Smooth Criminal 3/3
+++
Annoyed was a gross understatement compared to how Eve actually felt. For the last three weeks they had let Silva play on a computer under complete supervision at all times. Twelve hours ago he had told them that he knew when Bond and Q were going to pull their job and what they were stealing. When it became apparent that they were stealing information on how to make a chemical bomb that could wipe out all of London MI6 was quick to respond. Silva told them the time, the place, the date, everything that they would need to stop the robbery. Everything was set to line up perfectly and Eve could finally ask the question that was bothering her; why designs for a bomb? For all of the lives they had taken, the things they had stolen over the years, Bond and Q had never become full blown terrorists. She remembered running through the streets and how Bond hadn’t turned and shot her because there were too many civilians around.
Now she was standing in the middle of a flat with the doors wide open. There were bodies all over the building from the various forms of security that had been chasing whoever had been here. Eve could only assume it was Bond and Q because Q was the only one who could have figured out a way to get past all of the security. Something had gone wrong and they had had to go out shooting.
"The plans are gone," Tanner said as he joined Eve in the flat’s living room. The owner, a chemical engineer, was still out of the country but on his way home. When they had informed him of what was stolen he had been suddenly much more eager to jump on a plane. "We have a dozen corpses around here and no idea where they ran off to."
"So we have nothing," Eve said. There was something about this entire scenario that did not sit right for her. The camera in the hallway had been shot and that would be an easy way to get attention. Bond and Q liked to go in and out with everyone none the wiser. This seemed too risky and too outlandish even for them.
"That seems to be it." Tanner crossed his arms and frowned deeply. "If that bomb design is as bad as everyone is making it sound we might need to plan for a full scale terrorist attack." Eve hummed in agreement though she was not really paying attention. Instead her mobile rang and she answered it on the first ring.
"Agent Moneypenny," she said.
"We appear to have a problem, Agent," M said and that was odd because M rarely made personal phone calls to anyone in the field.
"I'm aware the plans were stolen, ma’am, I'm working on it," Eve replied.
"No, that is our main problem, but it appears that we have another. While half the department was out chasing a dead end Silva managed to escape." M sounded annoyed but she did not sound terribly worried. "As of right now Silva is not our priority. Bond and Q have plans to a deadly bomb that could end the lives of many people. That needs to be taken care of immediately." Eve had lots of things she wanted to say. She wanted to tell M that something about this felt wrong and that Silva escaping could not be a coincidence. She wanted to argue that no one knew more about Bond and Q than she did and they were not the type to blow up the city.
"I understand, ma’am," Eve said slowly. "What are your orders?"
"Find the targets and eliminate them on sight. Any information they might know is not worth the lives of anyone in this city." M paused and for a moment Eve thought that the call had dropped. "And 007, that is indeed an order and not a request."
"Yes, m’am." Eve hung up and tapped her mobile against her lips. She had her orders and she had to follow them. As far as she knew two extremely dangerous men now had access to a bomb that posed a serious threat. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong and she had not survived this long by ignoring them.
"What are our orders?" Tanner asked.
"Start looking for any indication as to where they went," Eve replied. Her instincts were going to have to wait for the time being.
+++
Bond slowly became aware of his surroundings again. He vaguely remembered waking up and then falling back asleep again but they were scattered and vague. As he opened his eyes Bond surprisingly found that he was not lying in a cell with bars across the door but a small room in a bed. When he looked around Bond immediately saw Q asleep on another bed a few feet away from him. Q didn't look injured but they were both suffering from head wounds and Bond was not about to take a chance. It took a few tries before he was able to get out of bed but as soon as he was able to Bond tried to shake Q awake.
"I don't want to talk about it," Q grumbled.
"I think this situation merits a conversation," Bond said calmly. Q cracked an eye open and picked his glasses up from the under the bed. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, relatively," Q said. "You've been asleep longer. The man with the scars said you were the dangerous one so he gave you a sedative. I've been awake for a few hours longer."
"And what did you do when he said that I was the dangerous one?"
"I broke two of his fingers." Q smirked but it faded almost instantly. "There is a camera in the corner and the door to this room is sealed. There are no windows and the vents are small and line the ceiling." That meant that there was not much of a chance for them to escape without walking out the door. Anything they said or did could be used against them. Bond hated being watched by someone that wasn't Q.
"What do we know?" Bond asked.
"We know we were set up." Q glared at the camera. "We know that the plans were the primary target of whoever took us. We know that they aren't working alone and they are working with the same person that hired you to kill me three years ago."
"If the plans were the primary objective then why are we here? Why keep us alive?" Bond asked. As if on cue the door opened. Bond put himself between the door and Q instinctively despite the fact that he knew it would annoy Q.
"If you start slow clapping because you think we're so clever I'm going to laugh," Q said.
"Oh I wouldn't do that," a voice said. An older man with longish blond hair and a fake smile sauntered into the room as if he did not have a care in the world. The voice was familiar; it was the same person that had hired him to kill Q. "Nice to finally meet you in person, Q. Could you tell your guard dog to step aside so we can have a conversation?"
"This isn't how I wanted to meet, Silva," Q replied. Bond felt a hand on his arm but Q stood next to him and not in front of him. "And I don't need anyone to guard me."
"Yes, Mr. White isn't very happy that you broke his fingers. He's eager to return the favor," Silva said. Bond knew the name Silva from conversations with Q over the years. He was a hacker ("Not nearly as good as me") that was willing to do anything to make a penny. He didn’t have any morals and he was their biggest rival. As far as Bond knew Interpol had had him in custody. "At least you're asking the right questions," Silva continued. "I'm afraid that I'm in need of some help. The current bomb design is good but not good enough and I need someone to plant it as well."
"We're thieves, not terrorists," Bond said catching on immediately.
"I'm aware," Silva said grinning. "You two have some sort of moral code you're not willing to break. Bond can justify his murders if the men he's gunning down are 'bad men'. That principle doesn't work in this day and age. No one has clean hands anymore; everyone is guilty of something."
"We are thieves, not terrorists," Q repeated.
"Yes, Q, I heard you the first time, but here's the funny thing. Mr. White told me about how he had you in custody but Mr. Bond was still on the run. Mr. White told me that all he had to do was make some vague threats and Mr. Bond surrendered." There was a manic look in Silva's eyes that made the hairs on the back of Bond's neck stand up. "He then went on to explain how Q got very compliant when he threatened to shoot Mr. Bond in the knees." Q tensed and it looked like he was about to shove Bond out of the way and go after Silva with his bare hands. Bond was ready to pull him back if he did. "I think you can figure out where this is going. Unless Q improves my bomb I'll make Mr. Bond's life very miserable and if Mr. Bond refuses to plant said bomb I'll put a bullet in Q's head right in front of him." Silva smiled like a man who held all the aces in the deck. "Someone will be in later to give you some food and water. I need you both in top form. Have a lovely night." Silva turned and walked out of the room. The door slammed and Bond listened as various locks slid into place.
"This is my fault," Q said. He was so angry he was practically vibrating. "Silva has this stupid rivalry with me and I got you caught up in it."
"I stayed because I wanted to stay. You didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to," Bond replied. Q glanced at him and for the first time in a long time Bond noticed how young Q was. They were partners, friends, and Silva knew that. Bond knew he would do anything for Q.
"I won't let him hurt you," Q said fiercely as if reading Bond's mind.
"Me too." A beat of silence passed and Bond wished that a camera wasn't recording this as something to hold over their heads later. Q sat down against a wall and folded his hands in his lap. He was planning, like he often did when they had a job, and Bond knew he needed some time to think. Bond joined him on the floor just close enough that their shoulders touched. Some time passed and Q eventually fell asleep on Bond's shoulder. It was another thing that Silva would hold against them and pretty much cement the fact that they were each other’s weakness. However, Q had dark circles under his eyes and looked exhausted so Bond found that he really did not care.
+++
Bond was not sure when he fell asleep but when he woke up Q had not moved from his shoulder. There wasn't any indication that someone had dropped off food while they were asleep. Starving to death really didn't sound like the best way to go so Bond hoped that Silva would at least keep them fed. Q stirred and slowly woke up. He jerked away when he seemed to realize what he was asleep on and if Bond didn't know any better he would have said that Q's ears turned a little red.
"Sorry," Q mumbled.
"It's fine," Bond replied. The door opened a few minutes later and Mr. White walked in with a tray of food. On the plate was an egg, two pieces of toast, and a water bottle. The pointer and middle fingers of his left hand were wrapped in medical tape.
"Eat up; you have work to do," White said. Bond glared and didn't spare much thought about whether the food was drugged or poisoned. Silva needed them both alive and attentive or he would have killed them by now. White spent the entire time they ate glaring at Q and Bond knew that look. He'd seen it over the years with the many enforcers that he had had to work with. That was the look of a man that wanted to hurt. If he remained compliant then White would have no reason to lash out at Q for breaking his fingers. White kicked the tray aside and they both left the half full water bottles in their room.
There were two more guards waiting for them outside who shoved guns into their backs. "Lace your hands behind your heads and walk." Bond glanced at Q who shrugged and did as he was told. The barrel of the gun was on his spinal cord and Bond didn't want to think about what kind of damage that could entail. He put his hands behind his head and walked.
Wherever they were it was a fairly large building. There was no way they were out of the country already so they were still in the United Kingdom. In terms of casualties for a bomb London would be the most obvious target and the chemical fallout could touch the entire city. Even armed with all of that knowledge Bond still had no idea where they were. They walked into a large room and White took Q's arm and pulled him roughly toward a computer and desk with Silva sitting in the chair.
