Smooth Criminal 2/3
+++
A three days into her assignment Eve came into work and was immediately handed a large stack of papers by an angry looking intern. She opened her mouth to ask what this was about but the intern stomped away. Eve decided that it was probably better if she just looked for herself. It took some time but Eve managed to find a room that had a large table where she could be alone. As she looked over this new stack of papers it appeared that Q had tried to hack the system the day before. Once again their security had held but there was something about these attacks that did not sit right with her. If Q was a master hacker he should have found a way in by now.
Eve sat down and began to look through everything they had on Q which was not a lot. In fact there was worryingly little solid information. After three hours Eve knew that she was going to need help. She made a quick call on her mobile as she read a police report on a crime they thought Q was responsible for.
"This is Tanner.”.
"Tanner, it's Eve, are you busy?" she asked.
"Not at the moment, what do you need?"
Eve told him which room she was in and a few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Tanner walked in, took one look at the table, and raised an eyebrow. "First assignment?"
"Something like that," Eve replied. Tanner, fortunately, had the same security clearance that she did so there was no need to censor any of the information. Tanner listened carefully as Eve explained everything she knew so far. There was something about this case that felt like it was already underneath her skin. The thought that someone was trying to someone was trying to break into MI6 and compromise their nation’s security made her furious. Tanner tapped his pen as he listened and leaned back in the chair when she finished.
"So you're chasing a ghost," he said.
"Basically. This guy is very good at covering his tracks but in the case of CCTV and security I can't believe that there isn't a picture of this guys face somewhere. We just need to find it," Eve replied. "This would go a lot faster if I had some help."
"This is a big job and it'll require a lot of time and dedication. You should really ask someone who doesn't already have things to do," Tanner said.
"Yes, I could, but we work well together. You and I understand why M put this in a 00’s hands and why it's so important," Eve explained. "I need someone who is willing to put forth the effort needed to catch this guy and that's you."
"Fine, I'll work with you, but my other duties come first." Tanner pulled up a chair and began to look over the files. Eve smiled to herself and pulled up a search of all the major databases. It was going to be a long night.
It was the start of many long nights. Eve knew that hackers were hard to catch because they could be half a world away from what they were trying to hack but this was ridiculous. There was no information about Q save for whispers about how talented he was and how he was not someone you wanted to make angry. A few messages mentioned a 'pet' but that did not seem relevant currently. Right now Eve had to focus on finding Q. The attacks slowed down and they went three months without anyone trying to break through their security. Everyone else seemed relieved but Eve knew that this was far from over. If there was one thing she had been able to learn about Q it was that he was stubborn. If he wanted into MI6 he would find a way.
Over the course of six months Eve poured every resource she had into finding anything about Q. Every time there seemed to be some sort of lead it turned out to be a dead end. It was like Q knew every path that people looking for him would take and made sure to cover it. There was no mention or hint of what his real name was, his country of origin, though intercepted messages online always used male pronouns so she was able to confirm that Q was indeed a man.
"Just because the messages use a male pronoun doesn't mean Q is actually a guy," Tanner said as they ate takeout in what had become 'the Q room.' "Would you really put it past this guy to make sure everyone used the wrong pronoun to throw people off his tracks?"
"I wouldn't," Eve replied. Her eyes felt heavy and there was a tremor to her hands that came with too much caffeine and too little sleep. "But I have to think that we've found something in these last six months." M was not happy by the lack of progress but after everyone was able to confirm that Q had not taken any information in his last attack three months ago she had relaxed a little. It was Eve who could not relax. This case was her obsession now, but she also knew that she was not going to fail on her first assignment. Tanner rubbed his temples and closed his eyes; Eve could not thank him enough for his help in this but she could tell he was getting frustrated by the lack of progress. She understood the sentiment.
"I need sleep and so do you," Tanner said. He gathered his things to leave and when he saw that she had not moved he fixed her with a hard stare.
"I know and I will. Let me just go over these last few messages and I'll go home," Eve lied shamelessly. Tanner probably knew that she was lying but he did not call her out on it. Instead he nodded and left the room. Eve looked over the information and tried to form a picture in her head. Q was nearly perfect at everything he did and he rarely left fingerprints on anything. When he did they seemed to be in the form of taunting the person or persons that he was stealing from. Up until almost four years ago none of his jobs had resulted in any deaths but that had suddenly changed. He had started leaving a body count in the form of armed security and thugs. Every person that had died during one of Q's jobs had been a criminal and he had never involved civilians.
"You have something of a moral code and a flare for mischief," Eve said out loud as she wrote things down on the whiteboard she had stolen from R&D weeks ago. "You like what you do. I don't think you do it for the money. You have some other reasons for why you do this. You only kill if someone was going to hurt you." Eve took a step back and looked at her list. From what she knew about Q there was no reason for him to hack into MI6. He did not seem like the type that would sell out undercover agents or aid terrorism. The more she looked over his attacks the more it looked like he was tearing down their walls only to build them back up again. There was something else going on here and Eve intended to find out what.
+++
The thing about the room that Eve was working out of was that it had no windows. There were moments where she had no idea what time of day it was. This time, though, she was sure that it was late. Late enough that she was not worried about anyone bothering her for a couple hours at least and even Tanner had left at a decent hour. The logs from Q’s attack that had occurred hours earlier were spread out in front of her. There was still something about these attacks that bothered Eve. She was sure that Q should have found a way in by now yet here he was skirting around the edges still.
Despite the late hour and the fact that MI6 should be empty save for people working communications Eve did not jump when the door opened. What did surprise her was seeing M walk through the door.
"How are things proceeding?" M asked. Ages ago, when Eve had only been three months into her investigation and M had asked for a report. When Eve had had little or nothing to report M had yelled at her, asking why one of her top agents couldn't find one hacker. Halfway through and Eve was already trying to figure out a way to keep working should M decide to suspend her. Tanner had come to her rescue and explained everything that was going on and was probably the reason she had not gotten suspended. Now M seemed to understand that this task was much harder than they had originally thought.
"He didn't get through our security though I'm beginning to believe that's on purpose," Eve explained.
"Keep me posted," M replied. There was a file in her hand but she made no move to give it to Eve. "At the moment we have agents moving in on another well known hacker. Once we’ve captured him perhaps he can tell us about Q and what he wants." M set the file on the desk and still said nothing about it. While there was a chance it was not meant for her M would stop her if she wasn't meant to look at it. Eve opened the file and frowned at the blurry picture. He was a man, blond, in his late thirties or early forties, and the picture was blurry enough that Eve could only make out some distinguishing characteristics. The name on the file said 'Bond, James' and that was not a name she recognized.
"What is this about?" Eve asked but when she looked up M was gone. Whatever this was it couldn't be that important if M wasn't willing to stay and explain it. Eve closed the file and continued to search for any hints to Q's location. If she couldn't find a face perhaps she could narrow down where he was hiding.
+++
Eve was sleeping when she got the call. “MI6 is under attack by Q you need to get here immediately,” though she wasn't entirely sure that's exactly what was said. It really didn't matter because 'Q' and 'attack' were the only words she needed to know. Eve raced over as fast as she could, doing her hair in pins at red lights and while waiting for pedestrians to walk across the street. She hardly cared about wrinkles and looking proper when she raced into MI6 to have three different people hand her three different things. The attack was over, apparently, she had missed it, and the techs had managed to hold him at bay. Eve didn't mention that she was sure Q had backed off of his own volition but now didn't seem like the time. What interested Eve was the fact that one of the techs had managed to start a trace back on Q. This was the first time Q had attacked during peak hours so it made sense that there would be enough people around to simultaneously stop and trace him.
The trace was far from complete and Q must have realized that right away. However, they had managed to trace Q to the United Kingdom and that was much more than Eve had found in months. It was enough to make her giddy with excitement because this was something she could work with. She was so excited that she nearly missed the third thing that someone handed her which was a memo from M telling her to report to her office right away. Eve hoped that M was going to give her some more people to work with so they could find out where in the UK Q was hiding. The moment she walked into the office though Eve knew that she was about to get bad news.
"Agent Moneypenny, thank you for coming on such short notice," M said.
"This is my assignment and I plan on finishing it," Eve replied.
"I know it is but this isn't about the cyber attack," M said. Eve frowned deeply and sat down in the chair in front of M's desk. "Do you remember the file I gave you about a man named James Bond?"
"Yes, I do, but I didn't see how it was relevant to my assignment so I didn't give it much thought." Eve was fairly sure she had not even looked over the entire file because the Q case was her assignment.
"He's been spotted in the London area and he's extremely dangerous. I need you to go into the field and track him down," M said.
"Tracking down a hired gun instead of focusing on the man that's trying to break into our secure files? We've narrowed Q's location down to the United Kingdom. I don't see why we couldn't do it again. What is so important about this Bond character?" Eve asked. M narrowed her eyes and Eve realized a bit too late that she was talking back to her superior. "I apologize, ma’am, I didn't mean to speak out."
"Q is a priority but Bond is considered armed and dangerous." M pushed a file forward and Eve looked it over. It was similar to the one M had given her a week prior but there were some new things. "We had our eye on James Bond and we were planning on recruiting him out of the Navy. As you can see he was a crack shot and someone that would do well in MI6. However, he ended up not going into the Navy like he had planned. Instead he fell off the radar and began to travel. I still thought he was promising, however, and kept an eye on him. While he was in the Americas he was approached by some men to be a bodyguard. From then on he has worked as a hired gun in the criminal underworld. He's been linked to the deaths of fifteen people though there are considerably more that we cannot prove."
