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

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"The tech down here is outdated, and the information is- Well, what we need is already in the digital archives."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

[0_0_7]

Most of them did have inventory lists on them and Bond took the time to read them. Most of it was tedious- expense reports, human resource details like sick leave and maternity. Nothing they needed.

He pulled down three more and took them to the table.

"Thank god for British efficiency. Three more are unlabeled and this sheet goes to one but I'm not sure which," he said, showing Q an unpinned inventory sheet.

[quartermaster_q]

Q skimmed the sheet, then set it aside as he started to dig through the next.

"It's odd, I've not seen a single zip drive yet. ...Perhaps we're looking in the wrong place. We're assuming Q branch was digitalizing everything, but- Well, it's all very classified. Eyes only, correct? The sort of thing only a select few would have access to... Maybe we ought to look at who would have known the information even existed."

[0_0_7]

"That would have been M and we can't ask her. Maybe Tanner. Early nineties...Smythe, Jenkins, and Proctor. I don't think anyone else would have had Eyes Only classification then, but then again...I was new. Very new back then," Bond said.

[quartermaster_q]

"Wait," Q said, frowning as he pulled a zip drive from the bottom of the Box. "This has to be from around the same time- Help me get it open. If there's a chip, it won't be hard to see."

[0_0_7]

"Give it to me," he said, taking the zip and examining it for a moment. Then he pressed it against the edge of the table and popped it open.

"There you are, but I'm afraid it's ruined," he said.

[quartermaster_q]

"That's alright, I'm certain it's not important," Q replied, examining the drive, then smiling. "There it is," he said, gently removing the RFID.

"Tell Mallory I might have to break a few laws to do it- But I believe I can track our missing drives."

[0_0_7]

"Get to work, I'll make the call," Bond said, stepping out of the vault to contact M. As he thought, the Minister didn't want to know the details, he just wanted Q to do it.

"He says to get it done," he said. "Just hurry."

[quartermaster_q]

Q didn't need any more prompting, he was already repacking the box and heading for his office.

"Come find me in an hour, I believe I'll have a location for you."

[0_0_7]

Bond nodded and watched Q go. An hour gave him time to check in on Moneypenny and bend Tanner's ear for a moment. That didn't take long and he made time for a cigarette and a cup of coffee, then he made his way to Q branch.

"Have I given you enough time?" he asked, itching to be off, eager to be active.

[quartermaster_q]

"Your timing is perfect," Q said, zooming in on a map, and nodding.

"I can't get you an exact location, but our drives are within this four block radius," he said, looking pleased with himself. "There are two likely locations. This abandoned store font here, and this warehouse. I'll send both locations to your GPS."

[0_0_7]

"Excellent. While I get to the car I want you to get clarification from M on orders to kill. If he'd prefer to question the thieves...I'll need to know," he said, going to the cabinet to fetch an earpiece to stay in contact with Q. He didn't wait for confirmation, just headed out, posture erect. He was tense, coiled and ready to spring.

This was precisely what he was made for.

"Have an answer, Q?" he asked once he was behind the wheel.

[quartermaster_q]

"There's no need to bring them in, though M did ask you be discreet," Q replied, his tone crisp and calm. "The drives, however, I'd like returned in one piece. M wants me to transfer the data to something more secure."

[0_0_7]

"Understood," Bond replied. He gunned the car to life and followed the GPS to the warehouse. He crept up slowly and was quiet as he made his way in. There were no guards, nothing. No sign of anything.

"Warehouse clear," he said quietly. He moved on to the store front and at first it seemed empty, but Bond went round back and heard movement inside. Weapon drawn, Bond stepped through the shadows.

"Does that computer even work?" he heard. "Yes, you wanker. I just need to decrypt it."

That told him the deed hadn't been done yet and he stepped around the corner. Two men sat hunched around a computer tower that was grinding and buzzing. The pair focused on the screen, watching the compression bar creep along.

He had no patience and asked no questions. Bond simply stepped round the corner. The two had enough time to throw up their hands and then the silencer popped twice and they fell, slumped over the computer.

"Amateurs," he said and retrieved the zip drives. But as he pulled the drive from the tower, the machine snapped and crackled and smoke poured from it. The light on the webcam flashed green to red then winked off. "Bugger," Bond growled. "They're not alone...but they didn't get the data."

[quartermaster_q]

Q attempted to connect to the computer remotely, but the tech was too old. He attempted tracing the signal next, but it had disconnected far too quickly.

"Bring me everything," he said, frowning deeply. "The computer, the drives, all of it. They might be amateurs, but whoever hired them clearly isn't."

[0_0_7]

It took a few trips to load it all up. Bond was on high alert the entire time but nothing else happened. He searched the store front for everything, not missing an inch.

"On my way," he said, knowing Q could see his every move as he sped back to HQ.

[quartermaster_q]

Q hadn't heard M step into the room, and when the other man spoke, it was obvious he'd startled the young Quartermaster.

"Let's not have a repeat of what happened with Silva's laptop, hmm?" Mallory said gently.

The man wasn't scolding, but Q felt the sting of his words none the less, bristling and then going cold.

"Of course. I'll be as careful as I'm able," he assured the other man, meeting M's gaze briefly, then returning his attention to the screen.

"Q- Good work today," M added, watching the young quartermaster a moment longer, then heading off back to his office just as Bond came in.

[0_0_7]

Bond and an entourage of minions who had been dispatched to carry iin the myriad equipment. Bond himself carried the zip drives and encryption that had been stolen.

He took one look at Q and could see the tension in his jaw and shoulders. Q was quite good at hiding his feelings, but Bond knew him well.

"No praise for bringing back equipment?" he quipped, trying to lighten the mood.