A heavy silence settled in the room. Ever since R had revealed the bomb and the existence of others there had been palpable tension in the air. M observed R packing up the hard drives from the computer and starting to pack a bag. He was obviously done with stealing data.

Mallory turned his scrutinising gaze to land on Q. The quartermaster hadn't said a word since R had revealed his plan and had barely taken his eyes off the bomb on the desk, he could see the guilt etched into Q's face. The quartermaster was probably blaming himself for all this mess; it was cruel of R to use something that Q had created against them all.

As much as Q was trying to hide the pain, M saw the signs stamped all over the quartermaster's face. R hadn't even given him painkillers nothing to take the edge off the gunshot wound. Seeing Q's agony stoked the internal fire inside Mallory's gut, and he fought to remain calm as his eyes found the bomb again. For now R held all the cards.

Q and M's attention snapped to the traitor as he picked up the backpack and stalked towards the pair, a nasty looking knife in one hand with a pistol in the other. He aimed the pistol at Q's head and raised his eyebrows with a warning gesture as he approached M's chair; holding the knife out to cut his arm free. Mallory froze as soon as the pistol was aimed at Q, one flinch and he would lose his friend. R sliced through the tape holding his right arm in place swiftly then moved back. The traitor eyed M warily then seemingly coming to a decision flipped the knife round and offered it to Mallory handle first.

M didn't miss the fact that the gun was still pointing at Q's head, as much as he wanted to take the knife and plunge it into R's heart; he knew he couldn't without killing the quartermaster.

"Cut yourself free." R ordered impatiently.

Mallory sighed then took the offered knife. He efficiently sliced through the tape holding his arms, legs and body to the chair. After R insisted he rip the tape off entirely he took a few minutes unwinding it from his body; if R wanted to avoid questions when they left then he shouldn't have tied him up so well.

When M finished he held the knife out expectantly, handle first. R smiled coldly amusement clearly shining from his eyes. "Put it over there, on the table."

Mallory breathed a sigh of relief as R's pistol was now pointed squarely at him. He did as instructed and passed Q to put the knife on the indicated table. He left the knife near the edge and hoped Q would be able to get to it once they left. He needed medical attention pronto.

When M faced R again he immediately tensed. In R's hands was the dead man's switch and the pin had been pulled. He swallowed as the implications sunk in, one flinch and hundreds of people would die. He almost jumped out of his skin as the explosive on the table beeped once, probably activating. He realised then that his heart was beginning to race the sound had suddenly made this whole nightmare real. He noticed that Q had also flinched at the sound; the quartermaster had barely taken his eyes off the thing but the change in state seemed to have shocked him back into the present. He also saw how awfully pale Q looked, that and the clammy skin. The poor kid was going into shock.

R laughed nastily. "I guess I don't need this anymore." With that the pistol was stowed safely inside the man's shoulder holster, effectively hidden from view.

M glared at their captor, the bastard didn't need to enjoy this so much.

R smirked as he saw the reaction his eyes dancing with mirth. "Clean yourself up a bit, can't have too much attention drawn to us now can we?"

Mallory scowled at the jovial tone but nevertheless did as the mad-man instructed. It would be for the best anyway, the last thing they needed was for anyone else to get caught up in this mess there was too many lives at stake for R to release his hold on the trigger. M buttoned his shirt up as well as he could, adjusted his tie and tried to use his jacket to cover up the taser marks. He used a nearby towel to wipe the majority of the blood off his head and hoped his hair covered up the injury well enough; a cursory glance wouldn't reveal anything was wrong and that was all he was likely to get with the security problem.

"You first." R indicated with the hand holding the detonator.

"We can't just leave Q here." M exclaimed powerfully, it was usually a tone that sparked no argument from his subordinates.

R glanced at the quartermaster dispassionately; not one flicker of emotion flashed across the man's face. "He'll be fine. Well… as long as you behave."

The stupid smirk was plastered across the traitor's face. M clenched his fists painfully and felt his body tremble with fury, he had never wanted anything as badly as he wanted to wipe the senseless smirk of R's face. Couldn't this bastard see how much blood the quartermaster had lost? If he went into shock and his body started shutting down then his wound could become fatal, especially if he wasn't found for hours.

