05: Hot Pursuit
"James? James!" Confused and bewildered, Twilight called out to her friend as he walked past her, with fire and determination in his eyes. She looked up and around at the men in her security detail, who, about a minute ago, had heard something in their earpieces and gone into high alert. They had all drawn their weapons and crowded around her, waiting for instruction from their superior. "Just what in the world is going on?" she exclaimed, to no one in particular.
Bond turned to address one of the security guards. "Get her out of here, right now. We still haven't found that bastard."
Her eyes widened as she heard his command. "What?! James, what's happened?"
"We have a mole; a traitor," he told her, pulling out his own gun. "And he's kidnapped Rainbow Dash." She gasped in shock, and he held up his hand. "And before you ask: no, I don't know why. My only concern right now is getting you safe, and finding her."
She looked up at him with a pleading look in her eyes. "Please, James, let me help you! If my friend is in trouble, I want to try and find her!"
"No." He ordered, earning a glare from her. "It's too dangerous. You need to stay safe, and right now putting yourself in the line of fire isn't going to do that."
"But I-"
"I said no!" he barked, before looking at the other guards. "Now come on, get her out of here!" With that, he turned and started to make his way towards the exit, moving at a brisk pace. He glanced left and right, hoping to spot the traitor, but to no avail. Nobody other than official security seemed to realise that anything was wrong, which James decided was a good thing. He guessed that somebody had come up with some sort of excuse for the delay and their lack of appearance. Still, they didn't have much time. Webb was getting away. Even as he made his way out of the building and into the street outside, the crowds of reporters, paparazzi, and curious onlookers meant that he could not spot anyone.
At just that moment the radio in his earpiece buzzed to life. "Be advised, I may have a positive ID on him," one of the agents announced. "He's pretty far away, but he fits the description, and seems to be carrying a sports bag over his shoulder."
"Where?" Bond asked, looking around frantically.
"On the edge of Trafalgar Square, sir. Looks like he's heading up towards the West End, maybe Piccadilly Circus. I'm following him now, waiting for a chance to intercept."
That's a few blocks away, he thought to himself, already running in that direction. Where the hell is he going? Not going to be taking her to see a West End show, that's for sure. He steadied his breathing and ran faster, ignoring the blaring of car horns and the shouts of confused and annoyed drivers behind him as he sprinted across the street. Trafalgar Square came into sight as he turned onto Whitehall, the unmistakeable sight of Nelson's Column dominating the square itself.
His earpiece came to life once again. "I can confirm a positive ID. He just glanced back at me, it's definitely Webb. I'm moving in."
As he ran into the square itself, James could make out the figures of both Webb and the other agent. He couldn't hear them properly from this distance, especially not with the huge crowd, but everything was transmitted through his earpiece. He saw the agent approach Webb from behind and grab him, throwing a hard punch. He could hear the grunts and other sounds of the two men scuffling through the earpiece well enough as he tried to push his way through the London crowds. From what he could see, the people around them were moving away and trying to ignore them, probably assuming they were just two drunks fighting. Two uniformed police officers nearby, however, had taken notice as well, and were moving to break it up.
There was one sound, though, that he did not need an earpiece to hear properly. He was about halfway towards the both of them when a gunshot echoed across the square, quickly followed up by another. The tourists and other civilians in the crowd went into a frenzied panic almost immediately. Despite the hysterical crowd all pushing and clambering to get away, Bond could make out the sight of his agent falling to the ground, clutching at his chest, as Webb turned and started to run.
Goddamn it! he thought to himself, pulling his own gun out and hurriedly shoving through the people blocking his path. A few more shots rang out, and he saw one of the police officers from before shot dead on the ground as his partner dived behind cover. Growling with anger, he shoved more people aside as he shouted into his earpiece. "Agent down! I repeat, agent down! He's heading south west on Pall Mall."
By the time he was free from the terrified crowds of the square, his target was already much further down the street. Not deterred in the slightest, he pulled himself together and sprinted after him. Where the hell are you going, Webb? he wondered, as he chased him past numerous bars, theatres, nightclubs, and restaurants. The bag over his shoulder, no doubt containing an unconscious (or worse, though he prayed that was not the case) Rainbow Dash, was thankfully slowing him down somewhat, allowing Bond to close the gap between the two of them.
Webb, however, had noticed his new pursuer, and had made an effort to pick up his pace. The crowds didn't seem to be slowing him down too much, since he shoved through them with ease. What the hell is he even thinking anyway? James wondered to himself, shoving an oblivious tourist out of his way. What reason does he have to be doing this? With a frustrated growl, he picked up the pace and shouted out, "Webb! Stop!"
