007 is back.

Raymond Benson wrote a short story, just in time for the premiere of The World is Not Enough. It was published in TV Guide and gives a brief glimpse of a Cold War defection that James Bond was involved in.

Set in the United States following a botched attempt in London, Bond is there to facilitate the escape of a beautiful Russian ice skater from under the watchful eye of her coach and KGB minders. With some help from the local police, and a little distraction to manipulate the media, Bond finds himself in a brief fisticuffs that will allow the ice skater to escape.

And, as usual, after the initial escape, the pair spent a little time together, and now, in the present, they are going to meet up for the first time for years.

It’s just a brief interlude of a story, and being mindful of where it was published, the violence is almost cartoon-like, and there is almost no hint of the sexual undertones that proliferated Fleming’s work, as well as those who came after him.

It’s a quickly digested story, doesns’t really add anything to the character or its history, though this presentation of 007 feels like a blend of Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan’s Bond. There’s the playful charm, and just a hint of the cruelty one expects around the edges.

Benson followed this tale up with his adaptation of The World is Not Enough, which will be my next stop on my 007 travels, so stay tuned because James Bond Will Return.