With Bond and Leiter unable to stay awake, Anya sat down in one of the passenger seats. She closed her eyes and undertook the breathing exercises that she was taught during those Siberian training courses that she was required to take. This allowed her to clear her mind of all distractions. She made a mental note of everything that they knew so far, and pulled out her list of the knowns and unknowns that she had worked on earlier.
Eventually, her mind wandered to when she first encountered 007. She immediately thought him to be handsome and strong. But being on opposite sides of the Cold War, she was also distrustful at first. But he had saved her life on the train, and so her feelings thawed slightly. It wasn’t until she discovered that he killed the love of her life that she felt hatred. Sergei had discussed marriage with her, but never got around to buying her a ring.
However, once she understood that Bond killed him in self defense, her attitude changed. James Bond wasn’t the cold blooded killer that she had been led to believe, but a man of many contradictions. A government assassin who wouldn’t take an innocent person’s life, someone who was willing to sacrifice his life to rescue her from Stromberg with the US Navy poised to sink his base. He had a heart.
And then she thought of what was happening to all of them, and probably the whole population of the world. It gave her a little scare, as she didn’t know how far things would go, or how it would end. She closed her eyes again, and found herself dreaming of Sergei.
Bond woke up when he realized that the train had stopped. He immediately grabbed his Walther and a couple of spare magazines. He knocked on Leiter’s door, and went into the passenger section of the dining car. He shook Anya slightly, and once she opened her eyes, informed her that something was wrong, as the train stopped.
Bond made his way to the engine car. The driver informed him that there was a truck on the tracks up ahead. Bond asked him where they were. The engineer told him that they just crossed into West Virginia. Bond thanked him, and exited the train. He was joined by Leiter and Anya.
The three of them drew their weapons, and approached the vehicle with caution. They separated, taking positions 20 feet apart from each other. The sun was behind them, giving them a great view of the unmarked truck. The three of them stopped, and looked at each other.
Suddenly, the panels on the truck opened and a dozen black clad people wearing black ski masks exited the vehicle, each holding a machine gun. Bond, Leiter, and Anya assumed defensive positions back at the train. Suddenly, gunfire erupted, seemingly from all directions. 007 snuck under the engine car of the train and aimed at the ankles of the gunmen.
Four perfectly placed shots to the ankle bones, followed by another four perfectly placed shots to the head, and 007 eliminated four foes. Leiter employed a similar strategy, but aiming for the knees instead. He took out three. Anya placed eight shots directly into the foreheads of eight foes. It was a stunning display of marksmanship that she had never achieved before, and one that would have made Fransisco Scaramanga jealous. But another eight were down, leaving nine combatants still alive.
Suddenly, three small explosions and the area was totally engulfed in smoke. Damn, Bond thought, smoke bombs. And the smoke was thicker than he knew it could be. He started coughing, and heard Leiter doing the same. But there was no sound coming from Anya. Bond immediately thought that she was in trouble, and leapt up from under the train. It was then that he felt a pair of very strong arms grab him from behind, taking him by surprise.
He struggled to get free, but was finding it difficult. He felt one of his opponent’s arms release from his body, but even with his enemy using a single arm, he still couldn’t break free. He then noticed a knife coming towards him. Bond was able to block it, but found his arms giving ground as the knife was inching closer to his heart. While struggling with all his might, Bond instinctively kicked backwards, catching his enemy flush on the kneecap, and felt him fall to the ground. He then twisted the knife into his opponent’s neck, killing them instantly.
He made his way to Anya, and noticed that not only had she vanquished her enemy without much stress, she took out Leiter’s as well. But Felix couldn’t escape the knife. It sliced deeply across his good arm, and it caused a loss of blood. Anya found cloth, and tied his upper arm as tight as she could, stopping the blood loss, and helped Felix to his feet.
It was then they heard the truck drive off, so Bond decided to unmask their assailants. All but one were women, which surprised him. These attackers were tough and strong, and he had trouble freeing himself. But Anya drew the one male, and she dispatched him easily. As Anya tended to Leiter, Bond came to a realization that he may have glimpsed the future of himself, Anya, and Felix. He felt down at that prospect. Anya and Felix joined him, but before they could turn and head back to the train, they were thrown about 15 ft when the train was engulfed in a spectacular fireball and explosion. It took the three of them some time to get their bearings. Anya was the first one to her feet, followed by Bond. Leiter was still on the ground.
Although Anya had applied a tight tourniquet to stop the bleeding after Felix was stabbed, there was still a good amount of blood oozing out. Both James and Anya knew that they had to get Leiter to a hospital quickly. They heard the sirens from the emergency vehicles approaching. The train was still in flames. Weighing their options, they decided that Felix’s best chance was to leave him for the ambulance. He was conscious and lucid, but was getting weaker. He told them that he would be fine.
He ripped a section in the bottom of his right pant leg, and removed a wallet. He looked at Bond and Amasova and told them that this was all they would need. Both of the other agents looked puzzled, until Leiter told them that there was a note inside that would explain everything. And then he instructed his two friends to go.
Bond felt guilty about leaving his friend, but there was no other way. He and Anya set off towards a housing development about a mile from the burning train. Once they reached the residential area, they found an unlocked compact car. Bond hot wired the car, getting it started. As they drove off, Anya found a set of keys in the sun visor, and Bond just looked at her with amusement on his face.
