Peggy and Sousa fell silent as the Chief's office door opened once more; Thompson and the man from Congress emerged, both looking pleased with themselves. They shook hands briefly, the older man was grinning in a smug, satisfied way and Jack had a small smile on his face as well. "Congratulations, son," he said, clapping him on the back. "I look forward to more of your work."
Sousa cast Peggy a disbelieving look, the disgust evident in his gaze.
"Thank you, sir," Jack replied easily, then stood with his hands in his pockets and watched as the group of suited politicians made their way down the centre of the bullpen of the SSR. He waited beside Peggy's desk until they the elevator doors were closing behind them before rolling his eyes. "What a jerk," he muttered under his breath.
"What the hell, Jack?" Sousa demanded the moment they were gone, glaring at him. "Why did you just do that?"
"Daniel ..." Peggy said warningly, but he brushed her off.
"No, I want an explanation," he pressed determinedly, squaring up to Thompson and looking him dead in the eye. "What he just did was low."
Jack raised a single eyebrow, bracing himself casually against Peggy's desk and folding his arms over his chest. "Come off it, Sousa, what do you think their reaction would have been if I'd turned around and started gushing Peggy's praises?"
"Maybe the praise would have gone where it was deserved," Daniel retorted, staunchly defending her to the end.
"Daniel I told you, I don't need a pat on the back just for doing my job," Peggy reminded him, having been utterly unsurprised by the way things had gone down. It had taken this long to get the men of the SSR to notice her abilities, asking the same of Congress would be like aiming for the moon.
"Maybe not, but him taking all the credit is just wrong," he pressed. He gave Jack an annoyed, bitter look. "Let me guess, they offered you Chief," he said; it was not a question.
Thompson nodded once. "They did," he confirmed, his arms still folded over his chest at he held Sousa's eyes.
Sousa shook his head. "You're unbelievable," he said disgustedly. "You know you got there by walking over Peggy's accomplishments, don't you?"
Jack rolled his eyes and took a breath. "Think it through, pal," he said lightly to Sousa, unphased by his tirade. "If the high-ups were to send in a new Chief instead of picking me, what would happen to Peggy?" He glanced at her, shook his head and then answered his own question. "They'd have no idea what she was worth and she'd be straight back to coffee-runs and errands. But if I'm running the SSR it means we can use all of our Agents to their maximum potential."
Peggy looked curiously at him. "Does that mean actual field work, Agent Thompson?"
"Chief Thompson," he corrected, another smug, self-satisfied smile briefly breaking through. "And you bet your pretty face it does - if you stay, that is," he added, casually picking up one of the files on the Battle of Finow from her desk and opening it, his tone belaying the depths of his desire for her to stay on with them.
She nodded slowly. "I'll think about it," she said, already knowing full well that she wasn't going anywhere.
He snapped the file closed. "Well bear in mind that if you do stay, I'm going to need a Deputy," he said pointedly, tapping the file once against her leg as he made the offer and casting a smile her way. Peggy nodded her understanding and Jack turned to look at the other Agents milling around the bullpen. "Now, who's the most junior Agent here?" he asked.
Peggy scanned the group. "That would be … Richardson, sent down from Chicago for reinforcements."
Jack nodded and then raised his voice to call down the room. "Richardson, put on a pot of coffee would you?" he ordered, making a young man look up in surprise from the file he was holding. "Black for me, milk and sugar for Sousa and tea for Agent Carter." Agent Richardson gapped slightly at him, evidently unused to being sent on the coffee-runs. Chief Thompson clapped his hands sharply. "Hop to it, Richardson, we don't have all day," he ordered, then got off Peggy's desk and vanished into his new office.
Sousa, who hadn't spoken in some time, was staring after Jack, evidently utterly perplexed by what had just happened. "Unbelievable ..." he said, shaking his head slightly and Peggy couldn't help a smile.
*Whispers* Listen to me, you must focus. Leave a review ... but you must focus.
What did ya'll think of the last episode?