Earth-717: Agent Carter 2 – Warm Blood, Cold War

Chapter 1: Back to Work

April 13th, 1953

"I hate Mondays."

"You say that every Monday, English."

Peggy strolled out onto the main floor of the party hall, quickly surveying the room as she moved. There were hundreds of people in attendance, all of them wearing expensive clothing and having something to hide. Peggy knew that she was turning many heads as she moved through the crowd, but she was only focused on finding one target.

Angie's voice came through the com link in Peggy's ear again.

"Lots of people casting eyeballs at ya. You know, they call this the Cold War, but, woo! Peg! You're heating things up!"

Peggy momentarily glanced at one of the large, rectangular glass windows. She couldn't see her, but Peggy knew that Angie was watching her from the rooftop across the street.

"You did not just say that," said Peggy.

Angie popped a bubble of her gum.

"Afraid I did. You know, sure you could find a Joe Doe in there. Maybe you could finally start living again, for crying out loud."

"Focus, Angie. Have you gotten any word on Manfredi?"

"Words, yeah. But that's it. No actual looks. Seems like . . . ."

Much of the crowd looked up and started to applaud. Peggy turned her gaze upwards, and saw a man in an impeccable suit standing on a balcony overlooking the party floor. He held up his hands and smiled at the reception.

"Never mind," said Angie.

The man was Silvio Manfredi, and he was the man who Peggy and Angie had been assigned to investigate. While he was the legitimate owner of several high end casinos, it was no secret that he was actually the current leader of the Syndicate, a major criminal organization that had formed at the turn of the decade, and had now expanded its operations across most of the East Coast.

And tonight, Peggy and Angie were going to take him down.

"Thank you, thank you," said Silvio.

He gave a short bow before lowering his hand, gesturing for the applause to stop. After the room quieted down, he placed both of his gloved hands on the banister.

"I'd like to thank each and every person here for comin' to support me today. Ya know, when I started business in this country on the behalf of my family, we were told by numerous folks that what we were doing was destined to be a failed enterprise. Well, look at me now!"

The crowd clapped again. Peggy felt nauseous for a moment.

"And look at you! My friends! My colleagues! All of us helping each other in a time when we need it most. This party's for us! The people who do the awful things that help make this great country what it is! And boy, do we know it!"

Silvio held up his hands again before starting to walk down the stairs.

"Real grandstand, ain't he?" said Angie.

"And a deplorable one at that," said Peggy. "But, duty calls."

"Tell me how that works. You're the honey pot, but you haven't really touched a man in almost a whole decade."

"Careful, Martinelli. Take note that I am still your superior."

"And don't I know it," said Angie, her voice suddenly husky.

Peggy rolled her eyes. Silvio was now almost at the bottom of the stairs. Peggy then turned away from him and towards the bar, figuring that her golden, open back dress would seize his attention. She waved for the bartender and pointed towards one of the bottles of whiskey on the shelf. He nodded in understanding.

"Still talkin' to some tarts," said Angie. "But I can see your ass from here. Once he gets a gander at it, he won't be able to resist."

"That's what I'm counting on."

"You know, he's not the only one who'd be excited about your ass."

"Angie . . . ."

"Come on! Work, sleep, work, sleep, maybe eat something a couple times a week. You never do anything exciting!"

Peggy let out a deep sigh as the bartender handed her a glass. She downed the entire thing in a single gulp.

"Peg, it's been almost ten years. I've known you for half that time. You ever gonna move on?"

Peggy gestured for the bartender to get her another glass.

"Not that I'm beggin' ya to drop the secret service thing and play housewife for the rest of your days, but would it kill you to have a bit of fun with someone cute? Even if just for my sake as your friend? At least I've gone on a couple dates the last few years. Speaking of which, pretty sure Sousa is still sweet on ya."

Peggy downed her second glass.

"I'm not talking about it," she said.

"Well, just saying, but I'd kinda prefer it if you found someone before I die," said Angie. "By the way? Say hi to Silvio for me."

"What . . . .?"

At that moment, Silvio leaned against the bar, placing himself right next to Peggy. His elbow jostled her glass, and she had to react instantly to seize it and prevent it from falling to the floor.

"Nice reflexes," said Silvio.

Peggy immediately swapped to her American accent, which she had been working on for the purpose of her undercover operations.

"Have to be quick on the draw in this town," she said. "Cause ya just never know what's gonna happen next."

"That's some wisdom I can drink to," said Silvio, before he snapped his fingers at the bartender. "Get this lady another double of whatever she was drinkin'. Same for me."

"Yes, sir."

The bartender started pouring the glasses. Peggy turned to face Silvio, adopting a similar pose. She smiled as she heard Angie's voice again.

"I'm on the move."

Peggy ensured that she did not visually react in any way to Angie's statement. She kept her eyes on Silvio, who raised his glass once the bartender handed it to him. Peggy did the same.

"To a great evening," he said. "And a better night."

Peggy and Silvio clinked glasses before drinking.

Angie deactivated her com link after seeing Peggy and Silvio start drinking together. With the next phase of the plan in Peggy's hands, Angie knew it was time for her to make her move. She placed her binoculars inside of her satchel. After rummaging inside the bag for a couple moments, she pulled out the device that she had been waiting to try.

