What If...? Rumlow Turned Against Hydra: Book One

1

"Is he in there?"

"Yes sir. They're sure he can be revived, but it's taking longer than they thought."

Brock Rumlow paused, staring at the door as if he could see through it to the sole occupant of the room beyond. He clenched his jaw, angry at the entire situation, though he otherwise kept his composure. No one could know just how unwelcome Steve Rogers was to so many within SHIELD. The men guarding the room weren't STRIKE team members, therefore, he wasn't sure were of their exact loyalties. He had to show concern, just in case. They couldn't know where Rumlow's true loyalties belonged.

"Is anyone else in there right now?" Rumlow asked. The guard responded with a shake of his head. Rumlow nodded. "I'll just take a look."

"Director Fury was pretty clear he didn't want anyone to be gawking at Rogers."

"I won't be gawking," Rumlow said firmly enough to end that particular argument. "I lead the STRIKE team. I'm making a security assessment."

The guard looked uncomfortable; in response Rumlow forced himself to grin. "Don't worry. I'll explain to Fury, and you'll be in the clear."

"All right, but I'll hold you to that."

Rumlow went inside the room, curling his lip in contempt once the door had closed behind him leaving him alone in the room with Steve Rogers - Captain America - thought to have been dead for seventy years when he'd just been encased in ice in the Arctic. Rumlow wasn't contemptuous of Rogers, he shook his head in disdain at the surroundings, made up to look as if Rogers was in a hospital room in the 1940's. It was cheap window dressing, completely the wrong move from Fury, but Rumlow ignored what he understood as bullshit, standing next to the bed containing the first and most successful super soldier.

Rogers looked exactly the same as every photo, newspaper description and newsreel from the Second World War that Rumlow had ever seen. It was as if no time at all had passed for Rogers when the world had moved far beyond what had existed during the war. Rumlow's earlier anger changed to unease as he stared down at Rogers: the one who'd tried to die in order to bring down Hydra. To Rumlow, it was ridiculous to allow Rogers to have yet another chance to finish the job. In his opinion, Hydra had just let their greatest enemy through the front door while they were also - bizarrely - taking steps to make sure he would be strong enough to destroy everything they were working toward. Rumlow's hand dropped casually to his gun, still holstered, allowing it to rest there, thinking furiously, itching to draw the gun to end the man who was their greatest enemy.

He was so intent on his thoughts that he flinched violently when his radio came to life. He automatically took a step back from Rogers as he did so, knowing he couldn't kill Captain America while he lay unconscious. Even if it would help Hydra immeasurably, he had his orders that could not be disobeyed. The voice from the radio further cemented that he had no option but to leave the room along with its occupant, with no action taken. The voice had ordered him to go to one of the conference rooms in the upper floor of the SHIELD building in New York, to meet with Alexander Pierce.

Rumlow ordered the guard to add more people on rotation near Rogers' false 1940's hospital room. When the guard questioned him Rumlow said tersely: "that little display in there won't fool him. And when he realizes it's fake, what do you think he'll do? A super soldier whose last memory was fighting in a world war?"

The guard paled slightly, saying hurriedly: "Yes sir! Understood!"

As Rumlow walked away, the guard was already talking into his own radio, calling for additional reinforcements that would have little chance of restraining a super soldier who would assume he was in enemy hands. That idea made Rumlow smile, a real smile. Rogers was in enemy hands; he just wouldn't know it until it was too late. Rumlow was still not supportive of having Rogers revived at all; he would gladly kill him, but it was worth a smile and a smug laugh to know just how miserably Rogers had failed in 1945 when he'd tried to destroy Hydra.