Bond sat in front of his computer with a frustrated face. He knew that this would be one of those chasing games with the Italians leading him into some sort of trap. The only problem was, he had to follow them and Artemisia had to be concealed. Even though they both had covers, they could recognize her since she had characteristic features which were memorable. 

Artemisia was still trying to figure out the riddle they proposed and Bond was admiring her concentration. It felt like she knew what it was but was not sure if she was right. 

"I know where they are!" she suddenly exclaimed.

"Where?" asked Bond in desperation.

"Aosta." she said as she put her computer to sleep and gathered her things. "We should head out now, we have no time to waste." she said and was almost walking out.

"Now? Are you crazy? I have to notify London of it and ask for further instructions. Listen, we'll go tomorrow. It's too late now and we have no idea how to get there or where exactly they are hiding them." answered Bond in a frustrated voice as the woman was bossing him around. 

The only women he would allow to boss him around were M when she was still alive, and Vesper, the one who would do everything for his safety, hence her death. He did not enjoy Artemisia commanding him because he was Commander Bond and she was just Artemisia Marino. But he decided she knew what she was doing so he sucked it up and complied to her actions. He grabbed her arm as she was leaving and stared deep into her eyes.

"Fine, we'll go today." he said.

"Good. I knew you would change your mind." she answered happily and she left quickly to pack up.

Bond sighed and went to pack up his things before changing into more suitable clothing and getting ready to leave Milan. He loved the city but he knew that a job is a job and he had to fulfill it in order to save the lives of dozens of agents. He was impressed by Artemisia's quick thinking but he knew that he was not wrong when he thought that it would be a chasing game. Why would the enemy make it easy for them? Either they want a pact or they want to make them suffer and track MI6.

Leaving Milan went easily, the Italian having packed her things rather quickly and carrying her things to Bond's room while he was finishing folding his clothes neatly in his suitcase. He cared very much about the aesthetic of his clothes, especially for them not to be wrinkled. The women he met were very concise, serious, and had fears of their own, Severine being part of a sex-trade, Strawberry Fields having been drowned in oil, Camille having a rough childhood, Vesper having SPECTRE and Quantum behind her back, and Madeleine having the fear of joining her father. Bond decided that he must find Marino's fear, if she had any, to be able to play the guard in the mission, keep her safe, and show her that she needs a man like him. He wanted to protect her from the mafia even though she was the toughest of the lot as the statistics show. 

Artemisia knew that Bond had small eyes for her, wanting to build a friendship at least but she was weary of agents because she knew how clever they could be. Instead, she waited for the Englishman to finish packing the armored suitcase. As soon as he locked it up, he grabbed his keys from the night shelf and turned to his female counterpart.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Always." she replied with a definite tone, ready to seek all of Italy for her coworkers.

They made their way to the car, neatly parked by the valet in front of the doors, and as soon as they got in, Artemisia searched for the map and directed Bond to the nearest highway.  The drive was quick and precise, no time for stopping except for gas, something Bond had problems with since his Aston ate petrol as quickly as a dog eats its food. They spoke very little, both of the agents concentrated on the job they had to execute. Artemisia worried about her co-workers and Bond worried about everything, London, M, and Artemisia as well. He found her a very interesting character since she was always concentrated on her job, aware that Bond had some eyes for her, but did not let him get close to her in that way. Bond's mood dropped when he realized it was practically the same thing with Vesper when he first met her. He missed her dearly, her brilliant smile and attitude, her graceful gestures, and her wonderful brain, not to mention her beauty.

As they were nearing the intersection of the highways, Bond noticed a foreign object laying on the side of the road. Since close to no one was travelling, he parked the car and went to inspect what it was. Artemisia followed quickly behind but was stopped by Bond in mid-step. He motioned for her to move back to the car.

"Why?" she asked him.

"You really don't want to see this." he replied as he looked at the gruesome scene in front of him.

"Stop treating me lower, let me see, I can tolerate things as well as you can." she said angrily and went closer to the area.

Bond was right, it wasn't a scene she wanted to see. In the ditch lay a mutilated body, limbs scattered around it, blood covering the surface of the grass. It was a man's body and it must have gone through great torture a couple of hours before now. Bond knew this was relatively fresh since the blood looked fresher than a corpse's lying for a couple of days or so. He knew that it  was one of the Station I agents since it would not be a coincidence. Artemisia stared at the body and was close to tears, but she knew they wouldn't be spared. 

"He was a good man." she said, "Always happy and smiling. Brought cakes for us during the holidays, joked around in the office, hacked the boss's computer twice, and had a wife and three sons." she quietly said. 

"Such a pity." answered Bond, not having known the man.

Bond knew that it was sad to see your coworker in such a state, such torture that he must have endured, but there was one good thing out of it, they were on the right trail. There was little time to waste so Bond asked Artemisia to call police anonymously and give the location while they drove off to get to their final destination. It would be long, but Bond was determined to get there, to solve this godforsaken mystery.

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Hello!

I am so sorry about not updating, university has got me at a major backup! It's also very short so I apologize! Hopefully I'll update Casino Royale soon though so hang on tight! Thank you for your support on both stories and remember to vote and leave a comment!

xIng