Revival

Mr Bond

After the fatal assassination of Moneypenny at the Monumento Al Plus Ultra, Reserva Ecologica in Buenos Aires, Bond said farewell to Argentina on 17 November 2019, and assiduous readers of this blog will know that this brought to an end that tale.

It was left to Raul, resident caretaker at Palacio Huedo, San Martin, to inform Bond of Moneypenny's death earlier at Hospital Britanico. Broken hearted, he returned his Ormond Yard apartment in Westminster, his life in retirement enlivened only by the occasional invitation to a Covid-covert garden party in Whitehall. 

It was at one such event during lockdown that Bond was to meet the department's latest recruit. And this is how it happened.

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'Bond, Bond old boy, over here if you please, quick as you can.' 

Without effort Q could be the most irritating, intrusive and demanding colleague. His mind worked so fast that, save for M, few could keep up with him. 

'What appears to be the matter Q', I asked, listening nervously for the sound of a smoke alarm, or sight of Boris's former Chief of Staff.

'I want you to meet someone, James. This is Xiomara. Isn't she beautiful Bond? Well so she should be - she is my daughter, and she has decided to keep the family tradition going by joining the department'. 

Standing to his left, Xiomara luckily bore few genetic traces from her father. She was slim, with a neat blonde bob and sparkling eyes that reminded me a little of Moneypenny.  'Pleased to meet you, Mr Bond', she said in a vaguely French accent, and with that she held out a delicate hand in greeting.

'I don't believe it, Q, where has she been all of this time?', I asked, convinced that this was one of his usual jokes and that she was just another of the latest MI6 recruits.  

However, rather than holding back in Q's presence, Xiomara was totally forthcoming. 'I was caring for my mother in Canada but daddy said I should come over and get a proper job. And here I am'. 'Now get me a Martini if you would Mr Bond. Daddy says that I have a lot to learn, and I should start now before you disappear from the field.