Title: Deja Vu
Parts: 2/2
Rating: R. For Bond violence, and language.
Pairings: Bond/Weaver
Fandom: ER/Bond crossover
Notes: I know the title isn't very Bondish, but deal
with it. *G*
Thanks to Scotty Welles who's been so patient with Beta
Reading for me.
The guys an absolute saint. He's help on this was above
and beyond the call
of duty. In fact he's the only reason this turned out as
well as it did.
Disclaimer: Bond belongs to Ian Fleming, and ER belongs
to Warner Bros. I'm only
borrowing them for entertainment purposes such as it is.
Kerry scanned the ER through bloodshot eyes for any
sign of Romano. She
was running almost thirty minutes late; of course the
fact that she
also had a pounding hangover didn't help any.
"Kerry, so kind of you to show up this morning!"
Kerry moaned at the booming voice that cut through her
haze-filled
head. "Not so loud..." she rasped, ignoring the
satisfied look on
Romano's face.
"And hung over too? Do you really think that this is
the kind of
example you should setting for the others?" Romano
stared daggers at
her as he took note of how she was dressed. Faded khaki
safari pants,
worn hunting boats, and an old blue sweater. "Take
those sunglasses off
when I'm talking to you..."
Kerry painfully took off her sunglasses, wincing as the
light hit her
unfiltered eyes. "Robert..." She stopped talking, her
voice raw and
hoarse barely above a whisper, clearing her throat
forcefully. "...I
was up all night trying to get the ER more funding."
"And did you?" Romano raised his voice deliberately,
causing Kerry to
lean against the front desk in pain.
She pushed her sunglasses back on, her mask falling
into place. "I
don't remember. I passed out somewhere between the
bottle of whiskey
and scotch." It wasn't exactly a lie. She had mentioned
the hospitals
funding, and she had zoned out briefly, but not just
from the alcohol.
Romano clenched his jaw. "I'll let it go this time,
but don't let it
happen again." He started to walk away, pausing as he
said, "You did
remember the staff meeting we're having today, didn't
you?"
Kerry tried to nod, but discovered that it was a bad
idea.
Acting like she didn't see the glints of gossip in the
others eyes, she
made her way into the lounge. Carol's presence dimly
registered in her
mind, "So what happened with you and Dr. Lawson?" the
nurse inquired.
"Enough," Kerry replied shortly. She didn't want to
talk about last
night. Which included Matthew and James. Her feelings
were out of
control and she wasn't sure what to do about James
right now. They
loved each other, but she was a prominent doctor now,
and he was
military intelligence. Then there was the thing with
Matthew. He was
being arrested at that very moment, and then everyone
would be
suspicious about the timing.
"Was he any good?" Carol asked in a coy tone.
Kerry slammed the locker in frustration, regretting it
immediately.
Leaning into the cool steel she wondered how she would
make through the
rest of the day.
Bond kicked the study door one last time. The wood
panels splintered
and swung inward as James entered the sparsely
decorated room in front
of the two younger agents. He swept the silenced pistol
left to right,
its field of fire covering the room.
The large heavy antique desk held his grim attention.
Beth pressed to fingers against Lawson's neck. "He's
dead."
"Why would he kill himself?" James stared at the body,
trying to find
it's darkest secrets. The man was one of the world's
leading minds,
rich, and could have any woman he wanted. As far as
they could tell Dr.
Lawson hadn't discovered the virus or the blueprints
missing yet.
His eyes paused on the small scrap of paper peaking out
from under the
desk. James picked it up, recognizing the partial
symbol on it with
growing dread.
The flood of memories and locked away emotions took
control with a
feeling of deja vu, driving him to race out of the
house screaming out
instructions at the agents.
He should've seen it from the beginning, instead he'd
played right into
the bastards' hands.
Kerry was grateful that she'd been able to sit in the
back of the
lecture room, away from Romano's thundering voice. She
had taken four
aspirin earlier and it didn't even touch her headache.
"Still in pain?"
Kerry glared over at John. He'd been enjoying her
predicament all day.
When they had been living together, they had
stayed up at night drinking on occasion, and every time
John would end
up looking like a corpse, while Kerry would be as
chipper as ever.
"It isn't funny."
Kerry's raw voice made John chuckle under his
breath. "I think it
is..." John trailed off as Romano stood up. His
arrogant expression
seemed to be glowing with energy. John leaned closer to
Kerry
whispering softly, "If he gets anymore arrogant he'll
explode."
Kerry's mouth twitched, fighting the smile back. As
chief of emergency
services she couldn't condone that kind of behavior
from the others,
but she also couldn't tell him stop, since she was
tempted to do the
same thing most of the time.
"If everyone will kindly shut up than we'll get
started..."
Romano went into one of his long, typically pompous
speeches, which did
more to glorify himself and denigrate the department
heads under him
than actually accomplish any real business. Kerry
drowned out his
talking, knowing she'd get the real working details in
writing later.
The throbbing in her skull didn't help, either. And
she thought she
heard a soft beeping sound...
She checked her pager. No, it wasn't that. Beside
her, she noticed
John doing the same thing. Not his either.
"...the new equipment for Radiology has finally
arrived," Romano was
saying, "so I trust that will satisfy that department's
needs for the
rest of the year? Remember, we're a hospital, not NASA
mission
control. Moving on to toxicology..."
Other doctors, noticing the sound, were also checking
their pagers, but
no one seemed to find that it was theirs.
Kerry looked around, a faint concern rising. She could
feel the hairs
on the back of her neck bristling. That always meant
something was
wrong...
"Dr. Weaver, am I boring you?" Romano, annoyed at the
lack of
attention he was receiving, focused on the easiest
target.
Wait, that wasn't the sound of a pager, Kerry
realized. She'd heard
that sound before, but not since Nicaragua...
Oh, Good Lord, no...
Praying she was mistaken, Kerry quickly bent over and
peered under the
table.
"Are you still drunk?" Romano demanded.
Kerry glared up at Romano, leaving no room for
arguments. "Robert,
don't argue, just evacuate the hospital and call the
bomb squad!"
Kerry sat her crutch on the table. "Carol, get me a
flathead
screwdriver and a set of surgical tools. NOW!!"
Carol, recognizing the urgency in her voice, rushed to
obey. Romano
started to protest as Peter pushed him out of the room
with the others.
Kerry crawled under the table and laid under the
Russian XD-78. She
recognized it as one of the experimental models
developed by the KGB
during the cold war. If it went off inside the
hospital, the death toll
could be enormous. Who could have planted it, and
why...?
