AN:

Hello everyone,

First of all, I want to thank Kris, and Kyu9930 for their reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying the stories and thank you for letting me know.

Second I started streaming on twitch while I write my chapters. If you want to watch and talk about writing with me I would love for you to come along. My channel is called littlemissrose85. I also opened a twitter account ( littlemissros20) to let everyone know when I start streaming.

Hope to see you there. In the meantime, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 26: Challenge accepted.

Jordan could smack himself. Q had warned him he would throw a spanner in the workings of the internet. He should've known this was it the moment they discovered it. But he had been too preoccupied the last two days, just thinking about his talk with 009. About what he needed to do. He had gotten very little work done, which irked him, and now it appeared to stop him from thinking. Around him the rest of his colleagues collapsed back into their seats.

"Damn I was just hoping something interesting would happen today. Be careful what you wish for I guess." Iris said with a deep sigh of relief. "It's never dull when GOHST does his thing. He could've warned us though." Jordan winced a little because he had been warned. Though if he had acted like he had known what was going on he would've given the game away so maybe it was for the better.

"Wait, you know GOHST?" Sadler asked surprised. He saw Iris wince and cursed mentally. He had hoped Sadler and Talbot wouldn't notice that.

"Know might be a big word…" Iris started backpaddling.

"You do know GOHST is wanted for a lot of crimes." Talbot asked intently. "If you know who he is, you have to tell us."

"I… Uhm…" Iris said, suddenly not knowing where to look. Jordan very subtly made eye contact with Q who was still behind his desk outside of Sadler's and Talbot's view. Q flashed a signal while shaking his head minutely. He didn't know what signal Q had given but the headshake was clear.

"I'm sorry, Sir." He said, standing up, drawing the attention of their department heads. "Information on GOHST has been classified by the orders of M. Our orders are quite clear. We are to observe only. We are not allowed to interfere."

"What?" Talbot said angrily. "Are you telling me GHOST, the most wanted hacker in the world is a MI6 asset?" He sounded a bit like a child that had its present stolen. Like he had wanted to be known as the one who had caught GHOST. It made Jordan want to grimace. He didn't let it show. He would not give anything away. He would keep Q's secrets as was expected of him by Q, M and the director. All of whom were much more important, much more deserving of his loyalty than the two men before him.

"I will not confirm or deny anything regarding GHOST, Sir." Jordan said, holding his ground. "If you want more information, I suggest you make an appointment to see M." He met the stares of his superior's head on and held them, challenging them to do anything. Talbot looked like he was going to open his mouth and put up a protest but Sadler stopped him. The two shared a look and though Talbot was clearly irritated with the idea he yielded with a sigh and a nod.

"All right, Mr Bruskin. We won't ask any more for now and make an appointment with M. But you said you would monitor his actions. Right?" Sadler asked. Jordan saw Q nod from the corner of his eye.

"Those are our orders." He confirmed.

"You said you knew what GOHST was doing." Sadler said.

"Yes, sir." Jordan answered. "He put out a challenge to other hackers. He challenged them to run the gauntlet." Sadler gaped though he tried to hide it.

"What do you mean, run the gauntlet?" Talbot, clearly not a hacker, asked.

"The gauntlet is like an obstacle course for hackers designed by one hacker to challenge others." Surprising Sadler answered. Apparently, he had more than a little experience in the hacker community if he knew about the gauntlet. Jordan hadn't known about it himself until Q had told him about it. "It hasn't been done in a long time. I think the last one was about 15 years ago. Basically, the challenger builds the toughest hacker challenge he can manage and the others try to conquer it."

"So, how do we monitor that?" Talbot asked.

"Jordan can run it." Ormond, Q, GOHST himself, put out there, from where he was sat. Sadler and Talbot jumped a little as if they had forgotten he was there. Jordan narrowed his eyes at Q for once again deciding something for him. Q just raised an eyebrow back at him as if challenging him to do it.

"Is that true, Mr Bruskin?" Talbot asked, his voice taking on an undertone that slightly raised Jordan's hackles.

"I guess…" Jordan said hesitantly. He saw Iris role her eyes exaggeratedly.

"He can definitely do it, sir." She said while looking at him thoroughly annoyed.

"Iris." Jordan hissed.

"Oh, stop it." She bit back. "You need to stop doubting yourself, Jordan. You actually are that good. And if you need to prove that to yourself than here is the perfect opportunity to do it. You'll be doing exactly the same thing as all the others. So now you can see how you measure up against some of the best hackers in the world." Jordan looked at Q past Iris's shoulder. The same challenging face was still looking back at him. Q really wanted him to run the gauntlet? Why? He knew what Jordan was capable of probably better than Jordan knew himself. So, what would be the point?

Was Iris right? Did Q want him to prove himself to himself? To finally make him believe what Q already knew? That was actually a scary thought. It meant he really could do all those things 001 and Q thought he was capable of. To be an agent. A bodyguard. A handler. All those options.

For a moment he thought back to before the explosion. When he was still an unknown face in the back of the IT-department. He had been happy then, Right? He could go back to that. Just be simply Jordan again. 009 had said all he had to do was make a choice. All he had to do was say no and everything would stop.

And then there would be no more training. No more surprises waiting around every corner. He would no longer have to carry his gun. He would go home at the end of the day and put on the TV and just relax. And wonder what could have been. About the missions he could've gone on. About how he could've protected his country better if he had just said yes. About how boring his life was now that Q and 001 were no longer in control of it.

'They turned me into a bloody adrenaline junky,' Jordan thought. Because he realised there really was no going back. He would regret it for the rest of his life if he did. But what then? What was he going to do of he wasn't going to be just a normal IT-guy?

009 was right. Choosing was hard.

'Put it aside and focus just on the present.' Jordan berated himself. Those choices would come later. Q and 001 could be in control of his life for the time being. They'd probably be delighted by that. For now, he would focus on the gauntlet. They wanted to know what Q was up to? He would give them a show.

He looked up, noticing that he'd been in thought for way to long. Everyone was staring at him. His first reaction was to be embarrassed but he quickly suppressed it. If he was going to show everyone, including himself, what he was capable of, he would do it with his head held high.

In true double-0 fashion he relaxed and smiled in the face of adversity. He looked past Iris again and saw Q smile back.

With that he sat behind his computer and got to work.