Topic: Captain's Orders

Meg Miller

Date: 2016-11-12 18:18 EST
((Contains material of an adult nature.))

The National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., wasn't very crowded this time of year, especially since the trees were past peak and there was a chill in the air that precluded winter. It wasn't the most discreet of meeting places, but there would be no bugs or cameras to worry about, and it would be easy to watch for anyone who might try to eavesdrop. Steve hadn't been to Washington in a long time, and a lot had changed since he'd been there, but with Sam Wilson's help, he managed to find his way around, and as far as any casual observer was concerned, he was just a guy taking a lazy stroll on a sunny Friday afternoon. He was dressed for the part, too, in clothes Sam had suggested that would help him blend better - jeans, t-shirt, jacket, and sneakers. If anything, he looked more like Johnny Storm than Steve Rogers. He wore a baseball cap and sunglasses to hide his face as best he could in hopes no one would recognize him.

Someone else was visiting the arboretum that day, too. With her shoulder still strapped up to aid its healing, Meg was ostensibly being given a tour of the best places in D.C. on her day off, with AJ as her guide. Unbeknownst to everyone at Langley but them, however, this was not a coincidence. Amanda Drew had gotten word from her brother-in-law in New York - a brother-in-law who worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. - that a certain someone would be visiting D.C. for a few days, and wanted to catch up with them to find out what they knew about their internal conspiracy. Meg wasn't sure she believed the whole of the story relayed to them by Drew, but she was prepared to play along for the time being. And besides, it was beautiful here. It wasn't such a bad way to spend the day.

AJ wasn't quite as skeptical as Meg, in part because he trusted Drew, and in part because he knew the CIA sometimes partnered with S.H.I.E.L.D., though the CIA was more concerned about national intelligence, while S.H.I.E.L.D. concerned themselves with the world. It had been a long time since he'd bothered to visit the arboretum, and he'd forgotten how beautiful and peaceful it could be here - at least, when it wasn't too crowded. While tourists flocked to the mall and the monuments, unless the cherry trees were in bloom, the arboretum was always less crowded. And if nothing else, it was a nice day for an outing, and the company wasn't bad either.

"London never looks this pretty in the autumn," Meg was saying as they wandered beneath the trees. For convenience's sake, she wasn't wearing a sling; only someone who was looking for it would notice that her left shoulder seemed a good deal bulkier than her right, thanks to the firm bandages that were holding the joint secure while the tendons knitted once again. "Pyecombe did, though. I can remember jumping in piles of leaves that were bigger than me when I was little."

The two of them were arm in arm, AJ's left arm linked with her right, looking more like a young couple out for a pleasant stroll, than a couple of secret agents awaiting a clandestine meeting with someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. There weren't many people there, and of those who were, none of them seemed to pay them much heed - except for one man.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses. He wasn't following them exactly, but he was standing right where Drew had set up the meeting place. He glanced casually over at the pair as they strolled nearby. "Pardon me, can you tell me where the sugar maples are?" he asked, as polite as could be.

Meg blinked, almost surprised to hear the code words coming out of someone who was remarkably familiar for a person she had never seen before in her life. He looked an awful lot like AJ, even without the beard and behind the hat and sunglasses, but she had to assume that this was their contact. And given AJ's silence, she offered up the code words they had been given in return. "I haven't the faintest idea, but you're standing underneath the Western hemlock."

"Am I?" the man said, glancing upwards at the trees that surrounded them before turning toward the couple. He recognized them from their picture, but did they recognize him'

"We can show you the way, if you like," AJ remarked, though he had no idea where the sugar maples were or even if there were any planted here.

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," the man replied, falling into step beside them.

"Well, he can show you the way," Meg clarified a little mischievously. She had a feeling AJ couldn't tell an oak from an elm, but he was native. "I'm not from around here, as you can probably tell." She glanced up at their new companion, feeling a little dwarfed. She wasn't a short woman, but both men were tall and broad, and she was in the middle.

"I can tell," the man replied with a smile. As a matter of fact, someone very near and dear to him shared that very same accent. "I'm Steve," he introduced himself, offering a hand to whichever of them wanted to take it. He didn't bother to say more than that, just yet, until they returned the favor.

"AJ," the other man replied, gripping Steve's hand, before gesturing to his companion. "This is Meg."

Meg, too, took Steve's hand, noting the understated strength in his grip. "I understand we have a connection through friends," she said carefully, not wanting to give too much away. Just in case this wasn't the agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. Drew had said would meet them here.

"Yeah," Steve replied. "Seems a friend of yours is related to a friend of mine. Small world, huh?" he asked, a friendly but wary smile on his face. "We heard you were having some problems with a common adversary," he added, not wanting to come right out and name that adversary as Hydra.

"Mmm." Meg's response was more disapproving of the adversary than anything. Their investigations over the past week or so had brought to light the name of that adversary, and life was getting distinctly exciting. It was very strange to be a sort of double-agent working for the good guys on both sides. "Fascinating how creatures from Greek mythology never really die, isn't it?"

"Someone once said when you cut off one head, two more take its place," Steve said. He didn't bother to mention that person had been Johann Schmidt, none other than Red Skull himself. He frowned at the thought of that. He'd killed Schmidt, but it seemed he hadn't been able to vanquish Hydra.

"How very encouraging," was Meg's response to that, drawling with sarcasm as she sighed softly. She glanced up at AJ, wondering why he was leaving all the talking to her, and decided to take a chance on a faint suspicion growing in her mind. "Are you, by any chance, the holder of military rank, Steve?"

AJ had been quiet all this time, partly because Meg was doing just fine on her own, but also partly because he was deep in thought. There was something very familiar about their contact, if he could just figure out what that something was.

