In Nomine : James Bond - Double Jeopardy


Maya and Elizabeth (a Habbalite and a Lilim) shuffle into Nybbas' study, looking very nervous. The room is lined with tv screens from wall to wall, all of them glaring on different channels. Nybbas himself is sprawled in a sybaritic chair behind his desk, waving a remote control lazily.
Nybbas : "Hey, hey! So you two are the babes with the script? Well, I have to tell you, I wouldn't do this for anyone, but given some of the vibes I thought I'd give it a look-see, do you a favour, cast an eye on the shots, but don't expect anything."
Elizabeth, nervously : "Most gracious Prince..."
Nybbas, preening : "Just call me Master."
Maya : "We've got a tape here with some sample shots, Prince of the Media: we got some body doubles for most of the major players, and if we can just explain the plot to you between the filmed scenes..."
Nybbas, cutting in : "Sure, sure, put it in, let's get the show on the road."
Elizabeth slides a videocassette that she's carrying into a slot in the wall, and she and Maya curl up in front of Nybbas' desk. Nybbas hits the switch on his remote control.
The screens all go black.

<SCENE>
Bond swings out of what is clearly a barbed-wire-on-walls Game-outpost, with a fluffy-winged Mercurian clinging adoringly to his shoulder, in the traditional action start to all Bond movies.
</SCENE>

Nybbas, clicking the remote : "Hold it a minute, kids. You said this was some cool new stuff, not just the standard Bond. I mean, I need audience here, kids, I'm talking original ideas..."
Elizabeth : "You're absolutely right, most merciful Prince, but we think we've got a few new twists. If you'd just watch a little further..."
Nybbas, darkly : "You'd better not be wasting my time, honey, is all I can say."
Nybbas clicks the remote again.

<SCENE>
Bond, in a military-looking office with Michael. Michael has a pile of reports stacked on the desk in front of him.
Michael : "This has been brewing too long, 007."
Bond, indicating his cup : "You mean the tea, sir?"
Michael, bringing his hand down on the table : "I mean the disappearances! Angels vanishing from the Library. I need this investigated, 007. I need this stopped. At least you shouldn't require your licence to kill this time..."
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Bond saunters stylishly among the Library shelves. He turns a corner, and bumps into the Archangel Beth in a bun and glasses, looking demure and shy as she shelves books.
Beth : "Eek!"
Bond : "You find the most interesting stacks back here."
Beth : "If that meant what I think it meant, I don't think I wanted it to mean that."
Bond : "Intelligent as well as beautiful. Is it some natural inborn gene for librarians?"
Beth, retreating behind the books in her arms : "I'm spending tonight with the filing system."
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Yves, rocking backwards and forwards in his chair, a rug drawn up over his knees : "Of course, it's never been the same since they let the odd ones in. Frogs, I said, frogs. A rain of frogs. Beware the teacups."
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Bond dodges between two rows of shelves, and bullets narrowly miss him. He fires back; there is a scream as someone gets hit, and the mutter of Helltongue.
Bond pursues, turning the corner, and finds a single flower left behind at the intersection. He picks it up, sniffs it, tucks it in his lapel.
</SCENE>

Nybbas, gesturing with the remote control again : "Okay, babes, I gotta admit we've got some action here, we've got some motivation, I love the gaga-Yves-factor, but we need some flesh. Flesh sells. Just ask Andre. Speaking of which..."
Maya, hastily : "We've got some stuff coming up, most mighty Prince."

<SCENE>
Bond and Novalis picnicking in a secluded corner of her Glade. Bond is fully dressed, while Novalis is shameless in a pair of hibiscus flowers and a few petals.
Bond : "Have I ever told you how much I admire this fragrance?" (He bends towards her so she can smell the flower in his lapel.)
Novalis : "James, you never told me! How sweet of you!"
Bond : "And have I ever asked you why you were spending time in the Library?"
Novalis, face showing shock then shame then a sudden desire to change the subject : "Just hold me, James. Don't ask questions. Not that sort of question." (Pulls him down into embrace.)
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Bond leans against a tree on the edge of the Savannah. Opposite him stands Evil Beth, similar to Beth except that she has unbound hair, no glasses, and an interesting minimalist leather outfit.
Bond : "While I'm delighted to follow a lovely woman anywhere, I always like to have a reason."
Evil Beth, smirking : "I'm here to ask you _your_ reasons, Mr Bond."
Bond : "Then we seem to be at an impasse."
Evil Beth, tossing her hair : "I'm sure that I could give you .. incentive .. to cooperate."
</SCENE>

Nybbas, waving the remote : "And does she?"
Elizabeth, shaking her head : "Not yet. She just leads him on a bit, then ditches him."
Nybbas, adjusting his glasses : "Honey, you have got to get two words into your head. Sex. Sells."
Maya : "We didn't want to blow all the tension at once, most noble Prince."
Nybbas : "Okay, okay, I guess you could have a point, as long as you make sure the whole audience can feel that heat. You get me?"
Maya : "Yes, Prince of the Media."
Nybbas : "You're good kids. I like you. So what happens next?"

