Back in London, Bond dropped Mathilde off at Miss Moneypenny's flat where his daughter would stay until they found a safe house for the little girl. Some place Bond could visit and get to know her better, and in time, develop a relationship with her. He had only found out that he had a daughter when he and Madeleine had rekindled their passion for each other after several years apart. At the doorstep, he kneeled and whispered in Mathilde's ear and told her she would be safe with Moneypenny, and that he would return to get her soon. She still couldn't understand what happened to her mum, and she had cried for hours on end, but Bond assured her he would find the bad man responsible for taking her mum from her and bring him to justice. He actually told her he would arrest him. She was old enough to know that only police could arrest people, so this confused her. Truthfully, Bond had no such plans. He intended to use his license to kill, whether that took days, months, or years.

Now alone at the curb, he dialed M's number and waited for him to answer. M had been happy when he discovered that his most prized agent had, indeed, not been killed when the missiles bombarded Kalsoy Island. 

"Have you come across any leads, 007?"

Strolling down the paved walkway with a hand in his trouser pocket, Bond replied, "Afraid not. I was hoping you had."

"Actually, we have. I was as shocked as you were when I found out Blofeld had faked his death."

"It was unfortunate news to bear. I'm sorry I had to break it to you."

"Of course, we already had suspicions after his body went missing from the morgue." M's voice became grave. "We traced the video call you received from Blofeld, but we couldn't pin it down to his precise whereabouts. He had been searching the Faroe Islands for incoming signals when you went missing, hoping to find you somewhere. That's when he stumbled across the call. It bounced off several satellites, got rerouted several times to throw us off, but Q narrowed it down to a general location."

"And where might that be?"

"Somewhere where you'll need your cold weather gear. Have you ever been to Antarctica?"

Bond had never, so he remained silent. "When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow. I'll make all the flight arrangements and get you onboard a research ship, which will depart from Cape Horn at the end of the week." M paused. Bond sensed he was hesitating. Finally, he continued, "Do whatever it takes, 007, to stop that deranged lunatic and the Spectre organization once and for all."

A dark sedan stopped at the curb, and the window lowered. Bond saw Q behind the wheel. The spy gadget man's wavy black hair hung down over his brow, and as he glanced up at Bond, his smile faded, and he swallowed. Maybe he was nervous about being around Bond, considering the tragedy he had suffered, losing the woman he loved. He was only there to give him a lift to his flat.

Bond nodded at Q and replied to M, "You have my word. 007 is back in the game, and at her majesty's service, with ice in his veins."

With that, he ended the call and got into the car with Q. When the door closed, the vehicle sped away and topped a hill, aiming for the bridge that crossed the River Thames. Though he would spend the night in his own bed, Bond's mind was already preparing for his trip to the bottom of the world. To the ends of the Earth. Whatever it took. Ernst Stavro Blofeld must die. Even if it meant not coming back alive.

At world's end, he was sure there would be plenty of opportunities to die. In more ways than one.

THE END

James Bond will return in At World's End