WALKING DISASTERS | Jack Thompson

33.

TWENTY FOUR HOURS CAME AND WENT, with Sera managing to get about two hours of sleep curled up on the chair in Jack's office before she was summoned back to the interrogation room.

Walking into the viewing room with a half-eaten sandwich in hand, she saw Jack holding a carrot and a stick and rolled her eyes. "You do realise that's not going to scare her."

"And what will?" Jack asked. "You and your pocket knife?"

"Me and my new friend Sleep Deprivation have a very short fuse at the moment," Sera replied. "So, by all means, put me in there with her."

"No, it's my turn to have a crack at her," Jack said, raising the carrot and the stick. "This is going to work."

"I have no faith in that statement being true," Sera said, blowing Jack a mocking kiss as she watched him walk into the interrogation room.

"It's been over twenty four hours," Dottie said. "Shouldn't I get a phone call? Where's Peggy and Sera?"

"Carter?" Jack repeated. "She's moved on to a new case and Stark's got better things to do than deal with you. You're yesterday's news to them."

Dottie sat up straighter. "But who's gonna interrogate me?"

"My boss and I, we used to have this routine to get suspects to turn," Jack said, placing down the stick and the carrot. "He was the carrot, and I was the stick. He spoke smoothly and I didn't speak at all. See, the problem is, is that you and your Commie friends, well... you killed the carrot."

Jack threw the carrot on the floor and slammed the stick down on the table. He removed Dottie's handcuffs and sat down opposite her. Taking a bite of her sandwich, Sera watched through the glass as Jack looked at Dottie.

"And I'm not afraid of you," he said. "What you're gonna tell me-"

Dottie moved like lightning, lifting the table and knocking Jack backwards off his chair and onto the floor. She pinned him down with the table and Sera choked on her sandwich as she laughed.

"You're too easy," Dottie sad. "We need Peggy and Sera."

Four agents burst into the interrogation room and restrained Dottie, leaving Jack free to get to his feet. He glared at Dottie as he righted the table and handcuffed her to it once more. Without a word, he walked through to the viewing room and found Sera still coughing.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"Choked on my sandwich," she replied, coughing one last time. "That was the funniest thing I've seen all day."

Jack rolled his eyes. "You think you could do any better?"

"No, but I could do a better job of being intimidating," Sera said, trying not to laugh. "Honestly, Jack. The 'you killed the carrot' bit was ridiculously cliche."

Jack held out the pin they had as evidence. "Alright. Your turn."

Taking the pin, Sera raised her eyebrows. "Watch and learn, Chief."

She walked into the interrogation room and Dottie sat up a little straighter. "You came back."

"I never left," Sera replied. "I watched you and Chief Thompson."

"Is Peggy here too?"

"No, Peggy actually does have better things to do than deal with you," Sera replied, sitting down opposite Dottie. "Now, I'm not taking the handcuffs off because, quite frankly, you're a bitch and I don't like you, but if you cooperate then maybe we could come to some sort of agreement."

"Sounds good to me," Dottie said cheerfully.

Sera held up the pin. "Tell me, who were you stealing this pin from? Why did you want it so badly?"