pistols (because he thinks that guns give people too much confidence), and he and Modesty have also stated that he is a poor shot, but he has shown himself to be capable on the rare occasions that he uses such weapons. As an ex-soldier, he is skilled with rifles and submachine guns, and has on occasions also used a sniper rifle. Willie, like Modesty, has a strong sense of right and wrong that is governed more by his morals than by the law. Although he avoids using deadly force whenever possible, usually taking his cue from Modesty as to whether to fight "for keeps" (the duo's euphemism for killing), he will not hesitate to kill to protect Modesty (see, for example, the conclusion to the 1975 comic strip "Cry Wolf"). Willie and Modesty both smoke Gauloises (Sabre-tooth). I Had a Date with Lady Janet With one exception, all of the literary adventures of Modesty Blaise are told in the standard third person. The sole exception to this is the short story "I Had a Date with Lady Janet", which first appeared in the collection Pieces of Modesty. That story is told in first person from Willie Garvin's point of view. An audio-book of this story was narrated by John Thaw. Fate Although Willie Garvin continued to appear in the Modesty Blaise comic strip until O'Donnell retired in 2002 (actually he retired in 2001, but a book-length strip based upon one of his short stories subsequently appeared in a Scandinavian publication the next year), chronologically his final appearance comes in the closing story of the 1996 short story collection Cobra Trap. (This last story is also called "Cobra Trap," like the book.) The story takes place a number of years into the future, with Modesty in her early fifties and Willie approximately 60 years of age. During a caper to protect a trainload of innocent people, including some children, from a group of rebels, Modesty suddenly kisses Willie romantically (for the first and only time) and reveals to him that she is dying of a brain tumor. She orders Willie to leave with the train, allowing her to die alone in battle against the rebels. Before he can react, Modesty is shot dead, and moments later, in a mortar attack, Willie's ankle is broken. Willie buries Modesty and then moves off slowly, hoping to escape through the jungle, but then Willie