Pamyat' o Padenii

January 28, 2017:

In Russian: a memory of a fall. Peggy Carter brings Captain America to Alias Investigations in order to introduce him to Azalea Kingston, a meeting which grows emotional and awkward by turns. All the same, information is shared and plans are made.

Alias Investigations, Hell's Kitchen, NY

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions: Zatanna Zatara, The Winter Soldier, Jane Foster, John Constantine, Thor, Peter Quill, Red Robin

Plot:

Mood Music: [*\# None.]


Fade In…

The apartment has seen better days, but…it's clean. Sure, there's white paint all over the walls and a window that won't quite close right, and the bathroom sink is just sort of gone, requiring people who want to use a sink to move to the kitchen, but…really it's vastly improved. When Az came, there had been a bathroom sink in the middle of a broken desk, though the sea of broken glass had already been removed by the time she got there. In the bedroom, the mattress had been on a broken bed frame; Jessica had simply dragged it onto the floor and hauled the bed frame out when she'd invited Azalea to stay. Jessica herself has been sleeping in a sleeping bag after hauling the two halves of the couch out.

As early as this morning Jessica soberly got translation help from one Red Robin, who translated and helped her express her very great remorse at her episode, in which she'd promised to fix all the damage at her own expense and try to be better about paying the rent on time (instead of, you know, drinking her rent) if her landlady would give her another chance. Thus she got rid of the desk and the sink and scrubbed the place clean. She did this instead of taking her money and running off to get another apartment before the eviction could hit her record—an action Captain America himself inspired, since she knew he would have owned up to his mistakes and fixed them rather than running.

But when she'd shrugged and said folks could come over since the Triskelion was out, she went right ahead and warned that it was quote-unquote undergoing "some renovations" and, perhaps cryptically, that she'd "ordered furniture this morning" but it was still pretty sparse. Her little kitchen table was miraculously untouched, along with the coffee pot.

She used the credit cards of the dead Hydra agents whose wallets she'd lifted after verifying they had no family, no Heirs, and nobody in particular who was going to need that money.

What? They were dead. It's not like they were going to order furniture.

Okay, so this positive influence Steve Rogers has had on her? Really hit and miss.

At least it's really easy to clean for company when you don't have much in the way of furniture. And the door is pretty nice! Frosted glass and the gold Alias Investigations logo. A laptop is over in the corner, as if Jessica is mostly just leaning against the wall to use it. And there are folding lawn chairs.

She's brewing coffee, because that's what you do when two American Heroes show up to a secret meeting in your squalor.

"I think I might have been a magician once."

This stunning revelation, deadpanned at the speed of dragging thought, comes as Azalea Kingston flicks playing cards around in one hand with a not-so-expert measure of sleight of hand. Her hands are small, and she goofs, the muscle memory practiced for someone bigger. Eventually another card comes to the top, face up, and she flings the projectile across the room and into a wire-mesh trashcan.

She does not move from her spot on the floor.

"Not actual magic, but card tricks." Every motion seems to pull on another string of memory, and she rocks back from her cross-legged position on the floor, all suited up for her meeting with The Man. The Legend. The Cap. Tain. Guy. Not that she'd dressed for him, she'd dressed for the real hero here: Peggy Carter, who had forgiven her transgressions and arranged this shindig. She won't be the first person to think it:

Thank God for Peggy Carter.

Another card hits the trashcan, and her eyes narrow. "Actually I think maybe I just learned the card tricks to mesmerize young, impressionable girls before I cut them open and danced naked amongst their inner-bits." She shoulder-slumps, and flicks another card.

"Fuck." She makes her lament, until the sound of footsteps sounds in the hall. "Soooooo glad that came to me before they got here."

Agent Carter at first suggested the Triskelion, as it was the last place that she spoke with Azalea. However, after the accurate assessment that it is not the most ideal place to have a private conversation, Peggy agreed to meet at Alias Investigations. She has, at least, met PI Jones in the field once before, but she remains wary about the meeting: most likely due to the 'ordering new furniture' comment.

