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section7mfu2013-12-16 04:06 pm
Twelve Days of Christmas: Bring on the Good Cheer! Part III
Napoleon and Illya met up in front of Del Floria’s the next morning at nine o’clock as they had a meeting with Mr. Waverly at ten. “Morning, Partner Mine! How are you this fine day?”
Scowling, Illya snarled in a dangerously low voice, “I do not appreciate you sneaking into my apartment. I might have shot you.”
The look on his face was so angry that Glenna just handed him his badge without a word and pinned Napoleon’s on quickly and tried to melt into the background. The last thing she heard as the two men passed her to enter HQ was Napoleon saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” When the eighteen inch thick door swung closed, she grabbed her phone and called her friend Donna in Section IV to tell her the CEA and his new partner were fighting. Forty – five minutes later, every female support staff knew they were at each other’s throats and their partnership was doomed.
Both men had somehow silently agreed that they would continue their conversation in private. When the door to their office opened, they were both stunned to see the two poinsettia plants that were there the day before were now joined by several more plus the little sprig of mistletoe Napoleon had hung the other day had been replaced by a large bunch of the kiss – inspiring green.
“First last night and now this,” Illya fumed, “Please stop!”
Napoleon could feel his ears starting to heat with anger. “Exactly what is it you’re accusing me of doing last night?”
The Russian huffed, “I heard someone in my living room and by the time I got there, there was no one in sight. There was only the stocking you had hung on my doorway leading into my kitchen. You even placed the ruble necklace inside it!”
“That wasn’t me. I took Aunt Amy to the theater last night, remember?. We went for a late supper and I actually stayed there last night. I keep some things there so I haven’t been home since yesterday morning. And this wasn’t my doing, either.”
“Did you find out who gave you the tickets?”
“No, but I’m thinking: Probably the same person who put those boxes on our desk. Did you notice them when we came in? I didn’t and that doesn’t seem possible.”
Illya’s gaze followed Napoleon’s. There were identical boxes approximately three inches wide and tall sitting in the middle of their desk blotters. “I would swear they were not there when we arrived.” He walked over and picked up the one on his desk. There was a note attached which he read aloud. “If you don’t stop arguing with Napoleon, I’m going to put a lump of coal in your stocking! Here’s something sweet you’ve been craving. Santa.” He opened the box to find fresh lymonnyk. He gasped, “I was thinking that I wanted this with my coffee! It’s Russian lemon pie! Freshly made!”
Napoleon moved to his desk and quickly picked up his gift. He read his card to Illya. “This is for being a good nephew and friend. Santa.” When he opened his box, it contained two small frames, one containing a picture of him and Aunt Amy at dinner and the other a picture of Illya and him sharing coffee and a laugh in the Commissary. He did a double take. “This picture with Amy was taken last night! And this one of the two of us has to be from last week. There was no one taking pictures.”
Illya took a bite of his treat and smiled. “I am starting to think there is something to this Santa business.”
“You believe in Santa now? I guess there is such a thing as a Christmas miracle.”
“I would not go that far. I think there is someone in this organization who is attempting to be…what is it called? A Secret Santa? Perhaps someone thinks they will get the ‘heathen Communist’ into the Christmas spirit.”
“This doesn’t feel mean – spirited. I mean, we’ve each gotten something nice. If you’re right, then someone has made us his or her holiday project which I wouldn’t mind, but you said someone entered your home obviously without tripping your alarms and got out before you saw him or her in a matter of seconds. I need to find out who this is; this is a security breach, minimally and at worse, someone could get killed entering a Section II’s home unauthorized.”
Illya closed the lid of his gift. “I will get coffee to go with this. It seems we have a bit of a mystery.”
Napoleon picked up his phone. “I have an idea how to start solving it,” he said as he dialed an extension. “Hello, Joseph. I need to look at some security tapes.”
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I do like the bit leading up to Forty – five minutes later, every female support staff knew they were at each other’s throats and their partnership was doomed.
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