Disclaimer: Alec Trevelyan, James Bond, M, Miss Moneypenny, Natalya Simonova, Xenia Onatopp, Q, Arkady Ourumov, Jack Wade, and Charles Robinson do not belong to me. They belong to the estate of Ian Fleming and to MGM. However, Rowanne, Sassy, and Sabrina do, along with the Bramwell family, Sebastian Miller (006 Number two) and William Pryce-Meecham (002), the Denisov family and Dr Vanya Orlov. If you don't recognize them, there's a better than even chance that the character is one of mine.

(takes deep breath) My characters may be borrowed, but please ask first, give credit where credit is due, and PLEASE return them to me intact (they don't have to be unscathed, but they do have to be in one piece and alive).

Special thanks go to Melanie, for her encouragement and support; and to Iolana and alleymap for listening while I worked out plot details in the middle of an email.

Caught in the Game Again

Prologue

Memory, All Alone in the Moonlight

MI6 Headquarters, London, England

March 2004

He was an old man among the double oh's. More than seventy years old, he had the pleasure of training such young shining stars as James Bond and Alec Trevelyan. Oh, he knew about his protégé's later betrayal, but when he knew Alec Trevelyan, he was young and bright and eager. Just twenty years old, he wanted to save the world. And 002, the second generation of agents created after the Second World War in MI6, taught him everything he needed to know.

Were he to be utterly honest, 002. . .or, as he was known in the civilian world, William Pryce-Meecham. . .never truly let go of his soft spot for the youngster who was recruited into MI6 directly after his graduation from University. Even after Bond returned from Cuba with the news that Trevelyan was Janus, that his 'death' nine years earlier was just a cover story for his planned defection. . .William still loved the boy.

He never told M, of course. . .or Bond, for that matter. In truth, there was a part of William Pryce-Meecham that blamed himself for never telling the boy the truth about his parents. He could only guess how Alec found out about the Lienz Cossacks, and what it did to the lad when he discovered the truth. He should have told Alec himself. . .he might have sparedthem all so much grief.

All water under the bridge, but William still felt as though he betrayed Alec. That was one reason. . . one of many. . .why he kept a paternal eye on the young agents who reported to him now. Especially his 006. Alec's code number. He couldn't save Alec, but maybe he could save Sebastian, who reminded him painfully of Alec at times. He was reading over the boy's report right now. And it was most disquieting.

According to Sebastian, Dr Ivan Orlov, a Russian scientist who went missing nearly twenty years earlier, resurfaced recently. Only a few months before Alec's defection, if he remembered correctly. And his last base of operations was. . . William's blood ran cold. Arkangelsk. How on earth did they miss this little bit of information? Was it a coincidence? Only months before one of William's greatest protéges pulled a disappearing act, this scientist pulled one of his own? He continued to read the report.

During his investigation atthe old weapons factory, Sebastian discovered that Dr Orlov was quite fascinated with the changes in the human body caused by chemicals. It was around the time that Alzheimer's was given a name, and he began to theorize that he could create a chemical, or possibly a machine, that would have some of the effects as Alzheimer's. . .including memory loss. William swallowed hard, and turned the page.

More sickening revelations followed. Orlov considered the doctors in charge of the concentration camps during the Second World War to be great men, ground-breaking scientists. He spoke in glowing terms in his papers of their genius. No surprise, given what Nazi Germany did to Stalin's Russia, that he was not well regarded in his own country. It was a surprise, then, that Arkady Ourumov (bastard) employed him.

William's own brother, Gareth, fought in the Second World War, and he wrote to William about the horrors he saw in the concentration camps. He couldn't tell their father, as the old man was sympathetic to Hitler and the Nazis. Nor could Gareth tell their mother, whose health was even then failing. Only to William could he tell about the horrors he saw when the Allies liberated the camps.

William was just a boy at the time. . .a teenager, he would be called now. But even as he fought back his nausea at what his beloved brother saw, he was proud. Proud that his brother considered him enough of a man to confide in him. And it was not something he would ever forget. He was all too aware, through the years, of neo-Nazis and the children foolish enough to think it provided any answers other than death and destruction. Or maybe that was what they sought. But William Pryce-Meechamknew Nazis. And he would never forget. Now this fool Orlov was yet another reminder of that evil.

Sebastian was just as horrified as what he learned, and tracked the scientist. The previous week, Sebastian finally tracked down the man's most recent lab. He moved on since then, but the old fool left all of his records behind. That, in and of itself, smelled like a trap to William. Unless, of course, Orlov was arrogant enough that no one would decipher his notes. That was always a possibility. He wasn't nearly as good at covering his tracks as any of William's trainees. The old man permitted a few moments of pride in his boys, as he called them, before he continued to read the report.

At the very end was a post-it note from Sebastian, reading, "002. Check the second page. As if this isn't bad enough, there's more. Seems he's had some live subjects over the years. I recognised a few of the names, and I know you will, too. I'm heading back to the archives, and see what I can learn. You'll understand when you read the list of live subjects. William. . .I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am."

With trepidation fluttering in his gut, William turned the page. What hit him first was not the names listed. . .but the number of names listed. There had to be hundreds at least. William whispered a silent prayer that these poor souls be permitted to rest in peace. However, that prayer wasn't to be answered. Because Sebastian was quite correct. The very first name he saw, he recognized. Oh no. Oh, God, no.

He picked up the receiver and dialed the archives. Once the connection was established, he said tersely, "I wish to speak with 006, please." There was a slight wait, but in the end, he heard Sebastian's eager young voice. . .now subdued and muted with the horror of what he had seen. Double-oh agents were trained to deal with horrifying sights during their careers. But sometimes. . . sometimes, something got past even their protective shields.

"Sebastian, it's 002. Son, I want you to do something. After the Goldeneye incident, the Russian government sent us pictures of Alec Trevelyan. No, they didn't know he was Janus, but they were suspicious of him. Look for anything unusual, anything that no one has noticed before. You know what I mean. If you find anything, take it to M, but don't tell her that you did this at my direction. Good lad," William praised as he hung up the phone.

He sat back and regarded the sheet in front of him, trembling with rage. Oh my dear boy, he thought, staring sadly at that first name on the sheet, it's too late for me to save you, Alec. But it's not too late for me to clear your name. And I swear to you now. . .no matter what it takes, I will take Orlov down, and I will make him pay for what he did to you, and all the others. He won't get away with it, Alec. I promise. He won't get away with it!