Suzuki Bond Chapter 1: Raindrops
She crouched down just low enough to stay hidden from the guard standing no more than a meter away from her. She held her breath, counted to three and... She couldn't do it. She would get caught. Suddenly a memory flooded back to her from years ago when she was about seven years old. She had been at school when a teacher had started picking on her and accusing her wrongly. She remembered how she hid for hours in a cupboard, curled up in a tiny ball, tears streaming down her cheeks. No, now wasn't the time for memories. It was the time for a plan of action. She thought for a few seconds before coming to a decision. Then she had it. She would go into the building through a vent. She had always been small so she was sure she could manage it. She slowly crept back painfully aware of the glock 17 pistol in the guard's hand. A few minutes later she had made it back to the vent opening. She removed her Swiss Army knife from the bottom of her shoe and started to twist away at the screws which concealed the vents entrance. After ten minutes of this she realised that she had hardly been breathing and she let out a long but silent breath. She had made it this far, she mustn't screw up now. Finally the last screw fell out into her hand and she removed the vent cover and slipped in. She replaced the cover but there was no time to put the screws back now. Time was not to be wasted. She began to make her way along the vent. She didn't know exactly which way to go but she knew that if she kept silent that she could move around until she found what she was looking for.
Chapter 2:
Mi6. It says it all doesn't it. Spies, weapons, secret gadgets. Well this wasn't quite the reality. Although James had worked on many high profile missions it never had really lived up to his childhood expectations. This was precisely why he disliked children, they were so idealistic, so naïve. James preferred to be straight talking and emotionless, he wouldn't be very good at his job if he wasn't. Despite his previous feeling he had held for Vespa he had learnt that there was no real point in love for everything that he touched just seemed to wither and die. He was a cold man, there was no argument about that but he did have emotions deep inside that he never let anyone else see: remorse, pain and his most secret of all: fear. He had been orphaned as a young boy and he had needed to toughen up and mature quicker that most children, however he looked back and felt that he had missed his childhood, perhaps this was part of the reason that he hated children, he was simply jealous that they had opportunities that he had never had. Growing up in Scotland and Switzerland he had travelled a lot, he never stayed anywhere long enough to build up any lasting relationships so friends were another thing that he had missed out on. At the thought of this he sighed and glanced at a picture in his desk drawer, a picture of his first love Kissy Suzuki. He kept the drawer locked; even Mallory didn't have a key. As he locked the drawer again he almost thought he heard something above him, a shuffling of some sort. He shrugged it off, maybe all the missions he had been on had made him paranoid. Besides the Mi6 building was practically the most protected place in the UK.
Chapter 3:
When she looked down she knew she had found what she came to see. Suddenly her mind filled with doubt. Was she being crazy? How did she know that this was the man for sure? What would she do now she was here? She took a deep breath and looked down once more. There he was, seemingly unaware of her presence, working on some documents. When Suzuki had looked down before she could have sworn that she had seen the man holding a picture of her mother. No it couldn't have been, maybe the adrenaline running through her veins had made her see things. Besides, if this was the man then he would have gotten over her mother by now.
It was 56 days since Suzuki's mother had died. At the time she had been doing homework at a friend's house when she received a call on her mobile from her nanny telling her to come home. The news struck her in the chest like a bullet fired from Barrett M82 sniper rifle. Her mother was dead, killed in a high speed car accident. She was now alone in the world. She had never even met her father and she had no other living relatives. It was decided that she should be sent to a boarding school in the England. Suzuki had lived in Hong Kong most of her life but had flown into London two weeks ago to attend a boarding school in Kent. She hated it here, everything from the awful weather to the stuck up school girls. This wasn't her home and it never would be. Suzuki had made a few friends but she was still very depressed and not much fun to be around. She was small for her age with long blonde hair and blue eyes, the opposite of her mother's dark complexion. She had taken with her to England some of her mother's old things and late on the first night of boarding school she had been flicking through some of them with tears in her eyes. Her mood switched from despair to curiosity when she found photos of a man with her mother. He was unsmiling and serious but something about him felt familiar and almost comforting to Suzuki. As she flicked through more documents she uncovered something else. A diary. Hopefully she would get some answers from here. Suzuki was desperate to find her father if he was still alive. She got what she was looking for. That's what had lead her hear, to mi6. She had sneaked out of school since it was the weekend and had got on a train to London from Sevenoaks. She then walked to Vauxhall cross.
No it was him for sure. She couldn't be mistaken, same cold expression, same blonde hair. Suzuki had no real proof to say that he could be her father but she was in a desperate state. Suddenly she heard the sound of a slide being pulled back and realised that the man had a gun pointing at her. He had taken the initiate to look up, she must have made too much sound. It was then that Suzuki had taken a stupid risk in using the vent. "Come out now and I won't shoot".
Chapter 4:
Slowly she started to undo the screws which did up the second vent cover. "Fine I understand. I just have to undo this first". Then without a moment's notice the started to crawl at a great speed in the opposite direction, anything was better than giving in and besides she knew he wouldn't shoot until he discovered more information from her first. She scampered along until she reached a dead end. Hell. She had gone the wrong way; she would have to go back the way that she had come. As she turned to go back the suddenly herd the sound of metal hitting the ground. She looked around to see that the dead end was gone; someone had unscrewed the end of the vent. Stood there instead was a serious looking man with a sling on his right arm. "I don't know your motive and I don't know how the hell you got in here, but I promise you I will find out". Without a moment's notice two guards had seized her from the vent as she felt herself being dragged along the corridor. She heard a clicking sound as she observed some handcuffs being secured to her wrists.
