After Anya woke Bond, he groggily got out of bed and went to the bathroom sink to splash water on his face. He couldn't decide what was worse, his losing height? Or the extreme exhaustion he inevitably felt as time passed the 9:00 pm hour. Spotting the coffee maker on the top of the desk, he made himself the strongest cup possible, feeling the jolt of caffeine through his body. 

Tightening his belt to the very last hole, he loaded his Walther and placed it inside his front waistband. Once his shoes were on, and Anya asleep, he quietly left the hotel room to do a perimeter check. He scanned the parking lot, and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, proceeded to walk the complex. 

Although he didn't see anything unusual, he got a strong sense that he was being watched. Again, he scanned the lot of parked vehicles and saw nothing that would raise alarms. But his feeling of observation wouldn't go away. Bond subtly blended into a tree lined area, and after watching for a couple of minutes, he still didn't see anything that would cause concern. But once again, his feeling of being watched wouldn't go away. But he completed a second walk around the motel and it's grounds, and finding nothing unusual, except for that nagging feeling in the back of his mind, returned to the room.

Anya was still asleep. Bond studied her body for a moment. With all the changes happening, he noticed that her body looked better now then when he first met her. Her muscles looked like they had more definition, and were noticeably toned. Her breasts were definitely bigger and more defined than before, her abs tighter, her legs longer. 

And then Bond thought about his physique. The taut, sinewy muscles had definitely lost some of their definition, his arms, waist, and legs were looking and feeling thinner than he remembered, and his height was 3 inches less than when he started this mission. He was also beginning to doubt that there would be a way to reverse the effects. Blofeld never concocted an operation in which a solution would be readily available, or overt in nature. No, whatever he had set in motion was without a cure. He was as sure about that as anything. 

Around 5:00am, with sunrise an hour away, Bond made one final patrol of the motel and its grounds. Again, the feeling of being watched was nagging his mind, although his eyes saw nothing unusual. But he knew his instincts and gut feelings were very accurate, so if he felt like they were being watched, then they were being watched. 

He made his way back into the room. Anya was awake and making coffee. With about 4 hours of deep sleep, she felt remarkably refreshed and energetic. Bond also noticed that he was looking up at her, not by a lot, but noticeable to both of them. She handed 007 a cup, and then took hers back to the bed. Bond sat down next to her, and told her that, although he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, he felt like they were under surveillance. He couldn't explain it, and had no proof, but he was sure it was true. 

He then did something that he had never done with her. He asked her opinion of what they should do. They were about 20 hours from Las Vegas, and he was sure they were being tailed. But they also needed to eat and keep the car filled with gas. Plus, they had to factor in that he was feeling extreme exhaustion by 9pm, and would be of no use if they were ambushed. 

Anya considered all he said, and said that while they needed to get to the old Whyte House, they also needed to maintain proper nutrition. And that meant stopping and eating, but so long as they were armed, and could ward off an attack, then everything should be fine. Bond listened intently. He agreed with her reasoning. It was very sound. They had both seen too many young soldiers and agents skip meals, then make critical mistakes because their energy level was non-existent. They wouldn't make that same mistake. 

Bond offered Anya the chance to shower first. It would be a way to not only wash the stain of the incident from the morning before, but would also help clear their minds. Anya accepted the offer, and was the first one to get cleaned. Bond followed. While he was getting dressed, Anya came up to him and whispered in his ear that she knew that what was happening must have been tough on him, as well as every other person on Earth. She then repeated something that she had told him earlier. If he ever needed to talk about what was happening to him, or the world in general, she would be there to listen. Bond turned and looked at her, and thanked her for the offer. Then he surprised her with a kiss, tentative at first, then with more passion. She responded in kind. And once the embrace ended, he realized how strong she was becoming. He didn't know if he could beat her in hand to hand combat, and that was a depressing thought. She had sensed the same thing, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable. But he quickly got dressed, and they both packed, paid the bill, and then were on their way.

