Agent Carter sped towards the GPO tower as fast as the busy London streets would allow. In the rear of the car, Jago and Litefoot were jostled by speeds they were thoroughly unaccustomed to. With a final sickening lurch, Peggy brought the car to a halt outside the tower. The two gents thrown forward by the sudden deceleration were left glad of their seatbelts. While they were disentangling themselves from their seats and stumbling woozily onto the street, Peggy had already slipped briskly from the vehicle and was making her way towards the entrance of the building site.
"Damn it all. 11:32 already." she said, checking her watch. Drawing her pistol, she took aim at the gate lock and fired a round clean through it.
"Corks!" Exclaimed Jago, as the two men caught up with Peggy.
"We don't have time to lose, Jago. Needs must." she replied, pushing the gate forward.
"Please tell me there's some method of conveyance apart from stairs." Litefoot sighed. "I'm far from infirm, but I doubt my ability to scale such a tall monument in our time remaining."
"Don't worry, Litefoot. There should be an elevator around here somewhere." Peggy answered. After a few minutes search, she found the elevator in question, and the controls required to operate it. With a few quick tugs on the starter cord, she activated the generator that could power the lift.
"All aboard! Quickly now." She said, ushering her companions into the lift, which consisted of a sheet metal floor, and an outer frame and guard rail made from steel pipe. She swung the gate closed as she boarded and latched it, before operating the controls.
"I say, this contraption seems somewhat flimsy. I'd go so far as to say that it's not sufficiently stable or secure. Can we trust it?" Jago wondered, wringing his hands with worry.
"Relax, Henry. Enjoy the view. I'm sure the tradesmen who use this machine daily are quietly confident of its sound engineering." Litefoot said, attempting to calm his friend.
"You're right, George. If I'm going to worry about anything, it should be the bomb that we're running towards."
"At least you're not in danger. You've tasted the antidote whereas Miss Carter, half of London and I are at risk!" Litefoot said, mostly lighthearted.
"Well stop that pernicious priest and his poisonous plot, don't you worry. We'll defeat the despicable deacon and his dreams of distributing deadly disease."
"The city is quite awe inspiring from this vantage point though, isn't it?" Litefoot said, gesturing at the view below. Lights flickered far below as far as the eye could see, stretching out across the vast expanse of London.
"It does grant a certain perspective on ones problems. How small we are in comparison to all around us."
"Yet, however small we are, we can do great things. We are each of us small, but together we can do so much more than the sum of our parts." Peggy interjected, steeling her allies for the final push. She checked her watch again. 11:48. Time was critical.
Agonizingly slowly, the lift finally reached its dock on the upper floors. The three heroes fanned out and split up, searching for any sight of Crowley's bomb. This high up, the tower was incomplete, mostly just steel support beams, concrete floors and report plastic sheeting to keep the elements at bay. At this level, the wind was unobstructed and gusts rattled against the plastic and through the semi finished building. Peggy found a stairwell that led to next and currently final floor. She called the two gents and headed up the stairs.
This level didn't even have plastic sheets, only a low guardrail at the perimeter. A small scaffold structure stood at the centre of the tower, where the workers would be installing the central sports for further floors. The wind was dangerously strong here, treating to blow them all to their deaths below. With some panic, Jago had to undo the clasp of his cloak, lest it act like a sail, though he made sure it fell back down the stairwell so as to not be carried by the wind. Rain had begun to mist also, adding an extra element of hazard to the environment.
"Up there!" Peggy yelled to be heard over the winds. She pointed to the scaffolding, specifically a large and out of place chemical drum strapped to the top of the structure. "That must be it!"
She strode carefully towards the scaffold, and began to climb the metal latticework. The poles were slippery and icy cold, it was an arduous and dangerous task. As she rose a leg towards the next foothold, her sole slipped a skidded forward. Unbalanced, she lost the grip of her right hand. Momentarily, it seemed as if she could hold one with her other hand and again control, but the gents could only watch in horror as she slipped and fell.
The gents ran towards Peggy's prone figure. Litefoot slipped off his jacket, using to prop up her head. It had not been a particularly long drop, but she had landed awkwardly. As she attempted to rise up and try again, she cried out in pain and slumped back down.
"Easy now." Litefoot urged. "Don't move. You've had a fall. Wrist and ankle severely sprained at the absolute minimum."
Peggy looked again at her watch. Seven minutes left until detonation.
"The bomb." She said, wincing through the pain. "Must stop it."
"There's no way you'll be able to climb up there in this state. Let one of us go." Jago suggested.
"It will have to be you, Jago. I need to tend to Miss Carter's injuries. Do you think you can do it?" Litefoot said, solemnly.
"I... er.... well... corks!" He stammered in reply. Pausing for a breath to compose himself, he continued. "Yes. God help me, yes, I'll do it. But I don't know how to disarm a bomb."
"The bomb is on top of that drum." Peggy explained. "From down here, it looks like he's using C4 as a primary explosive. It'll be the rectangular packages around the drum. Somewhere on it there will be a timer, connected to the explosive, via a blasting cap. If you remove the cap from the C4, no boom."
"Right. Think I got the gist. What dies the cap look like?"
"A small cylinder with a wire at one end."
"Righteo. Oh, steel yourself Jago. Screw your courage to the sticking place." He muttered as he grabbed onto the scaffolding. Without thinking to hard about the consequences, to limited effect, he began to heave his way up the scaffolding. Slowly he worked his way up through the freezing cold and blustering damp, until he finally hauled himself into the upper platform. Less than three minutes remained on the clock. Jago began to search around the drum, looking for the timer. Once he had located it, he found three wires leading from it into three separate sections of C4. Three blasting caps?! He set about easing each from its mount, being as cautious as possible to prevent and accidental detonation. With ten seconds to spare, he managed to free the last if the caps. With panic, he flung the caps, still connected to the timer, from the roof. With a small poof, it popped harmlessly in the night sky.
"Good show, Henry!" Called Litefoot from below.
"Thank you. But I'm afraid I'm altogether unable to climb back down. I think the height is getting to me."
*****
Early the following morning, Peggy and the gentlemen returned to Ellie's. Peggy had one arm in a sling, and a mild limp I one leg. She was holding onto Litefoot for support as the made their way inside. As soon as Jarvis noticed his injured friend, he rushed to take Litefoot's place.
"Miss Carter! What on Earth happened?"
"I'm quite fine Jarvis. Just a sprain."
"You three had better explain what happened last night. We've been here worried sick all night." Ellie exclaimed.
The three gave a detailed account of the previous night, and their foiling of Crowley's plan, with a few light embellishments from Jago. Once the story had been told, Jarvis raised a glass.
"To Christmas then. To the season of peace and goodwill. To good wishes for our friends and good riddance to our foes."
Everyone followed suit with a hearty cheer, and began to converse cordially.
"Say, Ellie." Peggy asked. "Is Angie still working for you? I haven't seen her around."
"Not exactly, Peg. She still rents a room upstairs, but I don't haven't seen much of her since November. She's got a lead role in one of the Pantomime shows."
"That's my girl. One step closer to the West End."
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