Part 2:

Part 2:

A Breath Of Fresh Death

5.

January 20, 1955, 5:45 A.M. Only about 45 minutes till the raid. The planes had just taken off. Hosedon took another cigarette[His 35 in the last two days] , drew the smoke deep into his lungs, and puffed it out through his nostrils. He strolled down to the captain's quarters. "All torpedoes clear? No problems?", he asked the captain.

"As of now, no problems. Everything going exactly to plan. No sign of any problems from any of our fellow ships. I shall alert you, Comrade, if any problems arise!"

Hosedon was satisfied. He bowed thanks and walked out of the quarters. He could here the buzz of the planes circling above him. 5 minutes now! This would be a memorable day in Hosedon's life! Would he get promoted for completion? Will he get a medal? Only time can tell. He was pleased of his voyage and would certainly compliment the crew and the cooks. Usually around this time he would be hungry, but not this morning. Excitement overthrew his hunger. It is strange how one cannot eat when excited, none the less sleep. His lack of sleep showed greatly in the purple lines under his eyes. He could see the Texas coast now! Not much longer! Bigger and bigger the coast was becoming. Torpedoes ready. Aircraft ready. Range affirmative! Now was the moment of truth! The condos and beach houses will soon wake up to the morning bell of terrorism! The aircraft was ahead of the ships however and had already begun dropping the missiles. First torpedo away! A great noise explosion of screams and destruction rang the morning air. Hosedon smiled from deck and took a breath. Ah, a breath of fresh death! That one torpedo had destroyed a long area itself! 2 More torpedoes launched! Another horror of screams were drowned out by the explosion. The aircraft looked as if it had already completed it's objectives and was heading back. Soon they had stayed too long. They had to turn back before the Military takes action. The last finishing touches had been done, a British flag engraved into the sand. There was not much left of the beach but rubble, fire, and dead bodies. It didn't look as if many survived the attack. Mission Completed! A tear of joy streaked down Hosedon's cheek. Like he had said before, brilliant! He ran down to the captain's quarters.

"Okay now! Full throttle, 22 knots, just get the hell out of here as fast as you can. We'll stop for the aircraft later, they will follow us until low on fuel. We have succeeded my friend, now just get us home safely. I'm sure there are rewards waiting for you back home!"

The captain's self-asteem had indeed risen with that compliment and had encouraged him even further to get home quickly. He sent a radio signal saying to turn around and race out of there at 22 knots, full speed.

Hosedon was busy with his report. He wrote: EVERYTHING WENT SMOOTHLY STOP TEXAS COAST BLOWN TO SHREDS STOP NOT MANY SURVIVERS SIGHTED STOP VOYAGE MOST PLEASANT STOP HIRED A GOOD CAPTAIN, CREW AND COOK STOP WILL SET UP THE TARGET IN THE U.K. UPON ARRIVAL STOP.

6.

James Bond walked opened the red door leading into M.'s office. He didn't know why he was being called there so suddenly or why he needed to hurry. The only instructions that were assigned to him were to get to headquarters immeadiatly . Moneypenny was at her desk with a thick stack of paperwork at her desk. She looked up and turned on the intercom leading to M.'s office, "007 is here, sir.[She switched off the intercom] James! You better head in now! I hear its something big!"

Bond nodded and slipped into M.'s office. M. was overviewing a dark brown cardboard folder.

"007, come in and sit down. No time for a cigarette today, I'm afraid. Something tragic has happened. A Texas beach was attacked by warships and planes this morning. They say the attackers declared the attack under Britiain's name, but we had nothing to do with it. They threaten war if the attacks continue. It was a very big loss of life. We've been wondering where an attack like that can be planned and brought off. I've assigned various countries to the other Double-Os. I've assigned you to the USSR. The only other countries being investigated are Germany and Japan. We have a good partner for you on this assignment, a SMERSH defecter. Very reliable."

Damn, how could this happen. Wouldn't they have caught the attackers before they did any massive damage? "Sir, was the appearance of the warships identical to ours?"

"Every possible aspect."

" And all of the warships and planes made a getaway?"

"Yes."

This was sick. The Americans need to step up their security a knotch. So they just disappeared, and now the ships are no where in sight. This was truly sickening. " And who is this contact?"

"A girl, her names Amandi, Maryann Amandi. Like I said, very reliable. She is already in the country. Make sure she remains safe. We don't want one of our good agents dieing. And do take care of yourself 007."

***

Bond had gotten booked on the first available flight to the USSR. Like always, Bond hated the food, service and movies the airlines had to offer. This time he tried as hard as he could to sleep through the flight and succeeded in just that in a few hours. He was starting to dream, he saw himself in a beach condo looking out off his balcony. 5 battleships were docked out over the beach. He watched in horror as planes swooped overhead, destroying the beach houses with gunfire. He watched parents being shot down trying to protect their children, who were soon killed also. He could smell ash in the air. Overwhelming noise clouded his brain. It was the noise of explosion. Bond was terrified, but felt as if he should find a way to help some of these innocent people. That was all changed however, as he soon focused his mind on his own life as a missile came from above and blew the condo Bond was residing in to shreds. He woke up in a gasp. He was panting and sweating heavily. It was only a dream, he thought. Damn, that must have been a horror to watch in person! Fortunately, there was only about 5 minutes left of the flight, and they would soon be landing in Moscow. Bond had to take commercial jet because the Soviets wouldn't let a private plane belonging to the British land on their soil. He had to take a fake passport and a fake name. His new name was Jack Sluggre and the girl was Ariel. They were posing as a couple about to write a novel, trying to find out about a couple of locations to base scenes in their novel.

