5977/HYDRA Sucks

HYDRA Sucks
Date of Scene:	18 April 2021
Location:	Apartment 4D - Blooming Lotus Trading Co. Building
Synopsis:	Peggy and Daniel come to collect Melinda at her safehouse after she gets home from a visit to the Night Nurse. As they consider the impact of everything that's happened lately, one thing becomes entirely clear (not that it wasn't before): HYDRA sucks.
Cast of Characters:	Melinda May, Peggy Carter, Daniel Sousa

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Melinda May has posed:
It's heading well on toward midnight on Saturday night when May finally decides to text Peggy. The number she uses is one she has memorized. Just as well, since her phone is toast -- aside from the SIM card -- and the new burner is cheap. (And understandably so.) The text message is typically brief and likely maddeningly cryptic, given its sent over an unencrypted network:

    P. Meet me at Lily's? Calimari from dinner isn't sitting well. M.

Which, of course, doesn't even begin to mention the need for a doctor. Probably because May isn't quite willing to concede that need, given Claire's care. But, she probably doesn't really need to say it, if Peggy is smart enough to read between the lines.

Yeah. So much for date night.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Maybe it was pure luck that Peggy and Daniel took the weekend 'off' for a proper date night, it meant going back to the Long Island house for two nights. Being wary and careful, but no more pies had shown up there, and they were allowed to almost pretend they had a normal life for a little while. It was incredibly pleasant. But it also means Peggy's far closer than Delaware when that text comes through from an unfamiliar number. Only her paranoia let her actually read it, but the moment she finishes, she's sitting up straight off the couch and the movie they were watching is forgotten. "Something's wrong. May never calls for help... much less like this." Peggy flashes him the message so he can read for himself.

"Come on. She's still got Lily's safehouse. We can get over there in 45 minutes if I break a few laws." Peggy is only half joking about that, she'll probably break some speed limits, but she is also still quite a wanted person. She doesn't even bother changing out of her nice dress. She's just grabbing for car keys and heading out the door with him. She slings the pretty well stocked medical bag in the back as well and sends a quick text back: M: I'll bring some antacids. -P.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel reads the message but off Peggy's cues along he's already getting up and moving for the garage. He'd been wearing some of his old clothes from his closet for date night, which he found far more comfortable than the handful of modern outfits he'd collected since coming here, and there's no time or point in changing. Once Peggy is out with the bag, he's piling into the passenger side. "Break as many laws as you need," he says buckling up the seatbelt. Which he had to admit were pretty handy for these emergency situations when speed often trumped safety.

Melinda May has posed:
When the pair finally arrive, May is stretched out in the rocker/recliner, the chair tilted back to allow her some modicum of comfort -- a little more than what the long loveseat-turned-couch would. She took time to peel out of her bloodied jeans and shirt, having pulled on a pair of sweats and a tank top, instead.

This, of course, means that the bruises and neatly stitched cuts on her arms and shoulders are quite evident, as is the purpling mess above one eye and down her cheek. But the burns, cuts, and bruises on her torso and legs are less evident... especially since she's draped a throw over herself as much for warmth as anything else. Small wonder, since she's actually conceded to drape an icepack wrapped in a towel over the bruised side of her face.

When the door opens, she has a 9-mil in hand, aimed at it. But when she's sure it's Peggy, the gun is lowered, dropped onto the side table at her elbow. She notes their clothing. "Date night? Damn. I'm sorry."

Peggy Carter has posed:
It's just over 40 minutes door to door with the way Peggy's driving -- a radar detector that Fitz helped them out with has been a godsend in dodging cops that they really cannot afford to deal with right now. She does a single circle of the block, looking for anything suspicious or anyone who might be watching May's place. "Eyes out. Make certain no one's watching her." She comments to Daniel on their first ride around. She trusts his eyes as much as her own. But with neither of them seeing anything concerning, she pulls to the old side door and shifts the go-bag across her shoulder.

