The Soldat, The Captain and The Asset

3.11: The Confrontation

THE LAND IS LARGE AND VAST, every inch covered by inches of undisturbed snow spreading out as far as the eye can see. A mountain looms on the horizon, casting a shadow over the area, jutting out from the edge. The top layer of the snow springs, wheels cutting through the snow as it barrels through, the caterpillar truck not even being affected to it. It stops on the windswept mountain plateau. Boot-covered feet jump down into the snow, walking away the sunlight high in the sky, Zemo getting out of the vehicle. Set on rocks is an entrance with huge, rusted double doors, a wearied logo on the door, a different one on the other. Zemo hacks away at the wall beside the doors. He quickly uncovers an old control panel, not much dust on it due to the cover having protected it from the elements. He gets out the red book and looks in it, quickly keying in the code from inside it. the huge, curved double doors break open a crack. Zemo pulls them open wider. He shines a flashlight and pulls down the hood of his coat.

Inside is a vast, gloomy space cramped with shelves stacked with filing boxes. Zemo wanders down the hall, pushing a ladder down with him, his eyes glazing over each stack, trying to find a specific box. After a bit of walking he stops, pressing the ladder against the shelf and walking up it, bringing out a dusty box from it. He dusts off the front, revealing the words 'декабря 1991 (Russian: December 1991)' labelled onto the front of the box. Zemo quickly comes back down from the ladder and wanders out of the corridor, going through a seat of double doors.

Zemo walks along the tunnel connected to the door, the darkness opening up into a large semi-bright room with a high ceiling. He grips the objects in his hands, the VHS cassette he had just picked up and his flashlight helping him to navigate the surrounding area. He looks around the room, seeing five large, clear-sided capsules with a good amount of dust and grime around them, a control panel next to each one. Zemo walks up to the closest one, rubbing some of the grime away from the glass and shining his flash light inside, looking at the motionless super soldier, Josef, laying inside in a state of animation. He walks back slightly and continues, seeing two empty capsules at the end.

— — — — —

A chopper flies through the clouds, cutting through it with speed, the rain being quickly wiped away by the screen wipers, the water splashing off. Below it, the sea spreads for miles and miles, blending into the dark and gloomy sky. An arm comes from the seat of the co-pilot, touching the computer screen on the wall panel beside them. A hand comes from the pilot seat, batting his hand away - as if to tell them that they're dealing with. The pilot, Yawa, looks over at Tony with a small playful glare before going quiet.

"This is the Raft Prison Control. You're clear for landing, Mr. Stark."

The sea starts to swell, moving away as a large circle building, Raft Prison, starts to come up from the sea. It's a heavy, fortified structure with small search and warning lights on the side to warn any incoming vessels of its large presence. At the top, two semi-circular doors open up, allowing the chopper to come in for a landing on its helipad, the doors swiftly closing above it the moment it touches the ground.

From inside, Tony stands up, his left arm in a sling. He looks over at Yawa who gets up, sitting by the wall of the helicopter, out of sight. "Do whatever you can Tony, we need to get him back." Yawa tells him. "Don't... don't try and push them over again, it won't do anyone any good." Tony nods softly before getting out of the helicopter, walking over to Secretary Ross who is waiting for him with a few armed guards.

"So?" Tony wonders, walking over to the older man. "You got the files?" He tilts his head to the side with a snarky smile. "Let's reroute the satellites, start facial scanning for this Zemo guy."