Now onto the hotel, Mayann should be already in his room waiting. He rented a car, a red Honda Convertible, and stepped onto the pedals. This car was nothing compared to his Bentley at home! The way this steering wheel jams and the amount of force you had to apply to the pedals! There was no use whining over it though, as he was stuck with it, whining or not. He reached the hotel and took his 3 suitcases out of the car. As the revolving doors opened, he was greeted by a porter who took Bond's bags and carried them to his room. Bond stopped his walk and looked into an open room! A casino! He guessed he was going to go gamble tonight. Maybe earlier, if nothing came up. He continued his stroll up the blue carpeted staircase and followed the numbers on the doors until he found door number 51, his room. He knocked the door and was greeted by a woman's voice, "Who is it?"

"Bond. James Bond."

The door handle turned slowly and the door was opened. Standing there with the door open was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen in his life. She had small, blue eyes and her wide, rather sexy mouth. Her hair was dark golden brown, and shined in the light of the room. She looked very seductive in her blue dress. "Mr. Bond", she said, " I am Maryann Amandi. Nice to meet your aquantence."

She had very little accent, the little accent she had was Russian. "Nice to meet you too." He slipped into the room and Maryann closed it behind him. She had the radio on very softly and Bond enjoyed the soft song in the background of the room. Her dress twitched from side to side as she walked. It caught Bond's eye. She poured a glass of wine and sat down on a couch.

"I expect you want to know our leads on the case. Well we have virtually no leads, except…," Her voice trailed off, "The there is a SMERSH General in the casino. Playing a bit of Baccarat I think. We should probably go check him out. His name is Jeremy Vivrelencu."

"That would be splendid. I'll give him a run for his money, maybe gain some while I'm at it. So that's the only lead?"

"I'm afraid so. Very shallow. We may be able to get a lead from this Vivrelencu, if we keep a good eye on him. We should head down there now, before he leaves."

"Yes, lets go"

7.

Bond had cashed in his Rupees and headed for the Baccarat table. Maryann's dress brushed against Bond's black shirt as he saw an empty seat at the Baccarat table. The banker was Vivrelencu. Bond sat down. It seemed that the stakes had gone too high for most of the players.

Vivrelencu said, "20,000 rupees."

Bond replied, "Banco."

Vivrelencu stared into Bond's eyes with his own dark, cold eyes. The dealer set out two cards for Bond and two for Vivrelencu. Bond had 5. There was a crucial decision. The turning point in Baccarat was 5. Should he ask for another card? If he got over nine he would lose. Bond made up his mind and asked politely for another card. A three! Bond layed out his natural eight.

Vivrelencu threw his cards on to the table and spat out, "Seven". He hesitated for a moment and said coolly, "Suivi". He then stared at Bond. "I do not like losing. You see, I will win my money back!"

Bond said nothing and just waited for the dealer to pass out the cards once more. The dealer took another two cards out of the deck machine and handed them to each player.

Vivrelencu's face lit up. His frown turned into a wide smile. He obviously had something good. "Eight!"

This didn't phase Bond at all. His face remained calm. "Nine!"

Commotion aroused over the table. Many onlookers envied Bond's skill and luck. Vivrelencu literally threw the casino chips at Bond and stood up.

"Surely your not going to finish so early?", Bond said.

He made no change in direction, "Next time we meet, you will not be so lucky." He continued his course and was soon out of sight. Of course Vivrelencu knew who Bond was and why he was there. The whole game was a set-up, planned carefully by Vivrelencu and Maryann Amandi.

Bond retired from the game and picked up his chips. He had won 40,000 rupees that night and got to keep it all. He recouped with Maryann and told her, "I'm sort of suspicious of him. He said, 'when we meet'? Does that mean he knows we'll meet again?"

"Me too", She replied, "I took a look at where he was going. To the restaurant. We should go eat and keep an eye on him."

"Your just too quick for me on this," Bond said. Maryann giggled briefly and smiled. Her cheeks that were a pale white turned into a rosy red. They walked past the red carpet into the restaurant. They were seated and Bond pulled the menu. He searched around for something he would like. When the waiter came he said in Russian, "A Vodka Martini on-the-rocks and a Seafood Portifino."

Maryann said, "I shall have the same" In a very good Russian voice.

They were seated in a booth directly above Vivrelencu. They kept a strict eye on him. He was seated at a red coushined booth with two blonde girls. The girls were huddled around him. A man with two mistresses! Must be a wealthy man. He was fiddling with the girls, almost flirting with them. Beastly man, Bond thought, and now what is he doing to those bitches? Vivrelencu started playing with the girls gaily. But they stopped when their food came and they all acted as if they had been sitting there patiently the whole time. They apparentally weren't saying much, only eating. Soon Their own food came and Bond took his mind off of Vivrelencu, and on to Maryann. She looked so beautiful under the dim lights. She ate politely and quietly, every once and a while straying to her drink and gulping down a sixth of it every time.

He looked deep into her green eyes and said, "You look beautiful under the lights."

She blushed, not knowing what to say. She just spat out, "Thank you."

Vivrelencu was finished with his dinner and was heading out. Bond and Maryann had finished as well and were calling it a day. Bond paid the bill and escorted Maryann out of the restaurant. They walked up the staircase into their room. Once the door was closed Maryann leaped into Bond's arms and kissed him passionately on the lips.