The office was large and important looking. She was forced onto a seat. She looked across to see the man. "Well... I don't quite know where to begin miss... Suzuki was it?". "My first name is Suzuki". "Well Suzuki it seems that you are a clever girl however it seems in this instance that you have been very stupid", "give me straight answers and you may be lucky enough to avoid room 020...". "Depends what the questions are" scowled Suzuki.
She was suddenly aware of a bright light being shone directly into her face and the scary man peering at her with a slight look of amusement on his face. "This is the first time we have ever had a child in here, what do you think of the place?" "I think that for the security services that your security is pretty crap". A guard moved forward and grabbed her left shoulder aggressively. "Lay off won't you Tannin, aggression won't get us answers". "Miss. Suzuki answer me this, why did you come here?" "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell you" Suzuki remarked sarcastically.
Chapter 5:
Come on, there had to be some way out of this situation, she just had to think, hard. Nothing came, it was just impossible. She decided that the best plan for the moment was just to sit still and say nothing. The man continued to interrogate her with question but Suzuki didn't give her anything. Finally The man gave up.
"I assume you heard my earlier threat Suzuki..." He remarked casually flicking his nails. Still Suzuki replied with nothing. "Well then it looks like you're taking a trip to room 020..." "Wait!" Her reason here wasn't even a big secret, maybe this man could even help her. The pain wouldn't be worth it.
"So you really think Bond is your father then. I suppose you must do considering you went to all this trouble to see him". "I am prepared to run a DNA test for you but you mustn't leave this room, I am sure you appreciate that we can't simply release you back into the outside world". Suzuki was surprised that the man was being so helpful, he seemed less angry than before, almost pitiful to Suzuki who had explained everything to her, including the details of her mother's death.
A few minutes later Suzuki was released from her handcuffs and taken to some sort of medical room. A doctor took a hair and a blood sample from Suzuki. She didn't see bond come to give any samples but Suzuki imagined that being asked to do a random DNA test for a possible child wasn't exactly news that settled in quickly. Suzuki was taken back to the man's office and she sat back down. "The results will take about an hour, you must wait here until then" said the man.
Chapter 6:
The moment that Mallory had entered his office Bond had known something was up. He seemed a little worried and agitated, not so much so that Bond had assumed that there was some major threat to national security but enough for him to notice. He was sure that it would concern the girl he had seen in the vent. Mallory had been in about an hour earlier to tell him that all was under control and that she had been contained. Bond wanted to know more but Mallory had given him no other information other than that there was nothing to worry about and that his duty was to get back to work. He had continued but with the nagging thought if the girl at the back of his mind. Who was she? Did she almost feel familiar to him? Mallory closed the door and sat down. This was going to be a long conversation.
"I am going to be frank with you Bond and get to the point, I know you prefer it that way"
"Yes"
"I need to do a DNA test"
"What with the girl"
"She claims she's your daughter Bond, she wouldn't have gone to all of this trouble unless she really thought that she was"
"So you believe her?"
"I don't know what to believe. I suspect that she is distraught after losing her mother but..."
"Her mother?"
"Well yes, she claimed that her mother was Kissy Suzuki, the French agent you worked with?"
"How does she know about Kissy?"
"As I said she is claiming that she was her mother and she has just died"
"Okay, but how did the girl even know about my work?"
"She said she saw a picture; some documents a diary entry... Look this isn't the point Bond. Just take the test, prove you're not her father and we can clear this whole situation up"
"Fine".
Chapter 7:
Bond went to the med centre and a blood sample and a strand of hair. He knew this was stupid and he was embarrassed about the whole situation, still, hopefully this test would clear things up and the kid could be sent back to where she came from. Kissy had never been pregnant at any point when Bond knew her, unless she had never told him, or she hasn't known yet... No the kid wasn't his. She couldn't be. Bond was a spy, not a father.
Mallory remained in the testing lab for the duration of the test. He had suspicions that the child could be Bond's. He had known about Bond's relationship with Kissy and she knew that he was a womaniser. Not always as professional as he should be in his work. If the kid was his he wouldn't know what to do, Bond would have legal rights to care over her now that her mother was dead but he wouldn't have time for her with his work and all of the traveling that he did. Best now to get panicked thought Mallory, besides the child may not be his after all.
Chapter 8:
Suzuki got bored easily. She had been in this stupid office for over an hour. The test results should be back by now. She looked around; a huge man guarded the door: no way out. She wanted answers. Every time she thought about the results she felt a burst if adrenaline being pumped through her veins. She could have a father. She had always wanted a dad, someone to explore with, to teach her important things. Suzuki had loved her mother dearly but there are things that only a father can give a child.
Suddenly a thought came to her. Maybe the reason that the results were taking so long was because Mallory had gone to explain to Bond first. Maybe the results weren't as he had hoped... The man appeared serious and unloving. He was not the kind of man that Suzuki had pictured as her father at all. She had dreamt of a father when she was a child. He was an open faced man with a huge grin, she pictured him teaching her to sail, to shoot and maybe when she was older to drive. She couldn't see this man ever doing any of these things. Her thoughts were broken by the sound of Mallory pushing the door open followed by a man and a woman in white doctors coats.
"Yes, well the results are back" said Mallory trying to show no emotion. "I can confirm that James Bond is your biological father".
The words cut through her like the ice in her "fathers" eyes. Bond? Her father? It couldn't be, her father was the kind smiling man that she only saw in her dreams. That cold hearted man couldn't be anything to do with her. Suzuki could have sat silent for a minute or it could have been an hour. She had zoned out. This was big news and she wasn't exactly taking it well.
"The girl? My child?!" Bond was angry. He hated children and this small girl was no exception. She couldn't possibly be! Mallory kept a straight face. He hated breaking news to Bond that he didn't like, he had one hell of a temper. "Yes Bond, she is yours and I will suspend your duties unless you care for her. For once show some commitment to someone in your life instead of just your work!"
