All Peggy could do was watch as the nurses that had been working so tirelessly on Chief Thompson carefully removed the wires that were attached to him, their determined expressions turning to defeat. The doctor filled in some mundane paperwork, the nurses gently covered Thompson with a white sheet and all Peggy could do was stand and stare. The nurse. Peggy had left the room to allow her in; Peggy practically allowed her to murder Jack. But why? What exactly was it that Jack had Jack uncovered? Who wanted to hide their secret so desperately, that killing a highly trained, albeit egotistical, SSR agent was the only option? Thompson was many things but he was no fool. He would have known he was in danger; he must have noticed some signs. Perhaps he simply didn't realise them soon enough.
"Agent Carter?" One of the agents that had gone in pursuit of the nurse returned; startling Peggy out of her thought process.
"Oh! Yes? Where is she?" Peggy asked as she stared at the empty handed agent. She was not necessarily surprised that the agent was not able to detain the suspect; the woman would have to have been highly trained in order to successfully eliminate an agent such as Jack. She was gone.
"She.. she umm got away Miss -" the second agent beckoned as he puffed around the corner.
"Agent!" Peggy corrected the two breathless men. While Peggy was very used to the frequent mistake, she refused to accept it.
"Agent," the two men chorused; like naughty school children who had been disciplined by their stern teacher.
"We almost had her," the two agents continued, desperate to justify their failure.
"But she ran into the ambulance bay and we lost her," the tall, dark haired one testified.
"Then I suggest you go and find some clues as to her whereabouts then," Peggy demanded; a demand that the two individuals promptly moved to carry out. The two agents hurried down the corridor, however they both stopped and the slightly shorter, blond one stopped and turned tentatively towards Peggy.
"Mi-Agent?" the agent asked.
"Yes?" Peggy asked, however she wasn't listening. The doctor who had been working on Jack left Jack's room and approached Peggy.
"Are you the next of kin?" the doctor abruptly asked Peggy.
"Me? No… I'm a colleague," Peggy informed him as she watched the nurses wheel Jack's body down the corridor.
"Oh. I'm sorry for your loss," the doctor said disingenuously, almost immune now to the words meaning. As Peggy nodded in response, the doctor left her and attended to his next patient.
"Agent?" Peggy had totally forgotten to respond to the agent that had asked her a question.
"Hmm? Sorry, what was that?" Peggy asked again.
"Who's going to inform the Chief?" the blond agent asked. With that, Peggy's heart filled with dread. She hadn't even thought about telling Daniel; how could she break such horrendous news to him. Mere moments before Jack died, Daniel was happily by his side but barely five minutes after Daniel left, he was dead. She panicked somewhat about how Daniel would handle the death of a friend; he had taken the news surprisingly badly earlier on in the day. Peggy knew that Daniel was probably at the office but this wasn't the news that she wanted to tell Daniel over the telephone. She simply had to go to the office to tell him; she just hoped that somebody hadn't beaten her to the punch.
"I will," Peggy said slightly too quickly, causing the two agents to look at one another in an attempt to see how they should respond.
"Can you go and see if there is any trace of that nurse?" Peggy said to the agent, who nodded and walked down the hall with his colleague.
"Excuse me? Hello, would it be possible to call a cab please? Thank you," Peggy said as she watched the receptionist do as she had asked. As she turned to await the car's arrival, she stared through the window at Jack's now empty room. The room that had once held her former boss was eerily empty; just the machines and wires left. But then, Peggy had a brainwave. The wires. The nurse had touched the wires.
"Excuse me? Ma'am, the car will be here in around five minutes," the receptionist said in the typically American, high pitched tone.
