These excerpts from the James Bond novel Diamonds Are Forever describe the inner workings of an international diamond smuggling operation, beginning with a shipment originating in French Guinea, near the Sierra Leone diamond mines. The initial scenes introduce a diamond smuggler making a covert exchange with a German pilot, highlighting the dangerous nature of the pipeline controlled by a mysterious organization. Following this, James Bond is recruited by M to replace a captured courier and infiltrate the network, leading him to London and then to the United States. Bond's mission quickly brings him into contact with the Spangled Mob, a powerful American gang, and its operatives, including the dealer Tiffany Case and the hunchback Shady Tree. The narrative follows Bond's efforts to dismantle the operation, which culminates in violent confrontations in Las Vegas and the Nevada desert with members of the Spang family and their enforcers, before finally closing down the pipeline's African source.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.