0930 Hours
A Country Cottage South of London
Chapter 16: "The Point of Gravity"
___________________________________________________________
0930 Hours
A Country Cottage South of London
The Aston-Martin DB9 surged with smooth power as James Bonnd zoomed along the country road leading to his uncle's summer home. Freshly repaired from the awful duel at the Italian marble mines in Siena, "Q" had rebuked him bitterly for having the entire door ripped off. When reminded that it provided the necessary field-of-fire which ended the car chase that saved his life; he was non-plussed. He said that he would add some vehicle-killing firepower and believe it or not--it was now ready-to-launch from his trunk if need be. Bonnd laughed, if anything "Q" was efficient. When he reminded "Q" that the trunk was needed to transport important "supplies"--like captured enemy agents he was reassured that no carry volume was lost.
The Aston-Martin jumped over a small hill and settled down on the speedometer at 120. Bonnd laughed again. He wouldn't be late after all.
Lieutenant Commander Christopher Creighton had retired from his double life as a war-time commando and aerospace engineer to the quiet country home now unfolding before Bonnd's windshield to write his memoirs and work in his garden with his wife, punctuated by visits from his charming daughter, Julie an attractive school-teacher, who was sadly tied down to a loveless marriage with a banker. Lieutenant Commander Creighton was the last of a declining breed of World War 2 heroes who were young men during the war and were now sadly departing for the unknown at an alarming rate; the world obviously saved by them many times over. Lieutenant Commander Creighton had insisted that he come over at once--and not delay.
Pulling into the turn-around in the front of the house, Bonnd got out and was greeted by his devoted wife, Dorothy and ushered into the back room study; "He's waiting for you".
Lieutenant Commander Creighton motioned Bonnd to take a seat by the low coffee table and there was a large photo album. "Go ahead and open it, James".
As Bonnd opened the book he saw old, grainy black & white pictures of Lieutenant Commander Creighton as a Royal Marine Commando during the dark days of WW2...doing speed marches across the Scottish highlands, kayaking in folding boats launched from submarines, combat swimming from motor torpedo boats, parachute jumping with folding bicycles....
Dorothy appeared at the doorway.
"Do you want something to drink?"
"Yes, please some tea....say you actually jumped these bicycles operationally?"
Lieutenant Commander Creighton laughed.
"Yes, the Paras did to take the German radar station at Bruneval. Do you know I actually took part in that raid as an observer?"
Bonnd was impressed.
"Wow".
Daniel Craig as James Bonnd
Lieutenant Commander Creighton elaborated: "We held the contraption tight against our chest and closed our eyes and fell down the hole in the Whitley bomber. Once on the ground we were quiet as a mouse and caught the Jerries by surprise...got their radar sets, too".
Creighton flipped the page again; "That's the usual way we got in and out--by motor torpedo boats, remember that chap who played John Steed on the Avengers TV show?"
"Yes, Patrick Macnee"
Creighton: "He was our navigator on one mission as a sub-Lieutenant. We waited for hours in some godawful marsh waiting for so-called 'Dutch refugees' we thought maybe he put us in the wrong place, but he was spot-on, they were late, Germans kept them a bit"
Bonnd was impressed by his uncle's exploits but knew this visit was about something more important than a trip down memory lane....
"Lieutenant Commander Creighton you're exploits of your generation are fascinating, but I think you have something more on your mind.?"
Lieutenant Commander Creighton smiled and rose to his feet.
"Good boy. We've taught you well."
Turning towards the window, he looked out and thought for a moment.
"As you know those of us from the war are not going to be with you much longer. There's some things you ought to know. Things are not what they appear, my boy. Did you know that those towers over there are for radar?"
Bonnd stood up and looked out.
"The Germans sent the Graf Zeppelin to peek and see what electromagnetic transmissions we were sending-this was BEFORE the war mind you...we were supposedly at 'peace'"
Bonnd was stunned at the thought that a huge airship filled with civilians would be used for a military mission--putting everyone on board in danger. It was obscene.
"Fortunately we saw through this and turned the radar off, so the Germans didn't know we had it. Next week they invaded Poland...do you know what for?"
Bonnd had done his homework.
"For uranium. They wanted to develop a bomb".
"Yes, but they miscalculated and thought they could roll-over England in the meantime not knowing we had radar. Radar saved not just us--but the free world. We only ran over the Germans in '45 in the nick-of-time...General Eisenhower said 6 more months and the German secret weapons would have been complete, I think we only had 6 weeks; it was that close my boy to losing the war."
Lieutenant Commander Creighton suddenly grew dark and flopped onto the chair.
"Sit down, young man. I have disturbing news".
Holding the edges of his chair, Creighton braced himself for what he's about to say.
"Those men in that book, 30 Assault Unit Commando are all very close to me. Over the last few weeks they have been disappearing. Not dying mind you-being kidnapped! I have gone to their homes. I have talked to their wives. The authorities don't believe them. They think they are just old, senile men who have wandered off."
Bonnd grimaced not knowing what to think.
"I'd like you to look into the matter, please."
Bonnd nodded.
"Why would anyone want to take these men?"
"Keep flipping through the pages of that book."
Bonnd reacquired the album and sped through the pages to the end of the war.
"Oh my God".
"The Germans were on the verge of developing weapons that could destroy the world and we captured them, their blueprints, their drawings, and made them a deal; a pact with the devil...to come work for us I spent the next several decades on these projects...scary stuff you can only begin to imagine...I had to quit it was just not right".
Bonnd was visibly shaken.
As Bonnd stood up, Creighton could see he had stopped at the page where 30 Commando had taken a group shot with their commanding officer.
In the picture's center in commando garb with blackened face, holding a Sten sub-machine gun was the signature of Commander Ian Fleming, Royal Navy.
"Your father commanded our unit, James."
Bonnd always thinking he was an orphan, could feel his eyes watering....he was stunned.
"He saved all our lives right at the end of the war. We had parachuted in from a RAF bomber as the command group to do a RAPWI--recovery of allied prisoners of war and internees. We were using kayaks to reach high-ranking Nazis who wanted to defect to us...everyone was turning on each other in the last days..."
Bonnd was only half-listening as the thought of his long lost father misted his eyes to where he almost couldn't see...
"Do you know where he is?"
CRASH!
The windows in the garden exploded.
Bonnd knew immediately that a take-down for another "snatch & grab" was unfolding.
Dropping to his knees, he pulled Lieutenant Commander Creighton down with him.
"Do you have a gun?"
"Now back in the war again."
"Yes, a hunting shotgun over the fireplace."
"Got shells?"
The sound of boots thumping on the rooftop above them.
"Yes, I'm not senile."
Bonnd had withdrawn his .380 short cartridge 9mm Walther PPK and was looking out to his car for more firepower.
"Go get it and hold them off. I'm going for my car to get help and Dorothy."
CARASHHH! Two black uniformed figures rappelled into the windows with German-made HK416 5.56mm SBRs (Short Barreled Rifles) with sound suppressors on them and tossing in flash-band grenades to stun them...
Knowing what was coming and wanting to overcome the body's natural reflexes to take cover at the critical moment, Bonnd closed his eyes and clenched his jaw to close his ears and began firing at their outlines as he charged them knowing they were probably wearing body armor resistant to his tiny bullets, tackling one and ripping the HK416 off his torso by the sling. Smashing the buttstock in his goggled face dropped him as he turned to his partner and hosed him down with a 3-round burst aiming for the vulnerable neck and face.
