Chapter 2
Note: One line from Alec to Bond is directly from "Goldeneye" and the CNN News report from Skyfall."
Rated Teen+ for Mature language and sexual situation
Alec found James lying in a hut, six weeks later. Freshly fucked by the long legged beauty that was lying next to him. The man played to his strengths that was for sure. Women and booze would always be James' downfall. Alec stayed in the shadows around the hut for a few days to observe his old lover.
During this time, Alec watched Bond drink himself into a stupor and pass out at the bar. He had been tempted to take him back to his latest conquest, but what was the point. There was no way he would be functional in the state he was in. Frankly it pissed Alec off to see him in such a state. And over what? A mission gone bad, getting shot? It was not like that hadn't happened before. James always could be petulant and act like a bloody child. Why M even wanted him back was beyond Alec.
Before Alec could make the call to M's private line to say he found him, the news showed a scene from London. Bond had just managed to wake with the intrusion of dawn and his face fell when he saw the news. This reaction alone gave Alec some hope that James could climb out of the pills and booze he was currently relying on.
CNN Breaking News.
Emergency crews are still attempting to assess the damage as investigators hunt for leads in what now appears to be a major terrorist attack in the heart of London.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility for what sources are calling a possible "cyber-terrorist assault" on the British Secret Service.
Early reports from the scene indicate at least six dead, many more injured, with victims being evacuated to local hospitals within minutes of the explosion.
Alec followed him back to London, watching as he entered a nice house, in a posh neighbourhood. Alec wondered who lived there? He hadn't bothered calling M, assuming Bond would make his way into base at some point to see her. He knew Bond came from money and perhaps this was the house of friends of the family. In all likelihood it was an old lover's place. Regardless, he came out a few hours later looking pissed off, as he pulled his jacket up against the rain. Not an ex-girlfriend then, or at least not one happy, to see James in the state he was in.
Alec shivered from the cold rain himself, after being in the warmth of Turkey. Alec climbed in his car and called M. He told her that he had found and followed Bond back to London. She tersely told him that she was well aware, and told him he could slink back into the shadows as she wished.
Alec didn't want to just go back to Russia and be Janus again at her bloody command. He hadn't been this close to James in a long time. He wanted to take him to a pub and sit down with him...tell him everything. Admit his feelings and see where that took them.
The explosions in London had taken out M's office, sending them down into to an old underground facility. Alec broke into the new underground place, just to see if he could. He enjoyed using and pushing the former 00 thing to his advantage. In the end he will tell M that he could have blown their damp old bunker to shit if he had had the inclination to do so.
Q branch looked different. Q was a bloody pup! A very handsome one at that. Alec wondered how James took that, or if he even knew about this one stuck in the dreary sublevels. Maybe there was something interesting to do while he was here after all.
Alec was intrigued by this new Q. The lad seemed destined to dress like an old professor, with a mop of chestnut curls and glasses rounding out the look. He found that he couldn't help but press his luck and break into the facility more often just so he could observe the handsome young man.
James was busy attempting to kick his various bad habits and condition his aged body, back into something M could use as a 00 agent.
After a few weeks M had not even bothered to check up on Alec's or Janus' whereabouts. Granted she was busy and Bond was still in training.
Alec continued to watch the new Q, one day expecting to see Bond come in but he didn't. Eventually, Alec was hiding in Q branch, in plain sight, just another in a sea of lab coats with a stolen security badge. It made it easy to meld with the background, on another of his clandestine visits. Alec overheard Q mention 007 and having to meet with him at the National Gallery. Alec followed the handsome young man to the gallery to await Bond.
Alec walked in with a group of tourists from Canada and made himself blend unaggressive and uninteresting enough, into the background, He got only casually scanned by Bond as he entered to meet with the delectable new Q.
Bond bloody well flirted back with the pup, damn him. What was going on? It seemed as though the two of them had just met. From the look of their initial interactions the new Q was into Bond, Alec could see the nervous attraction coming off the man, as he quipped with James. So flirting with the young pup was fine, but the way the two of them connected all those years ago was something he wanted to forget?
Alec shook his head and walked out. He found out the next day as he was about to leave for Russia that there was suddenly a lead on man that stole the hard drive.
Bond was off to China and Alec planned to follow him to get some bloody answers. He kept to the shadows and it was easy to see that Bond was not yet on his game. It had been too long and M should have never let him back out into the field. He absently wondered if she had even realised that he had not heeded her orders to leave for Russia.
Agent 19 followed Bond to China for back up. Alec overheard her call someone when she arrived at the same hotel as Bond. The caller went by the name of Mallory. This was the man who was trying to push M out into retirement.
