***Over one year ago in February of 2017***
Hope stood at the window of her top floor office, arms crossed and lost in thought as she watched the boats travel on the bay. She and her father's offices took up the right side of the top floor, allowing them both easy access to the stairs that led to the helicopter pad. It also provided many layers of security between themselves and people attempting to gain access without an appointment, not that it would be possible to get much passed the heightened front security desk on the first floor.
It had been a couple years since the previous Pym Tech building had been leveled in order to stop Darren Cross who had begun to create ties with Hydra. She and her father had worked diligently since then, during construction of the new headquarters building, and still now to cut out traces of Hydra that may have still secretly remained without their knowledge. Each employee had gone through extensive screening before being let back in. A few hadn't returned to be screened in order to resume their jobs, most likely because they'd belonged to Hydra. Their names and files had been handed over to the Avengers for further research. Ties with some of the companies they'd contracted with were severed. Even after screenings, two of their chairmen had eventually been taken out in handcuffs after she and her father had finally exposed their link to Hydra.
But as they said, cut off the head, two grow in its place. It was an exhausting job. Hydra had been building themselves for decades without anybody's knowledge until a few years ago. A few years against many decades left things far out of their advantage. Nobody could fathom how far and deep their roots had grown in all aspect of things. She and her father had to dig deep, use resources, even making an agreement, much to her father's chagrin, of contracting Hope's services as The Wasp out to Tony Stark and the Avengers in order to have access to their resources, which went far and deep into the history of Hydra and how they'd managed to incorporate themselves into businesses and even the highest levels of government.
It had also been a couple years since Scott and the suit had disappeared from their lives. Her stony expression reflected in the glass. She was still mad at him over taking it upon himself to hijack the suit because
'Sorry/But kind of not sorry, Captain America needs me' as his letter had said. Like most men, he'd grown up idolizing the geriatric war hero. Scott knew if he'd asked, she and Hank would have given a resounding 'no' so his clever little smartass mind probably thought, 'better to ask forgiveness than permission.'
Scott was a good man. Of that, Hope had no doubt. Though stupid to go against the governments of the world and the Avengers, his intentions had been noble. But damn, did she miss him. She was stubborn as hell so it'd taken her a year to stop trying to convince herself she hated him for what he'd done and admit to herself that it was regret that was at the forefront. They'd shared an attraction. Even acted on it once. Then their lives had become busy, drawing them in separate directions, he to reconnecting with his daughter and rebuilding the bridges he'd burned with his ex-wife and her new husband and her with completing the Wasp suit with her father and rebuilding Pym Tech.
Stark had secretly filled in some blanks for her, setting her mind at ease. At one point, Scott had been held in a floating prison referred to as the Raft but with the help of Steve Rogers, he and the others had escaped. Nobody knew where they'd gone into hiding from there but the government and the Avengers, through the order of the government via the Sokovia Accords, continued their search for them. Of course she knew that Tony's attempts were half-hearted and she figured the government officials didn't think otherwise either. As long as Captain America and his cohorts remained in quiet hiding, the government didn't feel the need to push it.
The short twinkling sound of a new message echoed in her quiet office, pulling her from her thoughts. Hope made her way back to her desk and opened her e-mail program. Her brows furrowed in confusion and suspicion at the bolded new line of message. The From and Subject lines were empty. Only the date and time stamp reflected.
After looking up to be sure the coast was clear, she clicked the e-mail open and read.
With Scott still fresh on her mind, he was the first she assumed it could be from. She frowned in anger. What the hell was he thinking, coming back here?
"Everything alright?"The voice coming from her doorway startled her. She looked up, smoothing her features into a smile for her father. "Yes, fine." She shut down her computer as he neared her desk. "Just a delay on an order I was promised would be on time," she said with a dismissive wave as she stood and put on her coat then grabbed her purse. "I'll give them an earful tomorrow." Technically she wasn't lying. She fully intended to give Scott an earful tomorrow.
Hank smiled proudly at her, knowing full well that his daughter was a force to be reckoned with. He almost felt bad for the person.
"I've no doubt. Let's get home. We've got work to do on your suit."That had her beaming a genuine smile.