Leaping through the window he made for his car.
Catching the fresh air, he looked back for a second at the house as shotgun blasts went off. Slowly hovering over the house was a silver, metallic craft making absolutely no noise at all-this is how they had got the drop on them....it was no helicopter...it was a FLYING SAUCER!
An anti-gravity craft. But it wasn't "little green men" dropping out onto the roof below but big black men with guns....very human and very deadly--unless Bonnd stopped them. Another craft hovered over the one doing the main assault, obviously--his wingman in case something went wrong.
Bonnd was crouched by the Aston-Martin door and opening it when he heard Dorothy cry out.
"Damn them!" he cursed out loud.
Not wasting a second, Bonnd got into the car and placed the keys in the ignition to bring it to life.
Then the second craft touched down in the clearing to the right of the house. The thugs were dragging Lieutenant Commander Creighton and Dorothy towards a ramp door that had opened.
"Big mistake".
Bonnd turned on the targeting switch on his gear shift and fired...an American Javelin fire & forget guided anti-tank missile locked onto the glowing heat signature under the craft and fired.....
KABLANG!
A huge explosion ripped through the craft which broke open like a cracked egg scattering black jump-suited men in all directions...no secondary explosions as the craft was obviously powered by something other than fossil fuels...
Immediately gunfire turned towards him bouncing off the Aston's body, which was bullet-resistant against small caliber bullets like the 5.56mm NATO rounds.
Bonnd laughed. "Q" was right on the money with this one. He had foiled the snatch 'n grab. Now to rescue Lieutenant Commander Creighton and Dorothy...starting the engine, he gunned the car into drive and pulled up to the old couple. Carefully opening the door for Dorothy and helping her in, Lieutenant Commander Creighton approached from the driver's side.
"Get in and drive, I'll stay here and hold them off, now go!"
Lieutenant Commander Creighton did as ordered and sped off.
But not before Bonnd had extracted his 7.62mm
Turning to the house for cover, Bonnd found a corner and opened fire on full auto on the saucer, aiming low so the muzzle climb would bring his stream of bullets home. Unfortunately, alerted to his threat, some kind of electromagnetic armor was now on and his bullets glanced off like they would against a tank or armored personnel carrier.
"Shit".
Bonnd knew that he was in trouble.
He pulled out his emergency pen from his pocket and broke it in half, sending out the emergency global positioning system (GPS) locator signal back to MI6 headquarters. Why hadn't he thought of this in the first place?
The duty Quick Reaction Force (QRF) would assess his location and realize they need to cover the distance by helicopter...that'll take 5 minutes...another 10 minutes to get the Lynx helos rotors turning...another 15 minutes to get here at the world's fastest top speed of 250 miles per hour...
"Shit".
He had to hold them off for at least 30 minutes before help would arrive.
The thugs had realized their prey was gone and were coming out of the house as Bonnd began to pick them off with single shots of 7.62mm x 51mm NATO from behind the low hedge by the garden. A 40mm grenade at the door. Nice. The blast took out three of them for bunching up in the "fatal funnel". Not very professional of them.
Learning the hard way, all the gunmen were now laying down suppressive fire from the windows sending bullets churning the ground all around Bonnd's way. He could hear choppers in the far distance. Amazing how time whizzes by in a firefight--yet to you it unfolds in slow motion. They would most assuredly be sending a separate maneuver element to circle around his back as he stayed pinned down. It was standard infantry and commando tactics world-wide.
The saucer began to move towards him when he saw it.
On the underside was an insignia; he was mortified.
That's when the beam of light hit him and everything went black.
The German swastika whizzed by in search of its original high-value target.
The Point of Gravity
By Mike Sparks
Chapter 1: The Protocol
1325 Hours
London Naval Hospital
As Bonnd came to he was in the hospital, "M" by his side smiling.
"You are back with the land of the living".
Bonnd was upset that he had not finished off the gunmen but his main concern was Lieutenant Commander Creighton and Dorothy.
"Sir Hugh?"
"Your car was found several miles away overturned. They were taken in the other Anti-Gravity Craft."
"Damn".
"You left quite a mess at his house. 8 dead, and a crashed disc. Which we now have in our possession. 'Q' will brief you back at the 'Farm'. The scene has been completely tidied up. When can you get back on the case?"
"How about now?..and would you mind telling me what the hell was going on?"
"Get dressed, we have work to do."
In "M"'s limousine as it sped through the crowded city, Bonnd explained the claims of Sir Hugh.
"M" silently nodded her head as Bonnd retold his tale, now rather tame in comparison to the other aspects. At the end, she gave her verdict.
"Yes, he was right. The world wide web is actually our old headquarters www call sign when we still tapped out Morse code to our agents overseas. As you know, London is the most camera surveilled place in the world. Several of his mates in 30 Commando were pushed into cars in broad daylight and no one even as much as lifted a finger. I've brought this to the attention of the Bobbies and Scotland Yard...my God, what's the point of having all those cameras if no one's awake watching them?"
The derision over the inefficiency of bureaucracy waved over "M" and Bonnd could see it since though she herself a senior bureaucrat was singularly effective because she gave a damn. He could see in her eyes the question; "Why couldn't they give a damn?"
"Do you have video of the craft after it left Sir Hugh's cottage?"
"M" opened up the flat screen attached to the back of the front seat.
"This is classified beyond top-secret, James. If I let you see this, there's no going back. If you see this and you get compromised we will have to kill you. Are you sure you want to go through that door?"
"I have to. He...ehhh...knows where my father is."
"M" was shocked.
"Good God. I thought you are orphaned."
"Apparently not".
"M" opened her mouth in genuine concern for her favorite agent. Bonnd lamented.
"My father commanded the unit that first captured the German secrets."
"Yes, 30 AU commando" said "M".
She opened the flat screen and played the video.
It was an overhead imagery obviously from a spy satellite orbiting hundreds of miles above the earth.
The saucer zooms up away from the house and pounces on Bonnd's Aston-Martin which flips over.
It lands, two men disembark and retrieve Lieutenant Commander Creighton and Dorothy and takes off again at phenomenal speed.
"Wow that was fast...did you get where it went?"
"Yes, thanks to you disrupting their plans we were clued in to watch. The saucer flew to a remote mountain base in the Argentina/Chile mountain border area. We don't want to have a war with them again--which was a bloody mess--we almost botched last time. I need you to go find their saucer base and we'll have a QRF ready to go in the Falklands when you give us the signal."
"How much time have I got before we leave?"
"48 hours. The QRF is getting ready now at Brize-Norman. You have 2 days to get your gear ready after you and I are briefed by "Q" who is waiting for us now with the crash wreckage."
The limo shot across the English countryside and slowed only to identify to the gate guard as it turned into the sprawling mansion.
"They used this place to film that awful Tarzan movie, "The Legend of Greystoke" where they dubbed the American gal's voice."
"I guess she wasn't English enough"
"Not with a Texas accent, no".
The limo stopped by a very large barn. Entering on foot, Bonnd and "M" were greeted by the sight of a wreckage layed out on a grid of cords in order to precisely figure out where everything went.
"Q" approached and bellowed; "over there is where your missile exploded the craft".
"What the hell is this, Q?"
"This is a 4th generation anti-gravity craft."
Bonnd already knew the answer but knew the question would wound "Q"s British pride.
"Who built the 1st Generation?"
