Bond Movies 06 - The World Is Not Enough Read Free Page B

a clear plastic bag, sealed and placed on a tray that was wheeled through a series of barred enclosures into a secure room. Bond handed the empty case to an attendant.
    ‘Have this checked. See what you can get off it,’ he said.
    ‘Yes, sir’
    The money would be thoroughly checked for fingerprints and clues to its origins before it was handed over to Sir Robert. As there was a lot of it, the process could take some time.
    Bond took the lift to his floor, nodded at his temporary personal assistant, and entered his private office. He quickly perused his post and messages, then made his way back to the lift. Upstairs, he found Miss Moneypenny standing at one of the large filing cabinets in her outer office. Bond walked in with a smile, his arm hiding something behind his back.
    She brightened at the sight of him. ‘James. Brought me a souvenir from your trip? Chocolates? An engagement ring?’
    Bond revealed his hand, producing the cigar he had taken from the bank office in Bilbao. It was now inside a rather large, phallic tube. He stood it up on her desk.
    ‘Thought you might enjoy one of these,' he said.
    ‘How romantic,’ she said, shoving the filing drawer closed. ‘I know exactly where to put it’
    With a flourish, she tossed the cigar into the dustbin. Bond sighed. ‘Ah, Moneypenny. That’s the story of our relationship. Close, but no cigar.’
    She scowled at him as M’s voice boomed through the intercom box on the desk.
    ‘I hate to tear you away from affairs of state, Double-0 Seven. Would you mind coming in?’
    Bond cleared his throat and replied, ‘Right away, ma'am.’ As he walked toward the padded door, Moneypenny whispered, ‘Sure you don’t want to give her the cigar, James?’ He shot her a look as he opened the door and entered the inner sanctum.
    Bond was surprised to find that M was not alone. A distinguished-looking gentleman was with her, and Bond recognised him immediately.
    M sat behind the desk, laughing at something he had just said. Two glasses and an open bottle of malt whisky were between them. She regained her composure and gestured to them both. ‘James Bond, Sir Robert King’
    King moved to shake hands with an easy, patrician smile. He was handsome, immaculately groomed, and appeared to be in his sixties.
    ‘Ah!’ he said. ‘The man who retrieved my money. Excellent job. Can’t thank you enough.’
    The man’s grip was warm and dry. Bond couldn’t help but notice the shiny lapel pin King was wearing. It looked like the glass eye of a snake and was possibly very valuable.
    King turned to M and teased, ‘Be careful, my dear. I might try to steal him from you.’
    Bond was put off by the man’s presumptuousness. ‘Construction’s not exactly my specialty,’ he said with little humour.
    ‘Quite the opposite, in fact,’ M couldn’t resist quipping. King smiled at Bond. ‘Oh, it’s the oil business that makes our world go round now, Mister Bond.’ He then turned
    and moved behind the desk in order to kiss M on the cheek.
    ‘Give my best to your family,’ he said.
    ‘We’ll speak soon,’ M said.
    He then bowed slightly to them both and left the room.
    ‘Old friend, you say?’ Bond asked.
    ‘We read law at Oxford together,’ she explained as she stood and gathered the empty glasses and bottle of whisky. ‘Always knew he’d conquer the world.’ Before putting the glasses away, she had second thoughts. ‘Care for a drink?’
    ‘Thank you’
    She took a clean glass from a shelf behind the desk and poured whisky into it, handed it to Bond, then refilled her own glass.
    ‘He’s a man of great integrity,’ M said, raising her glass to Bond.
    ‘Who buys stolen reports for three million pounds.’
    She frowned. ‘Contrary to what you may believe, Double-
    0 Seven, the world is not populated by madmen who can hollow out volcanoes, fill them with big-breasted women, and threaten the world with nuclear annihilation’
    Bond grinned at the irony of her remark as