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[Hey again! This is Forrest, back with GCB, out of (semi) popular demand. If you want to see the first part, it's at http://DUNOTS.tripod.com. If you don't, you must have alredy seen it... If you have any C&C, it's always welcome, as long as it's honest. Feel free to email me at Big_Joe@n2.com. Enjoy (or not)!]
[Don't let me forget! All the characters except for Dido Dido (I named the raspy goon) belong to people who aren't me! Just to get that cleared up.]
Gunsmith Bond
Chapter 2: Point for Point
By Forrest "DUNOTS" Walker
Rally and Becky looked on in awe as a man in a lab coat wheeled in cart after cart of bizarre devices, weapons and machinery. Bond and an older woman were already in the basement and waiting when another, even older, man in a lab coat stepped inside. Rally looked over at Becky and saw that she was spending as much time watching Bond as she was the merchandise. Whatever Bond had that caught May was aiming for Becky too. Rally looked at him and remembered when he had made the date in the gun shop. Even she wasn't immune, it seemed.
Finally, the last of it was presented on the carts. The two men stood back and let Becky and Rally simply look over the plethora of devices for a moment. Rally did her best to pretend she knew what they all did, though she was completely lost. Becky seemed to be doing the same thing. The younger man seemed to be hovering over them, apparently trying to get them to say something first. Rally tried to put some distance between them.
"I thought you said there would be THREE girls, 007," M whispered into Bond's ear.
"Well, I had somewhat of a run in with one of them. The one connected to Takizawa..."
"I see," M turned her attention to Q, who had just made his way to them, "What is all this?"
Smugly, Q replied, "Oh, these are all either old enough to be outdated, or simply personal inventions of mine. I certainly wouldn't breach national security."
Standing behind Bond and in front of Becky, Rally listened as the older man, apparently known only as Q, explained the functions of the various devices and demonstrated on his assistant, R. While Q seemed to be enjoying it, R didn't crack a smile the entire time. Afterwards, Becky and the woman, called only M, sat down to terms. Eventually it was agreed that Rally and May would assist Bond in any way necessary, given a hefty fee. Rally was amazed when she received $20,000 in cash, and her pick of any of the various devices laid out before her. Apparently the British economy was in better shape than it seemed.
After almost an hour of deliberation, she was able to decide on a few curiosities. There was an industrial strength pen-laser (which doubled as a pen, oddly enough), a little GPS system for her car, a pair of bulletproof sunglasses, a case of 9mm flash-bang ammunition, and a walkman-sized power supply. Becky had made her selections as well, along with a few items they thought Misty might find interesting.
The negotiations over, each of the groups went their separate ways, leaving the abandoned warehouse behind. Q, M, and R drove back to their headquarters, wherever that may be, and Rally and Becky made ready to go back to the gun shop.
"I think it would be best if I accompany you, Rally," James said, leaning down to the window of the GT-500.
Rally looked him in the eyes, considering her options. "Sure. Follow in that Aston."
As he walked away, she added, "If you can..."
Using her extensive knowledge of Chicago streets, Rally led Bond through a maze of back alleys, smiling whenever he dropped back. Unfortunately, he always made up the distance, somehow, turning her smile into resolve. She wasn't about to be outdone by a smarmy, self-fulfilled man, even if he was a secret agent.
Just as her rage was mounting to the point of danger, Rally noticed something besides Becky shouting at her. Behind them, a new car entered into the chase. It was an orange 1971 Javelin AMX. From the sound and speed, she placed it as the 401cid version, not the 360. As she and James split up to try to shake this pursuit, Rally noticed that the driver was considerably shorter than the passenger. That, in combination with the style of driving, allowed her to reach a conclusion. To make sure, she pulled onto a street wide enough for two and slammed on the brakes, forcing the other car to blow past her.
Riff Raff wasn't too pleased by the sudden turn of events. Behind her was Rally's GT-500, stopped diagonally across the narrow road, blocking her progress in that direction. In front of her, the DB5 suddenly pulled out, forming another roadblock. Her passenger smiled and twirled her finger, motioning for Riff to turn around and head for Rally.
"I sure hope you got a plan!" Riff shouted above the engine's roar.
The other woman only chuckled slightly.
Riff mistrusted this strategy, but was obliged to do as her client asked. As the distance closed, Riff could see Rally pull out a gun, aiming it for the windshield. A pair of shots ricocheted off of the bulletproof pane. Undaunted, the AMC kept speeding forward, regardless of the imminent collision. Rally noticed this, and jumped to avoid getting hit. If there were any others in the car, they had long since fled.
A hand beside her motioned for Riff to slow down as she passed Rally. Knocking the rear end of the Cobra aside with the reinforced front end of the AMX, Riff was already in the progress of slowing enough so that her passenger could take a shot at Rally.
Rally rolled and brought her CZ to bear on the offending vehicle. Soon enough, she would see who the passenger was. Just before puling the trigger, Rally caught a glimpse of the woman in the right-hand seat. Frozen for exactly too long, Rally fell to the ground, hit.
She could feel the world swirl around her in an unpleasantly comfortable way. Old, forgotten tensions eased as Rally slowly stood up, pulling the dart out of her shoulder.
"RALLY! Rally, are you ok?" Becky shouted, running to her side.
Rally stared at the dart.
"That was Riff Raff!" Becky continued.
Rally looked up at James, who was jogging toward her. Suddenly he stopped and picked something up off the ground. His expression soon hardened.
