Gareth continued to track their vehicle's journey as the traffic ambience decreased, they were heading out of London. He groaned as the boot pressed firmly into his back as the van took a sharp turn onto a different surface. The surface they were now driving on felt rough, more rural with dozens of pot holes and winding corners. It meant the boot's pressure didn't get alleviated causing a sharp ache to shoot up his spine.
A handful or so minutes later the van began to slow. Mallory tensed up involuntarily as he heard the engine cut and bodies getting out. It was then a repeat performance of earlier as the van's door was opened and he was dragged out into the world. M found his balance had suffered somewhat since the last vehicle change and almost went tumbling when his foot dragged on the door's edge. Only strong grips on his arms kept him upright.
Mallory had been keeping track of the van's movements and he had was pretty sure he knew roughly where he was, because of this he hoped they had reached their final destination. He found out a second later he was wrong. He was pulled to a stop and heard the unmistakable sound of a car boot opening.
Shit. This is going to be uncomfortable.
Before he could think anymore on the matter a harsh blow collided with the back of his head, Mallory grunted into the gag and felt his legs collapse. He felt his body being deposited and folded in the boot which disappointingly didn't offer much leg space. M's fight to remain conscious ended abruptly when the pistol descended on his head a second time.
Unknown time later…
Gareth woke with a start swearing as his head smashed into something. It took him a few minutes to remember the events of the day and to try and convince his body not to panic at his confinement. He could barely move an inch in the small space, his legs were completely dead and tingled uncomfortably.
Mallory laid his head back gently and counted to ten as a wave of nausea shot through him, that was the last thing he needed right now and would probably lead to him choking with the gag still in his mouth. Several minutes passed as he took control of his body's trembling and willed his head to stop banging so hard. His thoughts drifted to his surroundings as his training kicked in; of course he had no idea how long he'd been knocked out for but the sounds around the car could give him a clue to his current whereabouts. He wondered what time it was.
The car seemed to be travelling at high speed which indicated main roads, the lack of other traffic was a good indication that weren't near any towns of cities. He listened carefully for any obvious sounds, hearing distant farm machinery and local wildlife. Definitely rural then. The surface changed abruptly to what felt like a dirt road which made the ride in the boot ten times more painful and difficult. Finally the car pulled to a stop.
The boot lid opened which gave Mallory a clue to the time of day, even with the blindfold on he could identify the change in light outside. It was most likely noon. His mind started ticking off which areas of the country he could be in after the length of travel time. Hands grabbed at his body and firmly lifted him up out of the boot, before he could find his feet the force let go. Mallory tumbled to the ground when his wobbly legs refused to support his weight, grunting as more bruises were added to the collection.
He could hear the men snicker before hands grabbed at his captive arms and pulled him upwards powerfully; he was marched forwards. M felt the surface under his feet change from loose stones to concrete and felt the loss of sun on his skin. He kept track of the lefts, rights and number of steps they descended down. His heart flew into his mouth as he almost tripped down the stairs when his guards failed to mention the obstacle; conveniently forgetting he was completely blind. He hissed as the pair holding him tightened their grip and wrenched him backwards. It felt like they had almost ripped his arms from their joints.
Mallory and the guards descended 2 flights of stairs before continuing onwards. The change in atmosphere lead M to conclude they were deep underground. The air felt moist, damp and cold; he shivered as the chilly atmosphere touched him.
He heard a lock being manipulated ahead followed by the creaking of a heavy door opening. Mallory was dragged past the door into a room which was noticeably colder. Dressed in just his shirt he already felt chilled, the crisp air was cutting through his flimsy clothes.
Suddenly he was spun round 180 degrees and swiftly punched hard in the gut. Mallory grunted and instinctively tried to double over as all of the air was forced out of his lungs. Distantly he felt the ties binding his wrist being cut apart. However before he could take advantage of this change in situation he was being pulled backwards by his arms with force. M felt his feet and legs failing him as the firm grips dragged him down. He landed heavily as the men forced his flailing body into a chair.
Mallory finally got enough breath back to think straight and started to pull back his arms from his captor's grips. The hands holding him were unrelenting, and he realised it would only be a matter of seconds before he was secured again and helpless. Sensing someone directly in front of him Gareth kicked out hard. He heard a satisfying smack when his foot collided with what felt like someone's leg and grinned inwardly at the following cry of pain.
