The next chapter! I'm sorry that it took me so long to write it, but life's keeping me pretty busy at the moment. I'll try to write the next one faster, I promise! Please let me know what you think, that would be awesome!
I don't own the characters or places!
"This doesn't make any sense!" Sherlock muttered for the fifth time in ten minutes, making John look up from his laptop.
He looked at his boyfriend silently for a few moments, taking in his appearance. He was still wearing the clothes he'd slept in – a black t-shirt which was actually John's and sweatpants. His curly hair was a complete mess and there was a deep frown on his face. Hid eyes were narrowed and John knew that he was close to an outburst.
"Do I even want to know what about this book doesn't make sense?" John asked with a sigh. "Because from what I've seen, that would fit to anything in there."
"The code." Sherlock said as if it was the most logical thing in this world. "I just can't find the code!"
"The code?" John raised his eyebrows. Two days had passed since their nightly trip to the victim's flat where they'd met James. Ever since, Sherlock was using every waking minute to look at the book they'd found.
"Yes, the code." Sherlock rolled his eyes. "It's obvious that there has to be a code in this book."
"Because of the two titles?" John guessed, letting it sound more confident than he actually felt. To him, that book was just nonsense.
Sherlock nodded. "It has to be coded. Otherwise, that wouldn't make any sense." He repeated his words from earlier. "Who would write a book with two different titles? And what should 'How To Outsmart Smart People' even mean? There has to be another meaning."
"You think that the code to read this book is in there as well?" John crossed his arms with a frown. "Isn't that normally different? Like, the code's in another book?"
"I've already done research on that, but either Chris Mayor isn't famous at all – in fact, he's so lame that he didn't even make it to the internet – or he doesn't exist. There can't be another book with a code."
"What about the other title? The one about algorithms?"
"Does exist and is pretty lame too." Sherlock said simply. "I only read the first pages before I nearly fell asleep."
"So you mean it's different in there?" John asked and pointed at the book in Sherlock's hands. "You didn't fall asleep in the past hours."
"It's mixed with the other title." Sherlock stared at the book in his hands angrily. "As I said, it doesn't make sense."
"Maybe you should give it to the others, then." John suggested. "Q wanted to have it next, didn't he? I mean, he's an expert when it comes to maths."
"I'm not finished yet." Sherlock said simply and John noticed that he tightened his hold on the book.
"Didn't we agree to work with them and not against them?" He asked slowly.
"I'm not working against them." Sherlock stated. "I just need more time to figure this out."
"You've been reading it for two days." John threw in. "And while doing that, you ignored all the other cases."
"How many are there?" His boyfriend asked.
"Six." John glanced at his cellphone. "No, seven. Greg texted ten minutes ago."
"Anything similar to our recent cases?"
When John shook his head, Sherlock groaned loudly and leaned back in his armchair, closing his eyes. "We're not making any progress here, John!" He complained unhappily. "I hate it when I can't solve a riddle!"
"Did you look at the diary of the old lady?" John asked. "Maybe there's something in there."
"There isn't. And her handwriting is terrible. She always emphasizes that she's scared, but she never mentioned of whom. It's like even writing it down in her diary was too much of a risk to her."
"Of whom?" John repeated, making Sherlock look up at him in surprise.
"That's what I said."
"We never knew that she was scared of someone before." He stated simply.
"That's only logical, John." Sherlock rolled his eyes and leaned back in his armchair. "She surely wouldn't have been scared of things."
Somehow, John had the feeling that this was important. However, he couldn't grasp why.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Mrs. Hudson entered, a wide smile on her lips. "I've made tea!" She exclaimed, but when her eyes landed on Sherlock, her happy expression was replaced by a frown. "Oh no, another case he can't solve?" She asked John, acting as if Sherlock wasn't there at all.
"So far, yes." John agreed and accepted his tea with a smile. "But we'll get there."
"I'm sure of that, John! You always solve your cases." Their landlady said and glanced at his laptop. "Is that a new story for your blog?"
John nodded. "Not about our recent case, though."
"Can I read it?" Mrs. Hudson didn't try to hide her excitement. She loved reading John's stories before they were published.
"Of course." He smiled at her and stood up so she could sit down on the chair and read the story. John took the time to kneel down next to Sherlock and place a hand on his knee silently. After a few moments, his boyfriend looked up at him.
"You really need a break." John whispered quietly. "You've been staring at that book for far too long."
"You know that I can't stop now, John." Sherlock whispered, but the look on his face betrayed him. It was obvious that he wanted something else than to continue reading in that damn book.
"Why not?" John asked innocently, moving his hand further up Sherlock's leg. "Just a short break, it wouldn't do any harm." He leaned closer so their lips were barely touching. "After that, I could also have another look at the book with you."
Sherlock swallowed. "Maybe a really short break..."