"Do you know how to diffuse it?" John set the surgical
tray beside her.
"Maybe," she grunted. Kerry took the screwdriver and
began removing the
casing. "John, get out of here."
"I'm not going to leave you here." John believed in
Kerry, and her
abilities. He knew, from their talks when he lived with
her, that she'd
traveled the world extensively and had many unusual
experiences. She'd
never mentioned any ordinance disposal in her past,
but...if she said
she could defuse this thing, then he had no doubt that
she would.
"Fine..." Kerry didn't have the energy or the time to
argue with him.
She dropped the screwdriver and slowly lowered the
long, thick casing,
making sure that there were no triggers around it. "All
right, I need
you to hold this up and don't drop it."
John scooted closer, taking the casing nervously. He
could see the
wires attached to the plastic, and became afraid of
what might happen
if he let it go.
Kerry felt the sweat trickle down her back, acutely
aware of how long
it had been since she did anything like this. The
tricky part was to
disconnect the detonator without tripping the...
Wait a minute. What was wrong with this picture?
A closer look at the timer mechanism, and what it was
connected to,
answered that. She reached down and grabbed a scalpel,
gently
stripping the large black wire. "Damn..."
"What?" John asked with a sinking feeling.
"I can't remember if the trigger wire is red or green."
Kerry ignored
the panicked look on John's face and used the scalpel
to cut the yellow
wire.
"NO...!!!" John closed his eyes and dropped the casing,
waiting for the
explosion. The soft, hoarse chuckling caused him to
open his eyes.
"Just kidding." Kerry crawled out from under the table,
not too worried
about the pale resident. He was strong enough to
survive a few jabs.
"That wasn't funny," John scowled at her as he stood
up. Following her
out of the staff room, he finally asked, "Where'd you
learn how to do
that?"
Kerry ignored him, scanning the now empty hallway with
concern. That
bomb had been intelligence-made, recently.
Unfortunately it was also a
dud, which meant trouble. Whoever was behind this was
wanting the
hospital empty, the only question was why. "John, go
join the others
outside."
"Why? What's going on?" John fell into step beside her
as she started
to walk from room to room, examining each one before
moving on to the
next. Neither her limp nor her hangover seemed to
impede her progress
much. He had a feeling that there was more going on
here than she was
letting on, and he wasn't about to abandon her.
"John, if you don't leave I'll put you on bedpan duty
with Malucci!"
Kerry glanced into exam three, knowing that would do
the trick.
John shifted indecisively, then started to walk away.
Kerry began to walk briskly towards the now open
elevator. She knew who
was behind all of this, and wasn't going to let him
drag her friends
into this. Dammit, covert operations and terrorist
campaigns across
the globe were one thing. But now that son of a bitch
had threatened
the patients and staff of Cook County General
Hospital. HER hospital!
That made it personal...
John stared at the numbers of the elevator until they
came to a stop.
Getting into the second elevator, he pressed the top
floor. He had no
idea what was going on but he had a feeling that
something was off.
Last night, he'd seen that Bond character come out of
the Triaxe
restricted area. There had been Kerry's abnormal
behavior with Dr.
Lawson, and today there'd been a rumor going around
that he'd killed
himself. Then the bomb, how had Kerry known how to
disarm it, and why
was she searching the hospital?
The elevator came to a stop and the doors slide open.
John stepped out
into the hall in time to see Kerry walk inside the
stairwell to the
roof. As much as he respected her judgment and her
abilities, he was
determined that she shouldn't have to face the threat,
whatever it was,
alone.
He had started after her when he heard the first
gunshot.
The slick black convertible sped into the ambulance
bay, horn blasting.
James skid to a stop, freezing as the first gunshot
rang out, silencing
the crowd. The effort to get out of the car and run for
the bay doors
was almost too much for him with his mind racing to all
the
possibilities.
"Hey you can't go in there." The bulky hand grabbed at
his arm even
while James turned, punching the large chunky security
guard in the
stomach. The guard, more accustomed to angry drunks
than trained
killers on Her Majesty's Secret Service, doubled over
and lay gasping
on the pavement. He'd be fine, though in no condition
to stop James
from proceeding.
James straightened his tie calmly, then entered the ER
with
characteristic grace. He wasn't going to have a repeat
of Russia, not
now when he'd gotten her back.
James glanced at the elevator, then disregarded it.
Too slow, possibly
prone to mechanical failure, and could have been locked
down during the
evacuation. He dashed instead for the stairs. After
long years of
intensive physical training, mountain climbing, deep-
sea diving, HALO
jumping, and other commando maneuvers, a handful of
flights of stairs
presented little difficulty.
Kerry lowered her crutch back down, keeping her eye on
the stout man
cradling his now-broken arm. His gun clattered to a
stop on the edge of
the roof, dangling awkwardly before tipping over and
falling off the
building.
"What's the matter," she taunted with a grim
smile. "Can't handle a
crippled woman?"
The man started to charge her with a fierce growl,
unable to dodge the
metal pole that swung up, cracking his nose. Kerry
stepped back,
avoiding the falling man.
Not for the last time, she was grateful for the model
of crutch she'd
chosen. She recalled consulting with the hand-to-hand
trainers at MI6
for a model which could be used as a practical weapon
in addition to
its proper function. Then the months of intensive
retraining with
Kendo Masters and other martial arts experts, refining
a fighting style
that compensated for her disability until she was
deadly proficient
with it. And when, upon her retirement, Major Geoffrey
Boothroyd, the
gruff, irascible head of "Q" Branch, presented her with
a specially
reinforced version of the same crutch...
She paused as the soft click of a Walther PPK came
from beside her
right ear. Damn, he'd lost none of his stealthiness.
"Three people I know of still use that particular
pistol," she stated,
calmly. "One is a friend, and I heard Valentin
Zukovsky had killed the
other two."
"Apparently, he missed one," Jared Feral growled. "I
allowed him to
think he'd killed me...much as we allowed you to think
you'd destroyed
both missiles in that truck."
Kerry remembered the blast that had crippled her. It
was purest luck
that she survived at all; if both missiles had gone up,
she would
surely be dead by now. Thankfully, she'd been
suspicious of Greg to
begin with. "And much as I allowed you," she
countered, "to think
Greg's double-cross had fooled me. I bet that mine I
planted on the
second missile came as a nasty surprise, didn't it?"
Kerry turned to
face her captor with a mask of serenity. She may die,
but she would be
damned if she'd give him the satisfaction of seeing her
show weakness.
