Terrorist Attacking My Heart
Q hated getting up in the morning, but even he knew that one day off without 007 blowing something up was enough for a life time, after lingering on the thought of James Bond he begrudgingly got out of bed to shower and change for work. Once ready in his usual cardigan and messenger bag he left for MI6 headquarters. He walked his usual route, stopping for a cup of Earl Grey on the way. He slowed suddenly noticing people following him, as he went to turn a middle-aged looking man walked into him, partially winding him as he did and soon realised someone was injecting him with something. He started getting tired as he turned and whimpered a small 'what did you inject me with' before he couldn't stand and fell into the arms of the man only just noticing the car that had pulled up before darkness of sleep descended on him once more.
James Bond strolled casually into the young Quartermasters domain known as Q-branch, and sighed when he notice that Q wasn't in his office. He looked around for R and smiled as she looked up from behind her desk at him. He walked over.
"Hey R, where's our little Quartermaster today then?" still smiling as he spoke.
"No idea James, he was meant to be back today but seeing as he's three hours late I'm guessing he's not coming in today," She replied looking up at him from behind her computer now "Oh and please don't blow anything up; he really deserves a rest after babysitting you for god knows how long this week." She added as an afterthought. Bond's smile faltered but it went unnoticed by R and he turned leaving to go bother M now. It wasn't exactly his fault Q was stuck watching him, it's just he liked Q a lot more than he let out and being near him helped him live out some parts of his dreams even though the Quartermaster wouldn't care about an old risk taking agent. Or let him call him, his Quartermaster.
Q had never been in so much pain before. He'd been in pain, yes, but not like now where everything in his body hurt, must have been something in the drug, he guessed. As he began to properly wake up he realised both his hands and ankles were tied to a chair. As he attempted to free his wrists someone walked into the room, releasing a low chuckle, more a growl to be honest, as he grew nearer to Q. He looked up and took a sharp inhale which gained him an uppercut to his stomach from the man, causing him to cough violently in pain.
"Sergeant Lewis," Q coughed out harshly.
"General Quinto, sir." Lewis barked his name out while saluting like any other military man would.
"Ford Quinto, a very long time no see." Another voice echoed through the room most likely from the door, which was consumed in darkness. Q gulped out immediately knowing the owner of the voice. "Michael." Fear evident in his voice as he spoke. The figure of Michael came into view and fear filled his eyes as he heard "Night, night sweetheart" before the darkness consumed him once again.
James huffed out yet another sigh, where was Q? It had been yet another day since Q was supposed to be back and James was starting to get worried. He had told M, obviously not saying he was worried, because 007 didn't get worried but M knew him too well and knew he was worried. Q never went off longer than scheduled, or at least he called in saying so, but there was no reassuring phone call telling James he was okay, so he made M send R to check on him. The phone on the desk suddenly rung, something that would make normal people jump but not them, they were trained MI6 agents, they could take a phone suddenly ringing. M answered smirking at James at their bet made minutes after R had left, but it quickly disappeared and was replaced by a serious face James knew to be 'you were right' and he became rigid, worry seeping through the walls he'd built to with stand anything from emotion to pain, and M notice, suddenly really worried at what James felt for the young Quartermaster. He hung up and ignored the look from James saying 'tell me what happened, what do I do' and got to work getting everyone needed to find Q and fight the sudden terrorist attack at hand.
"M what is it, what is wrong." James burst out after waiting for M to finish his calls.
"It seems that Q has been kidnapped, by terrorists, and they are going to kill him if we don't meet their demands or stop them first." He said voice on an automatic calm tone. James couldn't believe what he had heard so instead he stood up and left hearing M mutter 'it's okay James we'll find him' before the need to cry was too much. He found a desolate area and cried and cried till he couldn't.
Q woke up again, this time alone. He looked around him at his make shift cell. He started thinking on how long it had been since someone had called him General. Years. And it was probably Lewis who had called him it last. He had never hated a word so much, let alone a name, although Michael came very close. So General Ford Quinto became Q, easy to forget a man that led 20 men to their deaths if all that was left was a letter.
"So we are heading towards this point, an Afghan Marauder Den, and remember these people are dangerous be careful."General Quinto reminded his men. Not like this was their first probably their 6th by now, but he liked to know he puts effort into protecting them.
"Alright mum, no need to be bossy Ford because you know what happens then." Michael had walked up to him after everyone else had left and griped his already bruised wrists. "Yes of course, don't you need to get ready Michael." he replied, fear evident in his voice but unnoticed by the other man.
"Yes, sure i'll see you later then." He then turned and left. When Ford had returned from that mission however he was alone. Not one of the men he led had survived. As he tried to sleep that night the memories resurfaced and he could only hear the screams that were fear and death. So he had cried himself to sleep and dishonorably discharged himself before taking a break to forget, then joining MI6 and Q-branch.
"Hard to forget isn't it. The screams and flashes. But why would you remember, why care?" A small voice from the shadows pulled him from his thoughts. "Carmichael, I always remembered, always cared. What makes you think I wouldn't?"
"Michael said that you lead us to our death, but I knew you hadn't, said you were a traitor. But he was just abusive. I'm sorry."