Stepping into the room, she leaves the door open for Daniel, but just for a moment. They're both as paranoid as May is. Seeing the mess of her friend, her brows furrow a bit tighter, "Oh hell... no. It's fine. We had a nice dinner, what in the world happened to *you*? I...I'm no nurse..." Though she looks back to Daniel, knowing he tends to have steadier hands than herself with bandages and stitches. And it was definitely date night. Peggy's hair is done up in slightly more fancy curls. She's wearing the most make up May has seen her in since SHIELD fell, and a red velvet wrap dress to match her red shoes. She and Daniel look like a couple of reinactors going to the swing dance at the firehall.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"On it," Daniel says surveying their surroundings. He was slowly getting used to what was normal behaviour for the future but throwing in Chinatown added a few new variables. Still by time they've circled the block he's fairly sure nobody has set up on the place, at least not using means that he was aware of. "Looks clear," he announces when they stop. "Unless someone's set up those little camera things like at the safehouse" That tech certainly complicated the counter-surveillance game.

When they reach the apartment, Daniel enters second after taking a moment to catch his breath and shake out his bad leg, before he heads inside, double taking at the state they find May in. "Wow. You look like you went twelve rounds with Ted Grant," he says, once the door is closed and then he moves to join Peggy in tending to May trying to see what if anything needs doing. "And don't worry about it, friends and work come first," he says of their abandoned date night.

Melinda May has posed:
"Eddie Hess is dead," May says bleakly, not even trying to soften the blow. To be fair, Peggy probably didn't know the young L4 all that well. And Daniel will never have heard of him at all. "He called for help. I responded. There were six squids, half of them jacked on Inhuman powers." A beat. "They're dead, too."

As it is, a close inspection of her will reveal that the all the wounds that needed dressing have been dressed -- quite expertly, too. Too expertly for her to have done it herself. Too neatly and efficiently to have been done with only one hand and her teeth. Stronger pain killers, now that she's got allies at hand, wouldn't go amiss. But May isn't about to bleed out or collapse on them any time soon.

"It was a trap," she says. "I'm pretty sure it was aimed at me." And she walked right into it. Not that that's actually a surprise. She's the Cavalry. It's what she does. She likely knew from the start it was a trap. Why else would young Eddie Hess be targetted?

Peggy Carter has posed:
The brunette relaxes a bit more as she realizes that most of May's wounds look rather well tended, though there's a furrow of confused concern to her face that comes as she does realize May couldn't have done it herself. "Oh... poor Eddie..." Peggy breathes out quietly. No, she didn't know the man well, but she did in passing and they've been lucky as of late. No one's gone down on a mission in a long while, they were getting comfortable. Hearing they lost someone? It's a blow. "...Shit. We can't even have a proper funeral for him, can we? Damn the idiot government and HYDRA's damn... fingers everywhere..." Peggy looks like she wants to use far more vicious language, but she's managing to swallow the words back.

She exchanges a quiet look with Daniel, the subtle, unspoken communication between them, asking if he thinks they should move May or not without actually voicing the words. She trusts his medical opinion and knows May would just stubborn through everything. She then crosses back to the window, looking out again to triple check no one else seems to have followed. "How messy is the scene? Do we need to go back in and do some clean up? How...how'd you get out of there?"

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Sorry to hear about Agent Hess," Daniel says solemnly. He didn't know the man, sure, but he was an agent and that told Daniel enough about him to have reason to mourn. "And we'll get him sorted out, somehow," he says of the funeral arrangements. He wasn't going to let an agent go into the dirt without the proper honours if he could help it. But there was another thing to think about, "The Squids have powers too now? Like Daisy and that blue guy in Metropolis?" He'd been doing some reading with all of his free time.

As for the wounds? Daniel lets out a low whistle. "Whoever patched you up was a pro," he says, he knows from field dressings and these were top shelf. "

Peggy's look is registered and a nod is given back. There wasn't much more they could do until they could get May to Dr. ^Simmons, but at least she was fit to travel.

Melinda May has posed:
"I walked," May replies. How else would she get away? "Caught a taxi once I was a ways inland." She inhales a deep breath with only a small wince of pain, suppressing the rest. "It happened at warehouse near the docks by the tunnel. I got as far as eleventh before I flagged down a taxi. He took me to a medic in Hell's Kitchen -- a friend of Daisy's boyfriend, actually. She's a nurse. Damned good one, too. And she's on our side." She glances to Peggy. "I'm sure of it." Gotta love being an empath. Walking lie detector.

