A/N: A bit of spoilers from Scorpia Rising and Never Say Die in this one.
In the latter, Mrs Jones mentioned to Alex that Smithers had left, and this goes into what happened between leaving Alex in Cairo and his departure.
Disclaimer: Not mine
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to London Heathrow Airport. The local time now is 2:45 pm and the temperature is 25 degrees Celsius with a forecast of rain this evening. For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the captain turns off the fasten seat belt sign."
In the fourth last row of economy, Smithers heaved an invisible sigh of relief. He had not slept for three days at this point, but his mind refused to shut down and let him rest, constantly replaying what had happened over the last three days. He had parted with Alex at the market in Cairo two days ago, shedding his final layer of disguise - his last line of defence - before they split up. A large part of him was worried about Alex, hoping against hope that he and Jack had managed to make it out themselves. But the other part was reflecting on everything that had happened since Mrs Jones had briefed him on the Cairo mission. How had it gone so wrong?
After leaving Alex, Smithers had spent an hour weaving his way around Cairo on foot, trying to make absolutely certain that he had lost his pursuers. Eventually, he found himself at another MI6 safehouse, this one an old one bedroom apartment in a middle class part of town. Here, he spent ten minutes cleaning himself up before filing a report for Mrs J in London. While waiting for a reply, he made some tea, before sitting down to make a couple of passports for himself with the many blanks kept in the safe.
In the end, the reply consisted of just six words. Acknowledged. Unknown compromise. Report back to London. Unsure of what he was dealing with, what exactly Scorpia wanted to do with him and whether they had people at the airport looking for him, he decided to draw up a cover story as a backpacker tourist and booked himself on a bus to Israel where he found a flight to London.
Smithers felt the plane lurch to a stop at the gate, followed immediately by the sound of seatbelts being unbuckled. He was home. Almost. He walked out of the plane behind the other passengers and into the terminal, making sure again that he was in the clear. He was slightly amused to find that his automated clearance gates accepted his fake passport, not that he was expecting otherwise. Outside, he found a man from MI6 waiting for him with a sign holding the name he used for his passport.
"Mr Smithers? Davies. Now if you'll just follow me this way to the car…"
They got in together, and soon they were heading on the M4 towards London.
"To the Royal and General?" Smithers asked.
"No, sir. Safehouse in Clerkenwell for debrief. Mrs Jones will be meeting you there."
Smithers nodded. He had hoped that he would be able to head home to freshen up before a debrief, but now it was a toss up that he would even get to sleep in his own bed tonight.
Twenty minutes later, Smithers let himself into yet another safehouse, his third of the week. In his fifteen years as gadget master at MI6, he had designed a good many of them, but this outing was the first time he had actually used any. Smithers found himself wondering whether any improvements could be made. Perhaps a jar of clotted cream to go with some scones? A taste of home for the agent on the run... He made a note to ensure that all safehouses would be stocked with them. For now, Smithers made do by helping himself to a generous splash of whiskey from the liquor cabinet.
There was a knock on the door and Mrs Jones entered. The last time he had seen her was in her office two weeks ago, where he had received his Cairo orders. Today, Mrs Jones looked like she had not left her office since then, with bags under her eyes and holding a thermos of what smelt like the office kitchenette coffee in her hand.
"It's good to see you, Derek. Thank you for coming today," Mrs Jones began.
"As if I had a choice," Smithers thought to himself. He nodded politely without saying anything.
They spent two hours walking through what had happened to Smithers since he arrived in Cairo, beginning with his arrival at the airport, and recalling everything that he did while there. When they got to Alex's last visit to see Smithers, Mrs Jones began unrolling a peppermint.
That was a bad sign. "Is Alex missing?" Smithers asked heavily, knowing the answer.
"You were the last person who heard from him", Mrs Jones replied.
Smithers took a while with his reply. A part of him wondered if Mrs Jones was trying to blame him for Alex's disappearance. He felt like he was to blame himself. "He mentioned leaving the country with Jack, coming back to the UK. Nothing at the airports?"
"No", Mrs Jones signed. "From what we know, Scorpia probably has him, but they haven't said anything." Mrs Jones paused a little, as if debating if she should voice the thoughts in her head. "There's something about this whole situation. Nothing about it adds up. And Alex… We shouldn't have dragged him into this. And now it may be too late."
Smithers nodded. He'd worked with Mrs Jones for years, and he knew she had a soft spot for Alex. "I'll resign if you want me to, Mrs Jones. I should have stayed in Cairo until we knew he was safe."
Mrs Jones stared at him ."I'll have nothing of that sort, Derek." She replied. "You did your best under the circumstances. I don't want to have to lose you as well. We're doing all we can to find Alex. After this I'll reach out to Colonel Manzour in the Egyptian Secret Service to see if they've heard anything. Right now, I need you to go home and get some rest. We'll meet again tomorrow and hopefully, there'll be news by then."
Smithers' secretary looked up as he entered the office, armed with a box of fresh pastries from the bakery next door. "Welcome back, Mr Smithers. Mrs Jones has been looking for you. She wants to see you in her office asap."
"Thanks, Moira." Smithers offered her a danish before grabbing a notepad and heading back into the corridor. He paused at the threshold of Mrs Jones' office, gathering the courage to knock on the door. This had to be about Alex. The question was, good or bad?
It turned out to be a mix of both. Good that Alex was alive, and had put an end to Scorpia's plans. But the price had been heavy, the casualties high. Jack was dead, and Alex had shot someone in cold blood. It had been slightly over a year since Smithers had met Alex, and it had been fun inventing gadgets for the kid during that time. But enough was enough. Smithers was ashamed of himself for being a part of all this, for facilitating the use of a child to do what adults should be doing. He got back to his desk and opened his laptop for the last time.
Subject: Resignation
Dear Mrs Jones,
I am writing this to announce my resignation, effective today.
It has been a pleasure to work with you over the last few years. Thank you for the opportunities you have provided.
Yours sincerely,
Derek Smithers