HONOLULU,
HAWAII.
The dark of night has fallen over the calm, warm streets at the heart of the tropical city, a haven for tourists, surfers and worshippers of the sun. The same streets are decked with multi-coloured, decorative lights left over from the carnival, which give the impression the city itself never sleeps. Indeed, a mass of revellers from all over Hawaii and the rest of the world are frequenting the dozens of bars and restaurants at the centre of the city, dancing and listening to melodious tropical music that echoes out for all to hear.
At the right of the main street, busy with people sitting on tables outside just off the pavement, a late-night tropical café lies. In the corner sits Reginald Balfour, a nervous-looking, well-dressed man of British heritage. He holds a coffee which he drinks sparingly, radiating trepidation and nervousness, possibly with very good reason. A camera is pointed at him from a distance by an unknown hand, zooming in on him slowly.
Balfour routinely checks his watch, clearly waiting for someone to arrive. He looks around him at all angles, partly looking for this person, but partly through paranoia. He senses he's being watched. On the table directly next to him, a man sits reading a broadsheet English newspaper, The Times, which obscures his face from view. The paper also obscures a mobile phone the man is holding, a phone he's using to control the camera placed across the street, which feeds images of Balfour to the phone screen.
The camera follows Balfour as, acting on his fear of being spied on, he leaves money for the coffee and gets up from the table, heading away from the café over the Honolulu street. The mobile screen captures a good image of Balfour entering a vacant telephone kiosk next to a bustling bar, the man holding the phone observing him dial a number hurriedly. The newspaper man puts on a pair of dark glasses which he connects to a hole in the phone using a wire, instantly creating an electronic link.
The lens of the glasses subsequently display a classified MI6 file on Balfour, which gives a detailed biography of the man's statistics and history, plus shows him to be a diplomat from the British Embassy of Romania, based in Bucharest. The newspaper keeps one eye on the phone screen, seeing Balfour connect the call he's been waiting to make, which the newspaper man taps into and listens as he gets up from the table and departs.
In the kiosk, Balfour hears a gruff British voice with a slight Arab lilt respond. "Yes?"
"It's Balfour. I'm calling off the meet." He announces, while he looks around him with growing paranoia.
"Explain."
"We cannot make the trade," Balfour declares. "I suspect I'm being watched…"
"By Bond?…"
While listening to the unfolding conversation, the newspaper man passes a series of bushes over the street from the kiosk, discreetly grabbing and pocketing the camera hidden inside as he passes.
"No. I would recognise him." Balfour assured his contact.
"Good," replied the voice. "Make sure you are not being followed and have the submarine at the iceberg by daybreak. We will make the trade then."
"You have the microchip?…" asked Balfour, worriedly.
"Yes. Daybreak." The voice said sternly, before hanging up the call. At that exact moment, Balfour jumps as someone taps the kiosk. He turns and quickly, keeping his head down, he exits the kiosk and heads off into the Honolulu streets, vanishing amidst the bustling crowds.
The kiosk tapper watches him vanish. It's the newspaper man, who removes his dark glasses and is revealed to be an average-looking man in his forties, who you'd pass without even giving a glance. The man steps inside the kiosk as he puts the gadget mobile in his pocket.
32FT BELOW SEA LEVEL,
OFF THE HAWAIIAN COAST.
The slowly rising break of day allows the emerging sun to illuminate the depths of the calm, blue, idyllic ocean, filled with tropical oceanic wild and plantlife, plus a large British submarine that churns it's way through the deep water at quite a fast speed.
The H.M.S. Norfolk makes towards a gigantic cropping of icy rock that protrudes deep into the warm water, an immense-looking structure seemingly at odds with the clement enviroment. The rock is connected to a massive iceberg lying off the beach-filled coasts of southern Hawaii, a gigantic construction preserved through deep freeze tanks for the hot weather, holding on it's exterior an Xtreme snowboarding sports track.