She grimaces, though. "Yeah, HYDRA has been experimenting with super-soldiers for years," she tells Daniel. "Their latest trick is capturing Inhumans and mutants and stealing their powers for use in their own goons. The ones I faced had lighting, super strength, and speed." Their usual mix, lately. "Just not enough of it." Because they're dead and she's not.

She shakes her head. "We can try sending a clean-up crew, but it might be too late. The nurse is going to keep her ear to the ground to see if anyone turns up at the morgue. If they do, she'll let me know. Otherwise... we're going to have to look for Eddie." She scowls and looks away. "He's just a kid. His parents need to know what happened. And he shouldn't be buried in disgrace."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Dark eyes narrow a bit more as Melinda says she was taken to a nurse. Peggy doesn't trust outsiders -- any outsiders -- right now. Just too many complications. She frowns stiffly, not really easing up even as the other woman assures that she's good and the connection with Daisy. Peggy's splitting her attention between the window and May now. With all the news about what happened tonight and hearing May's been under someone else's care? Her paranoia is too damn high to actually think they've managed to get back here without being noticed. Still, the alley remains empty.

"...Poor Eddie. God, he... he's not even out of the academy a year, is he? They knew... as you said, knew you wouldn't let him out there... Did he specifically ask for you? Trying to figure out if this was poor timing or an actual assassination attempt. I'm... leaning towards the latter. But maybe I'm just... paranoid." She looks back to Daniel as she says that, he usually her centering influence. He'd tell her if she was going over the edge. "And if you're up for moving... we should get her out of here. Back somewhere with less eyes and people." She doesn't seem phased by the news about HYDRA using serum enhanced people. She likely knew already.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Knew they'd been experimenting, just shocked to hear they're finally successful," he says before he hears what powers they have, and he adds. "And then some."

When Peggy looks his way he looks back and nods, she wasn't wrong. "Same play they did with me and Cardoza in that factory. Grab up an agent or two and put in a call to their real target to draw them out."

"Probably means they've got people watching Hess' body, so we should be on the lookout for that if we're going to try and take him," he says.

Melinda May has posed:
As paranoid as she is, May is more confident than Peggy in both Claire and that she's as safe here as she can be for the moment. It helps that she's starting to recognize emotional signatures around her. Still, she won't actually object to being moved elsewhere. "Two years, but yeah," May says, regarding Hess. "He was in Communications, but he wanted into the field. So, he was upgrading his hand-to-hand." Which means May was teaching him. "He wasn't ready for the field." Not that many agents could have walked away from what she did.

Still, she knows Daniel's right. The danger surrounding young Eddie hasn't passed. "I'm sure I was the real target," she admits. "Just as I'm sure that the next time they try, they'll up their firepower." She notably hasn't tried moving from where she's at. Even as Peggy paces and hovers about the room. "I expect they'd have taken you just as happily. They know we've been mission partners. And we've kicked a serious hornets nest with Vogel and now Huttz. That they sent supersoldiers? My money's on List trying to cover his own ass. He knows we're coming."

Peggy Carter has posed:
A small breath of a laugh escapes her nose as Daniel describes it being the same play with Cardoza. "God, that was... a long time ago. But yes. Exact same play. Some things never change." She smirks bitterly, her anger at HYDRA still a thing that is brimming just under the surface. Even with their recent successes, she's not managed to swallow back the gut-deep hate for them. The feeling of betrayal over all these years. The mess with STRIKE only made it worse, bubbling emotions that May can probably feel even if she normally keeps them well under wraps with her calm British exterior.

"It means we don't go anywhere alone. No quick solo jobs or missions. We at least go in partners, if not a full team. If they're trying to set us up, we don't make it easy for them." Her eyes land on Daniel a bit heavier than before, "All the more reason we need to get you to Jemma for that leg and then trained up. We *need* you in the field and at your best. May, once you're back on your feet, you up to getting Daniel's cleared on modern competencies? No reason to have a good agent just sit at home."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel's brows raise at the idea of upping the firepower from guys with lightning and superspeed. "There's really no ceiling these days, huh?" he asks the women. "Anyhow, yeah, I'll talk to Jemma first thing tomorrow and I can start in on any training I can do before they square away my leg right away."

There's no missing that hatred of HYDRA from Peg, Daniel feels it too, likely adding to the emotions May can feel from the pair of them. Still when he speaks he's calm. "Working in pairs is smart, and if there's anything I can do back at the office until I'm field ready to free someone else up, let me know."

