Jennifer remained seated in the backseat with her gun pressed to Q's side. The quartermaster was doing his best to remain calm and collected, but he was struggling. His fiancée was currently sat in the front seat and driving this car to her death. Q knew that much to be true. He was looking at the back of her head, seeing how she remained fixated on where she was going down the M62. Her hands were holding the wheel tightly as she moved lanes and overtook a number of cars, her gaze flashing into the rear-view mirror to look behind her. Her gaze would sometimes catch Q's when she made the movement and he wondered if she had put her contacts in that morning considering he hadn't seen her bring her glasses with her.

It was such a strange thing to wonder about, but it somehow felt like a semblance of normality worrying about if Alison had picked her glasses up.

"You want to move to the first lane," Jennifer suddenly said, folding one leg over the other and tugging on the white blouse she wore.

Alison did as she had been told, indicating to head back into the first lane where the sign indicated that she would continue on the M62 towards Leeds. She wondered where they were heading to, but she didn't bother to say anything. Instead, she remained mute, hoping that Madeleine's hidden phone would stay just that.

"You know that you have your father to blame for all of this, don't you?" Jennifer suddenly said as Alison did her best to focus on the motorway ahead, the traffic building up as they left the ring road around Manchester. "If it wasn't for him then none of this would have happened."

"Funny," Alison suddenly said and Q was about to question what could possibly be entertaining, but he remained silent. "You know, everyone tries to make me think that all of this is my dad's fault because of who he is and what he's done, but it never works. You seriously think you can turn me against him?"

"I think by the time I'm finished with you you'll be wishing he never existed," Jennifer said and Q couldn't deny that the malic in her tone was palpable. He had to admit that it even caused him to shudder in fear for a few brief moments. He looked up to Jennifer and then back to Alison, knowing that this couldn't be the end.

They had planned their entire life together. Well, Q had. The flat had just been the start. They were going to buy the flat and they were going to move in together and get married. He had even considered children at one stage, wondering what it might be like to have children and move to the suburbs. He'd never imagined having that quiet, suburban life, but having it with Alison sounded almost dreamy when he thought about it.

"I doubt it," Alison said in a low drawl and Q knew she was trying to be brave about this entire scenario.

Looking into the side mirror, Alison glanced down the motorway behind her, spotting a familiar looking car a few vehicles back. She didn't let her gaze linger too long, not wanting to attract attention to it. Instead, she looked straight ahead.

"Your brother wasn't a nice man," Alison suddenly said. "In fact, I think that might be an understatement. Your brother was a complete and utter bastard."

Jennifer ground her teeth together and pushed the barrel of the gun closer against Q's side.

"Alison, darling, you might want to reconsider winding her up," Q said to her and her gaze met his in the mirror.

"She won't kill you," Alison said confidently. "It's not you who she wants to kill and without you then she has no leverage. If she kills you there is nothing to stop me from pulling over and getting out. She could shoot me too, but she really wants to torture me…make me pay for killing her brother."

"Not as dumb as you look," Jennifer responded, turning to look out of the window and onto the passing country landscapes as they climbed up the Pennines on the motorway. "You know exactly what you did, Alison, and you know that you're going to pay."

"Oh, I really don't care," Alison said to her. "Because I know that you won't get away with this. Do you think that my dad would stop hunting you down because I'm dead?"

"I wouldn't count on it, but he won't be able to find me by that stage."

"I wouldn't test him," Alison said. "Or my fiancé."

"Your fiancé is pathetic, Alison," Jennifer said. "Look at him. I have him held at gunpoint and there is nothing that he can do about it. He's weak…pathetic…do you truly think that he could ever protect you?"

"I wouldn't underestimate him," Alison said.

"I'm inclined to agree with her on that point," Q said and his gaze met Jennifer's and she saw some kind of determination there. He might not be physically strong like Bond, but there was something inside of him that told Jennifer that he shouldn't be underestimated. She said nothing further, her lips curling up as she instructed Alison to take the next exit.

She pulled over to a service station and parked the car in a bay towards the back. It was particularly quiet with only a few people entering the services to pick up food and stretch their legs. Lorries were parked at the other end near the petrol station and there was litter dotted around the empty car park, burger wrappers and coffee cups rolling round in the wind.