"Q"'s smile dropped into a frown.
"The Germans, of course."
"M" was flabbergasted.
"When did they do this?"
"Just before the end of the war. We captured all their stuff and began making our own up in Canada with the Avro company. We even kept the Americans in the dark about it for awhile since they didn't want to share the bomb with us...not very sporting wouldn't you say?"
Bonnd interjected.
"The craft that attacked me were German."
"That can't be...the agreement was they were to lay low and stay quiet-which is what I wish you'd do once in awhile double-oh-seven---"
Bonnd walking over to the wreckage and began looking for the insignia...
"Be careful...some of these substances are not safe to touch".
He found it. Lifting a heavy piece of wreckage he found the German insignia.
Both "M" and "Q" hurriedly converged.
"M" knew then the agreement has been broken.
"We have a rogue. The Germans who escaped that we allowed to live free are under an agreement to at no time use their technologies for war or crime or we would come in and shut them down."
"Q" brain-stormed.
"Maybe this is a rogue from some of them working for us?"
Bonnd brushed off some English mud from under the fragment.
"Most definitely."
Under the German Swastika was the Corporate logo of NordKam industries.
"Q" immediately went to his laptop and pulled up their locations;
"They have research centers in Texas, Chile, Argentina-no surprise there-and Glasgow..."
Bonnd knew what he must do.
"I need some new equipment".
"Q" turned away and clicked on car keys to have the Aston-Martin roll out on its own in front of them.
"No thanks for the anti-laser coating I applied to your assault vest?"
Bonnd winced at having to admit "Q" was right.
"Yes. It saved my life, thanks".
"M" decided to intervene.
"We have no time for you two boys to squabble. Get on with it, Q".
"Right."
Opening the back trunk, "Q" removed a modern folding mountain bike.
Bonnd was aghast.
"A bicycle, you must be joking"
Unfazed, "Q" continued.
"I studied Sir Hugh's album and found the concept of bicycle-commandos fascinating, so I applied a modern touch. The entire bike is made out of non-metallics so it can't be picked up by ground surveillance radar. Inside the hubs are powerful electric motors so you can go 60 miles per hour for 60 miles in total stealth."
Bonnd asked what the pedals were for.
"Q" sarcastically replied; "For you to pedal of course to recharge the Lithium-Ion batteries and add power".
"The whole thing folds up and you can parachute jump it, static-line, freefall, whatever."
"What have you got for weaponry to bring down these saucers? They seem to have an electromagnetic armor of some kind."
"I'm working on a prototype Javelin that will have an EMP burst explode just before the main warhead hits; it might provide a hole just large enough for it to pass. I've got 48 hours to get it ready before you leave, M do you need me for anything else?"
"No, "Q"...well done as always."
"Q" turns and hands the keys to double-oh-seven, but grabs his hand and holds it.
"double-oh-seven, James. These are the most violent people you will ever encounter. Something is very definitely up for them to violate the Protocol. You have a brand-new standard issue inside the DB9. Be careful."
Surprised by the sudden words of brotherhood, Bonnd nodded and walked away to the car.
"You've only got 48 hours, Bonnd. Keep us posted."
Getting inside, he rolled the window down.
"I have a date with a school teacher".
Chapter 2: The School Teacher
As Bonnd pulled into the elementary school and parked, kids were running by him to wait for their parents to show up in SUVs and cross-overs. Inquiring in the front office, he walked to Room 4 and saw Julie Creighton sitting at her desk looking over some scribbled penmanship papers.
As he opened the door, she recognized him at once; "James! What brings you here to the ordinary world?"
She stood up showing her outstanding figure behind a white peasant blouse and short skirt. Bonnd thought back to all the pretty ladies who he had crushes on when he was a grade schooler and wished he were her pupil now.
"I have some terrible news to report"
Immediately her brunette clad head dipped low...
"Is it daddy?"
"Yes. He's been taken".
Immediately relieved that he was still alive--but befuddled that anyone would want an old man...
"That's doesn't make any damn sense...he's just an old man"
Bonnd was in no mood for coy games.
"We both know that isn't true. Please come with me, now Julie".
Raising an eyebrow..."Is that an order, James?"
"If it has to be. Your life is in danger, too--we must go NOW".
As they exited the school front doors children still milling around, a van sped towards them, side door open.
"GET DOWN EVERYONE!!!" Bonnd cried out.
Machine gun muzzle flashes could be seen from the van as bullets began to glance off the pavement as the kids scattered and screamed.
Bonnd knew he had to act fast to save the kids.
Standing up exposing himself he charged the van and fired his PPK at the driver's area. Emptying a magazine he reloaded and kept firing until the van swerved and stopped. He kept firing moving his bullets into the side passenger area killing the machine gunner.
Julie let go from shielding the children and ran to him. Bonnd was holding his knees out of breath from the ordeal. She saw that the gunner was not dead.
"James, the man!"
Bonnd leapt onto the dying man's arm and forced the back-up pistol away from him, but not before a couple rounds were squeezed off. Julie picked up James's gun and fired once into his chest to finish him off.
"Where'd you learn that?"
"From Daddy. Let's go".
Bonnd didn't want to go back to her apartment as it would be predictable to the enemy--but he needed clues there.
"What do you know about NordicKam Industries?"
"My father worked for them for 30 years after the war."
Bonnd was not surprised.
"They want to make his retirement permanent".
Julie brought out all the family photo albums she could...
"Look for any picture you have relating to NordicKam".
Julie had turned on the Tele to see reports on her school attack...
"Earlier this evening gunmen in a van attacked the grade school west of Chelsea but an unidentified man stopped them and miraculously no children were hurt..."
Bonnd's cell phone rang; it was "M".
"You left a bloody mess again. There's two men dead in a van. No ID on them. Have you found anything?"
"Yes, Lieutenant Commander Creighton worked for NordicKam"
Julie found something in an album; "James come look at this..."
"I gotta go".
"James this is daddy with the Schutze Staffel, the bodyguards he trained"
"Who are they to protect?
"The President of NordicKam, Dr. Hans Cameron....you'd like these guys, they are all Black Belts and expert shots, daddy taught them everything he knew and then some"
"How many?"
"About 40..."
"
Julie pointed out their insignia..."You can tell them because they wear a Death's Head tattoo on their wrist..."
Bonnd noticed a strange square-faced-man holding a cat in his hands standing next to Sir Hugh.
"Who is THAT? He looks like a villain from a spy movie"
"That's Dr. Richter. A lot of people laughed at him when he said he discovered nuclear fusion. He ended up working for daddy until he died"
The thought of people being absent made him ponder...Bonnd shifted on the couch...he noticed no signs of the hubby...
"Where's your husband?"
Julie let out a sigh..."we are in the process of divorce....he's overseas on a banking trip"
Bonnd might have a chance with her after all, he thought..but back to business...
But I thought Lieutenant Commander Creighton was an engineer"
Julie laughed "yes, he's quite the inventor...look at these....his dream was flight by anti-gravity..."
Bonnd smirked. "You don't say"
Suddenly a high pitched whine tore through the room.
Bonnd knew it was a remote bomb trigger and grabbed the girl and ran out the door as the entire building exploded.
After the smoke cleared Julie in shock and rage...cried, "Why? Why?? My apartment! All my things! Gone! A gas leak?"
"No accident. There's an old saying in the service, once is chance, two is happenstance but three is ENEMY ACTION...it's high time we go on offense".
