This was very good and very enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed the revision of history and this is what this thread is all about - imaginary conversations - and this fits the bill perfectly. More of the same, please 🍸👏
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
What I like is that he can he dropped into a situation anytime in the last 75 or so years since he became ageless some time ago; in the 1980s is my belief.
That's because in the books Gardner specifically kept him at the vague age Fleming left him at ignoring the nearly 20 years difference, while in the movies we're supposed to ignore Dalton being 20 years younger than his predecessor Moore. Both of these happened in the 80s, so that's when Bond became ageless.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 31,069Chief of Staff
I think that’s a very valid point…there was obviously a need for a reinvention in the late 1980’s….and I look forward to Bond being dropped into differing times 😁
Toulouse is a city of two halves, one being the very definition of modern and the other the exact opposite. Being the European centre of aerospace there are large expanses devoted to the manufacture and testing of aircraft of all kinds, from supersonic passenger planes to space shuttles and satellites. These, naturally enough, are on the outskirts of the city with their need to swallow vast tracts of land. The innermost parts are filled with churches and cathedrals, ranging from Gothic to far earlier in their design, and are magnets to a certain variety of tourist – almost always diametrically opposed to those who would like a close look at the aeronautical activities, or at least as close a look as possible given the obviously high levels of security maintained.
James Bond, neither of these kind of people, sat in a pavement café just outside the shadow of the ancient Basilica of Saint-Sernin sipping at a coffee – it was too early for serious drinking, even for him. He hadn’t been here in this stunning city for over ten years, he thought, not since that business with the Concorde. He smiled as he remembered how that had been, but he wasn’t here to drag up old memories so he pondered upon what had brought him here and what or who he was waiting for.
Miss Moneypenny had smiled brightly at him yesterday as he entered, his hand ruefully missing the flick which would in a manner that seemed ever so casual, although in truth discreetly well practiced, send his hat to land unerringly upon the hat rack in the corner of her office. Times are always changing, he thought. No hats, so no hat rack.
“Good morning, James”, she said happily, preparing for another round of the delightful diversion the two had been enjoying playing for more years than seemed plausible. Both of them knew to keep things at that level, unwilling to take just one further step into dangerous territory.
“All the better for seeing you, Penny”, said Bond, “I don’t suppose you would want to join me for dinner later? I know this beautiful little –“
“Now, James, you know I would be very happy to do that but I happen to know that you won’t be available tonight”.
“You do? And why would that be?” said Bond, casually sitting on her desk to bring them closer together.
“Not my place to discuss such things. Now….”
She pressed a button on her intercom. “007 is here, sir”.
“Send him in”, came the reply.
“See you later, James” she said, “or perhaps I should say au revoir …”
Bond gave her a quizzical look as he opened M’s door.
“Sit down, 007”, M said brusquely. “Take a look at this”.
He handed over a short letter. Bond noted it was addressed to him by name, care of the Ministry of Defence, before reading. It was unsigned.
“When did this arrive, sir?” asked Bond as he read it through.
“Yesterday, second post. It went through the usual channels, being checked for any unpleasant surprises, before being passed to my office”.
“It claims to be from “an old friend”. That could mean anything – many would fit that description or the opposite”.
“We’ve checked for fingerprints. Nothing showed of course, but we weren’t really expecting any”, said M. “If they had wanted us to have their fingerprints, they might as well have signed their name”.
“So we have nothing to go on. No leads”.
“All we know is that they ask you to be in the Mediterranean Café in Toulouse at nine am tomorrow”.
Which explained Moneypenny’s little au revoir remark, thought Bond. Of course she would have made the arrangements and known where he was going.
And now Bond checked his watch. One minute to nine. He took another sip of his coffee as a gigantic shadow passed over his table and then stopped.
“Good to see you, Mr Bond”.
Bond looked up. And up.
And up. He took a long breath before speaking.
“Hello, Jaws”.
