DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Sherlock and James Bond. I wish I could say they're mine because they're bloody brilliant.

Chapter 2: Bunkering down

The Quartermasters position at MI6 had always been prestigious, but its importance had increased over the years. Those that had personally worked with Boothroyd and his successor, often only saw the glorified gadget providers that they were. But as attacks on the agency became more and more digital instead of physical, Q had become largely responsible for the safety of the agency. Boothroyd had seen quite quickly that he, though he was a fantastic engineer, wasn't much of a programmer and had left those responsibilities to others. It had set the unfortunate trend of IT department becoming less and less important over the years instead of more so. The consequences had been explosive.

Now though the safety of the agency had fallen into the hands of a young, to most unknown, programmer who, though he wasn't much of an engineer, was a bit of a computer genius. During the 48 hours he spent in 221B Baker Street Q had quickly pulled together all the computer nerds that had occupied the dark corners of Q-branch and had worked continuously with them to keep MI6 safe from one cyber attack after another, while at the same time building the most elaborate Firewalls anyone had ever seen. The nerds, unused to the guidance that they were given now, had flourished under the attention they were receiving and had quickly become the most loyal workers MI6 had ever seen. They had worked until they literally dropped and were at it again as soon as they regained consciousness.

The engineers hadn't been sitting still while all this was going on. Besides, pouring the computer nerds onto cots and providing them with sustenance, they had started to set up shop in the old Churchill bunkers that had been their back up location. Runners had been sent out for everything from building materials, to electronics, to weapons and explosives. Q had only encouraged them by approving their designs for everything ranging from offices, a shooting range and blast room to a palmprint scanner for handguns.

During those hours of continuous exhausting work, Benedict Ormond Holmes had mentally become Q and he took the duty of safety that he had been charged with very seriously. He had vowed to himself he would do everything he could to protect and support all those who dedicated their energy to keep this country safe, office workers and agents alike. Mycroft would scoff at the emotional attachment he was quickly developing for everything MI6.

Their hard work paid off when Tanner had walked into the bunker after two days, took one wide eyed look around and got onto his phone. That same day it was decided that all off MI6 would move into the bunker.

It was time to move. After 72 hours of stopping for nothing but tea, toast and toilet Q desperately needed a shower and some clothes. Luckily, like Sherlock, he had inherited most of mummy's features. They had the same slim build and he wasn't much shorter than his brother so most of the clothes would it him. He rummaged through the wardrobe and quickly found a couple of shirts, trousers, some never worn pants and a suit jacket that fit him reasonably well. Figuring he wouldn't be able to go home for a while he started digging through the wardrobe for a bag. Stuffed in the back of the wardrobe he found a beige jumper with a double zipper. It was hideous, obviously something Sherlock had stolen from Dr Watson, and Q loved it. It disappeared in the bag with the other clothes he stole. A quick shower and some more toast and he was on his way.

He got picked up at Oxford Circus tube station by a standard black MI6 SUV driven by an agent who introduced herself as Eve Moneypenny. The young woman was talkative and told him she was on desk duty after a mission gone wrong. She hoped she would be cleared to go back into the field soon. Q listened to her ramblings without really responding to her. Luckily the drive wasn't long.

They drove into the underground parking facilities and she guided him through a guarded door into the bunker he had helped redecorate but hadn't seen yet. After a short walk through a tunnel that gave him at least 20 ideas for safety features, they stepped onto a balcony overlooking a large room crawling with activity. Desks were being set up and occupied the moment they were functional. Lights and ducts had been hung from the ceiling. In the back of the room offices had been constructed by suspending floors and glass partitions between the two-story high arches. The noise resembled that of a beehive in full agitation.

People looked up when he walked down the steps onto the floor. He nodded to them and they greeted him in return before going back to work. Looking around, he felt awe at what his people had accomplished in just three days. At the same time, he felt slightly overwhelmed by all the hustle and bustle going on around him. Mentally he started a to do list of people he needed to find and talk to when they were approached by a man he recognised, though he hadn't met him yet. Bill Tanner, the chief of staff.

"Q. Good to meet you. M wants to see you." He said succinctly. Oh Christ, politics. Q hated politics with a passion. Having grown up in the footsteps of Mycroft bloody Holmes he knew how to play the game well enough, but absolutely hated the roundabout way all politicians seemed to conduct their business. He was a doer, not a talker. And he had absolutely no desire to get dragged into the pissing match between Olivia Mansfield and Mycroft Homes. Those two didn't see eye to eye at all and M was surprisingly good at keeping Mycroft out of her business, the reason Mycroft wanted the merger in the first place.

Q wondered about the timing though. He'd only just arrived and he knew the building was far from secure at the moment. M was a smart woman, why would she disrupt his work when it was this important. This however was a matter for another time. He sighed. He had a job to do. And his job did not involve meeting with M at the moment.

"And she will. As soon as I have things secure here, I will be available to her. Now though, I have an agency to get up and running. Excuse me." He answered just as succinctly and stalked off to find the IT-department, leaving behind a surprised and affronted chief of staff.

The IT department was relatively quiet. There were only a few people at work there and Q gestured at them to carry on as soon as they looked up. He looked around. The engineers had gone through great lengths to make sure this was finished as quickly as possible. He really had to thank them for it. Desks lined both sides of the room, with screens lining the walls so others could look on without crowding and harassing his team. Up front a single standing desk was set up for him with a ginormous screen for him, several smaller ones connected to what his workers were doing so he could keep an eye on them all. Q was touched. He hadn't asked for any of this, but it certainly would come in handy.

"We asked your team for input. Do you like it?" He heard behind him. A woman he remembered seeing in the former Q's company plenty of times, some science-prodigy the old man had recruited out of a University lab before other tech companies could pounce if he remembered correctly, walked up to him.

"It looks perfect. You guys did a good job with it all. I'm very impressed and pleased with all you have accomplished." He answered as he turned to her.

"Thank you, we did our part as your people did yours. Q, R" She said as she held out her hand. The no nonsense approach put him at ease right away. Even though the woman was about 10 years his senior it seemed that she wouldn't hold it against him. And her skill set complemented his very well. It was an excellent choice for his second in command.

"Good to meet you. Whoever chose you to work with me choose well." He replied while he shook her hand.

"M isn't happy with you being Q." She said seriously with an undercurrent of curiosity. "She asked me to keep an eye on you." Q wanted to role his eyes but didn't want to come across as unprofessional. Off course she did. He hadn't even met the woman yet and already M was seriously getting on his nerves. But if he read the situation right R wasn't amused either.

"I bet she did." He told her with a calm he wasn't feeling. "But I have no intention of working against her. Nor do I have any intention to let her run roughshod over this department. My only priority is the safety of this agency and its agents and I will do what must be done in order to achieve that. I hope we are in agreement on that. Should I ever do otherwise I expect you to shoot me, just as I will not hesitate to do the same to you should you be discovered."

Q waited with baited breath how R would respond to this. Because he'd basically just threatened her and most people didn't respond well to that. But this was MI6. If you couldn't stand being threatened you had a problem. The double-0's weren't exactly known for their calm nature. Her face slacked to neutral and she seemed to be going over his words carefully. Finally, a smile blossomed on her face and she held out her hand again.

"Good. It'll be interesting working with you, Q. Our interests and fields of expertise complement each other well. I think we'll make quite the team."

"I think we'll get along fine." He replied with a small smile as he shook her hand. "Now, let's get up and running and then I'll go play politics with M. She already requested a meeting but she'll have to wait until we're secure here. I will not endanger us just to get into a pissing match with her."

R laughed at that. "Definitely won't be bored working with you, will I? Let's get started."