AHumanMadeMOFO
patreon
Chapter 176: Howard's Defeat (1)
🕑 Added 2025-01-21 15:17:18 +0000 UTC"Welcome to the CIA, Peggy!" The next morning, Josh greeted Peggy Carter in his office at Langley, as she had arrived early to report in.
"Thank you, Josh. I'm glad to be working with you. But if I may, I'd like to confirm—does the promise you made earlier still stand?" Peggy asked cautiously, her smile polite but reserved.
Though they had been friends in the past, they would be superior and subordinate in the future. Peggy's experiences over the years, both in MI5 and the Strategic Scientific Reserve, had been enough to make her cautious in the workplace.
"Of course it still stands. But don't get ahead of yourself. The CIA works differently from MI5 or the Strategic Scientific Reserve. It is more MI6 by nature. Before you officially start, there's something very important I need to discuss with you." Josh spoke as he carefully closed the office door and drew the blinds.
Although such precautions weren't necessary since the entire CIA headquarters was under his control, Josh decided to keep up appearances in front of Peggy Carter.
"...What is it?" Peggy's curiosity was piqued by Josh's secretive behavior.
"Take a look at this," Josh said, handing her a pair of gloves before pulling a confidential file out of his secure cabinet.
Seeing Josh's seriousness, Peggy became serious. She put on the gloves and began to read the document.
Soon her expression changed drastically. A mixture of anger, grief, and disbelief flooded her face.
"Why? Why do you have Steve's blood? And how could you dare to do such experiments with it?" Peggy slammed the file on Josh's desk and demanded in a calm but angry tone. "He sacrificed so much for this country, for this world. How could you do this to him?"
She began pacing the room, muttering under her breath, tears streaming down her face.
The document detailed research on Steve Rogers' blood samples and related experiments, along with plans for further studies. Peggy had been unaware of this, as the sample stolen from Howard had been secured by Dix before the Strategic Scientific Reserve could intervene.
To Peggy and many who considered Steve Rogers a hero, this was a betrayal and a desecration.
Josh remained calm, leaning back in his chair and allowing Peggy to vent her emotions. After all, she was aware of where she was and kept her voice low despite her anger.
"Sorry, I overreacted," Peggy said after a while, her emotions settling. She apologized.
After working in intelligence for so many years, she understood that there were many things that even someone at Josh's level could not change.
Something as important as the research on Captain America's blood could not possibly be controlled by an agency like the CIA, which had only recently been founded.
The documents clearly stated that the Department of the Army was in charge of this matter, with the CIA only providing some assistance.
"Don't worry, I understand your feelings," Josh said, getting up to pour her a cup of hot coffee.
"Thank you. The Strategic Scientific Reserve must have known about this, right?" Peggy asked after taking the coffee.
"They were part of the military, weren’t they?" Josh replied.
"Yeah... there's no way they didn't know," Peggy murmured. If the Strategic Scientific Reserve hadn't agreed, the military wouldn't have been able to get Steve's blood. She felt stupid for being kept in the dark for so long.
"In truth, the Strategic Scientific Reserve had no choice. The Rebirth Project was always a military initiative. The SSR was just following orders. They were doing their best to protect Steve's legacy... I think you know that," Josh said, trying to comfort her.
"You're right... But can I ask, how many samples of Steve's blood were left behind?" Peggy asked after taking a deep breath.
"Not many. As far as I know, there were twelve samples, each about five milliliters. The military got eleven of them," Josh replied.
"Eleven? What about the last one?" Peggy frowned.
Josh remained silent, pretending to think.
But his expression told her the answer.
"Howard, isn't it?" Peggy asked, deducing the obvious. The chances of the last sample being with the Strategic Scientific Reserve were slim. As the lead scientist of the Rebirth Project, Howard Stark was the most likely person to have the remaining sample.
Josh nodded slightly, confirming her suspicion.
Previously, Josh hadn't taken Peggy Carter's recruitment into the CIA too seriously, so he hadn't bothered to sow discord between her and Howard.
But now that Peggy had officially joined the CIA, there was no need for a good relationship between the two.
If handled well, Peggy could even become the CIA's vanguard against S.H.I.E.L.D. After all, despite the obstacles Strategic Scientific Reserve had faced in the past year, it was only a matter of time before it came into existence.
With so many U.S. intelligence agencies competing for limited funding, the rivalry was fierce. Add to that the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s research-heavy focus made it an even greater financial burden, and the CIA and S.H.I.E.L.D. were bound to become semi-rivals in the future.
Allowing Peggy and Howard to maintain an overly good relationship was not ideal. Josh decided it was time to put some distance between them.
Howard had always known about Steve's blood samples, but had kept it a secret for years. While this revelation wouldn't completely ruin Peggy and Howard's friendship, it would certainly create a rift that couldn't be easily ignored. This was exactly the situation that Josh had staged.
In the long run, Josh planned to let Peggy lead the CIA against S.H.I.E.L.D., while he remained in the background, playing the role of mediator—or perhaps enjoying the show.
