Gibraltar is a small island, peopled with radar installations. There is a traitor among the group of infiltrators. The frayed end of a climbing rope shows evidence of tampering. A troupe of barbary macaques patrol the islet. A jeep filled with dynamite leaves a smoke trail in its wake as it winds down the mountain. Bond has a little chin wag. Bond’s relationship with women, like the relationship between two mutually gravitating celestial bodies, lacks cause and effect. There is just a formula.
Bond’s dinner jacket has a shawl lapel with secret velcro straps allowing it to be deftly turned into a Nehru jacket somehow. Bond injures a sniper’s right hand, hampering her cello technique. A cowardly KGB general flows through miles of pipes, is harriered out of enemy territory. Moneypenny is lithe and wears Elton John glasses. The defector is given one of the queen’s country estates and a talking parrot. A bogus milkman turns the tables on them, throws milk grenades. Bond’s motives are questioned. He is given a skeleton key. The sniper keeps her rifle packed inside a cello case with a notecard containing her full name, address, and telephone number. Every street has a street sweeper. There is one sweeping the inside of a public restroom. In order to not arouse suspicion while in Soviet controlled Czechoslovakia, Bond drives an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. An arms dealer supplies the Soviet Army with weaponry, for some reason.
Bond begins to suspect the presence of an influencing machine as it exerts control. The sniper’s dream is to play the cello at Carnegie Hall. Upon hearing this, Bond laughs in her face. He is strangely particular about how his drinks are prepared, to the point of neurosis. An assassin disguises himself as a balloon salesman. Bond trips the light fantastic. A real assassination is prevented by a fake one. Bond is kidnaped by prostitutes. Bond is smuggled against his will into the Soviet Union under the name Jerzy Bondov. The villain carries a suitcase filled with diamonds and a dog’s heart. Soviet generals distinguish themselves with different colored bands on their peaked caps.
Bond ventures among the lotuseaters. A mujahideen commander turns out to be an old Oxonian. Bond is fluent in Pashto. A rogue Soviet general sells diamonds to an Afghani drug kingpin in exchange for opium hidden in redcross aid packages, does not believe the West is decadent. Bond is almost gauche, goes fey. Thugs intimate secret harmonies. A man begs for his life but Bond doesn’t listen. The infantile armsdealer plays soldier, is crushed beneath a bust of Wellington. The sniper’s stradivarius cello suffered bullet hole damage, reducing its acoustic qualities. She plays it unrepaired.
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