Jared's glower deepened. No doubt it had come as a
shock to him when
Greg's plane exploded in midair, killing him and
destroying the second
missile. Perhaps the only consolation to her being
crippled was that
Kerry had succeeded in her final mission.
"Only you would resort to threatening helpless people,"
Kerry hissed.
"Or was that fake bomb downstairs planted just to get
my attention?"
He merely smiled that dark amused snarl that was his
trademark. "Oh,
it's no threat, or didn't you find the flash missile
yet? Now move." He
waved the gun over at the helicopter.
Kerry laid eyes on the slick black helicopter with
growing agitation.
It resembled the Alpha Wolf that the US Air Force
designed a few years
back, but its build was leaner. The blades faster, and
silent except
for the soft whoosh of air being cut. The windows were
tinted smoky
grey. The underside had trap doors for something, and
from the shape
and size of the doors she'd guess they were weapons.
Déjà vu, she
thought.
"What do you want?" Kerry asked.
"My son back." Jared glowered at her, letting his anger
take over as he
raised his gun more than prepared to end it now.
The blur of brown hit Jared, tackling him to the roof,
the gun going
off. John's hands grabbed Jared's right arm, slamming
it over and over
onto the concrete.
"John, NO...!!" Kerry yelled, even as the sharp tug of
the bullet
grazing her shoulder knocked her backwards. She loved
John like a kid
brother, but he was no match for a professional
terrorist. Hell, he
couldn't even track down a negligent father without
getting clobbered,
dislocating his shoulder, and having his Jeep burned up!
The larger man snarled at John, using his legs to throw
the young
resident over his head. Jared leapt to his feet,
kicking John viciously
in the stomach. "Let me guess," the larger man sneered
contemptuously.
"College wrestling?" He yanked his black leather
jacket back into
place and started to turn to Kerry. " Oh it seems
you've been hurt," he
oozed with fake sympathy.
Kerry glanced down at her left shoulder where the red
was spreading
rapidly on her lab coat. It looked worse than it was;
she'd taken far
worse on several occasions. But she was much younger
then...
"Oh god, Kerry...."
She glowered over at John as he stood up unsteadily. He
was going to
get them both killed at this rate. She had to keep
Jared's attention
on her, not John. "What are you going to do? Kill me?"
Kerry asked
quietly.
"No. That would let you off too easy. I have something
painful planned
for you." He gripped her arm tightly and started to
drag her towards
the helicopter.
John ignored the ache in his ribs and scrambled to his
feet, determined
to help his friend or die trying.
Before he could take a step in Jared and Kerry's
direction, iron
fingers seized him, pulling him behind the roof
stairwell door, and a
hand clamped over his mouth. He caught a whiff of
expensive cologne --
something English, he thought.
"No heroics, please, Dr. Carter," whispered a familiar
voice, like
velvet over steel. "Leave this to the experts..."
Kerry limped over to the helicopter without even a
glance in John's
direction. If he stayed here he'd have a better chance
of survival. She
grabbed the handle on the side of the Helicopter and
climbed in with
effort. Please, whatever happens to me, she prayed, let
John and all
the others be unharmed.
Jared left the side door open with a sadistic grin that
let Kerry know
just how bad off she really was. His large, dark form
kneeled down
behind the pilot's seat while the light helicopter
started to rise.
The helicopter dipped to the side as a new figure
leaped onto the
runner and pulled himself up alongside the door.
Kerry and Jared saw him and recognized him in the same
instant.
"JAMES...!"
Jared snarled, aiming the gun at James and forgetting
about Kerry.
Her already simmering anger flared into life, using her
crutch to crack
his right arm. Jared yelped loudly as James climbed
into the
helicopter, punching him across the jaw. His skull
cracked against the
fuselage, and he slumped, unconscious.
James leveled his own gun and held it to the pilot with
a smug grin.
"Set it down."
The pilot glanced out the window subtly at the hospital
far below them.
Even through the hangover she could feel that the pilot
was up to something.
" James..."
The helicopter tilted sharply to the left, sending
Kerry out the open
door. James lunged to grab her but missed, losing his
gun in the
process.
Her hand let go of her crutch, snatching at air for
something to hold
onto. The sudden jar to her shoulder as she clutched
the runner for
dear life nearly caused her to just let go. Pain hit
her body wave
after wave, her left arm unable to hold her for long.
She fought
against the harsh wind current caused by the blades
until her right arm
was wrapped around the runner.
She could feel conscientious slipping away, her
strength not far
behind.
James found himself hand to hand with the heavy pilot.
He couldn't help
letting out a soft groan as the pilot clamped onto his
windpipe and
slammed him with one meaty fist into the front window.
He grabbed the
thick arm, trying to pry it from his throat before he
strangled. His leg kicked
out, making contact with the pilot's nose.
The pilot growled, letting go of the steering grips and
shoved his door
open. Bond slammed a fist into the pilot's already
bloody nose, making
the man loosen his hold. Grabbing the handles attached
to roof of the
vehicle, he swung forward, kicking the meaty man out of
the helicopter.
There was a rapidly fading scream, punctuated by a
faint, wet 'thump'.
James settled into the pilot's seat and leveled the
helicopter. "Have
a nice flight," he muttered wryly. Craning his head
about, he tried to
spot Kerry on the runner...
A strong arm wrapped around his throat, pinning him to
the seat. "I
intend to," Jared growled, and yanked his arm hard
against James
throat. James struggled desperately, but from this
position, couldn't
break the chokehold. His vision began to turn grey...
A soft click echoed through the helicopter with
deafening effect. "Let
him go." Kerry's voice was hoarse and tired. Her body
shaking slightly
with effort to stand there. But her eyes were as hard
an narrow as the
barrel of Jared's gun held firmly in her hands.
Jared grinned darkly and flexed his left arm. A sharp
knife slid into
his hand...
....and fell to the floor against the two muted
whizzes. Kerry noted
idly to herself that her shot placement was still
exceptionally tight.
A perfect double-tap kill, even after all these years,
she thought with
satisfaction.
James shrugged the body off and started to circle
around the hospital
for another pass. He needed to get Kerry some help.
Kerry leaned against James seat. "Jared's planted a
flash missile
somewhere inside the hospital," she said urgently.
James sighed, it looked like getting Kerry medical care
would have to
wait. She was the only agent close by with knowledge of
the flash.
Kerry stood next to James wearily. She would trust the
guy with her
life, and she had on many occasions, but right now
she'd feel a lot
better if she was doing this herself.
