Chapter Eighteen
It's time to Resign 007
Bond was back at MI6 in less than a day, when he arrived he followed the protocol and tossed his newly bought hat onto the coat rack to announce his entrance. Moneypenny, as always, looked pleased to see Bond. It was evident that she was worried when he went missing by her first sly response.
"It's good to see you made it back alive James." Moneypenny announced, Bond crossed over to her desk laid the slightest kiss on her cheek.
"I do try my best." Bond commented, Moneypenny leaned over and pressed her cheek onto his.
"Between you and I…" She pointed to M's door. "…He's been very upset since you arrived in Greece." Moneypenny revealed.
"Really…?" Bond asked; Moneypenny nodded. Bond put his arm on his chest in a gesture meant to resemble bravery. "…than I shall be careful" said Bond overdramatically. Before he got to the door Moneypenny placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Not too careful…" She started. "…I like my men shaken." She finished with a smirk of victory. Bond blushed slightly in the rare moment in which Moneypenny outwitted him; the embarrassment was interesting but enjoyable.
"..Never stirred." He said with an uncontrollable smile and then entered M's office.
The museum had not changed one bit since Bond had last been there, in fact to Bond it seemed as if M had not moved at all, still going over papers casually ignoring Bond when he entered the room. Bond stood behind the chair and continued the protocol.
It was longer this time, M really was doing his best to ignore the fact that Bond had stepped in. Bond watched as he flicked his wrist in the unmistakably sharp way he signed his name. Bond was trying to see what M was signing but as he looked over a little more the paper was snatched back and M was looking Bond in the eye.
"Sir." Bond greeted; ignored the greeting and arranged some papers on his desk.
"007 have you anything to report that's worthwhile?" M asked sharply; Bond thought for a moment and then gestured at the chair.
"May I…?" Bond asked; M nodded.
"Be my guest." Bond sat and there was a little pause as Bond thought.
"After being captured in Greece Acosta took me to some secret liar of his where he was shipping his product back and forwards…" Bond started. "…While I was there I observed he was shipping canisters containing a substance with a chemical formula of C17H19NO3 at the time I wasn't sure what the substance was but on my way back here I remembered…" Bond took a pause to see if M as following him; the two men stared at one another for a long moment in silence until M started to lose his patience.
"Continue 007…" M growled.
"…yes sir. I remembered that it's the chemical formula for Morphine…" Bond said. "…The process of getting the opium to Morphine is extensive, last I remember, Acosta would need a processing plant to do that." Bond theorized.
"Go on…" M said to avoid the long pause.
"When I was there I found plans for a processing plant of some sort in New Mexico, I would assume that he's converting it there and shipping to Greece using the ports in Jamaica, the question is where is the final product going." Bond revealed; another pause started and this time Bond was waiting for M to go on.
"Unfortunately 007 that is a question MI6 will not be able to answer." M stated; Bond looked confused.
"What do you mean sir?" Bond asked; M snatched the paper back into view and handed over to Bond, in big black letters on the top it read 'RESIGNATION LETTER'
"I took the liberty of having Miss Moneypenny write up your resignation letter and signing it…" M knew very well that his answer wasn't enough for Bond regardless of the fact however he didn't continue.
"I don't understand why sir, I've made immense progress in the last day. I have no doubt that this plant in New Mexico will give us the information we need to capture Acosta himself." Bond protested.
"That's all very fine 007 but I cannot involve MI6 in this any longer." M said the slight sound of disappointment in his voice.
"What do you mean?" Bond asked. There was another pause however this one was shorter than the others.
"The Jamaican's weren't very happy with your theatrics while you were there, and decided to appeal to the C.I.A. Some one pulled their weight around and now the N.A.T.O. has decided that our investigation is done, that we out stepped our boundaries and are a…" He paused and sneered. "…'counterproductive' part of the investigation." M finished.
"I would assume we are suspecting Acosta in influencing them." Bond suggested.
"It's seems more than a coincidence that Acosta had a small landing in Jamaica." M revealed; Bond frowned.
"Do we know where he is now?" Bond asked; M gave him a stern look.
