Snow fell softly from the heavens over the tiny little town of спрятанный, literally meaning Hidden. The house was just on the outside of the village, he had been given it from an arms dealer called Alexis when he was owed a rather large amount of money, normally he would have killed Alexis and taken the house anyway but, Le Chiffre needed an arms dealer that could move things quickly at the time. Le Chiffre stepped out of the shower, steam covering every inch of the room. With the cold Russian temperature a hot shower had become part of Le Chiffre's morning routine, one he treasured. Thanks to the heating and good insulation he was still able to wander the house in his tailored shirts and suit pants, he was enjoying his quiet solitude slowly building his fortune back up via stocks and the name Dimitri Kovrov. Fully dressed Le Chiffre trotted down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Le Chiffre's kitchen had been completely redecorated after he took ownership, in fact the whole house had. The room had been taken from a hideous dark red paint to a pale green with white counters, he didn't like his kitchen to look like a dungeon covered in old blood. There was an island in the middle of the kitchen that made the large room feel more homely and the large archway that led to the dining room let a lot of light into the room. His coffee machine clicked alerting Le Chiffre that his cup of caffeine was prepared, he smiled and took the cup. Each morning he would get his coffee and then sip it on his way to the back room of his house, the room he had re-purposed from Alexis' sun bed room to James' hospital room. Le Chiffre sat in his chair by James' bed and took a look at the sleeping agent, his hair had grown ever so slightly and his stubble was almost ready to be shaved again but Bond looked otherwise unchanged from his two month coma. He had consulted the best and brightest doctors and all said that James most likely had some sort of brain damage and that he should be 'allowed to die', Le Chiffre would not do that, he enjoyed having such a beloved double-0 at his mercy, and he had developed respect for the agent.
The accountant picked up Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island and opened it to the page the bookmark indicated and began to read.
"Chapter three, James. The engineer, the meshes of the net having given way, had been carried off by a wave. His dog also had disappeared. The faithful animal had voluntarily leaped out to help his master. "Forward," cried the reporter; and all four, Spilett, Herbert, Pencroft, and Neb, forgetting their fatigue, began their search."
Le Chiffre enjoyed reading to James it was relaxing, two months ago he wanted to kill the agent but now he spent his days reading and caring for Bond...things had defiantly changed. Being forced into hiding has made me soft. Its good having him here, so beautiful No! No I refuse to be soft. He is NOT beautiful...yes he is...No! Its time to die Mr Bond and I will be back to my normal self . Le Chiffre promised himself, he had a reputation to keep after all. Le Chiffre having made up his mind stood silently setting the novel down on the oak night table He took a deep breath, readying himself.
At that moment James chose to fight back and he pulled open his aqua eyes. Le Chiffre froze to the spot, then his mind readied for a fight.
"Who are you?" The question was groggy and almost scared. "Where am I?" Le Chiffre looked puzzled, what is he going on about? Is this some trick so as he can strike? "Oh God, who am I?"
"You really don't remember?"
"No." James shuffled up in his bed almost trying to escape what was happening.
"Not even your name?"
"No, do you know? Tell me please." Le Chiffre relaxed a little he could see that James wasn't being dishonest, he truly didn't know. The head wound must have caused more damage than he thought.
"James, your name is James Bond."
"James." Bond tested the words in his mouth. "Who are you? How do I know you?"
"My name is Le Chiffre. I am, I'm your...friend."
He could hardly tell him the truth. From the first conversation Le Chiffre had believed that he and Bond would work well together if he wasn't a MI6 agent of course. Maybe this was a gift. James Bond MI6-less.
"You're my friend?
"Yes." He wasn't surprised that James was cautious, if the roles where reversed he would be too. "You must be hungry James I will get you something to eat and drink. Stay here."
James nodded. What the fuck is happening? He chooses now to wake up. Then a plan came to his little Albanian mind. James Bond is a blank canvas, I can use that, his skill, his intelligence. Oh I have my very own MI6 agent. Le Chiffre chuckled filling the toaster and pouring a glass of orange juice. Le Chiffre was getting what he wanted, his strength and James.
The accountant had made getting James' food take a little longer than it actually did, his way of giving Bond some time to adjust. Everything in his villain mind told him to just kill 007 and carry on, but he found he couldn't, if James didn't remember then he had no reason to kill the agent. This is either going to go very well or very badly. Le Chiffre told himself as he re-entered James' room.
