The car cruised slowly across the Potomac River bridge, heading toward the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion building on the far bank.
Daniel had been awake the whole ride. At every checkpoint, he endured strict security inspections. Even Maria Hill had to stop and show her ID more than once.
Security at the Triskelion was tighter than even the White House—but it was all for nothing. S.H.I.E.L.D. was rotten to the core. Hydra's agents weren't a huge number, but the power they held and the influence they'd gained had already infected more than half the agency. Trying to clean it out from the inside was a lost cause.
And the scariest part was that one could tell who was still loyal and who was a Hydra mole. The lines were completely blurred.
That's why Daniel supported tearing it all down—start over, investigate everyone, and rebuild from scratch. They had enough secret intel to start identifying the problem agents anyway.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Daniel stared out at the looming Triskelion in the distance. He couldn't help but sigh. He knew what would happen to that building eventually—reduced to rubble.
Maria Hill broke the silence by mentioning, "I heard you and Secretary Pierce don't get along."
Daniel grinned and joked, "We don't. I almost slapped him."
Maria gave a short laugh and said, "Well, you're heading straight into his territory now. Don't expect today to be easy."
She was tempted to say more but held back. Complaining about your boss's boss never ends well.
Daniel didn't respond to that. Instead, he said, "Since this whole diplomatic thing with Asgard involves S.H.I.E.L.D., we have the right to inspect anything that might be relevant, right?"
Maria glanced at him, confused. "What are you looking for? As far as I know, the only item involved in the negotiations is the scepter. And you don't really think they're going to hand that back over, do you?"
The scepter's power was immense. No one really knew why Loki had taken the Tesseract and left the scepter behind, but Earth's politicians were desperate to keep it under their control. With it, they could manipulate powerful people, maybe even take control of the whole planet.
Too many eyes were on that thing for anyone to steal it—at least not openly. But even though it was technically in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody, nobody actually knew where it had been hidden.
Daniel had his own theory. Everyone assumed the scepter was still inside the Triskelion, but he was convinced that Hydra had already moved it elsewhere—with Nick Fury's quiet approval.
And really, how many people did Fury even trust anymore? Probably not even himself.
"It's not impossible," Daniel said casually. "Why don't you just ask?"
Maria shot him a sharp look.
Daniel shrugged. "Relax, I didn't mean that. I'm just saying—let's put together a list. Doesn't matter if it's useful or not. Let Asgard choose what they want. Who knows what they'll be interested in?"
He tapped his fingers against the armrest. "Their tech is way more advanced than ours. They've had thousands of years to evolve. Stuff we consider junk might be priceless to them."
"Think of it as cleaning out the attic," he added. "Just round up everything in S.H.I.E.L.D. and let's see what sticks. Worst case, it's a basic inventory sweep."
He made it sound harmless, even cheerful. But Maria could feel there was more going on. Daniel was clearly setting someone up—and it smelled like a trap aimed at Alexander Pierce.
Pierce, as Secretary-General of the World Security Council, had enough on his plate. He wasn't supposed to get involved in day-to-day S.H.I.E.L.D. operations. That's what staffers and assistants were for. So why was he suddenly so hands-on?
There were red flags everywhere: Sitwell, Rumlow, the entire STRIKE team—all directly tied to Pierce. There were probably even more agents linked to him in secret. What was his endgame?
Pierce was due to retire in a few years. Was he trying to take over S.H.I.E.L.D. before he left?
That thought made Maria's stomach tighten. Under normal conditions, no one—not even someone as powerful as Pierce—could override Nick Fury.
Unless something happened to Fury.
If Fury ever went down—really down—Maria would legally be next in line to take over, at least until a new director was appointed.
And while Pierce had influence, he couldn't directly choose the new S.H.I.E.L.D. Director. That decision came from the U.S. President, and it had to be backed by the other countries involved in S.H.I.E.L.D. operations.
The only real candidate right now was Maria Hill herself—but she had a problem: not enough support. Most senior agents, even ones who respected her, didn't see her as ready. Coulson included.
She needed another five to ten years, ideally waiting until Fury retired on his own terms. By then, her experience would speak for itself, and there'd be no pushback.
But if Fury was suddenly removed, and Maria was blocked from stepping in, Pierce might claim temporary leadership. And what he'd do with that power? That was anyone's guess.
Maria had a bad feeling. It wasn't just her—she was sure Fury felt it too. Things inside S.H.I.E.L.D. were starting to spin out of control.
But because of their complicated relationships with Pierce, neither of them could say anything openly. Still, they weren't on the same path. Fury and Maria might have worked together closely, but they didn't represent the same interests. Their responses to a crisis would be very different.
Maria knew she needed to prepare for what was coming—but without official authority, her hands were tied. Too many agents distrusted her, and with Pierce watching her every move, she had no room to slip up.
Still, one question nagged at her: Why was Pierce doing all this? He already had power, influence, a top position. Why risk it all? Was his thirst for control really that deep?
Maybe it wasn't about politics or ambition. Maybe it was about something else—something darker.
Maria eased the car into the S.H.I.E.L.D. parking lot, turned off the engine, and stepped out. She glanced at Daniel.
He was a wildcard. Back at Stark Tower, he'd challenged Pierce directly—but it had felt oddly staged, like he was provoking Pierce on purpose.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had already flagged Daniel as someone close to the military—on paper. But insiders knew better. His real support came from the White House.
Coincidentally, Maria's backing came from the same place. So she knew for a fact: this wasn't the White House targeting Pierce. This was Daniel acting on his own.
He wasn't flashy or loud. He didn't seem like someone who picked fights unless he had a reason.
Unless, of course, he knew something no one else did.
"Well," she said casually, "I've got an agent who used to work for the IRS. I'll pull them in to help us sort through the records."
Daniel smiled and replied, "Perfect. No way the two of us can handle this alone. We'll need full cooperation from every S.H.I.E.L.D. department."
He seemed relaxed, but Maria knew better. Bringing in the IRS was a bold move. One that would make a lot of people inside S.H.I.E.L.D. very, very nervous.
What neither of them knew was that just across the river, hidden in the grass, a dimensional portal had begun to shimmer.
From the glowing rift, a figure in a black-and-red hood stepped out. Behind him, more figures in matching cloaks followed silently into the world.