(2)

• note: interviews are taken apart and pulled from each characters perspective; this gives it a more crafty visual interpretation as you can just see the interviewee cut from person and person back again without the repetition of questions. however i did in fact mark when another person would begin speaking if that would help anyone •

—

Alexander Pierce was whom everyone referred to as 'Director' these days—considering Fury's death and Captain America's newfound 'Fugitive' status made no one else want to step up to par—and so it was him who Matthew had first contacted in attempt to find his cousin.

It wasn't like she never did this before, disappearing for a week only to come up from the underground with a sudden revelation, but that was a week. It's been almost two month's since anyone's had any type of contact with Eliza, so it was natural everyone who made contact contact with the young doctor was concerned.

"I just think you should take this more seriously, Mr—, erm, Director Pierce." he had told the aging man, who sat across from him against the glass desk that once belonged to the man with an eyepatch.

"Agent Hanson, I am taking this seriously; a good percentage of my people are missing and the original Director of this agency—mind I add, a good friend of mine—dead. How can that /not/ be taken seriously?" Pierce had a way with words that would make anyone nod in understanding; apologize even. Though today there was a strange edge to it that made Matthew press even further.

"But this is different. Everyone else is somehow capable of defending themselves if they need to. Dr. Childs is different." And so he divulged himself into explaining the delicate girl, saying how she'd break in an instant and so on.

That was the moment the man across from him showed any type of curiosity.

"What is there to say? Fury planted her in my company, I fired her, then I realized she was the best at what she does and rehired her like that." Midnight—who entered the building upon being called the next day with quite distaste—didn't bother animating her words with a snap. She knew this new SHIELD Director would get her point, and showed so by nodding.

"Oscorp keeps tight links on all their employees—,"

"She wanted maximum privacy and I respected that. Can I leave now?"

"Just a second; how was her relationship with you, or others she knew in general?"

"/Relationship/?" Jonathan—the one person who was called in the same day as Matthew when he left—laughed at the question. Despite not wanting to waste time for questioning, he had wanted to find out where the hell his friend was as well as his winged lover, and so he had taken the bait and came on call. "She doesn't trust anyone. I'm sure she barely trusts herself at times."

"So she has trust issues?"

"Well I wouldn't phrase it like that..."

"How would you phrase it?"

"She has this like... Like belief system, right?" Michael had no idea what to do with his hands and so he used them as a tool to explain; ignoring Midnight on the other side of the glass constantly checking her watch.

"Belief system?"

"Okay, well when you put it like that, no. She just didn't think anyone aside from herself should know anything meaningful about her. Almost like she was afraid of something."

"Interesting... And so who would know the most?"

"No one I suppose." Matthew scratched the back of his head, beginning to feel uncomfortable with these questions under Director Pierces eye. "No matter what their relation to her."

"Relation? Elaborate on that please."

"Well I mean, I'm her cousin and I barely know half the things that happened to her since she left for college."

"And in light of that, who would you say is the closest to her?"

"Jonathan Hammer of course."

Again, the Hammer boy laughed. "Me, the closest one to Eliza?" another laugh. "Well yeah I've known her for a while, but we're not close. I mean I barely know her favorite color."

"Would you think thats relevant?"

"What, her favorite color?"

"No, the fact that you've known her for so long yet really know so little."

It was silent after that; Jonathan beginning to pull on a loose thread in the chair he sat in before silently excusing himself for the day.

"She's an employee. I don't make it my business to know theirs." Midnight's statement was curt as she crossed her legs over; a fake yet practiced yawn escaping her lips as her eyes surveyed the landscape outside of the HQ windows.

"Yet you've admitted towards being an acquaintance of hers outside of the office?"

"She was one of the few people I could trust with my—..." she shifted in her seat as she hesitated. "Scientifically induced situation. Wouldn't want to blow up off the job now would I?"

"So then, what did you know?"

"What I /know/ is her last name, age, the fact that she's allergic to cats, and that she dated—but explicitly did not bang—the words hottest billionaire."

"I'm sorry, she what?" Michael cleared his throat as he prepared to repeat himself, though Pierce stopped him with a silent hand. "When you say dated, do you mean she had a serious relationship with this man?"

"As serious as you can with a Stark."

"Explain to me Dr. Childs' relationship with Mr. Stark."

"Mr. Stark? Dominic?" Jonathan raised his eyebrow, having not even sat down on his way back in two days after his first visit; Pierce's back to him as he flipped through a file in his hands.

"Yes, yes, Dominic; what was her relationship to Dominic."

There was a long stretch of silence as Jonathan decided against sitting down, toying with the buttons on his open blazer while averting his eyes out the Triskelion windows. "I'm not so sure its in my place to say..." he had finally spoken quietly, making brief eye-contact with the Director as he turned around; his stare harsh as he forcefully dropped a folder onto his desk.

"Mr. Hammer, you're a smart young man, and a good one at times as well, but I cannot have you hiding things from me about a missing agent of mine!" Pierces voice had lost its collectiveness as his hand curled into a fist and smacked the file he threw on the desk, causing Jonathan to slightly jump back. Again, there was a short silence as you could only hear the older man's jagged breaths, and the younger's inconsistent short ones.

"Fury had sent her on an Op to keep him in line... As time went on I suppose they became attached to one another." For a while, Jonathan wasn't even sure it was him who was speaking, for deep down he felt he was betraying the sliver of trust Elizabeth had given him.

"How attached...?" Again, Pierce was calm; readjusting his tie as if nothing had occurred in the past seconds. Though now John knew there was something wrong, and that he should have stopped speaking when he had the chance.

But when did the boy ever listen to his conscience.

"The casual observer would say they still are."