The Hunters and the Prey - Chapter Twelve
Author: Milady Dragon
Daisy couldn't believe how angry she was at Uncle Nick's announcement.
Oh, not at Uncle Nick. No way would that news make her mad at him.
No, it was Grant Ward she was furious with.
Ward had been a friend. He'd been a member of their group. Daisy had liked him, and had seriously considered dating him…until he'd tried to kill Jemma and Leo.
He'd claimed the Confinement spell he'd trapped the two Elves in had been a mistake, a horrible accident. But it had taken Grand Master Ianto to unpick the spell and release Jemma and Leo, and he'd testified at the hearing that had been held at the time that there wasn't anything accidental about that spell.
Ward had claimed up until his expulsion from school that Ianto had been wrong, that he hadn't meant to trap the pair in a hermetically sealed Containment spell, but no one had believed him. That had been the last time Daisy had seen him…until he'd kidnapped her on behalf of Hydra, because his teaching Master, John Garrett, had been a member of the shadow cabal. Hells, he'd even tried the old accident story on her while he'd been actively holding her prisoner.
So yeah, she really hated him.
She really wanted to punch him his smug face…again. It had been gratifying the first time.
The young Wizard was gripping the speaking stone so hard that Clint had to pry her fingers apart in order to take it from her. He gave her an understanding smile in return for the stone, and she watched as he addressed Uncle Nick, asking him what was going on.
Jack and Toshiko had stood as well, grouped around Clint as if the speaking stone held the mysteries of the multiverse. Her Uncle Nick's voice came through, and Daisy could hear his own anger over the connection.
"Widow managed to track him down in the Pleasure Dome," he said.
Daisy had never seen the Pleasure Dome, but she'd heard of it. It was in one of the desert cities to the south and west of Triskelia, and the stories that were told about it were…well, almost unbelievable. It was said any sort of vice could be found there, if the price was paid. There was always some sort of scandal coming out of the Pleasure Dome, and if she remembered correctly hadn't Baron Tony been the subject of one such scandal? Back before his kidnapping and all that?
"She's got him in custody, but we're going to need a Wizard to contain him and his dragons indefinitely."
"I'll get Ianto and the others," Jack volunteered. He was out of the room like a fired arrow, leaving the three of them standing around the stone in Clint's hand.
"Where is she taking him?" Clint demanded. "We can meet her there."
"Gateway," Uncle Nick answered. "She's got that open-ended Teleport artifact she's been using to bounce around like a damned jackrabbit. I really got to talk to Phil about getting me one of those things…"
"She got it from a magical hoard we managed to find a couple years ago," Clint said at Toshiko's puzzled expression. "The majority of the artifacts went to the Wizards' Guild, but she was given that as a reward. Can't remember the name of the Wizard who told her what it was, though."
Daisy knew from her Dad that, sometimes, when a bunch of artifacts was found, that there was always some sort of reward for turning it in. Mostly, it was monetary; but it looked as if the Widow had managed to convince the receiving Wizard for something a little more magically tangible. Not that she could blame her; an open Teleport spell, that allowed a person to go wherever they wanted, was a prize definitely worth having. From what she'd learned in her own studies, most Teleport spells had to have specific coordinates set within the warp and weft of their magic so, for someone non-magical to be able to use something like that…she really wanted to meet the Widow. She figured there was an awfully good chance of that, if she was bringing Ward to Gateway.
"How is the Widow keeping Ward contained?" Toshiko asked.
There was a silence from the speaking stone. "Who the fuck is this?" Nick demanded.
"I am Lady Toshiko Sato," the female Elf answered before anyone could perform official introductions. Clint looked as if he wanted to grin at the display of rudeness returned. "Now, can you answer the question, whoever you are?"
Clint was laughing now, and Daisy couldn't help it, either. No one ever really gave Uncle Nick the hells like that, and it was really funny. It might have been even funnier if Grant Ward wasn't the reason for the call, but it was still hilarious.
"Lady Toshiko," Uncle Nick actually sounded respectful, "I'm Nicholas Fury, Baron Triskelia. And, as to your question," and there was that scorn, "the Widow has a set of enchanted manacles."
"Vibranium?" Daisy's own voice quivered slightly, recalling just what that metal had done to her Dad. Yes, she wanted Ward in prison, but not that way.
"No, don't worry about that." She could tell that Uncle Nick understood why she was asking. "These manacles don't cut off a person's magic, like Vibranium does. These keep their magic from actually being used. But we're gonna need a more permanent way to keep him confined until he can be brought to trial."
Daisy wanted to ask where Uncle Nick had gotten them from, but she had a sinking suspicion that it had been her Dad. Back at the beginning, he'd been afraid of backsliding into the Dark One's old habits once more, so the young Wizard could see him giving Uncle Nick those manacles in order to stop him if he ever got out of control. That hadn't happened, which was a really good thing, but she knew her father, and knew he would have done anything to keep from hurting her. Phil Coulson wouldn't have done any such thing…but the Dark One, Daisy could see it. Or at least she could see him worrying about doing it.
Well, that was before she'd learned about Buda-Pest. Now, she understood that as bad as he'd ever gotten, her Dad would never intentionally injure a child.
"We'll take care of that," Ianto's voice had them breaking out of their huddle. He, along with Grand Master Stephen and Jack…and Daisy's Dad, who came around the group in order to put his arm around her, as if he knew she needed the comfort.
He wasn't wrong.
It was scary how much she'd trusted Grant Ward. He'd been one of her first friends at the Wizard School, before she'd even met Jemma, Leo, and Trip. She'd been drawn to him, which should have been strange since he was studying to be a Void Wizard, her opposite. But it hadn't been, and she'd seriously considered taking him up on the offer of a date.
But that had been before it had all gone wrong.
Daisy didn't miss him. Not at all, not after what he'd done. If anything, she hated him more than she'd hated anyone in her life, and that included some of the orphanage workers she'd had to deal with and her own parents, who'd abandoned her when she'd been a baby.
She let herself lean against her Dad, his warmth and love protecting her. To her surprise, though, Clint tucked up against her other side, even as he was handing the speaking stone over to Ianto. As he accepted it, the Cardinal Grand Master raised an eyebrow at her, so he must have sensed her magical signature in the spells laid on it. He also looked very impressed, and Daisy found herself blushing. The thing was, she couldn't take credit for the idea; that belonged to Lincoln, and it had been the five of them together who'd gotten together to create the stones.
"When will the Widow be here?" Ianto asked. "Do we know?"
"She should be there now," Uncle Nick answered. "She was due to arrive at the Quorum."
"We should head there, then," Her Dad murmured.
"Agreed, " Grand Master Stephen added. "We'll need to make certain one of the subterranean cells is ready to accept him."
"They should be, since we were expecting to put a few Hydra Wizards in them." Ianto sounded almost gleeful.
Well, Daisy could understand it. No one liked being betrayed.
She knew the from first-hand experience.
"There's...just one thing."
Daisy frowned. Uncle Nick sounded…hesitant. And he never was hesitant.
"What is it, Marcus?" Phil asked.
"Ward said he'd tell us everything…"
"There's a 'but' in there," Jack noted.
"But he'd only talk to Daisy. No one else."