"You want me to take care of him, ma’am?" Eve asked.
"Yes," M replied. "The Q assignment is still yours but I need you to focus on Bond. If you can capture him that would be ideal but we have reason to believe that he'll go down fighting. Eliminate him if you must."
Eve wanted to argue but managed to hold her tongue. She was being put in the field, which is what she wanted when she got her promotion, yet here she was about to argue about it. Eve knew she was obsessed with the Q case. She needed distance from it, some time away, so she could look at it with fresh eyes.
"Yes, ma'am."
+++
Bond felt like at this point in their partnership he should know what kind of wine Q liked but it seemed to change constantly. Three days prior Q had suddenly swore very loudly and cut every line of communication to the flat for twenty four hours. During that time he was either working or doing some form of pouting. Whenever Bond asked what had happened Q would mutter something about 'the lucky tossers in MI6' and shoo him away. Whatever had happened Q was keeping it to himself and Bond was left with an extremely moody partner. Q was significantly less moody when he had alcohol in him so Bond was trying to figure out whether it was a white, red or rose day. It was a distracting thought but not enough of a distraction that he did not notice the woman watching him. Her skin was dark and lovely, hair curly and pulled back loosely, and she appeared to be talking to someone on her phone about wine selection for a party. There was something about the way she held herself that screamed 'danger' and 'run'. Bond had not survived this long by ignoring his instincts so he left the store.
A block down the street from the flat that he shared with Q, Bond realized that the woman was indeed following him. He knew he was wanted for various different crimes but he also knew that Q had done a very good job of keeping his face hidden. There were not many things he could do in this situation. There was no telling if this woman was a member of the police or military or an assassin sent by one of the many people around the world that wanted him dead. Just shooting her could lead to an international incident that he really was not in the mood to deal with. Bond turned a corner and did what he did best when violence was not an option: he ran.
Bond considered himself in good shape ('for your age' Q's voice in his head tactfully reminded him) so he was a little surprised to see the woman keeping up with him. Bond ducked through the crowded streets and she raced after him. He could see her talking to someone so there was a chance she was calling for backup. Bond eased through a crowd of shoppers most of whom chastised him for being rude. The woman continued to follow him through the busy streets, ducking underneath anything he managed to knock over to try and stop her. Bond pulled out his phone and speed dialed Q.
"Where the hell are you?" Q asked.
"Running from someone that might want to kill me," Bond said into his earpiece.
"Fantastic, location?" Q asked. Bond told him the street he was coming up to and waited. There was a tracker in the phone and Q could hack a few of the CCTV's if he wanted to. "Ah, there you are."
"Yes, Q, I know where I am, now I need a distraction," Bond said. He took another sharp left and ran toward a busy intersection. He was about to turn down a side street when Q's voice stopped him.
"No, keep going, I'll handle this," Q said. "And don't argue with me, Bond. just run through the intersection."
"If I get hit by a car you're going to like me significantly less," Bond warned as the lights changed.
"I'm not sure how that's possible," Q said. Bond ran through the intersection and as soon as his feet touched the sidewalk he heard the screeching of tires. Bond turned and saw that the lights in the intersection had suddenly changed, causing an accident. "Take a left at the next intersection. I'll bring you back." Bond turned and ran down the street without looking back.
+++
Eve blamed instinct as to why she stopped at the scene of the accident. That and the fact that there was no way for her to stop Bond save for shooting him on the spot. There were too many civilians to worry about and she didn’t want to risk something terrible happening. Thus far Bond had not killed anyone innocent and Eve was not about to kick that off by shooting a civilian while trying to get Bond. M was not going to be pleased and Eve was ready for the punishment that would ensue from her failure. She helped with the clean up from the accident and while a few people were taken to the hospital all of the injuries seemed to be superficial. She was expecting a severe tongue lashing by the time she walked back into MI6.
What she was not expecting was complete chaos.
All around her people were running back and forth, yelling at each other, trading pieces of paper, and generally looking like the entire world was about to end. Eve managed to grab the nearest interns arm for two seconds to tell her what was going on.
"Q's breached our systems," he said. Eve let him go and went straight to M's office. The door was open and she did not bother to knock. M glanced up at her but turned her attention back to her computer. Tanner stood nearby wincing like something was physically harming him.
"How bad is it?" Eve asked.
"We're trying to stop him but he's deleting information from our servers and then deleting the backups and the backups for our backups. All of the information we have on him is vanishing and we can't do anything to stop it," M explained. She sounded calm but Eve could recognize the hard edge to M's voice when she was truly furious. Eve could only watch as months of work and research vanished from the database. The possible location, the tracking, all of the messages she had managed to catch, all of it was gone in the blink of an eye. Q knew that they were onto him and now he was taking steps to ensure that no one ever caught him.
Eve walked back to her desk and was not surprised to find that her hard copies of her files were gone as well. Q had someone on the inside of MI6 and had managed to get everything. He was watching them much more closely than anyone had ever thought. For all Eve knew Q had access to the security cameras and was watching her right now. She glanced up at the camera and narrowed her eyes. All footage from the last day would be gone, that was a guarantee, and if they questioned anyone she was sure everyone would say the same thing. 'I didn't notice anyone different, I didn't see anything strange,' Eve could already hear all of the denials. It was not that she didn't trust her co-workers; it was more that she knew that everything had been set up in such a way that no one would have thought twice about a person lurking around her desk. Eve kept an eye on the camera as she moved her hand into her drawer. Hidden under various objects was a single flash drive. Eve picked it up, just a sleight of hand, and no one saw it vanish into her pants pocket.
+++
To say that Q made Bond take the long way home would be an understatement. For the better part of two hours Bond ducked in and out of streets and around corners and there were times that Q sounded completely distracted. He had to yell a few times to make Q pay attention before he just hailed a cab to get back to the flat. Threatening to take a cab or any form of public transportation was a really easy way of getting Q to pay attention again. By the time Bond got back all he wanted was a long shower and a full bottle of alcohol. Q did not even bother to look up from his desk where he was hunched over when Bond walked in.
“Have a nice walk?” Q asked.
“Considering you were following me most of the way you know how it went,” Bond replied. He joined Q at Q’s desk and watched as files and information began to vanish before his eyes. That was when he noticed Q logged onto another network.
“MI6 won’t be a problem,” Q said answering Bond’s question that he never actually voiced about what was going on. “They’re going to be so busy dealing with this fallout that they’re going to forget about us for awhile. By the time they focus on us again I’ll have our trail completely erased.” Q hit enter and disconnected from the MI6 network, apparently done with wreaking havoc for the night.
“So when do we leave the country and wait for things to calm down?” Bond asked.
“We could leave the country,” Q replied. He turned around and they were nearly nose to nose and very much in each other’s space. It made a lump form in Bond’s throat that he tried to ignore. “Or we could break into one of the most secure apartments in the city to steal secrets and jewels worth several million pounds from a private collector.” That sounded like an interesting prospect and one that Bond was not exactly willing to ignore. Q leaned back and Bond put his hands on the desk, boxing Q in.
“Sounds difficult,” Bond said.
“Sounds fun,” Q corrected.
“And what’s the percentage that we get off these jewels should we steal them?” Bond asked.
“Fifty.” That number was enough to convince Bond.
“So when do we begin?” Bond said and when Q smiled it was all teeth.
+++
The next three days were some of the longest days of Eve's life. All day people were running around trying to figure out where their security loopholes were and how to fix them. Despite the fact that she knew Q and how he worked better than anyone no one came to her looking for information. All of the hard copies on Q were gone along with those of a few other wanted criminals including Bond. Eve knew that they were avoiding her because there was a chance that she could snap at someone for losing so much data. The truth was that while Eve was not happy she had a few more aces up her sleeve than people seemed to think. Being underestimated had worked in her favor before and it seemed to be working again. So instead Eve filed reports about Bond and her chase through the streets. There was no doubt in her mind now that James Bond was a professional and she could see why he was such a high priority for M. He had not involved many civilians and Eve knew he had been armed.Yet he had not shot at her. A professional that was not willing to get innocent people involved was hard to come by these days.
"Eve," Tanner said. Eve looked up from her report as Tanner walked over to her. He looked strangely excited about something. "M wanted me to tell you that Interpol just dropped off a prisoner that we will be holding for the next month or so. Records show that he was born Tiago Rodriguez but goes by Raoul Silva now." Eve knew that name because Silva was one of the most notorious hackers in the world next to Q. If there was anyone that could give her new information on Q it would be Silva.
"I want to speak with him," Eve said.
"M also sent me down here to tell you not yet. They still need to fill out some more paperwork and clear him for interrogation," Tanner replied.
"So M sent you down here to tell me not to go and talk to the prisoner who could have information on the man that tore down our security and deleted all of our files?" Eve knew that it was not Tanner's fault and it was unfair to get angry at him but this was important.
"As soon as you're clear to talk to him I'll let you know. M says that's an order." Tanner must have known that she was going to get angry because he turned and left without another word. This was so stupid that Eve could barely contain her rage. Silva could have a link to her case, to Q, and they were denying her access because of paperwork. Eve closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths to try and calm herself down but apparently that was not going to happen. Instead she stood up and decided that some rules were made to be broken.
