Chapter 9

"You're a very logical person, Moneypenny."

"I'd like to think so, James."

"You have a few good friends, I assume."

"Yes, and you do not."

"I have a few good friends."

"Oh really? Who?"

She was down in the training wing, signing out a practice gun so she didn't lose her edge. She accepted the gun with a brief smile at the attendant and then turned to head into the firing range. James gave a half wave at the man behind the glass but did not grab a weapon.

"You. Q. Tanner," James listed.

She laughed loudly. "Tanner? You had drinks one time and that makes you friends?"

"Yes," he answered blandly. She turned, caught off guard by his straight answer and studied him for a moment. It wasn't just drinks. It was the ease with which they could work together, whenever they happened to pass in the offices or halls. But yes, it was settled with one outing for drinks.

"Where are you going with this, 007?" she asked and stepped into her little cubicle of a range.

They were alone so far. It was the wrong time of day for agents to be in practice, assuming they were in the country at all. In a way it was private, despite the attendant. Eve began checking and loading her gun.

James leaned on the wall of her aisle and tried to balance nonchalance with straight forward seriousness. He could do things like that. "If Q's such a good friend, why have you not brought him to the agency?"

She almost dropped the magazine. When she looked at him, her eyes were intense and cold. "Excuse me?"

"Come tomorrow, he'll get his third degree in technology and engineering. He's got a sharp mind, quick wit. Bloody stubborn as hell, which would serve him well here I think," James said as Eve snapped the magazine into the chamber of her weapon. There was something vaguely threatening about it. "To top it off, he hates his fucking job and it's quite possible he's being used for less than reputable purposes."

"Don't, James," she said, shaking her head.

"Don't what, Eve?" James asked, keeping his tone calm and conversational. "Turn a blind eye to someone who could be an irreplaceable asset to R&D? Listening to him talk about his programs, I believe he'd turn that place into a true I.T. department."

She let off a shot at the target without using the earmuffs. The sound echoed off the walls, but neither of them flinched.

"I don't want to bring him into this world," Eve snapped. "Surely you can understand that desire. Our world is dangerous, and you never truly get out. Everyone you know, everyone you care about has potential to face blowback if things go sideways. Why would I want to drag Daniel into this?"

He let her have her moment, gave a second or two of silence in respect for her ideals. Then he frowned and said, "But what if it made him safer than he is now?"

Forehead furrowed in suspicious concern, she lowered her gun and asked, "Why? Has he said something to you? Is he in trouble?"

James shook his head. "He won't say, but I'm fairly certain Riley is emotionally abusing him, if not more. He shows the signs of abuse in his diction and word choice. First and foremost, he's usually witty and sarcastic, but not if he's just dealt with Riley. He's subdued."

"You're worried about him," Eve noted with a nod. "Fine. I'll trust your instincts and check in on him. I'm not saying I'll hand him to M for a test run," she amended when James started to smirk. "I'm just going to make sure he's alright. You're not wrong. He's always been an absurdly stubborn sort of idiot."

"Good," James said. He waited for her to start mentally prepping to train again, waited just until she was a moment from covering her ears with the mufflers. That's when he said, "And this life isn't so bad. You've got a new boyfriend, after all."

She froze. "How did-?"

Now he smirked openly. "Sometimes I feel like you forget I earned my number, Miss Moneypenny. They don't just hand them out to anyone with a pretty face."

She scowled at him. "Oh shut up," she said, donning her earmuffs and turning to the target. "009 isn't that pretty anyhow."

James chuckled lowly and watched her let off a few rounds before he quietly took his leave.


The plan was to stop by Riley's place of business the following afternoon and sneak a peek at what was inside. Maybe he'd listen at doors or nab some equipment from R&D so he could listen in from outside. But that plan never happened.

Eve called him as he was just beginning to prep himself for the journey. He'd planned to go in a suit so Riley would unconsciously trust him more – big money meant bigger influence meant less restrictions.

"You were right," she said. "Don't gloat. But you were right."

"About what exactly this time?" James asked, picking up his tie and trying to decide if it was a step too far. Would it be better to go without the tie?

"About Q," she said. "I dropped by his place in Haringey and he looked like he'd been in a brawl. I mean, he had a busted lip. He swears it was from face planting off a sidewalk, but he's not a brilliant liar."

"As much as it makes me want to go punch someone, why are you calling to tell me this?" Forget the tie. Forget the plan. Maybe it was best if he didn't go over right now. He might kill someone on accident. Or on purpose. Really it would be his word against any witness. More reason not to go.

"Because I'm not stupid, James. I noticed signs about the problem too, but I ignored them for my own pride's sake." She was angry, as she should be, but she sounded sad too. "We need to get him away from Riley. I don't care what noose Riley has around his neck."

"We?" James asked, his own pride swelling at her admission of needing his help. "How are we going to help?"

He imagined her biting her lip, more in aggravation and hesitation than insecurity. "You brought up bringing Q into the agency. I'm sure you had some ideas about how to get him approved."

Completely scrapping his previous plan for the day, James started undoing the buttons on his pressed, white shirt. With a smile he said, "In fact, I do, Miss Moneypenny. In fact, I do."

Then he explained the algorithm Q had created for Riley, the one that could encrypt things so well that only the key could unlock them. And of course, Q had also created the key.

"I believe the reason for Q's split lip is that decryption key, and I believe that is also the very thing we need to get him into MI-6." He didn't take his shirt off, just let it hang from his shoulders. The rest of his week was looking brighter already, even without killing Riley. He went to the kitchen and found a good bottle of scotch he'd picked up in southern Scotland a year back. A short glass later and he had himself a drink. "Set Q up with R, have him decrypt the drive I brought back from France. When he can do what no one in R&D can do, then he'll have his qualifications."

