Q

[0_0_7]

[Continued form here for length]

"I will," he swore. They drove on a bit and Bond checked the GPS again. "How bloody far is this place? We've got to be almost there. Zoom that out and see..."

He hated the countryside in the dark. But thank god for technology. It wasn't all that long ago he would have been relatively blind.

Comments

[quartermaster_q]

"Very old," Q frowned, searching for a card reader panel or something he could hack...

All he found was a deadbolt and a combination lock.

"How... Vintage," he muttered, trying to be polite about it.

[0_0_7]

"Sometimes the old ways are the best ways," he said, taking a look at the lock. He leaned in close to listen and began to fuss with the combination lock. It took a bit of doing, just a few tries, and then it popped open.

"There's better be something much more secure inside," he noted.

[quartermaster_q]

Q hummed, noting the decay and rust as they made their way down a small flight of stairs.

"I wouldn't be so sure, double-o seven. I don't think Moneypenny sent us here because it's so high-tech... I think she picked it because it's no longer in use. This hasn't been touched in an age. I believe this might be from even before your time Bond."

[0_0_7]

"Before my time? That really does date it," Bond said. He had brought his gun, of course, but he kept it holstered as they made their way down the stairs. At the bottom an electronic eye detected them and the lights came on.

[quartermaster_q]

Q tensed at the bright lights, blinking into them, then squinting a little as his eyes adjusted.

The room was full of systems and vintage computers- Massive, and so outdated that they were good for little more than a history lesson.

"Hmm. Rather disappointing," he frowned, headed into another room and noting the old gun cases- Mostly empty, but holding a few vintage guns. There was a cell and a small interrogation room as well. Archaic, but not gruesome.

"What do you think they used this place for?" he asked Bond.

[0_0_7]

The tech and the guns were absolutely from before Bond's time, but he knew a bit about the history of things.

"IRA," he said. "Or IRA sympathizers. That's what was going on when these computers were new. It's what's been going on for ages, but particularly then. This would have made an excellent place to train agents and hide prisoners."

[quartermaster_q]

Running his finger through a thick layer of dust that rested on one of the tables, Q sat down and looked around again.

"It's like falling back in time, isn't it?"

[0_0_7]

"It is. I'm sure Mallory was never in anywhere like this. This is Thatcher's era. Or before, maybe," he said, wandering around. "It could easily be brought up to date, if someone wanted to invest in it."

[quartermaster_q]

"I suppose. What for though?" Q asked with a shrug. "Hiding is a necessity, but not something I'd want to do full time. Leave it be, Bond. Get too interested and you might wind up out here- And I leave the city for no man," he smiled.

[0_0_7]

"No...no, I can't imagine you happy in the wilderness," Bond chuckled. "Not even if it had the best network available. Man cannot live on tea and wifi alone, hmm?"

[quartermaster_q]

"This one certainly can't," Q smiled. "I like my creature comforts. Unlike you. You like the finer things, I know, but you're just as happy in some mud hut- So long as you've got good scotch and someone pretty to keep you entertained."

[0_0_7]

"I miss the finer things, though. I do enjoy coming home," Bond said. He moved closer to Q and rested his hand on the back of the man's neck. "I can't picture you in a mud hut. Not anywhere."

[quartermaster_q]

"Nor can I," Q purred, leaning into the touch and closing his eyes.

It was a strange little show of trust. Neck resting against Bond's palm, eyes shut, body relaxed... Q was usually always a little on guard, but here and now, he was calm and complacent in a way he hadn't been with anyone in a very long time.

[0_0_7]

Bond noticed the shift, the little gesture, and he breathed just a bit easier. He trusted Q so much- with his life, with his heart- and it was wonderful to see that Q trusted him in return.

"I wonder what we could get up to here...without surveillance. Without anyone around at all..."

[quartermaster_q]

Q smiled, enjoying Bond's train of thought.

"You sound like you've already got a few ideas, Bond. Care to share them?" he asked, opening his eyes and tilting his head back to look at the other man.

[0_0_7]

Bond flashed a smile at him, then began to walk around the room. On the wall opposite the cells was a box. He opened it and inside were cuffs and keys- a set clearly for the cuffs and a set marked for the cells.

Part of him thought this could be, quite possibly, the worst idea he'd had. Q had had a hard time of it in France. But this was safe. This was secure. This was Bond.

"I wonder what secrets I might be able to get out of you..." he mused, cuffs dangling from his finger.

[quartermaster_q]

Q raised a brow, then offered a soft chuckle.

"I thought you wanted to be the one in chains," he replied, looking Bond over as he spoke, then getting to his feet.

Crossing the room, he reached for the cuffs. He wasn't sure what he wanted more- For Bond to hand them over, or for Bond to refuse him.

[0_0_7]

Bond was quick and he caught Q's arm and clicked a cuff onto one wrist before the man had time ti react. But just the one. He held Q's wrist, cuff and all, and pulled him close enough to kiss.

"Maybe some day," he said. "My fantasies come and go. More than anything I just want to hear you call me James the way you do," Bond purred.

[quartermaster_q]

Q tested the cuff, then tutted a little.

"Amateur. You never tell your captive what you want," he grinned. "It makes it that much harder to coax it out of them."

Leaning in, he closed the distance between them and stole a kiss.

[0_0_7]

"I've got no illusions, Q. I'll never force you to do anything you don't want to do to begin with," he replied, his arm snaking around Q to pull him tight against him. Bond tilted his head and kissed Q once, deeply, then moved him toward a cell. He pushed him in and closed the door, locking him inside.

[quartermaster_q]

The cell door shut, and Q looked ever so slightly unsettled.

"...Bond," he said, tone cautious but calm. The cuff hung off his wrist, dangling as he held the bars and watched the man.

[0_0_7]

"Get comfortable," Bond said. He took a chair and pulled it out so he could sit before the cell. "I think we should talk a bit. I'd like to know what you gave up in Paris. I can't believe you didn't say anything. You had to let something slip. Everyone does."

[quartermaster_q]

Q leaned against the bars, resting his forehead against them.

"I told them nothing," he said coolly. "You don't believe me?" he asked.

[0_0_7]

"You literally cannot have told them nothing. What did they ask of you, Q? What did they want?" he asked.

[quartermaster_q]

"They asked for codes. They asked for passwords. They asked for my name. They asked who to contact for ransom- Yet you received no call. You know why, double-o seven? Because I gave. Them. Nothing."

His tone grew hard and his eyes went dark, and the look he gave Bond was downright deadly.

"They beat me, drowned me, hanged me- Threatened things I don't dare repeat- And the most they got out of me were lies. Cover stories, false codes. Passwords to trigger more firewalls. I gave them nothing, and was rewarded with sparse moments of calm between vicious abuse and creative verbal threats. ...Now unlock this bloody cage- This game is over."