Chapter Text
Bond stepped into the outer office where Eve Moneypenny was typing away on her computer. The woman’s smooth dark skin mirrored the silk blouse she was wearing. An insincere smile on her lips as she looked up at the operative.
“Good morning, James.”
“Moneypenny. How is the old man today?” Bond ask as he rested his hip on the edge of her desk. He had difficulty regarding Mallory as M. That name always referred to the man’s predecessor.
Eve’s eyes flicked down to his nonchalant sitting on her desk. The false smile quickly was replaced by a scowl. The subtle feud between the two individuals persisted.
“Busy.” She said as she swatted at his backside. “Off.”
Bond smirked as he stood. He turned and rested both of his hands on her desk as he leaned forward. “One would think you don’t care.”
“One would be correct.” She shook her hair, the curls bounced around her face. The intercom buzzed on her desk. She pressed the button. “Yes, sir?”
“If Bond is finally here, send him in.” The disembodied voice said through the speaker.
“Yes, sir. He just arrived.”
Moneypenny looked up at the blonde man and smiled insincerely again. She pressed the door release and the padded door leading to M’s office clicked open.
As Bond grabbed the door knob and pulled the door opened, he said over his shoulder. “Always a pleasure, Moneypenny. Always a pleasure.” Sarcasm dripping off the words. The door closed before she could give him a sharp retort.
Bond stepped into the elegant office of the head of MI6. The room smelled of expensive tobacco and age. The golden wood paneling was warm and calming. Oil paintings of various naval officers hung on two of the walls, the scowling faces looking down on the men in the room. M remained sitting as James entered. M’s guest also remained in his chair, only turning his head to give the operative a cursory look. James was more through in his observation of the man.
The guest was younger than Bond by at least a decade. He was dark haired with very dark eyes. Almost black. He was well groomed and clean shaven. The suit was expensive but probably not bespoke. His shoes were Italian leather and highly polished. His manicured fingers tapped lightly on the arm of the chair as Bond nodded to M and sat down in the opposite chair.
“Bond, this Denbigh from MI5.” M introduced the man. “Max, James Bond.”
“Maxwell Denbigh, assistant secretary to the head of MI5. Works especially with cyberterrorism. Correct?” James said looking the man in the face.
Denbigh smiled quickly. A small curving at the corners of his mouth before the lips returned to a thin sharp line.
“James Bond. A double ‘O’. One of the favorites of the pervious head of MI6. Trained assassin and spy.” Denbigh had a slight Irish accent that was rounding his vowels as he spoke. His voice soft and lyrical. He was not from the social elite, even though he dressed as if he was. James could see the forced effort to fit in.
“Good to know we both keep up on current affairs.” Bond said without showing any emotion on his face.
M sighed and held out a file for James to take. A cursory look showed the red letters spelling out ‘Top Secret’. The blonde opened the folder and looked at the first picture. It was of a middle aged man with a receding hair line taken from a distance. The man was walking with his face tilled down and to the side. He was overweight and pudgy. Round faced with sagging features. His eyes seemed too small for his face. And far too wide set to be considered attractive.
“Norman Barres.” M continued. “Presently working for the Gasparri crime family in Rome. Associated with the kidnapping of two German industrialists whose ransoms were in excess of five million euros each. Also involved in human trafficking through North Africa and the Middle East.”
“He is also an informant for MI5” Denbigh said as he leaned back and crossed his legs. “He is a plant. We were able to embed him within the crime organization here in London, three years ago. He has climbed up through the ranks and is now working for the well secluded leaders of the group in Rome.”
James thumbed through the file and looked at the few papers contained. There were lists of crimes and names of suspected criminals. A small photograph of the Roman Forum and a map of the area were also in the file.
“Interesting. How does this become MI6’s business? Are we going to take over his running?” James asked closing the folder.
“He contracted MI5 two weeks ago. There is a hacker, known only as Q, working in Italy. He is a very dangerous man. He was been able to walk through every known firewall. He has gained access to numerous sensitive networks and played around inside them. He released names of FSB agents working in foreign countries. He has plagued the Americans for two years now, release classified documents to news agencies. He’s even been in MI5’s and 6’s systems. We’re are sure he took something, but we don’t know exactly what. He was in several different and compromising files. He must be stopped.” Denbigh paused and looked straight at Bond. “That is why I’m here. Barres will be meeting with the man in four days to buy sensitive British documents. The transaction must not go through. Q must be stopped.”
