There was no light at the end of the tunnel. Bond ran for more than half an hour before he stopped and took a breath. He has been running non-stop at a quick pace and he was getting nowhere. He pulled out a flare from his pocket and lit it up before throwing it as far as he could. The light and smoke radiated from afar and he decided to follow it. If it would take him three days of running just to fin her, he would do it; he could not afford to lose his help.

When the agent reached where the flare lay, he saw that the light had disappeared and he heard distant voices. He paused as he realized someone was quick enough to take the torch. He loaded his gun and ran up to see what was going on further. What he saw was a lair full of weaponry, cars, and tanks. In those tanks, he saw people standing still with various tubes hooked up to them, as if they were in a deep sleep; or a deep experiment Bond thought. 

Soon enough, he spotted the VERANIS car that was parked in the back of the area. He looked around frantically for agent Marino but he saw nothing. There were no familiar faces in view. But a familiar voice sounded in the distance. Unfortunately it wasn't the one 007 was looking for.

He saw the familiar gleam of blonde locks in the distance. She wore an elegant pantsuit and the sound of her heeled shoes echoed in the cave against the stone tiled floor. Bond looked closer and he was not wrong. He knew who the woman in the pantsuit was, he had no doubt.

A sudden scream made Bond turn around to see where it was coming from and he inched closer to the cave entrance. He then saw three men carry agent Marino into the cave, holding her legs and arms as she tried to wriggle free. They set her down in a chair and pointed a gun to her neck. The blonde woman approached her slowly while Bond made his way into the lair, hiding behind a tank of nitrogen. 

"It didn't take long, did it?" she said, "It won't be long before the idiot comes running in here with his little pistol and his perfect suit. I know him too well." she smirked.

Bond frowned at the mention of little pistol, he was holding a UMP 9 but he was wearing a perfect suit. At times he really hated his choice of clothing, so many nice suits ended either torn up, bloodied, or lost. But now wasn't the time for thinking about his taste in fashion, but about the woman who was held captive.

"Now, let's have a woman to woman talk here. Did lovely James Bond manage to steal your heart yet?" she said in her snake-like voice.

Bond expected silence or better yet an actual answer but what he heard from the Italian was a hysterical laugh. He didn't know what she meant by it but he was keen to find out. The woman slapped her across the face but Artemisia Marino didn't show a sign of weakness.

"We both know that you had or maybe still have eyes for him, who doesn't? It would take an idiot not to want to sleep with him." answered the Italian with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on her face.

The blonde was annoyed at her hostage's sarcastic remarks and her partner nudged the gun harder against Marino's neck. The black haired agent kept quiet.

"You see, the problem here is that you are working with him to rescue your little friends. Since we have you, the idiot will do anything to get you set free and this is where he jumps in the trap. He's done plenty of that before so why wouldn't he do it now?" said the woman as she paced around the room. 

Bond was ready to fire his gun but he knew he had to keep quiet for now. He peeked through the slit behind the tank and saw the exact position  of his enemy and the Italian beauty. She had the gun pressed against her neck and her lip split. From his hiding spot, Bond aimed his UMP closely at the man holding the gun at his partner and without hesitation took the expert shot, sending the man to the ground instantly. The blonde woman turned around briskly and searched from where the shot could have been taken from but then turned to Marino who had already stood up and was ready to fight. The Italian threw a punch at the blonde and sent her jaw flying to the side. She broke into a run to find a gun but the blonde had picked up the abandoned one that was once against Marino's throat. She pointed it at the Italian.

"You don't want to be doing this." said Marino, her hands up in front of her face.

"And why wouldn't I?" asked the blonde.

"We both know that there is someone here and that they are capable of shooting you." answered the agent.

Bond took that as a cue to whip out his UMP and he aimed at the blonde. As much as he wanted to shoot the bitch, he decided to injure her at worst so that they could interrogate her and hand her to the SIS. They needed answers and she obviously had them, teasing Marino about it earlier. He was aiming carefully at her knee when a gun was pressed to his head. He froze in his motion and let out no noise. The cold barrel felt almost foreign against his skin. He was furious about not taking the shot earlier but he knew that it would have gotten him killed.

