Back in 1945

12

Steve and I rode back on my bike. The debrief was rough, everyone still in shock about everything that happened that day. The colonel wanted Steve to stay at the HQ but me and Agent Carter argued against it, eventually getting through to him with the condition that Steve stayed me, exposing my friend to my training of espionage.

Most of that night was spent seeing how many push up or sit ups Steve could do before he got tired, which was just to much. The serum had worked wonderfully for Steve, it was beyond impressive what he could do now.

The next day we were both reporting to another SSR building that was now labeled the HQ. Agent Carter had found us almost immediately, instructing me to go to the see if I could help Stark with the sub while they went to take blood and run a few tests on Steve.

Stark put me to work on tagging the control panel and taking it apart. Pretty soon the Colonel walked in talking Sith the senator about Hydra. I listened in carefully. I heard the name thrown around a lot and knew it was bad, just not many of the specifics. Howard had chimed about the advanced mechanics of the sub alone, before the Colonel finally revealed the name Johann Schmidt: the man who ran Hydra.

"I spoke to the president" Colonel Phillips said as he took notice to Agent Carter and Steve walking into the room. "As of today, we are being retested, taking the fight to them. Pack your bags Agent Carter, you too Stark, Jones. We're flying to London tonight."

"Sir?" Steve cut in. "If you're going after Schmidt I want in."

"You're an experiment. Your going to Alamogordo."

"The serum worked."

"I asked for an army and all I got was you. You are not enough."

"with all due respect to the colonel." The Senator said as he walked up to Steve. "I think we may be missing the point. I've seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country's seen it. Paper. The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands. You don't take a solider, a symbol like that and hide him in a lab. Son do you want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war?"

"Sire, that's all I want."

"Then congratulations, you just got promoted. "

—/—

I felt bad for Steve, he was working the circuit, appearing on stages across the country. He had promised to watch my stuff for me which was nice, we had to spend my last night moving what little I had into his apartment. I was splitting the rent with him so it was cheap for both of us.

"I had been working with Carter and Stark now mostly, trying to track down bases and such. I had been sent it a few times, one of them by myself to take out small groups of Hydra agents. Every time we captured or questioned them they had snapped a cyanid pill.

"Your going in as a lounge singer." Colonel Phillips said as we all got ready for the mission. "You go in for an hour, in that time we'll move in the last of our troops in place. You'll be on stage so you'll have the best vantage point, look for this man" He said as he pushed a picture of a man towards me. I studied the face before looking back up at Phillips. "You'll say 'this next one goes out to Schmidt.' That's the code word for everyone to know he's there. From what we can tell, he's pretty high up in the Hydra command. His name is Gregory lanker. Stark had your dress in his office, he fixed it up some for you. His secretary should be there waiting for you, she'll get you dolled up. You go in in 2 hours."

"Yes sir" I took my leave to Stark's office. Stark was still having fun tinkering with new toys to fight against hydra. When I walked in I took notice to the sequence long blue dress hanging on a manikin on the other side. I walked up to it and started examining it. It was split on the side about half way down there though and had shoulderless sleeves. It looked nice but I wasn't much of a dress wearer.

"Maybe it blue for you" stark said as he came up behind me. "Didn't think red was really your color." I smiled at him before looking back at the dress.

"Don't know how it's supposed to help me fight."

"The material I made it out of is like a light weight Kevlar. It won't stop bullies from a gun right next to you but should if they're standing back." He moved closer and started showing me all the ins and outs. "The sleeves have a quick release for throwing knives if you tug on it, that will hold 6, 3 on each arm, then there's more stored on the legs of the dress. The boots will a small pistol in each leg, you'll be able to reach up though the slits on the dress and pull two longer blades from your torso for hand to hand combat. You have leggaurders on each leg that are equipped with more throwing knives."

"No grandes?" I teased.

"They said an overcoat would be suspicious." Stark said with a snarky smile.

"Fair enough." I said as I started taking the dress off the manikin. I changed, pinned my hair back and did very light make up before I headed back to Stark's office. Started whistled as I walked back in, catching me off guard.

"you look like a million bucks!" He said as he walked towards me. I wasn't use to being dressed up like this, it was a little uncomfortable, but the mission had to be done.

"Shut it Stark, I'm waiting for someone else."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"No one you know."

"Rogers? Cause I know Rogers."

"Nah Steve's a good friend but that's all." We had this banter often, Howard pretended to flirt with almost every girl. Soon I was in the back of acab, heading to a club near the boarder, getting close to grace. When I arrived I was brought straight to the stage with a band ready to play. The colonel had it set up for me to sing some very well known songs. We started playing, two other SSR agents playing instruments next to me. I kept my eye out, not to many people paying attention to me.

About an hour and a half in I finally spotted the man, sitting next to a group of very angry looking nazi soldiers. I started walking around the crowd mid song, waiting to get near him before the song ended.

"This next one" I said as I neared him, dragon my hand across on of the nazi soldiers shoulder. "Goes out to Schmidt." I watched as the other SSR agents got up and pulled out guns, I grabbed on to the mans head kicked to the man next to him in the head, knocking him out. I working on taking out the men at the table with Schmidt, he started walking away so I used the throwing knives in my sleeves and threw them. One struck him in the leg, the other three flew pass him, one of them sticking his sleeve to the wall. I took down the other two soldiers coming my way, pulling my gun on one of them, firing two shots. I meant to hit his leg but he had jumped up to fast, the bullet went through his neck.

I had seen a lot of people die but this was the first time it had been my fault, at my hands. The mission was in jeopardy though, I sprung for lanker who had just managed to get the knife out of his sleeve. I knocked him to the ground, jumping on top of him while shoving my hand in his mouth to rip out the cyinid tooth. He yelled out at the pain but I didn't waste a second. I pulled out my gun and pulled Lanker to his feet, escorting him from the club with the other SSR boys covering my back.

We got him outside and threw him in the back of the fake cab, me climbing in with him while the rest of the men piled into a truck. It took awhile to get back to base, giving me plenty of time to check him for any trackers.

I opted out of being part of the interrogation Thinking about the man I had shot. He wasn't incapacitated, or walking with a limp, he was dead, his blood was on my hands. It had to be done, but I feel like I just needed a minute to catch my breath.

—/—