Chapter 3: Enemy Action
After the explosion, Bonnd fled with Julie back to his apartment in Chelsea.
Bonnd was bruised and weary and needed a stiff drink. "would you like a drink?"
Julie saw the bar and went to it. "I'll make them".
"vodka martini-shaken..."
Julie finished.."not stirred, with thin slices of lemon"
She dutifully mixed the concoction as Bonnd took his shirt off revealing his muscled chest. Julie noticed. "I have to smoke when I drink, do you mind?"
"How could I?"
Fishing out a long white Marlboro Light, Julie flicked her butane lighter and dipped into its flame to savor in the soothing smoke.
Holding the cigarette up high like a '40s movie starlet with one hand holding her drink she informed Bonnd she was running a bath for them.
She returned minutes later clad only in a bath robe and cigarette as she pulled Bonnd up out of his chair by both arm pits and they stumbled eagerly to the bathroom and then splashed into the large bathtub together, laughing. She pressed her rich breasts against his chest, both nipples poking hard and wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him fully and the waters converged all around them.
At around midnight, Bonnd awoke Julie. "It's time we take a little bike ride". Why is he going with her instead of a fellow professional male or female agent? Shouldn't he be getting her the hell out of Dodge?
0330 Hours
NordicKam Laboratory, Glasgow
In the high ground overlooking the lab, Bonnd parked the DB9. Unfolding the electric mountain bike (eMTB), Bonnd clad in Multi-Cam, infared-resistant clothing mounted it to close in on the place.
"You stay here ready to drive the minute I jump back in. Lock the doors and don't let anyone in. If I'm not back by daybreak, you drive like crazy back to London and tell them at MI6 I've been compromised, they'll know what to do."
Julie was amazed.
"You work for Her Majesty's Secret Service?"
Bonnd bent down and kissed her fully on the lips.
"Try not to ask too many questions, darling".
As Bonnd approached the lab on his eMTB he could see a high chain-link fence with TV cameras--no doubt fitted with infared that could see his heat signature were it not for him wearing a cumbersome "thellie" suit he just extracted from his buttpack and threw over his torso. He must now move ever so slowly so as to not trip the motion detectors. He hid the eMTB in the nearby bushes and began to stalk-crawl.
An hour later, bathed in sweat he had traveled just 50 meters but was at the fence-undetected. It was not electrified but he found a wire that he must'nt cut. Carefully clipping a slot in the fence he slipped through and ran to the nearest building. A guard was walking by with an automatic rifle slung at his back. Bonnd pressed up against the wall and his Multi-Cam blended in perfectly and the guard walked by in a drone waiting for the coming dawn. There was good reason he selected the "Witching Hour" to stir up his brew-people are at their absolute least alertness at 3 am.
Glancing at his cell phone strapped to his wrist, Bonnd looked at the floor plans "Q" had sent him to make his way to the central office. The door was locked by a card swipe machine. No problemo; Bonnd pulled out a universal card swipe and was in. Clipping on a NV/thermal/IR fusion sensor monocular to his shooting eye and switching it on, he was now in a light green world and crouched along steel steps overlooking a large vehicle bay below. He spotted the office and went through the unlocked door to the safe.
A simple number combination lock. Pressing an ear piece in, and placing a suction cup near the tumblers he heard a steady tone until told to stop. He switched directions until the other number was found, and reversed once again to unlock it.
Inside the Safe...
A logbook! From 1945!
Bonnd read to himself....Report dated 23 April 1945 from Commander Ian Fleming-father!---
1. It's clear from 1943 onward when we beat their U-Boat threat that the Nazi leadership other than Hitler knew the war was lost and sought two courses of action;
a. to create a final strongpoint south of Munich to hold out until their secret weapons could be produced and
b. an escape plan for the key SS leadership to Argentina, Chile and their Antarctic base "New Swabenland"
2. Operation Overcast is not adequate to meet demands of Nazi scientists needing exfiltration...suggest Operation Paper Clip with the Americans be expedited at once before we lose invaluable knowledge to the Soviets...
3. The SS has become a state-within-a-state. They ran Germany until just a few weeks ago. They have left with terrifying weapons technology we cannot match except maybe years from now with the help of the Overcast/Paper Clip scientists. Suggest we play for time with them until this "Third Power" can be vanquished.
Bonnd whispered; "Third Powers?"
The bullets whizzing by his head were not whispering. Alarm klaxons sounded, he'd been detected! Turning to fire back he tucked the logbook away in his velcroed shirt pocket and sprinted towards the door.
He found his eMTB and began pedaling and motoring down the steep trail as guards rustled into security SUVs and began firing....the brrrrrrapp! of 5.56mm rifle rounds stitching paths way too close for comfort...he must make it back to the DB9....Julie must have heard the shots....
Now there were 4 SUVs chasing after him...and they were gaining on him along the trail...he must leave this relatively smooth path or else they will overtake him...there! A grassy field....
Swerving right, he picked up speed...the SUVs turned and one caught a rut and flipped over end-over-end...Bonnd hit a knoll and jumped....bullets impacted his rear hub motor slowing him down to just pedal power....
The lead guard in the front SUV sensed this...and laughed.."we have him now..."
As bullets began walking up to Bonnd, he pushed the bike out from under him just in time for them to miss him....the SUVs fanned out to encircle him...trapped...
A loudspeaker bellowed: "Put your hands up"
Then a thunderous roar as the DB9 broke through the vegetation behind Bonnd...swerving in front of him to shield....
Bonnd ducked and opened the door to get in...
"What were you waiting for? An invitation?"
"Just drive, Julie"
As bullets cut across their windshield causing spider-like smears and cracks, she gunned it and rammed the lead SUV in its side--which sprouted a gasoline leak and exploded; the men inside screaming and burning alive....
Julie reversed and threw the wheel to the right to face the opposite SUV....Bonnd flicked the top off the gear selector and pressed the machine guns to fire, sparking into the engine, killing it and raking the men inside to death. The other SUV wisely fled the scene.
Julie drove fast to the highway and Bonnd directed her to the Air Base.
Chapter 4: High in the Andes
On board the mighty RAF C-17 Globemaster III transport jet flying high over the Atlantic to the Falklands islands, Bonnd and Julie were debriefed by "M" of what they knew.
On board were crack Paras outfitted by "Q" with the latest gear to assault the NordicKam Laboratory in Chile/Argentina once Bonnd signaled its location. But first Bonnd would have to infiltrate with Julie into the country posing as journalists for National Geographic magazine. Landing at Stanley airport, a car was waiting for them with new clothes and passports and of course digital cameras for their trip to photograph the "Penguins and other arctic wildlife".
Embarking on the small research vessel, the Seasprite, they met the Captain John Russell and were en route to Buenos Aires-the slow way. Julie stayed on deck actually filming the birds as Bonnd retreated inside to read his father's Log Book. In one of its pages was a map with the rough locations of the secret Nazi bases the "Odessa" network had set up. He took photos and cell phone sent them to "M" back in London by satellite uplink. Photo analysts would then narrow down the location he would have to conduct the on-site reconnaissance.
Outfitted in backpacks and camping gear, Bonnd and Julie had gone as far as wheeled vehicles could travel-the rest was straight up the Andes mountains, rocky hills sparsely covered in trees.
They would maintain their civilian disguises until closing to within a few miles then they'd set up a tent and Bonnd would sneak-in for the close reconnaissance.
