Bond looked around him. Papers, desks, computers and chairs were scattered all around the headquarters. Thousands and thousands of shards of glass, bodies strewn across the room. The medics—dozens of them—arrived, people came in and out. His head hurt and there was a large gash starting on his shoulder, straight down to his elbow. It was deep and stung—the blood streamed down his arm and stained his clothes. He felt dizzy, the vertigo taking control of his senses and soon he closed his eyes—if he opened them he would no doubt vomit. He heard a voice calling him from the other side of the room : "Bond! Bond!" but before he could respond, he blacked out.
Maria arrived under heavy rain in front of the flat where Ms. Portman lived. She had never been só utterly afraid or worried in her life. She had arrived at her granddaughter's school at nighttime and the guard had been generous to give her the personal number of the headmistress. It had taken her another hour to reach the woman's home—such was the chaos in the streets due to a supposed terrorist attack to the British intelligence headquarters. The third attack in five years. The streets were filled with cars, police men were everywhere and ambulance sirens resounded throughout the city of London.
The Portuguese lady pressed the speaker button for Ms. Portman's flat and soon she was rushing up three flights of stairs. She could barely stand the burn in her chest, the adrenaline pumping in her blood, her sweat mixed with rain and nervousness.
Ms. Portman stood at the door with a relieved expression. Maria could barely hear what she was saying, her ears rung violently and all she could do was apologize ten times over.
"Ma'am, you seem very nervous. Please, come in and sit down. Would you like some water or some tea?" Maria sat on the sofa and was engulfed by her frightened granddaughter, Olivia felt cold too.
"T-tea, please. I'm so sorry, Ms. Portman..."
Olivia sat on the sofa, wrapped around her vovó, not saying a word until Ms. Portman came out with tea and biscuits for the three of them. They all sipped their drinks quietly for the longest of time. Maria regained her calm and then was able to speak.
"Ms. Portman—I promise you none of this will ever happen again. You see, I was away in the country for a few days and Olivia stayed with her father. I came as fast as I could when I heard on the car radio on my way back, that something—an attack—happened here in London. Considering Olivia's father did not go to fetch her at school, I'm guessing he was there during the attack. I still have no news of him."
Olivia didn't understand much what the whole fuss was about. An attack where her father worked? She couldn't even begin to imagine the gravity of the situation, but by the way her grandmother spoke and for the bit they had seen from the telly—Olivia's father was in trouble.
"Mrs. Maria, are you meaning to tell me that Olivia's father worked for the intelligence?" Maria nodded.
"I do hope you will be the most discreet, Ms. Portman. I just felt you needed to know, for the safety of my granddaughter." Ms. Portman nodded solemnly.
"So he isn't in Thailand?" Maria shook her head hastily.
"Unfortunately no. Ms. Portman, we need to leave now, to go home... in case they try to contact us or he arrives there. Once again I really apologize for being so late and for Mr. Bond's irresponsibility. I hope we didn't ruin any sort of plans or things you needed to do."
"Not at all, ma'am. I appreciate you telling me all this—now I know Mr. Bond didn't deliberately abandon his child." She whispered for only Maria to hear. "Olivia was so scared and she cried so much..." Ms. Portman lay her eyes on Olivia who tried to hide herself behind Maria. "I understand if she needs to take a day or two off from school and I would also highly suggest that you or Mr. Bond arrange for her to have a child councilor or therapist to help her deal with these issues."
Maria nodded.
"Yes. Thank you Ms. Portman. Goodbye. Olivia, say goodbye to Ms. Portman."
"Bye Ms. Portman, thank you..." The little girl whispered shyly. Ms. Portman smiled softly at her and waved.
Maria arrived with Olivia at home, only to find a one Eve Moneypenny waiting by their door with a worried expression.
"Thank God you're both all right! Bond will be fine, but he's in the hospital." She handed Maria her card with her contact and the address of the hospital he was staying at. "He's waiting for surgery. You might want to visit him early in the morning."
"And my granddaughter?" Eve smiled reassuringly at the little girl.
"Olivia, I'm your father's friend, Eve. He's told me lots of things about you—is it true you've learned to ride a bike without training wheels?" Olivia nodded with a small grin.
"Is he okay?" The little girl asked, worriedly. Eve nodded.
"You just have to be a bit patient, it might take a few days until he can come home." Olivia nodded, staring down at her feet.
"So he didn't go to Thailand?" She mumbled.
"No Olivia, your father didn't. He wasn't even planning to. When the big accident happened he was on his way to fetch you from school."
"Good." Moneypenny and Maria both shared a smiled. Things would be all right.
"We'll be sending in a babysitter to stay with Olivia in the morning, ma'am. It's the least we can do." Maria nodded in relief.
"Thank you, Eve."