WALKING DISASTERS | Jack Thompson

34.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA how much legwork it took to catch Dottie Underwood?" Jack asked, sitting in a bar with Masters.

"Of course I do," he replied.

"Don't you trust me to grill her?"

"Jack, who's been your biggest supporter since day one?" Masters asked.

"You have, Vernon."

"When your father called me, talking about his war-hero son acting aimless, who got you the gig at the best intelligence agency both sides of the Atlantic?"

"And I appreciate everything you've done," Jack said. "I do. I just... I feel like the person who fights the bear should be the one to get the honey. Agent Stark feels particularly strongly about this."

"I'd never steer you wrong, Jack," Masters said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Then why are you giving the FBI credit for the capture of Underwood?" Jack asked.

"You need to start playing the long game here," Masters said. "The SSR is a wartime agency, and the war is over."

"Am I being fired?" Jack asked.

"Worse," Masters replied. "You're becoming irrelevant. The entire Department of War is being restructured, which means that the SSR is going the way of the dinosaur. It's a different world now, and you've gotta ask yourself, 'Do I wanna be the former chief of the SSR or the current muckity-muck of the next big thing?'"

"I want to be in the muck," Jack said.

"And that's the kind of attitude that's gonna serve you very well," Masters said. "Dottie Underwood was attempting to steal from some very powerful men who have even more powerful allies."

"Like who?" Jack asked.

"The important thing is, you stopped her, and those men, they know you did," Masters said. "Now, you keep your nose to the grindstone and they'll make sure that your next position befits your pretty face."

"What about Agent Stark?" Jack asked. "She's one of the only people that knows Dottie Underwood."

"And we appreciate that," Masters said. "But honestly, Jack, would you rather let some woman try and play detective or let the professionals handle it?"

Jack bit his tongue as he fought back a retort, inhaling sharply through his nose. "I don't know, Stark seemed very close to getting somewhere before you busted in."

"And, like I said, we appreciate that," Masters said. "So maybe Underwood will be more cooperative with us now that she's had the safety of a woman interrogating her."

"Agent Stark is more than capable-"

"I'm sure she is," Masters said. "But you've sent her to Los Angeles, have you not? She won't be much good to us over there. Trust me, Jack, it's better this way."

-

Sera got the next flight to Los Angeles, flying through the night across the country, which gave her enough time to catch up on missed sleep and go over what she was going to say to Peggy once she got to the city. She had phone ahead to Jarvis, who had promised to pick her up when she landed.

True to his word, Jarvis was there when Sera stepped off the plane, sunglasses covering her eyes. He smiled when he saw her, and Sera hurried over to him. When she reached him, she couldn't help but smile, having missed Jarvis and his company since Howard moved them to the East Coast.

"Ed," she greeted, giving him a brief hug. "It's been a while."

"It has indeed, Miss Stark," Jarvis replied. "I trust your flight was satisfactory."