It was a small plastic contraption composed of a black circle with an attached handle. Two small tubes were placed on either end of the circle. This was a specially designed line launcher created by Howard Stark, intended to be an upgrade to his previous grapple launcher. Once he told his fellow SHIELD agents about it, Angie knew she needed to get her hands on one.

After closing the satchel's zipper and slinging it around her shoulder, Angie moved to a different spot along the edge of the rooftop she was standing on. Crouching, she aligned herself so that she was directly above a balcony on the building across the street. She then looked down for a moment to see the evening traffic of New York City.

Cracking her knuckles and breathing in and out a few times, Angie then held up the line launcher and closed one eye. Once she was ready, she pressed the button on the handle, and the device fired out a cable from both tubes. One latched into the wall behind her, and the other dug itself into the brick of the building across the street.

Angie held onto the handle with both hands as she looked down once more.

"Tally ho."

With that, Angie lifted her legs off the ground and was carried through the air. Squeezing down on the handle so hard that her knuckles went white, she kept her eyes closed as she slid along the cable to the other building. She opened her eyes as she neared the end of the cable, giving herself enough time to let go and land on the balcony instead of crash into the wall.

Rolling as she landed, Angie then yanked the end of the line launcher out of the wall before retracting the other end. Placing the device back in her satchel, she then pulled out her pistol and started sneaking along the outside of the building. Following the information she had been provided earlier, she made her way towards the window for Silvio's room.

"I don't believe we've ever met in person. I definitely would've remembered . . . ."

Silvio ran his gaze up and down Peggy's body, not even bothering to make an attempt to hide the fact that he was undressing her with his eyes the entire time.

". . . . you."

Peggy let out her best fake giggle.

"Why, Mister Manfredi, you wound me. I'm Judith Daniels. We have a mutual acquaintance in Hugh Jones, CEO of Roxxon. He's never mentioned me before? Pish posh, why I'll just have to wrangle that miserable codger down and let him know just how rude he is."

"As delightful as that sounds, I doubt it will be necessary, Miss Daniels. Hugh has a great many friends, with a great many of them being gorgeous young women like yourself. But don't worry. I'm certainly not forgetting to mention you the next time I see him."

Silvio stared at Peggy's lips for a few silent moments. He was broken out of his trance by the next song coming on. It was Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable", and he smiled as it started. He then held out his hand.

"Care to dance?"

"I would, actually."

Peggy took Silvio's hand, and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. Peggy and Silvio started to dance, and she let him take control of their movement. While she did her part and performed as necessary to ensure that he was invested, a certain part of Peggy's mind couldn't help but be drawn to the person that the song actually reminded her of.

The man who she had lost almost a full decade ago.

Even though she had routinely deflected Angie's complaints over the past few years, Peggy knew in her heart that her friend was right. She had completely receded into herself, and although her friendship with Angie had blossomed, Peggy had refused to allow anyone truly special into her life. A few men, including fellow SHIELD agent Daniel Sousa, had expressed interest, but she had rebuffed them at every turn.

Peggy wondered if those men would still be interested if they knew how many nights she spent laying alone in her bed, staring upward at the ceiling and cradling the silver locket that Steve had given her so many years ago. Even on her current assignment, she was still wearing it, and she once again remembered the fateful words of her true love when he gave it to her.

"Before I hand it over, you have to make me a promise."

Peggy could still hear his voice just as clearly as she did the first time.

"Don't open it until we get back. Promise?"

"I told you I don't like to make promises."

"Please. Just this once."

So far, this one promise was one she had kept. For a brief second, Peggy lost her composure, and stared off into the distance as she got lost in her own thoughts. That was all the time Silvio needed to notice that something was wrong.

"You seem distracted."

Peggy looked back into Silvio's eyes.

"Pardon me. I daydream from time to time."

"Don't we all?"

Silvio looked down at the locket that was wrapped around Peggy's neck.

"Say . . . . that's a fancy bit of decoration. Hope it's not from your boyfriend."

"Oh, that? No. No. Family heirloom. My mother's, actually."

"Ah. Very good, then."

As the song came to an end, Peggy took a step back and gave a short bow.

"Thank you for the dance, Mister Manfredi."

"Silvio," he said. "Just, just Silvio for you."

"Silvio."

Peggy made a brief gesture as if she were going to walk away. She knew that was all she needed to do to force him to take a risk to keep her around. Predictably, that was exactly what he did next.

"Say," he said, causing Peggy to look back at him. "This party is great and all, but this is just what I let the people see. How would you like to come see the more . . . . private areas?"

"Sounds wonderful. Lead the way."

Having sneaked into Silvio's private suite via one of the windows, Angie made her way to his safe, which was embedded in the wall behind a painting. Taking a laser cutter out of her satchel, she then used it to slice out the lock mechanism. She pulled the door open and gained access to the safe's contents, which were all documents.