Eve Moneypenny was her name from what Alec had discovered by listening in. James would try to bed her, if he was anything like he once was. She may just do it, because Mallory wanted her to dig for information. Eve may foolishly assume that Bond would loosen up to her after sex. That was not the way it worked with 00's.
Alec followed Bond to the casino, Eve had left after her visit to Bond's room and who knew what the two of them had been up to while alone together.
Alec scanned the room and so did Bond. The good thing about being a ghost was that Bond would never ever expect to see him there. He was accepted in such places as Janus anyway, and what would Bond know of Janus.
M had made sure to keep the two of them from crossing paths over the years. It would only have ended badly for one of them if they had met again as agent and criminal. What Alec was now was complicated.
On one hand Alec was Janus, but M called him in, and since that moment 006 seemed to emerge from years left in a dusty room inside his head. How he felt about it was not as intense as he believed it would be. It was true that time mellowed a person, except for M, she seemed the same piece of work she always was, even with the minor display of grief that slipped through her steely mask.
Bond's eyes focused on a beauty coming down the stairs to the bar. This was definitely the mark.
Alec knew her! She was a go between for a man known as Raoul Silva. Bond seemed to have no idea what he had gotten himself into. Only M really knew, and of course she sent Bond out here injured. James was alone, but for Eve, the bloody traitor within M's organization.
Fantastic! Alec may now be forced out of the shadows, to keep his former friend and lover from being killed by yet another mad man.
Maybe M realised that Alec was going to follow Bond. Perhaps, this was part of the equation from the beginning. From the moment M pulled him back to London.
Alec shook his head as he left the casino, leaving Bond and Eve to get out of the dragon pit themselves. Janus had other fish to fry, the main one was Raoul Silva and what the crazy bastard had planned for Bond and M.
Alec had heard of an island that was controlled by Silva. He sent a message to some contacts in his organization. These years of being Janus had made him aware of many of the underground players in the world and what their modus operandi was. Silva however, had alway been a bit off and unpredictable. Rumour had it that something happened to him when he was younger, much like most of them, he and Bond included.
The past would eat you up if you let it, and Alec had been running from his for a long time. Alec hired a boat and headed towards the island's far side, by early morning. He had to be cautious in his approach, because he didn't know the extent of Silva's fire power. With only Bond and no sight of little miss traitor, MI6 would be very outnumbered.
Silva's woman slouched over dead while tied to the rock. Bond must have slept with her and come with her for the man to so callously kill her after all these years. There was really no other explanation as to why Silva would kill such a pretty piece of merchandise.
From what Alec knew of him, Silva was a spider with multiple arms and webs. He was connected to Quantum; the agency that M had Alec looking into, after her bodyguard tried to kill her several years earlier. He had given her tips over the years that she, in turn gave to Bond.
Bond managed to kill most of Quantum's operatives, and the rest were incarcerated thanks to Janus. After the bodyguard tried to kill their intrepid boss, Bond was a single minded machine when it came to Quantum, and the remnants were divided up into other organizations. Janus even took a few into use in his operations in Russia.
Bond finally found his opportunity and made his move, killing Silva's guard. Silva was actually laughing at being caught. That could only mean one thing, he had a plan. Bond was too blinded by rage for all that had happened to him, the girl and the eight dead in London, to see what Alec could see. A manipulative maniac with a plan.
Alec eased his way out of hiding as the helicopters sounded in the distance. Silva wanted to get caught, which meant he wanted to get to London and to the only target that Quantum had actively been after all these years. That target was...M and Bond would take him right to her. Alec watched as Silva fell to his knees in front of Bond, laughing and placing his hands behind his head in submission. Alec stepped out from behind one of the buildings and shot Silva in the head, the man fell face down at Bond's feet..
Bond looked at him like he had just seen a ghost as he pointed his gun at Alec.
Alec dropped his gun and got on his hands and knees, echoing what Silva had done to prevent Bond from killing him before he could explain.
"What the hell are you doing alive, Alec!? Why did you shoot him?!"
Alec couldn't explain it to his old friend yet, perhaps the young Q could assist him into the investigation the more important question. Who was controlling Silva like a puppet and to what end? Alec could see by the look on Bond's face that he wouldn't believe him anyway.
"I might as well ask if all the vodka martinis ever silenced the screams of all the men you've killed, or if you ever found forgiveness in all those willing women for all of the dead ones you failed to protect." Alec tossed at his old friend as he looked over at the body of Séverine.
Bond was incredibly angry as he neared Alec raising his hand to strike, but Alec never took the stinging blow he had expected. Bond stood fists clenched at his side, seething in anger for the lies between them. Two former friends and more.
The helicopters landed and one took the bodies. Bond walked away from Alec and onto the other helicopter. Alec followed, but their conversation ended due to the noise.
