Chapter 7

...

Tanner lay in bed with Eve still asleep in his arms. He had slept on what they had discussed. And even though he still wasn't keen on the idea, he would support her anyway he could. At least she hadn't suggested being a double-0, then they would have problems.

He reached out and gently caressed her face, smiling as she let out a small moan before her eyes opened.

"Morning." He said with a smile causing her to let out a groan.

"How can you be a morning person?" Eve whined trying to bury herself back into his chest.

"How can you not? You've worked as M's secretary for over three years. You should be used to waking up at his time." He told her in amusement.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it." She mumbled.

Tanner gave a small chuckle. "I hate to break this to you, but if you want to be an agent you are going to have to work on getting out of bed."

She quickly sat up and looked down at him, "What? Last night you were completely against the idea."

"Yes, I was. But I did tell you I supported your decision." He looked up at her.

"You did. But, I at least still expected some negativity from you." She told him truthfully.

He didn't blame her for thinking that; he didn't exactly handle the news well when she had first told him. But, as he slept on everything, he realised he just wanted her to protect her and keep her safe.

"I'm sorry about last night, Eve. I guess... I was just scared of what would happen to you."

She gave him a loving smile, appreciated that he cared. "You don't have to be Bill. I can take care of myself."

"I know, but that won't stop me worrying. Bond's disappearance was a catalyst in my choice of words. I just don't want the same thing happening to you."

She lay back down next to him and snuggled in close, trying to offer him some comfort. "I'll have you keeping tabs on me and I'll follow M's orders to the latter. She seemed just as unsure about the idea as you were."

"Did she?"

"Yes. She said something along the lines of you were not the only one who cared and she considered me a close friend."

"You're her secretary. Of course she cares about you." He softly caressed her back. "She really only has the two of us left, and Q." Tanner told her sadly, as he thought about how alone M actually was.

"I know, but Bond may still be alive. If he is, we'll find him." She tried to sound confident, but it didn't sound convincing even to her own ears. Then there was M, she couldn't help but worry about the older woman.

"What are we going to do about M, Bill? Their anniversary is today. I can only imagine what she must be going through."

Tanner held Eve closer to him and pressed a kiss into her hair, feeling exactly the same way.

"We'll do what we said we would do. I'll contact Q and ask him to come into headquarters. It will be good for M for the both of them to catch up. He has known Bond as long as she has, Eve. He may be able to help her, and not in just finding him."

"I hope you're right." She said to him softly.

He hoped he was too, If Q couldn't get a pinpoint on Bond's location, then no one could.

/*\*/*\

M's Penthouse, London

M roused from sleep to feel someone softly caressing the side of her face. Leaning into the soft touch, she heard a familiar voice gently call out to her telling her to open her eyes.

Obeying the simple command, she opened her eyes to see the blurry figure of a man sitting on her bed. As her eyes finally adjusted, she felt her heart beating in her chest as she finally recognised who it was.

She stared at him in disbelief as he looked down at her with a loving smile. Sitting up, she stared at him before reaching out a shaky hand to his face, feeling his warm skin under her fingertips.

"You're real." She whispered, feeling the tears in her eyes, as he kissed the inside of her wrist.

"I told you... I will always come back to you, Olivia. And I always keep my promises."

Her tears were flowing freely down her eyes, but she didn't care. He was here. That's all that mattered.

"I thought you were dead, James."

She felt his arms wrap themselves around her as he pulled her to his chest. It was all it took as she softly cried into his shoulder.

"Sh, I'm right here." He softly told her, pressing a kiss to her temple.

After a few moments, she pulled back slightly and gave him a watery smile. "Just… don't put me through that again."

"I promise." He leaned in and pressed a tender kiss on her lips.

It had been too long. She had missed this, missed him. Letting her eyes close, she got lost in the sensation of his lips and body pressed against hers as she eagerly returned his kiss. Him being back with her gave her the love and comfort that she thought she would never experience again.

Just as the kiss started to gain passion, James pulled away causing M to moan at the loss, wondering why he had stopped.

Opening her eyes, she looked around startled at seeing herself standing in an unfamiliar room, with James nowhere in sight.

"James?"

She looked around for any sign of him. Calling out to him again, there was no reply.

M felt panic and fear build up inside her. She couldn't lose him. Not again. Not when he had just returned home to her. He promised.

"You killed him!"

M whirled around looking for the source of the unknown voice, seeing no one there.

"Another agent dead because of you!" A second voice hissed.

"How many more have to die!?"

The onslaught of disembodied voices caused M to fall to her knees as the voices multiplied and got louder. Covering her ears with her hands, she tried to block out the sound, wanting nothing more than to have James' arms back around her.

She closed her eyes, as the voices started to close in, continuing to taunt her, before they suddenly stopped.

Breathing heavily, she opened her eyes to see Tanner standing in front of her.

"Tanner…" She said in relief, only for it to be replaced with fear as she saw the anger and hatred in his eyes.

"She's dead M… Your orders killed her!"

"What? I didn't. Eve… she's still alive." M tried to reason with him.

"You took her from me! For that, you don't deserve to live!" He sneered looking down at her.

It was then that M saw the gun in his hand.

"Tanner... please... don't do this." She pleaded with him, as she looked around for anything to defend herself.

He pulled back the safety and aimed the gun at her heart.

"Goodbye, M."

