section7mfu | "The visitor" for the Short Affair Challenge (Reply)

Challenge: The Short Affair

-Prompt Word #1 - Visit

-Prompt Colour – White

Author: mrua7

Title: The visitor

Word count: Approx 1000

UNCLE headquarters in New York city was in a tizzy. Everyone there was scrambling to straighten the place, maintenance was busy fixing everything that needed it, oiling squeaky hinges, mopping and waxing floors, replacing light bulbs...you name it.

Napoleon was sitting at his desk finishing up his written reports like a man on a mission, actually he was on a mission to clean up all their paperwork and get it filed.

He and Illya had a little assembly line going; as soon as Solo complete a very abbreviated hand written mission report he’d hand the paper to his partner.

Kuryakin would insert the proper triplicate form into the roller of his typewriter and clickety-clack, he’s start typing with his fingers flying across the keys. Finishing off the report, he'd then separated the copies for distribution.

Down the hall in the Secretarial pool the ladies were typing and filing, dusting and organizing their section.

Someone brought in flower vases, setting them on a few of the desks. Daisies, carnations, chrysanthemums and baby’s breath added a nice colorful touch to the drab grey walls as well as a refreshing scent in the windowless room.

In the Commissary, Cookie and his people were busy scrubbing and degreasing the grill and had shut down since the day before. UNCLE personnel were on the own for breakfast and lunch as everything in the kitchen had to be pristine.

They even put white cloths on all the tables, and more of flower vases appeared, cobalt blue in color, though Cookie used plastic red white and blue flowers instead of the real thing.

Finally three o’clock arrived. Most of the employees didn’t know who was going to visit headquarters but they knew it was someone important.

Only Security, Section II agents in the building, the Section heads and Mr. Waverly of course, knew who was coming.

It wouldn’t do to have their visitor come through the secret entrance in Del Floria’s Tailor shop, and even less appropriately through the entrance in the Masque Club at the end of the block.

The black limousine finally arrived, parking in the secure garage next door to headquarters and from there its occupants were escorted inside, using Waverly’s private entrance.

Walking in silence along a narrow hallway, they at last came to the door to Waverly’s conference room and it opened in silence.

“Welcome Mr. President,” Waverly offered his hand.

“Why thank you.”

President Lyndon Johnson was in New York and on his way to the Waldorf-Astoria for meetings...or so that’s what was claimed.

Pope Paul VI was in fact making a planned a trip to New York in order to address the United Nations and urge peace, especially as conflict between India and Pakistan was heating up.

The U.S. didn’t have diplomatic relations with the Vatican, with many believing that doing so would violate the separation of church and star, and possibly give the Holy See undue influence.

For that reason the President couldn’t treat the Pope like a visiting head of state, but he couldn’t ignore him either as doing so with a pope on his first visit to the States would have insulted Catholics throughout the world.

To resolve that problem, the pope and the president would meet at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel to discuss how to make the world a more peaceful place.

However, before the papal meeting a stop at UNCLE was required.

“Good to see you again Alexander. Now where are these two agents of yours?” The President asked.

“Here sir,” Solo stepped forward and introduced himself. “Napoleon Solo sir and this is my partner Illya Kuryakin.”

The President nodded, he ignored Napoleon and spoke directly to Kuryakin

“So you’re the Russian.” He eyed Illya.

“Last time I checked, yes.”

That made Johnson laugh. “You’re a Communist I hear.”

“That is still the case sir, but I am beginning to like the American way of life, bourgeois though it is..”

The President slapped his knee on that one. “Well, let’s get this done. I have a meeting with a Pope.”

One of the President's aides stepped forward, holding out a blue velvet box.

“I understand you’ve already received medals from my predecessor. So now you’ll have a pair of bookends,” he winked.”Gentlemen it is my honor to award you the Presidential Medal of Freedom for your efforts in helping to defend the United States and the rest of the free world from evil.”

He handed each man the box with his medal, shook hands to congratulate them and then was off as quickly as he had arrived.

Napoleon and Illya, along with Waverly breathed a sigh of relief but it was Solo who spoke first.

“Well, all that scrambling and cleaning for nothing.”

Waverly harrumphed,”Headquarters should always be as spit spot as it is now gentlemen and I expect it to remain this way regardless of whether a visitor is coming to take a tour or not.”

“Yes sir,” Napoleon and Illya replied in unison. They were dismissed and returned to their office, and the rest of headquarters breathed a collective sigh of relief that the visitor had come and gone. They found out after the fact that it was the President of the United States.

Napoleon flopped into his desk chair, setting the medal on his desk in front of him. Illya did the same, but opened his bottom drawer and tossed the medal in with a stack of others that were there. Several from UNCLE, the other medal of freedom, and the medal he’d received from the Soviet Chairman Georgi Koz.*

“These are starting to take up too much room,” Illya complained.

“Hmm, you’re right. Maybe we could put them in display cases on the wall?” Napoleon chuckled.

“Thank you but no. They are embarrassing.”

“I know but it goes with the job.” Napoleon tossed his in his desk drawer as well. “How about lunch? I hear Cookie has made his award winning Texas style barbeque just in case our visitor stayed for lunch.”

“Now that is my kind of award,” Illya said.

“For once, I agree with you tovarisch,” Napoleon grinned.

* ref to “Is this really necessary”

* “The Jingle Bells Affair”