Chapter Ten: Up, Around, And All Over

The Aston Martin Vanquish, being driven by Carla with Felix in the passenger seat next to her, came into view of the events unfolding in the park around the time that Bond ran into the street. Carla was able to bring the car to a stop just before the car would have hit Bond. Bond looked rather shocked at seeing Carla in the driver's seat, but didn't hesitate to open the car door.

Carla unbuckled the safety belt and got herself into the rather small backseat of the Vanquish. She had enough training to know something was going on and to let Bond handle it. But she still had to ask what was happening. "What's going on?" She demanded.

"Someone in a blue van just took a shot at me and General Gogol, Carla." Bond said as he the Vanquish's V12 engine roared to life and Bond gave chase. The sleek car swerved around the edge of the park and brought the van into full view of the weapons. Bond looked at the options on the dashboard and made a quick decision to activate the target-seeking shotguns.

In a fraction of a second the two 12-guage shotguns appeared from beneath the hood of the Vanquish and with a roar fired twice each. The small projectiles then traveled downrange and struck the van. Bond, Felix, and Carla watched as sparks covered the rear of the van from top to bottom, but it seemed as though the driver would not stop. Bond attempted to fire again, but as he did the van went around the corner and out of the field of vision.

Bond cursed aloud and thought for a split-second. There was no way he could catch-up with the van…or was there? Bond turned the Vanquish and within two to three seconds it was on the path around the park heading for the other side. Bond's plan: intercept the van.

For about twenty seconds the Vanquish roared across the park. Old men who had playing chess found themselves ducking out of the path of destruction, being forced to watch as the car destroyed their chessboards and pieces went flying in every imaginable direction. People were either leaping out of the car's path or watching it stunned as though it was a train going down a country road.

Inside the Vanquish, Felix was obviously enjoying the ride. He was smiling and laughing in the same way he had years earlier when, working with Bond, they had captured Franz Sanchez. Carla sat in the backseat, nearly terrified at the thought of roaring trough the park with her in it. But Bond was focused. He took his right hand and held it in a hover over the button on the consul marked "Acid Slick". Almost as soon as they had entered, though the Vanquish came out on the other side of the park, no more then five seconds ahead of the van. Bond waited for only a moment before pressing the button.

Located next to the exhaust pipe on the rear end of the Vanquish, the pipe for the ejecting of the Acid Slick was connected to a large container located just under the trunk compartment. Within milliseconds of Bond pressing the button, the Acid Slick began to slide down the pipe and within a second of pressing the button, the Acid Slick was covering a two foot square area of the road way.

The van driver came around the corner and found an Aston Martin right in front of him. The van driver attempted to swerve, but he noticed something wrong with his right side tires. Suddenly there were two loud pops and the van was out of control. The driver opened his door and rolled out as the van went for a few seconds and then crashed into the pond in the middle of the park.

Bond stopped the Vanquish. He put the Walther into his right hand, opened the door with his left, and rolled out with his Walther pointing in the direction of where the van had been. Bond saw a man getting up and yelled stop at him in Russian. The man turned and looked at him for a moment and began to run. Bond followed him and yelled at Felix and Carla to follow. Carla climbed out of the car and told Felix to drive, shutting the door on the stunned face of Felix Lieter.

Bond ran after the man, keeping the Walther in his right hand and his left hand free. The driver had apparently ran down and ally and Bond intended to follow, bringing the Walther within his vision as he crossed into the ally. Bond checked the ally and didn't see the man, but looking up he caught a glimpse of the man jumping from one rooftop to the other. Bond looked for a frantic second for a ladder to climb but saw that the only one was on the other side of the ally and too far if Bond hoping to catch up with the van driver.

Bond slipped off his Omega Seamaster watch. Pointing it just above the edge of the rooftop so that it would strike a doorway, Bond fried the small filament 10 meters before it embedded itself upon impact. Bond held the watch tight and ran towards the edge of the building, activating the motorized hook. Bond was lifted into the air for approximately ten seconds before being able to get the roof's edge. Bond pulled himself up and reeled back in the edge of the filaments hook. Bond scanned the sights with his Walther and found himself slightly in front of the driver. Bond dodged in the doorway, hoping that the driver had not seen him.

The driver had apparently not seen him because he jumped onto the roof and ran right next to the doorway. Bond pistol-whipped the man, breaking his nose in the process and sending him to the ground. Bond lowered the Walther, pointing it at the man's head and putting a tight grip on the trigger. But the man had an unexpected surprise in store for Bond.

The man had regained his senses quickly enough to knock Bond off his feet with a single kick. The man then reached towards his ankle and pulled out a pistol of his own, taking aim at Bond. Bond was back on his feet in enough time to see that there was now a small pistol aimed at him. Bond aimed at the man's head as the man aimed his gun at Bond's heart.

"Lower the gun or I'll kill you." The man said to Bond in Russian. Bond didn't respond, he just stared down the Walther's barrel. Neither man was nervous. Both knew that the other had the ability to kill each other. For what must have seemed like an eternity, the two men stood in silence, both contemplating not only the demise of the man in front of them, but their own as well.

Finally, the man in front of Bond suddenly became loose and began to lower his gun. Bond was about to speak when suddenly, the back of the man's head exploded in a burst of red and gray. Bond could only watch as the man's now lifeless body fell to his feet. Bond could feel the man's blood as it poured out of his head and Bond's shoes.

"Are you all right, Bond?" Carla's voice suddenly yelled out. Bond did not answer. He stared at the body of the one man he had met so far who could have answered his questions. Carla spoke again. Bond turned to her, anger flashing in his eyes. Carla stood only a few feet away, holding her own Walther PPK in her hand, it's barrel still pointed at the dead man. Carla lowered her gun with the realization that she had, in fact, killed the man.

"What were you thinking?" Bond yelled out at her, his anger very thinly disguised.

"He was about to kill you I had to shoot." Carla said, trying to defend her actions trough her shock.

"He could have led us to whoever was behind this and you killed him!" Bond yelled as he walked towards Carla. Carla looked at him with the blank look one gives from being shocked. She wasn't sure what to say.

"He was going to kill you! What else could I have done?" Carla asked as she yelled back. By now, Bond was within arms reach of Carla. Bond put the Walther in its holster and stared into Carla's eyes.

"He was lowering his gun when you shot him. You have effectively killed our only lead." Bond said. Carla looked at him, her mind attempting to comprehend the information she had just been given. Bond said nothing as he walked back over to the doorway, opened the door, and disappeared down the stairs. Carla stood in stunned silence for several moments; the sounds of St. Petersburg's traffic her only companions.