Interlude: The Road to Solace

Epilogue

Lake Como, Italy

The briefings, the planning, the training all slowly and agonizing crawled by, but finally, James Bond was back in the field, doing what he did best...stalking his prey.

Suavely dressed in a Tom Ford suit, Walther PPK securely held in his shoulder holster, Heckler and Koch sub-machine gun in one hand and cellphone in the other, agent 007 was ready...to begin war.

He could hear the gates electronically swing open and the car drive into the compound of Mr. White's villa. He heard the door of the car open and the sound of a man stepping out...

Timing was everything.

Wait for it, he told himself. Wait...wait...wait...NOW!

He dialled White's number on his cellphone...the number Vesper had left behind for him nearly two months ago.

His quarry answered the phone.

"Mr. White", he said coldly. "We need to talk".

"Who is this?" White asked, perplexed.

Sensing his target's anxiety, his confusion, Bond knew that this was the perfect psychological moment to strike. Carefully aiming his gun at White's ankle, he skilfully squeezed off a silenced shot.

White let out a sharp cry of agony as he crumbled to the floor...crawling on the ground in pain, inch by inch, towards the steps of his villa.

Here's my cue, Bond thought as he stepped out from behind the banisters where he'd been concealed and walked down the steps; his every muscle taut, command and assurance evident in his every movement...

Mr. White looked up at him. And Bond in turn stared hard at the face of the man who'd been party to Vesper's betrayal...of the government, of the country, and of him.

But he tried his best not to reflect on all that. M was right...emotions had no place in the field.

"The name's Bond", he replied brusquely. "James Bond".

He said the words without the slightest hesitation, without the slightest hint of self-doubt. Hearing himself, his name said out loud, filled Bond with a strange sense of triumph. No more was there any insecurity or soul-searching. For the first time since Venice, he knew exactly who he was and what he had to do.

And in that realisation alone, he reasoned, lay the road to solace...

A/N: The story continues in the 22nd Bond film, Quantum of Solace!