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Two weeks earlier. Corporation HQ, Eastern United States Branch.
The two leaders stood side-by-side, keeping silent as they studied the figure on the other side of the glass.
"I believe congratulations are in order," Curtiss addressed his colleague, a twitch of a smile forming on his face as he glanced from the captive to his counterpart. "He's quite a catch, Eugene."
"One of Hydra's finest," Eugene's gravelly voice informed, a gleam forming in his eye as spoke, "Fast. Clever. An impeccable shot. He's the perfect candidate."
"Like I said, the highest of congratulations."
"If we get this right, it'll be a breakthrough for Corporation."
"When we get it right," Curtiss corrected, motioning for his fellow leader to follow him as he turned and walked out of the cell area. "All we need is the one missing piece and we're guaranteed success."
Eugene shoved his hands in his pants pockets and pursed his lips in uncertainty. "It's that piece that I'm worried about. You know very well that the likelihood of bringing him in and following through with his consent is exponentially slim."
Curtiss gave a sly smirk as he clamped a hand on Eugene's shoulder. "Who said anything about consent?"
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Arms Division. Corporation HQ, Western United States Branch.
Konik strolled through the expansive armoury, doing his routine check to ensure that all of his underlings were doing their jobs correctly, and completing a mental inventory of all of the weapons.
He knew the entire facility, all of its employees and all of its contents like the back of his hand. It was his life.
Satisfied with what he observed, he made his way over to his own workstation, placing the folder he'd been tightly clutching down on the cluttered surface. He scratched the light stubble on his cheek as he reached for the half-full can of RedBull sitting atop the mini filing cabinet next to the desk.
The liquid was an unpleasantly warm temperature and had lost most of its gas; Konik was almost sure that it was at least two days old, but he downed the remainder of the can anyway. Despite its deterioration, the liquid still contained his needed dose of caffeine.
