Hunt

The opponent grabbed Peggy Carter's ankle and yanked her leg straight, but she kept her cool, gripping the gun firmly with both hands. With the black muzzle pointed at Max's head, she spoke in a commanding tone.

"Stop."

"Before you try anything, I'll put a bullet through your skull," Peggy Carter said icily.

Max just smiled.

"Wanna try?"

Peggy Carter glared at Max, who remained unnervingly calm, almost as if he wasn't bothered by her gun in the slightest. Was he fearless or just brimming with confidence?

"Fine, let's see!" Peggy Carter didn't buy into his apparent lack of fear.

Her finger hovered over the trigger as Peggy Carter prepared to shoot.

But in that split second, Max swiftly grabbed the gun's muzzle with his other hand, redirecting it upwards.

Peggy Carter, trained as an agent, was stronger than the average woman, but she found herself unable to resist. The gun was now pointed directly at her own head.

Peggy Carter was taken aback, feeling a sharp pain in her wrist as the gun slipped into Max's grasp.

Facing the barrel pointed at her, Peggy Carter's expression soured.

Outside, the faint sound of footsteps approached.

Max glanced at Peggy Carter, and she coolly called out, "It's nothing, just an accidental discharge."

The approaching figures heard her words and left without further investigation.

Once they were gone, Max turned to Peggy Carter with a smile. "I'm Max, a Diamensional Mercinery. I was minding my own business until your folks came barging in, so here I am."

Relaxing his grip on her leg, Max twirled the gun in his hand and handed it back to Peggy Carter.

She frowned, taking it back.

"So, are you here for payback?" Peggy Carter inquired.

Max shook his head. "I only deal with the top brass."

"Then what's your angle?"

"Just passing on a message to your bigwig. Maybe we can do business down the line."

"I don't see us doing much business together," Peggy Carter replied seriously.

"Opportunities can arise unexpectedly," Max remarked with a shrug.

The voice came from outside, followed by the entrance of a blonde woman.

Peggy Carter furrowed her brows. Was this woman also affiliated with this guy? How had she managed to gain entry?

"Surprised at how I got in? Perhaps you'll understand if you step outside and take a look," Esme remarked with a smile.

Peggy Carter, intrigued yet cautious, stepped outside.

Immediately, she was taken aback by what she saw.

Every soldier outside the camp lay motionless on the ground. Peggy hurried to the nearest one and was relieved to find him merely unconscious, not dead. Relief washed over her, but it was quickly replaced by apprehension.

How had this happened?

Just moments ago, everything had been normal outside. In such a short span of time, all the camp's occupants had been incapacitated, without a sound.

Dimensional Mercenary.

What sort of organization was this?

Max glanced at Esme, who met Peggy's gaze and activated her ability. After a moment, Esme nodded subtly.

Max then addressed Peggy: "We can do what Steve Rogers can do, and what he can't. So, when you're truly in trouble, consider us."

With that, Max escorted Esme out of the camp.

Peggy watched them leave, her frown deepening. She couldn't fathom how Esme had achieved this. Even with her confidence in handling a camper, she couldn't replicate this level of efficiency. Not even Steve could...

Outside the camp, Max conversed with Esme as they walked.

"Not long after I stepped out, I overheard about a squad gathering supplies for Captain America, so I thought to come back and inform you. Upon returning, I noticed the absence of the silver samurai armor and the sai, but there was an additional US gun. That's when I knew you were here. This woman is quite formidable," Esme explained with a smile. "We've pinpointed Howard Stark's location, and he can be retrieved at any moment."

Esme wasn't surprised to find Max, and she nodded, saying, "I have numerous ideas, but time is of the essence. Let's deal with the immediate matter first."

With a nod, they parted ways. Esme continued with her task, while Max returned to their original residence.

Peggy Carter's encounter with Max and Esme might seem like a minor incident, just a stroke of luck in finding Howard Stark's whereabouts, but it's more like setting a trap to reel in a bigger catch.

After the war, Peggy Carter will establish S.H.I.E.L.D., a task that comes with plenty of responsibilities.

Presently, Peggy isn't keen on dealing with business matters herself. Max isn't interested in anything besides the Tesseract, but his priority lies in developing cerebro for now. Plus, there might be better opportunities to acquire the Tesseract in the future, so there's no rush.

Thirty minutes later, the soldiers in the camp started waking up. Peggy questioned everyone, but none of them remembered passing out or encountering Max and Esme. It frustrated Peggy, but she knew her priority lay with the supplies waiting at the front line, not investigating the Diamensional Mercenary.

So, once the supplies were gathered, Peggy led the team away the next day.

However, the dealings with the Sacred Sect were etched in her mind.

Esme proved resourceful. Upon returning in the evening, he not only brought food and exchanged money but also a land deed. With a few small diamonds, he purchased a farm.

Though the farm isn't large and the returns aren't great, it provides enough to sustain themselves. The environment isn't ideal, especially with the war disrupting things further. Esme easily secured the farm without using his abilities.

"We'll move in tomorrow," Max declared.

Esme nodded. "But there's another issue. Some materials for the brainwave machines might not be available here. We might need to go to New York. And guess who's in New York? Howard Stark!"

....

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