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

25

It had taken a long time for the three of them to notice, which would have been something to be contemptuous about except the organization had done everything to be certain they wouldn't be able to notice anything. There were many people working for the organization in Madripoor who had once been Hydra. Technically, since the Winter Soldier answered to Hydra for most of the organization's existence, they had continued to work for Hydra, though none of them had felt that way. The Winter Soldier had never operated as if he answered to anyone. The few who would have been targeted by Hydra were safe from them, and the others found a better place for their skills. That left only three who thought they were updating Hydra regularly, working in the organization specifically to report back on everything to Hydra. In reality, their reports went back to the organization itself. They had been cut off from Hydra for as long as they had been embedded in the organization.

Once the Winter Soldier had openly declared Hydra as the enemy, many had known the three that were still loyal to Hydra would be disposed of. None of them had the abilities, focus or loyalty to the organization to be allowed to remain. Many in the organization had wondered why they had been allowed to remain at all, with others sure it was because they needed to be watched, to find out what they actually knew and what they thought they were reporting on. The truth had been much simpler: the Winter Soldier had his loyalty to Hydra, though it was forced on him, meaning he could not kill Hydra members unless ordered to. No one was aware of that truth, even as who he had been before the Winter Soldier became more widely known within the organization. Once the Winter Soldier was free of Hydra, he could act as he saw fit.

"Ben." A man said, his tone worried. Ben, an analyst, looked up from his workstation, annoyed at the interruption. He was more annoyed when he recognized the man as George Lewis. They had been members of Hydra, but Ben had not taken long to become fully loyal to the Winter Soldier along with the organization itself. He'd been one of the ones working on information related to Hydra, years earlier as contingency plans were formed to potentially fight them. That had, at first, worried him until he'd understood his loyalty to the organization had been noticed as well as accepted many years earlier. He'd had no regrets whatsoever. Hydra had recruited him due to his workhorse nature plus the ability to see patterns in almost anything and collate any data. He'd thought he was loyal to them until he'd worked for the Winter Soldier, without ideology, where he'd been valued as an employee, allowed to operate without the stifling rules of governments or the belief system of Hydra.

"What? I'm busy, we all are." Ben didn't hide is irritation. He'd had little contact with Lewis for months, by design. He had decided not to engage with any of the last Hydra members who were known to be loyal, there wasn't any point when everyone knew they wouldn't be allowed to remain forever.

"Have you noticed?"

"Maybe, but I don't really care about gossip, George. I said, I'm busy." Ben knew exactly what George meant but pretended not to. He'd seen one of Lestari's people, one of the ones who was so far undercover he could go in anywhere in the city to do anything the organization needed. Seeing him in plain sight in headquarters meant that the time had finally come. Ben wasn't sure he could be considered a good person, even if he was against Hydra. He had no qualms about the upcoming murder of three people he used to work closely with.

"No, this isn't gossip. This place is actively against Hydra! Have you been able to get through to them? I can't get anyone to get back to me, they don't seem to care what's going on here, but this entire organization is acting like it intends to take Hydra down." Lewis' voice was pitched low, but the panic was there as Ben resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Lewis had sent his reports, never receiving acknowledgment, yet hadn't thought it was strange.