"Good morning, Q, how are you feeling today?" Silva asked smiling.
"Peachy," Q replied flatly. White did not release Q's arm and that made Bond a little nervous.
"Indeed. I'll need Mr. Bond to kneel down while you work. We need to make sure that you're productive." Silva nodded and the guard pushed Bond down to his knees. Silva stood up and White practically threw Q into the chair. "You two are infamous, you know. All of MI6 is running around trying to find you two now that you have the plans for the bomb and you're planning on setting it off."
"You're framing us," Bond stated.
"Indeed and that pretty 00 Agent is going to put a bullet in both of you. She won't hesitate to pull the trigger because those are her orders," Silva explained. "Now, Q, I need you to work on this bomb. I want the fireworks to go off in two days so you need to work quickly. If you fail to do as I ask Mr. Bond will end up with a broken bone somewhere on his body. Do you understand the terms of our agreement?" Q stared at the computer screen and remained silent. White shoved his head roughly and Q scowled.
"I understand," Q said.
"Very well. We'll be monitoring you so no funny business." Silva nodded to White who took a few steps back but kept his hand far too close to his gun for Bond's liking.
Q rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, and began to type. He was far enough away that Bond could not see what he was working on and even if he could most of what Q did was over his head. He could make out the vague lines of the blueprints but there was something else going on. There was a blink and then it was gone. It was so fast that Bond was sure he was imagining it yet an hour later the same thing happened.
Q didn't say a word or look up from the computer for nearly five hours. By then Silva had taken pity on Bond's arms and knees and let him sit on the ground while Q worked. It was silent save for the typing at the computer. The window flashed a third time and Silva's phone beeped. Silva looked at his phone and his smug expression faded into one of pure fury.
"What are you doing?" he asked. Q didn't look up, didn't hesitate, if anything he began to type faster. Silva looked at White who reacted immediately. He took Q by the collar of his shirt and tried to yank him back but Q was faster. He slammed White's broken fingers into the desk and kept typing. The guard behind Bond pressed the gun to his head but they needed him to pull the trigger on the bomb so he knew the guard wasn't going to kill him. Silva and White both approached Q; however, this time White managed to pull Q away from the computer but not before Q hit enter one more time. White slammed Q into the wall and held him there by his neck as Silva typed furiously at the computer. "What did you do?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Q replied evenly and were it not for the gun to his head Bond would have broken White's neck for squeezing Q's throat like that.
"I'll find what you did; you're not such a clever boy," Silva sneered. "I expected something like this from Bond’s irrational mind but not from yours, Q. I know you're smarter than this and I know you said you wouldn't let me hurt Bond. That was a poor way of keeping your promise." Q tried to speak but White's hands were so tight that Q could barely catch a breath. Q's face was turning red as he struggled to breathe and that was all Bond could stand of that. Bond elbowed back into his guard, knocking the wind out of him and rushing toward White and Q with every intention of enjoying the sound of White's neck snapping.
Bond realized he must not have hit his guard as hard as he thought because the next thing he felt was a bullet tearing through his shoulder. It made him stumble enough for two men to swarm and pin him down. Q's eyes were wide as he struggled against White's hand.
"That's enough, Mr. White," Silva said. White looked like he was not happy about that but released Q and threw him down to the ground. Q coughed and tried to breathe deep; there were going to be finger shaped bruises on his throat. They were three feet from each other but it might as well have been the moon for how much help Bond could do now. "That's the type of thing I expected from Mr. Bond. Now I suppose you're even as far as stupid things."
"I didn't want to tarnish my irrational persona," Bond spat out. His shoulder wound was bleeding freely but the bullet had at least passed right through. Silva sighed as if they were making his life extremely difficult. He walked over to the computer and began to look at the work that Q had done.
"You do good work if nothing else Q," Silva said. "I told you that if one of you should act up the other was going to be punished for it. Since you both decided to be idiots you're both going to suffer for it. Mr. White?"
"Yes, sir?" White said though he was smiling like he knew where this was going.
"I believe you deserve some retribution for those broken fingers, correct? Please escort Q somewhere else and deal with him as you please." Silva said. "Oh but don't kill him. I still need Mr. Bond to cooperate when planting the bomb." White grinned like a shark and pulled Q to his feet. Q struggled but as strong as Q was White had the weight and muscle advantage. He twisted Q's arm painfully behind his back until Q had to stop fighting or risk a broken arm. White pushed Q toward another door and for a brief moment Q looked back and they made eye contact. Bond wasn't sure what Q saw in him but what he saw in Q's eyes was fear. It was not fear for himself but fear for what they were going to do to him. Bond wanted to tell Q to be safe, that they were going to be okay, comfort him somehow, but Q hated being coddled and the door slammed shut before he could say anything.
"If you damage him there won't be a deserted island where I won't find you," Bond said. Silva rolled his eyes and stepped on his injured shoulder. The pain intensified and it almost made him black out.
"Your lives belong to me now and I don't mind a little damage to my projects," Silva said. The two guards forced Bond to his feet so Silva could stare him down. "You know, Mr. Bond, the underground loves to gossip about you and Q. Us hackers and criminals just love to gossip like a bunch of primary school girls." Silva reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. "The gossip surrounding you two is so interesting because, for once, the rumors are true."
"And what rumor would that be?" Bond snapped.
"Why the rumor that you love each other, of course." Bond heard Silva's words but they didn't make sense in his head. The thought that he was in love with Q was ridiculous. They were partners and they were friends. They lived together and sometime slept on the same couch or bed. They invaded each other’s space as if it wasn't a big deal but that didn't mean they were in love. "I see the thought hasn't even dawned on you. That's too bad." Silva nodded and one of the guards released Bond's arm and took the knife from him. "If I work the rest of the day and most of the night I'll have the bomb ready tomorrow instead of in two days. I have a feeling sooner will be better than later. You have until then to figure out if you want to tell him how you feel. Otherwise you won't get a chance."
Bond was still trying to get his mind around the fact that he and Q were apparently in love and he didn't see the first hit coming. The guard, fortunately, had not stabbed him but the blow still hurt. With his wounded shoulder Bond couldn't defend himself as the guard hit him over and over again until the world blurred over. Just to spite Silva Bond spit blood onto his shoes but Silva just tsk-ed him like he was a small child. The guard pressed the tip of the knife into the skin above his heart and Bond froze. One wrong move and the knife would go through his heart. He thought about Q and how Silva would make sure he died slowly. Bond stilled as Silva smiled as if he knew what had forced Bond to comply. It was insane how easy it was to manipulate him and Bond hated himself for it. Silva placed some bandages in Bond's jacket pocket and looked at him sadly.
"Tomorrow you're going to commit an act of terrorism and you’ll both die at the hands of MI6. Such a waste of good talent." Silva stood up and nodded. As the guards dragged him back to his room Bond wondered who Silva was talking about. His guards shoved him into the room and locked the door. The rest of his injuries were superficial but the bullet wound needed to be tended to. Bond took the tip of his blanket, some of the water he had left, and cleaned it the best he could. He probably needed stitches but a bandage was going to have to do for now. Once it was taken care of the best he could Bond began to pace as he waited for Q to return.
It could have been hours, it could have been minutes, time seemed to blur together until the door opened and White shoved Q into the room. Q stumbled and fell to his knees breathing hard but all Bond could see was the blood on White's shirt and the knuckles of his good hand.
"Sleep well, gentlemen," White said cheerfully and he slammed the door shut. Bond was at Q's side in a second but Q tried to shove him away. Q's lip was split again but it looked worse, there was dried blood under his nose, one of his eyes was already starting to blacken and when Q stood up he favored his left side a little.
"I'm okay," Q said though his voice was hoarse like he'd been screaming. "Your shoulder?"
"I'll live," Bond replied. He kept a hand out to catch Q if he stumbled but Q managed to sit down on the small bed. Bond sat down on his own bed so they were across from each other and watched Q carefully. He wanted to ask what Q had done to make Silva so mad but they were being watched still. It felt like someone had dropped something heavy into the pit of his stomach as he looked at Q's injuries. "Silva said he's making the bomb today so we can set it off tomorrow night."
"I figured he would," Q said as he adjusted his glasses. One of the lenses was cracked but at least they were intact so Q could see. "So we're going to die tomorrow." Bond nodded and he thought about what Silva had said about them being in love. How this is might be his only chance to tell Q how important he was to him. Q glanced up and immediately Bond knew that Q had figured this out long before he had.
"How long have you known?" Bond asked feeling a little stupid.
"Thirteen months," Q replied. Bond thought back to over a year ago; that was the last time he had picked up a woman from a bar and slept with her. Q had seemed angry the rest of the day and Bond had decided that one night stands weren't worth making Q angry. In retrospect it was obvious but it hadn’t been at the time.
"I'm an idiot," Bond said.
"You're getting slow in your old age," Q said smiling despite the fact that it must have hurt with his lip. Q stood up very slowly and carefully climbed into Bond's lap. It jarred his injuries and it looked like it hurt like hell for Q too but Bond ignored it. It was worth it when Q kissed him for the first time. It was soft, barely there, unlike any other kiss Bond had ever shared with the various men and women he'd seduced in the past. He wanted to taste Q but they were both far too injured. Instead Bond helped Q off of his lap and arranged them both on the small bed so they were curled up close together. Q was planning something, he always was, and he whispered the words as they traded slow kisses: 'we'll go down fighting.' Bond nodded as they both relaxed on the bed. Silva was not going to make them into terrorists and take the best thing in Bond's life without bloodshed.
