Chapter 888

"Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll just—"

Evenson pulled the door shut.

He hadn’t knocked. That part was entirely his fault.

But there was no way he could have expected to walk into that.

Dottie was one thing.

Peggy Carter, however, was supposed to be one of the most serious, disciplined people he’d ever met.

Apparently, behind closed doors, she had a surprisingly adventurous side.

Wait.

Why did I say ’too’?

Evenson didn’t need more than half a second to realize he’d walked in at exactly the wrong moment.

He did have something important to discuss with Peggy, but there was no way he could bring it up now without making the situation unbearably awkward.

He reached for the door.

"Come in. I need your help with something."

Evenson froze.

Peggy was still sitting in the chair, her expression completely emotionless.

He remained halfway through closing the door.

"...Uh."

He stared at her.

"Are you sure that’s a good idea?"

Peggy’s expression didn’t change.

Evenson continued, words increasingly tangled.

"You know, you and I... this could get awkward. I mean, I’m not exactly Captain America’s biggest fan, but that’s mostly a personality issue. Steve and I just don’t really get along. I might tease him occasionally, sure, but if this is—"

He swallowed.

"That would be crossing a line. You know?"

Evenson wasn’t going to pretend he had perfect resistance to temptation.

Under normal circumstances, he could be remarkably easy to tempt.

But there was a difference between indulging in something harmless and walking directly into a situation that could destroy several important relationships at once.

And this wasn’t just anywhere.

This was company headquarters.

The Eredar Twins were less than a hundred yards away.

This was practically a suicide invitation.

Peggy’s eye twitched.

"Evenson, I know you’re an awful person, but could you please stop thinking about sex for five seconds?"

She pointed at Dottie.

"There is a difference between being evil and being filthy."

Then she hurriedly added, "Dottie and I aren’t doing anything like that. I’m punishing her."

Evenson nodded slowly.

"Right."

He suddenly wore an expression of profound understanding.

"Punishment."

"Exactly."

"Personal preference. I get it. I’m not judging."

He smiled sympathetically at Dottie.

Dottie, still restrained on the bed, smiled back.

Her cheeks were flushed.

Evenson immediately looked at Peggy again.

Peggy’s face turned red with frustration.

"Oh, for God’s sake! Can you please be on the same page as me for once?"

She jumped up and slammed the remote onto the floor.

Unfortunately, she hit the activation button.

Electricity surged through the restraints.

Dottie’s body jerked violently.

Peggy’s expression darkened.

"I’m punishing her because she drugged me unconscious and tried to do something to me. It has absolutely nothing to do with what you’re imagining!"

Evenson stared at her.

"...Okay."

He rubbed his chin.

"Honestly, I think we’re still on the same page."

Peggy glared at him.

He wisely continued before she could respond.

"Anyway. I understand now. So the help you need is...?"

"I had a dream while I was unconscious."

Peggy took a deep breath.

Her expression became serious.

"The dream was... absurd."

"That’s normal."

Evenson cautiously entered the room, keeping as much distance from both women as possible.

He even left the door open.

If someone asked why he was here, at least he’d have witnesses and an escape route.

"Dreams are usually absurd. A few days ago I dreamed I somehow got five copies of a rare character from a gacha game in a single pull."

He shook his head.

"I nearly threw my phone through a wall when I woke up."

Peggy ignored him.

"This dream felt different."

She stared ahead.

"Ever since I returned from the Twisting Nether, I’ve had a strange feeling. I couldn’t explain it."

Her eyes flicked toward Dottie.

"Then Dottie drugged me."

Dottie smiled.

"You’re welcome, Peggy."

"I fell into an extremely deep sleep."

Peggy’s mouth tightened.

"Whatever she gave me was ridiculously strong."

"I was only helping."

Dottie shifted against her restraints and gave Peggy a flirtatious smile.

Peggy looked disgusted.

"You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?"

She stepped on the remote.

Dottie immediately convulsed.

