London Light

The TRS

Sitting in the secure room of the flat, which was nothing more than a windowless cupboard filled with tech and absolutely undetectable by anything he could have invented, Q wondered what had happened at Q-branch. He knew at what time the mail regarding Bond's DNA would be send. They had agreed upon a certain kind of reaction, but nothing which should have triggered the lockdown mechanisms of Q's office. Especially for such a long time. Maybe James had been right all along, and Danny had simply snapped. Q knew he were putting a lot of stress on the man, but from all he had learned about him in the past weeks, he would have expected a breakdown long before. Danny had been suicidal, but he had a task, a mission, and no matter his motivation, Q was sure that Danny would be able to handle it. Civilian or not.

Q's finger itched to start the hijacking program, which would let him see and work with Danny's laptop. Well, strictly speaking, it would be his own laptop. But the lockdown could indicate that something had gone terribly wrong. And Q had no intention in showing his hand, not yet. Hijacking the computer would alert the program to his surveillance, he had no doubts about that.

Seconds turned into minutes.

Or maybe it just had been a stupid plan from the onset. When Q had realised that Scottie's death had been a murder, not suicide; when he had looked into Scottie's research and the last reports, Scottie had filed; realised the importance of Scottie's work; a photo of Danny and information on him and his connection with Turner. By then Q had made sure that any trace of his snooping around in the files and reports had been erased. Still, Q had only a faint idea of what he was up against. Scottie had called the program 'TRS' which stood for 'total return swap'. Hedge funds and banks used this kinds of swap to work with more or less hidden assets. Hot air, in Q's mind. And obviously, Scottie had been on to something bigger than bank A using bank B's assets to earn extra money without any risks. Somehow, TRS had taken over parts of the financial markets. Nothing obvious, the small glitches almost untraceable. But Scottie had been worried. His last report warned about a possible takeover of the stock market's trading programs by TRS. The report had been dismissed, and still, Scottie ended up dead a few days later.

Apparently Danny had been Scottie's closest friend. Just friend, as Q had reminded James. Nothing indicated otherwise. Contacting Danny secretly, through small notes slipped into pockets, untraceable mobiles, prepaid cards; hatching a plan, wondering if Danny would do it. Q had been careful. Had avoided anything, which could have shown the current connection between Danny and MI6. And Danny had played his part beautifully. Until four nights ago, they hadn't even met in person.

Four nights ago. When Bond became James. When Q had given in to James, had let James take him apart. Nothing has changed between them. Everything around them had changed. The world had become a new place for Q. A place, Q now wanted to investigate because of the possibilities it held for James with Q, Q with James.

He liked that. The idea of a unit which was so much more than the sum of its entities.

Danny was a part of them as well. Somehow, he had been able to accommodate, pliantly doing what was asked of him. Learning, understanding, even being able to suggest improvements to the plan. Observing Q, imitating him to a degree which Q found exhilarating.

The sound of the landline ringing, brought Q back to their present trouble. The landline was a special installation, which was not connected to any outside network. A direct, analogue line between Q's office and the flat. One of the few ways, Danny would be able to communicate directly with Q. He picked up the receiver.

"Yes?"

"Alex has sent an email. He is alive." Danny's voice was calm, matter of fact.

"How do you-"