Thank God her first guess about the missile's location
had been
correct. The Radiology department's walls would have
shielded the
missile from thermal or radar scans. Even so, if
Romano hadn't made a
big deal about the new equipment, she might not have
guessed...
James laid the curved panel on the floor with a grin. "
Now what?"
Kerry ignored him and reached into the gap. Tugging one
end of the red
wire free, and replacing the end into the data card.
The card let out a
high pitched siren before starting to beep. Kerry took
hold of the
orange wire next and slide the end into the other side
of the data
card. This time the card let out two long beeps then
went dead.
"All right, it should be safe to remove the virus,"
Kerry said
nervously. She'd never worked with the American version
before and even
though the mechanics were close to the Soviet and
English versions,
there were still a lot of differences.
She glanced over at the blueprints she'd stolen with
disgust. They did
her no good without the decoder.
James began to unscrew the cap at the head of the
missile, letting it
fall to the ground, while he slowly pulled the small
glass vial out.
Sgt. Russell took the vile with excruciating care, and
placed it inside
the cold metal storage box.
James meet her eyes. "How long before it goes off?"
"Fifteen minutes." Kerry stood up with his help. "I
can't stop it, he's
removed the abort option."
James studied her. "But you have an idea."
Kerry nodded reluctantly. She had an idea. One that
might get them both
killed in the process, but it was still an idea.
Kerry was thankful to John for giving her that morphine
as the
helicopter cut through the brewing storm. The now dark
gray clouds
standing out against the crackling sky. The atmosphere
was thick with
unfallen rain and building rumbles.
She carefully reached into the gap, taking out the two
screws holding
the silver canister in place. Her hand held it tightly,
and removed the
two screws. She was sure there were triggers around it,
that was one of the
standard features. Her shoulder still ached sharply,
and she wished
she'd had time for more John to suture it properly,
rather than
settling for a pressure bandage. But too many lives
were at stake for
her to play it safe.
She began to slowly lift the canister up, pausing after
a few inches.
"James, do you have any gum?"
"No. Why?" James asked as Kerry lowered the canister
back down.
"Damn." Kerry started to rack her brain for another
idea. If she lifted
that canister out it would set off the secondary
explosives.
A hand thrust out in front of her face.
Kerry grinned and took the foil wrapped gum. "Thanks,
Sergeant."
"Kerry, I don't mean to seem down in the mouth, but
shouldn't you be
worrying about the bomb." James watched Kerry pop the
stick of gum in
her mouth and lift the canister back up.
She slid the foil down in between the walls of the
canister, then
reached over and placed the Sergeant's hand on the
canister. Taking the
now-chewed gum from her mouth, she split it into two
pieces, and
pressed one piece into the top of the foil holding it
in place. "Pull
it out...slowly."
The tight-lipped Sergeant hoisted the canister out,
inch by inch until
it was free of the hole.
Kerry used the second piece to hold the bottom of the
foil in place.
"We're approaching the lake."
"It's ready, but the initial explosion will effect a
radius of a
quarter of a mile." Kerry placed the canister in the
foam stuffed case
and locked it.
"How much longer do we have?" James asked.
"A little under three minutes." Kerry collapsed onto
the right-hand
seat, unable to force herself to do anymore.
James slide the left-hand door open, the helicopter
coming to a hover
over the lake. Stepping out onto the runners, he and
the Sergeant
pulled the missile to the edge of the door and off into
the water
below.
"Fire in the hole!" James screamed out. "GET US OUT OF
HERE!!"
The water under them started to race by as the first
buildup of the
missile started to hum around them. He
sat back in the seat next to Kerry's and gripped the
seat. The shock
waves coursing through the air under the intense
explosion that sounded behind them.
The pilot made a noise of frustration as the steering
wheel began to
shake violently, the helicopter tilting and spinning
from side to side.
The singed flames engulfed them...
Kerry eyed Romano as he walked into the room with
barely contained
rage. He'd spent the last four hours dealing with every
known branch of
law enforcement and government offices there was. FBI,
CIA, MI6,
Interpol, probably even the IRS for all she knew. "You
mind telling me
just what the hell you dragged MY hospital into?" he
demanded, leaning
over her hospital bed.
"I didn't drag it into anything." Kerry narrowed her
eyes darkly. She
had been shot, thrown out of a helicopter, still hung
over, and been
threatened with a bomb. She was in no mood to deal with
an arrogant
little prick who thought the universe existed for him,
and him alone.
Romano tinted red as he prepared to cut into her.
"That reminds me..." M interrupted firmly, "...I have
a check here
covering the, ah,...damage done to the hospital." She
handed him the
check, enjoying his shocked expression. "That does
cover everything,
doesn't it?"
Romano forced a smile with understanding, "Yes it
does." He slipped the
check into his pocket, adding, "If you ever need to
borrow Kerry again,
please feel free. County would be happy to help you out
in anyway it
can."
They stared at each other with cold cheerfulness, both
knowing the
other one to the core. Romano walked out without
another word,
unwilling to acknowledge her.
"Can I talk to Kerry alone?" James asked, stepping
forward.
M glanced over at James, softening a little. She knew
how much they had
cared about each other. "Of course."
James waited until M had left to heave himself up on
the table next to
Kerry. "I've talked to M and she's giving me a week
off. I thought we
could go to..."
"James..."
He looked over at Kerry with dread. The only other time
he'd heard that
tone was the day she'd called off their engagement. "I
won't let you
push me away again." He clenched his hand, trying to
stay in control.
"It would never work. Your life's in England."
"So's yours." He wasn't going to lose her again.
She shook her head gently. "Not anymore. My life's here
now." Kerry
turned pleading eyes on him, asking him to just
leave it alone, and walk away.
"You can come back to MI6," he insisted. "Perhaps not
in field work,
but your talents are needed."
"You're right," she said quietly, listening to the far-
off disturbance
of Dave Malucchi arguing diagnoses with Cleo Finch.
They sounded more
like squabbling children than medical
professionals. "They're needed
here."
"Kerry..."
"James," she interrupted, laying a hand on his
cheek. "This isn't
about the Service, it's about us. I do love you, but
I'm not the same
woman you once knew. The world has changed, and so have
I."
Kerry got off the table, careful not to jar her arm
anymore than she had to,
and faced him. "I know you're accustomed to ending your
adventures
with the girl of your dreams in your arms...but not this
time. I've
got too much work to do, keeping this place from falling
apart."
James gazed sadly into her eyes, realizing she was
serious, then
acknowledged her sad smile with one of his own. "A
gentleman always
bows to a lady's wishes," he admitted with good grace.
"Goodbye James," she said, and walked out of his life
once again.
