thecapitol | Oh Death, can't you spare me over 'till another year?

Who| Peggy Carter and Linden, then Peggy, Linden, and Jason
What| The Peacekeepers are coming for Peggy and Linden. Jason is Peggy's hail Mary to get them both out.
Where| Linden's room in the Tribute Center, then Compson Manor
When| Afternoon to Evening days before the parade.
Warnings/Notes| Jason, and (minor and breathtakingly pathetic) violence against a woman. I'll add more as they come up.

For Linden

Peggy has a lot of practice looking calm when inside she feels like melting down. After talking with Derek and destroying the letters Bucky had sent her (it stung a little, but she knows them word for word now and there can be no evidence of his survival left behind), she puts the radio Bucky had given her years ago into her bag, touches up her makeup, and goes to work like any other day.

Her girls are still working with the Stylist. Peggy wishes she could say goodbye to them, but she can't let on that she knows what's happening, and any gesture of favor from her would put them in greater danger once she's gone. She tries not to think of all the people she's probably never going to be able to see again after this.

"Linden?" She's at Linden's door, knocking gently. She doesn't really know how they'll get him out of the Capitol along with her, but she can't bear the thought of just leaving him to die and saving herself. She's making this up as she goes along, and hopefully she can just drag him along. "Linden, it's Peggy."

For Jason and Linden

Peggy explained what she could in public, which basically amounted to her taking his arm so she could lean in and whisper, "The peacekeepers are after you. Follow my lead and trust me," into his ear without it looking too weird or getting picked up by the microphones scattered through the city.

There's a blind spot in the middle of the Compson Manor's dining room. Jason doesn't know she knows about it. Hell, Peggy's not even sure if Jason knows about it. Either way, she's not sure if Bucky's instructions for escape were one-time or long-term, and if they are meant to be constant, she doesn't know if whatever system he set up could move as quickly as she needs it to and take on an extra person. She doesn't even know if District 13 would take her when she's been discovered and turned into a liability--that is, if any escape is sanctioned by D13, which she's not sure of. She's left thinking on her feet, unsure of how to proceed and going to Jason in an effort to save her and Linden.

She clicks the system to buzz her in at the gate, Linden by her side when she says, "Jason, it's Peggy. Could you buzz me in, please?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She made sure to pick clothes that are easy to move in. Just in case he needs to run from something. (Although if he has to depend on running, then he's already lost. Linden is not hardy enough for running.)

"Oh, don't worry, Linden. We can speak on the way if there's something you'd like to get off your chest," she says, still in that deliberately light tone of voice, as if she doesn't understand any kind of hidden meaning he might have. "Oh, and your collar is crooked. If you don't mind--"

She goes behind him to fix the back of his collar, leaning in as she works so her hair falls in front of her face and she can whisper, "Peacekeepers will come soon. Follow my lead and trust me."

In Linden's experience, hearing "don't worry" was an excellent reason to do just that. Not that he has any doubt about this current situation; as she goes behind him to fix his collar, she confirms what he'd suspected, and he swallows.

"I don't mind," he says softly, the dual meaning heavy. It sounds like he's allowing the adjustment to his garments, but under it is a hopeless message.

"Peggy, let me... Don't trouble yourself with this." His voice is hoarse as he reaches behind his neck to smooth his collar.

"Nonsense. If I let you handle it on your own, you'd go outside looking like a scarecrow." Her hands linger on his shoulders, her gaze heavy on the back of his neck. "Victors help each other, and that means making sure you look at least somewhat neat."

She's not going to leave him. She's not going to leave another friend. She squeezes his shoulders before propelling him towards the door. "The errands will be quick. I'm just picking up a few odds and ends before we pay a visit to a friend. Maybe a spot of shopping will help you rebuild your image. I was planning on buying some new clothes for myself anyway."

Essentials. Clothes without trackers, water bottles. What they need to run without looking like they were preparing to run. And she can pick up her bug out bag and hide it in her purse on their way.

