Work Text:
1963
Dave looked around his bedroom as he lay on his bed. It wouldn’t be his bedroom for very much longer, soon he’d be shipping out. Dave wasn’t really sure how he felt about joining the army, but he supposed it was about time he did something, so it might as well be this. He wasn’t a coward, he wasn’t a… well, he wasn’t a coward. He was willing to die for his country if that’s what it took. It was the right thing to do… wasn’t it?
Dave’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. He grinned when he saw who it was and, quick as a flash, he jumped up and raced to hug his sister.
“Liz!” he exclaimed, then he leaned back from the hug and looked her up and down. “Wow, you sure look fancy!” She looked about as elegant as Audrey Hepburn. “How’s New York treating you?’
“New York is amazing!” Liz gushed. “It really makes Dallas feel like a drag.”
“I’ll bet.” Dave sat down on his bed, while Liz took a seat on his old toy chest.
“I just got a lecturing from Uncle Brian.” Liz rolled her eyes and Dave pursed his lips sympathetically. “You’re never gonna find a husband if you keep being so high and mighty about this career of yours.” She repeated their uncle’s words mockingly. “Like I’d want to marry a man who’s intimidated by my success. I’d rather be a spinster! The right guy should be proud of me for my accomplishments.”
“Well, I’m sure proud of you!” Dave told her. “My sister living the high life in New York City!”
Liz beamed. “Thanks, Dave! I knew there were enlightened men in the world.”
“It’s really good to see you, Liz. It’s good to be reminded that Uncle Brian’s opinions aren’t the only ones out there.”
The mood in the room shifted and after a moment, Liz said: “He told me you enlisted in the army.” There was no pride in her voice, the way there was whenever Uncle Brian talked about his decision, and it made Dave feel even less certain about it.
Dave nodded, but he found himself unable to look her in the eyes. She looked at him and said nothing and after a while Dave found the silence deafening so he filled it with what little he had of an explanation. “You heard about the President? Uncle Brian said it’s gonna make America look weak. He said the Commies might invade and the army will need every man they can get.”
Liz shook her head. “You’re so young…”
“I’m eighteen!” Dave shot back. “I’m an adult!”
Liz got up and sat beside him. “I just meant that you’ve still got your whole life ahead of you. I don’t want to see you dying a young man in some war. I want you to fall in love and get married and have kids and live a long life.”
Dave raised an eyebrow at her. “The same life Uncle Brian wants for you?”
“Or find a career that you love, or travel the world, or… whatever makes you happy, Dave. And the army isn’t it, is it?”
Dave looked at Liz, knowing she could tell how unhappy he was with this decision. He collapsed back onto the bed with a sigh. Liz lay down next to him and he was suddenly reminded of their first night at Uncle Brian’s house after their parents had died, when he’d crawled into her bed because he was scared and she’d told him not to worry because she’d always look out for him. “I can’t stay here.” He said softly, and for all his talk of heroism and the right thing, deep down he knew that was the real reason he’d enlisted.
Liz hummed in agreement, then she nudged him with her elbow. “Why don’t you come stay with me!”
“What?”
“Yeah!” Liz sat up, her eyes sparking with excitement. “I could probably pull a few strings and get you a position with my company. They’re always looking for new recruits. You’d probably have to start at the bottom but it’d be better than the army.”
“I don’t know…” Dave said cautiously. “If I back out now after enlisting, Uncle Brian’s for sure gonna think I’m a coward. Or worse… And I’m not a coward!”
“Who cares what Uncle Brian thinks? You never have to see him again if you don’t want to. Why do you think I haven’t been here in 5 years?”
Dave considered for a moment. Then he sat up. “What exactly does your company do anyhow?”
Liz turned to face him. “Okay, this is gonna sound real batty. The company I work for is called The Commission.”
———
Somewhere outside of Time and Space, 11 years later
…Dave? Dave!
…Medic!
…Stay with me, Dave! Stay with me!
Dave bolted upright. Klaus’ cries ringing in his ears, the sharp pain in his chest, the blood… He was panting and sweaty and confused. The memories felt distant. Where was he?
“Morning, Sleeping Beauty!”
Dave looked at Liz, sitting in a chair next to the… hospital bed? “I was shot.” Dave touched his chest where he was sure he’d felt searing pain only moments ago. There was no wound.
“Yeah, and I had to call in a shitload of favours to get you all patched up.”
Dave lay back down on the hospital bed. So he had been shot, but the Commission had saved him. Liz had saved him. She looked pissed. He took her hand in his own. “You’re the best.” He gave her the most charming smile he could muster. “I love you.”
Liz withdrew her hand and rolled her eyes. “What the hell happened, Dave? You were in Vietnam for 10 months! Did you get your mark?”
“Yeah, I got my mark!” Dave replied indignantly. Of course he got his mark, he always did. Like a good soldier.
“So what happened?”
Dave closed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t want to work for the Commission anymore, Liz. You know I never wanted this, I only joined so I could avoid the army. But how is this any different?”
Liz looked at him for a moment, her expression softening. “It’s not that simple. You weren’t shot by an enemy soldier. It was the Commission.”
“What?!”
“You should’ve told me, Dave. I could’ve talked to my bosses and we could’ve worked something out. The way you handled it, it just looks like you abandoned your mission.”