His struggling was brought to a painful end when a fist found his stomach again. Mallory saw stars as he felt his rib buckle under the mighty blow, he desperately clawed for breath and renewed his efforts to double over for some relief. The hands holding his shoulders and arms were having none of it and he soon found his hands slammed down painfully onto the chair's arms.
Gareth froze entirely when he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked, the cold metal was pressed against his forehead until his shoulders were forced back enough to rest against the back of the chair.
"Hold him steady." A very pissed off voice commanded, probably the guy Mallory had just kicked.
Mallory focussed on getting his breath back as hands yanked his legs and arms into the correct positions. He felt his arms being tied to the chair with not one but two zip ties, then the same procedure was carried out for his legs. Unexpectedly a smooth metal bracelet of some kind was slipped onto his wrist and then he heard the sound of duct tape being unwound. The men began to wound the tape round M and the chair multiple times, round his midsection and shoulders effectively pinning him to the seat. He had to admit the binding sure felt effective.
Everything went quiet, eerily so as the men finished securing him. Boots moved away from his position and stilled. What were they waiting for?
"Remove the blindfold." A soft voice drifted across the room. Ah, clearly they were waiting for orders, this would be the man in charge then. "Then leave us."
Gareth felt fingers scrabble at the tie holding his blindfold in place before the material was lifted away. He blinked despite himself, blinded by the change in light. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the change; he was just happy he could see again. He watched as the guards left the room and saw the heavy door swing shut behind them, secured from the other side with a deafening clang.
Mallory's keen gaze swept over the room as he assessed the environment and the situation, the cell wasn't huge but it was well filled. Tables and surfaces took up most of the side space, all littered with equipment.
Torture instruments. He reflected grimly as he spotted many sharp implements, tools and blow torches.
Taking his mind off the impending nightmare his eyes drifted to the only other occupant of the room, the boss. He had his back to Mallory and appeared to be cleaning and sorting an array of scalpels and knifes. Yep, definite psychopath.
From this angle Mallory couldn't make out much about the man, he was pretty average looking. His mind reeled out the details he could see. Caucasian male, average build, average height, tanned skin indicating extensive foreign trips or work abroad, expensive watch on his wrist and the quality of the man's suit suggested wealth. Nothing special or distinguishable.
Mallory's attention was drawn away to a steady beeping on his right, that's when he noticed a screen with a regular heart beat displayed on it. He looked confused for a second before glancing down at the metal bracelet he had felt the guards slip on him earlier, very high-end stuff. Q would be interested in looking at this.
As the silence continued he flexed his hands and legs against the ties, disappointingly finding them very secure and ungiving. He wouldn't be going anywhere for quite some time.
"Welcome M." The smartly dressed man finally turned round, a fake smile plastered to his face. Mallory noted absently the man had a scalpel gripped tightly in his hand. "I can call you M can't I?"
Mallory knew the man was toying with him already, he knew damn well he couldn't reply with a gag in his mouth. M ignored the question entirely. His eyes roamed over his captor as he took in more details. The man was completely unmasked, not bothering to hide his features at all. He had a hard face, Mallory would describe it as battle-worn. He was especially drawn to the man's piercing eyes, they were intelligent, calculating and were currently focussed completely on Mallory. The guy funnily reminded Gareth of Bond.
The man continued unperturbed. "You can call me John if you like, of course that's not my real name."
With the lack of a voice Mallory deferred to glaring at 'John' who took the reaction in his stride.
"Your chair's secured to the ground by the way so don't bother trying to move it." The conversational tone fell into something more akin to a threat by the end. Mallory realised that's why he couldn't shift earlier when he had been testing the bonds.
John's intense gaze bore into Mallory's. Suddenly a grin pulled at his captor's lips and he pushed away from the wall. Scalpel held loosely at his side. "Sorry about all the drama. Certain security measures must be taken when dealing with someone of your position."
John strolled over to Mallory's chair swiftly and reached out to remove his captive's gag. The scalpel was still in his hand and was brushed against M's face deliberately. "I'm sure you understand."
Mallory ignored the presence of the scalpel entirely, knowing a reaction was exactly what John was looking for. "You clearly know who I am. So you don't need me to tell you how much shit you are in for kidnapping the head of MI6."
John's eyes sparkled happily as M spoke. He began to circle the chair slowly; the scalpel was trailing in his arm as it danced over M's clothes and skin, not with enough force to break the skin but the movement was clearly supposed to be unsettling. Mallory kept his gaze forward as the playful act continued. John was beginning to push buttons seeing what worked and what didn't.