Eve already knew the schedule for security and how to sneak through it. She knew the layout of the cameras and the blind spots that would last for a second or two. There was not much she could do once she got to the cell but Silva was not considered dangerous. There were whispers that he had been involved in some overseas terrorist attacks but nothing solid linked back to him. Using the skills that made her an excellent 00 agent Eve managed to get to the cell without anyone seeing her. Silva was an older man with bleached blond hair and the second she walked into the room he smiled. The cell was a small six by six cage with concrete on three walls and bars on the fourth. Silva sat in a chair completely relaxed and Eve considered herself a seasoned agent but there was something about that smile that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
"Agent Moneypenny, how nice to finally meet you. I was wondering when you were going to come down and see me," Silva said.
"You know who I am?" Eve asked carefully.
"Everyone knows who you are. You're quite the talk of our community these days what with trying to hunt down Q," Silva said. "With people like Q and I in the world there's no such thing as secret information these days. You were able to lock him down to a continent though and that's closer than any other government has gotten. I'm impressed and I'm sure he is as well."
"Do you know where I could find Q, Mr. Silva?" Eve said.
"Perhaps but it's not just Q you're looking for these days, is it? You're looking for James Bond as well. CCTV let me see quite the show the other day." Silva grinned, stood, and folded his hands behind his back. "You're in luck, Agent Moneypenny, because you're looking for two people that are in the same place."
"Bond and Q work together?" Eve asked after a moment. It made sense; somewhere along the line Q had gone from never firing a gun to having a body count. Granted they were all criminals and people that would have probably turned on the people they hired to complete a job. It also explained why Bond's records were gone from the database as well. The other people that Q had deleted were just hiding why Bond's records were important.
"I see that you're putting it all together in that lovely head of yours. Bond and Q are here for a job currently," Silva said, "However, I don't know what that job is. There have been some rumors about a robbery of something important but I wasn't able to glean what before your friends in Interpol picked me up."
"What are you trying to say, Mr. Silva?" Eve asked because she was not in the mood to play into this man's theatrics.
"Give me access to a laptop and I can find out why Bond and Q are here. Then you can intercept and capture them," Silva replied evenly.
"And why would you do that?" Eve said.
"Because Q and Bond think they're untouchable. They're the best but they can be very smug little shits. If I have to sit behind bars then they have to as well." Silva sat back down and the door opened to reveal Tanner and M. M looked like she was debating how important Eve's life was.
"Agent Moneypenny, I need to speak with you immediately." M turned and walked away from the door, and Eve chose to ignore Silva's chuckle as she joined her superior in the hallway. Tanner closed the door and refused to look at either of them.
"I should have figured you wouldn't listen to the rules, 007, but I have to say I was expecting you to wait a little longer before defying orders," M snapped though she did not sound quite as angry as much as resigned. "What did you find out?"
"Silva says Q and Bond are working together to steal something. If we give him a computer he says he can find out what they are trying to steal and we can intercept them," Eve replied.
"If we kept him closely monitored we might be able to use him. Perhaps offer a lighter punishment," M said. "He is not to be alone with a computer at any time. I want someone watching him and everything he does. If there is any indication that he is doing something else you are to put him in solitary confinement, do you understand, Agent Moneypenny?"
"Yes, ma’am," Eve replied.
"Good. If this works out in our favor I'll be willing to overlook your disregard for my orders." M turned and walked away. Tanner lingered and watched her go.
"This seems like a bad idea," he said.
"It is but it's the only chance we have of catching them," Eve agreed. "We still don't know what other information Q could have stolen from us."
"I'll have the department get a computer ready for him," Tanner said. He nodded to Eve briefly and walked in the opposite direction. Eve took a steadying breath and walked back into the room.
"So when do we begin, Agent Moneypenny?" Silva asked grinning.
+++
It took almost three weeks to get everything ready for the job. Q had said that MI6 was not going to be a problem for the time being and Bond believed him. He thought about the Agent that had chased him through the streets. She had been good, very good, and the fact that she had been able to find him at all made Bond a little nervous. He kept an eye out for her but it looked like she had not found them again. Once Bond was fairly sure they were safe he was able to focus on the job. The flat that they were breaking into was one of the most guarded private residences in the city. Just to get in the door was going to be a challenge.
"The building is guarded all hours of the day," Q explained, pointing to the various displays he had set up on his desk. Bond leaned forward to get a better look at the men.
"Each guard is armed; some with multiple weapons," Bond said.
"Agreed, and considering the last time someone tried to break in they shot him they aren't afraid to pull the trigger." Q hit a few buttons and pulled up a blueprint of the building. "There is security in all of the elevators and stairwells. I might be able to override it but only if I could get to their mainframe directly which is locked behind a steel reinforced door."
"So I need to find another way up," Bond said.
"Yes, and once you get to the top of the building you need to get into the flat. There is a complex security system that triggers the moment someone tries to pick a lock. That alarm will send all of those armed guards to your location. After you get into the flat the safe is located in the back of the closet in the bedroom. If the wrong sequence of five numbers is typed in three times the safe automatically locks and cannot be re-opened for twenty four hours." Q turned in his chair so they were facing each other.
"I need to get past armed guards, somehow get to the top of a ten story building without using the elevators or stairways, break into a flat where I cannot pick the lock, and break into a safe where I have three tries to guess five numbers," Bond repeated.
"I told you it was going to be fun," Q said smirking.
"Fun indeed. Let's get to work."
After a week Bond was seriously reconsidering what Q defined as 'fun' because the more they worked the more roadblocks they seemed to run into. Bond would wake up after falling asleep at a desk or on the couch to find Q swearing at his computer. It took some pestering to get Q to sleep during normal jobs but one as difficult as this and Bond was debating drugging his partner’s Earl Grey. Two weeks into their planning, Bond walked in from recon and found Q passed out over his keyboard. Bond set his things down and walked slowly over to Q. He did not want to surprise Q and get stabbed with a pen or something sharper but Q seemed to be deeply asleep. He barely stirred when Bond placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Unless I'm being actively murdered I don't care," Q grumbled.
"Noted, how about some sleep in an actual bed?" Bond suggested. Q grunted which was all the confirmation Bond needed to throw one of Q's arms over his shoulder and half walk half carry Q to his room.
"I almost have this worked out," Q said. Bond nodded as he tried to guide Q onto his bed but Q was all long limbs and uncoordinated when he was half asleep. Q somehow managed to trip over Bond's feet and sent them both tumbling onto the bed, Bond had to put his hands out to keep from crushing Q completely but Bond was still lying on Q. It was an awkward moment and Q's eyes finally opened completely. They were nearly nose to nose and Bond could feel Q breathing beneath him.
"You'll get it sorted," Bond said because as smooth as he was with every other person in his life there was something about Q that made his silver tongue turn to lead. Q nodded, slowly, and that seemed like a good of a time as ever to move. By the time Bond was out of the room Q was asleep again. The next morning Q did not mention the rather uncomfortable moment on the bed and Bond was not going to bring it up either. Instead, with a full night’s sleep, Q threw himself back into his work.
A week later Q set up his base of operations in a 'pay by the month' flat several miles from the building they were going to break into. That involved moving most of his computer across town but Q did not like to run the job from where they were sleeping. It made him nervous and Bond did not blame him. They had everything more or less worked out now and it was time to make their move. More time was not going to make a difference at this point and their employer was beginning to get impatient. Bond stood in front of the building and watched as the armed guards talked amongst themselves.
"They aren't going to vanish if you glare at them hard enough," Q said in his ear. Bond resisted the temptation to glare at the CCTV camera he knew was pointed directly at him.
"I'm well aware, Q, thank you," Bond deadpanned.
"I can give you two minutes of black out before the backup generators turn on," Q continued as if Bond had not spoken. "If you're not in the elevator shaft by the time the power comes back the guards will more than likely shoot you on the spot."
"Sounds terrific." Bond walked away from the main entrance of the building and made sure to stay a full half block from the building. Q was going to knock out half the block and it was the middle of the night. He hoped that meant it would be dark enough to conceal him but there was always a chance it would not. Mentally, Bond prepared himself for a gunshot wound somewhere painful though he hoped not somewhere fatal. "I'm ready."
"Thirty seconds and counting," Q said. Bond hated wearing ski masks because it felt so cliche but he needed to keep himself as hidden as possible in the darkness. "Fifteen seconds." It was another cliche that he hated but Bond put on the night vision goggles as well. Bond could feel the heavy weight of his guns, one on his ankle and another attached to his hip along with several extra mags, and they were comforting. Q said that the guards had been hired from a private security firm that actively sought out people with violent pasts. "Five seconds, four, three, two, one, good luck." Every light around Bond flickered once and then went dark.
Bond raced across the empty streets and dodged past flashlights that the guards were frantically shining around. The door to the building was unlocked due to the flood of extra guards that came outside to see what was going on. Fortunately, Bond judged that most of them would go for the main entrance and not watch a side door as closely. Bond got through the now unlocked door and he was in the pitch dark building. The staff entrance had a few emergency lights but he was still well hidden amongst the red light.
"One minute until the power is back on," Q said. There were two guards between him and the elevator but they seemed disoriented by the emergency lights and the power outage. It was easy to sneak up on each of them and choke them into silent submission. Then he locked them in a closet with their hands and feet zip tied and a cloth in their mouths. "Thirty seconds until the power is back on." His muscles strained as he struggled to pull the elevator doors open and he was just slipping through as Q made his ten second countdown. The doors closed and the power switched back on. "Clear?"
"All clear," Bond said. He could rappel all ten stories but when he looked down he saw that the elevator was beneath him. This was a stroke of luck since there was a chance that it would be above him and make things more difficult. "Q, is there any way you could get the maintenance elevator to go to the ninth floor?"
