75 replies to this topic

[Dustin]

Read it here: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1266859

[007jamesbond]

looking forward to ch 7 and beyond soon

[chrisno1]

Chapter Seven:

Tiara

 

Bond's pursuit of Tiara Charteris takes him to southern France and the pretty town of Puivert.

 

 

It's a long chapter, but we learn much about OO7 and about our heroine.

 

 

Time went with great speed. Tiara cooed over the foie gras, insisted she’d never eaten it before, but would eat it every day from now. The Muscat tickled her throat. Gaston brought bread rolls, home cooked and slightly warm from the oven. Garlic butter melted as it touched the dough. Bond asked simple, safe questions and the girl gave long, effervescent answers. She’d wanted to go shopping and where better to shop than France? She’d gone to Espéraza because it was still a great place for hats then bought a case of Blanquette from Castel-Négre, good for parties, and some gorgeous Madagascan vanilla perfumes from Solaroma. And she still had to visit the fashion boutiques at Carcassonne. Occitan seemed a long way from Paris, he’d queried.

 

 

“It’s where I first fell in love with France,” she said, “And with fashion. Daddy brought us here on holiday. I bought my first perfume here.”

 

 

Bond understood the feeling. He felt closer to her already. Idly he mentioned the story of his father and his first visit to Gaston’s. She giggled, gave a delicate clap of hands and touched his wrist, as if they were sharing something long lost, treasured, far in their past. Her enthusiasm was infectious. The more she talked, the more he liked her. They were alone on the terrace. Only the shimmering river behind them and the chatter of swallows interrupted their discourse.

 

 

Tiara drives a Bentley Continental GT

 

 

Bond only has his customized DBIII

 

 

 

This picture inspired me somewhat.

 

 

When they meet the sparks fly....

 

 

 

 

 

[chrisno1]

And just submitted.

Happy reading !

[Dustin]

And approved: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1267196

[chrisno1]

 

Chapter Eight

Hunter or Hunted

 

 

Bond accompanies Tiara to Carcassonne where there is a deadly surprise in store...

 

There was something else bothering him. Bond kept noticing those blots of charcoal grey among the summer colours. He’d seen them first on the walk into town. Now he thought he saw them again. He stopped by a souvenir stand, pretended to try on new sunglasses. Looking each way up and down the street, he assessed the problem. Bond replaced the last set of specs, bought a paper and headed for the amphitheatre. Where had he seen the two men in suits before? Bond had parked the Aston Martin at the Gambetta. The Citroën had also been in the car park. He remembered it now, but had thought nothing of it, in the same way it hadn’t impressed him back at the bridge in Puivert. So, it was he who was being followed. Not the girl - him.

 

They were chunky examples, suits bulging, square heads, no smiles. He’d only noted two men in the car, but now there appeared to be three. The last of the trio was front tailing. Each one was shaven headed, the worst of disguises but a hindrance to identification. The two men behind were the biggest, one being tall, the other broad. The man in front was smaller in stature, but his posture was ramrod straight. He walked as if his thighs were tree trunks. A regular nasty trinity, Tic, Tac and Toe...

 

 

The pretty medieval castle Le Cite makes a great setting for this installment.

 

Read it soon...

 

 

[chrisno1]

Apparently 'A Whisper of Death' only merits one star.

Pity whoever rated it couldn't be bothered to finish it or offer any corroborative evidence.

Never mind.

 

Chapter Eight is in for submission.

 

Bond meets the treble assassins Tic, Tac and Toe - but why are they pursuing Tiara Charteris?

[Dustin]

Find out here: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1267487

[chrisno1]

Apparently 'A Whisper of Death' only merits one star.

 

 

Apparently not: it's now worth 3 stars. Thanks to whoever rated my novel a '5' and equalised the score - I wasn't really looking for sympathy; I was just a bit irked. I didn't think it was that bad !

I'm not convinced the voting / rating system is helpful. Most of the stories are not rated at all and if they have been, the votes are quite low. If a casual punter were to dip into the Fan Fiction section he might wonder why some well constructed gems receive no stars at all and some short or unfinished pieces have 5. We don't have ratings posted for the actual novels and films, so why do we have them for Fan Fiction ?

[Dustin]

I'm not sure where that story-rating system derives from, I seem to remember it dating back to the earliest days of fanfic on CBn. Frankly, I would not take that too seriously.

[chrisno1]

 

Chapter Nine:

Safe House

 

Bond flees Carcassonne with Tiara, but they are under fire from all sides...

