The four agents gathered round the table behind Q's impressive work station. He had a set up which closely rivalled his usual digs at Q-branch; it was a lot more messy and temporary of course but he could do just about anything with the equipment he had, which was why he had insisted on all of it. Bond had not enjoyed lugging the stuff up the stairs but Q had lovingly told him that his skills were best used for the grunt work. James hadn't taken it too well and promised retribution when this was all over. Weirdly Q was looking forward to the revenge, it would mean that the serious problems they faced would be over.

Q pulled up all the feeds he had with a few commands on the keyboard, his fingers flew over the device and soon everyone was overwhelmed by the amount of information that was fighting for their attention. With the information that Bond had found plus Q's own research there was suddenly a flood of intel and Q could finally pinpoint Imperium's headquarters. He had a feed of the compound up on one of the screens, live footage from whatever satellites he could get into and archived footage. He also had floor plans, transport schedules, heat maps, numerous blueprints for different out stations.

When Mallory had questioned how he was getting the information Q had replied honestly saying that his boss really didn't want to know. James had found the remark very amusing and correctly assumed that Q had broken countless laws from numerous countries; Mallory had then put his fingers in his ears and walked away before he found out more secrets that he really didn't want to know.

Bond was busy cleaning the last of the weapons he had managed to acquire, Q wasn't exactly sure where Bond had found such a huge cache of weapons. Especially as they hadn't come from MI6, they were all off the record. Q soon realised it was best not to ask questions and he didn't really care too much where James had got the arsenal as long as it all worked as intended; he supposed that was why 007 was checking over each piece of equipment and gun personally. M treated the huge pile of weapons the same way he'd treated Q's acquisition of knowledge and simply walked away from it, denying he had ever seen how Bond could get his hands on enough guns to equip a small army.

The table was silent for quite some time as they all ingested the print outs Q had made, he had highlighted the important information they all needed to plan an assault and he was pointing out the layout of the compound on his screens. They had all decided pretty early on that they were going to handle this problem alone; clearly MI6 still had a security breach so it was safer for everyone to handle this in house. They just had to come up with a good enough plan to not get everyone killed.

Q switched the view to thermal and showed a time lapse of the last 6 months. They all watched as patterns emerged and the number of people in the compound grew. From the sentry like paths they could make educated guesses who were guards or security for the place.

"That's a lot of bodies." Bond muttered cautiously.

For 007 to say that there was a lot of people was saying something. 007 was an expert in playing against the odds but even for him the situation looked like suicide, they would need to plan carefully.

Q pointed out the three main areas of interest where the most people congregate at different times of the day; from the archived satellite footage he could put together a pretty good picture of schedules and security patrols. Q pointed out an area in the centre which lit up the thermal maps like a christmas tree, it had to be the server room and the heart of the operation.

"That's where I need to be. I can find out how far Imperium spreads from inside their network and shut it all down." Q smiled at the thought of it, finally he would be able to deliver some payback the way he knew how.

He was feeling the familiar thrill of excitement that came with an op; he usually got lost within the planning and execution for days and there was nothing better than watching it all go off without a hitch. He hoped their plan would be enough this time, he was well aware that he was the one they would all be relying on. His hacking skills were what would take down an organisation as fortified as Imperium, people really did underestimate the power of the computer these days. He had once told Bond that he could do more damage from his laptop in one morning than 007 could do in the field in a whole year and hadn't just been showing off. Technology controlled everything in this age so the person who could control technology was king.

Q stopped his ramblings about what he was actually going to do to Imperium's network when Bond interrupted. "Why exactly do you have to be in there?" Q could tell from James' tone that he was not at all happy with his partner's plan.

Q wasn't exactly jumping with joy at the idea of going there in person but it had to be done. "It would take days to break through their firewalls. They would be alerted, fortified and we wouldn't get a chance like this agin. I need to plug in directly."

Bond huffed as Q explained exactly why he wasn't going to sit this one out. They all knew it would happen regardless of what 007 thought, Q was the only one with the technical know how to achieve what they needed to.

"If that's where you need to be then we're going to need a distraction." M pointed out as he pointed to the layout of the compound. "Something to draw security away from where we're really attacking."

"Hopefully they won't be too prepared for an attack. They've likely been relying on sources in the past to know exactly what the security services are doing. They probably won't be counting on 4 spies trying to stage an assault."

Everyone grinned at Q's assessment. Hell they wouldn't expect this; not many people were even alive that had the technical know how to do what Q was suggesting, Q was not many people though. Their plan was so mad that it might just work.

Eve grabbed a machine gun from the pile and grinned at Mallory. "Looks like we'll be the two man army then."

