Hail HYDRA | Skyeward

Episode 12: The Inside Man

***

The base was quiet when Grant walked into the comms room, only to find Daisy already there—eyes narrowed, lips pressed into a hard line, staring at a screen.

"Something wrong?" he asked, stepping behind her, hands automatically going to her shoulders. He kneaded the tense muscles there, but she barely reacted.

"I intercepted chatter," Daisy murmured, fingers flying over the keyboard. "Government summit. Heads of state, military leaders, tech consultants, even Coulson's invited."

Grant's brows drew together. "A summit?"

"For Inhumans." Her voice was flat, but Grant felt the undercurrent—something sharp and cold threading beneath her usual focus. "They're deciding how to deal with us. With powered people."

He let out a breath, leaning down to skim the intel over her shoulder. "When?"

"Two days."

Grant's jaw tightened. "They're not wasting time."

"They don't want to give us time."

The word us still came easily from her lips, but Grant heard the difference. The edge. The way her gaze flickered off the monitor for a second like she was somewhere else—somewhere further away than the room they were standing in.

His hands slid from her shoulders to her waist, grounding her. "We can get ahead of this."

Daisy blinked, as if snapping out of something. "I know."

"We've had plants in the government for months. This isn't a problem."

Her lips twitched into a faint, humorless smile. "Not yet."

Grant studied her for a moment. He could tell something was gnawing at her, but this wasn't the time to press. Not with this kind of summit happening.

"Let me handle the contacts," he offered, voice low in her ear. "We can have someone in the room before SHIELD even gets through security."

Daisy swallowed hard. Hive's voice whispered at the edges of her mind. Come to me. We're stronger together. All of us.

She shook it off. Or tried to.

"Yeah," she whispered, forcing the steel back into her tone. "We'll send someone."

Grant's hand lingered at the small of her back as he stepped away. "I'll call the inside man."

Minutes later, Grant was downstairs in the secure comms bay, speaking in code to their embedded agent in the government.

Daisy stayed behind in the tech room, fingers motionless over the keys, eyes locked on the wall screen that reflected her pale face back at her.

She should be focusing on the summit.

On the plan.

On them.

But instead, her mind drifted toward Hive.

The pull was getting stronger.

And she knew—deep down—when the moment came, she'd have to choose.

***

An hour later, Daisy was still at the computer when Grant came back, phone in hand, eyes sharp.

"It's done," he said, tossing the encrypted burner onto the table. "Our guy's in."

Daisy blinked, forcing her focus back to the moment. "Who'd you send?"