section7mfu | Do Tell - Short Affair Challenge 10/14 (Reply)

I'm late, but I made it.

The Prompts: Propel, Sky Blue

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“Who got the promotion? Was it Solo?”

A crowd of UNCLE employees were huddled together trying to hear the latest development regarding the man who would be replacing Vince Weatherly, the outgoing Chief Enforcement Agent.

“I hope it’s Mr. Solo, he’s the one who’s most qualified.” A pretty redhead let the words ooze out of her ruby red lips. She could only hope that Mr. Solo would hear that she was one of his biggest fans. Another woman, blonde and petite, sneered at the comment.

“Oh Betty, you wouldn’t know best qualified if it came up and smacked you on the rear.”

That brought a chuckle from several of the other people standing nearby.

“I think that’s what she means by best qualified.” Betty just smiled. It was true and she didn’t care who thought it.

Someone shushed the comments as he spotted the man in question enter the cafeteria.

“Congratulations Mr. Solo, we just heard the good news.” Dennis Morton from Section V was grinning from ear to ear. He’d just collected ten dollars in the betting pool.

“How much was I worth Dennis?” Napoleon Solo took it all in stride, he was pleased with his promotion and knew this was the stuff of office gossip and speculation.

“Ten bucks and bragging rights!” Dennis waived the bill overhead while the loser frowned through his disappointment.

The crowd dispersed and separated to their various tables, still in groups but now spread out in the large dining area. When a slender blond man walked through the double doors a new buzz went up among some of the spectators.

Illya Kuryakin had also been promoted, taking the Number Two spot vacated by his partner Napoleon. Between the two of them, they were the highest ranking agents in the Northwest Region, something that rankled a few of the people whose opinion of Russians in general, and Kuryakin in particular, was less than complimentary.

“He’s certainly been propelled through the ranks of UNCLE. Sort of makes you wonder about the deal struck by the Kremlin in order to get one of their men into the Command.” Not everyone in UNCLE shared the vision of its chief architect, Alexander Waverly. Personal opinions were not always in line with the philosophy of peaceful co-existence among all nations, something that Waverly disdained but often had to accept as the downside of large assemblies of personnel. As long as it didn’t affect the work, that was all he could hope for sometimes.

Betty was within hearing of the rude comment made about the blond.

“Oh get off it Harry. No one with eyes like that could be anything but good.” She sighed as the memory of one chance encounter with Kuryakin came to mind. Sky blue, she wistfully recalled, was the color of his eyes.

At their corner table, Napoleon and Illya sat down to share a cup of coffee before heading into a meeting with Mr. Waverly. Napoleon was aware of the buzz in the room, the speculation and rumors that would start here.

“I think they’re talking about you now, whether or not you’ll eventually take my place.”

Illya smiled, that coy and undecipherable smile that made the women swoon and the men feel threatened. Napoleon still marveled at the subtlety of his partner’s expressions and the powerful effect that they had on people, both friend and foe.

“I suppose any group of people must talk about something, although I would prefer that it not be about me. Perhaps someone more interesting will come along soon, someone from China.”

Napoleon snickered at that. Then again...