"That's not happening." Bond growled and the room was aware of the tension rising.

The double agent was clearly not happy with Moneypenny's idea of her and M distracting the entire compound single-handedly. Bond was one of those people who preferred to be on the front line and definitely be where the shooting was. Usually that coincided with the critical point in a mission, not this time. Q was well aware that he was the critical point in this mission and whilst that would have thrown many men off Q welcomed it. He had often produced his best work under pressure.

M however pulled rank and tried to ease the tenseness in the room. "I know you like to be the center of attention 007, but we need you with Q."

Bond turned his glare on Mallory as he continued to hear what he didn't agree with. He didn't want to sit back and listen to his friends die. "I outrank you Bond." Mallory pushed as he realised 007 wasn't conceding.

"This isn't exactly an official mission sir." Q shivered at how cold and bitter James had sounded. He was more pissed off than the quartermaster had predicted.

M sighed heavily then tried a different tact. "The success of the mission rests on his shoulders and he needs the best protecting him. He needs you."

Q smirked as he watched Mallory's words broke through James' thick skull. He hadn't expected M to bring their relationship and feelings into play but it had been the smart move, and the thing that finally pushed Bond to understand he needed to be by Q's side. Q knew that even though James had pushed back against M and Eve going off on their own it was because he was worried about them. If he could he was sure 007 would fight on both fronts, his inherit need to protect people

Q's smirk remained even when James looked up sheepishly at him. They both knew Bond would never leave Q's side anyway as really the double 0 didn't trust anyone but himself to protect the one he loved the most.

The quartermaster took pity on his boyfriend and decided to move the plan along, highlighting footage and time cycles. "We should go in at dawn, it's when the compound is at it's quietest. It also coincides with a morning truck delivery. That's our entry point.

The agents in the room hung off his every word and Q suddenly had a sense of deja-vu, he really thought they had just been in Q-branch planning out an op. Funny how his mind had taken him there, it was probably a good thing he was falling back into the familiar rhythm.

He reeled off all the information about the security he had found, fences, cameras, motion detectors and the like. "We aren't likely to make it very far out of the van without being spotted by something. From what I can tell they're going to have communication jammers."

"How do you know that?" Eve questioned.

"I found the order online." Q smirked and pulled it up on the screen which caused Bond to bark a laugh.

"Any chance of you being able to turn off or loop their security feeds before we go in?" M asked in a concerned tone, clearly concurring with Q about the time it would take to get noticed.

"I could, but they would know that I'd done it after a minute. The charade wouldn't last." Q scowled at his computers as if he was blaming them for the problem.

"It wouldn't need to, whatever could buy us time." Eve answered for all of them, digging Q out of his negativity before he drowned in it.

"Okay I can work on that." Q made a few notes in another window and started typing away in a background application.

Bond studied the route the truck would take and the compound layout carefully and pointed out a spot produced by his tactical mind. "Q and I will bail out here."

There was a hum of agreement around the room as they all saw that it was the best balance of cover and reduced guard movement.

"And we'll head out when the truck comes to a stop, and cause a distraction." Mallory actually looked excited about the prospect of his mission; Q didn't understand everyone's obsession with field work. He was much happier behind a keyboard safe at home.

Eve placed markers on the map of Q and Bond's exfiltration and where her and M would get out. The plan was all coming together before their eyes.

"Far away from us, good." Bond looked happier now they were getting decisions made and he could begin to formulate the logistics of the assault in his mind. "It's going to have to be a big distraction, to keep their eyes off us whilst I get Q inside."

Eve grinned widely and picked up one of the grenades from the center of the table. "Oh, it'll be big."

It wasn't long before their plan was put in motion. Bond and M had to both shed their usual suits to change into dark protective combat gear and bulletproof vests. 007 had scowled when M ordered him to change into the kit, the agent had argued that he had always managed just fine on his missions whilst wearing a suit.

"Just fine, is that what you call collapsed buildings and almost starting a civil war in each country you visit." Mallory dead-panned in an accusing tone.

He ought to have known how most of 00's missions ended as he was the one who had to read the damn reports with a straight face and deal with all the diplomatic repercussions from the inevitable disasters. 007 always got the job done but the amount of collateral damage seemed to depend on the agent's mood at the time and no scolding from M or suspension sentence had deterred James Bond.

Bond scowled at the kit for a few minutes but eventually relented to the insistence from not just Mallory but Q and Eve also. Q had pointed out that even he was changing his usual mission attire and donning the black vests, James had lovingly pointed out that his quartermaster was hardly sacrificing style as he only usually wore cardigans. Eve had to step in before the two were at each other's throats physically. Mallory was actually a little disappointed, he was more than a just little intrigued to see who would come out on top of that particular scuffle.

