Jamsin Van Dien lay back in the comfortable chair and felt the heat of the Cuban sun on her body. The left strap of her white sundress had slipped off her shoulder, highlighting the smooth skin. She idly flicked it back up, and adjusted her sunglasses. This was good, she thought, letting the rays of the sun caress her, very good.

She glanced up, watching the progress of the figure on the other end of the beach. Ashleigh had slipped past her twenty minutes ago, and Jasmin had been surprised to see her dressed for running.

'Are you mad?' she had asked. 'Its far too hot.'

'I know,' Ashleigh had crouched to tighten the laces of her running shoes.

'You can't run now,' Jasmin had argued. 'You'll kill yourself.'

Ashleigh had simply looked at her with tired eyes. 'I have to,' she said. 'I can't sit here a moment longer doing nothing.'

'Fine,' Jasmin had shrugged. If the other woman was set on a case of heat exhaustion, who was she to stop her? She had been furious at the stupidity of the silly cow, and had been determinedly avoiding checking on her progress along the beach. Jasmin sighed, and fumbled beneath the chair for the glass of iced water that she left there.

It was late afternoon on their second day there and soon, soon, they would be progressing with this blasted case. For now, Jasmin just wanted to enjoy herself, and take the opportunity to have a well earned rest.

Unlike Ashleigh. Jasmin shielded her eyes with her hand and squinted along the beach. She could just make out Ashleigh nearing the headland that marked the boundary of the private beach. She was still upright, that was one good thing, Jasmin supposed, and with that thought, she pulled her sunglasses back onto the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes.


Ashleigh forced herself forward, trying to ignore the moisture that was beginning to trickle down her spine. Her entire body was uncomfortably damp and hot, her hair was plastered to her head and she was wiping the sweat from her eyes every couple of steps. She had reached the headland, a small jutting outcrop of rock that forced its way into the aqua coloured sea creating a natural boundary and had allowed herself the briefest rest, enough to let her breathing drop to something relatively close to normal.

And then she had set off back for the hut.

She had to physically dig her feet into the sand to maintain her balance. Running on sand was incredibly demanding, but Ashleigh was used to it. Every day at home she would set off down the beach that surrounded her home, and that exercise had kept her toned and fit despite her otherwise sedate lifestyle. It was hard to explain the way the sand would shift beneath her feet, forcing her muscles to compensate for the movement, how pushing forward for the next step would take twice the normal effort of running on a solid surface. It was phenomenally hard work, but Ashleigh had always thrived on hard work.

Normally, the heat didn't bother her, although it had taken a year for her body to adjust to Sicily's far more temperate climes after a quarter of a century worth of English winters. Nothing compared to December in London, with the slush and the fog, and the perpetual dampness in the air. However, the heat in the Mediterranean was dry and soothing, whereas here in Cuba, she felt as if she was running through a fine mist of tropical heat.

But if she ran, she didn't have to think. She just focused on the pain on her calves and let her heart beat drown out all other thoughts until she felt nothing but exhaustion.

Ashleigh swiped at her eyes again as she continued her run steadily, determinedly. But she wasn't sure if it was sweat or tears that she was wiping away.


Jasmin woke from her doze suddenly, as a shadow fell across her. Sitting up, she pushed the sunglasses to the top of her head, and glanced up at Ashleigh.

'Enjoying your rest?' Ashleigh asked so icily that Jasmin nearly shivered despite the heat.

Jasmin decided that arguing was not the best way forward, and instead leaned forward and poured a glass of water. 'Here,' she handed it to Ashleigh, who gulped at it thirstily before collapsing onto a nearby chair. She was coated in sweat, her cheeks flushed, and Jasmin noticed a small wince as Ashleigh pulled off her left trainer.

She was a woman punishing herself, Jasmin decided, but now was not the time to comment on that. Later, perhaps, let her relax first.

'I need a shower,' Ashleigh muttered, grimacing as she ran a hand through her gritty, damp hair.

'Why don't you take a swim instead?' Jasmin suggested, gesturing towards the sea. 'It looks wonderful out there.'

Slowly Ashleigh turned her head towards the aquamarine water, and for the briefest moment, Jasmin saw a dark look flicker across her face. 'No,' Ashleigh shook her head. 'But thank you for the water.' The words came slowly, uncertainly, and Jasmin frowned.

