Once Upon an Us

A Soiree, But in a Bar With a Gun

Thea paced in Tony’s den, arms wrapped around herself as she moved back and forth.  Jude wasn’t able to go back home since the patrol officers were still combing the streets for them, so they were stuck in Tony’s den.  As soon as they’d caught their breath, Thea had gone to shake Tony awake and tell him what had happened. He wasn’t very pleased with the rude awakening, but after Thea had explained what had happened twice, he was wide awake.  He’d been at his computer for half an hour, combing through every one of his resources to figure out if Hoffman had filed an order for her arrest. It didn’t appear that he had, which made sense after Thea had told him they’d definitely been meeting in secret.  She’d run him down on what they’d heard and he frowned before changing his search.

“He can’t file an official report,”  Jude said, fiddling with his ring in the corner of Tony’s den.  He was currently occupying Thea’s bean bag which had left her with nothing else to do but pace the room.  “That meeting has to stay under wraps and any official report would be suspicious.”

“That doesn’t mean he won’t send out a search party off the books,”  Tony replied. He glanced at Thea but she didn’t seem to be listening to them as she paced, too deep in thought to be of much assistance.  “He has the means to get away with anything without suspicion.” Jude didn’t object; they all knew Hoffman was powerful and could probably kill half of the world’s population without anyone tracing it back to him.

“Put alerts on anything that could be tied back to Hoffman,”  Thea suddenly instructed. Tony already had a system set up that would alert him every time certain Nazi officers sent out private orders or did anything that wasn’t public knowledge.  Hoffman had been one of the first Nazis he’d tagged and Thea knew this, so why she was telling him now, he didn’t know.

“I already—”  Thea cut him off before he could remind her.

“Tag everything that ties him to me,”  she told him. Tony frowned in confusion and Jude looked up from the bean bag.  “Anything that could be connected to Lebensborn, Black Knight Project, or tie me to the OSS, all of it needs to be tagged and scanned for patterns that could tie it back to Hoffman.  If two things show up within five minutes of each other, I want to know.”

“Thea, what are you on about?”  Jude asked, standing up and joining her behind Tony.

“I don’t know yet,”  she answered, watching Tony add keywords to the system’s database.  With each entry, more and more alerts and notices popped up on his desktop.  Some were from years ago when Thea was still tied in with one of the three organizations she’d listed, but some were from a couple of hours ago, directly after Hoffman had checked into the office despite it being 3:30 in the morning.

Pengin wasn’t fooling around when he said he could guarantee Jude would get the job as Hoffman’s secretary.  The entire time Jude was being interviewed, he could feel cameras on him that he couldn’t see and knew there were people watching him that he didn’t want knowing he existed.  Nonetheless, he remained calm and acted as if he was the person Pengin’s file made him into. After an hour of fake references and false experience, Jude was saluting the interviewing and walking out of the building with a job.  He passed Fritz on the way out who was being shown around the building in his new janitor uniform. They made eye contact, but neither made a move to show they knew each other in case someone was watching.

Jude made it all the way back to Bayer’s Bar without suspicion.  He noted the extra police that were roaming the streets, but they weren’t trailing him so he felt like it was safe enough to return.  He let himself into the bar and through the vault in Carol’s back office. He had to go all the way back to the dining s***h meeting room before he found anyone.  He could hear laughter coming from the room all the way down the hall and was confused as to why it sounded like there were three female voices instead of just the normal two.  As soon as he stepped into the dining room and spotted a dark-skinned woman, he relaxed.

“Langley,”  Jude nodded in greeting, walking past the three women and towards the fridge.  Marie Langley, one of Pengin’s only friends and one of the few people he actually trusted, showed up every so often.  She tended to come by when Pengin did, but based on the story about a rescue mission in Mumbai she was telling Carol and Thea, Jude figured she’d been too busy.

“Well if it ain’t the circus freak,”  Marie teased, setting down her mug to get up and hug Jude.  He grinned and accepted her hug, snatching the bag of chips off the counter as he pulled back.  “I heard you got a fancy new job as Hoffman’s secretary. Didn’t take you for the skirt-wearing, ass-kissing type, but it’s always nice to discover new secrets about your friends.”