Both she and Steve tend to be the kind of people are punctual, and so it is that she knocks on the frosted glass door right on time. She's not exactly sure what to expect from this, but she will be here to either witness or referee: unable to gauge which will be necessary for this. It's also most likely a good thing that discussion of dancing naked amongst inner bits finished before she and Captain America arrived.

Though dressed slightly more casually than when either of them saw her last, Peggy is still in business attire. It doesn't appear as if she has sweatpants attire other than - perhaps - when she is working out.

When Peggy said he should meet this woman that seemed able to 'see' things about people, Rogers was a little uncertain. After all, the struggle with Hydra is coming up and Captain America got a lot on his mind. Still, to just say no because he wasn't up to it? Just doesn't seem right at all. So he put on his big boy spandex and dealt with it.

Slowly, Steve makes his way down the hallway, Peggy following beside him. The conversation between the two has been light as the topic of Bucky has been discussed extensively and right now, that is the main thing that weighs heavily on both of them.

The door is knocked upon, which cues Steve to be the man he knows he needs to be. He takes a breath and prepares a warm and friendly smile in order to give the proper first impression. Once Steve hears the permission to go in, he instinctively goes for the door, attempting usual gentleman to open it for Peggy. Regardless if he gets it, is too slow, or there is that whole awkward hands touch moment, the two are soon able to get in.

Rogers seems clad in semi-business attire, a simple blue collar shirt with some brown dress slacks and shoes that seem ready for a business meeting or kicking someone in the face. Because in his line of work, both are just as likely to happen.

At any other time Jessica might have paused to say something about Azalea referring to herself as "I" when talking about such things. Instead she just shoots the girl an unreadable look and gets down enough coffee cups for everyone. It's not quite the time, after all.

As for her dress, ripped jeans, a red and black flannel shirt and a black tank top are what they are; she has a dozen variations of that and the one suit she wore to the meeting with Peggy the first time. Thing is, it would look so ridiculous in /this/ environment that she just decided to go ahead and be herself.

They knock, she answers. "Please come in," she says. "I've got a pot of coffee on." She's minding her Ps and Qs as much because this feels so awkward as anything else. It might seem just simple politeness, unless one is good at reading people by whatever means. Jessica Jones is painfully aware the state of her…whole life…doesn't reflect great on her, but is just sort of doggedly pushing ahead out of necessity, knowing far greater things are at stake.

Embarrassment and self-consciousness have been ruthlessly pushed to the side, where they are currently being ignored like naughty children.

The cards come down in a stack on the floor, and when Azalea gets up, it's to stalk, to pace. There's a knock and she hears gunfire from a memory that is not her own. The tension seeps into her diminutive frame, and she slides back and to the side, to a shadow she does not know she's clinging to like it's a safety blanket. If anyone had doubts about who she'd thrown her lot in with, she'd make them a believer at the way she edges out of view, watching Peggy and Steve make landfall on their broken shore.

Every time she thinks she's ready for what it will do to her to live even a tiny portion of someone's life, the wave bowls her over and emotion digs in. She thought, maybe, Peggy would be distracting enough for The Devil Inside to let this bit go, but it's her investment in finding Bucky, in knowing what he goes through, that force her to focus on Steve.

His perfect jawline. The self-aware way he carries himself. Don't be to perfect, right? Just perfect enough. But when they were on that train, no one had time for that. She remembers him calling her name. No. His name. Bucky's name.

She remembers falling. She remembers being alone and left to die.

The rage comes, because it's the easiest emotion for her to bear, a familiar and warm glove. It will draw her out of that shadow, into the open. On him. In his face - or looking up at it, since he's so much taller. But that makes it so much worse, because Bucky was looking up and up when he fell farther and father away. The terror turns her veins to ice and the anger turns her blood to something molten, and the reaction has her arms shaking.

She wants to strike him.

"He used to tell you, when you were down. When you felt left behind… that he was with you till the end of the line."

She wants to say so much more, but it's all she gets out before a tear ripples down her cheek and she's forced silent by emotions that should not be her own.

