Zugzwang by Victoria M. (K -- suitable for most ages)

[carabele.livejournal.com]

This is my first time driving the van, so I'll try and obey all the traffic laws!

My initial rec this month is one I was surprised to find had never been rec'd before, but that it hadn't pleases me as well for I now get to start my tour with the van on such a high note.

Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: None
Length: about 3600 words
Author on LJ: azdak
Author Website: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1256956/Victoria_M
Why this must be read:

I have to say straight off that I generally avoid death fics, but this one drew me in with no turning back. The author's grasp of Napoleon's inner sense of a "nothing is ever impossible" attitude is spot-on. And the exchange between our two guys in a final moment of truth is brilliantly done. For spies, life is in many ways like chess and, in the hands of this skilled author, the separate approach of each agent to a final game reveals who they are better than anything else could.

Zugzwang