“Come on, Jim, we’re going to be late.” James rolled over in his bed and thought, “Well we wouldn’t want that would we?” James was just finishing up his final year of college, and he was very busy. He didn’t get to bed until late last night, and he definitely didn’t want to go to his uncle’s party. Nevertheless he didn’t struggle too much. He merely voiced his protest through silence as his family made the few miles walk to uncle Norman’s house. The countryside was truly beautiful, but James refused to enjoy it. That would mean that this trip was giving him some sort of enjoyment, and then he’d have to work harder at staying angry.
They arrived at the driveway to the house, which only meant that half their journey was over. The driveway was incredibly long that led to the house set deep back in the surrounding woods. It was a winding path through trees and brush and overgrowth that often obscured the driveway and promoted unfamiliar travelers getting lost. James knew the path far too well for that. He could walk it blindfolded. He used to play in these woods all the time when he was younger. James remembered those good, simple times of playing in the woods and actually let a smile slip onto his face. It was quickly lost, however, and he was glad no one saw. Those times were over. These woods were nothing magical. In fact, they were a nuisance. Why was uncle Norman’s house tucked so far back in the woods anyway? Uncle Norman was weird. The path seemed endless to James. He wanted to get to the house, get the pleasantries over, and leave.
The house started to appear through the trees. It was a beautiful old house. That house used to be magical too. When he was little it was so huge to James. He thought it was fit for a king or queen and always wondered how uncle Norman managed to acquire it. It was a very old house. James scolded himself for not being able to name the style or the date. He was, after all, studying architecture this semester and should know better. After stepping out of the woods into a huge one hundred yard clearing that was the front lawn, James now had the boring party to look forward to. A bunch of old relatives would be there that couldn’t even remember who he was half the time. He could picture the exact conversation now:
“Hi, little John, you’ve grown so big and handsome.”
“It’s James, Aunt Deloris, nice to see you.”
“Come here, John, tell me about your studies and your year in Japan.” Insert long, boring conversation here. Then everyone would fall all over uncle Norman. “Happy birthday! You look so good at your age. How do you stay in such good a shape?” James did have to hand it to Uncle Norman. He really did stay in incredible shape.
They walked up the steps and through the front door; no turning back now. Everyone was there, even his cousins, the Comptons. This was a big deal (to everyone except James). The Comptons were living in the Americas at the time. They had flown in for the grand party.
James made nice and was everyone’s favorite at the party. He told everyone about his year in Japan. He tried his best to explain the causes of the Punic wars to all of his relatives who were dying to see what he had learned recently. He even entertained his little cousins for a while. By the end of the party, he had barely seen his uncle Norman. He flopped onto a couch to rest his weary bones when uncle Norman came over and sat down next to him.
“Hello, Uncle, happy fiftieth, and here’s to fifty more.”
“Hello, James.” He loved it that his uncle didn’t call him Jim (or John) like the rest of his relatives. Uncle Norman treated him with respect. “How have you been? You look very well.”
“Thanks. I try to stay in shape, but more and more my studies lead to a neglected body.”
“So you think the mind is more important than the body.”
“Not at all. Body without mind or mind without body is an equal curse. Sometimes it’s just that the mind demands more attention. How do you stay fit? I would think an accountant’s job wouldn’t offer many opportunities to exercise the body.”
“Oh, I find the time. If something’s important you have to.”
“Yes, well sometimes I spend too much time looking for time in which to accomplish things. I feel like it just never ends.”
“You need a break. You don’t let yourself sit back and take stock of things. You still need to enjoy life. I tell you what, stay here for the weekend. Take a walk in the woods and just forget the world.”
“No, I couldn’t possibly...”
“Come, come. I won’t bother you if that’s what you’re worried about. You don’t even have to talk to me.”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just...”
“I won’t let you rest until you do. I’ll visit your house everyday and make you tell me all about your day at school. Then I’ll give nightly concerts on my bagpipes. You’ll get nothing done and fail out of school and then have no choice but to take it easy.”
“You’re evil, Uncle, you know that.”
“Well?”
***
James woke up refreshed, but it took him a split second to realize that he had accepted his uncle’s offer and wasn’t in his own house. He got dressed, went downstairs and had a small bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. He was quiet because he didn’t want to wake his uncle up; whom he didn’t know had been awake for several hours by now. Norman came bursting through the front door lugging some firewood. “Uncle, I’m sorry. I would have helped but you didn’t wake me."
“That’s all right. I’ve gotten firewood by myself every morning for some thirty years. Besides, I told you you’re here to rest. So, how did you sleep?”
“Very well thank you. So do we have plans for the day?”
“I tell you again you’re here to rest. You do whatever you want. Or do nothing. I don’t care as long as you relax.” James decided to take a walk in the surrounding woods. He took the trail that led further into the woods beyond the house. That was always his favorite. As he looked around he remembered the expeditions into an unknown jungle. He walked by the old creek with the small waterfall and he stopped to dip his hands in. He remembered the naval battles of a grand scale that always ended with him as the victor. He stepped over the hole that he was sure used to take a mighty leap to get over. He winded his way down the hill passing a thousand memories on either side of him. He walked past the cave, now just a small hole in the side of the cliff he couldn’t even fit in. Eventually he made it to the bottom of the hill and sat on the turtle. He called the big rock that because the resemblance really was uncanny. He never missed sitting on that rock when he walked that path, ever. He wasn’t about to pass it by now. As he sat there staring at a green mass of nothing yet everything, he realized that he had no clue what he wanted to do with his life. He was majoring in history, but that didn’t exactly lead to any specific job. He contemplated all sorts of careers that were perfect for everyone but him. He hated not knowing what was around the bend. Life should be like the woods here. He should know the ins and outs and exactly where to go. It should feel safe and comforting. It took every ounce of will power for James to leave his position of safety on the rock to head back to the real world.
As James slowly walked up the hill toward home he glanced at his watch and realized that it was well past noon. He quickened his pace to get home more quickly, until he realized that he had no reason to hurry back. He took the return walk at a leisurely pace and then went down a different path. When he finally returned to the house it was late in the evening. He walked into the house preparing to thank his uncle for the great advice to just relax for a weekend. He felt like all the weight was off his shoulders. He walked past the den into the living room. When he realized that uncle Norman had company, he quietly slipped upstairs. He didn’t want to interrupt and would thank his uncle later. The two strangers stayed late into the night. James went to bed before they left and awoke the next morning to find them gone.
“Good morning, Uncle.” They ate breakfast together and talked and talked, but Norman didn’t mention the strangers. James was dying to know who they were, but he didn’t want to seem nosy.
“It’s all right you know, you can ask me.”
“Ask you what?”
“Oh don’t think you’re that good an actor or I’m that naive. I can see you can hardly contain yourself.”
“All right, who were they? Your accounting partners?”
“Actually they were my old poker buddies. I used to play with them all the time. How do you think I got so good at poker?”
“Sometimes I’d like to know that myself.”
“I tell you what, let’s go do something fun today. What do you want to do?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Let’s just hop in the car and see where we end up.” They finished their breakfasts and set out. They had no idea where they were going, but they headed out of the woods toward town. They ended up going to the zoo, despite James's protest that that was too juvenile. They had a day of fun and were headed back home when the trouble started.
A black car pulled up beside them and started to swerve back and forth. “A little early for drunks to be out,” Norman joked. As the swerving continued, it began to look hostile. “What is that idiot trying to do?” As if answering, the driver of the other car slammed into theirs. “He’s trying to run us off the road.” Norman bashed the car back. By now James was worried and kept telling his uncle to just stop the car. Of course that idea was a little too safe for Norman, who was now hitting the gas with all he could. The black car sped up to keep pace with them.
“Uncle, stop the car.” They kept driving, weaving in and out of traffic. “Uncle stop, you’re going to get us killed.” Still faster, the cars sped toward the bridge. James started to panic. “Uncle, stop the damn car, the bridge is too narrow, we’ll crash!” As the cars sped toward the bridge it did seem as though a crash was imminent when Norman slammed on the breaks. The other car shot to the left as the resistance of their car was removed. It missed the bridge entirely and shot into the river. James was sitting in his seat stupefied while his uncle was already out of the car. James finally came to his senses and went to his uncle’s side, where they watched a not so happy driver trudge out of the river. They watched him crawl his way back up the slippery bank and start to come toward them. The man reached into his coat, but before he could pull out his gun Norman already had him on the ground, face down in the mud. Norman took the man’s gun and started walking back toward the car. James, who was still looking blankly ahead, realized the man was getting up. Norman heard as well and started to turn around, but by the time he did James had the man back on the ground after a lightning fast three hit combination. Now it was Norman who stood staring blankly.
“Where did you learn moves like that?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing, but who is this guy?”
“That was pretty good. I’d heard you studied martial arts in Japan, but that could have only been for a year. Show me again.”
“Would you forget about that and tell me who this is.”
“I have no idea. Come on, let me see those moves again.”
“You’re crazy you know that. We almost got run off the road back there.”
“That? Oh come on, that was just an enjoyable ride.”
“For you maybe. It scared me half to death. What do we do with this guy? Should we call the police?”
“Oh that’s not necessary. I’m sure when this guy wakes up from your little attack face down in the mud with his car sunk in the river, that will be punishment enough. Come on, let’s go home.” On the ride home James’ mind was flying faster than the cars were before. He was putting together all the possible scenarios. Was the man drunk? Was he a hit man? Who would want to kill Uncle Norman? Man, we could have been killed. Does uncle Norman have enemies? Did he think we were someone else? Where did Uncle Norman learn to drive and fight like that? He was thinking so hard that he didn’t even realize they had arrived at the house. “Come on James, we’re home.” He mechanically opened the door and walked with Norman to the front door. When they got to the door, a note on it said “Agent 12- We need you. M”
***
“Would you quit staring at me?”
“Will you tell me what that note was about?”
“It’s none of your concern.”
“Oh sure, my uncle is just leading a double life.”
“What are you talking about?”
“They don’t call accountants ‘agent’ anything, and who is ‘M’? That sounds like a code-name to me.”
“How do you know the note was for me?”
“Well, let’s see. You live alone in the middle of a woods where no one would ever mistake this house as belonging to anyone else.”
“All right, fair enough. The note was for me. I can tell you what it means, but I don’t know if you’ll believe me even if I tell you.” James raised his eyebrow as if to say, “Go ahead and try.” Norman continued. “For the past twenty-two years I have worked as a secret operative for Her Majesty’s government.
“You mean like a spy.”
“Don’t go thinking it’s some magical life. Most secret operatives sit behind a desk for a lot of the time. Only the field operatives see a lot of action.”
“You’re a field operative, aren’t you? What do you do?”
“Whatever needs to be done. To put it succinctly, it is an agent’s job to eliminate all threats to the British government.”
“What could be a threat to a whole government?”
“Anything can be a threat. Terrorists, assassins, information leaks, other world leaders.”
“You kill other world leaders? Isn’t that assassination?”
“No, I didn’t say that at all. We don’t kill someone who is a threat. (Unless we have to.)”
“What was that?”
“Nothing, just mumbling to myself. Look, I do have to go. I’m needed.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know just yet. I know you’d like to know more, but I can’t tell you anything now. Right now, all you need to know is that yes, your uncle is a secret agent, not an accountant.”
“Who else knows?”
“Oh, most people know that I’m an accountant.”
“But you’re not an accountant.”
“To them I am. Only a handful of people know the truth. Your father knew. Of course my fellow men know as well.”
“You mean your fellow spies? How many of you are there?”
“Oh, I’m only twelfth out of some several hundred.”
“Hundreds? How come no one ever finds out about you?”
“We’re in the business of keeping secrets. Besides, lots of people find out. They just end up dead.” As Norman said this he put his shoes on and went over to a chest of drawers. He pulled out a gun holster and put it over his left shoulder. Then he pulled out a small gun.
“Wait a second, you’re going to kill me?”
“No, Of course not you dolt. This is my Barrette twenty-five millimeter. I’m getting ready to leave.”
“What about me?”
“I’ll drop you home on the way.”
“No. I mean, what are you going to do about me knowing.”
“Nothing; I trust you. Besides who are you going to tell anyway? Everyone will just think you’ve lost it.” James just nodded and followed his uncle to the car. He was dropped off at his house and he thanked Norman for the good weekend. Norman smiled and sped off down the road. James didn’t sleep at all that night, or the next night. In fact, it took him a solid week before he was sleeping the whole night through. Even then he had dreams. However, he had a life to live, and he quickly forgot all about Agent 12. School was gaining momentum and would soon be over. Then before he knew it it was over and he had graduated. Now he couldn’t sleep because he didn’t know what he was going to do next. Dreams were replaced by nightmares.
James was living on his own now and was living off his savings, which would soon be gone. Then he would be out on the street just because he wouldn’t commit to a job. It was only with the greatest reluctance that he put on a coat and tie and walked into a decrepit looking university.
“Are you lost? You seem to be looking around quite a bit,” the lady asked him. She was middle aged, holding a thick stack of papers and James took her to be one of the professors at the university.
“Yes, actually. I’m looking for Mr.,” James pulled the note out of his coat pocket. “Mr. Jeremy Tarcher. I was supposed to meet him here.”
“Mr. Tarcher never leaves his office. Go down the hall; turn left and head up the stairs. Go to the third floor and turn left. You’ll smack into his door if you just keep walking.”
“Thank you very much, ma'm.” Down the hall, up the stairs and to the left was Mr. Tarcher’s office. It had a glass pane on the door with his name stenciled in very small letters. James knocked three times. He waited for a minute and then knocked three more times. A minute later he tried again. Finally James turned the knob, and finding the door unlocked slowly stuck his head in. “Mr. Tarcher.” James stepped into the room. A few seconds later a small man with a bald head poked his head out of a smaller room at the back of the office.