"You want to hitch a ride instead of climbing? Your old age catching up to you, Bond?" Q asked.
"I should throttle you for that," Bond said darkly and ignored the way Q laughed in his ear.
"You'd be lost without me," Q replied which Bond could not deny. "I can't hack into their security system but I can give someone an excuse to investigate the ninth floor. One moment please." Bond could hear Q typing over their line and he even said a few words out loud that did not make any sense in context. The elevator beneath him began to move up and Bond gently dropped down on it. "Security is on their way to examine the disturbance I just called in on the ninth floor. You have your ride."
"Much obliged," Bond replied and the elevator began its trek to the ninth floor. He had to attach some scaling materials to the wall very quickly and slowly made his way up to the tenth floor. There was a camera at the end of the hallway that he was going to have to take out. Bond opened the elevator door just a few centimeters and set down the small network device that Q had designed. It was true that he could not break into their security system but if he had a direct wireless connection he could take care of one camera. "Device is on." Q hummed in agreement and there was some more vigorous typing. Bond was not about to come out until he was sure Q had control of that camera.
"Shit, this is much more difficult than I thought it would be," Q muttered.
"If you can't control this camera I can't get into the room," Bond said.
"I said 'difficult' not 'impossible,'" Q snapped. Another moment or so passed and Bond watched the elevator move up and down suspiciously. There was only one room on the top floor and the owner was not in town. There was no reason anyone should want to come to the top floor but it could make things complicated if someone did while he was still in the elevator shaft. "I’ve got it." Bond opened the elevator doors and slipped into the hallway. There were no alarms so Q must have control of the camera. He had essentially recorded several seconds of empty hallway and was now looping it back in the system. Bond put a clamp on the elevator doors so even if someone came up the doors would not open. Then he locked the door leading to the stairs and turned to the flat he was breaking into. "You have one try to get this right."
"I can do this," Bond said. Q had managed to find out what type of lock the apartment used and they had bought one for Bond to practice on. If he got the lock just right there was a way to pick it on the first try. The key locks were different but the design was essentially the same. Bond knelt in front of the door and pulled out his tools. "Do I have any company on the way?"
"They don't seem to suspect anything on your floor. From their radios all I hear them talking about is the power outage and resetting quote 'every bloody clock in the building'," Q replied. Bond shook his head and began to work on the lock. While he had one try at this it was still a slow going process. Q remained blissfully silent in his ear as Bond worked on the lock. He knew what happened when the lock malfunctioned and auto locked down and he did not hear that sound. Instead Bond turned his tools and heard a promising 'click.' Slowly, he pulled out his tools and tried to open the door. The knob turned easily.
"I'm in," Bond said and smiled to himself when he heard Q sigh with relief.
"You got your chance to show off so now it's mine," Q said. Bond shook his head as he made his way through the extremely well to do flat. The safe was in the bedroom closet like he had thought it would be and Bond pulled out the small device Q had designed specifically for this safe. Apparently, Q had some friends in the technology business that did not know what he did for a living and let him play with expensive safes. They hired him because he was the best at cracking them or coming up with devices that could crack safes. While Bond had been practicing picking a lock Q had been designing a device to break into the safe.
To a normal person it looked like a cell phone but when Bond placed it against the safe it flared to life like something out of a sci fi movie. Immediately it began to run calculations and it gave him four possible sets of numbers instead of three or less like it should have.
"Shit," Q said loudly. "I need you to call me on your cell phone and use the video chat. I have to see that keypad right now." Bond did not second guess Q because he sounded angry. Bond turned the camera on his phone to the keypad and waited. Q muttered things about code and machines under his breath and once snapped at Bond to hold the phone steady. Nearly three minutes passed and that was much longer than Bond wanted to be in this apartment.
"Q, I need something here," Bond said. The longer they waited the harder it was going to be to get out of the building.
"The second set of numbers," Q said after a moment of silence. "The last number is a five and that looks like the key that someone pressed last." Q did not sound sure which worried Bond but he did not have time to question it now. He typed in the second sequence of numbers and held his breath as he waited. The safe clicked and Bond grinned.
"We're in," he said. Bond pulled out his small bag that he was planning on lining with several million Euros worth of jewels and bank account numbers but the grin slipped away as soon as he saw that there was nothing in the safe but a file. "Q? You said there were jewels in here as well as documents, correct?"
"Yes, why?"
"There's only a file in here," Bond said. He pulled out the file and began to look through it because these were not bank account numbers or locations of dirty money but plans. "There are plans in here with some sort of chemical compound."
"Dial me again so I can--" Q cut himself off.
"Q?" Bond asked as he slipped the file into his pocket.
"Shit," Q said. "Shit, James, I'm being surrounded." That was enough to gets Bond's attention because Q never called him James unless something terrible was about to happen. He stood up and completely ignored the safe; he did not even bother to close it. "You are too. The entire security team just turned and went into the building in a rush."
"We were set up again," Bond said.
"We need to run. Now," Q said and Bond heard the distinctive sound of breaking in the background. Bond knew that sound; Q was frying his entire system. That meant that he no longer had control of the camera in the hallway. Bond did not really care though. The guards knew he was here, might have known he was here the entire time, and now they were coming to finish the job. Bond walked toward the exit of the flat, gun in hand, as he listened to Q frantically gather things together. There was a brief moment where he thought they had lost communication and Bond hated the way he panicked. "I switched to bluetooth," Q said as if he knew he needed to reassure Bond that he was okay though it sounded like he was running. "Get out of there, James, now."
"Be careful," Bond said. If Q had anything else to say Bond did not get a chance to hear it because the second he walked out of the room he could hear people banging against the stairwell door. The elevator was out of the question as was rappelling down. He had to face the guards and fight his way down. Bond shot out the lights in his hallway just as the guards broke down the door. He could see them and they could not quite see him in the dark. Bond fired and took down five men quickly. He needed to get out of here and find Q. They were unstoppable together.
Bond raced down the stairs and ducked from bullets that were meant to take off his head. He felt no remorse as he shot guard after guard. He ignored the blood on his hands when he had to break the neck of a guard that snuck up on him from behind. None of it mattered because he could hear Q running on the other end of the line.
"I'm on the streets but I'm being chased," Q said. He was a little breathless but Q was in excellent shape and could outrun most people.
"I'm almost to the ground as well," Bond said as he shot one of the guards between the eyes. A bullet had grazed his side but it was not deep and easy to ignore. "We'll meet at the safe house." The safe house was a flat bought under assumed names several kilometers from both of their locations. There was money, passports, and plenty of weapons so they could get out of the country. Bond shot two more men and burst out onto the street. All he needed to do was get to Q's location and get them both to the safe house. Someone was chasing him but he had a decent lead and was losing them fairly easily. Q, it seemed, was not as lucky.
"They're gaining on me," Q said and for the first time he sounded a little panicked. "I can't seem to lose them."
"I'm coming to you, where's your location?" Bond asked as he ran in what he hoped was the right direction. Q named the street he was running down and Bond picked up the pace. Over the line there was a gunshot and Q swore again. "I managed to lost sight of you in a crowd, you can lose them, Q." Bond was not sure who he was trying to reassure but that didn't matter because he heard another gunshot and a grunt of pain. "Q? Q, are you there? Answer me." Silence followed and it made his stomach drop. "Q, answer me, where are you?" There was nothing but dead air and Bond wished he knew exactly where Q was and not just a general idea. His muscles burned as he ran and he finally heard movement on the other end of the line. "Q?"
"Mr. Bond," an unfamiliar voice said and Bond stopped dead in his tracks. "You are going to surrender or I'm going to start breaking fingers." Bond was about to ask who was speaking when he heard an all too familiar grunt. Someone was hitting Q, and that just would not stand. Instantly Bond knew he was going to surrender because the thought of someone breaking Q's fingers was enough to make Bond want to bun the world down
"I need your location," Bond said trying to keep his voice as even as possible. The man chuckled and told Bond where they were.
"And you should hurry. I don't have much in the way of patience at the moment." The line went dead to the sound of someone being punched. Q was only three blocks away, they were so close, and they were only five blocks from the safe house. Bond turned the corner and went down the dark alley. He had abandoned his gun already but he wished he still had it when he turned the corner. A large man with various scars on his arms and face had a gun pressed under Q's chin. His bright blond hair was cut short but underneath the obscene muscles and all the scars the man looked almost familiar. Q was struggling and despite a split lip and bloody nose he did not look hurt. If anything he looked angrier than Bond had ever seen him. "How nice of you to join us, Mr. Bond."
"I'm unarmed," Bond said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement but no one approached him directly.
"I can see that," the man said but he jammed the gun underneath Q's chin a little harder. "You should tell him to stop struggling before I shoot you in the kneecap." Q stilled instantly which made the man laugh. "I'm sure neither of you recognize me but then again you didn't get a good look at my face before dropping a building on me nearly four years ago."
"They found all of your bodies," Q said through his teeth.
"The boss is going to be so pleased to finally meet both of you," the man said. He pushed Q away only long enough to hit him over the head. Q crumpled to the ground like nothing was holding him up. Bond moved without thinking, only wanting to punch this man's teeth in, but in his haste two more guards grabbed him. He struggled for only a moment until someone hit him hard enough that Bond nearly bit through his tongue. As he fell to the ground Bond heard the man laugh at how easy it was to use them against each other. It seemed like something Bond should have read into but the entire world faded to black.