To Be Continued
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 31,069Chief of Staff
Jaws was a big man but not taller than the Eiffel Tower or wider than a beer truck. He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a tray of petit four. His voice was deep and unexpectedly soft.
“I prefer to go by my given name these days”, he said. There was no menace or threat in his tone. Bond had gotten over being surprised that he wasn’t a mute as he had originally thought.
“All right, Zbigniew”, said Bond, “but would you please have a seat? My neck is beginning to hurt looking at you, and I know that if I get up it won’t help”.
Bond knew that at six foot tall he would only just come up to the giant’s chin. With the care born of a lifetime accidentally crushing furniture, Zbigniew Krycsiwiki sat on one of the café chairs. It creaked alarmingly but managed to support the unexpected weight it was required to take. Bond waved a rather apprehensive waiter over and ordered more coffee for himself and, after a nod, one for Zbigniew.
“So, what can I do for you?” asked Bond. “The last I heard you had retired from, shall we say, your previous activities and were planning on settling down with your girlfriend, what was her name, Molly?”
“Dolly” said Jaws, his teeth glinting in the morning sunlight, “that’s why I asked you here. I need your help, Mr Bond”.
They paused as the waiter brought their coffees, struggling to keep as far away as possible without showing it.
“I can’t imagine you would need my help with anything. Has something happened?”
Zbigniew took a sip. “We came here to set up home. I had managed to get a job with NASA’s European branch, after my experience with Drax and the Moonrakers”. He looked sharply at Bond. “I wouldn’t get any thanks if I told you more about that, but it isn’t necessary. We found ourselves a cottage I felt free to move about in and settled down. All was going well and we were planning on getting married then three days ago I came home to find her gone. No note, no reason, nothing. They let me fret for an hour then a man came to my door. He said he and his friends had Dolly. No harm would come to her if I did exactly what they said”.
“A brave man”, said Bond, “did you allow him to keep his head after you tore off his arms and legs?”
A heavy sigh. “He came protected”.
“I don’t think even a machine gun could have stopped you if someone threatened Dolly”, said Bond.
“He had something scarier than that. He showed me a photograph of Dolly. She was gagged and tied to a chair with a man pointing a gun at her head. He said I would never find her unless I let him return and did what they said”.
“And what was that?”
“I have to break my NDA to tell you, but you know that won’t stop me. There are plans to launch a space shuttle soon, late this year or early the next, and all of the Moonrakers were destroyed. They wanted to use the plans for those but Hugo Drax had a man in his factory. He was called Krebs, Willi Krebs, and he had instructions to blow up the whole place, all of the scientists, all of the documents, everything, if Drax somehow got killed up in space. So he did”.
“And did this man know that if Drax’s plans came to fruition, he would have been killed just like everyone else on Earth?” asked Bond.
Jaws shook his head. “I don’t know. I only met him once – little guy with a moustache and a shaved head. Anyway, he did exactly that then shot himself before the CIA or whoever could catch up with him. There are only a very few people left alive who had anything to do with the Moonrakers. I’m no scientist, Mr Bond, but at least I was there and so was Dolly so we’ve been working as consultants”.
“I wonder, does my old friend Dr Goodhead work for them as well?” mused Bond.
“Oh, I take it you didn’t hear then? She took a holiday in Egypt, and died on a boat on the Nile”.
Bond hadn’t heard, and took a moment to take that in. “So, you want me to help you find Dolly?”
“It’s either that or I have to steal all the plans and blueprints of the space shuttle – “Columbia”, I think it’s to be called – and pass them over. I do that or Dolly dies”.
Back in Bond’s hotel room, he asked Jaws a few questions then dialled a number he had long memorised. A few code phrases later, he was speaking with one of his few close friends who was delighted to hear he was in France.
“James! I am distraught that you are in my country but you have not come to see me. I have a bottle of very interesting wine which will not drink itself and –“
“Later, Rene, later. I have to ask you something. It’s business, and I have to tell you that I am not alone”.
