EXTRACTS: The Modesty Blaise Companion Expanded Edition © 2018 The Book Palace (425 PAGES in Full edition)

T H E M O D E S T Y B L A I S E C O M P A N I O N 206 STORY NO 1 DRAWN BY JIM HOLDAWAY START DATE OF STORY 13th May, 1963 (Monday) END DATE OF STORY 21st September, 1963 (Saturday) Sir Gerald Tarrant and his assistant, Fraser, call on Modesty at her London penthouse to enlist her aid in breaking up a group of specialist assassins known as “La Machine”. Tarrant has followed Modesty’s career for many years and during their discussions Fraser reveals the existence of a comprehensive dossier on her. Modesty asks Willie Garvin to join her and together they go to see Tarrant for a briefing. As “bespoke murderers” La Machine usually works by approaching prospective clients, offering its services. As it will be very difficult to trace the organisation back to its base, which will be the only way to destroy it, Modesty plans to cast herself in the role of client, with Willie as the person she wants killed. By first starting rumours of a disagreement between herself and Willie she sets up a violent confrontation between them at “Le Gant Rouge”, a Paris underworld haunt. La Machine takes the bait, contacts her and she places an order with them for Willie’s murder. When the attempt is made in Paris, Willie captures the two putative assassins and extracts from them the name of the Paris lawyer who is the La Machine area manager and the next link in the chain. With help provided by N.A.T.O. Intelligence, Modesty and Willie are able to deposit a cryptic message in the lawyer’s safe – “I have a proposition for you. Modesty Blaise”. The lawyer reports this to La Machine and, as she had planned, they kidnap her. Aided by the French police, Willie follows closely behind as they journey into the French countryside. The trail is lost in a small village above which stands an old monastery, now used as a place of rest for elderly monks. This is the cover Colonel Raut, boss of La Machine, ex-Foreign Legion and former O.A.S. has established for his operations. Raut starts to torture Modesty to find out how she managed to discovered the Paris lawyer contact. Willie arrives to the rescue and in the fight that follows, Raut and his two senior lieutenants are killed. Final victory turns on Modesty’s use of a single shot pen gun, invented and made by Willie, that is concealed in a bandage around Modesty’s wrist. La Machine is smashed, and their files handed over to the French police and N.A.T.O. Intelligence. Modesty and Willie quietly slip away. Tarrant calls later to thank them. I I