Sneaking into the THRUSH lab facility hadn't been as difficult as Napoleon and Illya had expected. If anything, Napoleon was convinced that the most difficult part would be following out their orders to raze the place—scientists and all. Napoleon had been stunned at the order, as it went quite against normal U.N.C.L.E. policies, which would have consisted of attempts to sway, bribe, or capture the scientists before deciding that they could not be spared. But Mr. Waverly had explained the grave situation—that these scientists, known to be dedicated to THRUSH's nefarious causes, were working on dangerous bioweapons, and so, the lab, scientists and all, had to be destroyed. Waverly had even supplied them with the demolition equipment they would be using and had told them not to return until the facility had been completely destroyed, along with everything and everyone in it.

Nevertheless, it still bothered Napoleon that he wasn't even being a given a chance to sway the scientists.

"I don't get it," he whispered to Illya, as they crept through the corridors. "I've always been great at charming THRUSH agents to our side—even ones that didn't seem like they could be swayed. Why isn't Mr. Waverly even giving me a chance?"

"I would not begin to claim that I know what is going on in Mr. Waverly's head," Illya said. "But if I had to guess, I suppose it would be multiple factors—the fact that these are dangerous bioweapons is, perhaps, the main one. Another is that you and I were recently promoted; it could be that he wants the danger we are going to be exposed to as minimal as possible."

"Well, I understand those arguments," Napoleon said. "But I still feel bad about this."

"I am not deriving any joy from it, either," Illya assured him.

Napoleon was about to reply when he realized they were in front of the central monitoring room. After making sure that there was no one about, Napoleon kicked open the door and tranquilized the man watching the feed from several cameras.

"We leave this guy in the explosion, too?" Napoleon queried, as he knelt to handcuff the unfortunate guard.

"So it would seem," Illya sighed. He began to look at the live feed from the cameras, trying to find strategic places to leave the explosives. "Hmm, there appears to be a central power core in this building, and it's run by natural gas. We could centralize our attack there, and it should take care of everything. Just to be on the safe side, we could also detonate some charges elsewhere, such as right outside the main lab here…" He pointed to the feed from the lab camera. "Or perhaps…" Illya trailed off, his shoulders going rigid as he glanced at the feed from the last row of cameras.

"What is it?" Napoleon asked, getting up after securing the unconscious guard.

Illya now looked back at Napoleon, his face drained of all color.

"Napoleon, this isn't just a research facility; the scientists live here—I guess so that they can't be tailed coming and going to a facility," Illya said.

"Makes sense—why else did it take so long for this place to show up on our radar?" Napoleon asked.

"Nyet, Napoleon, you don't understand…" Illya said. "The scientists live here, but they don't live here alone."

Helplessly, he pointed to the bottom row of camera feeds, and Napoleon's face took on a look of pure dread. The cameras were fixed on the apartments in the building where the scientists lived—and spouses, children, and other family members were carrying on with their day-to-day concerns. There was even an elderly lady—no doubt the mother of one of the scientists, reading to two children, who were very likely her grandchildren.

"Oh, no…" Napoleon moaned. "Well, that's it, then; we'll have to scrub the mission."

"And yet, Mr. Waverly said not to return without having destroyed the place," Illya said, quietly. "But he could not have foreseen this—ask to speak to him, Napoleon. We need alternate instructions."

Napoleon nodded and took out his communicator.

"Open Channel D—put me through to Mr. Waverly, please…"

It took a moment for them to connect.

"I assume progress is being made on the facility's destruction, Mr. Solo?" Waverly asked.

"Er… there was progress, but we've met with unforeseen complications," Napoleon said. "The facility houses innocents, Sir—family members of the scientists."

"Sir, there are children here," Illya added. "The youngest cannot be more than four or five years old."

"Please advise an alternate course of action, Sir," Napoleon said.

There was a pause, and then Waverly spoke.

"There is no alternate course of action," he said, sharply. "It's a shame, but the facility must be destroyed as planned."

Napoleon and Illya stared at the communicator, exchanged glances of utter disbelief, and then stared back at the communicator again.

"Sir… surely you mean for us to evacuate the children and the other innocents first!" Napoleon exclaimed.

"There is no way to accomplish that without raising the alarm and risking escapes," Waverly said, curtly. "Furthermore, there is every chance that the innocents have been exposed to biologic agents—even if they are mere traces, we cannot risk any traces getting out. I am sorry, Mr. Solo, but in this case, we're going to have to have some collateral damage."

The channel closed, and Napoleon was still staring at the now-silent communicator in utter disbelief.

"Collateral damage…?" he repeated, righteous fury evident in his voice. "Collateral damage!? If I wanted to be a party to collateral damage, I'd have stayed in the army! The entire reason I joined U.N.C.L.E. was to avoid having to do this kind of thing! We're supposed to be saving people, not condemning innocents—children—to death!"

