Hannibal

[0_0_7]

Q was gone. M had put them off the job until this was resolved so it wasn't as if there were any other pressing matters- no missions, no jobs. But Bond needed access to Q's tech and he only had the man's laptop.

He hadn't known anything was off until he'd gone to pay for his sandwich and his card was declined. That was never a good sign...and it was always the first sign.

"The phone is going to ring in just a moment. Please tell them I'm coming home," he said. The cashier nodded and Bond exited quickly. From then it was an exercise in futility. The only thing he had that worked was his oyster card and his mobile. No cards, no codes. He went to MI6 to seek refuge and found himself on the run. He needed to know details but he had nowhere to turn. And to make matters worse he had gone home and there had been a detail outside. Not just any detail, either. Bond recognized the agent at the door as one of the agents who was sent on assassinations. If he was there, there were likely others Bond couldn't see.

With little else he could do, Bond decided to take a chance. To reach out to someone he knew who was utterly unaffiliated with MI6. Someone the home office was likely unaware of.

Bond turned up at Hannibal's with metaphorical hat in hand. He needed help and had nowhere else to go. This was Terrance's doing. He knew that. Terrance had burned him and Bond was left in a position without hope. But it was hard to put him down- Bond's specialty was resurrection. He wouldn't be killed and he wouldn't be put off. He would get Q back despite the odds, despite the obstacles.

He just needed a friend.

Comments

[girl_upgraded]

"Yeah, of course. Not a problem," she said. Rave took a seat and began to pull out her equipment, setting it up and plugging it all in.

"You're going to have to give me some idea of what to look for," she said then. Bond studied her closely. So young. Why did all the technicians have to be so young, he wondered.

"Terrance took a young man and we need to get him back. You can call him Q. No other name is necessary," Bond said. "He was last in Piccadilly Circus at the tube platform there. And then he vanished."

"So...not difficult at all," she quipped...then immediately set to work.

[anamusebouche]

"You've come across him before," Hannibal supplied. "That young man from the picture you showed me. He's the one missing now."

[0_0_7]

Rave nodded and began to tap the keys. Bond was struck by what a reassuring sound that was. Simple typing, but he put quite a lot offaith in the boffin's of MI6. It was good to have one even now.

Bond took another amuse and ate it, savoring it.

"So, um...I've got the security footage, but I don't see anything."

"It was looped," Bond supplied. "You'll have to go to a prior timestamp."

She did as she was told and the pair of them actually made a passable team, though the trail was difficult to follow at best.

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal listened carefully, but stayed to a side. He was more interested in James's despair and tell way he was cracking beneath the surface. And he kept his eye on the girl, whose wardrobe gave away more than she would likely want it to.

[0_0_7]

Bond took note of her clothes as well. She was the picture of rebellion, but everything she wore was a label. Dressing as she did would take quite a bit of selective shopping at the high end shops those labels came from. Class traitor, he thought, smirking a little.

Rave was unaware of what either of them were thinking of her. She was busy doing what she did best, scouring through pages, looking at feeds, hunting down the trail that was almost ice cold. But just when she would start to get frustrated she would find something. And it would lead to more frustration...then another hit. "It's like bread crumbs," she said, looking at Bond, then Hannibal. "It's like he wants you to find him now."

[anamusebouche]

"That suits his personality type," Hannibal remarked. "Can you find him?"

[0_0_7]

"I'm trying," she said, but the words trailed off as she got to work. Bond was glad to let her do whatever it was she was doing and he took up his scotch and moved closer to Hannibal.

"Where did you come across this one?" he murmured. She wasn't paying attention and didn't even notice.

[anamusebouche]

"She came across me, in fact," Hannibal replied quietly, for James' ears only. "She hacked into my patient database," he admitted. "From her laptop, as she sat in the park across the street."

[0_0_7]

Bond's eyes widened just a little at that and he spared her another glance. She was working diligently, though, and was wholly unremarkable to look at.

"Have you tightened your security since?" he asked.

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal smiled. "I've asked her to. Thought she would be most suitable for it."

[0_0_7]

"A good plan. When we get Q back I'll have him look into her. Perhaps we could reward her help with an actual job," he said, not considering that Rave might not want to work for the Empire.

[anamusebouche]

"I'm not sure if her shirt is fashion or statement," Hannibal replied. "But I'm sure she'll be honoured either way."

He turned to the nervous man. "Have you eaten enough?"

[0_0_7]

"One more...this is delicious. You cannot convince me this is just leftovers," Bond chuckled, taking just one more bite. The meat was exquisite and the spices just right. It was delicious.

[anamusebouche]

"Well, wagyu beef is still wagyu beef, and storing it, prepared and in the fridge for a day only exposes it to more of its marinade's spices," Hannibal didn't mind revealing.

[0_0_7]

"It is to die for," Bond said appreciatively.

"I found a lead," Rave said then. "Piccadilly circus has been rerouted from a farm house..."

"I've been there. It's a dead end," Bond said, but walked over to her and reted a hand on her shoulder briefly. "Keep looking. Something after that. Something in the last few days."

She nodded and got to work and Bond returned to Hannibal.

"Words cannot express my gratitude, Hannibal."

[anamusebouche]

"Please, don't mention it," Hannibal replied, squeezing James's arm fora brief moment. "Do you have a secure account? Tell me how much you need."

[0_0_7]

Speaking of money was so crass but Bond did it, naming a number he felt was modest, really. Hotel, food, clothes, weapons, tech, bribes...quite modest, really. But thn Bond was free with money on the best of days.

"I should call and arrange a hotel while she works."

[anamusebouche]

Now was not the time to be shy about money. Hannibal understood that, and didn't mind it in the least. He nodded. "And I will pass the funds to your account."

2014-09-30 19:58 GMT+02:00 0_0_7 - DW Comment dw_null@dreamwidth.org:

[0_0_7]

"I'm not having any luck," Rave said as she looked up. "He's a ghost. I've got one debit transaction and one glimpse on CCTV at an intersection heading north. I'm sorry I can't be more help. I can keep monitoring him..."

Bond nodded at her and sighed. "I'll pay you," he said and she smiled, but it was an expression of pure sadness.

"Pay me if I find him," she said.

Bond looked to Hannibal. "Perhaps the hotel now?"

[anamusebouche]

"I don't feel I've quite done my part," Hannibal said. "I can book you a room, but you will tell me if you need anything more? I want to help as much as I can."

[0_0_7]

"First things first, I desperately need to shower and shave and sleep. Then a change of clothes and I'll be ready for he second wave. I'll contact you then," he promised.

[anamusebouche]

"I'll be here," Hannibal assured.

He looked to the girl then, who was still avidly tapping away. "Any luck?"

[girl_upgraded]

"I think I've got him gone to the north, but nowhere specific. He's probably too careful to let anything out. But I'll keep on it. I've set up alerts on his username. If he pops up I'll track him," she said, her eyes wandering to Bond.

"Do I dare look into him? Why do I get the feeling that might get me in quite a bit of trouble?"

[anamusebouche]

"Not if you do it right," Hannibal suggested, casually.

[girl_upgraded]

"I'm not sure I want to try," she murmured. "I think he'd personally shoot me. Where'd you find him, anyway?"

It seemed to her Dr. Lecter collected the strangest people.