When Moneypenny gets the footage that she needs from the CCTV cameras the next day, she heads down to where Tanner is, knowing that he can be trusted with this information. He also tends to be Bond's handler as it were so he is relatively close with Q. Before he and Bond started to get intimate, occasionally the three would order in dinner and have a chat when they were around late, usually because of one of Bond's missions.
Seeing the man thankfully alone at his desk, Eve walks over to him with her tablet balanced on one hand and she smiles a little. "Good afternoon, Tanner." She says pleasantly as she watches him, figuring there is no reason not to exchange pleasantries before she goes asking for favors.
Unfortunately for Moneypenny, her attempt at politeness has only put Tanner on edge. The man looks up from his desk at her with a distinctly weary, suspicious expression. "What do you want?" He finally asks as he sees that she has her tablet. "Blimey.. is it really afternoon already?" He asks as an afterthought, glancing at the clock on his computer screen before he sighs and rubs a hand over his face. As he waits for a reply from the wily secretary, he gets up and walks to get some coffee from a nearby carafe.
"Why do you think just because I came down here I need something? I do come just for a chat once in a while." Eve notes with a poutiness to her tone before she sighs.
"When you come just to chat, you don't usually start out with saying 'good afternoon'." Tanner points out before he comes back to his desk to sit down after fixing his coffee the way he likes it – lots of sugar to get him through the day.
"As it stands, I need your assistance in identifying two men. I have pictures from CCTV. I need to know if they come up in any criminal database domestic or foreign, including any of ours." The younger woman continues as she turns her tablet so that he can see it, perching on the edge of his desk. "And this is to be kept between us. The only other person who is allowed to know about this is M. I'm keeping him informed." Her tone is quite serious as she watches the man pause with his mug halfway to his lips.
"That serious, eh? Who are these blokes?" This is not usually a question that he asks, usually Tanner is asked to do something and he does it. He doesn't necessarily need to know who or why, and sometimes he finds out in the course of doing whatever it is he's asked to do.
For a few moments it seems as if Moneypenny is trying to figure out whether or not she should tell Tanner, her usually upbeat, sunny disposition gone for the moment, indicating just how serious the situation is. "Those two approached Q in that Italian place around the corner. They knew his real name." She isn't privy to the information of what that name is exactly, but she knows that it's bad. "They pretended to know him from school or something. Q said he'd never seen them in his life, and if anyone would remember their mates from school, I think it would be him." A small frown crosses her face as she looks down at the picture before she sends them to Tanner's computer. "M wanted me to investigate, but you know these systems a great deal better than me. Bond doesn't know yet, either."
Eyebrows up in surprise, Tanner stares at Eve for a few moments before he nods slightly. "That would be an issue. If someone were to get a hold of Q.." Deciding not to think about that, the man instead turns toward his computer and brings up the facial recognition program he needs. "This may take some time.." He warns Moneypenny as he imports the pictures from her tablet and puts them into the computer to start searching the database.
"When you say some time, is this the sort of thing I should wait around for, or are you telling me to go back to my office?" Eve asks with some amusement as she looks down at Tanner, arching one delicate eyebrow for a moment.
"Go get some food and go back to your office. I'll call you when I get anything." Tanner says as he glances up at her and then looks back at his program, hitting a few keys to try and narrow things down a bit and make it go a little faster.
"Oh, alright. Make sure you do. And as I said, keep this to yourself." Moneypenny says firmly before she shuts off her tablet with a few flicks of her fingers and then turns to walk out of the small office to return to her desk. There are other things needing her attention as well, as much as she wants to find this person right away, she has a feeling it will be some time before they will have their answers.
~oOo~
Grateful for his preparedness in always keeping a change of clothes at the office, and the fact that there are showering facilities on site, Q gets himself cleaned up and finds breakfast waiting for him on his desk in the form of a bagel with cream cheese and coffee. The handwriting on the bag leaves little to the imagination when it comes to guessing who it came from. Rather than making a bit deal about it, Q instead just smiles and settles down to enjoy his breakfast as he goes over some emails and reports.