"You of all people should appreciate my commitment, Mallory"
"I do but this girl is special and I feel you can help each other out a great deal. You have lost so much in your life; you need something which you can rely on"
"How do you know the girl will even want to be in my care?"
"Do you want your own daughter to go through what you did? Being an orphan?"
"Stop calling her that!"
"What?"
"My daughter, I don't even know her!"
"No time like the present, Bond, no time like the present".
Chapter 9:
James Bond wasn't a social man. If he needed to strike up quick trust based relationships as part of a mission then he was fine, but how did he talk to this kid? M had decided that she better introduce them, Bond thought it was a stupid idea. How would Suzuki react?
Suzuki hadn't replayed to Mallory in about five minutes. "Look I know this is a shock but surely you had some idea that he was your father? You wouldn't have come here if you didn't"
Finally Suzuki replied: "I came here to prove to myself that he wasn't my father. I thought it was all a mix up. There was no way that my dad could have worked for Mi6."
"How did you even know where to look for him?"
"When my mother died, she left all of her old stuff to me. I started to red her diary and she had written a lot about a man who she loved. She put everything about him, including where he worked."
"I can't believe Bond have away information like that!"
"What to my mother? But they were in love."
"Suzuki, do you know what you mother did as a job?"
"Yes, she was a pilot for Hong Kong air"
"But do you have any idea why you moved to Hong Kong in the first place?"
Suzuki listened in amazement; it seemed her whole life up to now had been a lie. She listened as Mallory explained how her mother was not just a pilot but had in fact been working for the French intelligence service, the Deuxieme Bureau and she had been on a mission in Hong Kong. She had been working with a British spy there, her father, and they had fallen in love. Her mother had left the services half way through their mission to start an honest life in a beautiful village in Hong Kong. However, Bond didn't want to settle down and he felt he had to continue the mission and remain loyal to the SIS. He left her regrettably and went back to England. That was all Mallory knew, she had never known that Suzuki's mother had been pregnant with Bonds child. It seemed, not even Bond knew. After Bond left her and she had given birth to Suzuki, Suzuki's mother needed a source of income. Working for the French intelligence services she had gained her pilots licence so she applied for a job at Hong Kong Air. She became a pilot and spent a lot of time away from home. Suzuki had been mainly brought up by a nanny. Mallory had never known that the child that Suzuki's mother had brought up had been Bond's.
Chapter 10:
Suzuki had finally agreed to be introduced to her father. She was beyond nervous. If she had been nervous before attempting to break into Mi6 it had been nothing compared to what she was feeling now. Bond was sitting on a sofa in M's office looking emotionless. Suzuki walked in and sat down on a chair opposite him; Mallory followed and sat on another chair. "This had obviously come as a shock to both of you-" bond interrupted him; "how did you break in through the vent?"
"I er.. I just deactivated the lasers beforehand using a computer program and went in"
"How does a child your age learn to hack?"
"I had lessons about it in Hong Kong, my mum liked me to be involved in clubs and activities"
"I thought most girls chose ballet, not computer hacking"
"Well I'm not most girls"
"What other activities did you do?" asked Mallory.
"Judo, Krav Maga, shooting, sailing, Russian and Mandarin"
"Well you certainly kept busy" said Bond perhaps showing a slight appreciation for the activities Suzuki's mother had chosen for her daughter. "I presume that Mallory has told you your mothers real job by now?"
"Yes"
"I think she wanted you to be involved in some way. Most kids aren't trained like you have been. She was making you into a spy."
Chapter 11:
Suzuki had told her school that she was spending the weekend with her friend at her country estate. The school seemed to buy it as they knew she was still in a delicate state. Technically she needed a letter but they let this one slip. Suzuki wondered about her future. She was going to go and live with her father in London. She couldn't commute to school in Sevenoaks every day.
Mallory left the room to allow Suzuki and Bond talk. "You're obviously a very clever kid, very talented." Suzuki could tell that her dad felt awkward so she just sat there staring out of the window. A few minutes later she broke the silence "that picture, you had a picture if my mother. Did you know she had died?"
Bond looked embarrassed "No, not until you arrived".
Bond asked Suzuki about Hong Kong and about her skills, then suddenly he turned very serious: "I can't be a father to you. Not with the work I do. I spend weeks, months in
the field for blocks of time risking my life. My flat is no place for a child either".
"It's you or boarding school."
"I can't leave you at home for a month alone - it's illegal!"
"Can't you just try? You are my only close family left."
At first Suzuki had been disappointed that this man was her father but now she seemed desperate. Anything was better than practically being an orphan. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all; maybe he could get her involved in Mi6. She had always wanted to work here when she was older. "You said that you didn't want me going through what you did as a child. By not letting me already try living with you, you are putting me through exactly what you went through. You are going against your word".
So it was decided, Suzuki would spend a month living with Bond on a trial basis, she would be pulled out of her current school and she would start at a new London school nearby. Suzuki didn't know how to feel the only thing she could be sure of is that she was in for an interesting month.
Chapter 12:
Mallory decided that Suzuki should be pulled out of boarding school. After a long phone call with her school telling an altered story of what had happened they had agreed that Suzuki could leave but the fees must be paid until the end of the term. Suzuki returned to her school to collect her things during the weekend. A few girls had tried to ask questions but Suzuki brushed them off saying that there had been "a misunderstanding". She spent her final night at the school on Sunday and then Bond was meant to pick her up on the Monday.
