Images of Life - PicFic Tuesday

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I missed out last week, but here is part 4 of Fall Down, Go Boom. It all began here. I freely admit to taking license concerning what is written on that piece of paper ;)

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It was the same interrogation room in which Henry Jones had ended his life with a single cyanide capsule.  This time Jake Spencer sat in a chair in the center of the room.  Standing across from him was Illya, his solemn expression conveying nothing of the frustration he felt at this newest development.

It had been so close.  Carla Daily would have provided the information necessary to close this affair with the details of whatever mischief Jones had planned.  Instead of that scenario the U.N.C.L.E. had only this lovesick assassin, and in a strange turn of events he had served with Napoleon in Korea.  Stranger things had happened, to be sure, but not lately.

Spencer seemed to be in a daze of some sort.  Napoleon would never have taken him for a weak man, or one given to bouts of emotional upheavals.  But, the evidence against him was ironclad; he had killed Carla Daily with a single gunshot, admitting to a jealousy that had turned deadly.

Images were playing in Jake’s mind; a red rose left on Carla’s doorstep after an argument, the remnant of a love letter found in his jacket.  He saw her eyes, remembered looking into their depths and wishing life could be lived there, blocking out the memories of Korea, flashes of gunfire in the dark of night.

“Did Carla ever say anything to you about her activities with THRUSH?  Is it possible that you heard the name Henry Jones?”

Illya knew the answers, but he asked the questions anyway.  Henry Jones hadn’t been able to complete his plans, and the only link to those plans was now dead.  The man responsible for killing her was useless to this investigation, and Napoleon was hovering in the background, hoping to find a way out for his former friend.  Perhaps that really was all that would come of this.

Jake Spencer looked up, taking in the room and assessing the odds of getting out of this mess alive. He didn’t know what Napoleon Solo was into these days, but this blond guy was cold enough to make Spencer believe that a wrong answer could be fatal.

“I… look, I’m guilty as hell.  I shot Carla, but I don’t know anything about this Henry Jones you keep bringing up.  Carla…’

Jake had another image of the blonde, and it made him shudder.

“God, I loved that woman.  What have I done?”

Spencer broke down and wept, prompting Illya to sigh in exasperation.  He looked into the two-way mirror, fully aware that Napoleon and Mr. Waverly were watching; equally aware that his partner would be walking through the door…

Napoleon entered, exchanged glances with Illya and then proceeded to Jake’s side.

“Jake.  Hey, listen to me… Jake!”

Jake stopped, his head down and shoulders slumped.  Napoleon put a hand on the other man’s arm, gripping it in a manner that said more than idle words. 

“I know you guys think I know something, but with Carla… We didn’t talk about anything like that.  She was … I wanted to marry her, but then I found out she was seeing this Jones fella.  I thought… well, you know what I thought.  And now Carla’s dead and … just shoot me, Solo.  Don’t waste time with a trial, just shoot me and have done with it.”

Napoleon sighed.  What were the chances of meeting up with Jake Spencer, and under these circumstances?  Big odds.  Definitely, big odds.

“Listen Jake, we need to figure this out. Carla worked for some very bad people, and no matter how much affection you had for her, she was a dangerous woman.  The man she worked with was also dangerous, and was threatening to blow up … well, much of the world.  If you can think of anything, anything at all…”

Jake shook his head.  There was nothing in all of their encounters or conversations that would help Napoleon and his brooding friend.  Jake shrugged, his eyes conveying the answer.

“Okay Jake.  That’s all.  I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but just hang in there.  We’ll figure something out.”

Illya heard that last and wondered how there could be any other outcome to this besides Jake Spencer going to jail for murder. 

part 5