"In a manner of speaking," Steve replied. He still held the rank of Captain, though he technically was no longer part of a military organization, save that of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Is there someplace we can go to talk privately?" he asked further.

With that suspicion confirmed, Meg nodded to herself, turning her eyes to AJ as she answered the question posed by Steve. "How would you like to join us for lunch, Steve?" she asked politely. "I rented an apartment not far from here, to make sight-seeing easier."

Meg Miller

Date: 2016-11-12 18:18 EST
AJ seemed to come out of his coma as Meg turned to him before posing an invitation to their contact. Something in his brain clicked, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place at last. "Holy shit," he murmured to himself as he realized who they were talking to. He'd been expecting to meet a fairly high-level S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but he hadn't anticipated that agent might be Steve Rogers.

Steve smiled, looking almost embarrassed, as the other agent seemed to suddenly realize who he was. "Lunch would be great, if it's no intrusion."

"You've been invited, haven't you?" Meg pointed out, her smile growing at AJ's murmured realization of who they were talking to. She could see the embarrassment on Captain Rogers' face as he caught up with that realization, too, and bit her lip to keep from laughing. "I promise, my cooking does not resemble divine excrement in any way."

Steve chuckled. "You sound like my wife," he said, though he did not as yet name her or mention that she was English. "We have a lot to talk about," he added, allowing the couple to lead the way.

"Hell, yeah, we do," AJ said, though he knew work came before pleasure.

A lot of things fell into place now she knew who she was talking to. The intelligence services liked a good gossip as much as anyone, and the very open attack on the Rogers family hadn't gone unnoticed. Which meant that the information they'd been uncovering about Hydra was likely correct. "Well then, this way, gentlemen," Meg told both of them, lengthening her stride.

"It's been a while since I've visited Washington. Too long probably," Steve said with that frown again. "A lot has changed." They might be surprised to know just how long. The world had changed.

"You're still one up on me," Meg assured him. "I don't have the first idea where I'm going most of the time. Thankfully, I have this helpful fellow here to keep me from getting too horrendously lost."

"Yeah, well ....when I say a long time, I mean before you were born," Steve explained quietly. While the pair was exchanging glances, Steve did the math in his head. There was something about them that told him they weren't just colleagues or partners or even friends. Maybe it was the way the pair was still arm in arm or the way they looked at each other. While he might be a little naive, he hadn't been born yesterday, not by a long shot, which was sort of what he'd been trying to tell them.

"We can talk more openly when we get to the apartment," AJ said.

"It isn't far," Meg added reassuringly, though her grip tightened on AJ's arm discreetly as they passed through a more crowded area. It wasn't that she was afraid, exactly; more that she knew she was something of a liability until her shoulder healed up properly. "We don't think we're being watched, but we could be wrong."

"Better safe than sorry," Steve pointed out. One way or another, they'd find out if they were being watched, and it wouldn't be hard to tell if they were being followed. He was pretty sure no one had followed him here, but that didn't ensure the agents didn't have someone following them.

They walked in silence for a way, each one on alert in their own way, until Meg finally released AJ's arm, pulling keys from her pocket. "In here," she told Steve, her expression tight as she turned the key in the lock and let them into the apartment building before leading the way up the stairs. She was going to have to take another painkiller with lunch.

Steve paused to take a look around, surveying the area for anyone who might have been following them or watching from a distance. Few knew, but even his eyesight and hearing had been enhanced, but as far as he could tell, they didn't seem to have attracted any undue attention. Of course, that didn't mean they were safe necessarily; it all depended on how careful they'd been. "Have you checked for bugs?" he asked, as he followed the pair up the stairs, turning to notice the look of concern on AJ's face.

"First thing we did," Meg nodded, absently supporting her left arm with her right hand as they reached the second floor. "We don't exactly have the high tech equipment, but to be honest, we've been pretty vocal at work about Andrew showing me around D.C. They've got no real reason to suspect that we suspect anything." Reaching the door, she unlocked it, and automatically stepped aside for AJ to enter first.

She didn't have to say anything for AJ to know she was in pain, but until they were safely inside the apartment, there wasn't much she could do about it. He stepped inside first, walking through the apartment to check each and every room for intruders before calling back that all was clear.

"You're hurt," Steve said, while the two of them waited at the door.

She nodded, not seeing any real need to pretend otherwise. "I had the joy of a dislocated shoulder a couple of weeks ago, and the tendons are still healing," she explained. "I'll live, it's just frustrating not to be as able as I usually am right now." Her head cocked toward the door, waiting for AJ's call before inviting Steve inside.

"All clear!" AJ called once he was sure the apartment was safe for them to enter.

"You two are partners?" Steve asked, waving her inside before he followed. At first glance, the apartment was small but nice, just big enough for two, and he found himself wondering if they'd rented it just for this meeting or if this was some sort of retreat from Langley.

She smiled in thanks as he waved her inside. "Depends on your definition of partner," she told him, pausing to make sure the door was securely closed before waving him through to the main room, already wriggling to get her good arm out of her jacket as she followed.

AJ appeared from somewhere to meet them at the door, moving over to Meg to help her with her jacket, obvious concern written all over his face. "She got hurt a few weeks ago working intel. I've been stuck to her like glue ever since."

"I've been briefed," Steve replied, though he didn't know all the details or share just yet what he did know.

Meg's smile softened as AJ helped her out of her coat. "Thank you," she murmured to him. "I promise, this time I will take the full dose." Steve's presence did not allow for her reserve to lift enough to offer a kiss or a touch, so AJ was just going to have to make do with the affection in her eyes for the time being. "Mmm, Drew would have passed the information on," she nodded. "She didn't tell us that it would be you coming to D.C., though."