"Back to America…" M said. "…Undoubtedly to your base in New Mexico that, also coincidentally mind you, the C.I.A. managed to miss." M finished; Bond sat forward.
"The mole is still out there and I have a feeling he or she is working with the Americans…" Bond said in his voice he hinted that he knew something else. "…When I landed in Greece I heard that there were four bodies found in the destroyed building. One man they identified as a Justin Ramos, and the other three were in K.G.B. attire and one of the being identified as a Willard Jackson, an American." Bond explained; M looked flabbergasted at Bond's last statement.
"An American K.G.B. officer…?" M asked, his tongue lay stifled for a moment. "…this is worse than I imagined. I would guess those rumors are true." M finished.
Recently a rash of rumors had gone around, each of them involving the Soviet Union's deal with the people of Afghanistan. Some said that the America government and the Russians had created the cold war to dominate the areas around them and that there was no real threat of a nuclear attack whatsoever, others believed that the American's had a nuclear bomb in Russia already and was waiting for some form of attack to cause havoc in the country. The most prominent of the rumors was that, the reason the Russian's weren't as vocal in the cold war lately was because they had American 'defectors' working for them. The Americans weren't very happy with this rumor and there was a low profile investigation going on, but nothing ever came of it. With Acosta working for Petrovski though and the fact that there was a mole, gave a lot to the rumor.
"More than likely; If they're working with Acosta then he would knows everything the C.I.A. knows." Bond said.
"Well that's all not your concern…" M said bringing the weight of reality back to the conversation. "…I'm sorry 007 but you're done with this investigation." M concluded; Bond for a moment looked distressed and it reminded M of the older days when bond was younger and just made it into being a 00 agent, but not before long he became stern.
"But sir…"
"007 you are officially off the assignment and I have no other assignments for you…" M started, he then slowed his speech considerably. "…if you were to go and investigate in your leave ob absence you would not be under the jurisdiction of MI6, you'd be working as a rouge agent…" M's voice trailed off and Bond smiled.
"I see sir…" Bond started. "…and thank-"
"Goodbye 007…" M cut off. "…I'm sure you're C.I.A. friends won't being waiting for you in New Mexico and I'm sure that Q won't have anything for you." M said and in a moment he went back to his paper work. Bond didn't say anymore and left M's office.
After a brief conversation with Moneypenny on the processes of being safe as a rouge agent, Bond went straight to Q's laboratory. Although neither of them would admit it, Bond and Q both felt relieved to see the other. Being back in the laboratory was a welcome feeling to them both as well. As always several of Q's workers were testing ideas that seemed half witted or seemed to have no significant use to a spy. Bond recognized one of the workers named Perry; he was playing with what seemed to be a vacuum, cleaning the floors and whatnot, but when he pressed a certain button the cleaner opened and his entire body was thrown inside the bag. This took Bond by surprise for a moment and then he caught his composure and went over to Q.
"Q…" Bond greeted, Q gave Bond a look and then went back to the man he was talking to and pointed at something on a paper before dismissing the man.
"Alright 007 lets get to it…" Q started. "…as I understand it you're working as a rouge agent so most of the equipment you're getting is unofficial." Q explained.
"I hope that means that they work." Bond muttered; Q flashed Bond an angry look.
"All my equipment works 007…" Q snapped. "…It's not my fault that your dimwitted antics manages to get them destroyed before you can use them." Q finished.
"Right…" Bond said. "…that must be it."
"First you can take another one of these…" Q handed over another one of the small communicators. "…despite being a rouge agent M insist on being in contact with you, and I've also managed to get rid of the little problem of it exploding." Q confessed.
"I noticed that little bug when I was in Greece." Said Bond quietly.
"The frequency isn't coded so the signal will not go through MI6 but straight to M himself…" Q explained. "…Now Bond take of your belt." Q demanded, Bond eyes went wide for a moment and then he looked at Q a bit strangely.
"I'm sorry Q but you're not my type." Bond said sarcastically.
"Oh grow up 007…" Q reprimanded as Bond took off his belt. "…now see here. Ordinary belt made of leather…" Q smacked the belt on the table and it made a loud thwack. "…here in the buckle there is a button press this like so and the belt becomes rigid in any shape that it was being held at the moment you pressed the button." Q smacked the belt on the table again but this time the belt was like steel and went straight through the table and the table collapsed upon itself.
