Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to Marvel.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. Between healing from this damned hernia surgery and the Thanksgiving holiday, I fell behind. Oh, and there was also that time that inspiration struck for a Dousy Christmas story that will tie into Return to the Past...
Chapter 4
With a seemingly working plan, Daniel and Peggy sat down together, creating a list of names they felt were trustworthy enough. However, other than his parents, there were only four additional names. Howard Stark, Chester Phillips, Edwin Jarvis and Jack Thompson. The last four were also the only people they were trusting with the knowledge of Hydra and all that encompassed. Phillips had been the easiest person for Peggy to reach. Though he'd been skeptical about Sousa's reappearance, he'd been more concerned with the news about Hydra. Peggy quickly assured him they were working on a plan and when something came to fruition, he'd be her first call.
Peggy had reached out to Jarvis, hoping that he could get in touch with Howard and invited them both to New York. She supposed it would be easier to speak with them face to face. Despite Daniel's slight resentment where the latter was concerned, an understanding had grown between him and the abrasive millionaire. Howard really had felt responsible for Daniel's death.
"Hey, everything going okay in here?" Daniel asked, leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed across his chest.
"Yeah," Daisy said with a sigh. "Kora just needed some air."
Daniel nodded. "She and Peggy just decided to take Juliette for a walk. Something wrong?"
"Not necessarily wrong," Daisy hedged.
"Peggy gave us a list of names of agents for us to look over for Hydra players," Steve informed him. "At least ones based out of the New York office."
"Not going well?"
Daisy shrugged. "Other than the usual suspects, a lot of the names are just names," she admitted as she tossed down the pencil in her hand and rubbed her hands over her face. She couldn't recall what names could have been Hydra and she was growing more frustrated by the moment. She was ashamed to admit to herself that she'd mostly focused on the names of people that were closer to her own time. "I mean the whole reason why Hydra was able to stay around so long is because every time SHIELD went after them, people were overlooked." She shook her head slowly. "And this needs to be executed perfectly, or they'll just have another chance to hide in the shadows."
"Okay…" Daniel said, understanding her frustration. "What about locations then?" He asked. "Maybe through that we can find more names?" If any names came up from it, they could cross reference them with the other information they had...
"We thought of that, but we're still waiting on getting that information back," Steve countered.
"Wow, there really were that many, huh?" Daisy's first team didn't really talk about Hydra, at least not on a personal level. Every so often, something would come up and they'd give him a quick backstory, but emotion was usually void from it. He knew that Hydra had had a massive hold within SHIELD, but he was always saddened when more information came out.
"More than there should have been," the other man acknowledged.
"Maybe we can also talk about restructuring the way SHIELD does things and get rid of those damn levels," Daisy muttered.
"That isn't a bad idea," Steve replied, agreeing with the idea. "SHIELD was so busy hiding secrets from their own people...maybe if they hadn't been so preoccupied, they would have noticed Hydra's takeover…"
"Maybe," she allowed, "but maybe not. Hydra had its own preparatory academy."
The declaration caused both of her companions to turn their attention on her. "You're kidding…"
"I don't know," Steve denied slowly. "It makes sense to me."
"I just don't recall when it opened. I know for a fact that Agent Sitwell was a student there…Von Strucker…" with each name, she noticed Steve's gaze fill with comprehension. If they could stop it in its infancy… Daisy then turned her attention to Daniel. "Nathaniel Malick may not have been Hydra, but big brother Gideon was. I wouldn't be surprised if he attended, if it was built at the time."
"The man hitting on you in the bar when we were in 1973?"
Daisy nodded. "Hydra was in his blood, their blood. Even Wilfred Malick's father was part of it to some degree before he died. From parent to first born."
"At least," Steve muttered.
"At least," Daisy confirmed in a soft voice. Her thoughts fell to that day in Nathaniel Malick's captivity. Even drugged, she could recall his admission that he'd dabbled in Hydra but found it wasn't for him. Her thoughts went back to her original timeline, and she wondered if that version of him had also dabbled before he'd died. Gideon seemed to have embrace the life. And before she knew it, Hive had crept into her thoughts. She recalled the bidding she'd done under his sway. She remembered the shockwave that first incapacitated old man Gideon Malick before she went in for the kill.
Steve frowned, sensing a shift in Daisy's mood. He looked to Daniel for confirmation, wondering if he hadn't been the only one to noticed it. However, the other man was focused on Daisy. "Uh, I'm…am I missing something?"