"I know it sounds cliched, but I was in the neighborhood. Checking on a possible ally," Steve told them both, once again not mentioning any names yet. Though they were supposed to be allies, the air in the room felt so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

"Would you care for some coffee" Tea?" AJ offered, before turning to hang Meg's coat on the back of a chair.

"Um, coffee's fine. Thanks. I know this is awkward for you both," Steve started, "but believe me, we're on the same side.

"We don't really know what?s happening," Meg said quietly, opening a drawer to retrieve a bottle of codeine and swallow one dry. "But it's looking like everything we've been working on for the last two months or more has been to counter Hydra, and we didn't even know it still existed."

Meg Miller

Date: 2016-11-12 18:19 EST
"Yeah, that's what we're getting, too," Steve replied with a frown that said this struggle might be a little more personal for him than just a job. "We think there's a mole inside S.H.I.E.L.D. Maybe more than one," he told them, murmuring his thanks as AJ handed him a cup of coffee before the man turned to pour one for Meg and finally himself.

Meg sighed softly, taking her cup from AJ. "If S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been infiltrated, then the CIA and MI6 almost certainly have, too," she said worriedly. She glanced over at AJ. "Did Mitch manage to get in touch with Riggs in the end" He's flapping around at the end of a very long line, and I couldn't swear to the allegiance of any of the operatives in London."

"Yeah, Riggs will be okay. He knows how to take care of himself," AJ replied, pulling out a chair for Meg before gesturing to Steve to take a seat.

"Riggs," Steve echoed. "He's your counterpart in London?" he asked, making an assumption based on both what Nat had told him and what he knew about how things worked in the world of espionage and intelligence.

"Yes," Meg nodded, easing down into the seat offered to her. "We're part of a liaison scheme rather hastily put together when our agencies realized that not talking to each other was causing more problems than it solved. But I seem to have been made a target here, and that suggests that Riggs isn't safe in London."

"And if you pull him, it becomes obvious the agency knows something is up," Steve said, filling in the blank.

"Yeah," AJ confirmed, taking a seat at the table between Meg and Steve. "Someone is trying to drive a wedge between our agencies."

"Not someone," Steve countered. "Hydra."

"Right, so what?s the plan?" AJ asked in reply.

"And there's the word that scares me," Meg admitted, sipping her coffee with a faint grimace. It was going to take a while for the codeine to take effect. "Hydra is a far more intimidating entity than anything else we might have stumbled across." She bit her lip, looking at Steve in concern as AJ put his query across. "What can we do to help?"

"I think we can help each other," Steve said, and went on to explain most of what he knew about Hydra. The only thing he left out was the whereabouts of his wife and children - that was need to know only, and the fewer people who knew that, the safer his family would be. "We're putting together a special team. A team that, for obvious reasons, will work apart from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the CIA. It's a very small team of select individuals who have proven themselves to be trustworthy. As it happens, one of our agents is related to one of yours, and to make a long story short, your names came up on the short list."

"That makes sense," Meg nodded, glancing at AJ as she spoke. "Until you're in a position to break from S.H.I.E.L.D. entirely, you'll need to work within the agencies that are already extant. You need intel, don't you?"

"Yeah, and honestly' I don't know who I can trust. There's something more though," he added, as he turned to look at AJ directly. "I haven't had a chance to look into it yet, but it's been suggested that you and I might have some common ancestry."

AJ almost choked on his coffee. He'd been quiet up until now, absorbing the information that the other man was sharing. "I'm sorry?" he stammered.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it might be something worth looking into," Steve replied.

Meg bit down a grin at the look on AJ's face. "Perhaps you should both stand side by side and look in a mirror together," she suggested almost teasingly. "It doesn't take a genius to see shared genetic traits, gentlemen." Rising from the table, she moved to the kitchen, getting started on the lunch she had promised Steve in the arboretum.

"Well, if it's true, we have a little catching up to do," Steve teased the other man, who seemed to have suddenly lost his voice.

"I'm related to Captain America?" AJ sputtered.

Steve chuckled. "Rogers," he corrected. "But you can call me Steve."

Meg smiled at them from the counter, bacon already frying in the pan beside her. It hadn't occurred to her before that AJ looked an awful lot like Captain America, but seeing them sitting together cleared that up straight away. "If it helps at all, I was named after Peggy Carter," she offered quietly. "My nana worked with her at Bletchley before she joined the S.O.E."

"Peggy was special," Steve said, not even bothering to hide the affection he'd felt for her from his voice. "I married her great niece. We were fortunate enough to have shared our home with her the last few years before she passed."

"I met her once," Meg said softly, her smile gentle as she worked on the food. "Well, twice. She came to my grandparents' funerals." She turned silent at that, painful memories brought up by her offering of some connection of her own, but made an effort not to lower the mood. "I'm glad she had family again, at the end. She had a very dirty sense of humor, as I recall."

This was something AJ couldn't really comment on, except to offer his sympathies. He'd certainly heard of Peggy Carter, but he'd never met her, and he was still reeling from the possibility that he and Steve Rogers might be related.

"She also swore like a sailor," Steve said, laughing a little at the memory of it, before exhaling a sigh. "I miss her."

Meg chuckled softly, recalling a few choice words aimed at the vicar during the wake for her grandfather, and a particular stream of vitriol for a few of the village ladies, all of which had come from both her grandmother and Peggy Carter, cackling in the corner over their Singapore Slings. "So where are you two related?" she asked curiously. "The same paternal ancestor somewhere in the past?"

"I'm not sure exactly. It's a puzzle I was given to unravel. Apparently, it goes back to the 1880s somewhere. Maybe that's something you could look into," Steve suggested with a pointed look at AJ. "I've got enough on my plate at the moment, and you've got the resources," he added.

"We have different last names, so that seems to point to a maternal connection," AJ pointed out, though he wasn't sure just who had been related to who.