The bonhomie faded from Mathis’ voice. “Always the business with you, always. All right, what can I do for you?”
“I am looking for someone. A woman, blonde hair, blue eyes, mid-20s, very short – perhaps 149cm – round glasses. Name Dolores Ravalec. She was kidnapped from her cottage in Toulouse three days ago”. Bond passed on the address. “I can’t tell you more for the moment, but it is vital that we find her”.
There had been the sound of Mathis quickly scribbling down the details.
“All right, I’ll see what we can do. Do you have any more details?”
“Such as what?” asked Bond.
“Any distinguishing marks- like, perhaps, does she have a scar down her right cheek? Eyes where the white shows all around the pupils? Or wear braces on her teeth?”
Bond turned to Jaws.
“Does she have braces?” he asked.
The big man shrugged. “I’ve never noticed”. Bond stared for a moment but decided not to probe any further.
“Can’t help you there, Rene”, said Bond.
“Okay. Meantime, can I get you on this number?” asked Mathis.
“In an hour or two, yes”, said Bond. “I’m going to have a look at the cottage first”.
He made eye contact with Zbigniew, who nodded.
Surprisingly, the car which Jaws had chosen to drive was a fairly normal-sized one rather than a tank. He had had to have the driver’s seat adjusted to go back further than the manufacturer had intended, of course, but otherwise it would not have stood out in a car park.
The cottage turned out to be in the area of Montaudran, in the south east of the city. Bond had pictured a traditional little building but that wouldn’t have made much sense. It was not a mansion, but it was a fairly modern one storey building. They drove up and Zbigniew led the way to the front door, which as they got closer Bond could see was taller than had initially appeared. He wondered if that had been one of the reasons they had chosen this house, or if alterations had been made.
They looked around the rooms but found nothing. Bond would have been surprised if they had. He didn’t know what they might be looking for, but it had to be done. He could feel Zbigniew’s growing impatience but remained calm.
“Let’s look outside”, he said, “I want to take a look at where they would have had to park their car”.
They walked down the short path past Zbigniew’s car. It was a quiet area, and very few cars would have been down here. Bond looked closely at the tyre marks.
“I don’t think you’ll see much there”, said Jaws.
“I think I have, Jaw- er, Zbigniew. Look here”, said Bond. The giant clumsily bent down to look at where Bond was pointing in the thin mud.
“Well? What am I supposed to be looking at?” he grumbled.
“If you’re going to kidnap someone you don’t want to take them away in a little car like a Fiat Panda”, said Bond. “Those are the tyre marks of a medium sized van. Hold on a moment”.
Bond pulled out a compact camera. Major Boothroyd had given it to him a couple of years ago, and thought it a splendid joke to have the lens in the middle “0” of 007. Bond had patiently erased that needless display more recently once he had noticed it. He took several photos of the tracks from various angles then looked up at Jaws.
“We’ve seen all we need to see here. We need to get back to the centre and send these pictures to my friend in Paris”.
“You have, how do you say, a lucky streak, mon ami”, said the distant voice of Mathis in Bond’s ear.
Back in the hotel, Bond was drinking vodka. Zbigniew had shaken his head.
“How do you mean?” asked Bond.
He could hear the smile as Mathis replied. “Those tyres you photographed belong to a Volkswagen Transporter T3, a new model introduced only last year. Not very many have been sold in France, and only one in or near Toulouse”.
“And you have an address for that, of course”, said Bond. Jaws seized a paper and pen and wrote the address down as Bond repeated it.
“That’s wonderful, thank –“
But Jaws was already out of the door with Bond struggling to keep up with his gigantic strides.
The house was at the end of a nondescript row in a quiet area of Toulouse, not too far from where the cottage shared by Dolly and Zbigniew was situated. The curtains were tightly drawn and no light showed. The Volkswagen Transporter stood outside. Zbigniew parked his car then he and Bond silently got out and approached. Bond had already decided that the other windows would be curtained as well, so there would be no use checking them out.