<-- back | forward -->
A three days into her assignment Eve came into work and was immediately handed a large stack of papers by an angry looking intern. She opened her mouth to ask what this was about but the intern stomped away. Eve decided that it was probably better if she just looked for herself. It took some time but Eve managed to find a room that had a large table where she could be alone. As she looked over this new stack of papers it appeared that Q had tried to hack the system the day before. Once again their security had held but there was something about these attacks that did not sit right with her. If Q was a master hacker he should have found a way in by now.
Eve sat down and began to look through everything they had on Q which was not a lot. In fact there was worryingly little solid information. After three hours Eve knew that she was going to need help. She made a quick call on her mobile as she read a police report on a crime they thought Q was responsible for.
"This is Tanner.”.
"Tanner, it's Eve, are you busy?" she asked.
"Not at the moment, what do you need?"
Eve told him which room she was in and a few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Tanner walked in, took one look at the table, and raised an eyebrow. "First assignment?"
"Something like that," Eve replied. Tanner, fortunately, had the same security clearance that she did so there was no need to censor any of the information. Tanner listened carefully as Eve explained everything she knew so far. There was something about this case that felt like it was already underneath her skin. The thought that someone was trying to someone was trying to break into MI6 and compromise their nation’s security made her furious. Tanner tapped his pen as he listened and leaned back in the chair when she finished.
"So you're chasing a ghost," he said.
"Basically. This guy is very good at covering his tracks but in the case of CCTV and security I can't believe that there isn't a picture of this guys face somewhere. We just need to find it," Eve replied. "This would go a lot faster if I had some help."
"This is a big job and it'll require a lot of time and dedication. You should really ask someone who doesn't already have things to do," Tanner said.
"Yes, I could, but we work well together. You and I understand why M put this in a 00’s hands and why it's so important," Eve explained. "I need someone who is willing to put forth the effort needed to catch this guy and that's you."
"Fine, I'll work with you, but my other duties come first." Tanner pulled up a chair and began to look over the files. Eve smiled to herself and pulled up a search of all the major databases. It was going to be a long night.
It was the start of many long nights. Eve knew that hackers were hard to catch because they could be half a world away from what they were trying to hack but this was ridiculous. There was no information about Q save for whispers about how talented he was and how he was not someone you wanted to make angry. A few messages mentioned a 'pet' but that did not seem relevant currently. Right now Eve had to focus on finding Q. The attacks slowed down and they went three months without anyone trying to break through their security. Everyone else seemed relieved but Eve knew that this was far from over. If there was one thing she had been able to learn about Q it was that he was stubborn. If he wanted into MI6 he would find a way.
Over the course of six months Eve poured every resource she had into finding anything about Q. Every time there seemed to be some sort of lead it turned out to be a dead end. It was like Q knew every path that people looking for him would take and made sure to cover it. There was no mention or hint of what his real name was, his country of origin, though intercepted messages online always used male pronouns so she was able to confirm that Q was indeed a man.
"Just because the messages use a male pronoun doesn't mean Q is actually a guy," Tanner said as they ate takeout in what had become 'the Q room.' "Would you really put it past this guy to make sure everyone used the wrong pronoun to throw people off his tracks?"
"I wouldn't," Eve replied. Her eyes felt heavy and there was a tremor to her hands that came with too much caffeine and too little sleep. "But I have to think that we've found something in these last six months." M was not happy by the lack of progress but after everyone was able to confirm that Q had not taken any information in his last attack three months ago she had relaxed a little. It was Eve who could not relax. This case was her obsession now, but she also knew that she was not going to fail on her first assignment. Tanner rubbed his temples and closed his eyes; Eve could not thank him enough for his help in this but she could tell he was getting frustrated by the lack of progress. She understood the sentiment.
"I need sleep and so do you," Tanner said. He gathered his things to leave and when he saw that she had not moved he fixed her with a hard stare.
"I know and I will. Let me just go over these last few messages and I'll go home," Eve lied shamelessly. Tanner probably knew that she was lying but he did not call her out on it. Instead he nodded and left the room. Eve looked over the information and tried to form a picture in her head. Q was nearly perfect at everything he did and he rarely left fingerprints on anything. When he did they seemed to be in the form of taunting the person or persons that he was stealing from. Up until almost four years ago none of his jobs had resulted in any deaths but that had suddenly changed. He had started leaving a body count in the form of armed security and thugs. Every person that had died during one of Q's jobs had been a criminal and he had never involved civilians.
"You have something of a moral code and a flare for mischief," Eve said out loud as she wrote things down on the whiteboard she had stolen from R&D weeks ago. "You like what you do. I don't think you do it for the money. You have some other reasons for why you do this. You only kill if someone was going to hurt you." Eve took a step back and looked at her list. From what she knew about Q there was no reason for him to hack into MI6. He did not seem like the type that would sell out undercover agents or aid terrorism. The more she looked over his attacks the more it looked like he was tearing down their walls only to build them back up again. There was something else going on here and Eve intended to find out what.
+++
The thing about the room that Eve was working out of was that it had no windows. There were moments where she had no idea what time of day it was. This time, though, she was sure that it was late. Late enough that she was not worried about anyone bothering her for a couple hours at least and even Tanner had left at a decent hour. The logs from Q’s attack that had occurred hours earlier were spread out in front of her. There was still something about these attacks that bothered Eve. She was sure that Q should have found a way in by now yet here he was skirting around the edges still.
Despite the late hour and the fact that MI6 should be empty save for people working communications Eve did not jump when the door opened. What did surprise her was seeing M walk through the door.
"How are things proceeding?" M asked. Ages ago, when Eve had only been three months into her investigation and M had asked for a report. When Eve had had little or nothing to report M had yelled at her, asking why one of her top agents couldn't find one hacker. Halfway through and Eve was already trying to figure out a way to keep working should M decide to suspend her. Tanner had come to her rescue and explained everything that was going on and was probably the reason she had not gotten suspended. Now M seemed to understand that this task was much harder than they had originally thought.
"He didn't get through our security though I'm beginning to believe that's on purpose," Eve explained.
"Keep me posted," M replied. There was a file in her hand but she made no move to give it to Eve. "At the moment we have agents moving in on another well known hacker. Once we’ve captured him perhaps he can tell us about Q and what he wants." M set the file on the desk and still said nothing about it. While there was a chance it was not meant for her M would stop her if she wasn't meant to look at it. Eve opened the file and frowned at the blurry picture. He was a man, blond, in his late thirties or early forties, and the picture was blurry enough that Eve could only make out some distinguishing characteristics. The name on the file said 'Bond, James' and that was not a name she recognized.
"What is this about?" Eve asked but when she looked up M was gone. Whatever this was it couldn't be that important if M wasn't willing to stay and explain it. Eve closed the file and continued to search for any hints to Q's location. If she couldn't find a face perhaps she could narrow down where he was hiding.
+++
Eve was sleeping when she got the call. “MI6 is under attack by Q you need to get here immediately,” though she wasn't entirely sure that's exactly what was said. It really didn't matter because 'Q' and 'attack' were the only words she needed to know. Eve raced over as fast as she could, doing her hair in pins at red lights and while waiting for pedestrians to walk across the street. She hardly cared about wrinkles and looking proper when she raced into MI6 to have three different people hand her three different things. The attack was over, apparently, she had missed it, and the techs had managed to hold him at bay. Eve didn't mention that she was sure Q had backed off of his own volition but now didn't seem like the time. What interested Eve was the fact that one of the techs had managed to start a trace back on Q. This was the first time Q had attacked during peak hours so it made sense that there would be enough people around to simultaneously stop and trace him.
The trace was far from complete and Q must have realized that right away. However, they had managed to trace Q to the United Kingdom and that was much more than Eve had found in months. It was enough to make her giddy with excitement because this was something she could work with. She was so excited that she nearly missed the third thing that someone handed her which was a memo from M telling her to report to her office right away. Eve hoped that M was going to give her some more people to work with so they could find out where in the UK Q was hiding. The moment she walked into the office though Eve knew that she was about to get bad news.
"Agent Moneypenny, thank you for coming on such short notice," M said.
"This is my assignment and I plan on finishing it," Eve replied.
"I know it is but this isn't about the cyber attack," M said. Eve frowned deeply and sat down in the chair in front of M's desk. "Do you remember the file I gave you about a man named James Bond?"
"Yes, I do, but I didn't see how it was relevant to my assignment so I didn't give it much thought." Eve was fairly sure she had not even looked over the entire file because the Q case was her assignment.
"He's been spotted in the London area and he's extremely dangerous. I need you to go into the field and track him down," M said.
"Tracking down a hired gun instead of focusing on the man that's trying to break into our secure files? We've narrowed Q's location down to the United Kingdom. I don't see why we couldn't do it again. What is so important about this Bond character?" Eve asked. M narrowed her eyes and Eve realized a bit too late that she was talking back to her superior. "I apologize, ma’am, I didn't mean to speak out."
"Q is a priority but Bond is considered armed and dangerous." M pushed a file forward and Eve looked it over. It was similar to the one M had given her a week prior but there were some new things. "We had our eye on James Bond and we were planning on recruiting him out of the Navy. As you can see he was a crack shot and someone that would do well in MI6. However, he ended up not going into the Navy like he had planned. Instead he fell off the radar and began to travel. I still thought he was promising, however, and kept an eye on him. While he was in the Americas he was approached by some men to be a bodyguard. From then on he has worked as a hired gun in the criminal underworld. He's been linked to the deaths of fifteen people though there are considerably more that we cannot prove."
