Chapter 9

"Well this plan worked better than I expected." M muttered under her breath, as she ducked into a souvenir shop in Genoa. There were men following her and Ian as she pulled him into a small souvenir shop.

"Hey now, what's the rush lass." Ian protested as M pulled him along.

M turned to look at him and sighed. Oh to be so innocent in the world that she lived in. She grabbed a straw hat some sunglasses and a decorative shall.

"I need you to listen to me very carefully Ian. You need to pay for these items." M handed him some Euros and continued. "Then leave this store and go sightseeing on your own or back to the ship."

"What! Why?"

"Just trust me. Remember when I mentioned to you that I once had a very intense issue with a disgruntled employee...well I think we have been followed. A man I've seen since the hotel is outside this shop waiting and he has been following us." M didn't mention the other men as not to seem utterly insane to the man.

"Stop talking to me like I'm a child. What would possess anyone to follow you, for what reason? Seriously what kind of man would stalk a retired women and you specifically my dear?"

"The kind that stayed alive." M muttered under her breath. She had never expected that Ian would cling to her this much. She enjoyed his company but ever since they slept together it was as if he thought that they were all but married.

"Don't think you can get rid of me that easily love. Besides what kind of gentleman would I be if I left you on your own?"

"I think you should head back to the ship Ian. Then I will see if someone is following you."

"Again lass, what would possess anyone to follow you?"

"Listen Ian...this has been a wonderful trip but we were both in it for a bit of fun. That fun has now become dangerous."

"What do you mean?" Ian said getting visibly upset.

"The organization that I work for is not the kind that is easy to retire from. There are people who have ill intent towards me for the work that I have done for the last 20 years."

"You're still working? What do you mean...that you are the target of what exactly?" Ian said as he crossed his arms.

"Not here. Go back to the ship and I will meet you for tea. I will try to explain then. Please just listen to me and do exactly what I tell you to do."

"Fine...I thought that you and I were getting along well enough that this would continue past this vacation, but I'm seriously doubting that now."

"Ian...I told you upfront that I enjoy your company but that this was all just for fun."

"I never took you for that type."

"What type?" M said getting annoyed.

"The type of woman who sleeps with you and then dumps you the very next day!"

"Kindly keep your voice down. And I am not dumping you, I am merely concerned for your welfare."

"I think you using all this as an excuse and you are just trying to get rid of me."

M was really not used to being questioned this much and although she liked the man, there was absolutely no passion between them. Their lovemaking had been enjoyable but...well there was no spark...there was usually some spark on a mission wasn't there?

From overhearing some of Bond's missions there was. Why did she think of that? Why would she even consider comparing geriatric sex to that of what younger people are capable of?

"Fine if it means you will leave then yes. We're done. It was fun but now it is over. Please leave and don't contact me again."

Ian frowned at her and was about to argue more but then he just shook his head. "Fine. If that is the way of it then I will leave. There are plenty of other women out there that would like to spend time with me. You are a stubborn fickle woman and...I'm disappointed that you have no need for me all of a sudden but you don't have to make up a fake story about being chased. Unless you are ill and actually believe that nonsense." Ian said shaking his head sadly.

M nodded. "Believe what you must to rationalize this but it was never meant to last. If you thought that then you were misguided. I said I was up for a bit of fun and that was all."

Ian reached out and cupped her face in his hand. "I guess I was just hoping for more. Goodbye my dear."

Ian turned to look more attentively through the dingy glass window of the small shop.

"Don't look!" M said too late to make any impact on her companion.

"That man? The blonde one staring into the store?"

M who had been tucked away behind him peeked around him towards the space occupied by the Spanish man she suspected of following them. "What blonde man?"

"I did not see anyone but a blonde man looking this way." Ian said with a sigh, resigning himself to the fact that the new woman in his life was a bit off in the head.

"I'm sorry Ian but what I claim is true and you must leave for your own safety."

Ian turned and left as M watched him as he looked around outside the shop before walking back the way they came. Thankfully, there were no people in the store but the clerk who looked shyly at M somewhat understanding what had just happened.

M spoke in Italian. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

The young woman looked shocked that M spoke Italian. "I only understood a bit. Was that man English? I couldn't really understand his accent."

M chuckled. "Scottish." Was all she said in response. Thankful that the woman couldn't follow every conversation that was going on in her store.

M purchased the hat and left the shop as it now seemed clear. She wondered about the blonde man Ian spoke of. Her mind readily flew to...

No...I couldn't be...how could he have found her and what happened to the Spanish man she knew she'd seen watching them at the hotel.

There was no doubt in her mind that Tiago was alive somehow. His signature was on much of what she and MI6 had been investigating over the last few years. From the Casino Royale case to the Quantum syndicate this was just some of the moving parts that reeked of Tiago's involvement.

Espionage was moving out of the shadows and into the boardrooms and bedrooms. Hackers of the world could cause more issues enjoying a morning cup of tea than all the Soviet spies of the 80's. Private companies were as guilty as nations in their desire for advantage and quest for the golden fleece. Nothing impassioned these people more that money, control and anonymity. White had basically said as much in that dusty underground garage in Saville.