 

The Citroën came to a halt against the crash barrier. The driver’s door was open now and the man was struggling free. He fired. It struck the Aston’s bodywork, pinged away somewhere. Bond spun the wheel, took aim and slammed into first. Bullets thumped against the windscreen, chipped it and flew off.

The front fender crashed into the C4. The man in the passenger seat was pleading. The car slid another foot. The crash barrier moaned in protest. Bond reversed. The driver was almost out now, clinging to the battered frame of the windscreen. Bond cannoned forward, the DB III a deadly missile. The driver screamed. He jerked out of the door, lost his hold and disappeared over the precipice. Bond kept his foot hard on the accelerator. The wheels spun. The barriers were bent at a terrible angle. There was a sudden crack and the bolts gave way. The joints flicked loose and the C4 tumbled through the remains of the barrier. The Aston leapt forward and Bond steered hard, fast, breaking to avoid the drop. The car slewed to a halt, side on and inches from the edge...

 

 

  

 

The gorgeous Hayden Panettiere as Tiara

 

 

She's plenty of fun for our OO7 to cope with - the Timothy Dalton version of course.

 

Submitted today. Happy reading !

[Dustin]

And approved today: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1267755

[chrisno1]

Chapter Ten:

Rembetika

 

Bond arrives in Greece in search of Shangri-La...

 

 

 

Athens remained as he always remembered, swelteringly hot and choked with exhaust fumes, even at night. Dominic Zorba met him at the airport. He was a big, garrulous man, much like his literary namesake. He dressed in badly matched clothes, yet they suited him. The tie was missing. Sixty year old grey hair peeked over the top of his shirt buttons. Zorba looked less like a spy and more like a taxi driver. Bond preferred him to the previous Head of Station G, Mark Gerrard, a pensive self-serving pen pusher.

 

“Welcome to Athens, James,” he said with a big handshake and a broad smile. He didn’t bother with the day’s recognition code. Bond liked that. Not because it broke rules, but because it seemed wholly superfluous in the modern day...

 

 

The Greek capital needs little introduction

 

 

Neither does Alfred Molina who I'd pick as Dominic Zorba. He's one of those local characters we meet in the novels and the films who shows us the flavour and culture of Bond's destinations.

 

 

Zorba takes Bond to a rembetika bar.

 

 

I made Socrates up, but these pictures give you an idea of the atmosphere.

 

My apologies for missing Saturday's deadline - just too busy !

 

Happy reading.

 

 

[Dustin]

Read it here: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1268147

[chrisno1]

Chapter Eleven:

A Chorus of Slaves

 

Bond attempts to draw out the enemy...

 

 

Bond pulled away. The girl had drifted into some sort of trance. There had been an odd affection to her manner the whole time, but somehow he’d triggered a memory for her and now Iria was gone, into another world, another part of her mind.

 

As she untied the scarf, he felt the crawling fingers of terror step across his spine. Automatically, he reached for his Walther. They were too big a target. They were in the open, in the bright light. He started to move forward and down, shoving at the girl’s rump. The flashes and the shots came from two directions. Bond saw the girl jerk in mid-air.

 

He hit the ground and twisted, trying to stay low, reeled off a brace. The men in the security booth had alerted him. Their uniforms didn’t fit. It was a good set up. Broken entry. A kidnapped girl. Death. The sound of the orchestra to bury the noise of gunfire. The bullets: the chorus. The weapons: slaves. The men: killers.

 

 

 

The Acropolis at night - memories of Colonel Sun...

 

 

Aggeliki Daliani plays the good time girl Iria.

 

 

 

Bond gambles at the Regency Casino - a bit of a monolith.

 

Happy reading!

 

My apologies again for a slightly late post.

[Dustin]

'Chapter 11...' he whispered

commanderbond.net/topic/63530-a-whisper-of-death/#entry1268415

[chrisno1]

Chapter Twelve:

Shangri-La

 

Bond is taken to the mysterious medical treatment centre of Shangri-La. Time for one of those On Her Majesty's Secret Service moments...

 

 

The pilot started to sink lower. They’d been in the air almost two hours but it had felt much less. They came around one of the low hills and then, almost as if from a fairy story, as if built by giants, Bond could see the massive stone pillars dotting the valley floor. Once they must have been mountains themselves, but earthquakes, water and wind erosion had shaped these strange natural towers over millions of years, washing away the surrounding land and leaving only slivers of vertical spectacular rock, the tallest of them almost two thousand feet high. Not all the pinnacles were inhabited. Some were too small at the summit for anything but a rocky shelf. How in the world, Bonds wondered, did you ever construct such buildings in such awesome habitats? To the left, Bond could see one of the great brick monasteries hugging the contours of its peak, seeming to rise from the very stone itself. Metéora: suspended in the sky. Never so apt a name, considered Bond.

