Rupat Island, off the coast of Sumatra
Dutch East Indies, Kingdom of the Netherlands
Wednesday, September 5th, 1940
In the deep shadows of Dr No’s command centre, coloured lights flickered and the chatter of radio communications buzzed. The outline of the room was a half circle, with command consoles lining the circular outer wall. In the centre was a raised dais on which the Doctor, clad in a pearl grey Chinese suit, sat on a futuristic-looking throne of black steel. Standing by his side Fah Lo Suee watched everything, her porcelain doll face impassive to the point of appearing truly artificial. She was clad in a dark red Chinese gown cut almost to the hip which displayed her spectacular legs to a degree bordering on indecency. Dr No’s second in command, the Malayan pirate chieftain Sandokan stood on the floor, his bare arms crossed over the chest.
‘Dr, the enemy ship is sinking!’ reported a white-coated engineer in charge of the beam cannon. A chorus of cheers echoed between the sheer concrete walls of the command centre. On a huge television screen taking up a significant portion of the straight wall, the demise of the “De Ruyter” could be seen from the vantage point of a television camera hidden in the forest canopy.
The scientist and crime lord shook his head in censure. ‘This is no reason for celebration! The secrecy of this installation is paramount, and we’ve just been forced to show our hand!’
‘They were about to discover the facility’, Sandokan replied with a shrug. ‘Now at least, with some luck, we got them before they could transmit their finds. Pity only they didn’t continue a few metres more before dropping anchor. We’d have hit them in the fore turret magazine.’
‘They’re sinking, that’s the main thing’, said No. ‘But keep jamming their transmissions. There could be some hero willing to die for Queen and country trying to send a Mayday while she goes down.’
‘Affirmative, Sir!’ one of the technicians answered.
‘I assume we have current communication and recognition codes for the Dutch Royal Navy?’ No asked.
The technician turned from his console towards No. ‘Yes sir, we do.’
Dr No smiled slightly, an expression bereft of all warmth through the effect of his black eyes and sharp, disdainful features. ‘Then wait until she has gone under, cease jamming and send a Mayday, explaining they’ve hit a mine and are sinking quickly. Give their position as being in the middle of the straits.’
‘Affirmative, Sir!’
‘And Sandokan, take the sub out there ASAP and spread some debris and spill oil. Ah, and pick up a few bodies from the river and throw them in there too, can’t hurt to be convincing.’
‘Yes Sir. Ah, look, our shore defence pillboxes are firing on survivors!’ he added. Sandokan was in charge of the small infantry detachment of the base, made up of a mixture of Imperial Guards and Malayan pirates. ‘We’re causing great casualties to the enemy’, he added with grim satisfaction.
Fah Lo Suee leaned close to No and whispered into his hear. ‘No dear, tell them to be thorough about it. The compliment of that ship far outnumbers us. If too many survive, they could become a significant threat.’
Julius No (although he detested his Christian name and refused to use it) swallowed as he tried to control the shivers of pleasure her breath, so close to his ear, caused him. His head was spinning from her perfume. He couldn’t think straight – all he could think of was those long, slender legs, so close to his aching hands he could hardly repress the urge to fondle them. Oh, how he longed to have them wrapped around him once more! She was better in bed than her looks promised, which wasn’t a little, and she had even done a good job relieving that damnable pain in his hands with her hypnotic therapy.
‘Oh, I think we can trust our men to take on this task with gusto. Not that you’re not right, off course, my dear.’
At some level Dr No knew he should have her killed, or at least reported her capture to Fu Manchu at once. But she had been SO deliciously sweet and submissive, the once proud Lady of the Si Fan! He had managed to convince himself that the safe course of action was to delay reporting her capture or turning her over until the Allied Fleet had been dealt with and there was no longer any point in keeping the base hidden. Now it was too late to deviate from the path he had chosen. At least that pirate whelp, Sandokan, hadn’t made any bones about it, which was something at least. And as for Bond, he could blow the whistle only to the fish of the Straits of Malacca. He would never reveal No’s game to Fu Manchu.
Suddenly some of the sinking cruiser’s secondary turrets opened up, targeting the pillboxes.
‘They’re taking out our machine guns!’ Sandokan roared in outrage. ‘Order them to cease fire, they’re giving away their positions with those tracers!’
Despite the lull in the firing, the waters of the river mouth were turning a sinister crimson. The shipwrecked Dutch took advantage of the opportunity to reach shore and scamper into the protecting shadows of the jungle beyond.
Sandokan clenched his fists in frustration. ‘Just you wait until the ship has capsized. It can’t be many minutes now!’
‘I think we can think of some more… entertaining things to do than to watch THAT?’ Fah whispered, always close to No’s ear.
The half-Chinese scientist fairly much jumped to his feet. ‘Sandokan, I grow bored of this. Send out search parties to finish of the survivors that made it into the jungle and report when they have all been exterminated. I’ll be in my quarters resting!’
The crime lord swept out of the command centre with Fah Lo Suee at his arm, never noticing the smirks on his men’s faces.
‘Resting? Afterwards, perhaps!’ someone muttered half-aloud after the doors had closed behind their boss. The comment caused an explosion of laughter, interspersed with some creditable attempts at faking the sounds of copulation.
****
A few hours later, No was still lying naked in his bed, drenched in sweat which had nothing to do with faulty climate control. The air inside the hidden base was every bit as dry and cool as anyone could desire. Fah Lo Suee, equally
deshabille, was curled up beside him, her voluptuous shape barely hidden under the satin sheets which clung tantalizingly to her every curve. If she was asleep of merely mimicking it, he had no way of knowing.
There was something horribly frustrating about making love to Fah Lo Suee, No thought. It was glorious beyond anything he had ever known, but it was never enough. Even now, lying beside her, exhausted, his desperate lust for her never abated. But for the moment he was physically incapable of trying to satisfy it. It was like drinking glass after glass of water until it was impossible to swallow any more, without ever managing to quench a parching thirst.
Trembling from the effort, No rose to sit on the side of the bed and rested his head in his hands. The slight weight shot bolts of pain up his wrists, making him groan. He watched them with a frown – once he was back in Beijing he must find the time to have a proper physician have a look at them – maybe even Fu Manchu himself could deign to examine them. After all, after the complete destruction of the Allied fleets, Dr No would be the hero of the day!
There was a knock on the door. Disdaining ordinary modesty as something fit for ordinary men, No walked still naked to the door and opened it. It was a Major of the Imperial guard, a stocky Manchurian with a wispy, greying moustache. He was Sandokan’s second in command.
‘Yes?’ No asked tersely.
‘Sir, one of the search parties has failed to report in.’
‘What? When?’
‘Just now, Sir. We’re keeping radio silence per your instructions, so the parties were told to send a runner every hour to keep us updated on the situation. One is overdue.’
‘Ah, I see. That’s all right then, Major, the idiot probably got lost in the jungle. Have you told Sandokan?’
‘No Sir, the Admiral is still out with the submarine.’
‘Yes, yes of course. Well, keep me updated. Dismissed!’
‘Sir!’
No closed the door and considered the irony that while fighting to evict the British from Asia, the Pan-Asian military, like its many component forces before it, mimicked western military traditions to the minutiae. Something would have to be done about that, No thought as he returned to the side of the Lady of the Si Fan and climbed into bed. Watching her with glittering eyes, he licked his lips and peeked under the sheets to see if he was ready for another round yet. Disgusted with the result, he fell on his back with a frustrated sigh. He never saw the cold, disdainful smile on Fah Lo Suee’s turned away face.
