Illya was leaving Mr. Waverly's office after debriefing him on the month long affair he'd just finished. It had not been a difficult mission, just a boring one.

"Mr. Kuryakin? Illya?" Lisa Rogers, Waverly's administrative assistant called after him.

Illya turned back, puzzled. "Yes, Ms. Rogers?" She had never used his first name before - it was always Mr. Kuryakin.

She looked embarrassed as she asked, "Have you seen Mr. Solo recently?"

He raised an eyebrow "Not yet. I'm afraid I've just gotten back. Why?"

She wrung her hands nervously, "It's just that everyone is worried about him. He's been acting rather strangely. There have been complaints and Mr. Waverly has been thinking about ordering a psyche test on him."

Both eyebrows went up at that, "Are you suggesting that maybe it's not Napoleon?"

"Oh, no…medical has confirmed that he's one hundred percent Solo. It's just… ." She trailed off. "When he got back last week from his last assignment he… " it was as if she couldn't describe what the problem was.

"What was his last assignment?" Illya asked.

"I don't really know," Lisa seemed put out, "Mr. Waverly handled everything on it personally."

Not really understanding what it was she wanted he nodded and promised to check up on Napoleon. But first he was hungry. It had been awhile since his last meal, so he headed over to the commissary for a sandwich and tea. Napoleon entered the commissary as he was almost finished and Illya sat watching him. Hmmm, that was a little unusual, he wasn't flirting with the checkout girl. Illya sat up straighter, he wasn't making eye contact with any of the females in the commissary. He did come over to Illya's table though.

"Welcome back, Illya. How did your assignment go?" Napoleon asked as he sat down with his tray.

"Boring, and what have you been up to while I was away?" Illya looked at him carefully. Napoleon seemed a little tired, but that was all.

"Not much. Just doing paperwork," He replied not looking at Illya directly.

Not sure how to broach the subject, Illya decided on the direct approach. "What about your last assignment? Was it tough?"

Suddenly Napoleon appeared agitated, "Ummm, look at the time. I have a lot of paperwork to finish before the agents meeting this afternoon." He got up hurriedly and rushed away. He hadn't even touched his food.

Later that afternoon at the agent's meeting, Illya arrived and sat at the back of the room. Napoleon started going over each case with the agents who had worked them. What was unusual, Napoleon was being a real bastard - every agent was reprimanded for every little mistake that was made on each assignment. Several agents even got into shouting matches with Napoleon as they disagreed with his assessments. This must have been what Lisa meant; this was not like the Napoleon Solo he knew. Getting up, he quickly separated the agent that was presently in Napoleon's face and suggested that maybe this meeting should continue at a later date.

Napoleon leaned back in his chair as the other agents filed out. "I could have handled that." He remarked, frowning.

"Of course you could, " Illya agreed, "So what have you got planned for tonight? Got a big date?"

"Naw, too much paperwork." He answered, not looking at Illya even though the cleanness of his desk belied that statement.

"Sooo, how about we go get some Chinese, my treat." Illya offered, thinking that if he got Napoleon away from headquarters he might talk about what the problem was.

Napoleon seemed reluctant but agreed.

Things did not improve at the restaurant. Illya noticed that Napoleon was not being his usual self. He wasn't looking at every woman that passed and every time Illya mentioned it he changed the subject abruptly. Although Napoleon never drank to excess on assignments, tonight he wasn't really drinking at all. All in all he seemed uncomfortable. When Illya suggested that they have a nightcap, Napoleon declined, saying he needed to get up early for work tomorrow. Something was definitely wrong with Napoleon and Illya couldn't even get him drunk enough to talk about it.

The next morning when he arrived at work he found Napoleon already there, sitting staring at nothing in particular. When Napoleon noticed him he hurriedly started shuffling the papers on his desk trying to look busy. Shortly after that Mr. Waverly summoned both agents into his office for a new assignment. As they were leaving Illya decided to stay behind. "Mr. Waverly," He started, not sure how to bring up the subject. "Could you tell me something about Napoleon's last assignment? He has not been himself lately and I was wondering if anything from his last assignment could be the cause."

Mr. Waverly was in the act of lighting his pipe, "I'm sorry, but there is nothing about that affair that I can tell you. The whole matter has been marked confidential. It is only on a need to know basis, and you do not have a need to know." He almost seemed embarrassed.

This left Illya in the dark, causing him to worry even more about what was wrong with his partner.