“Listen”, said Bond, “we should –“
But Jaws had smashed the front door down as easily if it had been cardboard, leaving Bond drawing the Walther and running in his wake. For a man of his size, Zbigniew could move like an Olympic sprinter when he wanted. Bond caught a glimpse of Dolly, tied and gagged as Jaws had said, then a man aiming a gun at her. He shot the man cleanly through the heart with no hesitation or warning, then turned to help Zbigniew with the others. No help was required. The giant had one man by the neck in each of his shovel-sized hands, and was pulling their messily shattered skulls apart then dropping them to the floor and heading for Dolly. Bond produced a knife and helped to untie the weeping woman before she fell into their arms.
From outside the sounds of distant police sirens could be heard. It was too soon for them to have been summoned by the noises here – Mathis must have sent them.
“Listen to me, both of you”, said Bond, “you have to leave now. Now. Take the car. I’ll deal with the police. Go now”.
Jaws scooped Dolly up in his arms as easily as if he were holding a child.
“I won’t forget this, Mr Bond”, he said.
“We can talk about that next time. Now, go! I don’t like long goodbyes.”
The sound of the car engine had faded by the time the gendarmes were at the broken door.
Thanks, @chrisno1. I don’t often indulge myself in this "explanation" sort of thing but I thought it might be interesting -
I wanted to have Bond meet Jaws and the two of them work together, and at the same time I wanted to set a story in Toulouse (why will become clear another time). I pictured Bond being sent there and meeting Jaws. Now, why here? Well, Dolly is French (at least her actress is) so I visualised the two of them setting up home there. Now, why? Toulouse is the European centre of the aerospace industry, and they could be working for some company there using their experience with the Moonraker.
So, Bond meets Jaws. He’s sitting in a pavement café and Jaws walks up. Can’t be just a coincidence so why? He wants Bond to help him do something, but what? A bell rang in my head- this seems familiar…. And now the lightning flash hit me. This was very similar to the opening of Raymond Chandler’s “Farewell, My Lovely” where Philip Marlowe meets the giant Moose Malloy outside a bar. I had two choices: change the setting to avoid the similarities (coincidental though they were) or dive right in. So I went straight for emphasising the parallels. I took Chandler’s opening, changed a few words (Jaws rather than Moose and Frenchifying the location), and put that at the start of my second chapter. Moose is looking for his missing girlfriend Velma and hires Marlowe to help in his search, so Jaws is looking for his missing girlfriend Dolly and enlists Bond.
I put the words “long goodbye” in Bond’s mouth near the end, which @CoolHandBond spotted. And just to show that I knew about the parallels and wasn’t simply copying Chandler, I wore my heart on my sleeve and gave the story a genuine Chandler title. In French, of course, since we were in France.
One big change: I had intended the ending to be on a ship, just as Chandler had his. No change to the action, just the location. However, I doubted my own abilities to pull that off (getting Bond and Jaws out there, getting Jaws and Dolly away at the end) so I kept things simple and had the bad guys keep Dolly hostage in a normal house. Or perhaps I should say maison.
Comments
Thanks, Sir M. I was interested myself to see where it went.
This was very good and very enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed the revision of history and this is what this thread is all about - imaginary conversations - and this fits the bill perfectly. More of the same, please 🍸👏
Thanks, CHB, very glad to hear that. More as soon as possible.
I really like how you cross Bond with real life characters and situations…what…??? Bond IS real you say ☺️
What I like is that he can he dropped into a situation anytime in the last 75 or so years since he became ageless some time ago; in the 1980s is my belief.
That's because in the books Gardner specifically kept him at the vague age Fleming left him at ignoring the nearly 20 years difference, while in the movies we're supposed to ignore Dalton being 20 years younger than his predecessor Moore. Both of these happened in the 80s, so that's when Bond became ageless.