“Hold on.” James looked around the room. Nothing in it was obtained recently. Nothing was new. Everything was dust covered. Actually, it looked like all the colors in the room were fading to the same dull brown. James thought in another few years that the room would be monotone. He let out a small chuckle. “What’s so funny?” resounded the hoarse little voice from the back room.
“Oh, nothing, sir. I was just thinking to myself.”
“Well, at least you’re thinking. Have a seat, I’ll be right with you.” He pointed to a chair. James hesitated to sit down for fear of breaking the old thing. “Well.” James quickly sat down with a resounding creak. James was waiting for Mr. Tarcher when he started to rifle through a few of the papers on the desk. They were all research papers. James just glanced at the titles: The Zimmerman Note: A British Ploy to enter the Americans into the Great War by Eugene Trust, Societal Behaviors of Today by Dr. Simon Black, Impacts of Archeology on current “ancient history” Theories by Dr. Henry Jones. James put the papers down just in time before Mr. Tarcher came out of the back room. He now sat down behind the desk and thumbed through a different stack of papers on the desk. “So which one are you?”
“Excuse me.”
“Your name.”
“Bond.”
“Is that it or do you have a first name?”
“James, sir, James Bond.”
“Well, Mr. James Bond, you want to teach for us.” Despite the fact that he really didn’t want to, James nodded his head. “So you’re a history buff, eh.”
“I wouldn’t say buff sir, but...”
“You’re hired.”
“Well I... what?”
“You’re hired. You start next week at the start of the new semester.” After signing all the papers and getting his class assignment James left the office surprised that he got the job so easily. He was beaming. Then he remembered he didn’t want to teach and felt like crying. James took the long route home. He didn’t really want to spend another night alone in his small, dark apartment. He debated not even going home that night, but he really didn’t know where else to go. It was too late to just drop in uninvited on his friends. After a long walk around town he went home. As he approached the door of his apartment he noticed a note tucked halfway under the door frame. He picked it up and unfolded it. Written were the words “James, I need to see you tonight. Agent 12.”
James sort of felt like crying now too, but this time they would have been tears of joy. He was very happy to have a little surprise in his currently mundane life. He got in his car and headed toward his uncle’s house. It was a good thing it was too late for many policemen to be out, or James never would have made it there without a ticket.
When he arrived at his uncle’s house, he didn’t even knock, he just let himself in. “Uncle, it’s me,” James said enthusiastically. Then he noticed that there was not one light on in the entire house. James turned on a small lamp next to him that cast a meager glow into the house. “Uncle, where are you? It’s me James, I got your note.” Silence followed for a few seconds. Then James heard a noise from the back room. “Who’s there? Uncle, if that’s you it’s not funny.” Another creak came from the back room. James picked up the poker near the fire place and crept forward, being very wary. He knew that whoever it was knew he was there. He had made enough noise to alert anyone in the house. James ran into the living room, being extremely quiet. He would approach from the side door to the room instead of the front door, hoping to catch the man off guard. Apparently he wasn’t quiet enough. The other person started to move. James froze, not even breathing. He was ready for an attack. He was caught off guard when the man ran to the back porch instead of toward him.
James ran after the man. By the time James made it to the back porch, the man was already at the bottom of the twelve step stairway that led to the ground. James just jumped over the side, skipping the stairs entirely and falling the fifteen feet to the ground. He landed on his feet and was off running. James was running at his top speed, but the man was fast. James was barely gaining ground. He could see the back of the man now. He was wearing all black, and had on a mask. They were in the woods now. It was so dark that it was hard to see anything at all. James knew the path, and could run it with his eyes closed, but he was surprised that the other man was doing so well. James was gaining on the man and reached his arm out to try and grab him. The man stopped and dropped to the ground. James couldn’t stop and had to jump over the man to keep from tripping over him. James tried to make a complete stop, but his feet slid out from under him, and he caught himself with his hands. By the time he stood up the man was already standing and was reaching into his pocket. James leapt behind a tree as the man pointed something at him that shimmered in the moonlight. James wasn’t foolish. He knew it was a gun, and he stood there wondering what to do. James bent down and picked up a rock. He threw the rock at the man and rushed toward him. The man only had to duck for a split second, but by then James was on top of him. James kicked the gun out of his hand. James made a quick jab to the ribs, but that was all he could pull off before he was deftly grabbed by the arm and swung to the ground. The man stood on James’ neck as he picked up the gun, still close by. The man was standing there, pointing the gun down at James, who was desperately thinking of a way to escape.
“Say ‘uncle’.” the man said, his voice abnormally deep.
“What?”
“Say ‘uncle’.” the man repeated.
“No way, go to Hell!”
“Say ‘uncle’ and I don’t shoot.
“Fine,” there was a long, hesitant pause before James forced out “uncle.”
“Yes, James.”
“What?” The man took his mask off. James looked up at the man, and the moonlight barely showed the features of his face. “Uncle Norman? What the hell is the matter with you? You could have killed me.”
“No, not really. The gun isn’t loaded.”
if my heart couldn’t take the shock of a maniac pointing a gun at me?”
"If that is the case, then you might as well go home now.” James started to speak but was interrupted. “I know you’re wondering just what I was doing here. Well, I was testing you. Come inside and let me explain.” Inside, James sat at the table looking at his uncle as he made them tea. James wasn’t angry with his uncle, just curious. He waited for his uncle, who was trying to hide his being slightly out of breath.
“What were you testing me for?”
“I needed to see how much work we had ahead of us.”
“Work for what?” Norman sat down next to James and handed him the tea. Then he reached under the cabinet and pulled out a small bottle of whiskey and poured it into two shot glasses.
“Here,” he said handing one of the glasses to James, “drink this first.” James did, and did so again after his uncle filled the glass once more. “I usually don’t advocate drinking this late at night, but I figured you could probably use that. Now, about why you’re here. Here’s the thing, James. MI6, that’s the British secret organization for whom I work, has been betrayed.”
“Wait. MI6, that’s the British secret intelligence? Kind of like the American CIA.”
“Sort of, yes. Anyway, to continue, M wants me to be on this case because I know the traitor very well. He was my friend. They think I will be able to figure out his motives and plans better than anyone else.”
“Hold on. I don’t mean to question MI6, but isn’t putting you on the case a little dangerous. I don’t mean to say that you won’t do your job, but will you be able to kill your old friend if you have to?”
“You’re a clever boy James. MI6 voiced the exact same concerns. That is why they are making me take a partner on this job; someone of my choosing to help me and keep me in line. To be blunt, I want you.”
“You’re kidding right. I have absolutely no experience at this sort of thing. I can’t operate on nearly your level.”
“That little stunt you pulled back there says you can.”
“You could have killed me. The only reason I’m still here is because you’re my uncle. Anyone who wanted to could have killed me. I’m nowhere close to being ready for this.”
“By the time I’m done with you, you will be.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’ve got four months to train you. Up until that time M wants us to stay low profile until we learn a little more about agent 9’s plans.”
“Agent 9, I guess that’s the traitor.”
“That’s right.”
“How dangerous can one man be? Surely he can’t be a threat to national security.”
“Oh, don’t be so sure about that. Agent 9 is the best; better than me.”
“How good are you?”
“Very. That stunt back there took about ten percent of my total skills. You talked about me being able to kill you back there. That’s an understatement times ten.”
“Oh come on, now you’re just blowing your own horn.”
“If you say so. At any rate, Agent 9 is trouble. He was our best, and very trusted. M put complete confidence in him. He knows things about military arsenal locations; he knows secret troop locations, he knows about top secret plans to be used if the country ever goes to war. He knows more things that can cripple the British government than anybody. He also has connections all over the globe. He won’t be easy to find. He knows about almost every culture on the planet. He knows twelve languages. He can blend into any surroundings. He makes friends, and therefore allies, quickly. Then, even if we do find him, he’s extremely deadly. He’s an expert marksman both with guns and other projectile weapons. He’s a master of six martial arts, and knows at least ten ways to kill a man with his bare hands.”
“He sounds like some sort of super human.”
“Not really, but he is very, very good. He was the top contender for the double ‘O’ program.”
“Double ‘O’ program, what's that?”
“MI6 is aware of the increasing instabilities in the world’s political and social climates. This instability leads to increased crime, terrorism, and can even lead to wars. MI6 felt that a new, better force was needed. That is the double-O program. A group of nine agents were to be chosen to be OO-Agents. They were to be the best of the best, with exceptional skill and expertise. MI6 wants to choose nine people to be these agents, 001 through 009. However, not many people can meet the qualifications to be a 00 Agent. Out of four hundred twelve agents only two have been chosen as 00 Agents so far. 001 is Bruce Wick, formerly Agent 92, and 002 is Bill Fairbanks, formerly Agent 321.”
“Are they good?”
“Oh yes, they’re very good. Only the best get chosen.”
“Why not you? You said you’re very good.”
“Good yes; young no. I’m too old for that.”
“You’re not too old. I saw you out there. For being so old you sure kicked my butt.”
“I didn’t say I was too old to be Agent 12. I’ve got some good years still left in me, but I’m, not fit to be a cream of the crop OO-Agent. Now, I have to ask you if you will train with me. I know it will mean a huge change in your life, and it will require hard work. So, are you ready to train with me, or do you still want to teach history at that small time university?”
“How did you...? Never mind...” James looked down at the floor. He stared at the rug hoping to find an answer on it. Then he thought of teaching and blurted out “Yes” without any hesitation.
“Good. We start training tomorrow. For the next four months, you live with me. I want you to get a good night’s sleep, so I won’t wake you up until noon. That will give you nine hours of sleep. You’ll need them.” James slowly rose from the table and went to bed. Tomorrow would start a new chapter in his life. If, of course, his uncle decides he passes muster.
***
The sun was already high in the sky when James heard his uncle shout. “Get up James, you’ve got two minutes to get dressed.” James got up, dressed, and went downstairs to find his uncle waiting at the door. They jogged into the woods. They had been jogging for about an hour before the silence was finally broken.
“Why do you want me as your partner? I’m sure there were a lot of people more qualified than me. Plus, that way you wouldn’t have to train anybody.”
“I don’t work well with other agents. I had to once before and it was a disaster. Since then, I’ve never had a partner up until now. I want my partner this time to be someone I can work with.” James felt a little proud. They continued their jog for a little while longer, and then did some sit-ups and push-ups. The exercise was surprisingly light. James had expected his uncle to drill him his first day. Against his own better judgment, James spoke up.
“That’s it? That’s all the exercise I get for the day?”
“Not at all. That was just the physical exercise. Now it’s time to exercise your mind.”
“Oh, so now you’re the teacher. Tell me, do I memorize a lengthy detail of our mission now?”
“Not at all. Today, I teach you the rules.”
“What rules? MI6’s rules?”
“No, the rules. There are ten. These are ten rules I have come up with that fit for any kind of mission you can possibly think of. Whether it’s stopping a terrorist, to playing chess, to tying your shoes. They work in all situations. Any kind of confrontation can be overcome if you follow these rules. Listen up, these are important. I will go through them again as we train, but I want you to hear them now, before we start training. James, What do you think is the first rule of any confrontation?”
Without hesitation James responded, “Know your enemy.”
“Excellent, James. You said exactly what I wanted you to say, but you’re wrong.”
“What?”
“You’ve stumbled upon the second rule. There is a rule even more important than that. This first rule is extremely important. However, since it is so simple, it is the most forgotten rule. This is unfortunate, because this is the easiest rule to master if you take the effort.”
“Well, uncle, don’t keep me in suspense. What is the first rule?”
“Know yourself.”
“Uncle, that’s not a rule that’s just...”
“I said it is simple. That doesn’t mean it’s not the most important rule. Think about it. What good is it to know your enemy if you don’t know yourself. You need to know your ups and downs, your ins and outs, your strengths and weaknesses. You must know what you’re capable of and what you’re not capable of. Think back on last night. While I took the stairs to get to the ground, you jumped over the railing. Why is that?”
“I had to catch up to you, you had a head start.”
“Yes, but what if you couldn’t take that fifteen foot fall. You would have jumped to save time. Then you would have landed on the ground, twisted your ankle, and fell on your face. I would have kept running, while you stood up, nursed your broken nose, and limped forward on your twisted ankle. You never would have caught me, and I would have been able to crawl away; all because you didn’t know your own limitations.” James just sat there, soaking up the wisdom of this rule. Norman continued. “Had your father tried that, he would have fallen. He was in good shape, but he couldn’t have made the landing. He had two left feet.”
“That’s a bit harsh.”
“I don’t mean anything by it. If he had gone down the stairs he would have caught me. He was one of the fastest people I have ever seen. Do you now see why it is important to know yourself?”
“I guess for that very reason. For my father, it would have been better to go down the stairs. For me, it was jumping. You have to know what’s best for you.”
“Exactly.”
“So do we work on that first?”
“No. We don’t need to spend time working just on the first rule. By the time I’m done training you, you will know yourself quite well. Now, the second rule, as you have already found out is ‘Know your enemy.’ You must know him as well as you know yourself. In fact, ideally you should know your enemy better than he knows himself. Fortunately, I know our enemy very, very well. By the time I’m done briefing you, you will too. The only down side is that Agent 9 knows me well also.”
“He doesn’t know me.” James pointed out.
“Yes, that’s true. That’s another reason why I want you as my partner. Agent 9 knows almost every agent in MI6. The only partner I could take that he would not know would be someone from outside MI6.”
“Now, let me continue on with the rules. I believe we were up to rule three?” James nodded. “Rule three is 'have a plan'. I realize this is also pretty basic, but it is important. You must always have a plan. For this mission, we will have plenty of time to formulate a plan, but that is not always the case. For example, did you have a plan when you were chasing me last night?”