A faint wisp of smoke rose from her body.

Evenson smelled something distinctly burnt.

Did she just cook her?

He decided not to ask.

Peggy took another deep breath.

"After I fell into that deep sleep, that strange feeling seemed to pull me into the dream."

She shook her head.

"I don’t believe what I saw. But it felt real."

"All right."

Evenson’s expression finally became serious.

"What did you dream about?"

He had already begun considering the possibilities.

He knew there was a temporal discrepancy between the Twisting Nether and the physical world.

Peggy had just returned from the Nether.

It was entirely possible that the experience had left some kind of temporal or magical residue.

Most dreams were meaningless.

But dreams could also dredge up buried memories.

Sometimes they could even provide glimpses of things that hadn’t happened yet.

There was no consistent rule governing them.

But given Peggy’s circumstances, ignoring the dream would be foolish.

Peggy finally began explaining.

The dream itself had been remarkably short.

There was only one location.

An elevator.

A normal observation elevator, surrounded by reinforced glass.

Nothing unusual about that.

What mattered was who was inside.

Peggy herself hadn’t appeared in the dream.

She had simply been an observer.

A viewpoint with no physical presence.

Like a camera recording a scene without anyone holding it.

And then she’d seen him.

Steve Rogers.

Captain America.

The man she had loved for most of her life.

He entered the elevator wearing his uniform, though he wasn’t wearing his mask. His shield was still in his hand.

Peggy had also noticed something she had somehow overlooked before.

That really is an impressive ass.

She immediately pushed the thought aside.

The elevator contained several other people.

Peggy didn’t recognize all of them, but their faces looked familiar.

They appeared to be members of a S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team.

Except that, seen from this strange perspective, something about them felt wrong.

They didn’t look like good men.

When Steve entered, they moved aside and made room for him.

But the position they’d given him was subtly surrounded.

And as soon as Steve stepped inside, the others became visibly tense.

One man reached toward his weapon.

Another wiped sweat from his forehead.

Peggy immediately recognized the signs.

It was an ambush.

A carefully planned one.

"You dreamed all that?"

Evenson stared at her.

This was no ordinary nightmare.

It sounded like a genuine precognitive dream.

You’re a demon hunter.

How exactly did you casually stumble into a future vision?

What are shamans and druids supposed to do for a living now?

Evenson sighed.

"At this point, there’s no reason to keep it from you."

Peggy looked at him.

"You’ve probably already figured out that the S.H.I.E.L.D. strike teams have been heavily infiltrated by Hydra."

"Your dream may have shown you something that’s going to happen."

"Hydra is planning to ambush Captain America inside an elevator."

Peggy’s expression remained grim.

"But that’s not necessarily a problem."

Evenson shrugged.

"You know Steve’s capabilities. You’ve fought beside him."

He began counting on his fingers.

"He’s destroyed Hydra’s armored vehicles single-handedly. He’s infiltrated enemy camps alone and rescued entire groups of prisoners."

"How many times has he survived situations that should have killed him?"

"An elevator can only hold so many people. And those agents would have to fight Captain America at close range while he’s carrying the shield."

Evenson shook his head.

"They’d have no chance."

Peggy frowned.

"It’s not just the strike team."

Evenson paused.

"Who else?"

For a moment, he wondered if she meant the Winter Soldier.

That would make sense.

If Alexander Pierce intended to ensure the success of the Insight Plan, activating Hydra’s enhanced operative would be a logical move.

If the Winter Soldier was inside that elevator too, Steve could genuinely be in danger.

But Peggy’s answer was different.

"Senior Agent Sitwell."

Evenson blinked.

"He’s the one giving the orders?"

He visibly relaxed.

"That’s hardly surprising. He’s Hydra, after all. And he’s one of Pierce’s trusted agents."

"I know."

Peggy nodded.

"His face practically screams ’traitor.’"

"But he wasn’t giving orders."

