A/N: Sorry for such a long delay in updating, moving house caused all sorts of chaos. Lost files, lost internet connection for two months, far too much chaos for one bloody house move. Thank you for your patience.

*

Lucinda Elliot stalked towards her newest enemy, with a look of evil glinting in her eye. Ashleigh stood stonily still, her eyes fixed on some unknown spot up ahead, refusing to acknowledge the other woman's proximity. Lucinda circled her slowly, sizing her up, taking in her height advantage. With a sudden movement she grabbed the collar of Ashleigh's military style jacket and yanked it downwards, revealing Ashleigh's bare arms, pale skinned, and toned with years of working out. The woman was strong, Lucinda had to admit, but then, so was Lucinda. She held the jacket, her hands stroking it in an exploring manner.

'You,' she gestured to one of the nameless guards. 'Search her again.'

'But we already have... she was clean,' the guard protested.

It was a mistake to answer back to a woman like Elliot. Lucinda's china doll face contorted in fury as she snarled at the guard, 'Do it!'

She had made no physical threat to the guard, but Bond had a feeling her reputation proceeded her, the guard hurried to do her bidding. Stay calm, he thought, staring at his goddaughter's blank face. Stay calm, that's right. Ashleigh barely flinched as the guard's hands invaded her personal space once more.

Lucinda stared at the jacket she held in her hand, and with a look of twisted pleasure, firmly tore the seams apart. Deronda flinched, seeing the small, elegant hands resort to brutality, a look of distaste at her actions settled onto his handsome features.

'Get on with it Elliot,' he frowned. 'Time is already short.'

'I want whatever Alec gave her!' Lucinda howled.

'I told you!' Ashleigh almost screamed the words. 'Nothing! He gave me nothing.'

It was a struggle to regain her composure, shivering in the cold air, flinching every time Alec's, no, she refused to think of his name, 'Janus's' name was mentioned.

Lucinda's eyes narrowed. 'Then you are worth nothing to me.'

She snatched a rifle from another guard and tore the shoulder strap from it. She grabbed Ashleigh's wrists, and yanked them together, wrapping the woven strap around them, tightening it until Ashleigh felt her hands begin to tingle with the lack of circulation. Lucinda examined her handiwork with a critical eye, reaching out and adjusting the final knot in a controlled manner.

'But before we get down to anything, I think we should have a little chat, all girls together,' she purred, 'Perhaps compare notes. After all, we do have a certain someone in common.'

'Lucinda,' Deronda grumbled. 'Enough of your games, it's time to start taking this seriously.'

'Oh, but I am taking it seriously,' Lucinda said with a sickly smile. 'Far more seriously than you can ever imagine.'

As she spoke, she grabbed Ashleigh, jerking her along by the strap between her hands. As she pushed her rival towards a door, she turned back towards Deronda and Bond for a final time. 'Just remember that, Caleb, and never underestimate me.'

With that, the two women disappeared into the door. In the brief moment before Ashleigh bowed her head he caught sight of her pale, composed face, her dark eyes meeting his for a moment. She nodded at him, trying to convey everything she was thinking into that one gesture. I'll be fine, she seemed to say, don't worry. This is my fate.

Her fate. Bond had long since learnt that his own life had little value, he had faced death more times than he wished to think of. But Ashleigh? He didn't want her to suffer. If she died here, he thought, let it be quick. Then he remembered Lucinda's penchant for pain, and severely doubted she'd let a rival have an easy death.

Lucinda was the danger here. Lucinda was the real enemy, not this smooth talking charmer in front of him. Deronda was watching Bond with a casual stance. He seemed to have ignored his business partner's parting shot, and was now staring at Bond.

'Finally, Mr. Bond, we have the chance to talk.'

'So it seems. Hardly the time for a pleasant chit chat though.'

'But perhaps the time for you to answer a few of my questions.'

Bond eyed the other man wearily. 'Such as?'

'How exactly did you obtain the plans to my compound?' Deronda asked the question in a tone more suitable for asking how the weather was. 'As far as I am aware, Lucinda had the only blueprints.'

'Perhaps she should try concealing them better in future then, if she doesn't want people to come across them.'

Deronda smiled sadly. 'I had suspected as much, but then, Lucinda always has rather gone her own way.'

'You don't trust her, do you?' Bond realised suddenly. The suspicion had been creeping up on him for some time now. Deronda and Elliot were in no way united, and perhaps, just perhaps that would be their undoing. He just had to work the situation to his advantage.

'Not in the least, Bond,' Deronda laughed, a rich, vibrant laugh. 'I'm afraid Lucinda is going to be rather disappointed when she discovers what my true plans for Hermes are.'

