Thallium | Captain America: The Winter Soldier [7]

Rats on a Ship

"The file came from these coordinates," Romanoff said, checking a device. "So did I," He said, staring at the Camp Leigh sign. "This camp is where Inola and I were trained," He admitted as we walked in. "Changed much?" I asked, rolling along behind Romanoff. "A little," He admitted.

"This is a dead-end. 0 heat signatures, 0 waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must've used a router to throw people off. What is it?" Steve was staring at a building nearby. "Army regulations forbid storing munitions within 500 yards of the barracks," He said, heading towards it. "This building's in the wrong place," I said. He smashed the lock open with his shield, putting it on his back and picking me up. He put my back in my chair when they arrived at the bottom of the staircase.

I flicked on a light, causing the others to slowly glow with life. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D.," Romanoff said, as I rolled over to a desk. "Maybe where it started. We're the first people that have been here in years. We entered another room, where three pictures hung on the wall. "That's Stark's father," She said, looking at the middle one.

"Howard," He supplied. "Who's the girl?" I asked. "If you're already working in a secret office?" I looked over to see them standing in front of a bookshelf. "Why do you need to hide the elevator?" We went in, Romanoff using her gadget to get the password. When we got to the bottom, the doors slid open to reveal a very dark room.

As we got further in, more of the lights turned on, one revealing a computer about as old as Rogers. "This can't be the data point, this technology is as old as Steve," I said, earning a look from him. I flashed a winning smile at him as Romanoff plugged the drive into something. All the tech around us started powering up. "Initiate system?" A robotic voice asked as text appeared on the screen.

"Y, e, s spells yes. Shall we play a game? It's from a movie--" She started to explain. "I saw it," He said as the camera turned towards Steve. "Rogers, Steven. Born 1918. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born 1984. Darness, Rowena. Born 1985," It said. "It's some kind of recording," Romanoff said. "I am not a recording, Fräulein. I may not be the man I was when the Captain and Lieutenant took me prisoner in 1945, but I am alive," It said.

"You know this thing?" I asked. "Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years," Steve said, moving behind the equipment. "First correction, I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972, I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body. My mind, however, that was worth saving. On 200,000 feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain," It said. "Eeeuuh," I said, grimacing. "How did you get here?" Steve asked.

"I was invited," It said. "It was Operation Paperclip. After WWII, S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited German scientists with strategic value," Romanoff explained. "They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own," It said. "HYDRA died with the Red Skull," Steve claimed. "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place," Their symbol, an octopus, appeared.

I never understood why it was an octopus when their organization was called HYDRA. Besides, the phrase was 'cut off one head,' not 'cut off one limb.' It just didn't make any sense. They could've been smart, but no. They just had to go for a creature other than the one in the name.

"Prove it," Alright, back to reality. "Accessing archive. HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize is that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly."

 "After the war, S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded, and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew, a beautiful parasite, inside S.H.I.E.L.D. For 70 years, HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed," Flashes of pictures of war HYDRA had helped caused flashed across the screen. "That's impossible. S.H.I.E.L.D. would have stopped you," Romanoff claimed. "Accidents will happen," Reports of Howard Stark's death, and Fury's, flashed across the screen. "HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. We won, Captain. You and The Leuitant's deaths amount to the same as your lives. A zero-sum," Out of rage, Steve shattered the screen with his fist.

"As I was saying..." It said. "What's on this drive?" He demanded. "Project Insight requires insight. So, I wrote an algorithm," It said. "What kind of algorithm? What does it do?" I was nervous, now. "The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you will be too dead to hear it," The doors we entered through slammed shut, though now without Steve attempting to jam them with his shield.

"Steve, we got a bogey. Short-range ballistic. Thirty seconds tops," Romanoff reported. "Who fired it?" I asked, on edge. "S.H.I.E.L.D.," She said. "I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Admit it, it's better this way. We are, both of us, out of time," Steve ripped a grate cover-up, and I rolled as fast as I could. The force from the explosion sent me flying in, but a piece of rubble hit my head and I was out.