Parts: 2/2
Rating: R. For Bond violence, and language.
Pairings: Bond/Weaver
Fandom: ER/Bond crossover
Notes: I know the title isn't very Bondish, but deal
with it. *G*
Thanks to Scotty Welles who's been so patient with Beta
Reading for me.
The guys an absolute saint. He's help on this was above
and beyond the call
of duty. In fact he's the only reason this turned out as
well as it did.
Disclaimer: Bond belongs to Ian Fleming, and ER belongs
to Warner Bros. I'm only
borrowing them for entertainment purposes such as it is.
Kerry scanned the ER through bloodshot eyes for any
sign of Romano. She
was running almost thirty minutes late; of course the
fact that she
also had a pounding hangover didn't help any.
"Kerry, so kind of you to show up this morning!"
Kerry moaned at the booming voice that cut through her
haze-filled
head. "Not so loud..." she rasped, ignoring the
satisfied look on
Romano's face.
"And hung over too? Do you really think that this is
the kind of
example you should setting for the others?" Romano
stared daggers at
her as he took note of how she was dressed. Faded khaki
safari pants,
worn hunting boats, and an old blue sweater. "Take
those sunglasses off
when I'm talking to you..."
Kerry painfully took off her sunglasses, wincing as the
light hit her
unfiltered eyes. "Robert..." She stopped talking, her
voice raw and
hoarse barely above a whisper, clearing her throat
forcefully. "...I
was up all night trying to get the ER more funding."
"And did you?" Romano raised his voice deliberately,
causing Kerry to
lean against the front desk in pain.
She pushed her sunglasses back on, her mask falling
into place. "I
don't remember. I passed out somewhere between the
bottle of whiskey
and scotch." It wasn't exactly a lie. She had mentioned
the hospitals
funding, and she had zoned out briefly, but not just
from the alcohol.
Romano clenched his jaw. "I'll let it go this time,
but don't let it
happen again." He started to walk away, pausing as he
said, "You did
remember the staff meeting we're having today, didn't
you?"
Kerry tried to nod, but discovered that it was a bad
idea.
Acting like she didn't see the glints of gossip in the
others eyes, she
made her way into the lounge. Carol's presence dimly
registered in her
mind, "So what happened with you and Dr. Lawson?" the
nurse inquired.
"Enough," Kerry replied shortly. She didn't want to
talk about last
night. Which included Matthew and James. Her feelings
were out of
control and she wasn't sure what to do about James
right now. They
loved each other, but she was a prominent doctor now,
and he was
military intelligence. Then there was the thing with
Matthew. He was
being arrested at that very moment, and then everyone
would be
suspicious about the timing.
"Was he any good?" Carol asked in a coy tone.
Kerry slammed the locker in frustration, regretting it
immediately.
Leaning into the cool steel she wondered how she would
make through the
rest of the day.
Bond kicked the study door one last time. The wood
panels splintered
and swung inward as James entered the sparsely
decorated room in front
of the two younger agents. He swept the silenced pistol
left to right,
its field of fire covering the room.
The large heavy antique desk held his grim attention.
Beth pressed to fingers against Lawson's neck. "He's
dead."
"Why would he kill himself?" James stared at the body,
trying to find
it's darkest secrets. The man was one of the world's
leading minds,
rich, and could have any woman he wanted. As far as
they could tell Dr.
Lawson hadn't discovered the virus or the blueprints
missing yet.
His eyes paused on the small scrap of paper peaking out
from under the
desk. James picked it up, recognizing the partial
symbol on it with
growing dread.
The flood of memories and locked away emotions took
control with a
feeling of deja vu, driving him to race out of the
house screaming out
instructions at the agents.
He should've seen it from the beginning, instead he'd
played right into
the bastards' hands.
Kerry was grateful that she'd been able to sit in the
back of the
lecture room, away from Romano's thundering voice. She
had taken four
aspirin earlier and it didn't even touch her headache.
"Still in pain?"
Kerry glared over at John. He'd been enjoying her
predicament all day.
When they had been living together, they had
stayed up at night drinking on occasion, and every time
John would end
up looking like a corpse, while Kerry would be as
chipper as ever.
"It isn't funny."
Kerry's raw voice made John chuckle under his
breath. "I think it
is..." John trailed off as Romano stood up. His
arrogant expression
seemed to be glowing with energy. John leaned closer to
Kerry
whispering softly, "If he gets anymore arrogant he'll
explode."
Kerry's mouth twitched, fighting the smile back. As
chief of emergency
services she couldn't condone that kind of behavior
from the others,
but she also couldn't tell him stop, since she was
tempted to do the
same thing most of the time.
"If everyone will kindly shut up than we'll get
started..."
Romano went into one of his long, typically pompous
speeches, which did
more to glorify himself and denigrate the department
heads under him
than actually accomplish any real business. Kerry
drowned out his
talking, knowing she'd get the real working details in
writing later.
The throbbing in her skull didn't help, either. And
she thought she
heard a soft beeping sound...
She checked her pager. No, it wasn't that. Beside
her, she noticed
John doing the same thing. Not his either.
"...the new equipment for Radiology has finally
arrived," Romano was
saying, "so I trust that will satisfy that department's
needs for the
rest of the year? Remember, we're a hospital, not NASA
mission
control. Moving on to toxicology..."
Other doctors, noticing the sound, were also checking
their pagers, but
no one seemed to find that it was theirs.
Kerry looked around, a faint concern rising. She could
feel the hairs
on the back of her neck bristling. That always meant
something was
wrong...
"Dr. Weaver, am I boring you?" Romano, annoyed at the
lack of
attention he was receiving, focused on the easiest
target.
Wait, that wasn't the sound of a pager, Kerry
realized. She'd heard
that sound before, but not since Nicaragua...
Oh, Good Lord, no...
Praying she was mistaken, Kerry quickly bent over and
peered under the
table.
"Are you still drunk?" Romano demanded.
Kerry glared up at Romano, leaving no room for
arguments. "Robert,
don't argue, just evacuate the hospital and call the
bomb squad!"
Kerry sat her crutch on the table. "Carol, get me a
flathead
screwdriver and a set of surgical tools. NOW!!"
Carol, recognizing the urgency in her voice, rushed to
obey. Romano
started to protest as Peter pushed him out of the room
with the others.
Kerry crawled under the table and laid under the
Russian XD-78. She
recognized it as one of the experimental models
developed by the KGB
during the cold war. If it went off inside the
hospital, the death toll
could be enormous. Who could have planted it, and
why...?