“No. I had no time to plan, you just sprung that surprise on me.”
“You’re wrong, you did show signs of planning. When you went around to try and approach me from the side that was planning. When you threw the rock at me, you knew that even if you didn’t hit me, that I would have to move out of the way. That’s when you immediately attacked. That was planning.”
“That was just simple action-reaction. I didn’t really plan.”
“You seem to be under the impression that you cannot plan as you go along. Of course you can. Take the game of chess for example. You can’t have a plan mapped out before the game starts because you don’t know what your opponent will do. Of course, hopefully rule two will give you some help. However, planning in that case is simply thinking two or three steps ahead of the game. Never let your opponent catch you off guard.” James sat contemplatively, catching all of his uncle’s wisdom as it came to him.
“Rule four, have a defensible position.”
“Wait, how was I supposed to have a defensible position yesterday? You were in your house, in your woods. To be fair, I do know the woods well, but I hardly think they count as a defensible position.”
“You can make any place defensible, you don’t have to be on familiar round. When you were in the front room, you could have made that your defensible position. When you left that you could have made any number of places in the woods your defensible position. You sort of did with the tree you ducked behind. All you need is a place that is safe for a long enough time to let you do whatever you need to do.”
“So, you leave your defensible position after you don’t need it anymore.”
“Exactly, your defensible position should not be a place where you hole up to avoid all confrontation.” James sat quietly for a while, and when he finally nodded, Norman continued. “Rule four sort of leads into rule five: Have an escape route. Never back yourself into a corner, or go down a dead end street. Always have a way out.”
“Can’t that just be an avenue for cowardice?”
“Only an idiot thinks it is noble to die in battle when it isn’t necessary. Now, you must be prepared and ready to die to serve Her Majesty’s government, but don’t think that running away is always cowardly. When you finish a mission and don’t need to be there anymore, get the hell out of there. There is no point in waiting around to be killed. Also, when the situation is hopeless, it is acceptable to leave and come back later.”
James seemed to acquiesce to his uncle’s experience, so he asked his uncle to continue.
“Now, when I tell you rules six and seven, they may seem to contradict each other at first, until you take a closer look at them. Rule six is let the enemy make the first mistake, and rule seven is never hesitate. This may seem like the rules go against each other. ‘Never hesitate’ would suggest that you make the first move, while ‘let the enemy make the first mistake’ seems to suggest that you let the enemy make the first move. However, this is where rules one, two, and three come into play again. You must know enough to know when to take advantage of a situation, and when to let your opponent take an action that you think will hurt his cause.”
“Don’t you spend an awful lot of time thinking about whether or not to move forward then?”
“Once you’ve been an agent for long enough, you will find that your instincts help you decide what to do.”
“Rule eight works closely with rule three: 'be able to improvise'. It is always nice to have a plan, but when things don’t go the way you plan, you must be ready to start again from scratch. Always go in thinking that something will go wrong, and you won’t be surprised when it does. Rule nine was pretty much just stated right there: 'expect the unexpected'. I know that this rule is very close to rule eight, but it is different, and since it helps me make an even ten rules, I decided to include it. Humans can’t tell the future. If we did, we wouldn’t need rule nine. However, we do need the rule, and it is important. Always expect imminent danger around every corner. And finally, rule ten is ‘keep your guard up.’ This rule works whether you know what to expect or don’t. It works whether you have a plan, or know your enemy. You must always be alert and observant. Watch your surroundings, keep track of everything that’s going on”
“You know, I may not be able to remember all of these rules yet.”
“Don’t worry about it, within four months, you will know them backwards and forwards. You will not only know the individual rules, but you will see just how they are all interconnected. You can’t expect to master any one without mastering the other nine.”
“Well, it is really up to you to make sure that I master them.” James wouldn’t have said that last line if he knew what was coming in the next four months. His uncle was ruthless. Each day was more rigorous than the last, and each night kept getting shortened as Norman kept James up later and later. Hours of exercise (running, sit-ups, push-ups, leg lifts, toe touches, swimming, weight lifting) ran into hours of specialized training. Combat training took a lot of time. James learned three new styles of martial arts, where pressure points were, how to disorient a man without injuring him, how to kill a man multiple ways with a single blow, how to disarm a man, and on and on. Hand to hand combat gave way to mastering weapons. First came knives, both knife fighting and throwing. James became quite good at knife throwing. In fact, he quickly surpassed his uncle in this area. After knife training came marksmanship. James practiced with many types of guns, but worked mostly with the Barrette .25, which was the standard gun of MI6 agents. James became quite good at shooting his weapon, and Norman decided he had had enough training in that area. However, Norman still had to train him to use his other senses. This led to James shooting in the pitch black at night, relying on sound.
Physical work, of course, wasn’t enough. Norman gave James nightly briefings, and exercises to keep his mind sharp. The briefings were on everything from names, dates, and facts about Agent 9, to what the workings of MI6 were like, to being an agent in general. This information was given in small doses, but it kept piling up. James was more and more exhausted each day. He started to re-think his decision to help his uncle. He couldn’t take it anymore. One night, he decided to tell his uncle that he wasn’t going to keep training. When he did, his uncle was very surprised.
“You’re quitting with only six more days to go?” James was dumbfounded.
“It’s been that long already!”
“Time flies when you’re having fun, eh? Give me five more days, and then I’ll take you to see him.”
“See whom?”
“I think it’s time for you to see M.”
***
The next day they got in Norman’s car and drove off. “Do you think I’m ready for this?” James asked again.
Would you stop asking that? You don’t have to impress him. He trusts me. If I say you’re ready he’ll know you’re ready. Don’t worry, M is a person just like you and me.”
“Right, but he happens to be the head of MI6.”
“Well, we’re here.” James looked at the small, two story building in front of them.
“This is MI6?”
“No, don’t be ridiculous. This is M’s house.”
“We’re seeing M at his house?”
“Sure, why not?” James’ hand was softly shaking as he opened the car door. Norman knocked on the front door. The man who answered the door was not as impressive as James was imagining M would be. He was too short. James, seeing that M was a normal guy, started to relax a bit.
“Bond, good to see you.” Norman shook his hand. M looked over at James. “I suppose you’re Bond as well.”
“Yes, sir, I am a Bond; James Bond.”
“Well come in.” They all stepped into the house. James was impressed. It didn’t look like much from the outside, but the furnishings on the inside were quite wonderful. When M and Norman turned into a large room, James just kept on walking, oblivious that he was alone in the hall. “Bond.” He was startled into awareness. He backtracked down the hall and peered into the room. He sheepishly walked in and sat across from M. He looked at M’s eyes, which did not give his face a happy look. James was feeling a little uncomfortable, until he caught the young woman’s eyes. He looked at her, and she smiled back at him. M must have noticed, because he immediately took to introducing everyone. “I’m terribly sorry, how rude of me. Norman, James, I’d like you to meet Miss Money Penny. I had just finished hiring her as my new secretary before you arrived.”
James walked over, took her hand, and gave it a small kiss. “A pleasure meeting you.”
“The pleasure is all mine I’m sure, Mr. Bond.”
“It’s James.”
“Very well then, James. I’m afraid I was just on my way out. I’m sure you’ve business to discuss.” James watched her leave until she turned the corner and was out of sight. He stood staring at the last point he saw her until he slowly turned and sat down. His mood quickly changed when he saw his uncle’s face, which seemed to say, “Don’t even think about it.” James shot back an innocent “Whatever do you mean? I wouldn’t dream of it” face.
“Gentlemen,” M caught their attention, “let’s start with our first order of business. James, you’ll notice that I call you and your uncle by your real names here while we’re in my house. However, when we’re at headquarters, or when you’re on a mission, I will call you by your codename. I assume by now that you know your uncle is Agent 12. You are going to be Agent 68.”
“Why is my number so low when there are hundreds of agents? Shouldn’t my number be something in the four hundreds?”
“Whenever an agent is taken off the duty list permanently, his or her number goes back into the system. Agent 68 was just taken off the list, so you are simply taking his number.” Norman looked concerned.
“What happened to Peter, sir?”
“He’s fine for the most part. He just got pretty shaken up on a mission and decided to call it quits.”
“He retired, sir? That must have been one hell of a shake-up. Peter loved working for MI6.”
“Wait,” James interjected “I’m just replacing him? Just like that?”
“I don’t want to sound cold, James, but there’s no reason for sentimentality. It’s
just a number.”
“But Peter…”
“Won’t be needing his number.”
“What if an agent is killed in the line of duty?”
“We recycle his number.”
“What about respect for the dead?”
“MI6 gives every agent a proper memorial service, and every agent is sadly missed. However, every agent knows that he may die in the line of duty. That’s part of what working for MI6 is.” James was silent. M continued. “Maybe now you’re realizing that you’re not about to enter the safest line of work. Now, I don’t want you to think that becoming an agent is the same as committing suicide. Agents do die, but many also retire in their old age after extremely successful careers and live happily ever after. Just look at your uncle. He’s been an agent longer than I’ve been head of MI6, and he’s still kicking. He’s been on hundreds of missions. If you’re as half as good as your uncle, I’m sure you’ll do fine. However, it’s up to you whether you want to do this. You have to choose now, because after today you’ll be committed. So, are you in, or do I assign Agent 20 as your uncle’s partner?”
James looked at M and then back at his uncle. A part of him wanted to run after Money Penny, ask her what she was doing for dinner and forget this stuff. However, a part of him wanted to do this. This was not only because he did not want to disappoint his uncle, but also because he had nothing to look forward to except teaching. Of course this just now reminded him that he was supposed to have started teaching awhile back, and he never did call them to tell them he wouldn’t be there. James laughed. Norman and M were looking at each other, wondering what the joke was. James stopped laughing. “I’m in.” Norman smiled and M nodded.
“Good. You’ll start tomorrow.” James and Norman left and went home. In the morning they headed out to MI6 headquarters, where they would get further briefing. James was anxious, and kept doubting himself. He wasn’t sure if he could do everything they were expecting of him. He didn’t have much time to worry during the car ride, since MI6 was quite close to Norman’s house. It was closer than M’s house had been. M met James and Norman at the main entrance. As James stepped into the small building, he wasn’t expecting much. They got in a rickety old elevator that shook on the way down. James felt relieved. He was worried MI6 was going to be overwhelming and that he would look out of place. Then the elevator doors opened, and his fear came true. It was huge. It was a huge rotunda with dozens of doors along the perimeter. Each one led to a different area of MI6. In the rotunda a hundred people were bustling here and there. M headed straight toward one of the doors. James followed behind, looking everywhere. He did look out of place. He felt uncomfortable. To make things worse, his shoe was squeaking. James felt that with every step the squeak got louder. He winced every step. He was sure that everyone in the building could hear it. James was greatly relieved when they reached the door and entered it. James closed the door, shutting the rest of the world out. James was even more relieved when he saw Money Penny’s face smiling at him. James was delighted at the familiar figure sitting at the desk.
“Miss Money Penny, what a surprise.” She smiled at him, but did not respond. She nodded toward the door that M and Norman had just walked through. James entered the inner room. Along with M and Norman were two unfamiliar faces. James took a seat and waited patiently.
M began. “James, I have been told you have been briefed on the mission you are assigned to.
“Yes, M. My uncle briefed me extensively on the situation.”
“Well, then you know almost as much as MI6 knows. We haven’t learned anything knew about Agent 9’s plans. He’s been lying very low. MI6 is very concerned, and wants Agent 9 eliminated. He knows too much. The problem is that we don’t know where he is. That’s where the first part of your mission comes in. You are to bring in one Mr. Thomas Hombule. We believe that he may know the location of Agent 9. You will bring him in for questioning.”
“That doesn’t sound too hard.”
“The problem is that Mr. Hombule is in a maximum security prison up north for slaughtering a bus load of tourists.” M’s brow furrowed, just as it always did when he was detailing a mission.
“What? And you trust this man?”
“James, don’t interrupt M when he’s detailing a mission.” Norman explained.
“No, we don’t trust him, but we do think he will help us for the price we are offering him. He will get his freedom if he cooperates.”
“I’m sorry, but did I just hear what I thought I heard? You’re going to let him go? He killed a bus load of people.”
“The job of protecting the British government can get ugly. We aren’t always above board. We are going to let him go. However, the government refuses to let him go. They want us to just get him to give us the information. That is never going to work. So, we’re going to break him out.” James was shocked. “You and Norman are going to break him out of prison. Of course, to cover our tracks and make it look like a real breakout, we are going to free a few of his cellmates as well.” James started to speak, but M stopped him. “Before you say anything, I assure you that they will be caught by the police shortly after escaping before they get a chance to cause an ounce of trouble. As for Hombule, he’ll get his freedom for a few months, with one of our agents watching him. Then, an anonymous tip to the police will have him back in his cell finishing off his life sentence.” At this point, M nodded to one of the strange men, who got up and handed Norman and James identical folders. Each one was sealed, and said “Operation Turnkey” on the front.
“Gentleman, I am Agent 325. You have just been handed blueprints of the maximum-security prison Mr. Hombule is being held in. I have spent the last few weeks surveying the compound. It will be hard to get into the compound, but not impossible. You may open the folders now.” James and Norman broke the seals with their hands and looked at the blueprints. “You are going to be transported by helicopter to a wooded area two miles from the prison. From there, you will proceed on foot. You will find that the prison is surrounded by a twelve-foot high wall that extends around the entire compound. It is only guarded at the gate, and should be easy to get over. From the wall, it is five hundred yards to the actual prison. The field has underground wires criss-crossed along its entirety. You must avoid these, or they will set off an alarm. Also, searchlights move along the entirety of the field. These lights are automatic unless an alarm is sounded. You can avoid them if you know the pattern. However, there are five patterns, with one chose randomly every night. You will have to memorize all five patterns. Once on the wall, you can watch the lights for a few minutes to figure out which pattern is being used that night.”