Melinda May has posed:
It's not like those emotions do anything but reinforce May's own feeling on the matter. She almost laughs at Daniel's incredulity over the extent of superpowers these days. "Remind me to show you the footage of the Chitauri invasion," she says dryly. "The whole world changed, that day." Aliens, mutants, Inhumans (whom some would call aliens, anyway), extradimensional others. It's a fairly lengthy list; those are just the beginning. Hell, technically, she should be put on the index, herself. She knows it. She just doesn't think about it.

She gives Peggy a faint nod. "Partners," she agrees. "And, yeah. We can get Daniel certifed." She glances to him, "Even without your leg, we can start you on marksmanship and the basic regs." Not everything requires two good legs, after all.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"But tonight? Let's get you out of here. Better three of us keeping eyes on you in a place we know is more secured. We can just jump on 95 and head straight back to the Playground. I'd rather Jemma or a proper doctor see to those injuries, as nice as this lady sounds to have helped..." Peggy still doesn't trust anyone but her own people, especially with one of the best agents they have like May.

Daniel's given a half smile as May talks about the invasion, Peggy gently dipping her head in agreement. "It's...worth a watch. The whole world... well, all the stakes were raised that day. The world went from wanting one supersoldier to feeling like they need them all just to protect this planet. Granted... they were trying to make super soldier armies even before that. People just... got a bit more successful afterwards." Then Peggy is looking back to the window. Seeing nothing else, she carefully props open the door for a heartbeat or two and listens out in the alley. Nothing. No one.

"...I think the way is clear now if we move. The car is right out front, at least. You can take a nap in the back and I'll drive real gentle, I promise."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Heard about it," Daniel says of the invasion. "Didn't think to look it up," he says the idea of being able to pull up footage of just about any major historical event is a new concept for him. "That's when the Avengers were formed, right?" he asks. Abcde had mentioned them at least.

As for training, he nods firmly, "Whatever you want to start with is fine with me, just happy to be on the road to pulling my own weight around here."

When it's time to move, Daniel gets the door, holding it open to let Peggy help May out of the apartment.

Melinda May has posed:
May lets out a tight breath that suggests she is not looking forward to moving. At all. Nevertheless, she reaches down with one bruised arm and carefully manipulates the lever on the side of chair so it doesn't jar her as it resets to an upright position. Then, slowly, she starts to pull herself from the chair. She's been sitting still for an hour. How stiff she is now proves rather conclusively just how badly she was hit. That there's no internal bleeding is a testament to just how good she really is at avoiding the worst of the hits. Even from the speedster.

She picks up her 9-mil and double checks the safety before she moves to snag its holster from off the table as well and awkwardly shrug it on. She then hobbles to find her leather jacket.

"Yeah," she says, finally shrugging that jacket on, wincing as she does. "Drive really gentle. I hurt all over."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Keep eyes on the street and your ICER ready just in case we missed someone." Peggy's trusting Daniel to be the shooter, which is a high compliment from her, but this is why they make a good team. They fall into place working in tandem that naturally, as if she hadn't lost of him for sixty some years where she learned to operate fiercely solo.

Once she gets the clearance nod from him, she reaches down to gingerly help May up out of the chair. She lets the woman lean against her as much as she'll allow without any comment about it, even reaching to gingerly guide the jacket across her shoulders. She knows how fierce pride hurts when one is injured. Therefore, Peggy helps May maintain as much of her dignity as possible as she gives her shoulder as a support. She's still giving a hard look to the street beyond but no one bothers them as they make as smooth a break for the SUV as possible. "We'll get you the good meds in a little bit. There's some stuff in the go bag to hold you over, if you'd prefer."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel does allow himself a flicker of a smile at the vote of confidence in his abilities, before falling into their old paterns and making short work of the trip down to the car, moving onto the street first, and staying in place by the car until they're all inside. He follows soon after, ICER moved from his coat pocket to his shoulder holster once he's inside.

A smile is flashed to Peggy, as he settles into his seat before ducking down to get the go bag in case May wants those meds.

