𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐘 & 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞

𝟎𝟓. 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃 search quickly turned to moot. No one understood how everything could turn to hell at the flip of a switch, but it had. Just when they thought they had a bit of time to relax, the radio had proved them wrong. Apparently less than an hour after the Rogers sisters had left the S.S.R. Headquarters, they'd been infiltrated and taken a serious loss.

And to make matters worse, when they'd gone to confront Thompson and weasel a debriefing out of him, they'd had to pry Agent Sousa away from him before either was hurt. Lorene didn't hesitate to knock the man upside the head with just enough force to knock him out, unfortunately that meant they now had to wait for him to wake before they could question him. Thompson had already begun to debrief most of his agents back at the S.S.R. Headquarters by time Sousa stirred.

"Best the scientists can figure, it's a chemical that induces psychosis upon exposure, which I can personally attest to after Sousa tried to bite my nose off," Thompson explained. However, he paused as Sousa and Carter entered the room and joined them. "Hey, killer."

"I'm surprised Howard would consent to manufacturing something like that," Charlotte admitted as she looked over the small amount of data recorded on the subject.

"The amount that got me was tiny," Sousa added. "How much of this stuff does Ivchenko have?"

"The lab counted ten canisters," Thompson informed them.

Lorene frowned. "Meaning Ivchenko has enough to send half the city into a homicidal rage."

"But why?" Peggy asked. "Why go to all that trouble?"

"'Cause he's a Russian jerk with a chip on his shoulder." Thompson scoffed, "Why else?"

"No, it's got to be something more than that," Peggy insisted. "Ivchenko has a plan. He brought us into Russia. He tricked us into bringing him into this country. There's something specific that he is targeting. We just have to find out what it is."

Suddenly, the last person anyone expected to walk into that room spoke up and instantly became the center of attention, just the way he liked. "The target is me"

"Howard?" Charlotte questioned, brow furrowing together.

"Hey!" Thompson shouted while cocking his gun. "Get your hands up. Get your hands up!"

While following his employer into the room, Mr. Jarvis's eyes skittishly danced around the room as his arms shot straight up into the air. He cautiously leaned over to whisper, "Told you."

"What kind of welcome is this?" Howard asked incredulously. He then looked toward those he considered allies for help, but received none.

"One you more than likely deserve," Charlotte retorted under her breath.

Lorene nudged her sister. "He's not responsible for the weapons incident."

"Not this time," Charlotte contradicted. "But I'm sure he's done something else in the past week to warrant hostility."

"How the hell did you get in here?" Sousa asked, aiming his own weapon in Stark's direction as he readjusted his position on the cane at his side.

"You know who designed the SSR security system?" Howard asked, semi-rhetorically.

Sousa nodded. "Yeah, the same outfit that secures the White House."

"Exactly. They stink. You should have hired me," Howard quipped before looking over at the Rogers sisters and Peggy. "I know. You missed me."

"Come a bit closer and I'll show you how much," Charlotte threatened between grit teeth. "Then maybe you'll think twice before running off to the arctic with my sister."