"You know that I can hear you, right?" Mrs. Hudson interrupted them loudly. "And I would appreciate it if you wait with making out until I'm downstairs again. You don't have to take him right now, John." The last comment made them both stare at her in horror. John noticed that Sherlock's face was bright red now and he feared that he looked much the same.
Mrs. Hudson laughed loudly, clearly amused by their reaction. "I may be old, but I'm not deaf. So please let me get my headphones first." Without waiting for their reply, she stood up and walked to the door. "The story is really good, by the way. You should post it like this, John." After winking at them once more, she shut the door firmly and they heard her footsteps on the stairs.
They were silent for some time, both still trying to understand what just happened. In the end, John cleared his throat. "Well, she's right about that. You're rather loud when I..." He trailed off, sure that Sherlock knew exactly what he meant.
"I'll show you how loud I can be." Sherlock muttered, a determined look on his face. "Bedroom. Right now." He grabbed John's hands and pulled him in said direction. Once the door was closed behind them, Sherlock kissed him fiercely and started to undress him without hesitation. John laughed breathlessly, but threw his boyfriend onto the bed without complaining.
"You should get some rest, 007." Tanner said and looked at him closely. "You look like you've just been hit by a car."
"I also feel like that." James muttered, which wasn't entirely wrong. Because he'd been indeed hit by a car on his last mission. The mission from which he'd just returned. Actually, it had sounded pretty boring. Find the target in Brighton and get the necessary information. He'd done that hundreds of times before. Normally, it was easy and over very fast. However, they'd forgotten to mention that the target was a specialist when it came to fighting with a rare Chinese weapon and was the owner of about thirty highly expensive cars. After realizing that he couldn't just kill James with his strange weapon, he'd decided just to hit him with one of his many cars. Luckily, nothing was broken or worse. However, there would be bruises. Many of them.
"Maybe a medical check wouldn't be wrong." Only the small frown on Tanner's face showed that he was at least a little concerned.
"I'll be fine." James replied, shaking his head. The last thing he wanted right now was having to deal with one of the nurses. "I'll just go to Q Branch, bring back my equipment and then I'm on my way home."
"Make Q get you some painkillers." Tanner said, not hiding his disapproval of that decision. "Strong ones." Without waiting for a reply, he turned around and vanished behind the next corner. James was glad about it. Even if many of the people at MI6 knew about his relationship with Q, no one ever dared to mention it. Well, except for Moneypenny, of course.
And just while he was thinking of her, said woman appeared where Tanner vanished just seconds ago, a wide smile on her lips. However, it was replaced by a frown when her eyes fell on James. "My, my, 007. You look like shit." She said and eyed him closely.
"Thank you very much for the reminder, Moneypenny." James muttered with a sigh.
"The mission didn't go well, I assume?"
"Oh, it did." James said when they made their way towards Q Branch slowly. "But only in the end."
"So they really hit you with a car?" Her eyes narrowed. "Q won't be amused by this."
"I've already taken care of the person who did it. No need to bother Q with it." James threw in.
"Dead?" When he shook his head, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Only locked up. That's good for your quote, James!"
He rolled his eyes. "You seem to be very cheerful today, Moneypenny." He decided not to ask why because she was going to tell him about it anyway.
"I have a date this evening." She said cheerfully. "It's going to be awesome!"
"So he invited you to dinner?" Q had mentioned that Eve was interested in some kind of lawyer whom they saw regularly when they went to get their coffee in their break.
"Not dinner." She smiled widely. "We're going to a museum."
"The National Gallery?" An image flashed through James' mind. He saw himself, sitting on a bench in said museum, looking at a picture. He didn't remember what it showed anymore. However, the image of green eyes was burned into his memory forever. He couldn't think of that museum without seeing it.
"Indeed." Eve smiled. "But who knows, maybe we'll do something else afterwards?"
"Make sure that he isn't a serial killer." James noted dryly.
She laughed. "I already checked on him. He's fine."
"You mean you made Q do that." He clarified, not surprised in the slightest.
"Maybe." Eve smiled mysteriously. "Anyway, I've got to go now. I just wanted to say hello and make sure that you don't forget me."
He raised his eyebrows. "Why should we forget you?"
"You're acting strange lately, Mr. Bond." Eve whispered into his ear. "The two of you. Don't think I didn't notice."
For the second time that day, someone turned around without waiting for James' reply. He sighed deeply before he continued to walk towards Q Branch.
He already thought that it couldn't get worse, but then he heard the voice of 004 as soon as the door shut behind him. Great. Just great. So it could get worse.
At the moment, 004 was shouting at Q. James felt anger flare up inside him, but he tried not to let it show. He knew that Q could handle the situation perfectly well on his own.
When he saw 004, James had to think of the strange conversation he overheard in the hallway once more. It had really sounded like he was up to something illegal, but unfortunately, even Q couldn't find out more about it. Q just shrugged it off, but it made James even more suspicious than he already was.