'Come out when you've finished,' she leant forward to put a hand on Ashleigh's arm, but stopped when Ashleigh pulled away slightly. It was the faintest movement, but Jasmin noticed it, and checked the gesture. 'I have some white wine chilling in the fridge, you look like you could do with a drink,' she cajoled.

Ashleigh looked at her wearily, but gave a brisk, short nod all the same. 'Ok.'

'I'll get the glasses ready,' Jasmin smiled.


Twenty minutes later, Ashleigh stepped out onto the decking once more. Her hair was still wet from the shower, and she was dressed simply in a white camisole and grey tailored knee length shorts. Jasmin smiled companionably at her, and handed her a large glass of wine. Ashleigh looked at it uncertainly, but took it all the same. She didn't drink though.

'I thought I'd let you enjoy a few glasses first, before I slipped the arsenic in. It's the third glass you'll want to watch,' Jasmin joked, pointedly sipping at her own. James has asked to her to try to get Ashleigh to open up, and she was determined to do it, even if it meant getting the other woman rip roaringly plastered.

A faint smiled tugged at the corner of Ashleigh's mouth, and Jasmin nearly sighed with relief. At last, the Ice Queen was defrosting.. This seemed to be confirmed when Ashleigh lifted the glass to her lips and took a large slug of the icy cold liquid.

'Steady,' Jasmin laughed, and sedately sipped at her own drink.

Ashleigh leant back into her seat, enjoying the feeling as the alcohol worked its way through her veins, warming her from deep within. She wasn't a big drinker, the occasional glass of wine with dinner, sometimes she and Alec would sit with iced vodka and just talk. Her hand tightened on the glass as she thought of Alec. The way he would smile at her as he passed the glass to her, how he would close his eyes after his first sip and smile slowly as the vodka took effect. How they would talk about anything and everything, slowly creeping closer to each other until Alec would take the glass from her, then slide his chilled hand around the back of her neck and pull her close until he could press his mouth on hers. She would be able to taste the vodka on his lips, sharp and icy, and she was never quite sure which was more intoxicating, the vodka, or Alec's kiss. She would simply press back closer and lose herself in both.

Ashleigh's hand was shaking as she placed the wine glass down. Jasmin raised an eyebrow at the clash of glass on glass, but said nothing, silently inviting.

'So tell me why you, James and the rest of MI6 insisted that I come out here?' Ashleigh said, hoping her tone was casual.

'This is my third time here,' Jasmin admitted, reaching for the wine bottle. 'James wanted you to see the location of the Goldeneye satellite. The remains of it, anyway.'

Ashleigh felt a chill travel down her spine. 'Why?'

'Because it was your husband's grand scheme, Ashleigh,' Jasmin said softly, and there was more than a hint of sympathy in her voice. 'If you want to understand him, you need to see this.'

'What makes you think I don't understand Alec?' Ashleigh asked snippily.

'Does anyone?' Jasmin sipped her wine. 'Just because you're married to him, doesn't mean you know everything about him. Does he know everything about you? Do you have any deep dark secrets that you're keeping from him?'

To Jasmin's surprise, Ashleigh blushed deeply, and toyed with her own wine glass. 'There are secrets in every relationship, especially when you're in our business. I'm surprised that spies, former spies, agents, ever manage to have a conversation, we're all so trained to keep our mouths shut at all times.'

Jasmin laughed. 'Absolutely.'

'So what about you? Do you have any secrets?'

'Me?' Jasmin laughed again, a silvery sound that grated slightly on Ashleigh's fragile nerves. She could understand why men would find it attractive though. She squinted slightly at the olive skinned woman. Yes, she could understand why men would certainly find her attractive.

'I try not to have too many secrets,' Jasmin smiled. 'Keeping my work life secret is hard enough work, I don't want to have to do that with my personal life as well. That's why its so nice being with James. He knows what I do, I know who he is and what he does, and we get along very nicely because of it.'

'How long have you actually know each other for now?' Ashleigh asked.

Jasmin blushed, the first time Ashleigh had noticed her do this. 'Not long. Sorry, I think I was gushing a bit there. Its just that, well, I know he's your uncle, but I really like him.'

