The ABC Affair- Stonehenge. Chapter 2 letter B

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Prompt: Bluestone

Upon arrival in London headquarters the agents immediately picked up a car from the motorpool and headed out. Obviously there was no rest for the weary.

They were both jet lagged from the flight, and Illya, as usual, was hungry. As they drove a short way from the used bookstore that was the front for UNCLE; Kuryakin, who was behind the wheel, suddenly pulled curbside, exited the vehicle and headed straight into a chippy. 

He exited with several paper sacks spotted with grease, both loaded with fish and chips. He leaned in the passenger window and spoke to Solo.

“You drive whilst I eat.”

“Whilst Illya? Getting in touch with your Britishisms already?”

“Tsk. Just move over so I can eat. I am hungry.”

“That’s nothing new; I hope some is for me?”

“Oh...sorry. You did not say you wanted any.” There was mischief in the Russian’s eyes; obviously he was joking.

Napoleon shook his head as he slipped across the seat and positioned himself behind the steering wheel.

“Just do not get us lost,” Illya said before tucking into a piece of fish.

Napoleon smiled,”Hey, I have a map.”

“That is what I am afraid of…”

“Har de har-har.”

Illya held out one bag as a peace offering and winked as his partner helped himself.  After wiping his fingers clean with a napkin Napoleon started the car, and put it in gear. Driving off; they began their two hour journey to Salisbury.

Kuryakin finally spoke up. “In the many years that I lived in this country I never had the opportunity to see Stonehenge. Have you ever been there?”

“No. I have no interest in seeing a bunch of big rocks.”

“Tsk, Napoleon the henge is a Neolithic marvel with two types of stones... the larger sarsen and the smaller bluestone. The sarsen are of sandstone, which is found scattered naturally across southern England.  It is believed  these stones were brought from the Marlborough Downs, 32km away, the smaller bluestones were brought 140 miles from the Preseli Mountains in Wales. The source of these Stonehenge stones was first determined in the early 1920s.”

“How could they have moved such immense rocks five thousand years ago?” Solo asked

“It is believed a sled used with a series of silver birch rollers to drag the rock and it could be pulled 10 feet every five seconds, which is surprisingly fast by about ten men. Pre-industrialised societies like the Maram Naga in India still use a kind of sledge to construct huge stone monuments... Some people think they may have been pulled by oxen, but actually oxen are quite belligerent and difficult to control. “

“You know all this and you’ve never been to Stonehenge...wait, I know, you read a lot,” Napoleon grinned.

“Ahh, you are finally beginning to understand me my friend,” Illya crumpled up the empty brown paper sacks and tossed them into the back seat of the car.

“Slob.”

“Again, you are finally understanding me,”Illya grinned.

Napoleon’s only response was to pinch the bridge of his nose as he shook his head.

The trip was uneventful, especially since Solo managed not to get them lost, much to the amazement of his partner. Napoleon insisted upon driving the entire way just to prove that he could get them there without any unplanned side trips.

Once arriving at their destination, they sought out their accommodations which had been pre-arranged by headquarters in London.

It was a small mom and pop place called the Lincoln Hotel located immediately adjacent to the railway. The agent’s room looked directly over the four track main line of the Great Western Railway.

“Oh peachy,” Napoleon mumbled as he looked at the single bed. “Not only do I have to sleep in the same bed with you and your nightmares; I have to listen to the sounds of trains?”

“I have not had a bad dream in quite some time, and must I remind you that I have to listen to you snore,” Illya retorted.”Just think if you can not sleep you can train watch from our window. British Rail is still running steam locomotives on many of their trains...they are like taking a step back in time.

“Oh joy…antediluvian engines.”

”That is not the proper term to describe them, “Illya huffed.”It means…”

“I know what it means, I was just making a point of them being from the year of the flood.”

Kuryakin was completely confused now.

“Illya, it’s a way of saying they’re old.”

“Why did you just not say that in the first place. Honestly Napoleon the way you banter about these odd idioms, it is no wonder I do not understand you half the time.”

“Oh, so that means you really do understand fifty percent of what I say all the time?”

“Well...” Illya blushed. He’d inadvertantly revealed his little secret about playing dumb as he actually understood most of the idioms Napoleon spouted now, though that wasn’t true when they were first partnered. Yet he continued to feign ignorance just to annoy his partner.

“Aha, I knew it,”Napoleon jabbed Kuryakin in the shoulder with his index finger.” You just play dumb in order to get under my skin!”

Illya shrugged. “It was fun while it lasted.” He opened his valise, going about his business, dismissing the fact that he’s just been caught.

