psl: UNCLE (pt. 2)

[abyssum_invocat]

As Sinthia had grown older and more accustomed to people--not to mention having fuller control over the extraordinary abilities she possessed--she'd become more and more interested in her foster parents' occupations.

Such was how she came to be sitting in Waverly's office, perched on his desk with a book in her lap. As was the current fashionable trend, her dress was scandalously short, and her bare legs were on full display, covered only by her boots. She'd gotten home from school two weeks early and wanted to see her 'uncles'. She'd decided to wait in Alexander's office instead of the gymnasium: better air conditioning.

Comments

[red_peril]

"That is odd. Mr. Waverly's secretary isn't at her desk," Illya said as he and his partner approached their boss' office. "Napoleon... We should wait for Janice to return!" Illya was saying as the other agent opened the interior office door.

"Mr. Waverly won't mind us waiting for him in his office," Napoleon was saying as he stepped through the door. "Oh. Hello, there." Napoleon stopped and adjusted his tie when he saw the young lady sitting on the edge of Mr. Waverly's desk.

Napoleon stopped so quickly, Illya almost ran into him. Then he saw why Napoleon had stopped. The very attractive young lady making herself quite at home on Mr. Waverly's desk. "What? Ah, hello."

[abyssum_invocat]

At the sound of the door opening, Sinthia looked up with a happy smile, ready to greet her foster father. He hadn't seen her in almost a ear, though they wrote each other letters all the time and had phone calls when they could arrange it between time zones. "Uncle Alex!"

Unfortunately her smile faded quickly as she slowly closed the book, looking between the two strange men who'd come barging into Waverly's office. "Hello," she said slowly. "Who are you?" Her very chic clothes belied her age--she was in her teens, though almost an adult--and her short dark hair swung around her face as she studied Solo and Kuryakin. "And where is Janice?"

[red_peril]

Napoleon put on his most charming smile, "Napoleon Solo," he introduced himself. "At your service, Miss..?"

"I am Illya Kuryakin, his partner." Illya said. "Janice was not at her desk. Since it is after noon, I think it is most likely that she has gone to lunch." The big Russian didn't smile. "Mr. Waverly is your Uncle?"

[abyssum_invocat]

She watched the two of them carefully, expression closing off as her ankles uncrossed slowly, getting ready to bolt if she had to. Normally, she wasn't skittish in the least, and her body language stayed calm for now, but between Waverly not presenting himself and Janice being gone, and two entirely unknown men now between her and the door, Sinthia was wary enough.

"Why are you waiting for Waverly in his office?"

[red_peril]

"We work for him," Illya said, annoyed at Napoleon's preening.

"We're U.N.C.L.E. Agents, actually," Napoleon said. The Russian agent rolled his eyes.

Just then, the door opened, emitting the director of the agency, "Good afternoon, Solo, Kuryakin... Darling!" he walked up to Sinthia and kissed her cheek. "Your letter didn't say you were coming to town."

[abyssum_invocat]

"Uncle Alex," she breathed, relaxing again when Waverly greeted her with a kiss to her cheekas she slid to her feet off the desk. "I came home early, I've already submitted my assignments, and term ended..." Sinthia checked her watch. "Three hours ago. I didn't even miss anything."

She happily embraced Waverly, sitting back down and smoothing her dress. "These two could evidently use some work on waiting in your anteroom. Were these your two colleagues from your letter? Was that why I couldn't meet you in Rome for the Easter holiday this year?"

[red_peril]

Waverly hugged Sinthia,"Excellent. I'm sure you've passed all your classes. Ah... Yes. I see you've met Kuryakin and Solo. We were in Rome on an assignment. Otherwise, I would have been happy to have celebrated Easter with you there," he said sitting behind his desk. "Oh do sit down, Solo an Kuryakin."

"I see you've met my niece," Waverly said. "Sinthia Waverly."

[abyssum_invocat]

"My pleasure," she said, bobbing her head to them both. "I understand. But that's why I didn't ask this time," Sinthia chuckled at Waverly.