You'd go outside in a body bag, more like. His shoulders curl forward under her gentle touch, head and eyes lowering at her words, and he realizes that whatever he says, whatever he insists, he's too tired to uphold it. His legs move under him as she nudges him toward the unknown; his eyes are wider than usual and staring, and anyone close to him can tell that his heart is beating like a bird trying to batter itself to death on the bars of his ribcage, but outwardly, he does a passable job of appearing placid, calm and normal.

He's good at this. They've both had to be.

"Rebuilding my image?" he asks. "You really think that's possible at this point? Celebrus doesn't seem to."

Obvious small talk, maybe the kind that can be productive and allow Linden to glean more details of whatever Peggy is attempting.

"You know Celebrus. It focuses on one thing before focusing on another. People will forget as long as you make amends and stay out of trouble."

She links her arm with his, looking to the world like a woman who is worried for her recovering friend's health, but really she just wants them close so she can whisper in his ear in a pinch. Or in a bigger pinch, she can pick him up and run.

"Someone else will slip up. Someone will have a scandalous affair or someone else will have botched surgery and that will be all anyone can talk about."

He nods, taking superficial heart in what she's reassuring him of. But the way she links arms with him and the briskness of their pace is consistent with the warning she's already given him.

It occurs to him that he might not see Phillip again, or Karkat. It takes him a little longer to think of Temple and Bailey, simply because they are fixtures and he's come to take their presence for granted in his life. A numb chill spreads through his stomach as Peggy goes on in her calm, cheerful way.

"That does seem... to be the way of it," he says, clearing the hoarseness from his voice mid-sentence. "It's definitely not the first time I've been the subject of their ridiculous speculation."

But it's never been this bad. The word "traitor" is a loaded one in Panem.

"So... I need new clothes," he says softly. "I agree. That's been true for awhile. But... you, too?"

Are the Peacekeepers coming for me, or both of us?

"Oh, you know the Capitol. I have to get new clothes every season to keep up."

Both of us.

"I know you don't do well with shopping, so I figured maybe we could do it together. Don't worry, I'll make sure to get something nice and comfortable for you. I don't expect you to go out in sequins."

This is what she's good at. Talk and brush off the things that bother her until it looks like she doesn't think anything's wrong. She's done it for years. It's how she's survived so long in a place she hates with every fiber of her being.

He nods, keeping his eyes focused forward, mind racing as he considers the implications of that. This will either save or kill them both, just because Peggy thought to go back for someone slower, weaker, and less capable of running and surviving. He has extremely mixed feelings about knowing that to stay is certain death, but leaving means that Peggy is taking him on as a risk and liability that she considers worthwhile.

"You know my size," he says, deciding to try one more time, knowing that guilt will eat him alive if he doesn't. "If you went alone, it'd be easy for you to get everything you need. I worry that I'll slow you down."

It's worth a try, even though he's still walking with her at their brisk pace.

"I trust your choice," he adds softly, "but the last thing I want is to cause you trouble. I'm not good at these things like you are."

It would be easy to leave him behind and save herself. The thought had occurred to her when she first got the information. It would be easy, but then he would die, and the guilt would haunt her for the rest of her life. She doesn't want to commit to that. She doesn't want to add another name to her list of lost friends.

"Nonsense. Some fresh air will do you good, and I'm good enough for both of us."

She doesn't care if she has to carry him on her back all the way to District 13. She will do it because she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't at least try.

The dilemma of what a truly brave person would do batters itself in a strange, one-sided tennis match in Linden's freshly sober brain. Would it be to face the perils of the unknown and risk the life of someone he would much rather see live, or is to go back and face certain death? They're both intimidating and promise fear and unpleasantness in spades.

But it's true that Peggy is strong. Maybe enough for the both of them, as she claims, but she is certainly stronger than Linden. If she's made up her mind, he's done all he can to resist, and the only thing left to do is follow her lead and trust that she knows what she's doing.

It should be easy. He has nothing at all to lose.

"Fresh air," he says resignedly. "Let's get out, then."

Oh Death, can't you spare me over 'till another year?

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