+++
For several hours Eve ran around London trying to figure out where Q and Bond could have gone. There was some evidence of a chase and they managed to find a flat not far away with three fried computers. The tech department was working on them now but Eve was not hopeful that they were going to find anything. There found fingerprints but when she checked the national database nothing came up. She wasn't too surprised that Q didn't have a record and when she sent the sample out to various other agencies they all came back empty handed. Blood was at the scene but it was going to take weeks to sift through all of the samples and even then Eve had a feeling that they were not going to find anything. She looked over the notes of the bomb plans that were stolen; the thing that made it so dangerous was that, for someone like Q, it would be easy to make. The materials could be picked up at various stores and or acquired from the black market for a small price. For anyone willing to break the law it would be easy.
Eve opened her drawer and pulled out the thumb drive. Ever since Q had wiped the system she had not touched it out of fear that someone would see. No one knew that she had backed up her information onto this drive and the fact that it wasn't missing was indication enough to her that Q did not know either. Eve had a feeling that Q had better things to do right now than spy on her so she put the drive into her computer and began to look through her files.
There were comments all over the criminal world about Q and Bond. They were not good men by any stretch of the word but they had always tried to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. The things they had stolen were similar, personal information, money or something of value. The bomb plans they had stolen this time were nothing like anything they had ever done before. All of MI6 seemed convinced that Bond and Q were behind this but every time Eve tried to put the facts together in her head they didn’t fit.
There were so many things that Q and Bond could tell them about the criminal underworld if they caught them alive. Eve had spent too much time knowing everything about these two men to pull the trigger without asking them some basic questions. It was not like she could go against orders though, not without risking severe punishment, and there were still plans for a bomb out there that could kill tens of thousands of people. That should be her priority but her mind kept drifting back to these files. There had to be something here that she had missed, something that could point her in the right direction, because if she acted fast enough maybe she could stop anyone from dying.
The screen on her computer flickered and Eve blinked because the power had not gone out. The screen blinked again then turned completely black. She swore, loudly, because of course her computer chose this moment to die on her. She was about to try resetting it when words began to appear on the black screen in stark white text.
Agent Moneypenny. This message is the only form of communication I'll be able to have with you. James Bond and I have been taken prisoner by the escaped hacker Silva. He is the one that tricked us into stealing those plans and he is planning on framing us for the bombing. The explosion will go off in two days. Silva expects you to kill us. You have no reason to believe me in this but I know how much you've been learning about us. Here is our location. Q.
A set of coordinates followed and Eve scrambled to find a piece of paper to write them on. Mere seconds after she wrote down the last number the text vanished and her screen turned back to normal. The message was gone as if it had never existed. If there was anyone in the world that could make anything vanish on computers it was Q.
Eve clenched her fists as she thought about how Silva must have played her. She hated when someone tried to use her for their own whims. Eve stared at the coordinates before her. If she got MI6 involved they would storm the building and kill everyone in sight. They would be playing into Silva's hand. She would not be manipulated again but there was also the chance that Q could be manipulating her as well.
Eve stared at the coordinates before her and had no idea what to do.
+++
Bond was not sure when he let himself fall asleep but there was something about Q's presence that made him feel safe. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and saw Q moving his hand around in mid air like he was trying to flag a plane down. Q was back in his own bed and that annoyed Bond but the bed was too small for two grown men with injuries. They couldn't afford to be stiff or unable to move. He watched Q's hands as they moved through the air and after a few moments he realized that Q was sketching out a floor plan like he was trying to find them a way out. There were dark circles under his eyes and Q looked exceptionally tired.
"Did you sleep at all?" Bond asked quietly.
"No," Q replied. Bond smiled to himself because Q was so lost in his own head at the moment that he wasn't even startled by the sudden conversation. Hours had passed, Bond could tell by how dark his bruises were now, and that meant that Silva could have the bomb ready at any moment. As much as Bond didn't want to get framed for being a terrorist he wanted people in this city to die even less. He decided, in that moment, that if he had to die then he was going to die stopping that bomb. Q let his hands fall to the bed with a thump and he sighed. When he looked over at Bond he frowned like he was trying to figure something out. They really should have invented some sort of code to communicate with. Q was brilliant though, the smartest person Bond had ever met, and perhaps he could catch on fast enough.
"It's not going to happen," Bond said. It was vague enough that it could mean any number of things and Silva had no way of figuring out which one. Bond wanted to add more, to try and push Q in the right direction so they could have this discussion, but the locks on the door began to turn. Q was on his feet in seconds and he helped Bond to his as well. Q's hands were steady and Bond had never seen him look more dangerous than he did in this moment. The door opened and White stepped in.
"Time to start getting ready, gentlemen," he said grinning. Bond glanced at Q and nodded; this was the moment where they were going to fight their way out of here one way or another. Q dropped his shoulder and threw his entire body weight into White's torso. It knocked the wind out of him but not nearly enough to knock him out. Bond punched White with his good arm hard enough that his entire arm went numb briefly. White hit the ground like a stack of bricks and four more security guards charged into the room.
There were too many of them and Bond’s shoulder made him slow. He watched Q break a guard’s wrist and kick him down to the floor before turning his attention to the other one. Bond punched another guard in the stomach and when he leaned forward on instinct Bond threw his knee into the guard’s nose. Q used his smaller frame to his advantage and basically side stepped a guard to let the man plow straight into the wall just as Bond broke the fourth guard’s neck. The sound of the safety coming off two guns made his blood run cold. Bond turned slowly to see White standing near the open door a gun in each hand and blood in his mouth.
"Silva didn't say either of you needed your kneecaps," White spit out. If they couldn't walk they had no chance of escape. White grinned and aimed at their legs. Suddenly, White's eyes went wide and he collapsed to the ground. A woman with dark skin and curly black hair stood behind him and Bond recognized her as the Agent that had chased him across London.
"Pleasure to meet you in person, 007. I see you got my message," Q said. That explained what Q had been doing on Silva's computer. Eve fired a shot over their shoulders and into the camera stationed in the corner. "Bond, this is Agent Eve Moneypenny of MI6."
"I can't tell if you're exactly what I expected or not," Eve said as she looked Q up and down. "There are more of them so we need to get out of here now."
"No," Bond said as Q and Eve both turned to look at him. "We need to stop Silva and that bomb before we can leave." Eve stared at him as if she was trying to get a read on him. She must have seen something because she expertly flicked the safety on one of White's guns and tossed it to him.
"I won't have you at my back," she said.
"I wouldn't either," Bond replied. Q knelt down and began to go through White's pockets. He tossed Bond an extra mag and found a key card.
"I have most of the layout memorized so I believe I know where the bomb is being built," Q said. "Let's go." Eve stopped Q and Bond had to resist every instinct to protect him.
"If this is a set up I won't hesitate to put a bullet in either of you," she warned and Bond believed her.
"Understood," Bond said. With that settled Q led them through the giant building at a quick pace. They ran into a few guards here and there but after the first one took a lethal shot at Eve she returned fire without hesitation. She had quickly realized that there was not going to be any warning shot. Bond watched her snap the neck of a guard that got past her gun and shoot another with a grace he had never seen in a fighter before. He was impressed if nothing else.
Q stopped in front of a key card locked door and pressed an ear to it. Whatever he heard on the other side must have been reassuring because he nodded.
"If Silva was going to make a bomb it would be in here," Q said. Q went to unlock the door but Bond snatched his wrist and stopped him.
"I'll take point," Bond said. "Agent Moneypenny, will you cover my back?"
"If I must," Eve replied easily. He was just going to have to trust that she wouldn't shoot him in the back. Bond nodded to Q and Eve and kicked the door open. The room was large with high ceilings and a walkway across the top. It was the perfect place for someone to hide but there wasn't any time to check everywhere. Not that Q was willing to give him the time. As soon as they were through the door Q jogged over to a table. Bond recognized an incomplete bomb right away and breathed a sigh of relief. Silva hadn't finished the bomb.
"I can neutralize the chemical he would have added to this," Q said.
"A dirty bomb? I can't believe they refused to prioritize this man," Eve snapped.
"Well they were confident that James and I were the problem." Q mixed a few chemicals together and added them to a large flask. The chemical bubbled and turned clear. Q grinned and Bond was about to say that it was time to go when a single gunshot rang out in the room. Bond and Eve both turned toward the shot, guns raised, but Bond could see the red staining Q's shirt. He put a hand on the wound and collapsed to his knees. There was nothing Bond could do for Q now and at least Q had cover from the table.
"Pity. I was aiming for his heart," Silva said from one of the dark corners. "Bleeding out is such a slow way to go."
"Come out into the light with your hands in the air and I will let you live," Eve called out. Even if he was not well versed in people he knew Eve was lying.
"I don't think so, Agent Moneypenny. Imagine MI6's reaction when they find you with the two terrorists. Treason is not something they take lightly," Silva said as an explosion went off. "Then again you'll be buried under a building so I don't think it will matter much!" Bond could hear Silva laughing as a series of small explosions rocked the building. Bond was not going to let Silva get away. Despite the smoke and the building being on fire Bond could make out a shadow racing across the catwalk. He would have one shot for this but as he raised his arm to fire his hand was not steady. The shot went wide. Bond was about to take another shot when Eve fired. She hit Silva in the back and his gun flew from his hands. Silva screamed in pain and Bond could hear him swearing loudly. Bond glanced at her but Eve's expression gave away nothing.
