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147
CHAPTER
TWENTY ONE
“Bond! Where the hell have you been?” Bond closed M’s office door behind him and prepared to face the wrath of his boss. “Sorry sir, allow me to explain.” “I think you better had. And it had better be damn good. Good God man, we’ve had every policeman in the country and half of MI6 looking for you!” Bond gave M the full story, from the time he’d gone to Stockport initially up until his second visit twenty fours ago, and what had happened subsequently. When he had finished M’s anger had completely disappeared, to be replaced by grave concern. “There isn’t a second to waste, sir,” Bond urged, “If we’re to save Stockport.” M nodded his head, slowly. “Yes.” He took out his pipe and tobacco pouch, needing the comfort of a smoke. Damn Goldnojaws! “Any ideas as to how we can put paid to this fiend, James?” “A couple, sir.” “Good man. Let’s have them then.” Since emerging from the Pyramid Bond had thought of little else other than ways of preventing the wholesale carnage that Goldnojaws intended to visit on Stockport. For some reason he always thought more clearly, with a much greater concentration, when he was driving, which was why he chose to report to M in person rather than over the phone. The two hundred mile journey would give him three or four hours of undisturbed thought. It had been while he was driving that he had come up with the idea that had finally put an end to the world domination aspirations of the Italian olive oil magnate Count Bartelli. As his deep concentration didn’t do much for his driving skills it had also put an end to four Frenchmen dining al fresco outside a Montpellier café, when he had failed to see a red light and caused a Citroen CV8 to plough into them, but if Bond had been asked his opinion he would have replied that the loss of the lives of four Frenchmen was a small price to pay if it was instrumental in stopping the world from being dominated by an Eyetie. |