"Uncle Alex is my legal guardian, and has been since I was a child. But I attend Aiglon College, and have for the last several years. Sometimes I like to drop in and see him."

[red_peril]

"Not as often as we would like. Don't forget to go down to the gymnasium and say hello to G. He would be heartbroken if he found out you were here and you didn't stop in to see him as well."

The two agents took seats in front of his desk. "As for the two of you, please wait until I return to come into my office from now on."

"Yes, sir," Illya said immediately.

"Of course, sir." Solo crossed his legs, "Do we have another assignment?"

[abyssum_invocat]

"Of course I'll see him too. He'd never forgive me if I didn't show him what I learned this year. They know?" Sinthia asked, glancing back at the two agents and Waverly. It was a preciously guarded secret that her uncle, really her foster father (but that was an even longer story) was gay, and happily committed to Gregory. Sinthia didn't mind keeping their relationship to herself.

"Oh, you two work together?"

[red_peril]

"They know," Alex gave them a little smile. "You'd be surprised how well they do when they aren't arguing like the Bickersons. They've earned our trust. And they wouldn't be very good spies if they couldn't keep a secret."

"Da. And we have seen Mr. Waverly and G spar with kukri," Illya said. It had been impressive to say the least.

"Enough to know we wouldn't like to be practice targets for them if we gave anything away," Solo concluded.

[abyssum_invocat]

"Mmm," Sinthia hummed, noncommittal. She was happy to take Waverly's word for their trust, but it took a fair bit to turn her head; part and parcel of having grown up as she did. "They've yet to let me join them with one of those," she said, teasing as she sent Alex a little smile.

"Youdidn't tell them about me, Uncle Alex?"

[red_peril]

Pushing his glasses up further on his nose, "Well, we wouldn't want to give away all our secrets, would we?" Alex gave his 'niece' a conspiratorial wink. No matter how much they learned about Alex and G, they would never know everything. Which was obviously fine with the Agency's director.

[abyssum_invocat]

"I doubt we could ever give away all of them," she chuckled. "Do I need to leave for you to discuss business with your agents?"

Sinthia didn't want to leave Waverly so soon, even if she could go see Ganymede instead; after a year of not having seen them face-to-face she didn't want the reunion to be so short. "Or am I finally old enough to know what it is you do?"

[red_peril]

"Oh dear, I know better than to think you're that naïve," he smiled slightly. Alexander knew that she knew exactly what he and G did for a living. He also knew that she wouldn't tell anyone about it. His trust in her was implicit. "Go ahead and have a seat, Sinthia. I may actually have a small part for you in this."

Illya's eyes widened. "Do you think that it is good idea to involve... civilian?"

Waverly smiled genuinely at that, "Not to worry, Mr. Kuryakin. Sinthia is a very intelligent and capable young woman." In truth he would worry more about them on a mission than he ever would Sinthia. For reasons he would never tell his agents.

[abyssum_invocat]

"Oh, Uncle Alex is used to worrying about me," Sinthia chuckled at Illya. "I do go to school very far away, remember?"

She certainly didn't look like anything more than a teenage schoolgirl, booted ankles crossed and swinging as she slid back on the desk, smiling at Waverly. "What would you need me for?" she asked, brushing off her skirt.

[red_peril]

Waverly touched a button on his desk and a screen opened up on the wall. The computer brought up an image of a rather racy cosmetics advertisement where a young, very scantily clad woman grinned widely, beneath the tag-line 'a real woman wears nothing but a Caresse.'

"Our friends at THRUSH have opened up a cosmetics factory. It's a front, of course."

[abyssum_invocat]

Sinthia blinked at the image, looking sideways at Waverly for a moment.

"...You want me to pose half-naked for a cosmetics ad," she said, voice light but tinted with disbelief. While her adoptive fathers were quite liberal with what they allowed and encouraged her to do, that was a little outside the norm. Or a lot outside the norm, truth be told.

"Solo and Kuryakin wouldn't go topless?"