"I thought you were supposed to be the best," Eve said. Bond was about to defend himself when another explosion shook the building. Eve didn't seem to care about Silva's screaming and raced over to Q. Bond wanted to put a bullet in Silva's head but Q was hurt and the building was about to come down around them. Eve helped Q to his feet but passed Q off to Bond without a word.
"I'm all right," Q said through his teeth though he was turning white from blood loss.
"We need to get out of here, now," Eve said. "You two bring up the front; I’ll watch our backs." Bond wasn't about to question the woman that was saving their lives.
The smoke grew thicker the more they pressed through the building. An explosion knocked a huge section of ceiling and Bond narrowly missed getting hit with debris. He turned and saw that the debris was blocking Eve's escape. The logical thing, the thing that could ultimately make their lives easier, was to leave her behind. Yet Bond did not hesitate for a moment to set Q on his feet and start to move the heavy chunk of wall. He and Eve were not enough and the building. Q stumbled over and put a hand on the concrete.
"On three," he said. "One, two, three." All three of them pushed the piece of concrete as hard as they could. Q looked like he was about to pass out but he didn't stop. The slab moved enough for Eve to slip through. Bond offered her a hand and helped her land on her feet.
"Thank you," she said. Eve seemed surprised that they had stayed to help at all. Bond nodded, put one of Q's arms around his neck, and they hurried through the rest of the building.
The burst of cool air when they finally got outside was like heaven. It hurt a little to breathe and Q was coughing like it was the most painful thing in the world. They were alive though and that was all that mattered. The roof caved in just as they got enough distance from the building. Q needed a hospital and Bond was mentally making a list of any doctors that owed them any favors. Within seconds dozens of SUV's swarmed the area. Of course MI6 was here. They had orders to shoot to kill. Bond kept an arm around Q but linked their hands. If they were going to die then they would die together. This was always going to be their fates, they both knew that, but that didn't make staring down the barrel of a gun any easier.
"Hold your fire!" Eve said and just like that no one pulled a trigger. Eve raced over and talked to an older woman with white hair. Whatever she said must have been convincing because the next thing one of the Agents said was, "Drop your weapons." Bond glanced at Q who managed a smile. Bond smiled back as they tossed their guns to the ground.
+++
It took some time before Eve was able to convince M and the rest of MI6 that Bond and Q were not trying to gain entrance to their headquarters for some nefarious purpose. It was a lot easier to convince them of that when Q passed out from blood loss and medical took in the extent of both of their injuries. It was apparent that Silva had tortured them and that made Eve a little sick to her stomach. She hated that she had let Silva have a computer when he was significantly more dangerous than Q and Bond.
“It’s not that they aren’t dangerous,” Tanner said three days later. Q was still in medical recovering from his gunshot wound. Bond also had a gunshot wound on his shoulder but after the doctors made sure that it was properly stitched and would not get infected they locked him in a cell. Eve heard the guards talking about Bond as the more dangerous of the two of them but Eve knew that Q had plenty of sharp edges that you could cut yourself on. “They’re a different type of dangerous. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say they have a basic moral fiber but they did go back to stop that bomb.”
“No one has basic moral fibers anymore,” Eve replied. Tanner hummed in agreement and they both walked to M’s office. As soon as the door closed M looked up from the files that were spread across her desk. Eve wasn’t sure she had slept in the last seventy-two hours as she dealt with the building collapse and corpse retrieval.
“Agent Moneypenny, Mr. Bond has requested the chance to see Q and I would like your opinion on whether or not you believe that is wise,” M said.
“I think if we’re going to keep both of them cooperating with us then we should let them see each other,” Eve said. She thought about the look on Bond’s face when he had seen the amount of blood on Q’s clothes. She thought about how they had stood in front of an army ready to die together. Whatever type of connection they had it was a strong one and they could both cause problems if they didn’t remain complacent. M nodded and sat back in her chair.
“I’ll have Mr. Tanner collect Bond, and Agent Moneypenny, I would like you to make sure Q is up for visitors,” M said. She looked back down at the paperwork and Eve took that for the dismissal that it was. Eve made her way through medical easily and she was not surprised to see two guards standing outside Q’s door.
“Good evening, Agent Moneypenny,” Q said as soon as she walked in the door. There was some color in his cheeks and he was reading a book with one hand though he looked up when she walked in. Q set the book on the bed and rolled his wrist. “Difficult to read with one hand.” He shook his other hand, handcuffed to the railing of the bed.
“They’re doing their jobs. How are you feeling?” Eve asked.
“Superficial wounds that will heal eventually,” Q replied. He tilted his head to the side, narrowed his eyes, like she was something that confused him. “May I ask you a question, Agent Moneypenny?”
“You certainly can but that doesn’t mean I’ll answer,” Eve replied easily.
“Fair enough. MI6 could have dropped a small bomb on the building or stormed the doors and killed everyone inside. I gave you our location and all you had was my word that Silva was the one trying to frame us. I could have easily lied, so why did you believe me?” Q asked.
“You know how long I’ve been trying to catch you, Q,” Eve began and he nodded. “Well you can’t chase someone as long as I did without finding out a few things about them. You and James Bond, your hands are far from clean, but you seem to follow your own set of rules. Silva’s plan didn’t follow those rules. No one deserves to die for something they didn’t do.”
“James and I should die for the things we are guilty of,” Q said but he was smiling.
“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.” There was a brief knock and the door opened to reveal Tanner and Bond. Eve knew that Bond and Q were both trying to hide any sort of reaction from her and Tanner but she could see the weight ease off their shoulders.
“You have five minutes and Agent Moneypenny will watch you,” Tanner explained. “Please don’t make us tear gas the entire room.”
“Well that seems a little extreme,” Bond said sitting down on the edge of Q’s bed. Tanner glanced at Eve and left but Bond did not seem to notice or care. “Prognosis?”
“I’ll be fine,” Q said. “I’m more worried about your shoulder. You’re useless to me if you can’t shoot straight.”
“No major damage so I’ll be fine. I’ll just need some time to recover,” Bond replied. Q studied him and Eve wondered how anyone could tolerate that kind of scrutiny on a regular basis. It felt like Q was peeling back entire layers looking for lies. They were both silent for a long time until Q took Bond by the collar and kissed him. Eve did not avert her eyes, not because she didn’t care that she was intruding, but because she didn’t trust them. Not together. Her files on Q and Bond said they were dangerous before they met but now that she had a time line Eve knew that they were deadly together. They pulled apart the moment Tanner opened the door and Bond didn’t resist when the cuffs were put on.
“Eve, I need you to take him back to his cell. M needs me for something,” Tanner said.
“Of course.” Eve took Bond by the arm and walked with him through the hallways of MI6. She was armed and confident that she could incapacitate him if need be but he never once tried to fight her. “Your skills are very impressive, Mr. Bond.”
“As are yours, Agent Moneypenny,” Bond replied.
“M has been willing to overlook many things if she believes a person has great potential to be an Agent.” It was true too. There were plenty of them that came from the military but also those with less than perfect backgrounds. Bond could be one of the best Agents ever but he chuckled like she had made a joke.
“I’m not so keen on serving Queen and Country,” Bond replied smiling to himself, “and I’ve been reliably informed that I don’t play well with others. There’s only one person I can work with.”
“Well I’ve been reliably informed that we could use some improvements in our security. Q would do very well here and it’s not uncommon for an Agent to have someone behind them to watch their back.” Over dark nights Eve and M had discussed this in harsh whispers and this was something that they both agreed on.
“You keep an eye on us while we work for you is what you mean,” Bond said.
“More or less,” she replied because there was no use lying to him. Eve opened Bond’s cell and let him walk in. He put his hands through the slot and Eve removed the cuffs. Bond rubbed his wrists and watched her carefully.
“I’m afraid we must respectfully decline, Agent Moneypenny. Q and I are not for sale.” Eve was about to argue with him, say that they weren’t trying to buy them and how this was a better option than the charges they were facing, but she already knew that they had made up their minds. There would be no swaying Bond or Q to their side. “After all, there’s no honor among thieves, correct?”
“I will see you at your trial, Mr. Bond,” Eve said without indulging him because Bond and Q had honor and loyalty, it was just only to one person. He nodded politely as Eve walked away from his cell.
+++
Two days later Eve expertly weaved through the pandemonium in MI6. Everything was chaotic as various alarms sounded and people holding guns ran through the hallways. She just hoped that everyone was calm enough to at least keep the safety on. The door to M’s office was open and she did not bother to knock. Eve wanted to be angry, she wanted to be annoyed, but instead she felt resigned.
“Let me see,” she said. Eve already knew what had happened. Q had brought down their entire security system, yet again, and managed to break out of the handcuffs. While the system was in chaos he had easily made his way through the compound and released Bond. None of the security was up yet the cameras turned on to reveal the two of them looking at a camera near the door. Q had a phone in hand and he was smirking like he had purposely turned the system back on so they could stare directly into the camera. Bond saluted the camera with two fingers, Q nodded politely, and they both walked out of MI6’s front door.
“At least the camera caught what exit they used,” Tanner said.
“Only because Q wanted us to see,” M replied. “007, why did they do that?” Eve looked down at the footage, at Q and Bond as they both smiled up at her, and she knew exactly why they had done that. The message was clear and Eve laughed softly.
“They’re saying ‘come find us,’” Eve said. M and Tanner began to talk to each other about making sure that Bond and Q didn’t get out of the country but Eve knew it was far too late for that. They were long gone, they would fall completely off the grid, to try and heal from what had happened. ‘Come and find us’ you say, Eve thought as she watched Q and Bond walk out of MI6 like they didn’t have a care in the world. I intend to.
