Sorry this took so long. I was a lot busier on vacation than I had planned. I promise the next chapter won't take so long :)
M sat in the chair nervously as she listened to Sergei bark out orders regarding James.
"Make sure he is secure and unharmed, we wouldn't want to deprive M of doing the honors herself" he said as he glanced at her with a wicked grin
"What honors?" she asked curiously
"Oh you'll see" he replied as he finished his conversation and hung up the phone
M could tell by the way he slowly sauntered toward her that he was up to something, and when he reached her, her suspicions were confirmed. He reached down and grasped her arms jerking her out of the chair and pulled her to him so that his face was a mere inches from hers
"Didn't anyone ever tell you it is rude to interrupt someone when they are on the phone" he asked in a taunting tone
M glared back at him as she felt her knees begin to buckle slightly. It took all of her energy and concentration to remain standing as he continued
"Difficult as it is for you to understand, You are not in control of this situation, and you will just have to be patient" he snapped
"May I see him?" she asked boldly
"I don't know why you are in such a big hurry to see him, as it will be the last time you will see him alive"
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Once they were safely in the car, Victor spoke a bit louder into his lapel
"Did you hear me? Now would be a very good time" he repeated
"Not now" he heard Jack shout thru his earpiece "They've separated them and we need them together if this plan has any chance of working"
"And just how do you plan to arrange that?" replied Victor
"M has to know that if James is in there than we have a plan, and she should have figured out by now that the plan will only work if they are together, so I am relying on her to get them in the same room. We can monitor their locations on this GPS thing and as soon as they're together we will commence with the rescue, but not a second before or we risk losing both of them" he snapped
"What's happening?" asked Eve sounding a bit confused
"We are about to mount a rescue mission. Getting you out first was the easy part. James decided that it made more sense to only have to rescue one of you, so he insisted on the trade so that he would be on the inside..."
"But he's going to have his hands full with Sergei and Anya not to mention all of the guards they have, Who is going to rescue M?"
"Don't worry, we have a plan" replied Victor
"Stop the car!" she shouted
"Not on your life" he replied as a delivery van passed them "There goes the plan" he said motioning to the van "Just sit back and relax Ms. Moneypenny"
XXX*********************************************** ********************XXX
Jack was crammed in the false bottom of the delivery van with three other agents waiting patiently for the two dots on the GPS to be located in the same room.
"Sir, not to be rude, but she will figure it out won't she?"
"Don't be stupid, she's been doing this since before you were born. Knowing her she has not only figured out the plan, but has had enough time to organize a dinner party while she's waiting" he said nervously
Jack studied the GPS again and then knocked on the floorboards.
"What is it?" asked one of the agents, who was posing as a delivery man
"They're on the move" he replied with a hint of excitement mixed with worry in his voice
XXX*********************************************** ********************XXX
Sergei hung up the phone and then put his arm around M as he escorted her toward the door.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked as he opened the door and led her down a long hallway
"You said you wanted to see him, so that's where we are going" he replied
M was led down a long series of hallways and then down a long, steep stairwell to the lower level of the fortress to a room that slightly resembled a dungeon, where she saw James sitting on a chair with his hands behind his back. James heard M gasp slightly as she entered the room and winked at her in an attempt to calm her fears.
"Would you like to kiss him goodbye" asked Sergei as he looked down at her with a twisted smile
M was stunned by the question as she slowly looked over at James before she finally shook her head yes. Sergei released his grip and shoved her toward the chair as he leaned back against the wall and waited. M slowly walked toward James, doing her best to remain calm. As she reached the chair, her eyes began to fill with tears as she leaned down to rest her head against his.
"I love you" she whispered "But you're a fool to risk you're life for me"
"It says for better or for worse" he replied with a smile
"What does?"
