WALKING DISASTERS | Jack Thompson

56.

WHEN THE CAR PULLED UP, Sera was standing near Daniel with her gun raised, Jack kneeling in the sand before them with his hands on his hand. Her sunglasses were pushed up and resting on the top of her head as the car came to a stop and the two agents got out.

"Vega, thank God you found us," Daniel said. "Put Chief Thompson in the back of the vehicle. He's under arrest."

"You heard the man," Samberly said. "Sometime this week."

Vega and Blackwell turned their guns on Sera and Daniel respectively. Sera rolled her eyes at how utterly predictable they were as Vega said, "Drop the gun, Chief."

"What the hell are you doing?" Daniel asked.

"Vernon sent them to kill whoever pulled the trigger on that thing," Jack said. "That sound about right, boys?"

"Doc, put that gun down before you hurt yourself," Blackwell said, before turning to Sera. "And you, sweetheart. Ladies shouldn't play with guns."

Sera rolled her eyes as she threw down the gun into the sand, watching Samberly and Daniel do the same. Jack got to his feet. "Good work, boys. Now, let's get these men and lady back to the SSR. Vernon's gonna want to hear what they have to say."

"Uh... we're supposed to..." Vega said, turning his gun on Jack.

"You're supposed to what?" he asked. "You're supposed to what, Vega? Kill me too? After I followed Stark and Carter out to the ass end of the desert and tried to stop them? Don't be an idiot, Vega. Now get them in that car. I've got Stark."

When Jack approached Sera, he sent her a subtle wink and she rolled her eyes in return. He placed a hand on her back and pushed her gently in the direction of the car, calling, "Looks like you owe me another one, Sousa. I just saved your life."

"You're gonna regret this, Jack," Daniel said.

Jack stepped away from Sera and approached Daniel with a chuckle. "I doubt it."

He punched Daniel in the stomach and for the sake of keeping up appearances, Sera lunged at Jack. "Hey! Leave him alone!"

She made it easy for Jack to grab her wrists and he yanked her closer so that their faces were inches apart. "What were you going to do, Stark?"

Sera had to bite back a grin as she looked up at Jack, where she could see it in his eyes as clear as day that he found this just as amusing as she did. "What do you want me to do, Thompson?"

Jack let out a light laugh as he spun Sera around and pushed her in the direction of the car. "Just don't make any enemies."

"Too late for that," she replied. "I'm pretty sure everybody hates me."

"That's not true," Jack said. "I like you sometimes."

"Charming," Sera scoffed.

"Just kidding."

"You better be."

-

Sera was lying on a bench in the holding cell, her feet resting on Daniel's lap as her head hung off the other end of the bench. The walls were a disgusting green colour, and they were all that Sera could focus on as they sat in relative silence, Jack on the other side of the bars watching them with Vega standing to attention by the door.

When Vernon Masters walked in and Sera caught sight of him, she sat up and propped her elbows underneath her, still lying on the bench. Masters seemed surprised to see them, evidently surprised that they weren't all dead.

"Agent Vega, would you care to explain why these men and Miss Stark are not in a shallow grave back in the desert?" he asked.

"We were acting under Chief Thompson's orders, sir," Vega replied.

Masters turned to Jack. "Is that a fact?"

"That device you have in your lockup," Jack said. "The one that shut down that rift, it's called a gamma cannon. These three can repair it."

"The hell we will," Daniel snapped.

"Shh," Samberly hissed. "Let's hear the man out."

"I believe that Whitney Frost is quite capable of figuring out a way to fix that contraption," Masters said.

"Probably," Jack replied. "But then you won't be able to use it on her."

Masters turned to Vega. "Give us the room," when he was gone, he said, "Alright, I'm listening."

"We fix the cannon, we bring Frost the cannon and then we fire it at her pretty, blonde head and restore some order," Jack said.

Masters turned to look at Sera and Daniel. "What about Polly Benedict and Andy Hardy here? Are they gonna be willing to fall in line with this scheme? How do I know they won't come after me?"

"With what?" Jack asked. "They've got nothing on you. And even a couple of jerks on their high horses can come off it when their careers are on the line. He likes being the boss, don't you Sousa? And Stark likes to think she runs the world just because she's got a famous brother, don't you?"

"Whitney Frost is too dangerous to have running around," Daniel said. "We take her down, we'll stay quiet."

"Hi, I'm Dr Samberly," Samberly interjected. "I just want you to know you can absolutely count on me, sir. I'm on your side one hundred and ten percent."

Sera and Daniel gave him matching looks that said 'Are you serious right now?' and Samberly promptly looked down at his feet.

"Look, Vernon," Jack said. "Either way, I'm with you. We can deal with Frost, or you say the word. I'll take care of these guys myself."

"Okay, we'll do it your way, Jack," Masters said. "That's the smart plan," he turned back to the trio in the cell. "Congratulations, boys and girl. Now get to work."

"Thank you, sir!" Samberly called. "We won't let you down."

When Masters was gone, Jack unlocked the cell and released them. He handed Daniel his crutch. "Well, that went as well as to be expected."

"Still not sure why you had to punch me back there in the desert," Daniel replied.

"I had to sell it, Sousa," Jack said.

Daniel scoffed. "Yeah."

-

Peggy Carter was a woman on a warpath. Upon realising that her friends had been taken hostage, she had escaped capture by Whitney Frost and gone straight for the SSR. Storming into the bullpen, Peggy marched straight to Vernon's office and opened the door.

Masters turned to her. "Ah, Agent Carter. You are one resilient-" Peggy punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground. "Carter!"

"Where are they?!" Peggy shouted, punching Masters again. "What have you done with Chief Sousa and Agent Stark? Where is Chief Thompson?!"

A shout of, "Peggy!" from Daniel made Peggy freeze as he rushed into the office and caught her arm. "Stop!"

Sera and Jack ran in after her and pulled Peggy away from Masters. "Whoa, hey, hey, hey. Easy, easy, easy."

"What?" Peggy gasped. "I thought... wh..."

"Are you insane?" Masters snapped.

"Yeah, what are you thinking, Carter?" Jack asked. "We can't kill Vernon. He's an integral part of this operation."

Peggy looked at Daniel and Sera, who merely nodded and shrugged in response.