What if Illya Kuryakin really was working for the Soviets? What if his loyalty to UNCLE was severely handicapped by his devotion to duty regarding his homeland?
What if Napoleon found out?

It should have been Illya to meet the contact, but Illya had fallen victim to the sickness bug that had been doing the rounds of the UNCLE headquarters, and was even now huddled up in a private room in UNCLE medical, just wishing he could simply die quickly and get the agony over with. He had been rushed in after becoming seriously dehydrated, still arguing about his own care all the way until doctor Handy sedated him largely to shut him up.

So, Napoleon Solo had stepped in to meet Illya's contact, shrouded in black clothing similar to those his partner wore, and a thick hat to avoid alarming the stranger who was expecting to meet a blond Russian. He had been spoken to in Russian, handed a sealed envelope and the contact abruptly vanished. Once Napoleon got back to headquarters and looked at the envelope in the privacy of his office, he got the shock of his life. It was sealed with the Russian Imperial seal.

Illya, receiving a sealed envelope from the Soviet government? He shook his head. He was imagining things. This was probably another invitation for their former Russian Naval lieutenant Kuryakin to return to the fold, bringing along all his UNCLE secrets. He was aware that the KGB had been after Illya for some time, and he had turned them down flat.

He turned the envelope over and over in his hands, the line deepening between his eyes. What was this? If he opened this and it was innocent, Illya would know that Napoleon's trust in his partner had wavered. It could seriously damage their partnership. If it turned out to be less than innocent…?

No way. Napoleon shook his head. No way could Illya be involved in anything untoward outside of UNCLE. He placed the envelope on Illya's desk and returned to his own paperwork.

As he worked, however, the imperial seal kept catching his eye. That seal would only be used in correspondence with an active Soviet agent, not a former agent, or even an agent on loan as Illya was. An active, current Soviet agent.

Finally, Napoleon sighed and put down his pen. He had to know. Knowing the truth one way or another had to be better than these infernal, awful doubts creeping around his brain. He opened the envelope and read the contents.

Alexander Waverly looked up as his chief enforcement agent burst into his office, hardly pausing to knock. An official letter, with an envelope with a broken seal was placed in front of him. Napoleon's eyes were slightly damp, but his face was red with anger, and his hands were trembling with barely suppressed emotion.

"Sir, you have to see this!"

Waverly read through the letter and sighed deeply.

"Oh dear. This is a complication."

"You don't seem shocked, sir, or even very surprised."

Waverly looked at Solo with a grim expression.

"To learn that Mister Kuryakin is an active Soviet agent? No, I have known it all along."

Solo became apoplectic.

"You knew? You have always known that my partner, the man I have come to entrust with my life has been a spy all along? A man that would betray me and sell all our secrets if he gets the order to do it? You knew all of this all this time and you never saw fit to tell me?"

"Mister Solo, please do not shout. When Mister Kuryakin was recruited to UNCLE, we were having trouble, at the time, persuading the Soviets to agree to the principles by which we work; they were refusing to join UNCLE, or to cooperate with us or with any of our operatives. But securing their agreement and joining of UNCLE was important, considering the consistently poor relationship between East and West. UNCLE was the one thing we felt might help to unite them with us rather than being constantly pitted against us and the rest of the globe. Mister Kuryakin became part of the original deal that led to their agreement, and the opening up of the UNCLE office in Moscow."

"So, you allowed them to send in their own spy? I was the one who welcomed him here, who defended him and persuaded everyone that he was not a spy. Now I find that they were right all along? Now they are demanding sensitive information from him, things that as my number two he has access to, but that is for UNCLE eyes only."

Waverly sighed again.

"Mister Solo…Napoleon, you have been working closely with Illya for what? Four years?"

Napoleon nodded.

"Do you really think that he has not had demands of this kind from his superiors before this? For the first two years, his superiors besieged him with demands for information. Largely, they were all about finding out all the secret ways UNCLE was planning to invade Soviet territories."

"What? UNCLE isn't about that!"

Waverly nodded.

"I know that, you know that, but at the time, although we informed them of that fact, they clearly didn't believe it. As their agent, it is likely that Mister Kuryakin had his own doubts too, so when I learned that he was investigating, I allowed him access to anything he wanted to know. The only thing he found to report to Moscow was that UNCLE is exactly what it appeared and claimed to be."

"He has been getting letters like this regularly?"

"Oh yes Mister Solo. I have my own source of information. I have secretly received a copy of every communication that Illya had received."

"So he is a spy?"

"Napoleon, I suggest you go and talk to your partner directly about this; but first, try to imagine yourself in his shoes, and decide what, in his place, you would have done differently."

The thing that had shocked Napoleon most about the interview, was that Waverly did not seem to be worried at all. He was aware that his prized Russian agent was a spy, and yet did not seem to be concerned about any kind of security breach. Napoleon believed he had known his partner pretty well, but in a moment, his whole world felt like it had been turned on its head. How could he have been so wrong about Illya? He would have sworn with his life's blood that Illya was completely trustworthy.

He found himself down in medical before he realized he had made the decision. He used his authority to clear the room and switch off all monitors, then he locked the doors. His partner looked up at him white-faced, a slightly green tinge to his complexion, and knew that something was very wrong. Napoleon held up the envelope, with the broken imperial seal for Illya to see. Illya turned even paler.

"You should not have opened that."

"You're a liar, Illya. These guys were right about you, and I didn't see it. You really are a commie spy. How many secrets have you passed on to your Russian bosses?"

"Napoleon…my friend…please hear me out…"

"I'm not your friend, spy!"

The last word was spat out, and Illya flinched.

