James Bond frowned at the message on his phone. It was unusual for Q to call him in when he didn't have a mission. Perhaps Q wanted Bond's expertise on some new weaponry. That was unlikely. It was probably some sort of test or something that Bond would have to pass. Q was annoying like that sometimes.
When Bond entered Q Branch, Q was concentrating on his many computer screens, typing quickly. Bond waited patiently near Q's desk and in a few minutes, Q finished his typing and looked up.
"Oh. You're here", Q commented.
Bond raised his eyebrows.
"You called me here", Bond pointed out.
"I've been told that you usually don't go where you are called", Q answered.
Touché.
When Bond didn't say anything, Q shrugged and walked over to one of the many prototype tables laden with half-made exploding arrows and flame throwers. Q picked up a small black box, the kind that usually held jewelry and handed the box over to Bond.
Bond opened the box and revealed two beautiful platinum cufflinks.
"A present", Bond stated, pulling the cufflinks out of the box, examining them closely. One of them had a small L engraved on it, and the other had an R.
"The left one is a water filter. It can handle a quart at a time. Just drop the cufflink into a pitcher or something and wait for fifteen minutes", Q explained. "Just in case you want to drop off the map again. No point in you actually dying from bad water."
Impressive.
"What is the other one?", Bond asked.
"An explosive", Q answered, already turning back to his own work.
"Have I mentioned that I love you, Q?", Bond asked with a smile.
"I bet you say that to all of your quartermasters", Q replied dryly, not even looking up from his computer screen.
