"Gilmore Hodge was arrested and found guilty. He is currently staying in the provisional prison near the city and will be taken to the United States as soon as possible. We found out a few names which cooperated with him and with Hydra, but the fact is, that there will be much more moles."

Colonel Phillips was marching in the tent where the briefing for the Howling commandoes took place. Everyone was sitting at the large table, listening to him. They did not take part in the imprisonment of Gilmore Hodge. Phillips sent a quick message and somebody else did it. Maybe it was better since everyone in that tent took the case personally and would most probably kill him if he gave them any reason. Peggy was sitting there as well. Even though her shoulder hurt, her back was full of bruises and her head was a little light which was caused by the medication, she insisted that she is strong enough to sit there with the others. Nobody dared to argue with her.

"We checked the school, there was nothing left. The cabinet with documents that you wrote about in your report was burnt to ashes."

The colonel continued, still marching, not being able to sit. After an hour, he dismissed the team. Everyone stood up and started to leave the tent, when…

"Carter, you wait." Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"The rest of you can go," It was said as an order, not as a suggestion, so everyone else moved from the tent. Peggy stood there, waiting for Colonel to start.

"I know what you found out about your brother, and I know it must bother you. And before you say anything, I understand that you think that you are not the only one who deserves an explanation of what happened to those men. However, I personally asked the people who reported the death of your brother. In the report, there is literally written that your parents were informed of the status of your brother as being MIA. If your father decided to tell you that he was dead, it was only his choice. Those other families know that their relatives might not have been killed at all. From what I think, your father might want to protect you. And if he knew you, he might have wanted to prevent you from doing something dangerous."

"That is most fun, sir, as the death of my brother was the reason, I joined the army."

He smiled sadly.

"You know… But maybe if you knew about the MIA status, you might have done something stupid to try to find him without anyone knowing. Now, when we all know, we will check on you not to do so."

"But sir…"

"I know what a man can do when he thinks that he is responsible for someone else, Carter. And in the war, it usually leads him to the grave."

There was a deathly hush after his statement.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Carter?"

"I want to talk to Gilmore Hodge before he leaves for the states."

"Of course, you do," he sighed heavily. "Rogers will accompany you to the prison and he will be there the whole time with you."

"Shall I understand it that all my actions will be controlled from now on?"

"Yes, Carter, you can."

She inhaled deeply and was about to argue, but his strong "Dismiss!" put her into attention and made her leave the tent without further ado.

After she left the tent, she saw Steve sitting before the canteen on a small bench. She approached him and sat next to him.

"Everything ok?" he asked her.

"You heard that."

"What? I was not eavesdropping."

"I know you were not doing that… intentionally. But I also know about your enhanced hearing and that you can't help it sometimes. So… you heard it."

He looked guiltily at her and nodded.

"And?"

"Nothing new actually,"

"Nothing? Even about playing the babysitter?"

"Phillips told me yesterday that we should focus on keeping you alive. I did not know what he meant at first, but now…"

"Now you know."

"He worries about you."

"He does not have any reason to do so."

"Come on. If it was me, you would not let me out of your sight. Admit it."

"Maybe… we will never know that for sure."

"He just does not want you to do anything…"

"Oh, do not start… not you!"

"Why not? What does bother you so much about it?"

"You behave to me as if I was…"

"… a woman? No Peg, I behave as if you were part of the commandoes. And I know that the need for revenge can obscure the senses sometimes. We need you here…" There was a long silence afterwards.

"When should we pay Hodge a visit?"

"I think that tomorrow will be just fine. He will not run away."

She nodded and then stood up a little clumsily with her one hand still pressed towards her torso but regained her balance and entered the canteen.

He looked after her the whole time she was disappearing in the canteen and did not spot Bucky, who took her place.

"Taking her to the prison?"

Steve jerked which caused Bucky to laugh.

"Yes, tomorrow." He looked guilty as he knew that his friend recognized him as being lost in his mind.

"Nice! I have a few tips for you," Bucky grinned.

Steve was leaning against the car; his arms were crossed on his chest. When Peggy left the medical tent, he gave her a smile.

"Ready for the ride?"

Even though she was nervous about the meeting with Hodge, the scene in front of her made her smile. Steve looked happy and behaved so normally as if they were about to go to the city for fun, not for the interrogation of a Hydra agent.

The ride was quiet and uneventful. She had a mind preoccupied with questions that she wanted to ask Hodge and Steve did not try to interrupt her. There will be plenty of time afterwards, after all. Her arm was still in the bandage, and she slightly winced every time the car jerked because of the bumps on the road. She was afraid of being sent back to London or worse, to New York (where she was sure she would be nothing less than a secretary), but Phillips told her that she is needed as a codebreaker and that her brain and one hand is enough for her to do this job where she is needed. She was banned from going into action till her injury was healed, but as she thought about it after their last speech, she was sure that she would have been banned from action now anyway. But as far as she could understand Colonel's decision, she was also annoyed by it because it reminded her of her father. She felt a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach when the picture of her parents appeared in her mind. She should write to them soon so they will not have to worry about her. They were far from happy when she cancelled the wedding and joined the SOE. The first year they refused to talk to her at all. It took them over half of the next year to start the conversation with her again and she did not want to make them angry. Even though she behaved on her own and decided to act against their will, she still respected them as her parents.

