Page 105 - Brokenclaw - John Gardner

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and made two rapid telephone calls, then left his own Number Two in charge –

a former field agent built like the proverbial brick wash-house and known to
all as Mac. In M’s cabin, Grant found the old admiral talking with Bill Tanner
and Franks. The doctor, Orr, and Q’ute had already left for London.
James Bond OO7 - printing disabled man and the girl’ve been cut out by a couple of Brokenclaw’s James Bond OO7 - printing disabled
‘Your
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stalking-horses,’ Grant announced.
‘Serious?’ M clamped his pipe firmly between his teeth.
‘From the description, it’s probably a Chinese heavy known as Bone Bender
Ding who’d rip out his own mother’s tongue if the money was right. The

other’s a little guy called Fox. Ex-Special Forces and answers to various
nicknames – “Gory” Fox; “Fatal” Fox, take your pick; he’s as pleasant as an
asp in your pants.’
‘You do have them under surveillance?’
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‘I’m having them tracked all the way sir. But I don’t have to remind you
what you already know of Brokenclaw Lee. He appears to have the ability to
move entire mountains without anyone even noticing until it’s done.’
M sucked at his pipe. ‘Grant,’ he tried to sound diffident, though it did not

quite come off, ‘we’re damned grateful for what you fellows are doing,
y’know. Damned grateful. Bond can be a difficult cuss at times, but he’s my
best agent. Nobody else can touch him when it comes to jobs like this.’
‘And this,’ Bill Tanner said quietly, ‘is like old-fashioned intelligence work.

I was just thinking that we desperately need agents to cope with the turmoil of
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transition in Europe, and here we are, half a world away, dealing with stolen
plans. It’s like a pre-World War I scenario.’
M made a noise which sounded like an embarrassed clearing of the throat.

At the same time he glanced at Grant who was looking furtive. ‘What’s your
Chief of Staff’s clearance, sir?’ he asked.
‘Stratospheric, though I’d hoped to keep the darker side out of the way. You
think it’s gone too far for that now?’

‘I think within forty-eight hours we’ll know exactly how what you call the
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“darker side” is going to fall.’
Tanner was quite used to being educated further and given classified
information long after an operation had begun to run. It was known in the trade

as ‘need-to-know’. ‘There’s more than just Lords and Lords Day?’ he asked.
‘Possibly, Tanner. Quite possibly. Though the Lords device is about as
classified as anyone can get, because the whole safety of the United States’ and

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