Unsurprisingly, he ignored his command. However, to James' surprise, he quickly ducked into a nearby nightclub, shoving past the bouncer as he did so. It was an obvious attempt to try and lose his pursuer in the densely packed crowds inside, but Bond was not going to have any of it. "He's trying to lose me in the Tasteful Nightclub," he said over the radio, looking up at the name of the club. "Head in through the back, try to cut him off." By the time he had reached the entrance, the bouncer had recovered and now stood in his way. I don't have time for this, James thought, driving his foot into the man's knee. There was a sickening crunch as the bone snapped, and he howled in pain, only to be cut off as Bond punched him hard across the face. The people waiting in line to get it gasped in shock as he fell to the ground, and his attacker dashed inside.
Where the hell are you, you bastard? The loud, overwhelming din of the crowd in the nightclub combined with the electronic music blasting from oversized speakers around the room formed a deafening noise, distracting James from finding the traitor. He had disappeared into the tightly packed crowds inside the small room. "I'll have to try and avoid starting a panic in here," he muttered to himself, scanning the people on the dance floor. "I don't want to start a stampede and get even more people hurt."
Unfortunately for Bond, almost everyone in the club was about as well dressed as he and his quarry were, making finding him in the midst of the crowd quite a challenge. Look for the bag, he reminded himself, narrowing his eyes. The bag over his shoulder. That should make him easier to spot. Even with that advice in mind, he still found it difficult to find him in the huge mass of people. He groaned and frowned as the pounding music started to get on his nerves. Where the hell have you gone?
He let out a sigh of relief that he did not even know he had been holding when his agents reported in through his earpiece. "We've got all exits covered, sir. He's not going to be leaving that club without one of us knowing about it." With a determined frown, he jogged up a flight of stairs to a balcony overlooking the rest of club, in the hopes that higher ground would aid him in his search. Minutes passed, and still no sign of him. After what seemed like forever, James suddenly spotted him, leaning against the bar uncomfortably with a phone to his ear. Calling for backup? There are more in on this? He gave the rest of the MI6 agents outside a warning to keep their eyes open and set off back downstairs.
The huge crowd did have a positive side after all, as it helped to hide James from Webb's paranoid eyes as he approached. He managed to reach the bar himself, a bit further down from his target. He kept on eye on him while blending in, but Webb hadn't decided to try and move. A few moments passed, and Bond decided it was time to move. As he did so, however, something caught his eye. He noticed Webb look down at the bag over his shoulder with alarm. He followed his gaze, and saw that the bag itself was squirming. Oh shit, she woke up.
Webb had caught on to that fact as well, and made a move towards the exit. Now within arms reach, James lunged forward and grabbed the back of his jacket, pulling him back. He seemed to realise what was going on, though, and lashed out with a wild punch that he failed to dodge. Stunned, he staggered backwards, allowing him to escape his grip and push forward through the crowd. James noticed him draw his gun. With no other option immediately available, he turned around, and desperately dove over the bar and into cover just as the first shot ricocheted past him. Well, so much for subtlety.
Naturally, everyone nearby panicked and scrambled out of the way. Cursing to himself, Bond pulled out his gun and returned fire, taking great care to place his shots on target. Webb was having trouble firing back, on account of the squirming bag over his shoulder. Eventually, Dash kicked out hard, catching him in the side of the ribs and making him drop her to the ground. Winded, he crawled behind a table as James fired off a few shots. Still keeping his gun trained on where Webb had hidden, he moved forward and grabbed the bag with Dash inside, dragging it behind cover and opening it quickly.
"Argh, what in the world?" Rainbow gasped for breath and scrambled out of the bag. She went to leap into the air, but James kept her down and told her to hold still. While still keeping an eye out for the traitor, he inspected the wound on her head. It didn't look like it would cause any permanent damage, thankfully. "What just happened?" she wondered, hissing in pain as she became aware of the injury on her head.
He hunkered down behind the bar with her and checked how many bullets he had left. Satisfied with the amount, he slotted the magazine back inside and peeked above quickly. "Seems like you've got another kind of fan club," he quipped. "Though this one has less than noble intentions for you, I'm sure." He flinched as more bullets flew past overhead. With a grimace, he looked over at her. "Case in point."
She covered her ears with her hooves as the shots flew by, before frowning. "Well then, let me at 'em!" She spread her wings and tensed her legs, ready to leap into the sky. "I'm ain't gonna take this sitting down!"
He held her down again. "No! It's too dangerous!" Three more gunshots echoed from across the other side of the room, prompting him to pop up and return fire. "Just stay down!" he barked after ducking down. "Backup should be on the way."
