The Man From U.N.C.L.E. When in Rome

Chapter 5 - Hot Ice

Natalia's eyes went wide with shock. "Is this your plan? Getting us caught?!" She whispered harshly.


Solo grinned and held a finger to his lips again. He was counting on the two bumbling night watchmen from earlier to come rushing in. Solo grabbed Natalia's hand and pulled her into the utility closet. She stumbled in after him and into his arms. His fingers curled around her waist and he gave her a confident grin. No, getting caught was definitely not part of the plan. Neither was blowing his cover, risking his mission, and possibly getting them arrested. Solo's eyes adjusted to the darkness again. He scanned Natalia's face. Her cheeks flushed, and her lips parted in excitement. He couldn't see very well, but he could feel the heat of her gaze boring into him like twin lasers... or was it something else?


"Patience," he whispered to her.


The two security guards came running into the exhibit room speaking in loud Italian. Solo watched from the crack in the door as they fumbled around for the cause of the alarm. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, they said something to each other in Italian and headed out the room. Solo assumed it was to turn off the blaring alarm.


"They thought it was a rat," Napoleon said with a chuckle. Natalia eyed him skeptically in the dim room.


"A rat? You mean to tell me your hair-brained idea is actually working?" her voice was tinged with a mixture of amusement and awe.


"It seems like it-- I mean, yes, of course, it worked." Of course, it worked? I'm either the most foolish man on earth or the luckiest. A few minutes later all was quiet again. Solo counted to thirty silently. "Wait here," he said, before slipping out the closet again.


The two guards were nowhere in sight. If Napoleon had to guess, they were off somewhere barely doing their jobs. Perfect. As luck would have it, they had chosen the night to steal a priceless diamond when Tweedledee and Tweedledum were on duty. A few seconds later the alarm went off again and Solo dove back into the closet. Natalia opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. His tactics were so unconventional, she was rendered speechless... again. Napoleon placed a finger to his lips and mouthed, "trust me." The two thieves waited in silence as the guards began their search again. They argued loudly as they paced in and out of the room. This time, they were both convinced it was a rat. Solo cocked his ear toward the door and strained to hear what they were saying as they floated from room to room. One of them claimed they saw a rat in the break room, and it must have gotten into the museum. He made a move for the door for the third time.


"You're not doing that again, are you?" Natalia asked. She was still doubtful about the success of his plan.


"Have a better idea?" he asked. "We've already set sails on this ship."


Natalia grabbed his arm digging in. "And unlike you, Solo, I have no plans to go down with it."


Napoleon looked down at her hand on his arm. This wasn't the first time he had piqued the ire of a woman and he was sure it wasn't going to be his last. "Oh, neither do I. We won't get caught." His voice was confident when he spoke. He learned in the past that sometimes one had to fake it until they made it. Solo looked down at his arm again and carefully peeled her fingers off.


"Solo, I highly--"


"Hold that thought," he said before dipping out of the room once again.


Napoleon waited for a few beats before he triggered the alarm for the third time. He barely made it back in the closet when the guards showed up again. Solo swiftly twisted the lock and... click! They were safe. Napoleon motioned for Natalia to get behind him. The door jerked from the other side as one of the guards tried to get inside. Napoleon reached inside his breast pocket and wrapped his hand around cool steel. Armed robbery. Now, that wasn't part of the plan. The door jerked once more. One of the guards cursed and a few seconds later the door was still again. Solo turned around to look at Natalia and came face to face with the barrel of a Smith and Wesson .38 Special. He blinked his eyes taken aback by the sight of her petite gun. She shrugged when he gingerly placed his hand over hers and helped her lower it out of his face.


"Armed robbery, Natalia?" He tsked tongue in cheek.


"I hadn't planned on ever pulling it out until you came along."