Suzuki left the school gates at 6am Monday morning so to avoid attracting attention. She wheeled her large suitcase out of the school gates whilst struggling with a sports bag and a large hold all. It was cold at this time of the day so she wore her warmest hoodie. She had left her school uniform in the second hand shop - it was all virtually as good as new. She was expecting her father to waiting for her in the car but instead there was another man wearing aviator sunglasses. Suzuki felt a little disappointed but her father was a busy man. She walked over to the jet black land rover and the man got out and helped her with her things into the boot. He didn't say anything to her. He opened the door and she got in. The journey to London shouldn't take too long but Suzuki had taken her iPod out of her suitcase in case she got bored.
Half an hour into the journey the man still hadn't talked to her. She didn't bother to talk to him either. The silence wasn't awkward it was just very official - what you would expect from mi6. She put her headphones on and pressed play on her music. 10 minutes later they arrived at the flat Bond lived at. The driver jumped out and carried all of Suzuki's things with ease. They took the elevator to the top floor. Bond lived in the penthouse of an expensive block of London flats in Chelsea. Suzuki never knew you earn much from being a spy. Then again there was a lot she didn't know about mi6.
The driver put down all of her suitcases outside and have her a half smile as he departed back down the elevator. Suzuki felt slightly nervous. The driver had already pressed the intercom to Bonds apartment so she just stood there waiting. About a minute later Bond opened the door to her. He looked tired and a little grumpy but he managed a half smile. "Welcome to my apartment, come in"
Suzuki didn't really say anything back and she just walked in. "Your rooms in there" he said pointing to a closed door, "it's small but there is a bed, a dresser and an en suite". "Thanks" said Suzuki "for um... Letting me stay". There was an awkward pause broken by Bond telling her to go and settle in. "M has given me to day of work, you can do what you want I'll be in my study". With that Bond walked off into another room and closed the door. Suzuki was left standing in the large living room alone with all of her luggage. She looked around and noticed that there were no personal touches to Bond apartment, not a single photo or painting. There was a large, modern fire place, a leather sofa, and a big TV. The apartment was fine but noting nearly as nice as Suzuki's big old home in Hong Kong. It was so cosy there; Bonds apartment felt cold and official.
Suzuki decided to make herself at "home" so she went into her bedroom. It was a guest bedroom, it had a nice view over London and wall made just of glass so you could see it. She took her hoodie off and sat down on the bed. She hoped that her father would at least grow to not see her as a nuisance.
Chapter 13:
Suzuki had stayed in Bonds apartment for a week now. He had spent most of the time at work and she had grown very bored. Although the apartment was the pinnacle of London luxury complete with its own swimming pool and gym Suzuki had grown bored. Bond had told Suzuki to stay in the apartment so all she had done all week was watch TV. Today however she wouldn't stand it any longer. There was nothing Suzuki hated more than feeling trapped and right now that just how she was feeling. Today she decided that when Bond went to work she would explore his study. He always kept the door closed, not locked, just closed and Suzuki hasn't been in there yet.
She opened the door to a large, modern room - much like the rest of Bonds apartment. There was a desk with a laptop on it and three suitcases; there was a picture on the desk of a beautiful dark haired woman, sitting with Bond on a boat. Not her mother. There was also a British bull dog with a Union Jack on its back. Suzuki looked around very interested. Bond was clearly a man with expensive taste. To one side there was a drinks cabinet filled with
McAllen whiskey and some fine glasses, there was a large computer monitor on the desk partnered by two Sony laptops; Bond even had a leather sofa to one side. There was a cabinet against the left wall which tempted Suzuki for some reason - perhaps because it was locked. She wandered over to it and noticed a key on Bonds desk. She picked up the key and turned it in the lock. It fitted. Bond wasn't as clever or as security conscious as Suzuki had imagined after all. As she opened the door however she realised that she had been fooled. Inside there was a safe and a note written to her. "I told you not to go in here Suzuki. I'm not surprised though, Bond's never have been good at keeping rules. Does this explain why I left my study door open?" Suzuki half smiled. Maybe her father did have some sense of humour; given it was a dry one. She folded the note and stuffed it in her pocket, went over to his desk, sat in his chair and began to write with his pen: "Seems that you do have a sense of humour then "Daddy" but you better get a new pin for this safe, using my mother's birthday really was quite obvious. By the way, I love this pen where was it from again... Mont Blanc? I hope you don't mind me keeping it. Suz x". Suzuki went over to the safe and entered the code 1205. She tensed but then heard the satisfying click of a safe opening. She smiled to herself and looked inside. She wasn't to be disappointed. Inside we're 5 pistols: a Walther PPK, P99 and a PPS a glock 17 and Walther P5. There were also piles of money. Pounds, dollars, euros but it was the Russian rubbles which caught Suzuki's eye. Suzuki was a quarter Russian from her mother's side who had been Russian/French. Although Suzuki never felt at all Russian or French. She felt a total mix like many of the other students at the Hong Kong international school.
She suddenly realised that her father was due to be home soon as he had a half day. She quickly placed her pleasant note inside the safe, closed it and left Bond's office.
Chapter 14:
Suzuki watched the black Aston Martin DB9 drive into the garage below the apartments. Suzuki loved cars and had seen many exotic brands being driven into the apartment's garage. Since the apartments were home or second home to many of the wealthiest Arabs and Russians she had seen some flashy models being driven in. Lamborghinis, McLaren's, Bugatti's... None showed the same style that her father's Aston Martin did. Suzuki would love to have taken a spin in the car as she had a passion for Aston Martins but she knew her father wouldn't let her touch it, despite the fact that Suzuki had learnt to drive aged just 11.
