Title: Conversations From Q Branch

Parings: James Bond & Q; James Bond/Q (ranging in time from pre-relationship to relationship).

Disclaimer: I own no rights. I make no profit.

Chapter 10 – She Didn't Think They'd Mowed in Weeks

Ann Renyolds, currently designated A19, lay flat on the rooftop covertly observing a row of rather disheveled looking houses on Armitage Street. The windows were all dirty and she didn't think they'd mowed in weeks. Clearly garden maintenance was not a high priority item in this particular patch of suburbia. As she waited for her handler Robert to get back to her with information she reviewed the series of events that had landed her on this particular rooftop.

It was a spot of bad luck that she had been on training rotation when Bond had aged out of the 00 program. Management in its infinite wisdom had him alternating between Q-Branch and acting as a part time trainer. Sparring sessions with the ex-00 were brutal but it was the training exercises that really drove everyone spare. The first one had been to attempt to tail Bond through the streets of London. That had been a major cock up. He'd managed to ditch all of them in the first fifteen minutes. She'd only managed to track him down with Robert's extensive assistance.

This one was even worse. It had been dubbed Find the Quartermaster and the mission objective was simple; locate where the head of Q-Branch was hidden within 72 hours and return him to MI6 without being killed. Since it was Bond who had set the exercise many of her colleagues were looking for safe houses, hotels and other properties Bond had used in the past on the theory that he'd stashed the Quartermaster somewhere familiar. Ann hadn't been enamored of that strategy. She knew what Robert said about his boss and she'd even seen him toss something to one of his minions who had softly made a request to a coworker all while barely slowing down his coding. No, Q was a force in his own right and any operation bearing his title would have his fingerprints all over it. There was no way he'd be simply hidden somewhere obvious.

Ann had decided to see if she could work the human intelligence angle. Q was known to associate with Moneypenny and Tanner. A30 had overheard a bit of conversation between the two but she thought it was suspicious that the discussions had occurred just when A30 could hear it. Of course it was common knowledge that Q and Bond were cohabitating. Bond was just too smart to lead anyone to Q so A26 was clearly wasting her time shadowing the man when he left the building. Never the less even the best could slip up and there had to be some line of communication between the two of them which was why she had enlisted Robert to keep an eye on Bond via the CCTV cameras. The only other known Q associate was Dr. Watson in medical so Ann had set her sights on him to see if he knew anything.

She still wasn't sure whether approaching the doctor at lunch had been a good or bad idea. He'd been lunching with his, if she had read the dynamic between the two men correctly, platonic life partner Sherlock Holmes. She'd hardly managed a sentence when Mr. Holmes had deduced her life story, determined her current motivation and then quietly reminded her that MI6 was not the only agency with safe houses. Unfortunately A15 had been sitting nearby and had overheard the last comment. It hadn't taken him long to find several likely safe houses belonging to MI5.

She had resigned herself to not being successful when Robert had contacted her. He'd observed Bond in a corner of the lobby talking on something that did not look like an MI6 issued mobile. In addition, that particular corner had previously been a blind spot in the CCTV coverage until the camera development team had used it to mount one of their micro-mini prototypes. Robert was unable to crack the encryption but he had managed to trace the signal down to a block area in suburban London which was where she was now encamped waiting for either a siting or for Robert to determine which of several properties was officially a safe house. Personally she thought it was Number 25. Better safe than sorry though, she'd wait for the intel.

Her earpiece came live. They'd kept the line closed when not actively communicating to avoid her classmates potentially triangulating on her signal. "Looks like Number 29 belongs to the Yard," Robert said without preface.

"What about 25?"

"It's vacant. Been tied up in a probate matter for several years."

"Hmm. What's the connectivity like?"

There was the sound of typing then "Basic on 29, 25 doesn't have anything at all but 27 was retrofitted with a T1 line two years ago."

"Can you see your boss hiding out anywhere without decent internet?"

"Nope."

"Neither can I. I'm going into 27."

"Good luck agent," Robert said quietly.

Twenty minutes and two disarmed booby traps later Ann was creeping up the basement stairs into Number 25 Armitage Street. She'd found Number 27 to be lived in but currently unoccupied. No computer equipment in sight. Upon investigation of the basement she discovered that all the houses on this side of the street appeared to have connecting basements and the tunnel areas between each were trapped with nonlethal measures. The internet line went toward 25 so that was the direction she had chosen.

Cautiously Ann cracked the door and looked into a kitchen that was much nicer than the outside of the house indicated. Seeing no one she entered and made it halfway across the room when she was brought up short by the sound of the electric kettle clicking off followed by Q's familiar voice saying "While you are in the kitchen A19 could you please make the tea?"

Author's Note: If it wasn't obvious this occurs hour or two after Chapter 9.