Peggy sat on the sunbed next to Howard, accepting the drink he had made for her. The view from the roof terrace was even more beautiful today.
"You know, I have some of those bikinis in one of the guest rooms. You know, for emergencies. So, if you feel like it…" He said.
"Thank you, Howard, but no thank you," Peggy cut him off.
There was a moment of silence between them. Silence was so rare to her, so she fully took in the shimmer of the sun, the tweeting of the birds and the colourful flowers placed on the terrace as contrast to the concrete flagstones. She sipped her bourbon with great pleasure, for once enjoying that the drink was helping celebrate happiness instead of drowning sorrow.
However, as usual, the silence did not last for long, and the disturbance brought changes with it that she could never had imagined.
"Do you think the SSR is enough?" Howard asked.
Peggy looked away from the scenery in front of her to look at her friend, her eye brows lightly frowning with puzzlement.
"What do you mean?" She answered with a question.
"To deal with all these secret organizations and stuff," He clarified.
"And stuff?" Peggy asked, one of her eye brows now raised in light amusement by the fluffy term for the manipulating and murderous organizations they had encountered. She looked at Howard as he emptied his drink, and realized that something was clearly bothering him, "Howard, what are you getting at?"
He turned in the sunbed, facing her. He removed his sunglasses to look her directly in the eye.
"I mean, we are discovering more and more organizations and groups and assassins out there with their own crazy agendas – some against the SSR, some against the US, some against the entire world. And that's just the problem. This is not just about the US or the Allies or whatever. This is about the world. This is about everyone."
Peggy did not move, but as his words sank in she felt a cold hand grab her stomach and twist it around. She imagined the entire world. How big it was. How many people. How vulnerable. How much she had built for herself the last couple of years after the war. What she had built just this week. How much she had to lose. Who she had to lose. Some for the second time.
Clearly restless by what was on his mind, Howard sat up straight, still facing her. He put his hands flat against each other and pointed them at her, almost as if he was praying to her.
"I've been thinking, Peggy. The SSR is not enough. Not even with you on the team," He slipped in the compliment, and the two friends shared a smile, both of gratitude towards the other, "We need something bigger. Something that embraces the entire world. Something on such a high level that it doesn't even exist. Not unless its needed."
Peggy felt her heart beating faster as Howard got more and more excited by his own idea. His vision was forming in her head. Something grand, something bigger than anything she had ever seen and something that maybe, just maybe, could keep the world from ever seeing war like she had experienced again. Something fighting for peace. The cold hand lost its grip as hope stepped on it and sent excitement rushing through her veins.
"Peggy, I want to make this happen. I want to use this brilliant head of mine to make the world better. I want to shield this world, and protect it from all these crazy people. But I can't do it alone and it will take a lot of time and effort to just to get it started."
Howard stared at Peggy, and she stared back. He could clearly see that she was just as excited by the idea as he was as a small confident smile formed on her face as he spoke.
"Peggy, I need someone I can fully trust to help me build this. I need you," He held a breath for a moment, then smiled at her and spread his hands in a grand gesture as he asked; "Will you help me build a shield for the world?"
Peggy smiled back at him.
"When do we start?"