<-- back | masterpost ->
Annoyed was a gross understatement compared to how Eve actually felt. For the last three weeks they had let Silva play on a computer under complete supervision at all times. Twelve hours ago he had told them that he knew when Bond and Q were going to pull their job and what they were stealing. When it became apparent that they were stealing information on how to make a chemical bomb that could wipe out all of London MI6 was quick to respond. Silva told them the time, the place, the date, everything that they would need to stop the robbery. Everything was set to line up perfectly and Eve could finally ask the question that was bothering her; why designs for a bomb? For all of the lives they had taken, the things they had stolen over the years, Bond and Q had never become full blown terrorists. She remembered running through the streets and how Bond hadn’t turned and shot her because there were too many civilians around.
Now she was standing in the middle of a flat with the doors wide open. There were bodies all over the building from the various forms of security that had been chasing whoever had been here. Eve could only assume it was Bond and Q because Q was the only one who could have figured out a way to get past all of the security. Something had gone wrong and they had had to go out shooting.
"The plans are gone," Tanner said as he joined Eve in the flat’s living room. The owner, a chemical engineer, was still out of the country but on his way home. When they had informed him of what was stolen he had been suddenly much more eager to jump on a plane. "We have a dozen corpses around here and no idea where they ran off to."
"So we have nothing," Eve said. There was something about this entire scenario that did not sit right for her. The camera in the hallway had been shot and that would be an easy way to get attention. Bond and Q liked to go in and out with everyone none the wiser. This seemed too risky and too outlandish even for them.
"That seems to be it." Tanner crossed his arms and frowned deeply. "If that bomb design is as bad as everyone is making it sound we might need to plan for a full scale terrorist attack." Eve hummed in agreement though she was not really paying attention. Instead her mobile rang and she answered it on the first ring.
"Agent Moneypenny," she said.
"We appear to have a problem, Agent," M said and that was odd because M rarely made personal phone calls to anyone in the field.
"I'm aware the plans were stolen, ma’am, I'm working on it," Eve replied.
"No, that is our main problem, but it appears that we have another. While half the department was out chasing a dead end Silva managed to escape." M sounded annoyed but she did not sound terribly worried. "As of right now Silva is not our priority. Bond and Q have plans to a deadly bomb that could end the lives of many people. That needs to be taken care of immediately." Eve had lots of things she wanted to say. She wanted to tell M that something about this felt wrong and that Silva escaping could not be a coincidence. She wanted to argue that no one knew more about Bond and Q than she did and they were not the type to blow up the city.
"I understand, ma’am," Eve said slowly. "What are your orders?"
"Find the targets and eliminate them on sight. Any information they might know is not worth the lives of anyone in this city." M paused and for a moment Eve thought that the call had dropped. "And 007, that is indeed an order and not a request."
"Yes, m’am." Eve hung up and tapped her mobile against her lips. She had her orders and she had to follow them. As far as she knew two extremely dangerous men now had access to a bomb that posed a serious threat. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong and she had not survived this long by ignoring them.
"What are our orders?" Tanner asked.
"Start looking for any indication as to where they went," Eve replied. Her instincts were going to have to wait for the time being.
+++
Bond slowly became aware of his surroundings again. He vaguely remembered waking up and then falling back asleep again but they were scattered and vague. As he opened his eyes Bond surprisingly found that he was not lying in a cell with bars across the door but a small room in a bed. When he looked around Bond immediately saw Q asleep on another bed a few feet away from him. Q didn't look injured but they were both suffering from head wounds and Bond was not about to take a chance. It took a few tries before he was able to get out of bed but as soon as he was able to Bond tried to shake Q awake.
"I don't want to talk about it," Q grumbled.
"I think this situation merits a conversation," Bond said calmly. Q cracked an eye open and picked his glasses up from the under the bed. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, relatively," Q said. "You've been asleep longer. The man with the scars said you were the dangerous one so he gave you a sedative. I've been awake for a few hours longer."
"And what did you do when he said that I was the dangerous one?"
"I broke two of his fingers." Q smirked but it faded almost instantly. "There is a camera in the corner and the door to this room is sealed. There are no windows and the vents are small and line the ceiling." That meant that there was not much of a chance for them to escape without walking out the door. Anything they said or did could be used against them. Bond hated being watched by someone that wasn't Q.
"What do we know?" Bond asked.
"We know we were set up." Q glared at the camera. "We know that the plans were the primary target of whoever took us. We know that they aren't working alone and they are working with the same person that hired you to kill me three years ago."
"If the plans were the primary objective then why are we here? Why keep us alive?" Bond asked. As if on cue the door opened. Bond put himself between the door and Q instinctively despite the fact that he knew it would annoy Q.
"If you start slow clapping because you think we're so clever I'm going to laugh," Q said.
"Oh I wouldn't do that," a voice said. An older man with longish blond hair and a fake smile sauntered into the room as if he did not have a care in the world. The voice was familiar; it was the same person that had hired him to kill Q. "Nice to finally meet you in person, Q. Could you tell your guard dog to step aside so we can have a conversation?"
"This isn't how I wanted to meet, Silva," Q replied. Bond felt a hand on his arm but Q stood next to him and not in front of him. "And I don't need anyone to guard me."
"Yes, Mr. White isn't very happy that you broke his fingers. He's eager to return the favor," Silva said. Bond knew the name Silva from conversations with Q over the years. He was a hacker ("Not nearly as good as me") that was willing to do anything to make a penny. He didn’t have any morals and he was their biggest rival. As far as Bond knew Interpol had had him in custody. "At least you're asking the right questions," Silva continued. "I'm afraid that I'm in need of some help. The current bomb design is good but not good enough and I need someone to plant it as well."
"We're thieves, not terrorists," Bond said catching on immediately.
"I'm aware," Silva said grinning. "You two have some sort of moral code you're not willing to break. Bond can justify his murders if the men he's gunning down are 'bad men'. That principle doesn't work in this day and age. No one has clean hands anymore; everyone is guilty of something."
"We are thieves, not terrorists," Q repeated.
"Yes, Q, I heard you the first time, but here's the funny thing. Mr. White told me about how he had you in custody but Mr. Bond was still on the run. Mr. White told me that all he had to do was make some vague threats and Mr. Bond surrendered." There was a manic look in Silva's eyes that made the hairs on the back of Bond's neck stand up. "He then went on to explain how Q got very compliant when he threatened to shoot Mr. Bond in the knees." Q tensed and it looked like he was about to shove Bond out of the way and go after Silva with his bare hands. Bond was ready to pull him back if he did. "I think you can figure out where this is going. Unless Q improves my bomb I'll make Mr. Bond's life very miserable and if Mr. Bond refuses to plant said bomb I'll put a bullet in Q's head right in front of him." Silva smiled like a man who held all the aces in the deck. "Someone will be in later to give you some food and water. I need you both in top form. Have a lovely night." Silva turned and walked out of the room. The door slammed and Bond listened as various locks slid into place.
"This is my fault," Q said. He was so angry he was practically vibrating. "Silva has this stupid rivalry with me and I got you caught up in it."
"I stayed because I wanted to stay. You didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to," Bond replied. Q glanced at him and for the first time in a long time Bond noticed how young Q was. They were partners, friends, and Silva knew that. Bond knew he would do anything for Q.
"I won't let him hurt you," Q said fiercely as if reading Bond's mind.
"Me too." A beat of silence passed and Bond wished that a camera wasn't recording this as something to hold over their heads later. Q sat down against a wall and folded his hands in his lap. He was planning, like he often did when they had a job, and Bond knew he needed some time to think. Bond joined him on the floor just close enough that their shoulders touched. Some time passed and Q eventually fell asleep on Bond's shoulder. It was another thing that Silva would hold against them and pretty much cement the fact that they were each other’s weakness. However, Q had dark circles under his eyes and looked exhausted so Bond found that he really did not care.
+++
Bond was not sure when he fell asleep but when he woke up Q had not moved from his shoulder. There wasn't any indication that someone had dropped off food while they were asleep. Starving to death really didn't sound like the best way to go so Bond hoped that Silva would at least keep them fed. Q stirred and slowly woke up. He jerked away when he seemed to realize what he was asleep on and if Bond didn't know any better he would have said that Q's ears turned a little red.
"Sorry," Q mumbled.
"It's fine," Bond replied. The door opened a few minutes later and Mr. White walked in with a tray of food. On the plate was an egg, two pieces of toast, and a water bottle. The pointer and middle fingers of his left hand were wrapped in medical tape.
"Eat up; you have work to do," White said. Bond glared and didn't spare much thought about whether the food was drugged or poisoned. Silva needed them both alive and attentive or he would have killed them by now. White spent the entire time they ate glaring at Q and Bond knew that look. He'd seen it over the years with the many enforcers that he had had to work with. That was the look of a man that wanted to hurt. If he remained compliant then White would have no reason to lash out at Q for breaking his fingers. White kicked the tray aside and they both left the half full water bottles in their room.
There were two more guards waiting for them outside who shoved guns into their backs. "Lace your hands behind your heads and walk." Bond glanced at Q who shrugged and did as he was told. The barrel of the gun was on his spinal cord and Bond didn't want to think about what kind of damage that could entail. He put his hands behind his head and walked.
Wherever they were it was a fairly large building. There was no way they were out of the country already so they were still in the United Kingdom. In terms of casualties for a bomb London would be the most obvious target and the chemical fallout could touch the entire city. Even armed with all of that knowledge Bond still had no idea where they were. They walked into a large room and White took Q's arm and pulled him roughly toward a computer and desk with Silva sitting in the chair.