Bond let himself in to find Suzuki lying on the sofa reading a yachting magazine which belonged to him. He considered telling her off but remembered that the apartment was now her home too. "The chef should be coming up to make dinner soon, he is doing some lamb tonight", "eugh, I hate lamb" complained Suzuki. "Well that's just too bad, it's not like there is anything else in the fridge". Suzuki sighed and sauntered off into the gym. She needed a work out. Back in Hong Kong Suzuki had done lots of tennis and cross country. She had been fantastic at both; she had wanted to make a career out of tennis for some time before she had decided that she wanted to be a spy like her mother. She plugged her iPhone into the Bosse stereo system in the room and played some daft punk while she ran on the treadmill. The room was filled with weights and machines that her father used.
Twenty minutes later the music suddenly cut and Suzuki turned to see her father making his way towards her. He didn't hide his anger. He literally grabbed Suzuki by the scruff of her shirt and lifted her off the treadmill which was still moving at a fast pace. He spoke to her "how dare you steal my pen and enter my safe? You are a little thief!". "I was just playing along to your own joke, you wrote the first-" "no Suzuki this is no joke, my safe contains many confidential items. If you have taken anything I'm going to-" "No! I took nothing, well just the pen..." "You will give it back this instant, how the bloody hell did you know that I used Kissy's birthday as the code anyway?" "I saw you looking at that picture of her, when I broke in..." Suddenly Bond put Suzuki down and softened his tone "you are a very clever child but I must forbid you to ever enter my office again. Children and mi6 don't mix". Suddenly he shouted again "do you understand!" "Yeah whatever, calm down". That really sent him over the edge yet he spoke calmly "you are forbidden from using the pool for a month and you will be allowed no dinner tonight. UNDERSTAND?!"
Chapter 15:
Suzuki wasn't used to getting told off . Her mother would have always praised her for something like that as it showed good initiative. She was in her room watching TV whilst Bond ate his dinner alone. Suzuki had to admit she had found it interesting making him angry. Part of her had written the note in such an arrogant tone just to see his reaction. Now she knew that it was best not to mess with him, or his office.
She heard a knock at the door. "Come in". It was Bond. "I need to talk to you about your education" he strolled over to Suzuki's window and looked out across at the amazing view of London which looked particularly beautiful at this time as the sky was dark and everyone's lights were turned on. "You can't just stay here all day, I need to send you to school or get you a tutor". Suzuki hated school, particularly because when she was a very small child she had been bullied and mistreated by the teachers. "I don't want to go to school, I have already done my GCSE's in Hong Kong and I don't want to be in a year where everyone else is older than me". "Should I get you a tutor then? You could do A-levels?" "I have done my French A-level already but I guess I could do some more..." "Look it's no secret that your mother was training you to be a spy, maybe you should do useful subjects like Russian, hacking, fitness, driving?" "You mean I wouldn't have to do A-levels?" "Maybe in Russian... But I could get someone over from the service to train you and care for you whilst I am away". "That sounds great! You said driving; you mean I get to drive an Aston?" Bond smirked: "you'll be lucky!"
Chapter 15:
On the Monday Suzuki was to start her lessons and training. Bond had sent one of the Russian language analysts over from the service to help Suzuki with her Russian and later in the day Suzuki was going to do some advanced level hacking skills at the Mi6 building. Bond had proposed the idea to Mallory first if course and he was keen to help out in any way he could. He was desperate from Bond to get to know his daughter as he had special plans for Suzuki. The child was so talented and well trained that he would want to send her into the field as soon as he could. There was a mission about to commence in two months and Suzuki would come in extremely useful in getting information. She could be sent into the field under the cover as Bond's child, making him less likely to be suspected too. It would be perfect... Of course Mallory had no intentions of letting slip these ideas to Bond himself yet. Besides, there was no need to rush; Suzuki needed to be trained first.
Suzuki heard the buzz on the intercom so she went to answer it. She looked at the man on the screen; he looked like he was an army officer. He had a shaven head and a bent nose. His face was covered in scars and clearly looked as if he had been involved in many fights. "Я здесь для вашего урока русского" he said down the intercom meaning that he told Suzuki he was here for her Russian lesson. Suzuki noted he spoke in perfect Russian and with an accent that could only be achieved by a true Russian. "Ладно, бывают" replied Suzuki meaning okay, come in.
Suzuki let the man in. Bond had already left for work but he had remained Suzuki that she had to be awake for her Russian lesson which would be at 8 o'clock. As the man entered he spoke some English to Suzuki but with a thick Russian accent making him quite hard to understand. Suzuki was used to it though; her mother had always had a slight French accent due to her spending most of her life in France. "I am here to teach you Russian. My sources have told me you have already reached a good level but the service won't settle for anything less that complete fluency. One little slip could lead to an unpleasant end for you. You want to be a spy? Then I suggest that you work hard when you are with me and I will feed positive comments back to your father and M. I am also here to help improve your self-defence. As we have the use of your fathers large gym I have been instructed to teach you in the art of Krav Maga, one of the latest and most effective fighting techniques from the Middle East".
They sat down to work at the large dining table. The man whose name was apparently Viktor asked her some questions in Russian to get an idea of the standard which she had already reached. Suzuki faulted little and answered well. Viktor had to correct her pronunciation but overall seemed impressed by her. He avoided asking her any questions too personal, especially about family, he must have been told about Kissy's death in advance. Afterwards they set to work on a new verb "to escape".
After an hour and a half they took a break. Suzuki hated Russian but she knew that it was necessary for her to learn it, especially as she was a quarter Russian herself. Despite his rough appearance Suzuki thought that Viktor seemed like a nice man. He explained that he had spent most of his life in Russia but had moved to England to work for Mi6 when the job of Russian language analyst came up and he had succeeded in getting it. Initially he had been in the SVR (Russia's foreign intelligence service) but was disgusted by the corruption and how Putin often misused the service to get his own dirty work done. He had joined mi6 to combat this. Suzuki listened with interest.
