recover the money, Le Chiffre kidnaps Lynd and captures Bond after a high-speed car chase. Le Chiffre tortures Bond at his villa by beating his genitals with a carpet-beater, threatening to kill both him and Lynd if he does not return the money. Before Le Chiffre can "finish" them, the SMERSH assassin enters and shoots him through the head as punishment for losing the money. The agent does not kill Bond, saying that he has no orders to do so, but cuts a Cyrillic 'Ш' for шпион (shpión, Russian for spy) into Bond's hand with a penknife so that future SMERSH agents will be able to identify him as such. Bond awakens in hospital two days later. The media reports a cover story that Le Chiffre committed suicide and Bond vanished to southern France and Monaco to continue gambling. Fearful for his life and disillusioned with the morality of the Cold War after his beating, Bond informs a shocked Mathis of his intention to resign from the Secret Service after his recovery. Lynd visits Bond every day as he recuperates, and he gradually realises that he loves her. When he is released from hospital they spend time together at a quiet guest house and eventually become lovers. Bond eventually decides to propose marriage to her, but sees a mysterious man named Adolph Gettler tracking their movements, which greatly distresses Lynd. Although Vesper's mood seems to improve after a few days, Bond awakens one morning to discover that she has committed suicide. She leaves behind a note explaining that she had been working as an unwilling double agent for the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs. SMERSH had kidnapped her lover, a Polish Royal Air Force pilot, who had revealed information about her under torture; SMERSH then used that information to blackmail her into helping them undermine Bond's mission, including her own faked kidnapping. She had tried to start a new life with Bond, but upon seeing Gettler—a SMERSH agent—she realised that she would never be free of her tormentors, and that staying with Bond would only put him in danger. As Bond vows revenge against SMERSH, he coldly telephones his London liaison, "Pass this on at once: 3030 was a double, working for Redland. ... Yes, dammit, I said 'was.' The bitch is dead now." Background Ian Fleming, born in 1908, was a son of Valentine Fleming, a wealthy banker and