Chapter 19
Let’s recap what we know at this hour: a terrorist attack on Air Force One has left the country in a state of crisis. Federal Aviation Association officials have confirmed that there was in fact an aerial explosion just off the coast of Miami earlier this afternoon. As we’ve reported, the president was in south Florida as the last stop on a whirlwind European trip, and was on his way to Camp David to spend the holidays with his family. At approximately 1:45 pm, the president and his staff, including Colonel James Rhodes, the so-called ‘Iron Patriot’, took off from Miami. Approximately twenty minutes later, an explosion occurred off the coast approximately a mile off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. Witness say that a fireball exploded in the skies, sending flaming debris into the ocean, narrowly missing ships and civilians below. Miraculously, there are reports of 14 members of the staff and crew who survived, thanks to the efforts of millionaire Tony Stark in his Iron Man armor, as well as Thor Odinson, both members of the ‘Avengers’, SHIELD’s team of super heroes...
Peggy watched the television with its continuing coverage of the explosion of the president’s plane with half an eye. The other half was glued to her phone, waiting for word from Stark. So far, nothing was forthcoming.
At this time, the fate of President Ellis is unknown. Reports from the White House say that Vice President Rodriguez has been informed and is currently in meeting with senior officials. There is no word yet on whether or not the 25th Amendment has been invoked. An emergency press conference has been scheduled for five o’clock Eastern Time.
Sharon bustled over to her, glaring at the screen, briefly, a cup of coffee in hand. It was her second since they arrived at the station. “Any word on how successful Stark was?”
“None.” Peggy tapped the glass of her phone with her finger, as if by doing so she could conjure up Stark’s voice. “How did your interview with Slattery go?”
“The man is an idiot!”
Peggy completely agreed with Sharon’s statement, but she chose to nod sagely. Slattery had been arrested and was being contained in a local police holding cell, the Miami SHIELD office not being large enough for its own holding facility. Unlike the American federal government, which seemed to be engaging with a jurisdictional slap fight with SHIELD, the Miami-Dade police department had fallen over themselves to help.
“So here is his rap sheet, if you care to look.” Sharon tossed down a manila folder filled with a thick sheaf of printed out copies of Slattery’s criminal records. “London, New York, and LA, with at least one memorable arrest in Singapore. Mostly it was for drugs, petty thievery, and vagrancy. He was on the streets at the time that Killian’s team found him. Stroked his vanity and longing for his lost glory years by giving him the ‘role of a lifetime’. Gave him plastic surgery, a few acting lessons, and all the drugs he could manage and he happily pretended to be a global threat and the charismatic leader of an underground terrorist organization.”
Peggy began leafing through the thick stack of papers, all of which confirmed the story, with a litany of violations for everything from disorderliness, to prostitution, to possession of paraphernalia, to transportation and smuggling of illegal narcotics. That one made Peggy absolutely stop.
“He didn’t…”
“What,” Sharon frowned, looking over her shoulder as Peggy pointed to the charge. “Oh, yes, carry cocaine in little bags that passed through his digestive track? Yeah, he did.”
“How?”
“That’s not a question I am sure you want answered,” Sharon replied, falling into a chair in their borrowed cubicle space. “The truth is that Slattery doesn’t know a lot about what Killian’s actual operation is or even what he was really doing. He was told he was part of a viral marketing campaign for AIM’s products, and he thought all of the big productions were just for fun. He says he didn’t know people were actually getting hurt.”
“And, yet, he knew that Killian had some big plan involving the president and vice president, and some island off the coast, somewhere?”
“Yeah, well, given the fuzziness of his details, I am guessing that he was around for many of the conversations being held around him, but was too intoxicated to make heads or tales of it. I had to keep waking him up from whatever stupor he was in.” She sipped from her coffee, trying to keep herself awake.
“Have you slept since I saw you,” Peggy asked, concerned for her apparent as she eyed the cup quietly.
“Not really, but was hoping to have the bastard caught by now,” she muttered.