I think that’s a very valid point…there was obviously a need for a reinvention in the late 1980’s….and I look forward to Bond being dropped into differing times 😁
@Barbel
Thank you for another gem.
Keep up the great work.
Bravo.
Thanks for that, @Sonero. I'm hoping more will arrive soon.
Au Revoir, Ma Belle
1980
Chapter One
Toulouse is a city of two halves, one being the very definition of modern and the other the exact opposite. Being the European centre of aerospace there are large expanses devoted to the manufacture and testing of aircraft of all kinds, from supersonic passenger planes to space shuttles and satellites. These, naturally enough, are on the outskirts of the city with their need to swallow vast tracts of land. The innermost parts are filled with churches and cathedrals, ranging from Gothic to far earlier in their design, and are magnets to a certain variety of tourist – almost always diametrically opposed to those who would like a close look at the aeronautical activities, or at least as close a look as possible given the obviously high levels of security maintained.
James Bond, neither of these kind of people, sat in a pavement café just outside the shadow of the ancient Basilica of Saint-Sernin sipping at a coffee – it was too early for serious drinking, even for him. He hadn’t been here in this stunning city for over ten years, he thought, not since that business with the Concorde. He smiled as he remembered how that had been, but he wasn’t here to drag up old memories so he pondered upon what had brought him here and what or who he was waiting for.
Miss Moneypenny had smiled brightly at him yesterday as he entered, his hand ruefully missing the flick which would in a manner that seemed ever so casual, although in truth discreetly well practiced, send his hat to land unerringly upon the hat rack in the corner of her office. Times are always changing, he thought. No hats, so no hat rack.
“Good morning, James”, she said happily, preparing for another round of the delightful diversion the two had been enjoying playing for more years than seemed plausible. Both of them knew to keep things at that level, unwilling to take just one further step into dangerous territory.
“All the better for seeing you, Penny”, said Bond, “I don’t suppose you would want to join me for dinner later? I know this beautiful little –“
“Now, James, you know I would be very happy to do that but I happen to know that you won’t be available tonight”.
“You do? And why would that be?” said Bond, casually sitting on her desk to bring them closer together.
“Not my place to discuss such things. Now….”
She pressed a button on her intercom. “007 is here, sir”.
“Send him in”, came the reply.
“See you later, James” she said, “or perhaps I should say au revoir …”
Bond gave her a quizzical look as he opened M’s door.
“Sit down, 007”, M said brusquely. “Take a look at this”.
He handed over a short letter. Bond noted it was addressed to him by name, care of the Ministry of Defence, before reading. It was unsigned.
“When did this arrive, sir?” asked Bond as he read it through.
“Yesterday, second post. It went through the usual channels, being checked for any unpleasant surprises, before being passed to my office”.
“It claims to be from “an old friend”. That could mean anything – many would fit that description or the opposite”.
“We’ve checked for fingerprints. Nothing showed of course, but we weren’t really expecting any”, said M. “If they had wanted us to have their fingerprints, they might as well have signed their name”.
“So we have nothing to go on. No leads”.
“All we know is that they ask you to be in the Mediterranean Café in Toulouse at nine am tomorrow”.
Which explained Moneypenny’s little au revoir remark, thought Bond. Of course she would have made the arrangements and known where he was going.
And now Bond checked his watch. One minute to nine. He took another sip of his coffee as a gigantic shadow passed over his table and then stopped.
“Good to see you, Mr Bond”.
Bond looked up. And up.
And up. He took a long breath before speaking.
“Hello, Jaws”.
To Be Continued
Ooohhhh….lovely 👏🏻
I wasn’t expecting him! Excellent 👏
I can barely wait ....
... then put away your yogurt and lemon juice, and wait no more.
Chapter Two
Jaws was a big man but not taller than the Eiffel Tower or wider than a beer truck. He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a tray of petit four. His voice was deep and unexpectedly soft.