"Oh, thank you. Umm… i'm terribly sorry to bother you again, but I wonder would it be possible to borrow your desk tape?" Peggy asked. The slightly bemused receptionist looked at Peggy for further explanation. However when none was given, she begrudgingly obliged and watched as Peggy raced into the room Jack had once been in, where Peggy not only assessed the wires with intense concentration but also began feverishly sticking pieces of tape on them. After a couple of moments, Peggy left the room, looking innocent as a child, thanked the receptionist and made her way towards the exit of the hospital. She awaited the arrival of the car, rather nervously and in the blistering sun. As she waited, she attempt to rehearse what she would say to Daniel but nothing she said seemed to be good enough. Peggy knew that Daniel was not what she would call close to Jack, but his death was sudden and Daniel had not taken it well. While she didn't want to draw attention to their very new 'relationship' - they had just got away with their kiss in his office by the skin of their teeth - she also didn't want him to feel that he had to deal with the loss on his own. If there was one thing that Peggy knew about it was loss and she couldn't let Daniel go through it on his own. As Peggy went through every possible scenario in her head, her train of thought was interrupted by a very loud car horn. As she turned, she noticed that it was the two agents. As the blond agent drove the car and stopped in front of her, they rolled down the window.
"Agent Carter, I think you're needed at the office," the dark haired agent stated rather nervously.
"Oh? Well i'm heading there now, i'm just waiting on a cab. But thank you for informing me," Peggy said.
"No- Um I think you should come with us," the blond agent, who Peggy was almost certain was called Harry, stated, terrified that he would receive a sharp telling-off by Peggy.
"And why is that?" Peggy asked.
"It's the Chief. He.. he heard about Thompson's death and he ain't taking it so good," Harry stated. With that, Peggy promptly entered the back of the agent's vehicle and they hurried to the office. On their journey, Peggy insisted that Harry and the dark haired agent, who Peggy learned was called Frank, told her about exactly what had happened. Apparently it was hospital protocol to inform the next of kin of the deceased, however due to Jack having his SSR identification on his person, they informed Daniel as well. After hearing of his old colleague's death, Daniel demanded that everyone in the office went home early and locked himself in the building.
"And that's all we know," Frank explained as they neared the entrance to the SSR building.
"Thank you. I think it better you follow the Chief's order, i'll deal with this," Peggy said as she exited the car.
"Are you sure? He could be… volatile; we shouldn't leave you," Harry insisted.
"I am quite capable, I assure you. Thank you for your help. Enjoy the rest of your day," Peggy stated however it was more of a formality than genuine. Daniel would never hurt her so their comment was entirely unnecessary. As she entered the building, even Rose wasn't at her usual post and so Peggy ascended the stairs on her own. The entire floor was still; eerily quiet. All of the lights had been turned off. As Peggy walked tentatively towards Daniel's office, she grew more and more nervous. What exactly was she walking in to? Would he be upset? Angry? Would he blame her? While Peggy's anxieties remained deep in the pit of her stomach, they quickly turned to fear when she saw the state of the office once she had ascended the stairs. Paper was everywhere, tables and chairs were overturned and the entire office was in a state of disorder. The place looked like a bomb site; the question was who made it that way? Was Daniel in danger?
"Daniel?" Peggy called, as she tried desperately to mask her worry. As she practically raced through the office, her fears grew.
"Daniel?" she called once again when she failed to hear a response. As she reached Daniel's office in the far, right corner of the building, she was both relieved and saddened to see a panting Daniel hunched in his chair. Peggy couldn't quite place the expression that was etched into Daniel's face; it was a horrendous combination of anger, sadness and confusion. His hands were shaking; Peggy could see that even though she was standing at the door.
"Daniel?" Peggy whispered, shocked at the emotional state she had found Daniel in. He was frustrated and intensely angry. Peggy had never seen him quite like this before; he hardly moved when Peggy said his name. His body remained utterly still; it was only his eyes that moved to meet hers.
"Daniel, I- I'm so sorry," Peggy implored. The more she looked at him, the more difficult she found it to read him. Was he angry with her? After-all, had she been paying more attention, she could save stopped the nurse and saved Chief Thompson.
"War," was all Daniel said, as he gazed eerily at the floor.
"What?"
"The man was a soldier Peg. He survived a war but he gets killed because he came here to help with a case I should have dealt with -"
"Daniel!" an exasperated Peggy exhaled. Daniel blamed himself? He was quire probably the only person on the planet that could tolerate Jack Thompson, despite the fact he was so frequently at the butt of the cruel Chief's jokes, yet he blamed himself? As Peggy walked towards him, she knelt down in front of him, took his hand in hers and willed him to listen. The helpless look in his eyes made her wish that he had blamed her instead of himself.
