverly….." Solo started to argue; "Illya will need me now, if there is a traitor than they will come after him. If he's not up to par he's going to need the best bodyguard available, and you know that's me! You also know I'll guard him with my life!"

"Mr. Solo. There is one item you are not aware of." He seemed to pause for a second, but that could have been Napoleon's imagination. "The only thing Mr. Kuryakin does remember right now is the name of the double agent. It Is LEE, now please go home right now."

Napoleon turned pure white; he realized what Mr. Waverly was trying to say to him. He stood up and walked slowly towards the door, pausing as though in shock, "Illya doesn't really suspect me of being the double agent, does he sir?" You could hear the anguish in his voice.

Waverly's voice was low and calm, "Mr. Solo, please just go now, we figure this information is going out on the office grapevine as we speak."

Solo walked out the door, closing it gently behind him. This was impossible, Illya would never suspect him, they had been partners and friends for too long. Something else had to be going on. He walked swiftly down the long corridor heading towards the entrance. There were about six people gathered there talking, as he got closer there was a suffocating silence, they just stared at him, then lowered their eyes or looked away. He knew they had heard and they knew that he had just been placed on leave. Everyone was taking this to mean just one thing. He was suspected of being the double agent.

Without looking at any of them, Napoleon Solo walked out of U.N.C.L.E, wondering if he would ever walk back in.

Chapter 2

Illya Kuryakin was staring out the window in the Medical section when Waverly walked into the room. "How did he take it, sir?" his question was asked very quietly, "Is he okay?"

"Mr. Solo will be just fine," Waverly replied, "As soon as this is over and you explain my plan to him he will realize that this was the only way to handle it. Has the Doctor cleared you?"

Illya just looked at him for a minute. "The Doctor says I'm fine, it was just a tranquilizer and the effects have worn off. I'm more worried about Napoleon." Mr. Waverly thought he knew Napoleon but Illya knew that he would be devastated right now. Napoleon could handle anything in this life, except thinking his friend doubted him. He would probably never admit it to anyone but he would be hurt beyond belief and he would be trying to get to Illya to ask him himself. "Mr. Waverly, Napoleon is going to try to see me, if I could sneak out for a few minutes it would solve the problem, I could sneak him back in and then we would have his help too." This seemed the perfect solution.

"Mr. Kuryakin…."

"Sir, he's done his part in this mess, everyone thinks we believe he's the double agent because of the information we leaked, please." Illya was almost begging, "I need to tell my partner what is going on. He doesn't deserve to be treated like this."

"Very well Mr. Kuryakin," Waverly replied, "Mr. Solo does deserve to know what is going on, use the secret exit, go straight to Mr. Solo's and bring him right back here. I'll explain the entire plan to him so he'll know you never doubted him."

Illya practically ran out of the room. He almost forgot to pick up his gun before rushing out the back door of Medical.

It took him ten minutes to get to Napoleon's apartment building, but he didn't have to go in. He saw Napoleon sitting outside the building on a park bench. He looked lost. He looked up as Illya approached "What are you doing here, aren't you afraid to be around me? I might try to eliminate you so you won't expose me."

Illya could see how angry his friend was; " Napoleon, come with me, I need to explain some things to you." he stated emphatically.

"Not until you answer one question for me, Illya. Do you really think there is a possibility that I could be the double agent?"

Illya had never heard so much anger in his friend’s voice. He started to answer him but just then his attention was distracted by a woman walking towards them, wearing a black scarf and carrying a shopping bag. She was reaching in to the bag to get something when he heard Napoleon again.

"Well, I guess that answers my question!" he stood up and took three steps. "I guess you know where to reach me to let me know if I still have a career."

He began walking away and Illya turned his gaze to back to his friend, taking his eyes off the woman. Suddenly he heard "Tovarisch" and something hit him in the chest. He heard four shots as he felt his body hit the sidewalk. It took just two seconds for him to get his gun out but it was no longer necessary. The woman, whoever she was, was lying on the ground with a bullet hole between her eyes. She was definitely dead.