Melinda May has posed:
"Not until we're safe," May says, as to the meds. "I don't think this place has been compromised. But we didn't think that about Long Island, either." Which leads her to wonder if Dottie is still working for HYDRA and had something to do with all this. She doesn't voice that aloud, yet, however.

She doesn't lean much on Peggy, though she accepts help with the jacket. Peggy isn't nearly as calm as Claire, who is her new gold standard of Calm in the Storm emotional rock. And May's head is already swimming with enough anger and grief of her own.

By the time they make it down and out to the car, her body has loosened up, some. That's a bit of a relief, but it doesn't make her hurt less. She slides into the back seat and leands back with a soft groan.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Since May's fairly confident the place isn't compromised, Peggy makes certain lights are out and the door is locked, especially since the woman isn't really leaning against her. It'll be a good place to come back to if they need. Just not tonight. She's then jogging over to the SUV and around to the driver's side, trusting Daniel to help get May settled while she starts up the engine, checks for any cars behind them, and readies to pull out of the city. "We... uh... went back to the house. Just to have a few nights off. No sign of Underwood or any other... surprise gifts. I suspect, much like the Brooklyn place, once she left her... message, she was done with it. Still concerning, but she's not selling us out." Peggy muses quietly, as she pulls out onto one of the main roads and starts heading for the highway. Not even a question if they are staying in the city -- she's headed south, though it'll be a longer drive. It's where she knows safety is.

"Daniel, talk sense into the woman and find her some pain killers in the bag. If they were going to grab us, they'd do it in the city... It's still going to be a long drive back to the Playground."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Two days, no sign of her. Though that doesn't mean she's still not watching," he says some of Peggy's paranoia is rubbing off on him it seems. "We should probably crash at the Playground for the next couple of days, and add figuring out what Dottie's game is to our growing to do list."

Daniel pulls out the meds and tosses them back to May. "You can take the pills and ride back to the Playground in peace, or you can not but have to argue with me and Peg all the way to Delaware, your pick," The carrot and stick routine, road trip edition.

Melinda May has posed:
"Yet," May mutters, settling back against the seat. Underwood hasn't sold them out *yet*. "What is with her, anyway?" she asks, eyes trailing over the familiar streets as they start heading for the bridge. "She stalks you for 70 years? Seriously... Creepy much?"

She turns her head to look at Daniel as he tosses the meds at her. "Water?" she asks, one brow arching. Yes, okay. She can dry swallow with the best of them. But the snark seems justified. On the other hand, if they're going three and a half hours out to Delaware rather than forty-five minutes over to Long Island... maybe taking the pills isn't such a bad idea. "I'll take them when we're out of the city," she says. Because Peg's right. Chances are, they won't grab them once they've crossed over into Jersey and gotten on the freeway proper. At the very least, she knows Peggy will have more room to maneuver, once they're on the open road.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Water? This is one of the SHIELD-crew SUVs. There's a whole center console full of water bottles, snacks, and the like. Yo-yo rides in this car sometimes, it's essential. Peggy just smirks as she drives, reaching down with her right hand, the left still on the wheel, and popping that snack+ console open for May to choose from. "Of course we have water..." She teases back gently, flashing May a momentary smile in the rear-view mirror, but then her eyes are completely on the road again. She's still watching for tails, doing a few quick driving manuvers to make it hard for anyone who IS trying to follow them to do it carefully.

The question of putting Dottie on the list to do, and what is up with her, gets a deep sigh from Peggy. She shakes her head a bit, "I...don't know. The last I knew, she was still in SHIELD custody. How the hell she got out? That's the first question. And if she had a mission to sell us out? She'd have done it. When she has missions... she does them her own way, but they get done. This is just..." Peggy sighs, signaling to start pulling off the express way and across the bridge so they can finally hit 95. "She... always had a bit of an... obsession with me. I don't know. She saw someone who was almost as good as her and didn't grow up utterly barmy... trained to be nothing but a weapon."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel helps himself to one of the waters too now that he knows they're there, cracking the top and taking a long pull before going back to watching their surroundings. "With you up 3 and 0, I'd say you're better than she is, which probably makes it worse. And not shocked she escaped SHIELD custody, she never seems to stay locked up for long no matter where we put her. Though, more than happy to give it another try if it keeps her off our backs."