Stopping after a day's march, Bonnd and Julie set-up their tent and tried to stay warm together under their zipped-together sleeping bags.
"Do you think my dad's still alive?"
Bonnd placed his arm around the beautiful woman under the blanket and turned to look her in the eyes.
"Yes...I wouldn't be here with you otherwise"...
He gently kissed her.
Tears formed in her eyes.
"I know he's old...I'm not ready to say goodbye to him...not just yet...I'm not ready..."
"Well, if we are successful you will not have to..."
"What about your dad, do you think he's still alive?"
"No. He's surely dead by now, especially with what he knows..."
"Then why did my daddy want to talk to you?"
"I don't know...I guess to get it off his chest...not telling me all these years"
"I know my dad, James, there's more to it...I wouldn't give up hope if I were you".
"We shall see...let's get some sleep..."
Looking through the Zeiss stabilized binoculars, Bonnd carefully cupping the ends to not give off glint could see nothing but barren mountain slopes. No sign of a base here. He decided to keep watch around the clock in shifts. Later that night, while Julie was on watch she whispered him awake.
"James! Come see!"
A glowing light appeared over the mountain peak and hovered. Bonnd measured its exact direction in the binos' compass and estimated its range-he could have shot a laser beam to get a precise range--but it would surely have given their presence away.
"If that object's 20 feet high, I estimate that its 4, 000 meters away...a day's march....I'm going in...remember the plan...if I'm not back by tomorrow the same time today you break that pen and when the Paras drop on you, you point them to that location, got it?"
Julie wrapped her arms around James and kissed him.
"Bring my father back, James".
"Will do"
Bonnd ran and stopped, hugging each clump of rocks and fold of terrain he could find, closing, ever closer to the secret base. As he caught his breath he listened for any signs of being detected, then started the process again. It would be light soon and he'd have to lay low during the day 'til nightfall to start his approach stalk again. As daylight's rays began to streak over the barren Andes mountains, Bonnd could see it....a false wall built right into the side of the mountain slope....the door must be 100 feet high...large enough for a helicopter--or an anti-gravity craft to fly right inside and close right back up...
Removing his cell phone from his civilian garb chest pocket he marked the exact GPS coordinates and sent them to "M" back in London. Skirting around the outside edges, he began to take pictures and look for other entrances and air shafts etc. to size up the place for the coming Parachute assault. The giant door began to open...
Out flew out a quite conventional helicopter...he ducked as it whisked by. Heading: straight for Julie at the tent!
"Shit".
He called Julie on the emergency-use only cell phone she had. He whispered.
"Julie! They are coming your way! Run!"
He heard shots in the background.
Then a cry on the phone and a Latin voice; "Como Say Yama?" then the phone went dead.
The game was on now, so much for surprise. Surely, Julie had broken the pen and the Paras were inbound in approximately 12 hours from the Falklands. The war was on.
He knew Julie would be held as a hostage along with whoever was in there; probably her father and step mother....maybe he could use this to his advantage?
Bonnd rushed to the nearest rocks by the mountain entrance and waited for the noisy helo to arrive.
As the chopper approached, the doors opened swirling dust all around. This was Bonnd's chance!
Running at full speed just after the chopper entered the doors Bonnd just got through as they slammed shut behind him. He was immediately attacked by a guard in black by a rifle butt to his chest...he grabbed it and kept the rifle swinging 'til its barrel whacked the guard as he took it away from him and fired, killing him instantly. The sirens inside began to blare as Bonnd took the G36 5.56mm assault rifle and began making his way deeper inside...guards appeared and he shot them using the point-shoot quick-kill technique, since the weapon didn't have a red dot combat optic. The entire place was alive with guards firing like angry bees as Bonnd picked them off like it was a lethal first-person-shooter video game, except the consequence of losing were capture or death, rather than the usual "GAME OVER" message. Must keep moving and using cover. As he felled a guard, he picked up his weapon and ammo magazines. Following the sound of the helo, he reached the landing pad and was stunned.
Parked in rows were a squadron of anti-gravity craft complete with Nazi swastika markings...it was like WW2 never ended--and a very bad dream.
A German voice from behind him announced: "Welcome to Colonia Dignidad, Mr. Bonnd"
With that a rifle butt to his head made the lights go out....
Waking up on his knees shaking his head now throbbing in pain...
"Be glad my men are experts Mr. Bonnd, or you'd be already be dead..."
"Who the fuck are you?"
The man was blonde-haired, very tall, about 6 feet 4 and even more muscular than Bonnd. Possibly a fearsome opponent if he knew what he was doing. Bonnd saw the SS tattoo on his wrist as the hand connected to it picked him up off the ground. Definitely, a mortal threat.
"Take him to the guest house".
Guards placed him in a 4-wheeled ATV in the back flat bed and sped him off to a location ever deeper in this neon-lit nightmarish underground city that was bustling with activity....there were shops and stores and theaters...it was like an entire society had moved underground....
Finally stopping, the guards carried his still groggy body to a small cottage and tossed him inside, locking the door. Julie rushed to him, standing behind her was Lieutenant Commander Creighton and Dorothy...
Bonnd mumbled..."We're here to rescue you".
Lieutenant Commander Creighton laughed..."Good show, old boy but I think you have got it the other way around..."
Chapter 5: The New Fatherland
As Bonnd recovered from his injuries the hostages were summoned to dinner that night.
"Who are we having for dinner?"
Lieutenant Commander Creighton laughed; "I think you'll be pleased".
Riding in two ATVs the hostage party came upon the main governmental palace and walked up the steps beckoned by black-clad armed guards-some of the vaunted 40. Bonnd would have to carefully plan his move and try to avoid these men.
The dining room was opened and the tall blonde man greeted and guided them to their seats. But they all rose to attention when the opposite door opened. In came an old man in a powered wheel chair...a much older version of the young blonde thug.
"Father!"
The young man hugged the frail man in the wheel chair, and placed the SS officer's cap on his head.
Bonnd knew then the ominous truth. In his mind's eye, his old face flashed against the smiling young man in SS uniform under a peaked general officer's circular cap looking up at the cameras in 1945 the day before he disappeared. He called out his name.
"Dr. General Hans Kammler!"
The old man smiled and saluted as if returning the greeting from a subordinate Soldier.
Julie was not understanding his significance. Bonnd gave the history lesson.
"The 2nd highest leader of the SS---suddenly disappeared as WW2 ended never to be seen again...a man who built the death camps that used slave labor to build the V-1 and V-2 rockets to bomb England..."
Kammler: "Ahh, but we built more than just de rockets Mr. Bonnd...but please continue...."
Bonnd: "after the war he came over under Operation Paper Clip with a new identity-yes Dr. Cameron...NordicKam...NordicKAMMLER...I should have guessed it..."
Kammler: "Bravo, Mr. Bonnd you are a quick learner"
Bonnd: "You cut a deal...give us your technology for your life, right?"
Kammler moved his wheel chair....in his German accent he cut in...
"more than that Mr. Bonnd, much, much more...we helped save de world from Soviet communism, no danks for that, huh? This is my son, Walter...I think you've met him already, yah?"
Kammler turned to a map on the wall behind them....
"We Germans knew the war was lost and began to make plans to continue....that fool Eisenhower didn't close off the northern escape route through Denmark and Norway as the Allies converged from west and east...it's like he couldn't read a map...dumpkapf!
