Tony Stark's Brother | Marvel

Improvising

Present

So, there was a plan. Well, more of an idea than a plan. Given that the people in charge of SHIELD killed Fury, they are bad guys. So, Daniel and Steve, being the good guys, are in danger. So many thoughts crossed Daniel's mind as he came under that realization. Their main objective would be Steve since he is Captain America and a super-soldier. Get rid of the strongest before killing the weaker ones. Not that Daniel considers himself weak, but he knows that Steve could kick his ass if he wanted to. That just left an idea.

"So, what do we do?" Steve asked lowly, having a feeling that they were going to get attacked. Daniel pressed his lips together to a fine line, thinking it over before sighing. If there is one person that can get rid of this, it's Steve. He is an avenger, far more valuable than Daniel. Dragging a hand down his face, he looked at Steve with an unreadable expression. Why did he have to be a good person?

"You are going to leave. Find a way to stop this. Meanwhile, I am going to try to buy you some time," Daniel was nervous, to say the least. There had to be hundreds of agents here that could be corrupt. Daniel has no idea who had infiltrated the organization, and that is what scares him. Daniel can't trust any agent he sees or anyone. Every single agent could just attack and kill him.

"No. I am not going to – "

"You will. You will leave and I will buy you time," Daniel said lastly before he began to walk off to meet with Pierce. Steve clenched his jaw, watching Daniel walk away to the lion's den. Steve stood there for a moment, contemplating on forcing Daniel to go with him. However, he knew that the man was going to fine. With that, he turned on his heel and headed to the elevator.

What Daniel would give to have some Xanax right now. Taking a deep breath, he let himself relax and fall into this persona of confidence and charm. He can't have a panic attack right now. No, need to be cocky and charming Daniel. Glancing back, he saw Steve heading to the elevator, no doubt that he would soon be surrounded by corrupt agents. For now, he needs to focus on himself. What agency seems to have sunken their claws in SHIELD. There are so many organizations that would want SHIELD to fall. But which one of them would benefit the most from SHIELD's failure?

So many people would benefit from it. However there had to be a list based on how powerful those groups are. Times like these are what makes him miss his other life that was filled with drugs, sex and robbery. That life did have a high chance that Daniel would die from it, but at least he was having fun. 

This was not fun. 

So many questions ran through Daniel's head as he stepped into Pierce's office. There stood the man of the hour in his pressed suit, looking clean and poised, staring out of the window. Upon closing the door behind him, Pierce turned around and welcomed Daniel with a smile – a fake one. Daniel matched the same expression.

"You wanted me?" Daniel questioned as he moved to take a seat before Pierce told him to. The older man pursed his lips, displeased by the action but did not comment on it. Nodding, Pierce moved to take a seat as well. 

"Yes, you were there the night that Nick Fury was shot down," Pierce began as he looked straight at Daniel. Meanwhile, Dan leaned back and remained calm. One leg over the other and leaning towards his right. Daniel was letting himself show that he is an arrogant dick, which was not hard. He usually is like that.

"Yeah, did not expect that. I was just going to Roger's place to talk about our last mission, to apologize for my behavior," Dan shook his head, trying to think of a way to win Pierce in this, trying to show that he was on Pierce's side. Wow, Daniel thought, trying not to die when he has been close to death so many times - even yearned for it.

"So, that is why you were there at Captain Roger's apartment at 9 o'clock at night?" Pierce asked as he looked at the man across of him with speculation. Daniel kept his attention on Pierce and tried to read off what he could from the man. The pressed suit, manicured nails, and generally a clean presence. The watch he wore was expensive, a watch from the Cellini collection from Rolex. Interesting, Daniel thought. There wasn't animal hair on him or lipstick stains on him, so he lives alone. It also showed due to the lack of a ring on his finger.

Who is always against SHIELD? Always wanting to bring down the organization and wanting more and more.

It was a matter of seconds before everything began to click. Daniel kept his composure, but on the inside, he was raging. How could he have been so stupid? It was right on his face. How did he get so distracted? Was it because of that assassin from last night? Nat's pretty green eyes? Or the death of Fury that had kept him from seeing the truth in front of him?

"Yes, of course. If I am to continue working with Cap, I'd like to be on his good side. Unlike him, I am not a super soldier, but I do have one thing he doesn't"

"And what would that be?"

"Back up, support, comradery from fellow members of Hydra," Daniel said bluntly with a wide grin on his face as he looked at Pierce's dumbfounded face upon hearing those words. "Hail Hydra" Daniel added, just to make sure he was seen as an ally. Daniel knew that he would not have been able to leave this building alive, so playing bad guy would save up some time – enough time to escape. Daniel kept a close eye on Pierce's expression. Dan's thumb drumming against his thigh, trying to keep his cool. 

"I don't know what you are talking about"

"Alex, can I call you that? I'm going to call you that," Daniel waved off and leaned forward with confidence as he looked at Pierce in the eyes with as much conviction. "I have been away from the spotlight for years. I have gone underground and know people that would make even that guy that tried to take over New York look like a saint. So, it should not come as a surprise that I made some friends and joined a few clubs. I really do not appreciate that we do not have monthly meetings, that would seriously help us gather all of our thoughts and ideas in a more efficient manner"

Pierce looked like he could not believe what he was hearing. The brother of an Avenger being part of Hydra. It isn't like they have a registry of all the members of the organization that he could quickly check to verify. That would be stupid, especially if it fell in wrong hands. Rather, he looked at the dark haired man with confusion, brows furrowed and jaw slightly dropped.

"Well, I did not expect this," Pierce laughed without humor, before standing up and walking towards Daniel. He did not bother standing up, trying to see what the other man had in mind. Pierce simply held his hand out to shake the other's hand, and Daniel accepted the handshake. However, Pierce tightly held Daniel's hand and pulled him a bit closer. "That will be the last time you call me Alex."

"Noted"

It was not long before Daniel was free to go. He had this swagger as he walked. His arms swayed by his sides and put on this aloof vibe so others would not come to him. His façade was very convincing, but not enough to convince Daniel. He felt like he had swallowed a dry biscuit and it was stuck in his throat, and his palms were sweaty from the nerves he felt. However, no one would have been able to tell from how he walked or that smirk on his face.

It seemed too easy. Why did it feel too easy? His stomach was doing flips as he began to over think things through. He needed a cigarette.  

That was until the sound of glass shattering was heard, which was soon followed by a crash. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a blond, 6'2 ft wearing the Captain America uniform fall down onto the ground after falling through the glass ceiling. Like the rest of the agents, Daniel began to run. The last thing Daniel needed was to get accidentally shot.

Shouting and gun shoots began to get quieter and quieter as Daniel ran away from the chaos behind him. All he could hear was his heart pounding against his ears and his footsteps. He ran off with great speed, reaching the outdoors. A feeling of regret filled him upon remembering that Rumlow was the one that drove him to HQ.

"Fucking hell. Stupid Rumlow. Stupid me", He muttered as he continued running, knowing that it will take a while for him to get out of the damn property. Taking one of the cars meant that he would be tracked down due to the tracking device the vehicles have. 

Why couldn't Steve wait until he left the property to start his mess?