"Oh I can imagine." He finally answered. Mallory didn't miss the slight disappointment at his own lack of reaction to the sharp instrument roving over his body.
Mallory frowned at the scalpel which was still hovering near his neck, he'd had enough with John's playfulness. "You don't seem to be taking this very seriously."
John's eyes flashed dangerously and his face hardened completely, he moved the scalpel to rest against the pulse-point in Mallory's neck. His tone dropped the comical edge. "Neither do you."
Mallory remained completely still as he felt the sharpness of the scalpel pressing, one wrong move now and it would slice through his throat. He smiled inwardly as John's crazed gaze bore into his own. He was much more comfortable with this behaviour from an interrogator. Mallory had found the real John, stripped back of all the jokes. M had no doubt that John could slice his throat and watch him drown to death in his own blood without even blinking, he recognised the danger and coldness in John's eyes.
John seemingly done with his assessment withdrew the scalpel an inch but remained close in Mallory's face. M responded as soon as the lethal instrument wasn't pressing up against his voice box. "I've been here before."
His captor barked out a laugh and grinned, suddenly happy again. These mood swings were going to be the death of Mallory, he could just feel it. "Yes I know. I've read your file."
John went back to picking and playing as he pressed the scalpel into Mallory's shirt, slicing off buttons and cutting threads absentmindedly. "I know all about your past. About the fun you've had with the Irish."
John's eyes flashed up when he mentioned Mallory's time at the hands of the IRA, he was clearly expecting a reaction. M didn't give John the satisfaction as he let the emotions wash over him, he deftly changed the subject.
"You know they will find us."
John pulled the scalpel back clearly irritated by the lack of reaction yet again. "Undoubtedly."
Mallory held his breath as John gripped the scalpel tighter, an idea suddenly struck the mad-man as his face lit up. M resisted the urge to flinch as with lightening-fast speed the deadly instrument was suddenly held up to his cheek, just below his right eye. John held it there for a second before pressing until M's skin was broken.
"But we don't need to worry about that now, protocols are in place and plans are in motion. For now at least I have you all to myself."
Mallory felt a burning sensation scrape down his cheek as he eyed the scalpel moving downwards, leaving a thin trickle of blood behind. M schooled his features with a small amount of difficulty, he acted as though there weren't a mad-man slicing into his face which was actually a lot harder than he expected.
John's calculating gaze searched M's features for anything, he even looked over at the heart monitor looking disappointed as normal values beeped back at him. "You know even though I was expecting this it's still impressive seeing it in the flesh. Being able to control your body's reactions in a situation like this is enviable."
John was clearly getting pissed off as he continued to get nothing out of Mallory. He leaned in closer, pressing the knife in further and further. Eyes searching Mallory's intensely. M's face felt like it had been set fire to, it was becoming near impossible to hold back any reaction to the agony but he held out.
"Nothing huh?" John muttered finally withdrawing the scalpel, a look of admiration flashed across his features briefly. "Man of steel."
Mallory attempted to move the conversation on, ignoring the blood trickling down his face. "You said you read my file?"
"Hmm" John nods with an affirmative sound looking bored again.
Mallory took the sound as a cue to continue, his captor now seemed to have lost interest with the scalpel. "So you know that the IRA held me for three months and didn't get anything. You are not going to have three months."
No matter how organised these guys seemed to be it was impossible to not leave a trace, if anyone could find him it would be MI6.
"Probably not." His captor admitted, backing away dejectedly to replace the scalpel on the far table.
"What makes you think you can break me when they couldn't?" Gareth liked to lead the interrogation, the longer he kept this guy talking and bored the less pain he was enduring.
Suddenly the atmosphere changed. John barked out a laugh, an 'I know something you don't know' laugh, that had Mallory on edge. The mad-man leaned nonchalantly against the table and prepared to play his trump card. "I have something they didn't." He smiled broadly at his own joke. "Or should I say someone."
Mallory's throat went dry in an instant, it didn't sound like a bluff. M's mind raced through all the possibilities, it could be anyone. Someone close to him?
John enjoyed the reaction he had been trying to get out of Mallory since he was dragged in. He touched his ear and issued an order. "Bring him in."
Seconds late the cell door slammed open making a racket as it careered into the wall. Several masked man carried a chair in and secured it to the floor facing Mallory's using some kind of latch system. M waited on the edge of his seat as a tall skinny man was bundled into the room with a mop of curly hair. He recognised the trussed up prisoner immediately.