Eyeing the detonator M forced himself to calm down. "He's lost a lot of blood."

A feral look morphed R's features and the traitor took a step towards M menacingly. Mallory recognised the madness in the other man's eyes and felt adrenaline coarse through his body as his body reacted to the danger radiating off the man.

"If you don't move, I'll put another hole in him." R growled viscously whilst his fingers moved to grasp his gun.

M almost launched himself at the bastard, the only thing holding him back was the damned detonator. If it had been a gun in the other man's hands it wouldn't have stopped him. He held R's gaze and matched the traitor's hatred for as long as he dare.

"Go M, I'll be fine."

Mallory started as he heard Q's voice it had sounded weak and unlike him. M hadn't heard his friend sound like that since their kidnapping. Gareth tore his enraged stare from R and looked at the still-bound quartermaster. Thankfully he saw something familiar in the pain-wracked eyes, determination. The same determination that Q had shown during their kidnapping. He felt relieved that the quartermaster didn't appear to be deep in shock, Q was back.

M said his silent goodbyes to Q along with a promise; he would do everything in his power to stop R and bring him to justice for what he'd done. He took one last look at Q's resolute expression before turning to open the door. He left the room and noted idly his hand was shaking, most likely from the adrenaline but Mallory had a sneaky suspicion it was fear. He was responsible for every life that was being threatened and as much as he hated every second of it, he would do everything R needed to get him out of HQ where the threat would be neutralised. Mallory stiffened as R's hand landed on his arm and fell into step close to him, it would take every measure of his self control to resist from punching the traitor's lights out let alone stopping anyone else from doing it. As they made their way towards the stairs he prayed to anyone that would listen that 007 remained trapped; that was one disaster he doubted he would be able to control.

As soon as people started populating the corridors R removed his hand from M's arm, not wanting to act too suspiciously. M could still feel R hovering close by though, one step away from grabbing Mallory again if he needed to. The gun was gladly still out of sight but it wasn't as if the man needed it now anyway. He had all the control he needed with the dead man's switch which stayed safely tucked away in his pocket.

Mallory was actually quite glad there were people around as it had caused R to shut up. The whole way through the basements the traitor had muttered threats in his ear about not warning anyone or acting suspiciously or he would reduce the place to smithereens. As if M needed telling that. He had stayed silent and let the words wash over him; focussing on putting one foot in front of the other instead of the vile creature escorting him.

M deftly ignored curious glances he received as they passed busy people; there was still a lot of chaos in the halls as the security system worked against the employees. As they moved through the building M realised there were people trapped everywhere, the fact caused another problem as evacuation would be impossible. Some people didn't bat an eyelid when they passed and M mused it wasn't unusual for him and R to be walking together in a hurry, especially in a time of crisis. No-one knew how much of a crisis it really was. The locked doors didn't seem to impede their journey though which was clearly planned in advance by R.

As they rounded the corner and found themselves on the last leg of the journey towards the lifts to the exit R's phone beeped. The man checked it and frowned immediately, M caught a glimpse of a CCTV feed before the device was slipped back into the traitor's pocket and his pace increased.

"Problem?" M asked innocently. He needed R as calm as possible whilst they were still in the building.

R glanced nervously around their surroundings. "Bond and Moneypenny have escaped."

Part of Mallory was ecstatic that his agents had escaped but the majority of him was terrified at a possible confrontation, it was unlike Bond to ask questions later he usually shot first. He would have to be on the lookout just as R was and if necessary protect the man; the thought made him feel physically sick but what else could he do with so many lives at stake?

"Nothing has changed, if anyone stands in our way you will order them to stand down." R's wavering voice didn't go amiss, smart man being afraid of Bond.

M sighed heavily, R was right nothing had changed and he needed to calm down now. "Calm down. I'll get you out."

R seemed to relax a notch at the words and seemed even more relieved as they finally reached the lifts that would take them to the underground car park. M used his pass to override the security and after pressing his thumb to the scanner the doors slid open. R punched in the floor and stood tensely at Mallory's side.

