Chapter 34: Getting away

"Damn it, Q" Stephen silently cursed. He followed the hacker out of the door as behind them 7 exploded into action, taking out the guards, probably to take off after the girl he saw being led away. This was the last thing they needed. He was unarmed, and though he was quite capable of taking on anyone without a weapon, he had no desire to do so.

Q apparently didn't either. His pace didn't change and he didn't glance behind him once but he started walking directly towards the exit and the cable car. Stephen shifted a bit closer in. On the way there Q had him keep his distance, acting like he was another visitor instead of a guard. Stephen regretted agreeing to that. If he had known Q was going to bait 7 like that he'd be damned if he had been anywhere other than his charges shoulder. Now, with a threat looming he didn't care what Q thought about it, he was going to act like the guard he was.

Especially since it seemed they had picked up a tail.

Feeling his lack of a gun even more keenly, Stephen drew even closer. Now walking directly at Q's shoulder, he was in the perfect position to bodily guard his charge from any assault, even take a bullet for him if he had to. Q didn't give any indication of irritation so he must've picked up on the tail too. Still his pace didn't change and he didn't glance around him.

Fortunately, their tail didn't intend to keep them from leaving and they reached the cable car without incident. Q immediately took a seat on the bench, as far away from the door as he could and immediately took out his laptop while Stephen turned in the doorway to confront their tail. The man, who dressed and moved like a fellow professional, seemed startled for a moment at having been made, then seemed to consider trying to get on anyway. Stephen made himself broad and menacing. The man looked at him with a grin before saluting as they reached the end of the platform and the doors closed on them.

Stephen sighed and turned to his charge.

Q was typing faster than Stephen had ever seen him do, his face still calm and relaxed. Stephen admired his calm for a moment, seeing as he was feeling anything but. He was already preparing for what was undoubtedly waiting for them at the bottom of the cable car. Their tail had undoubtedly allerted people about his inability to get on.

"Ah." He heard and he turned from the door towards Q who ignored his questioning gaze in favour of pulling out his phone and dialling.

"It's confirmed." He said as soon as the phone was answered. "Denbigh and Moriarty are separate identities. I've got more names but I've got to go." Q listened a bit longer and grimaced before answering "Understood." And ringing off. But instead of gracing Stephen with the attention the situation required, he returned to his laptop.

Gritting his teeth, Stephen looked out the window towards the bottom of the slope, where the end station was just coming into view. Another 5 minutes, he estimated.

"006." Stephen turned slightly to look at his charge. Q had stood and was holding out his laptop, which he had folded completely backwards, making it a tablet, and a stylus pen to him. "Please sign here."

As on edge as he was, the mere thought of paperwork irritated him. He knew he should read whatever Q wanted him to sign, it could be his death warrant for all he knew, but with the end station looming ever closer, he simply took the stylus and signed on the dotted line. Q took his laptop back immediately, folded it back over and closed and put it away.

"You are hereby allowed to use necessary force in my defence." Q said as he continued to dig through the bag which, at second glance, was bigger than the laptop he had pulled out of it. When he emerged from the bag, Q handed him a weapon. His weapon, Stephen realised, startled as he automatically gripped the handle and saw three lights light up green.

"We, however, would prefer to keep this situation from turning into an international incident. Therefore this is certainly not a licence to kill, 006. Avoid using force if you can, maim only if you can't. Is that understood?" Q instructed, whilst getting another gun out of his bag and tucking it into his jacket.

"Yes sir." Stephen all but saluted the general of Q-branch. He didn't tuck his gun away, knowing he would probably need it in a minute as they were now on final approach to the station. He started scouting out the platform, immediately noticing the men on the get off platform, as well as the crowd of skiers waiting to go up. Q joined him at the window with a grim expression.

"If I block them from coming in on the exit platform, we can get off through the crowd which would block their line of sight and give us some cover. We can make an exit and find cover the first opportunity we get." Stephen proposed. Q winced a little as he looked at the crowd at the exit platform, mostly what looked like rowdy teenagers on a school outing skying the slopes, but straightened with a determined set of his jaw.

"Agreed." He answered with a nod.

"What's our destination?" Stephen asked, because they hadn't really discussed that yet.

"Back to the Pevsner, if we can." Q answered. "Immediately to the airport if we can't. Then you'll have to meet up with 007 after I'm off the ground. There are things he should know."

Stephen grunted in return, not really liking these orders to part from Q if things went south, but there wasn't time to argue about that now as they were entering the station. He went to stand in front of the doors, feeling Q taking his position at his back. Sending up a small prayer he braced himself for whatever was going to happen as the doors started to open.