The car had a full tank, and they set off towards Vegas. Bond and Anya talked about Felix, and hoped that he would be alright. Then the conversation turned to the train. And they both realized that their as yet unknown enemy knew where they were going, how they were going, and when they were going. That meant that there was a mole in the CIA building. And it also meant that their enemy could quickly organize an operation like they just encountered, showing both of them that resources weren’t an issue.
Bond handed the wallet Felix gave him to Anya. Opening it up, she saw what appeared to be an unmarked credit card, plus a couple of folded papers. One was a list with categories and names underneath. She put that to the side, and unfolded the other. It was a letter from Leiter, addressed to the two of them. She read it aloud:
‘James and Anya, if you are
reading this, it means that I
am either dead, or unable to
to continue. And it also means
that the agency had been
compromised. So I give this
wallet to you. You will find a list
with categories and names that
are totally unknown to the CIA
or other agencies. But these are
people and businesses I trust.
Also, there is a non-descript
credit card that only I and the
The Agency Director know about.
It is valid, with no limit. I wish
well on your journey. Felix.’
Bond said that Felix thought of everything. Anya looked at the list. It had categories of diners, motels, gun stores, clothing stores, and gas stations, with the names of the owners and their addresses next to them. It also had the states in which they were located. Bond had briefly toyed with the idea of driving straight through to Vegas, but quickly realized that they would need sleep, food, new clothes, and more weapons. So after about an hour on the road, they decided that they needed breakfast. Looking at the list, they turned north until they found the name of the small diner on the list.
Bond parked the car, and he and Anya exited. It was then that he noticed that she was eye level with him. In the excitement of the morning, he never noticed that they were now the same height. But Bond didn't have time for self pity. They needed breakfast, and a relaxing moment to think.
Once inside, they found a booth towards the back. After ordering coffee and their breakfast, the conversation quickly turned back to how their mission was compromised. And they knew that SPECTRE was behind it. They had eyes and ears all over the place, especially within the CIA. But since they didn't know who Felix had talked to in arranging this mission, the identity of the mole was still unknown.
When the waitress came with their meal, Anya asked her if she had a map of both the state and the area. The waitress thought the request off, but returned with the items. Pinpointing their location, they saw that there was a weapons store and a clothing store near each other, and about 30 miles away. Both thought that was perfect. Bond had his Walther, but needed more ammo, as well as a backup weapon, plus new clothes. Anya needed the same.
After the meal and a 30 minute drive, they had reached the first part of their destination. It was a gun shop. Walking in, they saw a middle aged man looking tired and a little frail. Bond asked him his name, and once it corresponded to the one on the list, he and Anya then introduced themselves. They informed him that they were friends of Felix Leiter, and that he sent them. The man behind the counter looked puzzled at first, then nodded. He asked them what they needed.
Anya said she needed a 380 ACP with a magazine capacity of 15 and 6 spare magazines, plus a box of 1000 bullets. It would complement her Tokarev TT-30. Bond asked for a Ruger 9mm, plus a .357 Magnum, plus extra magazines for his Walther and Ruger, and clips for the Magnum.
Once that was done, it was off to buy clothes. With reality setting in for the two agents, Bond bought 5 outfits, each one smaller than the other, while Anya also bought 5, but each one bigger than the other. Shoes were similarly bought by both. And with breakfast and shopping out of the way, they looked at Leiter’s list and saw a motel just outside St. Louis, Missouri. They would drive until then.
When they were back on the road, Bond pointed out two obvious points to Anya. 1: she was getting taller while he was getting smaller, and 2: if the CIA had a SPECTRE mole, then so did Russian and British intelligence. In fact, every facet of every country's government probably had SPECTRE agents embedded throughout. They couldn't trust anyone that they didn't know.
Anya agreed with the second part. She also tried to downplay the first point. She had noticed, but didn't want to mention it out of fear that she would hurt Bond’s feelings. She would normally think that was a very silly notion, but she understood that nobody had asked for something like this to happen. It was to be treated as a fact and not dwelt on. She looked at Bond and said that everything would be ok.
Bond and Anya both made very good time, reaching the motel by 5:00pm. Both were hungry, but Anya’s appetite was quickly outclassing Bond’s. After checking into the motel, they spotted a diner just down the road. It was on Leiter's list, so they knew it was safe.
Taking a booth near the register, they both quietly ordered their meals. Anya could see that Bond was starting to look exhausted, which had become a familiar sight the past couple of days. She told him that she would take the first watch, and he the second. 4 hour shifts, then showers, breakfast, then on the road again. Bond nodded in agreement.
Once the meal was over, it was back to the motel room. 007 collapsed onto the bed, and was out within minutes. XXX was feeling like she could swim the Bering Sea during a storm without issues. But without satellites to transmit TV signals, she occupied her time by doing push-ups and sit-ups. She needed to do something to keep her mind and body in peak condition. Eventually, around midnight, Anya laid in bed next to Bond, who was squirming, indicating that he was having a bad dream of some sort. She felt guilty about having to wake him, but it was his turn to stand watch.