for Rebaforever15, Sorry, I know it's another cliff hanger, but when you read the next chapter you will see why. :)
Bond and M spent a rather enjoyable afternoon walking in the park after they had finished their lunch, even stopping for ice cream from one of the local vendors.
"I haven't done this in ages" she said as she tried desperately to eat her ice cream before it melted
"Me neither" replied Bond as he did his best not to laugh as M got ice cream on her nose
"What's so amusing" she said with a slight laugh
"Oh nothing" he said as he leaned over to wipe the off offending cream.
"Thank you"
"Don't mention it" he said as he leaned in further to place a soft kiss on her lips
"007...what do you think you're doing?" she asked as she quickly leaned back
"What does it look like I'm doing?"
"Barking up the wrong tree obviously" she retorted as she moved away from him
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you"
"It's isn't that I'm not flattered, but although we have always had a more than unusual working relationship, the fact of the matter is that I am your boss and this type of behavior is completely inappropriate" she said dryly
"I understand" he said sitting up straight "I didn't mean to cross any lines or embarrass you. It won't happen again, at least not in public"
"Try not at all." she replied with a stern look "I think it would be best if we start heading back to the office. I have a few things to do before I leave for the day, and since I have been out all afternoon that doesn't leave me much time" she said as she rose to leave. "Are you coming?"
"Yes of course." he said as he rose and offered her his arm. "I assume proper manners still fall in the realm of appropriate behavior" he said somewhat sarcastically
"Yes, they do" she replied with a smile as she took his arm.
James, on the other hand spent the latter part of his afternoon waiting for the knob heads from MI6 to pick him up at the police call box. Needless to say, when they finally arrived he was less than amused.
"What the hell took you so long?" he snorted as he got in the vehicle
"Sorry for the delay 007, but with all of the construction and the less than accurate directions, you're lucky we found you at all" retorted the driver
"Well I should have thought that the number on the call box would have been a dead giveaway as to my location. In case you have forgotten, we are in the business of finding lost people" he snapped "It doesn't really matter anymore since you found me. Where's Tanner?"
"Back at the office awaiting your arrival"
"And M, Where is M?' he asked apprehensively
"M's current location is not know, well at least not to us...too far down the food chain for that information I guess" was the reply
"Alright already, just give me your phone and get us back to base as soon as humanly possible got it!"
James took the phone and dialed Tanner.
"Tanner...Why the hell weren't you with the team you sent to get me?" he said angrily
"Well to be honest 007, I've had my hands full here" replied Tanner, sounding slightly peeved
"Where is M?"
"To the best of my knowledge she has not returned from lunch yet"
"Not returned! It's going on six o'clock. Who did she have lunch with? Her majesty the Queen?"
"No...She had lunch with you, or rather the other you"
"Doesn't is strike you as odd that she hasn't returned yet?" said James who was beside himself at this point
"She said she was going to handle the other 007 herself"
"AND YOU LET HER!... Have you completely taken leave of your senses?"
"Calm down 007..."
"Calm down...This is M were talking about. She has no idea what this lunatic is capable of, she has no idea what she's got herself into!" he shouted
"Relax... I've taken the precaution of virtually surrounding her with agents. She hasn't been more than ten feet from help all afternoon" Replied Tanner
"Tanner...you and I are going to sit and have a very long discussion about protecting the boss when this is all over" said James angrily
"I'll look forward to it, now if you don't mind could you give us the location of where you were being held so that we may go and clean up your latest mess" replied Tanner sarcastically
"It's an old abandoned warehouse just north of Manchester, you can't miss it."
"Right then. I'll see you when you arrive" snapped Tanner as he disconnected the call
Bond and M arrived back at the office just after six o'clock to find that Eve had already gone for the evening.
"Thank you again for the lovely afternoon. " said M as she started to head for her office
"I could stay and wait while you finish then take you home" he said as he opened the door for her
"That won't be necessary. I'll call for my driver when I'm ready to go" she said as she turned in the doorway and effectively blocked the entrance to her office
"Right then. I'll see you later" he said as he turned to leave.
M waited at the door to be sure that he did in fact leave before she entered her office and phoned Tanner, but the call went straight to voicemail.
"Just wanted to tell you that I am back and in one piece, just as I promised" she said sarcastically.
She looked around at the paperwork on her desk, signed a few papers and then decided it was time to go home. It had been a long day and all she really wanted to do was take a long bath and have a drink, so she called for her driver and proceeded downstairs to wait for her car.
The ride to her flat was anything but eventful. Her driver was not much of a conversationalist so she spent the time just staring out the window. When she arrived home she did just what she had planned. She went up and had a nice long bath, dressed for bed and headed back downstairs for the long awaited drink and her date with the book she had been reading.
James ride to headquarters couldn't have been more different. It took twice as long as expected due to construction and when he finally did arrive at headquarters he was met at the door by a team of armed guards who promptly escorted him straight to the medical department, only to be met by a less than enthused Tanner.
"Tanner...What the hell is this all about?"
"Sorry 007, but given the current situation we have to be sure it really is you" he said flatly
"Of course it's me!" he said furiously
"We have to be sure. Don't worry, This won't take long."
"What won't take long? Look we're running out of time. Once that knucklehead discovers that the rest of his crew are either dead or in custody there's no telling what he'll do"
"Where is M? did she ever turn up after her lunch?" asked James frantically
"Yes, as a matter of fact she left me a message saying she had returned and the time stamp on the computer and the log show that she called for her driver to take her home around seven o'clock"
"And you're sure she was alone?"
"I spoke to her driver myself and yes she was defiantly alone"
"And you have someone posted at her flat right?"
"Well...No. She hates it when we do that, she says it's not necessary..."
James rose up off the table he had been sitting on and grabbed Tanner by the collar
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO? I don't bloody well care if she likes it or not. If she's going to play super spy then she can at least play by the same rules we have to follow."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning get your arse in gear and get a security detail to her flat, and get me a gun."
"You can't leave, we haven't completed our tests yet!" shouted Tanner
"Tanner, If you really, truly care about her then do as I say" said James in a firm but calm tone
It only took Tanner about a half a second to think about it before he realized James was right, and it only took a few minutes before he had managed to get a gun from Q branch and dispatched a security team to M's flat.
"Tanner..Tell them to wait for my orders" shouted James as he was running down the hall with Tanner beside him
"You don't think he would try anything do you?" said Tanner with a worried expression
"No idea at this point, but if he does, I intend to be there to make sure he fails" replied James as reassuringly as he could
"You won't let anything happen to her? I mean...you will get there in time?"
"I give you my word, I will do everything in my power to keep her safe"
"007..I'm sorry about earlier, I was just following procedure" said Tanner weakly
"I know Tanner, and she would be proud, but sometimes you have to bend the rules just a bit" replied James with a wink before he disappeared out the door.
TO BE CONTINUED...