"Thank you for inviting us," Peggy tells Jessica politely, her London accented English prim without her meaning it to sound as such. It probably does her no favors that she quickly glances about the room with eyes that are clearly assessing the apartment, the lack of furniture, the clothes. It's not snobbishness, however, it's her training. She tends to evaluate everything.

As she notices Azalea, she gives the young woman an smile and a nod of greeting. That pleasant expression quickly turns into raised eyebrows and a blank expression as the meeting doesn't even get past hellos before they are into the emotions. Peggy's hands quickly grasp in front of her and she worriedly looks between Azalea and Steve. Perhaps this was a mistake.

"Let's—-" she's not sure what they should do. Glancing at the folding lawn chair, she looks to Jessica and then to the seats. "Let's sit."

"Thank you, but I'm good" comes the pleasantry from Captain America at the offer of coffee, delivered like the true Man You'd Take Home to Mama that he is. The charming blue eyes turn toward the 'Dark Devil', but as his lips part to give some heartfelt greeting, it begins.

The words come. The tear comes. The emotion, raw and unchecked, is almost launched at Steve. It isn't some trusted friend or confidante that shares some shared memory. Instead, it's a woman who has taken something personal, something both treasured and painful, and thrown it out as information free to share. Some would consider it an affront, lashing out in rage. Others would check out, turn their heel and go.

Cap just takes it with a calm countenance like a guard at Buckingham Palace.

There is a moment or two where he is processing and collecting. Finally, the lone man in the room speaks. "You're right, he did," he offers with a hoarse professionalism, his voice slightly pained despite his attempts to be neutral. It isn't until Peggy makes the recommendation that he does anything further, merely nodding in agreement and taking his seat. The seat gives a light groan of protest as Rogers gently places himself down, his posture perfect and his back refusing to lean into chair.

It all comes so quickly. The anger. The rage. But Captain America is everything they promised in the flesh that she had only seen a fractured portion of in that stolen memory. It is the rock of Steve Rogers, and the calm, collected manner of Peggy Carter both that drag her back to herself. She blinks, her cheeks showing the color of her anger, and she lets out a breath to steady herself for the conversation she has to have with them both.

When she drops into the chair her hands find her face, and she wipes away tears while staring into a cup of coffee on the table. Don't fuck this up. Don't be the monster. Bucky needs better.

"I'm sorry." Azalea means her apology, and when her crystal blues rise to settle on Steve again, this time it's with more composure. "I have an unusual affliction. I'm not going to go into it to much, but when I fought your friend, I saw you. I felt myself falling from a train. I saw a lot more too, with a friend's help. I saw what they do to him, and I know it's not his fault, and if it takes my last fucking breath to bring Bucky Barnes in from the cold, then I'll give it. But I need help. I'm new at this, I don't have the resources you both do, or the experience that Jess has."

She leans back as she lays it all out, wasting little time as her mental hourglass runs out. "The same friend who helped me focus enough to see what they did to him, her name is Zatanna. She can probably find him. But every time we've fought he's overpowered me. I am better now than I've ever been, but now he can… he has other abilities, and I don't think I can take him. Maybe ever. I need your help."

Now she understands why Red Robin felt the need to apologize her. Suddenly getting an unshared, deeply personal detail without meaning to does feel like something to apologize for. Jessica just sort of /freezes/ for a moment, and she doesn't seem to know what to do.

Thank god for Peggy Carter.

'Let's sit' gives her direction. She sits, settling into a lawn chair. Then there's the matter of what just happened; Azalea had said she could sense some of what Jessica had felt upon being grabbed, but…she hadn't expected full on senses and memories.

Cold ice travels up her spine as Azalea describes the rest, and Jessica wonders what /else/ Azalea picked up on.

She schools her expression, and finally interjects, perhaps out of that experience, "I think what Azalea means is she'd like to help."