"Do you know what happened to him? Gideon Malick?" Daisy asked, tilting her head at the man across the table from her.
Steve could only shake his head. "No. I…I think I remember hearing he died, but I never asked for the particulars. Do you know what happened to him?"
"I killed him."
The words were spoken with an air of detachment, as if she'd been talking about the weather. Both men spared a glance at one another before they looked back at her.
"There was an Inhuman…" Daisy exhaled a deep breath. Leaning forward, she linked her hands together, resting them on the table. "The same one that Hydra worshipped, we called him Hive because of his power. He had the ability to inhabit dead humans, jump in their bodies. But more importantly, he was able to control other Inhumans, put them under a hive-like mind. And they were helpless to fight it once under the control."
"You fell under his control," he assumed, Daisy's tone of voice had a taken on one similar to the one Bucky often used when he recalled the things he'd done under Hydra's control.
"Big time," she admitted. "I…sometimes I use my powers when I fight, to put a little oomph behind my punches and blows. But what I did to him…" She shook her head as if to clear the memory away, but she couldn't shake it. In that moment, she'd embodied every reason why people were scared of Inhumans. "I used my powers to knock him off his feet, I used more power than I should have for a man that age. And then when he was down, I focused my powers on his head. It caved right in…"
Daniel immediately made his way to Daisy's side, knowing she was lost in her memory.
"Sometimes I can still hear his screams," she confessed.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Steve exit the room but didn't remove his attention from Daisy.
"He deserved it, he deserved that and so much more, but…" Her voice faded.
"Daisy…" Daniel said, trying to gather her attention.
She scrunched her nose, remembering the bloody scene she'd left behind.
Resting his hands around both of her entwined ones, he began to speak soothingly. "Daisy, I need you to come back to me," he told her, watching as she finally blinked away the memories.
Focusing on his voice, she pulled away from the memories. A flash of embarrassment struck her, and her eyes frantically moved around the room, hoping that she hadn't just had a mini meltdown in front of Steve Rogers. Had he witnessed it? "Where did-"
"It's just you and me," Daniel reassured her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For what?" He leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. "You're talking to a WWII vet here," he reminded her. At the time, PTSD was still considered battle fatigue or combat stress reaction. The aftermath of the war only drove home the fact that there was a growing concern considering the millions of people that suffered from it. If anyone knew what she was going through, it was him.
"For losing myself like that." Her voice was small. "It's been a really long time since that's happened to me."
"No judgment from me." Considering some of the situations she'd faced in the last several years, it was understandable that some memories would bubble to the surface.
She always kept that memory locked up. She kept most of her memories under Hive's sway lock away tight. "Maybe just…thinking about everything that will or won't happen when we begin making changes forced it to the surface?" She supplied grasping for an explanation.
"Maybe," he agreed easily.
She pulled away from him slightly, looking for any sort of hesitance on his face or in his body language. "And hearing that…what I did," her eyes fell from him momentarily, "I didn't scare you away?"
"Wild horses couldn't drag me away," he vowed.
Offering him a sincere smile, she leaned in once again and rested her forehead against his. "I adore you, Daniel Sousa," Daisy admitted, knowing that she'd lucked out with him.
"That's pretty lucky then, because I'm crazy about you."
She wanted to lose herself in the moment, but there was one thought that wasn't far from her thoughts. "There is something…" Daisy cleared her throat. "If we do manage to stop Hydra soon enough, stop Wilfred and Gideon…Nathaniel may not be sent to Maveth as a sacrifice." She watched as understanding dawned on his face. "We saw firsthand how one change in the timeline lead him to becoming…obsessed with me…or at least my power."
He bit back his immediate response. He remembered their time in the warehouse, better than Daisy. He remembered the look in Malick's eyes when he looked at Daisy. It had been her that he'd been obsessed with. "He'll never touch you again," he told her, meaning his declaration. Malick would never lay a finger on her again.
"Jack," Steve greeted, shaking hands with Peggy's former colleague. "How are you?"
"I'm good, busy," Jack Thompson excused.
"Come on in," Steve invited. "Peggy is finishing up with hors d'oeuvres."
Jack tilted an eyebrow over the use of the word as followed him into the house. As many times as he joined them for meals over the years, hors d'oeuvres had never been on the menu. Drinks, yes. Dinner, yes. Dessert, yes. But never the former. "Sounds fancy."
