SHIELD-crafting

The woman at the table was weathered, and her hair was greying, but her eyes had lost none of their sharpness as she studied the room. The diner was one of those new sorts that had sprung up recently, the ones all the kids were into—all bright colors and shiny chrome. A jukebox in the corner warbled the latest hits as waitresses in knee-high skirts trotted between the tables.

Dreadful, really. America was going to the dogs.

The bell at the door gave an irritating jingle as a tall, solidly built man strode into the restaurant. After glancing for a few moments, he saw her, and approached her table.

The grey-haired woman gave a nod as he came forward. "Willie."

"Christ, really?" The grim, dark-haired man plucked the fedora off his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I'm over thirty, Aunt Peggy."

"Which still makes you over twenty years younger than me." Aunt Peggy Sousa responded. "Willie."

William Carter dropped into the booth with a groan. "Fine, call me whatever the fuck you like."

"Also, what have I told you about your language?" Peggy eyed him severely, brushing some invisible specks from her blouse. . "It's unprofessional, and unbecoming."

William spread his hands. "'Hiya, Auntie Peggy, it's swell to see you too, so glad you survived the alien invasion, I'm fine, thanks for asking.'" He pantomimed.

"Sorry." Peggy smiled. "You do look well, Willie. And I am glad to find you survived."

"Likewise." Will glanced up at the waitress who had come up to the table. "Coffee. Black, no sugar."

"Tea, with just a splash of honey." Peggy smiled. "I'm also glad," she added, as the waitress left, "that you seem to have shaken that dreadful drinking habit of yours."

"Wasn't a lot of time or opportunity to get drunk in the past month or so." William frowned, digging a pack of cigarettes from his vest pocket. "Plenty of reasons."

"Yes. Rather." Peggy stared off.

William winced. "Sorry to hear about Uncle Danny." He said, toying with the cigarette in his hands.

"We lost a lot of good people at the SSR." Peggy shrugged it off. "Nothing to what your bureau experienced."

"Yeah, but..." William looked away. "We had that coming. Some..." Shaking his head in frustration, he stuck a cigarette in his mouth, "...some really stupid decisions were made."

"A shame about Director Faulke." Peggy's gaze took on a wistful look. "Do you know, he was the only person who would listen to what Dugan and I had to say about the Whitehall artifacts?" She shook her head. "A shame."

"Shame don't begin to cover it." William shook his head. "That... that was my bad, Peggy. I..." He broke off as his aunt looked at him questioningly. "...I let my feelings get the better of me, and I mucked up the mission. Nearly got everyone killed and blew the whole op."

"That does happen sometimes." Peggy nodded quietly, stirring her coffee. "Still. You carry on."

"Dr. Weir's a good man. He's in charge of XCOM now." William shrugged, lighting his cigarette. "Well, sorta. I guess he's not much of a leader person—he's more or less leading by default, given his... role in the final showdown."

"Which was what, exactly?" Peggy sighed at the way William's face shut down. "Not exactly helpful, Willie. How are we supposed to help protect the world if you won't tell us anything?"

"Auntie, you of all people should understand the need for secrets."

"I do." Peggy shook the coffee off her spoon and laid it smoothly on the napkin. "But I doubt there will be any, not for much longer. This... 'council' that's been formed recently..."

William's eyebrow came up. "You know about that?"

Peggy gave a clipped nod. "A bit."

William let loose a cloud of smoke and watched his aunt with new interest. "Weir won't tell us anything about them." He said.

"Because no one seems to know anything about them." Peggy's lips pursed in a frown. "General Phillips won't say anything about them either. I imagine they must have a great deal of money, though, from the equipment we've been moving."

"Must be pretty high in the pecking order, too, to make the paperwork go as fast as it is." William agreed.

"The secrecy surrounding them makes me...dubious about their legitimacy." Carter observed, taking a sip. "I highly doubt any US government official would be this elusive."

William snorted. "There's more of those aliens out there. Kinda makes it hard to care about proper protocol."

"I'm relieved to hear you say that, Willie." Peggy was studying her fingernails. "It is just possible the Soviet Union has a part in this 'Council.'"

Willie froze. "The commies?"

"The aliens hit them hard too." Peggy shrugged. "The politicians are still in opposition, but... apparently some figures in the administration see the need for cooperation."

William sank back. "That's what I told the spy we caught... but still."

"I'm not entirely at ease with it either." Peggy's frown was still much in evidence. "I hate to think of how they're probably getting the material they've been supplying us with."

"They've been supplying you?"

"And you, unless I miss my guess." Peggy nodded. She leaned forward. "There's talk—only rumors so far—that they intend to centralize our agencies."

"Centralize... how?" William eyed her.

"Well, we already seem to be working for the same Council, so that's rather done it already." Peggy inclined her head. "Our agencies weren't the only ones to come out of the invasion a few good men lighter, you know. Every agency and military in the world took a hit, and they're all looking now to prepare for the next alien invasion—already the SSR has started stockpiling the Hydra weaponry." Leaning back, she picked up her tea. "Really, it just makes sense to try and do it all together instead of at cross purposes."

"Together with who?" William still looked a bit suspicious. "The KGB?"

"Possibly, though I rather think they're focusing on more specialized, underfunded agencies." Peggy's finger tapped against the side of her cup. "SSR was starting to be dismissed as a relic, XCOM was a joke."

"No one's laughing now."

"No indeed." Peggy agreed. "No more than they are at MITHRIL, UNIT, or half-a-dozen other secret agencies around the world." Peggy shook her head. "All of them, as far as I can tell, are suddenly being funded by this 'Council.' It's only a matter of time before they put them all together under one big umbrella."

"How would that help?"

"Well, for one, Howard could get his hands on some of those marvelous weapons you picked up." Carter smiled. "He's been champing at the bit to see samples of what you picked up on that space station." Setting down her cup, Peggy stood, abruptly, and picked up her hat. "Come on" she said, beckoning to her nephew. "I'll introduce you to him. I'm sure he'll have all SORTS of questions."

With a resigned grunt, William stubbed out his cigarette and stood to his feet. "Damnit, Aunt Peggy." He said, walking with his aunt to the door. "I went into the CIA specifically to get away from you."

"Odd the way life works sometimes." Peggy observed. "Tell me... who's this 'Agent Weaver' I've been hearing about?"