Round Robin _Bending the Rules Chapter 3

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Bending The Truth Chapter 1 by mrua7
Bending The Truth Chapter 2 by leethet



PART 3

The hot dogs were a temporary fix for both the hunger and consternation being experienced by Napoleon and Illya.  Eating gave them time to think, although neither of them were counting on time to be on their side.

"Is it a ray or a silent beam of some sort?" Illya snorted derisively at his friend's attempt to think like a scientist.

"Like a moon ray, or a dog whistle…" His response had started out as a thinly veiled insult, but suddenly the idea of a dog whistle sounded about right.  Napoleon caught the gist of Illya's thought process, smiling internally at the irony of his idea trumping whatever the Russian had started to say.

"Yeah, just like a moon beam.  A moon beam that sends out a silent signal that can't be heard but is received by our … um…" That was the end of his scientific exploits.

"It is received by our neural receptors, affecting our brains and thereby changing our actions.  I must say Napoleon, that is rather a surprise."  Napoleon started to feel flattered before he realized the compliment came by way of a backhanded serve.

"Yeah, right.' He made a face that drew a raised eyebrow from the blond.

"You know, we may not be completely out of the woods with this thing.  I think the withdrawal effects are the opposite of how we reacted initially." That made Illya straighten up slightly.

"What do you mean?' The initial reaction to everything Napoleon said seemed to ignite disdain towards his friend. That wasn't normal.

"Oh, I think I understand what you're saying.  I must say Napoleon, and I mean this in earnest, whatever it is seems to make you particularly astute in your observations and …"

"You mean I'm coming up smarter than you?"  Illya burst out laughing, something that was followed by a nearly overwhelming urge to punch Napoleon in the face.  Obviously there was something still at work, and each man was reacting differently.  Perhaps it, whatever it was, interacted with unique qualities within each person.

"Please, Napoleon… I, um… I should not have reacted in that way.  Do you see how differently we seem to be responding to the influence of this … ' What had they determined it was?

"Moon beam.  No, dog whistle.' Napoleon sighed as he leaned against the wall of the Whitestone building that housed the Mask Club.  They had settled on that location for the time being, debating about entering there and going up to the third floor office staffed by  Section VII, the propaganda division.  The charity front, although legitimate, was in place as subterfuge while handling certain covert communications that could be monitored before being passed on to Mr. Waverly.  It was a clearing house, of sorts.

The Mask Club was an entry point as well as a functioning  gentlemen's club for agents and espionage. With the addition of female operatives it would need to change its image, but for now the only importance it held was as a refuge from the device next door.

"Do you have your key?" Illya carried keys to doors in various places, a curious thing to Napoleon who preferred to not disturb the fit of his trousers with bulky items. Thinking that made him laugh, and then he thought of Angelique and how he'd like to get his hands on the devious blonde.

"Here, we're in." With that comment the CEA came back to the topic at hand, entering the building behind Illya.  The door was locked behind them as they continued through to the back of the building.  The entire block was a maze of corridors and passages leading from one part of the UNCLE Headquarters to others that were staffed by Section III agents, support staff and job specific members of various sections.  Napoleon had never explored much of it, but Illya seemed to know exactly where he was going.

"Do you think we're insulated from the … "

"Dog whistle?' Illya was repentant concerning his early snarky comments.  The effects from the device seemed to produce firstly a sense of euphoria mixed with the physical response of sleeping. Upon waking, if still under the influence, people acted as he and Napoleon had; impulsively and without thought for their jobs or responsibilities.  It was a perfect weapon to divert the effectiveness of the Command, to disarm without violence. It was perhaps a relevant observation on his part that coming down from the initial effects seemed to draw on latent personality defects, (in his case), or talents, as in Napoleon's actions and observations. He wanted to examine the device in Dr. Sanji Gupta's lab, but first he needed to figure out how to disarm it.

"I cannot conjecture as to the radius the device is capable of.  Perhaps our best course of action is to get as far away as possible and try to contact other agents outside of Headquarters. And we need to find her." Illya's face glowered with disdain at the thought of the THRUSH agent responsible for this situation.

"Angelique.  Yes, we need to find her and a key to disabling the device."

Napoleon was thinking about things as well, following along behind Illya as the Russian made his way through the corridors towards the stairs that would lead them to the underground docking area. From there they would take a boat through the tunnel that ran beneath the UN building, and emerge on the East River, completely free of the madness inside Headquarters.

What they would do once they got there was yet to be determined.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Chapter on Friday

Information about the Mask Club, The River Tunnel and Section VII's Charity Front

Comments

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Thanks for a good chapter. Great idea, well written, about the device making them act uncharacteristically.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, and thank you. I hope it sets the stage for the next chapter.

[leethet.livejournal.com]

Nice - I like the "dog whistle" idea! And that somehow it might have inadvertently enhanced our agents' cleverness - a THRUSH mistake that UNCLE can use against them. Nice fleshing out of the idea.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I would say it was a stroke of genius but that would be a lie. You set the scene for something weird, I hope I have obliged.

[ssclassof56.livejournal.com]

Loved the settings. We don’t see the Mask Club or the Tunnel very often.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you appreciate the nod to the ACE books, especially David McDaniels. I wish we could have seen these places in the series. Thanks for the comment.