Taylor took out two ear pieces. She put one in her ear and handed the other one to James.
"The restaurant owner placed a microphone under Mr. White's table so we can hear what he is saying."
James nodded and put the ear piece in his ear. They went down to the lobby to get a car to take them both to the golf club restaurant. The golf club manager was waiting for them at the entrance when they arrived. He was an older man of 60, with gray hair and his dark skin reflected his lifestyle under the Costa Rican sun. He definitely looked like that in his prime; he was a very handsome man.
"Welcome 007, and the beautiful 004; all of the cameras are set up accordingly and the microphone is well hidden under the table." The manager said as he took Taylor's hand and kissed it.
"Thank you; it is so nice for you to go through all of this trouble." Taylor said politely. The manager smiled and was about to say something else when James cut in.
"May we be seated please?" James said impatiently; the manager seemed taken aback by James' annoyed tone. The manager straitened up and gestured to follow him to the restaurant.
"What is the matter with you? That was completely rude; we owe this guy for helping us." Taylor whispered in James' ear.
"Nothing is wrong; I just want to get on with my job." James said seriously shoving his hands into his pants pocket. Taylor rolled her eyes at him.
"Loosen up a bit; you don't always have to act like you have a stick up your arse." Taylor said jokingly. James gave her a hard look.
"You told me that I we should be more focused on our job so I am. So stop complaining about my attitude when I am only doing what you told me to do."
Taylor let out a frustrated sigh.
"Yes. But I didn't tell you to be a cold bastard. I mean who is a cold bastard on a vacation?" Taylor snapped back.
"A cold bastard," James said as he pulled the chair out for her.
"I know that you are not entirely a cold bastard; you do have some good qualities." Taylor said as James took the seat across for her.
"You mean besides looks." James said cockily.
"Yes, like modesty for instance." Taylor said sarcastically. James smirked as the waiter came by their table.
"Care to start with a drink?" The waiter asked looked at the James and Taylor.
"The best bottle of red wine you have." James said not taking his eyes off Taylor.
"Very good sir." The waiter nodded as he left them both alone.
"So what are my amazing qualities?" James asked as he opened the menu.
"I didn't say amazing; what I meant was tolerable." Taylor said as her eyes scanned the choices on the menu.
"Fine, what are my tolerable qualities?" James asked her looking over the menu. Taylor slowly put the menu down to look at him.
"Well on a good day you have interesting things to say and you intelligence is impressive."
"Having a degree from Oxford doesn't hurt; what else?" James asked intrigued. Taylor thought for a moment.
"You can be comforting sometimes. You know how to make people feel better." When she said that James' mind flashed back to Vesper; when he came and sat next to her in the shower. James' body tensed; Taylor noticed and looked down.
"Sorry have I made you feel uncomfortable?" Taylor asked as she looked down at her empty wine glass the waiter came with the bottle of wine. James took the bottle form the man and poured some into Taylor's glass.
"It is not you who makes me feel uncomfortable. It is the past memories that do; it is hard for me to fall asleep when I am having such horrible flashbacks of Vesper." James said as he then poured himself a glass of the expensive wine.
"I thought that you were over the whole thing?" Taylor said as she took a sip of the bitter wine.
"I am over Vesper herself. I am just not over the fact that I came so close to danger." James said as he tapped his fingers on the table. Taylor choked on the wine. She laughed at the irony of what she just said.
"We are spies James we are close to danger every second of our life."
"Are you afraid of death?" James asked as he looked into her green-hazel eyes. She looked down and then back to him.
"No; not anymore at least; I used to be afraid of death; but after the betrayal of my husband, I don't really care. Because who would even care if I were to die? The world does not stop, the animals do not become extinct, the plants don't turn to ash; the world keeps spinning. Taylor said as she leaned back in her chair and folded her arms looking away. James pursed his soft lips and contemplated what he was going to say to her. At first he was going to say something sarcastic, but thought better against it. She was sort of opening up in her way, revealing how she really thought about life itself. He decided to actually tell the truth to what he felt about her statement.
"You are dead wrong." James said as he took a sip of his wine. She turned her head back to him as if he just snapped her out of a trance.
"Huh; what did you say?" She said curiously; Bond cursed under his breath and regretted that he had to repeat something that he was reluctant to say the first time.
"I said that you are dead wrong Miss. Jade." James said as he looked into her green-hazel orbs. Taylor looked confused.
"It was merely my opinion on life; there is no justification. You asked me if I was afraid of dying and I answered you truthfully. It is just an opinion therefore there is no reason to disagree." Taylor replied as she looked down at her wine glass.
"Yes there is; you said that no one would miss you. The truth of the matter is that I would miss you terribly." Bond said retaining an emotionless face. Taylor cracked a smirk of amusement.
"Is that so bond; why may I ask?" Taylor said as he met his crystal blue eyes. Bond's stern face finally cracked reflecting the same smirk Taylor wore.
"Who possibly would I argue with?" James said as he finished his wine in another gulp. Taylor let out a short laugh.
"I suppose M would suffice." Taylor said as she crossed her legs. Bond looked down at them and then looked back up.
"I suppose, but she does not have as great of legs as you do. Plus who will I admire from across the table?" James said matter of factly. Taylor gave him a somewhat cocky look.