After another hour of Russian Viktor said that they could stop and do some self-defence, he could tell that Suzuki was getting bored. Suzuki had got her black belt in tae Kwan do and was a brown in karate which she had only started two years ago. Krav Maga was different to what she had used before as it was all about conserving energy by only making very small but effective movements. It was more tactical than physical. Viktor told Suzuki how the service usually taught tae Kwan do but more recently they had introduced Krav Maga so that a mixture of the two could be used in the field. Viktor also told Suzuki that he often sparred with her father and that he fought very effectively. "If he ever has time you should spar with him, it would really improve your skills".
Viktor got Suzuki to throw some punches, some kicks and to break some boards. She loved to round house kick and she was very good at it. She was a strong fighter. Suzuki and Viktor did some practice fights, there was no way Suzuki could beat Viktor, he was about three times her size, yet she did impress him with her skills. "You fight very well for someone so young, where did you learn?" "I took many lessons in Hong Kong where I used to live, my mother taught me".
Chapter 16:
Suzuki and sat in Mallory's office with her father. "Good to see you again Suzuki, I have asked you hear to run some ideas by you and your father". "Okay" said Suzuki "what about". "I have been told by Viktor that your Russian is strong and you are an experienced fighter. I know that there are areas where you must perfect your skills but I feel that it is time that I put an important idea past you, and you too Bond".
Mallory proceeded to explain. "Biological warfare, do you know anything about that Suzuki?" "Isn't that like the manufacturing of diseases in order to push enemies into submission or to kill mass numbers of their people?" "Precisely, many countries or individuals have used diseases such as anthrax and released them in huge quantities in order to wipe out anyone who may pose a threat to them. However recently it has come to our attention that a new form of biological ware fare is beginning to be used, creating a serum which increases human strength for wars, creating storm troopers from a series of injections containing this serum. It is planned to be released in 2014 by a man known as Vladimir Kornanenkov. He is ex-KGB and an expert in micro-biology. He is a secretive man, keeps under the radar. In fact Viktor meet him a few times during his stint in the KGB and informed us of his secrecy. Here look at this". Mallory turned his laptop around to show Suzuki an information profile for Vladimir Kornanenkov. He was bald and had a strange look to him; Suzuki couldn't put her finger on it. He just looked evil. The information at the side of the page seemed relatively empty but just explained what Mallory had already told her. "Our friends over in America are worried that Vlad here is going to start supplying the weapon to state enemies such as the Afghans and even some underworld gangs. We already have an agent keeping tabs on him and about 5 of our brothers from the CIA are in Russia right now watching his heavily guarded compound however we don't think that they are telling us everything, like usual they want to bring him down. However, Kornanenkov is planning to supply to our enemies too, apparently including some Muslim radicalists and political enemies from corrupt countries. We, mi6 need to get some more agents into Russia, we can't leave this at the hands of the CIA to try and sort out, they haven't got the patience, any day now they want to burst in there, I am trying my best to hold them back. We need to use our wits and stealth to collect more information first before we make any dramatic moves; we need to find his weak point-". "Look, M I don't understand where I come into all of this". "Patience Suzuki I was getting to that. You see, you are just what we need. Kornanenkov has a son about your age; he is the perfect route to information. We need you to befriend him, go to his house, plant bugs, and get details, anything to help us bring his father down... I know this is a lot to take in for you at the moment but we are getting desperate. There are many situations in the world that are heating up right now and the use of the serum would be almost catastrophic.". "Are you crazy Mallory?! How are you asking this to Suzuki without even consulting me first? The service has never used someone as young as Suzuki to get information." Shouted Bond. "Dad, calm down, I want to do this." Said Suzuki. "What you haven't even had time to think about it at all? Don't make any rash decisions too fast". "Look" Mallory interrupted "Bond I should have talked to you first but can't you see how perfect your daughter would be for this, she speaks near fluent Russian, she is a trained hacker, she can do self-defence, and most importantly the is far too young to ever be suspected, and the same age as Kornanenkov son", "yes I do see that Mallory but she could get killed if she was found out." "Then I won't get found out answered Suzuki bluntly".
Chapter 17:
Bond and Suzuki ate in silence. Suzuki had been so excited, and admittedly a little scared about the prospect of being let into the field, but her father still wouldn't agree to it. He thought it was too dangerous for her. Suzuki finally broke the silence "why won't you let me go, think of all of the people I could protect!", "look Suzuki we have been over this, you're not ready, it takes years to be trained for the field, most people don't even ever make it to that stage." Bond replied. "I see what you're saying but my mother has been training me since I was a very young child, I am very experienced". "Oh really? So what missions have you been on so far? Experience can't come from a gym or a class room. Experience can only come from going on real missions". "I know that but everyone has to start somewhere". "Yes they do, usually when they are an adult." Bond replied. Suzuki was angry now, she wanted to go "why do you care so much anyway? I thought you didn't even want me". "Well you have changed my entire life set up, besides the fact I was reluctant to care for you doesn't mean I want you in danger!"
The next day at work Mallory called Bond into his office. Suzuki was in Bond's apartment with Viktor. "Look Bond, I understand your worries about your daughter but I have come up with a solution. Why don't you go out to Russia next week whilst Suzuki stays in England and receives some more training and she will join you out there after a month? I was considering that some army training methods would really toughen her up for a mission like this. She is very strong, surely you see that". "Yes well I recognise that but she still seems so young, I came home yesterday to find her watching cartoons. She is only 14 for Christ's sake!". "I recognise that but she should be relatively safe, you will remain with her for the duration of the mission and with the extra training she will revive I guarantee she will be as good as any adult agent that you could work with. If it gets too dangerous we will pull her out.". "Fine, but as soon as the danger levels get too high I am pulling her out. She is my only child".