"Get up." hissed the voice and Bond did as he was told, getting up slowly.

The blonde had turned around to see the man hold the gun against Bond's head. The British agent stood still and silent as the blonde eyed him carefully. He noticed the distraught look that Artemisia was giving him, scolding him for being a fool. He quickly tried to examine the space for escape routes, spare weapons that were unattended but he found nothing. He only had his gun near his foot but he was being held at gunpoint so that option was out of the way. He knew that he was captured.

"I am surprised you would be this stupid." hissed the blonde woman. "Haven't you learned anything?" she asked him, insisting on the word 'anything'. 

"I guess I have not." answered Bond calmly.

"I guess you have not." she replied. She held the gun up to Artemisia's neck and pulled off the safety. "It's a shame she's going to die for your idiocy."

"Why kill her?" asked Bond.

"Why shouldn't I? I thought I took her for a reason. She's done with her job so I might as well kill her." said the blonde.

"I'm pretty sure the Italians would pay a great deal for her even though she's worthless in all honesty. Easy money for you and less blood on your hands." replied Bond.

Artemisia scowled at him but he lightly winked in her direction, letting her know that it was a plan. The Italian had put on a brave face while confronting the woman opposite her but deep inside, she was dying of terror. As brave as Artemisia was, she was not ready to die and leave everything behind. She cursed herself five times over for choosing this job but now she knew that she was stuck in this forever. The cold barrel was warming up against her fair skin but the blonde was getting more focused on Bond. If not for the tied hands, Artemisia could have escaped somehow but now she was captured. 

"Why would the Italians pay for something that is worthless?" asked the woman.

"She's pretty." answered Bond happily.

"Then what if I made her un-pretty? Bet they wouldn't pay then." she smirked and Artemisia's eyes widened.

"Would you really want to do that?" asked Bond.

"And why wouldn't I? I'm guessing she's your next whore." spat the blonde.

Artemisia was tired of the insults that were being thrown at her. She rolled her eyes and decided to speak up, knowing she would probably get slapped for it.

"A whore? Really? I didn't envision a classy woman using that word but here you are, the first of your kind. In that case, if I am the next then were you the previous? Because by your tone of voice, it sure seemed like it." she finished with an arched eyebrow and a small smirk.

The blonde wasted no time in slapping her across the face. The hand struck the Italian agent very hard across her cheek, sending her head flying the other way and a large red mark forming itself upon the left side of her face. A strong and hollow 'clack' echoed in the underground room. Bond pursed his lips and tensed up in anger as he witnessed the dark haired woman get hit by his previous lover. He realized that Artemisia asked for it, she wasn't foolish enough to think she wouldn't get hit after such a remark. 

"You like pain? Because it looked like you asked for it and I delivered." snapped the blonde. "I'll give you plenty more of it, don't worry." She pushed the Italian forward, with the gun at her back and lead her to a connecting room. The guard holding Bond did the same. 

They entered the dark room lit by only two candles. From what Bond could figure out, they were in some old dungeons of a medieval castle, with chains at the wall and one small crated window. It smelled of old water and mold something Bond wasn't familiar with. 

"Lock them up, I'll visit them later." said the blonde as another man entered the room.

The man grabbed Artemisia violently and tried to chain her up to the wall but the woman resisted with all her might. The chains were located on the floor, Bond figured out they would be left in a sitting position on the hard rock of the floor against the damaged stone wall. The shackles echoed loudly as Artemisia tried to break free from the man's grasp but it was useless. The man slammed her frail body against the stone and punched her across the face. The Italian woman had her hands chained to the floor, her split lip bleeding, a bruise forming against her jaw, unconscious and helpless. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello readers!

I've been working on this chapter for a long time now, but I think I got something out. I hope you enjoyed this part so please leave a comment and a vote. 

The gif was a 100% representation of the face Artemisia Marino was making when she sass-mouthed the blonde woman. Speaking of which, WHO IS THE BLONDE WOMAN?! Artemisia Marino is played by the wonderful Lena Headey who plays Queen Gorgo in 300 and Queen Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones.

xIng