“Sounds like a fun night out.” James quipped.
Agent 325 continued on.
“Once you get to within one hundred yards of the compound, you will stop to take out a few guards. You will be approaching from the south wall of the compound. There are four guards outside the building. From the south, you will be able to knock out two. You will each have an infrared sniper rifle. These are very small, and only hold two darts, each loaded with an extremely effective tranquilizer. You will each shoot one guard. Don’t miss the first shot. You will need your second dart very soon. Once you shoot the guards, you can’t let the other guards see them lying on the ground. At this compound, the four guards check on each other every hour on the hour, and then every other minute after that. This means that you will want to shoot the first two guards right after an even minute, when the guards have just checked on each other. This will give you two minutes to run the hundred yards to the prison avoiding the trip wires and lights, get over the twelve foot high wall around it that has barbed wire at the top, and ready yourself to shoot the other two guards when they turn the corner. You should be able to easily get them out of commission before they get any alarms off. After you eliminate these two guards, head to the west side of the building. There is a sewer there. You will enter it and climb 68 feet through very narrow pipes to get to an access under the basement floor. I hope you’re not claustrophobic, James.”
“I’m not.”
“Good. You have the sewer blueprints, with the path you must take marked off. Do not take the left side when the pipes branch in two directions. If you do, you will get caught, and if you get caught you have never heard of MI6. You are on your own so don’t get caught! Once you’re in the basement, you’re halfway there. There should be no guards in the basement. If there are, you’ll have to improvise. In the basement are the power controls. One man will cut the power after the other is near Hombule’s cell. You’ll have radios in your watches that will allow you to communicate and organize that. The man upstairs will free Hombule and three others. One of these three others is an MI6 agent, who was transferred there from a prison in Iceland. At least, that’s what the guards there think. This agent will make sure Hombule and the two others will be ready for the breakout. While that man is freeing Hombule, the other will have crawled back out of the sewer and will cut a hole in the south part of the fence. When Hombule is free, the upstairs man will simply leave out the southern gate, which is electrified, but the power will be out. Both men will meet at the southern gate and just run the five hundred yards to the outer wall. Get over the wall and run to the drop-off point. A helicopter will be waiting for you there. Any questions?”
“Just one: How, will the upstairs man get Hombule out of his cell?”
“He will have a special key. I don’t know much about that. Ask Q when you see him. Q branch is your next stop.”
“You can take the shortcut,” M said as he showed Norman and James a secret door at the back of his office.
Q Branch was a surprise to James. He thought it would be some futuristic wonderland. Instead it was a room full of old guys wearing lab coats messing with gadgets that looked like they would never work. Norman was greeted by a middle-aged man in a gray suit. “Norman, good to see you. Who would this young gentleman be?”
“This is my nephew, James.” James shook the man’s hand.
“Well, James, what do you think of Q branch?”
“To be quite frank, I’m a little disappointed, and is it just me or does nothing work right.”
“Listen here, Bond, this is where we test experimental models. Of course some things don’t work right at first.”
“I see.” James looked around again. “I didn’t mean to offend you Mr.…”
“Q.”
“Q; as in Q branch? I take it you’re the man in charge around here.” Q didn’t respond, but just signaled Norman and James to follow him. James followed him around exploding phone booths, pen missiles, X-ray glasses and who knows what else. “Wow, you have everything here. Where’s the shark repellant underwear?”
“Oh, grow up Bond. This is serious, so pay attention. Your first piece of equipment for your mission is your sniper rifle. They have infrared scopes and carry two tranquilizer darts. The grips are fitted to Norman’s preferred specifications. James, see if they feel alright to you.”
“I’m sure they’re fine. I’ve been practicing with a sniper set to my uncle’s specifications recently.”
“That’s fine. Also, these snipers are compactable. Once you’ve used the two darts, you must make sure to bring the rifles back with you. If you leave them in the compound, the authorities will get suspicious of outside help in the breakout. Your next piece of equipment is your night vision goggles. I’m sure I don’t have to go into any explanations for that. Each of you will have a pair, and you will need four more for the people you are releasing. Your last piece of equipment is your watch. Each watch will allow you to stay in constant communication with the other man. Also, one of the watches has a small but powerful circular saw designed for silently cutting the fencing around the prison. The other watch is equipped with a universal key that opens ninety-nine percent of the world’s locks. That should get you into Hombule’s cell and back out again.”
“Do the watches keep correct time?” Q looked at James and frowned.
“I know you were joking just now, but that does bring up a good point. These watches have been set to the exact time used by the prison. It will help you keep on track about when the guards check on each other.” James nodded and thanked Q. Norman grabbed the gear and they headed out.
“I think Q likes me, don’t you Uncle? Norman couldn’t help but chuckle. James and Norman did not go home. They spent the rest of the day going over the mission again and again. Then they got some sleep in a small room still in MI6 headquarters. When they woke up that morning, there was a helicopter ready to take them up North. The helicopter ride took a few hours, and they reviewed the mission one more time. They landed in a small wood a few miles from the prison.
“We’ll meet you back here in a few hours.” Norman told the pilot. He and James headed toward the prison. They took the walk slowly, since it was just getting dark. They would need it to be very dark for what they were going to do. There was no talking on the walk. James was just thinking. He was anxious, but he was ready. This was it.
***
Climbing over the perimeter wall was no problem. Norman and James waited on top of the wall and watched the searchlights. After a few minutes, James suggested that it looked like the lights were on pattern three. Norman nodded. They hopped off the wall and landed silently on the grass. They turned on their night vision goggles and were off running toward the prison. They ran slowly, making sure to avoid the trip wires and lights. They were invisible in their dark suits against the dark grass background. They stopped with just over a hundred feet to the inner fence around the prison. They were about seventy-five yards away from each other.
“Get ready to shoot. We’ll take the shot just after 11:04.” Norman spoke softly into the watch. James didn’t feel the need to reply. At 11:04 Norman spoke again. “Here we go Agent 68, on three. One, two, three.” Both darts left the barrel at the exact same time. Both darts entered the back of the guards’ necks. James hit the one on the left, Norman the one on the right. Both men hit the ground with a soft thud. James and Norman were off and running before the guards had hit the ground. Norman was ahead of James, but stopped to carefully climb the fence. James hit top speed and lunged to the top of the fence. He hooked the top with his hands and flipped himself over. He was on the ground on the other side just before Norman. They nodded to each other and waited at opposite corners of the building to shoot the guards as they round the corner. The guards were right on time, and so were their shots. The guards on the outside were eliminated. James ran toward his uncle, who was closer to the west side of the building. They met at the sewer grate. They had removed the darts from the guards, to eliminate any evidence. They each grabbed a side and pulled up. The grate came off with a metallic clang. No one inside heard. They left their collapsed rifles right by the sewer entrance. The pipes were too narrow to carry anything extra. Beside, James had to leave through that entrance anyway. He would pick up the rifles then.
Norman went into the pipe first, followed closely by James. James wasn’t scared, but he was far from thrilled as they climbed through the shit filled pipes. They had been climbing for maybe forty feet when Norman stopped.
“Crap.”
“Tell, me about it,” said James.
“No, not that. Hold onto the walls tightly…and hold your breath.” Gallons and gallons of dirty water rushed toward them. It hit them with a large force. James pushed against the walls, but was pushed several feet back. Norman slipped back too, and his feet hit James’ shoulders. James held tight, and did not lose any more ground. The water passed, and Norman and James continued to crawl forward.
“They didn’t warn us about that.”
“What did you expect from a crawl through a sewer?” They came out in the basement, and James looked around for the power box. Norman headed upstairs. A few minutes after he disappeared, James heard his voice coming from his watch. “Agent 68, kill the power.”
“Right.” James simply pulled all of the wires out. The entire prison was bathed in darkness. The goggles allowed James to see the world through a green glow as he crawled back through the sewers. He emerged from the pipes and grabbed the sniper rifles. He went over to the fence and quickly cut a hole large enough for a man to easily fit through. He waited, and was ready for his uncle to come through the door at any time. He got a little worried when it began to seem like a long time. He was alert, and saw the guard round the corner. The guard spotted him, but it was too late. The knife flew through silently through the air. It caught the guard’s attention as it flickered once in the moonlight. The guard felt only a slight sting in his arm as the knife entered it. James was quick to hit the man on the back of the head, knocking him out. Almost the same time as the man hit the ground; Norman came out of the door with four others. James waved them through the hole and then followed behind them. They didn’t bother avoiding any trip wires since the guards were already alerted. They all ran to the perimeter of the compound, with several guards on their trail. Norman climbed the wall and helped everyone up. James went last, and the guards had caught up with them. Norman grabbed one of the men and threw him back into the compound. James assumed that he was one of the extra prisoners, who now doubled as a nice distraction.
&n bsp; One of the men started complaining. “Why did you do that to Jon? We have to help him.” Norman practically had to drag him to the helicopter. When they boarded it, the man pulled out a knife. “Look, we’re going back for Jon.” Norman grabbed the man’s arm, and with a quick spin disarmed the man.
“Fine, if you want to go back, be my guest.” Norman kicked him off the helicopter as it took off.
“Can we just leave him out there Agent 12?”
“It’s Uncle now James. The mission is over. Good to see you Sean.” The man sitting next to James nodded. Norman then turned to the other man. “So you’re our man it would seem.” The pale man smiled, supposedly as a response. “Well then, M is looking forward to seeing you.”
The helicopter landed on the roof of MI6. Everyone headed downstairs to go see M, who was meeting with two gentlemen in his office at the time. When they left M’s office they nodded to Norman. Norman leaned over to James and informed him that they were 001 and 002. James gave them a second glance and decided he wasn’t impressed. M came out and motioned everyone to come in. Everyone took a seat, and M pulled a small tape recorder out of his desk. “Well, let’s get started.” Everyone turned toward Mr. Hombule. He looked around the room at everyone before responding.
“What is the information worth to you?”
“I sincerely hope you’re joking.” M was furious. “We just got you your freedom.”
“No. All you did was what you had to do to get me here. Now you have to convince me this is worth my time.” M’s stare made James feel nervous, even though it wasn’t toward him.
“Gentlemen,” M said calmly as his face grew redder “please give me a few minutes in private with Mr. Hombule. James hesitated as his uncle and the other agent left the room. M looked at James impatiently, so he quickly left. After the door was shut James turned to his uncle.
“Is it safe to leave him alone in there with that maniac?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure M won’t hurt him too badly.” Money Penny laughed softly, announcing her presence to the others. They all turned toward her, and she quickly looked down at her paperwork. “Well, it’s nice to see someone could appreciate my sad attempt at humor. I’m going to get some lunch. Would anyone like to join me?” James quickly nodded his head in the affirmative. Norman turned toward the other agent, who shook his head. James turned to Money Penny.
“You, Miss Money Penny, must surely join us.”
“I’m sorry, James, but I have work to do.”
“Then perhaps I shall stay, and feast on your beauty.” James grimaced inside when he realized how bad that line was.
“How flattering. However, I think you had better get a more wholesome meal with your uncle, who I might add, is hailing a taxi.” James’ smile left him as he looked toward the street, where his uncle was starting to get into a cab. James had to hurry not to be left behind.
After a modest lunch, Norman and James returned to see how M had done. Money Penny informed them that it was safe to go into the office. When they got inside, they noticed that Mr. Hombule was gone, and M was casually smoking his pipe.
“Gentlemen, you’re just in time.”
“How did it go? Where’s Mr. Hombule?”
“On his way back to prison. He broke his part of the deal, so he forfeits his freedom.”
“So, you didn’t get any information from him?”
“Oh, I didn’t say that. I’m convinced I got all the information he knows.”
“How did you do that?” M just smiled. "Alright then, what’s the situation?”
“Well, it is simply this. Agent 9 has organized a secret auction, at which he is going to sell the British government’s secrets to the highest bidder.”
“That’s it? That’s his dastardly plan? How much money can he expect to get from an individual? He could hold the government ransom for so much more.”
“Of course he could. That’s why I think this auction is just a front for something grander. We need to find out what. Our information division is making fake histories for you two as we speak. You will be two terrorists interested in the auction. MI6 will make sure you get invited. Once there, you bid on any secrets he may sell to make sure no other people get them. Then you will figure out what his plan is.”
“What if his plan really is just to sell the secrets?”
“Then your job will be very easy. Bid on the secrets; eliminate Agent 9.”
“Where is the auction?”
“Those invited have been told to meet at the LeBeaun Casino in Paris, France.” Norman’s eyes lit up. “There will be a few hours of recreation before the auction. Norman, you’re familiar with the ways of the gentleman, as will most of those invited be. Your nephew, however, I’m worried about. We don’t want him to look out of place. Therefore, Norman, you are going to teach your nephew the ways of a gentleman.” Norman and James looked at each other.
“Oh, bloody hell.”
***
Norman and James were silent on the drive home. Neither of them was looking forward to what was coming up next. James didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of his uncle, and his uncle did not feel up to teaching James how to be a gentleman. He had always thought that was something you had to be born with. You can’t learn style. However, James had his blood, so maybe everything would turn out all right after all. Norman wasted no time in starting with the basics.
“Since we’re going to a casino, you should first learn the finer points of gaming.”
“I know most games, Uncle.”
“You mean you know the rules to most games. That is a far cry from knowing how to play them properly. I will teach you the secrets that will help you win, but first you must know how to win.”
“I’m not sure I follow you.”
“You never play cards to win large sums of money. You start by losing a few rounds just to make things interesting. Then you start winning. However, you want to win just enough to be able to spread it around for the rest of the night. On a mission, you’re not there to make money, so you should leave with as much money as you came in with. A good way to spend your winnings is to pick out an acceptable woman who is not doing so well at the table. You go over, help her out a bit, and hopefully you will have a companion for the rest of the night.”
