"The Castex Experiment- Chapter 2"~ For the PicFic Tuesday challenge

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Chapter 1 here



Napoleon kept his attention on the yacht and watched in horror as a blinding storm erupted above it, violently churning the water and sending massive waves crashing against the boat like it was a toy in a bathtub.

Somehow the storm was contained just there, not affecting anyone standing out on the terrace, watching the scene unfold.  There wasn’t even as much as a touch of a breeze.

Vicious bolts of lightning shot across the sky immediately followed by cracks of thunder so loud that one could feel it vibrate beneath their feet.

Napoleon saw Illya come on deck, struggling against the waves pounding the boat. A life jacket was washed from his hand and he almost went over the side had he not grabbed onto a rope.

Smoke erupted below deck and as black smoke poured out, Illya seemed to be retreating towards the aft, to the dinghy,Solo presumed.

Even if he were to make it, chances are it would be capsized and without a life preserver, though Illya was a strong swimmer; the chances of his survival were slim at best.

The Russian never made it to the stern, as a wave swept him overboard and beneath the water near the foundering boat.

“I think you’ve seen enough Mr. Solo,” Boucher shoved him.

Without warning, Napoleon turned and grabbed the man’s gun, wrenching from his hand while giving him a right uppercut to the chin with his other hand.

Boucher reeled for a second as Solo raised the gun to shoot him, but the American was thwarted in his efforts as two other lackeys grabbed him from behind.

The gun went off, but fired into the air.

Boucher retrieved his weapon, wrenching it from Solo’s grip and in return for the uppercut; he brought the butt of the gun down on the American’s head.

Some of the guests scattered like cockroaches, but the Thrushman called out to them.

“Please remain calm, just an unwanted guest. Nothing over which to trouble yourselves.  If you would please make your way back into the house where Miss Dearest is waiting to discuss financial arrangements with you, that is if you were impressed with Doctor Castex’s little demonstration. Merci.”

The guards dragged off the half-conscious Solo between them to the elevator, taking him down to the lower terrace and into the bunker. The very place Napoleon wanted to go, but not under the current circumstance.

The corridor leading inside was dimly lit, with a brighter light at what seemed to be the end of it.

When they finally exited into the light Napoleon was able to walk on his own, though a little unsteady on his feet.

To the left of the grey-walled room were control panels filled with an array of flashing lights, along with several large video screens. The ginger-haired Peadar was seated there at what looked like a main control console. To the right were a number of chairs, set in tiers obviously for viewing what took place on the screens.

Behind the chairs on the uppermost tier was grey metallic desk; sitting at it was a raven-haired man sporting a goatee, perhaps in his late forties. His clothing was the same sterile color grey of the room.

The UNCLE agent was escorted directly in front of the desk, though the guards remained on either side of him.

“Ah at last, the famous Napoleon Solo. So we finally meet,” the man spoke with French accent

“I’m sorry, you have me at a disadvantage...and you are?”Napoleon couldn’t resist, taking a page from Illya’s playbook at annoying his captors.

The doctor’s face went red for a second, as obviously Solo’s little slight had gotten to him.

“Je suis le grand Emile-Georges Castex vous paon pompeuse d'un homme."I am the great Emile-Georges Castex you pompous peacock of a man.”

“My my, didn’t your dear mère tell you that name calling was ill mannered...as is bragging?”

Castex laughed. “You’re attempts to goad me will not work Monsieur. Turning his attention from the American; he flipped a switch on a nearby console.

“Any sign of Monsieur Kuryakin?”

“Negative sir,” Peadar answered.”No sign of his body as of yet. The remains of the yacht have been towed to shore, though it’s pretty burned out. I suspect we won’t find much of interest as there seems to be little left of the insides. Still the men are checking it with a fine tooth comb. They’re also trolling with nets ta try and find the body, though I suspect sharks might have had at it already, so there might not be much left of the poor bastard."

.

“Dommage. Vous avez mes condoléances pour le décès de votre partenaire Monsieur Solo_too bad. You have my condolences on the death of your partner Mr. Solo.”

Napoleon gave the man no satisfaction upon hearing the Peadar's decree. Though inside he winced at hearing it. He couldn't believe Illya was dead, not yet. Kuryakin was not only like a cat in the way he moved, but he seemed to have nine lives as well.

“Wait…” Napoleon corrected himself again, “Illya ran out of those nine lives a long time ago. Simple fact was that the Russian was a survivor.

He only hoped his partner had done it again....

Solo shook that thought from his mind. It was time to concentrate on Castex and what he’d done out there. Typically T.H.R.U.S.H. liked to brag, and he hoped this one was no exception to that unwritten rule.