Illya wasn't saying anything; his mind was flashing back to his childhood in Kiev during the war—recalling how he had hidden, scared, as the sounds of destruction carried on around him. And he was being ordered to put these children through that and worse—to certain destruction?

He pulled himself back to the present as Napoleon continued to talk.

"I remember once, early in Korea…" Napoleon said. "I was a green draftee, had only been there a week… I was on reconnaissance when I stumbled across a wounded Korean solider, lying helplessly in a ditch. I could have killed him—my C.O. was expecting me to."

"But you did not?" Illya asked, quietly.

Napoleon nodded, staring at the video feed of the children.

"I patched him up using strips of cloth and left him with a M*A*S*H* unit near Uijeongbu, and then headed back to my unit." He gave a wan chuckle. "I got reprimanded for taking a long time on reconnaissance, got a second reprimand for going out of the way of my appointed route, and got a third reprimand for helping that wounded 'enemy' soldier." He sighed. "I couldn't kill an 'enemy' soldier. And now, I'm supposed to kill a bunch of innocents?"

Illya listened to Napoleon's story intently. Though Illya had served in—and was technically still attached to—the Soviet navy, he had been working in intelligence and had never seen combat like Napoleon had. This was, ironically, the first time Illya had been faced with such a moral dilemma.

He knew, and he was certain that Napoleon knew, that they had to follow orders. And yet, how could they do this? Devotion to duty was important, but… there were other things that were important, as well.

He looked into Napoleon's eyes.

"Napoleon," he said. "You are the senior agent here—the CEA. This is your call to make. But know that whatever it is you decide, I will stand by you, no matter the consequences."

Napoleon looked back at Illya with a grateful expression. He then turned back to the video feed.

"I can't do it, Illya," he said, at last. "Not with a clear conscience. I know we're disobeying orders, but I cannot and will not be responsible for the slaughter of innocents. That's not what I took this job for."

Illya gently placed a hand on Napoleon's shoulder.

"I knew you would say that," he said. "I also know that the pressures of being newly promoted to CEA would argue against your innate compassion. I am glad your compassion won out."

"Me, too," Napoleon sighed. "Well, I guess we're in for demotions now, once we report back."

"If not out-and-out sacking," Illya added.

"You could just say that I forced you to go along with my plan."

"I just told you, Napoleon, no matter the consequences, I will stand by your decision," Illya reminded him. "For it is the one I would have made, too."

Napoleon gave him a wan smile.

"Well then, let's head back and face the music."

They defiantly returned to headquarters; the choice was there to report in right away, but Napoleon was insistent on speaking to Waverly face to face, and Illya was determined to back him up on everything.

The two of them were surprised that Waverly agreed to see them immediately—and they were further surprised to see that he was with other members of Section I in his office. Napoleon hovered by the door, not sure if he should enter.

"Come in, Mr. Solo, Mr. Kuryakin," Waverly said. "I am eager to hear the mission report—particularly since you failed to report in after our last communication. I was just explaining to these ladies and gentlemen the mission I had given you—the destruction of this dangerous THRUSH facility and all within it."

"Did you also mention to these ladies and gentlemen that there were innocent family members in this facility," Napoleon asked, somewhat icily. "Including children?"

"Yes, they are aware, Mr. Solo," Waverly said, calmly. "I also assured them that, despite the difficult nature of this mission you would do what was required of you. I trust that you have done so."

Napoleon's gaze would have pierced metal, and Illya was astounded by his self-control as the next words out of Napoleon's mouth were calm—albeit sharp without a doubt.

"I did exactly what was required of me," Napoleon said. "When I joined U.N.C.L.E., I believed in the organization's purpose—the preservation of peace and the protection of innocents. And that is what I adhered to." He stared defiantly at the assembled Section I members, and Illya stepped forward to stand by Napoleon's side. "I…" Napoleon caught Illya's eye, and as the Russian nodded, Napoleon corrected himself. "We will not be a party to the wanton murder of innocents—especially children. The facility is still intact; we brought back a tranquilized guard. It was my decision, and Illya backed me up, and the both of us are ready to face the repercussion of these actions."

Illya punctuated this with a firm nod.

Waverly's expression was unreadable for a full minute; first, he gave Napoleon and Illya appraising looks, and then exchanged glances with the other Section I members.

And then, Napoleon and Illya were completely befuddled as everyone in the room inexplicably burst into applause.

"…Are we missing something?" Napoleon asked, after exchanging another glance with his partner.

"This was exactly the response we had been hoping for!" Waverly announced. "These ladies and gentlemen had been… curious, shall we say, about my choice of promoting the two of you to the top positions in Section II. And so, I devised this test to demonstrate to them that you were the right men for the job—that you won't just blindly follow orders, but will do what is required to protect innocents."

Illya was gobsmacked into silence, and Napoleon's voice took on an even sharper edge.