No not Q.
How could they have found Q?
Mallory distantly heard his heartbeat start to race as he sat horrified at the unfolding events. He clenched his hands together on the arms of the chair, scratching down on the wood as he felt the emotions tear through him. Disbelief, worry, rage, fear. He could feel their captor's intense stare burning into him from afar; he ignored it. His eyes never left Q as the man was treated to the same rough procedure he had been. Gareth winced as Q was gut-punched and slammed into the seat with excessive force, the young man was quickly bound identically to Mallory.
Q's blindfold was finally untied and Gareth watched as the young man took a few moments to adjust to the change in light. Q's confused eyes darted around the room briefly before landing on M and going wide. Mallory knew Q was looking for reassurance, god knows he had never been in any situation like this before. The problem was Gareth couldn't give Q the reassurance he needed, they were definitely not going to be okay.
The room remained deathly silent, that's when Mallory realised that Q's gag hadn't been removed otherwise the quartermaster would probably already be talking. Q had a habit of becoming too chatty when he was anxious which this situation would definitely fall in the category of. Only heartbeats could be heard faintly in the background, Mallory could hear they were both elevated. So much for not showing a reaction.
John stalked over to behind Q and dropped his hands onto the quartermaster's shoulders roughly, beaming at Mallory like a cheshire cat. Mallory couldn't help but tighten his hold on the chair.
"Welcome Q, your boss and I were just having an introductory chat." John ruthlessly dug his grip into Q's shoulders until the young man moaned into the gag. Mallory couldn't stop the tremor that ran through his muscles, he was actually shaking with rage. "It was most enlightening."
Abruptly their captor released his grip and sauntered to stand between the two men. Mallory struggled to keep looking at Q, he didn't know how long he could control his emotions if he were to look at the man still intent on baiting him.
"Aren't you going to say hello to your employee M?" Mallory couldn't take looking into Q's terrified eyes anymore. The kid was doing well at controlling himself so far considering he shouldn't be anywhere near a situation like this. But Mallory knew him well and could see Q was struggling to deal with the situation.
Their captor sighed dramatically. "He was all talk before you walked in. Such a shame."
John walked towards Mallory with a huge victory grin plastered over his face. "I like to think I'm a good study of human reactions. Five minutes ago M here was as cool as a cucumber."
John slowed when he reached Mallory's side, addressing Q with elaborate hand gestures. "Seriously, any doctor looking at his vitals would have assumed he was relaxing somewhere reading a good book. But look at him now."
Their captor reached out and grabbed M's chin in his grip, he harshly forced Mallory up to look at Q. Gareth stopped himself from showing any pain to the tight hold.
"As soon as you entered the room Q, his heart-rate spiked. His whole body tensed and can you see the tremors running through his hands?" Their captor chuckled as Mallory released his clenching fists. "The body can't help but react to fear like this."
John released his grip on Mallory's jaw abruptly, moving to crouch in front of Gareth's chair, cutting off M's view of Q.
"You were already preparing yourself to find that dot on the wall weren't you? A little spot to focus on and block it all out out. Block out the pain, block out me. You were completely ready to pretend that you'd died, that's what you did last time wasn't it?"
Mallory swallowed as their captor broke down his train of thoughts completely, that was what had been running through his mind before Q changed everything. It was what he had been trained to do. How could he do that when it was going to be Q's screams?
John leaned forward until they faces were almost touching. "It's not so easy blocking everything out when it's not you being hurt, when it's not you being tortured within an inch of your life."
Mallory glared into the eyes of the sadist, he recognised that John was enjoying making him squirm. John was clearly also looking forward to making good on his threats, and he was revelling in terrifying Q. It made Gareth want to rip his heart out, right there and then. He would have done anything to get his hands around John's neck.
Their captor leaned back from Mallory and sat between the two captive's chairs, Mallory stole a quick glance over at Q and saw the same fear he felt reflected back in the young man's eyes.
"Look at him sitting there trying to imagine what this is going to be like, desperately recalling his training." John mocked heartlessly, pointing over at Q.
He addressed M seriously. "You know better than most how he is going to feel. How he is going to beg for death, it's truly indescribable."
Gareth closed his eyes and tried to ignore the goads, tried to breathe normally even though in the distance he could hear his racing heart, the sound betraying him. Their captor had finally found and was pushing all his buttons. He felt an overwhelming feeling overcome all of his senses, guilt. Q shouldn't be here, he shouldn't be going through this.