Peggy looked directly at Evenson.

"He was inside the elevator."

Evenson’s brow furrowed.

"That’s strange."

Sitwell was an administrative agent.

An organizer.

A senior bureaucrat who rarely went into the field.

And he’d never shown any particular talent for close-quarters combat.

Melinda May, for example, could probably drop him twice before he had time to complain.

If Sitwell was actually inside the elevator, he’d be a liability.

If he stayed outside, Hydra gained another combatant.

If he entered the elevator, three men would have to protect him.

If he somehow defected to Steve’s side, then Hydra had just handed Captain America several additional fighters.

Pierce wasn’t stupid enough to put a walking liability in the middle of an operation like that.

Besides, this was still only a dream.

Even genuine precognitive dreams weren’t necessarily perfect representations of the future.

Perhaps Peggy had simply perceived every person directly involved in the ambush as being inside the elevator, whether they were physically there or not.

"Either way, don’t worry too much."

Evenson started toward the door.

"That kind of fight would barely qualify as a warm-up for Captain America."

"And now that we know about it in advance, it’ll be even easier."

He felt rather pleased with himself.

He was a time traveler, after all.

He knew the future.

He knew what was coming.

Everything was going exactly according to plan.

Ah, the advantages of being the protagonist.

He was almost enjoying the sensation.

Then Peggy spoke.

"They didn’t fight."

Evenson stopped.

"...What?"

"They didn’t fight."

His smug expression vanished.

"Then what did they do?"

He turned around.

"Did Steve get into the elevator and lead them in singing the national anthem?"

Peggy’s voice dropped.

"No."

She looked deeply uncomfortable.

"It was much stranger than that."

Evenson’s expression tightened.

Peggy was trembling slightly.

Something was wrong.

A terrible thought crossed his mind.

No.

Surely not.

He imagined Steve surrounded by several enormous men inside an elevator.

He shuddered.

Peggy noticed.

Their eyes met.

"Apparently we were thinking the same thing."

"No."

Evenson shook his head immediately.

"Absolutely not."

"Keep going."

Peggy opened her mouth.

Then stopped.

She hesitated.

"It’s ridiculous."

She looked away.

"Forget it. Thinking about it now, it’s almost embarrassing. We’re seriously sitting here discussing a dream."

"Maybe I’m just still on edge after everything that happened."

"Maybe I was imagining things."

"I don’t think the dream means anything."

Evenson spread his hands.

"Seriously?"

"You can’t stop there."

Peggy stared at him.

"We need to analyze it before deciding whether it’s meaningful."

"Analyze a dream?"

"From a scientific perspective, dreams can reflect your psychological state."

Evenson’s voice became serious.

"From a magical perspective, a precognitive dream is something you absolutely don’t ignore."

He leaned forward.

"What happened inside that elevator?"

Peggy finally snapped.

"Nothing happened!"

"They were just talking!"

"About what?"

"I couldn’t hear them clearly."

Peggy shook her head.

"Everything sounded muffled. Just this constant buzzing. I couldn’t even make out their mouths."

Evenson sighed.

Of course.

Future visions had to be cryptic.

Apparently the universe couldn’t simply hand someone a recording and call it a day.

"But..."

Peggy’s voice weakened.

"I did hear the final sentence."

She slowly sat back down.

"The elevator stopped."

"Steve walked over to Sitwell."

"He leaned toward his ear and said something."

"A private greeting, I think."

Evenson waited.

"I heard it clearly."

Peggy’s hands tightened.

"And I saw his lips."

She suddenly looked furious.

"That’s why I’m worried."

"That’s why I know the dream was impossibly realistic..."

"But also completely absurd."

Evenson stared at her.

"What did he say?"

Peggy hesitated.

Once.

Twice.

Then she bit her lip hard enough to hurt.

Finally, she forced the words out.

"He said..."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Hail Hydra."

Evenson went completely still.

For once, he had absolutely nothing sarcastic to say.