"Good morning, Q, how are you feeling today?" Silva asked smiling.
"Peachy," Q replied flatly. White did not release Q's arm and that made Bond a little nervous.
"Indeed. I'll need Mr. Bond to kneel down while you work. We need to make sure that you're productive." Silva nodded and the guard pushed Bond down to his knees. Silva stood up and White practically threw Q into the chair. "You two are infamous, you know. All of MI6 is running around trying to find you two now that you have the plans for the bomb and you're planning on setting it off."
"You're framing us," Bond stated.
"Indeed and that pretty 00 Agent is going to put a bullet in both of you. She won't hesitate to pull the trigger because those are her orders," Silva explained. "Now, Q, I need you to work on this bomb. I want the fireworks to go off in two days so you need to work quickly. If you fail to do as I ask Mr. Bond will end up with a broken bone somewhere on his body. Do you understand the terms of our agreement?" Q stared at the computer screen and remained silent. White shoved his head roughly and Q scowled.
"I understand," Q said.
"Very well. We'll be monitoring you so no funny business." Silva nodded to White who took a few steps back but kept his hand far too close to his gun for Bond's liking.
Q rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, and began to type. He was far enough away that Bond could not see what he was working on and even if he could most of what Q did was over his head. He could make out the vague lines of the blueprints but there was something else going on. There was a blink and then it was gone. It was so fast that Bond was sure he was imagining it yet an hour later the same thing happened.
Q didn't say a word or look up from the computer for nearly five hours. By then Silva had taken pity on Bond's arms and knees and let him sit on the ground while Q worked. It was silent save for the typing at the computer. The window flashed a third time and Silva's phone beeped. Silva looked at his phone and his smug expression faded into one of pure fury.
"What are you doing?" he asked. Q didn't look up, didn't hesitate, if anything he began to type faster. Silva looked at White who reacted immediately. He took Q by the collar of his shirt and tried to yank him back but Q was faster. He slammed White's broken fingers into the desk and kept typing. The guard behind Bond pressed the gun to his head but they needed him to pull the trigger on the bomb so he knew the guard wasn't going to kill him. Silva and White both approached Q; however, this time White managed to pull Q away from the computer but not before Q hit enter one more time. White slammed Q into the wall and held him there by his neck as Silva typed furiously at the computer. "What did you do?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Q replied evenly and were it not for the gun to his head Bond would have broken White's neck for squeezing Q's throat like that.
"I'll find what you did; you're not such a clever boy," Silva sneered. "I expected something like this from Bond’s irrational mind but not from yours, Q. I know you're smarter than this and I know you said you wouldn't let me hurt Bond. That was a poor way of keeping your promise." Q tried to speak but White's hands were so tight that Q could barely catch a breath. Q's face was turning red as he struggled to breathe and that was all Bond could stand of that. Bond elbowed back into his guard, knocking the wind out of him and rushing toward White and Q with every intention of enjoying the sound of White's neck snapping.
Bond realized he must not have hit his guard as hard as he thought because the next thing he felt was a bullet tearing through his shoulder. It made him stumble enough for two men to swarm and pin him down. Q's eyes were wide as he struggled against White's hand.
"That's enough, Mr. White," Silva said. White looked like he was not happy about that but released Q and threw him down to the ground. Q coughed and tried to breathe deep; there were going to be finger shaped bruises on his throat. They were three feet from each other but it might as well have been the moon for how much help Bond could do now. "That's the type of thing I expected from Mr. Bond. Now I suppose you're even as far as stupid things."
"I didn't want to tarnish my irrational persona," Bond spat out. His shoulder wound was bleeding freely but the bullet had at least passed right through. Silva sighed as if they were making his life extremely difficult. He walked over to the computer and began to look at the work that Q had done.
"You do good work if nothing else Q," Silva said. "I told you that if one of you should act up the other was going to be punished for it. Since you both decided to be idiots you're both going to suffer for it. Mr. White?"
"Yes, sir?" White said though he was smiling like he knew where this was going.
"I believe you deserve some retribution for those broken fingers, correct? Please escort Q somewhere else and deal with him as you please." Silva said. "Oh but don't kill him. I still need Mr. Bond to cooperate when planting the bomb." White grinned like a shark and pulled Q to his feet. Q struggled but as strong as Q was White had the weight and muscle advantage. He twisted Q's arm painfully behind his back until Q had to stop fighting or risk a broken arm. White pushed Q toward another door and for a brief moment Q looked back and they made eye contact. Bond wasn't sure what Q saw in him but what he saw in Q's eyes was fear. It was not fear for himself but fear for what they were going to do to him. Bond wanted to tell Q to be safe, that they were going to be okay, comfort him somehow, but Q hated being coddled and the door slammed shut before he could say anything.
"If you damage him there won't be a deserted island where I won't find you," Bond said. Silva rolled his eyes and stepped on his injured shoulder. The pain intensified and it almost made him black out.
"Your lives belong to me now and I don't mind a little damage to my projects," Silva said. The two guards forced Bond to his feet so Silva could stare him down. "You know, Mr. Bond, the underground loves to gossip about you and Q. Us hackers and criminals just love to gossip like a bunch of primary school girls." Silva reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. "The gossip surrounding you two is so interesting because, for once, the rumors are true."
"And what rumor would that be?" Bond snapped.
"Why the rumor that you love each other, of course." Bond heard Silva's words but they didn't make sense in his head. The thought that he was in love with Q was ridiculous. They were partners and they were friends. They lived together and sometime slept on the same couch or bed. They invaded each other’s space as if it wasn't a big deal but that didn't mean they were in love. "I see the thought hasn't even dawned on you. That's too bad." Silva nodded and one of the guards released Bond's arm and took the knife from him. "If I work the rest of the day and most of the night I'll have the bomb ready tomorrow instead of in two days. I have a feeling sooner will be better than later. You have until then to figure out if you want to tell him how you feel. Otherwise you won't get a chance."
Bond was still trying to get his mind around the fact that he and Q were apparently in love and he didn't see the first hit coming. The guard, fortunately, had not stabbed him but the blow still hurt. With his wounded shoulder Bond couldn't defend himself as the guard hit him over and over again until the world blurred over. Just to spite Silva Bond spit blood onto his shoes but Silva just tsk-ed him like he was a small child. The guard pressed the tip of the knife into the skin above his heart and Bond froze. One wrong move and the knife would go through his heart. He thought about Q and how Silva would make sure he died slowly. Bond stilled as Silva smiled as if he knew what had forced Bond to comply. It was insane how easy it was to manipulate him and Bond hated himself for it. Silva placed some bandages in Bond's jacket pocket and looked at him sadly.
"Tomorrow you're going to commit an act of terrorism and you’ll both die at the hands of MI6. Such a waste of good talent." Silva stood up and nodded. As the guards dragged him back to his room Bond wondered who Silva was talking about. His guards shoved him into the room and locked the door. The rest of his injuries were superficial but the bullet wound needed to be tended to. Bond took the tip of his blanket, some of the water he had left, and cleaned it the best he could. He probably needed stitches but a bandage was going to have to do for now. Once it was taken care of the best he could Bond began to pace as he waited for Q to return.
It could have been hours, it could have been minutes, time seemed to blur together until the door opened and White shoved Q into the room. Q stumbled and fell to his knees breathing hard but all Bond could see was the blood on White's shirt and the knuckles of his good hand.
"Sleep well, gentlemen," White said cheerfully and he slammed the door shut. Bond was at Q's side in a second but Q tried to shove him away. Q's lip was split again but it looked worse, there was dried blood under his nose, one of his eyes was already starting to blacken and when Q stood up he favored his left side a little.
"I'm okay," Q said though his voice was hoarse like he'd been screaming. "Your shoulder?"
"I'll live," Bond replied. He kept a hand out to catch Q if he stumbled but Q managed to sit down on the small bed. Bond sat down on his own bed so they were across from each other and watched Q carefully. He wanted to ask what Q had done to make Silva so mad but they were being watched still. It felt like someone had dropped something heavy into the pit of his stomach as he looked at Q's injuries. "Silva said he's making the bomb today so we can set it off tomorrow night."
"I figured he would," Q said as he adjusted his glasses. One of the lenses was cracked but at least they were intact so Q could see. "So we're going to die tomorrow." Bond nodded and he thought about what Silva had said about them being in love. How this is might be his only chance to tell Q how important he was to him. Q glanced up and immediately Bond knew that Q had figured this out long before he had.
"How long have you known?" Bond asked feeling a little stupid.
"Thirteen months," Q replied. Bond thought back to over a year ago; that was the last time he had picked up a woman from a bar and slept with her. Q had seemed angry the rest of the day and Bond had decided that one night stands weren't worth making Q angry. In retrospect it was obvious but it hadn’t been at the time.
"I'm an idiot," Bond said.
"You're getting slow in your old age," Q said smiling despite the fact that it must have hurt with his lip. Q stood up very slowly and carefully climbed into Bond's lap. It jarred his injuries and it looked like it hurt like hell for Q too but Bond ignored it. It was worth it when Q kissed him for the first time. It was soft, barely there, unlike any other kiss Bond had ever shared with the various men and women he'd seduced in the past. He wanted to taste Q but they were both far too injured. Instead Bond helped Q off of his lap and arranged them both on the small bed so they were curled up close together. Q was planning something, he always was, and he whispered the words as they traded slow kisses: 'we'll go down fighting.' Bond nodded as they both relaxed on the bed. Silva was not going to make them into terrorists and take the best thing in Bond's life without bloodshed.