"Here, let me help you sit up so you can eat." Bond allowed the assistance with an air of wariness.
"Thanks."
"Of course." He turned and handed James the glass and then rested the plate of toast down on the bed. "Drink slowly, you will feel better." James took a sip, flavour filling his two month deprived mouth. The cool liquid ran through his body waking his muscles and systems from their slumber. "I will get you some clothes while you eat."
"Thank you."
Alone in the room James fell into his own world of thoughts. James, James. I don't even remember my own name, it sounds foreign. James Bond. I hope no one calls me Jamie or Jimmy. And what about that Le Chiffre guy? What happened to his eye, did it happen when I was injured? I really need to know what happened. Toast tore with a refreshing crunch, he didn't know how long he'd been asleep but he guessed it was a while. Just as the plate cleared James' new found friend returned to the room holding a set of folded clothes.
"Would you tell me what happened?"
"How about you get dressed." Le Chiffre set the clothes down on the chair by the hospital bed. "Then you can join me in the living room and I promise I will tell you everything you want to know. Yes?" He needed to buy time to reinvent the truth, twist and turn it to his benefit.
"Alright."
"Good, these will be a little big for you but it will do the job."
XXXX
Le Chiffre was surprised that James appeared in the living room so quickly, he had expected for Bond to take his time walking after the coma but then Le Chiffre knew James did nothing slowly. Bond looked around the room taking in the teal walls and dark wooden floors, a piano sat in the corner by a large window revealing the Russian snow-covered hills.
"Nice place."
"Yes it is, please come and sit. You shouldn't stand so long."
James nodded in acknowledgement and complied moving to sit opposite Le Chiffre in a black leather armchair, it was surprisingly cosy while also being modern and oh so expensive. The clothes fitted well enough considering the fact that James was a little shorter than Le Chiffre, they were warm and cosy.
"So I'm dressed..." There was a joking tone creeping into his voice. "...does that mean that you're gonna fill me in?" Le Chiffre smiled acting like the so-called friend he was.
"Certainly, where would you like to begin?" Le Chiffre wore a face of pure honesty.
"Why am I here and not in a hospital?"
"They didn't think you would wake up, why stay there when you could be with me"
"The Coma, how did it happen?" His voice was timid.
"It was late at night and my fault, we had a fight and I left the hotel and you followed at some speed. Something was in the road, it caused you to crash, I got you out as quickly as I could but there was so much blood. Doctors said you may not wake up, but you did."
"A car crash? Wait, hotel? Fight?"
"I don't even remember what we had been fighting about."
"Hotel?" James mind didn't know what to think but Le Chiffre had it all planned out.
"James I lied when I said I was your friend...I'm your partner, you always preferred the word boyfriend."
Bond's jaw physically dropped, he didn't remember much but he was pretty sure that he was not gay. However, James had no reason to not believe him, even if it did feel wrong.
"Boyfriend?"
"I know it must be hard for you not to remember but its true... I love you."Le Chiffre thought he was lying but his heart twinged, he actually meant it. James reluctantly locked aqua with maroon, a blood tear dripped from Le Chiffre's clouded eye. He dabbed it away. "James speak to me." His accent was soft.
"How long?"
"Have we been together?" He had a quick thought. "Almost two years."
"How did we meet?" Le Chiffre was surprised at how well Bond was taking in the information.
"A high stakes poker game." The best lies were just variations of the truth. "You invented a Martini, we started talking over the cards and you have been with me, worked with me ever since." All true. "You won by the way." James needed to get the conversation away from his so-called love for Le Chiffre.
"If we work together what is it we do?" Subject well changed. Le Chiffre figured James could handle the truth of his business, they were in спрятанный who could he tell?
"We are the bankers for the worlds terrorism organizations. We move their money around so they can purchase whatever they need then and there."
"Terrorism?" His voice was shocked and angry.
"You've never liked that." Again true. "That's why we retired. Now we just trade stocks."
James needed time to processes the mass of information. On the outside James seemed calm and controlled but on the inside panic had reared its ugly head.
"I em...I'm going to go back to my room and rest for a while." James stood and began walking back to his room.
"Of course, James. I will leave you alone until dinner is ready."
James didn't respond he just continued out the door, Le Chiffre smiled softly seeing James filled with such emotion.