'And what exactly are you planning to do with it?'

The villain's ultimate weakness. Utmost arrogance, and self belief, so much so that the desire to praise their own brilliance became too much, and they would chatter on incessantly about what wonderful plans they had made. Bond had heard them all before.

'I have no intention of releasing Hermes,' Deronda confirmed, 'I have no interest in destroying this world when there are other options available. More financially viable options shall we say.'

'Really? You surprise me. I had absolutely no idea that economics may come into this somewhere.'

'Everything is about economics in this day and age, Bond, one must make ends meet, where one can.'

'Of course,' Bond nodded. 'And Lucinda will comply with your plans?'

'She will do what I tell her.' Deronda's face darkened.

'Lucinda has no plans of her own?'

'This is a matter that is no concern of yours, Mr Bond.' Deronda's anger was rising.

'Lucinda Elliot works only for Lucinda Elliot. She's taken my agent, God knows what she plans to do with her, and she'll kill in cold blood Deronda, who knows what else she's capable of.'

'Ah yes, your agent. I understand there was a family connection, your goddaughter?'

'Yes.'

'A shame. But there will always be causalities.'

'And how many causalities will there be if Lucinda gets her way?'

'Mr. Bond, you're beginning to try my patience.'

'Lucinda is a threat to your plan, whatever she plans to do, its far more than just sell Hermes to the highest bidder. Your plan is at risk from her madness, you've seen her today. If you stand in her way, she'll destroy you.'

Deronda scowled. 'Enough, Bond. I let no man, or woman, dictate to me. Especially not an English spy.'

'We'll see. We'll see.'

They were the same height, their eyes locked directly opposite each other. Neither was willing to give in.

*

To add insult to injury, Lucinda was leading Ashleigh deeper into the ship with the small silver pistol Alec had given her lodged firmly into the base of Ashleigh's spine. Deeper and deeper they went, down level by level through narrow metal corridors, past pipes and complicated looking machinery. At some point Ashleigh felt the pressure in her ears change, and knew that they were under the surface of the water. Still they kept walking, past more guards. At a doorway, one stepped back to let them pass and Ashleigh looked pleadingly into his face. Please, she asked, communicating with her eyes, help me. The guard's eyes slid over her face, with seemingly no interest, and then ignored her. He made no signs of having recognised her plea.

Each breath she took was one to savour, each step forward was heading towards death. Lucinda was going to kill her, sooner or later, she could feel the cold metal of the barrel of the gun through the thin material of her vest. She would have little or no warning of when the bullet would tear through her flesh.

The mission had failed, Lucinda had the upper hand, Deronda had the upper hand with Bond, all that was left was to die. She hated the thought she had failed. She stumbled slightly, her hands bound, she was unable to stop herself from crashing sideways into the wall. Breathing heavily she leant against it, her shoulder aching where it had struck the coarse metal. Lucinda laughed.

'Rest all you want, it makes no difference to me.'

Ashleigh suspected that if Lucinda had a nail file at this point, she'd be filing her perfectly manicured nails. The blonde was about as casual as she could be.

Light and dark. Both pale skinned, both intelligent, two women, one blonde, one brunette. And each had been in Alec Trevelyan's bed. Lucinda twisted the pistol into Ashleigh's back. Ashleigh gasped in pain, trying to pull away, but Lucinda was relentless.

'Such a sweet little token,' Lucinda finally said, examining the weapon. Lucinda twisted the pistol into Ashleigh's back. Ashleigh gasped in pain, trying to pull away, but Lucinda was relentless.

'It means nothing to me.' Ashleigh muttered.

'Of course it doesn't.' Lucinda laughed. Reaching out, she tilted Ashleigh's chin up so she could look at the younger woman. 'Alec has let his standards slip, since me.'

Don't rise, Ashleigh thought to herself. She forced a painful shrug, the strap still cutting into her wrists.

'Alec's had you, he's had me, and he's had just about every beautiful woman in Russia in his bed. Power can be such an aphrodisiac, especially in a man like Alec. Tell me,' her grip tightened hard on Ashleigh's jaw. 'Was he gentle with you? Or did you like it when he played roughly? What did he promise you in return for your body?'

Lucinda felt the other woman's jaw muscles tighten in her hand. She smirked, knowing she was getting to her.

Had he been rough with her? Ashleigh wondered. He had certainly been possessive, crushing her with his body, slamming her back against a wall, his mouth demanding hers; she had raked her nails down his back, her teeth scraping his shoulders, as demanding as he had been. But there had been gentleness too, whispered endearments, soft caresses, always tinged with danger, and the knowledge that it could not last.