This is not exactly untried water for Peggy Carter. She is not exactly used to being in rooms with disagreeing, emotional opinions, but it has happened often enough that she takes the tactic that she uses for both victims and difficult interrogations: simple requests and directions. That tends to break tension and give everyone else something to focus on. In fact, she uses that for her own advice.

She remembers both the tears and the feelings that came from Azalea's on glimpse into her past. The words that only she and Steve knew were spoken - now shared by someone else. There is understanding there, at least. There's a bit of guilt: recommending Steve come to this meeting only to immediately be met with difficult memories. The look she gives him is one of apology and, hopefully, bolstering.

Taking her own suggestion, she moves to the chairs and perches it on it uncomfortably. "You mentioned being able to find him," she adds, a concrete issue that hopefully has a yes or no answer. "Do you know where he is?" If she knows that, they can hopefully find the base Barnes is holed up in. Find where they have Jane Foster.

In the wake of the words and the plea for help, Rogers is uncharacteristically of few words, but he still manages to offer much to this conversation. As the Dark Devil offers her apologies, he raises a hand to show no offense is taken, even if it was felt. "It's fine," he states simply.

A simple nod is given toward the request for assistance and its explanation with a weak smile. The help is accepted and seemingly appreciated.

As Peggy looks toward Steve, there is a slight easing of his body in the unspoken support. Equipped with this additional strength, he leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees. His gaze flickers first to Peggy as she takes point in the probing questions, then to Azalea. That is the million dollar question, after all.

"Well, on this front I can offer some good news for a change. Zatanna has found them. I got a text early this morning," Jessica says. "I'd assumed the info had made the rounds, but…he and Dr. Foster are at Ozone Park, along with something nasty. She couldn't identify what, but when Zee says nasty, it usually means magic, big, and supremely dangerous."

The surge of emotion is forgotten as she does what she does best: provide people with information that's been pulled together from various sources. "In addition, the Red Robin has found a way to disable the suicide switch on the chips. The chip is only about half of the problem if they've been implanted—there were all these nanites interacting with it and messing with their brains too, but…one good EMP pulse is all it takes to ensure Hydra won't be able to explode their heads with the push of a button."

Somewhere along the way she should have introduced herself. As The Dark Devil, for a laugh. Or Azalea, for something that both of the newcomers certainly already know about her. And that's why she doesn't bother. It isn't about her, none of it, and as Jessica serves up the neutral ground, rephrasing her assertion as something more benign, it is one of the few times she does not seek to barrel her way past someone else's characterizations.

Because Jess is a friend.

Maybe it took seeing Steve Rogers to realize what a few days under the wing of the investigator had meant, to watch him fade from view in the mind's eye, to know both the pain and comfort a close bond can radiate. Here, with Jess, was comfortable. She knew all the right words, and Azalea appreciated her for it.

She was going to tell Peggy and Steve both that 'No', she did not know where they were. When Jess brings more information to bear, it strikes like a hidden weapon.

Zatanna did not tell her.

She will have to come to grips with it all later, and as her arms cross her gaze drops from Steve and back to the table. "We fought him a few nights ago. He has these runes on him… on his arm. He can vanish and appear.. maybe anywhere. I don't know. At least to anywhere he can see. He's going to be a lot more dangerous. If he's at this park.. I just, I really want us to all go in with a plan. I've talked with him a few times. Saw him almost come back from the edge, but now he's so far gone. Steve, if you and I and Jess go at him together, I think we could overpower him without really hurting him. The X factor is what Zatanna could do to stop him from zipping around, and if we'll have any help against these.. Hydra guys. Whoever the fuck they are."

She speaks in the only way she knows how, foul and visceral, and from the pit of her twisted stomach. She can only hope Steve Rogers does not think less of her for wearing her heart on her sleeve.

Peggy's fingers flex slightly, resisting the urge to reach out to put a hand on Steve's arm or shoulder, perhaps. However, Agent remains in business mode: information, plans, recovery, meeting. These are easy things for her mind to sort through.

"Ozone Park?" Peggy had not heard this latest information. Nor, had she heard that Robin managed to find a way to disable the devices: that's a bit more of a relief, as she worried that both Bucky and Jane might have an implant of their own.

