#1 The new double-0
It was the first day of my new life. I just got promoted to the double-0 section and had an official appointment with my new boss - the Head of MI6.
Surprisingly, I wasn't even nervous. When I was driving my red car, my head was full of excitement, and even the heavy rain falling down on the windows couldn't ruin my mood. I was just about to hear what my first mission as a double-0 would be. An ideal way to start the new week.
I've been thinking about my work as a field operative and the way it had influenced my social life. Did I have any real life at all...? Not many people would be satisfied with the way I lived mine. Not much of spare time, very little bunch of friends, and a reputation of a young woman who should find the real man and settle down as soon as possible. If they only knew... I couldn't tell anyone what I did for a living. I couldn't tell anyone, even my closest friends, why I acted so strange sometimes. The truth about my real job would put them in great danger and I never wanted that. And, of course, to tell anything wouldn't be professional at all (and breaking the Official Secrets Act was never my intention)... So, when my friends asked me about work, I used to say I was a copywriter or something. They always believed me, as some of them could remember how well I had handled writing at school. They rarely asked more questions. To be honest they didn't have many chances to do so, because I never attended any parties they organized... I told them a few times I was an introvert and they understood... They never got suspicious and sometimes it made me wonder if they really cared about me... So, this was the price I paid for working for SIS: never had any social life, and as it follows - never had any romantic life. And most importantly, I couldn't trust anyone for real. And never trusted anyone.
I could be thinking about my past life for the whole day, but after a twenty minutes drive, I arrived at the MI6 Headquarters. I looked through the windshield, opened my umbrella and went through the front door. I was full of self-confidence.
I greeted the guards, showed them my pass, turned to the left, then headed into a long corridor, leading to the cloak room. I was just about to take off my brand new coat (it was long and black, even though I didn't like that colour much - I bought it because I thought it would suit me just right as a double-0. The coat had double-breasted golden buttons that reminded me of the Royal Navy uniform. I guess the coat made me look like I was the right woman for the job), when I heard a male, sharp voice behind me.
“So, you're the *famous* new double-0?”
I recognized that voice immediately, even though I've never heard it before. My female colleagues warned me about its owner more than once.
“I do *not* think a secret agent should be referred to as *famous*, even if she is a hell of an agent,” I replied, as I turned around to see him.
There was a smirk appearing on his face. He looked a bit cruel, probably because of his deep blue eyes resembling two painted ice cubes. His bright blonde hair was cut short. Without a doubt the picture matched the description my colleagues had given me earlier. That bloody bastard was truly bloody handsome.
“Let me help you with that coat,” he said and only a few seconds later we were going down that long corridor, heading to the main staircase. He continued to talk.
“I've heard a lot about you, but I believe we've never had a chance to meet before. My name's...”
“Bond, I know,” I said, trying to mock him. “I'm Katherine.”
“Only *Katherine*?” he asked, smiling at me.
“For you it’s only Katherine, but you can call me Kath if you wish,” I replied severely, glancing around. “Would you mind telling me which way leads to M's office?”
Asking someone working for the double-0 section was a reasonable thing to do.
“I'll show you, but only if you agree to have a drink with me later.”
So, here it came. An invitation to late-night date with the one and only James Bond. The real *famous* secret agent and the biggest womanizer of them all. Oh gosh, no, I thought. I didn’t like the way he looked at me and I was sure I wouldn’t enjoy a drink with Bond, as I’ve always tried to avoid men of his type, but... I don’t know why, I agreed without thinking much.
...
Bond did exactly as he had promised and showed me the way. Instead of going up the stairs, we took the elevator and arrived on the top floor, went down the long corridor full of tall windows, and stopped in front of huge dark wooden door. The door opened before we even thought about knocking, and a warm, generous voice greeted us.
“Oh. Katherine, James. Please come inside.”
We politely accepted the invitation.
I wondered how she knew my name. We’ve passed each other a few times in the recent years, usually when she was transmitting orders from M, but we’ve never been introduced. She was tall and her short hair was dark brown. She was wearing a sleeveless emerald dress, exposing her muscular arms. I noticed them immediately, as I’ve always found such arms very attractive in women.
“It’s a pleasure to finally have a chance to meet you in person,” she said while she was offering me her hand. “My name’s Eve Moneypenny.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Eve,” I replied, smiling widely and shaking her hand. “I’m Katherine. You can call me Kath if you wish.”
“Well,” James interrupted us, “I guess my job ends here. I will pick you up at nine, Katherine,” he said and winked at me.
I didn’t know how to respond, so I just nodded. Bond said goodbye to Eve - he certainly wanted her to hear he was taking me out, which made me feel really miserable - and left. I sat down in a leather armchair and started to think how the hell Bond knew where I lived. But he was a secret agent after all, right...? A lot was going through my mind at that moment, which was definitely a sign of the emotions I began to feel quite intensively. I was ten minutes early and Eve noticed how uncomfortable I felt.
“Can I offer you anything?”
“A glass of still water would be just fine, thank you.”
She handed me a glass and sat behind her wooden desk.
