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A small group of agents went out to the bar after the regular work hours ended. Ava drifted off with them - mostly because Barney Barton was among them and she was curious - but has made her way back now that the party's over. It's not late, really. Not for people who tend to stay over to finish things. But for all Ava got a few answers, she's always looking for more. And she knows where to find the woman who has them.
Dressed in her usual oversized goodwill wear, she steps up to the door of Peggy's office, knocking lightly on the frame as she peeks inside. "Director?" she asks quietly. "Do you have a moment?"
*
There is no way Peggy Carter should be in office, even if it's not ridiculously late, it's late enough. But, of course, she's still in office. How she keeps her marriage together, one might never know. The graying haired director looks up from the report she's going over, calling to the door, "Yes, yes, come in?" And even her voice holds an edge of the exhaustion she's feeling, but she pushes it aside.
The upright, professional woman squares her shoulders a bit more and puts on a smile that has more oomph to it than she's feeling, but never let a young agent see you rough around the edges. "Ava… good to see you. How are you holding up?" She motions to the chair across from her.
*
Ava sees more than most, though. She frowns slightly as she steps inside, but she's not really the mothering sort. "Agent Cassidy has switched to beer, consumed at a more reasonable pace. The new Barton is definitely attached to the woman who came in with him. But not in a good leverage way. He would rage." They seem like side observations, though. There's distraction in her voice.
She drops into a chair opposite the desk, then looks back to the director. "Do we know anything about something called Weapon X?"
*
Those two bits of report are useful, clearly of interest to Peggy by the way her brows arch, but she simply gives an approving nod and tucks that information away for later. "I know you and Cassidy might end up friends, or maybe are friends, but if you smell it on him once in this office, he's out. Period, dot. That is the rule. Understood?" Peggy's voice is ice as she lays down that law. She might give in some areas. This is not an area in which she will give.
And then that question comes and she tilts her head a bit more, leaning forward in her chair and folding her hands on her desk. "…Weapon X. Something…with mutants, yes? It was written up in the paper but… it didn't hit our active radar. It's not one of our programs and the US Government is being fairly secretive about it. We try to not step on other agency's toes when we can help it. Why?"
*
Ava quirks a brow at the 'friends' talk. "He offered to help me work on controlling my powers," she shrugs. "I don't know how much practice will make a difference, though." She shakes her head, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "Because I want to step on their toes," she replies honestly.
"There is a group of people working out of a private investigator agency in Hell's Kitchen who said that it had supposedly been shut down recently, that it was being taken off the black books and put under proper supervision. They're not convinced. I…find myself agreeing with them."
*
A slow breath escapes Peggy's nose as she considers this. Another case. Another pot to put their fingers in when they already had so many on the fire. The middle aged woman sinks back in her chair again, dark eyes tracing across Ava's features with a slight tilt of her head. "Alright. Why? Why us? Why don't you trust this…group of people, if they are already looking into it? Why do you think this falls under our purview and is worth stretching ourselves further to pursue?" It wasn't a no from Peggy, but she was going to make the woman earn her chase of this.
*
Ava tilts her head, features unreadable. "Why did you come to Russia nine years ago?" she counters.
*
"That is not actually an answer to my question. You know why we came — to help free people and give them a chance at life from an organization SHIELD had been fighting for many years. I was cleaning up a mess we… we left behind us in the 40s and should have cleaned up far before that." Peggy does answer, and from the smirk on her lips she can SEE Ava's point, but she's not letting Ava get away without voicing it herself. So, she waits.
*
Ava glances to the pictures on the shelves, then back to Peggy. "When the SSR created the serum that made Steve Rogers Captain America, they started something. They made the world - the militaries of the world - believe that they could build a better soldier, if they just had the right ingredients. This is still SHIELD's mess. This is still people who've been taken against their will and forced to become tools for someone else. Because it worked once."
*
That was *not* what Peggy thought Ava was going to bring up. The director sits silent for several moments, her expression entirely dead pan. The only indication that Ava's words have hit anything is the slight tightening of her jaw and the beat of her pulse in her temple. That hit close. She draws in a slow breath, swallowing back any reactions she is tempted to give. "…I…do not believe the Weapon X program is… another super soldier program. But if you believe that is actually what is happening… You have permission to pursue it. You take one partner. One. This is not an investigation you can do alone, but this is also not something we can expend an entire team of resources on. Not…" She breathes out quietly, "Not yet."
*
"I met someone who broke away from them," Ava replies. "I don't think he enjoyed his time there. He jumped when I showed him what I could do. Because he said they used to electrocute him often. He has a healing factor." The words are all measured, carefully placed as nothing more than facts, but there's a chill beneath them. Her own memories and those of the Red Room agent whose memories she shared.
Mention of a partner gets a grimace, though. "Who do you suggest?" she asks, rather than argue. "Most of the people here read as agents. That won't fly with the people in Hell's Kitchen."
*
A quiet exhale through her nose. Peggy frowns… "How do you feel about Barton? It'd be good to put him on something productive, and he certainly doesn't read as an agent yet. Otherwise… You'll have to give me a day. I'll need to see who I can switch out. But…" Peggy sits straight again, leaning a bit closer to Ava so the girl can see her direct gaze. See just how much Peggy does get it, even if she worries. "…I understand why… Why this is important to you. I won't tell you no. But you have to keep your *head* in the matter, not just your heart. ANd you won't do it alone."
*
"I don't…entirely trust him?" But it's not a refusal. Ava doesn't entirely trust anyone, so that's not saying much. "But he doesn't read as an agent. He'd fit in." She purses her lips, considering. "He said he doesn't kill women or children. If I opened up to him, he'd be protective. He wouldn't turn me over or leave me behind. I don't know that I'd trust the calls he'd make, but none of them would intentionally put me in danger."
*
The woman looks down at her paperwork, trying to think through, flipping through all the new agents in her head. Her best under cover staff. Anyone with gifts. The fact that Peggy can't come up with the perfect answer immediately tells her just how exhausted she is. She drags one hand across her face and nods quietly, "Bring it up to him. I trust you to read people. If you think he'll be effective, he's yours. If not, I'll get you another partner assigned for Monday morning. Consider it your personal assignment these days, yes? I expect bi-weekly reports. Understood?"
*
Ava nods, though she's still thinking it over herself. How to introduce him. How to bring him in. Where everything connects to the rest of it. "Yes, ma'am," she nods belatedly. "Thank you." The last is quieter, but there's no doubting the sincerity. This means something to her. A lot.
*
Another, slight smirk pulls at Peggy's lips. "Don't thank me for sending you in on a mission which is probably far too dangerous for a junior agent with not even half the back up you need. Just survive it. That's thanks enough. Now… you're dismissed. It's late. You should go home." Peggy then looks down at her own paperwork and finally just folds that report folder shut. "We all should, in fact." And with that, she willingly stands up from her desk, pulling ill fitting suit jacket on over her softer frame. She's calling it a day.
*
"If it makes you feel better, ma'am, I would have done it on my own if I wasn't here," Ava points out with a small smile as she stands. "So I'll be better off either way." Seeing Peggy get up, she moves to the door to hold it open for the director. She may not be the mothering sort, but she knows how to direct a few things herself.
Once Peggy's out of the office, she lets the door close, stepping out herself. "Also, I'm sorry about the whole…shocking the Captain thing." A beat. "Not doing it, just that it was loud enough to hear."
*
That makes Peggy chuckle slightly, shaking her head, "No. If he doesn't know well enough to stay out of my interrogations by now, he damn well deserved that shock." She flashes the young woman a smile and, with that, leads the way out of the office.