"Yes, well, we're expecting a few more people than usual." Steve supposed it sounded better than 'it's going to be a long night.'
"Am I missing an occasion?" The other man asked, combing his brain for an anniversary or date that would spark acknowledgement, but he came up empty.
"No, nothing like that," Steve denied, hanging the man's overcoat on the coatrack near the front door. "Howard Stark and Edwin Jarvis will be joining us at some point this evening."
Howard Stark would be attending? "Does this have to do with SHIELD?"
"Yes and no," Steve replied. "But that's all you're going to get for now." He could see the hesitance coiled in the other man and clasped him on the shoulder in a jovial manner. "Can I get you a drink?"
"I think that would be a good idea," Jack replied, following the man into the living room. It was then that he noticed Peggy gleefully chatting with two unfamiliar women.
"Jack, it's so lovely that you could finally fit us into your schedule," Peggy greeted as she stood up to approach him.
Feeling as if he'd been chastened by her, Jack breathed his excused. "I'm sorry it's taken me a couple days to get out your way, work's been busy."
When his eyes fell on the other women in the room, it prompted an introduction. "Jack Thompson, these are new friends of ours. Kora Johnson and her sister, Daisy," Peggy said, referring to each woman.
"Nice to meet you," Jack greeted them politely before giving a side glance to Peggy and then Steve as the women once again sat down together. "You guys aren't trying to set me up again, are you?" He asked when he joined Steve at the bar.
Steve didn't hide his amusement. "As much fun as that would be, no," he chortled. "Although, Daisy is looking for work."
"I can try and find a place for her at the switchboard…"
Pouring the man's drink, Steve tried to bite back a smile, easily anticipating Daisy's reaction to the offer. "Not that kind of work."
"You mean as an agent?" After Peggy's success, there had been a few more female applicants. However, none of them were as good as an agent as she had been. Honestly, he felt the same way where most of his male agents were concerned as well.
"I think you'll be surprised," Steve said.
He was almost skeptical. However, if Steve thought that there was something to the woman, maybe there was. And if not, he'd at least enjoy getting to know her.
"Do they also have to do with tonight's get together?" Was one of them sleeping with Stark? It wouldn't be a far stretch. Howard hadn't settled down, still enjoying the playboy life.
"Jack, let it go. I can promise you that no matter how much time you spend going over things in your head, you are not going to come close to the truth," Steve implored. "In effort not to tell the entire story more than once, nothing is coming out until everyone is here."
Deciding to take the man's advice, Jack nodded slowly. "If you say so," he muttered as one of his acquaintances joined them.
"Are you minding the bar tonight, Steve?" Kora asked, approaching him with her sister and Peggy in tow.
"I am right now. Can I get you anything in particular?"
"Hmm, I understand that Gin is a popular spirit right now… I think I'll try a Gin and tonic with a splash of lime?"
Steve nodded.
Jack narrowed his eyes at the wording she'd used. She understood it was popular? What did that mean? When Steve began making the drink, he turned his attention to his new acquaintance. "How long have you been in New York?"
"We've been in upstate for a several days now," Kora answered.
"You ever spend any time in the city?"
"Not really. Peggy took us once for a girl's day out, but prior to that I haven't spent much time there."
"So, you've spent all your time in a small, sleepy town?"
Kora shrugged with a small smile. "After some of the things I've seen, it's a welcomed change."
"I loved living in the city," Daisy broke in, at least she had once she had aged out of the orphanage.
Jack frowned. "How is it that one of you lived in the city while the other has only visited once?"
"We have two different fathers," Daisy replied easily. "Because of a series of unfortunate events, we didn't grow up together."
Kora silently applauded her sister's quick thinking. She looked back to Jack. "I assume you live in the city…"
"I do," Jack confirmed. "Makes it more convenient for work."
She wrinkled her nose recalling the visit to the city. "It's noisy." She'd never spent much time in such a big city. How did people sleep?
"Yes," he confirmed. "That is the downside. But I'm also near all the happening spots in town."
Happening spots…so, not married then? "No wife waiting at home for you?" Kora asked, trying to read between the lines. He appeared to be personable, but there was a slight resemblance to Nathaniel Malick and she found herself feeling a little put off by him. Unfortunately, the latter had left an impression, and not a good one.
"Divorced."
"That's too bad," she replied as Steve handed her the drink she'd requested. "Thank you, Steve."
He nodded at her. "Peggy, your usual?"