As if on cue, the sound of more gunshots echoed from near the entrance. James peeked his head over the bar to witness his fellow agents exchanging fire with Webb, who soon ducked back down behind his table to reload. Ah, finally. The cavalry is here. He propped himself up, keeping his gun trained on the table. "Just give yourself up, Webb!" he bellowed out. "We have you surrounded, it's over!"
No response came, even as the rest of the MI6 operatives kept their guns trained on the table he had hidden behind. What is he doing? Bond wondered, casting a quick look down at Rainbow. Curiously, she peeked her head over too, to see what was going on. His patience now wearing thin, he shouted out again. "I said, give yourself up!"
There was a crashing sound from behind him, catching him off guard. He quickly ducked down and looked behind to see the door to the kitchen area being kicked in, allowing four more submachine gun-toting thugs to storm inside. Well, they aren't friendly, he thought, throwing himself over Dash as they all opened fire at the bar. The assortment of liquor bottles stacked on the shelves above them were torn to pieces by gunfire, showering them both with shards of broken glass. How the hell did they get in here? he thought angrily. They must have come in after my agents did. Two of the newcomers turned their attention to the other MI6 agents, but one was shot and killed before he managed to fire upon them. The other took cover and started to suppress them, no doubt allowing Webb to move to safety.
With a grunt James pulled out a shard of glass lodged into the back of his hand and pressed himself up against the bar again. Attempting to ward off his attackers, he pointed his gun over the counter and blindly fired a few bullets, though it seemed to have little effect. He could hear one of the thugs shout at another to 'take care of Bond', and readied himself. A few seconds passed, and he stood up, surprising the man on the other side of the bar. He pulled the gun out of his hands and tossed it aside for the time being, before dragging the man himself across and behind the bar. The thug yelled out in pain as he was thrown down onto the shards of glass, before quickly going quiet as James stomped on his face.
"Here, catch!" 007 looked towards Rainbow and caught the submachine gun she threw towards him. He quickly checked the magazine - about half of it left - and stood up. Taking in a deep breath, he aimed towards the other two thugs. They had not noticed the loss of their comrade, and as such were busy firing at the other MI6 agents, along with Webb. That makes things easy, then. He squeezed the trigger, letting out controlled bursts that felled the both of them.
There was silence for a few moments, before he caught Webb popping his head up again. Another few seconds passed, before he slowly raised his hands and stood. James kept his gun trained firmly on him, but began to approach. "Like I said, it's over, Webb." He saw that he had a wound in his right shoulder, no doubt inflicted by one of the others. "Get on your knees, hands behind your head."
He complied, slowly, but was knocked over to the ground when Rainbow Dash lunged forward and hit him with a heavy right hook across the face. He yelped out in pain as she was held back from giving him further punishment. "That's for trying to kidnap me!" she yelled.
"Calm down, Rainbow," he told her, holding her gently as the other MI6 agents apprehended him. "You're okay now. How are you feeling?"
She groaned and looked over at her kidnapper with an angry look in her eyes. "I'm... I'm really annoyed! How dare he!" With another groan she cradled her head in her hooves. "And my head really hurts. Wait, where's Twilight? Is she okay?" She quickly looked up at him with worry.
He held up a finger and spoke through his earpiece. "Report. What's the status of the princess, over?" He waited a few seconds, before speaking again. "Understood. Yes, she is secure. The perpetrator is in custody, over." He looked down at her with a faint smile. "She's fine. Shaken up by this whole ordeal, obviously, but fine. She's being taken back to your hotel as we speak. We should probably get you back there too."
"What about this guy?" She tilted her head towards the now handcuffed Webb, who was being dragged out of the club.
James glared towards him for a second, before looking back at her. "We'll find out why he did this, or who for, soon enough. For now, though, you need to get properly looked at, and get some rest."
"Yeah... Yeah, you're right." She managed to smile up at him. "Come on, let's get the heck out of this place."
"With pleasure." He hauled himself to his feet and helped her up onto her hooves, before moving towards the exit of the club. Of course someone wants the two of them for their own agenda, he thought bitterly. Things can never just be simple, can they?
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Sweet shining fluff, an update!
The music kicked in just as Dash woke up and I couldn't pick a more perfect choice for a soundtrack. Well done.
5436938 Hehe, yeah, and 'Tasteful Club', someone's been playing Payday 2 a bit.
Wow, for once James actually stops the nefarious plan short rather than requiring a 2-hour feature film to save the day! I'm sure that's a first for his career.