"Napoleon," Illya reached over towards his partner, who was stretched out on the ground, "Napoleon, Thank you." There was no answer! Napoleon wasn't moving; he was just laying face down on the ground. Illya rolled him over as gently as he could. There was blood pouring from a wound in his chest and another in his stomach. He was unconscious, which was just as well, because there was another bullet wound just to the left of his eye.

Illya whipped out his communicator, "Open Channel D, Emergency."

Waverly answered, "Mr. Kuryakin, go ahead."

"Sir, I need an emergency medical team to Napoleon's building. He's been shot three times, there's also a dead shooter." Illya was almost yelling, "I need an ambulance now!"

"Mr. Kuryakin, the teams on the way, please……"

Illya closed the communicator without listening anymore. His partner needed his help. He tried using direct pressure on the chest and stomach wound, but was unable to stop the bleeding from either wound. The head wound didn't seem as bad but Napoleon was still unconscious. Not knowing what else to do, he sat down on the ground and turned Solo's body until he was almost in his lap keeping pressure on both wounds, while holding his partner; "Hold on Napoleon, help is on the way."

It seemed like an eternity, but was probably only about five minutes before a medical team arrived. They immediately lifted Napoleon out of Illya's grasp, put him on a stretcher and loaded him into the ambulance where one of them began trying to stop the bleeding. The ambulance doors were closed and began to leave before Illya could say anything or climb in with them.

He was still standing there watching the ambulance pull away as Agent Jack Streeter who had arrived with them walked up to him. When Illya said nothing to him, he walked over to the corpse still lying on the ground. "Did you see who this is?" he asked.

Illya, still distracted didn't answer.

"Illya," Streeter said, "Did you see who this is? It's Anna Lisa Horn, she must be our double agent.."

"I'll tell Mr. Waverly, he'll be pleased the problem is solved," Illya walked away slowly, ignoring any additional questions he knew were coming. He picked up speed as he thought at what cost was this mystery solved? He had to get to Napoleon, now. He began running to his car and was amazed to find that he could get back to U.N.C.L.E. in less than five minutes.

As he went through reception, two of the secretary's were crying quietly. He knew how they felt; everyone had thought the worst of his friend without even bothering to remember all of the things Napoleon had done for U.N.C.L.E. It was always easiest to believe the worst of people. Even though Illya had known the truth, he was just as guilty as they were. He allowed this to happen, it was his fault Napoleon was hurt.

When he arrived in Medical, there were four Doctors working on Napoleon. It didn't look good. They had him hooked up to monitors, but his heartbeat didn't appear to be steady. At least he was still alive. Illya stayed in the background so as not to interfere, but was close enough to hear and see everything going on. Napoleon was pale as a ghost, he was still unconscious, but they seemed to have stopped the bleeding.

"Mr. Kuryakin," Mr. Waverly walked into the room, "Illya, you need to come out of here, they're going to operate now." Waverly took his arm and led him from the room. Illya continued to look at his partner until the door closed.

Mr. Streeter told me about Anna Lisa, at least we know who the Lee was they were talking about, it's hard to believe an enforcement agent would turn traitor." Waverly said matter of factly.

"Mr. Waverly, what's so hard to believe, everyone here was convinced it was Napoleon," Illya was angry now, "And just look where that got us. Don't you want to know what happened?" he paused for just a moment. "I got distracted when he asked me if I thought he was a traitor, so Napoleon still believing I thought he was, not only killed Anna Lisa, he saved my life at the same time. He jumped in front of me and took the bullets she meant for me. By rights that should be me in there." His voice broke. "He thought I doubted him and he still saved me."

"Mr. Kuryakin, Illya," Waverly responded, "he did his job, which is what you were doing. If we had had the time to explain it to him, he would have done the same thing. You know Mr. Solo would always protect you, especially if he thought someone was trying to kill you. Now come with me, you need to clean up and rest while he's in surgery. He's going to need you when he comes out."