"Real leather?" Bond asked; Q ignored his comment and pressed the button again and the belt went back to normal, he curled the belt and pressed the button and the belt went rigid with the belt still in the curves.
"I'm particularly fond of this one…" Q admitted. "…took a while to create."
"Sure…" Bond dismissed. "…how do I get it to explode?" Bond asked; Q glared at him.
"It doesn't…" Q snapped again. "…but knowing you, you'll find a way!" Q mumbled some more and moved passed Bond.
Q picked up a watch and looked over it for a moment and then shoved it towards Bond.
"Another new watch?" Bond asked, Q gave him the most vicious of glares and even that stifled Bond's tongue.
"Same refinements as the other one however you'll notice that if you press this button here…" Q pointed at the button. "…an ultra sonic sound wave that guarantees to break any type of glass." Q explained.
"Good…" Bond said. "…anything else?" Bond asked.
"Yes 007…" Q went on. "…If you turn the watch face counter clockwise and do the same thing the watch will emit a fl ash of pure fluorescent light which will blind anyone without proper protection for at least thirty seconds." Q finished.
"That sounds handy…" Bond said. "…Q, what time is it?" Bond asked. Q looked at his own watch and frowned.
"Three ten…" Q answered. "…why?" Q asked.
"Because the watch you gave me says its twelve thirty two." Bond answered; Q looked at Bond's watch and frowned.
"Well I didn't set the time…." Q complained. "…I thought you'd be capable of doing that yourself." Q barked, Bond nodded and proceeded to change the time.
"Thanks Q" Bond made a note of saying before he left, Q's anger subsided and Q gave a very sincere look.
"Your welcome 007…" He turned to do something before turning to face Bond again. "…And come back in one piece."
007
The trip to America was like all the others: uneventful and tiring. It seemed that every time Bond traveled to the U.S. he found himself drained of energy; this time wasn't any exception but it was good to know that Felix would be waiting for him when he got there. Also without having to abide by the rules of MI6 Bond was able to even be more, as he liked to call it, 'creative' in getting the job done. One of the last things he had been told before leaving London was a report on what the C.I.A. had already found at Acosta's stronghold in New Mexico. Apparently the American's weren't aware of the stronghold being built and Acosta had done it with the supervision of the local government and they hadn't bothered to report that to the higher government. What was going on in the facility was unknown; Acosta had only merely mentioned that it was some sort of biological preserve which was good enough to get a permit to build. Inspectors were sent but they never reported in detail what they found and Acosta had insisted their round-about ways were of no convincing from him. Either way MI6 as well as their C.I.A. counter parts knew that Acosta's influence went a long way. However there was still nothing that could be used against Acosta legally, Petrovski was dead and the exporting of Morphine wasn't illegal. Hopefully in this stronghold of his there was something concrete enough to use to have more support.
When he landed he landed in the same airport as last time and the same scene unfolded. Waiting for him was Gonzales in a similar but different suit in front of a car. Bond smiled as he came close enough to recognize Gonzales.
"Gonzales good to see you again." Bond said sincerely, for it was true Bond had a liking for the small man. He was respectful and smart and Bond knew he'd be as good as Felix Leiter in years to come. Gonzales looked relieved to see Bond as he stepped closer and took off his hat to shake Bond's hand; it was something Americans rarely did anymore and to see him do it now was surprising and reassuring at the same time.
"Mr. Bond I must say seeing you here has been the best thing I've seen in the last couple of days." Gonzales confessed; Bond gave a curious look.
"What's been happening?" Bond asked; Gonzales walked to the car and out of habit began to open the door for Bond but Bond stopped him before he could and got into the car himself. The car didn't take long to pull off and with a sigh Gonzales began.