“James invited you for a drink?” Eve asked calmly, while she was browsing documents lying on the desk.
“Yeah,” I replied, “but it’s nothing serious. I just want it done.”
“Oh,” she giggled, “unusual words for a new female agent in the double-0 section who has a chance to seduce James Bond himself.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m afraid I’m immune to his charms. I’m not interested in men at my age.”
I’m sure it sounded pretty stupid as I was 32 at that time, but I intended to cut the topic off.
“Then I don’t have to worry about you,” said Eve. She noticed that I started to look around the room. “So, how much do you know about M?”
“All I know is that his name’s Mallory and he used to be a field operative,” I replied with no satisfaction in my voice, inviting her to tell me something more interesting about the man.
“That’s correct. It means you know more than most of the new double-0s,” she smiled. A little light appeared near her left hand. “Excuse me for a moment...” she said and picked up the phone. “Yes, sir? She’s here already. Thank you, sir,” she hanged up and looked at me.
“He’ll see you now,” she nodded her head towards the leather maroon door.
“Thank you, Eve,” I said as I got up, and gave her an honest smile. I already liked M’s secretary after our short conversation. I felt we could even become friends one day...
I sighed, buttoned up my navy blue jacket, and opened the famous maroon door.
...
His wooden desk was standing in front of the entrance. The walls, decorated with classical paintings, were wooden as well, and one could say that the office reflected the character of its owner - the colour of his verdure desk lamp matched the curtains, and you could feel the atmosphere of omnipresent order. The shelves were full of books. Without a doubt he was a bit old-fashioned, but a man of taste as well. He was sitting behind his desk and got up as I entered.
“Good morning, sir.”
“Welcome, Targett,” he said dispassionately and pointed to one of the wooden chairs standing in front of his desk. “Please, have a seat.”
I went through the office and sat on the chair on the right (the one he pointed to). I needed to focus on the conversation, but it wasn’t that simple. I immediately fell in love with his sublime clothing. I couldn’t help but notice his double-breasted chalk stripe suit. It was navy and exceptionally well-tailored.
“So, how did it feel?”
“Umm... excuse me, sir?” my mind was miles away and I had no idea what he has just asked me about.
“How did it feel to kill two enemy agents. It is the way you *earned* your promotion, isn’t it?” his green eyes were expecting an adequate answer.
“Well, there is a first time for everything,” I replied instantly, trying not to disappoint him. “In a sense, it was a challenge. A step I had to take in order to make progress.”
He raised an eyebrow, then looked down at his desk, as he signed something.
“I just expect that you won’t hesitate to make such progress again *and pull that trigger* if the situation requires it,” he said with his eyes still on the papers.
“I won’t hesitate, sir.”
He looked at my face again with a mixture of disbelief and contentment in his green eyes. I couldn’t tell which of those emotions was stronger. I had absolutely no idea what kind of thought has just crossed his mind. He was an enigma, and probably this was the secret behind his effective leadership. For a while, I got an impression that he was observing my brown hair, ending at the corners of my mouth, but maybe it was just a figment of my imagination. I thrown a daring glance at him and then I noticed his receding hairline. He was at least 15 years my senior, maybe even older.
“So, Targett. My name’s Gareth Mallory, but this is for your ears *only*,” he said, his voice being extremely dry. “And before I assign you to your first mission as a double-0, I need to *know* how to call you. Choose a number,” he ordered and passed me a short list of spare double-0 numbers.
I looked at the list and I knew immediately which one suited me best.
“002, sir.”
He looked to the left side of his desk, picked up one of the black files with a red caption “top secret” written on them, then handed it to me.
“This is your new mission, 002. An international economic conference in Geneva. 4 days and 400 guests from all over the world. One of them is an Italian businessman, Luca Abbruscato. We assume he would attempt to discourage other businessmen from buying diamond mines in West Australia, as we suspect the mines provide the funds for Abbruscato’s friends. Very little is known about him and the possible links between his friends and a crime syndicate from Milano. The details are explained in the files,” when he finished describing the case, his voice began to sound more imperiously. “You will be joined by 005, our operative often working in Switzerland. Observe Abbruscato. Find out what his plans are and make sure he isn’t collaborating with criminals. Your plane to Geneva departs in two days time. I expect you and 005 to report daily. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” I answered in a determined manner.
“That will be all. Report to Q tomorrow for medical.”
He stood up and I did the same, following him.
“Welcome to the double-0 section,” he said with a little, cold smile. “Good luck, 002.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said and headed to the maroon door.
I couldn’t show my emotions to M, but I was in the seventh heaven. My first mission as a double-0! I would never predict getting the promotion at the age of 32. And apart from that, I had a partner to work with... My new life began better than I had expected.
I said goodbye to Moneypenny, who also wished me luck - but I’m not sure if she meant good luck for the mission or rather good luck for the late-night date with James Bond...
Ohhhh, poor James who has invited me to a drink later that evening. He didn’t stand a chance with me.
From now on I felt that it was all about Gareth Mallory.
***
To be continued.