“I prefer to go by my given name these days”, he said. There was no menace or threat in his tone. Bond had gotten over being surprised that he wasn’t a mute as he had originally thought.
“All right, Zbigniew”, said Bond, “but would you please have a seat? My neck is beginning to hurt looking at you, and I know that if I get up it won’t help”.
Bond knew that at six foot tall he would only just come up to the giant’s chin. With the care born of a lifetime accidentally crushing furniture, Zbigniew Krycsiwiki sat on one of the café chairs. It creaked alarmingly but managed to support the unexpected weight it was required to take. Bond waved a rather apprehensive waiter over and ordered more coffee for himself and, after a nod, one for Zbigniew.
“So, what can I do for you?” asked Bond. “The last I heard you had retired from, shall we say, your previous activities and were planning on settling down with your girlfriend, what was her name, Molly?”
“Dolly” said Jaws, his teeth glinting in the morning sunlight, “that’s why I asked you here. I need your help, Mr Bond”.
They paused as the waiter brought their coffees, struggling to keep as far away as possible without showing it.
“I can’t imagine you would need my help with anything. Has something happened?”
Zbigniew took a sip. “We came here to set up home. I had managed to get a job with NASA’s European branch, after my experience with Drax and the Moonrakers”. He looked sharply at Bond. “I wouldn’t get any thanks if I told you more about that, but it isn’t necessary. We found ourselves a cottage I felt free to move about in and settled down. All was going well and we were planning on getting married then three days ago I came home to find her gone. No note, no reason, nothing. They let me fret for an hour then a man came to my door. He said he and his friends had Dolly. No harm would come to her if I did exactly what they said”.
“A brave man”, said Bond, “did you allow him to keep his head after you tore off his arms and legs?”
A heavy sigh. “He came protected”.
“I don’t think even a machine gun could have stopped you if someone threatened Dolly”, said Bond.
“He had something scarier than that. He showed me a photograph of Dolly. She was gagged and tied to a chair with a man pointing a gun at her head. He said I would never find her unless I let him return and did what they said”.
“And what was that?”
“I have to break my NDA to tell you, but you know that won’t stop me. There are plans to launch a space shuttle soon, late this year or early the next, and all of the Moonrakers were destroyed. They wanted to use the plans for those but Hugo Drax had a man in his factory. He was called Krebs, Willi Krebs, and he had instructions to blow up the whole place, all of the scientists, all of the documents, everything, if Drax somehow got killed up in space. So he did”.
“And did this man know that if Drax’s plans came to fruition, he would have been killed just like everyone else on Earth?” asked Bond.
Jaws shook his head. “I don’t know. I only met him once – little guy with a moustache and a shaved head. Anyway, he did exactly that then shot himself before the CIA or whoever could catch up with him. There are only a very few people left alive who had anything to do with the Moonrakers. I’m no scientist, Mr Bond, but at least I was there and so was Dolly so we’ve been working as consultants”.
“I wonder, does my old friend Dr Goodhead work for them as well?” mused Bond.
“Oh, I take it you didn’t hear then? She took a holiday in Egypt, and died on a boat on the Nile”.
Bond hadn’t heard, and took a moment to take that in. “So, you want me to help you find Dolly?”
“It’s either that or I have to steal all the plans and blueprints of the space shuttle – “Columbia”, I think it’s to be called – and pass them over. I do that or Dolly dies”.
To Be Continued
Characters from both MR movie and book, Death On The Nile movie - wow, you’re spoiling us, Barbel 😁👏
Thanks, CHB, glad you're enjoying it.
Yes, and congratulations on spelling the ex-villains name right - Jaws 😉
Thank you, Sir M, I try to keep those things in order.
Chapter Three
Back in Bond’s hotel room, he asked Jaws a few questions then dialled a number he had long memorised. A few code phrases later, he was speaking with one of his few close friends who was delighted to hear he was in France.
“James! I am distraught that you are in my country but you have not come to see me. I have a bottle of very interesting wine which will not drink itself and –“
“Later, Rene, later. I have to ask you something. It’s business, and I have to tell you that I am not alone”.