They unpacked in silence and quickly freshened up before returning to the car. Illya took over the drive for the last leg of the trip, which would be about twenty minutes.

The weather was pristine. The sun was shining in a bright blue sky through which a few small clouds would go drifting by. As they neared Stonehenge, it seemed to rise above the horizon.

To the Russian he surmised this was probably how those who came to visit it some thousands of years prior had seen it. It was no doubt that it was still was a marvel of engineering.

There were several lorries and cars with photographic equipment being unloaded nearby. As the agents exited their vehicle, they enquired as to what was going on.

Apparently the BBC was going to film a documentary on Stonehenge in the coming days to time with the Summer Solstice.

“This is going to put a damper on our investigation,” Napoleon said.“We better find Doctor Goodwin-Walker and get the skinny from him.”

“Get the skinny?” Illya asked.” That is an Americanism I take it, one with which I am not familiar, and that is the truth. To me the word skinny can have many meanings...for instance, in1934 ‘skinny’ meant a ten-cent piece, probably related to the classic song ‘one thin dime.’ In Australian slang, a skinny is a young woman, and in the linguistic outback of the world of high fashion, skinny means tight-fitting. Skinny-dipping, of course, is the youthful ritual of displaying your birthday suit under the guise of swimming. If you happened to be a cadet at Annapolis in the mid-1920's, the skinny meant a course in physics or astronomy…”

“Are you done?”

“For now, but you have not explained what ‘get the skinny’ means. How am I to improve my American English if you do not clarify these ridiculous idioms for me?”

Napoleon looked at him suspiciously.”You’re telling the truth?”

“I truly am my friend; I am not ...pulling your leg.”

Napoleon sighed, not sure if he should believe his partner or not. As usual he got over it and gave his explanation.

“Nice idiom usage. To answer your question, It means roughly getting down to the skin of a story, beneath the flourishes and frippery. Basically what’s going on.”

“Thank you. Why did you not just say that in the first place. All too often your usage of idioms complicates what could be said in simple words.”

“Illya, Illya just let it go please?”

Kuryakin merely rolled his eyes; that as always, put an end to their discussion..

They headed to the far side of the site which had now been fenced off, making it less tourist-friendly. There was a large canvas tent erected there and standing outside the entrance were two British police officers. These men were armed, unlike most police in the U.K.

Napoleon and Illya immediately drew their UNCLE ID cards and flashed them to the men. Of course they were granted entrance without question.

Temporary wood flooring had been laid down and the interior was filled with all sorts of scientific equipment. There were a number of stainless steel examination tables, each bearing black body bags.

Standing there, wearing a white medical coat and leaning over one of the tables was...a woman. As she heard the agents enter her head turned, revealing that she was a rather attractive and shapely blonde.

“Doctor Goodwin-Walker,” Illya immediately said; Waverly never indicated their paleontologist was female. Still as always, Kuryakin did his research before an assignment and was very familiar with the good Doctor and her credentials.

“Hello there,” Napoleon went on automatic as he purred his greeting.”My name is Solo, Napoleon Solo and this is…”

“I know who you are; Mister Waverly briefed me. And you are Doctor Kuryakin, she offered her hand in greeting... “a Master's degree from the Sorbonne and a PhD in Quantum Mechanics from the University of Cambridge. Very impressive.”

“I have a college degree as well,”Napoleon chimed in.

“Yes I know. At least Mister Waverly didn’t send me a pair of trigger happy morons,” she replied.

Illya nodded; apparently Doctor Goodwin-Walker had done her research as well.

“By your accent I deduce that you’re not from Scotland Doctor; do I hear a bit of Boston?” Napoleon offered her his hand.

“Very good Mister Solo,” she finally smiled at him and accepted his greeting.”That’s where I grew up, though I have studied at a number of universities, including Yale and Cambridge. I hold multiple degrees, so don’t underestimate my abilities because I’m a woman, especially since I’m not wearing glasses or have grey hair.”

Napoleon gave her a weak smile.”Rest assured, I will keep that in mind.”

Not two minutes and he was already being chastised…

“Goodwin-Walker is not a Boston name,” Illya intervened.

“That’s my married name; sounds a bit more prestigious than Ellery O’Malley.  My first name came about because my dad loved reading Ellery Queen mysteries.”

“So you’re married?” Napoleon asked.

“Divorced.”

Solo looked at his partner, cocking a mischievous eyebrow at the Russian.

Comments

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Nice dialogue and smooth action.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Thank you thank you!!!!! :D

[duckys-lady.livejournal.com]

Interesting chapter and very much in character! :-)