007 went rogue following the death of Vesper Lynd. Tracked Mr. White to Austria, Italy, and ultimately Haiti. Used unauthorized lethal force. Compromised three safe houses. Emotional state: compromised. Conclusion: The asset known as James Bond is currently operating with zero margin for error. He has traded the Queen’s license for a personal vendetta. The Quantum of Solace—the measure of human decency and emotional resilience required for sustained field work—has dropped to nil.
“No. The man who held the leash. A man named Greene. Environmental front. Quantum’s purse strings. He’s meeting in Port-au-Prince tomorrow. I’m going to burn him out.”
The file contained photographs. The first: a man, mid-thirties, handsome in a ruinous way. Dark hair plastered to a forehead, a scar on his right cheek that pulled his smile into something sardonic. Commander James Bond, RN. 00-status active. PC - 007- Quantum of Solace
The mission would succeed. Bond would see to that. But PC-007 would remain open, a permanent stain on his file. A reminder that even 00-agents have a breaking point. And when they cross it, the only solace left is the one they refuse to take.
The second: a woman. Blonde, pale, with eyes the color of a winter sea. Vesper Lynd. Treasury liaison. Deceased. 007 went rogue following the death of Vesper Lynd
“007,” she said. Not a question.
M turned the page.
The rain over Venice had not stopped for seventy-two hours. It fell in sheets, washing the centuries of grime from the marble and depositing it into the swollen canals. For most, it was a nuisance. For M, it was a funeral shroud.
Static. Then his voice. Flat. Devoid of the old charm. “I found him.” Used unauthorized lethal force
“God help him,” she whispered. “Because he’s stopped helping himself.”