"The marriage vows. They clearly say for better or for worse and I just decided to get the worse out of the way first" he said with a slight grin
"I hope to God you have a plan" she whispered as she cupped his face and kissed him
"Just keep your head down" he said as he kissed her
"Enough" shouted Sergei as he pulled M away from James and took her to the other end of the room "Stand clear" he shouted as he held M close to him with her back against him so she was facing James. Then he picked up a gun and put his arms around her, placing the gun in her hands, with her finger on the trigger and his over hers. "I assume you still know how to handle a gun" he said coolly "But of course you do, you shot Anton, how stupid of me"
M stared at James as the tears began to slip down her cheeks
"I can't do this" she said in a shaky voice
"Don't worry, I'll help you" he said as he leaned down and nuzzled her neck
"What are you doing?" she asked as she tried to wiggle free
"I just want him to know that when he is gone, you are mine" he replied as he turned her slightly and kissed her hard before turning her back to face James
XXX*********************************************** *********************XXX
When the delivery van came to a stop, the agents opened the door and made quick work of the guards on the dock before opening the false bottom to release Jack and the other agents. When Jack was sure that James and M were together, he took out a small box and pushed the button on the top setting off a series of small explosions in and around the fortress. Guards came running from every direction and were quickly neutralized as the agents entered the smoke filled halls in search of James and M.
"You two go that way, and you three go that way" he shouted as he un-holstered his gun and charged thru the door "You three come with me" he snapped as he began running, using the GPS as a map
XXX*********************************************** ************************XXX
As Sergei began to assist M in aiming the gun, a series of explosions started to go off, causing him to turn just enough for M to break free from his grasp. James took advantage of the distraction to slip out of the handcuffs and grab the small gun strapped to his leg as he quickly shot and killed two of the guards. As M took cover behind one of the stone pillars, James managed to grab one of the guard's guns and began shooting at the rest of the guards. Sergei, clearly confused by the gunfire and the smoke ran out the side door and up the stairs with James close behind. As they crossed an intersecting passageway, Jack shouted at James
"Where is she?"
"Still in the room below" he yelled as he continued his pursuit
"I'll get her" shouted Jack as he raced down the stairs
No one had noticed Anya hiding behind one of the other pillars in the room and once the guards had left she stepped out to find M pointing a gun at her.
"You won't shoot me" she said smugly as she took a step toward her "You don't have it in you, and according to your file, you are a terrible shot"
"Ask you uncle how well I can shoot" snapped M as she kept the barrel of the gun on Anya
As Jack made his way to the bottom of the stairs, he stopped just outside the door and listened to the conversation between the two women.
"That was a luck shot and we both know it. I've read your file" she said with a wicked laugh "You couldn't do it again if your life depended on it"
M began to shake, more out of anger than fear, but she also knew that Anya was right. The shot that killed Anton was a lucky shot. The chances of her actually hitting Anya with her hands tied together were slim at best.
"I suggest you put the gun down before you hurt yourself" said Anya as she took another step forward
"I don't want to have to shoot you, but I will if I have to" replied M as she adjusted her aim again.
Anya knew that all she had to do was make a quick lunge at M and she could easily disarm her, but she rather enjoyed taunting her.
"You know it was quite easy to get hired in as a secretarial temp at Whitehall. You might want to consider vetting your employees a little more carefully" she said as she took another step "That is if you survive" she added
M's arms were beginning to get tired holding the gun as she tried her best to hold her aim.
"If I were you, I think I would be more concerned with my own fate than the hiring practices of MI6 and Whitehall" snapped M
"We both know that you will not shoot me" said Anya as she took a step closer "If that was your plan you would have done it by now, which makes me think that you won't or can't"
M's hands began to shake as she took a small step back, just far enough for Jack to be able to see her.
Jack knew that Anya was right, If M had intended to shoot her then she would have by now which only meant that she was afraid of what would happen if she missed.
M suddenly gasped as Anya lunged at her, but Jack suddenly stepped out from the stairwell with his gun in hand and reached around M, pulling his trigger. Anya had a surprised look on her face as she slumped to the floor. M's knees finally gave way sending her toward the floor as well, but Jack, who already had one arm around her managed to catch her as she fell, easing her to the floor before he wrapped his arms around her and took the gun from her hand.
"Jack" said M weakly as she clung to him
"It's alright M, I've got you" he said as he held her close
"Where is James?" she asked
"Let's not worry about him right now. He's a big boy and he can take care of himself" he replied as he scooped her up and started up the stairs "Right now we need to get you out of here"
M leaned her head against Jack as he gently carried her to a waiting car. The other teams had managed to take care of most if not all of the guards around the perimeter of the fortress, leaving just the guards inside and Sergei.
As the car sped away toward the safe house, M began to drift in and out of conciseness as Jack gently cradled her against him. She had been deprived of both sleep and food, and the stress of the whole ordeal was beginning to catch up with her.
"How is she Sir?" asked the driver as he sped along the road to the safe house
"She's alive" he said as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead "She's alive"
TO BE CONTINUED...