I am so sorry this has taken so long. Thank you all for being so patient.
"What the bloody hell is taking them so long?" grumbled M as she paced back and forth in front of the door leading to the examination rooms
"Please try to relax M, these things take time" replied Tanner, attempting to calm his highly agitated boss
"They...they've been in there for hours..."
"No, actually it's only been about forty five minutes"
M shot Tanner an icy glare before returning her attention back to the doorway
"You know, staring at the door won't make the doctor appear any faster," said Tanner as he came to stand beside her, hesitantly putting his arm around her shoulders
An angry yell followed by many loud crashing sounds could be heard from the far end of the hall. M instinctively started to move forward, but Tanner held her in place.
"I think we should go and get a coffee and let the doctors and nurses do their jobs," said Tanner as he began to maneuver her away from the doorway.
"It's my fault you know," said M quietly as she allowed Tanner to lead her to the coffee machine
"Begging you pardon Ma'am, but just how in hell is this your fault?"
"I should have paid more attention to the fact that he was not acting right when you brought him home. I should have taken care of him, but instead I laid into him for once again, failing to follow the simplest of orders and I ignored him when he tried to...to...apologize," she said as a tear slipped down her cheek "He isn't well, and I knew that, but I let him have an earful anyway. If I had only paid more attention to..."
"M. None of this is your fault and 007 would be the first one to tell you that..."
"Yes, but..." M started to say as a rather exhausted Doctor appeared in the door
"Doctor, how is he?" she asked anxiously
"Incredibly strong, belligerent, arrogant and highly irritating" replied the doctor
"That sounds about right," quipped Tanner, just loud enough for M to hear him and swat his arm
"That will be enough out of you," she snapped before turning her attention back to the doctor "So when may I see him?"
"About that" said the doctor as he motioned for her to sit
"It is a simple question Doctor, one that hardly warrants sitting down," Snapped M
"I feel that it would be better for all concerned if you did not see him right now"
"Are you denying me access to my agen...my husband?" she demanded as her eyes narrowed "Because I out rank you in every sense of the word!"
"M. In my professional opinion, I do not feel that it is a good idea for either you or my patient to have any sort of contact. He is in a highly agitated state at the moment, and extraordinary measures were necessary to ensure both his safety and ours..."
"Define extraordinary measures"
"To be frank M, he is a trained killing machine, capable of inflicting enormous amounts of pain to himself as well as others. When we found that we could not control him, it became necessary to restrain him by any means possible and then begin letting him complete the withdraw process so that we can see where we stand medically , and also assess any permanent damage that may have been done by the drugs he was given."
"What do you mean you restrained him? What have you done...chained him to the floor like an animal?" asked Tanner with a look of disbelief
"I think it would be best if we do not go into detail at the moment," replied the doctor as he eyed M cautiously
"As his wife I couldn't agree more, however as his boss I insist on knowing every last detail, no matter how small! Furthermore, I insist on being allowed to see him"
"But M..."
"No buts! He has not, nor will he ever hurt me"
"And just how can you be so sure? We don't know what he is capable of in this state!"
"You will either take me to him, OR I will find him myself," she snapped
"If you insist, then I guess I cannot stop you, however, You will need to sign a waiver stating that I strongly disagree with your decision, and made every attempt to persuade you not to see him. Furthermore, neither I nor my staff will be held responsible for any damages to you or the facility"
"Fine!" snapped M as she rose and headed for the door
Tanner jumped from his seat and trailed after his very determined boss as she stormed down the hall toward the room that contained James. She stopped at the door and cast a rather uncharacteristic nervous glance at Tanner.
"Everything alright Ma'am?" he asked as he stood beside her
"What if he doesn't want to see me?" she said quietly
"It's James. Of course, he wants to see you. He loves you, more than life itself"
"Yes, but..."
"But what?"
"Are you ready M?" asked the doctor
M took a deep breath and nodded as the doctor opened the door. A small gasp managed to escape her lips when she saw James chained in rather archaic iron manacles on both his ankles and wrists, a chain around his waist holding him to the chair and a leather mask strapped to his face covering his nose and mouth. The mask resembled something similar to the one she had seen the movie Silence of the Lamb years earlier.