"And this is where we say goodbye, Q," Jennifer said in a sing-song voice. "Now, head inside like a good boy and I promise that I won't shoot you."

"No," Q said firmly. "I'm not letting you take her…not without me."

"You're not part of the plan," Jennifer informed him.

"I don't care," he snapped back. "I'm not leaving her alone."

"It's fine, Q," Alison said, turning the ignition off and looking back to him before glancing to Jennifer. "Can I have one last minute with him…please? You owe me that much."

"I owe you nothing."

"You're going to kill me anyway, so just let me say goodbye to my fiancée."

Jennifer rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You have a minute. If he's not out the car by the time I open the door then I'll shoot him and drag him out."

Alison nodded as Jennifer climbed from the car and stood by the door. Alison moved quickly and Q wondered what she was doing as she managed to climb into the backseat, squeezing through the gap between the two front seats. Q moved to the side as she collapsed onto her knees on the back seat, kneeling on it as he reached for her cheeks, holding them firmly in his hands.

"I am not leaving you," he said sternly to her. "I am going nowhere without you, Alison."

"I know," she said, "but we don't have much time. Listen to me, before I got into the car, Madeleine snuck me her phone. I put it into the waistband of my skirt and managed to slide it into the top of my tights while we've been driving…it's hidden, but it's got a tracking device on it. Dad's been following us here, I'm sure of it."

"And what if you're wrong?" Q asked her. "I'm not leaving you, Alison…I can't take that risk."

"You have to," Alison pleaded with him. "Dad's going to find me, but he has to wait until the right moment, Q."

"I can't leave you," Q simply said, shaking his head as Alison smiled sadly at him.

"It's going to be fine," Alison promised him. "Listen to me, it's going to be fine. Dad will have tracked us here and he will get you, but you have to go. You have to go because she can't get suspicious."

"It will be suspicious if I just leave you here, Alison," Q retorted to her.

"Just…please…trust me."

"I trust you, it is her I don't trust."

"That makes two of us," she agreed with him on that point. "But I need to do this. I need to do this because it is the only way we can get out of this…so please, just go with the plan, Q. Do that for me."

"I'd do anything for you," Q said to her in a soft whisper. "But leaving you with her…it's not right…you're my fiancée, Alison…you're everything to me. You're my future and I know I'm not the most romantic man in the world. I know I'm not good at sweeping, grand gestures, but I would do anything for you."

"Then do this," Alison pleaded. "Get out this car and trust me."

Before he could argue any further, Alison had pressed her lips to his and he knew that this was her attempt to keep him quiet. He somehow managed to pull back from her as she moved a hand up to his hair, brushing her fingers through it as she leaned around him and pushed the door open, grabbing Jennifer's attention.

"Time's up," Jennifer declared.

"No," Q said firmly.

"Go," Alison demanded as Jennifer pulled him from the car, her gun pressing into his back. Alison closed the door behind him and sighed to herself, wondering just what it was Q would do. She moved to the front seat again and saw Jennifer speaking with Q in a hushed, but harsh, tone judging by her face. Alison remained silent as she sat in the driver's seat and Q looked back to her as Jennifer climbed into the car, sitting in the passenger seat.

"Your fiancé is quite stubborn," she commented.

"Tell me something I don't know," Alison muttered as Q continued walking to the services. His gaze met Alison's and she could see the anguish in his face. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to leave her alone with Jennifer, but there was no other option and Alison hoped he saw that.

The plan would work. She knew that much. As she drove off once more, Q sighed to himself and longed for Bond to be close behind them.

…

Sitting down in the metal chair, Alison did her best not to feel too uncomfortable or look too scared. They had driven to some abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Leeds. She had parked the car in the cark park before Jennifer got out and dragged her out too, the gun pressed to Alison's back as she walked forwards. Jennifer had secured her to a metal chair with rope before taking another chair and sitting across from her, looking at her and folding one leg over the other.

