Despite his very low profile, Guy Hainesis one of the closest advisors to the British Prime Minister, and possibly the highest-ranking member of Quantum known to MI6. He is identified by Bill Tanner using Bond’s surveillance photos of Quantum’s leadership at the Tosca opera, and is discussed later by Bond and René Mathis. Haines’ role in the film was initially scripted to be larger: in a deleted scene from the epilogue, Bond confronts both Haines and Mr White.

However, director Marc Forster cut the scene as he felt the film had a better ending after the meeting with Yusef Kabira and Corrine Veneau, and did not want to wait for EON Productions to commit to a third film if they did not want to. The scene with Bond meeting Haines appears on the DVD release as a special feature. Haines shares his name with the protagonist of Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, though whether he was given this name by the writers as a tribute or as a code-name within Quantum remains to be seen.

Don Stroud as Colonel Heller in ‘Licence to Kill’.

Heller is Franz Sanchez’s head of security, a disgraced ex-Green Beret from the US. When Sanchez takes Bond into his circle of allies, Heller researches Bond’s past employment in the Secret Service and presents it to Sanchez, but since Bond’s cover story has already included mention of this, his true allegiance is not revealed.

Heller is also suspicious of the Hong Kong Narcotics agents who have infiltrated the meeting of drug barons, and oversees the military operation to destroy their base in Isthmus. While leading the raid, he bursts into the devastated safehouse and shoots agent Loti dead. He then discovers that the other agent, Kwang, is still alive from the explosions of a tank shell fired at the base. However, rather than give into Sanchez’s rage, Kwang bites into a cyanide capsule, killing him.

Heller’s other main responsibility is to look after four Stinger missiles recently purchased from the Contras for the purpose of blackmailing the US government. However, he has secretly arranged a deal with Pam Bouvier to return the Stingers in exchange for personal immunity from the DEA. Heller almost calls off the deal when Sanchez is nearly killed (by Bond), but later attempts to use the mayhem of the fire at the drugs distribution centre as an opportunity to remove the missiles to safety.

Bond’s machinations involve casting doubt on the loyalty of all of Sanchez’s trusted circle, and he uses what he knows of the Stingers to make Sanchez suspicious. Heller is, thus, caught in the act by Sanchez himself, who promptly has him killed (offscreen). Bond and Pam find the soldier’s body impaled on a forklift truck as they attempt to escape the burning complex. “Looks like he came to a dead end,” quips Bond.

Daniel Benzali as WG Howe ‘A View To A Kill’.

Howe is Stacey Sutton’s employer and Director of Oil and Mines for the state of California. He is on the payroll of Max Zorin, who uses him to fudge records and cover up Zorin’s illegal mine work.

When Stacey finds him out, Howe fires her, but soon, having outlived his usefulness, he is killed by Zorin and his death blamed on Bond.

From 1988 to 1994, she was married to Stephen Wayda, the photographer who shot her Playmate layout.

Virginai Hay in the TV serial ‘Farscape’.

Among her best known films are Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and The Living Daylights as Rubavitch.

She left the Farscape show after three seasons because she wanted to grow her hair and eyebrows (she had to shave both for the show), and also for health reasons; the blue makeup worn over her head and chest to achieve Zhaan’s appearance caused her kidneys to bleed, subsequently causing a decline in her health.

Hey has also appeared in various Australian soap operas such as Prisoner (as Leigh Templar), Neighbours (as Beth Travers), E Street (as Jennifer St James) and Pacific Drive (as Margaux Hayes).

During the early 1960s, Hedley appeared in many British films, notably The Scarlet Blade (1963). He played the title role in the 1960 series The World of Tim Frazer, and was later noted for his leading roles in BBC dramas such as Colditz and Who Pays The Ferryman?He also appeared in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only as Sir Timothy Havelock. He also voiced the parrot in the film.

Other TV appearances include: The Saint, Gideon’s Way, Return of the Saint, One By One, Remington Steele.

In film, Hopkins provided finishing touches to the screenplay for the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, and also worked on the script for 1972 film adaptation of Man of La Mancha, although he was removed from this project by United Artists when they discovered that his draft omitted most of the songs from the musical. In 1986 he wrote, directed, and produced the film Torment.

High Time to Kill, published in 1999, is the fourth novel by Raymond Benson featuring Ian Fleming’s secret agent, James Bond. This is the first James Bond novel copyrighted by Ian Fleming Publications (formerly Glidrose Publications). It was published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States by Putnam.

Plot summary: The world of James Bond is introduced to the ruthless terrorist organisation called ‘The Union’, whose brutal trademark is slashing the throat of those who cross them. When a top secret British formula hidden in microfilm, codenamed ‘Skin 17′, is stolen and surgically implanted in the pacemaker of an unhealthy old man, James Bond is sent in to recover it before The Union and a boyish rival named Roland Marquis can sell the microfilm to a foreign power. When the plane of the pacemaker’s host is hijacked and crashed into the Himalayas, a deadly race commences to recover Skin 17. The race climaxes with Bond battling Marquis atop the peak of Kangchenjunga. After a physical high elevation fight, Bond escapes with Skin 17 and leaves Marquis to freeze to death atop the great peak.

