Genesis: the Beginning and the End | Band of Brothers

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ６７ － Ｆｕｎｎｙ】

Chapter 67 - Funny

Before she went into the office, Peggy stood against the wall by the door where they couldn't see her and finished her cigarette.

Then she lit another.

And knocked.

In she went and found the same three officers, arguing about something or other. So she waited quietly, just letting the nicotine take her away.

"So?"

"Since when do you smoke?"

Exhaling deeply, she watched the smoke curl into the air and then into nothing.

"Since my life came crashing down."

Nixon wasn't expecting that answer. To the point that he had to sit down. Welsh sat down too, and Dick offered her a seat. She took it and tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling.

"You wanna know something funny?" Silence. Mentally, she shrugged and carried on. "Michaёl's my fucking mother. The whole fucking time she was pulling the strings. Fucking hilarious."

Her chuckle was cold and lifeless, and she just watched the smoke spiral up.

"Are you...are you alright Margaret?"

"Don't call me that," she groaned. "That's what she called me. Peggy, please."

The air was tense but she didn't really notice, she was too busy trying to get herself to float like the smoke.

"What did she have to say?"

Sighing, she sat back up properly and chewed at her lip. Dick had noticed her hand and kept glancing at it.

"Well she said hello, told me to watch my language, then said that I wasn't important enough for her full attention, tried to tell me I couldn't talk to her the way I did because she's my mother, which was bullshit. Then she fucking tried to patronise me, which was poor judgement on her part. She's lucky she's in another country or I'd have bashed her skull in with a brick." She clenched her fists, leaving her Lucky Strike to hang between her lips. Her left one hurt like a bitch. "Then, get this, she started trying to give me my orders," it took her a little while to get it out, because she was laughing about it. But it was cold and hollow. "Which were bullshit, 'save this frequency and report back' my arse. I told her that you all knew, that upset her, then I told everyone back there to fuck off and that I will be officially resiging before I'm shot when I get back. Then she brought my dad and god into her blatant dislike for her son so I ripped into her. The best bit is that I'm the prototype. I am the test run. Apparently I'm a success but I beg to differ. But yeah. The British government is going to be funding child abuse to grow spies from the fucking cradle. Long story short if I don't die out here I'm dead when I go home. So woo, dead woman walking."

They were stunned. She'd never seen them stunned before.

"Want to explain your hand?"

"It was either the window or the radio. I figured you wouldn't appreciate me destroying the radios now they work. So I punched the phone box."

It was like she wasn't bothered by what had happened. The only signs that it had affected her were the slight wobble in her hands as she brought the cigarette out, and the tear tracks on her face. But they thought it best to not mention them. She was way too calm to be actually calm, which meant actually she was on the edge and not very stable – at least they assumed that. But assumptions were dangerous.

"I think I'll wait a few days before introducing you to Dike, at the very least until I'm back from Paris-"

"Oh Paris? Tu parles la langue? Non?"At Dick's blank look and Lewis' laughter, she decided to do something. "Lemme teach you something, je suis désolé – I'm sorry."

He nodded, thanked her cautiously and then repeated what she'd said.

Peggy used the ashtray on his desk that obviously wasn't there for him.

"Look, maybe you should take a few days to just...process. With Dick in Paris, you don't have to be his runner. I'll be in England though, so I can't keep you company."

Her head swivelled round to look at Nixon.

"Wool. Please. The new replacements need scarves, and you'll complain if you don't get one."

Lewis rolled his eyes and muttered about her always wanting something. But he also said he'd see what he could do, so she smiled at him. It was small, but a good sign. Maybe she was going to be alright, she wasn't alright yet, but she would be.

"I'm...gonna go. I'm gon...I need to be somewhere...else."

She got up and wandered out. It was like she wasn't sure where she was going, even lost. And though the officers were sure she'd bounce back, they worried.