goodfellow | Bond/Q

Quentin had told Robin in no uncertain terms that he wasn't to try to help with his stalker situation. So, fine. Robin had set upon a course of action that was more to protect himself. And if it happened to help Quentin too, that was only a byproduct.

It was, of course, not cheap to hire a pixie full time to tail someone. Especially since pixies as a general rule weren't fond of pucks. But enough money could get pretty much anything done, Robin had found. And Terrence might be a genius, the kind who could have spotted a human tail or technological monitoring a mile away, he just didn't have the frame of reference to suspect an intelligent creature the size of a mosquito hanging around.

The pixie, whose name was Azri, had reported to Robin a couple of times, so he knew about the safe house, and he knew about Quentin's friend-or-bodyguard-maybe-lover whom Azri referred to as "the taller one."

Though the report today was more disturbing. Azri came streaking into Robin's penthouse, babbling about how Terrence had grabbed "the shorter one." Robin got a description of where they'd gone and sent Azri back. With promises of a bonus.

He wasn't stupid enough to try to handle this himself. So he got in his car and went to where Azri had told him the safe house was.

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Robin ignored that and brushed past Bond with a muttered curse in Greek under his breath, and then immediately went to lift the glass.

The "bug" underneath fluttered up into the air and shook, the metal glimmering and then dissipating. The pixie put her hands on her hips and glared at Robin.

"That was humiliating!" she squeaked.

Her voice was small but clear and Bond gawked at her. Being aware of the otherworldly beings and experiencing them were two different things completely. He was silent as he moved in closer, hoping she'd be a bit more forthcoming than that.

"Looks like it," Robin said dryly in response to her statement, though then added hastily, "Look, I'll give you hazard pay. Just tell us what happened."

Still looking ruffled, the little pixie mustered up some dignity and said, "He spotted me. Usually I just glamour myself into looking... insect-like." She clearly had some distaste for this. "But I've been spending enough time around him to know he's the sort of squash a bug for fun, so I went metal instead, figured he'd think I was some kind of drone. And then this." She gestured irritably at the glass.

"Did he say anything to you?" Robin asked, thinking it likely that if the man thought it was some kind of bug he'd purposefully spoken to whoever he thought was on the other side.

"He said it was too late. That you'll never find him," she said, clearly still perturbed.

"Nothing of where they might be going?" Bond asked.

"No...but it can't be far. The big one was having trouble breathing. Mortals need their air."

That made Bond's brows furrow again. Trouble breathing. Maybe Q could get free on his own...

He knew that Terrance wouldn't let that happen.

Robin looked at the pixie and confirmed, "Hazard pay. I'll get with you when we've retrieved the boy. If you're concerned that I might not return you can see my banker directly."

Azri twitched her wings erratically for a moment, but then nodded briskly. And, without waiting for anything else, zipped out an open window.

"Wait, did he..." Bond said, but she was gone. Not even a twinkle of light left behind. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around the room.

"He could be anywhere," he said, mostly to himself. It only just now hit him how dire this all truly was. Terrance had Q, time was running out, and there wasn't a lead to be had.

"We'll find him," said Robin confidently. Because Robin Goodfellow was confident about pretty much everything.

He hoped that Quentin appreciated this when they rescued him, because what he was about to suggest was probably also going to cost him a pretty penny. "Can you get me a few strands of his hair?"

Bond gave him a curious look for a brief moment, but then nodded. "We can get into his flat," he said. "I'm sure you could find some there."

"I can hire someone to do a tracking spell," Robin said. "But it might take some time." Pause. "I'd recommend you undertake some traditional means of tracking him in the meantime as well."

Bond nodded his understanding, then moved to look around.

"It doesn't look like they were here for that long. This place doesn't look like it's been occupied...and it smells geriatric. But I think that might be key...maybe Terrance has ties to the owner and that might be a break for us."

He truly doubted that, though. Bond could hope but he was a realist. Chances were that Terrance was simply an opportunist and had come upon this house by chance and luck.

Robin pointed to the glass jar where Azri had been, and the note there. "I assume that's a message for you?"

"It is. He probably thought she was a bit of tech from my division. A little 'fuck you, you can't catch me' I would think," Bond said, not best pleased about the little taunt.

Robin snorted. "Well at least we know he's clueless about some things. Smart of Azri to glamour herself metallic. She must have figured out some things about him by following him all this time." Hazard pay indeed.

"That was very clever. It's fortunate for us that Terrance isn't thinking beyond the realm of science. That might work to our advantage. But I think we're going to need every resource to find him. If your little friend lost him and Q's tracker isn't working..."

He didn't finish that sentence. He didn't want to acknowledge how it felt as if the bottom was dropping out from under him.

"Clever is a good word for most pixies, but also giant pains in the ass," Robin said. He looked at Bond for a moment. He could see the crack of emotion. Interesting. "Good thing you have my help then," he said. "Even if you knew a wizard who could do a tracking spell I'm betting her majesty's government wouldn't pony up the cash. I've always thought everyone would be better off if the supernatural world didn't insist on being so damned secretive. Just think what you could do with a wizard on staff in your division."

"That would never happen," Bond said, then paused. "Or perhaps it does. But it would be above my clearance. Does it cost a lot? I can pay. Whatever it costs, i can pay."

Robin rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. I have more money than God. Besides, there's a wizard I'd like to cultivate a relationship with, and this is as good an excuse as any. Come on, let's go. Back to my car. You get me some hair and I'll get a wizard. Then you can start working your own angles."

Bond hated this feeling when things stalled out. He was no good with dead ends and he was charged with energy at the realization that this entire scenario had become all the more dire.

"Let's go then," he said and headed out, ready to get Robin what he needed from Q's flat. He needed, too, to get back to Q branch to have R help him with scouring for Q's tracker. Terrance had to make a mistake. He had to. Bond hadn't met a nemesis yet that didn't make some sort of grave error.

Bond/Q

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