“Har har,”  Jude said dryly.  He shot Thea a glare as she whispered something to Carol with a smile, but Thea just grinned even more.  “For your information, there were no skirts worn or asses kissed today.”

“Are you sure?”  Thea smirked, leaning back in her chair.  “I could have sworn there was a skirt missing from my closet this morning.”  Jude didn’t bother replying as he rolled his eyes and left the room. Marie sat back down in her seat beside Thea and the three girls continued their conversation.  They went through two full kettles of tea before they finished catching up and Carol had to go. Marie went with her out to the front rooms to help Carol get ready to open the bar while Thea went back into Tony’s den to see what he was up to.  Fortunately for them, they had a few more days before Marie was planning on leaving so there was no rush when it came to catching up and hanging out before they were sent their separate ways on missions.

Tony knew he should probably mention what was going on to Pengin, but at the same time, he didn’t really trust the man enough.  Sure, he used to run a top-secret spy agency before they got found out, but they’d been discovered and only four agents in the entire agency were still alive.  The last time Tony had trusted Pengin with something related to his sister’s history, she’d gotten a bullet to the chest and he’d had to remake her entire life story just so she wouldn’t be hunted down again.  So no, Tony didn’t quite trust Pengin enough to tell him Thea was back on Hoffman’s radar and the man had pretty much teamed up with all her old pals.

Originally he hadn’t wanted to tell Thea, either, but she’d walked in without him noticing and it was too late to lie to her, so he’d had no choice but to tell her everything he’d found in the past four hours.  Needless to say, she needed a minute to process it all. His den remained dead silent as she sat on the bean bag chair he’d pulled over before his explanation. He watched her closely, trying to gauge any reaction she let show on her face, but it was near impossible to read her.

“Are you absolutely sure?”  she eventually asked. Tony nodded solemnly, glancing at all the open files on his desktop that acted as evidence.  “We have to tell Pengin.”

“No,”  Tony immediately denied.  Thea was visibly shocked at his refusal and frowned.  “The last time I trusted him with information about our past, you returned with a bullet in your chest, minutes away from dying.  If Laura hadn’t been there, you would have died right in front of me. That’s not happening again.”

“And it won’t, Tony,”  Thea assured him, standing up and moving to take her bean bag back to its usual spot.  “We learned from our mistakes last time, but we need to tell Pengin before Jude and Fritz continue with the plan.”

“No,”  Tony repeated.  He grabbed her shoulders gently but tight enough she couldn’t easily slip away.  “We’re going to figure this out ourselves, okay?” he said earnestly. Thea looked doubtful, but Tony refused to let her leave without agreeing.  “If we absolutely cannot get this under control, then we’ll tell Pengin, but until then, this stays between us. I can’t lose you too, okay?”

“Okay,”  Thea said softly, grabbing onto his wrists.

“Do you promise not to tell anyone?”  he asked. She nodded, biting her lower lip as she realized Tony was truly desperate.  He had tears in his eyes she could tell he was trying to keep back, but it wasn’t working.

“I promise,”  she whispered, hugging him tightly.  Tony wrapped his arms around her shoulders and buried his face in her thick hair.  The image of her bleeding out on the dining room table while Laura, Jude, and Carol worked frantically to stem the blood flow was still fresh in his mind, but he could feel her even breaths on his neck as he hugged her and forced himself to remember they’d be alright.  If it came down to it, he could take her far from Pengin and they could start a new life where they’d never be found. First, though, he’d get Hoffman off her trail.

Later that evening, Thea could be found sitting at the bar counter, a bottle of vodka in her hand as she watched Tony attempt to flirt with a customer.  Marie was laughing beside her while Carol was busy with another customer. Tony wasn’t having very much luck, making it enjoyable for her and Marie to watch, but miserable for all parties actively involved.  The music echoed through the bar loudly, the bass shaking the walls just enough that if she set her beer on the counter it would slowly walk away. Thea didn’t mind people all around or the music that made it so she couldn’t really hear Marie when she talked; it provided a good cover for anyone on the run from the police or a place to blend in if she needed to.  Thankfully, she didn’t need the bar for any of those reasons at the moment and was able to just enjoy her time.