"I assume that the reason you were taken off the assignment was because MI6 came under pressure by the U.N. from Jamaica. Well the C.I.A. got the same heat but it was harder here because they held Felix directly responsible, the few days you were gone he was taken and questioned about everything he knew about the investigation, of course Felix didn't give them the time of day and was honorably removed from the assignment. When Miss Goodhead found she was furious and went to our director and tried to angrily appeal to him, I wasn't there but I heard her choice of words wasn't academic and the director gave her the same treatment as Felix. Then they came to us, Morales and I, and told us that we weren't needed and we were to do what we 'felt was right' so we decided to follow Felix and Goodhead." Gonzales explained; Bond slowly nodded taking in what he had just heard.
"I see…" Bond said. "…interesting."
"But that's not all…" Gonzales started again. "…The field agent Jackson, the one Morales gave the security tapes to, he was found dead in the desert and the tapes were no where to be found. The best part though was where they found his body which was right outside our desert headquarters, which means whoever killed him knew that there was a base there, as a precaution they closed the entire thing down and now they're sure that the mole is somewhere in the C.I.A. close to the assignment. I'm not supposed to tell you but originally they suspected Jackson had something to do with it and now there's this other guy, who I've never liked, named Gerald who they are sure is the mole." Gonzales went on; Bond thought hard and nodded.
"Have they arrested this Gerald yet?" Bond asked.
"No sir Mr. Bond, they think he'll pursue us on this chase and then we can deal with it ourselves that way the entanglements of the C.I.A. can be avoided." Gonzales explained.
"I see, so maybe I'll have my chance to deal with him." Bond muttered.
"Its possible, but I warn you now Mr. Bond be careful. This man is a high level C.I.A. agent, he's very dangerous." Gonzales warned not looking back from the road.
"I'm sure I can handle it myself." Bond said; Gonzales smiled.
"I know you can…" Gonzales said. "…I wouldn't want to see him too hurt though." Gonzales joked; Bond chuckled and they continued down the road.
It took about an hour and half of driving to the desert and then a half hour of walking in the desert until they came across a large jeep like vehicle; sitting in the vehicle was Goodhead, Morales and a very calm looking Felix Leiter. Bond knew what this meant, usually Felix was a bit apprehensive but whenever he was calm it was worse it mean he was aiming for trouble not too far away. He calmed himself right before he was prepared to let loose. The other thing that caught Bond's eye, or rather didn't catch Bond's eye, was the lack of other vehicles.
"Welcome back James…" Felix greeted with an insincere happiness. "…I assume Gonzales filled you in on all the good news?" Felix added. Bond nodded and walked around the side of the vehicle where Leiter was laying lazily.
"Yes he did…" Bond answered. "…I was wondering, Leiter, where are the other vehicles and people?" Bond asked. Felix gave a mischievous smile and sat up.
"That's the best part of all…" He started. "…I didn't qualify to have a private garrison to help me on this one. Whoever you see here is who's coming in." Felix revealed; Bond looked around; almost hoping that there might have been someone he had missed when he came to the vehicle no more than a minute ago. However the count remained the same: "Goodhead, Leiter, Morales, Gonzales and himself.
"I couldn't think of a better team." Bond answered with a force smile. The heat wasn't really adding to the tension, Goodhead and Leiter looked annoyed and Morales stuck to himself, it was clear that no one was extremely excited about this (save for the fact that Felix might have been anxious to shoot someone.)
"If you're worried about equipment don't be…" Goodhead finally spoke. "…There's a big metal case on the other side of the car; all the guns you could want." Goodhead explained; Bond happily nodded and stood there as if waiting for something. No one did anything for two minutes and then Felix popped up suddenly and went over to Morales.
"Any sign of Gerald?" Felix asked; Morales disappointedly shook his head.
"We saw him following us before we got here but we lost him…" Morales explained. "…I'm sure he'll show up later on." Morales said as optimistic as his voice and attitude would allow; Felix scoffed, not disrespectfully, but agitated, at the comment.
"I can't wait to put a few in him…" Felix trailed off into a string of curses that didn't formulate a Standard English sentence.
"So what exactly is the plan?" Bond asked; Felix was off in another, more, profane world so Goodhead answered.
"We have nothing on Acosta and we have to find something illegal to stick to him…" She paused in a brief moment of agitation. "…So we're hoping we find something in here." She finished.
"What if we don't?" Bond had sense enough not to ask the question but felt that it needed to be asked anyhow.