"If it's any consolation, you're not my only twin," Steve remarked.

"Mmm, it might take your mind off following me to the bathroom every time I need to go at work," Meg suggested to AJ with teasing fondness, only to blink in surprise at Steve's next comment. "You have another lookalike out there?"

"Yeah," Steve replied, once he'd taken a sip of his coffee. "Are you familiar with the Fantastic Four?"

Meg shook her head. "Not really," she admitted, glancing under the grill briefly. "We're not exactly overrun with heroes in Britain, and American news rarely makes our domestic news."

But AJ was American, and he'd definitely heard of them. "They're a team of superheroes working out of New York. They've been kind of quiet lately, come to think of it," AJ said, furrowing his brows as he turned to Steve with a questioning look on his face.

"Yeah, superheroes, mutants, enhanced humans ....whatever you want to call them. One of them is my brother-in-law, and by some weird quirk of fate, he could also pass for my twin."

Meg Miller

Date: 2016-11-12 18:20 EST
"Good grief," Meg chuckled. "It's certainly a small world, isn't it' Andrew, could you get the plates down for me please?" She winced apologetically; reaching up was still a little beyond her. "Lunch is very nearly done here. I hope you're not expecting that artery-clogging monstrosity known as grilled cheese."

"That could confuse Hydra all by itself," AJ pointed out before pushing off his chair to fetch the plates.

Steve smiled, almost embarrassed again to have put her through the trouble of cooking him lunch. "I grew up during the Great Depression, ma'am. It takes a lot to disappoint me."

"Well, hopefully there won't be any disappointment here," she smiled. "Please call me Meg. I'm not in the habit of responding when someone calls me ma'am." Her smile softened as she thanked AJ, transferring the three toasted sandwiches onto the plates and slicing them in half. "All done, enjoy!"

The wheels inside AJ's head were obviously turning, but Meg and Steve seemed to have turned their attention to lunch. "So, which one is it?" he asked, eliminating all but one by simple process of elimination. "It's the Torch, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Steve replied. "He married my wife's sister," he confirmed. And to make matters worse, they were twins, too, though he didn't bother to tell them that yet.

"Oh, goodness," Meg laughed, bracing herself to carry two of the plates over to the table. Tendons seemed to take forever to heal. "So not only do you look alike, but your tastes run in the same sort of direction as well." She glanced teasingly at AJ. "Dare I ask?"

"What?" AJ asked, blinking in confusion. Had he missed something there" As far as he knew, Meg didn't have any sisters, so it seemed unlikely she was related to Steve's wife, though if he understood things correctly, Meg had at least known her great aunt. "This is getting confusing, even for me," AJ complained, as he moved to take the plates from Meg without asking whether she needed help or not and moving to put them on the table.

If Steve knew how long they'd known each other, he might have been surprised by the sheer amount of silent communication that went on between Meg and AJ. Even to Meg, it seemed surprising, but she wasn't complaining. "I'm teasing you," she promised AJ fondly as they sat down at the table once again. "Which is remarkably easy to do, you know."

"So, I take it you two are a couple," Steve said, voicing his assumption as that much seemed obvious.

"Is it that obvious?" AJ asked, going back for the third plate before retaking his seat at the table.

Steve smiled as he picked up his sandwich. "It is when you know what to look for."

Meg blushed faintly, glancing sideways at AJ with an almost shy smile. "I suppose we should be alert for that at work, then," she mused, but she didn't offer any complaint at how easy it had been for Steve to guess their relationship. "Although a working partnership is supposed to be close, too. I've confused myself." Laughing a little, she picked up one half of her sandwich, biting into the hot food with relief. It seemed a long time since breakfast.

"If things hadn't worked out the way they had, I probably would have married Peggy," Steve said, not because he was mourning the past and what might have been, but because he wanted to point out that there was no one you could trust more in a partnership than the person you loved. "I assume you've kept it on the Q-T," he added, before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"On the what, sorry?" Meg blinked, not entirely sure she had heard him right. Even if she had heard him right, she didn't think it was a phrase she understood. Her bemused smile took in both men, hoping for an explanation before she dripped brie all over her lap.

"Sorry," Steve said, almost but not quite blushing. Even after a couple of years, he still had a tendency to use outdated phrases from time to time. "I assume you're keeping it quiet. From the agency, I mean," he said, rephrasing his words.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, I'm still not very at home with American slang," Meg apologized gently. She glanced at AJ a little warily. "Well ....it makes sense, for now. The agency would likely separate us if they knew we were in the early stages of a relationship, though there is a precedent of allowing long-term couples to work together as partners. The longer they don't know about us, the more likely it is that they'll allow us to keep working together."

"There are no plans to send you back to London?" Steve asked further. While she'd been explaining, he'd managed to gulp down half his sandwich. Either he was very hungry or it took a lot to feed his metabolism.

"No, Riggs is our guy in London, while Meg is here. As far as I know, there are no plans to swap back, but if Hydra has its way, that could change," AJ explained.

"Then, we'll have to do our best to make sure that doesn't happen," Steve replied.

"MI6 have no real need for me in London," Meg said thoughtfully. "And ....well, there's nothing back in England for me. I would much rather stay here, for a variety of reasons, one of which is particularly close to my heart." There was no need to expound on that reason; the tender look in her eyes as she smiled at AJ was explanation enough.

AJ didn't much care what anyone thought, and he'd already decided he'd do whatever was necessary to stay with Meg. Steve was no threat to that, and so he reached across the table to tangle his fingers with hers, if only momentarily.

Steve watched them thoughtfully for a moment. "I'd like to offer you both a spot on my team."