They lurched upwards a few floors before it happened. The damned life ground to a halt with a deadly lurch and Mallory had to catch himself before he tumbled to the ground. His heart shot into his mouth as he waited for explosions, he looked at R and thanked whoever was listening that the traitor had managed to keep his hand on the switch which was now out in the open. R looked furious and his suspicious glare landed on M, Mallory feigned ignorance as the man started jabbing buttons on the lift controls. He didn't know for sure but M had a pretty good idea who exactly had stopped their ride up, it had to Bond.

Well shit.

Mallory forced himself to calm down as the silence dragged out for a few minutes, R acted like a caged animal as he started shouting into the speaker for someone to let them out. Out of know where the lift continued it's ascension. R quickly grabbed M's arm and dragged him forcibly in front of him to act as a human shield, Gareth allowed his body to be manoeuvred and remained still and non-threatening.

His attempts to stay calm were immediately quashed as the hand holding the detonator landed on his chest and he felt a restraining hand on his shoulder, he'd effectively been pinned against R.

"Hands on your head." R hissed urgently.

Mallory complied without question as he eyed the detonator warily; this situation was getting worse by the second. He kept his movements slow and deliberate so he didn't spook R clasping his hands behind his head tightly. He felt his heart race as the lift neared their intended destination. He had no doubt that guns would be awaiting them when they got there, R had been discovered but that didn't change the danger everyone was in. If anything it made the situation extremely more perilous.

The doors finally began to slide open and M held his breath as the hand holding the remote tensed. Unsurprisingly Bond and Moneypenny stood just outside the doors with their guns raised, pointed directly at R's head. Mallory spotted a further two security guards standing behind the deadly agents with stunned expressions plastered over their faces.

Aware of Bond's finger twitching Mallory barked out an urgent order. "Hold your fire!"

Both agents responded instinctively to the authoritative order and thankfully eased their fingers off the triggers, thank god the part of Bond that took urgent orders without question from a superior still existed. Mallory witnessed them both spot the trigger device held tightly in R's shaking hand and saw their expressions harden.

Mallory's keen gaze swept up and down Eve looking for any injuries, thankfully she looked unscathed. He read a question in her gaze and nodded an indication that he was okay. M was brought harshly back to the tense stand off as R shook his shoulder roughly, Mallory took it as a sign to explain.

"He's got a dead man's switch. There's enough explosive to take down the building and a radius outside."

Bond and Moneypenny stared at him as though he had gone completely mad so he eased their concerns for his sanity. "Q confirmed it. You all need to stand down."

Mallory didn't miss Bond's eyes narrowing as he mentioned Q's name, he could see the worry flash across the 00's face before it was expertly hidden. Thankfully the two guards and Moneypenny lowered their weapons, Bond however didn't move his gun an inch from R's head.

"Where's Q?" 007 growled protectively.

R shook M's shoulder again and whispered pressingly into his ear. "You've got 5 seconds."

M started to panic as he saw the resolution in Bond's eyes, whilst he had responded to the initial order without question on instinct he could see that 007 seriously struggled with lowering his weapon to such a threat.

"Bond stand down." He tired again, seeing the agent battle with his internal struggle. "Q's alive, he's downstairs."

The final line was finally enough for Bond to lower his weapon, the vehement expression remained though. M had rarely seen the look he saw in 007's eye now, was this what all his enemies saw before they were snuffed out?

Thankfully M felt the tension begin to uncoil from R and he was suddenly pushed forward out of the lift. M tried not to stumble as the grip on his chest remained strong.

"Back!" R screamed at the guards and agents.

They all did as instructed but the walk to the exit was still a tense one, M was turned as they stepped slowly past the agents so he was always a shield between them and R. They finally reached the exit and R released his hold on M; he remained still and kept his hands where they were as he saw R on his phone one-handed most likely unlocking the security door. M made a split-second decision as R was distracted.

"Q's been shot, he's in the basement lab. His bleeding is under control but he needs medical attention." He felt R tense behind him but the man soon continued with his work as he realised the agents hadn't moved.

Worryingly Bond looked about ready to explode and for a second M was seriously frightened that the agent would carry out vengeance on R.

"Moneypenny. Get Q." Bond growled but didn't take his eyes off R. The agent was going to pursue the threat and M was proud the agent put his remit before his personal feelings. Well, he was sure Bond wanted revenge. The agent didn't know about the dead man's switch not working outside yet but R was about to lose his main leverage over Mallory, he would not stay silent once they left.

