"Happy Halloween" for day 2 of the Seven Days of Halloween Challenge

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

The prompt:

Illya was walking beside his partner along one of the grey corridors of U.N.C.L.E. headquarters in New York city.

The lights were dimmed as it was three o’clock in the morning; there were few employees present and accounting deemed it inefficient to waste electricity especially in the wee hours.

Certain areas maintained full lighting such as Waverly’s offices, the Section II conference room, Communications, Security and the Labs. Everywhere else the lights were out, though there were manual wall switches to turn on the lights where needed.

The computer system had been set up to track the usage and it could be easily determined who turned on what lights where and if they turned them off or not when done.

The Old Man thought it a waste of his time having to lecture his personnel on excessive electricity usage and for once he didn’t have to reprimand Solo in such matters, no, Napoleon was prone to excesses in other areas.

As the partners continued down the corridor Illya came to a sudden halt.

“I just remembered that it is All Hallow’s Eve, are you not going to gather any female staff members and try to scare the daylights out of them with one of your ridiculous ghost stories?”

“I was thinking about it Illya, some feminine company would be nice for the evening but I’m just too tired for story telling or love making for that matter.”

“I am shocked, I bet once you got going you could manage it,” the Russian pushed.

“That sounds like a challenge?” Napoleon smiled.

“Take it as you wish.”

“Fine then, follow me.”

They went to the secretarial pool where they found three lovely ladies who had unfortunately come up in the rotation for the night shift. They were sitting around talking and smoking as apparently what work they’d been given had been completed. Still they had to stay as agents arrived at all hours and would need reports typed.

“Why hello there ladies, and how are you this lovely, dark and perhaps spooky night?”

“That’s right,” a shapely blonde named Jill snapped her fingers. “It’s Halloween!”

“Napoleon please tell us one of your stories? “Laurie...a brunette, clapped her hands together with glee. “But wait, let me go get some of the girls in Communications while they’re on their break.”

Laurie returned with three more of the ladies, two blonde and one raven-haired beauty that Napoleon hadn’t recalled meeting before. He eyed all seven women but it was the black-haired one with whom he was setting his sights. He claimed he was tired to his partner but when his libido kicked in he always found some reserve energy for his nocturnal adventures in bed.

“I don’t believe we’ve met, “ he addressed her. “Napoleon Solo and this quiet fellow is my partner Illya Kuryakin.

“My name is Caroline, and it’s a pleasure to meet you. I have to say everyone here at headquarters is so friendly. I’ve only been here a week and so many people want to take me to lunch or dinner.”

“We try,” Napoleon smiled. He imagined that her 38-24-36 build might have had something to do with that...he was good at estimating such things, given he had so much experience with the female of the species.

“Why do you not make yourselves comfortable ladies,”Illya finally spoke up. “I am going to the Commissary to find something to eat.”

Kuryakin backed off towards the pneumatic doors and disappeared through them once they opened with a quiet ‘whoosh.’

“Now where should I begin? Do you want scary or terrifying?”

“We’ll leave that up to you Napoleon,”Laurie said. She’d been privy to his Halloween hijinks before and knew he was setting himself up for a night alone with Caroline. It was obvious that he was eyeing the new girl.

Laurie and the others didn’t feel slighted; they’d all had their fun with Solo and no one felt possessive of him. He was a lover in the true sense of the word and treated every woman he went to bed with like she was the only woman in the world.

The others gave a silent sigh at it not being their turn to snuggle with Napoleon Solo. Still there was always another time.

“It was a dark and stormy night,” he began.

“Why do spooky stories always have to start like that?”Caroline asked.

“I don’t know, I guess it sets the mood,” he said.

“Quiet Caroline, just let him tell the story his way.”

“No, it was a fair question. Say did you ladies know that UNCLE headquarters is haunted?”

“Really?”They all gasped. This was something none of them had ever heard before and it got their attention immediately.

“You’re just kidding right?”Caroline asked.

“I kid you not. It was something that’s been kept under wraps just to keep people calm here, though the ghost only shows up around Halloween.”

“Whose ghost Napoleon? I’ve been here for eight years and never heard anything about it until now,” Laurie asked.