As soon as Bond told Suzuki he could see the excitement mixed with nerves on her face. Suzuki was overwhelmed. Bond noted it was the first time that he had ever seen her properly smile "no, did I just see Suzuki smile? I must be hallucinating!" He joked with her. His moods had lifted since her initial arrival and felt happy to see his daughter smiling for once, she was a serious girl. Suddenly his voice took a more serious note "don't get too excited though, if the danger gets too much I am pulling you straight out. Remember too you are not here for action or excitement, you are here to gain information about Kornanenkov and it may very well be quite a boring and long process. I am leaving for Moscow early tomorrow morning so I wanted to give you this..." Bond pulled a box out of his briefcase. "What is it asked Suzuki surprised?" She had never thought of Bond as the doting father type. "Just open it and see" he did his usual half smile. Suzuki unwrapped the box and opened if to find a small sized Omega professional seamaster. It was the best present ever; Suzuki had always wanted a proper watch. "Do you like it? It is the same as mine but in a small size to fit you". "I can't accept this, they are too expensive..."."Suzuki, you must keep it. It isn't just a watch. It is fitted with a tracking device, radio, light. It could save your life on the mission. You must always keep it with you, on your wrist". "I will" replied Suzuki and smiled a loving smile at her father which is something she hadn't done since her mother had died. Maybe her father did love her after all.
Chapter 18:
"As you already know I am leaving early tomorrow morning. You probably won't see me so I want to tell you some things now before I go. I have got Simone to stay with you here for a week. She works with me and I thought you would like her. Plus, she will help prepare you for Russia. Viktor will continue to visit to make sure your Russian is up to scratch. After that Mallory decided the next step is to send you off to an army training base. The lessons you learn there will be invaluable, trust me. I will see you out in Moscow in a month". "I will work hard don't worry. I hope that you can manage to get some more information before I meet you there". Bond smiled and turned to leave before dropping in "oh, and Suzuki!" "Yeah?" "Don't forget to pack warm clothes".
Suzuki heard her father leave, she was a light sleeper and hated at any time not feeling alert. She opened her door a crack just to see him turn. She could have sworn that he saw her but she couldn't be sure. Once he had locked the door she opened her door fully and walked into the living room so as to see him leave. Suzuki saw her father climb into a at taxi and drive off. It was 4:00 am but Suzuki felt alert and awake for some reason. Simone was supposed to be turning up at about 9 but until then she had the apartment to herself so she decided to make the most if it by being awake. Suzuki checked Bond's office door, locked this time, she smiled a half smile. "Okay then" she said out loud. However what she really wanted to do was to go for a swim. She walked into the pool room and turned the underwater lights on. She jumped into the pool still wearing her pyjamas. She swam up the right side of the pool and looked at the view over London. It was still dark and only a few lights shone.
When Suzuki heard a buzz on the intercom she was eating breakfast. She sauntered over to the screen by the door to see a young looking woman, probably in her mid-twenties looking up at the camera which although discreet, she had obviously noticed. Suzuki buzzed her in. When Suzuki opened the door to her the lady introduced herself "Hi Suzuki, I'm Simone and I have been sent to care for you this week". Suzuki suddenly felt shy and gave her an unsure smile back. "Don't worry, I'm not here to tell you what to do, this is your home after all. I am however able to help you prepare for your upcoming mission in Russia. I am honoured to meet Mi6's newest recruit, it is so brave if someone so young to be going off into the field to help the service gain information". Suzuki felt that she could probably trust this lady so she introduced herself too "I am pleased to meet you. I would love to hear about some if your own time in the field?"."Ah of course, I will teach you all if the best lessons I have learnt so you don't have to make the same mistakes I did".
Suzuki showed Simone to her room and went back to kitchen to continue eating her breakfast of Nutella and bread - her favourite. When Simone had settled in she asked Suzuki what she wanted to do for the day. Viktor was coming at 5pm but she had all day to kill until then. At first Suzuki wasn't sure but the Simone asked Suzuki if she wanted to go shopping and pick up some more clothes for her mission. "Maybe later" Suzuki replied "but so you think you could show me London today?" I have lived here for three weeks and I still haven't seen it properly. The only places I have been are here and the mi6 building!" "Of course I can" smiled Simone. Suzuki had a feeling that she was going to get on with Simone well.
Suzuki was so excited to finally get to see London, Simone was going to take her to see Big Ben, the London eye, Covent garden and finally stopping off in Sloan street to get some more layers for her mission in Russia as many of Suzuki's cloths and possessions still hadn't been shipped over from Hong Kong, they were expected to arrive in a few weeks but she wasn't sure when. Simone had been on a mission in Siberia before and so knew about how cold the conditions could be.
Bond was sitting in first class with a vodka martini to hand. At the moment they were flying over Poland meaning that there was about two hours left of flight time. Bond wasn't nervous, when he was young he used to get nervous but Bond had huge confidence in his abilities, some may even interpret this as arrogance but they were mistaken, Bond simply knew what he was doing. He had, had some close scrapes in his time but he knew luck was on his side, it always was. Besides, as his uncle had one told him: no one can hold a Bond forever.
Suzuki smiled to Simone as she reached the top of the London eye, the view was even better than in Bonds apartment! She spotted the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, canary wharf and the gherkin. Of course Simone pointed out the Mi6 building with a sly smile: "I have a feeling that you will be spending a fair amount of your time in there, you have been the talk of everyone at work. Mallory has tried to be secretive but no one can believe that Bond has a daughter. He has quite a reputation at work". "A reputation for what Suzuki asked quizzically "resident tough guy" smiled Simone.