The snowy stage track leads down to an arena for fans who have journeyed onto the iceberg in order to watch the race, huge television screens elevated above used to display the contest.
Far above the fake iceberg, becoming larger as it approaches nearer, a biplane appears in the clear blue sky, on the horizon of the sun, making it's way towards the tropical island.
MI6 BIPLANE,
25,000FT ABOVE THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
A large cargo deck has been converted into an intelligence briefing room, replete with viewscreens and holographic-display tables. One of the viewscreens now shows the iceberg the plane rapidly approaches in all it's glory, a viewscreen under the remote control of the man standing before it, earnest senior MI6 agent Bill Tanner, an ageing beacon of knowledge.
Tanner addresses the newspaper man, who stands now before him decked out in a black jumpsuit, who stands quietly and carefully watches the iceberg on the screen as he listens intently.
"A mobile structure, touring the world over the last several months under the guise of a sports contest," announces Tanner, referring to the iceberg. "An xtreme snowboarding race will be held this morning. We suspect the iceberg is a front for a major smuggling operation being ran by Marlin Vibert…"
Tanner presses a switch on the holo-display table before him, producing a holographic image of Marlin Vibert before both men. He is a tall, muscular man in his forties, balding slightly with glasses, who could be described as an odd mix of boxer and bookworm.
"A businessman, Algerian-born, and a suspected terrorist involved in biological-weapons trading." declared Tanner. "We know Reginald Balfour is about to arrive on the iceberg via the H.M.S. Norfolk, but we need to know what connection one of our own has to Vibert. It's up to you from here on in."
Clearly understanding, the newspaper man nods and places a black latex ballaclava over his head as the rear doors of the biplane begin to open, a gust of wind instantly flying in.
"Good luck, James." Tanner said, holding onto a table due to the wind blast as he watches the newspaper man strap on a parachute quickly and fling himself out the back of the biplane, flying off into the air.
OFF THE HAWAIIAN COAST.
The biplane turns away into the distance as the fearless newspaper man flies like a bullet through the clear blue sky. The ocean, equally as clear blue, begins approaching rapidly several thousand feet below, halted somewhat as the parachute billows off the man's back, slowing his descent as he gets his balance and glides vertically down towards the sea.
The water below is now starting to curl and chop slightly, making it perfect conditions for the more expert surfer. This fact is obviously detected by the newspaper man as he cuts the parachute at exactly the same time he cuts a surfboard attached to his back. The parachute floats up into the air as the board plunges with the man toward the ocean below. He lands on the board just seconds after it hits the sea, instantly gaining his balance and riding the surf toward the looming iceberg.
The newspaper man approaches the construction like fast moving shadow as he rides the elegant waves. He notices, outside the eastern edge of the iceberg, the H.M.S. Norfolk rise to periscope depth and peer out of the water as a huge bay door on the iceberg side begins rising open. The submarine proceeds to glide in through the door carefully as the newspaper man adjusts his direction to rapidly make for the door.
As the submarine enters the bay and the huge door starts closing, the man bears down on the board and flies over water, sliding horizontally under the door as it seals closed tight.
The man is soon greeted by the sight of an enormous, hollow iceberg interor, a gigantic base containing numerous jettys stacked with numerous cargo vessels, jettys leading to electronic storage facilities dotted around and lifts leading to the fake snowy surface. He sees special deep freeze tanks filled with ice on the walls placed to prevent the iceberg itself naturally melting under the tropical climate it is docked under.
He observes the H.M.S. Norfolk finish docking at the nearest jetty, it's cargo doors opening to allow Balfour to emerge onto the jetty. As he steps off, a lift appears at the far end of the same jetty and opens, depositing Marlin Vibert, an imposing figure surrounded by armed guards who cower with fear before him. He reaches Balfour, the two men engaging in conversation, watched by the newspaper man via powerful binoculars at a distance. He remains bobbing in the water, none of the patrolling guards noticing his presence.
