A New Woman: Chapter 2
An Agent Carter Fanfic
It was a disaster. Clothes scattered over the bed and hanging over the chair. Some makeup was still on the dressing table, but most was on the floor. It would take hours to find all the bobby pins blending into the dark wooden floor. Her scrapbook laid haphazardly against a wall and the family photo was face-down in front of the shelf.
Angry tears stung Edith’s eyes as she surveyed the room. How dare they?
“Oh, Edith!” Her landlady’s voice drifted up from the stairs behind her, but she couldn’t turn around. Couldn’t look away from the horror in front of her.
“They told me you were here. Are you–” Mrs. Harrington’s voice cut off abruptly at the door. “Oh my,” she whispered.
Edith spun around, struggling to hold back the tears. “Mrs. Harrington, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s going on. No one will tell me a thing.”
The older woman patted her shoulder absently, still staring at the mess. “I know. I’m sure this will all be settled soon.” Finally tearing herself away, she fixed her imploring ice-blue eyes on Edith. “Did Thea come with you?”
“Thea? No. Didn’t she stay with one of her friends last night? Betty maybe? Or Doris?”
Mrs. Harrington frowned. “No, those men who came yesterday said they picked her up from the theater yesterday. Did you not see her wherever they took you?”
“No! I never saw her. They never said anything about her.” She clenched her fists. “I’m going to go get her.”
Mrs. Harrington’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, don’t do anything that might cause trouble–”
“So, what? Am I supposed to sit at a stranger’s home until they decide to give us our lives back? We’ve done nothing wrong! I’m going to make them let her go!”
“Edith! They might just lock you up again!”
“I don’t care! She would do the same for me.” She couldn’t believe she had spent a peaceful night while Thea had been kept in a cell, probably interrogated all hours of the night. She wasn’t just going to abandon her friend.
She stormed out of the building, feeling angrier than she could remember being in a very long time. She managed to find her way to the bookstore on her own, thanks to her walk back with Peggy the night before. Both the old woman and her cat inspected her carefully when she walked in.
“You’re Miss Braddock, aren’t you? What are you doing back here?” the woman asked.
“I need to speak to Agent Carter.”
The woman frowned. “I’m afraid she isn’t here right now.”
Edith hesitated. She couldn’t just leave Thea alone until she got back, but who else could she talk to?
“Agent Thompson, then. I need to speak to him.”
The woman’s frown twisted as though she had sucked on a lemon. “Are you quite sure?”
Edith remembered the driver’s hands on her arm the night before and Chief Cooper’s angry interrogation. She shivered. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Very well.” The woman jerked her head toward the back room. “Go ahead. I’ve let them know you’re coming.”
Edith glanced around for any sort of button or signal the woman could have used. She didn’t see one. “Thank you.”
When she got out of the elevator, she felt dozens of pairs of eyes on her, but every time she looked, they were focused on their coffee, or files, or typewriter. She swallowed hard and clutched her bag.
“Excuse me?” No one stopped. “I need to see Theodora Davis.” Nothing. “Is Agent Thompson here?” One man snorted, but no one else responded. Edith gritted her teeth.
“Did someone call?” Thompson strolled into the room with a mug of coffee, and Edith had to stifle a sigh of relief.
Straightening her shoulders, she walked over to him. “Agent Thompson?”
He raised his eyebrows at her, but otherwise seemed bored. “Chief,” he corrected, “And what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see Thea.”
“Thea?”
“Theodora Davis. Is she still here? She’s my roommate and I’ve come to get her.”
His brow furrowed. “Who–oh, yeah. She’s still in an interrogation room.”
Edith gripped her purse strap. “She’s been there all night? She’s done nothing wrong! Let me take her home.”
He sat back on a desk. “Yeah, well, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“First of all, as Cooper was so kind to point out yesterday, this is not my case. Second, I don’t have any basis to free her.”
“What, because her grandfather isn’t the governor?” she shot, then winced. It wasn’t his fault Cooper wouldn’t let her go.
“No, although that did help.” He took a sip of his coffee, just as calm as before.
She rubbed her temples. When would this nightmare be over? “Fine, just–do you know how long she’s going to be kept here?”
Chief Thompson shrugged. “No idea, but when she’s released, she’ll be going to prison, not home.”
Edith felt her face grow hot and took a step forward. “On what charges? I write letters for a department store owner and she sells tickets at a theater for goodness’s sake!” She jabbed her finger at him. “You people have come into our home, disrupted our lives, and practically kidnapped us with no explanation as to why. You cannot just treat us like this, locking up innocent people without reason! We have rights!”
