Chapter 35: Escape and evasion

The cabin entered the station and the doors swung open. Q felt 006 settle and knew that they were in for a showdown. He didn't look, focussing on taking his cues from the agent. Thus far the agent hadn't moved as the cabin moved slowly through the station. Q knew double-0's could be imposing if they wanted to be and 006, despite his young age, was no exception. But he had counted at least 7 attackers so there was little doubt that they would be able to get away without a confrontation of some sort.

He glanced to the side, seeing the curve come up which would bring the cabin to the boarding platform. They were almost there. Apparently, their attackers had seen that too because he felt the agent ready his gun. Q waited for the explosion of movement that would bring about a lot of governmental talks and paperwork, something they could definitely do without.

An explosion from up the mountain drew the attention of everyone in the station. Q rolled his eyes in exasperation at the destructiveness of double-0's. Because that was definitely 007 making a racket up there. It couldn't have happened at a more opportune time though because as it drew everyone's attention, the cabin swept through the curve and into the crowd unhindered.

Suddenly, 006's grabbed him in the neck and just as quickly they were out of the cabin and in the crowd. Q let himself be led, not startled or irritated by the rough treatment, knowing it was necessary. The neck was the ideal place for steering your protectee and forcing him to duck if needed. They weaved their way through the crowd quickly, heading for the exit.

The crowds thinned as they approached the exit. But by the sound of commotion behind them their attackers weren't far off. Suddenly, he was pressed up against the wall. He looked at 006. The agent took one look around the corner before retreating and Q found himself desperately trying to keep from scraping against the wall as they moved in the opposite direction, back into the station.

Suddenly there was a door. And just as suddenly, the door had closed behind them and they were moving through a badly lit corridor. They stopped at the first door they encountered. Locked. 006 cursed and they kept on moving. Behind them, there was the sound of the door they had just gone through opening, spurring the agent to move faster.

The next door led to the control room. Big, lit by the huge windows overlooking the station. The operator was at the windows, staring at the panicking crowd. He turned as they entered and visibly recoiled at the sight of the gun in 006's hand.

"Bitte." The man started as he raised his hands.

"Call the police. Don't give us away or bother us until they get here." 006 grunted in return and after a glance around steered them towards the supply closet and Q felt himself unceremoniously shoved inside, the agent following him in and closing the door behind him. He ordered silence with a quick gesture. Q narrowed his eyes in annoyance -he wasn't an idiot thank you very much- but remained still.

They heard and felt the door of the control bang open. Shouted threats and pleading reached his ears.

"Where are they?" He translated in his head.

"Please... Please…" The poor operator was so terrified he didn't seem to find the words to betray them. It didn't seem to do the man any good because there was a bang and the pleading stopped and the room descended into silence. Q's heart went out to the man who didn't deserve this.

Sudden quiet footsteps had 006 block the handle with all his strength and Q ready his own gun silently to cover them. Time seemed to slow, the footsteps drawing closer and closer. It was only a matter of time before they would open the door. 'If I were Sherlock,' Q thought idly, 'I would be listing the factors that would influence our survival. And if I were Mycroft I would be able to very accurately predict what my odds were.' But he wasn't either of his brothers. He didn't have their deductive reasoning abilities nor their mind palaces. His name was Benedict. He was Q. And that meant he knew had faith in his agent's ability to get the job done against incredible odds.

Q could see the shadows of the men dancing underneath the door. Then the door handle was pushed. It didn't budge, 006 having wedged it quite thoroughly with his hand. Q prayed for a miracle.

"It's locked." He heard a German man say and Q couldn't believe his luck at having such an utter goldfish as the leader of this crew. "Find me a key. Check the rest of the building." There was a shuffling of feet.

"I could've sworn I saw this door close just as we entered, boss." One of the remaining men argued. Q crossed his fingers and his toes, hoping that stupidity would also mean stubbornness.

"It was probably that idiot checking to see what the commotion was." The boss answered back. "Now stop wasting time." Q internally cheered as the shadows under the door disappeared. That cheering doubled when he started to hear sirens in the distance. On the other side of the door the boss cursed and then there were hurried footsteps. Silence fell in the room and the agent relaxed.

Q wondered if it was safe for them to move again. The sirens had stopped outside of the building and he had wanted to check on the controller, hoping there was a way to save the poor man's life. But the agent didn't move. Just as Q was about to voice his opinion the door to the control room was pushed open again and voices entered the room. 006 got into position.

"Scheisse." He heard a man curse before he called for an ambulance.

More feet entered the room. There was a lot of talk and not much happening, aside from the efforts to save the lift operator. Obviously, the police had arrived and had taken control of the situation. Still 006 didn't stand down. Q made an aborted motion questioning if they shouldn't reveal themselves, but the agent signed back negative immediately. Q stood down immediately, not wanting to aggravate the agent more.

Then the man was declared dead and Q knew they would be there for a while.