Illya looked down at himself and realized he was covered with Napoleon's blood. "Oh my God," he finally broke down and tears rolled down his cheeks. "What have I done to him?

Alexander Waverly didn't say another word; he just took Illya's arm and led him back to his office. Telling his secretary to find Illya a change of clothes he navigated Illya to the restroom and left him there to clean up and regain his composure.

It was hours before anyone from Medical appeared. Illya had sat in Mr. Waverly's office the entire time, not saying anything. Waverly was concerned but decided it was better to let him think then to try to get him talking again.

Doctor Morgan walked slowly into the room, "He's alive Gentlemen, barely," he said quietly. "If he survives the rest of the night he should make it. But he's not out of the woods yet."

Waverly watched the expression on Illya's face turn to concrete. "Doctor," he asked, "how bad were his injuries?"

"Mr. Waverly," replied the Doctor, "The only people I've ever seen with worse injuries, were already corpses. That man has the strongest will to live I've ever seen. The bullet to the stomach did some major damage, we had to remove his spleen, but it should heal no problem. The head injury may not be as bad as it looks, it's close to his optic nerve but we won't really know for sure until he's conscious. With any luck there won't be any permanent damage. It's the other bullet that worries me; we took it out of his heart. We almost lost him on the table twice."

Illya gasped! His face turned even whiter. "In his heart? Will he live?"

"He survived the surgery," the Doctor continued, "Now we have to wait and pray his will to live is enough, he has to want to survive. Unless there's anything else, I have to get back to him, I'll keep you both posted on his condition."

"Doctor," Illya said quietly, "I'd like to sit with him, please." It was said so plaintively there was no way the Doctor could refuse him.

"Alright Mr. Kuryakin, but only for a little while and if I tell you to go, you leave immediately, okay?"

Illya nodded then stood up and followed the Doctor out of the office and back to the Medical section. When he walked in he saw that screens had been set up to give Napoleon privacy. Illya paused before walking around the screen, taking a deep breath to keep his thoughts in check. Napoleon needed him now; it was not the time for emotionalism.

He walked slowly around the screen, there was his partner lying on a bed. Hooked up to more machines than Illya thought existed. He was on oxygen and had two IVs in his left arm. There was a white sheet pulled up to his waist, but he was heavily bandaged from the waist up to his shoulder. He had a bandage over the left side of his face. He was so pale…

"Illya," Doctor Morgan said, "he should be coming around almost any time, if he does just talk to him, he's going to be groggy but we need him conscious to check out the head wound. Call me if you need me. Also if he tries to talk he's going to be dry from all the anesthetic, don't give him any water, I've left some ice chips right there for him" He left knowing Illya needed time with his partner.

Illya walked over to the bed and reached for Napoleon's hand, grasping it loosely just to reassure himself that he really was alive. Didn't he know that he wasn't the one who was supposed to be hurt? "Napoleon, what did you think you were doing? Couldn't you have just yelled at me to duck? I'm a big boy, I would have gotten out of the way."

He reached over and slid a chair beside the bed, sitting down without ever letting go of his partner's hand. "Napoleon, you never gave me a chance to answer your question. There is NO WAY I would ever think you could be a traitor. Mr. Waverly just figured we could draw the real double agent out that way. I was bringing you back to help out when you got shot. I was supposed to be the sitting duck, not you. You were supposed to be my bodyguard as usual. But, you weren't supposed to get hurt," Illya paused, he hadn't even realized that tears were flowing down his cheeks.

"Napoleon, don't you do anything stupid, you hear me. Look at the trouble you got me out of today alone, what would I do without you? We're the perfect team, we need each other to get the job done right." Illya held the hand of his partner to his cheek. "You are more than just a partner to me, you are my family, you are the only person I've discovered I've ever really needed in my whole life. Without you I might as well just quit too."

The hand on his cheek moved just a little. Illya realized Napoleon was conscious and looking at him. There was a wisp of a smile on his face. He was looking right into his partner’s eyes, he seemed to try to say something and then his eyes closed again.

