Agent Carter, 2x4:
Come on, Peggy. Slug it back.
You won't beat your older brother this time.
I've been practising.
The attack came so suddenly that it took her two seconds before she realized that someone was holding her throat and that she can't breathe. Even though she knew that when someone starts to smother you, you have no chance of pushing his hands out of your throat, her hands automatically wrapped around the attacker's wrists. However, as she was lying, her attacker had an easy job as it was enough for him to use only the weight of his body as he leaned towards her neck. Her combat training woke up two seconds later when the initial panic subsided, and she started to coordinate her legs. With the flexibility that scarcely any man in the camp could display, she sprung her leg toward the temple of the man above her. He did not expect that and for a second his grip loosened. She used the moment and moved her head so that when his hands went back in an attempt to choke her again, they hit the bed. She swung her body under the man and fell from the bed. Before he could lay on her again, she sprung to her legs and was standing, her hands in a position. Now they were both ready for the fight. She knew that he would not wait for anything. The fact that he did not kill her in her bed was out of his plan and if he did not want public, he would have to be quick. The first hit missed her head by inches. He tended to aim low because the head was the quickest part of the body (excluding limbs). Nevertheless, she managed to catch his forearm during his launch and pulled it in the direction of his hit. She hoped that the loss of balance would give her time to leave the tent.
She did manage to get him out of balance, but as he was falling towards the ground, he grabbed her leg and dragged her down with him. Her head hit the ground next to his legs. He kicked her hard to her head and for a second she could see stars. Luckily, her muscle memory worked on its own accord, and she dodged and kicked as she was trained. It was a weird feeling, but she thought that she knew the pattern of this fight. She could anticipate what would the next move of her opponent be. Suddenly, she grabbed his hand, rotated so her back faced him and threw him over her shoulder with a loud bang. He hit the frame of one bed with his head and was lying there without any move but breathing hard. She wanted to approach him, to make sure that he is disarmed and that he would not attempt to attack her again. Suddenly, the tent's canvas moved aside, and four men of Howling Commando ran into the tent. They evaluated the scenery in front of their eyes, and four rushed to the attacker. The last one went straight towards Peggy, whose body started to tremble. The adrenaline could keep her alert until now, but suddenly, she could feel pain in her back and head. She almost fell down if not for Steve who caught her on time. He supported her by one arm and straightened her up, looking around to find a place to settle her down. At the same moment that she stood; the others dragged the attacker onto his legs as well. Peggy's eyes opened wide at the first sight as well as her attackers'. She froze, but he started to push towards her in an apparent attempt to hurt her. They pushed him back and Dugan kicked to his knees to put him down again. The man was roaring and so were the others.
"Do not! Don't hurt him!" she started to scream. She needed to be heard.
He did not give up and was still fighting the others. When he released his hand, he hit Morita in the face. Dugan lost his temper and put his gun towards the attacker's temple.
"One – more – move," he shouted. "And you will be dead."
Peggy was trying to move towards him, but her attempts were fruitless. Steve held her only with his one arm which was also keeping her up and did not seem to strain his muscles at all.
"Do not hurt him!" She was still repeating, though her voice was cracking.
"Peggy, he was trying to kill you!"
"It's…. it's…." her legs buckled, and she could not see nor hear anything around her as her body succumb to the pain. "…. Michael," she only whispered before she lost consciousness.
Steve swept her off her feet and pressed her towards his body more securely.
"What did she say?" Asked Dugan.
"Look, guys! He's wearing dog tags!" Morita reached for his neck. The attacker tried to bite him, but Morita pulled his dog tags from behind his neck and avoided the bite.
"What does it say?"
"He is one from ours," he looked at them. Dugan looked disgusted.
"Deserter, then?"
"Yeah, maybe… but look at the name. His name is Michael Carter."
"Isn't it her brother?"
"Why would he try to kill her?"
"As I said, a deserter."
"He was on the list of agents caught by Russians. Test him on the chip," said Steve while carrying Peggy towards the medical tent.
They dragged Michael towards the testing tent. They woke Mr Jarvis on their way. Even though he looked a little bit surprised; it did not break his professionality. He sat down at the computers and started the machine without saying anything. He only nodded towards Dugan and Dernier who were holding him between themselves. Bucky with Morita aimed their guns at him. They have not tested what would happen if more men went through the arch together, but now there was no other option. They dragged him and as Steve anticipated, the moment he went through the machine, computers started to sign that they had found the object.
"Oh, my dear," It was the first time that even Mr Jarvis looked surprised.
"What's going on?" Asked Bucky.
"The computer registered three microchips."
Everyone in the camp looked at one another. Then, without needing to speak, Bucky and Morita took over Michael and Dugan with Dernier went to test themselves. Negative.
"So, what shall we do now?"
"We will let Mr Stark know and we will wait," said Mr Jarvis. The others nodded and dragged Michael towards the prison.
Dugan opened the medical tent.
"How is she?" he asked the moment he saw Steve.
"She," came a voice from behind Steve, "is just fine." Peggy sounded annoyed every time that she ended up in the hands of doctors. Everyone from Howling Commando knew that she hated doctors with all her heart.
The doctor raised his eyebrows as he was cleaning a deep wound situated above her ear. It was lost in her hair which was held aside by a paper clip (nothing else could serve its purpose so well) and judging by the colour of the gauze that the doctor cleaned it with, it was bleeding.
"I am surprised that you are not still unconscious," he told her while reaching for a needle. "I need to sew it; it will not be nice. What about your back?" The doctor was new in the camp. Phillips wanted a doctor who did not have any prejudices (he heard about the way how they acted towards Peggy and was angrier than anyone) and so they sent this one. He was looking at Peggy, one eyebrow higher than the other and critically observed the way she was sitting; unable to straighten herself.
"It is great, can't be better," Peggy said through gritted teeth. The doctor eyed her incredulously, then shrugged and started sewing her head.
"What about Michael?"
"We found three microchips in his head. They must have wanted to break him really hard," said Dugan.
Peggy jerked as she heard that, and the doctor kicked them out.
"If you do not want anything against pain, I need you to sit still," he explained.
"They served as a distraction, so I did not need painkillers."
Phillips entered the tent at that precise moment.
"Don't act like an idiot, Carter and let him drug you."
She inhaled deeply but he started talking before her. "I heard everything. Your brother is taken care of. Now focus on yourself. If you do not want to walk like Quasimodo, let the doctor help you. Anyway, Stark was informed about the situation we have in here and will arrive in the following 48 hours." He then paused for a little while, waiting for the doctor to end the stitching.
"The family of Michael Carter was also informed," he said gently.
"Yes, sir, I am here as his relative,"
"No, I meant his family back in London. I phoned your father. He is on his way as well." They exchanged looks. The colonel knew her father did not have any idea that she was in the terrain. He was also concerned about how he would react once he meets her in here, bruised and shot.
"Let the doc give you something to relax, Carter. In the following days, you will need all the energy you can muster."