[ There is much to infer here. If there was a great danger -- or, more privately, if she had any real doubts as to 007's chance of success -- she wouldn't waste time on trivial things like permitting herself to rise to Bond's nature. That she is says as much about the current state of his mission as she plans to at the moment.
--it's a bit like dangling a piece of meat in front of tiger, really. There's no question what the tiger will do, because it is a tiger, after all. The part that sustains a persons's curiosity lies more in the how. All these years of knowing Bond now, and there's still some satisfaction to be taken from dangling a piece of meat in front of his face. ]
Of course not, [ she says, mild, matter-of-fact. ] I had you removed from the guest list years ago.
[ Meat. Tiger. It doesn't matter who or what, as long as the animal has a taste for blood — or, more accurately, as long as you keep it hungry. (For what, as always, depends on where you're unleashing him.) Bond exhales a laugh, a huff that could be and should be much louder if he lets it. It's a noble thought, that a double oh wouldn't show up just because a list forbade him. It's not as if he has the courtesy to pretend like he doesn't keep track of her various living arrangements.
Bond sounds thoughtful when he replies, the way some recall passing cipher keys or the GPS co-ordinates for underground weapons caches. ]
It's not the proverbial bullets you should spend your time worrying about, 007.
[ Not that she can worry about him and either sort if she's to do her job. No one left behind, you can tell yourself. The things we do we do to keep our agents safe, to bring them home, to keep us all safe. But start to worry about them each, as individuals, rather than as a the whole, the idea, and it would be harder to send them out to do what had to be done. She'd seen others make that mistake during her time out east, but she never would. ]
no subject
--it's a bit like dangling a piece of meat in front of tiger, really. There's no question what the tiger will do, because it is a tiger, after all. The part that sustains a persons's curiosity lies more in the how. All these years of knowing Bond now, and there's still some satisfaction to be taken from dangling a piece of meat in front of his face. ]
Of course not, [ she says, mild, matter-of-fact. ] I had you removed from the guest list years ago.
no subject
Bond sounds thoughtful when he replies, the way some recall passing cipher keys or the GPS co-ordinates for underground weapons caches. ]
Then I've dodged the proverbial bullet at last.
no subject
[ Not that she can worry about him and either sort if she's to do her job. No one left behind, you can tell yourself. The things we do we do to keep our agents safe, to bring them home, to keep us all safe. But start to worry about them each, as individuals, rather than as a the whole, the idea, and it would be harder to send them out to do what had to be done. She'd seen others make that mistake during her time out east, but she never would. ]
Your timeline's just grown shorter.