“Couldn’t we just bring a date?”
“Terrorists don’t bring dates to secret auctions. You just want a woman by your side for a little while so you look good. When we go upstairs for the auction, make sure to dump her.”
“So you’re just using the woman?”
“Please. All your doing is helping her have a fun night. You don’t owe each other anything. Of course, you can’t let her know that until you’re ready to leave her. I’ll teach you the finer points of how to treat a woman later. For now, just remember how to use a woman.”
“So the woman’s disposable.”
“Yes, just like a gadget Q would give you for a mission.”
“Wait, doesn’t Q usually want his gadgets back?”
“Yes, but that rarely happens.” They both chuckled. “Look, a woman in the real world is something you treat with respect. That’s the kind of woman you can connect with and fall in love with and have a family with. A woman while you’re on a mission can never be the same thing. You use the woman as you need her, because odds are that you will never see her again.” James was silent. “Now, about drinking. Have you had much experience with alcohol?”
“Not much.” James admitted.
“Well, the first thing to remember is that drinking is a gentleman’s sport. Never drink to get drunk. You’ll need to be on the top of your game while we’re there. If you’re not totally in control of your faculties, you may end up dead. For one night, I don’t think you’ll need to know a lot about drinking. Just remember a few rules. First, never hesitate when ordering. Pick a drink, and order it. Make sure you give the bartender a few specifications to make it seem like you know what you’re doing. For example, don’t order a ‘martini.’ Order a ‘vodka martini, stirred’ or whatever you like. Before the night of the auction comes, you’ll have to drink different drinks to see what you’re tastes are. This will also hopefully raise your tolerance level. How well do you hold your liquor?”
“I’m not sure. I think I can hold it pretty well.”
“That’s good, we can’t have you getting drunk off of a few drinks.” Over the next few weeks, James learned more secrets on just how to act, and he did experiment with different drinks. James was especially fond of drinks with vodka. James was especially fond of “Vespers”; a drink made with three measures of Gordon’s gin, one measure of Vodka, and a half measure of dry vermouth that was shaken and served ice cold. However, his uncle told him that that was too specific a drink order, so James finally decided on a vodka martini, shaken, not stirred. One night he got very drunk. He woke up with a horrible hangover and spent one of the worst days of his life losing ten pounds from all his vomiting. When he woke up again, he stumbled down the stairs where his uncle was waiting.
“I thought you’d keep me from getting drunk.”
“No, I wanted to let you see what its like. That serves two purposes. First, it lets you know exactly why to never get drunk again, and second it lets us know your tolerance level.” (It turns out James could really hold his liquor.) After the drinking fiasco Norman taught James the finer point of smoking. At first, he was met with some opposition.
“Save it, Uncle. I’m not going to smoke. I can be quite enough of a gentleman without it.”
“James, I used to be just like you. I thought that smoking was just a nasty habit. However, I found that smoking in moderation can be a good thing. It makes you look more sophisticated and calms your nerves. Plus, I find it hard to trust someone who never smokes” James finally came around to his uncle’s way of thinking. A few more weeks of training made James well prepared for the evening of the auction, which approached rapidly.
***
Norman pulled up into the lot of the LeBeaun Casino. A young man in a white and red suit walked up to the car as Norman slowed down. “Welcome to the Casino, sir. How are…” Norman threw the man his keys and discreetly put a bill in his breast pocket.
“Just don’t mess with the radio.” He strolled up the few steps that led to the casino and nodded to the doorman. Norman had been to this casino before; several times, actually. He walked over to the baccarat table and sat down. He watched a few hands before lighting a cigarette and joining in. He wasn’t playing at his best. He was winning enough, but his mind was on James, who was starting to be very late. He was to show up shortly after Norman. They didn’t want anyone thinking that they were connected in any way. Terrorists rarely travel in pairs. Norman kept glancing at the door. Norman briefly contemplated contacting James by their radio watches, but he would have to excuse himself to do that. Besides, he trusted James to show up soon.
What Norman didn’t know was that James was already in the casino. He had slipped in while Norman’s attention was on his hand. James looked around the casino. A waiter came up to him. “Can I get you a drink sir?”
“I’ll have a vodka martini… shaken, not stirred.” The man bowed his head slightly and went to get James’ drink. He returned shortly thereafter. “Thank you.” The man bowed slightly again and left. James looked the part of a gentleman in every way, and surprisingly to himself he wasn’t nervous at all. He could blend in easily. By now James had come to the realization that it is often more important to look like you know what you’re doing rather than actually knowing what to do.
James drank his glass fairly quickly and set his glass down on the tray of a passing waiter. The man turned to James and asked him if he would like another drink. James waved his hand, and the waiter left. James walked over to the blackjack table. That would be his game for the night, just until the auction. He sat down and joined the game right off. He lost the first few hands after staying on fourteen and busting after hitting on fifteen. Half an hour later he was winning pretty big. He was now the only man playing at the table, and he noticed a crowd gathering to watch him. He collected his winnings and politely excused himself from the table. He didn’t want to attract attention.
He took his winnings and lost a few hands at baccarat. Then he lost a bit at the roulette table. He was spreading his money around, just like Norman taught him. James looked at his watch and was surprised to see that he still had several hours before the auction. He was just starting to run low on money, so he went back to blackjack but a different table this time. A woman was sitting there, and she was losing pretty big. James joined in and lost the first three games. Then he won a few, lost one more and then started to win big. He was in the middle of a very long winning streak when he excused himself from the table. The woman got up and followed him.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you lost those first games on purpose.” James innocently laughed. He didn’t know whether she really thought this, or if she was trying to be cute. “My name’s Alyssa. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” James accepted her extended hand.
“My name’s Bond, James Bond, and I’m sure the pleasure is mine. May I get you a drink?”
“That would be lovely.” James was already motioning to the waiter.
“I’ll have a vodka martini… shaken, not stirred, and the lady will have…”
“The same.” James smiled. When the drinks came they started talking for quite some time. It required more thought than James would have liked. Since he couldn’t tell her who he really was, and since he couldn’t tell her he was a terrorist he had to create an entire new persona for himself. James decided to have some fun. He was now James Bond, heir to a very wealthy oil tycoon. “Really.” Alyssa started to hang on his every word, and he started to get nervous. He started to change the subject.
“Yes, I come to this Casino whenever I come to Paris. It really helps me to relax.”
“Really. I’ve never thought of gambling as all that relaxing. However, I’m sure it’s more fun to someone to whom winning comes so easily.” James smiled.
“So, what do you do to relax?” Alyssa smiled. James thought the smile was a little strange. It almost looked devious.
“Well, I do love to go to beaches. Have you ever been to Campos?” James shook his head. “It’s a small city in Brazil, just north of Rio de Janeiro. People say that Rio de Janeiro is beautiful, but Campos has the truly beautiful beaches.” James smiled, feigning interest. “The beaches there have the most ivory white sand in the world. It’s breathtaking.”
“I’m sure.”
“I have pictures if you would like to see them.”
“I’d love to.” James expected her to remove them from her purse, but instead she grabbed his arm. She led him through the casino, toward the elevator. They passed Norman along the way, who was facing away from them. James tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Norman turned to see them as they entered the elevator. He pointed to his watch, and James nodded as the elevator doors shut.
Up in Alyssa’s room, in the hotel above the casino, James loosened his shirt collar slightly. Alyssa walked over to a drawer next to the bed and pulled a small book from it. She sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her. James took that cue and sat down on the bed. Alyssa opened the book and for some reason James was surprised to see pictures of a beach in it. James looked at the picture intently.
“It’s beautiful.” He sat looking at the picture for a while, waiting for her to turn the page. When she didn’t he looked away from the picture to her. She had been staring at him. He saw the light shining in her eyes, and she looked very beautiful. He wanted to kiss her, but somehow he couldn’t bend to meet her. It was she who had to kiss him. As James felt the soft pressure of her lips on his, the entire world started to fall away: MI6, Norman, the mission, everything.
James woke up with his arm around Alyssa, covering her chest, and he suddenly became aware of what time it was. He had twelve minutes until the auction. He gently kissed Alyssa’s shoulder and started to fumble words out of his mouth, trying to explain why he had to leave right now without looking like a total jackass. Surprisingly, when he mentioned the time Alyssa seemed just as eager for him to be gone as he was to go. James got dressed and climbed the stairs to the top floor of the casino. He walked down the hall toward the room he was supposed to go to, and he saw six people standing outside the room, one of whom was Norman.
“I was beginning to think you’d made different plans,” he whispered.
“The mission comes first, Agent 12.” The door to the room was opened from the inside suddenly by a small, tan man. He stepped aside to let them in. After they all were seated James noticed that there was one empty chair. The small man started to close the door when a woman walked in. She took a few steps into the room and stopped. She quickly gathered herself and sat down. James just stared at Alyssa, now sitting across from him. When he glanced at Norman he didn’t look happy.
James was glad when the small man started talking; it averted everyone’s attention. “Before we start, I must ask that everyone put any weapons they might be carrying into the box. We don’t want anyone getting hurt when the serious bidding wars start.” He put a box on the table, and everyone removed a gun and placed it in the box. “Thank you. Now, you have all been invited here because you are the world’s top terrorists. Also, you are the few terrorists who have not sworn allegiance to my employer. Therefore, you represent the only competition left that could trouble him.” Norman reached down into his sock and pulled out the small, secondary gun he had brought on this mission. He had expected trouble, and did not like where this meeting seemed to be going. He held the gun under the table. The small man continued. “Since my employer detests competition, you must be eliminated.”
Two large men with silenced guns walked into the room and closed the door, and the small man pulled out a gun as well. One of the large men shot one of the terrorists in the head. Norman pulled his gun from under the table and shot one of the men, just as the second had shot another terrorist. The small man turned to fire on Norman, but James hit his arm with his chair, causing his shot to hit another man. Norman turned and shot the small man, as Alyssa shot the remaining large man. Some of the few remaining terrorists pulled guns, but were shot by Norman or Alyssa.
After the lightning fast round of firing, four people remained: Norman, James, Alyssa, and one other terrorist.
“Am I the only man here without two guns?” James yelled.
Norman walked over and tried to open the door. “Damn, they locked us in.” Suddenly the door opened from the outside, revealing several more men with guns. One of them rushed a shot, grazing the top of James’ right hand, before Norman slammed the door shut and moved the table in front of it. “Shit. We can’t go that way. Check the windows.” Norman Alyssa, and the other man struggled to keep the door shut as James checked the window. It opened.
“The building’s completely flat on this side. There’s no way we could climb down.”
“What about jumping?” Alyssa asked.
“There’s no way we’d make it. We’re on the sixth floor. It’s a good sixty feet to the ground.” James looked down to the ground.
“Well. We’d better think of something. Those men out there aren’t nice. They want to kill us.” James looked down at the dead men. He counted them. There were seven bodies: the two large men, the small tan man, and four terrorists. James started taking off all of their belts. “Those will never be long enough to climb down.” Alyssa said this, since she didn’t know James' plan.
“We’re not going to climb down the belts,” James explained as he used the belts to tie one body’s hand to another body’s ankle, “we’re going to climb down the bodies.”
“What?”
“Think about it; seven bodies times maybe eight feet per person on average with the arms extended. That gives us a fifty-six foot chain to get out of here.” Norman smiled. James finished creating the chain and tied the last man's wrist to the windowsill. Then he struggled to throw the chain out of the window body by body. When he finished, he grabbed a bunch of chairs and piled them up in front of the door. “Go.” The terrorist went first, followed by Norman. James piled more chairs up and held the door as Alyssa hesitated at the window. “Go,” he yelled.
“I, I don’t do heights well.”
“Well, I don’t do dying well.” Alyssa still wouldn’t go. He left the door and ran to her. He wrapped her arms over his shoulders. “Hold on tight and don’t look down.” James started climbing down the bodies, with Alyssa hanging on his back. He had about ten feet left to go when he heard the door up in the room bust open. He let go of the rope and hit the ground. Alyssa’s grip never let up until her feet were on the ground. James and Alyssa ran after Norman and the other man, who were already rounding the building. A few shots from the sixth floor were fired at them, but nothing connected. They caught up with Norman as he was wiring a car.
“We don’t have time to get my car. Get in.” The four of them drove off as the men just reached the entrance of the casino. The men did not bother chasing after them. “Well, James. I’m proud of you. It appears you’ve quite mastered rule eight.”
“I was just thinking on my toes, Uncle.”
“Well,” Norman turned to Alyssa and the other man. “We can let you off anywhere you want.” Both Alyssa and the other man got out at the next street. They would find their own ways home. James looked at Norman.
“Can we just let them go? They’re terrorists.”
“Don’t worry. The man was Brian Zapata. He’s a small fry terrorist. I wonder why Agent 9 took the trouble to invite him to this little party. And as for your, um, ‘lady friend’; she’s Alyssa Felice. She’s with the CIA”
“I didn’t know that the CIA was involved in this mission.”
“They’re not. She must have been after one of the other terrorists and tracked him to the casino.”
“Well, unless she was after Brian Zapata I’d say her mission is over."
“So, James. How did you like this mission?”
“Oh, it was…stimulating.”
“I’ll bet. Damn it. How much money do you have on you, James? This car is quite low on fuel.” James reached into his pocket.
“I don’t seem to have my wallet.”
“Well, you lost your virginity and your wallet. That’s a big night for you.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I lost my virginity when I was sixteen, although it was here in Paris.” Norman raised an eyebrow. “Anyway, as far as the actual mission was concerned tonight was a total failure. We’re no closer to Agent 9 than we were five months ago.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. Here, look at this.” James took the small object out of Norman’s hand and rolled it around in his.