"I'm curious, how many days in Ireland did you last before wishing for death?" This guy was like a predator, he had drawn blood and was intent on following the trail. "The beatings, the cuttings, the burning, the drowning…" He ended the speech right in Mallory's face.
The final threats were clearly aimed to unsettle and scare Q and it was the last straw for Mallory. He snapped, just like their captor wanted him to.
"I want you to listen to me very carefully." He growled, leaning forward to meet the man's smirking face.
Their captor beamed with joy at the reaction he had been waiting for. "Ah! He speaks, I'm all ears M."
Mallory fuelled all of his rage into his next words, meaning every part of it. "I am going to kill you. It will be slow and excruciating."
John remained perfectly still, blinked once then tilted his head as if mulling the sentence over. The tension in the cell was palpable. Finally he grinned, the bastard had actually just genuinely smiled. Not like the fake expressions he had been showcasing during the interrogation, this one properly reached his eyes.
"Wow… that was intense." Their captor breathed out heavily. Mallory snorted at the sarcastic tone. "No really, I'm actually a bit scared." John leaned back a bit reassessing his captive, maybe he was even reacting to Mallory's threat more seriously. "And you mean it don't you? If you got free right now you would rip me apart."
Mallory answered immediately, intense stare boring into their captor. "In a heartbeat."
Gareth didn't think he could feel more murderous, that was until the man whispered his next words cruelly. "Just imagine how you'll feel when you hear him scream."
John sprang to his feet and M suddenly remembered it wasn't just the two of them in the room. Glancing over at the quartermaster he noted the young man looked worried, but in control at least for now. Hopefully Q hadn't let the threats of torture get to him. Mental torture, the threat of the thing, was sometimes even worse than the actual act.
Their captor suddenly remembered the quartermaster's presence too, bounding over to him. "My apologies Q, let me get that for you." He reached out and pulled the gag from Q's mouth. Q didn't react or flinch to the touch. "I'm afraid I got carried away there."
The man slapped Q's knees harshly. "I hope you haven't been too uncomfortable."
Q glared directly into their captors smirking face. "I'm just peachy thanks."
Wow, even Mallory was impressed by how steady Q's voice had just sounded then. Maybe it would be wise to not underestimate the young man, just because he wasn't a field agent didn't mean he couldn't handle an interrogation. Then again the dynamics of a shared interrogation were something either man hadn't experienced so who knew what was going to happen?
"Good, good." John smiled before motioning to the silent guards whose presence had been forgotten. "Hook him up."
Gareth watching warily as the masked men wheeled a trolley towards Q with what looked a car battery on top. Oh no… Q had clocked the machinery too and visibly gulped when the men began untangling the jump leads.
"You never answered my question M." John's words nearly fell upon deaf ears, seeing the equipment had made their nightmare real.
"What?" He asked annoyed, the last thing he wanted to be doing now was making small talk whilst Q was being prepared for electrocution.
"How many days?"
Mallory looked from their captor's stupid smirk to Q as the masked men ripped open his shirt and attached the jump cables to his body.
"Piss off." He had nothing more to give to this man, he wouldn't play this game any longer.
John indicated to one of the men milling at the side of Q's chair who promptly turned and punched Q across the jaw, hard. Mallory gasped at the brutality of the attack. Q grunted after the surprise assault, blood dripping from his mouth as the masked man retook his place at his side.
John grabbed Mallory's jaw harshly, forcing him to look at him. "Do you see how this is going to work now? You don't answer my questions he gets hurt and vice versa."
Their captor let M's jaw go and towered over the seated man.
"You strike me as somebody who wouldn't give a damn if you get hurt, but it's very different when someone else pays for your mistakes. Someone whose safety and well-being you are responsible for."
Mallory stole a glance at Q now John was no longer blocking his line of sight. Q looked shaken, possibly from the actual start of violence but most probably from the hum coming off the battery. The men had finished fiddling so he was clearly ready to be electrocuted. The whole thing seemed like some kind of sick dream to Mallory, if he could just wake up…
John clapped his hands together and took off his jacket, hanging it near the other instruments of torture. "Anyway lets get down to business. I imagine that you have both guessed why you are our guests here."
M and Q's silence didn't deter John in the slightest. "Well my employer need's information that the two of you have. I probably don't need to tell you which project I'm talking about. It's top secret, hush-hush; the two of you are among just a handful of people who know anything about it."