"Are… are you saying that this was all a contrived scenario?" he asked.

"Indeed it was, Mr. Solo—there is no THRUSH facility conducting biological weapons research, and those scientists, their families, and even the security guard you brought back were actors provided from our many branches all over the world. The explosives that had been provided to you were all false, as well."

"Well, I'm glad you got the results you desired," Napoleon said, brusquely. "Excuse me."

Without another word, he left, turning his back on all of the Section I members assembled in Waverly's office. Illya stared as he retreated, before awkwardly realizing that he was now alone with all of the Section I members, and then darted after Napoleon, who stormed into their shared office so loudly that Baba Yaga, their Egyptian Mau, leaped onto the desk, staring at him in surprise.

"Napoleon…" Illya began, but he trailed off as Napoleon turned to him, shaking with emotion and pain in his eyes. "…What is it?"

"It's… It's exactly what I told them back there," Napoleon said, after taking a moment to find the words. "I joined U.N.C.L.E. so that I could help people. I didn't join to be tested and… emotionally manipulated!"

Illya exhaled and nodded.

"I agree; if Mr. Waverly wanted to show that you were the right choice for C.E.A., there were better ways to go about it than have you go through the turmoil of being forced to kill innocents."

"It's not just that… It's…". Napoleon shook his head. "It's that he considered it a possibility that I would go through with it, and so he gave us fake explosives. He considered the possibility that I would kill them."

Napoleon was still shaking, and Illya responded by gently hugging him as Baba Yaga sat back on hind legs and gently pawed at Napoleon.

"I never doubted that you would refuse the task," Illya insisted. "Perhaps, in his position, Mr. Waverly cannot afford to trust anyone. I used to think like that, as well, before I met you. But while Mr. Waverly does not change that stance, in spite of knowing you for as long as he has, I did change after I met you. I trust you, Napoleon. I said back there that I knew you would have made the decision to spare the innocents. I meant that. You have a good and kind heart, Napoleon; it is just one of the things I admire about you."

Napoleon now hugged Illya back.

"And I trust you, too," he said. "I know you wouldn't have gone through with it, either."

"You are one of the few who would think so," Illya mused. "My status as the 'Ice Prince' means that many would assume that I would be emotionless and go through with the order."

"But you're not-"

"It does not matter to me what anyone else thinks," Illya insisted. "I know what you truly think, and that is enough for me." He paused. "But this is more than just what Mr. Waverly thinks of you, is it not? It is also about what you think of him now."

Napoleon paused; Illya had been astute enough to sense the source of the rest of his turmoil.

"I looked up to him ever since I started here in New York; it felt like he knew everything, that he always made the right decisions… Even when he insisted that my flirting was something I had to do in the line of duty, even if I didn't want to do it, I believed it." Napoleon shook his head. "I've followed his instructions and advice for years, regardless of what I thought about them. And now, he plays on our emotions just to prove a point to the rest of those Section I suits, rather than discussing it with us or just explaining to them why he promoted us. I just… I just can't help but feel a little betrayed—not only did he not think of me the way I thought he did, but now I realize that I can't count on him to make the best decisions anymore."

"No one is infallible," Illya agreed. "He is going to make mistakes. So are we."

"But at least we trust each other unconditionally," Napoleon said. He looked at Illya. "I'm going to try to move on from this, but I have learned a valuable lesson from it. Now I know that I can't count on Mr. Waverly 100% of the time. But I can count on you."

"Napoleon, I just said that I am going to make mistakes, too."

"But you won't use or betray me."

Illya saw the sincerity in Napoleon's eyes, and he nodded.

"Of course not," he agreed. "How could I? You put your trust in me, despite people trying to convince you during our first year that I would betray you-for I was someone that several of your countrymen would consider an enemy. And, more than that, I was being brought in to work on the pet project that you had devoted so much time and effort on; you had every right to be resentful. And yet, you showed me nothing but kindness from day one. And as I said, you are someone I admire and care for very much. So how could I use, hurt, or betray you?" He managed a wan smile. "I am not perfect, though you seem to think I am. But, regardless, you can absolutely count on me."

Napoleon smiled back.

"And you can count on me, too, Illya," he said. "To know that I have your trust is the highest honor I could have."

"You have it."

They paused as Baba Yaga meowed. Illya smiled.

"She must have sensed your distress," he said, picking her up for a moment before handing her to Napoleon.

Napoleon cradled the cat as she began to purr.

"Thank you, my dear, for your concern," he said. "I'm feeling much better now." He looked back at Illya. "How about you?"

"I believe so," Illya said. "How about the three of us go home and enjoy a peaceful weekend?"

"Yeah, why not?" Napoleon said, smiling at the thought.

They would move on from this, and would be more inclined to trust their own judgment now, but they would still proudly work for U.N.C.L.E.—continuing to preserve peace and rescue innocents… and do so as a team.