+++
For several hours Eve ran around London trying to figure out where Q and Bond could have gone. There was some evidence of a chase and they managed to find a flat not far away with three fried computers. The tech department was working on them now but Eve was not hopeful that they were going to find anything. There found fingerprints but when she checked the national database nothing came up. She wasn't too surprised that Q didn't have a record and when she sent the sample out to various other agencies they all came back empty handed. Blood was at the scene but it was going to take weeks to sift through all of the samples and even then Eve had a feeling that they were not going to find anything. She looked over the notes of the bomb plans that were stolen; the thing that made it so dangerous was that, for someone like Q, it would be easy to make. The materials could be picked up at various stores and or acquired from the black market for a small price. For anyone willing to break the law it would be easy.
Eve opened her drawer and pulled out the thumb drive. Ever since Q had wiped the system she had not touched it out of fear that someone would see. No one knew that she had backed up her information onto this drive and the fact that it wasn't missing was indication enough to her that Q did not know either. Eve had a feeling that Q had better things to do right now than spy on her so she put the drive into her computer and began to look through her files.
There were comments all over the criminal world about Q and Bond. They were not good men by any stretch of the word but they had always tried to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. The things they had stolen were similar, personal information, money or something of value. The bomb plans they had stolen this time were nothing like anything they had ever done before. All of MI6 seemed convinced that Bond and Q were behind this but every time Eve tried to put the facts together in her head they didn’t fit.
There were so many things that Q and Bond could tell them about the criminal underworld if they caught them alive. Eve had spent too much time knowing everything about these two men to pull the trigger without asking them some basic questions. It was not like she could go against orders though, not without risking severe punishment, and there were still plans for a bomb out there that could kill tens of thousands of people. That should be her priority but her mind kept drifting back to these files. There had to be something here that she had missed, something that could point her in the right direction, because if she acted fast enough maybe she could stop anyone from dying.
The screen on her computer flickered and Eve blinked because the power had not gone out. The screen blinked again then turned completely black. She swore, loudly, because of course her computer chose this moment to die on her. She was about to try resetting it when words began to appear on the black screen in stark white text.
Agent Moneypenny. This message is the only form of communication I'll be able to have with you. James Bond and I have been taken prisoner by the escaped hacker Silva. He is the one that tricked us into stealing those plans and he is planning on framing us for the bombing. The explosion will go off in two days. Silva expects you to kill us. You have no reason to believe me in this but I know how much you've been learning about us. Here is our location. Q.
A set of coordinates followed and Eve scrambled to find a piece of paper to write them on. Mere seconds after she wrote down the last number the text vanished and her screen turned back to normal. The message was gone as if it had never existed. If there was anyone in the world that could make anything vanish on computers it was Q.
Eve clenched her fists as she thought about how Silva must have played her. She hated when someone tried to use her for their own whims. Eve stared at the coordinates before her. If she got MI6 involved they would storm the building and kill everyone in sight. They would be playing into Silva's hand. She would not be manipulated again but there was also the chance that Q could be manipulating her as well.
Eve stared at the coordinates before her and had no idea what to do.
+++
Bond was not sure when he let himself fall asleep but there was something about Q's presence that made him feel safe. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and saw Q moving his hand around in mid air like he was trying to flag a plane down. Q was back in his own bed and that annoyed Bond but the bed was too small for two grown men with injuries. They couldn't afford to be stiff or unable to move. He watched Q's hands as they moved through the air and after a few moments he realized that Q was sketching out a floor plan like he was trying to find them a way out. There were dark circles under his eyes and Q looked exceptionally tired.
"Did you sleep at all?" Bond asked quietly.
"No," Q replied. Bond smiled to himself because Q was so lost in his own head at the moment that he wasn't even startled by the sudden conversation. Hours had passed, Bond could tell by how dark his bruises were now, and that meant that Silva could have the bomb ready at any moment. As much as Bond didn't want to get framed for being a terrorist he wanted people in this city to die even less. He decided, in that moment, that if he had to die then he was going to die stopping that bomb. Q let his hands fall to the bed with a thump and he sighed. When he looked over at Bond he frowned like he was trying to figure something out. They really should have invented some sort of code to communicate with. Q was brilliant though, the smartest person Bond had ever met, and perhaps he could catch on fast enough.
"It's not going to happen," Bond said. It was vague enough that it could mean any number of things and Silva had no way of figuring out which one. Bond wanted to add more, to try and push Q in the right direction so they could have this discussion, but the locks on the door began to turn. Q was on his feet in seconds and he helped Bond to his as well. Q's hands were steady and Bond had never seen him look more dangerous than he did in this moment. The door opened and White stepped in.
"Time to start getting ready, gentlemen," he said grinning. Bond glanced at Q and nodded; this was the moment where they were going to fight their way out of here one way or another. Q dropped his shoulder and threw his entire body weight into White's torso. It knocked the wind out of him but not nearly enough to knock him out. Bond punched White with his good arm hard enough that his entire arm went numb briefly. White hit the ground like a stack of bricks and four more security guards charged into the room.
There were too many of them and Bond’s shoulder made him slow. He watched Q break a guard’s wrist and kick him down to the floor before turning his attention to the other one. Bond punched another guard in the stomach and when he leaned forward on instinct Bond threw his knee into the guard’s nose. Q used his smaller frame to his advantage and basically side stepped a guard to let the man plow straight into the wall just as Bond broke the fourth guard’s neck. The sound of the safety coming off two guns made his blood run cold. Bond turned slowly to see White standing near the open door a gun in each hand and blood in his mouth.
"Silva didn't say either of you needed your kneecaps," White spit out. If they couldn't walk they had no chance of escape. White grinned and aimed at their legs. Suddenly, White's eyes went wide and he collapsed to the ground. A woman with dark skin and curly black hair stood behind him and Bond recognized her as the Agent that had chased him across London.
"Pleasure to meet you in person, 007. I see you got my message," Q said. That explained what Q had been doing on Silva's computer. Eve fired a shot over their shoulders and into the camera stationed in the corner. "Bond, this is Agent Eve Moneypenny of MI6."
"I can't tell if you're exactly what I expected or not," Eve said as she looked Q up and down. "There are more of them so we need to get out of here now."
"No," Bond said as Q and Eve both turned to look at him. "We need to stop Silva and that bomb before we can leave." Eve stared at him as if she was trying to get a read on him. She must have seen something because she expertly flicked the safety on one of White's guns and tossed it to him.
"I won't have you at my back," she said.
"I wouldn't either," Bond replied. Q knelt down and began to go through White's pockets. He tossed Bond an extra mag and found a key card.
"I have most of the layout memorized so I believe I know where the bomb is being built," Q said. "Let's go." Eve stopped Q and Bond had to resist every instinct to protect him.
"If this is a set up I won't hesitate to put a bullet in either of you," she warned and Bond believed her.
"Understood," Bond said. With that settled Q led them through the giant building at a quick pace. They ran into a few guards here and there but after the first one took a lethal shot at Eve she returned fire without hesitation. She had quickly realized that there was not going to be any warning shot. Bond watched her snap the neck of a guard that got past her gun and shoot another with a grace he had never seen in a fighter before. He was impressed if nothing else.
Q stopped in front of a key card locked door and pressed an ear to it. Whatever he heard on the other side must have been reassuring because he nodded.
"If Silva was going to make a bomb it would be in here," Q said. Q went to unlock the door but Bond snatched his wrist and stopped him.
"I'll take point," Bond said. "Agent Moneypenny, will you cover my back?"
"If I must," Eve replied easily. He was just going to have to trust that she wouldn't shoot him in the back. Bond nodded to Q and Eve and kicked the door open. The room was large with high ceilings and a walkway across the top. It was the perfect place for someone to hide but there wasn't any time to check everywhere. Not that Q was willing to give him the time. As soon as they were through the door Q jogged over to a table. Bond recognized an incomplete bomb right away and breathed a sigh of relief. Silva hadn't finished the bomb.
"I can neutralize the chemical he would have added to this," Q said.
"A dirty bomb? I can't believe they refused to prioritize this man," Eve snapped.
"Well they were confident that James and I were the problem." Q mixed a few chemicals together and added them to a large flask. The chemical bubbled and turned clear. Q grinned and Bond was about to say that it was time to go when a single gunshot rang out in the room. Bond and Eve both turned toward the shot, guns raised, but Bond could see the red staining Q's shirt. He put a hand on the wound and collapsed to his knees. There was nothing Bond could do for Q now and at least Q had cover from the table.
"Pity. I was aiming for his heart," Silva said from one of the dark corners. "Bleeding out is such a slow way to go."
"Come out into the light with your hands in the air and I will let you live," Eve called out. Even if he was not well versed in people he knew Eve was lying.
"I don't think so, Agent Moneypenny. Imagine MI6's reaction when they find you with the two terrorists. Treason is not something they take lightly," Silva said as an explosion went off. "Then again you'll be buried under a building so I don't think it will matter much!" Bond could hear Silva laughing as a series of small explosions rocked the building. Bond was not going to let Silva get away. Despite the smoke and the building being on fire Bond could make out a shadow racing across the catwalk. He would have one shot for this but as he raised his arm to fire his hand was not steady. The shot went wide. Bond was about to take another shot when Eve fired. She hit Silva in the back and his gun flew from his hands. Silva screamed in pain and Bond could hear him swearing loudly. Bond glanced at her but Eve's expression gave away nothing.