Bonnd could visualize the map of German as a symbolic blue arrow approached from the west representing Britain, America and Canadian forces...and a red arrow from the Soviet Russian east...but no arrow over Denmark and Norway just above Germany!
Kammler continued...
"Zee deal was that we'd lay low and give you the technology you wanted and we'd be left alone...but you reneged on this in a typical British double-cross. First in 1946, you sent that explorer Admiral Byrd in that pathetic military 'Operation High Jump' to try to wipe out our New Schwabenland arctic base 211...we shot down a few of your planes and then you ran like sissies...then in 1957 you had the 'nuclear tests' shooting Polaris missiles at our bases and that didn't work...."
Kammler was visibly angry...
"Zyes, I know I murdered thousands of people...it was war...but the war was over...we were involved in a new war against a much deadlier foe...but you British wouldn't stop...so we sent you a signal...remember dose 'UFOs' that flew over Washington D.C. that scared ze shit out of Truman in '52?"
Bonnd added, "Yes, brazenly out in the open, our jet fighters couldn't catch them"
Kammler: "Zat was a warning to you to back off. You didn't listen so we had to exchange hostages. As long as the hostages were kept safe both sides would refrain from killing each other. It's actually an old practice. We selected your father."
Kammler motioned to Walter to bring him in;
"Ladies and Gentleman, Commander Ian Fleming, James Bonnd's father...."
Fleming walked in under his own power and threw his arm away from Walter.
"Dad! I'm your son, James!"
Commander Fleming was stunned.
"Is this another one of your tricks, Hans?"
Both Kammlers laughed.
Sean Connery as Ian Fleming
Walter: "No, Commander Fleming, it really is your son."
Fleming: "Well, come over here, son!"
Bonnd walked over to the man and hugged him for the first time.
Kammler: "as you can see we're not monsters anymore..."
Fleming: "what do you do for a living?"
Bonnd: "Well, when not rescuing old WW2 commandos...her majesty's secret service..."
Fleming: "Outstanding."
Bonnd was very much in awe of his father as an intelligence officer in WW2. "Why did you agree to this arrangement, Sir?"
Fleming's faced changed from one of grief to one of relief at finally being able to tell the truth...
"It began at WW2's end in 1945..."
FLASHBACK TO BERLIN UNDER SIEGE
Jason Connery as the Young Ian Fleming
Fleming's voice:
"We were parachuted into the area near Lake Mugglesee east of Berlin from a RAF Wellington bomber. We had named the entire operation 'James Bonnd', I had a fancy to that name from the bird watcher author. It later must have been the cover name your mother used, James to connect with me without violating the Official Secrets Act. Our 150 man and woman team proceeded by kayaks to meet up with Nazi VIPs to whisk them away to safety since they had been all along working for us....
Right in the middle of the operation to extract Nazi party leader, Martin Bormann, I got summoned away to a different surprise operation by 'M' who was back in London....another spy of even more importance had requested emergency extraction" I tell Chris to take over the Bormann mission and not to muck things up."
Cut to German Chancellery Headquarters
A hand picks up a telephone and speaks in perfect English but with a German accent;
"This is Agent 456673. I was trained at Tavistock in 1912 and 13. I have done all tasks as directed. I request immediate extraction."
Fleming continues narration.
"Caroline Saunders and I commandeer a motor boat and don Russian uniforms and wait. A RAF Lysander short-take-off and landing plane comes down on the road by us. As artillery fire increases we are worried that we will be over-run by the pillaging Soviets and I don't know how long my Russian will hold them off from raping Caroline.
Finally, a JU-52 'Iron Annie' tri-motor plane appears and it has floats to land on the water! What a sight. We motor to it and ask if they have the 'Testament' which they pass down to us containing the Swiss bank account details in exchange for the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit."
Cut to a close-up of the JU-52 loading door and ladder, out comes a middle-aged couple onto Fleming's boat.
The man has a short moustache and could only be one man.
Cut back to the Present.
Bonnd was breathless.
Fleming continues.
"We were in an awful hurry. We took the former Fuehrer and his newly minted wife to the Lysander, took off as the charges in the boat exploded. We fly on to Spain, where he lived for another 5 years until dying of stomach cancer."
Return to the Present.
Fleming returned to his troubled expression.
"I was under orders. I didn't know who we were extracting. You know, Caroline, James. That's her MAIDEN name. She's now your boss, M. After the war, I was disgusted by it all. I felt if I could keep the peace I would make amends...."
Lieutenant Commander Creighton interrupted.
"Ian, you saved all our lives..."
Creighton picks up the story...
Cut to the team in kayaks paddling along the Spree River in Germany in 1945.
"As we were paddling with Bormann, the mini-submarine that had kept Hitler and Eva hidden until Hanna Reisch could get there with the JU-52 float plane was now following us....we knew those things had two torpedoes...tell them Ian what you did--or didn't do"
Fleming smiles.
"I was the only one who could speak German as the Lysander flew to Spain. Our 'guest' was ordering our pilot to radio a message to shoot "that traitor Bormann with torpedoes", but he didn't understand a word. I told him to shut-the-hell up as he was a 'rabbit' and not a human anymore, and that was that..."
Bonnd then remembered that there was an even more compelling reason why this whole mess had begun and turned back towards Kammler who himself was grinning at the retelling of the most secret of secrets.
"So why did you break the Protocols and start snatching all the old 30 AU Commando men and engineers that used to work for you?"
Kammler pressed a button and the map gave way to a computer screen, then a view of the earth-from space---
Everyone was startled, Lieutenant Commander Creighton was beaming..
"That's one of our craft sending us a signal from space! That's the earth!"
Kammler, the evil genius pressed another button.
A large asteroid filled the screen.
"See zat? Zat is the end of the earth...its head [ed] this way and set to strike December 21, 2012...zust as dey say in de Mayan calendar...just as our studies of our ancestors ancient writings zaid it wuld happen..."
Everyone was awestruck and sad.
Julie broke into tears..."my children...they will all die?"
Kammler: "Yahh".
"Well you must stop it, do something!"
Kammler: "Ze strong must survive...we are packing up and moving on...we have a base set up on de moon to ride out dis little disaster...and after de dust clears, we return and start over, yah?"
Julie's scientific side kicked in; "Except the destruction might last for thousands to hundreds of thousands of years! Why can't you Nazi fucks use the craft to save the earth from the asteroid?
Bonnd was livid....
"7 BILLION PEOPLE WILL DIE...doesn't this bother you?"
Walter interjected....
"Father warned everyone but they ignored him...now he's doing all he can...he's assembled all the old scientists to build more ships using the secret of zero point energy (ZPE). We only have a few years..."
Fleming cut in.
"Hans, you know there's enough power in that cup of coffee to blast that asteroid to smithereens; why don't you make a bomb and fly it into it using one of your craft?"
Kammler: "No!!...they must pay for their ignorance....they must know what we achieved!! We are the ones who brought the wall down in Germany ending the Iron Curtain. We are the ones pulling ze strings behind the scenes all dezz years!"
Julie stood up. "Dr. Kammler, why can't we just tell the world what you did?"
Kammler taken by her beauty, kissed her hand..."Creighton ??, she's quite charming..."
He then turned about to face everyone.
"My child, we cannot share zero point energy, the secret of the black sun--with everyone. Imagine if everyone could harness the power of the universe in a shoe box...the minute some lad broke up with his girl, he'd blow the whole earth to kingdom come....we cannot share this power with the untermenschen..."