Plot summary: The book starts with a prologue on Lagrimas Negras (black tears), an island haven for criminals in the Caribbean. The boss, El Huracán, informs his lunch guests that one of them has broken the rule against contacting the outside world. Robert King is tricked into confessing, then made to run La Avenida de Muerte, a deadly obstacle course. He is killed by a jaguar less than halfway through.

Following the events in Double or Die, James Bond travels to Mexico with his Aunt Charmian, who is visiting the ruined Mayan city of Palenque. In the fishing village of Tres Hermanas, Angel Corona, a young Mexican pickpocket who closely resembles James, steals Charmian’s bag. James chases and corners him. Corona is subdued and soon arrested by the local police. While Jack Stone, an American flying ace and friend of Charmian’s flies Charmian to Palenque (as a storm is on the way and she has to leave that night). James is left in Tres Hermanas with Stone’s children, where he quickly finds problems: Stone’s daughter, Precious, is a spoilt, self-centered girl about the same age as James, while her younger brother, Jack Junior or JJ, is immature and annoying.

During a devastating hurricane, some gangsters led by Mrs Glass enter the Stone house and steal the safe. James knocks one of the gunmen, Manny, out of the window. The youngsters hide from the gangsters and the storm in an underground ice house. After the storm, James takes the Stone children to town in Jack Stone’s Duesenberg, which is wrecked by a sudden flood. JJ is nearly killed, but is rescued by Garcia, James’s sailor friend. When JJ and Precious are captured by the remaining four robbers, James passes himself off as Angel Corona to join the gang and Garcia tags along. The names of the other criminals are Strabo, Whatzat and Sakata. The Japanese gangster Sakata befriends James and teaches him ju-jitsu.

Mrs Glass takes the group to an old oil field in order to get tools and explosives to open the safe. She tells Precious what her plans are: Jack Stone had lost money after the end of the war and had become a smuggler to regain money; one of his clients was an ex-US Navy officer who had stolen some important documents about the US Navy’s Pacific fleet. Sakata had been sent to retrieve the plans, which would be very valuable to the Japanese in the event of a war. However, the documents are not in the safe, so presumably Stone had not removed them from his plane. Meanwhile Whatzat and Garcia die during an escape attempt. James learns from Mrs Glass that Whatzat name was Charlie Moore. When JJ’s injured leg becomes severely infected, Sakata, prompted by James, leaves the gang and takes JJ to hospital in Vera Cruz.

Mrs Glass and Strabo make a new plan to flee to Lagrimas Negras and sell the documents to the ruler of the island, El Huracán. James and Precious escape and camp out for a while. Precious has undergone a change in character; she is no longer rude and self-centered, and even develops affections for James, which she expresses by waiting for him to fall asleep and then kissing him. Then Manny shows up in a car. He is very sick, as he has had brain damage following his fall at the Stone Mansion. He slips in and out of confusion. Finally, James and Precious knock him out of the car as he sleeps and escape. They head for Pelanque, but are unable to stop Mrs Glass escaping with the documents, though Strabo is killed by army ants.

Mrs Glass goes to Lagrimas Negras alone. James and Precious follow on a ship. Manny follows them and gives chase. He is killed by El Huracán’s guards and James and Precious are employed as servants on Lagrimas Negras. James discovers that when the guests of Lagrimas Negras run out of money, they are forced to work as slaves on El Huracán’s farm. James also hears that running La Avenida de Muerte is the only way to get off Lagrimas Negras, though no one has ever survived it. Precious steals a map of the obstacle course from a bathroom she is cleaning and she and James start training. They trick El Huracán into letting them run the course which he does reluctantly, as he was hoping James would stay on as his successor.

James and Precious successfully traverse many obstacles, helped by their advance knowledge. Finally they reach a massive water tank containing a vicious crocodile that will almost certainly kill them, as there is no way out. However, James has left some explosives in the maintenance tunnel and blows out the wall. He is knocked unconscious by the landing. He wakes up on a rock with Precious, who passionately kisses him while they wait to be collected. El Huracán keeps his promise to release them and the book ends with James and Precious leaving Lagrimas Negras with Jack Stone. They share a private moment watching the sunset, during which Precious admits to James that she loves him.

Charlie Higson (born 1958) is an English actor and producer, an author, television writer and a comedian. After graduating from the University of East Anglia, in the early 1980s, he was for some time the lead singer of the band The Higsons from 1980 to 1986. He then became a plasterer before he turned to writing for Harry Enfield with Paul Whitehouse and performing comedy.

In 2004, it was announced that Higson would pen Young Bond, a series of James Bond novels aimed at younger readers and concentrating on the character’s schooldays at Eton. The first novel, SilverFin, was released in March 2005 in the UK and in April 2005 in the US. A second novel, Blood Fever was released in January 2006 in the UK and June 2006 in the US.

Bond books by Charlie Higson:

1. SilverFin (2005)
2. Blood Fever (2006)
3. Double or Die (2007)
4. Hurricane Gold (2007)
5. By Royal Command (2008)