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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄war was in the Allies' sights but there was still work to be done by the SSR — defeating Hydra. This was why Grace was now sitting between Steve and her brother at a table with a grim-looking Colonel Phillips.
"Johann Schmidt belongs in the bughouse," he said, looking over the files in front of him. "He thinks he's a god and he's going to blow up half the world to prove it." He pointed at the map, landing on one country in particular. "Starting with the USA."
"That's insane," Dum-Dum said, shaking his head.
"So's Hitler, but he's gotten pretty far with less than Schmidt has," Peggy told him with a tilt of her head.
"But Hydra would need millions of men, fleets of transport," Falsworth argued while Grace rolled her neck and thought of the many things she and her brother still had to finish building. "They'd have to be fed, fueled—"
Howard shook his head. "Schmidt's working with powers beyond our capabilities," he said and Grace glanced at him. "He gets across the Atlantic, he'll wipe out the entire eastern seaboard in an hour."
"He makes our inventions look like children's playthings," Grace added with a nod.
Steve sighed, his eyes drifting toward New York on the map. "Every able-bodied man we have is either here or in the Pacific. Our borders are wide open."
"How much time have we got?" Jones asked, looking up at the man at the head of the table. He looked up.
"According to my new best friend, under twenty-four hours," Phillips replied, closing the file in his hand.
Howard squeezed Grace's hand and she glanced at Steve beside her. "Where is he now?" the soldier asked.
Phillips pointed at a location on the map. "Hydra's last base is here, in the Alps..." He moved further down. "Five hundred feet below the surface."
Morita looked at the location. "What are we supposed to do?" he asked, looking around at the group. "It's not like we can just knock on the front door."
"Well, why not?" Steve shrugged and they all looked at the Captain. "That's exactly what we're gonna do."
Grace let out a breath and collected her sketchbook before leaving the table for her tent. Steve glanced at Peggy and Howard before the scientist nodded. Steve got up from the table and followed Grace out of the room, leaving the others to watch the super-soldier leave.
"Do you think I was a little too harsh on her?" Howard asked Peggy as the group dispersed from the table and the agent gave him a look. "Okay, I know I was too harsh on her, but she's my baby sister. It's my job to protect her."
"Well, you didn't do a good job at it," Peggy said, shaking her head. "Reducing her to tears is not how to tell her you've been protecting her."
"Yes, I'm well aware of that," Howard sighed, walking into his tent and looking around at the inventions that he and his sister were working on for the upcoming raid. "But, Peg, she won't talk to me. I tried to apologize, but she won't listen."
