"Tell me. Why did you help Pierce? Don't you know that could expose Hydra ahead of schedule? Even if I spare you, the other Hydra agents will kill you. Was your sacrifice worth it?"
The middle-aged man parted his lips, but in the end, he chose to remain silent. Think whatever you want. I did what I did.
What loyalty! Daisy could not help marveling. Finding someone like this in modern society was truly rare.
The middle-aged man was terrified, yet his convictions had still driven him to betray Hydra. He neither fled nor explained himself. He possessed something of the spirit of a man who would advance for a righteous cause even against ten million foes.
"Impressive. You knew I wouldn't kill you, didn't you?" Daisy waited more than ten seconds without hearing a word and finally understood what he was thinking. She asked with a teasing smile.
The middle-aged man trembled like a leaf, but he still held fast to his principles. Kneeling meant admitting his mistake, but betraying Pierce? Impossible!
Unyieldingly loyal to Hydra, ready to die for S.H.I.E.L.D.! Daisy found the whole thing amusing and waved a hand. "What you did was meaningless. Go back to your home in New Jersey. You're fired from S.H.I.E.L.D."
Her first two sentences made relief spread across the middle-aged man's face, but when she mentioned the home address he had hidden so carefully, he finally panicked. Hesitation crept into his expression as though he were weighing his principles against his family.
Daisy raised a finger, and gravity yanked the middle-aged man against the wall.
"You're fired. If you dare run your mouth outside, your whole family will be buried with you." After speaking, she signaled for the Hydra agents to drag him away.
That was because Grant Ward had just brought her more news.
Pierce had been targeted by mysterious snipers on the streets of Washington. They chased him for two blocks, and just as they were about to breach his vehicle, the Winter Soldier dropped from the sky. He took on more than a dozen men alone, killed every attacker, and rescued Pierce.
The news was shocking, yet strangely familiar.
"Were they ours?" she asked Ward.
"They were probably from the National Security Agency." Handsome Ward had uncovered a lead in remarkably little time. His competence was undeniable.
Daisy nodded slightly. That explained it. Other than the United States government, no one would dare pull something like this in Washington. More than a dozen people engaging in a shootout in the middle of the street? That was a slap in the face to every intelligence and security agency in the city.
Gunfire in New York was normal. Gunfire in Washington was anything but. In the original timeline, Pierce had sent men to kill Nick Fury because Project Insight was on the verge of being exposed. It had been a desperate last resort. Despite several attempts to cover it up, he was still forced to launch his takeover of S.H.I.E.L.D. early, ultimately causing his own defeat.
Opening fire in Washington was an extremely serious matter. The city was packed with high-ranking officials. If someone could send assassins after Pierce today, they could send assassins after "Ecreip" tomorrow. Not everyone possessed Daisy's ability to dodge bullets. Deep down, they were all afraid of dying.
"What a headache. Keep a low profile for the next few days and don't give anyone reason to suspect us. I'm going to the White House."
Someone had tried to kill a former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Whether for official or personal reasons, she had to lodge a protest.
The protest accomplished nothing. Daisy traded meaningless arguments with the Deputy Director of the Department of Homeland Security for an hour.
She accused them of breaking the rules of the game. They countered that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s soldiers were killing machines. Daisy loudly protested her innocence. The Winter Soldier was not part of S.H.I.E.L.D. at all. The five-pointed star on his arm made it obvious—he was Soviet!
By the time she left the White House, Comrade Pierce had acquired two more charges: colluding with foreign forces and selling state secrets.
The first day after the Battle of New York passed in a rush, and no one accomplished much of anything.
After dinner, Wanda tentatively asked whether they could go out for a walk.
Lorna had remained with Phil Coulson and Mary Jane Watson. The three of them had been visiting hospital after hospital, searching for Jessica Jones. New York was far too chaotic, and finding the family involved in the car accident was proving extremely difficult.
Daisy did not feel like going out, but a complete homebody like Wanda rarely asked to leave the house, so she could hardly refuse.
Time to change and head out.
"Am I a little short?" Wanda had a full, curvaceous figure... but she was not tall. She could not compare with Daisy at 177 centimeters (about 5'10"), and even Lorna, at 172 centimeters (about 5'8"), was two centimeters taller than her.
Wanda insisted on wearing heels. Daisy did not stop her. They were driving anyway, so she could wear whatever she wanted. Considering the March weather, Daisy found her a pair of black high-heeled boots.
Her clothes required more thought. Wanda owned very little suitable for going out, so she had to choose something from Daisy's wardrobe.
For a time, Daisy had been influenced by the Phoenix Force and Jean Grey and developed a fondness for vivid red clothing. Only after the Divine Dragon Power suppressed that influence did the compulsion finally come under control. Back then, she had thrown every red garment into the downstairs closet. Out of sight, out of mind.
Fortunately, that meant the clothes had escaped Thor's hammer incident and survived until now.
Wanda herself loved red, and since Daisy had worn many of the outfits before, she was not bothered in the slightest. Instead, she returned to her room with an excited expression to change.
Before long, Wanda emerged wearing a red blouse, a beige skirt, and a long coat. She spun twice in place and waited for Daisy's opinion.
"Very pretty!" Wanda was one size larger than Daisy, so the clothes were obviously a little tight. What had been a miniskirt on Daisy looked like a regular skirt on Wanda, but Daisy could not be bothered to correct anything. It was already dark. Who would care whether the fit was perfect?
Since they were going out for a leisurely stroll, teleporting back and forth would defeat the purpose. Daisy drove Wanda out to see New York's night scenery.
She regretted it the moment they left. What night scenery did New York have now?
The entire city remained noisy after dark, but unlike its usual bustle, tonight it was frantically busy.
The Avengers were run off their feet. Aside from Hulk, who remained an unstable factor, everyone else had joined the rescue efforts.
On the way, Daisy saw several of them helping fight a fire. The normally laid-back Black Widow had shaken off her lethargy and risked her life to rescue a little girl from the flames. She swung from a collapsing building on a retractable line and earned a wave of cheers.
Daisy could ignore what she did not see, but once she saw it, she naturally lent a hand. A small tug pulled Black Widow out of the building's collapse zone. Sensing something unusual, Natasha glanced in Daisy's direction.
Black Widow spotted Wanda inside the car. Amusement filled her eyes, and she silently mouthed, "Be careful." Careful of what? Hmph. Nonsense!
Daisy waved somewhat awkwardly, signaling that they would talk later, then drove away. She had far too much to do and no interest in playing the hero.
Many Chitauri had died, and the military had suffered heavy casualties as well, but civilians accounted for most of the losses.
The New York government had already produced a rough casualty estimate, but it did not dare report the number. It was simply too high. The White House pressed them several times, yet the city government refused to reveal how many civilians had died.