"Is all of this really necessary?" she asked as she attempted, rather unsuccessfully, to conceal the horrified look on her face
"I tried to warn you," replied the doctor
James struggled against the restraints with nothing but pure anger shooting from his eyes.
"Well could you at least remove that mask? Given that he is bolted to the floor, I hardly think that he poses much of a threat"
"All due respect Ma'am, but he bit two of my aides while they were attempting to calm him so, No I would not recommend removing the mask at this time"
"Duly noted. Have the mask removed at once. He is an agent, not an animal. He is not a psychopath; he is suffering from the effects of an unknown drug. I think the iron restraints will be sufficient" she replied.
Tanner and the doctor stood in the doorway as she cautiously took a step forward, never breaking eye contact with James. The anger in his eyes began to soften as she continued to approach him, but just as she made it to his side; he began to thrash about and started screaming incoherent obscenities at her.
M was startled by his behavior toward her and she could feel her own anger and fear begin to build.
"007!" she shouted as she glared at him "That will be quite enough. You will cam, down this instant!"
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" he hissed at her "YOU AUTHORIZED THIS!"
"I did no such thing. I would never authorize or condone this type of treatment for one of my agents, let alone my own husband," she hissed back
"In name only...You said it yourself on more than one occasion...IN NAME ONLY," he snarled
His statement stunned M. It was true that, at the moment, she was his wife in name only, but they had discussed the possibility of making it a more permanent arrangement in the future.
"I fail to see how this is my fault" she said calmly
"YOU signed the papers allowing them to do this, I saw them myself...your signature at the bottom," he hissed
"It is true that I signed papers regarding your treatment, but I can assure you they were only consent forms allowing them to treat you, not to restrain you like an animal"
"And Tanner"
"What about him?"
"The ever present lap dog or maybe more like a German Shepherd. Loyal to a fault and highly protective aren't you Tanner?"
"I'm sorry?" replied Tanner with a quizzical look as he took a step forward to stand beside the rather bewildered M
"Safety first, protect the Boss at all costs." he snapped as ne nodded toward M "Maybe you should alert Q that you have a new secret weapon. Just confine someone with M for 24 hours and they will use any means possible to escape," he said coolly "Even the smartest person wouldn't realize they were in trouble until it was too late. By then even an army of double O's could not protect them. Clare Dower was right. M does not play by the rules; they simply do not apply to her. YOU UNDERSTAND that must make your job rather challenging sometimes, protecting my "WIFE" as you do"
Tanner simply nodded
"Enough! I've heard enough," said M softly as she turned and walked toward the doctor
"I tried to warn you M. The drugs have deluded his mind to the point that he is a danger to himself and others"
"What do you suggest we do with him?"
"I recommend we admit him to Maudsley Hospital for observation. MI6 has a special wing and he would be in a well guarded and completely secure room so that if he started to spout any state secrets, he would not be overheard"
"I just don't know, a psychiatric hospital?" she said as tears began to form in her eyes
"I believe it is what is best for him at this time," replied the doctor
"Ma'am, all due respect, but I think the doctor may be right..."
"Of course you do," snapped James
"Yes, I suppose it is for the best" she finally agreed as she looked over at James "But will he ever forgive me?"
"He will Ma'am, I am sure of it" replied Tanner as he put a protective arm around M, glancing at James and nodding as he did so "I am positive he will forgive you"
"Alright then, make the necessary arrangements and have him transferred immediately," she said in her usual, business-like tone
"Right Ma'am, and remember it's what is best for him" replied the doctor
"M, I have a few things to take care of and then I can escort you home" said Tanner as he gently guided her out of the room
"Thank you Tanner, But I can have my driver see me home"
"No, I think I would feel better if I did it myself. You have had an extraordinarily eventful and difficult seventy two hours, and I just do not feel comfortable letting you go home alone"
"Thank you Tanner. He did get one thing right, you are loyal to a fault," she replied with a weak smile "I will wait for you in my office"
Once Tanner had seen M safely to the lift, he made an abrupt about face and sprinted down the hall to Q branch. James was on to something, he just was not sure what it was yet.
TO BE CONTINUED...