"I see." That is her general statement toward things she is not sure yet what to do with the information. It's a good stall. Azalea's information is met with a knitting of eyebrows. "Runes?" That's new information, too. She glances over toward Steve at Azalea's plan. She has no super strength or speed, but her attention then turns to Jessica with a raised eyebrow. She wasn't aware that Jess could go toe to toe with James Barnes. There's an unspoken question there. "There's more than simply retrieving Barnes. They have Dr. Foster as well. We have to find her location and ensure she is taken to safety."

"Language, please" is all Cap says in the light of Az's curse in a soft tone. Sometimes people respect Rogers' wishes. Other times, it just spurs them on and he just withstands it like he does so many things.

As the words 'a plan' are spoken, a hint of light goes off in Cap's eyes. Like car at the tip of a hill while in neutral, the energy seems to change slowly within the tactician's heart. He's had time to process and as the information comes, it gets him into a much more familiar and comfortable rhythm. It isn't the feelings, talk of feelings, repeat that drain, but rather inform, plan, act.

"We have our plan. We just haven't laid it out yet."

Peggy knows what this means when Steve talks like this. It means he's about to talk a lot more to explain himself. He looks to the ground, as if studying an unseen playbook. "It's clear that getting Doctor Foster and Barnes out will be the first priority. With the chip disabled with an EMP, we should get one of those and having that be our signal to attack. I've contacted Thor, as Foster is his friend. I thought it only right he be able to help and the muscle will be perfect for a spear head attack if he's paired with two or three other people."

"Once we hit, we'll have people who know a lot on Hydra, magic, or just plain sneaky move in and attempt to find Foster as swiftly as possible, as well as any items or information of interest. I'd imagine having Zatara, Constantine, and you Peggy, if you're up for it." A glance is given toward the woman in question before Rogers continues. "The more we get from Hydra, the more we can use against them and the less they have to use against us."

The energy from Captain America is different when he plans and leads. He is more confident, sure of him, as if putting one foot in front of the other is all you need to make the world a better place. "That would leave me to find and fight Bucky. He might have new tricks, but if we can take out the chip, ensure there isn't any magical stuff going on, if we can secure Jane, then I think I should be able to take him down."

It seems in the wake of his planning, everyone is suddenly elevated as a trusted ally. While his talk is assertive, Cap looks for clues for people to see if things need to be changed and adjusted. His eyes look up, studying each woman's face in the wake of his words. "Does that seem doable or does the plan need adjustments?"

Jessica is watching Azalea's reactions closely. "She knows you're with me," is what she tells her. She can't read minds, but…knowing what she knows, and reading subtle reactions, tells her a lot. Granted, as attempts to make Azalea feel better go she's not sure where that pitch will land, but…she is her friend, so she tries.

Peggy wouldn't have heard as Robin and Jessica staggered in from that particular gambit in the wee hours of the morning last night, a venture they'd left for spontaneously shortly after Jessica had asked Azalea to go make sure Foggy Nelson wasn't getting jumped by Cold Flame Cultists. "He's making short range EMP pulses. They have to be set off just as close to the victim's head as possible, practically touching," she adds. "He'll be equipping everyone with one or two, but he might need at least today to make them. It was 4 in the morning by the time he was done with that Weird Science."

She misinterprets Peggy's glance, seeing a question but not the content. "I got through to him for a moment the other day," she says. "Just for a moment. Just one second. There are cracks in the program, but there are cracks." Of course. That statement might produce more questions even than the idea that the Private Investigator can go toe to toe with a super spy capable of lifting a motorcycle and hitting someone with it.

"Azalea and I could join Thor as muscle," she says, perhaps (sort of?) answering Peggy's question. "I've met Thor. He helped to pull me out of—well it doesn't matter. He saved my life. Peter Quill wants to be there too, Captain, and he has worked closely with Thor. Perhaps that should be the muscle team. Red Robin will want to be there; perhaps put him in the team with Agent Carter, John, and Zatanna? Though Captain, Sir," the Sir might be super surprising from Jessica, but she adds it, "That leaves you alone, to find two mind-controlled individuals. Something could go wrong. Might I ask what your contingency plan is, or whether you have someone in mind to watch your back?"

