[Video; un: Snowpiercer]

[peacemongering]

[Pierce doesn't normally make announcements, except when it comes to internal company memos and the like. He keeps things strictly business most of the time, but he is making this addition to the network from his communal housing room. He looks grave and upset, but he is clearly wanting those who might wish to know the information that he has obtained.]

To anyone who knew and was friends with Miss Ava Orlova, I regret to have you inform you all that she has returned back through the portal. While we had only begun to build a relationship, she was the closest person to having one of my daughters back, and I will miss her.

[He sighs heavily and folds his hands together, managing a grief-stricken smile.]

If anyone has any stories of her exploits, I would very much value hearing about them.

Comments

[peacemongering]

[He didn't jump at the sudden shutting of the door, and he instead slowly turned around to face the Winter Soldier. The man looked worse for wear, likely from spending so much time hiding in the ruins and being an unproductive member of society.

He would have asked if the Soldier wanted a job, but it seemed that there was a specific purpose for actually coming to see him. He smiled instead.]

Offered her the hand of friendship. What did you do to her?

[advanced]

[Worse for wear isn't wrong, but he also looks determined to see this through. He wouldn't hunt out Pierce for just anything, but Ava-- she hadn't been just anything.]

She never would've taken it, not from you.

[peacemongering]

[Pierce issued a soft snort and then turned away, walking towards his desk to set down the memos, outlines and the quarterly budget.]

Actually, she did. We had plenty of midnight conversations, even a game of chess. She's good at the game, but I'm better.

[Glancing back at the Soldier, he watched for signs of discomfort being so close to him.]

Isolation from those one considers friends and confidants means looking for other sources of it.

[advanced]

You're lying to me.

[He has to be. Ava had known who Pierce was and what he stood for, there was no way that she would have befriended him in any capacity. And surely she wouldn't have spied on him that way and not told him.]

Don't do it again, I won't tell you twice.

[peacemongering]

[Alexander raised his eyebrows to that accusation. He actually resented it; lying to his asset had been a matter of critical importance, but otherwise, he kept to the truth.]

I'm not. There's no reason to lie to you of all people.

[His expression hardened all the same.]

And if you hadn't been huddled in some corner of the ruins, you might have seen that we were getting close. She would dance for me. You, like everyone else, put her far down their priority list. I did not.

[advanced]

[That cuts, but he still can't believe it. He saw how frightened Ava had been, how nervous of falling back into the clutches of people like Pierce, she was too careful to have been taken in by faux smiles and gentle words.

Wasn't she?]

She knew who you were, what you were, she wouldn't befriend you. Not ever.

[But he sounds ever so slightly less sure than before.]

[peacemongering]

[Ava had every right to be frightened of him, but she had found it necessary to probe at him for information on what he knew of her project. That allowed him an opportunity to slowly turn her suspicion on its head, and while she might never completely trust him, he had opened the door to something more. It was a shame she had left before he could actually sink the hooks in and twist her about as necessary to mold her into something useful to him.]

Just as you wouldn't ever return to the city so long as I'm here and there is a chance I can turn you about again? That kind of not ever?

[When pushed, people would find their limits and then push beyond them if given the right motivation or reasoning.]

Can I offer you a cup of tea, by the way? Since you're here, I may as well be hospitable.

[advanced]

I wouldn't drink anything you offered me if I was dying of thirst.

[Maybe it's not wise to be so openly antagonistic, but it's sort of how he has to be. He's terrified just by being in Pierce's presence, and fighting back is a way of proving to himself that he's now cowed, that he's not controlled.]

You did something to her, and I'm gonna find out what it was.

[peacemongering]

Let's hope a situation like that never arises for you to have to test your resolve.

[It was to be expected, he supposed. He had commanded the Soldier to missions that were unsavoury for most, but they had been necessary. The resentment was valid, and he took no particular offense to the animosity.]

I realized she went through the portal, and I announced it to the community. That seemed the responsible thing to do. Why didn't you announce it? Weren't you keeping tabs on her?

[advanced]

No.

[And yes, but not in the same manner. He hadn't wanted her to felt followed or trapped, and so he had watched out for her from a distance and relied on her to come to him if she needed something.]

She was her own person and I had no reason to keep tabs on her like she couldn't be trusted.

[peacemongering]

[He leaned on his desk, setting his hands to the edge and regarding the Soldier for a moment before he raised an eyebrow slowly.]

So perhaps you shouldn't waltz in here commenting on her association with me when you couldn't even bother to check in on her as a friend. By your own logic, she was trustworthy to act on her own opinions.

[advanced]

Stop-- stop that.

[This was a stupid idea, wasn't it? He never should have come here, he's already on the back foot and losing ground.]

Stop twisting my words.

[peacemongering]

Speak clearly and I won't have to. Know your logic, stand by it, and don't let anyone twist you about.

[Helpful instructions were always something he was willing to give, especially this man.]

Otherwise, don't make accusations without a) the facts or b) the ability to bullshit your way through it professionally.

[advanced]

[His fingers flex just slightly. He could end this now, nobody else is around to know, and Pierce is no physical match for him. God he wants to, but he won't become a murderer again.]

You knew what I meant, we both did, you only twisted my words to try and confuse me. It's not gonna work, I know your tricks now.

[peacemongering]

[He was waiting for when either the violence would come or the former-weapon would flee back into the day and never be heard from again. He was mentally placing a bet on which was more likely.]

If I wanted to confuse you, I would have chosen a different tactic completely. Do you know all my tricks? You're that self-assured on what I'm capable of, hmm.

[advanced]

Yeah, I know exactly what you're capable of.

[That, at least, is something he's pretty confident on.]

I remember pretty much everything we've ever done together, I've watched you for years.

[peacemongering]

[That brought a small smile to his lips, and he watched the Soldier for a long quiet moment.]

We made an excellent team. I could always trust you with my secrets back then.

[advanced]

Is that what you think we were?

[A team. Surely Pierce doesn't actually believe his own spin on things.]

[peacemongering]

Of course. Every member of a team works together to bring about a common goal. We were one another's second family; neither of us could have survived without it.

[He raised an eyebrow, watching the Soldier for reaction. Waiting for the denial.]

[advanced]

I'm surviving without it.

[It's not a denial that's what they were, even if he doesn't believe for a second they were at all like a team, but it's proof that part of what Pierce says is a total lie.]

[peacemongering]

Surviving isn't the same as living, which is likely how you would call your days with HYDRA. So in essence, you've done more while with HYDRA than you have here in this place.

[Keeping hitting a nail, and it would either bend and force its way right into the wood it was being pounded into.]

[advanced]

You just said we couldn't survive without it, said nothing about living.

[Wait, that's not how that meant to come out.]

I'm just proof you're wrong.

[peacemongering]

You can't live without surviving. You can't live while only surviving.

[Please, come deeper into his spiderweb of words.]

You always defied the odds, but still, hiding out in the ruins is nothing more than surviving. You look like you've dropped weight. Getting enough to eat?

[advanced]

I was taught to survive without a whole lot to eat.

[If he had to. Though HYDRA kept him well fed while he was in their hands, he was still trained to deal with starvation on a mission if it was necessary.]

And I don't need your fake concern.

[peacemongering]

So you admit that you aren't living, since you are only surviving.

[HYDRA needed a well working ideal weapon, and he had understood that, but there was a need to connect that had previously been denied. Karpov and the Red Room kept a distance like those under their control. He liked a different approach where he could.]

My concern for you was never fake.