section7mfu | Picfic Tuesday: Getting Out of a Sticky Situation

The two agents came upon what amounted to a small enclave at the bottom of the mountains just as the snowmobile they were riding ran out of gas. “Those birds can’t be more than an hour behind us. No wonder they didn’t seem in a rush to chase us; they knew the road we’re on is the only way in or out of here. Got any ideas, Tovarisch?”

Illya had been holding on for dear life as Napoleon had gunned the machine they rode down the road to this dead end. They had managed to interrupt a THRUSH rendezvous in the small Romanian village fifteen miles away and abscond with their new communication codes. The courier and the two agents she was meeting must have either been wearing sleep dart proof vests or THRUSH had developed an antidote to UNCLE’s tranquilizer because they were regaining consciousness as Napoleon and Illya commandeered one of the birds’ snowmobiles and sped away.

“I have one. This place seems deserted; let us make sure.”

Pulling their weapons, they split up and checked what few buildings there were. “No one’s here, Illya.”

“Good. Our extraction chopper is still hours away. I will be back. In the meantime, see if you can get into that first building we passed without making it too obvious that it has been broken into.”

Napoleon took a second to look askance at the blond before trotting back down the road to the small building that might have in some other time, been some type of checkpoint. He didn’t bother with the front of the building as it faced the road, but instead, managed to jimmy a window open in the rear and climb inside. He looked out the front window and didn’t see anyone yet, but that was little comfort. When they come around that bend, they’ll see this entire place just like we did! By now, they must have called for backup so who knows how many THRUSHies are heading this way? He moved to look out the back window and could see Illya throwing something up the mountain and then kneeling down and digging in the snow at the base. What is that sneaky Russian up to now?

Illya dug the last hole and began to move toward the building he had told Napoleon to break into. The wind had shifted directions and he sped up when he heard what sounded like motors in the distance. He ran as fast as he could and when he got close to the building, Napoleon reached out and pulled him through the window and closed it behind him. It seemed like seconds later that they heard snowmobiles driving past their position to the red – roofed building closest to the mountain range. “Since you believe in a Higher Power, Napoleon, I suggest you ask It to make my plan work.” He grabbed Napoleon and said, “Twenty seconds to detonation!”

Napoleon turned wild eyes to his partner and got as far as “What are you talking about?” when a loud noise erupted followed by a rumbling as the face of the range began to disintegrate and rush toward the little village. He thought he could hear the screams of the THRUSH agents as they were consumed by the avalanche that even now raced towards them. He pulled the two of them away from the window and covered Illya as best he could with his own body. He felt the concussion as the snow hit the building and pushed it off its foundation. The noise stopped and he found himself sprawled on top of Illya. “Are you alright?”

“Da. It would seem that I was reasonably correct about the amount of explosives to use to start an avalanche. My homing device is still active so our chopper should be here in an hour or two. I only require one thing.”

“What’s that, Partner Mine? Food? Water?”

“I need you to get off me, you big ox! I can barely breathe!”

“Some people are never happy.”