The plan pours forth, and though Steve mentions taking on Bucky - maybe alone - she does not interject. Plans, in her experience, have a way of getting dropped on their head. It isn't that she feels like she needs to stare into Bucky's eyes and pull him back from the abyss. She knows she isn't the person that can really do that. She's been seeing those eyes in her dreams as she falls, over and over, and freezes, over and over, until her arm comes off. The pain. The fear. No one but Steve Rogers can make that right with Bucky and she really didn't know that until she felt the very same thing, when he walked through the door.

'Language', he says. Her face lights up.

"I'll watch his back."

She should be the last person to do it, probably. Except for what she knows, and how many times she's engaged Bucky in combat so far. Each time gaining on him. Each time, surprising him a little more. "I can keep it personal. Keep anyone else out of the way, and if he does what I think he gets the upper hand, I'll jump in and distract him. Hopefully he won't Kit Fisto my ass before you can get back on your feet."

Ah shit, she realizes it as soon as she says it. She realized it with Peggy, too, after seeing the wonderful exhibit about both of their exploits in the war. They, like Bucky, are people out of time.

Steve Rogers probably doesn't get her Kit Fisto reference, but hopefully someone here does.

There is a barely restrained smile at Steve's request to cut out the foul language. There is, certainly, recognition at his tone of voice, the look on his face as he continues forward with marking up and figuring out a plan. There's only a raised eyebrow at the question as to whether she is up for it. It's hard to tell if she is annoyed at Steve for even suggesting she may not be a part of this fight or if it is simple amusement at being asked. Of course she is up for it.

While Peggy has only met Jessica once before, she certainly remembers the tone and the disrespect. To hear her talk to Steve with both deference and calling him by proper titles and 'sir' is something that is quickly picked up by the spy. There's a quick evaluation as she looks between Jessica and Steve and sees another person that Steve has inspired, whether he realizes it or not. There is no smirk or any other sort of physical tell that might show she has observed and catalogued this bit of information. However, there is more respect that she levels in Jessica's direction.

"Then, it seems as if you should stand with Captain Rogers. I believe it important that anyone who may be able to break through his conditioning be involved in the fight with him." There's a pause, maybe a bit of personal bias seeping through the planning stage. "If Red Robin will be joining, he certainly has infiltration under his belt and knows quite a bit about Hydra. He can lead the team to find Dr. Foster. I may be of more help in clearing your way to get to Sergeant Barnes as well as ensuring there are no interference."

Azalea is met with a bit of a smile, though also a confused look. She certainly has no idea who a Kit Fisto is, but it has Fist in the title, it must be someone good with fighting.

As the ladies offer their thoughts, Rogers nods. "I definitely feel the infiltration team should be the one to secure Foster. It will require finesse and, as said here, Red Robin is a good choice for that."

As talk of people taking Rogers back comes up, he nods. "I don't mind the extra support, but have a feeling that between the two main teams there shouldn't be too much left," the Star Spangled Man with a Plan muses as he rubs his chin. "Or at least, that's the hope. The EMPs seem like they will be a little harder to use as anti-personnel or anti-chip weapons, but I suppose that works out for us because that means we won't accidentally fry the other systems that we might need to pull information from."

Wait, what? Cap who doesn't know How to Dougie knows about the nature of EMP? Cap's knowledge is slowly being filled in by others, so there are some things, mostly toward his work, that he has some awareness of.

After a second or two of thought, Rogers stands, currently more assured than when he first entered. "Well, it looks like we have the information, the people, and the plan. Unless there is more to share, looks like we just have to prepare for the right time to strike, which should be soon."

