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"Jarvis, let him in," Hermione commanded from the center of the plush, sunlit living room.
The elevator door hissed open, and Agent Jasper Sitwell stepped out. He was impeccably dressed, his bald head gleaming, his usual ingratiating smile firmly in place—but it didn't quite reach his eyes, which were darting nervously around the spacious, high-tech apartment.
"Good evening, Miss Wizard," Sitwell said, bowing slightly.
Tony Stark, who was busy trying to explain the principles of vector thrust to Pepper, curled his lip. "S.H.I.E.L.D. Spook has arrived. Ready for the secrets, kid?"
Pepper nudged him sharply. "Tony, be nice. Let's go, honey. Don't disturb little Hermione from her business meeting." Pepper pulled Tony away, leaving the room with an understanding, if slightly exasperated, smile.
The moment the elevator doors closed behind them, Sitwell stopped smiling. He looked around the room, his eyes lingering on the various speaker vents and high-tech components of the mansion, his posture tightening with visible paranoia.
"I presume you're worried about being overheard," Hermione said, reading his fear perfectly.
"The air here is thin, Miss Wizard," Sitwell whispered, his voice dry. "My field experience tells me that ears are everywhere."
Hermione let out a small, weary sigh. She raised her wand, and with a lazy flick, a shimmering, translucent pressure enveloped the two of them. The air around them grew thick and muffled, isolating their voices completely.
Sitwell let out a deep, shuddering breath, the first sign of genuine relief he'd shown. "Thank you. That helps." He leaned in, lowering his voice unnecessarily. "I came here today to surrender, Professor. And to tell you the truth."
"You know about… HYDRA?" he asked, the name coming out as a strained whisper.
Hermione looked at him, her face impassive. "Go on."
Sitwell took a deep breath and launched into his confession, his words tumbling out in a rush of self-serving desperation. "It's a long story, Professor. A lifetime of lies. But I am a member of HYDRA. I have been since my days at S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy. And I am here to tell you that we have completely infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. Our leader is Alexander Pierce. It was Pierce who ordered the team to ambush and capture you a few weeks ago, using the Ten Rings as a cover."
He looked at her, his eyes pleading. "But Professor, I'm done. I'm out. Hydra is a mess of suicidal plans and outdated ideology. They want to launch rockets at people because they think it's 'necessary.' And Fury… he's bringing aliens into the picture. I'm a simple man, Miss Wizard. I just want my pension. I'm a high-level administrator caught between a war criminal (Pierce) and an absolute maniac (Fury). I just can't afford to play this game anymore."
He paused, sweating lightly. "I'm an ordinary man, and the only person who can keep me safe from both sides is you. I need your protection."
Hermione listened, her expression unchanged. A completely predictable response, she thought. The moment the stakes get too high, the ambitious pragmatist jumps ship.
"I'm afraid you've wasted your time, Agent Sitwell," Hermione said calmly.
Sitwell's face went white. "What?"
"I already knew about HYDRA," she said. "And I've known about your affiliation since the day Fury introduced us in the training room. In fact, I knew the identity of every HYDRA agent standing in that room." She listed the names casually, ticking them off on her fingers. "Brock Rumlow, Grant Ward, Senator Stern, Agent Triplett's partner—your entire cell, actually."
Sitwell stared at her, his jaw slack. The horror of the discovery—that the last few weeks of his covert operations had been completely visible to this child—was profound. She can read minds. She's seen my entire life. She's seen my ambition, my betrayal, my fear… His internal fortress of professional secrecy collapsed in an instant.
"You… you knew all along?" he stammered.
"Of course," she said with a shrug. "I can see into people's hearts and memories. It's part of the job. But why would I expose you? The conflict among Muggles is quite amusing. And it provides me with excellent opportunities."
Sitwell swallowed, his terror morphing into a cold, hard admiration. He had been terrified of being found out by Fury. But being found out by her was worse, and yet, somehow, safer. She wasn't bound by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pathetic moral code. She was pure, cold, amoral power.
"Miss Wizard," he said, his voice now entirely stripped of its sycophantic veneer, replaced by the grim sincerity of a survivor. "I am yours. I will be your eyes and ears inside the World Security Council. I will feed you information, and you will ensure my survival."
"A fair trade," Hermione agreed. "But you won't expose anyone. You will remain exactly where you are, and you will continue to act as Alexander Pierce's loyal operative. You are far more valuable to me as a spy than as a witness."
Sitwell nodded instantly.
"By the way," he said, remembering his current assignment, "Pierce is furious about the Skrull incident. He's ordered me to personally oversee the interrogation of the alien. He hopes to extract intelligence on their species' technology."
Hermione's eyes gleamed with interest. The captured Skrull. Now that was valuable intelligence. She had already exposed the Skrulls to HYDRA. It was time to secure her own private meeting with the asset.
"Perfect," Hermione said, standing up. "You'll take me to him. Don't worry about the rest."
"Miss Wizard," Sitwell said, bowing deeply, a genuine smile of relief breaking through his stress. "You are truly the savior of mankind."
Hermione just smirked. She knew better. She was just the new boss.
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