"Do you know how to diffuse it?" John set the surgical
tray beside her.
"Maybe," she grunted. Kerry took the screwdriver and
began removing the
casing. "John, get out of here."
"I'm not going to leave you here." John believed in
Kerry, and her
abilities. He knew, from their talks when he lived with
her, that she'd
traveled the world extensively and had many unusual
experiences. She'd
never mentioned any ordinance disposal in her past,
but...if she said
she could defuse this thing, then he had no doubt that
she would.
"Fine..." Kerry didn't have the energy or the time to
argue with him.
She dropped the screwdriver and slowly lowered the
long, thick casing,
making sure that there were no triggers around it. "All
right, I need
you to hold this up and don't drop it."
John scooted closer, taking the casing nervously. He
could see the
wires attached to the plastic, and became afraid of
what might happen
if he let it go.
Kerry felt the sweat trickle down her back, acutely
aware of how long
it had been since she did anything like this. The
tricky part was to
disconnect the detonator without tripping the...
Wait a minute. What was wrong with this picture?
A closer look at the timer mechanism, and what it was
connected to,
answered that. She reached down and grabbed a scalpel,
gently
stripping the large black wire. "Damn..."
"What?" John asked with a sinking feeling.
"I can't remember if the trigger wire is red or green."
Kerry ignored
the panicked look on John's face and used the scalpel
to cut the yellow
wire.
"NO...!!!" John closed his eyes and dropped the casing,
waiting for the
explosion. The soft, hoarse chuckling caused him to
open his eyes.
"Just kidding." Kerry crawled out from under the table,
not too worried
about the pale resident. He was strong enough to
survive a few jabs.
"That wasn't funny," John scowled at her as he stood
up. Following her
out of the staff room, he finally asked, "Where'd you
learn how to do
that?"
Kerry ignored him, scanning the now empty hallway with
concern. That
bomb had been intelligence-made, recently.
Unfortunately it was also a
dud, which meant trouble. Whoever was behind this was
wanting the
hospital empty, the only question was why. "John, go
join the others
outside."
"Why? What's going on?" John fell into step beside her
as she started
to walk from room to room, examining each one before
moving on to the
next. Neither her limp nor her hangover seemed to
impede her progress
much. He had a feeling that there was more going on
here than she was
letting on, and he wasn't about to abandon her.
"John, if you don't leave I'll put you on bedpan duty
with Malucci!"
Kerry glanced into exam three, knowing that would do
the trick.
John shifted indecisively, then started to walk away.
Kerry began to walk briskly towards the now open
elevator. She knew who
was behind all of this, and wasn't going to let him
drag her friends
into this. Dammit, covert operations and terrorist
campaigns across
the globe were one thing. But now that son of a bitch
had threatened
the patients and staff of Cook County General
Hospital. HER hospital!
That made it personal...
John stared at the numbers of the elevator until they
came to a stop.
Getting into the second elevator, he pressed the top
floor. He had no
idea what was going on but he had a feeling that
something was off.
Last night, he'd seen that Bond character come out of
the Triaxe
restricted area. There had been Kerry's abnormal
behavior with Dr.
Lawson, and today there'd been a rumor going around
that he'd killed
himself. Then the bomb, how had Kerry known how to
disarm it, and why
was she searching the hospital?
The elevator came to a stop and the doors slide open.
John stepped out
into the hall in time to see Kerry walk inside the
stairwell to the
roof. As much as he respected her judgment and her
abilities, he was
determined that she shouldn't have to face the threat,
whatever it was,
alone.
He had started after her when he heard the first
gunshot.
The slick black convertible sped into the ambulance
bay, horn blasting.
James skid to a stop, freezing as the first gunshot
rang out, silencing
the crowd. The effort to get out of the car and run for
the bay doors
was almost too much for him with his mind racing to all
the
possibilities.
"Hey you can't go in there." The bulky hand grabbed at
his arm even
while James turned, punching the large chunky security
guard in the
stomach. The guard, more accustomed to angry drunks
than trained
killers on Her Majesty's Secret Service, doubled over
and lay gasping
on the pavement. He'd be fine, though in no condition
to stop James
from proceeding.
James straightened his tie calmly, then entered the ER
with
characteristic grace. He wasn't going to have a repeat
of Russia, not
now when he'd gotten her back.
James glanced at the elevator, then disregarded it.
Too slow, possibly
prone to mechanical failure, and could have been locked
down during the
evacuation. He dashed instead for the stairs. After
long years of
intensive physical training, mountain climbing, deep-
sea diving, HALO
jumping, and other commando maneuvers, a handful of
flights of stairs
presented little difficulty.
Kerry lowered her crutch back down, keeping her eye on
the stout man
cradling his now-broken arm. His gun clattered to a
stop on the edge of
the roof, dangling awkwardly before tipping over and
falling off the
building.
"What's the matter," she taunted with a grim
smile. "Can't handle a
crippled woman?"
The man started to charge her with a fierce growl,
unable to dodge the
metal pole that swung up, cracking his nose. Kerry
stepped back,
avoiding the falling man.
Not for the last time, she was grateful for the model
of crutch she'd
chosen. She recalled consulting with the hand-to-hand
trainers at MI6
for a model which could be used as a practical weapon
in addition to
its proper function. Then the months of intensive
retraining with
Kendo Masters and other martial arts experts, refining
a fighting style
that compensated for her disability until she was
deadly proficient
with it. And when, upon her retirement, Major Geoffrey
Boothroyd, the
gruff, irascible head of "Q" Branch, presented her with
a specially
reinforced version of the same crutch...
She paused as the soft click of a Walther PPK came
from beside her
right ear. Damn, he'd lost none of his stealthiness.
"Three people I know of still use that particular
pistol," she stated,
calmly. "One is a friend, and I heard Valentin
Zukovsky had killed the
other two."
"Apparently, he missed one," Jared Feral growled. "I
allowed him to
think he'd killed me...much as we allowed you to think
you'd destroyed
both missiles in that truck."
Kerry remembered the blast that had crippled her. It
was purest luck
that she survived at all; if both missiles had gone up,
she would
surely be dead by now. Thankfully, she'd been
suspicious of Greg to
begin with. "And much as I allowed you," she
countered, "to think
Greg's double-cross had fooled me. I bet that mine I
planted on the
second missile came as a nasty surprise, didn't it?"
Kerry turned to
face her captor with a mask of serenity. She may die,
but she would be
damned if she'd give him the satisfaction of seeing her
show weakness.