"You want me to take care of him, ma’am?" Eve asked.
"Yes," M replied. "The Q assignment is still yours but I need you to focus on Bond. If you can capture him that would be ideal but we have reason to believe that he'll go down fighting. Eliminate him if you must."
Eve wanted to argue but managed to hold her tongue. She was being put in the field, which is what she wanted when she got her promotion, yet here she was about to argue about it. Eve knew she was obsessed with the Q case. She needed distance from it, some time away, so she could look at it with fresh eyes.
"Yes, ma'am."
+++
Bond felt like at this point in their partnership he should know what kind of wine Q liked but it seemed to change constantly. Three days prior Q had suddenly swore very loudly and cut every line of communication to the flat for twenty four hours. During that time he was either working or doing some form of pouting. Whenever Bond asked what had happened Q would mutter something about 'the lucky tossers in MI6' and shoo him away. Whatever had happened Q was keeping it to himself and Bond was left with an extremely moody partner. Q was significantly less moody when he had alcohol in him so Bond was trying to figure out whether it was a white, red or rose day. It was a distracting thought but not enough of a distraction that he did not notice the woman watching him. Her skin was dark and lovely, hair curly and pulled back loosely, and she appeared to be talking to someone on her phone about wine selection for a party. There was something about the way she held herself that screamed 'danger' and 'run'. Bond had not survived this long by ignoring his instincts so he left the store.
A block down the street from the flat that he shared with Q, Bond realized that the woman was indeed following him. He knew he was wanted for various different crimes but he also knew that Q had done a very good job of keeping his face hidden. There were not many things he could do in this situation. There was no telling if this woman was a member of the police or military or an assassin sent by one of the many people around the world that wanted him dead. Just shooting her could lead to an international incident that he really was not in the mood to deal with. Bond turned a corner and did what he did best when violence was not an option: he ran.
Bond considered himself in good shape ('for your age' Q's voice in his head tactfully reminded him) so he was a little surprised to see the woman keeping up with him. Bond ducked through the crowded streets and she raced after him. He could see her talking to someone so there was a chance she was calling for backup. Bond eased through a crowd of shoppers most of whom chastised him for being rude. The woman continued to follow him through the busy streets, ducking underneath anything he managed to knock over to try and stop her. Bond pulled out his phone and speed dialed Q.
"Where the hell are you?" Q asked.
"Running from someone that might want to kill me," Bond said into his earpiece.
"Fantastic, location?" Q asked. Bond told him the street he was coming up to and waited. There was a tracker in the phone and Q could hack a few of the CCTV's if he wanted to. "Ah, there you are."
"Yes, Q, I know where I am, now I need a distraction," Bond said. He took another sharp left and ran toward a busy intersection. He was about to turn down a side street when Q's voice stopped him.
"No, keep going, I'll handle this," Q said. "And don't argue with me, Bond. just run through the intersection."
"If I get hit by a car you're going to like me significantly less," Bond warned as the lights changed.
"I'm not sure how that's possible," Q said. Bond ran through the intersection and as soon as his feet touched the sidewalk he heard the screeching of tires. Bond turned and saw that the lights in the intersection had suddenly changed, causing an accident. "Take a left at the next intersection. I'll bring you back." Bond turned and ran down the street without looking back.
+++
Eve blamed instinct as to why she stopped at the scene of the accident. That and the fact that there was no way for her to stop Bond save for shooting him on the spot. There were too many civilians to worry about and she didn’t want to risk something terrible happening. Thus far Bond had not killed anyone innocent and Eve was not about to kick that off by shooting a civilian while trying to get Bond. M was not going to be pleased and Eve was ready for the punishment that would ensue from her failure. She helped with the clean up from the accident and while a few people were taken to the hospital all of the injuries seemed to be superficial. She was expecting a severe tongue lashing by the time she walked back into MI6.
What she was not expecting was complete chaos.
All around her people were running back and forth, yelling at each other, trading pieces of paper, and generally looking like the entire world was about to end. Eve managed to grab the nearest interns arm for two seconds to tell her what was going on.
"Q's breached our systems," he said. Eve let him go and went straight to M's office. The door was open and she did not bother to knock. M glanced up at her but turned her attention back to her computer. Tanner stood nearby wincing like something was physically harming him.
"How bad is it?" Eve asked.
"We're trying to stop him but he's deleting information from our servers and then deleting the backups and the backups for our backups. All of the information we have on him is vanishing and we can't do anything to stop it," M explained. She sounded calm but Eve could recognize the hard edge to M's voice when she was truly furious. Eve could only watch as months of work and research vanished from the database. The possible location, the tracking, all of the messages she had managed to catch, all of it was gone in the blink of an eye. Q knew that they were onto him and now he was taking steps to ensure that no one ever caught him.
Eve walked back to her desk and was not surprised to find that her hard copies of her files were gone as well. Q had someone on the inside of MI6 and had managed to get everything. He was watching them much more closely than anyone had ever thought. For all Eve knew Q had access to the security cameras and was watching her right now. She glanced up at the camera and narrowed her eyes. All footage from the last day would be gone, that was a guarantee, and if they questioned anyone she was sure everyone would say the same thing. 'I didn't notice anyone different, I didn't see anything strange,' Eve could already hear all of the denials. It was not that she didn't trust her co-workers; it was more that she knew that everything had been set up in such a way that no one would have thought twice about a person lurking around her desk. Eve kept an eye on the camera as she moved her hand into her drawer. Hidden under various objects was a single flash drive. Eve picked it up, just a sleight of hand, and no one saw it vanish into her pants pocket.
+++
To say that Q made Bond take the long way home would be an understatement. For the better part of two hours Bond ducked in and out of streets and around corners and there were times that Q sounded completely distracted. He had to yell a few times to make Q pay attention before he just hailed a cab to get back to the flat. Threatening to take a cab or any form of public transportation was a really easy way of getting Q to pay attention again. By the time Bond got back all he wanted was a long shower and a full bottle of alcohol. Q did not even bother to look up from his desk where he was hunched over when Bond walked in.
“Have a nice walk?” Q asked.
“Considering you were following me most of the way you know how it went,” Bond replied. He joined Q at Q’s desk and watched as files and information began to vanish before his eyes. That was when he noticed Q logged onto another network.
“MI6 won’t be a problem,” Q said answering Bond’s question that he never actually voiced about what was going on. “They’re going to be so busy dealing with this fallout that they’re going to forget about us for awhile. By the time they focus on us again I’ll have our trail completely erased.” Q hit enter and disconnected from the MI6 network, apparently done with wreaking havoc for the night.
“So when do we leave the country and wait for things to calm down?” Bond asked.
“We could leave the country,” Q replied. He turned around and they were nearly nose to nose and very much in each other’s space. It made a lump form in Bond’s throat that he tried to ignore. “Or we could break into one of the most secure apartments in the city to steal secrets and jewels worth several million pounds from a private collector.” That sounded like an interesting prospect and one that Bond was not exactly willing to ignore. Q leaned back and Bond put his hands on the desk, boxing Q in.
“Sounds difficult,” Bond said.
“Sounds fun,” Q corrected.
“And what’s the percentage that we get off these jewels should we steal them?” Bond asked.
“Fifty.” That number was enough to convince Bond.
“So when do we begin?” Bond said and when Q smiled it was all teeth.
+++
The next three days were some of the longest days of Eve's life. All day people were running around trying to figure out where their security loopholes were and how to fix them. Despite the fact that she knew Q and how he worked better than anyone no one came to her looking for information. All of the hard copies on Q were gone along with those of a few other wanted criminals including Bond. Eve knew that they were avoiding her because there was a chance that she could snap at someone for losing so much data. The truth was that while Eve was not happy she had a few more aces up her sleeve than people seemed to think. Being underestimated had worked in her favor before and it seemed to be working again. So instead Eve filed reports about Bond and her chase through the streets. There was no doubt in her mind now that James Bond was a professional and she could see why he was such a high priority for M. He had not involved many civilians and Eve knew he had been armed.Yet he had not shot at her. A professional that was not willing to get innocent people involved was hard to come by these days.
"Eve," Tanner said. Eve looked up from her report as Tanner walked over to her. He looked strangely excited about something. "M wanted me to tell you that Interpol just dropped off a prisoner that we will be holding for the next month or so. Records show that he was born Tiago Rodriguez but goes by Raoul Silva now." Eve knew that name because Silva was one of the most notorious hackers in the world next to Q. If there was anyone that could give her new information on Q it would be Silva.
"I want to speak with him," Eve said.
"M also sent me down here to tell you not yet. They still need to fill out some more paperwork and clear him for interrogation," Tanner replied.
"So M sent you down here to tell me not to go and talk to the prisoner who could have information on the man that tore down our security and deleted all of our files?" Eve knew that it was not Tanner's fault and it was unfair to get angry at him but this was important.
"As soon as you're clear to talk to him I'll let you know. M says that's an order." Tanner must have known that she was going to get angry because he turned and left without another word. This was so stupid that Eve could barely contain her rage. Silva could have a link to her case, to Q, and they were denying her access because of paperwork. Eve closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths to try and calm herself down but apparently that was not going to happen. Instead she stood up and decided that some rules were made to be broken.