Her rant had no effect on the man. He sipped his coffee, waiting for her to finish. “Feel better?”
She wanted to smack him.
She clenched her fists and took a deep breath. “May I see her at least?”
Thompson’s eyes narrowed and he studied her for much longer than the question merited. She kept his gaze and resisted the urge to tap her foot.
“Fine.”
“Jack!” a man a couple desks over shouted.
Thompson raised his hands. “You wanna explain things to her, be my guest, but I don’t think she’s going to give up until she’s seen her. Are you?”
She folded her arms and fixed the other man with a glare. Her father had always said that when she peeked over her specs like that, she brought back memories of a strict schoolteacher. Apparently this man agreed.
Thompson stood up and nodded toward a hallway. He walked away without a word and Edith ran after him, heels clacking on the hard floor.
When he led her to a small room with Chief Cooper, she opened her mouth to insist on going straight to Thea, until she noticed the window in the wall.
“What’s she doing here?” Chief Cooper asked. She left the question for Thompson to answer and studied her friend through the glass.
Something was off.
It was Thea, but . . . not. Those same blonde curls that fell to her chin. The same heart-shaped face and long nose. The same pink dress she had worn to work the day before. But her ever-present, cheerful attitude was gone, replaced by a confident nonchalance.
Edith was vaguely aware of the two agents arguing behind her, but she couldn’t think about that. The door to the other room opened and she felt a chill down her spine as Thea smirked.
Something was wrong. She had to get Thea out of this strange place. Now.
Except . . . she couldn’t move.
A man sat across from the Thea. Edith could hear him through a speaker somewhere as he said, “Are you ready to talk?” Thea sighed and slumped back in her chair.
How many times had she lectured Edith on posture?
“You’re not Peggy.”
“Miss Carter is busy.” One eyebrow quirked up, but otherwise Thea didn’t move. “I’m afraid you’ll have to talk to me.”
“And what makes you think I will?”
The man ignored her, opening a file. “How long have you been in Chicago?”
One year. It was a simple enough answer, but Thea said nothing.
“Why have you been working at the theater?”
Why did it matter? Still Thea said nothing.
Edith’s hand’s hurt and she realized she was gripping the desk. She forced her muscles to relax.
“I want Peggy,” Thea sang.
The man sighed and closed the file. “Listen, Miss Underwood–”
“Davis,” Edith whispered. “Her name’s Davis.”
“–if you cooperate, you might be able to get a lesser sentence.”
Edith’s stomach knotted.
Thea fixed her eyes on him and flashed a charming smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
It was wrong. It was all so wrong.
Edith took a step back, then another. She bumped into someone behind her, but didn’t stop to see who. She fumbled for the doorknob without taking her eyes off Thea, but her hand slipped off as soon as she gripped it. She hadn’t realized her hands were so sweaty.
She made it out of the room and pressed her palms against the wall, lowering her head and trying to breathe.
Someone touched her shoulder and she lashed out instinctively. When she finally processed what was happening, Thompson was standing in front of her, holding her wrist only inches from his face. She pulled away and pointed at the room where–the woman–was being interrogated.
She swallowed hard. “What was that?” She hated how her voice trembled.
“You said you wanted to see your roommate. That’s Theodora Davis, Ida Emke, Dorothy Underwood, or whatever name you’d prefer.”
She crossed her arms tightly. “I don’t–I don’t understand–”
“She was a Russian spy and member of a terrorist organization who’s been on the run for a while, and now we’ve finally caught her; in a little room to rent in Chicago.”
Edith shook her head too fast. “That–it doesn’t make sense. She couldn’t–she’s my friend. She’s too sweet and nice and could never–”
“You’re not the only one she’s fooled, but she’s exactly who I say she is. I’ve witnessed some of her crimes.” He was too calm. Placating her like she was overreacting.
She took a step back even as she tried to shove him away, missing him completely. “Why didn’t you say something?”
He frowned and shrugged. “You wouldn’t have believed me.”
“You still should have told me!” She was nearly yelling now. She didn’t want to cry, but her eyes already felt wet and everything was blurry. “You should have said something!”
He didn’t argue.
She wanted to throw something at him, but there was nothing. She wanted to scream and shout, but there were no more words.
It couldn’t be real.
The past two days were a nightmare. There was no other explanation. She would wake up soon and everything would be back to normal.
It would all be ok.
Tears were streaming down her face now. She had no memory of walking away, but soon found herself outside of the bookstore.
Where could she go? Not home. The obvious choice was Peggy’s house, but she couldn’t go there either. Besides, she had work in an hour or so.
She crouched down in front of the store and sobbed.