"I thought you were supposed to be the best," Eve said. Bond was about to defend himself when another explosion shook the building. Eve didn't seem to care about Silva's screaming and raced over to Q. Bond wanted to put a bullet in Silva's head but Q was hurt and the building was about to come down around them. Eve helped Q to his feet but passed Q off to Bond without a word.
"I'm all right," Q said through his teeth though he was turning white from blood loss.
"We need to get out of here, now," Eve said. "You two bring up the front; I’ll watch our backs." Bond wasn't about to question the woman that was saving their lives.
The smoke grew thicker the more they pressed through the building. An explosion knocked a huge section of ceiling and Bond narrowly missed getting hit with debris. He turned and saw that the debris was blocking Eve's escape. The logical thing, the thing that could ultimately make their lives easier, was to leave her behind. Yet Bond did not hesitate for a moment to set Q on his feet and start to move the heavy chunk of wall. He and Eve were not enough and the building. Q stumbled over and put a hand on the concrete.
"On three," he said. "One, two, three." All three of them pushed the piece of concrete as hard as they could. Q looked like he was about to pass out but he didn't stop. The slab moved enough for Eve to slip through. Bond offered her a hand and helped her land on her feet.
"Thank you," she said. Eve seemed surprised that they had stayed to help at all. Bond nodded, put one of Q's arms around his neck, and they hurried through the rest of the building.
The burst of cool air when they finally got outside was like heaven. It hurt a little to breathe and Q was coughing like it was the most painful thing in the world. They were alive though and that was all that mattered. The roof caved in just as they got enough distance from the building. Q needed a hospital and Bond was mentally making a list of any doctors that owed them any favors. Within seconds dozens of SUV's swarmed the area. Of course MI6 was here. They had orders to shoot to kill. Bond kept an arm around Q but linked their hands. If they were going to die then they would die together. This was always going to be their fates, they both knew that, but that didn't make staring down the barrel of a gun any easier.
"Hold your fire!" Eve said and just like that no one pulled a trigger. Eve raced over and talked to an older woman with white hair. Whatever she said must have been convincing because the next thing one of the Agents said was, "Drop your weapons." Bond glanced at Q who managed a smile. Bond smiled back as they tossed their guns to the ground.
+++
It took some time before Eve was able to convince M and the rest of MI6 that Bond and Q were not trying to gain entrance to their headquarters for some nefarious purpose. It was a lot easier to convince them of that when Q passed out from blood loss and medical took in the extent of both of their injuries. It was apparent that Silva had tortured them and that made Eve a little sick to her stomach. She hated that she had let Silva have a computer when he was significantly more dangerous than Q and Bond.
“It’s not that they aren’t dangerous,” Tanner said three days later. Q was still in medical recovering from his gunshot wound. Bond also had a gunshot wound on his shoulder but after the doctors made sure that it was properly stitched and would not get infected they locked him in a cell. Eve heard the guards talking about Bond as the more dangerous of the two of them but Eve knew that Q had plenty of sharp edges that you could cut yourself on. “They’re a different type of dangerous. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say they have a basic moral fiber but they did go back to stop that bomb.”
“No one has basic moral fibers anymore,” Eve replied. Tanner hummed in agreement and they both walked to M’s office. As soon as the door closed M looked up from the files that were spread across her desk. Eve wasn’t sure she had slept in the last seventy-two hours as she dealt with the building collapse and corpse retrieval.
“Agent Moneypenny, Mr. Bond has requested the chance to see Q and I would like your opinion on whether or not you believe that is wise,” M said.
“I think if we’re going to keep both of them cooperating with us then we should let them see each other,” Eve said. She thought about the look on Bond’s face when he had seen the amount of blood on Q’s clothes. She thought about how they had stood in front of an army ready to die together. Whatever type of connection they had it was a strong one and they could both cause problems if they didn’t remain complacent. M nodded and sat back in her chair.
“I’ll have Mr. Tanner collect Bond, and Agent Moneypenny, I would like you to make sure Q is up for visitors,” M said. She looked back down at the paperwork and Eve took that for the dismissal that it was. Eve made her way through medical easily and she was not surprised to see two guards standing outside Q’s door.
“Good evening, Agent Moneypenny,” Q said as soon as she walked in the door. There was some color in his cheeks and he was reading a book with one hand though he looked up when she walked in. Q set the book on the bed and rolled his wrist. “Difficult to read with one hand.” He shook his other hand, handcuffed to the railing of the bed.
“They’re doing their jobs. How are you feeling?” Eve asked.
“Superficial wounds that will heal eventually,” Q replied. He tilted his head to the side, narrowed his eyes, like she was something that confused him. “May I ask you a question, Agent Moneypenny?”
“You certainly can but that doesn’t mean I’ll answer,” Eve replied easily.
“Fair enough. MI6 could have dropped a small bomb on the building or stormed the doors and killed everyone inside. I gave you our location and all you had was my word that Silva was the one trying to frame us. I could have easily lied, so why did you believe me?” Q asked.
“You know how long I’ve been trying to catch you, Q,” Eve began and he nodded. “Well you can’t chase someone as long as I did without finding out a few things about them. You and James Bond, your hands are far from clean, but you seem to follow your own set of rules. Silva’s plan didn’t follow those rules. No one deserves to die for something they didn’t do.”
“James and I should die for the things we are guilty of,” Q said but he was smiling.
“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.” There was a brief knock and the door opened to reveal Tanner and Bond. Eve knew that Bond and Q were both trying to hide any sort of reaction from her and Tanner but she could see the weight ease off their shoulders.
“You have five minutes and Agent Moneypenny will watch you,” Tanner explained. “Please don’t make us tear gas the entire room.”
“Well that seems a little extreme,” Bond said sitting down on the edge of Q’s bed. Tanner glanced at Eve and left but Bond did not seem to notice or care. “Prognosis?”
“I’ll be fine,” Q said. “I’m more worried about your shoulder. You’re useless to me if you can’t shoot straight.”
“No major damage so I’ll be fine. I’ll just need some time to recover,” Bond replied. Q studied him and Eve wondered how anyone could tolerate that kind of scrutiny on a regular basis. It felt like Q was peeling back entire layers looking for lies. They were both silent for a long time until Q took Bond by the collar and kissed him. Eve did not avert her eyes, not because she didn’t care that she was intruding, but because she didn’t trust them. Not together. Her files on Q and Bond said they were dangerous before they met but now that she had a time line Eve knew that they were deadly together. They pulled apart the moment Tanner opened the door and Bond didn’t resist when the cuffs were put on.
“Eve, I need you to take him back to his cell. M needs me for something,” Tanner said.
“Of course.” Eve took Bond by the arm and walked with him through the hallways of MI6. She was armed and confident that she could incapacitate him if need be but he never once tried to fight her. “Your skills are very impressive, Mr. Bond.”
“As are yours, Agent Moneypenny,” Bond replied.
“M has been willing to overlook many things if she believes a person has great potential to be an Agent.” It was true too. There were plenty of them that came from the military but also those with less than perfect backgrounds. Bond could be one of the best Agents ever but he chuckled like she had made a joke.
“I’m not so keen on serving Queen and Country,” Bond replied smiling to himself, “and I’ve been reliably informed that I don’t play well with others. There’s only one person I can work with.”
“Well I’ve been reliably informed that we could use some improvements in our security. Q would do very well here and it’s not uncommon for an Agent to have someone behind them to watch their back.” Over dark nights Eve and M had discussed this in harsh whispers and this was something that they both agreed on.
“You keep an eye on us while we work for you is what you mean,” Bond said.
“More or less,” she replied because there was no use lying to him. Eve opened Bond’s cell and let him walk in. He put his hands through the slot and Eve removed the cuffs. Bond rubbed his wrists and watched her carefully.
“I’m afraid we must respectfully decline, Agent Moneypenny. Q and I are not for sale.” Eve was about to argue with him, say that they weren’t trying to buy them and how this was a better option than the charges they were facing, but she already knew that they had made up their minds. There would be no swaying Bond or Q to their side. “After all, there’s no honor among thieves, correct?”
“I will see you at your trial, Mr. Bond,” Eve said without indulging him because Bond and Q had honor and loyalty, it was just only to one person. He nodded politely as Eve walked away from his cell.
+++
Two days later Eve expertly weaved through the pandemonium in MI6. Everything was chaotic as various alarms sounded and people holding guns ran through the hallways. She just hoped that everyone was calm enough to at least keep the safety on. The door to M’s office was open and she did not bother to knock. Eve wanted to be angry, she wanted to be annoyed, but instead she felt resigned.
“Let me see,” she said. Eve already knew what had happened. Q had brought down their entire security system, yet again, and managed to break out of the handcuffs. While the system was in chaos he had easily made his way through the compound and released Bond. None of the security was up yet the cameras turned on to reveal the two of them looking at a camera near the door. Q had a phone in hand and he was smirking like he had purposely turned the system back on so they could stare directly into the camera. Bond saluted the camera with two fingers, Q nodded politely, and they both walked out of MI6’s front door.
“At least the camera caught what exit they used,” Tanner said.
“Only because Q wanted us to see,” M replied. “007, why did they do that?” Eve looked down at the footage, at Q and Bond as they both smiled up at her, and she knew exactly why they had done that. The message was clear and Eve laughed softly.
“They’re saying ‘come find us,’” Eve said. M and Tanner began to talk to each other about making sure that Bond and Q didn’t get out of the country but Eve knew it was far too late for that. They were long gone, they would fall completely off the grid, to try and heal from what had happened. ‘Come and find us’ you say, Eve thought as she watched Q and Bond walk out of MI6 like they didn’t have a care in the world. I intend to.
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