Looking up from her almost blushing contemplation of AJ's fingers wrapped about her own, Meg met Steve's thoughtful gaze with a certain amount of surprise. "Are you sure?" she asked him, knowing what a risk he was taking just being there with them. "You barely know us."

"I know enough," Steve countered. If Croft trusted them, then he did, too. All things considered, he had no reason not to trust them. "I'll be honest ....We're gonna need all the help we can get, and we need someone on the inside. Someone who has access to intel we don't. You won't like what I'm about to suggest, but I think Evchenko is the key to tracking down Hydra."

Meg grimaced. "And here I was, hoping I'd never have to put up with that man's slimy presence ever again," she sighed, but it was obvious that she didn't mean it. "Andrew is the key to Evchenko. If anyone can crack that man, it's him."

"Crack him?" AJ echoed, brows arching upwards as he looked from Steve to Meg. "Are you asking me to interrogate him or snoop on him?"

"No, you're supposed to break open his chastity belt and give him a ride," Meg drawled sarcastically, her smile softening the harsh response. "Snooping first, I would assume, and if we find evidence, then we interrogate him."

"Uh, sorry to disappoint you, but I don't swing that way," AJ replied, even though he'd been called upon from time to time to do his own share of whoring for his country's sake. "We?" AJ echoed further. "There is no we where Evchenko is concerned. I'll make up some excuse or other why you aren't with me."

Meg Miller

Date: 2016-11-12 18:21 EST
"And go into a situation like that with no back up on hand?" Meg countered. "I don't think so. There really is nothing to discuss there, Andrew. Either we go together, or you don't go at all, that is the end of it."

"You think I'm gonna take you into a situation like that when you're already injured" We were lucky he didn't figure it out the last time. What we really need to do is get him on neutral ground. Find a way to draw him out, set a trap. We already know he's got ties to Hydra. Why else would he have had Chandler under lock and key?" AJ pointed out.

Steve knew better than to butt in, arching his brows while the two agents worked it out for themselves. He had a few ideas of his own, but he wanted to see where they'd go with this.

Meg's eyes narrowed. "All right then," she said, the challenge in her voice impossible to miss. "Invite him to dinner. That way, he's on our turf, and we can do what needs to be done before anyone suspects we aren't who they think we are. We. Like I said, I'm not arguing a moot point."

"He'll have bodyguards," Steve pointed out. Men like that always did. "And if he is allied with Hydra, he's allied for a reason. That reason will determine whether you can crack him or not," he reasoned further.

"This is all just conjecture for now," Meg said thoughtfully. "We need intel before we can make any decisions about which move to make first. We can move inside the CIA, and Riggs can probably do a little digging in MI6. We'll come up with something."

"And that's our job, too," AJ pointed out. And all of this had to start soon, if they had any hope of defeating Hydra before they got a strong foothold inside their agencies.

"It's my belief Hydra wants to replicate the serum to create an army of super soldiers. That's just one of their goals," Steve informed them further.

"That gives us something to tie in as a common thread," Meg mused. "We've already come across one apparently random victim who ties in with that. Chandler would have been instrumental to them." She nodded firmly. "Give us a couple of weeks. I'm sure we'll have come up with something by then."

Steve wondered if they had any idea how dangerous Hydra was, but they weren't civilians, untried and untested, but trained intelligence operatives who knew what they were getting themselves into for the good of their agencies, their nations, and the world at large. He didn't have to lecture them on the risks; they knew them already. "Okay, Drew's our contact in the CIA. We'll go through her," he told them.

"Then it looks as though we're your agents, Captain Rogers," Meg said quietly, a half-smile touching her face. "I hope we don't let you down."

"Steve," he corrected again. He was only a captain in so far as S.H.I.E.L.D. was concerned, and even that was questionable at this point. "Do you have any questions?" he asked. Unless they did, it looked like he was finished here.

"I, um ....I don't suppose you have any higher tech equipment just lying around we could use?" Meg asked, feeling ridiculously presumptuous for even considering it. But they needed an edge, especially if some of the people they were about to spy on were, in fact, spying on them.

Steve chuckled a little. "Not lying around, no, but I have a few connections. I can hook you up." He didn't bother to mention that one of those connections was Tony Stark, and another was Reed Richards, both of them geniuses with an ego to match. "I'll have our guy get in touch. His name's Croft. Robin Croft."

Relieved she hadn't crossed the line with that request, Meg chuckled. "Thank you. We'll, um, we'll talk to Drew and see what?s available. Every little helps, after all."

"No, thank you," Steve countered. He knew what they were risking just talking to him, but he wasn't doing this for himself or even for his family. Not entirely anyway. "I should be going. I've taken up enough of your time."

"Do you have transport?" Meg asked in concern. "I mean ....well, I don't mean to say you need it, but wandering around on foot in D.C. right now probably isn't the wisest choice."

"I've got someone picking me up. I just have to make a call," Steve explained. He'd intended to meet Sam back at the arboretum, but maybe she had a point. Then again, he didn't want to put them in any more danger than they already were. "Look, I know I'm asking a lot from you, but I've dealt with Hydra before, and we can't afford to let this go."

"We didn't sign on the dotted line for nothing, Cap ....I mean, Steve," AJ interjected. Captain America. He was sitting across from Captain America. Hell, he might even be related to Captain America. It was almost enough to make AJ's head spin.

"Steve ....we're in," Meg told him firmly, not even needing to meet AJ's eyes to know he was possibly even more in than she was. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth - you need all the help you can get, and we're offering it."

Steve smiled, as the two of them spoke at nearly the same time. "Croft said we could count on you." His smile widened at the thought of that. Croft was rarely wrong.

"Well, I'm stubborn and he's reckless," Meg shrugged, smiling as she teased AJ. "We make a good team."

AJ laughed. "Thanks, I think."

