From UNIT With Love--Chapter 6

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 XIA#1--From UNIT With Love
Chapter 6:
When we last left Mr. Bond--

 by Leighann

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 "Not again!" sighed Bond.

 The Master smiled. "Oh, come now, Mr. Bond. You must still have some regenerations left." He clasped the Tissue Compression Eliminator closer to his body. "Now, this won't hurt a bit. Well, perhaps a little."

 He pointed the Eliminator at him.

 

The Doctor knew this would be his only chance to save both Jo and Bond. So he pointed Bond's gun to aim for the Master's head. Then he pulled the trigger and fired.

 

The Master grinned from ear to ear. This seemed too easy. He would kill Bond first, then when the Doctor confronted him, he would use Miss Grant to get the Doctor to come closer. Only then he would destroy the biggest thorn in his side since he had come to this miserable planet.

 He got ready to fire when something hit him on the side of his head. His head jerked back and he gently placed one of his hands on his temple. He touched it and intense pain reverberated through his skull. He pulled his hand away and saw sticky blood on his glove. Then another shot rang out and hit him again from behind, this time causing him to fall unconscious upon the floor. The Tissue Compression Eliminator fell from his hand onto the floor beside him. Thankfully, it didn't fire and shrink everything to kingdom come.

 The Doctor came from behind the stacks of cardboard crates with Bond's gun in his hands. "Are you all right?" he asked Bond.

 "I'm fine, Theta. By the way, nice shot. I didn't know that you knew how to fire a gun," said Bond smiling.

 "I don't," replied the Doctor. He smiled as he gave the gun back to Bond. "Guns. Nasty things."

 Bond laughed. "You haven't changed. Even though you would work with gadgets and read about Earth history, you would never construct or use a weapon. You would always try to solve things in a peaceful way. But I'm surprised that you would use a weapon now," said Bond.

 "Sometimes, using some kind of weapon is necessary. Especially when either you or your companion are in grave danger." The Doctor walked past the Master to where Jo was. He bent down on his knees and took something out of his coat pocket which he waved under Jo's nose.

 Jo awoke and coughed. She glanced up and smiled at the Doctor and Bond, but frowned at what the Doctor held under his nose.

 "Agh! Doctor, what is the awful smell? It smells like rotten eggs or smelly socks or something in between--" asked Jo.

 The Doctor smiled. "It's a variation of your planet's smelling salts, Jo. I got it on one of my travels when the TARDIS still worked." Upon seeing Jo's worried face, he added "Don't worry! It's harmless to humans, but it still has the same effects." The Doctor helped Jo up off the ground. They brushed themselves off and they walked back to where Bond stood.

 "Are you all right, Miss Grant?" asked Bond.

 "Yes, I'm fine except for my head hurting a bit," she replied. Suddenly, Jo glanced around. "The Master! Where is he?"

 The Doctor and Bond turned around and saw the empty, slightly bloodstained floor where the Master should have been, they sighed.

 "He's gone. Again," said Bond. "Is this usually what happens?"

 "Yes," said the Doctor. "But I'm afraid that he will need a doctor or at least the facilities in his TARDIS. Those shots that I fired gave him a nasty wound."

 "Well, I wouldn't worry about it. If it's too serious, he will just regenerate," stated Bond.

 The Doctor shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. He has run out of regenerations."

 Bond turned to face the Doctor "What?!"

 The Doctor rubbed his chin. "Yes, I'm afraid it's true."

 "Good Lord! How does he survive?"

 "By his wits and cunning. And by getting away before he gets caught. He will survive another day at least."

 "Can we go, Doctor? I don't want the Master to come back...or Jiang," said Jo.

 "Jo's right. Come on, let's get back to Bessie, shall we?" said the Doctor. Then all three started to slowly and carefully go out of the alley, just in case anyone ambushed them.

 

"She's gone!" cried the Doctor at the empty spot upon where Bessie had once sat. "Someone took her!"

 "Don't worry, Doctor! We'll get her back," said Jo.

 "I don't know who could have taken her unless--" said Bond.

 "Unless what?" asked Jo.

 Bond's face turned grim. "Josef Braun."

 "The man who looks and talks just like you," said Jo.

 "The man I thought was you," said the Doctor.

 "Yes, the very same. Perhaps the Brigadier mistook him for me, Josef told him some strange tale, pointed him in the wrong direction, and took Bessie instead."

 "Nonsense. Even if that were true, the Brigadier wouldn't be foolish enough to fall for that. He would see right through him," said the Doctor.

 Suddenly, the U.N.I.T. vehicles drove up within a couple of inches in front of them. The Brigadier stood up in the lead jeep with an angry look on his face. "Mr. Bond," said the Brigadier as he spoke in calm, but raging tones. "What was the reason for the wild goose chase at Trafalgar Square?" His voice rose with barely controlled anger. "Some of your spy training to keep U.N.I.T. on our toes?"

 The Doctor sighed in defeat. "Then again, this is the Brigadier--"

 Jo spoke up before the Brigadier could tear Bond apart. "Bridgadier, Mr. Bond was captured along with me by the Master. That was a man named Josef Braun that you saw. He looks and sounds just like Mr. Bond here. You can ask the Doctor. He fooled him too."

 "My God," whispered the Brigadier. "He played us all for fools."

 "And you let him take Bessie, Alistair!" shouted the Doctor angrily.

 "I thought he *was* James Bond!" retorted the Brigadier. Then the Brigadier's face clouded in confusion. "Wait, Miss Grant, who saved you and Mr. Bond from the Master? And where is the Master?"

 Jo smiled. "The Doctor. He fired at the Master with Mr. Bond's gun to save us."

 The Brigadier's face showed surprise at this. "The Doctor--firing a gun? Amazing!" He turned to Bond, much calmer. "Was he a good shot?"

 "Impeccable," said Bond smiling.

 The Doctor frowned. "Alistair, don't get any ideas. I don't want to end up as one of your little soldiers."

 The Brigadier just smiled in amusement.

 "As for the Master, he got away--again!" said Bond.

 "Well, Alistair! Are you going to give us a lift?" asked the Doctor with one of his eyebrows raised.

 "Certainly. Hop aboard," said the Brigadier. Bond, Jo, and the Doctor got into one of the jeeps. Then the jeeps started up again and headed back to U.N.I.T.

 

M sat at her desk, rereading all the files concerning the Master, the Doctor, U.N.I.T., his former companion, Liz Shaw, and his current companion, Jo Grant, when someone came in. M didn't look up, but asked "Yes?"

 "It's me, M."

 "James, I thought you were with U.N.I.T.," said M sternly. She looked up and found James Bond standing there in front of her desk. She looked at him for a few minutes before she could sense that something was wrong. *No, this wasn't James,* she thought. *It's someone else.* It was only then that she finally figured out who it was.

 "Josef Braun. I thought that you had disappeared off the face of the earth," M said.

 Josef smiled. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that you're not that lucky." He went to the door, closed it, and locked it.

 M was worried now. "What are you doing? How did you get past my agents?" she asked.

 "So sorry, M. Too bad you will never find that out," said Josef.

 Josef put a hand in his coat, brought out his gun, and pointed in front of M's face. Then he fired.

 TO BE CONTINUED

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