Chapter 12

It was late when Frankie got back to her room. The debrief for the operation was thorough, both Dean and Jacob were amused by how she staged DeHerrera. After the debrief, she asked Jacob if she could have a word with him.

"What's up, Frankie?" he asked after Dean left.

She had considered what she would do with the conversation she overheard about Daniel Glover. She couldn't look up any information on her laptop or tablet; she knew these were monitored and her search wouldn't go unnoticed. So, she decided the best approach was the direct one.

"During the op, I overheard a conversation between some of the guys about my last target."

Jacob cocked his head to the side, "what did you hear?"

She leaned back on the conference table, and picked at her nails, looking at him from the corner of her eyes, "that he wasn't some nameless low-level government worker and that he died while on his vacation."

Her boss walked around the table and leaned on it next to her. "No, he wasn't. He was the lead researcher on the Space Force's alien technology division. Glover was working with SHIELD on the integration of alien technology and ours."

"So, my training exercise was actually a real intel operation," she stated flatly.

"Yeah, we had the opportunity and we took it. You were in the right place at the right time. We don't like to waste resources."

"So why kill him? Wasn't he worth more alive to us than dead?"

Jacob shrugged, "I didn't make that call, but I support it. Getting someone to do meaningful work under duress hardly ever works out. Killing him accomplished two objectives. First, we slowed down SHIELD's progress on building their own spaceship. Second, we have a candidate posed to replace him, so we will have someone in Hydra highly placed in the program."

Frankie was surprised by his honesty, but she was also wary; something wasn't quite right here. Jacob wasn't surprised that she had found out about Daniel.

"I didn't overhear that conversation by accident. I was meant to hear it, wasn't I?"

This time she could read the surprise in Jacob's body language.

"It was a test," she turned towards him, planning her hands on her hips. "To see what I would do with the information. You don't trust me."

"Look at it from our point, Frankie. We just uncovered a mole from SHIELD in this very department. Then you show up. With the right skill set to take her place. And you have been quite obviously involved in actions against an Avenger. It was like you were served up to us on a silver platter. Just too good to be true. We had to know."

"Was any of it even real? Either of the assignments?"

Jacob's body language gave her the answer before he even opened his mouth, "no."

Before he could say anything more, she spun and stalked out of the room, ignoring his calls for her to stop and turn around. She didn't stop until she entered her room and slammed the door behind her. In her rage, she dragged one of the chairs at the table over to the door and climbed on it to reach the smoke detector. Pulling it free from its holder, she pried open the back, found the hidden camera and ripped it free.

Holding it up to her face, she spat, "Fuck you!" then pulled its wires out and, jumping off the chair, crushed it on the floor under her heal.

An hour later, she sat exhausted on her bed, her room in shambles around her. She had found one other hidden camera. More disturbing, she had found a microphone in her bathroom. She didn't find a camera in there, but still…

She just about jumped out of her skin when a light knock came at her door. Flinging the door open, she expected Jacob or Rory and was prepared to give them a piece of her mind.

Glenda stood in the doorway instead, taking the wind out of her sails. She just stood there silently for a moment, unsure how to proceed.

"I would ask if I could come in, but I don't think there's anywhere left to sit," she said dryly. "Why don't we go to my office so we can talk?"

"Sure," Frankie's voice dripped with sarcasm, "why not?"

Glenda didn't bat a single perfectly made up eye. She just turned on her heals and led the way to her office. Frankie followed silently, not even bothering to shut the door behind her. Fuck it. She never had any privacy anyway; let them go through the rubble of her room.

In her office, Glenda indicated a small sitting area to one side of her office. Taking one of the two chairs, she waited for Frankie to sit.

"You're upset," she stated once Frankie slumped into her chair.

"Observant."

"No need to be an asshole, Frankie. Why don't you act like an adult?" Glenda said in a calm voice.

Before Frankie could answer, the door opened admitting Andi carrying a tray.

