Know thy enemy

When James finds himself tied to a ladder, someplace deep inside London's underground and with Silva breathing into his personal space, he wonders which path led him up to this moment.

It probably had all started at Hashima. Even if he hadn't recognized it back then.

When James Bond first meets Silva he primarily is annoyed. Of , he quickly understands how people could fall for the alluring being that is Raoul Silva. After all, MI6 toughed its agents well. But, the fact that Silva tries to pull off a standard procedure to gain a person's backing, bothers him to no end.

Does he really believe any double 0 would fall for the methods they all have been taught so well?

Get in touch with your opposite on a personal level. Check.

Silva makes his entrance by sharing private memories of his childhood, but his tale about rats is such a apposite fable that it's safe to assume the whole thing been made up. James listens closely. He doesn't have a choice anyway; since he is tied to a chair; and just in case all this is true, it tells a story about his enemy.

Plant doubt on your opponent's cause. Check.

Next thing Silva does is presenting all kind of supposedly stolen MI6 data. While he surely is able to get his hands on kind of information there is no proof for any of it to be true. It's a forgery quite likely, a bluff to compromise James trust in M. After all, it's all about M and the man's spite for her. If James wasn't aware of what Silva was doing, he might believe these data to be true. As matters stand, he doesn't believe a word of it. (Only after returning to MI6 he found out that those results were real. He had, after all, checked on it.)

Offer an alternative by presenting the own cause. Check.

The ex-agent shows James what he does for a living. Some people might've gotten interested by this point but James distinctly isn't anywhere close to joining Silva's ventures.

Offer mental and/or physical comfort. Check.

Quite frankly, James is surprised by the way this turned out. Intimate physical contact of course isn't part of the everyday's procedure but a possible and sometimes quite effective access point. It was a tool James himself tended to use rather often but as far as Silva is concerned, James had been upset ever since the man physically approach on him.

He didn't see it coming. Maybe he had subconsciously fend off the possibility. James assumed that Silva tried to convince him of his cause at that time. What interest would he have to unsettle James by violating his personal space at this point? Unless of course, Silva actually wants him. James swallows drily. Whatever it was, it was safe to say that he is not prepared and in the end his body takes the lead of his doings while his mind is unable to stop him.

He's unable to refrain from leaning into Silva's touch, can't help the faint smile that pulls at the corner of his mouth and even get betrayed by his own voice when it comes out rougher than he intends.

James thanks his wits for working best in situations of sexual tension. At least he is able to save some of his composure by retorting with snide remarks.

Anger had coiled deep inside him then. Only now he understands that his anger was directed at his own wavering resolve, rather than at Silva for shaking it.

If he'd come to that conclusion earlier he might've restrained from voicing certain insults. Insults that he by this time, already regretted.

His only sleep within the past 48 hours had been a short and restless nap during their flight from China back to England. After delivering Silva to MI6 he get's called straight into Ms office for a first, quick report on his mission.

Sleep deprivation alone won't put James on edge, however, his mood doesn't exactly brighten when he asks her about his evaluations. It isn't about the fact that M lied at him. Quite the contrary. He had failed and she still had granted him his rank as double 0. It was a chance. It means he had her trust and James isn't sure what he would've done if they had withdrew his license.

No, James feels unsettled about the idea that Silva hadn't made it up, for it entailed that his other doings on the island were more than just a charade as well. What would it say about the man and his cause?

It's early morning when James finally is about to head home. He is just about to get coat and leave when he gets called upon reporting to the room in which Silva is detained for questioning. Apparently, the ex-agent demands to talk only to 007 and M, and those idiots grant him his wish because they fail to get any information out of him on their own.

A junior agent comes up to James to deliver the order. When James tells him to tell Silva to bloody bugger himself, he just earns a helpless, irritated look from the young man. James rubs his temples in frustration and stomps off, toward the cells while his mood reaches new lows.

When the glass door slides open, James finds himself face to face with Raoul Silva. The man being held captive within a hexagonal glass cage. Everything about him seems pale underneath the bright, artificial lights. His hair, his skin, the clothing he now wears. He reminds James on an animal who's pigment-free skin never seen sun because it's habitat are the shadows, or some deep, dark place that the sun would never reach.

"Hello James. I'm glad you could make it. So here we are again. It's quite the contrary situation don't you think?"

"Are you sure? You certainly look like a rat caught in a barrel whereas I can't remember to be in this situation." The moment James says it, he thinks it might be mistake. It's an acknowledgement of having listened to Silva's story.

"Mind joining me, then? Remember: it takes two." "Certainly not. You wanted me, so, here I am. Let's talk and be done with it."