"Napoleon…Mister Solo, please let me explain!"

"Explain if you can Mister Kuryakin. Explain how you can be an active Soviet agent for all of this time, having regular communication with them and never even let me guess it. Explain how you are able to pass on UNCLE information, with Waverly's knowledge, and yet somehow, he still trusts you. Explain it to me. Explain to me exactly why I should trust you after lying to me for four years?"

Illya responded by vomiting into the kidney dish he was holding. Napoleon watched coldly whilst Illya wiped his mouth with the cloth and looked up at him.

"Napoleon, I have never, ever lied to you. You have always known that I am a Russian citizen, that I have not asked for or been offered American citizenship. You know that I love my own country as much as you love yours. You are also aware that I am formerly of both the Russian Navy and the KGB. You are also aware that I was transferred to UNCLE initially under the orders of my own people. All of this you have always know. In what way have I lied to you?"

"I thought that your loyalty was now to UNCLE alone! I learn that you are still loyal to your own people!"

Illya frowned.

"Napoleon, in what way does this make me any different from you? Are you mad at me for apparently betraying UNCLE? The USA or YOU? If you had been sent to Moscow with my orders, you would at first have had no qualms about spying, would you? Since your homeland and mine are engaged in this cold war, both seek advantage in some way over the other. The Soviet Union is viewed with suspicion by people all over the world. Why should they believe that this UNCLE is as benign and helpful as it claims to be? Why should they not believe it to be just another ruse to gain information? Waverly suggested that they assign one of their own men to join UNCLE, so that the USSR could learn for themselves that UNCLE is a positive force in the world, something good for both the East and the West."

"And they chose you?"

"They chose me as the most likely to be a successful UNCLE agent, and also one that will cost them nothing to lose if everything should blow up in their face. My job here, Napoleon, as far as you were concerned, was to be a good UNCLE agent. As far as Waverly was concerned, my job was to persuade my government that UNCLE is a good thing that they would benefit from cooperating; and as far as my government was concerned, I was there to find out how much Mister Waverly was lying about, and to be the one to give them the first warning of any intended pre-emptive strike on the Soviet Union from any of the Western countries."

"Well they joined UNCLE, and they have several of their people in UNCLE offices around the globe, so you seem to have done your job there. How many secrets did you give away to manage it?"

Illya looked sadly at Napoleon.

"No secrets, Napoleon. I gave them the truth and that is all. What I gave them helped them to see that UNCLE really is true to its charter, and show them that they benefit even more by signing up to it."

"So, what about this time? This demand for sensitive information that they should not have. Are you going to give it to them? Or refuse? Is your loyalty to your homeland first, or to UNCLE? Illya, now that I know this about you, how can I trust you with any sensitive information? How do I know that you will not one day betray me to your people at the behest of an order?"

Illya sipped water from the glass beside him and regarded his friend…or was it now former friend with sorrowful eyes.

"Napoleon, do not make the mistake of thinking that this has been easy for me either. In you I have found a friend…the best friend I have ever had…the only true friend I have ever had, and with that a reason to keep on fighting all the injustices we face. Every day I have faced the possibility of losing you in one way or another, and every time it gets more and more difficult. Tell me Napoleon, do you always include every single detail in your official reports to Mister Waverly?"

"No, not always."

"Why not?"

"Because sometimes the complete truth would be unbelievable, or it would simply not be good for him or me either, for every little detail to come out."

"Exactly. So your written reports contain only the things you think he ought to know. If he wants more information he has to ask you in person."

"Yes, so?"

"So, my original reason for being here is still valid, Napoleon. I will always give my Soviet command the information I believe they ought to know. The thing is, they are also aware of the UNCLE charter, and its rules for its agents. They have never rescinded their order for me to join UNCLE and become an agent for the U.N.C.L.E. How do I know that any demand for forbidden data is not a trick to find out if I will be quick to betray UNCLE? If I could betray UNCLE so quickly, how would they ever be certain that I would never betray them too?"

"In other words, you play God, between the Soviet Union and UNCLE, you try to ride them both side by side? Equally loyal to both sides? How long do you think you can keep it up Illya? Sooner or later you will be forced to make a choice. I know you love your homeland. I can understand that, because I love my homeland too. That means that when the Soviets finally demand that you choose a side…"

He broke off, forced to take a breath and steady himself.

"You have always been my best friend too Illya. Your friendship has meant a lot to me. I can't ask you to turn your back forever on your own people. That would be unfair, and I can't…I don't want to be around when the time comes that you are forced to choose…because I would either be forced to watch your heart break, or be the one in the firing line."

"You need me to promise that I will never betray you or UNCLE? I never have Napoleon and I…"

"I want to believe it Illya…I actually do believe it, but I don't know what you will do in the future, and you can't truthfully make me any sort of promise can you?"

Illya just stared at him, his eyes full of woe, and Napoleon nodded.

"I didn't think so. Waverly trusts you, and I trust him, so I will continue to work as closely with you as I need to, and I won't tell anyone else about this but…"

"But what Napoleon? You aren't…you're not going to…? You are..."

Napoleon nodded.

"I have to break our partnership, Illya. Our partnership can't possibly work any longer, because I will never be able to fully trust you again…I'll arrange for your belongings to be moved to a separate office by the end of the day. Room 42 is free. Goodbye Illya…"

Illya Kuryakin watched in numb misery as his former best friend and partner left the room, then turned and buried his face in the pillow, to silence and bury the evidence of desperation in his tears.

Napoleon Solo stood for several seconds outside medical, second guessing, then steeling himself, he set his shoulders and walked away, seeing everything only mistily.