James Bond crossed his arms over his chest as he stared up at the screen of information scrolling down on the multiple large screens across the wall of Q-Branch. The Quartermaster himself was engaged in a deep, technical discussion with a group of his minions about some kind of device whilst he simultaneously was monitoring 002 and 005's undercover mission in Mombasa and passing over important advice as they worked. James had only intended to return a couple of slightly wrecked gadgets from his own completed mission but he had yet to be able to talk to the busy young man, who seemed to be swamped with work and acting freakishly calm under all the pressure. It was a bit crowded for James's taste, but it wasn't everyday he got to witness the efforts and assess the skill of his expert counterparts; especially those that were 'officially' high ranking than himself. Q seemed to be able to function amongst the chaos with ease, looking completely in his element as he organised those around him and jumped between the relative groups without a moment of hesitation. Finally the minions dispersed and Q moved back to his station, issuing a few clipped orders with the two agents before promptly calling an extraction team as they announced their success. Q gave a quick sigh and signed off, giving himself a moment of silence before turning to James and acknowledging his presence.
"Afternoon 007, how may I assist you?"
James felt slightly guilty as he revealed the mangled weaponry and watched Q's unsurprised expression "I just came to return these."
"Thank you, 007." Q said darkly, relieving James of his precious creations "I might actually be able to salvage something from these this time…if this is all the components."
The dark haired genius moved away to the confines of his private office to stash the pieces for later investigation. James allowed Q to move away without him, feeling like he was placing additional hassle on the young man's already strenuous job and he shuffled his feet slightly anxiously; feeling the stares of everyone else in the room. He was debating whether he should just leave when M's distinctive voice echoed from the hallway and four people entered the room. Mallory was walking alongside a man James did not recognise, Tanner and an unknown young woman walking behind them. Tanner was attempting to talk to the young brunette in a sleek, plain black dress that complimented her curvy figure, but the beautiful woman just held up her hand to silence him; her eyes never leaving the phone in her hand as she tapped expertly away at the device. Mallory himself seemed to be acting overly pleasant to the man beside him who was dressed an expensive Westwood suit. The blazer was a regal navy, matching with the tailored trousers and fancy waistcoat. A silk, burgundy red tie was tied pristinely around his neck beneath a crisp white shirt and a gold chain and expensive pocket watch hung from a pouch at his waist. The two approached James and he stood a little straighter as they halted opposite him, the new man balancing on a dark coloured umbrella with a shiny oak handle.
"Mr Bond," the man addressed him, holding out a clean, well-manicured hand "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am a great fan of your work."
James frowned and shook his hand, evaluating the older man as he tried to identify how important he was "Thank you, it's all for Queen and country."
"Indeed." the dark haired man smirked, the wrinkles on his forehead becoming more prominent just as Q emerged once more from his office.
There was a flicker of recognition as he saw the group but he just walked calmly over to his computer and recommenced his earlier work; completely ignoring the others as they watched him keenly. The older man tapped the point of his umbrella on the floor with a loud clack to draw everyone's attention and Q visibly tensed at the sound.
"My dear Quartermaster,"
"Mycroft." was the curt, monotonous reply from the usually bright young man.
Mycroft scoffed quietly and glanced at looked around at James and M's confused expressions before looking back "Is that any way to greet your big brother?"
"I'm working." Q spun around slowly, his gaze directed at the floor and if James wasn't so surprised by the revelation that the two were siblings, he would have laughed at the gobsmacked expression on M and Tanner's faces "What do you want?"
"Wait, you two are…brothers?" James interrupted and the two turned to glare angrily at him.
"No!"
"Yes."
Q turned furiously to face Mycroft, annoyed by his controlled reply "Here, I'm Q. That means you and I don't know each other. At home…then it's debatable."
There was dead silence in the room as every minion watched their boss' unusual show of aggression and Tanner and M were deathly quiet beside them.
"So, I reiterate…Mr Holmes, is there anything I can do for you?" James himself was shocked by Q's steely tone and examined Mycroft's expression carefully and the slightly awkward tilt of the older man's head.
"One of the government's top secret facilities was broken into two days ago." Mycroft explained in a clipped voice, the corners of his mouth turned down in a slightly distasteful grimace "It seems the security measures were rather lax and therefore I require a more…suitable designer."
Q narrowed his eyes dangerously "You mean your pride got in the way of asking the more appropriate candidate last time and now you've been caught out, you have to rectify the problem before more serious reprimands are placed upon you."
Mycroft didn't reply, he just clicked his tongue in disdain and turned to the brunette still deeply enthralled in the work on her phone "Anthea will provide you with all the necessary details and basic programming. Do try not to hack into everything on file, it is meant to be classified…but you already knew that."
The man turned in an elegant twist and began to walk away almost reaching the door however he was stopped by a stern order.
"Wait Mycroft."
Everyone turned to face Q as he looked up and met Mycroft's eyes for the first time, pushing his glasses further up his nose with one long finger "This facility…it wouldn't happen to be Baskerville, would it?"
"Perhaps, little brother." Mycroft replied with a tight, humourless smile.
"Who broke in?"
"That would be classified."
Q looked away and nodded for a moment, savouring the answer before he met Mycroft eyes again "It was Sherlock, wasn't it? Him and his new friend Watson."
"You have been away a long time," Mycroft answered quickly, avoiding a direct answer "Sherlock doesn't have friends."
"Apparently he has just one."
Anthea looked up from the phone to look at Q, a small smirk playing on her lips and Mycroft wore a strained smile "Goodbye, Percy. Don't be afraid to call and say hello."
Q paled as Mycroft spoke, watching the man leave with a deadly glare and for a few moments there was only tense silence before Q released a long sigh, turned around and picked up his infamous Q mug off the table. Taking a large gulp of Earl Grey, Q quietly returned to his work and nonchalantly ignored the slack-jawed faces of all those around him. Eventually people starting moving on-with a little pushing and shoving from Tanner and M-and Q and James were left standing alone at the counter.
Finally, James felt it appropriate to speak and came up beside the young genius, staring up at the screen above them "Percy?"
"Short for Percival…my family are into the classics."
"And Mycroft?"
"He's my eldest brother; a genius in his own right and a bit of a prick." Q's eyes kept darting over the complex intake of information flashing on screen "He is practically the British government."
"Sherlock?"
A large smile spread across Q's face and his eyes flashed "Sherlock is second eldest in the Holmes family…he's…rather indescribable. A self-proclaimed high-functioning sociopath who could learn almost your entire life story from a single glance. He's rather an interesting character…if a little blunt and insensitive. A little bit of a black sheep."
"Baskerville?"
"As my brother said, Bond…" Q turned to look at him with an amused expression "It's classified."