Gilmore Hodge was sitting at the table; his hands were handcuffed, and he looked tired. When they entered, he raised his eyebrows and grimaced.

"Well well well… my least favourite boy and girl. What do I owe your visit?"

"We have a few questions, Hodge."

"I must confess that I could have never imagined you two to interrogate me. To be honest, I thought that you," he nodded towards Steve, "would be the first man killed." Peggy's jaw was set, but Steve only smiled amusedly. "Or no, let me correct myself. I thought that the first one would be this bitch," he spat at the table. Steve made a few quick steps towards him, but Peggy just raised her hand to stop him. It actually worked. "A good soldier, always listening to orders, Rogers?" he was just laughing. Peggy sat down at the table from the second side of Hodge and Steve just leaned on the wall.

"We are not interested in your predictions Hodge." Said Peggy.

"And what are you here for?"

"To negotiate."

"What do you want to negotiate? I am going to spend the rest of my life in prison."

"That's true, but it's up to you whether the end of your life would be after a few decades of imprisonment, or if it is the day set by the judge. The punishment for treason is the death penalty if I may remind you." Peggy's face was so blank that it made him squirm. He went silent. It was clear that he did not think about it till now.

"What do you want to know?" he asked slowly.

"Everything. You can make the full confession to anyone who will come to visit you. It might change the verdict of the judge. But first things first. What do you know about those American and English soldiers that were captured by Russians?"

Hodge smiled. He seemed to enjoy his answer.

"I only know what I heard. I did not meet them, nor do I know where they are. I just know that some of them are still alive. There were not many of them who survived, only the strongest could pass those tests that scientists from Hydra tried on them."

"Tests?"

"Yes, they were playing with their DNA. I heard that it hurt a lot. Most of them died during these procedures," he was leaning towards Peggy, very well known that she would not move backwards and enjoying the shock in her eyes.

"I also heard… that if you meet someone of those who survived… it will be your death."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Have you heard of Stark's inventions? Those brainwashing microchips that you can implement in your head. Let's just say that they work." The smile that spread across his face after this statement made Peggy's fist clench.

"What else do you know about them?"

"Nothing more," he answered loudly. "They are like legends. Everyone hears about them, but nobody really knows where they are. They are the most powerful weapon of Hydra right now. Do you really think that you won anything because you interrupted one delivery of weapons? You won nothing by that. Cut one head…"

"Yes, yes, we know. But once even Hydra will run out of heads."

"I thought that too. Then I realized that there is no chance of winning. I joined Hydra to save my life! You are fighting on the wrong side, and you will realize it sooner or later! Do you really think that you have any chance against genetically modified soldiers? Against the energy sources that come out of this world. Do not lie to yourself. You have no chance of winning this war. You will realize it the moment that one of you is killed. You can't avoid it, Hydra will win. And then they will come to rescue me and the rest and the whole USA will go down!"

He looked mad and at the end of his speech, his eyes were wide open.

"I think that they used the brainwashing chip on you, Hodge." Answered Steve after a long silence.

He pushed himself from the wall he was leaning against and nodded towards the exit. Peggy silently stood up. When she was in the door, Hodge called after her.

"Between those captured ones… there was one Carter."

"What do you know about him?" She looked quickly at him.

"What do you want to hear? That he survived? Or that he died, squealing like a pig when they put alien DNA into him?" he was laughing.

"What happened to him?" She pressed on, approaching him quickly. He leaned towards her as far as his handcuffs let him.

"Find for yourself," he smiled wickedly.

Steve put his hand on her shoulder. She straightened up.

"He does not know that," Steve said. He led her out of this room, his hand did not leave her shoulder till she was out. He shut the door behind them and looked at Peggy. She looked shocked but moved towards the exit.

"What did he mean by saying that they are the most powerful weapons?" he asked as they were leaving the building.

"That if they were brainwashed, they would have access to American soil. We must warn the headquarters and anyone who was captured and then escaped would have to go through the check."

"But how will we find…?"

"Howard told us that he knew how to destroy it."

She went straight to the car when Steve caught her unhurt arm and stopped her.

"What?" She asked surprisedly.

"Coffee? I heard there is a good cafe…. Ok, that there is a cafe. I do not know whether it is a good one, but anything can be better than the brown water in the camp.

"And who told you?"

"Bucky. He suggested that we might… you know… take a break." His ears went slightly pink.

"Do you think it is the best time for this, Steve?"

He looked nervous but straighten himself up.

"There will never be a good time. And your body needs the energy to heal. And I bet there will be something sweet that will help you with the injury as well as with the stress you are in now. I know we are in the middle of the war, but let's just... let's just have a break for a bit. "He sounded nervous but at the end a little hopeful as well. She was fascinated that even though he was the Captain America, who most of the soviets feared, could behave so clumsily around girls.

She smiled tiredly but gave in.

"Ok, soldier. Lead the way."