Just A Feeling - Short Affair 9/21

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Prompts: purple; piano
It's a little over 1000 words... sorry.
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"I thought this was a dinner club."  Napoleon looked across the table at his laconic partner, the one with the shaggy hair and superior attitude.

"It is a dinner club, The Purple Parrot is well known and has excellent reviews.  I knew this was a bad idea.' The look on Illya's face made Napoleon sorry he had brought the brooding Russian along.  If Nancy hadn't insisted on a date for her sister…

"Just try to be nice, okay.  Stella is a lovely girl, just in for the weekend and very excited to meet someone from …"

"Russia?  The Soviet Union?  You didn't tell her that, now did you… No, I suspect not."  Illya was being difficult, and his American partner wasn't quite sure exactly why.

"What is wrong with you anyway?  I thought you were looking forward to this respite from saving the world."

Illya shot his friend an apologetic look, shrugging his shoulders in submission to his guilt. He didn't know what was bothering him, only that something seemed … off.  He felt off kilter..

"I apologize Napoleon.' He looked around the room until his eyes settled on the grand piano that was situated at the far end of the big room.  Someone had wisely placed it within a dome shaped structure, ensuring the sound quality would not be compromised by the size of the room.  However, it was facing in the wrong direction; anyone playing would have his back to the audience.

"That piano seems out of place.  Why is it here, does anyone ever play it?"  Napoleon had to switch gears; first Illya was anxious to meet Stella and spend the evening with her.  Then he went into a funk over the venue and apparently the snub he detected towards his homeland (something Napoleon had not intended).  Now he was mesmerized by a big piano.  He was trying really hard to like the Russian, but some days were harder than others.

"Did they slip you something in Medical? Why are you bouncing from one mood to another, asking questions that don't seem to be relevant to the evening?"  Napoleon could feel himself becoming irritated at the younger man, questioning once more why Waverly had wanted him here in New York.

"I do not mean to be.. um, difficult.  However, something feels off about this entire evening.  I apologize, again, for appearing churlish…' Really, Napoleon thought to himself.. churlish?

"But the room is out of balance, and the direction of the piano is wrong… Oh."  Napoleon's mouth was open now, a slow simmer of recognition that told him Illya's sensitivity to environment and rightness was picking up on something. Damn, he was glad to have the Russian for a partner; he must remind himself of that more often.

Illya had gotten up and was crossing the room towards the piano, Napoleon right behind him as they dodged dancers and others that lingered around the perimeter of the dance floor.  One woman reached out and tried to pull the blond back in but Illya shook her off with a barely discernible apology.  What he wanted to do was clear the room.

Napoleon spotted Nancy and Stella out of the corner of his eye.  Great, the night just kept getting better and better…

Illya reached the stage where the piano was situated, jumping up in one easy movement that reminded Napoleon of a cat.  He thought about imitating the motion but opted for a small set of steps to the side of the stage.

Illya stooped down and then was on his back beneath the piano, his penlight in hand as he examined the underside of the instrument.  Napoleon hoped Nancy hadn't seen them yet but as he looked around the two women had already spotted their dates and were heading across the crowded room.

Illya looked around and saw the women.

"Get them out of here Napoleon!  Get everyone out, there's a bomb inside this  piano."

Napoleon took a few seconds to recover from that statement, then wasted no time in jumping down to the floor where he took the women he had hoped to spend a nice evening with and steered them back to the entry.

"I'll explain later, just get outside and across the street.  Hopefully it's nothing but… I'll see you later."

Nancy was smart, and she knew Napoleon well enough to not question him if he said there was something dangerous.  He hadn't actually said it, but she was a clever girl and able to read between the virtual lines.

Napoleon then went to the bar and flashed his UNCLE card, hoping it would look official enough to the bartender to make him pay attention.

"Listen, my partner is over there dismantling an explosive device.  You need to get everyone out of here, and you need to do it now."  The man's eyes widened and his mouth searched for words.  Napoleon had to reiterate his warning.

"I said NOW!"  That did it, the man behind the bar reached for a microphone kept for announcing drink specials and other events, his hands trembling as he fought for control and the urge to just run out of the building.