"Oh James. Showing so little hospitality? I'm hurt. It's so unlike you. Or, was that part of you murdered as well with your fall?"

"It would be wasted on you. But speaking of falling, wasn't it you who fell from grace?"

Of course James didn't know what had happened to Silva but it was safe to say that he indeed had fallen from grace in one way or another. James gathered that much from the insinuations M and Silva had made about their past.

James is sick and tired of their game. He will make the man talk and if he can speed things up by sticking blades into old wounds, it was all the better.

Silva's face, which had featured a cocky grin just a moment ago, drops ever so slightly at that. He does his best to retain his careless composure, but his anger is visible in his shrouding eyes. They burn into James like hell fire.

"What is it. Cat got your tongue? Am I not right about this?" "You know nothing about it 007." Silva voice comes out as a throaty hiss. Apparently, James hit the right spot. "No I don't. But, you who wanted me here nonetheless. So, as long as you don't talk, I'm going to make assumptions."

"In this case, go ahead dear. I'm all yours." Silva's eyes still send flying daggers at him but a forced smile creeps back on the man's face already and he leans back to stretch his legs. As if to get comfortable in anticipation for James' performance.

"Truth be told, I fail to see your motive for all this. You put all this afford into your plan against one, single person. Did she hurt your pride that deeply? Honestly, I don't think you were half the agent you believe to be if you never learned that certain decisions have to be made.

Also what about that nickname you have for her? You seem to insist that M is for mother.

It all appears as if you got a little too attached to her back then. Don't you think? So, tell me, what was M to you? Did you really think of her as your mother?..."

It was a silly thing to do. But, after years of working under her and putting his life inside her hands countless times, he understands. This one the one thing about Silva he could understand, but of course, he would never acknowledge it. He will mock Silva for it, knowing it will hurt, but he won't be done with that. James wonders. What did it take to drive Silva up the wall?

He sends a mental apology to M for the things he's about to say. He's going to aim for a low blow against the ex-agent. He doesn't know if it will get the man into talking and frankly, he doesn't even care right now. James is pissed and Silva might very well get his comeuppance.

"... Don't you agree that it's a foolish thing to do? It's not her job to treat us like her children. I hope you never expected it off her. But maybe I'm wrong and this isn't the whole point? Is it not? Well you're still not going to tell me, will you?" James squints his eyes at Silva, as if to measure him up.

"Is she more like that to you? Do you scream for your mother when you pleasure yourself at night?"

The stool behind Silva sways as the man shoots up and slams his fist against the cage. A dull thud echoes through the room. Rage is plain on Silva's face and his body shakes in anger. "How dare you talk about her like that!"

While James had aimed to pull off a strong reaction from Silva, he definitely did not expected the nature of this outcry. He is surprised to learn that Silva is protective about M. After all those years and despite seeking her misery. So, he nonchalantly grins at Silva to wordlessly exclaim his victory while his insides twist with the foreboding suspicion that there was a deeper reason behind Raoul Silva's doings and he realizes that somehow his previous loathing for the man bates.

The door behind James slides open. One of the guards sticks his head inside. He raises a curious eyebrow when he sees 007 smiling grimly and Silva on his feet. "Everything ok in here?"

"Yes, we are good. Do you think M will be able to see us anytime soon?" "I will have it checked."

The guard leaves the two of them alone again.

Neither says anything during the minutes in which they wait for Ms arrival. James ponders about the man in front of him. Silva looked at him mischievously once the door closes and seemingly relaxes again while waiting for the things to come. Apparently he quickly overcame his anger after he noticed that he had run into James' trap. It seems like the man is capable of admitting, and dealing with, a defeat just fine. It only makes James ponder even more.

People are about to enter the room. They can see them halting behind the other side of the glass and Silva's shoulders tense ever so slightly.

The door opens and Silva ignores M presence. He isn't looking her way while she approaches and when he does, he starts to laugh at her. "You're smaller than I remember." It's a show to denigrate her, but James can tell that it's only for Silva's own protection. This is why Ms words must hurt when she answers. "Whereas I barely remember you at all."

"Strange to me it feels like just yesterday. Are you surprised?" "Not particularly. But, then, you always were a slippery one."

"Maybe that's why you liked me so much." "You flatter yourself."

Silva's nonchalant mask, that was back all through this, crumbles when M tells him that regret is unprofessional.

„They kept me for five months, in a room with no air. They tortured me. And I protected you secrets. I protected you." James instantly regrets the things he said a couple of minutes ago. "But they made me suffer, and suffer. And suffer. And then, I realized it was you who betrayed me. You betrayed me."