5436947 Heh, 'stop'.
I guess the kidnapping is part of a whole... Webb..
...I'll see myself out.
5436982 No, don't! We need more terrible puns.
5437064 If I keep it up, will I be... punished?
5436960 Okay, 'makes them have to try more than once to get the adventure going' then.
While she in London, can she blast apart that fucking London`s City? That sionist`s nest has been to agressive.
5437098
And she can make sure she gives the Prime-Minister a 'visit' while she's at it. Not only is London a shit city, it's home to Britain's biggest group of hypocritical lying bastards my country has ever seen. Down with Dave, up with Twilight Sparkle!
5437065 No, we want puns. Unless you're into that kind of thing, in which case, yes.
I can only imagine the pain that comes...
When Twilight sees any friend in danger,
And that includes James.
Well well, look who decided to update. Been playing Payday 2, I see
Add me on Steam you sexy beast.
I dont know if Twilight can dream walk yet, but surely, after Feeling Pinkie Keen, she has enough mind based magic to turn inromers into cute little truth projectors. Which would really terrify others.
Visit Equestria, Meet intresting new beings, get your mind ripped apart by your freinds while your heart is ripped out and consumed by their enemies.
Dash. I think, your tourist slogan needs a Little more work.
I'm having a vision of Ernst Stavro Blofeld chortling over his plot while petting an increasingly cranky kidnapped Opalescence - not knowing he's about to lose a finger.
Not the longest I have waited for a new chapter, but I was definitely acting like this when I saw the notification.
5437210 Right, they should export Luna. Every spy agency in the world would collectively shit themselves once they learn of her dreamwalking abilities.
5437334
Sorry, that just made me think of Pinkie and Discord roaming the Internet.
And I dont mean browsing from a teminal.
In fact, Im waiting for Dash to be passing a shop in which one of the display TVs is playing one of the old episodes, and Pinkie waves at her to catch her attention.
Another excellent chapter, eh?:D
Great chapter! When Rainbow grabbed a machinegun to pass it to Bond, I originally misread it as the mare grabbing it to use it herself... Maybe too early.
Headline the next day:
"Peaceful Aliens Head Home For Good, Because Humanity Can't Have Nice Things"
5437621 I doubt she would have touched the thing if she fully understood what it does. All she knew was it was a tool the thugs were using, and it would be really helpful if Bond had one too right now.
i.imgur.com/e3qdKtG.gif
5437433 This. This right here. This needs to happen.
I'm pretty sure that the way MI6 will choose to get those answers will be... unpleasant, to say the least. The CIA call them 'enhanced interrogation techniques' and we all know about those.
Meanwhile...
Partial Transcript of BBC News broadcast that evening
"And in breaking news, the Home Secretary has confirmed that two unidentified terrorists were shot and killed by members of the Secret Intelligence Service in a London nightclub whilst attempting to kidnap a member of staff from a newly-arrived diplomatic party. At this time, no further information is available about the nation from which the alleged victim originates, although unconfirmed information suggests that the individual in question is one of the rumoured 'alien' diplomats supposedly currently in London. However, official sources refuse to comment on this matter. Nor has any explanation been offered why the SIS rather than the Security Service, MI5, or Special Branch was providing security for this party.
"Intelligence sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have confirmed that a third terrorist is currently under arrest at an unidentified London medical facility and that he will face questioning by 'all involved agencies' once cleared by doctors as fit.
"Home Secretary Teresa May concluded her remarks on the incident by saying: 'We are not in the business of apologising for protecting the guests of this country from criminal actions. Those who plot and carry out such activities can expect to face exposure and the firmest punishment.'"
this is so awesome
"He's trying to lose me in the Tasteful Nightclub,"
Payday 2 reference.
I don't understand why you keep emasculating Twilight like that.
It kind of worked in the original story, but here it doesn't. The focus is already on Bond and MI6 in general, ponies just being there for the hell of being there while Bond does everything is just disappointing.
In a previous chapter, you went out of your way to explain just how obscenely powerful Twilight was even before becoming an alicorn, and here you act as though she'd drop dead at the first hint of danger. The nightclub shootout would have been a hell of a lot better with Twilight fighting alongside Bond.
While in theory that should make for a very one-sided fight (she has laser beams, she can teleport, cast forcefields around herself and the MI6 agents, etc.), there are ways to write it so it isn't. Twilight using a gun is also something I want to see.
And in case the reason is simply because magic doesn't work properly on Earth, you need to specify that as well.
That said, I hope you'll complete this story at some point, but giving the increasingly large gaps in time between chapters, that seems unlikely.
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