Peggy winced. “I’m…”
“Don’t say you’re sorry, because we both know you aren’t.” Sharon’s glare was pointed and all too knowing. “You are sorry you upset me, but aren’t sorry that you sent Stark, a known maverick, in there to handle it by himself.”
Her niece’s observation and her ire both made Peggy squirm. “I had to make a call in the moment. I did…”
“What you thought was right, I know.” Sharon cut in again, clearly knowing it was both rude and that it would annoy her. Perhaps it was a hint childish, but Peggy let it slide with a long breath.
“Perhaps I deserve that,” she said instead, resisting the urge to tap on her phone again.
For long moments they sat together, saying nothing, the tension laying there between them. It was Sharon who relented, though, heaving a sigh of frustration as she tossed a pen onto her borrowed legal pad. “You banked everything, Peggy, on the trustworthiness of a man who notoriously can’t be trusted to keep his cool when pushed.”
“I’ve banked everything on a lot less than that and it’s come out all right,” she returned, with just a hint of an edge at Sharon’s doubt of Stark.
“Yeah, but Steve is different than Tony Stark, and the Avengers aren’t your old Howling Commandos.”
Her words caught Peggy by surprise as she stared at her niece. “You think this is about reliving the war days?”
“I think that you put a lot of faith and trust in your people, and that’s good, but this isn’t a war, we aren’t fighting HYDRA, and the investigation hangs on your belief in your team, but it’s not your reputation on the line if Killian gets away.”
It wasn’t, Peggy silently acknowledged, it was Sharon’s. Whatever happened, her superiors would wonder why it was that she allowed her aunt and her team of super heroes to take over the show after months of working on the case to bring the Mandarin down. “You’re right. I was…acting in the moment, reacting to the situation as it unfolded before me. I wasn’t taking a step back to think through all the ramifications beyond the case I was focused on. It’s…old habit, I guess, from the war and from the SSR, living in the moment.”
“I know,” Sharon sighed, tugging at the ponytail her long, blonde hair was swept up in. “And I know you are reacting to the crisis as it is happening, but this isn’t just about the Avengers or Tony Stark’s feud with Killian.”
The whereabouts of President Ellis at this hour are unknown…
“I realize that,” she murmured, feeling the sting of Sharon’s words. “But I will say that Killian, this Extremis, these are the things the Avengers are here for. The things they do, SHIELD agents alone couldn’t have managed by themselves.”
“True, but at least you could have worked in concert with us. You didn’t even run it by me first, and I’m the one who's going to be left holding the bag if it goes south.”
“Do you think I would allow you to hold the bag by yourself if I was the cause of it?”
The vehemence of Peggy’s words caught Sharon by surprise. She blinked. “No…I know you wouldn't, not really. But there’s many assistant directors in SHIELD who would.”
“That’s not me,” Peggy shot back, somewhat hurt she would suggest it. “You know that’s not me. Beyond being family, Sharon, you are a colleague, and I wouldn’t allow you to just take the fall for my poor decisions, not if they impact the case. That may be the culture of others in SHIELD, and if that is the case, I am sorry for not having been there to promote something different decades ago. It is not who I am as a leader. If things go south, I’ll take responsibility for it.”
Sharon’s anger softened somewhat. “I’m not asking you to fall on a grenade for me, you know.”
Peggy chuckled at Sharon’s choice of words. “I know, but I would.”
“I know you would, and I’m saying you don’t have to.” Sharon rolled her eyes, finally pulling a smile. “You and Rogers are two peas in a pod like that, the pair of you are so dramatic.”
“Oh, he’s far more dramatic than I am,” she deflected, though underneath it all she wasn’t so sure that was true. After all, had Steve not fallen on that dummy grenade long ago, she would have kicked it out of the way or something else equally foolish.
“Still no word?”
“No,” she sighed, looking at her phone, uselessly. “Not from him, not from Fury, nor from Stark.”
