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Spirits Of Silver and Fire
U.N.C.L.E. is full of spirits, ghosts if you like. The corridors are crowded with them – most, if not all, are agents of U.N.C.L.E. One or two are the people who work in U.N.C.L.E.’S HQ in New York who were caught in the crossfire; or discovered something they shouldn’t have and suffered for it. Most would probably say although they didn’t particularly want to die, that at least they died for something. Every single HQ in all of U.N.C.L.E.S territories is filled to the brim with spirits. What they don’t tell you is that U.N.C.L.E. is also filled with Angels. Technically we’re supposed to be there to guide spirits to their next Destination – where this is I don’t know, although the expression of joy on some of the spirit’s faces leads me to believe that it is indeed Heaven, or someplace like it. However, there are some spirits who for one reason or another remain what me and the other Angels call ‘Earthbound’. It’s not that they don’t believe they’re dead; it’s just that they don’t want to leave U.N.C.L.E., almost if they believe that if they did leave, U.N.C.L.E. would fall apart so they need to stay to keep it functioning. I’m an Angel by the way, my name is Suriel. There are at least a hundred Angels who move along the corridors; some I see fairly often, Phaleg and I chat quite a lot; he seems busier than I but Angels get picked at random and it’s not a lottery any of us would willingly choose, although when appointed we try to do the best we can.
Razael and I who are still chaperoning two of U.N.C.L.E.’s finest, talk more; mainly about how we’re going to fulfil our charges.
We have not yet found a solution.
I am reliably informed by those of us Angels who walk these grey corridors that with people like Alexander Waverly at the helm U.N.C.L.E. is unlikely to fall apart in the near future – if ever. But try telling these agents that. It’s usually the male agents that prove the most recalcitrant; they listen, but convincing them is something else. So in the end many of us Angels who have stuck around to ‘guide’ these persons onward find ourselves keeping them company in their afterlife.Addington is a prime example of this. A young Section III Agent who so wanted to prove himself a Section II – and especially to the Golden Boys, Solo and Kuryakin, he even went out on a couple of missions with them – and then was shot in a THRUSH ambush. They brought his body back to U.N.C.L.E. – and Addington himself told me that in his dying moments it was Solo who knelt next to his body and spoke the prayers, or rather one prayer.
I remember helping his spirit from his body and how he stared down at what was now his corpse and saying, Oh damn.
I was fairly new at the job at the time and I recall hurrying after him as he meandered down the grey corridors.
Finally I caught up with him at one of the elevators and tried to speak to him.Ten years, he muttered, Ten years to get here and I get myself shot like a greenhorn.
Stupid bloody thing to do.I remember trying unsuccessfully trying to comfort him, and telling him that it was ‘just his time’ and there was nothing that could be done about that. He grinned then and asked, So what happens now?'I’m to guide you onwards,' I told him, 'towards the Light.'No.
Uh-uh, I’m not going anywhere. He told me firmly, I’m staying right here.
And that was it, no matter how many times I tried to urge him onward he dug his heels in and refused to leave U.N.C.L.E.. At the time I remember being utterly frustrated with this young man, his inability to ‘move on’ and enter the next realm infuriated me.
I tried, unsuccessfully for the next six months to convince him that U.N.C.L.E. would be fine and that I should guide him towards the Light.
As you might have guessed he was impossible to convince.
In the end I stayed with him.
I suppose I could have asked for reassignment, Angels come and go in these corridors and it would have been no dishonour to say that Agent Addington had decided to stick around and to leave him to wander U.N.C.L.E. alone.
Or mostly alone, there are lots of spirits in U.N.C.L.E. too.
Some staying for similar reasons to Addington, some because they feel they have nowhere else to go, Dorning for example, told me once, one graveyard shift at U.N.C.L.E.’s HQ that he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
He had no family and he’d always considered U.N.C.L.E. his home.
Where else would I go? He’d asked me, and I’m afraid that I had no answer for him.
But I do feel for these ghosts sometimes, they hang around because they feel they cannot move on – some of them don’t seem to have guiding Angels to even chat with.
They seem to talk to the other spirits, but there are only a few, less than a hundred Angels around.
Some I see on occasion and we talk, mostly about our charges, Razael and I talk sometimes, down in Records, it’s quiet and since it’s deserted almost 98% of the time we get to become visible for short periods of time and chat.
You might ask what Angels talk about, not as much as you might think.
The difficulties we have with our respective charges, the state of the world today, whether what we are doing makes any difference in the large scheme of things.
All of which we have no answer for.
Despite everything we are as much servants of God as humans and we do not know the mind of the Almighty, nor his ultimate plan.
It was a quiet afternoon in U.N.C.L.E.S New York HQ, and then because such peace cannot last, all hell broke loose. Razael and I were ‘strolling’ along one of the lesser-known corridors; and we were visible. It was then I saw one of the ‘Earthbound’ spirits racing along the corridor.
He looked visibly frightened and I had to exert all of my power to stop him.
‘What is it?’ I asked.Agent Chen Bao was captured.