Placing the laser cutter back in her satchel, she then started to silently read the various documents. They pertained to a wide variety of matters, and did not seem to be particularly well organized. However, after a couple minutes, she found the documents she was looking for. Documents that proved that the Syndicate, under Silvio Manfredi's orders, were engaged in money laundering, embezzlement and corporate sabotage operations all over the East Coast.

Just as she was finishing up her reading, she heard a faint beep go off on her com link, which was Peggy's way of signalling her. Angie quickly placed the painting back over the safe and stuffed the documents into her satchel. She then hid herself in the bathroom, standing with her back against the wall near the door, and with her pistol at the ready.

Less than a minute later, Angie heard Silvio and Peggy entering the bedroom.

"And here we are," said Silvio.

"Quite lovely."

"Can I get you another drink? I have more a far more refined selection in my personal stores."

"I think I've had enough. I'd rather remember the rest of my night."

"As would I."

Silvio chuckled, but a second later, he groaned and then went silent. Angie heard the sound of his body flopping against the bed.

"English?"

"Get out here."

Angie opened the door. Silvio was unconscious, his back against the bed. Peggy was holding a small needle, which she had attached to her leg via a strap under her dress. Placing the needle back under the strap, she then looked up at her partner.

"Please tell me you got it."

"I got it. Better than we'd hoped."

"We damn well better. Signal Thompson."

Angie pulled a small transceiver out of her pocket and pressed the button on it. After a few seconds of waiting, a tiny indicator light on the transceiver flickered on, showing that Jack Thompson, one of their fellow agents, was acknowledging the message.

"Help me with him," said Peggy.

Peggy and Angie worked together to heave Silvio towards the window.

"Ugh," said Angie. "Lay off the meatballs, Gino."

Soon enough, a helicopter flew over to the balcony just outside the window. The side of the helicopter opened, and another SHIELD agent, Elizabeth Barstow, was waiting on the inside. She beckoned Peggy and Angie with her hand, and the two agents started lifting Silvio into the helicopter. As they were doing this, Peggy's ears perked up as she heard the sound of someone knocking on the door to the bedroom.

"Mister Manfredi? You there?"

Peggy looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, shit . . . ."

The door opened, and two men stepped through it. Upon seeing the helicopter, they pulled out their pistols. Peggy and Angie were still lifting Silvio on board, and were in no position to defend themselves. Luckily for them, Elizabeth immediately took aim with her semi-automatic rifle and fired two shots at the men, putting rounds through both of their chests.

As screams and shouts were heard, Peggy and Angie clambered onto the helicopter. Another armed man stormed into the room, and Elizabeth shot him in the throat. Peggy looked at the cockpit, seeing that Jack was flying the helicopter.

"We're in! Go!"

Angie shut the helicopter's side door as Jack flew away from the building. Angie wiped her forehead as she sat down next to Peggy.

"You ladies all alright back there?" asked Jack.

"All present and accounted for," said Peggy. "Whether we're alright is up to the jury."

She then looked forward at Elizabeth.

"Appreciate the save, Betty."

Elizabeth shrugged.

"Just good to be back to work, right?"

"Yeah," said Angie. "Real good."

Peggy looked out one of the small windows in the side of the helicopter, which gave her a pristine view of the New York skyline. For the rest of the helicopter ride, she stayed silent, and simply looked out at the world.

Andrea looked out one of the small windows in the side of her office, which gave her a pristine view of one of the many mountain ranges in the Soviet Union. As she waited, she stayed silent, and simply looked out at the world.

"Miss von Strucker."

Andrea blinked upon hearing her name. She stood up from her chair and turned around to see a familiar woman standing in her doorway.

Dottie Underwood.

"Is is time?" asked Andrea.

"It is, ma'am. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to him immediately."

Andrea and Dottie walked together through the hallways of the facility. Guards posted throughout the halls stood at attention whenever they passed. Once they arrived at the right door, Andrea took out her key and placed it in the slot. After she turned it, the door slowly opened. Andrea and Dottie then walked into the dark room, which had a single light in it.

The light was shining down on a cryostasis chamber.

"Doctor Zola's work has paid off," said Dottie.

"That remains to be seen," said Andrea, with a sneer.

Andrea casually strolled up to the cryostasis chamber. There was a console next to it with a lever. She pulled the lever downwards, and the chamber opened, revealing the figure inside. It was a man with a left arm that was made of metal. A red star was painted onto the shoulder. He was already wearing a black, tactical combat suit and a mask that covered the bottom half of his face.

Andrea narrowed her eyes.

"A man frozen in time."

Bucky opened his eyes and looked at Andrea.

"Do you know who I am?" asked Andrea.

Bucky was silent. Dottie folded her arms.

"He should have the information imprints," she said.

"Do you know who I am?" asked Andrea again, more forcefully this time.

"Andrea von Strucker," said Bucky. "Daughter of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Member of the Hydra High Council. Direct superior."

Andrea smirked.

"He'll need a name," said Dottie. "A new name."

Andrea stepped towards Bucky. He stared forward as she gently placed her left index finger on the frost that remained on his combat vest.

"Your new name is the Winter Soldier," said Andrea. "Do you acknowledge this?"

"My name is the Winter Soldier."

"And are you ready for your first mission, Winter Soldier?"

"Ready to serve."