Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Nope. Can’t save him. He’s dead. Goodbye.

Evenson immediately performed the mental equivalent of the legendary three-hit emergency retreat and turned toward the door.

It wasn’t that he was abandoning a friend. He simply had absolutely no way out of this one.

If Captain America had merely cheated on Peggy, or even accepted some particularly unconventional form of gratitude, Evenson might have tried to pull a few strings and save the man.

But the woman he’d apparently been trying to sleep with was Peggy Carter’s niece.

Her actual, blood-related niece.

There were situations you could fix.

This was not one of them.

Evenson sighed and gave the still-dazed Captain America one last look. Cold sweat was pouring down Steve’s face like a busted pipe.

If there really were such a thing as a regret-removing pill, Evenson suspected Steve would swallow the entire pharmaceutical company along with it.

Then again...

America’s greatest living hero. The soul of the Avengers. Captain America himself.

And he’d gotten himself involved with the biological niece of his fiancée, Peggy Carter.

That wasn’t just scandalous.

That was front-page gossip.

Top ten, minimum.

Evenson paused.

If he sold the story to a newspaper...

He could probably make a fortune.

He was halfway through imagining the check when he opened the door.

A woman stood directly outside, one hand raised to knock.

Evenson froze.

She was about a head shorter than him, with blonde hair streaked naturally with brown. She wore pink pajamas and looked perfectly pleasant.

Which was exactly the problem.

He had a very bad feeling about this.

"Who are you?"

The woman looked just as startled to see him.

"Consultant?"

Then her expression shifted into a professional smile.

"I’m Agent 13, Sharon Carter. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

She extended her hand.

Evenson slammed the door shut.

Bang!

For the love of God.

Why had she come here now?!

Was this place determined to produce a corpse tonight?

"What happened?"

Of everyone in the room, Dottie had been paying the most attention to the strange proceedings. She looked toward Evenson.

He spun around and forced a casual smile onto his face.

"Nothing."

Dottie glanced toward the door.

"You’re not leaving?"

"No."

Evenson nodded firmly.

How could he leave?

If he opened that door and let Sharon Carter walk inside, he’d have to start attending Steve’s funeral as a member of the wedding party.

Wait.

The shop had a Hearthstone in the basement.

Maybe Taylor could simply pull him back.

Evenson immediately reached through the mental link.

Taylor. Get me out of here. Now. If you take too long, there’s a very real chance this new suit is going to need professional bloodstain removal.

Taylor’s voice came back sounding distinctly apologetic.

"Boss, I’m not at the shop. Dumen, Trippy, and I are outside performing the iron-spear-through-the-throat act."

A pause.

"Hang on. Dumen’s ready. I’m going in."

Evenson’s expression darkened.

"You’re not there?"

He was furious.

But considering his employees were currently making money at the commissar’s residence, he swallowed the anger.

"What about Sarah and Hobbes?"

"Sarah left at four. Got all dressed up and went on a date. She said she won’t be coming home tonight."

Taylor paused.

"She also said the thing you asked her to arrange should be taken care of tonight."

The thing I’d asked her to arrange?

Evenson blinked.

Right.

He’d asked Sarah to use Natasha’s connections to set up a completely secure bank account.

"That leaves Hobbes..."

Taylor gave a nasty little laugh.

"He’s currently receiving medical treatment at the stray-dog shelter. Probably won’t be back for another couple of days."

"Receiving medical treatment?"

Evenson stared blankly ahead.

"Another couple of days?"

Damn.

You people really didn’t hold back this time, did you?

Still, a traitor who sold out his master for a little dog food deserved absolutely no sympathy.

Unfortunately, that meant one other thing.

There was nobody at the shop.

Which meant the Hearthstone was useless.

As for using the demonic teleportation circle directly...

That would have been an option.

Except there was one small problem.

The teleportation circle no longer existed.

A few days earlier, Hobbes had gotten his paws on a large supply of dog food. After Evenson had confiscated his precious stash the previous time, the little traitor had become considerably more careful about hiding his contraband.

He had dug a tunnel in the alley behind the shop.

The tunnel went directly beneath the basement, right underneath the teleportation circle.

That was where he’d hidden the dog food.

When the whole thing came to light, Taylor and the others had simply dug down from above.

Straight through the circle.

The result had not been pretty.

And because Evenson had been too lazy to repair it afterward, the teleportation circle was still broken.

He really needed to stop being lazy.

Evenson quietly shuffled over beside Dottie.

"Hey. Do we have an umbrella or something?"

Dottie looked at him.

"I might need one when the blood starts flying."

Before she could answer, Peggy Carter spoke.

"Steve."

Her voice was calm.

Far too calm.

"You’re still capable of speaking. So explain yourself."

Evenson nodded and quietly exhaled in relief.

Good.

They were talking.

Talking was good.

As long as Peggy was still asking for an explanation, she hadn’t started killing anyone.

She still cares about him.

Dottie, however, seemed less convinced.

"Huh," she murmured. "Why do I feel like this is just the calm before the storm?"

Evenson had the same feeling.

Steve turned his head away.

"I didn’t know she was your niece."

He sounded utterly defeated.

"If I’d known, I never would’ve had those thoughts about her."

Evenson’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

Does this man have any idea how words work?

That sentence didn’t help him.

It practically loaded the gun for Peggy.

"So what you’re saying," Peggy said, her voice suddenly rising, "is that if she weren’t my niece, you would have had those thoughts about her?"

A brief flare of fel energy flickered between her brows.

Evenson quietly decided that standing behind Dottie was probably the safest tactical position available.

Steve didn’t try to defend himself.

He simply sighed and lowered his head.

"You really..."

Peggy’s anger unexpectedly faded.

She stared at him for a long moment.

Then her voice changed.

"You really do care."

Steve remained silent.

"You’re still bothered by it, aren’t you?"

Evenson blinked.

Bothered by what?

His eyes immediately lit up.

Oh, no.

There was more?

There was actually more?

If he were a tabloid reporter right now, this would be the greatest day of his professional career.

He leaned toward Dottie and whispered,

"Do you know what they’re talking about?"

Dottie didn’t answer.

She was already leaning forward, ears practically standing upright as she listened to every word.

Without looking at him, she impatiently shook her head.

Apparently, she was just as invested in the gossip.

Peggy took another step toward Steve.

"But you told me you didn’t care."

Her expression had grown quietly sorrowful.

"You promised me."

Steve’s face twisted with bitterness.

"I... used to think I could."

He looked at her.

"But I care about you too much."

His voice dropped.

"How could I possibly not care?"

...

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/Sinmerry