"Jack came here of his own accord. He was so full of confidence that he failed to see that you had this entire case well under hand. He was here, because he wanted to be here Daniel; this isn't your fault," Peggy implored. As Peggy spoke, her heart broke as Daniel's rage turned to sadness, and his eyes filled with an almost missable trickle of tears. He took his hands from Peggy's, turned his head away from her and quickly wiped the tears that had started to sting his eyes.
"If I had just stayed -"
"If you had stayed, she would have waited. Daniel, look at me," Peggy implored. As she placed her hands gently on Daniel's cheeks, she slowly turned his face towards her and ran her thumb tentatively across his cheek; wiping away a tear that had fallen. When it was just the two of them, Peggy felt comfortable. Confident.
"You are an excellent Chief, and you will find who did this," Peggy assured him. As she looked at him, his eyes softened somewhat. He moved his hand on top of hers and simply smiled. The two remained that way until Peggy felt assured that Daniel felt better, and until Daniel let go.
"Why did you look so nervous?" Daniel eventual asked, as he continued to hold Peggy's hands; he just lowered them from his cheek.
"What? I wasn't nervous!" Peggy spluttered as she laughed., returning to her confident self.
"Yes you were, I could hear it in your voice," Daniel persisted. Peggy could hide many things from many people, but he was not many people and Peggy knew it.
"You were worried! You sweet on me, Carter?" he teased, to which Peggy rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure I don't know what you are nattering on about," Peggy teased as she took her hands faux-dramatically from his and stood up. She couldn't help but smile in reaction to Daniel's mischievous, playful grin, but she was also glaringly aware of the work that they had ahead of them. Daniel would not rest until he had achieved justice for his friend, and the work ahead of them was laborious and dangerous.
"Now, much as I would love for you to spout nonsense all day, I think we are going to have to tidy up this mess that you have created," Peggy stated as she began to move towards the trashed office.
"I'll do that! It's my mess; only fair that I clean it up. You go home; you're meant to be on vacation, remember?" Daniel asked as he joined Peggy and began to lift some of the chairs that he had overturned.
"And miss all of the fun here?" Peggy asked sarcastically. As the two laughed, Peggy helped Daniel lift two of the tables that he had overturned. It was nice. A big, empty office with just Daniel could have been awkward; but it wasn't. It was lovely sharing a joke with him and not having to worry about who was there that could see them laugh. It was ironic really; this was the most comfortable Peggy had ever felt in this office. The two began to lift the mounds of paper that were scattered across the office floor; only stopping when they heard Daniel's office phone ring.
"Hello? That's me, what can I do for you sir? Mmmm. Of course. If you don't mind my asking, what does that have to do with the SSR? Yes sir, I'm on my way," Daniel said before he hung up the phone and promptly made his way out of the office.
"Lead?" Peggy asked as she rushed to join him.
"There's a body in the morgue," was all the information that Daniel gave Peggy. While his omission of further detail was not intentional, he did find it somewhat amusing to see the frustrated look on Peggy's face.
"And? Peggy eventually said.
"The vic has a tattoo of that on his back," Daniel explained as he shoved his hand into his jacket pocket and showed Peggy its content; the key Thompson had found. While the two entered yet another car, and discussed the possible logistics of the case, Daniel hugely regretted sending the rest of his team home early. He didn't even have a reason, not really. He just needed a moment. He needed time to mull over what happened. It's not like he was Jack's biggest fan, but the man had been good to him; he didn't deserve to die like that. And, as much as Daniel hated himself for thinking it, Jack had information that could have been useful for the case; if Daniel had just talked to him, he may have been able to find out more information about the people who wanted rid of Jack.
"Daniel? We are here," Peggy said as she gently touched his arm to bring him out of the trance he had been in.
"Oh! Sorry," Daniel expressed. As he looked at Peggy, he saw the genuine concern in her eyes, and felt the need to assure her that he truly was fine.
