We've played with the idea in our Caffrey Conversation series. For instance, in "Choirboy Caffrey" Neal offers to help find a stolen car that had been featured in one of the Bond movies. Then in "Caffrey Envoy" we read about Neal's childhood experience in a similar car.
In "By the Book" I wrote my own version of Neal learning his code name while at the Burkes' home playing with Satchmo:
He wasn’t at all what Elizabeth had expected, and she couldn’t help saying, “You’re James Bonds?”Silbrith refers to the James Bond connection in "An Evening with Genji" and "Columbia Ghost Story."
He sat up straight, and pushed his hair out of his face. “James Bonds?” he repeated.
Peter groaned. “He wasn’t supposed to know about that.”
Neal turned his delighted grin toward Peter. “You called me James Bonds?”
“It was a case file name for an anonymous bond forger.”
Neal looked into the face of an adoring dog. “I’m Bonds. James Bonds.”
“I wanted to avoid this,” Peter told El. “He’s going to be insufferable now.” But even though he tried to sound displeased, Peter was smiling.
In addition to Neal's connection with Sean Connery's iconic character, there's another character with an even stronger connection to the actor: Graham Winslow.
When Silbrith and I were daydreaming who we would cast for our various OCs, we selected Sean Connery for Graham. An honorary grandfather for Neal, Graham is a character I absolutely love. He's smart, wily, and tenacious, with a devotion to his family and a fun range of experiences from businessman to private investigator to sailor. On first meeting Peter and Hughes, Graham annoyed them by trying to recruit away members of the White Collar team (in "Caffrey Flashback") and that has led to plot bunnies that continue to follow Silbrith and me. He also embodied a theme of acceptance and inclusion that we've tried to include in our stories.
“You found him!” Graham was delighted. “Did you talk to him about working with Win-Win?”And so I end this post with a tip of my virtual fedora to Sean Connery for inspiring both James Bonds and the character of Graham.
Henry nodded. “He’s interested, but you gotta understand why he dropped out of sight to begin with. It wasn’t all about concerns of what the government might do with his technology. His partner died, and he was having a really rough time.”
“Partner?” Graham repeated. “I thought he was in academia. Did he have a business on the side?”
“Not that kind of partner, Pops. Life partner. Ever since Glen died, Vernon has been in Massachusetts, supporting the campaign to legalize gay marriage.”
Graham looked thoughtful. “Hmm.”
“I promised him I’d ask about Win-Win’s policies. Will the company be willing to support him against discrimination? If he were to get married someday, would his husband get the benefits of a straight spouse?”
“I don’t think we have policies on any of that. I’d have to talk to the board of directors, bring in the HR department. For someone we want this much, I think we’d have a good shot at getting those policies through. And your mother has a seat on the board. She’s a born do-gooder and crack negotiator. That’ll help.”“Seriously?” said Henry. “I didn’t think you’d go for it.”
“Can’t teach an old dog new tricks? I got news for you, whippersnapper. I grew up in a time when nobody questioned racism ‘cause it was the status quo. I’ve lived through the civil rights movement and then women’s rights with the ERA. I learned to support both of those. You grew up taking it for granted. I’m the one with practice adjusting my view of the world.”
“So you’re okay with it?” Henry asked. “Vernon can be open about his orientation at Win-Win?”
“It does take more than two minutes. It’ll take some getting used to, but I’ll make it through another round of learning people who are different from me are still my equals.”
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