The bonhomie faded from Mathis’ voice. “Always the business with you, always. All right, what can I do for you?”
“I am looking for someone. A woman, blonde hair, blue eyes, mid-20s, very short – perhaps 149cm – round glasses. Name Dolores Ravalec. She was kidnapped from her cottage in Toulouse three days ago”. Bond passed on the address. “I can’t tell you more for the moment, but it is vital that we find her”.
There had been the sound of Mathis quickly scribbling down the details.
“All right, I’ll see what we can do. Do you have any more details?”
“Such as what?” asked Bond.
“Any distinguishing marks- like, perhaps, does she have a scar down her right cheek? Eyes where the white shows all around the pupils? Or wear braces on her teeth?”
Bond turned to Jaws.
“Does she have braces?” he asked.
The big man shrugged. “I’ve never noticed”. Bond stared for a moment but decided not to probe any further.
“Can’t help you there, Rene”, said Bond.
“Okay. Meantime, can I get you on this number?” asked Mathis.
“In an hour or two, yes”, said Bond. “I’m going to have a look at the cottage first”.
He made eye contact with Zbigniew, who nodded.
Surprisingly, the car which Jaws had chosen to drive was a fairly normal-sized one rather than a tank. He had had to have the driver’s seat adjusted to go back further than the manufacturer had intended, of course, but otherwise it would not have stood out in a car park.
The cottage turned out to be in the area of Montaudran, in the south east of the city. Bond had pictured a traditional little building but that wouldn’t have made much sense. It was not a mansion, but it was a fairly modern one storey building. They drove up and Zbigniew led the way to the front door, which as they got closer Bond could see was taller than had initially appeared. He wondered if that had been one of the reasons they had chosen this house, or if alterations had been made.
They looked around the rooms but found nothing. Bond would have been surprised if they had. He didn’t know what they might be looking for, but it had to be done. He could feel Zbigniew’s growing impatience but remained calm.
“Let’s look outside”, he said, “I want to take a look at where they would have had to park their car”.
They walked down the short path past Zbigniew’s car. It was a quiet area, and very few cars would have been down here. Bond looked closely at the tyre marks.
“I don’t think you’ll see much there”, said Jaws.
“I think I have, Jaw- er, Zbigniew. Look here”, said Bond. The giant clumsily bent down to look at where Bond was pointing in the thin mud.
“Well? What am I supposed to be looking at?” he grumbled.
“If you’re going to kidnap someone you don’t want to take them away in a little car like a Fiat Panda”, said Bond. “Those are the tyre marks of a medium sized van. Hold on a moment”.
Bond pulled out a compact camera. Major Boothroyd had given it to him a couple of years ago, and thought it a splendid joke to have the lens in the middle “0” of 007. Bond had patiently erased that needless display more recently once he had noticed it. He took several photos of the tracks from various angles then looked up at Jaws.
“We’ve seen all we need to see here. We need to get back to the centre and send these pictures to my friend in Paris”.
To Be Continued
Loving the Easter Eggs. And Dolly did have braces, the whole cinema erupted with laughter when she first smiled.
😁
Braces on her teeth..?…yes, definitely yes…until you look again at the pictures 30 years later…then it’s no, amazingly no 😮🤣
Chapter Four
“You have, how do you say, a lucky streak, mon ami”, said the distant voice of Mathis in Bond’s ear.
Back in the hotel, Bond was drinking vodka. Zbigniew had shaken his head.
“How do you mean?” asked Bond.
He could hear the smile as Mathis replied. “Those tyres you photographed belong to a Volkswagen Transporter T3, a new model introduced only last year. Not very many have been sold in France, and only one in or near Toulouse”.
“And you have an address for that, of course”, said Bond. Jaws seized a paper and pen and wrote the address down as Bond repeated it.
