“You wouldn’t have to come with me, you know,” he said. “You joined voluntarily; you must like it here.”
“I don’t necessarily like or dislike it,” Wye replied. “It’s just another chapter in my life. And if you decided to get out, Duck, I wouldn’t be averse to coming with you. If you wanted me along, of course.”
Ecks rolled his eyes at the nickname, which Wye had only recently started to bestow on him. “I’d like you there,” he admitted.
Wye smiled. “Then it’s settled. We’ll both go, someday.”
“Just one question,” Ecks said. “Am I just ‘another chapter’ in your life? That makes it sound so trivial.”
That caused Wye to sober. “Meeting you was another chapter, of course,” he said, “but some characters in books hang around for a lot longer than a chapter or two. Let’s say I’m figurin’ on you being a main player for a good, long time.”
Ecks smiled. “So do I.”
“I thought you would,” Wye offered.
---Imagine What You'll Know Tomorrow, Vignette #28
Ecks and Wye share a complex type of interaction with shades of mentor/student, working partners, friends, and familial connections. Wye described Ecks to Napoleon once as a kid brother and that is probably the main way he thinks of him.
They talked for the first time when Ecks was a teenager, bonding with the dangerous Rottweilers the extremist organization kept around. Wye was appalled and concerned for the reckless kid, but Ecks assured him the dogs wouldn't hurt him. Ecks, a child of the organization, was being groomed against his will to be an agent. He knew of Wye and seemed to like him, albeit he couldn't understand why Wye had joined voluntarily.
They didn't see each other again for several years, until Mr. Zed wanted Wye to train Ecks as one of the elite alphabet agents. The years of training Ecks had already come through had changed him for the worse; he was reserved and taciturn when Wye encountered him then. He also expressed disdain that Wye had joined the group voluntarily. While he would hold his tongue around those who would not appreciate his blunt nature, he was sure Wye would not harm him for speaking his mind, and he was right. Wye really didn't want to train anyone, but when Ecks told him he had hoped he would be placed with Wye, Wye decided to give it a try.
Being loud and boisterous and fond of talking, Wye could not quite bond with Ecks at first. But as they gradually grew to understand each other, Wye became very fond of him and vice versa. They often shared deep conversations and became each other's strength. Some of Wye's personality rubbed off on Ecks and he eventually became a lighter, somewhat cheeky sort. Of course, the seeds of that had already been part of his personality; he just needed something as a catalyst to bring it out.
While Wye was basically embittered about life, Ecks offered an outlook that was hopeful and optimistic outside of the organization. Despite his dark upbringing as a child of the organization, he believed that life was better for those not part of such a thing and wanted to experience it for himself. Wye knew that all life was filled with trials and troubles, but could not dampen Ecks' spirit. Some of that rubbed off on Wye and he began to hope that perhaps Ecks was right and they could find happiness elsewhere. It looked unlikely, however, that they would ever get the chance to try. Once in the organization, it was not possible to get out alive unless they ran for their lives and made it. That wasn't a life Wye wanted for Ecks, either. So they stayed.
When Zed decided to overthrow the current leadership and take over, it didn't take much convincing for Ecks and Wye to want to go along with him. At least that way, they would get into higher positions, and Ecks hoped to change some of the organization's policies, particularly concerning the orphans like him.
The takeover ended in disaster for them, with Zed dead and both Ecks and Wye at death's door. Ecks was stabbed by Illya Kuryakin in Hyde Park and left for dead. Wye managed to secretly get him to a hospital, but Ecks flatlined almost immediately. Although he was revived, he was barely clinging to life and Wye was forced to leave him there while he attended the meeting at Zed's house. Unable to take the thought of losing the only person he cared about, Wye descended into a fit of temporary madness and lashed out at the first person he recognized as having been present when Ecks was hurt: Bryn Watson, a former female agent helping with U.N.C.L.E.'s current case. When Illya rushed out to help her, Wye attacked them both and ended up shot in the back by a female sentry of the organization during the fray.
Both Ecks and Wye teetered between life and death for some time, and even after the life-threatening danger was past, their recoveries were long and harsh. Wye, who had desperately crawled away from a shed on Zed's property and collapsed at the roadside, was faking amnesia to prevent word getting back to the organization that he, now known as a traitor, was alive. He could not contact the other hospital to learn about Ecks' condition and feared Ecks was dead. Meanwhile, knowing Wye would have come if he at all could have, Ecks eventually, sadly tried to accept the likely fact that Wye was dead.
They were reunited at the airport when Ecks was well again and leaving for America to start a new life. Wye, having learned Ecks was alive and leaving, and hoping Ecks would use that airfield, arrived in time to meet him there. They shared an amazed and joyous reunion.
In America they decided to live in New York City, a place large enough to hide from the remnants of the organization. After several weeks of struggling to figure out the right jobs, they decided to operate as private investigators. Since they would not be working under someone else for three years to legally get licenses, they chose to bill themselves as consultants and troubleshooters.
Ecks is happy to be free of the organization and is as Wye described him to Napoleon: mischievous and cheeky, but with the ability to sober up and turn deadly in an instant. With Wye he is serious in general and often opens up about deep topics. They share such conversations just as they did in the organization. Sometimes, Ecks will switch and show the lighter side of his personality, something only Wye is likely to ever see. He will laugh and pat Wye on the shoulders as he goes past, pleased about something or another.
Wye is gruff but caring, and he and Ecks are completely at ease around each other. While he is protective of Ecks, especially after what they went through during the failed takeover, he knows Ecks is a capable adult and doesn't crowd him. If Ecks is harmed, however, Wye is still very capable of flipping out and attacking those responsible.
When they disagree on things, such as what they think of animals or romance or even what they think of the organization's goals and living in the outside world, they talk calmly and rationally about it and accept each other's points-of-view, even if they don't understand. They get along fine living together and both are amused by the trouble Napoleon and Illya seem to have when they try it.