M continued the briefing. “You will be going to Rome. The meeting between Barres and Q will be at the Roman Forum in three days. At the Palace of Domitian. You will make sure Q does not leave that meeting alive. Barres must remain unharmed.”
“There is no picture of Q in this folder.” James looked through the folder again.
“There are no photographs of Q. No reliable descriptions. No one knows what he looks like. He is hidden behind his computer code.” Denbigh explained.
“Then how are we certain that Barres is meeting with this hacker in person?”
“This meeting with Barres has be negotiated for the last few weeks. It is the first time his exact location is known in advance. It will be our only chance to stop him. He must be stopped. Are you capable of doing that Mister Bond?”
James forced himself not to sneer at the man. “Do not worry Mister Denbigh, MI6 will get the job done for you.”
James’ smile did not reach his eyes. The eyes maintained an unimpressed appraisal of the politician. M cleared his throat bring both men’s attention back to him.
“Wouldn’t it be better to bring this hacker in and question him? Ask him about his associates and to whom he has been selling his secrets?” Mallory asked.
Denbigh let a smug smile play again at his thin lips. “He is a clear and present danger to the security of England. He must be stopped immediately. Once we are assured of his termination, Barres can lead us to his lair and we will find all the information we need from Q’s servers.”
“And who will be going through Q’s computers and servers, MI5 or MI6?” Mallory asked with a raised eyebrow.
“MI5 has more experienced technical investigators. MI6 has trained killers.” Denbigh said with a little more of his Irish accent slipping through.
“Sir, our TSS department is second to none in the world. I will insist that we work on the severs ourselves.” The meeting was rapidly turning into a turf war between the two agencies. Bond started to tune the two men out.
“Or what? You refuse to assist in this one time opportunity to stop a threat to England? I’m sure the Prime Minister would be interested in that bit of information.” Finally the subtle smile remained on Denbigh’s lips after he spoke.
“We are not refusing to assist. I am just very aware of the limited cooperation and sharing of information between our two departments.”
Denbigh closed his eyes and nodded his head slowly. “I assure you. MI6 will receive its due credit and rewards for their part in this endeavor.”
Bond looked over at the man. He didn’t like the way Denbigh had made that last statement. He glanced at Mallory. Bond noticed the tightening of the muscles at the corner of Mallory’s eyes while his face remained passive. The older man had also caught the vague threat hidden under the compliment.
“If Bond leaves now, he will have two and half days to find an appropriate sniper’s nest. The location of the meeting has been marked on the map. It will be held in the hippodrome, near the garden end.”
“The palace in on a hill top. I will have to be up there with them.” Bond looked carefully at the map. He noticed the church, with a limited line of sight to the ancient stadium. “Yes, I believe it can be done. The Church of San Bonaventura al Palatino has an excellent view of the hippodrome.”
“Good. Then I will be expecting news of the unfortunate death of a known terrorist within three days, Mister Bond.” Denbigh stood. “Good day, M. Always a pleasure.”
M rose from his seat and stared back at the man. Neither held their hands out to shake. The parting was civil but not friendly. James didn’t even look up at the man but kept looking through the file. As soon as Denbigh had left, James tossed the folder back on M’s desk.
“I don’t like this. Too many variables. Not enough information.”
M sighed as he sat down. “Absolutely correct. But I have been given orders from the foreign office to assist Denbigh and not to question his motives.”
“Not to question? Doesn’t that limit our protection and increase our culpability if this blows up in our face?”
M glared harshly at the operative. Bond was completely correct and Mallory knew it. The department was trapped between cooperating with a mission in which they were mostly in the dark and refusing a direct order from Whitehall.
“Go to Rome. Keep your eyes open. I don’t like how this has been presented to us. I know that this Q has been in our systems at least twice. I have no idea what he discovered or if he had sold any information to anyone. I want him questioned but if we have no other choice . . . kill him.”
“Yes, sir. And what about Norman Barres?”
“He is a bastard. A criminal, a kidnapper and dealer in human lives.” Mallory leaned back into his chair. “But apparently he is our bastard.”
“Is he really? Or is he just using pervious acquaintances to protect himself from the law?”
“If you think he is misleading MI5 or 6, eliminate him too.”
“With pleasure sir, with pleasure.”