Bond stepped out of the plane into freezing Moscow. He hardly noticed the cold though; he had grown up in Scotland in an estate home with no heating. This was noting. He walked briskly through arrivals and through customs under the name of Sergey Fomin. He had been through the mission dossier on the plane. He was a wealthy banker from St. Peter's berg and had made a lot of money during the break-up of the Soviet Union, much like Kornanenkov himself. He was 45 and had a daughter called Anastasia Fomina, who was 14. He was to make contact with Kornanenkov by joining an exclusive Moscow club for the elites. Once there he would gain his trust and when collectively Bond and Suzuki had gained convicting proof of what Kornanenkov was doing they could go in to destroy the serum and its instructions. Kornanenkov main scientists would need to be dealt with as well of course but that shouldn't be a problem. The mission was simple. Suzuki should be able to handle it with ease.
Suzuki thought that London was a beautiful city. She was growing to see it as a new home as she entered her fourth week of living here. She visited nearly all of the main iconic locations with Simone. It was great for her to be able to see more of the city where she was to live from now on. After visiting everywhere Simone took Suzuki to Moncler to get a coat and some jumpers. Suzuki loved warm clothes, she took any opportunity she could to wear her Ugg boots which her mother had bought her. She wore them today, she made a promise to herself to never get rid of anything that her mother had given her as they were the only physical memories that she had left. Thinking of this she suddenly felt very low and back to how she had been when her mother had first died. Suzuki had only ever shopped with her mother and she almost felt as if she was betraying her memory by going shopping with Simone.
Simone noticed the sadness on the girls face "hey Suzuki, are you okay?" "What, um yeah I'm fine" she said forcing a half-hearted smile. "Ah wow, why don't you get this, that's cute!" exclaimed Simone holding up a nice jacket. "Suzuki just agreed she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible; she was on the verge of crying and couldn't stand to look weak in front of anyone. "Can't I just buy this and go?" Asked Suzuki "you need to try it on first Suzuki, I promise we will be quick then we can go. Are you sure you're okay". "I told you I'm fine, just really tired". "It's been a long day. Look I'm sure this is the right size, why don't you go and wait outside and I will pick out some jumpers and settle up". "Thanks Simone" said Suzuki, grateful.
Once Suzuki was outside the shop she felt better. Suzuki really liked Simone and was happy to have someone else in England who she could trust to look out for her. During the first week in Bonds apartment she had felt really isolated as he had been almost hostile to her. She felt that they were growing to like each other better though, despite him getting angry at her sometimes. Suzuki didn't realise herself how much she was like her father, she had his cold blue eyes and tough, determined attitude. Like him, she would remain loyal to the end, whatever it took. For queen and country.
Chapter 20:
Bonds first thoughts were "I am working with a kid and an idiot". Sebastian Forherington-Smithe wasn't your conventional mi6 agent. He had come from one of England's wealthiest families; his father owned one of the largest estates in Gloucestershire He was so well spoken it was a joke. He was a total contrast to Bond's tough masculine demeanour. "Hello 007. I am your contact here in Moscow. I have been keeping tabs Mr Kornanenkov for the past year. Interesting man, I have found out a lot. Looks like they have sent you here to finish him off then". "Yes" replied Bond coldly. Bond had always felt like an outsider when amongst the upper classes. The feeling dated back to his time spent at Eton. Little did he realise this was exactly how Suzuki had always felt too, especially when she was younger. "Let's go then" said Bond impatiently to Sebastian getting into the taxi which would take them to a car park where Bond was to receive his car for the mission. He already had the keys and of course they were the keys to an Aston Martin but the model was a mystery to him. Bond didn't like surprises but was happy that Mallory was keeping to M's tradition of keeping the model of car a mystery. He had driven DB9's, DBS's, and of course the DB5. At home he had his own DB9. He was happy to see that his daughter shared his passion for cars, she had expressed numerous wishes to drive it herself but Bond hadn't let her. He had however let her sit in it and practice, not to mention letting her rev the engine, far too loud, scaring some of the other residents children. As the taxi pulled into the parking lot Bond smiled at the sight of the latest vanquish. He had loved these cars from the moment that they had come out; they had a beautiful line to them. Timeless. Mallory had made a good choice. Bond hoped that he wouldn't crash this one, it always seemed like an awful waste but it was very hard to avoid in car chases.
Suzuki tried to swallow her nerves. Today she was being driven to The Brecon Beacons to start her army training. She would be training with the SAS hopefuls. She knew how tough it would be but she was going to give it her all, the still felt nervous though. The first week would comprise of a trek when her and her team would need to reach check points within a certain time frame. The week after would be a Bergen run and a timed run. The final week, for all those who made it that far would help them prepare if the worst came to the worst and they got themselves into a torture situation. The instructors were aware of Suzuki's situation and obviously she couldn't fail as she wasn't there to get into the SAS. They weren't going to go soft on her though. Suzuki was in for a tough three weeks.
Bond got into the car. It was beautiful, leather seats, HD screen, and of course bullet proof glass. He paid the taxi driver and got in. He smiled to himself, the remembered that Sebastian needed to get in too. He opened to door into the passenger side. "Mi6 provided me with a ford focus for the mission. How is this fair?" "These cars are only useful if you are going to be seeing some action, the perks of being a double oh". Bond hardly smiled but as he pressed the ignition button and heard the familiar sound of an Aston Martin V12 engine starting up he gave a childish, reckless grin that mirrored his daughters whenever she was around a fine car.
The black land rover pulled into the base. Suzuki stepped out. All she had brought with her was a small back pack of possessions. She didn't need much as the SAS provided all of the equipment. She had packed a picture of her mother, her Swiss Army knife and her phone. She was also wearing her watch. She only brought essentials. The driver who had brought Suzuki to Bond's apartment in the first place was the one who had taken her here; she still hasn't succeeded in getting a conversation out of him.