8 replies to this topic

[iBond]

After Bond finally beats Le Chiffre and Vesper takes the money behind Bond's back, does Bond/MI6 ever recover it? That man in M's office was there obviously waiting for the money to be returned. Are we just supossed to assume that 007 takes it from Mr. White when he shoots him in the leg? I was just a bit confused at that part and was wondering if perhaps I missed something during the interrogation scene in QoS.

[AMC Hornet]

Who knows how long it took Bond to track down Mr. White?

 

The loss of the money was not Bond's failing, it was MI6's for assigning a turned treasury agent to the case.

 

For what it's worth, the damage done to Quantum's finances in Bolivia probably made up for the loss (2,000 kms of pipeline, all those euros up in smoke and Quantum members exposed).

[DaveBond21]

It didn't take him long enough for Mr White to change his phone number.

 

Who knows how long it took Bond to track down Mr. White?

 

 

[Guy Haines]

Was the money recovered? I doubt it - I dare say Mr White would have immediately had it channelled through the usual money laundering routes that an organisation like Quantum would have in place, whether or not Le Chiffre was available to bank it.

 

One thing though, as an aside - it always amused me that Bond was able to track down the mysterious Mr White with something as straightforward as a mobile phone. In the novel "Thunderball" M refers to an "independent outfit in Europe" that MI6 and the French intelligence services had had dealings with. Of course, he meant SPECTRE. M talks of "endless cutouts - really good ones" meaning that contact wasn't a straightforward affair.

 

Yet in CR 2006 Mr White presumably makes contact with Vesper via her mobile - otherwise how would she be able to store his number? Close as she became to Bond, didn't it occur to White and his employers that 007 might have access to Vesper's mobile phone? And once Vesper had handed over the loot, shouldn't all contact have ended? Unless Quantum had hopes that she could be used again. Admittedly, White tells us in QoS that he hoped Vesper would be able to turn Bond - but that hope died when Vesper did. At that point White should have taken steps to cover his tracks - such as, as DaveBond21 points out above, changing his phone number!

[DaveBond21]

Was the money recovered? I doubt it - I dare say Mr White would have immediately had it channelled through the usual money laundering routes that an organisation like Quantum would have in place, whether or not Le Chiffre was available to bank it.

 

One thing though, as an aside - it always amused me that Bond was able to track down the mysterious Mr White with something as straightforward as a mobile phone. In the novel "Thunderball" M refers to an "independent outfit in Europe" that MI6 and the French intelligence services had had dealings with. Of course, he meant SPECTRE. M talks of "endless cutouts - really good ones" meaning that contact wasn't a straightforward affair.

 

Yet in CR 2006 Mr White presumably makes contact with Vesper via her mobile - otherwise how would she be able to store his number? Close as she became to Bond, didn't it occur to White and his employers that 007 might have access to Vesper's mobile phone? And once Vesper had handed over the loot, shouldn't all contact have ended? Unless Quantum had hopes that she could be used again. Admittedly, White tells us in QoS that he hoped Vesper would be able to turn Bond - but that hope died when Vesper did. At that point White should have taken steps to cover his tracks - such as, as DaveBond21 points out above, changing his phone number!

 

Great points.

 

Actually I sometimes don't understand the reasoning behind it being a long time between White picking up the money in Venice, and Bond finding him at Lake Como. Why can't it be the following day for example? He calls M back. Tells her to look up a Mr White. M finds he is a supposedly legitimate businessman and has his address. His house is not a secret - it's one of those big ones right on the lake. Bond shoots him in the leg, less than 48 hours after Vesper's death. It's not enough time for White to change his number as he needs to let all his associates know he's changing it.

 

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[AMC Hornet]

It was, however, long enough for Bond to complete his recursive character arc and (re-) emerge as the self-indulgent blunt instrument we've come to know, love and criticize endlessly.

 

Also, some time had to have passed as QoS picks up minutes after the end of CR, while still taking place in 2008.

[dtuba]

It's best not to think about this stuff too closely. It'll just make your head hurt.

[graric]

It was, however, long enough for Bond to complete his recursive character arc and (re-) emerge as the self-indulgent blunt instrument we've come to know, love and criticize endlessly.

 

Also, some time had to have passed as QoS picks up minutes after the end of CR, while still taking place in 2008.

....Well going by the change in suit and Bond's hairgrowth, QoS really couldn't really be occuring minutes after CR ended. (To make the timeline work, its much better to ignore the dates where possible...especially as the two year gap would further complicate the Americans complaining about getting LeChiffre's body.)

[AMC Hornet]

"My name's Bond - James Bond. Now, if you'll just wait here in the boot of my car while I change my suit and get a haircut, I'll take you into Sienna and turn you over to MI6."

"No problem - that'll give my people plenty of time to catch up with us."