"Thank you, Andi. Just put it here," Glenda smiled and tapped the table between her and Frankie.

When Andi set the tray down, Frankie leaned forward and grabbed her wrist to stop her from retreating, "did you know? Were our lunches set up to trap me?"

Andi didn't meet her eyes, "yes," she said quietly. "But I really did enjoy your company," she said quickly.

Frankie released her arm and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. She was so angry; she was close to tears. When she felt like she could continue without bursting into tear or choking someone to death, Frankie opened her eyes. The head of security was sitting comfortably in her chair, watching her quietly.

"Are you ready to listen?"

She nodded.

Glenda leaned forward and started making a cup of tea, "would you like one?"

"It's after midnight."

"It's never a bad time for tea. Besides, its chamomile. Soothing. No caffeine."

Frankie snorted, "soothing. Yeah, I could use a lot of that. Make me a bucket full."

When Glenda handed her the tea, in a cup, not a bucket, she blew on it and took a sip. It was soothing and warm.

"This isn't drugged, is it?" she looked up at the other woman before taking another sip.

"If it was, now is a little late to ask."

"True," a pause. "Go on then, say your piece."

"Hydra," Glenda began, "is an ancient organization. It has roots that reach back hundreds of years. It has survived tyrants, wars, the inquisition, the communist purge in both Russia and China, and it survived WWII. It didn't last this long eagerly trusting everyone and everything. Nobody is allowed into our sphere without being thoroughly vetted. Most of our members work autonomously, without ever knowing the big picture. They are just given individual tasks to carry out."

"This is especially important now that the public knows we exist, and we are in open conflict with SHIELD. Everyone is a possible threat to our survival and must be treated as such."

She paused and took a sip of her own tea. "What we did to you was not unique. It has been done before. To your partner, Dean. To Jacob. To me and, yes, even to Rory. And each of us were equally outraged, just as you are now. You are not special. You have not been singled out. You are being vetted, plain and simple."

"What happens if I fail?"

"The last thing that will go through your mind will be a bullet," she said deadpan. "Let me be perfectly clear about this. This is not a game. We are not in this for shits and giggles. This is life and death to us. Those that make it through are the ones that are unequivocally devoted to the core purpose of Hydra."

"And what is that purpose?"

Setting her cup back on the tray, Glenda leaded back and met her eyes, "global domination."

"To what end?"

"The human race is a mess. Look how fragmented it is. We fight about differences in the color of our skin, religion, culture, regions, resources, and wealth. Even when two groups are virtually identical, they will find a reason to hate each other. In the meantime, we are destroying the very planet on which our survival depends. In a nutshell, as a whole, the human race is stupid. It needs a force to pull it together before it's too late. Now that we have joined the galactic community, it is even more important for us to be unified, united, before some alien race decides it wants this planet to itself. You know this is a real threat, Frankie. It has already happened twice in one decade."

"And the Avengers stopped it," Frankie pointed out.

Glenda nodded in agreement, "yes, they did. But what about next time? Iron man is dead. Captain America gone. They were the glue that held the Avengers together. But an even better question is: why does the human population have to rely on this group where some of the individuals aren't even human? Why can't humankind defend themselves?"

"Because we can't compete with what alien races that are more advanced than we are?"

"Again, why is that? Why can't we compete?" When Frankie didn't answer, she continued. "Because we are too busy trying to kill each other. We are letting our petty quarrels keep us divided. Imagine what we could achieve as one united planet. Imagine the resources that could be directed at improving our technology? All the most brilliant minds, whether they are American, Russian, Chinese, Indian, African, it wouldn't matter. They would be united working together for the betterment of not just a single country, race, or religion; but for the planet."

"And Hydra is the organization to unite them?"

"That's the plan."

Taking another drink from her rapidly cooling cup, Frankie met Glenda's eyes, "so, what now?"

The smile on Glenda's face sent a shiver down her back.

"Now, we find out what side you are truly on."