londoncallingrpg

"Q could do it," Tanner had suggested, prompting the young Quartermaster to look up from what he was doing and frown deeply.

"He certainly could not," the fluffy haired boffin replied blandly, shooting Tanner a look, then returning his attention to his laptop. "Besides, I don't go into the field without double-o seven."

It wasn't even official work they were talking about. Q Branch had simply gotten wind that a certain soviet agent was in town, apparently not on business, and at some point had started talking about how useful it might be to bug his personal laptop before five worked out he was here and got to him first. It had started off as light banter, a joke even, but it had gotten more and more serious as the time passed. Serious enough that someone had opened the man's file and had started reading up on the agent in question.

"It's not the field, it's a bar," Hopper, a young tech, chimed in. "Besides, you're just his type. Go in, have a flirt, bug him, then get out."

Q scowled, but it was obvious that they weren't going to let up- And really, it wasn't a terrible idea. He didn't like going out on something like this without Bond, but Bond wasn't in the office right now. He'd have to do this alone.

"Fine," Q eventually agreed with a sigh. "I'll do it."

That was how he wound up in a dreadful bar, sitting at a filthy table beside a large man who was attempting to get him very drunk.

"Oh, just one more, come on," the man insisted, putting another beer down in front of Q.

His head was already spinning, and he knew if he drank any more he wouldn't be sober enough to do what needed to be done. His fingers grazed over his ear, tapping the device that sat inside as he assured the man he couldn't have another drop, hoping to alert his team that he needed some help- Except there was nothing. No static, no sound at all.

"What's wrong?" the Russian asked, his tone calm as his arm snaked around Q. "Can your friends not hear you any more?"

Q's pulse fluttered, and he tensed as he felt a small blade press against his side.

"You're right, you've had enough to drink," the man whispered. "Let's get out of here, hmm?"

Getting to his feet, Q let the man guide him, though the young Quartermaster moved slowly, scanning the crowd for help. He'd known this was a dreadful idea, and the moment he got away from the bastard he was going to march right back to Q branch and tell them all what a bunch of idiots they were.

(OTA! Feel free to have your pup notice the hidden knife, or not notice and simply approach Q by chance.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

codenameathos

Athos was honestly conflicted about this, for a split second, priority training warring with his natural altruistic instinct as his gaze swept across the floor. It wasn't as bad as the Russian said, and even as Q crumpled, he kicked out at the back of his knee, bringing him down faster than Q to ease his fall. His next move was to punch the man hard and fast once he was on the ground, fist curled around the hilt of his own knife, a blow calculated to knock him out. After checking that the Russian was truly out, he checked on Q's status, glad to find a steady pulse under his fingers. A team was already on their way, and at this hour, traffic should not hold them up. In the meantime, he grabbed each man by one hand and started pulling them into the side alley, before anyone might notice them here.

From:

quartermaster_q

Had Q been concious, he wouldn't have been very pleased about being dragged in an alley. Honestly, all of this was terribly beneath him- Or possibly above him, if one was talking pay grade.

The team was just pulling up as Q started to come around, his glasses damaged from the fall, and his arms and back slightly scratched up from being dragged along the filthy ground. The fact that the first face he saw was the Russian agent's certainly didn't soften the blow to his ego, and he flinched a bit, before realizing the man was out cold.

His gaze drifted to Athos next, and he huffed a little before letting out a sigh.

"One day you're going to catch me on the job when I'm doing something I'm actually good at," he said dryly.

From:

codenameathos

"If you stuck to doing things you were good at, I doubt I'd ever catch you," Athos replied in his usual disaffected monotone. Their areas of expertise wildly differed. He moved out of the way to let the other Five agents get to the Russian, and crouched beside Q. "How do you feel?"

From:

quartermaster_q

"Unwell," Q admitted, lifting his shirt to examine where the agent had stuck him. The skin there was red and angry, and he hissed as he prodded it gently.

"I think I need to report to medical."

From:

codenameathos

"We'll have you checked out before we debrief you," Athos replied, offering Q a hand to help him up, and ready to catch him in case he felt faint from whatever drug had knocked him out. "This is going to be quite the mess."

It wasn't even a question that Q ought to be coming back with them. He had jeopardised one of their operations, in their jurisdiction; Athos had had to move in a lot sooner than they had planned. Now they would have to try and turn the Russian on the spot, and in custody, which hadn't been their plan at all. So yes, Q would be debriefed while their superiors hashed it out between them. Checked out, treated, debriefed, then let go, precisely in that order.

From:

quartermaster_q

"Lovely," Q replied flatly, clearly not pleased to hear he'd be dealing with five for the rest of the night- Though that was, in part, because six didn't actually know what Q branch had decided to do tonight. ...M would not be pleased.

"Or, you could turn a blind eye and let me just slip off," Q suggested, sounding far too hopeful for a man who was struggling to stand on his own two feet.

From:

codenameathos

The look Athos gave him needed no words to be understood. He did not believe that Q had any actual hope of this being the case, and not just because the man could barely stand. He nodded towards the van in invitation, moving closer to help the quartermaster reach it. He did look that bad off.

From:

quartermaster_q

Q scowled a bit, but was bright enough not to argue- Though he did pause as he climbed into the van, eyeing a man who seemed to be loitering near the bar.

"He looks familiar," he muttered, though he was so groggy that he wasn't sure he could trust his own eyes.

Edited Date: 2015-07-06 11:18 pm (UTC)

From:

codenameathos

That was all the more reason to get him into the van, and only once the doors had closed on them did Athos ask, "Where from?"

The van wasn't moving yet, the driver listening to the conversation in the back, knowing better than to go anywhere for now.

