Song Story - Hidden Heart

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Be Gentle With Me

Staring up into the solar system
All the stars are fixed up in the sky
I just want to sparkle for a moment
Before I just fizzle out and die

I'm happy because I'm stupid
Scared of spiders, scared of flying
If I wasn't so happy
I wouldn't be so scared of dying

So just be gentle with me
(I'm not as young as I was)
And I'll be gentle with you

I'm not as brave as I thought
'Cause my heart gets broken so easily
So just be gentle, be gentle with me

Wide awake, waiting like a target
Listening for things I cannot see
Insects flutter up against my window
I don't like the way they look at me

I guess I've always needed
To be needed by someone
It's a comforting feeling
Being under someone's thumb

So just be gentle with me
(And if I am ever mean)
And I'll be gentle with you

I never mean to be mean
'Cause I want to pick peaches off of a cherry tree
Just be gentle, be gentle, be gentle, be gentle with me

So just be gentle with me
Trouble is sometimes
And I'll be gentle with you

I just can't switch myself off when I want to so I never do
Because I'm mental, be gentle, be gentle
Just be gentle, be gentle, be gentle
And I'll be gentle, be gentle, be gentle,be gentle with you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Pleeeeeeze ... pretty pleeeeze ... ssshhhhh.... gentle.”  There was a gloating expression on the woman in the white coat as she listened to her subject babble and plead.  The man before her was now a mere subject, no longer the legendary Napoleon Solo.

“Nicholas, get the next injection ready.  I intend to take Mr. Solo to the next level of mind manipulation.’’ Norene Le Chien wished that she could see the look on her sister’s face now; for too long the blonde half of this sibling duo had gambled on her incredible luck holding out as she consorted with the enemy.  Oh, Angelique denied any wrong-doing, but how long would that last?  Norene was saving her sister from anything worse than a reprimand from Central.

Nicholas obeyed the order, retrieving a second syringe from the well stocked cabinet.  He brought it back to Dr. Le Chien and handed it over carefully.  The young lab assistant could see the results of her concoction and he had no wish to have the needle  pierce his flesh instead of Solo’s.

“Here you are, doctor.  What else may I do for you?”   Norene found the young man especially attractive, his blue eyes in sharp contrast to the dull brown ones that were looking back at her now. He must be new for she hadn’t noticed him before he showed up here after Solo was brought in.

“Thank you, Nicholas.  Tell me, where have you worked before? I don’t recall seeing you here in this facility.”  Nicholas ducked his head, a slight inclination that might have meant a sense of properly placed humility.  Norene approved of that, although she had a nagging feeling that his face was somehow familiar.

“I have been ... around.  I believe you will find that I am a familiar face in several other THRUSH satrapies.’  A slight smile appeared, teasing a similar one into appearing on Norene’s face.  “In fact, I might have run into this one, Solo, a time or two.”

Now that was interesting to Norene.

“You say you are familiar with Mr Solo? Well, what do you think of him now?”  Nicholas stepped closer to the drugged American.  Napoleon’s eyes were completely dilated and his speech slurred.  The blond assistant grabbed Solo by his hair and looked into the face of the infamous UNCLE agent.

“He doesn’t look too fearsome to me.  What did you give him to make him so... docile?”  Norene Le Chien was only too happy to share her brilliance with a willing disciple, especially such a good looking one. What was that accent?

“Oh, just a little something that makes him see stars and feel slightly lonely.  In that condition he will tell us whatever we want to know.  Go ahead, ask him a question.”  It was very tempting, although a wealth of information might be forthcoming if Solo thought he was safe.  Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea...

“Go on, I want to see his reaction to someone else.”  Norene was insistent, and Nicholas dared not provoke her to investigate her memory of where she might have seen his own face before.

“Very well... um... Napoleon, who is the bravest person you know?”  If Norene thought it an odd question she didn’t say so.  Having fun at Solo’s expense appealed to her sense of humor; she would enjoy gloating about this to Angelique.

Napoleon rolled his eyes, looked up as though he could see something in the ceiling.  He did see stars, although it was the drug making them appear.  That voice sounded familiar... who was it asking him a question?

“Clara.  Clara is soooo brave.  I asked her not to leave me, I said pleeeeze donnn break m’heart, Clara.  I wuz stoopid... she thought I’d die and leave her.’ One arm flapped in the air as he Napoleon mimicked a bird flying. “She said ‘bye bye lover boy’ and then... pfft.  She wuz gone.  Gone, gone gone... Bye bye.  Broke my heart and hoped to die.”

