Another MFU blurb

Written for today’s short affair prompt at Section VII

Summary:
In which, after a successful mission stopping THRUSHies at Loch Ness, the conversation inevitably turns to whether or not Nessie exists.

Not cross-posting this as I’ll be expanding this in the future.

Napoleon and Illya were wrapping up a successful mission
near Inverness, Scotland; THRUSHies had been running afoul around the ruins of
Uruquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness.
It didn’t take long to throw a wrench into THRUSH’s works; pandemonium
erupted, which Napoleon and Illya took advantage of and successfully rounded up
the THRUSHies as though it was routine.

Relaxing after a job well done, Napoleon and Illya idly
wandered the shores of the Loch, enjoying the warm, summer day and the
beautiful view of the white clouds in the blue sky above the water.

“I must admit, it is quite a relief that we were able to
stop THRUSH before they caused any further damage to those ruins,” Illya said.

“Me, too,” Napoleon said.
“This place is over 700 years old.
We’re lucky that there hasn’t been any permanent damage done.”

“What convinced THRUSH that trying to come up with such an
unbelievable scheme would even work?” Illya wondered aloud.  “This is a tourist destination—they wouldn’t
have lasted here long!”

“Well, you know how THRUSH is—half the time, it’s about
making a statement,” Napoleon sighed.
“It’s a show of their power—trying to lay claim to anything and
everything in the world that they think is their birthright to rule.  And, who knows—maybe they thought they could
harness the Loch Ness Monster for their nefarious purposes.”

Illya responded with a loud scoff.

“You don’t believe in Nessie?”

Illya gave him a look.

“I am open to the possibility of there being some as-of-yet
unknown species of aquatic animal living in there.  But I draw the line at believing that it is
some sort of ‘monster’ that has remained alive for centuries.  Sheer nonsense!”

“…So, what you’re saying is, you think Nessie is a dolphin
or something?”

“That is more believable than a plesiosaur,” Illya
countered.  “Sightings of this creature
have been reported since the sixth century.
You cannot expect me to believe that any animal has a life expectancy of
over 1400 years!”

“…You know, you seemed to have researched this a lot for
someone who claims that it’s all nonsense,” Napoleon observed.

Illya blushed.

“…I am a scientist; research is essential to coming to an
accurate conclusion,” he insisted, prompting Napoleon to grin.

“You did try to
look for Nessie!” he realized.

Illya’s blush deepened.

“No!  Why would I
waste my time–?”

“You looked for her and got disappointed when you couldn’t
find her!”

Illya gave him a long look until, finally—

“…One time,” he
admitted. “Just once!  I was young and foolish, doing my studies
here….  Why do you have that look on your
face?”

“Because, Tovarisch, you and I are going to rent a boat and
see if we can find Nessie and find out what she is!”

“…You aren’t serious…?  
…You are serious.  Napoleon–!”

“Well, Dr. Kuryakin, as a scientist, you should know that
one attempt can hardly be considered conclusive!”

And Illya had to admit, he had a point…

“Fine, then,” he conceded.
“For science.”

Regardless of whatever they found, it would, at least, be a
fun endeavor.