The Obelisk
"Apologies, but you seem to have confused me with someone else. I don't know anyone named Whitehall or have any connection with them," replied Jasper Sitwell, the impeccably dressed man with stylish, thick-rimmed glasses, who politely declined Daisy's request. Despite working in administrative duties, Sitwell was a discreet secret agent, and his cautious nature led him to reject Daisy's inquiry without hesitation.
As Daisy had expected, she calmly recounted, "In 1945, following Mr Whitehall's arrest in Austria, the obelisk he had dedicated a lifetime to studying ended up in the possession of S.H.I.E.L.D. Currently, Mr Whitehall requires you to use your authority to retrieve the obelisk from the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. warehouse."
The Obelisks were designed by the Kree as containment devices for Terrigen Crystals, which could only be activated in a specific location. Unaware of the true situation, Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. had researched it for fifty years without any results, and it was now locked away.
"The Obelisk?" Sitwell didn't really know much about it, but he had already confirmed the identity of the other party. The individual on the other side was a Hydra member. Even if he had made a mistake, it was evident that they had some sort of connection with Whitehall.
"Consider this a favour Mr Whitehall owes you. I will call again later. Hail Hydra!" Daisy said and hung up the phone, quickly erasing any traces of the call from the network.
Sitwell instinctively stood at attention and softly replied, "Hail Hydra!" After speaking, he realized the other person had already hung up.
Being a middle-level agent who simultaneously worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, Sitwell had a keen eye and intelligence. Among Hydra members, who were willing to die rather than be captured, he was a rare exception. He had once been threatened by Captain America in the original timeline and had spilled the beans, revealing everything he knew without reservation, which showed how little he cared about his principles.
Different from the higher-ups who sought world domination, the middle-level agents dissatisfied with their political positions, or the brainwashed and manipulated lower-level members, he valued his life and was opportunistic. Daisy had deduced this from the gathered intelligence.
Hydra's internal factions were mixed, and Sitwell belonged to Alexander Pierce, the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and they were different from Whitehall's faction, which Daisy had mentioned.
As a subordinate of a high-ranking authority, he definitely felt the pressure, especially with his hidden identity. As a clever person, he wouldn't change sides, but having an extra path was still essential for him.
In the following days, Daisy continued secretly tracking his phone signal and roughly outlined his range of activities. Through digital breadcrumbs, she deduced that Sitwell was indeed searching for the Obelisk.
As for whether he would inform his boss, former director Pierce, Daisy felt there was a 70% chance that he wouldn't.
When high-ranking officials communicate with each other and exchange favours, the benefits acquired are attributed to the primary leaders, leaving no credit for the intermediary. It would be unwise to entangle oneself in such affairs.
As a not-so-dedicated double agent, Sitwell also had ambitions.
Daisy's roommate, Angela, noticed her friend's strange behaviour recently and saw her seemingly spot something today, prompting her to rush out quickly.
Three minutes ago, Daisy observed that Sitwell's phone signal left a certain dead zone, and she had a feeling, well, call it a woman's intuition, that he had made some progress.
Avoiding her roommate and concealing her actions, Daisy dialled Sitwell's number.
"Quite a fast action, Agent Sitwell," she praised him right away.
Though she couldn't see the scene this time, she could hear the satisfaction in his tone. Sitwell was a bit proud as he replied, "To access the Obelisk requires Level 10 clearance."
Daisy sneered; if it wasn't for level ten authority, why would she even bother with him? He had already perceived her as a Hydra member, and this was his attempt to gain acknowledgement and validation.
Raising her tone a couple of degrees, Daisy continued, "This task isn't difficult, and there are hundreds of other unknown objects with unknown purposes. Borrowing Undersecretary Pierce's clearance shouldn't be a problem for you!"
As soon as he heard the name "Pierce" from her, Sitwell became even more certain about her identity.
Perhaps she held a quasi-high-level position, and his tone subtly turned more flattering. "Yes, sir, how may I transfer the obelisk to you? Would it be possible for me to meet Mr Whitehall in person?"
"Hehe." Daisy let out a sinister laugh, her voice altered by the voice changer as she switched to a more formal tone. "Jasper Sitwell, do you really want to meet Mr Whitehall?"
To further leave an impact on the other party, she pressed on, "Have you checked the past history of the obelisk? Do you know what happened to the people who touched the obelisk? How many researchers from S.H.I.E.L.D. turned into stone because of this?"
After a brief pause, she inquired, "Are you absolutely certain you wish to present the obelisk to Mr Whitehall? Keep in mind that he has been incarcerated for numerous years, and his mood might not be stable..."
Her words were ambiguous, leaving plenty of blanks for him to imagine.
In a moment, Sitwell thought of Whitehall forcing him to try to lift the Obelisk, treating his subordinates as tools, which was Hydra's usual approach. Countless people had tried to pick up this unknown metal and, without exception, turned it into stone. Sitwell didn't consider himself an exception.
Between his life and prosperity, he chose life.
At the same time, he imagined that the person on the phone would try to hog all the credit in this matter, and he wouldn't even mention himself in front of Whitehall.
Scheming and cunning, this was very Hydra.
Convinced that he had seen through the other person's true face, his tone became less respectful, "The credit is all yours. What can I gain from this event?"
"Assurance of safety, steady promotion, and an escape route in critical moments. Do you think there's only Undersecretary Pierce's faction within S.H.I.E.L.D.? You should know that S.H.I.E.L.D. is an important asset of Hydra."
Daisy remembered that Sitwell would still live for several more years, so she casually offered him an empty promise.
Continuing to keep him off balance, she remarked, "We can provide resources to assist you in getting promoted. It's much more stable to have two legs to walk on."
Sitwell, who was both greedy and afraid of death and admired vanity, finally accepted this offer.
After a swift hang-up, Daisy directed him to deposit the item in a specific trash can, and once he departed, she employed a homeless person to retrieve the item.
In the alley, Daisy silently incapacitated the homeless person using a stun gun and took a quick look at the item - a rectangular metal box with the label S.S.R.084 on its cover.
It was not known whether there was a tracker on the box, but she put on gloves and pried open the box.
Inside the box was a polygonal metal obelisk more than 30 centimetres high, which looked a bit like the Hercules Cup from a distance.
Time was too tight to take a closer look, so she grabbed the obelisk with pliers and put it in her backpack, then headed into a recently abandoned chemical plant and threw the metal box into a vat of sulfuric acid.
No matter how resourceful the agents were, they wouldn't be able to find this box anymore.
Regarding the Obelisk, there was no cause for concern. This Kree-derived technology was flawlessly integrated, capable of disabling electronic devices and petrifying non-Inhuman intelligent beings. Given Earth's current technological capabilities, they couldn't even implant a tracking device within it.
Under the cover of night, Daisy removed any surveillance camera footage that may have captured her, then hailed a taxi and left the scene.