"Your right, I should have had him transferred, said we couldn't do it," Q broke down in tears, "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, I let my self believe him," he had come over and started running circles over Q's back a way he knew comforted him best, "You were always my best friend, I shouldn't of doubted your allegiance. Now where is that tracker of yours?"
"What um here, why." Q indicated his glasses in a funny way."On the side there."
"Because, you are not being rapped down in this dump by Michael and the jackass took me from my family, I want him in jail."
"Bond come in, we have a signal to Q's whereabouts!" James woke up to M's annoying voice and when he finally understood what he heard he replied back.
"M where is he?" He kept it short, no need to betray his pain, he's not a girl after all.
"In the sewers by the National Gallery. Hurry up and get your ass over here." and M's voice cut out once more. James had never driven so fast, he must have broken god knows how many trafficking laws and reached his destination in record timing.
"M what the hell are you doing here and where is he?"
"I'm here to help with rescue and somewhere down there."
"Where do we begin!" The sewers stank of something foul, almost making Bond gag as he came down the ladder, almost. There were 4 different paths which twisted in god knows how many directions so they split into groups and went off in search of Q and the terrorists. After about an hour of searching James and M saw a man ahead. He was facing them and had clearly seen them but didn't comment until he got bored of watching them in the shadows.
"You do know I can see you right and M if your gonna hide in the shadows all day Maryse will start to wonder where you are." The man said, not loudly but enough so we could here.
"Aiden Carmichael, it really was you on the phone," M stood up and walked over to the young man, "I thought it was someone pulling a prank but no it's you, now where is Q."
"The General is this way and only you can come cause 6 pairs of boots making a hell of a lot of sound is only slightly suspicious..."
"I'm coming and what do you mean by General."James said coming over quietly.
"Don't..." M started but Carmichael had beat him.
"General Ford Quinto sir, or Q as you know him by."
"You can come Bond but tell anyone including him you know his name i'll skin you alive." And with that M walked off, Carmichael taking lead seconds after leaving him to bring up the rear.
Everything was quiet after Carmichael had left only what two or three hours ago but it felt longer, like days had gone by since he last saw James. Last been overseer on one of his missions. His heart pined for the severed connection they had. But he couldn't have him, he was just a kid in James' eyes and that hurt more than when Michael came in earlier and beat the shit out of him. He now lay on the floor in the corner, a huddled mess of bleeding cuts and surfacing bruises. He couldn't feel them though because nothing was worse than falling in love with an unattainable object. The door opened again and Michael sauntered casually in.
"Ready for round two Ford, 'cause i am." Suddenly Q was hoisted into the air and thrust against the wall and soon after Michael was crushing him while kissing him violently. After years of this violation from his father Q returned to his happy place not feeling any of the monstrous thing once again happening. However he did realise when he was no longer being used as a sex doll and curled up again but when he saw Michael still standing there but facing away he chose to return to reality. And a good choice it was as the first thing he heard was James' voice and so he sat up, though he didn't feel it then he did later and it hurt a lot.
"Put your filthy hands up and step away from him." James said.
"Put you gun down Michael, it's pointless you rapping bastard." Carmichael followed. Everything was going fast and suddenly Q had a bullet ripping a path through him, followed quickly by unconsciousness.
It felt like hours going through the tunnels after meeting he was so close, yet still so far away ripped at his insides. They reached an area where doors littered about the walls leading different way. Snoring could be heard behind one, James guessed one of the terrorists, the others were all quiet. They continued on reaching a door further away from the rest opposite where they were walking.
"Somethings not right," Carmichael said worry evident in his voice.
"What is it, what's wrong?" James asked quickly the need to know Q was alright, to hold him was too much now.
"The door it's always open sir, it's been closed Michael said not to close it. Shit!" Carmichael raced forward and wrenched the door open in time to see Q being thrown on the floor and curl up into a ball, soon followed by Bond and M.
"Put your filthy hands up and step away from him!" James called stepping forward and raising his gun. The man, he guessed Michael, turned raising his own gun, smirk plastered on his face, stepped away but not by much. James had noticed Q sitting up, a smile on his face that resembled hope, he was glad to see him.
"Put your gun down Michael you rapping bastard." Carmichael said raising his own gun as he stepped through.
"You traitor Carmichael, you led them here, you're as bad as this piece of shit. But hey want me to put me gun down, he's going down to!" And with that Michael turned and pulled the trigger, immediately followed by Bond putting a bullet through his skull. Michael dropped lifelessly to the ground and M moved towards Q checking his pulse and then shouting something at Bond then to Carmichael. Bond wasn't listening though, he was in shock and soon his knees gave out and he hit the stone hard, barely managing to keep the tears at bay. M had lifted Q and was running the way they came followed by Carmichael with an unconscious Q over his back, Bond however just sat there for hours till M came back.
"The ambulance took him to hospital, said he was lucky, missed all major arteries and organs. James are you okay?" James was listening now, and shook his head at the last question.
"I think that you like Q more than you let out, care to explain." M said sitting beside the same wall as Bond. "I don't know, he's just so smart and young, and unattainable."
