Chapter Text
“Villiers says you’re the best in the service.”
M’s comment haunted Bond’s thoughts on route to Montenegro. He was surprised that Villiers had been observant enough to notice a double oh’s poker habits. The young man was clearly not rated for field work, given his reaction to the body of Solange Dimitrios, however he was just as clearly more than the mere secretary he first appeared to be.
Why this bothered him so much, Bond hadn’t yet determined. He leaned back in his seat and brought an image of Villiers up in his mind’s eye.
Tall and thin, he was always dressed impeccably, though no more than any other government employee. He blended in perfectly with the millions of office workers in London. He moved with a grace and confidence that showed his training without having the menacing feel of a double oh agent.
Villiers voice was the first thing he would hear whenever he checked in from the field, seeking information. Even before Bond reached double oh status, orders were relayed through the mild mannered aide. Bond could admit some feelings of comfort at the sound of the familiar, usually irritated, voice.
Bond frowned. It was almost like he… Bond cursed. He was bloody well attracted to M’s damned aide! At least it explained the feeling of relief he had felt on seeing Villiers arrive to pick him up from the police station in Miami.
Fuck.
Bond was pulled out of his musings when a beautiful, but highly aggressive woman slid into the seat across from him and introduced herself as the money for the operation. He forced his mind back to the mission, playing the part of the womanizing, cocksure agent. It was what was expected of him, startling realizations about co-workers or not.
Once in Montenegro, Bond focused on outsmarting Le Chiffre and trying to figure out Ms Lynd. Something was off about her reactions, but he couldn’t quite pin it down. He suspected he would have tried to seduce her if the image of Villiers wasn’t so persistent in haunting his thoughts.
After a dramatic first evening (Bond had not expected machete wielding terrorists), he made sure Ms Lynd was safely asleep and put in a call to headquarters.
“Bond.”
“Villiers! At work so late? M certainly keeps your nose to the grindstone.”
Bond heard a muffled sigh.
“What do you want, Bond?”
“Ms Lynd. What do we know about her?”
“Checking up on your latest conquest, 007?”
“Not at all, Villiers. Something about her setting off my alarm bells, but I can’t place what it is.” Bond was frustrated with this inability.
Villiers was immediately serious. “Something is not right? Hmmm… I’ll start a deep background on her immediately. She was presented to us as the Treasury representative so we only did a quick scan, assuming Treasury had cleared her. I’ll get back to you.”
“I won’t hear from you soon enough, Villiers.” Bond let his voice drift into the lower register that women at least seemed to fall for.
“Are you flirting with me, Bond?”
“What if I am?”
“I have work to do. You will be informed as soon as we come across any information. Perhaps you should concentrate on winning a poker game?”
“All under control, John.”
“I don’t believe I gave you permission to use my Christian name, Bond. Now go to bed and let me work.”
“I’ll dream of you.” Bond hung up before Villiers could respond. The agent sighed and then crawled into bed to get some rest before the deadly dance with Le Chiffre would begin again in the morning.
***
Bond spent most of the next day quietly worrying in between encounters with Ms Lynd and Mathis. He hadn’t heard from Villiers by the time that he had to reappear at the poker table, yet Ms Lynd was still triggering his instincts. They started screaming at him when Le Chiffre faked his tell and Ms Lynd refused to approve a further buy in.
Still, he had nothing solid to go and, and he got distracted when one of his fellow players revealed himself to be a plant from the CIA, willing to stake Bond so that he could re-enter the game and take Le Chiffre down once and for all.
The next thing he knew, he had been poisoned. HQ was barking orders in his ear, his heart was racing and the damn button wouldn’t work. Ms Lynd saved his life (she got credit for that, even if he didn’t trust her) and he was fairly sure he had heard Villiers sigh in relief in the background.
He was jogging back to the suite where the game was being held, when his phone beeped in his pocket.
Her boyfriend is being held to ensure she cooperates with LC. Villiers.
It beeped again.
If you need the account number, call me. Stay safe. V.
Bond relaxed. His instincts had been right. Now that he knew what was going on, he could get back to winning the game.
It was late into the evening when the game reached the final stages. All the remaining players had gone all in, including Le Chiffre. Ms Lynd was standing with Mathis and Leiter wasn’t far off. James considered his hand. This was it. He went all in.
James leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief as the cards fell his way. Mission accomplished. He shot off a quick text to Villiers and then went over to accept congratulations from the others. He kept half an eye on the location of Mr Mendel. His phone rang.
Villiers, right on time.
“If you will excuse me Ms Lynd, gentlemen, I need to take this.” He walked away. “Hello, John.”
“Bond, congratulations. I have the account number ready.”
“Hold on a tick. Mr Mendel,” James approached the Swiss banker. “Do you mind awfully if we do the transaction now?”
“Not at all, Mr Bond.” He opened his case. “You merely need to enter the account number and the pass code.”
“John?” Bond entered the string of numbers that Villiers rattled off and then smirked as he typed in the pass code. VILLIERS. “All done. Thank you, Mr Mendel.” Bond shook the man’s hand and turned to leave the room, almost bumping into a tense Ms Lynd.
“Do you need me for something, James?”
“Transfer completed. You’re cleared to return to London. The CIA have confirmed that they will be bringing in Le Chiffre. Well done, Bond.”
Bond held a finger up to prevent Ms Lynd speaking further. “Thank you, John. I look forward to seeing you soon.” He hung up, chuckling at the slightly startled squawk that had come from Villiers at James’ seductive tone.
“Ms Lynd. The transfer is complete, therefore no assistance is necessary. I suggest you get yourself back to England. You might want to contemplate what answers you might provide your bosses as to why you were working with the enemy. If you’ll excuse me, I have business to see to.”
James smiled as he brushed past her. If he packed quickly, he should be able to drive out of the city without running into too much trouble.