"Thick as thieves…" he says as he removes the ballaclava at the same time he removes the latex mask he was wearing disguising him as an average man, when infact he is James Bond - codename 007.
His dashing, handsome looks betray him of being a man of the world with great intelligence, a face watching both Balfour & Vibert talking, as the British Naval crewmen under Balfour's command begin to remove cargo boxes from the submarine. Bond observes Vibert begin to open up one of the crates he sees is marked 'botanical supplies', a label that Bond photographs using a mini-camera built into the binoculars.
He observes Vibert remove from the crate several metallic canisters that appear to store biological materials. Bond notices a smile of great pleasure cross Vibert's face as he puts the canisters back carefully. He turns to a guard, clicking his fingers, the man stepping toward with a small box he gives to Vibert. He opens it up, showing Balfour the contents. A microchip. Seeing it, a satisfied Balfour nods and the box is closed.
Bond watches Balfour retreat into the submarine and Vibert shouts orders at his men, demanding they help bring out his bio-cargo from the sub. Putting the binoculars away, Bond puts away the binoculars and swims over to the jetty, climbing discreetly and strapping the surfboard on his back as he skulks behind the cargo crates while approaching the sub. He knows what he has to do. He has to get inside.
When no one is looking, he seizes his chance and runs into the cargo bay.
The expansive submarine cargo area was starting to look barren since most of the crates it was stocked with had been unloaded onto the jetty. A crewman is stacking the remaining crates reading for transport. As he puts one of the crates down, he sees a figure approach and turns.
"Lovely morning." Bond quips, as he knocks the crewman out with a simple right hook before he can alert his comrades. 007 quickly tosses the crewman off the jetty nearby into the water, just seconds before two other crewmen enter and, mumbling between themselves oblivious, pick up new crates and head back on out to the jetty before them.
Neither see Bond, steadying himself between two bay walls on the ceiling. As they go, he jumps down and heads through a hatch leading to the main sections of the Norfolk.
Making his way down the corridors inside, and occassionally hiding behind bulkheads as crewmen rush past on their duties, Bond makes for his target. He lingers behind a bulkhead as he soon witnesses Balfour climb down from the bridge through a hatch.
"I want us out of here as soon as we can. See to it!…" Balfour snaps to the bridge above as he closes the hatch.
007 proceeds to tail Balfour like a shadow as he heads off down the corridor, soon arriving at his quarters, where a huge guard crewman stands protecting the room behind. Bond notices the huge specimen nod to Balfour as the diplomat heads inside and seals the door, the secret agent realising getting past the man-mountain will take all his brawn.
The slightly cramped quarters, but filled with more amenities than the average crewman would get, are entered by Balfour. He heads over to a bedside table and places the microchip box on it, taking a look inside at the prize before hearing a muffled thud coming from outside after sounds of a scuffle. Balfour, concerned, looks at the door when silence follows.
"Crewman?…" he ventured, getting no response. Balfour carefully approaches the door.
Suddenly, it opens. Bond stands over the unconscious form of the guard crewman, instantly entering and shoving a Walther PPK into Balfour's face with one hand and closing the door with the other. Shocked, Balfour recoils from the weapon 007 keeps trained on him.
"Hello, Reginald. What's a man like you doing in a place like this?…" Bond asked, wryly.
"James Bond," said Balfour, trying to sound unimpressed. "You've surprised me. I knew you were good, but I never thought you'd find me here."
"I know your weakness, Balfour. Over-confidence. The Foreign Ministry have been onto your bio-weapons smuggling sideline for quite some time."
"So have you, it seems. Yet here I am!…" Balfour said, smugly.
Bond nods. "With your new friend Marlin Vibert and a nice little microchip. Where is it?…"
Balfour laughs, trying to mask the fear of the gun in his face. "You'll have to do better than that, Bond. You are a spy, after all. Or, should I say, were a spy. You'll never get out of here alive."