From:

quartermaster_q

"...I'm not certain. Have your men pull all the local CCTV for me though, and I'll tell you once we get back to five."

There was no doubt in his tone that five would give him full access. Five and Six could have all the pissing wars they liked. Q didn't care who was 'winning' as long as he had a keyboard beneath his fingertips.

From:

codenameathos

Full access wouldn't be happening. A computer not connected to their network, however, was absolutely feasible.

But for now, Athos only turned his head towards the front of the van and told the driver, "Go." In the meantime, the Russian was being secured.

From:

quartermaster_q

"Our Intel said you weren't watching him yet- Clearly false, I see that now. However, it's slightly troubling to me that someone seemed to engineer it to make sure I was the one who made contact. ...You're aware of which double-o I run and my relationship with them, I assume. It's hardly a well guarded secret. You'll understand if, because of that, I assume this may have been a personal attack."

From:

codenameathos

"I don't have the faintest idea," Athos replied honestly. "We'd rather monitor terrorist threats than British agents, especially when they aren't supposed to get in our way." He still sounded as nonchalant as ever, for all that he really did disapprove of Six's inability to stick to their purview. "How did you come to step in, and where is your team?"

It was highly unusual to find a quartermaster on the field on his own, never mind without back up nearby.

From:

quartermaster_q

"Really?" Q asked, raising a brow. "Well, alright- There was no team. I was at Q branch and we got a tip. It wasn't our problem, so we didn't take it to M- But it was suggested we might go off the books and bug his device. A little research uncovered I was just his type... I was supposed to just flirt, plant the bug, and go. Nothing serious, nothing that required a team... But he knew who I was. It was as if he expected me to come."

From:

codenameathos

"Who was the tip from?" Athos asked, one thing at a time. Nothing that required a team, for someone not meant for field work. Six would never change.

From:

quartermaster_q

"A new tech. Younger man, not one of my hires. I can't recall his name at the moment," Q confessed, aware of how bad that sounded. "You have to understand, this happens from time to time. Usually I wouldn't have gone into the field alone, but I only work with Bond and he was unavailable."

He wasn't shy about dropping that name either, he knew that it carried a lot of weight. Surely even at five Bond had earned a little respect..

From:

codenameathos

James Bond. Somehow, Athos was not surprised, but he managed not to roll his eyes. Even before making double-o, the man had been brash and everything but discreet. He was quite certain the pub owner was thankful that Bond had not been available. His pub was still intact, after all.

"I'm well aware how often it happens," he dryly replied. "It might become something of a rarity, meeting you when you haven't been injured."

From:

quartermaster_q

"I wouldn't be injured if you hadn't dove in to help," Q said, getting snippy. "I'm trained to defend myself, I had every intention of getting out of there unharmed. Now, if you're done looking down your nose at me, perhaps you can enlighten me as to why-"

He was cut off though as something slammed hard into the side of the van.

From:

codenameathos

"We'll talk about why you're a target later," Athos replied, something almost like strain cutting through his regular tone. There was no doubt that Q was the target, given what he'd told Athos, and the brazen manner in which someone was trying to run them off a busy London road, in full public view, which was far too high profile for it to be about the unconscious Russian tied up in the back of the van. He simply didn't matter that much.

He moved to the front and exchanged a few quick words with the driver, right before the car that was clearly gunning for them swerved into them again.

From:

quartermaster_q

The van jerked violently off the road, and Q braced himself, expecting the worst.

"We need to contact Bond, I don't care what your boss has to say about it, this is a six operation now, and you're part of it."

He sounded bold, but he didn't look as confident as he sounded. Part of him fully expected Oliver to shut him down and tell him no- Even as he pulled out his phone.

From:

codenameathos

Athos honestly had other things on his mind than who Q might be ringing, or whose operation the quartermaster thought it was. It was on British soil and there were four of them to one of him; he didn't know how much more obvious it could be that this was not a Six operation, even if double-o-seven dropped in on them.

The van careened into a post, and it was only quick reflexes on the driver's part that kept them from hitting any passers-by. Athos was back with Q the next instant. He pulled back the rug and disappeared down a hidden trap, letting the rug fall back in place the next moment. He trusted the Five team to handle whoever might come at them until he himself could come at their unknown assailants from a different direction.

From:

quartermaster_q

Q gave the trap door a look of disgust, then sighed. As much as he liked Oliver, he really wasn't very fond of working with five.

"Bond?" he said as the phone stopped ringing. "I believe I need your help," he sighed, before launching into a very tired explanation of what had happened so far tonight.

From:

0_0_7

Bond had only just landed at Heathrow, had only just turned the corner to their street. He was looking forward to a drink and whatever there was to eat and a shower- maybe a shower more than anything. But instead he turned the car and put on the gas to get to where Q was with the agents from Five.

Once he hung up with Q he was swearing obscenely. But he had a gun in the glove box and ammo enough.

From:

codenameathos

Athos truly wished that the other Musketeers were with him; he trusted them a lot more than the agents he had left inside the van with Q. They were efficient, but they were no Porthos and Aramis. But if one was going to wish for an ideal world, then he might as well wish that Six stuck to their playground, or at least communicated with them. He rolled out from under the van on the opposite side from the one they had been hit, after counting the pair of boots moving their way, while every innocent passer-by ran away from them.

Six pairs. Six ought to be a piece of cake, although it might be difficult not to kill any of them.

Two of them moved to open the van's back doors, with two of them as back-up on their six. The last two were going round to the front of the van. Athos was on the move before the van doors were fully open. One of his throwing knives found its mark in the arm of one of the backups, forcing the man to drop his gun, and he'd slashed right through the tendon of the nearest one before he had time to redirect the muzzle towards him. Guns were such clumsy weapons in close contact.