"Doctor," Illya called, "Napoleon was just conscious."

Doctor Morgan hurried in over to the bed. Checking out the monitors and listening to Napoleon's heart. "Did he say anything?"

"No, Illya replied, "he opened his eyes, smiled and went back to sleep. He did make eye contact with me before he went back to sleep. Is he okay?"

"His vitals are great, his heart appears to be strong and if he looked at you, that means his eyes are okay. He seems to be doing fine. Whatever you were saying to him must be what he wanted to hear. If you're up to it would you be interested in sitting here through the night. He's responding to you and right now that's good." The doctor waited for his reply.

"Doctor," Illya answered, "I'll stay here forever if it will help." He sat down, taking his partners hand again and began to talk, ignoring the Doctor as he left. Illya talked of anything he could think of, past missions, the many women whose path's they'd crossed, vacations they'd taken together. He talked more than ever before in his life, it seemed like hours. He talked long past exhaustion and didn't even realize he was sleepy until he laid his head next to his partners and fell asleep.

Chapter 3

Illya awoke with a start. When he opened his eyes, his head was still next to Napoleon's. Napoleon was awake and had been watching Illya sleep.

"Hello Tovarisch," Napoleon's voice was barely a rasp.

Illya sat up carefully so as not to jar him and reached over for the cup of ice chips, most of them were melted but there was enough left to put one in his friends mouth. "Hi there, how are you feeling?" he asked gently. Knowing he should call the Doctor but not wanting to give up this time alone with his friend.

Napoleon chewed the ice and swallowed it, you could see the pain it caused for him to swallow he started to laugh, then stopped with a groan, "like I've been kicked three or four times by a large mule. Are you okay, that girl didn't hurt you did she?"

"Napoleon, I am fine," Illya retorted, exasperated, "I wasn't even touched, other than by this overgrown boyscout who would have been better off yelling a warning. What were you thinking?" He realized his friend's health was most important. "Wait a minute okay, I need to tell the Doctor you're awake." He started to stand up and realized he had a death grip on Napoleon's hand.

"Wait a few minutes Illya, I need to talk to you." Solo held on to the hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm sorry I got mad at you, I was hurt, I thought…."

"Napoleon, please." Illya interrupted, "None of this was your fault. Mr. Waverly and I were running a scam on the double agent. We wanted her to think I heard more than I did so that she would come after me. I came over to get you to let you in on it when you got shot. I saw her out of the corner of my eye that's what distracted me and why I didn't answer you. The thought never crossed my mind that you were the Lee they were talking about."

"I know, I wasn't all the way out last night, I remember most of what you were trying to tell me." Napoleon's voice seemed to be getting softer, "Please don't feel bad, I would have reacted the same way no matter what I thought. As far as I was concerned, I was your bodyguard."

Illya wasn't going to be let off the hook that easily, "Napoleon, you were set up by us, you were used without your knowledge to draw out the double agent. We permitted everyone to believe you were the double agent. You should be furious with me, and look at you, you could have died without even knowing why."

"Illya," Napoleon responded quietly, "I'm assuming you were under orders from Mr. Waverly. I've never questioned his orders before and I don't intend to start now. I've never thought I would live forever, you don't in this line of work as you well know. If I had to die, what better way then to die protecting you? You are my partner and my best friend and I would and will protect you with my life." With that he lay back, seemingly exhausted.

Illya was stunned, what his friend had just said to him was something he never expected he had always felt that way. But had never been able to tell his friend, "Napoleon….."

Doctor Morgan came around the corner just then, "Well good morning gentlemen, Napoleon I see you've decided to rejoin the living. Illya, if you'll leave us alone for a few minutes I'll check your friend here out."

Illya stood up, preparing to leave.

"Doctor" Napoleon said, "please let him stay, we have a lot more to talk about. Anyhow, you know we're partners, There's absolutely nothing you can do to me that he can't see, okay?"

Illya sat back down, everything was okay now. His partner and he would see to that.

The End
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