Sorry, this took a little longer than I intended :)
As M was beginning to regain consciousness, she could hear a soft moaning next to her. She turned and opened her eyes just far enough to be able to make out the form of her secretary, Eve lying beside her.
"Eve" she whispered, "Are you alright?"
"Yes Ma'am" she replied weakly
"Can you move?" asked M quietly
"Not exactly, my hands are tied behind my back, how about you?
"The same"
"Any chance you can get your hands free of the ties?"Asked Eve as she struggled to sit up
"No...They've used hand cuffs instead of rope"
"Ma'am, forgive me for asking, but who are these people and what do they want?" asked Eve
"It's connected to the mission that 007 and I are currently working on"
"What mission? I thought you were on a business trip" replied Eve sounding rather shocked
"This is what happens when you are a retired agent working for the same agency, every so often you are called back to "Active Duty" unexpectedly" answered M
"You mean they actually sent you out on a dangerous mission?"
"Don't sound so surprised, I was a damn good agent, back in the day" snapped M
"Sorry M, I didn't mean it to sound..."
"I'm sorry Eve. It's not your fault, I should have expected something like this could happen and kept you in the loop, but..."
"I know...need to know basis and at the time we didn't need to know"
"How long do you think it will take for James to realize we're missing?"
"That all depends on how engrossed he and Jack are in the evidence they are analyzing, but knowing James and how unhappy he was that I wanted to go to my office alone...It won't be long" replied M trying to sound hopeful
"Where do you suppose we are?" asked Eve
"I have no idea" replied M with a slight hint of worry in her voice
It wasn't long before they heard footsteps and muffled voices from what they assumed was the hallway, and then the door opened, flooding the room with an incredible bright light that nearly blinded both women.
"Good...You're awake" they heard in a tone that had a strong Russian accent
M struggled to sit up and squinted to see if she could identify the face that went with the voice
"Get them up and ready to travel" was what they heard next
"Where are we going?" asked M calmly
"Your presence has been requested," replied a female voice
"And if I refuse?"
A hand reached out from the light and struck her hard across the face.
"This is one invitation you will not be refusing" replied the voice
M and Eve were roughly pulled to their feet and half dragged, half escorted down a long hallway, before being shoved into a small delivery van.
"Be careful with her" said the woman motioning to M "We want her alive and unharmed"
James and Jack sprinted up the five flights of stairs to the top floor, only to find the medical team attending to a dazed Morgan and an empty office.
"Get me Q" shouted James at one of the guards
"James...calm down" said Jack "They can't have gotten very far"
"OH REALLY!" snapped James "This is the bloody headquarters for MI6, and we didn't think they could get in here either, but they did! I never should have allowed her to come up here without me"
"James, we'll get them back...we'll get HER back" said Jack in a determined tone
"Sir, I have Q on the line" said one of the guards as he handed James a phone
"Q, Tell me you have good news" said James as he began to pace around the office
"Not exactly" replied Q
"Tell me they're still in the building"
"Well...No. Once you ordered the building sealed, someone used Morgan's security badge to override the system and exit the building thru the loading dock.
"Could you see who it was?"
"It was a woman and two men, and they definitely have both M and Eve"
"Well where the hell are they now?"
"They're on the move. They were at a warehouse in the garment district, but they are apparently are in some sort of vehicle heading north"
"Well seal off the exits to the whole bloody city if you have to" shouted James
"That would be impractical not to mention nearly impossible being that it is rush hour" replied Q "We're tracking them as best we can. They seem to be heading north, out of the city"
"Where the hell are they going?"Asked Jack
"There is an old air strip about an hour north of their last known position, they could be heading there" replied Mallory, who had arrived minutes earlier, basically unnoticed due to all of the activity
Jack immediately pulled out his phone and began dialing
"What are you doing?" asked James
"We can't afford for them to get her in the air, if you thought tracking her through London rush hour traffic was difficult, just imagine how damn difficult tracking an unmarked plane is going to be." snapped Jack "I'm calling in some reinforcements, the US airbase isn't far from there, they can keep an eye on that airstrip until we can get there"
"Forgive me for asking Mr. Ward, but why would the Americans want to get involved in this?" asked Mallory curiously
"Because Mr. Mallory, She is technically an abducted Head of State, and an ally of our agency, and we take these things very seriously, and also because she is my friend" replied Jack bluntly
"Look Mallory, unless you have something useful to add to this situation, I suggest you step out of the way and let us do our jobs" snapped James
"Quite right" replied Mallory as he pulled out his phone "You two take a team and get to that airstrip, I, in the meantime am going to call in every available agent who isn't on a critical mission. In the event that they are able to get to the plane before we do, where do you think they will take her?"
Jack and James stared at each other with puzzled looks. They really did not have an answer to the question.
"Kolbino" said Tanner as he stumbled toward them
"What?" replied James
"The original mission took place in the small town of Kolbino, which is several miles East of St. Petersburg. If Mirrinov is intending to finish what he started then that is where he will take them"
"What makes you think that's what he's doing?"
"First off, if he wanted her dead we would be dealing with bodies, not missing persons, and secondly, they took Eve instead of leaving her behind. I suspect that he intends to replay the events of the original mission, right down to making her watch them kill her partner again" replied Tanner
The color began to drain from James' face as Tanners words sank in. He knew Tanner was right, but they could not afford to make a move until they were sure that was actually the plan.
"My guess is they wanted James, but since that was nearly impossible they took the next best thing, which was Eve. The only thing they have going for them at the moment is that Eve isn't just a secretary, she is also a trained agent, but Anya would know that already as she works for Me" said Mallory quietly
"We need to get to that airstrip" snapped James
"The rapid response helicopter is waiting on the roof" chimed Q as he hurried into the room with an arm full of equipment "Here is you weapon, extra ammunition, an earpiece, a GPS locator so you can track their movements and a few extra gadgets for good measure, now get going" he said in as excited of tone as Q could muster "And remember that Eve also has a tracking device in her arm so if they are separated, you will know it"
"Thanks Q" replied James as he and Jack took off for the roof
TO BE CONTINUED...