They brought him back
but-
Addington stopped and then seemed to swallow.
His partner – Agent Noakes is in a bad way. Please, help him.I regarded my charge quietly, ‘I don’t know what I can do, Samuel. Even Angels are not supposed to interfere on the earthly plane.’Please I heard the plea in his voice and turned to look at my compatriot, sighed and unfurling my wings, followed Addington.
As we got closer to the incident the number of ghosts started to increase until I was pushing through spirits so thick it was like walking through molasses.
I could see some of the newer phantasms milling around, a distressed look on their faces.
Razael stepped up behind me and I turned, ‘You needn’t stay.’ I explained, ‘after this Heaven may be closed to me forever.’‘No. I stand with you, Suriel. Whatever the consequences.’ Razael replied, and I felt his wings unfold just as mine had done. Agent Noakes was kneeling on the floor of the corridor, an U.N.C.L.E. Special in his hand, I noticed his hand was shaking slightly and I suspected that this particular revolver was not carrying sleep darts, he was muttering to himself and I caught snatches of words tumbling from his lips, “… I-I can’t do it anymore… Bao…... I-I I don’t want to go on…” And then I noticed that he was having problems lifting the arm that was holding the gun.
I blinked and then saw the tall, Chinese man kneeling beside the crumpled Agent holding onto his arm, he was wavering slightly and I realised from the glow that he was a ghost and that he’d recently passed.
‘Agent Chen?’ I asked slowly.Greetings the spirit smiled, or appeared to smile, I am Chen Bao – Michael was my partner.‘Understood.’ I responded and then I stepped through from the invisible to the visible plane and knelt in front of the Agent Noakes, ‘Do not do this,’ I said firmly, ‘he would not want this.’“How do I go on?” Agent Noakes stared at me and almost automatically I reached out to touch his face.‘With help.’ I replied, ‘with help.’
From behind me I heard the clattering of feet and then a familiar voice, “Bohze Moy.”
My God. I felt, rather than saw Razael’s wings unfurl behind me and he spoke, ‘Others are here Suriel.
We are visible.’‘So be it.’ I responded and then stared into the face of the visibly upset man in front of me, ‘your partner, your friend is beside you now.
He is the reason you cannot end it all.’
I smiled and then heard the audible gasp as the tall, elegant figure shimmered into existence, and I saw Agent Noakes eyes widen, “Bao!
But you’re dead!”‘Yes, my friend.
Please do not do this.
I will always live in your heart and mind.
Goodbye, Michael.’
And I watched as Agent Chen gradually faded away.
Meanwhile Agent Noakes collapsed sobbing and I watched as Agent Kuryakin pushed his way through two pairs of wings to kneel next to the man and gently relieve him of his weapon.
I stood up and saw another figure, all ruby and gold waiting down the corridor, and I turned to Agent Chen, ‘I believe your escort is here.’
The spirit turned and bowed, I watched as they began walking up the corridor and gradually faded from view.
The last words I heard were, ‘....quite like to be reincarnated as a pampered cat..’ before they were gone.Agent Addington was suddenly at my elbow and I turned to him, Will he be all right? He asked.‘Eventually,’ I replied, half-turning to look down at the wavering spirit.
‘Thank you for alerting us.’Can you see that light at the end of the corridor?
Samuel frowned and looked up.
I straightened up and smiled, ‘Yes.
Heaven awaits, Agent Addington.
May you find peace.’ And then he was gone.
I turned to see at least five U.N.C.L.E. Agents standing in the corridor, their faces pale as milk. Strangely enough it was Napoleon who stepped forward, “What are you? Both of you?”‘I think you know, Agent Solo,’ I replied, ‘you have encountered our kind before. I am Suriel.’‘Thank you for helping Agent Noakes,’ Napoleon said slowly, ‘Chen Bao meant a great deal to him.’‘I am aware of that,’ I replied, ‘a Deva came for him.
I believe he will be reincarnated.’
I smiled, ‘my colleague and I have to go, Agent Solo.
Try to take care of yourselves.’
And then to his utter consternation Razael and I slowly vanished.
I know he wasn’t particularly happy about that, judging by the tightening of his lips and the way he ran a hand through his hair.
I watched as he dismissed the other Agents and then went in search of his partner and Agent Noakes.
Deciding to be inquisitive I followed him to his office where Agent Kuryakin was sitting staring at the wall.“You all right?” were Solo’s first words.“Astounded,” was Kuryakin’s response, “awed.
What were those creatures?”“I’m not totally sure myself,” Napoleon replied, “I’m glad they were there though.
We could not have saved Agent Noakes without their intervention.”“It disturbs me, Napoleon,” Illya replied, “these Beings that seem to gain entry into U.N.C.L.E.’s Inner Sanctum with no effort whatsoever.
How do we know whether they mean us good or ill?”“It’s a matter of Faith, moy droog,” Napoleon replied, “and you forget.
I have encountered them before. I believe that they do not mean us ill and
I am sure that we will meet again.”
FIN