Jessica looks surprised as Peggy suggests she back Captain America, but there's no mistaking how she sits a little straighter. "I'll be wherever I'm needed." She glances at Azalea. She disagrees with where Az wants to be, but…she's decided to let that pass until the other two have left, out of respect for the young heroine. She can make her case in private, and if Az still wants to be on Team Cap, well…Cap didn't say no, so she won't push any more than that.

"Just one more thing. Agent Carter…" There's actually respect there too, spiced with contriteness…"I'd like to pass a name on to you. It could be nothing, and it could even become irrelevant by the time we storm the castle. It was something I came across in a reality fragment when we were getting Zatanna's soul back." Whatever else is true about the P.I., her career lately is anything but typical. "Eve Golubev. I can't find anything, but maybe you can. I only think it's important because it was a Hydra-created fragmented reality. I'll leave it up to you if you think it's worth devoting any time to."

There were things she wanted to say. She knows she had something, maybe a few things, she wanted to say to Steve Rogers. In private. But Jess is talking, and mentions a mission to retrieve Zatanna's soul. Her eyes go wide, and the blood drains from her face. The questions that spring up now - what she wants to say now, have nothing to do with pulling Steve aside. Nothing to do with telling him that, on the eve of battle, he had better grab Peggy Carter by the waist and kiss her like he's never kissed anyone before. Or else she'd do it after the battle, just to piss him off.

But her rallying cry for someone to grab hold of someone they love and never let go fades to the background as she imagines the luminous core of Zatanna Zatara ripped out of her and taken away. There's a sharp rise to her chest, and as much anger as she'd felt when she saw Steve - a well of emotion reflected from her own translation of Bucky's experience, everything she feels now is her own.

Her chair tips over when she rises, meandering her way to the bathroom to slam the door - that poor door - sharply behind her.

Jess and her have a lot to talk about in private, it seems.

"I believe…" Peggy contemplates. "Perhaps it's best if I have the EMP device. Those with the fire power restrain Sergeant Barnes, and I will get in close to emit it. We still remain in the dark whether Barnes may have one of these implants. However, it is better to be safe than sorry." The last thing she wishes is for Barnes' head to explode in front of them, for both personal and professional reasons.

The addendum from Jessica is met with an expectant raised eyebrow: she's curious. The words or name mean nothing to her, but she nods. "Eve Golubev? I'll look into it. I'm not sure what SHIELD may have, but they tend to keep everything for a rainy day." So, it's entirely possible that she may find something.

The Agent glances between those gathered, eyes lingering longest on Azalea. "So, I believe that may be a base plan?"

There is an awkward silence as the information on a lost soul is given and the Dark Devil makes her exit to the bathroom. The back of Cap's neck is rubbed as he isn't too sure exactly what to make of the situation. So he just lets it be for now. As Peggy offers her wisdom on the matter, Rogers lets her take the lead, more than willing to work in tandem with her when it comes to conversation and making plans. "Sounds like it," he states in response to Peggy's question. However, his eyes glance over toward Jessica with concern, clearly not sure exactly what is going on or if it is something he should be worried about. Like a good guest, he doesn't say anything aloud on it.

"I asked Red Robin to make one to two EMPs for everyone," Jessica explains. "So that if someone gets an opportunity they can take it. You literally have to put these things right up against their heads, you see."

The door slams, and Jessica frowns. Well, she took in a teenager, even if it's a teenager who is old enough to vote. Teenagers slam doors. They'll figure it out. Talk about it. Or, equally likely she'll screw it up. But. She can't deal with it right this second, so she doesn't.

She drags her gaze away from the door. "Please let me know what, if anything, you find out, Agent Carter." Maybe if she gets the woman alone in a sit down she can give her a proper apology too, but…one thing at a time.

When Captain America's eyes cut to her she murmurs, "I'll talk to her." What else can she say to that? "It'll be okay. It wasn't anything you said or did, though, I promise. She's got a lot on her mind."

Jessica will see them to the door. That's what people did in Cap's time right? They walked people to the door? She does this like someone who has never done it in her life, but here she is, making the effort. She's seen people walk people to the door, on TV. "Here's to a good outcome."

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