“It’s a cuff-link.” James examined the small golden thing more closely. He noticed a precision cut along the top. He tugged at it, and the top of the cuff link popped off, revealing a small microchip inside it.
“Hey, Uncle, did you notice this?”
“Of course, that’s why I’m not so sure that our little misadventure tonight was a total loss.”
“When did you have time to look at this?”
“I took it off that small man who tried to kill us,” Norman explained. “I was hoping that we could trace where he got his suit, and then if we were really lucky we could have figured out who he was that way, but this is much better. That microchip should be easier to trace. Hopefully, it will be all we need to track down Agent 9.”
“But Agent 9 is going to find out about tonight. Surely that man was supposed to report back to him. Now he’ll get suspicious and change his plans or go deeper into hiding.”
“Why would he necessarily get suspicious? That mess could easily be seen as simply the terrorists defending themselves. They weren’t just going to die quietly. Agent 9 will just see that four terrorists got away and the rest were killed.”
“But only one terrorist got away.”
“What about you, Alyssa and myself? We were posing as terrorists.” James nodded. “Besides, even if Agent 9 does get suspicious he can run, but he can’t hide. Once I have my target’s scent I never lose it.” James sat back, quietly thinking about that night’s events and watching the trees shoot by in a dark purple haze. Then, suddenly the trees slowed down, and then stopped. “Well, James, I told you we were low on fuel.”
One phone call later and someone from MI6 had picked them up and taken them to headquarters.
M wasn’t too happy when he heard Norman’s report, but he wasn’t angry. Norman explained the cuff link to him, and took it to Q-branch to see if Q could help him trace it. James wouldn’t be needed for a while, so he drove back to his apartment.
It had been five months since he had been there, but he kept up his rent payments. He didn’t want to lose his apartment. As far as he knew he would be moving right back in after the mission was over. He pulled back the small metal door of his mailbox, expecting dozens of letters to fall out. He felt a little cheated when only three envelopes fell out. One was junk mail, one was from the university, and one was the bill for his rent, which would be due again in four days. James tore off the end of the envelope from the university and pulled out the letter. It had a simple message hand written:
Mr. Bond,
Don’t bother coming in next week either!
Apparently, James no longer had a future there. The letter wasn’t signed, and James wouldn’t need to respond. It had been months since that letter was sent.
The key opening the lock’s tumbler made James think of a dungeon. He threw open the door and turned on the lights. Everything was exactly as he had left it, except for the extra layer of dust on everything. James wasn’t at all surprised. After all, why would anything have changed? James was throwing out the meager amount of food that was in the refrigerator. He would have to take it out to the dumpster right away. Everything was spoiled. The milk smelled especially awful. James washed his hands and reached for the small hand towel on the sink when he realized he wasn’t alone.
“Would you mind putting that thing away? I’m unarmed.” He turned to meet Alyssa’s gaze.
“I think I’ll just keep it pointed right where it is. So, James, how’s your father’s oil business going?”
“Oh, it’s just…”
“Save it. This isn’t the apartment of an oil tycoon heir. Who were you with?”
“Why, Alyssa, I was with you.”
“No. Who were you working for? The man you drove with is Norman Bond, of MI6. I’m guessing that means you’re from MI6 as well, but you weren’t in their records.”
“I don’t know who that man was. Why would…”
“If you didn’t know him, then why did you call him Uncle?” James felt like kicking himself.
“Fine. I’m with MI6. How did you find me?” Alyssa held up his wallet. “Fair enough.”
“If you’re with MI6, why aren’t you in their records?”
“I’m new. Say, while we’re on the topic of occupations, how’s life in the CIA?” Alyssa smiled.
“Well, it appears we understand each other. But let me ask you, are you after Agent 9?” James didn’t let his face give anything away.
“I don’t know. My memory gets a little fuzzy when someone’s pointing a gun at me.” Alyssa did not lower the gun.
“Look, I’m after Agent 9, and I want to know if I have help and or competition.”
“Why are you after Agent 9?”
“As an MI6 operative he went on several missions to America to learn about certain projects being worked on by the U.S. military. He completed his missions, but the CIA learned about this. The head of MI6 promised that his organization would never use that information. This satisfied the president. After all, our countries are allies, and America does do some reconnaissance here in Britain.” James laughed.
“Thanks for clearing that up. I thought that you were here on holiday; not as an agent of the CIA.” Alyssa didn’t respond. She continued with her explanation.
“As long as Agent 9 was within your organization, America felt safe. Now, however, we have learned that he has defected. Therefore MI6 cannot make promises that he won’t use the information he has, and he must be eliminated.”
“You’ve been very forthcoming. I guess I shall return the favor. All you need to do is put down the gun.” James waited. Finally Alyssa set the gun down on the counter, still in arms reach. “Thank you. Now,” James said as he picked up a carving knife. “Get out of my apartment.”
“Oh please.” Alyssa reached for the gun, but James threw the knife and knocked the gun off the counter. He quickly grabbed another knife from the counter and held it ready.
“Don’t try to pick it up. This one can be in your skull in less than a second.” Alyssa straightened up. “Good girl. Now, keep your hands where I can see them and slowly walk out the door.” Alyssa put her hands behind her head and started to walk to the door. In one swift motion she pulled the pin out of her hair and threw it toward James. It sank a few inches deep in the cutting board James had pulled in front of him at the first sign of Alyssa’s motion. The pin would have been on target, right above James’ Adam’s apple. “Nice try. But I’ve learned to expect the unexpected.”
“Really? Then what happened back at the casino? You were one of the only people who didn’t expect that ambush.”
“We’re still standing here aren’t we? Largely thanks to me, I might add.” James pulled the pin out of the cutting board. “Poison tipped; is it lethal?”
“It doesn’t matter now. Tonight was a failure. We didn’t learn anything about where Agent 9 is.”
“Hey, the mission wasn’t a complete failure. I’d say it was successful.”
“Hah,” Alyssa groaned, “leave it to a man to never admit defeat.”
“But we weren’t defeated. And you didn’t have any problem with my being a man earlier tonight.” James lowered his knife slightly.
“That,” Alyssa shouted, “was a mistake in judgment.”
“That’s a bit harsh. I thought we really connected back there.”
“Please. You were doing the same thing I was doing; just trying to kill a few hours.”
“Well,” James responded, “we really killed them well.”
“Too bad I missed you though just now.” They both smiled. James started to speak, but the phone ring stopped him. James slowly walked to the phone, never taking his eyes of Alyssa. He picked up the receiver with his left hand, since he had the knife poised in the right
.
“Hello.” Alyssa saw James listening intently to the other end of the line. “You did? That was fast…I’ll be at headquarters in an hour.” James waited for Norman to hang up before he replaced the receiver in its cradle. “Sorry, love, but I have to go now. Turn around.” Alyssa reluctantly complied. James hit her swiftly on the side of the head, just below and a little behind the right temple. She felt no great pain, but she would be out for half an hour or so. James carried her to the sofa and gently put her down. He quickly wrote a note:
Sorry about the head, but I couldn’t have you following me. Feel free to look around the apartment. I’m sure you’ll find it completely of no interest. Until we meet again…Farewell.
He walked over and picked up the pin she had thrown at him. He stuck the note to the inside of the door with it. She would have to see it as she left. James looked at her lying on the couch and was reluctant to leave her. “She’ll be fine,” James convinced himself.
The ride back to MI6 had James feeling very good. He was happy that the mission was beginning to take better shape. He found himself longing to get a chance at Agent 9. He was also wondering how Norman had tracked him down so fast with a single microchip. He knew that Q had had a hand in it. When he got to MI6 he went straight to Q-branch. Apparently James was right. Norman was talking to Q and pointing at the chip. James finished letting them talk before announcing his presence with a small cough.
“James, you made good time. Come and look at this.” James walked over to the table and looked under the magnifying glass Norman was holding.
“What exactly am I looking for?” Then Q spoke up.
“Right, pay attention, Bond. Do you see that small zigzag wire that hooks into that golden circle there?”
“I believe so.” James squinted.
“Well, that’s a tungsten-gallium alloy wire that acts as a tiny, tiny transceiver.”
“I’m afraid I don’t speak your language as fluently as you.”
“A transceiver is simply a transmitter and receiver of radio waves. It would allow this cuff link to act as a two-way radio. However, that’s not the important part. The important part is that the metal is a tungsten-gallium alloy. That is a very unusual metal to use as a transceiver. We’re not sure why Agent 9 would want to use that when a simpler, more effective metal could be used. However, that’s not important either. All we had to do was find the places that make tungsten-gallium alloys. We ran through our intelligence files and only one company in all of Europe makes it. We also found out that they produce the wire for use as underground electrical fencing wire. They normally don’t make wire this thin. It would have to be special order. So, we ran a trace of the company’s recent transactions, and we discovered that someone had custom ordered the wire. We ran a background check on the orderer, and found this.” Q held up a man’s photo.
“That’s the small man who was at the casino.”
“Yes. His name is Hobart Altus.”
“Why did he need the wire?” James asked.
“We aren’t sure, but we are quite sure that Mr. Altus was one of Agent 9’s right hand men. He had just gotten out of prison seven months ago. He was there on charges of drug smuggling. The authorities thought he was part of a large terrorist group called the El Salaam, but they couldn’t make the charges stick.”
“Why did Agent 9 choose him as his right hand man?”
“Because,” Norman explained, “he wanted someone who would be totally loyal. Mr. Altus had lost all of his money and connections when he went to prison. He jumped at Agent 9’s chance to work with him.” That answer satisfied James, but suddenly for the first time something bothered James. He realized that no one ever referred to Agent 9 by his real name. He didn’t even learn his real name in the extensive briefings Norman gave him. He was getting ready to ask his uncle what the reason for that was, but Norman spoke up and interrupted his train of thought.
“We know that Mr. Altus was seen multiple times recently in Cork, Ireland. We already have a man talking to the mayor of Cork.”
“Already? What are we looking for?”
“Anything that can help us find out about Agent 9’s plans or whereabouts. I’ve got his scent, James, it only a matter of time.”
***
Alyssa had woken up with a not-so-slight headache. When she opened her eyes it took her a few seconds to realize where she was. When she realized she was alone she walked over to the phone and placed a small phone tap on it. She looked around the apartment for anything useful, found nothing, and left. She took the note off the door, and after reading it threw it away. She left and went around to the back of the building, where her car was parked. She was getting ready to leave when James drove in, parked his car, and went inside. She decided to stay there for a while to see if she could learn anything.
The small beep in her car awoke her the next morning and alerted her that James’ phone was ringing. She placed the small receiver in her ear and waited for James to answer his phone. It took a few rings before he did, and he sounded tired.
“Hello.”
“James, it’s your uncle. Our man has found out some very useful information from the mayor of Cork.”
“What is it?”
“It seems that a few months ago, an old plot of land that used to be owned by the McDowells was purchased. That is interesting, because that land has lain vacant for over fifty years out of respect for the McDowells, who were a beloved, wealthy family of Redheel. Redheel is a small city just north of Cork. For a long time no one would buy the land after old Mr. McDowell died. Now, a man had purchased it, and what’s more, asked the people of the city to keep it quiet.”
“What does that tell us?”
“It gives us the whereabouts of Agent 9.” Alyssa sat up in her car and listened intently. “The man who made the purchase turned out to be Mr. Altus.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The McDowell land would be a perfect place for Agent 9 to set up his base. It is in a well-secluded forest, and it would be quite easy to build a building that wouldn’t be seen. Plus, it was most likely quite easy for Agent 9 to pay off or intimidate the people of the small town not to tell anyone what happened.”
“So you think Agent 9’s base is in Redheel.”
“Precisely. That’s our next destination. Meet me at MI6 as soon as possible. We leave as soon as you arrive.”
Alyssa was already driving now, and didn’t wait for the end of the conversation. Five hours later she had arrived in Redheel and inquired about the location of the McDowells’ place. Agent 9 had done a good job of creating secrecy, and it took her a while to get the information. She finally got it after going to the mayor and revealing that she was with the American CIA.
She arrived at the edge of the woods and stealthily ran up the dirt road. She fumbled around in the trees for a while until she saw the compound. It wasn’t very big. It sat at the very top of the hill, and it was surrounded by woods on all sides. The building was very well built, but looked naked. Obviously it had been quickly built, and was designed for purpose, not show. It was three or four stories tall, and was essentially a big rectangle. It had one main entrance, and a few windows here and there. On the left side of the building a small lift was supported by two, thick, metal wires. One wire was on top, and one was below the lift. The lift went down the hill to another building, that was probably the same size as the first one, but it looked smaller because part of it was built into the hill. The entire building was surrounded by a seven-foot wall. It would not be hard to get over.
Alyssa scanned her eyes along the wall, and stopped when she saw a man roughly fifty yards in front of her. She couldn’t see him very well because it was just starting to become dark. She silently approached the man with her gun drawn. She got close enough to touch him, and she placed the barrel of her gun against his back.
“Hand’s in the air…slowly.” The man lifted his hands into the air. “Now turn around.” He complied. Neither James nor Alyssa were surprised to see each other. “Well, James, it appears you didn’t expect the unexpected this time.”
James corrected her. “Actually, I thought you’d show up sooner or later. I noticed the phone tap you so cleverly placed on my phone.”
“Then why did you let your uncle say your destination on the phone and give me Agent 9’s location.”
“Actually, I didn’t notice the phone tap until after all that was said. Besides, I didn’t care if you came. We can use your help.”
“What if I decide I don’t need your help?” She raised her gun at him. “I could eliminate you right now.”
“I don’t think so. My uncle has his gun pointed at the back of your head as we speak.” Alyssa only turned around for a very brief moment, but that was all James needed to grab the gun from her. He had it pointing at her before she had her head turned entirely back around. “Wow. You sure fell for that one.”
