Conflict of Legends
Chapter 1: Target-Jason Bourne
It was early afternoon in London, when James Bond drove his Aston Martin DB5 into MI6's underground parking lot, and then took the elevator up to the topmost floor of the MI6 Headquarters at Vauxhall Cross, where the personal suite of M was situated.
"Morning, Moneypenny", Bond said with a smile as he strode into the ante-chamber outside M's office.
"Good morning, 007", Miss Moneypenny replied. She was M's new personal secretary, as of two months ago, a replacement for Villiers. Bond personally found her to be a far more efficient and friendly secretary than her predecessor, though he knew that the real reason he had taken a liking to her was her attractiveness. Nevertheless, Moneypenny continued to remain fairly cold and reserved in her attitude towards him, which was slightly discouraging, though he was sure that before long, he would have her eating out of his hand like any other woman with her looks would.
"M is expecting me", he explained.
"Yes, she did have an appointment scheduled for now", Moneypenny replied, checking her computer screen. "You can go in now".
"Thank you", Bond replied as he entered M's suite.
Within minutes, he was seated opposite M in one of the two luxurious leather armchairs facing her desk, sipping out of the glass of iced Bourbon she had offered him. He was greatly intrigued to know why M had suddenly summoned him from Jamaica, where he had been enjoying his fortnight long vacation. He wondered if it had anything to do with Quantum. Ever since he had successfully brought in Yusef Ibira, without killing him, M's respect for him had greatly increased. She had promised to offer him, before long, another assignment involving Quantum, committed as he was, to destroying it. So far, none had come up.
"I have a very…crucial…assignment for you, 007. And since 002 is already involved in an undercover operation in Tokyo, 008 is in hospital, and the whereabouts of 003 and 005 are unknown, you were my only option", M explained.
"So it isn't Quantum then", Bond said, surmising as much, since if it had been, then he would have been M's first choice.
"No. It is a completely different matter. An assassination", she said coldly. And Bond understood. He recognized that tone in her voice. It was the same tone she had used not very long ago, when she had ordered him to kill the traitorous MI6 section chief, Dryden, one of the two kills that earned him his Double O number.
"Who is the target?" he asked calmly.
"This man", she said handing him a dossier. Bond opened it and studied the photograph attached to the first page.
"His name is David Webb. But for years, he has been known by his operational name: Jason Bourne", M explained.
Bond studied the photograph, of a fair-skinned American man in his early thirties, with close-cropped brown hair cut in a distinctly military style. It was a pretty commonplace face, and yet there seemed to be a certain hidden menace in it.
"Who is he?" Bond asked.
"A rogue CIA operative, connected to an assassination program currently called Blackbriar", M replied
"The Blackbriar scandal", Bond said. "Does this have anything to do with that?"
"According to a …high ranking source within the CIA…Bourne was involved since the beginning. He has allegedly been involved in a number of assassinations, including the death of the Moscow MP, Vladimir Neski", M said
"Neski?" Bond asked surprised. "Murder-suicide in a Berlin hotel suite. I thought his wife killed him".
"No. Apparently it was orchestrated by Bourne. Bourne was also involved in the attempted assassination of former Nigerian dictator, Nykwama Wombosi", M explained.
"Heard about that one as well. But since Bourne was a CIA operative, doesn't this mean that all those hits were sanctioned by Langley?" Bond asked.
"Well, the CIA would have us believe that these killings were ordered by…misguided individuals within their organization acting against their policy…which is true enough though the fact remains the such individuals are the ones who currently control the Agency", M replied. "In any case, Jason Bourne is undoubtedly a danger not only to the CIA, but to the entire international intelligence community. He is believed to be delusional and suffering from homicidal tendencies. The Blackbriar operation apparently programmed its agents using an experimental 'behavior modification' procedure, which had by and large been successful. In Bourne's case however, it may have eventually led to a complete psychological breakdown, resulting in his current violently agitated and psychopathic state. A man with no control over his mind or actions, but with the best training in black operations the CIA can provide".
"A dangerous man" Bond muttered.
"You should talk", M said dryly, giving him a meaningful glance. Bond got the message.
"So your plan is to send…one dangerous man, to kill another?" Bond asked, staring into her eyes.
M stared into his cold blue-grey eyes for a few seconds without being the least affected by his glance. "Yes, that was my plan", she said plainly. "Any questions?"
Bond did have one question which he so desperately needed to ask M. "Why are you doing this? I never thought the day would come when we would be doing Langley's dirty work".
M stared at him in silence for a few seconds. When she spoke again, a more serious expression had descended upon her face. "My…contact…has informed me of the possible existence of certain records which detail the true extent of subversive activities carried out by operatives of the Blackbriar program in Britain. It is his contention, that if we were to accede to his request with regards to Jason Bourne, he would…take steps to ensure that the existence of those records is confirmed, at which point, we can demand access to them".
There was a moment's silence. Bond understood exactly what M meant, though he also knew that she would deny it vehemently if he spelled out exactly what it meant. For a moment, the thought that the CIA would be using the Service, would be using him as a contract killer for their own dirty work sickened him. But then he realized that she undoubtedly had her reasons for agreeing to this. After all, the world of espionage and counter-espionage wasn't as clean as the governments that funded intelligence organizations would like to believe. One had to make compromises…deals with the devil…as long as the overall objective was ethical and was met.
M seemed to have almost read Bond's thoughts, for she said, calmly and in a more gentle tone, "Bond, I know how you feel about this. But I need you to know that sometimes, one has to make compromises. Over the last couple of years, there have been a number of unexplained incidences on British soil; incidences in which we have long suspected our 'friends' in Langley have had a hand. And now, with recent revelations, out worst fears have been confirmed. We need to know now exactly to what extent our closest allies were involved in subversive activities in our territory. We need to know how much we can trust the Americans…and how much we need to keep them in the dark. A journalist was gunned down publicly in a train station. We need to know why?"
"Yes, I understand", Bond said. "Just one more thing. Since the CIA is asking us for help, it stands to reason that they themselves have been unsuccessful in finding and terminating Bourne. So how am I to find him? Are there any leads?"
"Details of his last confirmed locations. He was missing, presumed dead, in New York, seven months ago, but the CIA have since confirmed sightings of him in Argentina, Brazil, Lebanon, Iran and Pakistan. It is their belief however, that Bourne will eventually make his way back to Europe, his old 'stomping-grounds' at it were. You will have a complete list of all the places he has visited and operated in, including the locations of several of his old contacts. He's a master at the art of disappearing of the grid, but sooner or later, given time, he can be found. The problem is the termination. It will have to swift and before he suspects anything. Besting him in unarmed combat will be near impossible. Even for you. So don't try any heroics, 007. If you can poison his morning cup of coffee, or get a clear shot at his head with a sniper rifle, go for it", M instructed him.
"Of course", Bond said as he stood up, taking the dossier with him.
"And one other thing. The details of this operation are to be revealed on a need-to-know basis only. And there must be no mention whatsoever of a CIA connection. My contact was particularly insistent on that point. Understand?" M asked.
"Perfectly", Bond replied.
"Good luck", M said.
"Thank you", Bond said as he walked out of the suite.