"If we don't…" Felix interjected returning back to earth. "…then Acosta gets off." Felix simply answered.
"Operation "hoax" is ended?" Bond asked.
"Not only that but sealed and deleted…" Goodhead returned to the conversation with such conviction that the tone of her voice startled Bond. "…The government was nothing more to do with him; he's been a thorn in there side and they have other issues." Goodhead tried to say it with as much understanding for the governments' predicament as she had in her being but it sill came out to be a bit ruthless.
"Well I don't know what's in there…" Bond made clear. "…I'm sure since he has a lot to do with Morphine and Opium then next must be heroine." Bond said; Goodhead nodded in agreement.
"I'm sure this is the refining plant." She said; Bond frowned.
"Wasn't that in his estate?" He answered.
"Yes but for something as delicate as converting poppies into heroine you would need a larger workstation, and, judging from the amount of poppies he has, I would say he produces a lot of Morphine or heroine in one day. This facility looks like the place to do it." Goodhead's explanation was a bit snappy which she realized and gave a brief unbelievable smile at the end.
"Have you seen the place already?" Bond asked; Felix came back from around the vehicle with an automatic he prized it and pointed in all directions.
"There were some flyby shots taken by the local government that we had to, nearly, steal from them." Felix sneered.
"Is it large?" Bond asked; Felix made a whistling sound to indicate the size, to Bond it was something only American's did.
"Its gigantic." Goodhead simply answered.
"The more space, the more illegal activity." Bond mused. Goodhead lost the punch line of the joke and yawned. Bond looked out to the horizon; whatever was going to happen now was going to be the beginning of the end. there was nothing else Acosta could do but kill Bond. Bond was certain that this stronghold was going to be the key to bringing Acosta down.
"We brought enough equipment to equip a small battalion of American troops." Leiter interrupted the silence.
"Good…" Bond said. "…at least we know we'll be able to get in." Bond mused, Leiter smiled at the comment.
"Don't knock the American resources…" Leiter started. "…let's not forget how many times I saved your skin Santiago." Leiter added extra emphasis on the 'Santiago', it was a name Leiter had given Bond years ago on the Thunderball assignment, he hadn't heard it in a long time, hearing Leiter use the name again gave Bond a sense of calm.
Bond and Leiter had been friends for quite some time now, and the score as of now was that Leiter had saved Bond's life more times than Bond had saved his. The Texan was one of Bond's favorite people and was in somewhat of the same class as M. Leiter never asked Bond twice when he needed something if Bond requested it Leiter appealed to his, sometimes pigheaded, government and got Bond what he needed in enough time. When Bond was investigating Auric Goldfinger, and was undeniably in a bind when Goldfinger had him on a short leash held by his massive bodyguard: Oddjob, Bond's only option for survival was to make a reward note hidden in the bathroom stall of an airplane with the message to contact Felix Leiter. Goldfinger's plan was to poison an entire city of people in order to invade and rob Fort Knox using an atomic weapon. When they arrived though Felix had gotten the message and ambushed Goldfinger's band of thugs and saved not only Bond's life but thousands of people. That was just one time operation Thunderball, perhaps Bond's most dangerous operation to date, had forced Bond into a position in which he was almost powerless. The hijacking of two atomic bombs and holding up the entire United States and England was S.P.E.C.T.RE.'s plan and when Bond found the first bomb he needed Leiter's help with the C.I.A. to keep Emilio Largo from taking the other and getting away. S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s plan was ambitious there was no way Bond could have gotten it done without Felix's help.
"Touché my friend" Bond said, he looked at the suit on the truck, Goodhead noticed his inquiry.
"We should start getting those on; they'll help us carry all the guns we'll need." She said. Bond nodded and picked up one of the suits. They were a lot lighter than he expected; he was able to easily slip it on and still felt comfortable with it on. The others did the same but Leiter didn't look amused by the suit instead he moved around, seemingly, uncomfortably and made a face at Bond.
