Alec double checked the address saved on his phone, positive that he had the wrong place. A quaint, New England style house sat on the lot marked number Twelve with a two car garage and more flower beds than he had ever seen in one place. Parking at the curb, he took in the charming two story home with blue siding and picture windows. It had taken him so long to track her down that he didn't want to blow his chance by believing that he knew her well enough to be sure that she would live somewhere a little more extravagant. He cut the engine and emerged from the air conditioned bliss of the Dodge Charger into the sweltering midday heat. Removing his sun glasses and hooking them to the front of his t-shirt, he made his way across the well-manicured lawn to the steps leading up to the porch.

As he reached the door a dog began barking somewhere inside. A big dog by the sound of it. Alec shook his head. He was about to make a fool of himself when the wrong person opened the door but he had to take the chance, there was much more at stake than his pride. He couldn't help straightening up and glancing back at the car, he could still make his escape and continue his search elsewhere. He had just lifted his hand to press the doorbell when he heard a metallic sound on the other side of the door and it opened a crack.

"If you press that button I will let the dog out after you." Promised the faceless voice. "What do you want?" Alec shoved his hands in his pockets and took a step back, not the least bit interested in becoming dog chow for whatever monster was kept inside the house.

"I'm looking for Kimberly Devolin. Does she live here?" He mused, trying to see through the crack in the door. His attempts were for naught when the heavy door opened further.

"What business do you have with Kimberly Devolin?" asked the tall, lean, woman that stood in the door way. Her hair was no longer her usual platinum, having been died a deep red and her bright green eyes bore into him, seemingly trying to place him. She could change her appearance, as he had changed his, but time had done little to change the way that she carried herself, with a confidence and air of superiority that he had never seen matched.

"I'm an old friend looking to share some rather colorful memories." He began, a smile of relief creeping onto his face. "It's good to see you K." The woman in front of him wasn't smiling. She still scanned him curiously but he was sure that she knew more than she was letting on. She had every right to be cautious.

"I don't go by my initial anymore Alec Trevelyan. It's Kim and you don't have to share your memories with me, I remember full well the chaos that we took part in." she leaned heavily against the door frame, crossing her arms over her chest. Alec could see both of her hands but he had absolutely no doubt that the woman was still armed if by nothing else than force of habit.

"I need your help." He stated simply. K stood up and peered up and down the street before stepping aside and allowing him to enter the house. He was hesitant to step through the door. "The dog?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There is no dog." She sighed and ushered him in. The moment that he stepped off of the porch the barking ceased. He had to keep himself from laughing as K shut the door behind him and punched a code into a panel on the wall and placed her hand on a sensor. Something heavy and metal shifted in the door and she motioned him into the kitchen.

A few minutes later they were seated at the kitchen table with two steaming cups of coffee. It was such a normal scene, anyone looking in an open window would have guessed the past of the two highly trained people sharing a conversation. Alec took a drink from the steaming mug and immediately started to cough and sputter.

"Good to know that some things never change. Did the spoon melt when you put sugar in this? It's tar." He laughed, setting the mug back down and trying to regain his composure. K sat across from him, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms again. Her whole person emanated discomfort. She wasn't happy that he had shown up on her door step.

"I can't help you Alec. Two years ago I said that I was done and I meant it. I've established a normal life that I was denied at the hands of you and James. I won't go back." She stated simply. Alec took a look around the kitchen.

"A normal life that includes hidden weapons and top of the line security? We can never be normal K, we gave up normal when we made our decision to join however many years ago." He assured her casually. She flinched at her title but recovered quickly, sitting up straight and holding her coffee mug in both hands.

"Yes, my past makes me careful, a lot of bad things happened to good people and we pissed off a lot of bad people but that doesn't mean that I miss it. I like being able to get a full night of sleep without worrying that my phone will ring and I will ship out. I enjoy sleeping in my own bed every night and not having to worry about what I say on the off chance that someone is wearing a wire." She was still watching him like a hawk, judging his gestures, watching his hands for any flinch toward his waist band or pockets.

"Right now you are thinking that I was sent by the service. That you know too much and they have ordered your termination. I can't say that I blame you, it's not unheard of, but I assure you that I am here on personal business." He met her glare and reached out to touch her arm reassuringly but in one quick movement she reached under the table and pointed the business end of a Taurus Raging Bull at him. To anyone else, this would be terrifying, and he did jump slightly, but he had been in the situation with this particular woman on more than one occasion. He sat back in his chair with a sign and put his hands up in surrender.

"Tell me what you want Alec so I can respectfully decline and you can go back to where ever you are calling home these days." Her eyes shot sparks at him and from experience he knew that she would have no problem putting a bullet in him. She had never tried to kill him, but he had a few scars and one rebuilt knee to remind him that she was to be taken seriously.

"Do you always surprise your coffee companions with the threat of a lead lobotomy?" he asked, his voice not giving away the slight edge of adrenaline that had begun to course through his veins at the familiar sight of a gun barrel. Just like old times.

"What do you want Alec?" She asked, removing the safety with a threatening click.

"James is missing." He stated simply, putting his hands on the table in front of him slowly. K reengaged the safety and set the gun on the table next to her, just out of his reach. She started to laugh and shook her head.

"James Bond is missing? What a shock. Why does that even concern you? The man is invisible." The complete hilarity of the idea had her chuckling into her coffee mug as she took a long sip before continuing to shake her head. Alec knew that it sounded crazy, but if anyone had cared about the welfare of James it had been K. The two people were their commanders, they lead their team into every battle without so much as a flinch and he knew that despite her outward carelessness, what he had said was eating at K.

"He's not invisible any more. He was doing the same thing that you're doing now. Drinking coffee and living as normal of a life as was possible given our history. He rented a flat in London, went by the name of Travis LeBeau and even got a normal every day job." Alec explained to her calmly, watching for some kind of hint that she cared about what he was saying. "The paper printed the other day that his apartment was ransacked and Mr. LeBeau was reported missing. I took it upon myself to see the aftermath and DNA testing confirmed that blood found smeared in the apartment was in fact the blood of our leader." Her head spun to meet his gaze so quickly that he feared she would have whiplash.

"Your leader. James Bond had absolutely no control over me and my team. Remember that." She spat at him before returning her gaze to the kitchen window, seemingly searching for answers outside. After a few moments of silence she snapped out of her reverie and continued. "I will agree with you that it seems odd but this is James we're talking about. Who's to say that it wasn't just some stage set for him to disappear, once again, into the depths of society?" She stood and made her way over to the sink, leaning against the counter while Alec watched all of the gears in her mind spin out of control. She was on edge and concern finally altered her visage as she chewed on her lower lip.

"Regardless of whether or not he was abducted or simply needed to disappear, I feel that he could use our help. He had to disappear for a reason, he was quite comfortable as Travis LeBeau and something must have spooked him enough for him to stage something so elaborate." Alec reasoned, eyeing the firearm that K had left on the table across from him. His attention returned to the woman when she let out a deep sigh and returned to the table with a look of pure defeat.

"Leave it to James to ruin my retirement." She huffed, replacing the gun to its hidden holster under the table and meeting his gaze. "I will need a few days to get my affairs in order."