Napoleon smirked. That was too easy. He let it go and listened with bated breath for the guards to finish searching for their "rat." They decided once and for all that it was their kitchen rat and discussed what they would do about their overly sensitive alarm. The decision was to shut it off for the rest of the night and turn it back on in the morning before their shift changed. If the rat came out during the day, the daytime crew would have to handle it. The two guards agreed to turn it off together and made plans to finish their card game.


Solo let out a sigh of relief and grinned. Natalia couldn't resist the reluctant smile that pulled at the corner of her lips. His plan had worked. She had doubted him, but once again, Napoleon Solo had proved her wrong. "What do we do now?"


"Now?" Solo echoed her. "We wait. The alarm is still too hot. Let's lull them back into their card game and when the time is right, we nab it."


Natalia bobbed her head in agreement. "Is this the first time you've used this scheme?" Natalia asked after a few minutes.


"This isn't my first time around the block," Solo answered. He wasn't ready to admit his little plan had mostly been off the top of his head. Although, he was proud of himself for pulling off a job like this in such short notice.


"I'll take that as a yes," Natalia said with a grin. "You know, Solo, I had my doubts about you. You've been away so long, but... I suppose I underestimated you."


They were standing close in that cramped closet. He could smell her perfume again and practically feel the hum of her skin. He imagined what it looked like beneath her casual attire.


"Maybe we'll have some time later and I can prove you wrong again," he flirted.


"Maybe..." Her smile was cat-like and mischievous.


Napoleon appreciated the sparkle of desire in her eyes. Somehow he had managed to impress her between the previous evening and that night.


They waited in the cramped closet for half an hour before emerging again. Natalia and Solo moved stealthily toward the diamond in unison. Natalia hung back as Solo used his glass cutter to make a hole large enough to extract his hand and the diamond. He slipped on a pair of black gloves and carefully removed the diamond from the display. It looked like ice in the palm of his hand. Ah, it was a thing of beauty. He imagined heat radiating from it through his gloves, warming the skin underneath the leather. Solo held it in the light for both of them to see how precious it was. If this were a legitimate job, Napoleon imagined he could get a very reasonable price for it. Too bad neither of them would possess it for long. He was not going to allow her to keep it. What a pity.


Natalia watched with glittering eyes as he placed the stone in a velvet sack he produced from his pocket. "There you go," he said handing it to her with a cheeky smile.


Natalia clutched the velvet bag in her hand and slipped it into her purse. "Let's clean up," she said and handed him a handkerchief. She was all business again.


They wiped all the door handles of their prints from the utility closet quickly. Solo thought he heard footsteps drawing closer. So much for that card game. "You don't suppose we'll just walk right through the front door, do you?"


Natalia bobbed her head and gave him a determined look. "Not exactly. Follow me."


The two made their way down another empty corridor until they found a stairwell toward the back of the building. They were almost to the home stretch. All they had to do was get out of the building and on to the streets. Solo followed Natalia down another series of corridors until they were on the lowest level of the building. They were now in the part of the building that was off-limits to tourists. Natalia tried the door. Locked. She mumbled a curse under her breath.


Solo moved in front of her, "let me try." He jiggled the door again. It wouldn't budge. He studied it for a moment. The lock was rather rudimentary. He could pick it with his eyes closed in under three minutes. "Hairpin," he said.


Natalia patted down her hair and a few seconds later produced a pin from her thick auburn up-do. Solo crouched down and began to fiddle with the lock. And just a few more...There! The door opened. He flashed her a confident smile as they stepped out into fresh Italian air. Napoleon looked from his left to his right. Satisfied that the coast was clear, they stepped further on to the street together. Their laughter filled the silence as they stopped to stare at each other. They were standing close again. This time when he stepped forward, Natalia didn't back away. Without further hesitation, Napoleon leaned forward and planted his lips on hers. The kiss was both exciting and sultry as he worked his mouth over hers.


"What was that for?" she asked breathlessly when they came up for air.


Napoleon looked down into her questioning eyes. "It's late. Isn't that what lovers do on late night strolls in Italy?"