[red_peril]

"Of course not, Sinthia!" Waverly said, surprised. "But you can help Solo an Kuryakin infiltrate the company. You can apply for a job at the company. I'll send Mr. Kuryakin with you as your photographer."

Solo was still ogling the image on the screen, but raised his hand, "And what's my cover going to be?"

[abyssum_invocat]

"You show me that picture with no other explanation, what am I supposed to think, Uncle?" she asked, teasing. "I can apply for a job, certainly."


*****


Some time later, Sinthia was in a very different place: nude but for a pair of lace underwear, she was perched in a chair artfully arranged so most everything intimate was covered, she smiled and watched the camera lens taking pictures of her. She knew Kuryakin was listening to everything that was said in the room thanks to the little pearl ring on her finger, inside which was a microphone transmitter. "Shall we do the makeup shots next?" she asked; she was currently bare-faced, the faint little spray of freckles across her nose and the crests of her cheeks stood out against her pale skin, her ark hair loose and fluffed and spilling elegantly over her shoulder.

[itwontmatch]

Solo looked up from behind the camera waiting for their employer to make the call as he rewound the film and popped it out of the camera. He thought she looked gorgeous without make up. Though the whole point of this photo shoot was to promote their product.

"Good idea. We'll have before and after pictures. You are lovely, my dear," Ms. Caresse said, "But we'll see how much more sophisticated you'll look wearing Carresse." She sidled up to Solo just as he was reloading the camera. Ms. Caresse was an older lady dressed in an elegant black sheath, her hair immaculately coiffed and draped in pearls. Funny how the Thrush agents always liked to be ostentatious with their wealth. "What do you think Mr. Devney?" She asked him as the make up artist brought out her kit and started putting on Sinthia's make up.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll look much less like the girl next door with the fresh scrubbed face and more like a sophisticated lady," Solo smiled at her, blue eyes on hers. Doing his best to make her think he thought she was the most sophisticated lady in the room. Which really, she was, being the owner and controller of the business.

[abyssum_invocat]

Sinthia sat still and allowed her face to be painted on, though she rarely wore much makeup at all: she preferred the feeling of her skin being able to breathe, not suffocated uner layers of foundations and powders. The makeup artist was very talented, though, and in a few minutes her face was elegantly made up. Her eyes were outlined, her lips colored and the freckles on her nose and cheeks concealed, leaving her skin flawless, and her blue-flecked placid eyes watchful, staring from under lengthened lashes at the camera.

"Oh, one more thing," Ms. Caresse added, coming over and laying one of her strands of pearls around Sinthia's neck. The little white beads showed off her décolletage perfectly, and she flicked her tongue over her lips to moisten them as the cameraman loaded more film and began to shoot again. "Perfect, my dear," the woman cooed, helping her to shift positions: the photographer wanted her laying over the arm of the chair, looking into the camera upside-down. It had the distinct advantage of distracting every male in the room with the view of her bare breasts and belly as she stretched back.

"Do you think this ad will be successful for the company, Mr. Deveny? Maybe I'll get to do more of them," Sinthia said, hoping Kuryakin was picking up all of the chatter around them from her ring microphone.

[itwontmatch]

"I'm certain it will," It was difficult to tear his eyes away from her, so he kept his eye on her through the camera lens tried to sound professional. He was supposed to focus on Jean Caresse. Moving away from the camera he had mounted on a tripod, he picked up another camera from his case and moved closer, kneeling to get intimate close ups of Sinthia. He reminded himself that it was for work. But she looked amazing. Solo was dressed casually instead of in one of his bespoke suits. "Take the pearls between your teeth, please."

[abyssum_invocat]

Sinthia lifted a brow a fraction of an inch at the direction, but did as she was asked: she stretched out long and sinuous, back bent and entirely exposed as she watched the camera. Even though this was work, she couldn't deny that Napoleon Solo was quite a handsome man, and currently getting quite an eyeful of her, mostly naked.

