"When you wish upon a star" for the Short Affair Challenge 9/30/19

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Challenge: The Short Affair

-Prompt Word 1 - Star

-Prompt Word 2 – Compound

-Prompt Colour – Purple

Author: mrua7

Title: “When you wish upon a star”

Word Count: just slightly over 1000

There was a single star twinkling in the night sky as Napoleon looked upwards. He sighed, hoping he’d see it again, and just for the heck of it he whispered a wish in a rhyme he remembered from his childhood.

“Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight,” he crossed his fingers while doing so.

With his Special drawn and at the ready he headed into the compound where his partner was being held.

There was a single guard at a rear entrance to the building , made to look like an old adobe Indian pueblo, but upon closer examination it was a modern structure.

Using the utmost stealth possible Solo tip-toed up behind him, but at the last second something crunched beneath his foot.

As the guard turned in reaction to the sound, Napoleon quickly downed him with a sudden karate chop to the neck.

He stripped him of his blue jumpsuit and black bere, quickly Solo dressed himself in the guard’s uniform. slinging the thrushman’s rifle over his shoulder, He entered the compound using the guard’s ID card.

Setting up his communicator pen, keeping the volume low, he picked up the signal from the homing disk hidden in one of Illya’s shoes. The signal was strong, indicating Kuryakin wasn’t far away.

Finally, Napoleon homed in on a specific doorway, and after closing his communicator and tucking it into his pocket, he opened the door.

There, laying on a stainless steel table was a shirtless Kuryakin; his torso and arms covered in purple bruises and needle marks.

“What are you doing here?” A man wearing a white lab coat snapped at him. “Tell Grenville the subject isn’t ready yet.”

“I was sent to check on your progress umm, Doctor.”

“Tell your boss that everything is progressing as planned. Kuryakin will be brainwashed to assassinate Alexander Waverly and Napoleon Solo. The finishing touch will then be him committing suicide, but not before he transmits all the UNCLE security codes to THRUSH.”

“That’s some plan, but I don’t think it’s going to work.”

“And how would an underling such as yourself know that?” The doctor snorted his derision.

“Oh I’m definitely not an underling,” Napoleon smiled as he shot the man with a sleep dart.

“Pfffft.”

He dropped to the floor unconscious, and Solo stepped over the body to reach his partner.

Undoing the restraints on Illya’s wrists and legs, he needed to get his partner to come to his senses and get going.

“Come on buddy, wake up. We need to make a hasty retreat.” He gave Kuryakin a gentle slap on the face.

Illya came to, snarling and lashing out with his hands.

“Stoi, tovarisch!” Napoleon spoke Russian to him.

Illya blinked a few times before recognizing his friend.

“Napoleon what happened to me?” He looked down and the blossoming bruises on his chest and the needle marks on his arms.

“No time, we have to go now.” Napoleon stripped the doctor of his lab coat and put it on Kuryakin.

He helped Illya as he struggled to walk as whatever they’d done had really weakened him.

They made it outside, not running into anyone. Luck was on their side and apparently Solo’s wish had come true.

Napoleon left Illya at the jeep he’d hidden in a nearby arroyo.

“Hang tight, I have to do something. I’ll be right back.”

He grabbed a small canvas bag and disappeared into the darkness.

Fifteen minutes passed before he returned, unscathed.

“I was beginning to worry about you,” Illya said.

“Never fear, the Solo luck and a wish were on our side. Now sit back and enjoy the show.”

Where is the show?”

“Just watch,”Napoleon looked at his wristwatch,”.five-four-three-two-one.”

Nothing…

“I am still waiting for this show Napoleon.”

Several minutes passed, then suddenly there was a massive explosion, lighting up the night sky with an orange and yellow mushroom.

“Very nice,” Illya said,” but your timers were obviously off.”

“Not my fault,” Napoleon slipped into the driver’s seat.

“You miscalculated, admit it.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Did.”

“Didn’t.”

Illya began to laugh,”Now you know how I feel as you berate me when my timers are off.”

“I suppose so. How did you like the explosion?”

“Almost as good as one of mine,”Kuryakin smiled.

“Almost?”

“Oh all right, it was quite good. The blast reached a very nice altitude.”

“Thank you.”

“You are welcome Napoleon, and thank you for the rescue.”

“Looks like my wish upon a star came true,” Napoleon grinned.

“You wished upon a star?”

“Haven’t you ever heard of that?” Napoleon repeated the rhyme to his partner, to which Illya merely shrugged.

“In Russia, at New Year when the clock strikes midnight, you write down a wish on a small piece of paper, burn it and put the ashes in your champagne and drink it down. If the glass is empty before the clock stops chiming, the wish will come true. It is harmless fun for those who are superstitious.”

“Did you do it?”

“No. Champagne was only had by well off party members, not the proletariat. We had our vodka, which flowed freely to keep the workers in line. Vodka was a means of reducing political dissent and as a form of political suppression. Since it was sold in state run stores, it helped to fill the coffers of the Kremlin. The Tsar once tried to ban it without success,  but Stalin used it to his advantage. Workers had little joy in their lives and drinking gave them some happiness. Sadly, there are many drunks in Soviet Union.”

“How did talking about wishing on a star segue to the topic of alcohol?” Napoleon asked.

“Just the way my mind wandered. I am very tired Napoleon and I need some sleep”

“Sure, sure. It’ll help you.”

Illya closed his eyes, thinking about Napoleon’s question about making wishes; that was something he’d given up a long time ago when he was in the orphanage in Moskva. Wishing and hoping were a waste of time, getting enough to eat and staying alive were all that mattered.

Kuryakin finally drifted off to sleep, for once there were no nightmares...he felt contentment thanks to his partner’s rescue.

Napoleon turned on the radio, keeping the volume low. Ironically a very familiar song was playing.

“Like a bolt from the blue, Fate steps in and sees you through.When you wish upon a star, Your dreams come true…”

Napoleon made a mental note to himself to take Illya to see the film ‘Pinnochio’...

Comments

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

A very nice story, with an explosion which probably satisfied Illya more than most of his own. And a nice ending, canonly piano.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the great comment!!!!