A/N: There's not a whole lot of information on the intricacies of the Witness Protection program and this is a highly unlikely scenario but just humor me and roll with it. Title comes from a poem I found on tumblr:
"I dreamt that in the company of only us
you asked me to look up at you
to look you in the eye
and I obeyed as I always do"
Shoutout to Comicbooklovergreen (on ao3) for being my beta on this one.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Marvel and I seek absolutely no profit. Joey Amato is a name I came up with based on the names of real life mobsters. Lyrics at the beginning from Brandi Carlile's "The Things I Regret"
There's a hole in my pocket where my dreams fell through,
From a sidewalk in the city to the avenue
Angie rung her hands nervously in the backseat. The darkness inside the vehicle seemed to pour over her and she felt a weight and tightness in her chest. She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be at an audition for the role of a lifetime, not in the back of an unmarked government SUV. What the hell was she going to do?
"Put this on" said the blonde woman who'd apprehended her on the street.
Angie eyed the hat and accessories warily.
The blonde woman let out an impatient huff, "It's my job to make sure one of those idiots, who is no doubt putting a hit out on your ass, doesn't recognize you while we brief you on your new identity."
Angie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She shook her head and questioned, "New identity?"
The blonde woman looked at her like she was the biggest fool she'd ever met. "You didn't think you could offer to testify against Joey Amato and not have to take drastic measures did you?"
Angie chose not to answer and took the disguise from the woman. The answer of course was no. She didn't expect this. How could she? All she was doing was testifying to whom she had and hadn't seen that day at the diner. She wasn't completely clueless about Joey's crimes but she had no idea testifying to the fact that she'd seen his dad near the diner picking up some dry cleaning and coming in for a snack would lead to this.
She quickly donned the scarf and the sunglasses. She wondered at who picked the items. It looked like something straight out of her nonna's closet. The blonde woman and their driver got out first. When she heard the woman whisper "all clear", she followed.
She looked up at the incredibly tall building that she didn't recognize and let out a sigh. Don't go messin around in other people's business Angela Martinelli, she heard her mother say. It'll get you into trouble. Angie shook her head. She hated it when her mother was right.
The blonde woman pushed her into the building pretty quickly. Before Angie could turn around to tell her to calm it down with the shoving, the woman disappeared from her back. A second later, Angie was pulled into a room near the entrance as she heard shots start to fire outside the building.
"Are you hurt?" asked the woman beside her.
Angie knew that voice and a sense of relief and curiosity hit her at the same time. "English?"
Peggy shook her head at the ridiculous nickname. She raised her finger to her ear and said "I have Miss Martinelli and she" Peggy gave her a once over, "appears to be alright." Peggy was dressed in a pantsuit with her hair in a ponytail. Angie was flooded with memories of a girl 20 years younger but the same determined look on her face and the same arm wrapped protectively around Angie's body.
There seemed to be someone responding in Peggy's ear and she looked down at Angie and said, "We've got to move. Fix your glasses."
Angie adjusted her sunglasses and stood up. Peggy took her hand and pulled her out of the room and toward the back of the building. Peggy pulled them behind what looked like a security desk and seemed to take inventory of the room. There were about 6 men but most were being held off by the blonde and the driver. Peggy seemed to make a decision and spoke in her ear again, "Daniel" was all she said. In a couple of minutes they were joined by a man a little taller than Angie who took her arm gently and pulled her to the back of the building as Peggy walked backward firing shots behind them.
Angie couldn't exactly place everything after that but she was told later that Peggy's partner Daniel helped her safely out of the building and into a car and Peggy was able to get some information out of the men sent to kill her.
Angie could not believe her day. She sat now in what she assumed was meant to be a comforting room but the impersonal beige couch and walls made her feel sick. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what it was like to not live in the fear that you might be shot walking down the road. Maybe tomorrow will be better, she thought but was not at all convinced.
"Could I get you some water or something?" asked the kind redhead who'd been assigned to sit with Angie while Peggy made her way through a debriefing.
