22 Chapter 22 (1/2)
Steve and I watched across from the round plastic table we were sitting at as the two men in front of us stepped out of their cells. There were twenty soldiers surrounding us, all dressed in heavy armor and carrying massive guns. All, sadly, were mostly useless if the people they were pointed at got serious, but thankfully they were also unnecessary.
Creel and Bucky had been getting deprogrammed for days, speaking to therapists, scientists, and getting checked by neurosurgeons. Now they were looking at us, looking tired, but somehow happy. If two grumps like them could be happy. They were wearing patient's uniforms, all blue outfits, and Bucky's mechanical arm had been removed for security reasons. They moved forward and took seats, both eyeing us.
”Hey, Steve,” Bucky said, smiling. ”I heard about everything that happened. BRIDGE, huh? It's a good name.”
”Isn't that stuff top secret?” I asked.
Creel chuckled, and Bucky's smile became a little sour. ”We've been playing a game, trying to see who could overhear the most from the guards.”
”He wins every time,” Creel admitted. ”I was always an enforcer, not so much the assassin.”
Bucky seemed to falter slightly at that. Steve noticed that and chose then to take out the physical files he had printed, taking out two pieces of paper and passing them to Creel and Bucky.
”You'll be happy to know that we managed to speak to the President and those of the United Nations. Thanks to the information you both provided, many HYDRA personnel and cells have been apprehended.”
”The information-” Creel started to say before I coughed meaningfully.
To be truthful, all our focus had been on curing them. Any information provided had been with X and Jarvis' help. But people were not going to let even brainwashing be an excuse, not if they could pin things on the two of them. Politicians would find it more palatable if they were 'trading information' for leniency.
”I have been approved,” Steve continued. ”To offer you both options. Now, it means a couple more days of being tested along with other standard background checks, just to make sure you can both are safe, but you have options.”
”50 years in prison?” Bucky said distastefully while reading the paper provided to him. ”Not a great start.”
”I only have 25,” Creel said, though he still didn't sound pleased.
”Yeah well, Bucky has a longer list working against him,” I admitted. ”And you both would get time off for good behavior. Well, the possibility.”
Creel grunted, and picked up that offer, tearing it in half. When the men around us pointed guns at him for the aggressive act, the four of us ignored them. ”What else you got?”
Steve held out the next papers, and the pair took them.
”Working for the US military?” Bucky asked, sounding a bit interested. ”What would that mean? Enlisting again?”
”Not exactly,” Steve said softly. I kept quiet as Bucky and Creel continued to read.
The papers were an offer, sure. But people in the US military wanted Bucky and Creel to act as their personal military death squad. To go into the middle east and other places and kill targets based on political leanings rather than actual need, to strike like a thunderbolt on America's enemies, most of them imagined. Granted, that wasn't what it actually said. The truth was hidden in the margins. Literally, we'd added little stuff in the margins. Mostly because Jarvis and X had included transcripts of the 'secret' meetings of the men who had come up with the idea, and what they wanted exactly. We'd be keeping an eye on them, but for now, Bucky and Creel knew the truth.
”So more of the same,” Creel said, disgusted. ”We'd be killing innocent people.”
”We're going to look into those guys,” I mentioned. ”But the US Military is an option. There are good men that could use you, places where you can do critical business... but there is a third option, one that allows you to do the same work. You'd still work with the US military at times, still take out terrorists, but your bosses would be very different.”
Bucky and Creel watched as Steve pushed forward another pair of papers. And Bucky laughed.
”Yeah, stop being dramatic Steve. We're in.”
Steve grinned. ”You heard already?”
”Gonna need to train your men to be quieter,” Bucky confirmed. ”So what, we getting the offer to be Avengers?”
”Reserve,” Steve said. ”You'll be under Sam Wilson.”
”The guy with wings?” Creel asked. ”Seriously?”
”The career soldier, with a good military record, a fresh face that has no ties with Tony Stark to cause any suspicions that Rhodey does, nor weird powers like mine to scare conservatives,” I said simply. ”Sam will look damn good to the public. Sadly, image is apparently everything now, so that's important,” I scowled a bit at that. I mean, Sam was a damn good choice, but the guys who were now in charge of making sure that we all looked good were annoying. ”Anyways, we're looking for more members. There's someone who's a little less... palatable, then you guys are.”
”More than us?” Creel asked, surprised.