<SCENE>

Novalis, still in scanty petals, tiptoes down the aisle of a high-arched cathedral, and makes her way to the humming computer set at one side. She reaches out nervously, glancing from side to side, and removes a small computer disk, slipping it behind her right hibiscus blossom.
A breath later, Laurence steps from one of the arches, wings dark behind him.
Novalis, turning with a guilty start : "Laurence?"
Laurence, moving closer to her : "Novalis. My sweet little messenger. What are you doing here?"
Novalis, not very convincingly : "I came to ... to see you. To make sure that you were all right."
Laurence, reassuringly : "Of course I am all right, little one. You are the one in greater danger, child, with this work you do."
Novalis : "But it is for peace? We can hope for peace with Hell?"
Laurence, bending a wing to curl around her : "Of course. Our greater goal, but we must work in secret..."
Evil Beth emerges from another arch, and watches them both, eyes brooding.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Bond, in Michael's study again : "M, I need backing on this one. It may go deep."
Michael, toying with a miniature desk axe : "Give me evidence, 007, and you'll have all the backing that you need."
</SCENE>

Nybbas : "Okay, okay, I'm getting the idea here. Laurence is the bad guy, right? And he's got Novalis convinced that he's trying to make peace, which is cool, and she makes a cute little sexpot, but what's the deal with the double personality Beth? And what's the Big Plot?"
Maya : "Well, you see, we need a flashback for that one, and we're still trying to work out where to fit it in..."
Elizabeth fiddles with the remote for a second.

<SCENE>
Laurence, one dark wing curled around Beth's shoulders: "It's for the good of Heaven."
Beth, firmly: "Absolutely not. That door *stays* locked."
Laurence, darkly handsome: "Why don't we talk about this. I'm sure you'll understand."
Beth, biting her lip, obviously moved: "Well, okay..."
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Beth strapped to a table, screaming as lightning and other eldritch special effects arc around her.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Hair loose and flowing, clothing tattered, and come-hither bedroom eyes, Evil Beth lounges on the table, licking her lips at Laurence.
</SCENE>

Nybbas, smiling and showing shark teeth : "Yeah, that's cool. I like it. So where did he get the tech stuff? And what's the double deal?"
Maya : "Well, we think he stole it from Jean, mighty Prince, which is why it goes wrong and you've got the Double Beth thing, the good one and the evil one."
Nybbas : "You got the psychobabble?"
Elizabeth : "We've got psychobabble by the stackload."
Nybbas : "Sounds good to me."

<SCENE>
Beth stirs a cup of tea, and a white powder swirls briefly on the surface before being absorbed into the liquid.
Yves' voice, from offscreen : "Is my tea ready yet, dear? I was having the oddest dreams..."
Beth smiles, and for a moment her face morphs into Evil Beth's face.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Bond, wandering with Novalis through a field of flowers : "I don't know what he told you, but I need the truth."
Novalis : "James, I don't know that I can do that."
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Evil Beth and Laurence, in his Cathedral. She is nestled against his back, chin propped on his shoulder, as he surveys a stack of files left beside the computer in the alcove.
Evil Beth : "Just to see if she would do it." She strokes his cheek.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Novalis, the picture of guilt, one of the files open in her hands, turns to look at Laurence who is advancing on her from the shadows of the alcove.
Laurence, darkly : "You shouldn't have done that."
</SCENE>

Nybbas, chewing a cigar : "Looks good."
Maya : "The best aspects of Malakim. Violence, sex, death..."
Elizabeth : "Violence, sex, death, and YUMMY LEATHER PANTS WITH A GOOD VIEW!"

<SCENE>
Laurence folds his wings around Novalis as they stand locked in an embrace, one hand tilting her face to his.
Novalis jerks, and goes limp, eyes wide for a moment then closing.
Laurence spreads his wings in great shadows and relaxes his grip, letting Novalis tumble to the ground, the dagger hilt showing behind her shoulder.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Bond bends over Novalis' body, in a corner of the Glades. Several Malakim of Judgement stand round him, weapons drawn, and Dominic himself hovers above.
Dominic : "And why did you decide to murder her, Mr. Bond? Did she know too much?"
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Bond and Janus on hang-gliders, speeding through the heart of a vast storm, being strafed by Malakim of Judgement.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Evil Beth striking a pose, whip in her hand : "I am a Demon Princess! I am who Beth was _meant_ to be."
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Michael, in the Council room, to other Archangels : "Given the circumstances, I have no other choice than to suspend 007, and revoke his licence to kill..."
</SCENE>

Nybbas : "Cool, kids, cool. You've got things beginning to move at last. So what's really going on?"
Elizabeth : "Well, most great and mighty Boss, we've got the traditional bit next."
Nybbas : "Yeah, he gets captured by one of the bad guys who tells him all about it?"
Maya : "Exactly."

