William didn't pay much attention to Pierce's joke. He leisurely drank at the bar until the Chelsea vs. Newcastle match ended. Finishing the last bit of his whiskey, he paid and headed back to his hotel room.
After a shower, he reflected on the day's encounter with Pierce Brosnan. It was a bit strange, but it was just a quirk of a big star, calling himself by his movie character's name. It didn't affect him, though he regretted not getting an autograph.
Turning on the hotel computer, he searched for Pierce Brosnan to see what the actor was doing in London.
To his surprise, he found several people named Pierce Brosnan online, but none matched the man he met at the bar.
How could this be? Pierce Brosnan was a big star, so why couldn't he find anything?
As William was about to search for "007," a sharp sensation hit his brain, causing his hand to jerk away from the keyboard. His mental alertness was signaling danger.
Standing up suddenly, he scanned the hotel room and the building across the street with his mental power. As an elementary mage, his mental power could sense up to nearly 30 meters.
His room was on the 12th floor of the Hilton, and the opposite building wasn't even half his room's height. Scanning the building, he didn't sense anyone watching him. The sixth floor couldn't possibly monitor the twelfth floor.
After scanning the hotel corridor, he found nothing suspicious. William was puzzled. Why did his mental alertness suddenly warn him of danger?
Thinking carefully, he realized the warning came when he was about to type "007." Recalling the man in the bar who insisted he was James Bond and not Pierce Brosnan, it all clicked. This wasn't his past world. If that man was indeed James Bond, then his room must be under surveillance.
Convinced that his computer was compromised, William scanned his room thoroughly again. Fortunately, there were no cameras; technology in 2000 hadn't advanced to make cameras as tiny as they would be later. However, he did find a bug in the hotel phone.
Realizing he was indeed being monitored, William's mind raced to recall where he might have slipped up. After a long contemplation, he suspected it could only be the few times he practiced magic in his dorm. Fortunately, his cautious nature and the help of his system, which taught him magic without much practice, minimized the risk of exposure.
Scanning his room one last time, he found no additional bugs or cameras. Drawing the curtains, he scanned the corridor and nearby rooms. Finding nothing suspicious, he put on his coat and left the room, heading for the stairs.
He avoided the elevator, knowing better than to use it. Besides, hotels in this era weren't yet generous with cameras everywhere. He walked down the stairs, scanning each floor with his mental power.
By the time he reached the fourth floor, he hadn't found anything unusual. The hotel was relatively empty during this off-season. Several floors had no occupants, and others had nothing suspicious.
On the fourth floor, his mental power detected a delivery van parked beside the hotel. Why would a delivery van be there so late? Something was off. It reminded him of scenes from spy movies where agents monitored targets from such vans.
Descending to the second floor, he stopped. On the side facing the delivery van, he used Mage Hand to open a utility room. Carefully opening the window, he tried to eavesdrop but could only catch faint sounds. He needed a better way. Searching his memory for a solution, he found it.
He extended his mental power, simulating a stethoscope, pressing it against the van's glass. Now he could hear clearly.
For ten minutes, he heard nothing useful, just mundane chatter. Then, finally, something interesting:
"Pete, is this guy asleep or what? It's been over an hour with no movement."
"Who cares if he's asleep? Why are we even monitoring this guy? He's just a regular university student. What's so special about him?"
"Hey, you don't know?"
"Know what? Is there something about this guy?"
"I don't know much, but apparently, he's been on our watch list for years. Nothing special was found before, so he was off our radar until recently. Now he's caused some stir, so we're back on him. I heard from the daytime listening team that he was in a hotel conference room this morning, pitching a game for £100 million. That fat Richard from the shift change looked like he was going to explode. He's been watching William Devonshire for years. If he had bought the game when it was first made, he'd be rich now. Too bad he didn't, and now he's missing out."
"A hundred million? For a game? You've got to be kidding."
"Something called Plants vs. Zombies. I don't get it either."
"Wait, Plants vs. Zombies? I know that game. I even played it. So, this guy made it? But how can it be worth £100 million?"
"No idea."
After a pause, one of them sighed. "I just reviewed his file. Nothing special. Single mother, raised in London, good student, won many awards, no girlfriend, always in the library or dorm. How can someone like this be worth monitoring? And he's so handsome, too. No girlfriend? Weird. But what's that to MI6?"
"Idiot, didn't you see the last part?"
"Yeah, I saw it. What's the big deal?"
"This guy made the game by himself in less than a month. Designed, programmed, even drew the characters. Network security folks at the office said it would take them months to do it, even if they knew the design. This guy did it solo in half a month."
"This guy's that good? No wonder he's back on the radar."
"Yeah, that's why we're here. And don't you see? Bond himself came to check him out. No idea what Bond concluded."
"But he's a mixed-blood. He's part Chinese."
"Get with the times, Pete. That's racial discrimination."
"NO, NO, I'm not racist. My girlfriend's black. Do you think I'm racist?"
"Who knows? With you, any pretty girl is fair game. You change girlfriends every few months."
"Screw you. I want a stable relationship too, but you never know when you're called on a mission for months. It's not like I want this."
"I think you like changing girls."
"Bastard, you're slandering me."
Just then, a phone vibrated in the van. One man answered and said, "Someone's coming to relieve us. Bond's back and wants a report."
"Great. I can finally get some sleep. I was up till 1 AM and got called in before 6 AM."
"Haha, you slept at your girlfriend's. Didn't she wear you out?"
"Screw you. I'll punch you."
Hearing them bicker, William waited another half hour but learned nothing new. Quietly, he returned to his room.
Back in his room, William sighed with relief. At least they hadn't discovered his magic. Otherwise, there wouldn't be just two people monitoring him.
However, he couldn't understand why Bond had approached him up close.
For years, especially after his grandparents passed, William had sensed someone watching him and his mother. Now, hearing MI6, he understood that something his grandfather had or knew was of interest to them.
But then he shook his head. Intelligence agencies wouldn't hesitate to use force if they wanted something badly. They wouldn't just monitor for nearly a decade. Perhaps it was important but not an immediate threat.
Or maybe someone was also protecting him while he was under surveillance.
Shivering at the thought, William decided to act as if he knew nothing. With the game deal nearing, he didn't want to cause trouble.
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