Her reaction was conceived in long training, for she was like an animal in her instinct for danger. With a sudden move, she slid from under a startled Bond, one hand going for the floor and the small revolver that always lay at her side of the bed.
She fired twice, rolling naked on the floor as she did so – a textbook kill, the man clearly outlined through the blinds lifting back as though in slow motion, his dying breath expelling the wax dart into the air.
Bond was beside her in a second, the ASP in his hand. As they emerged into the night air, they heard the sound of Rahani’s car on the road below the hotel. They needed no telling who it was.
Later, when the body had been removed, calls made to London and Washington, and police and other authorities were satisfied, Bond and Percy drove into Corfu Town itself, to spend the night in one of the larger hotels.
‘Well, at least that settles it. We should both know now,’ Percy began.
‘Know?’ They had managed to get a meal of sorts in their room, though Bond found it hard to relax.
‘The future, James. We should both know about the future after that unpleasant episode.’
‘You mean that until Blofeld’s successor is dead, neither of us will have peace?’
‘That’s part of it. Not all, though.’ She paused to sip her wine. ‘I killed, James, automatically and . . .’
‘And most efficiently, darling.’
‘Yes, that’s what I mean. We’re not like other people, are we? We’re trained, and tidied, and obey orders – fly into danger at a moment’s notice.’
Bond thought for a moment. ‘You’re right, of course, darling. What you mean is that people like us can’t just stop, or lead normal lives.’
‘That’s it, my dear James. It’s been the best time. The very best. But . . .’
‘But now it’s over.’
She nodded, and he leaned across the table to kiss her. ‘Who knows?’ Bond asked of nobody in particular.
The next morning they rebooked tickets, and Bond saw her off, watching her aeroplane climb over the little hillock at the end of the runway, then turn to set course for Athens, where she would make her connection for Paris.
In an hour, he would be on his way back to London and one of his other lives, to play some other role for his country.
By the same author:
Licence Renewed
For Special Services
Icebreaker
Nobody Lives for Ever
No Deals, Mr Bond
Scorpius
Win, Lose or Die
Brokenclaw
The Man from Barbarossa
Death Is Forever
Never Send Flowers
SeaFire
Cold
Licence to Kill
GoldenEye
AN ORION EBOOK
First published in Great Britain in 2011 by Orion Books.
This eBook first published in 2011 by Orion Books.
Copyright © Orion 2011
The right of John Gardner to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the copyright, designs and patents act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
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ISBN: 9780857820518
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John Gardner, Role of Honour
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