007 kept his deadly gaze on R's back as the traitor fiddled with the door. M caught Moneypenny's retreating anxious glance when suddenly he was being dragged roughly backwards and he heard the door open, he forced his hands to stay where they were with effort. Mallory was pulled to a stop just outside the doors and watched silently as the electronic locks turned red, R was most definitely responsible.

Shit, that will slow Bond down.

M was then spun round harshly and pushed away from the door further into the underground carpark. Mallory half turned and observed R swiftly reinsert the pin into the detonator and drop it, he belatedly realised the pistol was already out and pointed at his mid-section. He held his breath as the switch fell from R's fingertips and clattered to the ground; he only released the breath when the building didn't explode around them.

"Move." R indicated with the gun.

Mallory reluctantly walked where the traitor was indicating. With the pistol the only thing stopping him from launching himself at the traitor he was struggling to resist the urge, self preservation be damned. He felt his muscles tense in preparation for his inevitable attack he needed R to get close so he could take him out. R guided them to a nearby car and it beeped as it was unlocked. M frowned as he noted it was a pool car it would have GPS equipped as standard in it and R knew that.

"One I prepared earlier." R grinned at his own cleverness, M noted the man didn't seem so terrified now that 007 was safely behind a locked door. "GPS is disabled I'm afraid."

When M remained silent and didn't acknowledge the joke; R's expression turned hard. "Up against the car, hands behind your back." R ordered gruffly.

M eyed the gun warily which was now pointing at his head. He slowly did as instructed and readied himself to feel R against him, as soon as the man got close enough he would strike. Mallory turned with lightening-fast speed intending to go for the gun when a sharp jab in his side had him convulsing and falling to the ground, and he felt electricity coarse through him wickedly as the taser caused his body to spasm.

Mallory grunted as he slammed into the floor in a heap his ribs ached and sharp pains radiated from the still-healing bones. Before he could get control of his limbs a knee was pressed into his back and his hands were grabbed roughly. In no time at all his hands were secured with a zip tie.

He was firmly hauled up and powerfully slammed against the car facing R with a gun rested against his forehead. Mallory blinked away vertigo after the sudden movement had him seeing stars; when his vision cleared he was looking into a very irate face. R looked seriously pissed that M had tried to overpower him. M was livid that he had underestimated R, he bloody despised tasers.

"Are you going to behave or are you going in the boot?" R growled impatiently grinding the gun deeper into M's forehead.

Gareth resisted the urge to wince as the gun forced his head backwards under strain. M considered his options quickly he really didn't want to go in the boot. He had to try and talk R out of this and he couldn't do that from confinement; it was the only play he had left.

"I'll be good." He grudgingly replied.

R smiled superficially then roughly pulled M away from the car and spun him round. He opened the back door and forcefully threw his captive in. M groaned as he landed badly, he could feel stitches pulling and bruised ribs take an unwelcome knock. R dumped the bag with the stolen data in it on the front seat started the engine, and sped off out of the car park without bothering to look back at his captive. Mallory tried to make himself more comfortable and managed to turn so he wasn't face down; he swore as his head hit the seat in front when R took a few corners too fast.

In no time they were out in amongst London traffic and M felt depressed as he heard no sign of pursuit, for now. He figured that was planned too. R had crippled MI6 enough to delay any immediate response, but M knew that a few locked doors wouldn't keep 007 out of action for long not with his love for explosives. M hoped more than anything that Eve had found Q and he was getting medical attention. He struggled to get the sight of the quartermaster's blood out of his head.

"You don't have to do this you know?" He doubted appealing to the man's sense of loyalty would do any good but he had to try; as far as he could see R had no regrets about betraying everything he had ever stood for.

R remained quiet and frowned as he concentrated on driving, hyper-vigilant of pursuers as his eyes darted between mirrors.

M pushed harder. "The offer still stands, we can help you."

R's dark gaze suddenly flipped to the rearview mirror and Mallory knew he had failed before aggressive words tumbled out of the traitor's mouth. "Shut-up or I will knock you out."

Well that ended that conversation.

Mallory laid his head back with a weary sigh resigned to his fate for the moment. His efforts soon switched to escape and he started quietly assessing the tie binding his wrists. Bond better be on his tail soon or he was screwed.