"Sounds wonderful, darling. And a Glen Garioch for Daniel." The request caused three of the four inhabitants of the room to freeze in anticipation of the looming revelation.
"You sure?" Steve asked, not expecting it. The plan had been to wait until Stark arrived before revealing Daniel's presence.
"I am," Peggy confirmed. Howard wasn't known for being prompt and it wasn't fair to make Daniel hide out alone until he arrived. They wouldn't offer actual answers, but at least they'd get one reintroduction out of the way.
"I'll grab him," Daisy offered. "You may want to pour Thompson another drink," she advised Steve on her way out of the room.
Realizing that he was out of the loop on something, he sat up in his seat. "What's going on? He looked first to Steve and then Peggy, neither willing to meet his gaze. If he didn't know better, he would think he was being ambushed. "Why do I need another drink?"
"That would be because of me."
Jack turned to look at the once familiar voice, coming face to face with a ghost. "Son of a bitch…"
Though her attention was on the people before her, Daisy could sense the tension in Daniel. Grabbing one of his hands in hers, she squeezed it affectionately. She could only imagine how nervous he was. Other than Peggy, it was the first time he was coming face to face with someone from his previous life.
Jack stared at the man unblinkingly. "How?" How was it possible that Daniel Sousa was standing in front of him? The same man that died three years ago… He'd been at the funeral.
"We'll tell you when Stark gets here," Peggy offered.
Jack shook his head. "That's not good enough," he immediately denied. "You can't put a dead man in front of me and expect me to not have questions."
"He's not dead," Daisy denied as detangled herself from Daniel and stepped towards the bar. "He never died. It was only made to look like he had," she divulged as she grabbed Daniel's drink. When it looked like he was about to say something, she continued. "Look, I know you have questions," she acknowledged, "and you'll get them answered, just not at this moment. It really is a long, convoluted story that we only want to tell once." She returned to Daniel's side, handing him the drink Steve had poured.
His gaze fell on Daniel's, who appeared to be just as resolved as her. Grudgingly understanding that he wouldn't get any answers, he changed the topic. "It's really you?"
That, he could answer. He nodded before he took a sip from his glass. "It really is," Daniel confirmed. He didn't miss it when Jack's eyes wandered to Daisy. "I know she was already introduced to you, but this is Daisy Johnson. I met her…through my travels," he grasped, not wanting to give anything away just yet.
He smiled at the woman once again, but this time with more sincerity than politeness. He'd taken notice of how close Daniel stood next to her. He also hadn't missed the fact that she'd held his hand when he decided to speak up. And Jack wasn't obtuse. There was clearly an understanding between them. "I'm sure it will be an interesting story."
"You have no idea…." Peggy murmured into her drink. From her peripheral she spotted movement through the large window. She turned just in time to see another car come to a stop in front of her house. "I think they're here."
It had been over an hour since Howard Stark came face to face with Daniel. In that time, Daisy had introduced herself as a SHIELD agent from the future that had crossed paths with Daniel when her team traveled back in time to fight an adversary, saving him in the process. There were, understandably, several interruptions. She'd done her best to answer them, but there were a few she wasn't willing to reveal, mainly how her team had created a time machine. By the time she'd finished, she'd covered pulling Daniel out of time as well as the situation that led to them being sent back in time in what appeared to be a permanent situation. When the conversation tapered down, Daniel excused himself from the room. She'd wanted to follow him, curious as to how he was faring through the conversation, but she was still answering questions.
"You aren't told 'no' very often, are you?" Daisy replied when Howard once again inquired about traveling back in time.
"No," he replied flatly. "In whatever capacity."
"Charming," she muttered to herself. "Mr. Stark, it hasn't been discovered yet. So, I'm afraid I'm not going to say anything further on that subject. Having said that, I do have some knowledge of the future that I can work with." She knew she'd instantly piqued his interest when he turned his body towards her.
"Do you now?"
"I know a few important dates and events in sports, I know trends, businesses…items that haven't even hit store shelves. I'll share them with you."
Her offer fascinated him, but he was a businessman first. "In exchange for what?" There had to be something. She wouldn't share that information for nothing.
"We have nothing. No identification, no documentation. Peggy and Steve have been beyond kind to let us stay here, but it's getting crowded." And she wasn't the only person to feel that way. "We'll need some seed money from you. We need…our own place and…I'd like to continue working within SHIELD."
"Your offer intrigues me," he admitted, "but I would have helped Daniel and his team even if you didn't offer to share that information."
