(⌒▽⌒)☞☜(⌒▽⌒)
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Daisy, once out of Stark's sight, immediately messaged the maid to assassinate Ivan Vanko. In her view, the fewer people capable of making arc reactors, the better.
"What time do you need me to do it?"
"As soon as possible."
Their conversation was brief but efficient. Daisy believed it would be a walk in the park for Maki with her smoke ability to kill a man who was in a coma.
Back at the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Daisy changed into her lab coat and, following Stark's ideas, gathered experts within S.H.I.E.L.D. to tackle the technical challenges.
At the same time, she instructed workers to construct two reactors.
In the evening, the maid sent a message, "It's done."
"This isn't a personal grievance..." Daisy sighed, deleting the message and continuing with her work, as if it were nothing.
She juggled between technical research and participating in the aircraft carrier retrofit mission. To relieve stress, she also called Hill back.
"I don't understand technology, so what's the point of bringing me back?" Hill was wearing the standard agent uniform, her demeanor precise and meticulous. In contrast, Daisy's appearance was a bit disheveled, with her hair unkempt and a thick stack of blueprints in hand.
The two strolled on the deck, Daisy's excuse was to discuss official matters. The surrounding idle personnel naturally retreated.
"How's your father?" Daisy casually inquired.
"Same old, staying in that house is worse than being back at the base," Hill didn't want to discuss her family affairs, but she hesitantly said a few words lightly.
The two talked and walked. At first, they were serious, started out on the deck, and then moved into the control room, but after Daisy suggested talking in Hill's bedroom, the tone of the scene shifted...
To outsiders, the two senior officers must have been discussing official business, but the reality was far from that.
"Your bedroom is quite large, deserving of the captain." Daisy sighed as she entered Hill's quarters. Standard soldier's quarters were cramped and were barely fifteen square meters, while Hill's bedroom was more than two hundred square meters.
The room was well-appointed, with furniture arranged as if in a regular home rather than on the aircraft carrier.
Back in her own room, away from prying eyes, and not needing to maintain her captain's demeanor, Hill visibly relaxed, lounging on the couch without image, letting Daisy look around.
"It doesn't compare to your mansion," Hill's tone was a bit sore. Born in a world where money is supreme, she couldn't deny feeling envious, but she felt she really had no money-making ability.
"Do you have any secrets to making money? To maintain the morale of the agents on board, we need to spend money, but the funds allocated by the bureau are too small," Hill said, feeling frustrated at the mention of money.
As the captain of the mothership, she was now responsible for a sub-base, though not as massive as those Nimitz-class aircraft carriers with five to six thousand personnel, she still had nearly 3000 personnel including agents, soldiers, and employees under her command.
Keeping these crew members combat-ready and in a positive frame of mind during voyages required considerable effort.
24-hour food supply, experienced chefs, and various indoor recreational facilities were already in place, with some achieved through her personal connections. However, the crew's enthusiasm could only be maintained at a relatively low level, mainly due to a lack of funds.
Mentioning money made Daisy feel awkward; she didn't know how to explain her and her advanced financial strategies.
In the reports to the Security Council, Fury explicitly outlined the use of the $5.5 billion—research and development for the world's first flying aircraft carrier.
While both the council and the military, along with a few high-ranking government officials, found the figure a bit large, they eventually accepted it, given the military's promise to grant S.H.I.E.L.D. autonomy.
Including the funds for the three reactors, the total R&D budget approved by Nick Fury amounted to $3.8 billion in Daisy's hands...
She tacitly didn't mention the exact amount, simply agreeing that the funds allocated to her were the full $5.5 billion.
Following the same pattern, she proceeded with her arrangements. For instance, the $50 million budget for steel, instead of being paid in three installments totaling $40 million, would be reported as the full $50 million. Similarly, she handled various other supplies in this manner. According to her calculations, $3 billion would suffice for the retrofit.
She had no qualms about it. To her, this was hard-earned money. By scrimping on materials without compromising the carrier's quality and not let Hill crash down someday, she had put in her blood, sweat, and tears.
Utilizing AI to help, she ensured that she made some profits while maintaining the carrier's quality. Balancing complex accounts and covertly diverting funds back to her own accounts, Daisy often joked with Maki that it felt like she was even doing calculations and planning in her dreams.
She had worked hard to earn $800 million, while Fury had at least pocketed $1.7 billion. That was the difference in their positions.
However, this advanced financial experience could only be understood tacitly; she couldn't discuss it with Hill, let alone explain it.
From the headquarters' perspective, the less money the sub-bases had, the easier they were to control. To be fair, whether it was during Pierce's or Fury's tenure, they all controlled the sub-bases finances to maintain the headquarters' authority.
Of course, Daisy, who thinks of herself as the future Director, wouldn't undermine her own position. If she taught Hill how the remaining sub-bases functioned, in the end when she became Director, it would be only herself who is unlucky, at least she thought so.
For this reason, Daisy could only help Hill think of a few ways to economize. Coffee didn't need to be provided for free all the time. The sea is so cold, that the air conditioning could be turned off when not needed. Sports events on the carrier could be held sparingly, and so on. If needed, she could personally provide some funds, but the sub-base's finances had to be strictly controlled.
Now that they were in the room, they naturally had to release some pressure from each other. Daisy was a bit surprised to discover the other side of Hill. She seemed to have put down all her defenses and demeanor in her bedroom and behaved extremely wild.
Daisy felt Hill just wanted to have her mind be blank from the vibrational sensations. Which woman wouldn't want a partner who could control vibrations extremely subtly?
They moved here and there, from the bathroom to the living room, and finally to the bedroom. The clothes were scattered all over the place...
Just when they were rubbing all over each other, they heard a knock at the door.
"Knock knock," the sound was calm and not rushed, but to the two beautiful women, it was like a thunderclap.
Hill was shocked, and gave Daisy a fierce look, saying with her eyes, this is all your fault! We are in the headquarters, why are you doing this!
"Just say you're resting, and whatever it is, can wait until tomorrow," Daisy was lying on top of her and whispered urgently in her ear, her voice barely above a whisper.
Unfortunately, before Hill could respond, the person outside spoke first. "Hill? Are you there?"
It was their good friend Sharon Carter.
Hill's hair was a bit disheveled, and she asked Daisy what to do now with her eyes.
Daisy frantically shook her head, indicating they couldn't let Sharon see them like this.
The two exchanged prolonged eye contact, but Sharon seemed to sense something was off. Her trained spy instincts kicked in, "Are you okay, Hill? Are you there?"
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