It was some hours later before Bond stirred. The sudden realisation of his nakedness and Q's presence in the bed shocked him slightly, only able to recall fragments of their escapade. He gently brushed Q's drooping hands from his bare chest, kissing his forehead as he slid from the cot. Silently, Bond dressed himself in his suit. The three garments were strewn around the cell; his tie lying limply under the bars of the headboard. He reached over to retrieve it, his fingers brushing softly through Q's hair. Bond smiled at the look of peace etched upon his sleeping face. If one was oblivious to his impending fall from grace, he was like an angel. Hell, James thought, threading the tie under his collar, he is an angel.
He breezed through the open cell door, the air filling with the sound of Q's breath. He took one last loving look back inside, and stepped back into the corridor.

Hearing the distinct clunk of his tailor-made Italian shoes, M jumped at Bond. Where he had been waiting, Bond did not know, nor did he want to think too long upon it.
'Bloody hell, Bond.'
'Problem?' His long strides made light work of the tiled corridor, as he snapped his cuffs back together.
'You can bet. Where have you been?' M panted, keeping up to him with no small amount of effort.
'I went where you sent me.'
'For three hours? I'm not stupid.'
'As if I'd even suggest it.'
'If you've been shagging some maid-' Bond halted. M almost tripped in the sudden stop.
'I can assure you, everything was totally innocent.'
'It better have been. You've got to take the stand in about five minutes. This is a man who tried to kill you. If you don't stay focused, he might get away. The evidence against him is next to nothing.'
'You're burnt because he betrayed you.' Something inside M snapped. Any attempts at a civil volume and polite tone vanished instantly.
'He betrayed us all! You open your fucking eyes, Bond, because it's not always everyone else who's at fault. It's not easy to be as detached as you.'
'Don't you dare act like I never cared about him.' It was Bond's turn to snap, a threatening finger poised at M's throat. 'You know I did.' M pushed Bond's hand down, looking more gravely upon him.
'Just, please. Get out there and do what you're supposed to.'
'Of course.'

'All Rise for Honourable Judge Akins.'
There was a simultaneous shuffle of feet, and the entirety of the hall was standing. Bond glanced at his watch.
The judge, a towering figure cloaked in red and black, stepped into his chambers at the front of the courtroom.
'Please be seated.' he demanded, taking a seat himself. He filled the green leather chair fully; his presence was daunting enough to wheedle a confession out of the weaker defendant. 'Could we please hear the opening statement for the defence?'
A weedy looking man stood instantly, bowing towards the judge.
'Your Honour, we are here today to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused is innocent of all charges, on the grounds that there is no evidence against him.'
The judge nodded, turning his attention to M's band of lawyers; a clear frenzy woven deep within their casual courtroom suits.
'And the prosecution's opening statement?'
'Your Honour, we are here to prove that the accused is, indeed, guilty of all charges.'
'Very well. Mr Featherstone, if you could begin your questioning.' One of M's lawyers got to his uneasy feet. He coughed.
'The prosecution calls Agent William Hudderson to the stand.' A pale man stepped into the witness box, shaking slightly. He seemed hollowed by the whole experience. He was handed a bible, and put a trembling hand to it. He read the card in his other hand.
'I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.' He nodded, smiling, at the man with the Bible, handing him back the card. The prosecutor took the stand.
'Agent Hudderson, could you tell the court exactly what you heard on the afternoon of Thursday the third?' He seemed startled by the question.
'Erm, yes...I-I was in Daisy Cafe on - erm- White Conduit Street, when I saw Q come in.' he gestured to the unfazed accused, absently gazing around the courtroom.
'Then what happened?' the prosecutor pushed.
'Well, he saw another man - I didn't know him. He was wearing a red hoodie. Well, Q sat down next to him and I heard them saying things about blowing up James Bond. I wasn't sure, but I kept listening and they were definitely talking about Agent 007 and their plan to kill him.'
'Are you sure this is what you heard? Can you remember exact words?'
'I am sure, I can remember Q saying, exactly, "When Bond presses the button to detonate the bomb, it will explode. There isn't much space, but that much explosive would definitely kill him, if not a few others." I'm sure of that.'
'Thank you, Agent Hudderson.' James looked towards the seated defence lawyer, jittering around his duty with the expert ability of a recent law school graduate with no experience. It finally hit him. Q picked his own representation, and he wasn't exactly poor. He could afford much better, but he'd done this on purpose. He wanted to go down. James smiled as he heard his name being called. He knew what that meant.
He approached the stand. Once he'd sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, the prosecutor began.
'Agent Bond, can you describe your Veronan mission?'
'Well, Mr Featherstone, we were in pursuit of a rogue agent, Renzo Barone. We followed him to an abandoned barn-like building, and a woman confirmed he was the only person inside. I'd been informed by Q branch,' he threw a quick glance at Q, twiddling his thumbs, 'that the weapon we were to use was a smoke bomb that would hopefully drive him out and we could retrieve the documents.'
'But that turned out to be untrue?'
'Indeed. M stopped me before I could do myself or Agent Lister any harm.'
The defence perked up, 'Your Honour, if I may?' The Judge nodded.
'Agent Bond, if you never detonated this device, how can you be sure it was anything but what you were told?'
'If I'm not mistaken, the device was take back to HQ and tested there. It did explode. Quite powerful, apparently, for such a small device.'
'Can anyone confirm this? With evidence?'
'M?' he said, gesturing to his superior. He nodded, and brought out a phone-like device. He clicked a few buttons, and a video began to play on a screen at the head of the courtroom.
'Wednesday the 3rd of November 2013, test of detonator button supplied by Q branch.' said a drawling voice in the video. 'Clear.' A few people in the background stepped out of the shot, leaving the supposed bomb alone. It was almost eerie how it seemed to control the silence of the room.
It was activated.
It exploded ferociously, causing the cameraman to retreat quickly. The film shook as the camera was thrust into its safer position. The screen faded to black.
'As you can see, the test confirmed to us that this device was extremely deadly and was intended for use on Agent Bond and Agent Lister.' Before sitting back down, M glanced to Q. He had an evil twinkle, swirled within his pupils. M could hardly bare to look upon the monster he had created.
The prosecution lawyer began, once again, to question Bond.
'And how would you describe the accused, Agent Bond?'
'Q has always been quite...distant from me,' He flashed a smirk at him, in the gallows. He knew Q wanted to be tested. Every look was a challenge.
Come on, make it hard for me.
'I never talked to him long enough to form a proper opinion. Wish I could've done.' Q was loving it. His inward squeal was nothing new to Bond, and it frankly amused him.
The prosecutor seemed fractious. He straightened his wig with a worried hand.
'So you wouldn't put it past him to do what he is accused of?'
'No, not at all.' M, red with anticipation and blind fury, let out an audible sigh of relief. They wanted Q behind bars, and Bond was finally playing along.
'Although...' he began, much to the prosecution team's dismay, 'he seems quite harmless. Quite weak, actually. I doubt he could pull all this off on his lonesome.'
'You believe he had an accomplice?'
'My beliefs are hardly relevant in court.'
'Thank you, Agent Bond.' The prosecutor, desperation still circulating through his body, nodded to the judge.
'Very well, Mr Featherstone. If we could now hear the case for the accused.' He gestured broadly towards the defence lawyer. He stood, his head bowed.
'Defence calls the accused to the stand.'