They had all discussed and agreed that they would call in for MI6 backup as soon as the alarms were raised at the compound. It wouldn't matter then if there was another mole, the plan would already be in motion.

The plan carried on as intended and the foursome geared up and headed out in the middle of the night. They made short work of tracking down the truck that would enter the compound in the morning, it was almost too easy to sneak into the back of the truck and hide themselves away from sight. They were in a perfect position to jump out at their planned points.

Mallory looked round at his companions and realised everyone seemed far calmer than they should be, for what they were about to face they should have been breaking down and running for the hills. But each of them sat there silently and got their heads into the right frame of mind for the mission. M looked down at his hand and was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't shaking; he hadn't been on an active op for some time and he probably should be more fearful. Maybe they were all just thankful that no what matter happened today it would be over for them, this whole nightmare, one way or another.

It was only when the truck neared the entrance and they all prepared themselves for the kick-off that Mallory questioned everything they were about to do.

What the hell are we doing? This is bloody madness…

M swallowed down the nerves and steadied his trembling hand. Of all the times to feel this it had to happen when it was too late to turn back. Mallory watched the passing world from their hiding place, they all tensed and had their fingers on triggers as the van slowly made it's way past the security checkpoint. So far the truck had followed the route to the letter and the compound was as quiet as it should be. No alarm bells were ringing but they were all about to enter the jaws of the enemy and it wouldn't take much for the situation to turn to hell in a hand-basket.

After a few tense moments the truck was waved through security and it moved onwards. Q and James took their cue to move forwards ready to jump out, M nodded at both his agents and wished them luck before they tumbled out of view in a blind spot. Bond rolled and landed perfectly whilst Q stumbled and had to be grabbed by James before he made too much noise. Mallory would have laughed if the situation weren't so serious.

Gareth fought against his raging heart rate and the ever-increasing nerves, if he was honest he felt sick to his stomach. It was all too real now, there was no going back. Q and James were relying on them. He suddenly felt a hand in his and almost jumped out of his skin. Eve giggled at his reaction and M revelled in the sound, for it could be the last time he heard that.

No, stop out. You will all get out of here. You have to.

Inner pep talk complete he turned to look at his partner and took a hold of her hand in return, they squeezed each other's hands warmly and felt their heart rate increase as the truck slowed. The thought ran through his head again that this was bloody stupid and dangerous but he had to trust in their plan. They were through the looking glass now.

The truck's engine turned off so M and Eve moved towards the back of the truck and waited for the driver to disappear.

"Good luck." Eve whispered into his ear warmly, kissed him on the cheek and leapt out into the shadows.

Mallory relished the warmth of her lips on his cheek and watched her go. He took a deep breath and began counting down from 5 in his head before he too jumped out into the unknown.

Ear-splitting alarms blared loudly as explosions rocked the walls making the whole building feel like it was going to collapse. Mallory pulled the pin out of a grenade and peeked out of cover to lob the thing as far as he could in the direction of the enemy down the corridor. It exploded a few moments later sending burning shrapnel in all directions and causing a few cries of pain. He used the distraction to sprint away from the approaching guards and gripped the machine gun tighter in his sweaty grip. He was fast running out of ammo for the weapon and that had been his last grenade, he was beginning to run out of options.

He raced round the corner and ducked as bullets ricocheted and splintered concrete right next to his head. His heart was pumping loudly and he felt adrenaline race through his body spurring him on away from the danger, the cacophony in his head reached a crescendo as more klaxons echoed through the compound.

The corridors flashed red which perfectly reflected the mood and the danger they were all in. The emergency lighting flashed on and off as he ran for his life, giving the place an eerie effect. The power had gone out soon after the fighting had started; someone, maybe even him, had clearly damaged the power lines in the compound.

M hadn't heard from Bond, Eve or Q in 5 minutes. Soon after the first explosions and gunfire kicked off armed guards poured out of the doors and started hunting down the intruders. As they had planned for and expected the comms soon blacked out after the firefight started and M and Eve made contact with the enemy. The agents had all synchronised their watches on the truck journey and Q had estimated how long it would take to get control of the servers once Bond got him into position. According to M's watch, Bond and Q should already be at the heart of the compound and starting to take control of the systems.

He poked his head round the corner and fired the gun at any thing that moved. M had to think about what he was going to do when his ammo ran out, he had been trying to strike a delicate balance between running and shooting so he kept the men moving away from Bond and Q whilst remaining unharmed. Click. So much for that plan.