"I was just thinking about the case. Don't you think it's odd that the same organisation would kill two people in such a short period of time? They aren't usually as messy," Daniel asked as he and Peggy exited the car.
"I suppose. But we don't know how long this victim has been deceased," Peggy explained as she marched alongside Daniel. When she didn't receive a response, she turned to look at Daniel. He was staring at the ground, grinning slightly.
"What?" Peggy said with mock anger. The sight of his childlike grin, however, caused her to smile too.
"Nothing," Daniel exclaimed as he attempted to hide his grin. Peggy was always one step ahead of… well everyone. Daniel had always found it amazing that a woman like Peggy, so confident and talented, had had to fight so hard to earn even a smudge of respect. She was better than 90 percent of the men she worked with, but would never receive even a quarter of the credit for it. He had the most incredible amount of respect for her and her incredible talent; and she truly had no idea. Peggy didn't believe his response for a second but they were approaching the steps that would take them down to the morgue and somehow, question Daniel didn't seem quite appropriate. As Daniel and Peggy greeted the coroner, Daniel was all too aware of the fact that there was a man under the white sheet. This was undoubtedly the most difficult part about his promotion; as a detective he hadn't had to see the dead a great deal. But now he was the Chief, it was his job to do so and no matter how hard he tried to forget it, it always proved a poignant reminder of his time in the war.
"Vic is a 28 year old male. No ID as of yet. Died of a single gun shot wound to the head," the coroner explained as he handed over the victim's file. While Daniel asked the coroner all of the typical questions, Peggy took the opportunity to study the deceased. As she gently moved the sheet from across his face, Peggy stared at the man. While the sight of his ghostly grey face took away her breath, so too did the fact that he was no stranger. She had seen him. He had been at the horse race where she had first met Whitney Frost. Whitney and he had spoken. As Daniel gathered more information about the scene in which the victim was found, Peggy moved to leave the morgue. She had to see Whitney.
"Peg? Where you going?" Daniel asked as he noticed Peggy creeping towards the door.
"Umm, I think I have a lead," Peggy stated. She wasn't quite sure why she had instantly moved to act alone; she had just been so used to doing her job alone. Also, she was worried about Daniel. He wasn't acting like himself and Peggy was worried he would do something reckless.
"I'll join you. Thanks doc," Daniel said as he took the file and joined Peggy.
"You not going to tell me where we are going?" Daniel asked, however Peggy knew that that was not truly the question that he wants to ask.
"I was going to tell you," Peggy emphasised.
"But you didn't. Peggy, I am fine," Daniel insisted. He wanted to take her hand, if only to assure her that he meant every word, but he knew that Peggy would not appreciate such a public display of affection.
"I am sure you are. I just think that perhaps some time off might help -"
"Says the woman who returned to fieldwork two days after being impaled," Daniel joked as he gently pushed Peggy as they walked towards the bay of cabs. Peggy sarcastically rolled her eyes, but she wasn't quite as successful at hiding her smile; a smile Daniel quickly returned.
"L.A asylum please," Daniel said to the driver, who promptly carried out his request. As Daniel and Peggy sat in the back, their hands sat still; mere inches from one another. Daniel looked to Peggy, who was gazing blissfully out the window, and wondered what was going on in that head of hers. Yesterday was the happiest Daniel could ever remember feeling, but he wasn't sure about how Peggy felt about it. As he looked at her, she seemed happy. But she generally always seemed happy, right? Daniel was forced to stop this train of thought when Peggy sensed that he was staring and turned towards him.
"What are you staring at?!" Peggy demanded as she playfully hit his arm. While she was able to mask the question as somewhat of a joke, she truly was curious about why Daniel had been staring at her for the second time today.
"No reason! I was just daydream -"
"Daniel, what is it," Peggy demanded. Daniel seemed to relent, but he wrung his hands together before he spoke - the one thing he always did before he lied - and Peggy felt compelled to prevent him.
"And don't lie. Not to me," Peggy implored.
"You were nervous when you walked in to the office earlier, Peg. Why?" Daniel asked.