Steve pulled out a cellphone out of his jacket pocket and tapped a few keys letting Sam know he was ready and where to find him. "We're happy to have you on board," he told them both.

"Is that the royal we?" Meg laughed, rising to take up the plates and head to the kitchen to wash them. "It's an honor to be asked, Steve. It means more than you might think to be singled out."

"You might have heard of us. We call ourselves the Avengers, but ..." Steve smiled a little, looking almost embarrassed by that claim. "We might have to change our name."

AJ arched a brow. Not only were they being invited to join Captain America, but the Avengers, as well" It was almost unbelievable. "Does that mean we get to wear a uniform?" AJ asked with a grin.

Steve chuckled. "That would kind of defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?"

"Wait, hold on ..." Meg paused, incredulity spread over her face. "I can't speak for Andrew, but I'm not enhanced. I'm not even particularly intelligent when compared with you and ....and the Avengers. I'd be a liability on that team. Support, I can do."

"That's all we're asking for. We can't do this without you," Steve informed them. His phone buzzed, telling him his ride had arrived. "My ride's here," he said, moving to his full height, a little taller and broader even than AJ. He offered them both a hand. "Thanks for lunch and it was a pleasure to meet you both."

Meg Miller

Date: 2016-11-12 18:21 EST
"You've given us a lot to think about," Meg nodded, shaking his hand. "Thank you, Steve. We'll get to work and have something for you soon. They can't hide forever."

"Just be careful," Steve warned, not wanting to see either of them get hurt, but confident they were smart enough to know what they were doing. "We'll be in touch," he promised, before starting toward the door. "I can find my way out."

AJ wasn't sure if he should shake the man's hand or salute, but in the end he opted for the handshake, clearly in awe of one of his country's heroes. "We'll do our best," he promised. After all, they could do nothing less.

Meg watched Captain America out through the door, finally turning to look up at AJ in something approaching shock. "Well ..." she said in awe. "That was ....unexpected." She frowned, confused and proud and concerned all at once, but decided to focus on something less stressful. "So ....does this mean you want me to wear your stars and stripes at some point?"

AJ, too, looked speechless and in awe of what had just transpired. So, maybe they weren't Avengers exactly, but they sure as hell were their allies. And there was a chance he was related to Steve Rogers. That all by itself was incredible. He chuckled at Meg's question. "I wouldn't argue if you wanted to wear stars and stripes underwear," he teased, waggling his brows at her.

She laughed, leaning into him. "Easy, tiger," she teased fondly. "Or I might make you wear it instead. Stockings and all." She waggled her brows back at him, squeezing his hip as she drew away to do the washing up.

Despite what had happened between them in Paris, they had yet to rekindle any sort of physical relationship between them aside from kisses and embraces. He seemed perfectly patient to wait until she was ready to take the next step, though his body was telling him otherwise. He turned to face her, sliding his arms around her waist, a silly grin on his bearded face. "I'd like to see you try."

Drawn back to him, Meg giggled softly, letting her hands come to rest against his arms. "Why do I think there's another poker game in our future?" she teased, pleased to see him so relaxed, despite the content of their day so far. "I'm beginning to think that seeing you in stockings and a suspender belt might be worth any indignity you make me perform."

"Is that a challenge, Agent Miller?" AJ asked, eyes twinkling with amusement. He wasn't as relaxed as he seemed to be; the visit from the First Avenger had been more invigorating than six cups of strong, black coffee.

"I rather thought you were the one who laid down the challenge there, Agent Doyle," she countered in amusement of her own, rising up onto her toes to brush a soft kiss to his lips. Perhaps it was the invigorating visit; perhaps it was the true privacy of this apartment, but something had changed.

"I'm ready when you are, Agent Miller," he replied, letting her take that any way she wanted to take it. He returned her kiss, brushing his lips against hers in a tender embrace that lit the sparks between them, but made no demands.

She warmed to him in an instant, her arms rising to curl about his shoulders, ignoring the very faint twinge of pain in the left in favor of pulling herself closer. Lips moved with lips, tender and gentle, melting and igniting something deep inside that was only partly fueled by lust. As her fingers curled into his hair, she broke the kiss just far enough to whisper to him. "I'm ready."

He lifted his brows, a little surprised by her announcement and unsure if she was talking about the same thing that he was. "You're sure?" he asked, hoping he wasn't making too many assumptions. She was still hurt, and he had to be heedful of that, too.

Her lips curved in a soft smile, touched by his surprise and his need to be certain. "Would you like me to have an invitation engraved for you?" she asked innocently. "Wouldn't take more than a week. I'd have to choose the font and the size, make sure it went to the right address ..."

"That would be nice, but I don't think it's necessary," he teased back. Was it too early to tell her he loved her, he wondered. They'd both hinted at their growing feelings for each other already. Why was it so hard and so scary to say out loud" "You don't really want to play poker again, do you?"

She considered him for a moment, stroking her fingertips along his cheek. "Not tonight," she said finally, and took matters into her own hands ....literally, as it turned out. Her lips crashed to his, hungrily asking for something she had been denying them both for weeks now. Strange, that it took a visit from Captain America to make her feel ready to be this vulnerable with the man she was pretty sure she was in love with.

He was pleasantly surprised by her sudden enthusiasm, though he didn't really need much encouragement. His arms tightened on her waist to pull her against his chest as his mouth sought hers, careful not to crush her or cause her further hurt. He wasn't sure what it was that had changed between them, but her kisses were evidence that something had. Maybe it was the fact that the visit from Captain America had given them hope and renewed purpose. Maybe it was just the fact that someone believed in them, or that he could see the connection between them without being told. Whatever it was, it had him sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her toward the bedroom, even as his lips never parted from hers.