"Then, that makes two of us." said Bond, at which point he fires a bullet straight into Balfour's head, killing him instantly.
007 sees the small box on the bedside table and checks to see if the microchip is inside. Seeing it is, he pockets the box and heads away. Seconds later, several crewmen bearing rifles run into the room having heard the gunshot and see the diplomat dead on the floor, a lifeless husk.
"Quick!. Sound the alarm!…" one shouted as the men run out and an intruder alarm loudy sounds around the Norfolk.
Hiding behind a bulkhead as armed crewmen run around as the alarm sounds, Bond begins making his way towards the cargo bay area. Just before he is to enter, 007 sees a large guard contingent from the iceberg running in, blocking off his exit route. From behind, he sees crewmen running toward the cargo bay. At the side of the corridor, Bond sees a line of emergency escape hatches, one of which he quickly begins opening.
Like a bullet fired from a gun, Bond shoots out of the emergency escape hatch into the freezing cold water of the iceberg. He soon finds the propellor drift starting to suck him in dangerously, he quickly swimming to avoid the drift and it's perilous effects. Bond escapes the drift by hard swimming upwards and makes for the nearest jetty.
On the main jetty, the intruder alarm is heard sounding by Vibert, who reacts by commanding his men to search for said intruder. He observes the submarine cargo bay doors closing and the propellors moving, the H.M.S. Norfolk slowly starting to leave it's port.
Vibert begins to suspect something is not right. "Stop that sub!…" he growls with supreme brevity, heading for the area of the jetty containing the submarine, a flood of guards following him. This allows 007 to emerge near the jetty opposite by the bio-weapons crates, unnoticed.
Bond sees the commotion as he removes his mobile phone and magnetically attaches it to the wood of the jetty, pressing a button. A green button flicks on with a beep as Bond climbs onto the jetty, moving away from the crates, whistling loudly out.
A number of guards hear, turn and soon surround Bond, which leads Vibert to notice just as the submarine was to stop. He waves it on as he heads toward Bond, the H.M.S. Norfolk starting to sail out of the iceberg through the huge bay doors.
Vibert walks through his circle of guards surrounding Bond and faces the spy.
"007. Your presence honours me…" Vibert said, with a heavy trace of sarcasm.
"I don't believe we've met before, Mr. Vibert." Bond replied, keeping his senses ready to react.
"And we'll never meet again," said Vibert, with relish. "We should savour this moment."
"I'd rather savour your death." said Bond.
Vibert lends a slimy grin. "The only death that will be savoured on this day, Mr. Bond, is yours."
He steps aside and nods towards the surrounding guards. They line up their rifles to fire at the secret agent, who proceeds to quickly pull out his dark glasses, press a button on them and fling them aside. Vibert watches as the glasses spin towards the water, beeping as a green button flickers on them. A beep changes the green button on the mobile phone to red, the mobile promptly becoming a detonator which explodes.
The blast explodes the jetty, flinging the guards aside and Vibert into the water, Bond instantly running off down the jetty. He runs to escape the continuing explosive blast churning the jetty up, racing towards the two lifts lying at the end of the jetty. Angrily, Vibert swims through the water towards a jet ski machine positioned nearby, which he roars into action once aboard. Explosions spread to the vessels parked on the jetty, spreading like wildfire, blowing guards and bio-weapons crates to oblivion.
007 rapidly approaches the lift as Vibert speeds at the side of the fireball churning up the jetty, trying to intercept the agent. Quickly, Bond dives into the left lift, sealing it up and activating it, just as Vibert jumps off the jet ski into the right lift.
Both lifts are made of glass, allowing a view to the iceberg below as they rise quickly. Explosions are spreading all over.