'Godfather.' Ashleigh managed to restrain herself from biting into the edge of her glass.

'Sorry?'

'James is my godfather, not my uncle.'

'Oh! Oh, I am sorry. I just presumed…'

'Jasmin, do you know anything about my past?'

'Enough.'

'Really?'

Jasmin shifted in her chair. 'Slip of the tongue. That's all.'

'It just makes me wonder.'

'Wonder what?'

'If you can get confused with my past, what on earth do you think of my present?'

'It was just a slip of the tongue,' Jasmin snapped, and Ashleigh smiled, pleased to have riled the other woman so easily.

It was time for a change of subject. For a few moments, Ashleigh watched as the sun crept behind one of the low clouds on the horizon, gathering her courage to ask.

'What do you know about my husband?'

'What do you mean?'

'What do you know? What have you studied? Have you looked at his crimes, or the man himself? What makes you an expert on Alec Trevelyan?'

Jasmin picked up the bottle of wine and poured herself another glass. 'The normal things. His defection, his faked execution, his links with the Cossacks, his parents, the Janus Crime Syndicate. Goldeneye.'

'When did you find out he was alive?'

'M informed me. After the… after your attack. She knew I had written several dossiers on him, and his actions, and she interviewed me extensively on my knowledge. Only afterwards did she tell me he was actually alive. I was surprised, to say the least. Even more surprised to discover he'd persuaded a British spy to marry him.'

'Alec can be very persuasive when he wants to be. Did you know that?'

'Its in his profile,' Jasmin snapped back. 'Most megalomaniacs are, its how they convince their minions to do their dirty work.'

'I met Alec when I was a child,' Ashleigh said quietly, staring into the depths of her glass. 'I met him while he was still the golden boy of MI6, the revered 006.'

'Really?' Jasmin looked interested, and surprised. 'I didn't know that.'

'My father, David, was his best friend. James's too. I can remember Alec sitting in my father's study smoking a cigar, I can remember him laughing and smiling with my dad, and I can still remember the joy I felt when he noticed me. A silly crush. That's how all this started.'

Jasmin stayed silent, sensing that Ashleigh was finally opening up.

'When I heard he'd died, I was upset. And then my father died, nine months later, and I forgot about Alec. When I joined MI6 I learnt the same things that you did. The traitor. Betrayer. Its one thing to betray your country, another thing to betray your organisation. I was just so grateful that my father never knew.

And then, suddenly, I was in St Petersburg. One minute I was running for my life, the next I was waking up in a strange room looking at Alec Trevelyan. In that moment my life changed. It seemed like everything I had ever known was a lie, and the truth was staring me in the face, taunting me.'

'You fell in love with him?'

'Love? God, no. Lust, yes. There is a difference, Jasmin, I'm sure you understand that.'

Ashleigh looked up with dark eyes. 'I gave up everything for Alec Trevelyan. I swapped my career for a life spent transcribing documents and looking after my daughter. I've spent weeks not knowing exactly what Alec is doing. I've learnt that sometimes you don't ask questions when you see new bruises, or when they walk in the door unexpectedly with no apology. Alec Trevelyan is a very easy man to understand, Jasmin. He wants power and respect. He wanted a family, I gave him that. His work gives him the power and respect, even if I don't exactly know how. I love him, and it took me a long time to admit that, but I don't think I'll ever understand him. Ever. No matter how hard I try.'

Jasmin waited, sensing there was more to come. Ashleigh leant forward, putting her hands onto the table. 'Loving a 00 agent is difficult Jasmin. If you think James will settle down for you then you're wrong. James will only settle down when he's ready to. He tried it once, I'm sure you've heard about his wife. He was devastated by her murder. If you want him, you have to accept him on his terms and with his rules. It sounds like feminist crap, but its not. Its common sense. James Bond is a man used to pleasing himself, and he's not about to change that because he's getting his leg over. There are too many women who can testify to that. You're not an exclusive Jasmin, if you want him you have to be cleverer, wittier, and more detached than all the rest.'

'I'll remember that,' Jasmin said, with more than a trace of sarcasm. She reached for another bottle of wine that she had tucked under her seat in the shade, and wondered just how much damage a corkscrew could do.

