Tripping Away - PicFic 1/13

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

"I once knew a woman who looked just like her."  The statue he referred could have reminded him of someone, and Napoleon grinned in spite of himself; he was lying of course, but it brought a smirk to his partner's face that revived hope of a less tense atmosphere.

"I know what you're attempting to do my friend, and I appreciate it in spite of its obvious flaws."  Napoleon nodded his head agreeably, noting that Illya had exhaled at last.

"Being here isn't necessarily a bad thing, lllya.  Perhaps Mr. Waverly merely wanted our opinion of his gardens.' Illya raised an eyebrow in obvious doubt of that conjecture.

"Or maybe we've been included in lunch plans…"  That line of reasoning was interrupted by the appearance of Mrs. Waverly's secretary, Eloise Pierce.  She was an attractive woman, fifty-ish was Napoleon's guess.  Her entrance stopped him from continuing on.

"Gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Waverly will see you now."  The two agents exchanged looks that questioned the presence of both of the Waverlys.  If she were to be present, then perhaps it wasn't as dire as they had originally thought.  Normally an invitation to the Waverly residence indicated a subject that was too much of whatever it was (if that rationale could be followed), for Headquarters.  Come to think of it, no one had ever confirmed those suspicions, and as Miss  Pierce led Solo and Kuryakin from the library that overlooked the previously mentioned gardens, they each had a distinct impression of something not quite as bad as had been thought.

Sitting at a table in what one could only surmise was the breakfast room, Constance Waverly gestured with a wave that they should join her and Alexander.  Still a very pretty woman as she neared seventy, Constance or Connie, as her husband called her, filled the room with even more sunshine than it already possessed at this hour of the morning.  Perhaps she was his secret, the reason why Alexander Waverly was so vigilant at trying to save the world.

"Gentlemen, please…' Once more she waved her hand, this time indicating the chairs in which Napoleon and Illya should sit.

"I am so pleased that you could join us this morning.  Alexander has no doubt neglected to inform you why."  She posed it like a question  but they understood it to be a statement of fact.  He had not enlightened them as to the nature of their visit to his home.

"No, I can see it on your faces.  Well, I shall tell you then.  Alexander and I are intending to fly to the Bahamas for a week and, as is our habit during these holidays of ours, we take along a security detail.  Normally Section III gets the call, but this time…'  Connie looked at her husband who had remained content to leave this bit of talking to his wife.  As if on cue, he took up the narrative.

"Ahem… yes, well… you see Mr. Solo, Mr. Kuryakin… I, or rather we, have decided to take the two of you along with us this year.  At present there is not any mission on the docket that will require your participation, although should something arise while we are on holiday…"  Constance poo-pooed the suggestion of trouble.

"Yes, quite, although hopefully we shall all have a delightful time and not be bothered at all by THRUSH or anyone else.  How does that sound to you?"  She looked from one to the other, Napoleon's smile appearing quite willingly while Illya took time to disassemble the content before putting it back together again as a welcome respite from the rigors of enforcement.

"I for one think it sounds like a wonderful idea, right Illya?"  All eyes were on the blond as he responded, although he thought Mr. Waverly had a peculiar expression on his face.

"Yes, it sounds like a very generous offer; thank you.  Mr. Waverly, is there something else?"  Ah, the Russian would ferret out his misgivings.  Alexander did not want his wife to know of it, however, and excused himself and his agents to go over some of the details.

"Will you please excuse us my dear?  I should like to go over some things with Mr. Solo and Mr. Kuryakin."  Constance blew her husband a kiss and waved them all away as a maid  poured more coffee.

Down the hall and inside the library, Alexander Waverly offered further details about this trip to the Bahamas.

"Gentlemen, you may have already discerned that there is more involved here than a pleasurable holiday.  In truth I will be meeting with the envoy of a potential new member nation.  Constance is not aware of this as of yet, but she will be.  She would insist that we not cancel this trip, but I am positive that you can understand why I want the two of you there with us… with me.  We will be joined there by agents Slate and Dancer as well as a half dozen Section III agents.  This is no small event, I assure you, and I am taking every precaution to insure that everyone involved is safe and well."

Napoleon and Illya took all of it in, adjusting their assessments of the details from a holiday to a political meeting with the possibility of trouble.  It was business as usual it seemed.

Well, maybe not usual, but most assuredly it would be business.

Part 2

Comments

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Very intrigued. And I like the opening dialogue.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks… yes, Napoleon waxing romantic over garden statuary :D

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Wonderful start. I suspect things are not going to go all that smoothly.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Napoleon's bourbon is smooth, not so the Bahamas. That's my guess ;) Thanks for commenting.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Ahhh nicely done. Another WIP to look forward to next week. Your picfic choice will fit perfectly into this scenario. :D

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

After I got this one going I remembered next week's photo so… yes, that will be most helpful. Thank you :

[pactnmmt.livejournal.com]

A very interesting first installment. It leaves the reader's mind to a myriad of plot lines and adventurous situations.

When I read the first several lines, up to "Being here isn't necessarily a bad thing, Illya." I thought maybe IK was admitted to a sanatorium and NS was visiting.

I think the plot bunny is playing games with my head.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Now that's an interesting story idea, are you sure you don't want to submit something for this week's picfic? Thank you for reading mine, next week we'll learn more.

[pactnmmt.livejournal.com]

I've promised myself that I won't start anymore stories until I finish the Yellowstone story and I just haven't felt up to tackling anything but reading others' stories. My mind is beginning to percolate a bit regarding Yellowstone so maybe I will finish it soon.

[susanpr.livejournal.com]

Yeah!! Can't wait for more Yellowstone