 

 

Meteora

Time for a For Your Eyes Only moment.

 

 

Hayden Panettiere as Tulisa

 

Ideally, I would have considered twins, but I don't know any famous twins except the Olsen's (yikes!). With today's photo-trickery I'm sure Miss Panettiere can play both roles.

 

Happy reading.

 

Once more my apologies for the late post.

[Dustin]

And here it is: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1268852

[chrisno1]

Chapter Thirteen:

Patients, Please

 

Bond meets the other guests at Shangri-La. And one in particular makes a mark....

 

“But you’re not drinking, James,” Luis suddenly said, animated, rising from his seat and beckoning the waiter back, “You must join us.”

 

“Thank you, but no.”

 

“Go on, James,” called the American, his voice bowling over from the bar, “One drink can’t hurt.”

 

“Yes, you must,” Luis gestured again. There was a chorus of approval from the little clique. They hadn’t understood the rivalry which had prompted Bradley’s tempting offer. He’d stayed lodged on his elbow, all arrogant prickliness, ever since Bond had started to take up Sandrine’s time. The appearance of his squash partner, Denis, eased the antagonism for a while, but now it had resurfaced. Sandrine understood and she scolded the big American from her position beside Bond’s arm.

 

“Sparkling water is fine,” Bond said firmly.

 

“Go on, have a real drink,”

 

“No, I’m really not supposed to”

 

“He’ll drink champagne.”

 

The new voice seemed to cut across the room.

 

Bond turned his head. He’d have recognized her anywhere, even if he hadn’t seen her for six months...

 

 

 

David Franco as the curious Mister Smith

 

The questions begin to mount for OO7...

 

Happy reading.

Edited by chrisno1, 06 October 2013 - 11:39 PM.

[Dustin]

This is it: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1269207

[chrisno1]

Chapter Fourteen:

The Good Doctor

 

Bond meets the mysterious Doctor Theodosius Nimon...

 

 

The smile was at once benevolent and also malignant. There was a powerful force at work behind the white angelic façade. The dark eyes, shifting constantly, the brows rising, falling, the stillness of his whole being, the silence he seemed to drag into the room with him. It was as if his presence was taking over the atmosphere, sucking the breath from everyone’s bodies and offering it back to them at an ungodly price.

 

Obedience. 

 

Immediately Bond recognized the first signs of mesmerism. He’d come across men of great magnetism before, brutal men like Arkadin or Sargon. They used their almost animal charisma to control an audience, to mould individuals to their will. Here, now, Bond saw that dangerous compulsion take effect, the slight dip on the last syllable, the long pause before the second sentence, just enough to leave a listener aching to hear more, the repetition of words and phrases. Great men and evil men alike had used the technique. Here, Bond knew he was standing in the presence of both.

 

 

 

Francois Berleand as Doctor Nimon

 

 

Saloua Raouda Choucair's Water Lens

Choucair is a Lebanese abstract artist. The Water Lens is much bigger than it looks in the picture.

 

Available now.

Happy reading.

Edited by chrisno1, 13 October 2013 - 12:08 AM.

[Dustin]

Read it here: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1269537

[chrisno1]

Chapter Fifteen:

A Close Shave

 

Bond investigates Shangri-La...

 

When the elevator stopped, Bond was looking into a huge airy room, three storeys deep. Carefully he peered out. He was alone. Bond walked forward into the room which seemed to encompass the whole floor space of the building. The walls were surrounded by a mass of medical computer consoles. Fixed in the centre of the room was an enormous white globe made of opaque glass embedded inside a metal frame. It was suspended off the floor by four steel pillars. Pearly white light throbbed inside the sphere, sending glowing translucent waves across the room. A set of metal steps ran up to the front of the globe but there didn’t appear to be a door. Positioned above the globe were a series of sensors that remained in permanent contact with the glass surface. Bond walked around the strange object. It reminded him of Couchair’s Water Lens, a copy of which he’d seen in Nimon’s lounge. There was a faint grey shadow inside the structure. Bond wasn’t sure, but it looked like a human silhouette...

 

 

Meteora - sinister by night

 

 

And what secrets can the beautiful Renata tell...

 

Read it from Saturday

 

 

[Dustin]

Renata tells here: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1269819

[chrisno1]

Chapter Sixteen:

'We Go Well Together, Don't You Think?'

