"The Isle..."

"The Isle..." Part XIV...

"The Isle..."

PG 13

Summary: What "Riverdale" did to "Archie and Jughead" and "Betty and Veronica", I'm doin' to "Gilligan's Isle" ...

Disclaimer: All characters of Gilligan's Isle remain property of that series...Any resemblance of fictional characters to those living or dead is purely coincidental...

Part XIV...

Deep underground, in the Balinkoff complex, built below the old CIA facilities...

Igor leading a nervous Amanda into Conference Room A where members of Balinkoff's staff were gathering for a final evening briefing before tomorrow's long anticipated launch.

"Amanda, you saw...Dr. Balinkoff didn't hurt you, he just did a few tests. You're fine despite the three months in Henanada..." His brutal bruiser's features taking on a kindly aspect, even a tender one...

"Can we stop calling it that, please?" she eyed him as they took seats in the back row of the room.

"Sure...I just mean that you're ok. And just pointing out you survived because of his work. You might not have if he hadn't been able to keep your body in stasis while it healed after your crash."

"I wouldn't've crashed if he hadn't had my copter shot down." She noted, bitterly.

"He didn't shoot you down, it was an automatic system. We did warn you before you tried to escape. He did all he could to save you and he did. I know he felt terrible about it. Boris hates to harm people, really."

"Except if it's to his benefit..." she frowned.

"Amanda..."

"Look what he did to my friends...And a lot of people I never got the chance to meet the last three years since our plane crashed." She looked about at the eager faces. "They're his servants now."

"Not servants...Followers." Igor corrected. "They chose it over being held and now they believe in him and his cause. Our work. And some even sorta voluntarily..."

She eyed him...

"There are a few..." he noted, a bit sheepishly. "And it was either convert them to his cause, a noble one, I think. You kinda thought so at first... Or leave them to fend for themselves, on the different islands and here. He did rescue them, you know."

"It sounded ok, at first...World peace and order..." she shrugged. "Then I found out what it would cost."

"What other way wouldn't take centuries of struggle to achieve...With courage and daring world peace and the solutions to many of the crippling problems of Humanity can be secured now." Igor, solemnly.

"Now you're just parroting him. With a line he stole from Vincent Price's Robur in 'Master of the World'." She frowned. "He's had us watch it often enough on movie night."

"His favorite movie, but it's still true...And I believe in it. In the Master."

"I wonder sometimes if you're conditioned too and just don't know it... 'The Master'?"

"We came from Europe, it's different there...My family served his for centuries. It's just a form of address. We're friends, really. He saved my life several times, you know."

"Prove it then...That you're independent. Help me stop this and save my friends."

He gave downcast look. Amanda...

"Look, I don't deny it's a nice dream..." Amanda noted, putting up a hand. "But he's crazy and ruthless and he feels entitled to experiment on people without regard for them or their rights. What kind of world ruler would he make?"