I know this is a bit short but I've had a lot going on and it would have been impossibly long if I didn't break it up in to two chapters.

M spent the remainder of her day pouring over the mission files Mallory had left her trying to familiarize herself with every last detail before her meeting with the Committee which had been scheduled for the following morning. As she read the files she found her mind drifting to James and his rather odd behavior. Strange that he had left so suddenly. "Maybe he's just giving me some time and space to deal with this situation" she thought to herself as she redirected her attention back to the files. "Knowing James he will probably meet me later at home. After all the office is not the best place to display my personal feelings for an agent given the current situation."

After reading every last scrap of paper on her desk related to any mission in the last few months, M was finally confident that she had enough ammunition to defend herself from any acquisition they could possible throw at her in the meeting. Most of the office staff except for Tanner and Eve had left hours ago when M finally decided to call it a day. As she opened her door she fond Tanner and Eve still sitting in her outer office diligently working their fingers to the bone making sure that no detail went unnoticed.

"What on earth are you two still doing here?" she asked sounding a bit surprised that they were still working

"Just making sure we have everything we need for tomorrow" replied Tanner trying hard not to yawn

"If I didn't know better I would say that you two are part Golden retriever, steadfast and loyal to the end" she said with a light laugh "If you haven't found it by now it simply doesn't exist so go home the both of you" she said in her best boss voice

"Right ma'am. Would you like me to call you a driver?" asked Tanner as he put away the last of the files he was working on.

"No that won't be necessary" she said as she headed toward the lift "By the way have either of you seen 007 since this morning?" she asked curiously

"Not since he left you office earlier. Why?" replied Eve with a somewhat puzzled look

"Just curious is all" she replied quietly

"He did seem rather quiet when he left"

"Oh...did he? What I mean to say is did he say anything?" asked M sounding a little concerned

"No. He said he was fine and left"

"I see. Well Thank you, both of you for all you've done. I'll see you in the morning" replied M as the same look of sadness she had earlier crept across her face again

"Good night M" they both said in unison as the lift doors closed

"I wonder what's going on?" said Tanner staring at the now closed lift doors

"Call it women's intuition, but I think a whole lot more went on in Dover than either of them is willing to admit" replied Eve as she shut off her computer and grabbed her hand bag

"What's that supposed to mean" asked Tanner with a rather perplexed look on his face as the two of them headed toward the lift

"It means Tanner, Don't ask" replied Eve with a slight grim as she pressed the button

When M finally arrived back at her flat it was nearly One o'clock in the morning and she was exhausted. She half expected to see James fast asleep on her sofa, but when she turned on the light she found the room completely empty. She had to admit that she was a little surprised if not hurt that he wasn't there. It wasn't like him to just disappear when he clearly knew she needed him and was depending on his support in dealing with this whole mess. After all he had promised to stand beside her, but at the moment he seemed to be nowhere to be found. As she made her way upstairs to take a shower she couldn't shake this nagging feeling that something was wrong. He had told her that he loved her and yet once they returned he treated her as though she had somehow contracted the plague. At the time she thought he was joking when he said he would let her get back to what she did best which was bossing people about, being demanding and unreasonable, but now she wasn't so sure he was joking. After she had finished her shower and dressed for bed M just sat at her dressing table staring at her phone. She knew it was late but she wanted, no she needed to talk to him so she dialed his number, only to have the call go directly to voice mail. "That's it!" she muttered to herself as she stood up and headed for the door. "This is ridiculous. If Mohammed won't come to the mountain than this mountain is going to go to Mohammed!"

TO BE CONTIUNED...