The best thing for him to do is work, since the young man finds himself on lock down after the events of the day before. Still, it is frustrating knowing that he cannot leave the building. Which leads his mind off to wondering how people on submarines do it, or those that have to work in secret underground bases. Not able to get fresh air or see the sky for extended periods of time. At least he can go to a different part of the building and look out a window. It is highly unlikely there will be a sniper anywhere nearby just waiting for him to come to a window. Snickering at the thought, Q turns his mind back to his work and finishes up his reports for the morning in record time, no one seeing fit to bother him this early in the morning. Or they didn't see him come in this morning because he woke up so early and assume he is not at work yet. Either way it gives him several hours of productivity before he ventures out into Q branch to make sure that everyone is on task, fielding questions and taking suggestions.
Lunch is another delivery by one of the many lower level runners always seen dashing this way and that with files, boxes or other items. Q thanks the younger man nonetheless before he heads to his office to enjoy his meal. Letting the door swing closed behind him he sighs, wondering who it was that could be responsible for this, when he gets a text message on his phone from Bond's number. Once again he is grateful for having gotten them both secure phones.
Did you get your lunch? -James
Yes, I just did. I take it you are responsible for it being delivered? -Q
I might have. I want to make sure you stop and eat. Did you have breakfast this morning? -James.
Yes. Ms. Moneypenny got me breakfast, it was waiting for me on my desk when I came in. Thank you for lunch. -Q
Good. And you're welcome. How is Q-Branch today? -James
Don't you have a mission you should be attending to? -Q
Surveillance. Not very exciting. Requires some silence, but texting is a wonderful resource. -James
You didn't answer the question. -James.
Q-branch is fine. There are some projects we are working on, I got my paperwork done uninterrupted for once. After lunch I'll be going down to the range to test some things R&D have been working on. -Q
Be careful. -James
Always. Wouldn't want to endanger your mission by getting hurt. -Q
Good. Got to go, on the move. Will call later. Miss you. - James
Deciding not to distract him with another text back, Q just smiles a little and shakes his head as he goes about eating his lunch. He misses the agent as well, and it's only been one day. Which means they are getting far too used to being around eachother. A good thing for mates perhaps, but not so much for the profession they are currently in. The situation Q is in right now comes back to mind, and he sighs a little as he stares blankly at his computer screen. It is much easier to lie to Bond and hide things from him when the man is halfway across the world.
The fact remains, he cannot stay in MI6 forever. And he doesn't want to send anyone to pick up clothes because if Bond comes home and smells another man in their flat, it might cause complications. A fight he does not want to even start if he doesn't have to. Removing his glasses, Q rubs a hand over his face as he thinks of what to do. At the very least, he will have to go get some clothes. That will likely require talking to M this afternoon.
Finishing the last of his food, Q pulls his keyboard toward him and sends out a quick email to M requesting a meeting with him that afternoon, before he gets up and strides out to do exactly what he told James he was going to do. And that is testing out a few things R&D came up with, to see if any of them are feasible to send out in the field or if they are just flights of whimsy from the R&D crew. Which has been known occasionally, a good idea turns into some monstrosity which is not practical and it's necessary to send them back to the drawing board.
After an exhausting few hours in the gun range, Q returns to his office to see Moneypenny there waiting for him. "M wanted me to see if you were free for the meeting you requested." She says with a little smile on her face. "Come on, then, put those papers down, we don't want to keep him waiting.
"Of course." Q says before he does as he's bid, putting the papers and folders he was carrying with the reviews, designs and proposals from the R&D department, onto his desk before he turns to follow Eve toward the elevators. "He could have just returned the email or called." Q points out as he glances over at his friend before reaching up to adjust his glasses.
"We did try to call. They said you were unreachable in the gun range. So M thought it was best that I come down to get you myself. And it's always nice for me to get out of the office once in a while." The young woman says with a little smile that seems to beguile a lot of men.
It merely makes Q a little suspicious at the moment and he merely nods. "I fully understand needing to get out of the office for a few moments." He says as he looks at the numbers ticking past above the doors of the elevators. "That is what I want to talk to M about, in fact." He states just as the doors open and he walks through, heading up to M's door to knock.
After he receives a response, Q steps inside the heavy, large wooden doors into M's office, making sure it closes behind him before he walks over to the older man's desk. "Thank you for seeing me, M." He says with a small nod of his head.