"I appreciate the sentiment, but you may wish to withdraw it when we get to the second half of tonight's discussion."
"There's more?" He asked.
"Yes."
Her somber resolve left a ball of dread settling in his stomach. "Maybe we can discuss it over dinner tomorrow?"
She arched a single eyebrow, trying to read his intentions.
"Of course, that would include Daniel and…your sister," he continued. "My treat."
"Okay," Daisy nodded. "We can discuss this further then. If you'll excuse me," she pardoned herself, walking in the direction that Daniel had, hoping to track him down.
"He's in the backyard," Peggy whispered to Daisy as the woman walked past her.
She made her way to the area Peggy suggested. "Hey," Daisy said, sticking her head out of the back door. "You doing okay?"
"Yeah," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "Just needed a minute."
Stepping outside, she quietly shut the door behind her. "I can only imagine how emotional this is for you," she confessed, approaching him.
He shook his head as he lifted an arm for her to join his side. When she claimed her spot, he closed it around her and secured her against his side. "I never thought I'd feel so choked up by seeing Thompson, Stark and Jarvis," he confessed wryly.
"You're home, Daniel," she retorted, "it's only natural that you would feel this way being confronted with people and things from your old life."
He placed a kiss on her temple and pulled her more securely against him. "Just so you know, my home is wherever you are, no matter what decade we're in."
His words humbled her, and she wrapped an arm around his waist. "You can be such a dork," she replied, giggling.
He didn't take offence to the response, knowing it was her way of dealing with his words. Even several months into their relationship, she wasn't comfortable with such declarations like that. However, he always knew she appreciated the sentiment by the way she smiled or made an effort to reach out and touch him affectionately.
"So, that's Howard Stark, huh?" Daisy asked. "He's very…flamboyant." She didn't know why she was so surprised. While she hadn't met Tony Stark in person, from what she could recall about several of his interviews, he was just like his old man.
Daniel snorted upon hearing her description. "That's one way of putting it."
"I did make the proposition, he's very interested and would like to have dinner with us tomorrow. I hope you don't mind, but I accepted on your behalf."
"Not at all."
"I came to track you down so that we could pick the discussion back up." She felt his back tighten under her hand. "Yeah, I'm right there with you," she told him, feeling the same strain.
"How long have they been a couple?"
Kora peaked over Jack's shoulder, also watching the couple in the backyard.
"I think they were together, even if unofficially, before I joined them," Kora answered.
Jack turned away from the window and faced her. "How does that work? Before, Daisy said you didn't grow up together due to a series of unfortunate events…"
"I was born in 1969 and I died before she was even born."
"And that was when?"
She specifically chose not to mention anything about what was supposed to be her death day. "Daisy was born in 1988."
Jack's eyes widened upon hearing the year. That was…a long way off. 1988…that would…Daisy was young enough to be his…granddaughter. What could she and Daniel possibly have in common that caused them to gravitate towards one another in such a way?
"If you were hoping for something-"
"No," Jack interrupted. "It's not like that," he insisted, wanting to nip the idea in the bud. "I was just musing over…them. I guess I don't understand what they could possibly have in common with seventy years between them," he confessed.
"The future isn't as different as you might think," Kora spoke up. "Yes, some things have progressed, but at the end of the day, people are just people. Fate threw them together, and neither has turned back since." She didn't mention their ordeal at Nathaniel Malick's hands, it wasn't her story to tell. Once again, her attention fell to the space outside that her sister had occupied, only to find it empty.
"Have we all had a moment to process everything?" Daisy asked, announcing her presence, along with Daniel's. She looked around at each person, waiting for their reaction before continuing. When she received no negative responses, she reclaimed her seat, with Daniel at her side. "What I'm going to tell you, it can't leave this room," Daisy began as Kora once again found a spot on her other side. "Peggy and Steve have already been informed of this next part and have already begun helping us, and now we're looping the three of you in on this. Hydra is being built back up through the ranks of SHIELD."
"That can't be right," Howard denied. There'd been nothing about Hydra since Schmidt's defeat.
"Steve and I are from future realities that say otherwise," Daisy instantly denied.
"Steve would have said something by now," Stark once again countered.
The man in question met Howard's gaze with an apologetic expression on his face.
"Who do you think tried to kill Daniel that night at the Roosevelt? It certainly wasn't the Russians," Daisy added, offering another example.