They had stopped at a diner not far from the motel. Normally, it would be crowded at that time of the day, but with all that was happening, it was basically a deserted establishment. It was staffed by four women, and no one else. Bond and Anya walked in and took a table in which both seats had visual access to the entrance. Bond felt a little awkward, as the hostess and waitress were both as tall as he was. He quickly tried to focus his mind on the task at hand, but thoughts of being no taller than a woman's ankle kept swirling around in his head.

Once the food and beverages were ordered, Bond looked at Anya with some uncertainty in his eyes. He really didn't want to broach the subject, and he really didn't know how, so he just asked her how she felt about the changes happening around the world, and especially to her. The look she gave him reminded him of the first time he asked a middle-aged woman how old she was. It made her feel uncomfortable. It was a subject that she was hoping to avoid, but Bond brought it up, putting her on the spot.

She told him that she hadn't really thought about it, as she was focused on finding the people responsible and reversing the effects. It was a lie, as she kept thinking about how James Bond was a tall, strong, handsome man when she first met him, and now he was getting smaller by the day, while she grew. She felt so bad for all the men in the world, but especially 007, as she knew that working for Her Majesty’s Government was a job that he loved and took seriously. Now, with what was happening around the world, unless they could find a way to stop men from growing smaller, there wasn't much that men would be able to do. It would throw the world into some form of chaos, as traditional roles would most likely change, and quickly, forcing people to adjust to a new life without the benefit of understanding the what and why of the event. She told 007 that they would find out who was responsible, and how they did it, and find an antidote to reverse the changes. 

She could tell by his expression that Bond didn't believe the last part, and if he knew the truth, neither did she. But she was only trying to alleviate his growing anxiety, because she needed him to be focused on the mission. He held her hand, which surprised her as much as his kiss did, and she put her free hand on top of his and gently caressed it.

The meal had come, and the conversation turned to their encounter with Stromberg and Jaws. Bond thought it was kind of funny that someone like Stromberg, refined and sophisticated, would hire someone as brutish as Jaws. He thought someone from the same cloth as Fransisco Scaramanga would have been more appropriate, someone who would blend in with the surroundings and make them difficult to spot. But egomaniacs bent on world domination didn't always think things through. Anya agreed.

Bond could barely finish his one egg plate, while Anya devoured her steak and eggs breakfast. Once the meal was over, they paid and headed towards the car. It was then that Bond spotted a nondescript black cargo van parked just down from the diner. It didn't fit in with the surroundings. Bond immediately thought that it meant trouble was coming. 

Once inside the car, Bond told Anya about the van, and adjusted the car mirrors so that she could get a look. She asked him if he was sure, and he said yes, but that he was going to stop for gas, and if the van was also there, then he would be correct. He just suggested that while he was fueling up the vehicle that she should make sure all weapons were loaded and unlocked. She agreed.

Bond pulled into the first self-service station he saw. While he was operating the pump, the black can had stopped just before the station. It told him that he was correct in his assessment, and that trouble was brewing, and soon. He finished and got back in the car, driving off and into the highway west. He noticed that the van was mirroring their every move, so he told Anya to get ready.

Soon the van was creeping up on them, expertly weaving in and out of traffic. Bond had been trying to keep at least two cars in between his and the van, but with drivers getting off the road, that strategy proved ineffective. Soon the black can was directly behind them and speeding up. 

Both Bond and Anya felt the impact from the van ramming them from behind. Bond pressed down on the gas pedal, but the car’s four cylinder engine couldn't compete with the V8 in the van. Bond suddenly switched to the left lane and hit the brakes. The van’s weight made stopping quickly impossible. Bond approached the van slowly, until the back doors opened and machine gun toting assailants exited. Bond put the car in reverse and moved to the center shoulder, The van was backing up also, and gaining ground. 

The assailants opened fire on the car, destroying the windshield and front headlights almost instantly. Bond kept reversing until the car ceased to move, it's engine dead. 007 and XXX fired blindly out the gaping hole where the windshield used to be, maintaining cover as best they could. Soon, they heard a loud crash, and the bullets stopped coming. 