The memory of pain mirrors on his face. James casts a glance at M. He has to know what going on in her mind and feels sick when he finds the truth on her face. He doesn't know if anyone else is able to see it. He sees the regret there and it unsettles him. What had she done?

"So I had only one thing left. My cyanide capsule, in my molar. So I broke the tooth and bit into the capsule. It burned all my insides, but I didn't die. Life clung to me like a disease and then I understood why I had survived. I needed to look into your eyes one last time."

"Well I hope it was worth it. Mr. Silva, you going to be transferred to Belmarsh prison, where you will remand in custody until the crown prosecution service will deem you fit for trial.." Something changes on Silva's face. A Darkness consumes him and James doesn't know what it's about until Silva interrupts M. "Say my name. Say it. My real name. I know you remember it."

"Your name is on the memorial wall of the very building you attacked. I will have it struck off. Soon, your past will be as nonexistent as your future. I'll never see you again."

M turns to leave, the door is about to close behind her when Silva speaks up one last time. "Do you know what it does to you, hydrogen cyanide?!"

It is then that the regret is plain to see on her face.

James follows her. He has to know what happened back then. But before he leaves, he gives Silva a quick nod. It's an acknowledgment. While he would never approve on Silva's vendetta, he begins to understand what drives him.

M is waiting for him when she hears him coming up from behind. She is aware of what he wants to know. He doesn't have to ask for it. She finally tells James what happened at Station H. How in the end, Tiago Rodriguez got handed over to the Chinese and was proclaimed dead.

And now he understands. It had been different. Bronson died because saving the hard drive was more important than saving his life. James had died because there was a 50:50 chance for either saving the mission or sending him into a quick, painful death. This was M's job. She made the decisions that had to be made. But, Silva's case was something else. She hadn't killed him. She had send him to his death instead, knowing he was loyal enough to protect their secrets until he eventually died by torture or by his own hands.

And just like she had put her trust in him, he had put his trust in her. For five months of pain. James is sure she never expected him to hold onto her that long.

James wonders what would've happened back at the island if he had known the things that he knew now. If he'd known that Raoul didn't just played tricks on him. If his brain hadn't clung to reasons to deny him what he deep down wanted. The thought brings him back into the here and now.

Raoul Silva breaths into him and he sees the path that led them here clearly now. His lust clouded brain slowly shuts off. This time, he lets it happen. James tugs at his retrains but only because he forgot they are there for a moment. He wants to tear and claw at the man in front of him, wants to feel his skin underneath his fingers.

Silva must have sensed what is on his mind because he leans in closer. Their lips barely hover above each other now. "It seems like knowing thy enemy did not do you any good my dear."

James mouth twitches into a lopsided grin. "Why, here I thought you were about to do me some good." Silva looks amused at that and he raises a suggestive eyebrow. "Oh Mr. Bond!" A hand comes up behind James' head and he gets drawn into a kiss. It's sloppy and demanding. "Hrrmm." Raoul growls softly as he pulls back. "So fierce Mr. Bond. I always knew you had it in you." His face is smug when he reaches for James' hard on.

"Is that your betrayal in my hands?" James has nothing to say to that so he just grinds up into the grip instead. "Ah. No, of course it's not. Well a man can dream, right?"

Silva leans in again and for a while neither one says anything. They are tangled up in raw desire. It's heated and messy, all nails and teeth.

James is about to lose it when fingers sneak inside the back of his trousers and down between his cheeks. His body bends into the touch and he doesn't give a damn when he starts to ride himself on Silva's saliva coated fingers while the man's other hand is fisting the two of them towards oblivion. Just when James body tenses and he thinks he can't take it any longer, Silva stops in his tracks. "No, no, no. I fear I cannot let you come James. Not just now."

James snarls when Silva simultaneously continues to prod at him and prevents him from coming by gripping the base of his cock tight. His body is a bundle of convulsive muscles under this treatment.

"All you have to do is to ask for it." Raoul murmurs into his ear and carefully licks at James bitten skin. "Screw you." "Hrmpf. Wrong answer." Silva bites down onto a spot that already features an angry red rim from a previous assaults. The skin cracks open and James grits his teeth as tears sting into his eyes. "Fuck!"

He can't stand it much longer. His body is aching from too much pleasure. His pride and resolve quickly crumble underneath Silva's hands. " Do it already!" "Was that a command or a question?" "Please. Let me come already."

Silva's dark eyes turn into glistening orbs and, when he kisses James again it's full of longing. "Say it James. Say my name. Por favor, Corazón." All the violence is abandoned then. Silva's voice is barely more than a whisper and somehow James knows what's the right thing to say.

"Please .Tiago."

Then his body and mind are send off flying. And when he touches down he finds that his world is stranger than before.