"Damn, he definitely was good looking." Faln muttered softly. Illya stood up and with a swift motion took the camera from the unseen filmmaker, the picture blurred for a moment then steadied to show Illya kissing Shado. She was dressed rather casually but when the pair separated the circle could see a triangular badge of some sort pinned to her blouse, the number 17 plain. Illya had a similar badge on his lab coat with the number 2 on it. They were talking animatedly about something. Illya reached out toward the camera and the film went dark.
The next time the camera was used it was outside in a park. A group of people were sitting around a picnic table, Illya and Shado among them. Something had happened in the interim between shooting because Illya had his arm in a cast and they could just make out the dark shadows of bruising on his face. Shado was looking at him as if she were afraid that he would disappear if she took her eyes off him. The camera person must have said something because they both turned toward the camera and smiled tensely, but brightly into it. Shado made a gesture and then took the camera. The dark haired Napoleon took her seat beside Illya and smiled into the lens with sardonic grace. He snagged a beer and toasted the camera then his partner. Again the film went dark.
There were several other scenes recorded, not all of them with Illya, there were a few with the younger partners April and Mark, and then one with an elderly pair that could only be Shado's grandparents Alexander and Eleanor Waverly. They were presiding over a dinner of some sort, Keeper mused that it must be a family get together because of the resemblances, when Shado's head turned toward the dining room door, she smiled softly and sure enough Illya came through it. He went straight to her side and took her hand. There in front of her family, he knelt on one knee and looking into her eyes said something.
"He proposed." Mage whispered. The pandemonium following his action left no doubt in their minds what his answer had been, and they watched as he slid the ring on Shado's finger, her family beaming proudly at their soon to be in law. Waverly took Illya's hand and shook it vigorously and Eleanor hugged him just as vigorously. But it was the look on the newly engaged couple's faces that entranced the watchers.
'They were so in love." Brit's words were wistful. "What could have happened?'
The film played on, showing more scenes from the past; work related, some play, scenes of dress fittings for the wedding, a few quiet evenings caught for one reason or another on film. Then the film began to show what was the wedding day. Illya looking more pale than his usual, dressed sharply in a designer tuxedo and tails, Napoleon fixing the boutonniere in place. Shado in her dressing room, looking radiant in her wedding gown, her grandmother fluttering in the background. Then the camera's trip down the aisle to stop in the first row of the cathedral. Several shots of various people coming into their places; then the wedding party, Illya flanked by Napoleon and Mark taking their places; the heads turning to watch the bride walk down the aisle on her grandfather's arm after the maids of honor April and some one they didn't know. The whole ceremony was filmed. When the film finally ran out it took them a few moments to realize that the show was over. It had ended with the a final shot of the newlyweds climbing into a limo to start their new lives together.
"Man I feel like peeping Tom right about now." Gem muttered as Keeper turned off the projector.
"You and me both." Mage agreed.
"I think we all feel that way." Keeper said flipping the lights on and opening the blinds. "I think our questions have only raised more questions. Like where is he now?"
"That, my dear is the $64,000.00 question." Brit sighed. "Next one is, do we find out or do we leave this well enough alone?" They looked at each other, then at the footlocker full of memories, back at each other, then as one entity, "Nah, we go looking."
"Of course, when Shado does find out we have been snooping, and you know she will, she's going to either kill us or exile us to Purgatory." Mage muttered darkly. "So, we start looking for-- which first? Kuryakin? That's Russian or Slavic I think."
"Hmmm. I think our best bet would be to see what we can find out about that group United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. That would be the best place to start I think, wouldn't you agree Gem?" Faln said. "Can you use the internet for that?"
Gem nodded. The internet was rapidly becoming a great tool for their use, and he as a computer programmer was their resident internet expert. "If there is something on it, I'll find it."
"While he looks for that stuff online, what say we do a bit more investigating of the shoebox. See what we might figure out from the stuff in there." Keeper pulled the open box to him and setting the items out on the table carefully, he spoke again. "I have a friend at the police department. I think we might be able to use his contacts to see what we can find out on the Walther. It's a custom job, but I'm sure there has to be some info on it somewhere." He reached for the phone. As he dialed he took a close look at the gun. "Well, whatever he did, he didn't file off the serial numbers. I don't know if that will help or not, but it couldn't hurt."
Faln looked at the rest of the items. "I'm going to "see" what I can see-- who knows I might get a hit. Or a headache." Her ability in psychometrics was iffy at best but there were times when she could read an object. She closed her eyes and sent herself searching., blocking out the gun from her search. The violence associated with that item would ruin her chances with any of the other things. "Well, these definitely belonged to him. They got quite a bit of use-- the wallet and ID especially. I can see something with the pen too. I'm not sure what, it's blurry, almost like a double exposure. I keep seeing a pen then something else." She frowned in concentration. "I don't think I'll be able to get much more than that. There was too much violence in his life for a clearer reading. Sorry."
"Hey you tried." Mage offered. She picked up the pen and played with it idly. Keeper was busy talking to his buddy in the PD and Gem was cussing out the internet connection and its lousy modem speed. Brit excused herself to go start dinner, the hour was getting on toward evening. Mage wasn't paying particular attention to the pen she held, but was thinking heavily about the home movie they had watched. She tightened her grip on the pen and jumped when there was a soft snap. She looked at the pen in surprise, she hadn't thought that she was strong enough to damage the metal pen. But a small hair line crack had appeared where the pen screwed together. "Oh crap. I think I broke it." She showed it to Faln who took it.
Faln shook her head. "No, I don't think you broke it. I think it's meant to come apart." She fiddled with it for a moment, then removed the bottom of the pen. Instead of the expected ink reservoir the inside was solid. "Now this is odd." Keeper and Gem joined them at the table. She messed with the pen a bit more and squeaked in surprise when the push button slowly extended like an antenna. "Guys?" she asked uncertainly.
Keeper shrugged. "Maybe it's like Maxwell Smart's shoe phone. Who knows?"
"Go ahead, Faln, try it." Gem urged teasing his friend.
Faln gave him a look that could have melted concrete but then grinned mischievously. "This is Agent 007 reporting in. We have a situation at the beach house. Surrounded by enemy agents; need backup pronto." She said into the pen. The smile she wore was quickly replaced by shock when the pen in her hand made a noise a high pitched shrill.
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