"You know, Carl always did say that your mother was the most boring woman he had ever been with," Jennifer suddenly said, hoping to get a rise out of Alison. She was taunting her. She wanted to break her down into nothing. But Alison intended on staying strong. She wouldn't give her the satisfaction. "He used to say how you were nothing but a spoilt brat too…constantly giving your mother grief."

"I was young," Alison retorted.

"And now look at you," Jennifer said, motioning to her. "It's somewhat poetic, don't you think? That my brother killed the mother and now I get to kill the daughter."

"I don't know if poetic is quite the word I would use," Alison responded with a scoff.

"It's funny," Jennifer said, ignoring Alison. "Carl used to say that you were the spitting image of your father and I guess he has a point. He used to say the same thing about me and our father when he was in the picture."

"He must have been one ugly bastard then," Alison spat back.

Jennifer chuckled and tossed her hair behind her shoulder, pointing to Alison. "You're not going to get a rise out of me," Jennifer said to her. "I mean, you can say what you want if it makes you feel better about what is coming your way."

"And what is that?" Alison asked, knowing it would be for the best to keep her talking as long as possible. It would give her dad time. He couldn't be far away. He was following them, Alison was certain of that. He just needed a few more minutes.

"You see that box over there?" Jennifer asked, motioning to a cardboard box on a steel table in the corner. The table was at in a puddle where water had dropped in from the leaking roof. The lights flickered on and off every so often and the room was cold. "Well, I bought everything that I could think of that I could use to torture you…hammers…pliers…knives…I was wondering what would be worse for you to begin with, to have no eyes but to feel everything that I am doing to you or to keep your eyes but have no ears to hear your screams."

"Tough one," Alison said in a low drawl.

Jennifer chuckled and moved her chair closer to Alison's, their knees touching. Leaning forwards, Jennifer moved a hand to the girl's cheek, her fingers running up and down it and stroking along her cheekbone.

"You act so tough," she commented in a whisper. "But once I get you on that table and begin hacking away at you, that will soon change."

"I doubt it."

"I don't," Jennifer said. "But I am going to need you to take off your clothes. They only get in the way and make this bit very messy."

Alison froze. Shaking her head, she refused as Jennifer sighed and reached into her jean pocket, producing a small knife. "Then we can do this the hard way," she said and Alison saw the blade move towards her. "And if I cut you in the process, I wouldn't worry too much. It won't be nearly as painful as what I have planned."

"Stop it," Alison said, but the ropes kept her hands tied behind her body.

She could only watch as Jennifer sliced through her blouse, tearing it to shreds and discarding it onto the floor, leaving her in a plain black bra. Moving to the waistband of her skirt, she cut at that, tossing it behind her and reaching for her tights. She went to take hold of it as Alison's chest heaved and she knew she would find the phone. Jennifer froze, holding the knife in one hand as the other hand pulled the tights away from Alison's body. Her gaze narrowed as she looked down and moved her hand down her stomach and to her thigh, finding the hidden phone.

"You little bitch," she snarled as she picked the phone up and eyed it, slamming it on the phone and stomping on it with her heel. "How the hell did you get that?"

"You should've been more observant," Alison said to her, looking around for any sigh of her father.

"Looks like I'll have to hurry this show along," Jennifer snapped and Alison wondered what she was doing before she used the knife to cut the ropes behind her. Alison tried to stand and fight her off, pushing at her and trying to escape her grip. Alison continued fighting her until Jennifer pushed her from her, tossing her to the floor.

Alison made a move, crawling forwards and about to stand up and run before she heard the familiar noise of the safety lock being removed on a gun. Staying on the floor, she turned around, her arms stretching behind her to keep her sat up as her legs curled underneath her body. Jennifer's lips arched into a sinister smile.

"You look scared now," she commented.

"You don't need to do this," Alison said to her, wondering just where her father was.

"Oh, I really do," Jennifer said, keeping the gun aimed at Alison. Crouching down in front of her, she moved a hand to the back of her head, gripping onto her hair tightly as she pressed the gun to her forehead. "Rot in hell, you little bitch," she hissed.

Alison remained silent as the noise of the gunshot echoed in her ears.

…

A/N: Thanks so much to anyone who is still reading this - I know it's been a while but would love to know what you think and if you are interested in it continuing to No Time To Die or if I should finish earlier!