Well, here goes nothing! This is my first multiple chapter 00Q fic (I have only previously done one-shots) so it may be a little dry at the beginning. Just tell me if you want the pace to change and I will happily oblige. I hope you like it and happy reading.

P.S. More 00Q scenes in the chapters to come. The first chapter is mainly to just…set things up :P

Q's fingers skimmed quickly over the key board as he hacked his way into the building's security and cyber network.

"Left! I sad left you idiot!" Q demanded angrily into the line of communication between him and 007. His outburst caught the attention of some of the younger members of Q-branch. They exchanged whispers and sly looks but Q was too busy keeping Bond from dying to care. Bond had taken it upon himself to turn right instead of left landing him in an open court yard as a sitting duck. Q groaned and tapped at his keyboard frantically. He electronically locked the fire escape doors to stop anyone else from entering the court yard. It also left one path for Bond, the path Q wanted him to take. After ten tense minutes of gun fire, knife fights and hand to hand combat, Bond was bleeding, bruised but alive with the case. He let Q guide him out of the building without any further incidents. From there, Bond jumped into a black BMW and sped down the road. Q frantically tried to pick him up on CCTV but soon gave up. He was travelling to fast. He then switched to tracking him via satellite and the chip that was installed in the agent's ear piece. Q tried his best to direct him out of the city but without a visual, he had no idea where the traffic was.

"007 report, how bad are your injuries"

"Not fatal" Came Bond's dry reply from the other end of the communication line. "Are you worried for me Q?" Q could feel Bond's arrogant smile from his spot at MI-6. He rolled his eyes even though Bond couldn't see and pondered for a bit. The men they were dealing with weren't stupid, they would have back-ups of everything and decoy's. The back-ups didn't matter, MI-6 only wanted to know when and where the exchange was happening. But if it was a decoy and it gave wrong information, Bond could be walking into a trap. However, the tricky part was they had no way of knowing if the information was fake or not. Q suddenly sprang to life, dashing over to his laptop and pulling up the CCTV of the building where the case was stored. He pulled up video, audio and infrared (to see how many were left as backup for the exchange). Bond could direct himself back to his apartment. Q watched as Sebastian Hamilton gathered his men (around 15 were still alive in the courtyard and 20 more scattered through the building) and began to clap. Applaud, was a better word and what he said next mad Q's blood run cold. However fuzzy the image, it couldn't hide his cocky stance as he pulled out a few pieces of paper from a case a man had just delivered to him. He said

"Good work men. They've taken the decoy. We leave for Los Angeles tonight."

Q shut his eyes. Rage. It was rage that bubbled through him at this point. In this raid, they'd lost an agent. A very good one at that. They needed that information to stop the exchange. Sure, they could keep surveillance on them and watch to where they went. But that would require a spontaneous attack. Lives were lost when that happened. They needed that information to plan, to be ready in advance, to scope out their location. Look for fast exits, good hiding spots, blind spots in security. Q gripped the edge of his work desk tightly. His knuckles turning white, his arms trembling with rage. He was angry at himself. He had failed! That didn't happen in Q's family. He squeezed his eyes tightly together.

"Damn it!" He smashed his hand down on his desk. The entirety of Q-branch silenced. To them, it was a success, a victory. They thought that info was theirs and from there, the exchange would be stopped, intercepted. Q crossed one arm over his chest and pinched the bridge of his nose with the other hand.

"Q? Q what the bloody hell?" It was Bond. Q had left communications open. He took a deep breath and said it.

"Decoy. It's a decoy." Bond didn't reply straight away. Just like Q could feel him smile, he could now feel him scowl in annoyance and frustration. Before Bond could reply Q cut in with "I need to inform M. Can you get yourself back to your apartment ok?"

"Affirmative" Was the only reply he got. Q instructed one of his interns to monitor 007 and to keep communication up in case something came up. After that, he strode to M's office. Eve knew something was up even before he said a word. Q wasn't an agent; he didn't have that cool calm mask most agents wore. So he couldn't help showing his nervous, worried expression mixing with anger and self. Once inside Q's office, he relayed the entire thing from when Bond had arrived and Hamilton corp. M sat very still once Q was done. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally commented.

"This was supposed to be a simple, quick in and out task, am I correct?"

"You are sir"

"And what, Bond barely escapes and we lose Matthews all for some dud information?" Q sat stock still, his eyes focusing on a point behind M's head. He was getting enough shit from himself, he didn't need it from M too. M rose from his chair then, walked straight past Q and out the door. Once he was gone, Q let out a breath of relief. The whole operation had made his heart beat fast and hard, adrenaline course through his veins. It was only now that it was beginning to die down. After waiting a good two minutes, just to make sure he didn't accidentally see M again, he headed back down to Q branch and set up 24/7 monitoring on Hamilton Corporation and on Sebastian's private estate. The exchange had to be stopped, it wasn't an option. And the only thing Q could think of was probably the one thing Q dreaded the most.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes, tears beginning to make an appearance. He wanted to cry for Matthews. One of the best they had. He wasn't a double-oh yet, but the look on his face when he was told he was going to be working with one. It was pure awe and excitement. The mission had been classified as a low-moderate danger level so no-one expected what had happened. And, as always, Q felt he was to blame. Maybe he should have equipped him with better gear, or maybe he should have said turn left rather than right. In the end though, it was the unfortunate stoke of bad luck that had made that bullet hit home. And yet Q still felt every bit as guilty.

Q could hear Eve's shoes clipping across the floor of Q branch so he quickly scrubbed at his eyes, pushed back the tears that had yet to fall and got straight back to work. Once Eve had reached him, he was completely composed and greeted her with a professional nod.

"Eve. I'm guessing you heard…before?" Eve looked grim. She was probably feeling the same way as Q about Matthews.

"Every word. Got a new plan yet?" Q was grateful that she hadn't asked more questions about what happened. That was probably why Q like eve so much. When something had happened, she didn't dwell on it. She accepted it and looked for a way to fix it. So Q told her his plan.

"I'm going personally to pay Sebastian a visit." She opened her mouth to argue but Q cut her off and continued, "After the attack, he would have figured out that his computers and security systems were weak or faulty. So, he'll need a computer technician. I can't just get bond in there and hack the system from here, they know his face. I have to do it because this will require doing a three day hack in about eight hours." Eve was looking at him with narrowed eyes. Q could see she wasn't sold on the idea but that didn't matter, he didn't need Eve's consent. "Eve, you know I'm the only one who can do this."

"You have to promise not to die Q. I can't lose two friends to the same man." Q flashed a quick grin at her and said

"Don't worry, I've got 007. What could possibly go wrong if I've got him to protect me?" The look Eve gave him was an unimpressed one to say the least. The statement even left Q wondering about whether he would return seated happily (about as happy as you can be with a fear of flying) in a jet or return in a cardboard box in the cargo hold. Only time would tell.