<SCENE>
Dominic, in dark-robed form, standing high above Bond, who is trapped in some horrendously complicated deathtrap : "You are too late, Mr. Bond. When we release Uriel upon the universe, all that is impure shall be burned away, and we shall be the masters of the new Heaven and Earth..."
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Evil Beth offers Laurence a very old scroll, bound in faded white ribbons. He opens it, showing a glimpse of a complicated map, then smiles like a knife-edge, bending to kiss her.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Michael, to Laurence, in Michael's study : "I know your feelings on the subject, but I am convinced that 007 is innocent."
Michael turns his back to pick up a file from the desk, and Laurence draws his sword, driving it between Michael's shoulderblades in a single motion.
Laurence, to the dying Michael : "You know nothing. Nothing at all. And now it's too late for all of you."
</SCENE>

Nybbas : "So how does Bond sort this one out?" He pauses. "Oh, hey, wait, yeah, we saw Novalis taking that stuff earlier..."
Maya : "Exactly, most dread Prince. We don't actually get into what it is, of course, we just make it something really important that convinces everyone the moment they see it."
Nybbas : "A whatsisname sort of thingamajig?"
Maya : "Yup."

<SCENE>
Shots of Bond and Janus dodging minions of Judgement and the Sword down snowy mountains, up rocky valleys, between shelved corridors, in car chases, and atop the trees of the Groves, with many fine stunts.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
David, in the Catacombs, to Bond and Janus, surrounded by a group of Malakim of Stone : "You are accusing the highest powers in Heaven of treason."
Janus, jigging from foot to foot : "We've got proof. Well, as long as it wasn't that disk I dropped out over Canada..."
Bond turns to give him an appalled look.
Janus, raising his hands : "Joking! Joking!"
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Laurence, Evil Beth in his arms, flies in haste down a twisting maze of tunnels, with Dominic following them on dark leathery wings, his robe cast aside.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Close shot of David, his arms outstretched, standing before the Council Spires: his eyes close, and his wings spread as he opens his hands, and the shot lengthens to show a great crack opening in the ground, deepening and widening till it is a shadowy scar in the golden pavement.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Bond and Janus, rapelling down the side of the crack: they turn to see Dominic rising from the depths towards them, six red eyes gleaming.
</SCENE>

Nybbas, waving the remote for impact : "We're talking climax?"
Elizabeth : "Mighty one, we are talking the climax to end all climaxes."

<SCENE>
A vaulted dome, decorations faded by age and dust, with a wide marble floor, and at the centre a dais with a complicated mosaic pattern on it. Evil Beth stands beside the mosaic pattern, pausing to adjust one stone, as Laurence squares off against Bond, sword raised.
Laurence : "Try as you might, Mr Bond, you are too late. Today a new order begins."
Evil Beth : "And he dies, love."
Laurence : "Ah, yes. And you die. A better death than you deserve."
Bond : "Do you seriously think you can get away with this? Yves is free, the other Archangels know what you've been doing..."
Laurence, eyes quite insane : "When Uriel is released, there will be nothing that can stop us."
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Bond, driven back against the wall by Laurence, who is raising his sword to strike : "Beth! Remember what you are! Remember _who_ you are!"
Evil Beth hesitates, then staggers, raising her hands to her head.
Vast cracks are snaking through the floor and the ceiling above.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Laurence is about to press the last stone on the mosaic. Beth is crouched at his feet, clearly having just been hurled aside.
Bond, tossing aside his sword and raising his Walther PPK : "I always knew it was a mistake to go traditional."
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Laurence staggers on the edge of a crack, desperately grasping at the air, his sword fallen from his hand.
Beth, with a truly vicious smirk on her face, brings her foot round to trip him.
Long shot of Laurence disappearing into the depths of the crack, face twisted in a furious mask of despair and bitterness, before deep-beneath white flames close over him.
</SCENE>

<SCENE>
Bond tosses the final stone in his hand for a moment, then lets it drop down the crack where Laurence fell.
Beth, horrified : "That's a vital historical artifact!"
Bond, smoothly : "It couldn't be in a safer place."
</SCENE>

Nybbas, grinning as the lights come back up : "Love it, kids, I love it. You've got good material there. Believe me, you'll have my backing all the way, it's cute, just go talk to my people, I'll have them talk to your people..." He shows them out of his door, still smiling.
Elizabeth, outside, high-5ing Maya : "We did it!"
Maya : "We're big-time stars!"
Asmodeus, appearing behind them : "Absolutely. You will be appearing on every screen in Hell, when you are placed on public trial for deliberate angelic propaganda..."

<SCENE>
In his Library, Yves smiles faintly as he strolls among the shelves, reaching up to take a box down. He opens it; inside is The Final Stone from the mosaic. He closes it again, and reshelves it among a pile of similar boxes...
</SCENE>

JAMES BOND : DOUBLE JEOPARDY

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In Nomine