Jared's glower deepened. No doubt it had come as a
shock to him when
Greg's plane exploded in midair, killing him and
destroying the second
missile. Perhaps the only consolation to her being
crippled was that
Kerry had succeeded in her final mission.
"Only you would resort to threatening helpless people,"
Kerry hissed.
"Or was that fake bomb downstairs planted just to get
my attention?"
He merely smiled that dark amused snarl that was his
trademark. "Oh,
it's no threat, or didn't you find the flash missile
yet? Now move." He
waved the gun over at the helicopter.
Kerry laid eyes on the slick black helicopter with
growing agitation.
It resembled the Alpha Wolf that the US Air Force
designed a few years
back, but its build was leaner. The blades faster, and
silent except
for the soft whoosh of air being cut. The windows were
tinted smoky
grey. The underside had trap doors for something, and
from the shape
and size of the doors she'd guess they were weapons.
Déjà vu, she
thought.
"What do you want?" Kerry asked.
"My son back." Jared glowered at her, letting his anger
take over as he
raised his gun more than prepared to end it now.
The blur of brown hit Jared, tackling him to the roof,
the gun going
off. John's hands grabbed Jared's right arm, slamming
it over and over
onto the concrete.
"John, NO...!!" Kerry yelled, even as the sharp tug of
the bullet
grazing her shoulder knocked her backwards. She loved
John like a kid
brother, but he was no match for a professional
terrorist. Hell, he
couldn't even track down a negligent father without
getting clobbered,
dislocating his shoulder, and having his Jeep burned up!
The larger man snarled at John, using his legs to throw
the young
resident over his head. Jared leapt to his feet,
kicking John viciously
in the stomach. "Let me guess," the larger man sneered
contemptuously.
"College wrestling?" He yanked his black leather
jacket back into
place and started to turn to Kerry. " Oh it seems
you've been hurt," he
oozed with fake sympathy.
Kerry glanced down at her left shoulder where the red
was spreading
rapidly on her lab coat. It looked worse than it was;
she'd taken far
worse on several occasions. But she was much younger
then...
"Oh god, Kerry...."
She glowered over at John as he stood up unsteadily. He
was going to
get them both killed at this rate. She had to keep
Jared's attention
on her, not John. "What are you going to do? Kill me?"
Kerry asked
quietly.
"No. That would let you off too easy. I have something
painful planned
for you." He gripped her arm tightly and started to
drag her towards
the helicopter.
John ignored the ache in his ribs and scrambled to his
feet, determined
to help his friend or die trying.
Before he could take a step in Jared and Kerry's
direction, iron
fingers seized him, pulling him behind the roof
stairwell door, and a
hand clamped over his mouth. He caught a whiff of
expensive cologne --
something English, he thought.
"No heroics, please, Dr. Carter," whispered a familiar
voice, like
velvet over steel. "Leave this to the experts..."
Kerry limped over to the helicopter without even a
glance in John's
direction. If he stayed here he'd have a better chance
of survival. She
grabbed the handle on the side of the Helicopter and
climbed in with
effort. Please, whatever happens to me, she prayed, let
John and all
the others be unharmed.
Jared left the side door open with a sadistic grin that
let Kerry know
just how bad off she really was. His large, dark form
kneeled down
behind the pilot's seat while the light helicopter
started to rise.
The helicopter dipped to the side as a new figure
leaped onto the
runner and pulled himself up alongside the door.
Kerry and Jared saw him and recognized him in the same
instant.
"JAMES...!"
Jared snarled, aiming the gun at James and forgetting
about Kerry.
Her already simmering anger flared into life, using her
crutch to crack
his right arm. Jared yelped loudly as James climbed
into the
helicopter, punching him across the jaw. His skull
cracked against the
fuselage, and he slumped, unconscious.
James leveled his own gun and held it to the pilot with
a smug grin.
"Set it down."
The pilot glanced out the window subtly at the hospital
far below them.
Even through the hangover she could feel that the pilot
was up to something.
" James..."
The helicopter tilted sharply to the left, sending
Kerry out the open
door. James lunged to grab her but missed, losing his
gun in the
process.
Her hand let go of her crutch, snatching at air for
something to hold
onto. The sudden jar to her shoulder as she clutched
the runner for
dear life nearly caused her to just let go. Pain hit
her body wave
after wave, her left arm unable to hold her for long.
She fought
against the harsh wind current caused by the blades
until her right arm
was wrapped around the runner.
She could feel conscientious slipping away, her
strength not far
behind.
James found himself hand to hand with the heavy pilot.
He couldn't help
letting out a soft groan as the pilot clamped onto his
windpipe and
slammed him with one meaty fist into the front window.
He grabbed the
thick arm, trying to pry it from his throat before he
strangled. His leg kicked
out, making contact with the pilot's nose.
The pilot growled, letting go of the steering grips and
shoved his door
open. Bond slammed a fist into the pilot's already
bloody nose, making
the man loosen his hold. Grabbing the handles attached
to roof of the
vehicle, he swung forward, kicking the meaty man out of
the helicopter.
There was a rapidly fading scream, punctuated by a
faint, wet 'thump'.
James settled into the pilot's seat and leveled the
helicopter. "Have
a nice flight," he muttered wryly. Craning his head
about, he tried to
spot Kerry on the runner...
A strong arm wrapped around his throat, pinning him to
the seat. "I
intend to," Jared growled, and yanked his arm hard
against James
throat. James struggled desperately, but from this
position, couldn't
break the chokehold. His vision began to turn grey...
A soft click echoed through the helicopter with
deafening effect. "Let
him go." Kerry's voice was hoarse and tired. Her body
shaking slightly
with effort to stand there. But her eyes were as hard
an narrow as the
barrel of Jared's gun held firmly in her hands.
Jared grinned darkly and flexed his left arm. A sharp
knife slid into
his hand...
....and fell to the floor against the two muted
whizzes. Kerry noted
idly to herself that her shot placement was still
exceptionally tight.
A perfect double-tap kill, even after all these years,
she thought with
satisfaction.
James shrugged the body off and started to circle
around the hospital
for another pass. He needed to get Kerry some help.
Kerry leaned against James seat. "Jared's planted a
flash missile
somewhere inside the hospital," she said urgently.
James sighed, it looked like getting Kerry medical care
would have to
wait. She was the only agent close by with knowledge of
the flash.
Kerry stood next to James wearily. She would trust the
guy with her
life, and she had on many occasions, but right now
she'd feel a lot
better if she was doing this herself.
Thank God her first guess about the missile's location
had been
correct. The Radiology department's walls would have
shielded the
missile from thermal or radar scans. Even so, if
Romano hadn't made a
big deal about the new equipment, she might not have
guessed...
