Science Fiction Multi-Feature Picture Show

White Lies (Part 1)

M stared out over the estate through the wide double pane window, studiously ignoring the other occupant in the room. She was not pleased by her superior's decision but orders were orders. Whatever pressure the American applied to make those orders happen, well, M held a grudging respect for the hooded figure seated behind her. Granted the hood and its accompanying mask were ridiculous but the American would figure that out soon enough.

It wasn't the opening door that made her turn. Despite M's efforts to ensure the hinges screeched like a cat in heat, it opened soundlessly, without so much as a muffled click to alert them of the entrant. M had other ways of knowing someone entered her abode, a sense of another present energy, the prickle on the back of one's neck when a dangerous predator is staring at them from a high branch.

"Hello agent, take a seat," she spun, a satisfied smirk on her lips at the American's tense posture.

The man who joined them was tall, broad shouldered, handsome, one would think someone of his size and stature could not move with the stealth he achieved. It was a note of pride to M, the agent before her was one of her best. "Well done with the operations facility in North Korea. You've bought the world another few years of inaction." M paced from behind her desk, her hands balled behind the small of her back. The next part was the hardest. She could feel the American watching her beneath the hood.

"I have another task for you," she began.

"No time for a bit of R & R?" The agent sighed with a grin, crossing his legs at this knee. His tone was relaxed, but his eyes studied the concealed figure beside him. M bit down on her own sigh, moving forward.

"It is a much simpler task than wading through a militarized country, but important nonetheless. A run of the mill retrieval."

The man's brows knit together as he looked between M and the still silent American. "A retrieval? Surely you have other agents who could tackle this?"

"The mission itself is not why we've tapped you," said M

"The reason is the person who you are retrieving," finished the American, who reached up to remove the hood. Auburn curls spilled out, framing an slender face with wide green eyes.

M breathed through her nose. Bloody theatrics. "Agent 007, this is our American liaison Jane White. She will be accompanying you."

There was a beat of silence where M saw her agent's eyes widen. It was a brief reaction but it was there. "Bond, James Bond, pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms. White."

The American schooled her reaction, giving the agent a warm smile that brought out the dimples in her cheeks. "Please, call me Jane." She shook his hand, her fingers brushing over his rest as she pulled away.

James blinked, shaking his head. "Who exactly are we retrieving that requires agents from two different countries?"

M laid a tablet on the desk between them, information blooming across the screen at the touch of her fingertip. "His name is Felix Hatten. Two months ago, he went missing on a routine surveillance of the Russian border."

"The Russians?" James inquired, his leg jogging up and down. He was likely spoiling for a fight with them after their last encounter.

"No," said M, "we believe he was taken by a third party with unclear intentions. We know the facility where he is being detained. You job is to slip in without alerting them of your presence and retrieve him alive."

James looked to the American, Jane White. "What is your purpose in this mission? Driving the get-away car?"

Jane blushed. "Quite the opposite Mr. Bond. While you search the facility for our target, I shall be bugging their internal network."