“It’s because Mister Waverly ordered it not to be discussed. He finally released the information from File 40 just this year, but still everyone’s been quiet about it. Now may I tell the story please?”

The women nodded vigorously as they squeezed together. Everyone except Caroline knew that Solo’s stories could be pretty far out, and frightening. He was also prone to a bit of embellishment to up the scare factor, especially when there was someone new present.

“Now as I said it was a dark and stormy night when one of our older Research and Development technicians named Otto Kramer was working in the labs late at night on All Hallow’s Eve. He’d been perfecting a formula that would enable a person to become invisible when there was a loud…

“BOOM!”

The women shrieked when he did that, and giggled nervously.

“There was an explosion in the lab, killing Otto but..”

As if on cue the lights suddenly went out and the women panicked.

“It’s okay ladies, the emergency lights should come on shortly, just relax; you’re with me,” he crooned.

It seemed like an eternity before the emergency lights popped on, bathing everything in an eerie red glow.

“Now back to the story…”

“Napoleon maybe you should forget the story and go check on why the lights went out,” Caroline suggested.

“That won’t be necessary, there’s plenty of staff in Security to investigate. As senior agent in charge they’ll let me know if there’s a problem. Now where was I...oh yes, Otto Kramer was killed in an explosion in the lab but for some reason his head was missing, completely disappeared, only his body was found crumpled on the floor. Now every Halloween his spirit appears, well just his head actually, perhaps in search of the rest of his body. Apparently his invisibility formula may have worked only on his head you see.”

“That’s not very scary!” The girls laughed.

“Then you better look behind you,”Napoleon smiled mischievously.

There, coming closer and closer to them was a head. White haired with a maniacal grin and a rather large nose. His eyes seemed filled with insanity. The head grew larger and larger as it came towards them.

The women screamed, dashing for the door, leaving poor Caroline standing there in shock.

The face suddenly disappeared and Solo wrapped his arms around the girl, comforting her.

“It’s okay honey, it’s all gone, it’s all over. You’re safe with me.” He stroked her dark hair, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

She continued to shake as she whispered,”I think I need a drink.”

“Come on with me to my office, I keep a bottle of scotch there for ...medicinal purposes.”

“All right, if you don’t mind?” She batted her eyelashes at him and throwing back her shoulders, she forced her breasts forward, showing a bit of cleavage through the unbuttoned top of her pink cardigan sweater.

Napoleon smiled, wondering if he was the one doing the manipulating or not. It just seemed too good to be true.

He pulled her close to him and taking a chance, he kissed her, and she returned his embrace wholeheartedly.

The lights returned just as Napoleon and Caroline walked out into the empty corridor and as they turned the corner Illya appeared.

“Excuse me Caroline, stay right here while I have a word with Mister Kuryakin.”

“I appreciated the assist with the ladies. You did a nice job with those special effect tovarisch, I had them eating out of the palm of my hand but when that head appeared it did the trick.”

“What head? Napoleon I did nothing as the power went out. I was stuck in the elevator. There was an apparent lightning strike that caused a power surge.”

“You’re kidding me right?”

“Napoleon I am not joking. What head are you talking about...Otto Kramer?”

“Well we never did find his head.”

“What exactly happened,” Illya asked whispered.

“ A head appeared just as I finished telling the ladies about Otto’s accident.”

“Tsk,” the Russian shook his head,”It had to be the power of suggestion and the play of the emergency lights. You will not convince me that the ghostly head of Otto Kramer appeared just when you needed it...you and your stories are just meant to entice the ladies into you libidinous spider’s web.”

“Shush, not so loud. I don’t want Caroline to hear...understand? She needs some comforting and I'm the man to offer it, that and some scotch."

“Ohhh, Napoleon again?”Illya stopped himself. He should have known  better by now as when it came to women his partner was quite predictable, especially around Halloween. "Are you not concerned about what happened?"

“Yes and no. Please stay away from our office for a while if you don't mind,” Napoleon asked.

“Come on Caroline, “Napoleon wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her down the corridor towards his office, where the sofa was extra wide and just perfect for what he and what he suspected Caroline had in mind.

This would be a Happy Halloween after all. He'd worry about Otto's head tomorrow...