06/The Dripping Cone
They took a taxi that turned down Sussex and crawled towards the Embassy of the United States. Bond sat behind the passenger seat, gazing out the window. Kate sat behind the driver, wearing another one of her masculine looking pantsuits. This one had wide, white pants with a matching jacket over a black dress shirt and a large; black belt was wrapped around her stomach. She wore the same large heels as the day before, and tapping the floor of the car with one of them.
"Why do you wear clothes that make you look like a man?" Bond asked as the taxi passed the glass facades of the art gallery. The glare from the sun bouncing off the glass made Kate turn and look at Bond.
"Why do you smoke?" she asked.
"That has nothing to do with you wearing male looking clothes." Bond retorted. "I think...I think you feel like you need to look unattractive towards the opposite sex...unless you're a lesbian, but I highly doubt it-"
"How dare you?" she cried, "How dare you make assumptions about my life and my personal feelings?"
"Look, if it's about the lesbian comment..." Bond tried to calm Kate down.
"It's not just that!" she retorted, "You have no right to assume and guess at the personal reasons why I do what I do! My life is not a guessing game for you to play!" kate suddenly went quiet when she realized that the taxi driver was looking at her from the rearview mirror. She sank back into her seat and glared out the window.
There was silence as the taxi drove past the Governor General's complex. The high buildings of the downtown area disappeared with the sidewalks and were replaced by large trees and fields of green grass. From out of her window, Kate caught a glimpse of a large, temple like structure at the edge of a large field.
"Why are we going to the pavilion?" she broke the silence.
"Stallis bought the ice cream shop under it as part of a gift for his son before he died." Bond said.
"I...see..." Kate said slowly. Her tapping increased in speed as the taxi rounded the large building and parked in the small lot at its base. Bond paid the driver and the two got out. The foundation of the pavilion was cut open and two large, white doors opened out to them. Inside was a quaint little shop. There was a man on the bench beside the shop, slowly licking his ice cream cone. He glanced at the two as they walked him.
The inside was somewhat clean. There were the typical menus placed behind the counter and tubs of the frozen treat under glass windows. There was a man at the counter, no more than twenty. He took one look at Kate and shifted. Kate saw him and, on spite of herself, grabbed Bond's hand and squeezed it. Bond wondered why, but couldn't ask since the man at the counter spoke first.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"We'd like some ice cream." Bond said, "Large, sugar cone, I'll have strawberry. What would you like?" he looked at Kate.
"Chocolate." she said quietly, still fixing her eyes on the man at the counter.
The man took the two cones and started to scoop the ice cream into them. Every scoop he laid, the man glanced up and looked at Kate with hard eyes. Kate gripped Bond's hand harder and took half a step back. Bond paid for the cones and took his, giving Kate hers. They walked out and turned and ascended the side stairway. The man on the bench glared at the two. They entered the pavilion and made their way to the balcony above the store that looked out onto the river. The sun shone down and created tiny sparkles on the water. Bond leaned on the railing and ate the frozen treat while Kate stood as stiff as the stone pillar behind her, the chocolate beginning to melt in the warm air.
"Are you going to eat that?" Bond asked.
"We should leave." Kate said quietly. "They're on to us."
"I know." Bond replied. "Think of t his as our calling card." Kate looked down to the parking lot below. The man on the bench was gone, yet reappeared with two other men from the shop.
"They're coming." She said. Bond turned around.
"Stay here."
Bond left Kate at the edge of the pavilion and walked out into the field. He saw the three men come up from the side stairs. They weren't armed, but big. The middle man came at Bond first. He threw a hard punch that Bond felt with his forearm as he blocked it. Bond then grabbed the man's hand and twisted it around. The man spun and ended up neutralized in Bond's grip, his hand caught between his shoulder blades and Bond's grip. There was a loud crack as the man's elbow broke. He cried in pain and threw his cries, Bond heard Kate scream: "Watch out!" The agent looked around and saw the two other men on his left and right, open switchblades in their hands. They came at the same time.
Quickly, Bond maneuvered the man in his grip so he could kick the man to his left in the gut with his steal toe leather shoe. The man crumbled in pain. As he kicked, he used the man in his grip as a shield. The man to his right stabbed is partner and Bond pushed the dead man on him. Then he heard Kate scream.
Bond turned and saw Kate caught in a full nelson by the man from behind the counter. Yet he couldn't help her. The man to his left had caught him in a bear hug and the man to his right began to punch him repeatedly in the stomach. Bond's mind raced as the pain surged through his body. Then it came t him. The man punched and Bond kicked out his left foot. The steel toe hit right in between his legs. The man fell in pain; Bond shifted his weight and flipped the man who was holding him. He fell to the ground with a thud and a crack, his eyes closed.
Bond stood, yet froze. In front of him, the man who he kicked faced him with a gun in his hand. The British agent heard a loud crack and felt a burning sensation in his shoulder. He fell to his knees, clutching his bloody wound. He heard another loud crack and winced. Yet he felt no pain. Bond looked up to see the man crumple, a bullet hole in his forehead. With the last of his strength before he blacked out, Bond saw Kate running towards him, a gun in her hands.