"Hello James," Money Penny greeted Mr. Bond with the same cheerful respect, despite the early hour of 5 in the morning.
"Send him in, Money Penny," M's voice came over the intercom.
"There was no girl," he mumbled groggily as he stumbled into M's office. Penny didn't look as though she believed him.
"Agent 007. You've arrived," M, a woman in her late fifties with a fair amount of wrinkles to start with, seemed to have lines cut deeper in her face today. Something must really be serious, thought James.
"Hello, Mr. Bond," Q stood in the corner, looking very tired.
"Hello, M, Q. What's happened that you sent for me?"
M pressed a button on her desk and a screen surfaced out of the wood panelling. A map of Australia and the Southwestern Pacific appeared on the screen.
"It's Anrey, the Prime Minister of Australia. He was assassinated yesterday afternoon. He was shot in the chest, twice."
"But surely the Australian Secret Service can take care of this. Was he in a public place?"
"That's just the thing. He was found in his own bedroom, with all the windows locked."
"Not the doors?"
"No, they were all open."
"So surely you can find out just who had entered the house? And who heard something?"
"Of course we can. But that's not all. Yesterday evening, around four hours after Anrey's death, Woodmoor, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, was also assassinated."
James sat down heavily in the chair across from M's desk.
"And it's believed that the two murders are connected?"
"Can you see it as being a coincidence?"
"No, I suppose not."
M pressed another button on her desk. On the map on the wall, a red dot appeared labelled "Canberra".
"You fly to the capital of Australia in the morning. Now if you follow Q he'll show you your equipment for this mission. Oh, and there's one more thing 007."
"What?"
"Both Anrey and Woodmoor were found with a bullet in their chest AND in their back. They were shot from both sides. Watch your back, Mr. Bond."
"Send him in, Money Penny," M's voice came over the intercom.
"There was no girl," he mumbled groggily as he stumbled into M's office. Penny didn't look as though she believed him.
"Agent 007. You've arrived," M, a woman in her late fifties with a fair amount of wrinkles to start with, seemed to have lines cut deeper in her face today. Something must really be serious, thought James.
"Hello, Mr. Bond," Q stood in the corner, looking very tired.
"Hello, M, Q. What's happened that you sent for me?"
M pressed a button on her desk and a screen surfaced out of the wood panelling. A map of Australia and the Southwestern Pacific appeared on the screen.
"It's Anrey, the Prime Minister of Australia. He was assassinated yesterday afternoon. He was shot in the chest, twice."
"But surely the Australian Secret Service can take care of this. Was he in a public place?"
"That's just the thing. He was found in his own bedroom, with all the windows locked."
"Not the doors?"
"No, they were all open."
"So surely you can find out just who had entered the house? And who heard something?"
"Of course we can. But that's not all. Yesterday evening, around four hours after Anrey's death, Woodmoor, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, was also assassinated."
James sat down heavily in the chair across from M's desk.
"And it's believed that the two murders are connected?"
"Can you see it as being a coincidence?"
"No, I suppose not."
M pressed another button on her desk. On the map on the wall, a red dot appeared labelled "Canberra".
"You fly to the capital of Australia in the morning. Now if you follow Q he'll show you your equipment for this mission. Oh, and there's one more thing 007."
"What?"
"Both Anrey and Woodmoor were found with a bullet in their chest AND in their back. They were shot from both sides. Watch your back, Mr. Bond."