"He's not that young you know."
"Why did they call him General? And if he was in the army, why leave?" The questions came out because he'd been thinking on it for god knows how long.
"Well I might as well tell you. When he turned 20 he joined the army, brilliant solider, 3 years later he became a General, an exceptional one at that. But 2 years into being one he led a group of what, 20 men, yeah on a mission to a marauder den highly, dangerous, no one but him survived, well till now anyway. He blamed himself so he quit, army gave him a medal for valor and honorably discharged him, he however hacked the system changed it to dishonorable and left. Freelanced for what 5 years then joined us last year. No one knows if he kept his medals but he was brilliant back then and deserved them." James was silent after that and M led him back through the sewers and to HQ to shower and rest, in the hopes he would be fine when he woke.
When Q awoke he felt no pain, but the memories of before came flooding back and so did the pain. He gasped at the pain and suddenly someone was holding his hand the pain slowly ebbing away. He woke up again a few hours after the last, alone this time. He looked around and saw the morphine machine, the reason he fell asleep earlier. He also saw a call button and decided to tell the world he was awake and seconds after pushing it the doctor came through with a man he recognized as M.
"Ah Mr Quinto it is good to see you again alive and awake. He always seems to try and kill you. Fortunately nothing serious a few infections, broken bones and a gun shot wound to the right shoulder exit wound left side just above the pelvis bone." Doctor Crane informed him, wincing at the use of his last name being used.
"Thank you Doctor, may you leave us to talk." M spoke immediately after Crane had finished his doctor left after promptly nodding and M sat down at Q's left side facing the door, cause when you work as a spy for a living even sitting in a hospital you need to know all escape routes.
"I'm sorry that it, err, took so long to save you, we thought you'd just taken some of your holidays out and gotten some sleep. If James hadn't gotten worried then you'd probably be dead." M sounded strangely solemn, something he didn't suit.
"Pffft I'd be lucky to be dead with Michael as my captor, guy's so hung up over the past it has started eating at him."
"What happened, why is, was, he like that?" M seemed genuinely interested, why not bring up everything he'd tried to hide for years.
"I, when we were going out he was abusive, a bit more than that, he needed to make others hurt, bleed, that's how he got off, he would beat me, threaten me, heck tried to kill me once. He was miss guided as a child, abused so that's where he got if from. I was so used to it from my father that i didn't even notice, but the army did asked, if something was wrong, it was then when it dawned on me that what he did to me was wrong. So I was going to break up with him, I however made the mistake of sleeping with someone first. He figured it out and beat the crap out of me, cut me up pretty bad. That was the doc that patched me up, Luke Crane. It was after that, I realised I couldn't escape him and then, well you know the rest." Q decided to just get it all out, no point chickening out, someone should at least know the real him, he didn't however notice the addition to his audience as he had his eyes closed replaying everything he said in his head.
"Its a good thing he's dead then, sonofabitch deserved what he got." Q jumped violently when he heard James speaking.
"I'll leave you two to talk, it's obviously needed." And with that M stood up and walked out. James sat down at the opposite side of the bed from where M sat, and for once in his life he felt too awkward to speak.
"Thank you." Q said after a while.
"Why?"
"M said that you'd been worried and god knows what would have happened had you not cared." Q wanted so much to reach out and touch James, to kiss him, hold him but no he'd have to keep himself in lock down no heart involvement in this conversation.
"Why wouldn't i care, not as if there was any one else to look out for you." James' head was screaming at him to say properly why he cared, to hold Q and say everything is alright now, but he couldn't bare the heart break.
"I'm just a kid, remember, scrawny and a failure. I'm a freaking pain junkie, why would anyone care?" Q was now officially on the verge of tears knowing the man his heart ached after was a few meters away, yet still so far.
"Your not a failure Q, your a bright, intelligent young man. And anyone would care about you because it's what you deserve. and how are you a pain junkie?" James' heart was shattering at the way this ingenious man put himself down.
"Because of this," Q almost screamed as he pulled the sleeve of his hoodie, revealing thin scars across his wrist, "After Michael 'died' I couldn't cope without the pain, so I resorted to this and I enjoyed it, but after going to MI6, meeting people like M, R and you, I stopped I had a new pain goal. I had my heart chasing after you, my unattainable object." Q stopped talking now afraid of James' reacting and he had started crying making it hard to breath, think and speak. James' mind was on super drive racing through what Q had said. He said his heart wanted him, James could only stare at the wreak off a man on the bed and moved forward to the crying man making him immediately stop crying and kissed him, putting everything he felt into this one heart stopping kiss. soon the need for air was too much and they broke away, Q blushing rather violently as they did.
"I don't want your pity James please leave."
"No. you don't have my pity, you have my heart and you always have, ever since the first time we spoke in the museum and every time in between. I am never leaving you again!" James' heart swelled at this, at finally getting what he's wanted for a year, his Q.
"Good cause you've stolen mine and i'd like it kept intact." Q smiled in return, and for the first time in Q's life he was undeniably happy, he had James at last and knew he'd made a right choice. And they kissed again, smiles spread across their faces.
