Sorry this took so long. Hope it was worth the wait.
James sat quietly next to M as they waited for their plane to depart from Heathrow at exactly 9:00 am. One of the few perks of taking the company plane was being able to count on a prompt departure time, but today it would seem that M may have preferred a delay as she sat wringing her hands and biting her bottom lip.
"You ok?" he asked as he reached over and took hold of her hand
"Fine" she said as she flashed him a nervous smile
"It's going to be alright M"
"I know, I just wish this was over is all" she said quietly
The majority of the 7 hour flight was spent in almost total silence with M lost in her thoughts and James staring out the window. When the plane finally arrived in St. Petersburg, James and M were met by a private limousine and taken to a rather quaint hotel just outside the city center. Once they had checked into their room James did his usual sweep of the place locating both the microphones and cameras.
"You would think by now they would have better technology" muttered James under his breath as he stood behind M placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Yes" was her only reply as she was clearly still lost in her own thoughts
"Hey" he said pulling her close "You're safe...you know that right?"
"Yes of course" she said turning to face him "I'm just being paranoid, I mean what could possibly happen? he's in his 80's for God sake"
"Tell you what, why don't you finish unpacking and we'll go down and get a drink to settle your nerves"
"If it's all the same to you I think I would rather just stay up here" she replied as she went back to unpacking
"No..I think getting out and about will do you some good" said James rather insistently
"Fine...Just give me a few minutes" she replied clearly beginning to become irritated
Once she had finished unpacking, James escorted M down to the small bar located in the lobby. The bar area looked slightly like what you would expect in a ski lodge complete with animal heads mounted on the walls, a large fireplace and lots of dark wood furniture. There weren't many people in the bar, so finding a seat wasn't much of a problem. M scanned the room, looking suspiciously at the men seated at the small tables located in either corner of the room while James went to the bar and ordered their drinks. On his way back to the table one of the other guests stood up abruptly, bumping into James, causing him to send one the glasses he was carrying crashing to the floor at M's feet.
"I am so sorry" said the man apologetically "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine" replied James as knelt down to make sure M hadn't been injured by any of the flying glass
"I honestly didn't see you there. Please accept my apology"
"It's alright...No harm done" replied James
"The name is Jack...Jack Ward" said the man as he extended his hand toward James
"Bond...James Bond, and this is M" he said motioning to M
"Very nice to meet you Mr. Bond, Ms. M. It's so nice to finally run into someone who speaks English. Are you folks here on business or pleasure?"
"Business" replied James "And you?" he asked
"Business. I'm in the insurance business...how about you?"
" Acquisitions" replied James
"I see..well it was nice to meet you both, and again my apologies. If you find that you would like some conversation in English sometime during you stay feel free to look me up, folks around here aren't much good for English conversation"
"Thanks...I'll keep that in mind" replied James as Jack disappeared out of the bar
"Awfully friendly don't you think?" said M eyeing James suspiciously
"I think he was just being polite and trying to find a graceful way out of an embarrassing situation"
"He sounded American" said M absent mindedly
"Could be. So what time are you supposed to have this meeting with Mirrinov?" asked James
"Supposedly I am to meet him for dinner"
"You mean WE are to meet him for dinner. I told you before we left that you will NOT be spending any time alone with him and I meant that" stated James
"Thank you James" Said M as she reached over to grasp his hand. "You have no idea how much that means to me to know that you will be there"
Once they had finished their drinks they made their way back upstairs to wait to be called for dinner. M nervously paced around the room glancing at the clock every few seconds until James finally stopped her in her tracks and pulled her into a tight, protective embrace.
"You don't have to do this you know" he said as he held her close
"Yes...I do. I need to deal with my demons once and for all." she said as she snuggled closer
They stood there for a few minutes before they heard a knock at the door.
"That will be him" said M as her entire body suddenly became tense
"I'll get it" said James as he reluctantly released her
As he answered the door he found a very tall, broad shouldered man dressed in a black suit with dark hair and dark eyes staring back at him.
"I am here to escort Madam M to dinner with Mr. Mirrionv" said the man with a very thick Russian accent
"That won't be necessary. I will escort her myself" replied James stiffly
"I'm sorry Mr. Bond, but Madam M will be dinning alone with Mr. Mirrinov"
"I'm sorry perhaps you didn't hear me. Where ever she goes, I go get the picture?"
"As you wish" grumbled the man as he took a step back so they could leave the room.
James and M followed their escort down a long series of halls until they finally reached the private dining room with two guards standing outside the door.
"Wait here while I announce you" mumbled their escort as he disappeared inside the room
M shot James a nervous glance as she waited patiently. James could tell by the look on her face that she was not about the let Mirrinov see her fear as, in her opinion, fear is a sign of weakness and M was anything but weak.
When the door opened James heard a slight gasp from M as she stood nearly frozen in place. James sensing her fear quickly put his hand on the small of her back and escorted her through the door. The room was beautifully decorated with beautiful oil paintings, a large marble fire place and floor to ceiling windows at the end of the room. The massive mahogany table was elaborately set with delicate white china dishes, crystal stemware and large silver candelabras that were polished to within an inch of their lives. At the opposite end of the room was a sitting area with a small sofa and two large burgundy velvet wing backed chairs.
"This way please" said their escort as he led them to the far end of the room where they found an aging gentleman with snow white hair, a well manicured graying beard and coal black eyes sitting in a wheelchair which was flanked by two men dressed in dark suits. As they came nearer the two men helped the old man to stand.
"M...How kind of you to come" he said as he took a step closer to her with the help of one of his assistants
M just stared at him, although she had relaxed slightly at the sight of him needing assistance to stand let alone walk.
"Come closer and let me look at you" he said motioning for her to step forward
As M started to move, James instinctively grabbed her arm to hold her back
"It's ok James" she said as she nervously took a step forward
"Just a beautiful as I remember. The years have been very kind to you" he said reaching out to cup her cheek
M flinched slightly at his touch but continued to stare at him with the complete and total determination that he would not see her fear.
As he pulled his hand back he turned his attention to James.
"And you must be the famous 007. James Bond"
"Yes" replied James as he took a step forward to stand beside M "And you are?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Anton Mirrinov. I trust our accommodations are to your liking?"
"Yes..They are fine" replied M dryly
"Perhaps we could get on with why you have asked M here" said James sounding a bit impatient.
"All in good time. First we will dine and then tomorrow we can talk business" replied Mirrinov as his assistant helped him back into his chair.
James let out a sigh as he and M followed Mirrinov to the table to begin what some could consider the dinner from hell.
TO BE CONTINUED...