"I sure that you can find a damsel in distress or two who you could admire; it will not be difficult for you to find a woman. Whether you can retain the woman is a different conversation. " Taylor replied; James smiled at her sarcasm.
"It is not like I am the only one who has trouble staying with one person."
"Yes that is true but at least I have the decency to kill them afterwards." Taylor joked as she took the wine bottle and poured her and James more wine.
"So is that what sex is to you? Just another way to kill; part of the job? Shouldn't sex be for something more; like passion?" James asked her as the waiter came back to take their orders.
"I will have the Irish salmon." Taylor said as she handed the menu to the waiter.
"The lamb shank please." Bond said giving his menu to the waiter. The waiter wrote the orders down and walked away.
"I really think that you are being hypocritical James. Weren't you the one who said it was easier to sleep with a married woman?" Taylor asked taking a look at the table that will soon hold the world's most dangerous organization.
"No; the occasional fling for no reason is good. I don't have the heart to kill them afterwards." James said playing with his fork on the table.
"Yes, that is because you sleep with the criminal's wife rather than the actual criminal. I on the other hand have the lovely task of breaking hearts."
"You don't break hearts; you put a bullet through them." James pointed out, but Taylor merely shook her head.
"And how do you think I get close enough to kill them anyway? I have to gain their trust before I kill them. I have to be very discrete about it and when the opportune moment comes where we are both totally alone………. Well you know what happens." Taylor said as she looked down sadly. James pursed his lips. It looked like it pained her to say it. James waited a few seconds before responding.
"It seems like you do not like that part of the Job Miss. Jade." Taylor looked back up to meet his gaze.
"No I do not like that part of my profession James. Even though they are criminals, I suppose that they have a heart somewhere. I call you a hypocrite when actually I am one almost every day. I play with their hearts until the moment I kill them. I loathed my late husband for doing that and yet I am living his life every day; except I am better at doing it because no one has caught me yet. But every organization wants me dead; there is absolutely no chance at a normal life."
Bond knew exactly how she felt. He understood that what she did made her sometimes feel uncomfortable. James was nervous about responding for he didn't know what to say. He remained silent for he feared to completely open up to her. If she played with hearts and killed for a living, then who was to say that she would not do it to him? Fear for the first in a long time rose up in his gut and threatened to take him over. He then saw something catch Taylor's eye.
"What are you looking at?" James inquired.
"Isn't that Mr. White?" Taylor asked motioning with her head. He looked in that direction and then quickly looked back to her. Luckily Mr. White did not notice them.
"Act natural." James whispered; what the hell was that supposed to mean? Taylor let out a huff and watched him take a diamond wring out of his pocket. "Wear this so it looks like we are actually married." James said as he handed it to her. She took it and put it on her left ring finger. James wondered how many rings have gone on that finger.
"How many times have you been married?" James asked her as he studied the ring on her finger. It was a beautiful wedding ring; James took his own out of his pocket and put it on. The ring felt so odd on his finger that he began to play with it.
"I have only been married once; how many engagements I have had is a different story." Taylor said as she listened into her ear piece. So far nothing was happening; there was no sound or anything coming out of the earphones.
"How many engagements-" James was cut off by Taylor shushing him.
"Be quiet and listen; that is what we came for." Taylor said as she began to hear voices coming through the earpiece.
"How is project Blood Rose coming along?" one man said; Taylor and James listened intently.
"That is why I gathered you all here. We are going to need more money." Mr. White's voice was clearly made out by James. They heard mumbles of disagreement between the people who sat at the table.
"We have already insured ten million dollars each to fund this project." One of the men stated.
"I know, but due to the failure of the last project with Greene Planet, we are taking extra safety percussions by increasing security in Chili. Plus we might have miscalculated how much all of the material will cost." Mr. White said calmly; the protests grew louder and another man spoke up.
"Why so much money for the materials; is it that hard to find a computer hacker?" The man asked angrily.
"In order to shut the world's computer software down we need to find the best one and we won't find the best one if we cannot offer him big money." Mr. White said matter-a-factly. Taylor and James looked at each other and then went back to listening.
"Well find him soon or else I am pulling myself out of this organization." Another man said; Mr. White laughed at the man's threats.
"You, I and this table all know that it is impossible to leave Quantum; unless you are willing to take your threat to the grave." Mr. White said slowly; Taylor knew that it was a promise that if that man left he would be dead. The man said no more and the table was silent for a moment.
"How much money do you need?" A man said calmly; all of the men at the table were afraid to disagree with Mr. White.
"Another ten million more from each of you will be needed." Mr. White said calmly; the table was silent for no one dared to protest.
"Fine; but this is the last time Mr. White." A man said; then they heard a chair move.
"Thank you I expect the money by the end of the week before I leave for Chili. Have a good night gentlemen." Mr. White said as he left the table. Taylor and James looked at each other and took their earpieces out.
"I guess it is off to Chili." Taylor said as she watched the waiter put the plate of food in front of her.
"We will leave a day ahead of him so we can get settled." James said cutting a piece of his lamb off the bone. Taylor took her cell phone out of her pocket.
"I will call M to make the arrangements for the hotel; I suspect that she will want us in Chili before Thursday." Taylor said as she dialed the MI-6 headquarters. Bond leaned back in the chair. He was hoping for a little more time in paradise with Taylor but he knew that she was right. They had work to do and they had to get it done right.
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