What Tiago actually wanted, now that his interest was peaked, was the million pound question. M wanted to know why he hadn't come forward sooner...unless the Chinese had not only lied about him dying but held on to him all these years. She could only imagine he wanted...her dead...at least that was all she hoped he wanted with her.

Bond had the difficult job of telling Judith she had to stay close to the room and not be seen by her own mother.

The two of them shared coms and had Q assist them in avoiding M and her "boyfriend" as Judith called him. They always ate at odd hours, as not to meet up with them at the restaurant and stuck to the shadows in common areas. Bond followed them between their rooms and the restaurant last evening.

Bond waited outside Ian's room in misery, knowing full well M had made her choice to stay with him last night.

Judith bugged him about his moodiness because she was stuck in the room more than she would like. Bond needed to go to shore today if M was going. He would have to follow her and her...friend.

Bond was still wondering about the identity of who M was looking to pull out from behind the curtain. He kept a discreet distance from them as they make landfall. It didn't take long for M to pick up a follower who was joined by a few locals.

What has she gotten herself into? Bond saw M react to the men following her, specifically the one from the ship. "That's my girl." Bond whispered to himself. Smirking at the thought of her dressing him down for referring to her as a girl, let alone his.

Bond snuck up on a pair heading to the back of the shop M ducked into and quickly despatched them. He moved around to the front of the shop and pulling the dark haired man, in holiday attire who had been following M from the ship, into an adjacent ally.

Bond pulled him off balance and then pushed him face first, up against the wall. Bond sneered, "why are you following her?" Placing his gun to the man's head.

"I don't know what you're taking about." The man said in English, though heavily accented.

"Yet you don't seem all that shocked I have a gun to your head...it's as if that is an understood quality of your lifestyle. Men coming at you with guns is not that unusual to a thug like you is it? Identification now and don't try anything stupid."

He tried something stupid.

Bond dragged the body to behind the bins and searched his pockets, taking his mobile, wallet and anything else. He jogged around the front of the store to look in. He locked eyes for a moment with Ian...and walked out of his line of sight. He stood past the store yet could see the reflection of the two of them from one of the decorative mirrors at the front of the tourist shop.

Ian brushed his hand over M's face and Bond's stomach rolled. He had to leave. All the men who were following them were dead, Bond had made certain of that.

Bond stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away. Thinking about how lucky that bloke Ian was, to be appropriate enough for M to...spend time with.

A good match.

That was certain.

They were a good match.

And why did it hurt so much to bear witness to it?

Bond was a pragmatic and practical man. He knew it would come down to stepping aside and allowing M to be happy.

Even if it killed him inside.

Judith was bored. She walked about the ship freely, knowing that her mother and Ian were on a day trip. Bond had told her that she could enjoy the pool and wander around for a few hours.

This was lovely and all but she was frustrated. Bond was intriguing and she felt like they were becoming close. Just not as close as she would like.

Mother had warned her about Bond, about what he was and what he had to do. Yet she couldn't help but develop a little crush on him.

The problem was that Bond only seemed to have eyes for one woman and that woman frustratingly enough, was her mother.

Not that her mother wasn't a truly lovely women...it was just...she always felt as though she would always be in her shadow. Mum was brilliant, dedicated and frustratingly, alway right.

Father had loved her obsessively and she had never understood why. After all they had all suffered putting up with her neglectful and distracted absences. Now that she understood all of that, Judith didn't look back on her childhood with such anger and resentment of her mother. At the time however...she had been a bitch to her in her teen years and she now regretted that a great deal.

Nigel Mansfield had been the rock of the family and Judith missed him everyday. With the way that her mother obsessed with work it seems like she missed him too. The part she didn't quite understand was if her mother was just being obtuse or if she understood that Bond had a rather inappropriate desire for her.

Judith didn't want to call it a crush because she saw the way he looked at her when he was trying desperately not to collapse when rearranging her scarf or her dress. Teaching them to seduce a man was trying him in more ways then one.

Bond's flirtatious banter stripped away as they spent more time getting ready for this mission. She absently headed back to her room. Along the corridor and she noticed that light was streaming out from where their cabin door was.

Maybe Bond was back and left the door ajar.

"Hello, back faster than I thought you would be James." Judith said entering the cabin and tossing her beach towel in the bathroom.

As she entered the cabin she yelped in surprise. Sitting in the armchair she saw a massive blonde man with the most malicious smile she had ever seen.

"So the little bird has returned at last. I have been waiting to meet you my dear." He stood up and that was even more intimidating

"Who are you?" Judith said as she began to back down the short hallway.

"You may call me Raoul Silva. That is my rebirth name. Do you want to hear the tale of how I died and came back? You really should. It has a lot to do with your dear mother. I was very enamoured with her back in the 80's and here you are looking just as she did all those years ago. She knew that I would be intrigued and sent you to me...a lovely invitation." He crossed the small room in only one stride and reached out to stroke her face.

Judith's heart pounded in her chest as she tried to pull away. The last conscious thing she heard was Silva's deep guttural laughter.

To be continued...