“That’s wonderful, thank –“
But Jaws was already out of the door with Bond struggling to keep up with his gigantic strides.
The house was at the end of a nondescript row in a quiet area of Toulouse, not too far from where the cottage shared by Dolly and Zbigniew was situated. The curtains were tightly drawn and no light showed. The Volkswagen Transporter stood outside. Zbigniew parked his car then he and Bond silently got out and approached. Bond had already decided that the other windows would be curtained as well, so there would be no use checking them out.
“Listen”, said Bond, “we should –“
But Jaws had smashed the front door down as easily if it had been cardboard, leaving Bond drawing the Walther and running in his wake. For a man of his size, Zbigniew could move like an Olympic sprinter when he wanted. Bond caught a glimpse of Dolly, tied and gagged as Jaws had said, then a man aiming a gun at her. He shot the man cleanly through the heart with no hesitation or warning, then turned to help Zbigniew with the others. No help was required. The giant had one man by the neck in each of his shovel-sized hands, and was pulling their messily shattered skulls apart then dropping them to the floor and heading for Dolly. Bond produced a knife and helped to untie the weeping woman before she fell into their arms.
From outside the sounds of distant police sirens could be heard. It was too soon for them to have been summoned by the noises here – Mathis must have sent them.
“Listen to me, both of you”, said Bond, “you have to leave now. Now. Take the car. I’ll deal with the police. Go now”.
Jaws scooped Dolly up in his arms as easily as if he were holding a child.
“I won’t forget this, Mr Bond”, he said.
“We can talk about that next time. Now, go! I don’t like long goodbyes.”
The sound of the car engine had faded by the time the gendarmes were at the broken door.
The End
Dedicated in my unworthy way to Raymond Chandler
Chandler - Long Goodbye. Very good 😁
Fleming was a fan of Chandler, of course. You’ve mixed them together very nicely, Barbel 👏
Very enjoyable 😀
And Dolly DID have braces 🤨😁
Yep, she definitely did 😁
Thanks very much, gents.
I've never read The Long Goodbye, so I miss something here. A bit oblique I thought - and I rather like that
Thanks, @chrisno1. I don’t often indulge myself in this "explanation" sort of thing but I thought it might be interesting -
I wanted to have Bond meet Jaws and the two of them work together, and at the same time I wanted to set a story in Toulouse (why will become clear another time). I pictured Bond being sent there and meeting Jaws. Now, why here? Well, Dolly is French (at least her actress is) so I visualised the two of them setting up home there. Now, why? Toulouse is the European centre of the aerospace industry, and they could be working for some company there using their experience with the Moonraker.
So, Bond meets Jaws. He’s sitting in a pavement café and Jaws walks up. Can’t be just a coincidence so why? He wants Bond to help him do something, but what? A bell rang in my head- this seems familiar…. And now the lightning flash hit me. This was very similar to the opening of Raymond Chandler’s “Farewell, My Lovely” where Philip Marlowe meets the giant Moose Malloy outside a bar. I had two choices: change the setting to avoid the similarities (coincidental though they were) or dive right in. So I went straight for emphasising the parallels. I took Chandler’s opening, changed a few words (Jaws rather than Moose and Frenchifying the location), and put that at the start of my second chapter. Moose is looking for his missing girlfriend Velma and hires Marlowe to help in his search, so Jaws is looking for his missing girlfriend Dolly and enlists Bond.
I put the words “long goodbye” in Bond’s mouth near the end, which @CoolHandBond spotted. And just to show that I knew about the parallels and wasn’t simply copying Chandler, I wore my heart on my sleeve and gave the story a genuine Chandler title. In French, of course, since we were in France.
One big change: I had intended the ending to be on a ship, just as Chandler had his. No change to the action, just the location. However, I doubted my own abilities to pull that off (getting Bond and Jaws out there, getting Jaws and Dolly away at the end) so I kept things simple and had the bad guys keep Dolly hostage in a normal house. Or perhaps I should say maison.