Melinda May has posed:
May actually offers a bit of a chuckle as that console is popped. She leans forward with a grunt to snag one of the bottles, twisting the cap off it a moment later. Her eyes tighten as she hides another wince. She pops a couple of the pills and chases them down with a swallow of water. "He's right," she says to Peg. "You're better. She's got flash and cunning. But you always beat her. There are dozens of mission reports to prove it. Doesn't mean she's not nuts, though."

Natasha Romanoff isn't as nuts as Underwood is, which is May's only other point of reference for that program.

She doesn't say it out loud, but she'll be glad when the painkillers kick in. She's also looking forward to some burn salve. The fabric is chafing.

Peggy Carter has posed:
A slightly chuffed sound comes from Peggy as they both mention that she's better than Dottie, a bit of a smile following it, "I'm only better because I've got a damned good team behind me and always have. That's been our one advantage over both the Red Room programs, and even when the Winter Soldier was out, they were made to work alone. There are some things that just can't be done solo. Even I have to admit no one is an island, no matter how I've... tried... over the past years." Peggy knows daring to say that out loud will probably be used against her in the future, but she also knows it's true. She finally pulls them through an EZ-Pass lane and onto the highway. The ride will be smoother from here and there's still no one on their tail. They honestly might have made out out scott free.

"I still don't think she's in HYDRA's pocket right now. If she was... there'd be no reason to set up May as they did tonight. Or play this long game. HYDRA wants us off the board... sacrificing six of their's -- some enhanced -- to May tonight? That's a desperate play. They know we're closing in and they want us down fast. Dottie, if she really wanted us dead, could have managed it twice over already. There's something else going on..."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"The nuts thing definitely gets in Dottie's way, but yeah, you're still better Peg, with a team or otherwise," he says before taking another swig of water. Not that he's going to forget she admitted she needs her team. That's being saved for later.

"It's true, whatever game she's playing it doesn't look like she's playing it for anyone in HYDRA and she doesn't want us dead, at least not yet. Unfortunately that doesn't mean we're any safer in the long run, it just means we have one more mystery to solve."

Melinda May has posed:
May suspects Peggy's right, though sorting out details is going to take her more time. She's not so addled, though, that she doesn't file the team comment away for later. Oh, it'll definitely come out again. "I'd love to know what," she says. "It's bad enough dealing with HYDRA and Talbot's task force. But having a rogue agent of her caliber on top of it all?" That's almost too much. She prefers her hard cases to come at her one at a time.

However, there's nothing to be done about it now. "It's still creepy," she complains.

As the drive stretches out, she begins to unwind some. She's not comfortable, really, but that's no one's fault but the road. The pain killers kick in and take the edge off, which is obvious as her breathing slowly relaxes into a less strained rhythm.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I suspect she'll talk to us when she's ready. She never could stay in the shadows too long." Peggy doesn't seem all that worried about it, but it might be because she's just been dealing with Dottie Underwood so much of her life it's like having an old, comforting friend back in compare with the wild modern times. Or maybe she really is just that tired.

She then goes a little more quiet as she hears Melinda's breath evening out a bit more in the back seat. She looks up into the mirror again, relaxing herself to see some of the tension out of her friend's face. "..get some rest, Melinda. We've got eyes on the road." Peggy states a bit more softly. A few more miles down the road, her right hand reaches over to rest on Daniel's leg, the odd comfort of a road trip actually settling in now that she's almost certain there is no way they are being followed. She gives him a smile in the shadows of the car's interior. She really does seem to somehow operate as a more whole person with him around.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"She does like to chat," Daniel allows, "But I'm with Melinda, it's definitely creepy and as soon as we can figure out her game and take the fight to her we're better off than just reacting."

As May's breathing steadies, Daniel puts his hand on top of Peggy's giving her a smile of his own in return. "Good to be back," he tells her quietly, for both of their sakes.

Melinda May has posed:
May remains quiet in the back seat now. She doesn't, however, sleep. Her emotions are too stirred up for that. And feeling the pair of them settling into what are clearly old, familiar rhythms, makes her heart ache. Because she still hasn't figured out how they're going to pull Daniel's ass out of the fire on this one. She just knows they need to.

Why is it that every time they think they're getting back on even footing again, someone yanks the rug out? And how is she going to explain all this to Eddie Hess' parents?

HYDRA sucks.