"Not her..."
Riff eyed her client warily, trying to reason why Rally had been so afraid of her. Riff had never seen Rally break her concentration in the field, especially not long enough to get pegged like that. Even stranger was the kiss her client had blown Rally as they drove away.
"So, what's the deal? You gonna keep me on?" Riff asked.
"Of course," Goldie replied in an Italian accent [Author's note: This is the same accent she DIDN'T have in the manga...], giving Riff a smile she mistrusted deeply, "I won't soon let you go..."
"Know her?" Bond responded to Becky's question, "You could say that..."
Misty eyed him warily. She had been running the shop (May was absent, for some reason), when Becky and this man burst in, carrying Rally.
Rally began to shudder slightly. "Gol... Goldie... stop..."
Misty sat on the couch next to Rally, holding her hand. She knew exactly what was wrong, and it seemed the man did, too.
"Kerasine," He stated, "Hideous stuff. Same as the lady who deals it."
Misty's appreciation of this man raised slightly. Becky returned with some water, trying to get Rally to drink some.
Rally suddenly opened her eyes, apparently trying to focus on Misty. "Is... is that you, Misty?" She asked weakly.
"What did she do to you?"
Rally gripped Misty's hand tighter as she gritted her teeth and growled, "She... she's done too much... I won't let her take advantage of me again!"
Expending all of her grip on coherence, Rally slumped onto Misty, breathing heavily. Misty closed her eyes and let Rally rest.
Closing the door behind them, James turned to Becky. "You should hear this first."
He read the note out loud to Becky, who sat listening calmly.
"My Darling Rally,
"After too long, I have finally returned to Chicago. Of course, you were the first person I paid a visit to. I think that is only fitting, as I was the first person to "visit" you. I hope you enjoy my gift; I know you've been wanting it. Next time, I'll be there to make it even better.
"With Love,
"Goldie."
James tensed slightly as he spoke the word 'love.' Being loved by Goldie was only slightly preferable to being hated by Stalin.
"What does she mean by 'visit?'" James asked Becky.
Becky took a moment before answering. "I... think I might know. But I think you ought to ask Rally."
"I can only assume the worst, if it's Goldie we're dealing with."
"By the way," Becky asked coldly, "How, exactly, do you know Goldie?"
James sat down, recalling the unpleasant events.
"About five years ago, I was working on assignment in Italy. I'm not at liberty to divulge what it was, but suffice it to say that I came into contact with Goldie.
"We hit it off, you might say. Even though she was working for the opposition, we couldn't resist. That is, until I found out about her little... hobby.
"She offered me the use of her harem. I was shocked, to say the least. I've been with some unusual women, but never a girl with an all-female harem. Mind you, this was before Kerasine, so they weren't quite as... willing in some cases.
"When I tried to leave her, she did everything she could to get me back. Eventually, I completed my assignment, and returned to England. With her organization crippled, she didn't follow me.
"Later, I learned about Kerasine, and that she had been embarrassed in the States. I didn't put it together before, but it must have been Rally who did it. If that's the case, things may be hairier than I expected...
In a large penthouse, A well dressed man in sunglasses turned around in his chair, cell phone in hand. In front of his desk were two women and a man. Goldie, he already knew. Dido Dido [Author's note: pronounced dee-doh dye-doh] was his personal assistant. He had never met Riff Raff before, but he knew her by reputation.
"Ah, so you must be Ms. Raff. Goldie hired you, did she?" He asked in a playful tone.
"Yeah, what's it to ya?" She responded.
"Oh nothing..." he continued, "Mr. Dido, show her out. Goldie and I have business we must discuss in private."
The man shifted, his features coming into view. Riff gave a start as she saw him. Given his oversize bones, some of which extended past his skin, It was understandable.
"Yes, Mr. Platinum," he answered in a rasp, his jaw and teeth too big to open or close properly. He politely pointed the way out and escorted Riff out.
"You wanted to see me, number one?" Goldie asked when the doors had closed fully.
"Yes, number eight," he responded, "Did you accomplish your objective?"
Platinum saw a flash of lust across Goldie's face. "She will be mine."
"See that she is," he stated, standing up, "But that is not all. As you may have heard, our shipment was misplaced..."
"Yes, I have. By Mr. Bandit..."
"Indeed," he continued, "It seems a certain 'James Bond' is interfering with our affairs."
Goldie stiffened.
"See to it that you recover the merchandise. You may have the use of any of my men."
Goldie gave Platinum a cold look. "Thank you, sir. Given the caliber of your men, it is only a matter of time."
As she made her was to the door, he muttered, "I doubt it..."
Bond and Becky were discussing possible explanations for the recent events, as well as how Goldie managed to return to Chicago without Becky knowing it, when Rally stumbled out of the other room, Misty holding her up.
"Alright, James, what's going on here?"
He looked up and handed her the note. "Read this."
Rally's eyes widened at each line, until she threw the note down in rage. Gathering herself for a few moments, Rally pushed herself off of Misty and picked up her gun, pointing it at a target with Goldie's head on it.
"Let's kill this bitch."
[Well, there's part two! (Remember, you asked for it...) The plot thickens! Rally sickens! None of them are chickens! I can't think of anything else to rhyme with thickens! If you want to see my personal domain of hell, as well as some original stuff (yes, that kind of thing still exists), please visit http://DUNOTS.tripod.com to make me feel loved. Oh, and to all you MSTers... have fun, but let me see what comes of it.]