“So Doctor, what’s this little setup you have here all about?”

“Little? I hardly think that Mr. Solo. Come with me and …” he paused, turning his attention to the guards. “I trust he has been relieved of all of those nasty U.N.C.L.E. gadgets and toys?”

“Yes sir. we got everything.”

They had indeed taken Napoleon’s watch with the timer for the explosive putty, which they took out of the hollowed out heel of his shoe. They found his lockpick in the hem of his trouser leg, his exploding cuff links...of course his communicator and gun and his ear bud...not that Illya could talk to him anymore."

Napoleon smiled inwardly, as thankfully there was something they’d missed.  He wouldn’t make his move just yet as he wanted to find out what Castex was up to first.

“Please, Mr. Solo if you would be so good as to follow me?”

Dr. Castex slipped down from his chair and nearly disappeared down behind his desk. As he walked into view, gesturing for Solo to follow him, Napoleon was surprised at the man’s stature.  If he was five feet tall, that was stretching it.

He refrained from making a ‘Napoleon complex’ assumption but it was difficult not to think that of the ‘great’ Emile-Georges Castex, as the man had referred to himself.

Solo, still flanked by his guards walked down the stairs to the main control console where Peadar was seated.

The young man removed his headset, looking to the American. So not Mr. King is it?”

“No Peadar, this is Napoleon Solo, UNCLE’s foremost agent and a fitting adversary for one such as myself.  Would you be so good as to explain what we are doing here?”

“Yes sir Mr. Castex. I’ll try to use simple words ta help you understand.”

“Gee thanks,” Napoleon quipped.

“You see we’ve bombarded the clouds with electromagnetic radiation, released  by certain electromagnetic processes. It consists of electromagnetic waves, which are synchronized oscillations of electric and magnetic fields that propagate at the speed of light. The oscillations of the two fields are perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction of energy and wave propagation causing them to form transverse waves.

These waves are produced whenever charged particles are accelerated, and can interact with any charged particles. EM waves carry energy, momentum and angular momentum away from their source particle and can impart those quantities to matter with which they interact. In other words by using this electromagnetic energy we can get a storm of massive concentration to form in a very specific controlled area.”

“Yes, that was a simplified explanation wasn’t it?” Napoleon blandly commented;  secretly wishing Illya were here as he would have been able to ask a few pointed questions. Thrushies were all too willing to explain their schemes, but by doing so, they set themselves up for a fall, sometimes with little prodding at all.

He watched Peadar like a hawk as the young man pointed to the specific controls needed to get the desired results.  It was that part of the panel Napoleon knew he needed to destroy...

“Yes Mr. Solo, it’s quite a simplistic plan. We simply need to seed the clouds with silver iodide, potassium iodide and solid carbon dioxide, to aide the the production of precipitation, and then bombarding the clouds with the electromagnetic waves...well you saw the result, as did your late partner.

“You know you won’t succeed,” Napoleon muttered.

“And who’s going to stop me...you?” Castex laughed maniacally.

Solo smiled, knowing the man’s overconfidence would be his eventual undoing.

T.H.R.U.S.H. never learn...

Chapter 3

Comments

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

What a storm! Just when my fingernails are starting to grow back in, you leave us with another cliffy...

Love that pic, btw.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Sorry but such is life with a WIP. Will try to post the next chapter sooner. Thanks for reading and commenting. Quiet day here on LJ...

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

I agree with Linda, this story is no good for my fingernails :-) I want to personally go looking for Illya, LOL. Keep up the good (and tense) work.

I have to apologise, because the next part of my story isn't quite ready. I've been on a bit of a downward cycle the last few days. I'm coming back up now and my flow returned, but it's already 10:35 pm here, so it won't be done until tomorrow. I'm sure no-one will mind my pic-fic being a day late :-)

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

I hear you, that's why I didn't get a Short Affair done. Luckily I'd finished this chapter last week before my muse decided to go on vacation to a tropical Isle. Post your chapter when you can, no worries.

Thanks for reading and commenting. I hear quinine was good to stop nail biting...

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Scary stuff, but I have no doubt that our Russian is making his way ashore. You know, they really do this kind of thing to the clouds... yes, I'm sure you know that ;)

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Well the seeding of clouds, yes but the other stuff I made up....

Thanks for catching up and commenting.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Someone really is doing it... truth is stranger than fiction ;)
http://youtu.be/jf0khstYDLA

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Really seeding the clouds and bombarding them with EM waves? Wow, how the heck did I think of that then....maybe I missed my calling. Holy Cow! How the heck did you ever find this....HMMMmmm THRUSH's secrets are out!