Saturday, August 29, 2009

James Bond Daily: A Nice Girl Like You...

A kindly police detective tries to explain the ways of the world to Vivienne Michel, who, the previous evening, was saved, loved, and left by a familiar British secret agent, on p.162 of The Spy Who Loved Me:
'This underground war I was talking about, this crime battle that's always going on -- whether it's being fought between cops and robbers or between spies and counter-spies. This is a private battle between two trained armies, one fighting on the side of law and of what his own country thinks is right, and one belonging to the enemies of these things.' Captain Stonor was now talking to himself. I imagined that he was reciting something -- something he felt very strongly about -- perhaps had said in speeches or in an article in some police magazine. 'But in the higher ranks of these forces, among the toughest of the professionals, there's a deadly quality in the persons involved which is common to both -- to both friends and enemies.' The captain's closed fist came softly down on the wooden table-top for emphasis, and his inward-looking eyes burned with a dedicated, private anger. 'The top gangsters, the top FBI operatives, the top spies and the top counter-spies are cold-hearted, cold-blooded, ruthless, tough, killers, Miss Michel. Yes, even the "friends" as opposed to the "enemies". They have to be. They wouldn't survive if they weren't. Do you get me?" Captain Stonor's eyes came back into focus, Now they held mine with a friendly urgency that touched my feelings -- but not, I'm ashamed to say, my heart. 'So the message I want to leave with you, my dear -- and I've talked with Washington and I've learned something about Commander Bond's outstanding record in his particular line of business -- is this. Keep away from all these men. They are not for you, whether they're called James Bond or Sluggsy Morant. Both these men, and others like them, belong to a private jungle into which you've strayed for a few hours and from which you've escaped. So don't go and get sweet dreams about the one or nightmares from the other. They're just different people from the likes of you -- a different species.'
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Listening to: Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
via FoxyTunes

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