And what had she been promised? A truce that had been fulfilled on his part, while she was still lacking. Before that truce? Nothing, she had allowed her own passions to lead her, permitted herself a brief moment of no control, and given into her desire for him.

'I'm afraid I must disappoint you again, Janus didn't promise me anything. I don't bed men for what I can earn.'

The implied insult riled Lucinda who jerked her hand away. 'More fool you,' she spat. 'Alec has so much to offer. Power, money, status, anything you want.'

The blonde raised a thin, delicate eyebrow, her confidence almost overwhelming Ashleigh. She desperately tried to push Alec from her mind, to repress any feelings she may have for the man beyond hatred deep within her. Just the thought of him caused her pain.

'So it seems,' Ashleigh murmured. 'Everything, but want you want the most. It was just sex, and when Alec was bored of me, that was it. He didn't give me any disc and we didn't exactly say goodbye on good terms.'

A muscle flickered in Lucinda's cheek and Ashleigh smirked.

'Why don't you give in now, Lucinda? Without the disc, Hermes is useless. The disc contains access codes, I presume, complicated, long coded figures. You hadn't gambled on losing it. It'll take weeks, perhaps months to gain access to the final code. If you're going to sell Hermes to the highest bidder, you're screwed. What buyer is going to buy a defective product? You've lost, Lucinda, even if you kill me, you've lost. Alec's not going to give you the disc in return for me. He doesn't give a toss about me. You've lost.'

Ashleigh was surprised when Lucinda let out a scream of laughter. 'Sell Hermes? You think I wish to sell such a powerful weapon?'

'What?' An icy hand seemed to grip Ashleigh's heart as the blonde laughed. 'You can't mean...'

'Exactly, Agent Kain of British Foreign Intelligence.' Her words dripped with sarcasm. Lucinda paused, and slowly looked Ashleigh up and down as if seeing Ashleigh for the first time. 'A British spy. You must have been a conquest for Alec, I can imagine that the irony appealed to him.'

Ashleigh forced herself to ignore her words, forced herself to ask the question to get the conversation back on track. 'You plan to release Hermes?'

'Not immediately. There are a few more trivialities to deal with, paperwork and such, you wouldn't understand.'

'When?'

'I had rather thought New Years Eve. A new beginning, it seemed appropriate.' Ashleigh was staring in horror. 'But surely to release Hermes, you need the access codes.'

'Don't be so stupid. If I want to release Hermes, all I need do is drop one of the vials anywhere in the world, and allow Mother Nature to do the rest. Anyone in the vicinity of Ground Zero will be infected, they will go on to infect anyone they meet, it's rather a deadly chain letter. And when finally all those that are infected are dead, those with the immunity to the virus will require someone, to guide them, shall we say?'

'And you'll be there, waiting to fill that post.'

'Of course. It rather appears that I already have a natural immunity to the virus- a guaranteed survival. This vaccination Caleb has obtained, well, it works well in a test situation, but against a full onslaught of Hermes? Who can tell if it would be as successful as hoped?'

'But the access codes... If you don't need them then why do you want them so badly?'

'If I simply drop a vial, then I release Hermes, but it will take several weeks, maybe months to spread across the world. I'm a very impatient person. If I have several 'ground zeros'...'

'Then you have the same result, only it spreads in a matter of days, not months...' Ashleigh's mouth was dry, her voice weak and filled with horror.

'New York, Lima, New Mexico, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Oslo, Moscow, Rome, Beijing, Sydney, Tokyo...' Lucinda reeled the geographical list off. 'The access codes allow me to release all of these sites simultaneously. If I can't do one way, we'll have to go back to basics. Either way, I win, not lose.'

Ashleigh slumped against the wall, defeat clear in every muscle, failure etched onto her features. New Years Eve, barely four weeks away. Effectively, for most of the human race, the world would end for them then.

'I wouldn't fret,' Lucinda ran the gun down Ashleigh's cheek, 'You'll be long dead.'

Ashleigh forced herself to raise her head, her resolve hardened. She nodded slowly. 'So be it.'

Lucinda raised the gun, pressed it hard against the centre of Ashleigh's forehead. So Alec had been right, she was cursed to die like her father. It didn't matter anyway. The whole world was going to die, what did her life mean? Lucinda's blue eyes bore into hers, and she would not look away, she would not beg for her life, or plead for mercy.

'Just remember,' Lucinda whispered. 'It's never just sex.'

With the gun pressed against her head, and the knowledge that death had his hand upon her shoulder, Ashleigh struggled to think of a suitable reply.

The explosion that tore through the ship rather prevented her having to.