"All the money in the world and they still give us jackets that itch." Leiter complained; Bond grunted neutrally and swung around the Beretta he brought along pointing it into the distance imagining Acosta's face directly ahead, after testing the way the Beretta came out of the holster several times he was satisfied and let it rest in the hip holster. There were enough holsters to fit somewhere around twenty five to thirty guns including some of the larger automatic weapons. It took at least a half of an hour to get the equipment into order, with he guns on the suits it was considerably heavier but still Bond still found himself able to move around freely. Bond smiled, Goodhead looked so professional and dangerous in her outfit, her face was formed with such a tired malice that Bond found himself slightly nervous by her presence. However he could understand her anger, the American's had left it to them to deal with a situation they had initiated; Bond could be angry as well but he wasn't.
"I guess all we have to do now is leave." Gonzales said with a hint of uncertainty. There was a long pause when no one knew what exactly to do now.
"I don't suppose we could drive up to the front door and ask to be let in." Morales said, Leiter scratched his head and made a gesture towards Bond.
"Knowing god ole' Santiago over here, we'll end up crashing our way through a wall or something." Bond smirked at the comment.
"Well let's see…." Bond started. "…how fast can this thing go?" Bond asked, Leiter made a face that was of either approval or uncertainty.
"However fast you need it to go?" Leiter asked.
"Good…" Bond answered dryly. "…Do we need to bring it back?" Bond asked.
"That's not a concern of mine James…" Leiter answered looking away.
"Well we'll get in there and then take a look around. If we find anything "illegal" then we'll have something and we can leave and if we don't find anything, which is unlikely, then we'll still give these sons of bitches something to whine about." Bond explained; Goodhead smiled which made Bond feel more at ease.
"Sounds alright to me..." She commented; she cocked on of her guns quickly and put it in a holster around her breast.
"Yeah; I've been waiting to blow something up since I heard I'd be working with you again James." Leiter admitted.
"I suppose that means we have the right to shoot anything." Morales asked; Leiter made a satisfied grunt.
"I will…" He said. "…trust me."
"Just don't shoot my fox: Acosta…" Bond commented; Leiter made a loud disapproving sound.
"Ah hell James I don't know about that. It takes the fun out of it." Leiter said.
"You can shoot an arm or something." Bond compromised.
"Sounds like a plan…" Leiter nodded. "…That pretty boy has got one hell of a beating coming to him." Leiter sneered.
"Now, now Leiter…" Bond started. "…Let's not forget you have a countries reputation to hold." Bond reminded.
"Tell that to the president." Leiter answered tersely; Bond smiled happily at Leiter's answer.
"We have orders to arrest Acosta." Goodhead reminded; Leiter made a sound of disgust that echoed on the wind as he kicked up a little sand like a child who has been deprived of his ice cream treat.
"I forgot about that…" Leiter muttered. "…The government is insisting that Acosta be arrested; if he is killed then they'll hold the British Secret service responsible." Leiter explained.
"You're joking." Bond said seriously.
"Afraid not; they want him alive."
"What if one of you shoots him?" Bond asked; Leiter made a face of dissatisfaction.
"I'm afraid that the British Secret Service is still responsible…" Leiter said. "…Not to worry my friend, Goodhead and I won't shoot him. Morales is a perfect shot and Gonzales is a horrible shot." Leiter chuckled; Gonzales gave a phony offended smile.
"Well I hope so…" Bond frowned. "…I've never really "arrested" anyone before." Bond admitted; Goodhead came around and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Whenever you feel like pulling the trigger…" She started. "…bite your bottom lip." She suggested.
"I'll try that; you'll have to show me how to do it a little later though." Bond teased; Goodhead gave a smile that said 'you can try pretty boy but it won't work.'
"You silly ole limey…" Leiter joked affectionately. "...better stop hitting on my workers." He happily warned.
"Yes sir…" Bond stood rigid like a man of the service; he leaned closer to Morales and Goodhead. "…I wouldn't want to upset a trigger happy Texan." He whispered; Morales found the joke funny and let free an impish like snicker.
With a strong gust of air the sand was blown about the place and everyone stood silent thinking of what was really going to come next, somewhere in the distance a bird was making a call, most likely to alert its cohorts of a dead carcass to feed on for the next few hours, as if that were his cue, Leiter got into the vehicle and sighed.
"Let's get going."