Peeking above the dashboard, they saw the black van, as well as it's occupants, totally crushed by another black van, slightly larger and wider than normal. Bond and Anya exited the vehicle, weapons drawn, unsure of what just happened or who had been driving the other vehicle. 

The door swung open, and exited one Dr Holly Goodhead. Bond was surprised. The last he had heard was that she had left the CIA to teach Physics at Georgetown University. He was still trying to process the just unfolded events when she told the both of them to get in. Bond ran back to the car and got the bag with the weapons, then entered Goodhead’s van and they drove off.

Once inside, both Bond and Anya noticed that it was no ordinary van. It was equipped with short range communication equipment, and they knew that it was impossible to intercept, due to extremely low frequencies. It also had a weapons locker, fully stocked, and steel reinforced panels that felt as solid as blast doors.

They both knew it was a CIA Tactical Operations vehicle. Bond and Anya made their way to the front, and asked what exactly was going on. Holly said it was very good to see him again, and explained that she got a phone call from Felix the day before, sometime in the afternoon. He spoke in code, letting her know that the CIA had been infiltrated, he didn't know who could be trusted, and that he and Anya were heading west towards Vegas. He wanted her to stop by the hospital, which she did. He handed her a list, and he let her know that he and Anya were following the list as to where they were staying and eating. And would need help. 

Bond said that he thought that she left the CIA. Holly replied that she did, but would occasionally do recon work for Felix, especially when foreign nationals of questionable backgrounds would be teaching at her school. It was his way of gathering Intel without it being obvious. 

Anya introduced herself and asked about the van. Holly replied that it had been decommissioned by the agency, and put into storage. Leiter wasn't sure exactly where, hence the journey beginning on the train. It wasn't until he woke up from his surgery that he remembered, and asked her as a personal favor to join them. He also filled her in as to what was happening, and who was responsible. She knew something was wrong as males were unable to make her class, while females had no trouble. And if what Felix had told her was true, it would make sense.

Holly asked him what the plan was. Bond and Anya both said that they were convinced that the remnant of SPECTRE was operating out of the complex built below the old Whyte House Casino. He mentioned that the CIA never destroyed it, instead choosing to convert it into a second headquarters, until funding was cut, and the project abandoned. Holly said that she didn't know anything about the project, to which Bond said nobody knew, except for a select few.

But once they got to Vegas, Felix told them where a secret entrance to the complex was located. Their best bet would be to penetrate it at night while it was dark, but he admitted that the plan was unworkable, because at some point around 8-9pm he would have bouts of extreme exhaustion and would be useless to them.

So he was thinking that if they entered just before dawn, while it was still dark and he had energy, it just might work. Anya had been quiet while listening to Bond and Holly talk, and was embarrassed that she felt a little jealous. She tried to push the feelings out, but was still feeling a tinge. 

They drove and would have made it to the Colorado-Nevada border, but an accident snarled traffic for a couple of hours. However, it allowed the three of them to work on their plan of attack once they reached their destination. Bond kept stressing that SPECTRE knew where they were going, and had already made two attempts to stop them, so they should be extremely vigilant and trust no one.

Both Holly and Anya agreed. 

Around 5pm, and 50 miles from the Nevada border, they decided to stop for the night. They were hungry, especially Holly and Anya, and James was starting to experience the tiredness that had been plaguing him for days. After checking into a motel, they went to a diner that was in Leiter's list, and had dinner. Bond was looking up at both Anya and Holly, but had grown used to his situation. Besides, he was extremely grateful that she showed up when she did, as he knew that he and Anya were in trouble. 

The meal was uneventful. Both Holly and Anya cleaned their plates, while Bond was barely able to finish his. But the food hit the spot. And once they were back at the motel, Anya said that she would take the first watch, followed by Holly, and then James. 4 hour shifts. Bond and Holly agreed, as he laid on the bed and was asleep within minutes. Holly finally saw what he had been talking about. She, like Anya, felt sorry for him. He was no longer the big, strong, suave agent that she met when she was spying on Hugo Drax, but was looking frail and weak. She felt sadness and sympathy towards him.