Dave sighed. “I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t plan this.” Liz didn’t respond, just looked at him expectantly. “I met someone. He’s another agent, at least I think so. We didn’t talk about it, I don’t know why. But he had a briefcase. I think maybe it was his first mission or something. He looked so scared and confused so I stayed for a bit to help him adjust to the time period. I swear that’s all I meant to do at first… Every day I kept telling myself I’d go back to HQ tomorrow, but…” Dave felt one of the corners of his mouth pinch into a smile. “I really liked spending time with him.” He looked at Liz and shrugged wistfully. “I fell in love with him. And before I knew it we were making plans to get an apartment together in San Francisco once our 12 months in Vietnam were up and Liz, I’ve never wanted anything in my life more than I want to live in that apartment with him, or anywhere with him.” Suddenly Dave remembered. The blood, the pain in his chest, the panicked cry. Medic! Dave! Stay with me! He scrunched his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh god… He probably still thinks I’m dead.” He looked back at Liz frantically as he started to sit back up. “I have to find him, I have to let him know him I’m alive!”
Liz put a hand to his chest. “Slow down, Romeo. Look, I don’t think you realise how serious this situation is. They wanted you dead, they still do. You need to lay low until this thing blows over. Do a few more missions, show them you’re willing to toe the line, and then when you’re back in their good graces we can talk about you leaving to go find this Sweetheart of yours, okay?”
Dave sighed reluctantly. He wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for Klaus anyway. “Fine, but then you’ll get me some time with the Infinite Switchboard and help me find him, right?”
“I’ll do what I can.” Liz said with a tiny smile. “I gotta meet this guy who finally lit a fire under your ass.” Dave grinned and then Liz handed him a canister. “Your first mission, and it’s a doozy. There’s six on that list. I think they’re a family though, so shouldn’t be too hard. Hopefully they’ll all be in the same place.”
Dave felt sick as he unscrewed the lid. “There’d better not be kids on this list.”
“If there are, you’ll do as you’re told.” Liz said firmly.
Dave ignored her and looked at the order he withdrew from the canister. His blood turned to ice when he read the order.
TERMINATE
LUTHER HARGREEVES
DIEGO HARGREEVES
ALLISON HARGREEVES
KLAUS HARGREEVES
NUMBER FIVE
VANYA HARGREEVES
Terminate. Klaus Hargreeves. Klaus must be in the same trouble Dave was for going off mission, only he didn’t have a sister in the Commission to bail him out. Dave didn’t know who the other names on the list were. Klaus didn’t talk much about his family, and Dave knew what it was like to be on less than stellar terms with a family member so he hadn’t asked. He looked desperately at Liz. “Klaus Hargreeves.” he said, showing her the order. “That’s him.”
Liz glanced at the order and then closed her eyes, letting her head fall into her hand and massaging her temple with a sigh. Dave searched her face for any indication that she had a way to fix the situation. Finally, she looked at him and spoke with an eerie calmness. “Dave, if you don’t kill everyone on that list, the Commission will kill you, and I won’t be able to save you this time.”
“Liz, I can’t!”
“Yes you can.”
“I won’t.”
Liz looked at Dave for a moment, and he couldn’t read her expression. She took the order from him and cupped his cheek. “Okay. I’ll fix this, don’t worry.”
Liz stood up and started to leave and for the first time in his life, Dave was afraid of his sister. He knew she was ruthless. He also knew she would do anything to protect him. And that was exactly the problem, because apparently it was either Klaus or Dave. Dave knew who he would choose. And he also knew who Liz would choose. Dave leapt out of the hospital bed and put himself in her path. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to fix it.” She said, and it would sound so innocent if Dave didn’t know her better.
Dave’s mind raced. If she really had a way to fix this without Klaus being harmed she’d tell him. He knew exactly what she was going to do and he could only think of one thing he could say to get her to back down. “No, I’ll fix it.” He said, taking the order back from her. He walked around her back towards the bed and faced away from her because he wasn’t sure if he was a good enough liar to pull this off if she saw his face. “I got carried away. It was exciting, being with someone, but I’m not gonna die for this guy. I’ll get back into the Commission’s good graces, don’t worry.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” He still didn’t turn around, but Liz came to him, and he knew it would be suspicious if he avoided her now so he looked at her.
“Alright.” She agreed. “But if you bail on this mission I will finish it for you. I’ll always look out for you, Dave.”
Dave nodded, remembering a time long ago when the though had made him fee safe and loved.
———
2019, the next day
Dave looked around the alley that the briefcase had landed him in. He wasn’t sure why he’d expected to land in 1968, but this place was much more modern. He started walking aimlessly trying to get his bearings, then he stopped at a phone booth. He took out the phone book from the shelf underneath and opened it to H. “Hargreeves, Hargreeves, Hargreeves…” he muttered as he searched.
Hargreeme, Olga
Hargreeves, Reginald
Hargreeves, Vanya
Hargref, Kenny
No ‘Hargreeves, Klaus’ or even ‘Hargreeves, K’. Damn. Dave looked at the Commission order again. Vanya Hargreeves was the last name on the order, and it seemed the only one of these listed in the phone book. If they really were a family, perhaps this Vanya Hargreeves would know where he could find Klaus. Having nothing else to go on, Dave tore out the page and folded it up. Now, he just needed a map.