"What the hell of an escape car was that?" 004 shouted in this moment. "I would have nearly died out there!"
Not a surprise, James thought dryly. From the look on Q's face, he knew that his boyfriend was thinking the same.
"It was the only car available at that time." Q said simply. "And you didn't die, so stop complaining."
"I would like to see you escape from heavily armed men in a Smart, of all things."
"As I said, it worked." Q repeated. "No need to be angry any longer."
"It was pink!" Now James understood why 004 was furious. He noticed that one of the other employees at Q Branch was listening to the conversation as well and exchanged an amused grin with him.
"Be happy that it wasn't an electric car." Q noted dryly. "In all our tests, they exploded once they were shot. Yours kept driving nonetheless."
004 stared at him. "Are you making fun of me?" The threatening tone in his voice couldn't be missed.
"No, I'm deadly serious. They really exploded." Q explained. "I could show you the records of our last test, if you don't want to believe me." He already moved towards his laptop when 004 shook his head.
"That won't be necessary." The Double-Oh muttered, taken aback by Q's calm reaction. "I think I'll just go."
"You should do that." Q agreed. "I've got other things to do." His eyes fell on James and he wondered how long his boyfriend already knew that he was standing there.
When 004 followed Q's gaze, he scoffed. "You look like shit!" He repeated the words Eve had also used. However, this time it didn't sound like a mild scolding. When 004 said them, it was obvious that this amused him.
"At least I didn't get hit by a pink Smart." James grinned at the other man, knowing that it wasn't a good idea to provoke 004 now that he was already angry and with himself being injured, but he couldn't help it.
"You..." 004 took a step towards him with clenched fists and James already braced himself for an attack when Q's voice echoed through the room.
"004!" His boyfriend shouted angrily. "I do not tolerate violence in here! Especially not between two Double-Oh's!"
To James' surprise, 004 froze immediately and after a few seconds, he stepped back hastily. He muttered something that sounded like an insult and turned away, heading towards the elevator with large steps.
Only now James realized that the entire room was completely silent, 004's footsteps making the only sound. When the other agent hit the button of the elevator, the constant clattering of keyboards which usually filled the room returned.
James turned to Q slowly, only to see his boyfriend looking at him with concern in his eyes. "Are you alright?" Q asked quietly when James approached him.
"Fine." He said simply. "Nothing that wouldn't go away with a good night's rest."
"More than one night, I would dare to say." Q muttered when he eyed him more closely. "You're hurt."
"Nothing of importance."
"Everything about you is of importance." Q argued softly. "Come on, you should sit down." Ignoring James' protests, he pulled him towards his office. Once they were inside, Q forced James to sit down in one of those comfortable armchairs. Then he searched for some painkillers and handed them to him, together with a glass of water. "Drink." Q ordered and James knew him well enough not to argue about this.
"You look stressed." James said after a few moments of silence. "Everything alright?"
"You mean except for 004 being an idiot again?" Q smiled slightly. "I'm alright."
"Something's bothering you." James remarked. "I know you, Q."
His boyfriend sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "I've looked into those cases again." He didn't have to explain which ones he meant. "And it seems like the others were right."
"About what?" James asked curiously.
"All of the victims acted strange shortly before their deaths." Q explained quietly. "And one of them even talked about someone threatening him."
This caught James' attention and he tensed. "Did he mention a name?"
Q shook his head. "But he always talked about a man."
"Interesting." James leaned back in the armchair again. "Do we also have a diary of some sort of book?"
"Not yet. But I didn't have much time to look into that anyway. 004's mission has kept me busy once more." Q sighed. "That man can't go on a mission which doesn't end in disaster."
"Was the pink Smart a coincidence or did you do that on purpose?" He smiled when he tried to imagine how it must have looked like.
"A little of both, to be honest." Q smiled widely. "He deserved it."
"He deserves far more than that." James muttered. "Alone for talking to you like this..."
"I can handle him." Q said softly. "You don't have to protect me from him, James."
"What if I want to?"
"You can't beat him up." His boyfriend said sternly. "Not because of me anyway."
"What a pity." James muttered and closed his eyes.
"M left a note for you, by the way." Q said suddenly. "He had to leave early today and asked me to give it to you."
"A note?" He didn't open his eyes.
"Also about our cases." Q explained. "Apparently, the politician was also partly owning a company."
"What kind of company?"
"International business of some kind. I didn't get a chance to look into it yet. I think M wants you to have a look at it. They found the name in one of the papers in the office of the victim, written down hastily." He could hear the apologetic tone in Q's voice. "Apparently, it's called Marbury."
"What kind of stupid name is that?" James opened his eyes only to raise his eyebrows.
Q shrugged. "No idea." When James suppressed a yawn, his boyfriend stood up. "We'll look into that later. Now we'll go home. You need rest, James."
When he tried to protest, Q just looked at him angrily. James knew that look well enough not to argue in this moment and followed his boyfriend to the elevator silently.