Q

[0_0_7]

The robbery had been a success, for all intents and purposes. The heist had taken place in the night and the burglers had done their homework. A drill had been used through the meter thick concrete wall, leaving a hole big enough to crawl through. Then they'd rustled the cage by using a pipe cutter on the bars. It seemed they'd been after the money and bearer bonds but a few safe deposit boxes were open. One of which had had a separate, private alarm wired to Six. There was a slip in the system, though, and it wasn't until the morning crew came onto duty that anyone noticed the blinking light.

THe Quartermaster was immediately dispatched with his ever loyal double-o at his side. Bond was along merely as muscle. Whatever had been kept in the safety deposit box was above his pay grade. Q would know, though. Q always knew.

Comments

[quartermaster_q]

"Not if the information is hidden, no. ...You were an active agent then, weren't you? Can you think of anything going on at the time that might have been swept under the rug?" Q asked.

[0_0_7]

Bond went quiet, thinking of anything he could. He gave up and shook his head.

"Yeltsin was president of Russia- the Wall had come down, but that was mostly a metaphor. America was in Kuwait and we supported them. The Serbs and Croats began fighting and the UN left Sarajevo and the world watched it burn. There were the Afghani refugees fleeing to Pakistan. Or it could be something so much less significant..."

[quartermaster_q]

"Perhaps we ought to go see M," Q suggested. "There are a few files even I don't have access to, after all. Perhaps there's something I've not seen."

[0_0_7]

"She would have known," Bond said quietly, then turned the car toward HQ so they could see the Minister. Surely he'd have something to point them in the right direction.

[quartermaster_q]

Q was silent for the majority of the ride, tapping away at his phone until they arrived at HQ. Only then did he seem to return to the real world, following at Bond's side as they headed into work.

"Ah, Double-o seven, and our very own Quartermaster. What a rare treat," Eve said glancing up from her computer and then getting to her feet to greet the pair with a smile. "He's in a meeting, you might have to come back later..."

[0_0_7]

"We can't. There's been a security breach and we need Eyes Only information...if he even has it," Bond said. "We can wait, but the sooner the better."

She only had to look at Bond's face to know it was serious.

"I'll ring him," she said and went to the phone. A short, quiet call and then she gave the pair a placid smile. "Ten minutes. Have a seat, won't you?"

[quartermaster_q]

Q hated waiting outside M's office. It was like waiting to see the headmaster- and though he and Bond had done nothing wrong (recently), he fidgeted just a bit in his seat.

[0_0_7]

It was ten minutes on the dot when the door opened and out walked 002 and 019 along with Tanner.

"You can go in now, Bond. Q," Tanner said in his calm, polite manner. Bond rose and lead Q inside. He got to business as soon as the door was shut, explaining to M about the robbery, the drives, all of it.

M accessed files on his computer, Eyes Only as Bond had thought. It didn't take long before he had an answer.

"In November of 1992 there was a fire at Windsor castle. It was quite bad..."

"I remember. Fifty million in damage. The papers screamed about the spoiled royals," Bond said.

"Yes. Well, those Zip drives contain secure data linking the fire to IRA operatives," M said. "There's nothing concrete, but it could be damaging information right now when we've been at relative peace with the northerners..."

"Someone's going to try to start a war," Bond said, the truth of it dawning on him.

[quartermaster_q]

"It seems that way," M replied, frowning slightly, then glancing at Q. "I don't suppose there's any way of tracing them."

Q pursed his lips slightly, looking thoughtful. "There's a slim chance- and I must emphasize the word slim here- That they contain early RFID chips. I'll have to go through the archives and look- but if they were chipped, I could, possibly, track them. Maybe. ...Though it would take quite a bit of doing."

[0_0_7]

"I can't stress how important this is, Q. We have such a fragile peace. Do whatever you must," M said.

"And my orders, sir?" Bond asked.

M paused.

"You'll do whatever you must as well," the Minister said.

[quartermaster_q]

"You can help me in the archives, Bond. A lot of it hasn't been digitalized yet, or re-digitalized anyway. I'll need help moving boxes," Q confessed, getting to his feet and offering M a nod.

[0_0_7]

Bond nodded and prepared to roll up his shirt sleeves and get to work. It wasn't what he'd prefer to do but before he could be cocked and aimed he needed a target.

Bond walked shoulder to shoulder with Q to the lift that would take them down to the archives.

"What are the real odds there is an RFID tag?" he asked.

[quartermaster_q]

"Not good, honestly- But, well, every Quartermaster has his tricks. Surely there will be something in the archives that might help," Q said, sounding just a touch hopeful.

[0_0_7]

"The previous Q was very particular," Bond said. His memory was coming back, though as a patchwork, not altogether at once. He was glad to have whatever he could get, really. At least he was back in the field and not considered a security risk.

[quartermaster_q]

"Did you get on well with him? The former Quartermaster, I mean," Q asked curiously.

[0_0_7]

"Well...he gave me exploding pens," he quipped dryly. Bond wore a tiny smile. "You remind me of him every time you tell me to bring back the tech."

[quartermaster_q]

Q smiled at that, stepping out as the elevator doors slid open, and leading the way to the archives.

[0_0_7]

Bond followed along, his tiny smile playing on his lips. He was a step and a half behind and even though they were working he took the time to appreciate Q's arse.

"How often does anyone even come down here?" he asked.

[quartermaster_q]

"Almost never," Q confessed, unlocking the door with a swipe of his card and a palm scan, followed by a retina scan.

"The tech down here is outdated, and the information is- Well, what we need is already in the digital archives."

[0_0_7]

"Sometimes the old ways are still valuable," Bond said glibly, but then he stepped through the door and looked at the daunting task before them. Shelves loaded with boxes, a manifest at the end of each set of shelves.

At least the prior Quartermaster had been organized.

"Where should we start?"

[quartermaster_q]

"It should all be catalogued by year... Zip drives weren't invented until around 1994, and CD-Roms became the standard by around 1995... So that limits the time frame, at least. We must have been creating a new digital backup system of our files at the time," Q said, looking thoughtful.

"That's what we need to find then, the rest of the zip drives. We can see if they're chipped, and possibly even find a inventory list."

[0_0_7]

"A narrower window than I feared. Alright, let's get to work," he said, heading for the nearest manifest to see what was on that shelving unit. "That way, I think..." he said, noting the closest was 1999.

[quartermaster_q]

Q nodded, following along as his gaze flicked over the boxes and signs.

"This should be the correct isle... Oh, hmm. Looks as though this isle is all nighty-four. Shall we start here?" he suggested. calling a ladder over with a push of a button.

[0_0_7]

Bond nodded and climbed the ladder to take down one of the January boxes. It made sense to begin at the beginning, he thought. He passed the box down to Q.

"It's heavier than you might think," he warned.

[quartermaster_q]

Q made a startled sound as he took the box, nearly dropping it before straightening up.

"Only bring down ones that aren't labelled. The rest should have an inventory list pinned to them," he said, carrying the box over to the table so he could start sifting through it.