Norene and Nicholas exchanged looks that could have passed for sympathy before recovering enough to prepare the second syringe.

“Please Nicholas, the ...”  A look of utter surprise lit up her face as the needle was pressed into her flesh.  Why?  And then she looked again at the blond in front of her.

“Kuryakin!  What have you done, I ... I...”  She collapsed in his arms, limp as a wet noodle would have been Napoleon’s description.

Illya Kuryakin deposited the doctor on a nearby chair, letting her head lag onto her chest.  He needed to get Napoleon out of here before anyone else came to check on Norene’s subject.  Leave it to his partner to find not one but two women  with the same last name who worked for THRUSH.

“Napoleon... Napoleon!  Wake up.  Come on partner, we need to get out of here.”  Illya was busy trying to get his partner to sober up but finally relented to the inevitability of having to carry the man out.  It would be a dead giveaway should they be seen.

Illya hefted his groggy partner up onto his shoulder as Napoleon prattled on about Clara and having his heart broken.  Perhaps he shouldn’t have asked that question, although it would go without saying that he had wondered if his own name might be mentioned.  So much for that ego boost.

Kuryakin managed to get them both safely out of the isolated lab and into an adjacent parking garage.  Apparently Norene Le Chien had chosen this location as a private office away from THRUSH’s prying eyes.  Perhaps her abduction of Solo had been off the record, so to speak.  Hmmm... Illya wondered now how much of this had to do with Angelique, possibly some competition between the two sisters.

“Never mind that, just get out of here...”  Illya found the car he had driven here as he chased down the homing beacon in Napoleon’s tie tack.  Never leave home without it, and never turn it off.  That was their motto.

Once in the car, Illya was on the fast track back to Headquarters, hopeful that an antidote to the serum was available or easily prepared.  As it was Napoleon didn’t really seem worse for wear, only a little chatty.  It wouldn’t do for anyone else to hear his friend’s confession of weakness where Clara was concerned.  How many years had passed since they had parted?  Apparently Terbuf had not cured his romantic friend of his melancholy concerning that woman.

Women.  Clara, Angelique and now Norene.  Illya hoped he could continue to help his friend stay out of trouble, but with the addition of another Le Chien to the mix, trouble seemed to loom ever on the horizon.

The trip was fraught with traffic snarls and blaring horns but Kuryakin made it back in record time.  He pulled into the parking garage and signaled for someone to come and help with Napoleon.  Ordering a trip to medical, the entourage was greeted by Dr. Simmons and Neil Ormond from the labs.  Blood was quickly drawn as Napoleon was tucked into a bed to while away the last few hours of the serum’s effect.

Napoleon slept for twenty hours, mostly because of the drug Norene had given him, partly because of the antidote provided by the UNCLE whiz kids.  Illya was impressed at how quickly the lab boys had come up with an antidote, and had spent the night in an onsite apartment rather than going home.  It was better if he were close by when Napoleon awoke.

And wake up he did.  Napoleon eased into the morning with his usual charm, only vague memories of his encounter with Norene Le Chien and the drugs she had given him.  He would have no memory of his confession about Clara, something that Illya deemed better kept to himself.  He wondered if Norene would remember it, and then tell Angelique.  It wouldn’t do for THRUSH to know about Clara and what she meant to UNCLE’s top agent.

Secrets.  Spies always had secrets, but the kind involving one’s heart... those were the most dangerous kind.

Comments

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, this was fantastic. Soooo canon! Brava! Bravissimo! And you've introduced a new baddie...eek Angelique's sister. Nice!

Absolutely loved the last line in this piece.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I knew someone would be drugged, it just sort of suited the lyric. I like how different our stories our, and yet there's a thread of something similar. Whoda thunk it?

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

What an excellent back story for a Thrush, Angelique's even evil-er (and brunette) twin. I do like the way Illya got close to her, and your sharing it with the reader.

'Clara' was certainly a surprise.

I have an feeling Norene will find out there are Things (Thrush) Woman Is Not Meant To Know.

[alynwa.livejournal.com]

Interesting take on the prompt. Another DeChien, eh? That might call for another story featuring the siblings.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

"...I want to pick peaches off of a cherry tree." Many images with this one!

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much. I was so curious to see how people might interpret this song, and mine went immediately to someone having a drug episode.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Well, Linda Cornet gave us Angelique's last name, Le Chien, so I took the liberty of giving her a sister :D It's fiction, right? Thanks for comment.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Charming duo, I think, and their songs are fun.