Turning to face him, Wesley nodded cautiously. "I am," he acknowledged. "And who might you be?"

The man smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Let's leave that for a moment, shall we? I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?"

Wesley took a moment to look over his questioner before answering. The man was perhaps fifty years old, and in very good shape. No grey in his black hair, though whether that was from dye or natural, Wesley couldn't tell. He was impeccably dressed in what looked to be an Armani suit. His accent told Wesley the man was British. Upper class, probably from the London area. His expression was pleasant enough, but Wesley thought he saw more than a hint of cruelty and steely determination in his eyes.

Finally, Wesley nodded again and said "Certainly. I don't suppose I have anything better to do at the moment. Join me for a drink?" he asked, gesturing to get the attention of the barkeep.

"Of course," the man answered. "And please, allow me to shout this round." Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a billfold and extracted a crisp new twenty dollar bill. He handed it to the barkeep and said, "Two of whatever he's having. Keep the change."

Turning back to Wesley, he put away his billfold and drew a silver case out of the same pocket. Opening it, he extracted a cigarette, then held out the case to Wesley.

"No, thank you," Wesley said. "What can I do for you?"

The man lit the cigarette and waited until their pints arrived before answering. "It's more what you can do for Her Royal Majesty and Mother England, actually." He took a sip from his glass and grimaced slightly.

"Newcastle not to your taste?" Wesley asked.

"It's not my usual drink, no. But when in Rome and all that."

"Of course," Wesley agreed. "So, tell me what I can do for Her Majesty."

The man took another sip before answering. "First things first. Let me assure you that I know who you are and what you do. You were a member of the infamous Council of Watchers until you were dismissed two years ago. You now work with Angel Investigations, where you fight vampires and demons and other things that go bump in the night."

Wesley glanced around to make sure none of the other patrons at the bar were listening before he spoke. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage. You know my life history, while I don't even know your name."

The man nodded. "Yes, that's true, and for that I apologize. However, I cannot tell you anything about myself until you accept my offer of employment."

"And what might your offer be?"

"We need someone with your background," the man told him. "Someone with both combat and research training, and especially with experience in the field. The fact that you are no longer associated with the Council is a plus, since my superiors are disinclined to trust them."

"I can't say as I blame them," Wesley remarked calmly. "Let's say I believe you. I assume you work for some branch of the government?"

"Of course."

"And I assume you can't tell me which branch until I agree to go along with you?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Well, then," Wesley said. "What can you tell me? You'll understand that I'm not inclined to just up and run away with you."

"Of course not," the man agreed with another humorless smile. "There are a great many details I'm not at liberty to share with you, but I can tell you that our objective will be to investigate and neutralize a demonic cult that is attempting to destroy the world."

"What, another one?" Wesley asked with a wry grin.

For the first time, Wesley saw true emotion in the man's eyes. He gave Wesley a grin of his own as he answered, "I'm afraid so. But this cult has much greater resources than anyone you've dealt with before, and they have bases all over the world."

Wesley thought about that for a long moment, then nodded. "If what you say is true, I'm in. I'll need to see a great deal of proof before I truly believe you, though."

"Of course," the man agreed.

"So," Wesley asked, "now can you tell me your name?"

"Bond. James Bond."