The elite 40 entered the room.
Kammler: "Dinner is over. We have work to do and time is short. I admire the spunk all of you have shown to get here. I invite you to come with us to the new Fatherland. Think about it. You are going with us either way--since I cannot let you go lest they find out where we are...unless of course you want to be shot--which can be arranged..."
Buzzers began to clang.
"It appears British Paras are head[ed] our way to try to rescue you. My Mighty 40 will have to stop them. They can fly, too...but they don't need parachutes..."
Suddenly all 40 men took off several feet off the floor in the banquet room with weapons drawn...
"These are my latest invention...anti-gravity belts....who needs a flying saucer if za belt will do?"
As the Mighty 40 flew off, Bonnd made his move with his father....knocking Walter down as Kammler and Lieutenant Commander Creighton and his family were taken down by an elevator...
Fleming: "we must get those blasted doors open for the Paras!"
Bonnd: "we need to get some weapons, let's go...."
Chapter 6: Battle Royale
As the C-17s flew in low over the mountains, side jump doors opened and Paras began to peel out from just 250 feet....in 9 seconds they'd be on the ground...as their Irvin CT5200 parachutes opened in flying saucer shapes, the Paras released their kit bags on a 15 foot line holding inside their folding eMTBs....in the background, real flying saucers began to take off to hunt down the C-17s...
Bonnd and Fleming each took out a guard and were now running and gunning their way to the mighty mountain doors that opened for the saucers to leave....
Bonnd: "Dad, we need to jam those doors open...cover me as I get one of those ATVs..."
The Mighty 40 flew by on their anti-gravity belts, but two of them spotted Bonnd making his move to the ATV...Commander Fleming gunned them down and their belts lost control and they flopped to the ground.
Bonnd jammed the ATV into the doors as Fleming Senior hosed down some approaching gunmen....
Running back to Fleming, Bonnd noticed the two dead men shot in the back.
"Not very sporting, dad".
"But it works".
"Let's get these belts on...I think the Paras are going to need more help than a couple men on the ground with guns".
"Agreed".
Quickly figuring out the belt controls, Bonnd and Fleming flew towards the drop zone to intercept the Mighty 40--now just 38--before they could shoot them down in their chutes...
Firing, they scatter the 40 who turn to engage them in an aerial dogfight...
The British Paras land, unfold their eMTBs and converge on the open mountain doors....others land and de-rig American tracked M113 Gavin armored personnel carriers fitted with lasers to cut through doors...
Kammler watching the entire battle on TV, sees its time to vacate the base.
"Valter, it's time for us to go to our secondary base. Call the saucers off the British planes, we need dem as transports and load everyone at once!"
"Mr. And Mrs. Sir Hugh, Julie, please follow me."
The battle rages as the Paras drop their bikes and enter the underground base. Anti-Gravity craft are leaving through another opening Bonnd hadn't detected.
"They're getting away!"
Fleming: "You go ahead son, I'll show the Paras what to destroy....they'll blow everything, so don't tarry".
The two men shake hands and clasp arms, then hug.
Bonnd, running and gunning, makes his way to the last saucer with Walter getting onto the ramp--when something goes awry and it starts flying erratically.
Watching on the remote TV in the craft on ahead, Kammler cries out to his son.
"Walter!"
The saucer is not flying right and is headed into the mountains-with Julie, Lieutenant Commander Creighton and his wife!
Dropping his gun, Bonnd turns on the anti-gravity belt, and flies to the faltering Walter about ready to lose his grip on the rear ramp and fall to his death.
Bonnd touches down on the ramp.
"Give me your hand!".
Walter amazed that his enemy would try to help him, let's go and reaches out. Bonnd grabs him and pulls him aboard.
"Damn, you're heavy".
Walter can only say, "thanks".
"Now how do we fly this ship?"
The craft swerves and tosses both men inside. Seated are Sir Hugh, Dorothy and Julie.
When Bonnd comes to and reaches for the controls....he calls out to Sir Hugh...
"You designed these things what do I do?"
"All we can do is cut the anti-gravity and take our lumps"
Bonnd stares at him.
"What are you waiting for?"
Lieutenant Commander Creighton reaches for the shielded switch, flips up the shroud and hits it, causing everyone inside to go weightless as they begin to drop into the ground.
"BRACE YOURSELVES!!!"
The craft hits the mountain slope at just enough of an angle to glance and slide down the smooth Argentine heights.....
In the background, the Paras finish their work, as the mountain base is exploded...
Colonia Dignidad is no more...
Chapter 7: Middle of Nowhere
Back on board a C-17, Julie by his side holding on for dear life....Bonnd calls in to "M"....
"M" has a visual on Kammler's saucers....
"All of them have headed to that moon base to await their doomsday like some crazy cult."
Bonnd, not sure whether to be relieved or alarmed, inquires about the lone saucer.
"Where did that one saucer go?"
"We have tracked it to North Texas."
"Get Leiter on the horn. My dad and I are going after him."
"What makes you think its Kammler?"
Bonnd holds a locket with a picture of a Texas bride and a German Soldier...
"A hunch".
1200 Hours
3, 000 Feet over North Texas
Bonnd, Julie and Fleming had transferred at Ascension Island to a smaller but still very large--new Lockheed-Martin C-130-30-J propfan plane with stretched fuselage and some odd devices he had never seen before. A giant black rubber skirt encircled the plane's bottom fuselage. Boarding the plane over its rear ramp, Bonnd asked the Loadmaster Flight Sergeant Thompkins what "ESTOL" meant on the aircraft's data plate as he clambered aboard.
"You will find out soon enough, Sir...it means Extreme Short Take-Off and Landing".
Thompkins chuckled and went about his duties preparing for the flight.
On the long military flights up from Argentina, Bonnd and Fleming talked of what had happened in their lives and how mom, a pretty intelligence secretary had given James up for adoption after Fleming had been declared "dead" in order to go into the hostage swap program with the 4th Reich. The 4th Reich had been getting pugnacious and Fleming as a successful writer of spy novels was deemed worthy of the exchange to keep the two powers at an uneasy peace. It would also silence him from dropping tell tale clues in his books which had pushed the edges of what the Official Secrets Act would tolerate. Fleming had a fatal "heart attack" and left the public eye.
Bonnd walked up to the flight deck beckoned by the Loadmaster to the air crew by helmet intercom; "You are wanted up front, Commander Bonnd".
The pilots were glancing down at a paper aeronautical chart and contrasting what it told to their cockpit moving map display. The pilot-in-command in the left seat, RAF Captain Hugh Caldwell queried Bonnd; "Is this right? Where they want us to land you is a stretch of highway in the middle of nowhere!"
"Middle of nowhere is right! What about any cars down there?"
Caldwell looked to his co-pilot, Flight Lieutenant Ed Downs; "Drop in the controllers on the next pass?" as more of a statement and order than a question in typical British under-statement.
He nodded and passed on the message by helmet intercom to the Loadmaster to get the RAF Combat Control Team ready to jump on the next pass.
Caldwell put the big plane into a steep left-hand bank to come around the impromptu landing strip at 500 feet.
"You better strap in, Commander could be a bit bumpy these country roads, we're gonna land actually off to the left shoulder on the ground since there are telephone poles on each side and we don't want the good people of Texas mad at us for sawing them down just so we can land, in war it'd be different you know"
"Right"
The side jump doors opened to the Loadmaster's able hands and the RAF team jumped out with their static lines paying out and blossoming open flying saucer-shaped CT5200 Irvin chutes that settled onto the ground like flattened tomatoes after a short descent.