Sharon sighed, nodding. “I hate waiting.”
At least in that, aunt and niece were alike. “I’m not fond of it myself.”
They both turned to stare quietly up at the television, the fear and speculation on the president’s life rampant on the screen, as the newscaster spoke in urgent tones, the lower third of the screen declaring the fears that President Ellis was already dead.
“Some Christmas,” Sharon muttered, waving at the urgent newscast. “A week ago I didn’t think it would escalate to this.”
“Hmmmm,” Peggy hummed by way of agreement. “A week ago we were all gathered at Stark’s mansion in Malibu, enjoying a Christmas celebration. The idea that it is gone now is strange.”
“All of this for a serum.”
Peggy’s heart lurched at that. “Yeah…”
The phone of the tabletop between them buzzed, sending Peggy scrambling for it, her heart in her throat. “Stark?”
“Good news,” he said, simply. “We found Killian’s island and the president is alive.”
“Oh thank god,” she breathed, grateful for one small blessing.
“Bad news is that Killian’s got the president. Rhodes’ best guess is he’s planning on using him as the highlight of his Mandarin’s Christmas Eve special on television tonight.”
From the background, Peggy could hear Rhodes speak up. “He’s going to fake a terrorist video but really kill Ellis in it.”
In horror, Peggy looked to Sharon, who couldn’t hear her end of the conversation. “How much time do we have?”
“You may want to get your forces out here as soon as possible, because I don’t know if Point Break, Rhodes, and I are going to wait forever. I’m guessing Pepper is inside.”
“Send me the coordinates, then.”
“JARVIS already has them to you. It’s a salvage island where the Roxxon Norco was dragged to after it ran aground. I suppose Killian likes the symbolism of it.”
Peggy didn’t understand it, but she deferred to Stark’s understanding. “We will be off the ground in fifteen, I am guessing another fifteen to get to you.”
“See you then.”
He clicked off the line, leaving Peggy to scramble as she threw herself up out of her seat.
“What’s the update,” Sharon demanded, following suit.
“President Ellis is alive, but Killian has him captured. Stark and Rhodes believe that he is going to kill Ellis on national TV in order to make the Mandarin seem like a credible threat.”
“Which is ridiculous, we have his patsy sitting in a cell below.”
“Who is going to believe a drugged-out, ex-King Leer from Croydon, or Liverpool, or wherever he is from? He’s banking on the idea that people will believe what they see because it is on television. It doesn’t matter if it is fake news or not, a dead president is a dead president, and if he can manufacture an enemy, he has a ready made target for his serum.”
“Ignoring the fact it will all fall apart with Slattery’s testimony?”
Peggy grimaced as wandered through the station to find her part of the team. “I don’t think that Killian is really at the point of thinking anything carefully through anymore. I do believe he’s arrogant enough to do it and think he can spin it into whatever he wants.”
“So how do we play this,” Sharon asked, surprising Peggy by her blunt deferment to Peggy’s advice. She paused to look at her niece, who shrugged, flushing. “Look, I know what I said, but this is me consulting with you on this. You’ve done this sort of gathering up the troops, storming the shores of Normandy type of thing before.”
“I was not at Normandy, you know, I was on the other side of the continent when that happened.”
“My point being that you and Steve are the only two people I know with this sort of experience, and so I am asking for your advice, as a professional, because I am willing to stop for half a second and consult someone, unlike someone else I know…”
“All right,” Peggy finally sighed, rolling her eyes, but at least smiling at her niece, who had undercut her pointed barb with familial affection. “So our heavy hitters - Stark and Thor - are already there. Rhodes, too, if he gets his suit. I am guessing they will take the bulk of whatever protection Killian has in the form of Extremis soldiers. That said, I’d say bring whatever paramilitary units you can to provide clean up and to manage any regular civilian forces that might be there. Also, Killian’s set up around the salvage of the Roxxon Norco. I don’t know the significance.”