“Let’s go show ‘em how it’s done,”  Marie yelled over the music, setting down her beer and motioning towards a billiards table full of drunk men.  Thea smiled and set her drink on the countertop, letting Marie drag her across the bar. They passed Tony who had moved on from Target Blue Eyes and onto a pretty brunette.  Thea stepped to the side, knocking him against the girl and making her accidentally spill her drink all down Tony’s shirt. He glared at Thea, but the brunette became visibly flustered and made it her duty to clean his shirt.  When Tony realized the new girl was interested, he shot Thea a smile instead. She wasn’t looking by then, too focused on her game of billiards to care that her brother had changed his mind about how he felt about her running into him.

Marie stood beside her, cheering her on as Thea easily beat everyone at the table in just a few shots.  She managed to win twice in a row before people stopped wanting to play against her. She shrugged and she and Marie returned to the bar where their drinks were still waiting.  They talked about anything and everything from stories of old missions to memories of Jude’s wedding. Halfway through Thea’s recount of an adventure she and Tony had gone on when they were only five and six years old, she felt someone’s eyes on her.

Marie’s eyes narrowed as Thea stumbled over a word before continuing on normally.  She watched Thea’s face closely as she glanced over the crowd of people. Thea continued to tell her story just as energetically as before, but Marie could see her scanning everyone carefully, clearly looking for someone.

“What is it?”  Marie asked, looking over Thea’s back and scanning the part of the room Thea couldn’t.  If she spun around on her stool to stare at the crowd, whoever was watching them would know they’d been discovered.  She’d have to rely on Marie to check over her back.

“We’re being watched,”  Thea said, quietly but grinning to make it look like it was part of her story.  Marie wasn’t unfamiliar with the way Thea acted, excited and tipsy enough someone watching might think she was drunk.  If Marie didn’t know her better, she’d think her friend was buzzed. Luckily for her, she did know her better and was able to catch on immediately.

“Do you think it’s important or just an infatuated customer?”  Marie asked, giggling as she tipped forward to pretend to whisper something.  Thea hesitated as her eyes caught on a man in a dark coat. He was seated near the front door, but his hat was pulled over his head.  Despite having a drink in front of him, it had obviously not been touched. Closer inspection of the front seating areas revealed two more men dressed similarly seated on the other side of the door and a couple of men near the back door leading into Carol’s office.  Just like the first man, these men all had drinks they hadn’t touched.

“There’s six,”  Thea whispered in her ear, eyes skimming the crowd for more.  It appeared to only be those few, though she wouldn’t be surprised if there were some people dressed like customers that were with the six men as well.  “There’s a guy at your two o’clock, two at your four, and three near Carol’s office.”

“I see ‘em,”  Marie confirmed, skimming the crowd and spotting the three at the front.  She didn’t turn to see the others near Carol’s office, but she trusted Thea to be able to spot them.  “What do we do?” she asked, looking back at Thea. Thea scanned the crowd for Tony, spotting him still talking to the brunette from earlier.

“Grab Carol and let her know,”  Thea instructed, sliding off the stool she was on.  “I’m going to grab Tony.”

“Got it,”  Marie nodded.  Thea left the bar and slipped across the room to Tony.  She bumped into him, catching both his and the brunette’s attention.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!”  she exclaimed, brushing over Tony as if she was making sure he was alright.  “It’s so crowded and I didn’t see you. I’m sorry.” She left without another word, smiling down at the brunette and making her way across the bar.  She watched as Tony reached into his back pocket, continuing to casually chat with the brunette girl. Thea saw his hand still as his fingers found the paper she’d stuffed in his pocket when she bumped into him and he excused himself for the bathroom.  Just like she had, he slipped through the crowd unnoticed and disappeared into the bathroom.

At the counter, Marie was nodding as she spoke to Carol.  Carol glanced around the room, spotting each agent as Marie pointed him out despite Marie telling her not to be obvious.  Carol’s eyes widened and Marie spun around just in time to see Thea jump on the back of Agent One. The other agents immediately leapt into action, but Thea had snapped the first man’s neck before he even knew she’d attacked him.  She quickly clambered off the dead agent, ignoring the screams that now rang through the bar, and darted towards the other two that had been at the front.

