M lowered the papers she was skimming through one last time and gave a heavy look at the tenured agent sitting across from her. Any other mission of this caliber would be handed to the next available double-o agent. However, this case was time sensitive with a higher body-count preferable. Flipping back to beginning of the file, the haunted look of a young girl filled the page. Rider. That particular family had a long history of involvement in the clandestine services of the government. It seems the latest member was no exception, and she came with a substantial resume and a flare for pyrotechnics. Alexandra would need to be acquired by M immediately. M learned long ago not to expect any gratitude in this field, but Alex might be the exception.

"007," she began, waiting for his attention to shift fully onto her, "This mission must be completed immediately. After debrief, I'm sending you to outfitted."

She slid the folder across the desk that sat between them, and waited for him to begin the conversation.

"This is a child," Bond stated after flipping through the first few pages.

"Yes," said M, not bothering to waste words, "At age 14, Agent Rider began working for a branch of the government that was ousted and eliminated two weeks ago thanks to information from MI5. As you might have guessed, our counterpart in domestic affairs was not pleased to discover another department running ops that they no business getting involved in. MI5 quickly shut down the operations, but testament from one of the leaders of the frankly, illegal organization brought something, or rather someone, to our attention."

M paused and waited for Bond to say anything, but he gave her a small nod to continue.

"Rider has been deployed on several missions and was investigating a prostitution ring on the Continent when Blunt's operations ceased. We attempted to establish contact, but she fell off the grid after the disestablishment of the syndicate running the trafficking ring."

Bond clenched his jaw at the thought of a young female agent investigating illegal trafficking. He knew what kinds of people were involved in those situations and the thought of a teenaged girl in that, albeit a fairly lethal one given the information from her file, was sickening.

"So, you've found her," said Bond.

"We picked up this video two days ago."

Bond watched the small monitor on the desk. Rider was behind bars, arms chained to the wall, and clad in very little clothing. The camera zoomed in and Rider raised her head to look directly into the camera before the screen darkened. The famed double-0 stopped breathing for a moment as he caught the look in the girl's eyes. That sharp, calculating intellect overshadowed by weariness. It was a look he knew well. A short code appeared on the screen before the screen darkened.

"Local agents in the area have gathered that Rider will be in this location for at least four more days. Her captors are the last remnants of the trafficking ring, and there are ties to local law enforcement. We do not know who this video was sent to, but Rider has a long list of enemies, including old remnants of SCORPIA."

Bond's eyebrows rose slightly at the mention of the famous terrorist organization.

"Agent Rider is our leading expert on SCORPIA, and one of the primary reasons for their fall. She is a highly trained young woman, and would be a valuable asset to any organization. "

M met Bond's eyes and let out a short breath.

"There's going to be an auction in exactly one week. You have to get her out before that happens."