That Old Black Magic

A Peggy Carter x Jack Thompson Fic

The smooth notes coming from the various instruments flooded their ears as soon as the handsomely paired couple entered the club. They pause for a moment at the top of the stairs, casually letting their eyes roam around the room. Numerous couples were dancing to the jazz music being played by the band in the center of the room. There were more people scattered around the room, eating dinner, drinking or just talking and laughing. Every single person in the room was dressed to the nines and clearly having a good time.

"Well, this is fancy." Peggy commented as Jack led her down the steps into the interior of the club.

"Eh, it's not too bad." Jack replied as they stopped at the bar, to which Peggy just raised an eyebrow. Jack called the attention of the bartender while Peggy turned to face the crowd once more. A moment later Jack handed her a glass of bourbon while taking a sip of his own.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Jack asked her, his voice low despite the music and the chatter that surrounded them.

Earlier that week, the SSR received information about a top businessman in New York who was rumored to be aiding Leviathan. The anonymous tipper had told them that the said businessman was keeping files which held sensitive information which would be useful to the SSR's investigation regarding Leviathan. The businessman owned several bars and clubs which catered to the upper class in New York, and while their tipper didn't mention which one kept the files, both Jack and Peggy thought that they should start with the biggest one, which was also the location of the man's main office.

So here they were, dressed in the best clothes they each had, casually but cautiously looking out into the throng of people who were enjoying their Friday night out.

"One of us sneaks into his office and searches for the document or documents while the other keeps a lookout." Peggy answers him just as softly "Hopefully, we don't attract suspicion on to ourselves and as soon as we've got what we came here for, we leave."

"Sounds simple enough." Jack remarks as he places his empty glass back on to the counter of the bar.

"I hope you're not too disappointed" Peggy teased, as she moved to do the same "Not every mission requires us fleeing from a shower of bullets."

"Oh the night's still young, anything can happen." Jack smirked at her. "Shall we?"

Peggy put her arm through his offered one and they began to move across the room. They kept to the perimeter at first, taking note of the adjacent rooms, corridors and possible exits should things go awry. They kept light conversation with each other, every now and then telling a joke too keep up their cover. Whatever they needed to share regarding their mission was told in looks, gestures and whispers put close to the other's ear.

After hearing her laugh at one of his stories about his childhood misadventures, Jack was struck with how beautiful Peggy was. Of course, he had always known that Peggy Carter was an attractive woman. Any man with eyes could see how attractive she was. But there was something that struck him about Peggy tonight. Maybe it was the jazzy atmosphere that the club had, or the drink (even though he's only had that first one from earlier), hell he didn't know. All Jack knew was that if Peggy didn't stop smiling at him with that look in her eyes, he was going to be in deep trouble.

"Do you want to dance?" Jack found himself asking, mentally kicking himself when he saw Peggy's brows come together in a frown.

"Really?" Peggy asked, unsure of what he was planning.

"Seeing as we're already here," He said, shrugging seemingly nonchalant "And you did mention that his office is probably that way" he nodded in the direction across the room "We can cut through the dance floor."

"So," He asked again, this time holding out his hand to her "Would you care to dance Ms. Carter?"

"I'd be honored Mr. Thompson." She responded with a smile, taking his hand and having him lead them out onto the dance floor.

As soon as they reached the edge of the dance floor, they faced each other and the band started to play a slower song compared to the others they've been playing for the night.

Jack could feel his heartbeat in his throat when the music changed, signaling that his dance with Peggy would be longer than he expected. Not that he thought dancing with her would be an unpleasant experience just that he thought that they'd swing their way across the room and have a few laughs about it afterward. He wasn't a terrible dancer either, mind you. Although he probably was just "alright" at best. He swallowed his nerves as he smiled and put one hand on Peggy's waist and held her hand with the other. As the music began to pick up, he began to lead them in the dance.

Never in her entire life would Peggy Carter ever have thought that she'd find herself in the middle of the dance floor of the swankiest club in New York with Jack Thompson. There was a part of her that still couldn't quite believe that this was really happening and wanted to laugh at the circumstance. She stole a glance at her partner and she saw that while he was keeping a calm expression, his eyes showed a hint of nervousness. Every now and then she'd catch him glance downward. This made her grin.

"You're doing fine" she beamed at him, having to raise her voice a bit and giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Her action made Jack focus her eyes on her. "I have to admit, it's been a while" He sheepishly admitted with a lopsided smile.

Peggy only smiled wider in response. She let her gaze focus on his face, and she realized that this was the first time she was really seeing Jack. She inwardly laughed at herself for her thinking. Of course, she'd already seen the man. After all, they worked together, guaranteeing that they saw each other every day and ever since the incarceration of Doctor Fenhoff, Jack definitely treated her with respect and sometimes would even actively seek her out to ask for her opinions on different matters. But those had been work. As for this (whatever this ) is, it seems different. She just couldn't say why.

"What are you thinking about?" Jack's voice suddenly said, jarring her from her from her thoughts.

You, she couldn't very well say. Instead she smiled, "Nothing in particular, why?" she gave as her reply.

"Nothing," he answered with a slight shrug of the shoulder. Peggy saw her hand go along with the motion. "You just looked so focused I thought you were debating on something."

"Don't worry about it" she replied. This time Jack only smiled in response and Peggy would never admit that she felt tingle go up her spine.

They continued to dance in companionable silence, the ambience around them considerably more relaxed than it was a moment ago.

The end of the song came sooner than expected and Peggy was surprised to see that they had reached the other side of the dance floor. Jack had taken his hand off of her waist and Peggy felt the loss of the contact.

"We should get back to searching for those files" Jack spoke softly. Peggy gave a stiff nod as she once again took Jack's offered arm. As they made their way towards the back rooms of the club, Peggy couldn't help but wonder whether Jack Thompson's eyes have always been such an intriguing shade of gray.

~To Be Continued