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to lie…or to hit women for that matter?”
“Actually Mom died before she could teach me any of that.” Alyssa’s face softened.
“I’m sorry.”
“You should be, sneaking up on me with a gun. That’s gotten to be quite a dangerous habit for you.”
“No. I mean about your…”
James interrupted her. “Look, we know Agent 9 is in here. There’s plenty of danger for the three of us. We shouldn’t fight each other.”
“Speaking of the three of us, where is your uncle?” A small twig snapping behind them answered her question, and they both turned toward Norman.
“How long have you been there Agent 12?”
“Long enough, Agent 68. Now that our guest list is full, let’s move in. There shouldn’t be too many security precautions. I don’t think he knows we’re here.” The three of them slowly approached the wall that surrounded the compound. There was a single guard at the door with a semi-automatic gun. Norman started to screw on his gun’s silencer. James’ hand stopped him.
“Wait, Agent 12,” he whispered. “That’s not necessary. He turned to Alyssa. “Pardon me for being so forward, but are you wearing a bra.” Alyssa looked indignant. James continued. “If you are wearing a bra I’d really like to borrow it.” Alyssa saw in James’ face that he wasn’t kidding. She turned away from him and removed her bra from underneath her shirt. “Thank you.” James reached down on the ground and found two, golf ball sized rocks. “We don’t have to shoot him. There’s no one else around here. The only way he can alert anybody is that alarm.” James pointed to a red button on the side of the building near the entrance. James placed one rock in each of the cups of Alyssa’s bra. He whipped the bra around his head, holding it by the straps, and then let it fly. The soft pink projectile shot through the air and smacked the guard on the side of the head.
The weight of the rocks caused the straps of the bra to loop around his head, and the cups covered his eyes. The guard grunted once, and dropped his gun and reached up with both hand to remove the obstruction from his eyes. James was already over the wall running toward him. The guard quickly removed the bra and saw James. He bent down to pick up his gun, but as he stood up to aim James shoulder checked him into the building, and with a punch had knocked him out. He walked over to the alarm and pulled the wires out of the bottom as Alyssa and Norman caught up with him. Norman was angry.
“That stunt was completely unnecessary and dangerous,” he hissed. “You could have destroyed the whole mission.”
“I was just taking advantage of having mastered rule one. I knew I could do it.” Alyssa reaffixed her bra, which James had politely returned.
“Agent 68, you take Agent Felice around back and try to find a way in from there. I’ll go in the front and try to make sure the building's clear. We’ll meet at the third floor. Be careful.” James and Alyssa went around back. James carefully tried the back door to find that it was locked. He looked at Alyssa.
“Well, it was worth a shot. James took off his watch and briefly applied the circular saw to the door. He backed off quickly when sparks started to fly. “I figured the door would be too tough for that. Let’s go back around front. We’ll go in with Agent 12.”
“What about that window?” She pointed to it. “The bars on that look weak enough to cut through. Give me a little boost.” James lifted her to the window, which was about six feet off the ground. She cut the bars, and turned to James. “I’m going to see if…” Alyssa stopped, and never finished that sentence. James took a small step back as the glass was shot outward from the building. Alyssa fell to the ground. James had his gun drawn and leaped up to the window. There were three men aiming at the window, and James shot two of them. The third man ran.
James dropped to Alyssa’s side. “Are you all right? Can you get up?”
“Never again.” Alyssa was breathing hard. Then James noticed it; the dark red stream oozing out of her chest. It was hard to distinguish in the dark from her black shirt in the dark. He touched it softly and pulled his hand away when he felt the hot mass. He tore off one of his sleeves and balled it up. He pressed it down hard on Alyssa’s wound.
James tried to speak, but he couldn’t find any words. Finally he came up with, “I killed two, but there’s still one left. I’ll kill him. If it’s the last thing I do I’ll kill him.”
“No. Don’t kill him if you don’t have to.”
“What?”
“Have you ever killed anyone before?”
“Just those two.” James pointed up to the window.
“Then trust someone with a little more experience. It isn’t a good feeling. You might think that killing that guy will make you feel better, but it won’t. You’ll feel worse. Don’t drop to his level unless you absolutely have to.”
“But I…” James didn’t continue. Alyssa cried out in pain for the first time in her adult life. James brushed the hair out of her face and held her head. He had an urge to scream for help to his uncle, who he foolishly thought could somehow save her. But he knew that wasn’t true. He didn’t yell; he just held Alyssa.
“Promise me, James, that you’ll…” Alyssa struggled to breath. “…that you will…” James leaned close to her. “Promise me you’ll get Agent 9.” James tried to speak, but the words stuck in his throat. He nodded his head ‘yes’, but he wanted to say the words. He finally managed to choke out the words the way a person would vomit something up.
“I promise.” Alyssa died in James’ arms as he fought to hold back the tears. He wanted to stay and just hold Alyssa, but he still had a mission to complete and had just made a promise that he would finish it. He closed her eyes and let her down where she lay. He wiped his eyes and stood up. He picked up his gun and jumped to the shattered window. He held his gun in view of the inside, testing to see if anyone would shoot. There was silence, and he looked into the hall. It was empty, so he climbed into the building.
He was alert, but not scared. He walked toward the stairway, checking each room along the way. He headed up to the third floor. When he reached the top of the stairs, at the other end of the hall was a man facing away from him. He had a gun down at his side, and appeared to be waiting for someone to come up the staircase at that side of the building. James could only see the back of the man, but he could tell from the photos his uncle had given him that it was Agent 9. James slowly took aim, and shot. The bullet quietly left his silenced gun and flew through the hall, hitting the barrel of the other man’s gun. The man’s gun broke into two pieces, and the man turned around to see James pointing his gun at him.
“I only saw Norman enter the building. I didn’t know he had brought help.”
“Shut up and slowly walk toward…” James felt the hit on the back of his head and he stumbled forward. Agent 9 ran. James turned in time to get a quick glance at the man before he kicked the gun out of James’ hand. James swung at the man, but missed. The man landed a punch on James’ lower jaw. James lurched back, and the man bent to pick up the gun James had dropped. James managed to kick it down the stairs. The man hit James in his side and started to go down the stairs, but James grabbed his leg and the man fell. James stepped over him and went for the gun. The man pushed himself forward on the ground with his hands and slid down the steps on his stomach. He grabbed James’ foot as he reached the last step and he fell. Both of them had their hand on the gun. They struggled over it, and the man was gaining the edge. He was slowly forcing the gun’s barrel toward James’ face. James managed to get his finger on the trigger and fired it five times into the ground next to him. The last shot was inches from his ear, but he knew that the gun was now out of bullets. His ear was ringing loudly. The man got the gun pointed at James’ face and pulled the trigger, but no bullet fired. James used both his legs to kick the man back off of him, and the man landed on the lower steps. He turned and ran up them, taking the empty gun with him.
James was up off the ground quickly, and was after the man. He reached the top of the stairs and saw the man turn into a room off the hall. James followed him into the room in time to see him loading a clip into the gun. James knocked the gun out of his hand. James punched his face into the wall and tried to do so again, but the man deftly moved his head at the last second, causing James to hit the wall. The man kicked James in the chest, and he fell back on the ground. The man grabbed a metal stool and smashed it into James’ side. James rolled on the ground under the table and kicked it up into the man’s face. He stood up quickly and grabbed another metal stool as the man thrust his stool toward James’ face. James blocked the man’s stool with the one he had, and the legs of the stools entangles in each other. They held the stools between them, each trying to push the other man.
“Where’s your girlfriend?” James froze for a second and then suddenly found the strength to push the man back against the wall and kept slamming him into it.
“It was you, wasn’t it, you son of a bitch.” James kept hitting him into the wall, but his anger made him careless. The man pulled the stools from James hand and cracked them across James’ back. James collapsed to the floor. The man took off his belt and looped it around James’ neck. He pulled James up by his neck onto his feet.
“Well, it looks like you might get to join her.” James started to see spots. He elbowed the man’s side as hard as he could. He just kept at it, but even when James’ heard a few of the man’s ribs crack, he wouldn’t let go. The man knew James would be unconscious in a few more seconds. James’ world was tuning a dark blue, and his ears were ringing so loudly he couldn’t concentrate. Just before he was ready to pass out the buckle that the man was holding the belt by snapped off. The man fell backward as the belt slid off from around James’ neck. James fell to the ground; drawing in the sweetest breath he could ever remember taking. He didn’t savor the moment too long because the man was standing up. James hopped up quicker than the other man and grabbed him by the arm.
“How about you join her instead?” James threw the man at the window, which shattered as the body crashed through it. The third floor windows were not barred, and the man fell thirty feet to the ground. James walked over to the window and looked out. The man was not moving at all. James was surprised to see him lying only a few feet away from Alyssa. He did not realize they were right above her. James picked up his gun and loaded it. He started to walk out of the room, but he suddenly felt dizzy and fell to the ground, sticking halfway out of the room. He didn’t pass out, but things were a little blurry. He saw a man walking toward him, and he raised his gun at him. He stopped, however, when he realized it was Norman.
“What happened to you, Agent 68? You look terrible.” Norman helped him to his feet. “What did the other guy look like?”
“Worse.”
“Ha. That’s a good lad.” Norman patted James on his shoulder and added, “Did you kill him?”
“I think so.”
“What do you mean? He’s either dead or he’s not. Which is it?”
“I’m not sure. We beat the hell out of each other and then I threw him out a third story window. Last time I saw him he wasn’t moving.”
“I see. Where’s Agent Felice?”
“Alyssa’s dead.” Norman hesitated before asking his next question.
“How did it…happen? James didn’t answer right away.
“We couldn’t get in the door so I lifted her up so we could get in through the window. She was shot.”
“By the man you threw out the window?” James nodded. “Well, I’m sorry, but it appears I had it much easier than you.” James was silent. “I know Agent 9’s plans. James, are you listening?”
“I should have done it. She shouldn’t have been shot. I should have protected her.”
“She knew the risks. She was a field operative for the CIA for God’s sake.”
“You don’t know what it’s like, having a woman die in your arms.” James grabbed Norman’s shirt with his fists. Norman didn’t move.
“Yes, I do. Do you think you’re the first agent in history to lose somebody on a mission?” James let go of Norman. “At least Alyssa was an agent. She chose to be here. She went out of her way to get here.” Norman looked down at his shoes. “Ursula was just an innocent girl I got mixed up in a mission. She didn’t deserve to die.”
“I’m sorry. I…”
“Don’t be sorry. Once you start you’ll never stop. I was sorry that Ursula died for too long. After a while you just start to feel sorry for yourself. Why did that happen to me? Why couldn’t I save her? Then you replay it in your head over and over again figuring out all the things that you could have done differently. If I could have just done this or that or if this happened. Well, let me tell you, James, the fastest way to ensure insanity is to focus on what might have been.” They were both silent. Then James spoke.
“You called me James. This mission isn’t over, Agent 12. You said you know Agent 9’s plans. Do you plan on telling me what they are?” Norman smiled.
“Of course. Do you know what fusion is?”
“Somewhat. It’s a nuclear reaction in which two small atoms fuse to form a larger one. It creates a lot of energy. The Americans and the Russians are especially interested in its uses.”
“That’s excellent James. Now, if such enormous energy can be created, why not use it as a power source?”
“It’s not practical. Fusion only occurs at very high temperatures that are nearly impossible to maintain.”
“That leads us to cold fusion. Do you know what that is?”
“The Americans are hoping to one day create fusion without the enormous heat.”
“Well, the Americans can hope all they want, but one Dr. Julius Sanderson, a British Scientist, achieved that dream.”
“What?”
“The problem with the reactions is that they are uncontrolled. The reaction occurs when deuterium ions in “heavy water’ fuse after being sent through a porous, platinum-carbon rod. Now it’s more complicated than that, but in a nutshell…”
“Right. Agent 9 does know how it works. What is he going to use it for?”
“Remember how I said the reaction was uncontrolled? That means it was too dangerous for use as an energy source. However, that makes it perfect for a bomb. In fact, it’s too perfect. MI6 didn’t even want to try to develop it. So, MI6 destroyed all record of its existence, and Dr. Sanderson has been in a secluded house under permanent watch. No one was ever to know about cold fusion.”
“What happened?”
“I said that MI6 destroyed the records. Guess which Agent was entrusted to oversee that project.”
“Agent 9,” James answered. “So, he can make bombs?”
“Not just any bombs. Imagine a bomb so powerful it could vaporize an entire city. Its fuel is heavy water, which is incredibly easy to get a hold of. It’s also small enough to fit in a suitcase. That’s the kind of bombs that Agent 9 can make. He can hide them anywhere. He could deliver them in the mail. He could hide them in a car, park, leave the city and at the touch of a button that city doesn’t exist.”
“He can hold any city in the world hostage.”
“Any number of cities, actually. There’s no demand he could make that wouldn’t be met eventually.” James suddenly felt dizzy again.
“Where is Agent 9?”
“He took the lift to the other building.”
“I should have killed him when I had the chance.”
“You saw him?”
“Yeah, I think he was waiting to kill you. He didn’t know you had company. I shot the gun out of his hands, but before I could get him one of his goons hit me from behind.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get him.” James and Norman started to walk to the lift.
“Oh, also,” James said, “I think we need to add an eleventh rule.”
“What’s that?”
“Luck always helps.”
“Why should we add that?”
“Because it’s luck that I wasn’t strangled to death back there.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Let’s just get Agent 9 before he leaves the city.”
“He can’t leave. Once we confirmed that Agent 9 was here I contacted MI6 and had them set up a blockade around this entire forest. We have over a hundred men out there, keeping him trapped in here. However, if this is where he has been making the bombs, and if he has one ready he still has a bargaining chip. MI6 still wants us to try and take care of the situation before sending in more men.” They arrived at the lift. Unfortunately, the lift was not there.