Lifted up, she giggled against his lips, but never broke that contact, her hands now free to roam as he bore her through the apartment. A couple of thumps attested to her sneakers being kicked off on their journey, one less thing to be concerned with when they reached their destination. Had it felt like this when they had been playing parts" Or was this something new, something that belonged only to them, to AJ and Meg?

But even when they'd been playing parts, there had been part of Jason and Sarah that couldn't be faked. There had been an almost instant attraction between them and sparks that neither could deny. He'd wondered if she'd thought about him at all after they'd parted, unable to quite get her out of his head. It seemed he now had his answer. He laid her back on the bed, his lips only parting hers to travel down her neck, as his hands found the hem of her sweater.

She didn't think she had been wrong to ask him to wait, but the waiting was over now, for both of them. Meg was tired of trying to pretend that she didn't want him as much as he wanted her, secure in the privacy of this apartment to open herself up properly for the first time to this remarkable man who didn't seem to know just how deep he was embedded into her psyche. Her back arched as his hands slid down her sides, offering him the freedom to slip her sweater up and over her head as she raised her arms. "Tit for tat," she murmured against his ear, warning him that it was his turn next.

He smiled, knowing she'd made good on that, whether it was a threat or a promise. They'd had fun as Jason and Sarah, but this wasn't just about fun. No, this went so much deeper than that. When he claimed her - when she was ready to be claimed - he would claim all of her, and in doing so, let her claim him. Though she might not know it, she already had his heart. This joining between them only deepened the bond already in place.

As her sweater fell to the floor, she pushed up to sit with him straddling her thighs, her lips greedily tasting the skin of his throat as her fingers battled with the buttons of his shirt. The bandages on her shoulder seemed overly thick for such a basic injury, but they both knew they were necessary for a while longer, at least. Better yet, she trusted him to be gentle where it counted, no matter how out of control she might let herself become. And if he had any doubts about where that playful streak in Sarah had come from, he was about to have it proved. As his shirt peeled back, she went for the kill ....with kisses and caresses, and slender fingers that already knew exactly where to go.

Meg Miller

Date: 2016-11-12 18:22 EST
Despite having waited weeks before taking this next step, they seemed to know each other so well, to know just what the other wanted, just how far to push and when to ease back. The kisses and caresses traded back and forth were both teasing and tender, as they simultaneously lit the fire of passion between them. He repeated the trick he'd tried in Spetses, only this time he did it for his own enjoyment as much as her, and not so much to make her relax as to explore and discover the secrets that were Meg.

There was something truly humbling about this experience, for Meg, at least. To be so open, so vulnerable, and to feel safe doing it; to smile and laugh along with the moans that encouraged more. Quite when the rest of their clothes ended up on the floor was anyone's guess, but by the time he had her writhing at the barest touch of his fingers, she was well and truly bare, and utterly unashamed of it, reaching out to answer him in kind with caresses that were all hers to give.

He was tender and even gentle when it was called for, taking the lead when it was necessary, but just as happy to let her take charge when she felt the desire. Tit for tat, as she'd said - giving as much as was taken. Arms and legs tangled together, it was hard to say who was claiming who, both of them eager for the other and impatient to at last finish what they'd both started back in Paris.

And this time it was his name on her lips, her name on his. For the first time since they had met, they were entirely together, in the moment, and it brought with it a soaring tenderness that Meg never wanted to let go of. When, finally, they fell together against the sheets, breathless and sated, she ignored the ache in her shoulder to wriggle close, nose to nose where they rested against the pillows. Her fingers stroked against his jaw, ruffling through his beard as she smiled a very special kind of smile, just for him. "Is it too soon to say I love you?" she asked in a low whisper, half-afraid that the answer would be yes.

He kissed the tip of her nose as she snuggled close, an arm around her to hold her and keep her close, as content in the moment as he'd never been in his entire life. "I could ask you the same thing," he whispered back, almost as afraid to ask that question as she was. He lifted a hand to touch her cheek, letting his fingers drift back through her hair, just for the simple enjoyment of it.

Her smile deepened as she nuzzled to him, not quite able to believe quite how right it felt to be right here with him. For the first time, her mind wasn't on a mission, she wasn't distracted with thoughts of how she was getting home, or what her colleagues were going to think. She was right there with him, and it was wonderful. "That isn't an answer, Andrew."

He wasn't sure why he was afraid of the truth, but this wasn't the time to be afraid. This was the time to tell her how he felt, openly and honestly, and let the chips fall where they may. How she didn't know that he loved her already, he wasn't sure, but she was about to find out. "I've been in love with you for a while now, Meg," he admitted quietly, as he traced her lips with a fingertip.

That wasn't the answer to her question, either, but it was a very good one, nonetheless. Good enough to render her tenderly speechless for a long moment, her lips pressing kisses to his fingertip as her mind raced. "Since Spetses?" she asked finally, her voice gentle in the quiet that had wrapped about them. "I didn't realize it at the time, but ....I think that was when I fell in love with you. When I saw how much you would risk to protect me. How could I not love you?"

Maybe even before that, but before that they hadn't really known each other very well yet. He'd been attracted to her when she's been Sarah, frustrated by her when she'd been Sophie, but it was Meg he had ultimately fallen in love with. "When I got back from Paris, I couldn't get you out of my head. I wasn't ready to leave you behind, but I didn't have much choice. I can't explain it, but like you said, I felt sparks. But it wasn't until Spetses that I knew it was more than that. I didn't have to pretend very hard where you were concerned."

"You don't have to leave me behind again," she promised him softly, inching closer. "I'm not going anywhere. As long as you want me, I'll be here." Her forehead touched his, blue eyes meeting blue with an openness neither one of them had been able to share completely until this moment. "I love you, Andrew."

