"Fire and Ice" for the QuoteMe Challenge

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

The prompt: "The works must be conceived with fire and in the soul but executed with clinical coolness - Joan Miro

I watched them move with precision, going through the obstacle course with the ease of one practiced with such things. The dark haired one, Napoleon Solo; we were reminded he was the best of the best, but I already knew that. He moved slowly and more deliberately than his blond partner, but every step was with purpose and anticipation.

The Soviet, Illya Kuryakin, moved differently. He was fast and balanced like a cat, moving with ease as if he were stalking his prey.

Watching them together was an amazing experience and one I hoped would inspire me to be a good agent. Dare I hope to aspire to be the best someday like them?

On the firing range they were unbelievable. Solo was hot, moving along the gun tables, picking up each weapon; firing and hitting the targets with uncanny accuracy. All bullseyes except for one shot, but it was close.

Kuryakin was faster, boom boom boom boom! How could anyone move that quickly and aim with such accuracy? Everyone of his shots hit the targets dead center!

I’d heard he was the better with a gun between the two of them. Most of our Survival School records were held by these men; though Solo was here first. When Kuryakin came along he’d broken a bunch of the American’s records, but not all of them.

They were here this week at Survival School to show us how it was supposed to be done. Even though they’d had years to hone their skills, they started out as number one once they were partnered and never faltered, and never lost their ranking.

They were simply UNCLE’s best. Not that they were egotists about it as it seemed they took everything in stride. They went by the book but sometimes they didn’t, and improvised when needed to in order to succeed.

I heard the two of them were good friends, actually best friends if you want to split hairs, and I suppose that could make all the difference in working well together. Partners watched out for each other, but best friends? Now that was a whole different animal. I could only hope that if I made Section II, I’d get assigned a partner with whom I could work well and trust with my life like these two did.

That was the secret I thought to myself, trust.

Trust that your partner would always have your back and be there when you needed him. Trust in your partner doing their job right, trust that you’ll get each other home safe and sound. That’s a whole lotta trust...

I watched later that night as Napoleon took the stage in the gymnasium, with Illya standing not far behind him. The two of them were there to talk to our class, and inspire us. A little inspiration was nice for a change instead of Jules Cutter just barking orders at us, and our instructors riding us for the most part. Still, it was necessary though to cull the herd, wasn’t it? Cutter and the others made sure they did so.

The gymnasium became hushed as Solo cleared his throat and he took a sip of water before speaking.

“Welcome,” he cleared his throat again. “Soon you’ll have concluded one of the most difficult training courses you’ve no doubt ever experienced, and upon completion you’ll be given your positions throughout the Command.

There are those of you who’ll go into the field as Section II agents, and will have the most dangerous of all the assignments. You may be lucky if you survive your first year and I’m saying that not to scare you but to put you on notice to be careful out there, your life will depend upon it.

I’m going to tell you something you won’t learn in class, from textbooks or training and that is...you can’t do it on our own. I tried when I was a young field agent and green around the gills like all of you. I was assigned partner after partner but didn’t work well with any of them, not that they were at fault; it was me. Why you ask? I didn’t trust them and I thought I could do it better by myself.

You see I needed to learn that one simple word….trust. Until I met Illya Kuryakin, my partner as most of you know; I didn’t understand how to do that.

He taught me how. We have each other’s backs and when your life is on the line it's a good thing to know you can really rely upon your partner completely, implicitly and without question. If you're assigned a partner, it's something you hope you have with him.

Napoleon pointed towards the wall to the UNCLE vector and words written beneath it.

“Up there, our motto reads duty, honor, and fidelity,’ but I tell you the word ‘trust’ should be added to it. Trust in your partner; it’s as simple as that, trust in each other to get the job done, trust that what you’re doing will make a difference.

Your missions won’t be easy and you’ll be tasked with making some hard decisions that might go against your grain. There’ll be decisions that will have to be made 'with a bit fire in the soul yet executed with a clinical coolness.’ that is...keep your passion, and control it with a cool head. A little bit of fire and ice perhaps?

You have to keep your wits about you at all times, take risks and sometimes do a hail Mary pass to get things done. Again, the most important thing you have to remember is that word trust... trust in yourself and your partner. Trust in what you’re doing is right. That is a big part of what it means to be an UNCLE agent. “

Solo paused, looking over at Kuryakin who subtly nodded his approval.

“May you succeed in your career and do U.N.C.L.E. proud.”

Trust. That struck a chord with me all right, as I recalled what I’d thought to myself earlier. Maybe I was on the right track after all? Until the day came that I was out in the field, I wouldn’t know for sure, but I’d give it my best. I could only hope to be as good as these two men with my future partner.

Solo’s passion and Kuryakin’s cool headedness... (his nickname was the Ice Prince after all) The two men were like fire and ice weren't they? Opposites that worked.

Yeah, that’s what they were for sure...

Comments

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Fire and ice perfectly sums up this partnership. The way you've written this as a first person POV is wonderful. You can feel the awe the young recruit has for senior team, and the inspiration he/she is taking from them.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I wasn't really that sure about this piece and came real close to not posting it, then I figured what the heck. I don't do this sort of POV too often and glad you say it worked.

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

A good idea well written; and with a solid pov. I think he or she is going to be a good agent.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Funny thing when writing it I had no particular gender in mind as it's interesting that you and JantoJones are seeing it as an either/or pov.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

Wow! This is absolutely wonderful. Your third person character's thoughts flowed smoothly and Napoleon's speech was great. Well done, again.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This sort of POV isn't that easy to do, and I guess that's why I don't use it that often. Glad you liked the story as I wasn't quite sure about it.

[pfrye.livejournal.com]

Very well done, a good description of the team - fire and ice.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That's essentially what the quote said to me, Napoleon's fire is his passion, and Illya's cool headedness is an apt description for the Ice Prince.

[susanpr.livejournal.com]

Great third party POV. The descriptions of our guys was right on, and Napoleon's speech clearly hit their relationship right on the head. Brava!

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! Glad you liked the story as I wasn't quite sure if it worked or not.

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

I loved this. And while I was reading it, I thought, "That's April Dancer."

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It could be couldn't it? Appreciate your taking the time to comment and glad you liked the story!

[carabele.livejournal.com]

Really nice play on the quote!

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This definitely was a challenge as I was finding it difficult to come up with something. So I'm glad you liked it as I wasn't quite sure about it.