M didn't miss the word employer, it seemed that his initial impression of this group was correct. They were just guns for hire. Q's sudden outburst shocked Mallory and stopped John in his tracks, the quartermaster started laughing.
"You do realise you have just described everything I have ever worked on."
Once Q explained his reaction, M understood what the young man found so funny. He even felt a smile tugging at his own lips. He should have known Q wouldn't be able to refrain from being a smart-ass. It pissed off most people back at HQ and by the thunderous expression adorning John's face it had pissed him off to.
A moment later the electricity was turned on. M knew it was coming but it still didn't prepare him for the rush of emotions that flooded his body as Q screamed and thrashed. He felt so helpless just sitting there, watching it happen. Mercifully after a few seconds John indicated for the men to stop and Q's head slumped against his chest, lungs gasping for air.
John ignored Q's agony and continued with his speech. "Okay let me be specific. I'm talking about the project with the codename Eureka."
Mallory had to catch himself from saying anything, how the hell did these people even know the project exists? Who the hell were they?
John waited silently giving the two of them piercing evaluations to check for reactions. Q's head was still slumped forward but M knew that the young quartermaster had heard the codename. Even he didn't miss the spike on Q's heart-rate monitor.
John smiled with satisfaction as he clearly saw what he wanted. "Very good, you have been trained well. Your reactions were almost undetectable. Your silence speaks volumes though."
Great now this sadist thinks he's a comedian…
Every time Mallory thought the situation couldn't get any worse, it did. Just this group knowing about the existence of the project was a serious breach of national security, let alone if they found anything else out. He and Q knew the seriousness of the project. It simply could not fall into enemy hands, the world would not recover.
"Anything to say gentlemen?" John beamed, pleased with himself at the turn of events.
Mallory remained impassive and sat in stony silence as he mulled over how much shit he and Q were really in, when the young quartermaster decided on a different tact.
"Yes actually. I have a friend who is very proficient with a gun and I can't wait to watch him cut you all to pieces."
Oh Q…
Mallory's heart ached as he saw John indicate for the inevitable. Q arched against the chair as much as his bonds would allow, crying out against the currents. M snapped his eyes shut tightly, he selfishly couldn't watch his friend's pain-wracked features. Eventually the agonised screaming stopped. M opened his eyes to see Q was shaking all over, his hair hanging in loose curls all over the young man's face. Breaths coming in short sharp bursts.
"You know Henry. I don't know whether you're brave or just stupid."
Q blinked, startled at the use of his given name. So did Mallory. No-one knew Q's name, no-one outside of MI6.
"How do you know his name? no-one should know his name." The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. The information that this group had access to was truly staggering, worrying and eye-opening. They had a serious problem.
John grinned at the two men's reaction, he clearly loved being in control. "I know his name the same way I knew where I could get to him, the same way I knew your route to work, and the same way I know all of your security protocols. You seem to have an intelligence leak M."
Mallory's mind raced at the implication, it could either be one of two things. They had been compromised and people had hacked into their systems, or they had a mole. Either way it was a bloody disaster. John started pacing round the two captives slowly, allowing the pair to get their heads round the situation.
"So M. I'm going to need some information from you. I need to know who else knows about the project. What countries are involved and exactly what the progress is. And from you Q, I need you to recreate it for me."
John came to a stop between them both, looking from M to Q. "Before this is all starts getting messy and painful. I will ask you both now. Are you going to comply?"
Q dragged his head up painfully, breathing still laboured from the last shock. He looked directly at M.
"Don't give this bastard anything M."
Mallory stared at Q, really stared at him and found the answer to John's previous question. Q wasn't being stupid, he was being incredibly brave and was making the ultimate sacrifice to keep England safe. Q's strength fuelled M's convictions, they both knew the consequences of failing this test. M just hoped they could hold out long enough for this nightmare to be over. He was no idiot. For all the bravado it was a known fact that everyone broke, you just had to find their limits.
"Go to Hell." He finally spat at John.
John looked angered for a second before cheering up at the prospect of their upcoming torture, the man was a bonafide sadist.
Their captor turned to the interrogators. "You may begin, remember don't damage his hands or eyes. He'll need them later to create Eureka."
"Not bloody likely." Q muttered defiantly.
John grinned at the statement, pulled up a chair and sat down to watch the torture. Q nodded once to M before his body started convulsing. Mallory forced his eyes to remain open as the quartermaster thrashed against his restraints. If Q could sit there and take the torture then he could bloody well suck it up and watch. He would not abandon Q, they were in this together.