DIRECTOR HILL.

“STAR WARS! STAR WARS! EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND LOOK AT THE STAR WARS!!”

“It’s a sting operation, I’m just really dedicated to my latest cover,” she intoned, making a face at the woman. Jesus, Jessica would be so glad once this baby was out. “Bad look for the director of an intelligence agency to be harassing a woman in my condition.”

She studied Hill’s expression- nice to know neither of them were exactly glad to be a part of this. “If your job is making my job a headache, you’re doing great. Taking home that paycheck. Look, I’m not even the one who writes these articles- Kat Farrell is the creative one,” Jess said, putting her hands in her pockets. “I would have thought with all those Kevlar vests you agents would have thicker skin.”

She smirked for a moment before sighing as Maria Hill kept walking. Jessica did her best to keep up, as uncomfortable as she was. “Aw, not even one comment? Your silence is deafening,” she yammered. “You’re not afraid of little ol’ Jameson, are you? What his little news rag has to say about your big scary shadow organization?”

“Uh huh...” Maria looks her over with the same disinterested look as before -- the woman looks about as tired as the director feels, but Maria shelves the pity party for another occasion. She has her own problems that she has to deal with.

“Trust me, Jones -- between the two of us, I’m not the headache here,” she says with the slightest raise of an eyebrow. She’s been wondering how that arrangement worked out at the Bugle, having never known Jones to be the creative type. Apparently the director didn’t know everything the woman had to offer, though. “It’s not a lack of thicker skin, it’s a lack of time. I really don’t have any to spare.”

Carol sucks air through her teeth, feigning disappointment with a shake of her head as she continues to step forward, keeping a respectable distance between the two.

“Well, I do got a face that just demands to be looked at. A blessing and a curse, I’ve been told.” The corner of her lips curl as she catches the Director’s eyes.

“All that walking you made me do has me parched, you mind joining me for coffee?”

“A blessing for yourself and a curse for the rest of us...?” Maria asks, knowing well enough that that’s certainly not true. Danvers has a pretty decent face. “I’m sure the person who told you must have been bold enough to clarify.”

“Congratulations, director. You ‘made’ a woman who’s nine months pregnant and none too happy about it,” Jessica huffed, trying and failing to cross her arms over her rounded stomach. She narrowed her eyes at the woman, thinking back to her recent conversations with Natasha Romanoff- still, better to keep that quiet for the time being.

“Y’know, the Bugle tried reaching out to you for statements on some recent articles. We even said ‘please,’ but it’s never exactly reassuring to have radio silence from a massive organization like yours.”

“You know, I really did wonder about the waddling -- I almost made a bet with myself on whether or not you were a real pregnant woman. And here we are. Glad I didn’t, or I’d owe myself a good chunk of change.”

Maria looks the woman up and down with no real attempt to hide her displeasure of having to have a conversation with the same Jessica Jones who’s been giving her a headache for months now. “Listen, we all have jobs to do. Where’s the fun in me giving you what you want instead of making you work tirelessly for it as you reach for answers while adding a pinch of your own speculation? You guys are doing great, by the way.”

         ❝ You know, I have to say... If you were trying to sneak up on me, you’ve got a lot of work to do. I made you three blocks ago, ❞ she says, finally turning to face her unknown follower. The sounds of the city surround them as people bustle by. The Director keeps her hand in the pocket of her jacket. 

        Maria tosses aside the latest print of The Daily Bugle with a deep sigh and an obligatory roll of her eyes. It’s fairly amusing to her at times, reading ❝ S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn’t be reached for comment ❞ -- for the most part, but on nights like this, it only serves as a reminder of just how much there is to answer for. She can only compartmentalize for so much longer...

                        And a little longer, she would.

        Standing, Maria makes her way over to her floor-to-ceiling windows, looking over the city’s skyline. Occasionally, her ego tells her that this is her city. Just as often, her brain reminds her that it wouldn’t exactly a good thing if that were actually true. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s name doesn’t carry the weight it used to these days -- everyone’s a critic and everyone’s an expert. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s moves were constantly being analyzed left and right, from the top to the bottom. Keeping information under lock and key in this day and age could be considered an Olympic event and it hardly helps when it’s impossible to know which agent is for the organization and which agent is for another.

                            The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. could never be                                    as naive as to believe that there weren’t traitors                                          among them. But the longer they lurk, the sooner --

                                   Maria can catch them.

                                          And she will catch them. 

        There’s a lot of work to get started on -- and the work is never easy ( and the work is never done, for that matter. ) But Maria has always run head first at the tasks that tend to form a wall before her. 

                                                     Now would be no different.