Eve already knew the schedule for security and how to sneak through it. She knew the layout of the cameras and the blind spots that would last for a second or two. There was not much she could do once she got to the cell but Silva was not considered dangerous. There were whispers that he had been involved in some overseas terrorist attacks but nothing solid linked back to him. Using the skills that made her an excellent 00 agent Eve managed to get to the cell without anyone seeing her. Silva was an older man with bleached blond hair and the second she walked into the room he smiled. The cell was a small six by six cage with concrete on three walls and bars on the fourth. Silva sat in a chair completely relaxed and Eve considered herself a seasoned agent but there was something about that smile that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
"Agent Moneypenny, how nice to finally meet you. I was wondering when you were going to come down and see me," Silva said.
"You know who I am?" Eve asked carefully.
"Everyone knows who you are. You're quite the talk of our community these days what with trying to hunt down Q," Silva said. "With people like Q and I in the world there's no such thing as secret information these days. You were able to lock him down to a continent though and that's closer than any other government has gotten. I'm impressed and I'm sure he is as well."
"Do you know where I could find Q, Mr. Silva?" Eve said.
"Perhaps but it's not just Q you're looking for these days, is it? You're looking for James Bond as well. CCTV let me see quite the show the other day." Silva grinned, stood, and folded his hands behind his back. "You're in luck, Agent Moneypenny, because you're looking for two people that are in the same place."
"Bond and Q work together?" Eve asked after a moment. It made sense; somewhere along the line Q had gone from never firing a gun to having a body count. Granted they were all criminals and people that would have probably turned on the people they hired to complete a job. It also explained why Bond's records were gone from the database as well. The other people that Q had deleted were just hiding why Bond's records were important.
"I see that you're putting it all together in that lovely head of yours. Bond and Q are here for a job currently," Silva said, "However, I don't know what that job is. There have been some rumors about a robbery of something important but I wasn't able to glean what before your friends in Interpol picked me up."
"What are you trying to say, Mr. Silva?" Eve asked because she was not in the mood to play into this man's theatrics.
"Give me access to a laptop and I can find out why Bond and Q are here. Then you can intercept and capture them," Silva replied evenly.
"And why would you do that?" Eve said.
"Because Q and Bond think they're untouchable. They're the best but they can be very smug little shits. If I have to sit behind bars then they have to as well." Silva sat back down and the door opened to reveal Tanner and M. M looked like she was debating how important Eve's life was.
"Agent Moneypenny, I need to speak with you immediately." M turned and walked away from the door, and Eve chose to ignore Silva's chuckle as she joined her superior in the hallway. Tanner closed the door and refused to look at either of them.
"I should have figured you wouldn't listen to the rules, 007, but I have to say I was expecting you to wait a little longer before defying orders," M snapped though she did not sound quite as angry as much as resigned. "What did you find out?"
"Silva says Q and Bond are working together to steal something. If we give him a computer he says he can find out what they are trying to steal and we can intercept them," Eve replied.
"If we kept him closely monitored we might be able to use him. Perhaps offer a lighter punishment," M said. "He is not to be alone with a computer at any time. I want someone watching him and everything he does. If there is any indication that he is doing something else you are to put him in solitary confinement, do you understand, Agent Moneypenny?"
"Yes, ma’am," Eve replied.
"Good. If this works out in our favor I'll be willing to overlook your disregard for my orders." M turned and walked away. Tanner lingered and watched her go.
"This seems like a bad idea," he said.
"It is but it's the only chance we have of catching them," Eve agreed. "We still don't know what other information Q could have stolen from us."
"I'll have the department get a computer ready for him," Tanner said. He nodded to Eve briefly and walked in the opposite direction. Eve took a steadying breath and walked back into the room.
"So when do we begin, Agent Moneypenny?" Silva asked grinning.
+++
It took almost three weeks to get everything ready for the job. Q had said that MI6 was not going to be a problem for the time being and Bond believed him. He thought about the Agent that had chased him through the streets. She had been good, very good, and the fact that she had been able to find him at all made Bond a little nervous. He kept an eye out for her but it looked like she had not found them again. Once Bond was fairly sure they were safe he was able to focus on the job. The flat that they were breaking into was one of the most guarded private residences in the city. Just to get in the door was going to be a challenge.
"The building is guarded all hours of the day," Q explained, pointing to the various displays he had set up on his desk. Bond leaned forward to get a better look at the men.
"Each guard is armed; some with multiple weapons," Bond said.
"Agreed, and considering the last time someone tried to break in they shot him they aren't afraid to pull the trigger." Q hit a few buttons and pulled up a blueprint of the building. "There is security in all of the elevators and stairwells. I might be able to override it but only if I could get to their mainframe directly which is locked behind a steel reinforced door."
"So I need to find another way up," Bond said.
"Yes, and once you get to the top of the building you need to get into the flat. There is a complex security system that triggers the moment someone tries to pick a lock. That alarm will send all of those armed guards to your location. After you get into the flat the safe is located in the back of the closet in the bedroom. If the wrong sequence of five numbers is typed in three times the safe automatically locks and cannot be re-opened for twenty four hours." Q turned in his chair so they were facing each other.
"I need to get past armed guards, somehow get to the top of a ten story building without using the elevators or stairways, break into a flat where I cannot pick the lock, and break into a safe where I have three tries to guess five numbers," Bond repeated.
"I told you it was going to be fun," Q said smirking.
"Fun indeed. Let's get to work."
After a week Bond was seriously reconsidering what Q defined as 'fun' because the more they worked the more roadblocks they seemed to run into. Bond would wake up after falling asleep at a desk or on the couch to find Q swearing at his computer. It took some pestering to get Q to sleep during normal jobs but one as difficult as this and Bond was debating drugging his partner’s Earl Grey. Two weeks into their planning, Bond walked in from recon and found Q passed out over his keyboard. Bond set his things down and walked slowly over to Q. He did not want to surprise Q and get stabbed with a pen or something sharper but Q seemed to be deeply asleep. He barely stirred when Bond placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Unless I'm being actively murdered I don't care," Q grumbled.
"Noted, how about some sleep in an actual bed?" Bond suggested. Q grunted which was all the confirmation Bond needed to throw one of Q's arms over his shoulder and half walk half carry Q to his room.
"I almost have this worked out," Q said. Bond nodded as he tried to guide Q onto his bed but Q was all long limbs and uncoordinated when he was half asleep. Q somehow managed to trip over Bond's feet and sent them both tumbling onto the bed, Bond had to put his hands out to keep from crushing Q completely but Bond was still lying on Q. It was an awkward moment and Q's eyes finally opened completely. They were nearly nose to nose and Bond could feel Q breathing beneath him.
"You'll get it sorted," Bond said because as smooth as he was with every other person in his life there was something about Q that made his silver tongue turn to lead. Q nodded, slowly, and that seemed like a good of a time as ever to move. By the time Bond was out of the room Q was asleep again. The next morning Q did not mention the rather uncomfortable moment on the bed and Bond was not going to bring it up either. Instead, with a full night’s sleep, Q threw himself back into his work.
A week later Q set up his base of operations in a 'pay by the month' flat several miles from the building they were going to break into. That involved moving most of his computer across town but Q did not like to run the job from where they were sleeping. It made him nervous and Bond did not blame him. They had everything more or less worked out now and it was time to make their move. More time was not going to make a difference at this point and their employer was beginning to get impatient. Bond stood in front of the building and watched as the armed guards talked amongst themselves.
"They aren't going to vanish if you glare at them hard enough," Q said in his ear. Bond resisted the temptation to glare at the CCTV camera he knew was pointed directly at him.
"I'm well aware, Q, thank you," Bond deadpanned.
"I can give you two minutes of black out before the backup generators turn on," Q continued as if Bond had not spoken. "If you're not in the elevator shaft by the time the power comes back the guards will more than likely shoot you on the spot."
"Sounds terrific." Bond walked away from the main entrance of the building and made sure to stay a full half block from the building. Q was going to knock out half the block and it was the middle of the night. He hoped that meant it would be dark enough to conceal him but there was always a chance it would not. Mentally, Bond prepared himself for a gunshot wound somewhere painful though he hoped not somewhere fatal. "I'm ready."
"Thirty seconds and counting," Q said. Bond hated wearing ski masks because it felt so cliche but he needed to keep himself as hidden as possible in the darkness. "Fifteen seconds." It was another cliche that he hated but Bond put on the night vision goggles as well. Bond could feel the heavy weight of his guns, one on his ankle and another attached to his hip along with several extra mags, and they were comforting. Q said that the guards had been hired from a private security firm that actively sought out people with violent pasts. "Five seconds, four, three, two, one, good luck." Every light around Bond flickered once and then went dark.
Bond raced across the empty streets and dodged past flashlights that the guards were frantically shining around. The door to the building was unlocked due to the flood of extra guards that came outside to see what was going on. Fortunately, Bond judged that most of them would go for the main entrance and not watch a side door as closely. Bond got through the now unlocked door and he was in the pitch dark building. The staff entrance had a few emergency lights but he was still well hidden amongst the red light.
"One minute until the power is back on," Q said. There were two guards between him and the elevator but they seemed disoriented by the emergency lights and the power outage. It was easy to sneak up on each of them and choke them into silent submission. Then he locked them in a closet with their hands and feet zip tied and a cloth in their mouths. "Thirty seconds until the power is back on." His muscles strained as he struggled to pull the elevator doors open and he was just slipping through as Q made his ten second countdown. The doors closed and the power switched back on. "Clear?"
"All clear," Bond said. He could rappel all ten stories but when he looked down he saw that the elevator was beneath him. This was a stroke of luck since there was a chance that it would be above him and make things more difficult. "Q, is there any way you could get the maintenance elevator to go to the ninth floor?"
