Chapter Text
Ava Stone had grown up with a particularly unique upbringing. Instead of tucking a tooth beneath her pillow for a fairy to take in exchange for some money, she had been taught to keep a knife there. Rather than lay out cookies and milk for Santa every winter, she walked the perimeter of the house leaving a pile of dried herbs drenched in oils that were toxic to demonic beings that hunted in the long, cold winter nights. Instead of brushing off the nightmares she had as a child, her parents scoured the bedroom with drawn expressions and pistols in their hand until she was old enough to carry one herself.
It had only been natural for Ava Stone to follow in the footsteps of her parents and join Black Badge Division. She learned, very quickly, that her parents were well-respected and decorated agents which meant all eyes were on her to rise to any challenge presented to her during her training and subsequent missions. Although young, she soon rose to be considered something like a poster child for BBD. A skilled agent with a pristine record and a decently pretty face which made for excellent overt infiltration.
Black Badge Division was founded in the 1900s by Theodore Roosevelt originally as a top-secret branch of Marshals who were tasked with the eradication of paranormal forces that were blossoming on North American soil. At some point in history it split from the federal government and began to operate beyond the scope of the law and even deeper within the shadows.
The highest level of Black Badge liked to believe that nothing happened below them that they did not know about. Every report filled out, every experiment, every step taken was, as far as they knew, according to their orders. They also liked to believe that every person they held under contract were loyal to them either out of duty or of fear. Which meant when they began to suspect a valuable asset stationed in Purgatory, a hotbed of supernatural activity, was stepping out of line they considered their options very carefully.
They decided their best course of action would be to send a trusted agent in to covertly observe Agent Xavier Dolls to report any misconduct. If Agent Dolls was remaining properly within the lines of their expectations and control they had nothing to worry about. If he was slipping from beneath their thumbs then immediate action was required.
It was by chance that Ava Stone overheard two suits discussing Agent Dolls and Purgatory when they mistakenly believed their voices would not carry so far. Although it mattered very little to her at the time, the name would come up again from a different source and pique her interest. She was contacted by a forensic specialist that she happened to owe a favour to. They needed to send a message into Purgatory beneath BBD’s radar. Something well within Ava’s wheelhouse.
The location alone piqued Ava’s attention simply because of the conversation she had overheard between the suits and it was easy to connect the dots to know that Xavier Dolls had been the one to call in the favour. It took some convincing, as the specialist was quite loyal to the man, to get them to admit that it was for Xavier and that the message was findings regarding the comparison of DNA between two unnamed individuals.
The highest officers of BBD believed they knew every step of their agents, especially those that moved within their headquarters. The DNA results passed beneath their noses, aided by Ava’s skill with technology. They also failed to notice the cleverly timed movements that blocked Ava from view just as she passed by a desk or that the stack of files she had passed by were not quite as pristine as they had been a moment before. Nor did they notice that the staff member they assigned to handpick some of the potentials for the Dolls surveillance job had gone a bit pale and had stiffened a bit when they were congratulated on their choice being given the assignment.
Picking Ava Stone for the assignment was an easy decision for the higher levels. She was their loyal postal child, after all, with all the skills and credentials required to complete the job to their satisfaction. Her youth also posed a benefit that veterans such as her parents did not have; she happened to be within the age range of key players within Purgatory, which would allow her to blend in and potentially position herself quite close to Agent Dolls. They briefed her on the mission, handed over the necessary files on Purgatory, Agent Dolls, and other persons of interests, gave her the false identification for her cover, keys to a modest car, equipment to facilitate her surveillance, and a well-padded bank account before sending her on her way.
All without suspecting that they had been dancing to the tune that Ava had played for them.
The moment that Ava had managed to pry the meagre information about the DNA test from the forensic specialist she had recalled that overheard conversation and had decided she had to be the one assigned to the mission. Xavier Dolls had indeed gone rogue or else all of the subterfuge and care taken with the DNA test and results would not have been necessary. He was protecting someone and once Ava had her hands on the files regarding the persons of interest within Purgatory, she had a feeling she knew who.
Ava had grown up aware of the uglies that lurked in the darkness of the world and, like Xavier Dolls, she knew the ugliness of BBD itself. It was the same lesson that anyone with any sort of experience with the BBD would inevitably learn. BBD may have originally been founded with good intentions, but it had little to no compassion towards civilians. All that mattered was the greater good and even that seemed murky from within the offices of BBD. Ava could even go as far as saying they were apathetic regarding the death count they caused, only masking their indifference with feigned platitudes to those affected - if any affected still stood to hear it.
Ava Stone was a model agent with a pristine record, but the loyalty to BBD drilled into her by her parents had died as she saw for herself what they were truly like. They may act like heroes from time to time, but they left death and destruction in their wake.
The DNA test lingered in Ava’s mind for quite some time after she had done her part of getting it sent discreetly into Purgatory. Her thoughts returned to it when she received the files for her assignment and her loose theory fully formed during travel to the small town. Xavier Dolls understood how BBD worked and was protecting someone, but not just anyone. BBD would not care about random civilians. No, it would have to be a person of interest which led Ava to conclude that it was most likely the lost and presumed dead Earp heir - Willa. Purgatory only needed one heir and the psycho suits at HQ would probably love to have an heir to test and study.
Of course, Ava could not lie to herself that she had arranged to be given this assignment out of the goodness of her heart. She had, after not, been raised by lifelong BBD agents and would not claim to have a warm heart herself even if she was not completely devoid of compassion. At the end of the day, her reasons for placing herself in the position she did was because Agent Dolls rebellion facilitated her own.
If the road to hell was paved with good intentions, she wondered where the road she was on would lead her.