Bond soon sees Vibert's lift level with his own and sees the man pull out two machine guns which he fires, shattering his glass and Bond's, allowing bullets to fire into each lift. Dodging the machine gunfire, 007 draws out his own gun and fires back, the rapid lift ascent causing both men to not fire accurately. Vibert tosses one gun aside as he runs out of ammo, firing with the second gun. Bond fires at him as best he can, a bullet hitting the machine gun. It goes flying off to Vibert's anger, the man then getting balance, running and flinging himself over into Bond's lift with a roar.
As he lands, Bond goes to shoot him, but Vibert kicks the gun aside, it falling off the lift. Vibert lands 007 with a hard punch. A raw fistfight breaks out, Vibert's height and strength giving him the advantage. Just as the lift slows upon reaching the top of the iceberg, Vibert punches Bond hard near the edge. 007 loses his balance and falls over the edge of the lift, plunging down towards the raging explosions and fire growing below.
Vibert looks over and grins, using his radio to call for reinforcements as the lift slowly ascends out of the iceberg core. Meanwhile, Bond is freefalling at great speed, until he reaches behind and presses a button on the board strapped to his back. Two mini-jet thrusters emerge at it's top, activating. Thruster power steadies 007 in mid air, the board becoming a jet pack that allows him to ascend upwards at quick speed towards Vibert's original lift, only just about to arrive at the top level of the construction.
The explosions continue raging, fire spreading to the special ice machines keeping the iceberg frozen. They start exploding.
On the exterior of the iceberg, the sun beams down on the complex snowy boarding track stretching the length of the iceberg, the Hawaiian beach coast visibly distant.
At the track's end, TV screens show the course above the huge spectators arena where fans are now crowding in for the early morning race. An American commentator introduces the cocky Xtreme sports racers now lining up at the summit, emerging from a special hut at the top, a wooden Alpine lodge well-recreated for the event, designed for the racers to gather before they head off on their sport.
One final boarder psyches himself up as he prepares for his entrance, not noticing the lift arrive and deliver Bond. The two lifts lie where the fireplace would normally be, the first one empty which Bond notices as he quietly exits, drawing the board off his back.
The boarder turns around as 007 approaches him with a smile, too late to prevent the secret agent swinging his board and knocking him out.
"I think you get the drift." He quips, with a smile.
Moments later, Bond exits the hut now wearing the boarder's race costume and bearing his board, just as the commentator introduces him, getting a huge round of applause from the arena. He takes up his position alongside the five other Xtreme boarders on the starting line, throwing down his gadget board into the snow underneath.
007 stands on it, his feet sinking into it and locking as he removes a small palm device giving him access to the gadgets within.
As he waits for the race to begin, behind him with a pack of his guards, Vibert is hearing no reports of Bond's dead body on the radio. He begins to feel the snow below him becoming softer in the sun, kneeling and feeling it turning to water, melting. Looking up, he sees 007 on the track give a cheeky salute as a siren begins the race, Bond and the racers flying off down the iceberg.
"It's Bond!…" Vibert exclaims. "Get after him!…"
The ski-wearing guards all quickly do as ordered, racing off down the iceberg track in pursuit, as Vibert barks orders into his radio. A moment later, three large helicopter gunships appear near Vibert over the summit ridge, ready to pick him up.
Further down the track, the racers are pushing and shoving as they attempt to stretch out in front, 007 trying to avoid them. Explosions from within the iceberg are blowing out parts of the track like landmines, several of the racers falling prey to these blasts. The ice machines within are now all destroyed, causing the sun to start melting the iceberg, chunks of track turning to water, swallowing up racers as they speed down on their boards.
Bond swerves and jumps to avoid these blasts and sudden collapsed snow holes, just succeeding to get in front of the dwindling racers.
In the arena below, stands begin collapsing as the snow under them melts, the fanatic crowds realising and screaming as they flee.