"Of course. You so rarely request a meeting, I imagine it is something important, so I made a bit of time in my schedule." M gets up, shakes Q's hand and then walks over to a small table where there is usually a few decanters of various alcohol's, but a small tea pot and a few mugs have joined it. "Earl Grey is your favorite, is it not?" He asks as he pours two mugs and then brings one over to Q, placing a small try of sugar and cream on his desk in front of Q.
"Yes, thank you, sir." Q mutters cautiously, taking the tea and preparing it to his liking before he sits down. "It is about the effective lock down I am in at the moment." He begins before he takes a sip of his tea, looking at it in surprise. "This is rather good, what brand is it?"
M smiles a little as he sits down behind his desk again and he nods slowly. "It's a special blend, I've forgotten the name of. Moneypenny will tell you." He says before he sips his own tea. "I'm afraid I can't risk you being kidnapped, you're far too valuable an asset, Q."
Distracted for a moment by the tea, Q returns his attention to his boss, taking a moment to prepare his next words. "I understand that, sir. I understood when I took this job. However, while I may have previously let someone enter my flat and pick up clothes or whatever else, it's not an acceptable course of action. Bond would not be very pleased to smell another man in the flat, you see." The boffin can feel his cheeks pinken slightly at discussing something like this with his boss and ordinarily he would never bring it up, but it is a valid objection at the moment, he feels.
"Ah, yes. I had not considered that." M says honestly as he sits back, steepling his fingers in thought as he tries to figure out a solution. "If you wish to return to your flat, you will have to be escorted by an agent, in one of our cars." He says seriously as he looks at the younger man, trying to figure out what is best for everyone, in a way which Q will still be safe.
"Yes. As long as the guards stay outside the flat, then it will be acceptable." Q says in his usual calm manner, looking back at M and trying not to betray his nervousness about the situation.
"I'll make arrangements for you to go around 6, best to miss most of the rush hour traffic in case anyone is watching for you. I must admit, you are taking this a bit better than I expected." M says as he pulls out a paper from one of his drawers and starts making a few notes on it.
Q chuckles softly as he looks down into his remaining tea, considering the comment before he answers. "Yes, well. When I took this job, I knew it was not necessarily safe. My predecessor did not get out unscathed afterall." Lifting his head to look at M, he lifts one hand to adjust his glasses a bit. "I am confident we will be able to find out who those men were and what they might want, in short order. And once Bond returns it will be a different situation. What better protection could I have than 007?" He asks, rather amused and hiding a smile behind his mug as he takes a drink of the liquid.
"Yes. Well. It seems I underestimated you as a person, Q. You're much stronger than I originally thought." M says before he nods slowly. "Once Bond returns it will be different, yes. For now, best to get a few days of clothes and any toiletries you might need. I imagine once your mate returns we will have to inform him of what is going on. Not a conversation I look forward to. Best get back to work." He says with a nod of his head toward Q, a clear dismissal as he turns to look at his computer and write out the orders he expects to be followed.
Placing his mug down beside the sugar and creamer tray, Q nods a little. "Yes, sir. There is never any shortage of work in Q-branch." He says with a smirk before he stands and turns toward the door. Once outside, he looks over at Moneypenny. "You must tell me where M gets his Earl Grey, it's a wonderful blend."
Moneypenny looks up from her desk and grins a little. "I'm afraid it's classified information, Q. But I might be able to wrangle up a tin or two for you." She says playfully, then adds, "He wasn't very harsh on you, I hope?"
"On the contrary, it felt like he was wearing kid gloves, as if I might fall apart in the face of this danger." Q snorts a little at the thought. "Hardly. It would take a great deal more for me to crumble." He says confidently before he looks at Eve. "If you could get me some of the tea, I would be appreciative, however." Finally, he turns toward the elevators. "Back to the grindstone." He decides as he heads for the doors, sighing a little when they close in front of them and he is allowed to go back to his own domain.
Sorry this has taken a while to get out. Computer issues and holidays have been blocking me, but I hope you enjoy this chapter regardless, hopefully I will get back to it now. Thank you for sticking with me over the last few months where I haven't been posting much. I promise I haven't abandoned anything. :) And I hope everyone has wonderful holidays!
Reviews/Comments welcome!