Aston Montenegro
The train winds its way along blue-green valleys, luscious in the purple twilight, wind rushing at the muffling windows. Swaying in the aisle, Vesper bends at the waist to look out one of them, her eyes following a patch of trees and the roll of a hill until they've sped past.
She hardly feels a thing; you could rock a child to sleep in a train like this. Her steps are quick and steady, clip-clop of heels along the carpet until she reaches the last booth in the dining car and swings into it, dropping her handbag carelessly on the seat beside her. Chin up, she addresses the man sitting across from her with a polite and entirely disinterested smile. "I'm the money."
He's already holding a menu, though it had dropped a little when she'd joined him, and she takes in the broad shoulders, the scratched face, the perfectly tailored suit that can't hide the bluntness beneath. This man is a weapon, despite the charming exterior, and something in his steady blue eyes makes her shiver.
He gives her a lingering glance, and she keeps her head up. This Bond, this Double-Oh; she's heard about him, and she sits and looks back at him fearlessly. Her black suit is well cut and comfortable, no worse for the months it had spent in her suitcase and being worn; she can hold herself here for hours if need be.
Finally his eyes flick back up to meet her own, and, to her surprise, he smiles. "Every penny of it."
Oh, how very charming.
She lets her own mouth move into a semblance of a smile, before she leans over, reaching into her bag to retrieve a thin card which she then lays flat before him. Her name can be easily read on it and her hand draws back gracefully before she meets his eyes again. There's no need to introduce herself in any other way: this is strictly business and she's going to head him off at the pass. "The Treasury has agreed to stake you in the game," she tells him, as though he hadn't already known, but instead of taking the card, he only looks at it for a moment with that same odd half-smile on his face.
"Vesper," he says, and she looks at him questioningly, more than a little annoyed at his familiarity. His glance is amused, as though he's laughing at her from behind that polite facade. "I do hope you gave your parents hell for that."
Before she can answer, a young waiter walks bay and stops to hand her a menu. "Thank you," she says, grateful for the interruption, and flips through it idly. "Your boss must be well-connected," she comments, pointedly ignoring his little jab at her name. "I've never seen so much go out the door so quickly."
He hasn't taken his eyes off her yet; she can feel them lingering on her skin. "Or quite so stylishly."
She glances up to catch the smile on his face, and her mouth quirks a little as she looks away again. It's quite a menu.
Apparently, he's had enough of the smalltalk, because the next thing out of his mouth, coming from behind a tumbler of Scotch, is: "May I ask where it is?"
She wonders how it might possibly matter to him, as he's only going to spend it all on a fool's errand, but..."Ten million was wired to your account in Montenegro, with a contingency for five more if I deem it a prudent investment."
Just as though any of this were a prudent investment.
She hardly feels a thing; you could rock a child to sleep in a train like this. Her steps are quick and steady, clip-clop of heels along the carpet until she reaches the last booth in the dining car and swings into it, dropping her handbag carelessly on the seat beside her. Chin up, she addresses the man sitting across from her with a polite and entirely disinterested smile. "I'm the money."
He's already holding a menu, though it had dropped a little when she'd joined him, and she takes in the broad shoulders, the scratched face, the perfectly tailored suit that can't hide the bluntness beneath. This man is a weapon, despite the charming exterior, and something in his steady blue eyes makes her shiver.
He gives her a lingering glance, and she keeps her head up. This Bond, this Double-Oh; she's heard about him, and she sits and looks back at him fearlessly. Her black suit is well cut and comfortable, no worse for the months it had spent in her suitcase and being worn; she can hold herself here for hours if need be.
Finally his eyes flick back up to meet her own, and, to her surprise, he smiles. "Every penny of it."
Oh, how very charming.
She lets her own mouth move into a semblance of a smile, before she leans over, reaching into her bag to retrieve a thin card which she then lays flat before him. Her name can be easily read on it and her hand draws back gracefully before she meets his eyes again. There's no need to introduce herself in any other way: this is strictly business and she's going to head him off at the pass. "The Treasury has agreed to stake you in the game," she tells him, as though he hadn't already known, but instead of taking the card, he only looks at it for a moment with that same odd half-smile on his face.
"Vesper," he says, and she looks at him questioningly, more than a little annoyed at his familiarity. His glance is amused, as though he's laughing at her from behind that polite facade. "I do hope you gave your parents hell for that."
Before she can answer, a young waiter walks bay and stops to hand her a menu. "Thank you," she says, grateful for the interruption, and flips through it idly. "Your boss must be well-connected," she comments, pointedly ignoring his little jab at her name. "I've never seen so much go out the door so quickly."
He hasn't taken his eyes off her yet; she can feel them lingering on her skin. "Or quite so stylishly."
She glances up to catch the smile on his face, and her mouth quirks a little as she looks away again. It's quite a menu.
Apparently, he's had enough of the smalltalk, because the next thing out of his mouth, coming from behind a tumbler of Scotch, is: "May I ask where it is?"
She wonders how it might possibly matter to him, as he's only going to spend it all on a fool's errand, but..."Ten million was wired to your account in Montenegro, with a contingency for five more if I deem it a prudent investment."
Just as though any of this were a prudent investment.