Who Killed Jack Thompson?

Chapter 18

An Ella Fitzgerald song played throughout the Club, and it seemed like every person was on the dance floor. There was only one person she cared about, though. He swayed to the beat, as if it were second nature. His green uniform was adorned with so many medals and honors that the light reflected off of him. "It's been so long," Peggy said above the music. He twirled her around and brought her back in close to him. He was smiling a smile that lit up his entire face and made his blue eyes sparkle. The people around them had cleared, and they were the only ones on the dance floor. The Agent and the Captain.

Suddenly there was a strong gust of icy air that chilled the entirety of the Stork Club. Ice crept up the walls, covered the band's instruments, and slowly froze everyone in the place. Peggy watched as the ice spread across the floor, surrounding her and her love. She watched as the ice crept up his body, chilling and killing her dear Captain.

There was a clatter, and Peggy sat bolt upright in her bed in a cold sweat. There were loud footsteps coming from the first floor, glass breaking, and whispers. Peggy reached for the bedside table where she temporarily kept her gun, slipping quietly into the hall. It was dark, but she dare not turn on the lights. There was another loud thumping, and a curse in Russian. "Bloody hell," Peggy said under her breath. They were there for Bucky.

They were thundering up the stairs, so the agent ducked into a corner, waiting. The footsteps were nearing, so she made her move. Her elbow connected with the man's nose, and while he concerned himself with the blood, she knocked his feet out from under him. Despite being in her dressing gown, she was moving very swiftly. She took the next man down with a swift uppercut to the jaw, and he fell down the stairs.

Suddenly there was a hand around her eyes, then a cloth to her mouth. Chloroform.

---

She awoke somewhere underground, her head spinning. She tried to lift her head, but there was something restricting her. Peggy looked down to her wrists, which were also shackled, along with her ankles. To her right sat Bucky, tears running down his face solemnly. To her left, were her friends. Howard, Daniel, Mr. Jarvis, and Dottie, all restricted just like her by some electromagnetic machine.

A man in a Russian army uniform paced back and forth in front of them. "You know, you should have just left our asset alone," he said in a thick accent. Bucky gritted his teeth; he knew what was to come. "Now we have to start over. Wipe him."

There was a jolt of electricity, and Bucky writhed in the chair, screaming. He clenched his fists until his knuckled were white, and breathed heavily. His screams echoed off the walls, and the lights of the bunker flickered. "Stop it!" Peggy yelled over Bucky's painful screams. "Light them up," the Russian man said.

There was another jolt of electricity, and the six of them together felt their brains being rattled. It was as if an invisible hand were reaching in and pulling things out. There was so much pain, so much screaming. They felt the electricity running through their bodies, shocking their nerves and twisting their brains. The lights continued to flicker and sparks flew and bounced off the walls. There was no escaping the torture.

This went on for what felt like days, until everyone wished they were dead. The pain, the icy veins, the electricity coursing through their bodies. It was an unending cycle of torture, until everything that happened in the last few weeks was gone.