'Good. James always thinks he falls in love. He always thinks that this time will be different. I've experienced James's charm since I was a girl. When he decided to be a good godfather, I couldn't have asked for more. Gifts, outings, when I was sixteen he'd pick me up from school and take me to the city. We'd eat out, go to the theatre, he'd give me amazing outfits to wear to these events. James is a charmer. He made me feel like the most beautiful woman on the planet, and I was just his teenage goddaughter. I can't imagine how it must be to be his lover. But James will only settle down when he's ready to. You won't be able to change him, you just have to enjoy the ride.'

'Is that what you're doing with Alec?'

'Hardly,' Ashleigh snorted. 'Alec is a charmer like James, but with Alec, in the beginning, I'd never know if he was about to kiss me or kill me. He got under my skin, as I did to him. He was my drug, I couldn't get enough of him, although I knew it was wrong. When M found out, I half expected her to forbid me from ever seeing him again. To my surprise, it was the opposite, I actually thought she was mellowing in her old age, but I've since learnt that M only does what's good for M. That's a lesson that every spy entering MI6 should learn straight away.'

'And what about Natasha?'

For a moment Jasmin thought Ashleigh wasn't going to reply. Finally, after a deep breath, Ashleigh answered.

'When Natasha was born, I was terrified. I couldn't do anything right, and I had no support at all. Every day was a battle to learn how to be a mother and all the time Alec would swan in and get everything right. Tash is amazing. I look at her and wonder how she can be mine. I guess I sound like any other mother spouting on about their child, but Tash really is different. She has a calmness in her that I have no idea where she gets it from, she's intelligent, she's so intelligent it scares me at times. She picks ideas up so quickly. We decided that she should learn a bit of Russian, obviously because of Alec's heritage, and she's almost fluent. She speaks it better than I do. ' Ashleigh shook her head. 'She's stubborn too, that's her worst trait. Can't blame her though, she's gets that from both of us. She's the most important thing in the world to both Alec and I, and whoever took her knew that. Now, whatever you may think of Alec, hell, whatever you may think of me, just remember that there is a little girl involved in this. I never wanted my daughter to know fear, I never wanted my daughter to feel alone in the world, and yet I have know idea where she is, or what is happening to her. But you should know as well as I do that it's the innocent who suffer when it comes to our game. Always has been, always will be. I just want to find her before she suffers too much.'

'And you think that Alec knows where she is?'

'Perhaps,' Ashleigh sounded unsure. 'I wonder if perhaps his hands are tied, that he may be being used, and that his obedience is all that safeguards Natasha. I need him to confirm that to me, I need him to reassure me that he is as helpless in all this as I am.'

'And if he's not…' Jasmin let the words trail off.

'Then God help him,' Ashleigh said softly. 'Because if I have to kill him to save my daughter then I will.'

'Are you sure about that?' to Jasmin it sounded more like bravado, strong words to disguise indecisiveness.

'Its not a choice I ever want to make.'

The sun had slipped ever lower, casting an orange glow over the evening. The clouds gathered on the horizon had turned from white to vivid shades of purple, the sun itself was a huge disc creeping below the horizon. Jasmin reached for the near empty bottle of wine, and realised that she had drank most of it herself. Ashleigh's glass was still half full. Jasmin gestured with the bottle and Ashleigh shook her head.

'I have a headache,' Ashleigh mumbled. 'Too much sun, I think.'

The intimacy had gone, Jasmin realised that straight away. The woman who had opened up had once more retreated behind her cool façade, and was lost in her own thoughts. Jasmin topped up her own glass and leant back in the chair. 'Why don't you go to bed? We have an early start in the morning, and I need you with a clear head.'

'Are you sure your own will be clear?' Ashleigh mocked, noting the two empty bottles of wine.

'I'll be right as rain.' Jasmin assured her. 'I hope you packed your fins, Agent Kain. We'll be doing a spot of scuba diving tomorrow.'

'Will we indeed?' Ashleigh's smile seemed forced.

'Oh yes. I want to show you something very interesting .'

The pounding in Ashleigh's head suddenly reached a crescendo. Feeling very dizzy all of a sudden, she reached out for the door frame to support herself. 'Good night, Jasmin,' she said faintly.

'Goodnight.'