Her eyes widened as he pulled the trigger…

/*\*/*\

M woke with a start, feeling her heart beating erratically in her chest as she took in her surroundings. It was only when she realised she was still in her bedroom and in her own bed that she could feel herself start to relax. She could still picture Tanner's look of hatred and disgust as he had pulled the guns trigger without a second thought.

Everything about it had seemed so real. And she guessed in a way it was. She had still lost James and was accountable for many agent's deaths, all thanks to her orders. The voices were right, how many more agent's had to die because of her?

Then there was Eve. If she passed her training, she didn't know if she could send her out into the field. It would only be a matter of time before she met the same fate. Over the years they had worked together, she had grown fond of the younger woman. She was the best secretary she had, and also a dear friend. To lose her as well, she didn't think she would be able to look Tanner in the eye again.

Turning to look at the clock, the red digits displayed 7:15 am. She had slept through her alarm, and now she was currently running late. For once she didn't care if she was, work was the last place where she wanted to be.

Reaching into her pyjama top, she pulled out James' ring that was still on her necklace. She traced the ring with her fingers, as she got lost in her thoughts on how she was going to get through today. She could still feel James' arms around her, wanting nothing more than for him to be next to her; offering her comfort and telling her everything was going to be all right. But that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. Not while she lay in bed feeling sorry for herself.

Letting go of the ring, she sat up and looked over to the picture of James on her bedside cabinet. Reaching out, she picked it up and brought over to her as she looked down at the photo. Anniversary or not, he would tell her she needed to focus on her job, and that was what she was determined to do. Even though he wasn't here, he was still giving her the strength she needed to go on. She remembered his inscription on the ring and gave a sad smile at how true his words were.

"Happy Anniversary, James." She murmured to the photo, before placing it back on the bedside cabinet.

Getting out of bed, she pushed the nightmare to the back of her mind as she started to get ready for the day ahead.

/*\/*\/*\

Siena, Italy

Damien walked through the compound in search for White, hoping he didn't run into Bond along the way. He was just about to turn the corridor that would take him to White's office when he heard a set of footsteps behind him.

Turning around, he saw the man in question approach him, dressed in one of his usual grey suits.

"We need to talk." Damien told White with some urgency, when the older man had stopped in front of him.

White watched as Damien looked around the corridor as if he was waiting for someone to appear. He didn't have time to listen to Damien's paranoia about Mr Bond, but the younger man probably wouldn't let it go until he did.

"Very well, we'll go to my study. But this had better be important." White started to walk in the direction of his office, not waiting to see if Damien was following.

"Oh, I think you will find it is." He murmured under his breath as he followed after White.

Entering White's study, Damien closed the door and turned to see White taking a seat behind his desk.

"So, what is this important piece of information that you need to tell me?" White asked giving Damien a calculating look, as he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a photo.

"This." He held up the photo before walking over and placing it on White's desk.

White picked up the photo and looked at it. "Where did you get this?" He demanded as he looked back over at Damien.

"I found it in Bond's possession when we captured him."

"You've had it all this time? And you didn't think to inform me?"

"I'm informing you now." Damien replied. "But it did get me thinking about a few things." He said taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of White's desk.

"Such as?" White narrowed his eyes.

"Let's start with the obvious shall we? Why would my dear brother have a picture of my mother in his possession?"

White sat back in his chair, thinking over Damien's question. It certainly made him curious as to what Mr Bond's relationship was with, M. From the photo it seemed to go beyond that of boss and agent. Either that, or Mr Bond had developed stalker tendencies.

"And there is something else, I think you may find interesting." Damien stated. "You said you had problems with the procedure?"

"Where are you going with this, Damien?"

"Well... what if it was his memories of M, that was causing him to resist?"

"That's a far fetched conclusion…"

"How else do you explain it!? If it was due to M... what makes you think sending him to kill her won't trigger his real memories? If that happens... we're finished."

White, knew Damien had a point, but they had nothing more to go on other than a photo. Though he did have to admit, she was a desirable woman. If they were in a relationship, he could understand why Mr Bond had fallen for her.

"What do you suggest I do?" White inquired.

"Send someone with him, or at least consider it…"

"No! If what you say is true, he could turn on us before he has even carried out the task. We send him alone."

Damien clenched his hands into fists; frustrated that White wasn't listening to him.

"Are you forgetting about his episode yesterday? Her name wasn't even mentioned, yet a simple set of words caused him to react! Imagine what he would be like in the same room as her!"

White thought over the situation, there was a risk he could remember, but it was highly unlikely he would understand what was happening. As long as he killed her, that was all that mattered. They could deal with any other problems later.

"My original plan still stands. Trust me. Even if he remembers… do you actually think he will be able to comprehend what is happening to him?"

White gave a smile when Damien didn't have an answer for him. Instead, he decided to get along with business.

"Now that this matter has been dealt with, I need you go and fetch me, Mr Bond. There is something I need to discuss with him." White ordered.

Damien angrily stood up and marched towards the door. He needed to get out of here before he did something he would later regret. He was just about to open the door, when he turned back around to face White.

"You're making a big mistake. I hope you know that." Without waiting for a reply, he left the room and slammed the door behind him.

Once he had left, White looked back down at the photo before placing it in his desk drawer for safekeeping. Damien was probably worrying over nothing, but that wouldn't stop him from keeping a closer eye on, Mr Bond.