She continued to pose for the camera until the second roll of film ran out, and she was allowed to sit up and put on a robe to cover up under the pretense of being allowed to take the makeup off so another look could be applied. It was going remarkably well, actually, gathering intelligence on a THRUSH cover facility, until she was led into one of the adjoining rooms. Almost immediately after the door clicked shut behind her, a heavy hand was slapped over her mouth to muffle her startled yelling, and Sinthia was lifted off her feet: it was a struggle to get her moving, since she was fighting so much.

Apparently THRUSH had been one unanticipated step ahead, and knew that Sinthia Waverly was related to the head of UNCLE, and thus a valuable target. They'd heard of her particular abilities and those could be very useful to them, all neatly packaged in one very attractive, and very portable, young woman.

[itwontmatch]

Solo finished rewinding and unloading the film and puttering around with the cameras while waiting for Sinthia to come back out in the next outfit. He started to get worried as the minutes dragged on. Finally, Ms. Caresse approached him.

"Mr. Devney, I think we're done for the day," she smiled at him.

"Of course, I can have the film developed and send the proofs this afternoon, if you like," he offered.

"You can leave the rolls of film with us. We can develop it here," she insisted, holding out her hand.

"Oh. Yes of course," reaching into his bag, Solo grabbed six film cannisters, and handed them to her. He'd wound them forward so they looked like they had been shot already, but they were all blank rolls. The film he had shot of Sinthia, wouldn't see the light of day. Which was a shame, he thought it might be some of his best work. Those rolls were in a hidden pocket in the bag.

"I'll be on my way as soon as I pack up my gear, then." He quickly packed feeling the desperate buzz of the pen tucked into his pocket. As soon as he was out to the car and safe from prying eyes and ears, he took out his pen and gave it a sharp twist. "Solo here..."

[red_peril]

"It is about time you answered! Sinthia has been kidnapped! I heard her struggling with someone and now the tracker is moving off the property. I am in pursuit." No doubt Solo could hear that he was driving the bread truck. "They are in a black sedan. I cannot see her, she must be in the trunk." He gave Solo the license plate number and the cross street he was currently passing.

"You're following someone in the bread truck?" Solo asked.

"No. I am following them in a clown car," he snarked. "I did not bring an extra car, I must work with what I have. Hurry and catch up to me! Kuryakin out!"

[abyssum_invocat]

She'd been taught what to do in circumstances like these. Waverly and Ganymede both had drilled it into her: if she was mugged, if she was lost in an unfamiliar place, if she was kidnapped. She'd kept a hairpin tucked into her hair, wriggling enough to get to it and blindly pick the lock on the handcuffs locking her wrists behind her back. She couldn't really yell for help--the first thing to do, being that she was a woman and people were likely to pay attention to her screaming--with a knotted gag in her mouth, but she could and would kick at the tail-lights until one smashed out.

Finally Sinthia managed to wriggle one hand free of the metal cuffs, pulling free the cloth in her mouth and banging her balled fist against the lid of the trunk. "Get me out of this damn trunk!"

[red_peril]

It wasn't long before Solo pulled up alongside the bread truck in a flashy convertible. Illya pulled the bread truck over and grabbed the tracking equipment from the bread truck and jumped into the passenger seat. "Go! Go! They are still moving!"

Solo pulled the car back into traffic and sped up to get closer to the target vehicle. Presumably the one with Sinthia in the trunk. As they drew closer, he could see the trunk lid bounce a little. Presumably from someone inside pounding on it as the road was perfectly flat. He didn't get too close, keeping a couple car lengths behind them. Still, he it was obvious she was in there when one of the tail lights popped out. "Hang in there, Sinthia..." he said beneath his breath.

The car they were following turned off the main road and headed into the hills and out of the city. "They are heading to the manufacturing plant." Illya said.

[abyssum_invocat]

Sinthia had managed to get her hands free, twisting the cuffs so she could hold the empty one in her hand like a set of brass knuckles, which would enable her to fight back effectively when and if they opened the trunk lid. She was angry now, and the tranquilizer she'd had pressed over her mouth and nose to calm her down had worn off.

She could only hope that Solo and Kuryakin were following, or had at least told Waverly where she was if they were unable to catch up.