After they landed Bond spoke first. "I take it you want to come in willingly and I don't have to restrain you."
"No the time for restraint is over, as well as fun and games." Alec added suggestively.
Bond shook his head in anger and disgust at the man who had once been his good friend but who was now involved in all this somehow. Alive after Bond suffered thinking he had killed him years ago.
Bond drove the Range Rover with Alec in the front on the passenger side, once the had returned to the mainland. Bond had decided that Trevelyan did not mean to kill him yet or he would have let Silva do that on the Island. What he wanted to know is why he killed the perpetrator of all this? Silva deserved it, of that Bond was sure but why was Alec suddenly involved?
They made their way toward the small airport, to catch a flight back to London. A military plane took them back to London, as the two men slept. Once they had returned to London, a day later, Bond drove Alec towards the MI6 bunker.
"What you said to me...on the island...about the women and the drink. That was no bloody excuse! Why Alec?"
"Why did I leave you, or why did I shoot Silva?"
"Both!"
"Ask M. It was all her idea."
Bond's eyes opened wide in shock. "She wanted him alive!"
"She doesn't know that he wanted to be brought back to London. It was all part of his master plan and he has waited a long time to kill her."
"How would you bloody know!"
"She doesn't tell you more than you need to know, like a good little soldier, Bond. I heard what he said to you about her...he was not wrong. He WAS you and I, both of us left in the cold by her. The only difference was that he wanted her...more...much...much more."
"Enough! Don't you even think about…"
"What? All you need to understand now is that I have been M's ghost for years and that she called me in, just to find you in Turkey."
Bond looked intently at Alec to try to gage if he was telling the truth.
"It's true. I found you on that beach a few days before the bomb went off in her office. The only reason you went back to London was because you thought she might have died. Admit it, M needed help, that was the only reason you returned. So you decided to shake off the booze, pills and that long legged toy you were playing with, in that squalled hut on the beach. All for Queen and bloody country, yet again."
"That may have been part of it, but I had played dead long enough. Not as long as you did, I must have a greater sense of loyalty."
Alec smiled that knowing smirk he had always used when he knew more about something than Bond. "We jump when she calls. Do you not think that Silva was the same? Then again, he wanted more from her than a mother's praise."
"Shut it! I don't want to hear anymore of your theories on a man we didn't know existed until yesterday."
"You didn't know, but I did, and M just didn't realise that he had survived to haunt her with a changed name."
"If that were the case, why did Silva wait? He could have gotten to her years ago with his talents."
"A; it takes time to build an evil empire, I should know, I did it. B; he couldn't find her because MI6 changed her name to a letter and buried the details. As far as Silva knew she was dead, or missing. You're not asking the right questions James. Why did he know? How did he find out? This is far more disconcerting than you know, and M will be just as upset. My theory is that she is getting close to something, or someone who is blocking her and trying to have her killed. After all, Quantum already tried and she decimated them, thanks to you. Oh, wait...you never did get White did you?"
The rest of the ride was made in silence as James pondered what he had been told. "M is not going to be happy about this." He finally said as the information absorbed into his tired and confused brain.
"I did her a favour. Once he found out that she lived, he was going to either take her or kill her. As you know from your attractive dead girlfriend, that we brought back in a body bag. He is not kind to the ones he keeps."
Bond gripped the steering wheel tighter as the anger built within him. Alec chuckled at his frustration.
"What?"
"You're so frustrated by her lies, yet still concerned about how she feels. Come away with me and you will stop caring about that and have a better life."
"What? In the shadows as a player, a smuggler, or what ever else it is that you do at Janus. Yes I guessed or assumed. No wonder M always diverted whenever there was a whiff of your shady organization interfering with our operations."
"What is keeping you here really Bond? Not M, you let her think you were dead for three months. Is it that sexy agent 19, Eve? Or is it that cute little boytoy Q that has you all in knots?"
Bond glared at him, but said nothing.
"Well, at least don't tell me it's bloody, Tanner?"
The absurdity of the situation hit Bond as he looked to his old friend's smirking face and he began to laugh.
"No, but I will stay and fix this mess. How about you?"
"Depends on what the Queen of MI6 says. Are you taking me to her now?"
"Yes, why?"
"You better let her know because I'm dead and can't be seen there. Head to the Two Roses pub and drop me off. That is where I usually meet her. Bring her and the rest of the MI6 gang if you like...if her majesty gives you permission. I would like a chance to talk to that young, Q."
"I bet you would." Bond altered course to the pub they used to drink at, on occasion many years ago.
