"Is this identification code real?"
Faced with Daisy Johnson's question, Melinda May nodded. "Agent Maria Hill, Nick Fury's second-in-command. Even though she had to attend congressional hearings every Friday, she provided us with help. Then she disappeared for a while—Nick Fury likely took her away. I can't figure out why she's here now."
"I thought you'd be surprised that she knows our current location."
Melinda May shot her a glance. "Don't be so naive, Level One Agent. We're using a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base right now. Maria Hill is one of Nick Fury's most trusted people. If anyone in this world knows most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets, she's one of them."
"I didn't expect you to make jokes." Daisy Johnson laughed. "But why is she looking for us?"
"I don't know." Melinda May answered honestly. "It could be because you've been appearing on television so often lately, or because of the New S.H.I.E.L.D. Jeffrey Mace established. There are too many possibilities to judge. The best way is to ask her." With that, Melinda May brought up the console and disabled the base's outer camouflage. A descending concrete passage slowly appeared before the red Ford, extending toward what looked like an underground garage. Maria Hill slowly drove along the concrete road into that unremarkable underground garage. After driving forward roughly fifty meters, she turned off the headlights as instructed. Then she felt the vehicle jolt. The platform beneath the red Ford began descending, while rows of cold white lights along the shaft walls gradually rose past her.
Maria Hill calmly waited for the elevator to stop.
When Victoria Hand had asked whether she knew about Lighthouse Base, she had lied.
The other woman seemed to know she was lying, yet still sent her here. Maria Hill understood that clearly, which was why she