"That doesn't answer my question," Peggy retaliated.
"Answer mine and I swear I will answer yours," Daniel promised. He needed to know how Peggy felt about him, and for some reason, he thought that her answer may tell him. Peggy squinted her eyes as she suspiciously stared at Daniel for a moment; why did he need to know? Daniel smiled and crossed his arms in a bid to emphasise that Peggy was not the only person that could be stubborn.
"Fine. I was worried.. I was worried you would…" Peggy began but she stopped. She felt ridiculous; telling Daniel all of her feelings and emotions. Hiding them was something she had trained herself to do for years - men seemed to find it easier to work with a woman if she acted like a robot.
"That I would what?" Daniel pushed. He knew that talking about feelings was not necessarily Peggy's thing, but he needed her to know that he was somebody she could tell things to.
"I was worried you would.. blame me. For Jacks death. After all I was the one in the room, I let that woman take away the machines -"
"Peggy," Daniel stated as he turned to look at Peggy
"I don't blame you, Peg. I would never- I blame the woman that unhooked Jack from all of those machines. That isn't on you," Daniel implored. While Daniel was happy Peggy told him how she was feeling, he couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. He wasn't quite sure why, but he was. And Peggy noticed. Daniel turned to look out the window. He felt slightly disheartened but had no reason as to why, and so he was happy to contemplate the case as the two travelled the rest of the car journey in silence. Peggy, however, was not.
"The people that hurt Jack. I was worried that they had hurt you," a very reluctant Peggy rather abruptly explained. As a surprised Daniel looked at her, she kept her gaze firmly out the window. Daniel smiled to himself; that was what he needed to hear. While he knew Peggy did not want to return his gave, he edged his hand just a little closer to hers; ensuring that his finger just grazed hers. She returned the favour. Thus while the two continued to stare out of opposite windows, their hands were drawn to one another; and so they remained.
"We're here sir," the taxi driver said to Daniel, which made both Peggy and Daniel jump. As they exited the vehicle, they were greeted by an eery, grey building. One with bars on the windows and ghosts in its halls.
"Don't say I don't take you to nice places," Daniel joked, and while Peggy smiled, the whole location gave her the creeps. As the two walked in to the reception area, they noticed that the interior was no brighter than its exterior.
"Follow my lead," Peggy ordered Daniel before she pranced confidently towards the receptionist.
"Well hi there!" an exceedingly happy Peggy chimed with an exceptionally good American accent.
"I'm here to see my gal Whitney. Whitney Frost? Her guy told me she would put us on her list," Peggy said with a ridiculous giggle.
"Name?" the cold receptionist asked.
"Julie. Julie and Pete," Peggy said, without even a hint of hesitation.
"I'm sorry ma'am. I'm afraid you aren't on the list," the receptionist chimed in an equally happy voice.
"Oh. Are you sure? Its just my husband and I have driven all this way," Peggy said as she grabbed a very confused Daniel's arm. Peggy wasn't convinced that receptionist was buying her story and so she began an irate, hyper-speed rant. One that she was actually quite proud of.
"And we just really wanted to - you see Whitney's guy and my guy worked together for years. Then Whitney and I met at a party that the two of them invited us to and we just clicked you know? You ever find someone you just click with? Well anyway, me and Whitney did and we've been friends for years and I promised her weeks ago that I would come visit when I heard the news about her.. well you know… and we don't want to let our friend down, right honey?" Peggy finished as she turned to Daniel. Daniel was amazed at the rate at which Peggy had just spoken; he hadn't heard her great the entire time.
"Oh. Umm yeah," was all a confounded Daniel could muster. The receptionist looked apologetically at the couple who stood arm in arm.
"Mmmm.. well i'm not really meant to.. but I guess I could make an exception. She's on the second floor, room 8. I'll let her guard know you are on your way," the helpful receptionist assured them.
"Oh thank you so much, you're a doll!" Peggy declared as she and Daniel hurried to Whitney's room before the naive receptionist changed her mind. As they waited at the locked door before what the assumed was a staircase, they heard a distinct bleep before the door eventually unbolted.
They were in.