“Get everyone out,”  Marie told Carol. She nodded and started gathering people and leading them out through the delivery port.  A crowd of people followed her through the storage closet and into the alley, flooding the streets in a panic.  While Carol worked to get everyone out unharmed, Marie lunged for the three agents that had come from guarding Carol’s office.

Thea was sitting on the shoulders of Agent Two, a thin rope wrapped around his neck as she choked him.  He tried to throw her off, but her thighs were clamped around his neck and she was not going to be moving until she wanted to.  Agent Three tried grabbing her, but Agent Two kept moving around, unintentionally making it harder for his partner. Frustrated, Agent Three pulled out a gun and shot at her.  Thea threw herself backward, narrowly avoiding the bullet that flew over her while Agent Two stumbled backward and fell from underneath her. She snapped his neck, forgoing her chokehold in favor of a quicker death, then dove for the third agent.

Unlike the first two, the third one had pulled a gun on her.  She dropped to the ground, swinging her leg out in an attempt to knock him off his feet, but he only wobbled.  Agent Three twisted around as she sprang up behind him, trying to shoot her again, but she grabbed the barrel and ripped the gun from his hand, tossing it over the bar counter.  That wasn’t enough to stop him, though, and he reached out to hit her. Thea grinned as she realized he wanted to fight her and immediately accepted the challenge. It had been a while since she’d fought at hand-to-hand combat with someone other than Jude or Tony.  However, she was surprised to discover Agent Three could keep up with her and had obviously had vigorous training. She was suddenly reminded of what Tony had found out about Hoffman connected with people she used to work for, getting distracted long enough the agent was able to land a hard punch to her jaw.  She stumbled backward, knocking into Tony who was only just now rushing out of the bathroom.

“What took you so long?”  she demanded before charging forward and throwing herself back at the agent.  She was about to wrap her legs around the man’s neck and pull him down, but the agent stepped to the side and kicked her harshly in the ribs.  She dropped to the ground and rolled to avoid being stomped on.

“I had to actually use the bathroom, not just read your note,”  Tony told her, moving to help her take down the agent. She waved him off, glaring at the agent as he tried to kick her again.

“I’m fine,”  she snapped at him, jumping to her feet and kicking Agent Three.  “Go help Marie.” Tony was about to protest, but Thea pulled out a knife he didn’t realize she had and stabbed the agent in the chest.

Tony hurried off to help Marie who was fighting two agents on her own.  He grabbed a beer bottle off the bar counter and brought it down over the back of Agent Four’s head.  The agent stumbled, reaching back to touch his head in shock and Tony kicked out his knee. Agent Four collapsed to the ground but twisted around to grab Tony.  Tony leapt backward out of his reach then kicked him hard in the jaw. Agent Four yelled out in pain as he bit his tongue, spitting blood out on the floor. Before he could retaliate, Tony hit him over the head with a barstool and he crumpled to the ground unconscious.

“Take that, you Hitler-loving bastard!”  Tony yelled, mocking the unconscious agent.  Marie grabbed the chair he’d used and spun around to hit Agent Five with it.  Tony jumped out of the way, almost being hit mid-swing, and watched in awe as Marie beat the agent into unconsciousness with a chair.  When she was finished, she put the chair down and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

“About time you showed up,”  she panted. Tony nodded and looked back towards Thea right as she pulled her knife from Agent Three’s body for the fourth time.  Tony grimaced and looked away as Thea wiped her knife clean then hid it on her body again.

“That’s only five,”  she said, looking around at the three dead agents and two unconscious.  She frowned but didn’t move to kill the remaining two herself. “Where’s the sixth one?”  Tony jumped as they heard a bang come from Carol’s office. They scrambled around the corner and peered into the office, ready to fight the last agent.  Pengin was standing in the door to the vault, his gun pointed at a now-dead Agent Six.

“I think we need to talk,”  he said, giving each of them pointed looks.