Sharon clearly did, her face lighting with recognition. “It was an oil tanker, ran aground a few years ago, spilled thousands of gallons of raw crude oil into the ocean. It was a scandal and an environmental disaster.”
“Does it still have oil in it?”
Sharon already saw where Peggy was going. “And he has super soldiers who can set themselves on fire. We will need fire and environmental people out there for any potential disasters.”
Peggy was already moving off to find Jake and Banner, “We will also need to inform the Secret Service and FBI of the president’s whereabouts. They will want to secure him as soon as possible.”
Sharon was already pulling out her phone and earpiece before Peggy finished speaking. “I got to make some calls. I’ll see you when we mobilize.”
Peggy waved her off, thoughtful as she wandered into the station’s break room. As far as a place for people to step away from their desks to have a moment to themselves and perhaps grab a bite to eat, it was as plain and ordinary as it could be: white walls, gray counters, informative posters on the walls, round tables with padded, folding chairs. The station had clearly tried to enliven the place up for the season. There was a foil cut out of bells taped to one wall and small plastic trees on each table. On the longest counter, a spread of holiday delicacies were laid out for the station to enjoy on Christmas Eve away from their families. A few officers and staff were partaking, and she was unsurprised to see Jake and Banner in the far corner, quietly eating, both looking as exhausted as Peggy felt.
“Get a plate while you can. The officers said we could eat.” Banner waved to the spread with a fork, hunching over a rice dish on his plate.
Peggy’s stomach rumbled, and it hit her that she hadn’t had anything since a snack and coffee in Leanne Keener’s kitchen that morning. “I’ll grab something. Stark just called in, he’s with Rhodes and Thor and they’ve found Killian and the president.”
“The president is alive! Thank God for that!” Jake tossed his own fork onto his plate in front of him.
“What about Pepper,” Banner asked, cutting to the heart of what was at stake for Stark.
“He guessed she was inside. We are taking off in fifteen. Think you you can get the quinjet ready by then, Jameson?”
“The only one putting more mileage on their flying machine today is Santa,” he quipped, pushing away from the table. “I’ll go get it prepped. Who is coming with?”
“You, me, Banner, Sharon, and whoever else she wants aboard with us. The rest will be following behind.”
Banner looked down at his still half-full plate, decidedly worried. “You don’t think we will need the big guy, do you?”
“No,” she assured him. “But we may need you if we capture any of these Extremis soldiers alive and manage to contain them.”
“As a scientist or as the other guy?”
That was always a good question. “Maybe we will cross that bridge when we get to it?”
He didn’t look as confident about it. “We should have brought Betty.”
Despite herself, it was on the tip of her tongue to ask what the nature of their relationship now was, but she refrained, chiding herself. That was between Banner and Betty, and Peggy was not about to involve herself unless it affected the Avengers overall. “We’ve got your back, Bruce, don’t forget that. You have a place here with us. You don’t have to keep running.”
His tired smile was endearing as he pushed away the rest of his uneaten meal. “I wish I could believe that. But life just doesn’t work out that way for me.”
It was a horribly pessimistic view to take, and yet how could Peggy judge when she wasn’t in his shoes. In her life, even at its worst moments, things still worked out for the best. “Let’s get Pepper and the president home and Killian captured, then we’ll get you back to Betty for Christmas.”
That at least seemed to perk up his spirits. “It’s been a long time since we had Christmas together, or since I had any Christmas at all.”
“I know the feeling,” she returned, thinking of Steve, wherever he was. “Last Christmas I had with Steve was in 1944 in London. I was hoping we would get to have a quieter, more traditional celebration this year.”
“It sounds to me we are both a bit overdue,” Banner teased, rising. “Let me give Betty a call, see where she and Maya Hansen are on things in terms of how to treat these guys. I’ll meet you on the quinjet.”
Peggy watched the scientist wander off, missing Steve and his steady presents in that moment like a physical ache.
“I hope you come home soon, love,” she sighed, more to herself than anyone else left in the break room.