On the track, 007 keeps focused without distractions, until he begins to see the pursuing guards pushing the racers aside and gaining. They fire machine guns wrapped around their necks at Bond, who swerves to dodge them, performing twisting moves to do so. Several of the guards are blown up by the explosions while others are swallowed by water, Bond fighting off others, knocking them out. Just as he gets clear of them, 007 sees the three helicopter gunships approaching over the collapsing track, dropping armed guards on skis, who rapidly start to pursue him ruthlessly.
On the middle gunship is Vibert, holding a huge gatling gun which he fires at the track, the bullets raging all around Bond. The guards are fought off by Bond and dispatched by machine guns that fire from the rear of his snowboard with pinpoint accuracy. Bigger chunks of track all around 007 start turning to water, huge masses of liquid crashing onto the fiery jetty inside the iceberg.
A tunnel midway down the track then comes into focus, Bond bearing down on it.
"Blow that tunnel!…" exclaims Vibert into his radio.
Vibert's gunship pulls back as the two flanking ones swerve in and open their missile turrets, preparing to blow the tunnel to bits. Seeing what's about to happen, 007 quickly jumps onto his back and points the snowboard up, firing two pitons from it which fly out. The pitons attach onto the front of the two gunships as Bond enters the tunnel, dragging the two helicopters in with him before they can fire their payload. Vibert's gunship flies in behind them voluntarily.
Aiming his board at the two gunships, Bond fires a small missile from the rear of it, which impacts the helicopters, blowing them up. The fireball erupts the entire tunnel and swallows up Vibert's gunship as the villain goes to jump off, blowing it to bits. Flying out of the tunnel, 007 detaches the pitons and flips around, gaining his balance and boarding off down the track. He sees the arena approaching in the distance several thousand metres away, jumping as a large drop in the track appears.
Bond lands near the mouth of a secondary tunnel from the main one, out of which boards a survived Vibert, reaching 007 and grappling with him. A massive explosion erupts behind from the gunships, triggering an avalanche of water from the melting iceberg which careers down the track. Bond and Vibert grapple as they fly down the track, seeing the collapsing iceberg gaining behind them. Both soon see pipe struts for expert snowboarders connecting the track to the arena, the finishing stunt, below which is the sea.
The two men board onto separate pipes, still within grappling reach. Bond and Vibert exchange punches while trying to maintain balance. The collapsing iceberg behind starts swallowing up the pipe as the arena rapidly comes closer, gaining on both 007 and Vibert. Getting free of the grappling, Bond pushes Vibert and boards away on the pipe. Vibert roars as the avalanche of water swallows him and the pipe up.
007 jumps onto the finish line stretch of track in the deserted arena, now collapsing like the remainder of the huge iceberg behind him. Bearing down, the track sinks all around him and so Bond activates the jet pack on his board, now horizontal acting as a rocket booster. He flies over the collapsing snow and towards a ramp at the far end, dashing onto it, flinging him literally over the top of the arena.
He flies through the air as the iceberg loudly crashes into the sea, landing on the ocean behind, which he rides off toward the beautiful Hawaiian coastal beach in the near distance, filled with amazed people, young and old, watching the huge iceberg explosively collapse off the coast.
All see 007 glide from the ocean onto the beach, the rocket booster powering down as the board glides over the sand. The board glides to a halt at a beach bar where Bond gains his composure, observing a gorgeous Hawaiian bikini girl nearby. She looks at him with a swooning look and a smile, Bond eyeing her up as a barman approaches him.
"Yes, sir?…" enquires the barman, as to his choice of drink.
"Vodka Martini," Bond replies, one eye on the girl. "Shaken, not stirred."
The barman nods, fixing the drink as Bond sees the bikini girl start to approach him.
"And for the lady?…" he asks.
"How about sex on the beach?…" she replies.
Bond can't help but raise an eyebrow at the thought. "Now there is an idea…"
The barman returns with both the vodka martini and the cocktail. Bond exudes a wry smile as he and the bikini girl toast their drinks……