He smiled, his eyes suspiciously bright as he touched a kiss to her lips that didn't exactly answer her question in so many words, though his meaning was obvious. "I love you, too, Meg," he told her at last, once their lips had parted. They were only words really, but his eyes couldn't lie.

She held his gaze, her lips curved in that tender smile that was his to enjoy. "So ....does this mean you will wearing stockings and suspenders for me, or do I have to beg?" she asked innocently, the affection in her eyes tempered with a mischievous sparkle.

He laughed at her request. "As much as I love you, I still have my scruples, besides I don't really think I have the legs for it, do you?" he teased back.

"You would if you let me wax them," she teased impishly, reaching down to run a fingertip along his thigh. "Part of me really wants to see you in drag now, just to satisfy my curiosity. Think Drew could come up with a reason for that if I asked her really nicely?"

"That would be painful!" he laughed again, regarding the waxing. "Don't you dare!" he warned, playfully tweaking her nose. "Or I'll have to figure out a way to pay you back," he warned further, though he thought she'd dealt with enough over the last month or so.

"Oh, really?" she laughed, rolling him over onto his back to make herself very comfortable on top of him. "You don't think that beating me at strip poker sometime soon would be revenge enough for something that is never going to happen, hmm?"

"I'm not sure strip poker is necessary anymore," he replied as he traced a finger along a bare shoulder. After all, they both seemed more than willing to take their clothes out without any incentive other than each other.

"Fun, though," she murmured to him, feeling her skin tingle in the wake of his touch. Something occurred to her then, which perhaps should have occurred to her before this moment. "You know ....this is going to sound strange, but ....you're the first man I've slept with on my own terms since I was nineteen. So technically, you're only the second lover I've ever had, and the first one was a wanker. Literally, in fact."

"Hmm, I guess I should be honored then," he replied, the smile faltering only a little to know she'd been forced to sleep with men she didn't care about or that maybe she'd even detested. "I'm not gonna let them force you into doing that anymore, Meg. Even if it takes making you my wife to stop them." It wasn't so much a threat to marry her as it was a promise, but he hoped he was making himself clear. He'd already promised that he wouldn't let them use her in that way again, and it was a promise he intended to keep.

Meg Miller

Date: 2016-11-12 18:22 EST
She wouldn't have said she was forced, but being a swallow meant ignoring your personal preferences and putting yourself right into the thick of things with your mark. She had a smaller sex count than most her age, but there were some she had never been able to avoid sleeping with. And then there was Andrew, whom she desperately wanted to be the last man she ever slept with. "Hold on ....your wife?" she asked curiously. "Surely there's a better reason to take that step than simply to keep my fanny off the CIA's books."

"There is, but it might be too soon to ask you to marry me, and I haven't gotten around to buying a ring yet, so it'll have to do," he replied with a smile. Let her take that however she wanted. She would be his wife someday. maybe not today or tomorrow, but it would happen when they were both ready.

She giggled, leaning down to kiss him again. It was a little soon to be asking, and a little soon to be accepting, but she was glad to know they both seemed to be on the same page when it came to their shared future. "So how does it feel to know you're related to Captain America?"

He laughed again, once she was done kissing him. "It's a little hard to believe, to be honest. I guess I'll have to shake my family tree and see what comes up." He wasn't sure he believed it, even if Steve Rogers himself had suggested it. He couldn't deny the resemblance, though it could just be some strange quirk of fate. "I didn't know you knew Peggy Carter."

She shook her head, her fingertips teasing against his chest as she looked down at him. "I didn't really know her," she admitted. "Like I said, she worked with Nana at Bletchley during the war, before she was recruited to the S.O.E. She must have made quite the impression, though, for Nana to have named me after her."

"I might have joined S.H.I.E.L.D., if the CIA hadn't recruited me first," he told her, though it didn't matter much now. As far as he was concerned, they were all the same thing anyway. They all wanted the same thing. "And here I thought you were named after the queen," he teased.

"The queen's sister, darling," she corrected him laughingly. "And that's a possibility, too, but Nan was pretty insistent that it was Peggy Carter I was named after. Might be why I ended up as Meg, rather than Maggie."

AJ frowned as a thought came to mind. "I wonder why no one ever told me," he mused aloud, though the reason seemed obvious enough once he thought about it. It was something he was going to have to ask his father about at his next visit.

She raised her brow, wondering if he really needed an answer to that question. Steve Rogers' family had only recently been attacked out in the open; she would have thought the danger of being openly known to be related to him would have kept the information a secret. And with Hydra still operative, that would make AJ a prime target for experimentation with their version of the super soldier serum. "Perhaps it would be better to keep the information private," she suggested softly. "There's no need for anyone but us to know."

His thoughts were following the same inevitable course as hers, knowing the answer to that question almost as soon as he'd asked it. With Hydra still out there, it was too dangerous for anyone to know his real bloodline. It was probably it had been purposely hidden from him to keep him safe, but by who' His parents? Or were there others who'd known and kept it secret, as well. "Yeah, I guess not," he replied quietly.

"You've gone very serious all of a sudden," she murmured, leaning down to kiss his lips, gently trailing kisses along his jaw, down his throat. "Let me help." If he'd been concerned that she wasn't as ready as she said she was, this would certainly change his mind. Like she'd told Steve, she was the stubborn one in this relationship, and stubborn was sometimes a very good thing.

Whatever it was he was thinking and worrying over, she was able to distract him enough to put those thoughts from his head for now, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to search for the truth eventually. If Hydra wanted a fight, he'd give them one, and not just because he was some long lost relative of Steve Rogers. But there would be time to sort all that out later. For now, he just wanted to enjoy the woman in his arms and forget about the rest of the world for a while. And with her, the rest of the world could go hang. They had everything they needed, right here.