"I especially like the part where you were vague on the detail of how I convince M to let him near the drive at all," Eve said and he chuckled.

"You're smart. You'll figure it out," he said. "You always do."


Two days passed with little to help with the case against Spectre. They still had no idea who was pulling the strings or how large the organization truly was. Really they just knew it had minor ties in four countries. On a global scale, that wasn't too terrifying, but they needed to cut it off before it got any worse.

And two days passed before Moneypenny was able to convince Mallory to let an unknown civilian into the R&D lab to run tests on a highly confidential piece of national security tech. He still seemed dubious the morning of day two when Q was sent for under the guise of the police needing his help with a mugging he witnessed. Not that he actually saw a mugging, but Q played along brilliantly despite having no idea what they truly wanted. Or so James was told.

"He'll be here any minute," Mallory was saying, shuffling papers around on his desk like a man about to face his furious wife and not a nobody twenty-something computer wiz. "God, what was I thinking?"

"Sir?" James asked, unsure why his boss had called him to meet. Had he wanted a sounding board for his breakdown?

"Oh never mind that," M said, more to himself, and then looked up at James, who stood perfectly in the center of the room. "Eve tells me you know the boy too. You trust him?"

"Immeasurably," James said. He watched Mallory's face go lax with shock before he smirked and added, "Sir."

The spy master cleared his throat and nodded. "Well I suppose that does it then," he said. "And if the Minister finds out and is looking to put some heads on the chopping block, well, all the best, 007, but you'll be sorely missed."

James chuckled then. If the minister found out and didn't like it, there would be far more heads to worry about than James', and Mallory would be top of the list, but they both knew that. The two older men exchanged tight smiles, the closest they ever truly got to being friendly.

The door was cracked behind them to announce anyone's presence since Eve had left her station to go retrieve her friend from the uniforms downstairs. James tilted his head in the direction of that crack as voices became noticeable on the other side.

"-can't believe you never told me!"

Q was in the building, that was for certain. James couldn't help the way his smile grew genuine, but he was focusing on Q's voice and missed the curiosity on M's face.

"I already told you, I wasn't allowed," Eve was saying. "And anyway, you're here now, so stop complaining. You're going to prove you know what you're doing and help save the country or the world or whatever, and then you're going to come work with me and everything will be fine."

"Fine? Fine?! Are you listening to yourself? I'm in the MI-6 building! They're probably listening to me right now and I'm going to say something stupid and they'll shoot me for it." Wow he was more nervous than James had expected. That was adorable.

"Oh shut up, Q. No one's going to shoot you. You'll be fine," Eve said. Their footsteps stalled just outside the door and James imagined Eve was fixing Q's collar and hair like a child about to go to school for the first day.

In the office, M regained James' attention with the clearing of his throat. "Before I dismiss you, 007, I did actually have a mission for you," he said and held up one of the folders he'd been shifting around. James took it promptly and flipped open the first page.

In the hall, he heard a hushed, "Did he say 7?"

"All the information is in the file. Your flight leaves in just over three hours – just enough time to get you a bag and goodies from R and get to the airport." M took a seat, his back rigid. To James it looked like he was overcompensating, trying to look as imposing as possible for when Q took his first steps into the life of espionage. "And, 007, do be careful. You could be walking right into the teeth of the snake."

"When am I not safe, Sir?" James asked and turned for the door.

"For your sake, I'm hoping that's rhetorical," M replied.

James opened the sliding door completely, revealing the two new people. Eve looked only mildly anxious. Mostly she just looked determined. Q, meanwhile, looked like he was being arrested and he was guilty. When the door slid open, his eyes jumped up to look at James' face, and one would think James was an executioner.

Okay, so in a way, maybe he was. Not the point.

"Bond," Eve greeted. "Heading out?"

"Moneypenny," he answered, forcing his eyes away from Q's gorgeous features. "As a matter of fact, I am. Got a plane to catch. Shouldn't be gone too long, though." And he couldn't help a quick second glance at Q as he said it. The younger man's eyes were flickering between James and M behind him. "Quick business."

With a coy upturn of her lips, she said, "You always say that. And then you end up lost in Mumbai for a month."

Instead of rising to her bait as he usually would – he did very much enjoy their banter – he just shrugged and held up his wrist with a watch to show he needed to go. He found himself too aware of Q to properly think of responses without being acutely conscious of what Q could think of him for saying them.

Back in the office, M cleared his throat again. "On your way, 007. Moneypenny, you can bring him in now."

"Right away, M." Eve turned serious. "Be careful, Bond."

The agent nodded to her and took several steps passed the two, willing himself not to look back at Q once more. When he returned from his new assignment, then they could talk. They could be properly introduced. Q would be an agent and they would have plenty of time to get to know each other in person. Now was not the time – not when Q was headed into possibly the most intense and important interview of his life.

"Ah- Don't be an idiot," Q's voice called out suddenly, causing James to freeze and turn on his heel. Eve was partway into the office, but Q hadn't moved to follow yet. He was looking back at James.

Both other agents looked confused or stunned, but James somehow understood immediately. It was just one more 'be safe', but said in Q's commonplace way. He smiled lightly. "Understood," he said. "Good luck."

Then James was walking out with his file and Q was walking in with his computer, and in three hours there would be thousands of miles between them. But James' mind was already thinking several days ahead, to when he could come back and finally shake Q's hand and study the freckles on his face and watch him when he laughed or worried his forehead into creases and-

Oh bugger. It was worse than he'd thought. He was actually well gone over this mysterious genius, wasn't he?


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