"Hey everyone, here's something for you to do right now.  We have some technical issues that need resolving and so everyone needs to leave… now… and we'll have free drinks when we all come back inside."  His expression when he looked again at Napoleon begged for release now that he had made the announcement.  Club employees began ushering the crowd out, and Napoleon nodded to the young man, Henry, and told him to get out.  The promise of free drinks had been an excellent ruse for the exodus.

As the people exited Napoleon ran back to where Illya was working on the bomb.  He found the blond working at some wires, his fingers steady and by all appearances not a drop of sweat on the broad forehead.  The fact that he was an explosives expert now struck Solo as a very good recommendation for partnership.  The list seemed to be growing.

Finally Illya relaxed his shoulders and laid down completely beneath the piano, closing his eyes and letting out what sounded to Napoleon like a very big sigh.

"All done?"

"Yes, and I know who left it here."  Napoleon let out a low whistle.  How could Illya possibly know that?

"So… are you going to tell me?"

"Who recommended this place to you?"  Napoleon thought for a minute before a long groan escaped his lips.

"Angelique.  She said she had been here and enjoyed it.  But why would she plant a bomb?"  Illya had crawled out from beneath the piano and was sitting at the edge of the stage facing his partner.

"I did not say she planted it, but I do believe that someone knew she recommended it to you and somehow found out what night you would be here."

"So THRUSH… And they were willing to kill all of these people?"  That somehow seemed like a long shot to the American.  His concentration was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Not Napoleon."  Both men turned to see Angelique walking from out of the shadows behind the piano.  She was dressed in a provocatively cut pale blue dress that held each man's attention  as she approached them.  Even Illya had to admire the woman's … attributes.

"The target was you Kuryakin.  And it wasn't THRUSH this time, although I'm sorry to say that my conversation with Napoleon was the catalyst for this little, oh… shall we say, événement malheureux."

"I would agree it was unfortunate, however you have not yet told us who planted the bomb."  Illya's momentary lapse in sustained disdain for the woman was now back in place.

"Why darling, can't you guess?  It's your friends from the USSR.  I can't say which ones for certain, but we found one of our operatives with his throat slit by a garrote in a decidedly Russian manner.  Poor fellow had been following you.''  She looked directly into Illya's eyes, daring him to question what she was saying.

"Illya?  Do you think she's right?"  Napoleon had plenty to keep track of but worrying about his partner being killed or kidnapped by the Soviets had been low on his list.  Now even THRUSH was saying it was a possibility.

The Russian paled slightly in the purplish hue of the room.  He was here officially, but that would not keep certain elements from trying to stop any cooperation between East and West.  He was a poster boy for the impossibly naive.

"I think that Angelique is probably correct in her assumptions.The bomb has a signature of sorts, it fits a Soviet hand.  I … thank you.  This is valuable information."  An unacknowledged acquiescence to their mutual respect for Napoleon created a sort of detente between the Russian and the THRUSH agent.  And this time her information might serve him in the future.

Napoleon caught a whiff of something like not hating each other going on between his partner and sometimes lover.  He'd better call this in, and tell Henry the bartender that the club was closed for the night.

Those free drinks would have to be for another night.

Comments

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Thank you. If it had just been a Thrush plot, it would have still been a very good action scene, with such good work on Illya's spy-dar. The Angelique twist, with Illya reluctantly thanking her, makes it much better. Your taking the trouble to make Henry a living person is appreciated.

I do like a whiff of something like not hating each other going on.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

This was fabulous! When I saw you'd posted my reaction was ...Yay a Glennagirl story at last. And what a story it was. Very canonesque my friend. thank you for an enjoyable read.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks, it's nice to get one actually finished.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you, you've picked up on some things I thought were key to the 'character' of the story.

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

Excellent use of the prompts! And a possible détente between Illya and Angelique? Wonderful!

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you. The dynamic between those two is a tempting subject.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

Illya "...was a poster boy for the impossibly naive." So, so true. Loved that line. That, and Illya reminding Solo of a cat.

Well done!

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Absolutely wonderful. Everyone else has already said what I want to say, but I do like the slight shift in dynamic between Illya and Angelique.

[jkkitty.livejournal.com]

The Soviets do want their opinion known. Very nice

[otherhawk.livejournal.com]

Oh, really good. I love the Angelique and Illya interaction, and also Illya's mood at the start and Napoleon's reaction to it, suddenly realising that it's actually signifying something.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks, the mood thing was working before the actual story took shape. Sometimes we're watching to see what happens ;)