Mallory scowled at his weapon and threw it on the floor angrily. He was completely out of clips so it was useless to him now. M pulled his pistol out and retreated down the corridor, shooting behind him to provide some sort of cover. His senses were on high alert and it was maybe because of this that he ducked just as he reached a corner, his instincts were screaming at him to get down so he listened to them without hesitation.

He realised it wasn't a moment too soon as he actually felt bullets fly over him that very nearly impacted into his neck. M rolled as he fell and thumped against the far wall in a heap. That had been far too close for comfort, he needed to find a better position quickly.

Mallory's brain reeled through his limited options in a micro second and he calculated that he could only go in one direction and that was backwards. Shit, he was boxed in from the front and the sides and completely trapped. He backed up as he scrambled away from the approaching men, eventually his back hit a wall and he knew there was no where else to go. He leaned into a pillar which just about gave him enough cover to protect his body if he stood sideways, barely though.

He glanced a look from behind his new found cover and immediately pulled back as more shots flew his way which slammed into the concrete around him. Gareth had spotted at least half a dozen men bearing down on his position, all fully equipped with tactical gear and very well armed. Mallory gritted his teeth as their continued gunfire pinned him down, he was trying to think of a way out of this situation but his mind was drawing a blank. This was literally a dead end.

The walls shook around him and he felt the floor rumble, it sounded like an explosion had gone off in the distance. Eve was clearly still holding out and sounded like she was doing better than Mallory. He heard footsteps getting too close so he swung his arm out and fired his pistol desperately, hoping to hit as many bodies as he could with his dwindling ammunition. He heard the satisfying sound of two bodies falling with a dull thud before suddenly fire laced up his arm and his fingers spasmed and let go of the gun. He grabbed his arm with the other and hissed as felt the torn flesh; warm blood trickled through his fingers confirming his suspicion. He had been hit.

Before he had a chance to figure out how on earth he was going to get to his carelessly dropped pistol without being shot to bits; he heard a clunk and his eyes widened as he spotted a flash bang roll towards his feet. His mind raced at a million miles an hour but it wasn't quick enough to solve the problem, the grenade exploded right at his feet. Blinding white light flashed everywhere and he lost sense of which way was up and where he even was. M lost his sight, hearing and balance next. A fierce ringing assaulted his head and he stumbled outwards trying to latch onto any solid surface completely forgetting where he was.

Suddenly a colossal force stole his breath and felt himself fall as the figure at his waist tackled him bodily to the ground. M tried to scramble out of the hold but all thoughts of counter-attack stopped when his head collided harshly with the cold ground. He felt multiple sets of hands on him which held him down whilst more hands removed his remaining ammo and knife.

Mallory's vision was just beginning to clear when the hands gripped his vest tightly and he found himself being dragged upwards, sending his head spinning once more. His arms were held behind his back firmly and when he tried to test the strength of the men holding him by pulling he got hit round the back of the head for his troubles. M grunted as the heavy blow landed and would have been crashing to the ground again if his arms weren't being held painfully tightly. The pounding in his head got a whole lot worse when a flash light was shined directly in his face. He squinted against the offending light and just about saw past the brightness to see lots of angry looking weapons pointing at him. Bugger.

"Where are the others?" Mallory placed the voice to the one holding the flash light, he sounded seriously pissed and he could see blood on the guy's face which Mallory had probably inflicted either directly or indirectly during his assault. It was probably why he was fuming.

Gareth feigned ignorance. "What others?"

The bad guy's face hardened and he balled up a fist to sucker-punch Mallory in the gut. M coughed at the harsh impact and he tried to double over to get his breath back. His lungs remained starved as the two hands held him firmly upright. Gareth braced for another hit and was confused when one never came. He glanced up at his attacker who was scrutinising his victim carefully.

They all started as they heard deafening gunfire some distance away followed by some nasty sounding explosions. Four of the men were soon ordered to go and help on the other side of the compound and search for more intruders. M got the impression that their monitoring equipment wasn't helping them find anything or anyone, thank god for Q.

Mallory remained tense as his attacker glared at him for a few moments as if he was deciding his fate then and there. "The boss wants to see him." He eventually growled and indicated at M.

It didn't take a genius to see that the man would have preferred to put a bullet through his head, his finger was twitching on the trigger and everything. Eventually the leader turned and walked away from M and his captors.

Mallory winced as the hands holding him gripped his arms tighter and started dragging him forward. The butt of a rifle was jammed painfully into his back which stalled any attempts of breaking free before they really started. He glanced down at his arm and was relieved to see it didn't seem to be bleeding too much, the pain had mostly died away now and it looked like it was just a graze. He had been lucky so far but M couldn't help but shake the feeling that his luck was fast running out.