Free Bond Movies 06 - The World Is Not Enough by Raymond Benson Page A

probably a good thing that you did, otherwise I might never had found you,’ he said. ‘All I need is to get lost in the Caucasus Mountains’
    He looked down and saw that a small piece of parachute fabric was impaled on his right ski. There was some kind of pattern on it. He reached down and slid the fabric off, then frowned when he saw the Russian letters sewn onto the cloth: the symbol of the Russian Atomic Energy Department.
    Bond stuffed the Russian-made piece of parachute into his pocket just as they heard a low rumbling around them.
    ‘What was that?’ she asked.
    The noise grew louder. Bond looked up the hill and saw that the exploding Parahawks had triggered a collapse of the overhanging snow. A huge, white wall was tumbling toward them.
    ‘Come on!’ he cried. He was ready to keep skiing, for the best strategy to avoid an oncoming avalanche is to point one’s skis downhill and out-race it.
    Elektra, however, lost her balance and fell. Bond stopped and threw his body on top of hers.
    ‘Curl up into a ball!’ he shouted. It was the only possible defence. If the hands were near the feet, a person could unlock the boots, slowly unfold and burrow oneself out of the snow.
    The avalanche hit them hard just as Bond pulled the toggle on his Q jacket. The air bag slammed open, forming a cushion between them and the snow. The cold weight engulfed their bodies, and for a moment everything went dark. She screamed and started to panic. Bond held her tightly, forcing her to stay still.
    ‘It’s all right . . . sshhh . . .’ he whispered to her. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, everything went dead. There was some illumination from Bond's watch. He unlocked the toe-holds and pushed his skis away, trying to straighten himself. He was able to grab the Sykes-hairbaim throwing knife from the sheath on his calf, then reach around and puncture the air bag. Once it had deflated, they were left inside a small, igloo-like, icy tomb. But they were safe.
    ‘My God, we’ve been buried alive,’ she gasped.
    ‘We’re all right,’ he said.
    She started to panic again. ‘I can’t stay here.’
    ‘You’re not going to.’ He used the knife to start chipping away at the snow above them.
    ‘No! It will cave in!’
    ‘It’s the only way out . .
    ‘Oh God, oh God,’ she cried. She started breathing rapidly, hyperventilating. It was obvious that she suffered from claustrophobia.
    ‘Hold on, Elektra, I’ll get us out,’ he said, working feverishly with the knife.
    ‘I can't breathe ... I can’t breathe . . .’ she choked.
    Bond stopped and grabbed her.
    ‘Elektra! Look at me!’ She struggled against him. ‘Look in my eyes!’ She continued to beat at him until he slapped her lightly on the cheek. She stopped and gasped a lungful of air.
    ‘You’re all right,’ he said gently. ‘Everything will be all right. Trust me.’
    Finally, arrested by the strength in his eyes and the shock of the blow, Elektra calmed down and nodded. He continued to chip away.
    Bond now understood the girl better. The kidnapping ordeal had been much harder on Elektra than she liked to admit to herself, he thought. She was on the right track. Given her situation, the best thing would be to do everything within one’s power to put the experience in the past and move forward. Immerse oneself in work. She had done that, but the scars that remained were the hidden wounds to her psyche. Bond presumed that Elektra probably developed the claustrophobia within the past year. He began to appreciate the amount of stress she was under. Not enough time had passed since the kidnapping, her father was recently murdered and she had to take charge ... It was no wonder that she seemed to be walking a fine line between composure and sheer panic. M had been right to send him out to protect her. He resolved to be doubly careful not to let her know that Renard was still after her.
    Six minutes later, Bond’s fist broke through the mound that covered