The Question - Short Affair

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Prompts: olive green, booth
Word Count: 1064 (a little longer than it should be)
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Two men sat in a booth at the far end of the diner, each of them watching the door in a manner that was not readily evident to anyone casually glancing in their direction.  Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin were accustomed to the waiting games involved with any type of espionage, and this was no exception.  They had been slowly sipping coffee from ancient mugs, the names emblazoned on them different from the sign over the door.

The decor of the establishment left quite a lot to be desired with a color scheme of orange and olive green.  Napoleon almost felt as though he might not be able to eat food prepared in such a gauche environment, and even Illya was inclined to believe it would be one of the less impressive meals he could consume.

"Should I inquire as to the certainty of this rendezvous? We've been sitting here for over an hour."  Kuryakin didn't like the feel of this meeting, it was off somehow.  Normally Napoleon had those kinds of inklings, but now the Russian felt an uneasiness overwhelming him, as though mistakes were about to be made.

"I know… Illya, let's order and leave money for the meals…"

"And leave?"  Illya understood.  If anyone was watching, the delivery of a meal would make it seem less obvious when each of them got up to leave.  At least that would be the plan.

"Yeah, something like that.  You go ahead and I'll order for you.  See if there's a way out the back and take a look; we may have company outside just waiting for us to make an exit.  I don't want to be taken by surprise."

Illya nodded, pointing to the menu as though to make his choice, then slid out from the booth and headed towards the restroom.  It was down the same corridor as the kitchen entrance, and so he easily segued into the steamy room filled with grease laden appliances and sweaty cooks.  Looking quickly around at the people doing the cooking, he was glad to be skipping this meal.

At the booth, Napoleon perused the menu and hailed the harried looking waitress.  At close to fifty years of age, the woman had been trying to eke out a living in this greasy spoon for longer than she cared to remember.  Looking at the handsome man in the corner booth she sighed at dreams of her youth, those that would have included a man like him.

"Yessir, what'll you have?"  She wished she sounded more polished, an unwitting desire to appear to be someone other than herself for this man.  She wondered where the blonde had gotten off to.  Oh well… They'd both be dead soon.  Working for THRUSH was no piece of cake, but it was better than not working for them and finding yourself in the grave.

"Oh, hello.' Napoleon flashed a smile that made Janie wish she hadn't come to work today.   It was gonna be a blood bath, she didn't figure either of these two UNCLE agents would give up easy.

"My friend is in the restroom, but he wants the number three special, and I'll have have the number five.  Oh, and more coffee please, we have a long drive back to the city."

Janie took the order and smiled, something in her expression setting off alarms in Napoleon's head.  As soon as she finished and had turned to head back to the counter, he slid out of the booth and made his way back towards the kitchen.  Illya was already there and something told Napoleon there was more than just a missing courier to be concerned about.

Napoleon took a look out the door, his oblique glance barely noticeable.  Two large black vehicles were parked in front of the diner, and one man stood sentry.  He was obviously THRUSH in the way that they always were.  Continuing on to the kitchen, Napoleon heard a skirmish that could only be his partner and whoever he had encountered.  Bursting through the door, he dove into the battle and twirled around until he and Illya were back to back, facing their opponents.

"You have a plan I hope." Kuryakin's voice sounded dry, not a good sign in situations like this.

"I was hoping you had one.  On the count of … Now!"

Both men bolted for the door, leaving their assailants nearly knocking each other over.  The UNCLE agents were out and heading for their car before the THRUSH could gather their wits and follow them.  Illya was in the driver's seat and gunned the engine as Napoleon shut his door.  Out onto the road in record time, they were far enough ahead of the THRUSH car to pull into a used car lot that came conveniently into view.

Both men ducked down and waited a few breathless seconds.  Illya finally peered over the top of the door and watched as the two THRUSH vehicles sped past.  He sighed loud enough to signal to Napoleon that the coast was clear.

"Well, so much for our source.  Shall we head back to Headquarters?"  Napoleon knew there was nothing else to do now.

"I'm there in spirit already."  Illya started the engine and pulled slowly out into traffic.  There would be another day for fighting evil, but for now the task at hand was returning in one piece.

"I think we have someone we'll need to talk to when we return.  I hate  having to deal with traitors, don't you?"  Illya nodded.  There was no getting around it though, someone had led them on a merry chase and the intended outcome had been their demise.

"Where do they come from, these THRUSH plants that show up all too often?"

"I don't know, and I can't understand why they choose THRUSH.  Like that waitress."  Illya looked at his partner, a raised eyebrow to indicate his confusion.

"The waitress was THRUSH?  She didn't look the part did she?  I suppose I've become accustomed to the femme fatale types.  I suppose  people such as she are merely duped into it, or blackmailed… It can't be a matter of choice.  I fine that difficult to fathom."

The two rode in silence after that, each of them contemplating what it was that would influence a person to work for something as evil as THRUSH.

No answers were found by either of them.

Comments

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Ewwww I liked this. Is it a TBC? as it feels like it could continue.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Oh I don't know... I have one wip still hanging out in the Bahamas. Thanks though :D

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

What excellent work on Janie. The action is good, too.

Thanks for sharing this little between big affairs affair.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Janie seemed a likely candidate to be bullied by THRUSH into doing little jobs, just to stay alive. I'm sure she'd like to be rescued.

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

That's a very good point!

Her setting's good and most solid, too. The olive and orange is a great touch, very period. And can't you see in a day or two some crony of Marion's telling Illya it's dernier cri.

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

This was very good. I also think it feels like it should be continued.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you. i don't know about continuing it, but you know how that is ;) Back burner time.