Chapter 3: Visitors
The various forms of traffic in Jerusalem danced around the black car as Bond peered out its window at the beautiful Dome of Rock. Although he would possibly be heading back to Israel to aid in the prison break cleanup he decided to take in the many sites now while he still had the chance. Bond had enjoyed a rejuvenating standard shower before he was picked up at the hotel. First a hot spray followed by an ice cold rinse and then into the car with government license plates driven by Vladimir Solvasky. Vladimir's family had moved to Isreal in the early 60s to escape the injustice of communism, and the family had a history of serving with various departments of the Israeli military. Solvasky didn't say much as they motored along Jerusalem's busy streets and up to a quiet residence located on the outskirts of the city. It was a Western style house made of stone and had to large olive coloured garage doors. Vladimir parked in the driveway directly facing the right garage door.
"I'll go check the place out," he exclaimed in a thick Russian accent. Bond nodded and lightly felt his concealed, Walther P99 pistol. Solvasky, dressed in a standard black suit with matching pants and dress shoes, approached the door and knocked.
Inside the house four of the mercenaries who aided in Pallas's escape were busy packing up their things for the future trip to Paris. Upon hearing the knock, the shortest of the three, an Indian man in a red t-shirt sent orders to the other.
"Julio, Mathew, you two get downstairs and secure the Frenchman's stuff. Danilo you follow me to the door but stay out of site. Everyone grab your guns," he finished. The four mercenaries grabbed their weaponry and headed to their designated positions. The leader, Pascual Tancedo, kept his submachine gun held behind him as he opened up the door.
"How may I help you sir?" he asked politely to the black haired man before him.
"I need to examine the premises for a suspect in a police investigation," Vladimir replied while also noticing the heavy build of the man.
"Right away, I'll have one of my friends open the door for you," Pascual finished. The government agent nodded and headed back to the car with Bond sitting patiently in the passenger seat. The second Tancedo closed the door he ordered Danilo to open fire upon the car once the garage door began opening.
Double-Oh-Seven drew his pistol and held it across his lap as Solvasky opened his door and sat in the driver's seat, starting up the car in the process.
"There opening the garage door for us," he quickly told Bond.
"Rather odd if this is the right place, perhaps we got the wrong address? "Bond asked. The two watched as the garage door began opening but were surprised when an armed man stood directly behind the now open door.
"Get down!," yelled Vladimir, pushing himself and Bond down as 9mm rounds began tearing through the windshield. Solvasky hammered his foot down on the gas pedal and the car sped forward catching Danilo against the hood and smashing itself into the back wall of the garage. Danilo's ribcage and inner organs were instantly crushed upon impact, killing him. Before the two government agents had time to recover Pascual had opened up the laundry room door which led to the garage and fired his own gun at the damaged vehicle. James opened his door and fell out of the vehicle mildly banging his shoulder in the process. He aimed upwards and fired two shots at Tancedo one missing while the other hit him in the left hand, causing him to drop his weapon. Pascual fled back inside as his silenced MP5 clattered onto the garage floor below. Although his shoulder felt like it was on fire Bond kept his Walther trained at the door as Vladimir came to his Double-Oh-Seven's side, picking up the fallen submachine gun and checking the remaining clip. The two entered the small laundry room and then entered the house. There were two basic hallways, one leading from the front door to the main are and another intersecting it leading from the kitchen to the bedrooms. Bond noticed a trail of blood going down to the bedroom area. James and Vladimir decided to split up, Bond would follow the trail while Vladimir inspected the kitchen and basement.
James Bond crept silently following the trail left by the retreating mercenary. His left hand rubbed gently against his right shoulder as he reached two doors. He inspected the one directly in front of him and found nothing but half packed suitcases and several passports. Tickets for a flight to Paris were lying on the bed. Double-Oh-Seven opened up the other door and entered another room. Besides a dresser, bed and night table the room was fairly plain and the blood trail only led into the bathroom. Gunfire began to echoe from the basement but James knew he had to finish searching this area before possibly aiding Solvasky. Bond opened the closed door and turned to the right to see a large mirror overlooking the entire washroom. James began to close the door beside him to get a good look to his right. Crash! The glass door of the nearby stand in shower suddenly smashed into Bond, exploding into fragments of glass. The blow was especially severe to his already injured shoulder and it caused Double-Oh-Seven to drop his pistol. The Indian mercenary from before grabbed Bonds throat with his bare hands and banged Double-Oh-Seven's head into the ceramic bathroom sink causing him to fall to the tiled floor. Before the British agent could recover Pascual Tancedo was already on top of Bond slowly choking him to death. With his air supply running low and the blow to his head making him feel dizzy Bond was running out of time. In a last ditch effort, the British spy managed to grab a shard of glass off the floor and swiped it across Tancedo's neck, slashing his throat. The Indian man fell to the floor clutching his neck and choking on his own blood. Double-Oh-Seven staggered back into the bedroom and fell onto the bed, slipping into unconsciousness.