”She had a choice,” Steve replied. ”But she's not going to be treated with kid gloves either way.”
”We'll be working with a team of BRIDGE agents as well,” I said. ”Along with the Avengers. Focused on stopping HYDRA across America in particular, though it may vary. It's not all you'll be doing of course, but it's part of the whole shebang.”
”...Avenger,” Creel tasted the word on his tongue, and seemed to find it odd, but worth it. ”Yeah. I'm in.”
”Same for me,” Bucky looked down at where his robotic arm had once been. ”But I might need a replacement.”
”Don't worry,” I said. ”I've gained some experience with that. Keep in mind, there are some regulations in place, and daily checkups as well as tests. And we need to wait for Tony to capture Vasily Karpov.”
Bucky flinched at that name.
”But we'll be able to fight?” Creel asked, voice becoming harder. ”Starting with HYDRA?”
”Starting with one name in particular,” I nodded towards Steve, who slid another piece of paper to Creel look at. He smiled.
”Yeah... Yeah, I want him.”
”First, let me check one last time?” I asked Creel. He nodded. ”Take a deep breath. Calm your mind,” Creel eyed me, listening with a look of concentration. ”You know what is best. What is best is you comply. Compliance will be rewarded. Now, get out of your chair and uh... absorb the paper in your hand I guess.”
Creel didn't hesitate to chuckle. ”Fuck that. Let's go beat his head in.”
Daniel Whitehall/Werner Reinhardt
Werner Reinhardt had been alive for over one hundred years. Despite his age, he had regained his youth some time ago, his skin as smooth as when he was a younger man, his pale white hair as thick. He'd seen and done many things in that lifetime, a fact he was quite proud of. But HYDRA falling, especially the way it had fallen, managed to surprise him, a fact he would have found interesting if hadn't disturbed him so much.
The only reason the man who had taken the name Whitehall had managed to survive was the painstaking work he had done to make sure that his own part of the organization had been left separate from those who were connected to SHIELD. It had been close, as far as he could tell. But he had been careful. Now he could work from the shadows.
So he had no idea what to think when, while perusing files on the hidden locations of several SHIELD agents safe houses, his computer suddenly began to display the image of the symbol of HYDRA. It was a simple picture, similar to the dozens painted on the walls in the skyscraper whose office he sat in. But as he watched, a green flash of light was followed by the logo shapeshifting. Tentacles became wings. The head of the octopus became the head of a bird. Soon, SHIELD's symbol appeared. Modified, with some strange white lines separating the wings to give it a new look. But one that sent a chill down Reinhardt's spine.
At that moment, an alarm began to sound. The door opened, and soldiers rushed into the room. ”Sir!” One man said. Reinhardt relaxed when he realized this was one of his men. ”SHIELD found us! We need to run.”
”I thought we were hidden,” the HYDRA leader spat out, rushing to rise up.
”General Hale turned on us,” the soldier said, sounding horrified. ”That's what our people are saying anyway. When she heard about your plans...”
Reinhardt cursed, following his soldiers. With the chaos that had followed in the aftermath of Pierce's failure, Reinhardt, like his fellow HYDRA leaders, had reached for any resources they could. So, he had attempted to make Ruby Hale one of those resources, to bring her in. He'd told her mother to bring her in for experimentation. There were some... risky, things that could be done to give or improve a person with power, make them a true threat to even Avenger level individuals. Ruby could be severely injured by the experiments, but it would be worth it. Even her death could aid in the cause.
Reinhardt shook his head as he and his soldiers rushed through the halls of his home. Apparently, he had overestimated General Hale's ability to put aside her feelings for the greater good. A sad truth of women, that becoming mothers ruined their ability to think logically. Reinhardt sighed. Thankfully, he had contingencies in place for such a situation. HYDRA would rise once more.
Even as a smug smile rose on his face, the soldiers in front of the small group came to a stop. When Reinhardt looked up, and scowled at the sight before him.
Two men strode towards the group, standing out in the white halls. Both wore blue uniforms. One had a star on his chest, and blue helmet as he carried a very familiar shield. The other had a robotic arm colored black with green lines designed like circuitry across the surface, carrying a gun in his hands.
Captain America was horrific enough. But Reinhardt felt even his brilliant mind freeze at the sight of the Winter Soldier with him. The two super-soldiers walked with confident strides, their eyes calm.
Reinhardt reached for the words he'd heard only once, trying to reach for his Russian. ”*Longin-!”