James laid the curved panel on the floor with a grin. "
Now what?"
Kerry ignored him and reached into the gap. Tugging one
end of the red
wire free, and replacing the end into the data card.
The card let out a
high pitched siren before starting to beep. Kerry took
hold of the
orange wire next and slide the end into the other side
of the data
card. This time the card let out two long beeps then
went dead.
"All right, it should be safe to remove the virus,"
Kerry said
nervously. She'd never worked with the American version
before and even
though the mechanics were close to the Soviet and
English versions,
there were still a lot of differences.
She glanced over at the blueprints she'd stolen with
disgust. They did
her no good without the decoder.
James began to unscrew the cap at the head of the
missile, letting it
fall to the ground, while he slowly pulled the small
glass vial out.
Sgt. Russell took the vile with excruciating care, and
placed it inside
the cold metal storage box.
James meet her eyes. "How long before it goes off?"
"Fifteen minutes." Kerry stood up with his help. "I
can't stop it, he's
removed the abort option."
James studied her. "But you have an idea."
Kerry nodded reluctantly. She had an idea. One that
might get them both
killed in the process, but it was still an idea.
Kerry was thankful to John for giving her that morphine
as the
helicopter cut through the brewing storm. The now dark
gray clouds
standing out against the crackling sky. The atmosphere
was thick with
unfallen rain and building rumbles.
She carefully reached into the gap, taking out the two
screws holding
the silver canister in place. Her hand held it tightly,
and removed the
two screws. She was sure there were triggers around it,
that was one of the
standard features. Her shoulder still ached sharply,
and she wished
she'd had time for more John to suture it properly,
rather than
settling for a pressure bandage. But too many lives
were at stake for
her to play it safe.
She began to slowly lift the canister up, pausing after
a few inches.
"James, do you have any gum?"
"No. Why?" James asked as Kerry lowered the canister
back down.
"Damn." Kerry started to rack her brain for another
idea. If she lifted
that canister out it would set off the secondary
explosives.
A hand thrust out in front of her face.
Kerry grinned and took the foil wrapped gum. "Thanks,
Sergeant."
"Kerry, I don't mean to seem down in the mouth, but
shouldn't you be
worrying about the bomb." James watched Kerry pop the
stick of gum in
her mouth and lift the canister back up.
She slid the foil down in between the walls of the
canister, then
reached over and placed the Sergeant's hand on the
canister. Taking the
now-chewed gum from her mouth, she split it into two
pieces, and
pressed one piece into the top of the foil holding it
in place. "Pull
it out...slowly."
The tight-lipped Sergeant hoisted the canister out,
inch by inch until
it was free of the hole.
Kerry used the second piece to hold the bottom of the
foil in place.
"We're approaching the lake."
"It's ready, but the initial explosion will effect a
radius of a
quarter of a mile." Kerry placed the canister in the
foam stuffed case
and locked it.
"How much longer do we have?" James asked.
"A little under three minutes." Kerry collapsed onto
the right-hand
seat, unable to force herself to do anymore.
James slide the left-hand door open, the helicopter
coming to a hover
over the lake. Stepping out onto the runners, he and
the Sergeant
pulled the missile to the edge of the door and off into
the water
below.
"Fire in the hole!" James screamed out. "GET US OUT OF
HERE!!"
The water under them started to race by as the first
buildup of the
missile started to hum around them. He
sat back in the seat next to Kerry's and gripped the
seat. The shock
waves coursing through the air under the intense
explosion that sounded behind them.
The pilot made a noise of frustration as the steering
wheel began to
shake violently, the helicopter tilting and spinning
from side to side.
The singed flames engulfed them...
Kerry eyed Romano as he walked into the room with
barely contained
rage. He'd spent the last four hours dealing with every
known branch of
law enforcement and government offices there was. FBI,
CIA, MI6,
Interpol, probably even the IRS for all she knew. "You
mind telling me
just what the hell you dragged MY hospital into?" he
demanded, leaning
over her hospital bed.
"I didn't drag it into anything." Kerry narrowed her
eyes darkly. She
had been shot, thrown out of a helicopter, still hung
over, and been
threatened with a bomb. She was in no mood to deal with
an arrogant
little prick who thought the universe existed for him,
and him alone.
Romano tinted red as he prepared to cut into her.
"That reminds me..." M interrupted firmly, "...I have
a check here
covering the, ah,...damage done to the hospital." She
handed him the
check, enjoying his shocked expression. "That does
cover everything,
doesn't it?"
Romano forced a smile with understanding, "Yes it
does." He slipped the
check into his pocket, adding, "If you ever need to
borrow Kerry again,
please feel free. County would be happy to help you out
in anyway it
can."
They stared at each other with cold cheerfulness, both
knowing the
other one to the core. Romano walked out without
another word,
unwilling to acknowledge her.
"Can I talk to Kerry alone?" James asked, stepping
forward.
M glanced over at James, softening a little. She knew
how much they had
cared about each other. "Of course."
James waited until M had left to heave himself up on
the table next to
Kerry. "I've talked to M and she's giving me a week
off. I thought we
could go to..."
"James..."
He looked over at Kerry with dread. The only other time
he'd heard that
tone was the day she'd called off their engagement. "I
won't let you
push me away again." He clenched his hand, trying to
stay in control.
"It would never work. Your life's in England."
"So's yours." He wasn't going to lose her again.
She shook her head gently. "Not anymore. My life's here
now." Kerry
turned pleading eyes on him, asking him to just
leave it alone, and walk away.
"You can come back to MI6," he insisted. "Perhaps not
in field work,
but your talents are needed."
"You're right," she said quietly, listening to the far-
off disturbance
of Dave Malucchi arguing diagnoses with Cleo Finch.
They sounded more
like squabbling children than medical
professionals. "They're needed
here."
"Kerry..."
"James," she interrupted, laying a hand on his
cheek. "This isn't
about the Service, it's about us. I do love you, but
I'm not the same
woman you once knew. The world has changed, and so have
I."
Kerry got off the table, careful not to jar her arm
anymore than she had to,
and faced him. "I know you're accustomed to ending your
adventures
with the girl of your dreams in your arms...but not this
time. I've
got too much work to do, keeping this place from falling
apart."
James gazed sadly into her eyes, realizing she was
serious, then
acknowledged her sad smile with one of his own. "A
gentleman always
bows to a lady's wishes," he admitted with good grace.
"Goodbye James," she said, and walked out of his life
once again.