 

Bond's late night antics raise the obvious suspicions. The local police are called to investigate. Does Bond have an ally or an enemy?

 

 

“I may be a small administrator in a small town, Mister Bond,” the Captain began, his hand scratching at the base of his beard, his voice lowering so it couldn’t be over heard, even though it appeared no one was listening, “But I am not a fool when it comes to subterfuge. Dominic Zorba is well known to the police. Universal Exports, or rather its impressive office in Athens, is well known to the police. You, by association are well known to the police. That piece of paper tells me more than I like. Do you wish Doctor Nimon to learn of your presence here?”

 

“I’d prefer that he didn’t.”

 

“Then do not be obstructive,” the Captain took back the email, folded it and replaced it his pocket, “I put it to you, Mister Bond: that your arrival here was not purely a matter of health. It is surely not a coincidence that less than twelve hours after your arrival one man has died.”

 

“Coincidences can happen.”

 

 

Meteroa is turning into something of a ghoul's paradise

 

Happy reading !

 

[Dustin]

Closing in on Halloween: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1270149

[chrisno1]

Chapter Seventeen:
Non Safe House

 

Dear Reader,

 

James Bond is in trouble - again!

 

Let us retrace the story.

Holidaying in Slovakia, everyone's favourite secret agent is persued by a spoilt rich girl and a gang of gun toting assassins.

Unofficially suspended from duty, he begins to enjoy life, perhaps more than he ever has.

Meanwhile, a strange series of deaths in the Maldives puzzles scientists, but alarms the British Secret Service, whose boss recalls Agent OO7.

Sent to gain the confidence of Tiara Charteris, the beautiful daughter of a dead genius biochemist, Bond discovers she has hidden talents and secrets, talents she shares with her identical twin sister.

Trapped by assassins at Carcassonne, Tiara realises Bond isn't bluffing about her life being in danger and agrees to go into hiding while he travels to Greece to investigate the strange health facility, Shangri-La, based in the Meteroa Mountains.

Bond meets Tulisa Charteris, who whisks him to Shangri-La, where the mesmeric Doctor Theodosius Nimon cures patients of their ills.

Bond's midnight investigations reveal all is not as it seems.

Neither is Tulisa.

But the realisation has come too late.

How will Bond escape his fate?

 

Let's go back a few days and visit Tiara Charteris, hiding with the BRitish Secret Service in Valras-Plage...

 

 

Hayden Panettierre as Tiara (or is that Tulisa?)

Not a pose she'd ever need to replicate for this story, but rather sweet.

 

 

Ioanna Triantafyllidou as Toni

 

 

Timothy Dalton as OO7 - object of affection.

It has to be Dalton.

 

 

 

Uploaded this Saturday!

 

 

Edited by chrisno1, 01 November 2013 - 11:43 PM.

[Dustin]

That house: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1270536

[chrisno1]

Chapter Eighteen:

Loki

 

Not for the first time James Bond confronts evil....

 

 

 

“As a bringer of death, what our Greek cousins would call a necrophoros, you must take some responsibility for the earth’s impending disaster. There is a delicious irony in the thought. How would you like to be one of God’s avenging angels, James, to wreak havoc on those who have polluted and desecrated this beautiful land of Eden?”

“It’s appealing,” Bond said stoically, “Perhaps I could start with you.”

Nimon chuckled.

“A brave thought. The consideration, however, isn’t who should die, but how many.”

 

“Malthusianism,” murmured Bond.

“Naturally,” he chuckled again, “Or I suppose, unnatural, aggravated population control. The situation, my dear James, is clear. Look at the world today. We see death and starvation everywhere. We see good food wasted. We see arid land where once there was green. We see poison where once there was a river. We see scientists attempting to genetically modify cereal crops, livestock, pollen, so the world can continue to gorge itself far beyond its natural expanse. How have we reached this point, James? How does man pollute his own environment and yet still live? How does man still believe it is everyone’s right to life, even the infirm, the brain dead, the terminal sick, the weak and frail, the wounded? Natural selection used to control our growth. The strong grew stronger, the weak died. Man was the elite species, he conquered and mastered his environment, yet now he is beaten by the same nature he once tried to subdue...”

 

 

Another confrontation with that creepy Doctor Nimon, as performed by Francois Berleand.

 

 

I like David Franco's look. Not as classically elegant as his brother James, but his angular frame has that skeletal look I imagine for Mr Smith.

 

Out sooner than you can breathe.

Happy reading.

[Dustin]

Read Chapter 18 here: http://debrief.comma...h/#entry1270792