"You want to hitch a ride instead of climbing? Your old age catching up to you, Bond?" Q asked.
"I should throttle you for that," Bond said darkly and ignored the way Q laughed in his ear.
"You'd be lost without me," Q replied which Bond could not deny. "I can't hack into their security system but I can give someone an excuse to investigate the ninth floor. One moment please." Bond could hear Q typing over their line and he even said a few words out loud that did not make any sense in context. The elevator beneath him began to move up and Bond gently dropped down on it. "Security is on their way to examine the disturbance I just called in on the ninth floor. You have your ride."
"Much obliged," Bond replied and the elevator began its trek to the ninth floor. He had to attach some scaling materials to the wall very quickly and slowly made his way up to the tenth floor. There was a camera at the end of the hallway that he was going to have to take out. Bond opened the elevator door just a few centimeters and set down the small network device that Q had designed. It was true that he could not break into their security system but if he had a direct wireless connection he could take care of one camera. "Device is on." Q hummed in agreement and there was some more vigorous typing. Bond was not about to come out until he was sure Q had control of that camera.
"Shit, this is much more difficult than I thought it would be," Q muttered.
"If you can't control this camera I can't get into the room," Bond said.
"I said 'difficult' not 'impossible,'" Q snapped. Another moment or so passed and Bond watched the elevator move up and down suspiciously. There was only one room on the top floor and the owner was not in town. There was no reason anyone should want to come to the top floor but it could make things complicated if someone did while he was still in the elevator shaft. "I’ve got it." Bond opened the elevator doors and slipped into the hallway. There were no alarms so Q must have control of the camera. He had essentially recorded several seconds of empty hallway and was now looping it back in the system. Bond put a clamp on the elevator doors so even if someone came up the doors would not open. Then he locked the door leading to the stairs and turned to the flat he was breaking into. "You have one try to get this right."
"I can do this," Bond said. Q had managed to find out what type of lock the apartment used and they had bought one for Bond to practice on. If he got the lock just right there was a way to pick it on the first try. The key locks were different but the design was essentially the same. Bond knelt in front of the door and pulled out his tools. "Do I have any company on the way?"
"They don't seem to suspect anything on your floor. From their radios all I hear them talking about is the power outage and resetting quote 'every bloody clock in the building'," Q replied. Bond shook his head and began to work on the lock. While he had one try at this it was still a slow going process. Q remained blissfully silent in his ear as Bond worked on the lock. He knew what happened when the lock malfunctioned and auto locked down and he did not hear that sound. Instead Bond turned his tools and heard a promising 'click.' Slowly, he pulled out his tools and tried to open the door. The knob turned easily.
"I'm in," Bond said and smiled to himself when he heard Q sigh with relief.
"You got your chance to show off so now it's mine," Q said. Bond shook his head as he made his way through the extremely well to do flat. The safe was in the bedroom closet like he had thought it would be and Bond pulled out the small device Q had designed specifically for this safe. Apparently, Q had some friends in the technology business that did not know what he did for a living and let him play with expensive safes. They hired him because he was the best at cracking them or coming up with devices that could crack safes. While Bond had been practicing picking a lock Q had been designing a device to break into the safe.
To a normal person it looked like a cell phone but when Bond placed it against the safe it flared to life like something out of a sci fi movie. Immediately it began to run calculations and it gave him four possible sets of numbers instead of three or less like it should have.
"Shit," Q said loudly. "I need you to call me on your cell phone and use the video chat. I have to see that keypad right now." Bond did not second guess Q because he sounded angry. Bond turned the camera on his phone to the keypad and waited. Q muttered things about code and machines under his breath and once snapped at Bond to hold the phone steady. Nearly three minutes passed and that was much longer than Bond wanted to be in this apartment.
"Q, I need something here," Bond said. The longer they waited the harder it was going to be to get out of the building.
"The second set of numbers," Q said after a moment of silence. "The last number is a five and that looks like the key that someone pressed last." Q did not sound sure which worried Bond but he did not have time to question it now. He typed in the second sequence of numbers and held his breath as he waited. The safe clicked and Bond grinned.
"We're in," he said. Bond pulled out his small bag that he was planning on lining with several million Euros worth of jewels and bank account numbers but the grin slipped away as soon as he saw that there was nothing in the safe but a file. "Q? You said there were jewels in here as well as documents, correct?"
"Yes, why?"
"There's only a file in here," Bond said. He pulled out the file and began to look through it because these were not bank account numbers or locations of dirty money but plans. "There are plans in here with some sort of chemical compound."
"Dial me again so I can--" Q cut himself off.
"Q?" Bond asked as he slipped the file into his pocket.
"Shit," Q said. "Shit, James, I'm being surrounded." That was enough to gets Bond's attention because Q never called him James unless something terrible was about to happen. He stood up and completely ignored the safe; he did not even bother to close it. "You are too. The entire security team just turned and went into the building in a rush."
"We were set up again," Bond said.
"We need to run. Now," Q said and Bond heard the distinctive sound of breaking in the background. Bond knew that sound; Q was frying his entire system. That meant that he no longer had control of the camera in the hallway. Bond did not really care though. The guards knew he was here, might have known he was here the entire time, and now they were coming to finish the job. Bond walked toward the exit of the flat, gun in hand, as he listened to Q frantically gather things together. There was a brief moment where he thought they had lost communication and Bond hated the way he panicked. "I switched to bluetooth," Q said as if he knew he needed to reassure Bond that he was okay though it sounded like he was running. "Get out of there, James, now."
"Be careful," Bond said. If Q had anything else to say Bond did not get a chance to hear it because the second he walked out of the room he could hear people banging against the stairwell door. The elevator was out of the question as was rappelling down. He had to face the guards and fight his way down. Bond shot out the lights in his hallway just as the guards broke down the door. He could see them and they could not quite see him in the dark. Bond fired and took down five men quickly. He needed to get out of here and find Q. They were unstoppable together.
Bond raced down the stairs and ducked from bullets that were meant to take off his head. He felt no remorse as he shot guard after guard. He ignored the blood on his hands when he had to break the neck of a guard that snuck up on him from behind. None of it mattered because he could hear Q running on the other end of the line.
"I'm on the streets but I'm being chased," Q said. He was a little breathless but Q was in excellent shape and could outrun most people.
"I'm almost to the ground as well," Bond said as he shot one of the guards between the eyes. A bullet had grazed his side but it was not deep and easy to ignore. "We'll meet at the safe house." The safe house was a flat bought under assumed names several kilometers from both of their locations. There was money, passports, and plenty of weapons so they could get out of the country. Bond shot two more men and burst out onto the street. All he needed to do was get to Q's location and get them both to the safe house. Someone was chasing him but he had a decent lead and was losing them fairly easily. Q, it seemed, was not as lucky.
"They're gaining on me," Q said and for the first time he sounded a little panicked. "I can't seem to lose them."
"I'm coming to you, where's your location?" Bond asked as he ran in what he hoped was the right direction. Q named the street he was running down and Bond picked up the pace. Over the line there was a gunshot and Q swore again. "I managed to lost sight of you in a crowd, you can lose them, Q." Bond was not sure who he was trying to reassure but that didn't matter because he heard another gunshot and a grunt of pain. "Q? Q, are you there? Answer me." Silence followed and it made his stomach drop. "Q, answer me, where are you?" There was nothing but dead air and Bond wished he knew exactly where Q was and not just a general idea. His muscles burned as he ran and he finally heard movement on the other end of the line. "Q?"
"Mr. Bond," an unfamiliar voice said and Bond stopped dead in his tracks. "You are going to surrender or I'm going to start breaking fingers." Bond was about to ask who was speaking when he heard an all too familiar grunt. Someone was hitting Q, and that just would not stand. Instantly Bond knew he was going to surrender because the thought of someone breaking Q's fingers was enough to make Bond want to bun the world down
"I need your location," Bond said trying to keep his voice as even as possible. The man chuckled and told Bond where they were.
"And you should hurry. I don't have much in the way of patience at the moment." The line went dead to the sound of someone being punched. Q was only three blocks away, they were so close, and they were only five blocks from the safe house. Bond turned the corner and went down the dark alley. He had abandoned his gun already but he wished he still had it when he turned the corner. A large man with various scars on his arms and face had a gun pressed under Q's chin. His bright blond hair was cut short but underneath the obscene muscles and all the scars the man looked almost familiar. Q was struggling and despite a split lip and bloody nose he did not look hurt. If anything he looked angrier than Bond had ever seen him. "How nice of you to join us, Mr. Bond."
"I'm unarmed," Bond said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement but no one approached him directly.
"I can see that," the man said but he jammed the gun underneath Q's chin a little harder. "You should tell him to stop struggling before I shoot you in the kneecap." Q stilled instantly which made the man laugh. "I'm sure neither of you recognize me but then again you didn't get a good look at my face before dropping a building on me nearly four years ago."
"They found all of your bodies," Q said through his teeth.
"The boss is going to be so pleased to finally meet both of you," the man said. He pushed Q away only long enough to hit him over the head. Q crumpled to the ground like nothing was holding him up. Bond moved without thinking, only wanting to punch this man's teeth in, but in his haste two more guards grabbed him. He struggled for only a moment until someone hit him hard enough that Bond nearly bit through his tongue. As he fell to the ground Bond heard the man laugh at how easy it was to use them against each other. It seemed like something Bond should have read into but the entire world faded to black.
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