The control team leader radioed to the pilot all was clear and had marked with bright orange marker panels where to hook turn and land.
"Here we go"
Turning like a fighter pilot after roaring over the marker, the Herk dropped all its flaps and front spoilers and inflated its giant rubber air cushion underneath...it could land into and out of a soccer stadium if it had to....boundary layer control air was being blown over the wings and flaps to increase lift as the plane slowed and descended steeply now lined up for landing....
100 feet....80 feet....70 feet....50 feet....altitudes called out by Downs so Caldwell could concentrate on flying and not even glance at his heads-up display....the Herk flared at 30 feet and touched down....
Landing directly on a dirt road using air cushions, the special operations Herk came to a stop with its propfans pulling into full reverse.
Bonnd, Julie and Fleming walked out as the Control team ran back in with their parachutes in kit bags. The rear ramp raised and the mighty Herk took off.
Fleming stated the obvious; "Middle of nowhere".
"You got that right, dad. Flat, barren and desolate Texas landscape for as far as they eye could see..."
Julie noticed a pile of shipping containers about a quarter mile away.
By mutual consent they began walking to the pile of discarded shipping containers, some rusting, long miles away from their natural abode of ships plying the world's sea lanes.
Examining the containers for signs of life, a door swung open. Bonnd immediately drew his Walther PPK not willing to be caught off-guard.
"James! How good to see you at my junkyard!"
It was Felix Leiter, Central Intelligence Agency. C.I.A. His best friend in the American spy service.
After a hearty hug while Bonnd reholstered his PPK, Leiter lead them behind a row of containers revealing a half-circle of M113 Gavin armored personnel carriers in "thellie" thermal/IR camouflage--just like his stalking suit--were waiting. The nearest top hatch opened and Leiter walked up to the driver and had him lower its rear ramp.
Walking to his mini-tank, Bonnd introduced him to his father.
"Felix, come down here and meet my father, Commander Ian Fleming".
Walking back inside the boxy mini-tank, Felix met both men and the fabulous Julie.
"Hey, James you are moving up in the world...who is this lovely lady?"
Bonnd chuckled.
"You cannot have her. She's just got her father and mother back from the retro-scum".
Leiter accepted her hand and shook it politely.
"are we not going to make a hell of a racket in these things approaching the Mighty 40 and Kammler?"
Leiter laughed.
"Nope, it's nice and quiet, thanks to good 'ole American technology. This ain't no gas hog and no rickety bucket of bolts. Its electric-drive-powered by a generator on band-tracks, this thing is a smooth as silk. Turn around!"
Bonnd looked back and from a distance a stealthy Gavin had zoomed in on him without him even noticing. The man inside popped his head out;
"Bang, you're dead, Mr. Bonnd".
Leiter motioned Bonnd and Fleming inside to see the flat screen on the interior wall of his command Gavin.
"They are holed up in this canyon; there's no way to approach them from the air to surprise them. We converge in 3 directions. We expect them to scatter in their anti-gravity belts since they only have one saucer. This Gavin has a laser, we can pick them off instantly; we will not even kill them; we just need a powerful enough mobile generator to create the laser beam..no free energy here with this agency clunker..."
Bonnd was impressed with Leiter's thoroughness.
"But Kammler's saucer no doubt has zero point energy and probably a beam weapon that could pick off your men in their Gavins.."
Leiter laughed.
"That's where you and your dad come in-if he's up to it....You go in first and disable the saucer. You go in that track over there..."
Bonnd and Fleming walk over to the Gavin's track commander (TC) and driver, both former members of the U.S. Army's elite 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) that took Baghdad contrary to conventional wisdom that tanks must have infantry clear ahead for them, in 2003.
Leiter motioned them to the chart on the interior wall in much smaller scale.
"There is one small problem. Where they are at is U.S. Government property. Area 71. Black projects, higher security clearance then even I have buddy boy. Washington has no control over these guys..."
Bonnd winced.
"Probably no oversight since we sprung their scientists out during Paper Clip. They've just been continuing their evil work non-stop all paid for by the American tax payers"
Fleming say possibilities.
"How about a diversion? Why not have a group of protestors at the outskirts while we come in behind?"
Leiter was impressed.
"Now I know where James gets his smarts from. We are going to have MUFON stage a mass demonstration against government secrecy just about time we swim up the river in these amphibious tracks...a sort of candlelight vigil...hahaha"
"What's MUFON?"
Leiter laughed.
"These are the UFO fanatics that do the whole ET thing, they want there to be space brothers so bad they are worse than Spielberg when he boxes himself into a plot corner and cannot get out...we have our people in all their chapters...it will be a cinch to bring up the suggestion of protesting Area 71 and have them think it was THEIR idea"
Bonnd motioned to all the shipping containers.
"What are these for?"
"They are our Trojan Horse, James. They are all air-conditioned, have all the amenities of home, even a wet bar for you. We call them 'BATTLEBOXes'. We are loading up our Mini-Gavins inside these long American 53 footers and riding in style by train along those tracks to Laredo where we will have a little 'accident' and during the train derailment we will roll off and drive right into the river and swim straight into the base..."
0300 Hours
Area 71
Leiter and his men join Bonnd and Fleming as they battle the Mighty 40 in an anti-gravity belt aerial battle....
1700 Hours
75 Miles North of Dallas
A wind-swept cemetery....an old man slowly walks to a gravestone....
It wouldn't draw any attention except that behind him is an anti-gravity craft on legs.
Bonnd and Fleming walk up to Kammler.
"Hans, we understand. I lost my wife while in your captivity. I used to hate you for years. But you know what? We can't let hate destroy us. In the final analysis all we have is each other. And over the years, I've come to realize I actually like you."
Kammler: "Until yesterday, I didn't think there was anything in the world worth saving. Commander Bonnd, you saved my son, Walter's life. Zy did you do it?"
Bonnd: "I don't know...I saw a little bit of myself in him...so I saved him".
"Zank you. I now know what I must do to pay for my crimes. Please, let me go do this one thing. Goodbye."
An old man wearily walks up into the saucer and flies off.
1730 Hours
London, MI6 Headquarters
Bonnd and Fleming are in "M"'s office watching the space track of the mysterious asteroid as a tiny craft approaches.
"That's Kammler. I think he's going to do something heroic."
The craft explodes in a powerful explosion blanking out the screen and nothing of the asteroid remains.
"Lieutenant Commander Creighton has returned with wife and daughter intact. The Mighty 40, ehh 30ish are still on the loose. Maybe they'll get tired of playing 'Moon Base Alpha' and decide to return to face what they've done?"
Bonnd laughs, "I never could understand that show..."
A nagging question then popped into Bonnd's mind.
"Now that you are free, who are we still holding hostage, dad?"
They all looked at Commander Fleming.
"I think I'm due some back-pay, first"
Everyone laughed.
2300 Hours
Bonnd's Apartment
"James, let's go on vacation!"
Wearily, Bonnd puts down the newspaper. "We sure could use one".
Laughing, Julie covers his eyes and lays down travel brochures. She then removes her hands.
"ARGENTINA!!!!"
The prank pulled, Bonnd pulls her on top of him and kisses her.
"No more Argentina!"
James Bonnd Returns in