"I would love to talk with agent 19 also. You see, I'm still an equal opportunity lover, just like you. Speaking of lovers, I did hear about your woman...Vesper was it. She used you and then drowned? Is that what turned you into this worn out piece of a man? Half dead from the pills, drink and bullets thrown at you by one of M's younger agents?"
Bond narrowed his eyes at his former friend and scoffed. "I will ask M, but no promises."
"That sounds familiar. No promises...like the one to stay friends, even after having torrid sex with me?"
"That night is closed, or is this all a game to you now? Are you prodding me for weaknesses? I agree that our friendship was once a weakness, as was Vesper, but I've outgrown that now."
"As you and I both know; the arms of strange women become cold after a while. It's not difficult to find them and toss them away, because you are always looking for the one that can save you. In the end you can't, she's as elusive as a unicorn. Vesper's dead, and any dreams of a normal life died with her. We are jaded almost completely worn pieces of rock, being battered by the waves, and only standing due to an outdated sense of loyalty. Come on James, you handled Silva well when he flirted. You haven't lost the knack. Didn't the boarding school experience teach you that there is room for everything." Alec added suggestively.
"I've always been straight with you about my sexuality. I am not bisexual, but I've had to be with a man from time to time for the job. As for boarding school, you know that I was kicked out for playing with the maid." Bond added with a smirk.
"So, what about that night with me?"
"It was a drugged and it was a drunken mistake! I knew it the moment I was sober enough to realise what we did. Christ, Alec you were my best friend….and I….never wanted that with you."
"You wanted me pretty bad that night!" Alec exclaimed getting fed up with his puritanical attitude. "I never forced you onto your knees! You were not sucking me dry for information, you wanted to do it! I never heard you complain when I reciprocated. Is this how you treat all your men. What about that sexy new, Q?"
"Q? What?"
"He's a tasty little crumpet."
"When are you going to acknowledge that you took advantage of me that night! I was definitely not sober when I did it!"
"I think you doth protest too much Bond. You damn well enjoyed it!"
"How the hell would you know! You disappeared after it happened and I was damn surprised myself! I honestly barely remembered what happened. I remember you yanking me out of a woman's bed and then we were suddenly in bed...it was all so confusing and I had been drugged."
"Yes, I know. You explained it all to me in that Dear John letter I found beside me in the morning."
They drove in front of the pub and Alec climbed out. "Bond you have been with men and women, but does the sex of the person really matter when there is a strong connection?"
"No, but the other half shouldn't be responsible for sex when consent is questionable, but you always did have a problem with that, didn't you, Alec!"
"I like it rough yes, but I have never taken anyone who didn't want it and on some level you did!" Alec snapped realising that there would be no convincing the man by argument alone. Alec still wanted to make James his partner, but it would take some time to figure out once this mess was dealt with.
"Tell M, I will wait here no more than two hours. Her majesty know's how to reach me if she would like to meet me in private again."
Bond frowned. "I don't think she should meet you alone."
"You scared for dear old mum, Bond?"
"Don't call her that!"
"Fine! Well she has, and she's the boss, I guess you get no say in who she sees. Especially now that she's a widow."
"A what?!"
Bond pulled over and Alec opened the door and got out. He held the door open as he continued to pest Bond with things that had escaped the great 007's notice.
"You didn't know? When you broke into, what I now realise was her house, that rainy night you returned. Did you not realise that she now lived alone? So much for being a master spy. Those months away wallowing in booze and drugs muddled your brain, as much as it did that night with me." Alec turned abruptly and headed into the pub.
Bond drove away while digesting all this information from his infuriating former friend. He realised that he barely remembered the night they had spent together, except for the uncomfortable feeling he had the day after. He had attempted to forget that night with Alec, which was easy when the man concerned faked his death and disappeared in a fiery explosion.
It was obvious now, that, that night had affected Alec far deeper than he had imagined. All Bond remembered was the intense sadness of losing him immediately after that mess, made James lock away his feelings concerning Alec. The confusion and guilt Bond felt after stepping over that line and sleeping with Alec, was nothing to the grief of losing such a close friend.
There was only one person that he felt drawn to for years, yet never acted on, and that piece of information would remain buried.
Alec could try all he wanted, but Bond's heart would never be his, with all the lies and half truths, not to mention time between them. Alec didn't understand love, trust and devotion. Not that Bond was an expert concerning such matters. The core of it was that he didn't trust Alec, and looking back on their past, he trusted him too much then, when he shouldn't have. James wished the man had stayed hidden. He didn't want these old hurts pulled back to the surface after so long.
Bond didn't trust him, but it seemed like M did and that bothered him a great deal. After all this, what else was M hiding from him? Bond headed back to the underground bunker to give M the details on Silva's death and tell her about who waited at the pub. James wondered what else M had been hiding from him.
To be continued...
