A/N. Hello! As promised, here is the character study for Agent Jack Thompson. It's rather short, but that's what I wanted. I think he's more attractive when he's mysterious ;) All the dialogue is not mine and is from one of the final scenes of episode 8 "Valediction". So, spoilers if you haven't seen the finale, I suppose. Hope you enjoy :D
Disclaimer - I don't own Agent Carter or any of the dialogue
"Which one o' you fellas… is Jack Thompson?"
Jack turned at the sound of his name, hands still on his hips. Several men in suits and hats stood just in front of the doorway, looking around as if they could recognize him when Jack had never seen any of them in his life. "That's me," he said, walking over. He could feel Carter and Sousa's eyes on him, as well as every other agent in the room.
The man closest to him removed his hat and held out a hand, a bright and proud smile on his face. "Walt Cooper. United States Senate."
A senator? What's he doing here? Jack shook his hand, opening his mouth to voice this very question. "Walt-"
"I just wanted to come down here and personally commend you for the fine work you and your team did." Oh no. "An attack on Times Square could've been a calamity. What I hear is that you saved thousands of lives."
Jack's stomach was twisted in knots and he turned to look at Peggy and Daniel over his shoulder. The two of them exchanged a glance that Jack couldn't read. He turned back to the Senator.
"This city and the country owe you a great debt." Cooper turned and raised his voice, addressing the entirety of the S.S.R. "We need more men like Jack Thompson; fighting for freedom and security. You're all lucky that you work for him." He beamed at Jack.
It was so… innocent. Cooper didn't know the truth – that Peggy did all the hard work. After everything she went through, she deserved this. The recognition. The acknowledgement of her importance and her crucial role. She should be standing here, not him.
Although, she didn't do it alone. Daniel helped as well. He was the one who trusted Peggy the most and he saved Jack's life. Jack owed him this much.
It wasn't me, Sir. I can't take the credit for something I didn't do. Not again. He wanted to tell the senator about the others. He wanted to so badly it hurt. Acid dripped along the insides of his stomach and he shifted uncomfortably. He could feel two pairs of eyes burning into his back.
"Everybody thinks that I'm this guy that I never was. And every day it gets harder and harder to live with." He'd told Peggy those words and they were never truer than they were right now. If he let the senator believe he did this, it would be taking the credit all over again. It would be him receiving a medal of honour for murdering innocents. It would be willingly crossing over to the dark side.
He couldn't do that. The guilt would eat him alive. Why should he? He'd gotten knocked on his ass and Sousa had had to save him. Jack didn't deserve any credit. Peggy did.
But it took the S.S.R. this long to believe she was good for more than getting lunch orders. How long would it take for others to believe it without seeing it for themselves? Jack was still trying to wrap his head around it.
And Sousa? No one would believe he had been of any help either. He was a cripple in their eyes. Half a man. They were wrong. But would they see that?
Jack was not a convincing kind of guy. If he wanted to persuade you to do something, the most effective way was to beat the crap out of you. That technique did not apply here. He would never be able to tell the senator what really happened and not have laughter as he defended a mere woman and a broken former soldier.
It wasn't so much the laughter that would bother him so much as the disbelief. Even if, by some crazy miracle, Cooper believed him, the rest of the government or the U.S. or Truman probably wouldn't. Peggy and Daniel wouldn't get the recognition they deserved either way. They would only be ridiculed if he told these guys the truth.
But did he deserve the recognition in their place? The answer was easy. No. No he didn't. Yet he was the only one in a position to accept this… "honour". No matter how much it pained him, it seemed he would be taking the credit for something he didn't do – again.
At least this time they didn't do anything wrong. This time was different. He was protecting Sousa and Carter. He was doing this for them. "Just did what needed to be done."
He accepted the medal last time because he was too ashamed to admit his mistake. Maybe it was also to protect the dignity of the army and his fellow soldiers. If he'd fessed up, no one would look at the soldiers the same way. They would see blundering idiots and murderers and even if sometimes that was exactly what they were, no one wanted anyone to think that.
Senator Cooper shook his hand again, seeming so damn proud of him that Jack had to hold back a cringe. He grabbed Thompson's shoulder affectionately and began to lead him toward the back of the room, toward Dooley's old office. "If you play your cards right, son, you could get a congressional honour outta this situation."
That was the last thing he wanted. Not like this. But being honoured, despite the guilt, did feel pretty good. It was part of what kept him from blabbing after he'd received his "recognition" the first time.
"The President wants to thank you himself."
His eyebrows rose. "Hm. You mean if someone'll vote for him." He cracked a smile. Getting recognized for something good that he took part in, even if it was exaggerated, couldn't be that bad.
Cooper laughed, light and bright.
Jack smiled at him, genuine. "C'mon into my office. I'll make ya a coffee."
So maybe he was a little selfish. So maybe he was also being selfish for the good of others. He wasn't crossing over to the dark side. He was crossing over to the realistic side.
America needed someone to bask in the glory – someone who would soak it up and use that glory for good. Peggy and Daniel weren't ones to bask in the spotlight. Jack would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy some limelight himself. So really he wasn't that bad of a guy.
He just had bad side.
But if you asked him, it was his realistic side.