Angie managed a small smile and nodded, "Yeah that'd be great uh-"
"It's Rose. I could get you something to eat too. There isn't usually much time for lunch when they do an emergency extraction."
"Hmm" was all Angie could manage in response. She wondered if her cat was ok and thought to call her friend Gloria. She reached in her pocket for her phone before she remembered she had to surrender it to the blonde agent. She cringed at the thought of what might have happened to that agent. When Rose came back with water and some crackers, Angie asked, "Do you think I could use a phone?"
Rose shook her head and offered an apologetic smile, "Sorry they don't allow phone calls."
"What? Why not?"
Rose looked at her a bit confused. "Did they not explain?" The look on Angie's face answered her question. "You're being taken into Witness Protection. You actually have the highest security detail. They don't tell me too much about specifics but with your detail, it must be something really big."
Angie took a sip of water and sighed in frustration. How was she supposed to not call her folks? What about her job?
The door opened and Peggy came through with the man Angie recognized as Daniel and another tall brunette man with a clipboard and glasses. Angie looked at him with a question in her eyes and Peggy introduced, "Angie this is Mr. Jarvis, he's going to help acquaint you with your new identity. Well most of it anyway."
Peggy looked exhausted as she ran her hand through her hair. It seemed she'd forgone the ponytail in the period of time she'd spent in the debriefing. She looked a little nervous as her eyes went everywhere except to Angie's face.
"Yes. Right," said Jarvis as he adjusted his glasses. "You'll be set up in an apartment in Vermont. It's very close to a diner similar to the one you work for here where you are welcome to start waitressing or if you'd rather there is a secretary position at an office building only a few blocks from your apartment. Your name will be Marie Barton and Ms. Carter will be your protection detail." He waited as if there were another important piece of information that he was leaving out.
When whatever he was waiting for went unsaid, he handed Angie a folder. She opened it and looked over the profile. Marie Barton? What kind of name was that? Then her eyes flew to the piece of information she was sure Mr. Jarvis left out. "Whoa we're married?!" she shouted as she looked accusingly at Peggy.
Peggy looked unsure as she fidgeted with her hands and said, "Well you see Angie it's the easiest way to-"
"This is crazy. I'm going crazy." She stood up and started to fold and unfold her arms. She paced and continued, "This can't be happening. I mean I wake up this morning all excited for the audition I've been waiting for and then before I'm even down the street to my subway stop, some crazy woman named Dottie grabs me and says she's a U.S. marshal and puts me in this big scary car and for all I know she's dead. And then you drag me into some weird room and I almost get shot at and now you're telling me I'm supposed to be married to a woman I haven't seen or heard from in 20 years?!" When Angie was finished, she was almost to the point of hyperventilating.
Rose moved slowly toward her and spoke as if she were trying to calm a frightened child, "Miss Martinelli, it's going to be ok, Peggy is the best and it's only until the trial and-"
"What the hell English?!" shouted Angie as she eyed Peggy in the corner.
Peggy finally moved forward and said, "First, Dottie is absolutely fine so don't waste your time thinking she died because of you. Second, I know this is all a shock and I am very sorry for that. Third, I was not only a good fit for this job but I also know you and as this seems to be a very" Peggy sighed and lowered her voice, "a very delicate and odd approach I thought you'd be more comfortable with someone you know, or knew as it were."
Angie bit her lip and sighed. She took a few steadying breaths and lowered her arms. When she found her voice again, she asked, "So Ruth's the name huh?"
Peggy managed a small smile and shrugged her shoulders, "Well it wasn't my idea."
Angie rolled her eyes and said, "Of course. So are you still English or do I have to pick a different nickname?"
"We debated that, I've been undercover as American for long periods of time before so it shouldn't be too hard to maintain."
"Marie and Ruth. How quaint," quipped Angie.
Peggy squeezed her forearm and said, "It'll be ok Angie, I've got you and we'll go over everything on the way."
Everything will be just fine Angie, trust me. As she had twenty years before, Angie nodded her agreement. She furrowed her eyebrows asked, "On the way?"
Peggy nodded and answered, "Home of course."