Jarvis and Stark both turned frowns on Daniel. "You knew they were in SHIELD…" the former predicted.
Daniel nodded in acknowledgement.
Daisy took over once again. "Hydra managed to gain a stronghold within SHIELD for years. SHIELD went after them, multiple times, in fact. But each time, people were overlooked, and Hydra was able to continue for far too long," Daisy tried to explain.
Steve nodded along with her. "I was afraid that I would have only made things worse if I'd spoken up."
"Might I ask what has changed?" Edwin asked.
"It was my team that fought them those times," Daisy informed him. "I have different knowledge of Hydra than Steve does. If we can combine that information, then maybe we have a chance of stopping them before they're rooted too deep."
"What does that entail?" Jack asked.
"I'm trying to get those files, but it's been a laborious task," Peggy piped up.
"Daisy and I have started writing down locations that we're each familiar with, but again, we need the files if we're going to get anywhere with that," Steve tacked on.
"SHIELD wasn't the only organization to bring on German scientists after the war, and maybe they've already popped up in those organizations as well, but I'm more concerned with SHIELD at the moment. Does the name Arnim Zola mean anything to either of you?" She asked, referring to the men that worked within SHIELD.
"Wasn't he…a person of interest during the war?" Howard asked, doing his best to recall the time.
Steve nodded. "He claimed to have turned over a new leaf."
"Arnim Zola is the brainchild of this," Daisy said, revealing the name. "But he's only the first. We start with him, known associates, people he works with, projects that he's worked on."
"Again, which means we need access to files," Steve confirmed for her.
"Why not just arrest him?" Jarvis asked.
"Because Hydra is already starting to spread within the ranks. And if we remove him from the equation, someone else is just going to step up to the plate."
Jack understood the point she was trying to make. And he was on board with it, but he didn't understand how it was going to be executed. "What did you have in mind?" Jack inquired.
"When Hydra came out, they were brutal and exacting," Daisy recalled. "They instantly turned against team members and colleagues, killing several dozens of SHIELD agents in the process. I think it would be fitting to do the same to them."
"It will have to be a concerted effort within all of the SHIELD bases to eradicate them," Peggy replied. "Arrest and detain all known Hydra associates, at the same time before one branch can warn another. But we need to do our homework first."
"And I'll have to remain dead to the rest of the world," Daniel added.
"At least for now," Daisy agreed. "If those that had a hand in his 'death,'" she used air quotations, "got wind of his presence then we'll lose the upper hand."
"Where do you expect to get all of this done?" Stark asked. If it was to remain a top-secret effort, they needed to shield everything from prying eyes.
"Actually…I do have a suggestion for that," Daisy spoke up, receiving looks from everyone. She hadn't put the idea into words yet, as she still didn't know if it was viable option. "In my time, after SHIELD fell, we retreated to the Playground."
"What an interesting name for a secret base," Edwin mused.
"Where?" Howard asked.
"Codename, Ragtag," Daisy answered. She watched as comprehension filled both his and Peggy's eyes. "It had offices, a lounge, a cafeteria, a holding cell, a sparring room that was separate from the gym, a shooting range, laboratory, plenty of rooms that can be fitted for future use. And most importantly, living quarters."
"Maybe in the future it did, but now it's nothing but a decommissioned base," Howard responded, instantly recalling the property.
"Exactly," Daisy confirmed. "No one would think to look for us there."
"There also aren't any of those things that you just mentioned," Stark countered.
"And that's where you come in with your generous monetary donation to SHIELD," Daisy sighed. She hadn't yet broached the subject with Daniel and Kora and knew her next words would more than likely shock them. "I could move there, oversee the process. We can ship the files there and we would be free to look over them away from any curious eyes." By the time, she finished explaining, she felt Daniel slip his hand in hers. She hoped it meant that she had his support, but she'd need to discuss it with him to be sure.
"Daisy, you don't have to leave," Peggy told her new friend.
Daisy nodded. "I know we don't. But it makes the most sense at this point. I am so grateful for everything that you and Steve have done for us since we showed up on your doorstep. But we're in a completely different place than we thought we were that first night."
"Daisy's right," Kora piped up. "We need to find a place to settle down, and the Playground sounds like it would be more than suitable for us at this time. We'll have the space to go over the files, we'll be hidden from those than don't need to know anything.
"And what about after this is dealt with?" Peggy asked.
"One situation at a time," Daniel replied, recalling Mack's advice.