“We’ll have to climb down.”
“That will take forever. Here.” Norman threw a length of chain to James. “We’ll slide down.” Norman threw his chain over the top wire and, holding each end of the chain, jumped. He slid down the wire with great speed down toward the other building. He was soon out of James sight except for the sparks generated by the chain scraping on the metal cable. James threw his chain over the top wire and jumped.
The speed surprised him as he slid past the blurred trees. James was starting to enjoy the brisk night air flowing on his face when his chain snapped where it was touching the wire.
Without thinking, James took the half of the chain in his right hand and threw it over the lower cable as he fell past it. He grabbed the chain, and was sliding along the bottom cable with a chain half as long as when he started. The path under the top wire had been clear, since that is the path the lift travels along. However, under the bottom cable James was being buffeted by branches from trees. He saw that he would soon hit a very large branch, and to avoid that he started shifting his weight back and forth from side to side. Finally he gained enough momentum to flip up over the bottom cable and he threw his chain back over the top table. He fell down hard, but he held on to the chain and was back again in the safe path of the lift. He slid into the alcove where the lift stops, and he held out his feet as they smashed into the back of the lift.
“Quite a ride, wouldn’t you say?”
“You don’t know the half of it.” James looked up along the wire, and was amazed at how quickly they had traveled all that distance from the other building.
“This building will probably be more guarded that the last.”
“Right.” James and Norman walked down the hall cautiously, with their guns drawn.
They continued to walk down the hall, realizing that an attack could come at any minute. However, no attack came. The entire hall was empty, including the adjacent rooms. At the end of the hall was a large metal door. James rapped on it slightly. There was a deep metallic thunk. “This steel must be a foot thick. I don’t think we can get through it.” There was a small number pad next to the door. “You don’t think you could figure out his code do you?”
“He wouldn’t make it that easy. The code’s probably random, and at least nine digits long. Let’s check the next floor.” They went up to the second floor, to find it entirely empty. At the end of the hall was a large metal door just like on the first floor.
“What do you think these lead to?”
“Obviously something he wants well guarded. This whole end of the building is built into the side of the cliff. Also, there’s an access to the room on at least two floors. I’m guessing that behind these doors is one large room. It could be where Agent 9 is making the bombs.”
“Do you think he’s already making them?”
“Yes. I found some papers back in the other building. On one of them was a hand-written timetable. It appeared that Agent 9 was moving forward with his plan in eight days. The first target city was going to be close by Cork.”
“Well, there’s still one more floor to check.” James led the way up to the third floor, and stopped before turning the corner into the hall. A minute click had caught his ears. He turned to Norman. “Did you hear that?” He mouthed the words clearly so that Norman could read his lips. Norman nodded and signaled James to get behind him. He pulled a small mirror out of his pocket and held it at an angle around the corner.
In it, he saw three guards aiming at the end of the hall where they were. They were wearing heavily armored clothing. One of them shot, and shattered the mirror out of Norman’s hand. Norman and James stepped back with their guns drawn, in case the guards advanced. They did not, however. They knew that whoever was there would not be able to shoot through their clothing from that distance, and if they tried to advance they would be easy targets.
Norman signaled James to take another step back. He complied. Then Norman took off his watch and the front of his belt buckle. James watched curiously as Norman connected the belt buckle into the two small holes in the back of the watch. Norman turned the belt buckle ninety degrees and threw the contraption down the hall. James heard someone say, “Get that…” before a large explosion occurred. James was surprised at the kick it had, having come from the small watch/buckle devise. Norman snuck his head into view of the hall. He then stepped into it. James followed.
“One of Q’s toys, I imagine.”
“State of the art in micro-explosives, just what we needed.” They advanced down the hallway to where the three guards lay unconscious. Right behind them was another heavy metal door. Norman examined it. The explosion didn’t even dent it.”
“Now what do we do?”
“I honestly don’t know. I guess the only thing we can do is see if there’s a basement and if we can somehow get in through there. If not, we’ll have to just back off for now and wait for MI6 to send in the troops.” Down in the basement James and Norman were not happy. There was nothing in there except for two large boilers and a bunch of pipes. However, one of the boilers didn’t look like the other one.
“Hey, Agent 12. If Agent 9 is making the bombs at this location he’d have to have a source of heavy water, right?”
“Correct.”
“Is that hard to store?”
“No, you could hold it in anything that holds regular water.”
“Then,” James walked over to the smaller boiler, “couldn’t this be where he stores it.” James touched the tank. “This isn’t hot, so it isn’t a boiler. Plus, it doesn’t look like the other boiler. That has a bunch of pipes leading off of it. This has only one large pipe that heads straight up.”
“Well I’ll say, Agent 68, I think you’re right. Just one large pipe that goes up. You can’t climb through it can you?”
James looked at the pipe. “I’d never fit. But we can do this.” James pulled up on a large red handle at the bottom of the tank. He had to pull with a lot of strength; the handle was tight. He finally pulled it up with a jerk and water started pouring out of it. Back upstairs Norman and James were ready to give up and leave. “At least we probably stopped him from making any more bombs.”
“That’s a small victory. Let’s go. We can’t go any further without help.” As they were leaving they noticed a man running through the woods. James ran after him. After he quickly realized that he wouldn’t catch the man he took aim and fired at him. The bullet blasted through his leg, sending him sprawling to the ground. James caught up and jumped on top of him as he tried to stand up. James held him to the ground as Norman caught up.
“Well done, Agent 68.” Norman held his gun on the man. “Where is Agent 9?” The man didn’t speak. “Tell me where he is.” The man spat in Norman’s face. James pushed his face into the ground.
“Last chance. Where is Agent 9?”
“No. This is your last chance. He set a bomb to explode in twenty-five minutes. It will take out the whole city.”
“What?”
“He found out about your little barricade. When he realized he was cornered he set one of his bombs to explode and escaped underground.”
“Why didn’t he take you?”
“He said I wasn’t worth saving. He took his two scientists and went into his underground tunnel. He closed it off before I got in.”
“My God,” Norman’s face lost some of its color. “MI6 probably thinks he’s still in there. He knew he was finished here, so he escapes to safety and takes out a hundred MI6 agents along with this city. Come on, Agent 68, we have to get out of here. We have to warn everyone.”
Norman started to run a few steps and stopped when James didn’t follow. “Come on, boy.”
“Bluffing.”
“What?”
“He’s bluffing. Agent 9 is bluffing.”
The man spoke up, “He’s not bluffing. I saw him set the bomb and leave.”
“Agent 9 doesn’t bluff,” Norman reiterated. “Never.”
“An escape tunnel? Doesn’t that seem a little far fetched?”
“No. Agent 9 always has a way out. I’m not surprised that he had a tunnel built.”
“No. He wants you to think that. He knew you’d be here, and he anticipates your reaction. He wants you to warn MI6. Once everyone is evacuated he could waltz out of here if he wanted to.”
“We don’t have time for this.”
James turned to the man. “Did you see the entire tunnel or just the entrance?”
“Just the entrance, I guess.”
“That could just be an alcove. What about the bomb? Are you positive he set one to explode?”
“He did something to one of them.”
“Exactly. He made you think he set the bomb and left. He leaves you behind and knows you’d try to save your own skin.” James started talking faster. “You leave and run into MI6’s barricade and tell us what ‘happened.’ MI6 can’t risk that he’s lying and evacuates the city, and Agent 9 walks out of here.” Norman was listening intently.
“If you’re wrong every body dies.”
“You take this guy here and warn every body. Do your best to evacuate the city. I’ll stay back and catch Agent 9 off guard. I should have no problem.”
“James, I can’t let you…”
“Agent 12, get out now.” Norman looked at James. He turned and took the man and left. James ran back to the entrance of the building. He hid off to the side and crouched down. He looked down at his wrist. He realized that he left his watch back with Alyssa. He couldn’t even tell if twenty-five minutes has passed. He started to get worried. He ran through his logic again. Agent 9 had failed to obey rules nine and five by not expecting MI6 to find him and by not having an escape route. Because of that he had to rely on rules two and eight by knowing how Norman would react and improvising this little scheme. He knew that Norman wouldn’t call his bluff. However, he didn’t know James, who did call his bluff. Besides, Norman would never have let James stay behind if he didn’t have a hunch that he was right.
James waited for what seemed like an hour, but finally the door in front of James opened. Two men in white lab coats came out, and behind them was a man dressed in black and carrying a bunch of papers and a gun. James couldn’t see the man very well in the dark, but he was pretty sure he was Agent 9. He waited for them to take several steps away from the building before he crept up behind them.
“Drop it, Agent 9.” All three men stopped. The man in black dropped the papers and his gun. “Now put your hands up, slowly,” James emphasized ‘slowly’. The man complied. Suddenly, one of the scientists reached into his coat and started to turn. James reacted quickly, and the bullet went straight through the man in black and imbedded in the scientists shoulder. The scientist’s bullet had also shot through the man in black, and had hit James in his right shoulder. A few inches to the left and James would have been in trouble. James and the man lurched back, and steadied themselves to aim again. James shot first, this time sending the man to the ground. He didn’t get up. The other scientists cowered on the ground. James ignored him and checked the other two men. They were both dead. James discovered that the man in black wasn’t Agent 9. James walked to the downed scientist. “Agent 9.” James let the man's head fall to the ground. He laughed. Apparently Agent 9 had one last trick up his sleeve. James was just a better shot that time, or Agent 9 would have escaped and James would be dead.
James looked down at the bodies. This was the first time he got to see his act of killing close up. He stared at the lifeless bodies and felt sick. Alyssa had been right. This didn’t feel good. James felt like he should do something more, but couldn’t figure out exactly what that was. “Let’s go,” he said to the remaining scientist, who was only too eager to leave. They left the woods, with James doing his best to stop the blood coming from his shoulder.
James couldn’t find anyone at first. James realized that Norman had done his job to evacuate the area as best as possible. James started to question just how much his uncle had believed in him. It took him a while to find anyone from MI6. When he did, he immediately got a ride back to MI6. He didn’t see Norman until later, after his shoulder had been repaired as much as possible. James would be fine, and would make a full recovery, but he would have a permanent scar.
“Hello, James.” Norman rested his hand very slightly on James’ bandaged shoulder. “It looks like you completed the mission.”
“It wasn’t like I thought it would be. I expected some glorious confrontation between the good guys and the bad guys.”
“That kind of thing only happens in fiction…usually.” Norman added, “This has actually been one of the more exciting missions I’ve been on in a while.”
“Two shots. That’s all, and then it was over.”
“Just be glad Agent 9 was out of practice or that bullet would’ve killed you. Be happy that the mission is over.” James smiled and sat up.
“I’m feeling much better now as well.”
“Good, we have a meeting with M as soon as you feel up to it.” Later that evening James and Norman were sitting in M’s office. James noticed that M’s face looked as happy as he’d ever seen it. The three of them sat in silence for a while before M broke the silence.
“Well, gentlemen, the mission was a success. Agent 9 is out of commission, and as we speak we have agents destroying all the data on the cold fusion.” James spoke up right away.
“Do you think that’s wise? Which agents are doing it? Can you trust them?”
“Bond,” M replied, “we have taken precautions this time. We have brought in a few members from our German division to destroy the research. They don’t speak or read English. Also, 001 and 002 are supervising the operation. Those who see the papers won’t understand them and those who understand won’t see them. The papers will be destroyed”
“I see, very clever.”
“The remaining scientist will go back to his home, but will be under constant observation for a while. We have no reason to believe he would use the technology against us. Agent 9 forced him to work for him. Also, he doesn’t know how to make the bombs by memory. He would need the research. We’ll give him sufficient time to forget everything, and then he’s free to live his life. Also, Agent Felice’s body is being returned to America for her burial. I personally spoke to the head of the CIA and explained what happened. They are obviously saddened by the loss of their fine agent, but are satisfied that Agent 9 is dead.” M stopped briefly before resuming.
“About Agent 9; we are giving him a burial, but no proper ceremony. Norman spoke up.
“Bruce will have to settle with that. If only he hadn’t defected, he’d have had the grandest ceremony ever.” James realized that Bruce was Agent 9. The mission was over, and Norman could think of him as an old friend again.
“Well, we only have one more piece of business.” M turned to James. “What about our newest agent?” James didn’t say anything. “I hear that it was you who saved the day.”
“Not really. I just got lucky.”
“Now James, don’t sell yourself short. It was your quick thinking that saved us on several occasions. If you hadn’t been on this mission Agent 9 would be free now. I wouldn’t call his bluff because he never bluffed before; that’s not his style. He knew I knew that and would evacuate the city. He didn’t plan on you out-witting him.”
“You still evacuated the city though. Did you trust me?”
“Yes. Once you made me see the truth I was fairly certain you were right. Agent 9 was unprepared for us. Weren’t you curious how I discovered Agent 9’s plans? He had left out important papers explaining nearly his entire plan. If he had the slightest hunch that we were coming those would never have been lying around to see. He was caught completely off guard. He had no escape tunnel.”
“Then why did you evacuate the city if you were so sure I was right?”
“Do you want me to quote the appropriate rule?” James shook his head, he was satisfied.
“Well,” M interrupted them, “at any rate you did very well for your first mission; exceptionally well, actually. We’d love to have you stay on with us. With some more training you’d make a great candidate for the double-o program. We’re looking for a 003 and 004.” James slowly stood up.
“Thank you very much sir, but I have some things I’d like to do before settling down to a career. But…” James slowly started toward the door. “You two promise me you’ll keep a spot open for me in that program. Maybe contact me when you get to my lucky number.” James opened the door and started to leave the room.
“What might that be?” M asked James as he started to shut the door behind him.
James smiled. “Seven.”
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