Tony has been in the White House these days. To be honest, he doesn't like this ghost place at all, but in order to seek justice for his father, he has to fight with those guys. The White House has also been discussing with the military recently.
The military also has some talk about pardoning Bucky. This is not because the military was lobbied by Steve, but how to put it... Most of the current military bosses grew up during the era when Captain America was the most popular. Old people, they have extraordinary feelings for both Captain America and Bucky Barnes.
In some situations that do not involve their own interests, they are quite willing to use their influence to give some help. Not for anything else, just for the white moonlight of the past. People, the older you get, the more you miss the past.
However, these voices were quickly suppressed.
The United States must give an explanation to the public and the international community, especially African countries. Although the United States has never looked down upon those countries, the murder of the King of Wakanda has made all African countries extremely dissatisfied. For their own interests and for the United States' treatment of black countries, Respect, these countries have the most intense reactions. Many countries make a statement every day and ask the United States to give an explanation. With so many countries coming together to cause trouble for the United States, the U.S. government is also scratching its head.
Terrorist charges are not so easily pardoned as other charges.
So with the lobbying of Tony and the Stark Group, more people decided to severely punish Bucky Barnes. However, many people felt that dealing with Bucky was one thing, publicity was another, and the terrorists were killed. , everyone is happy. As for Bucky Barnes...well, he has been dead for a long time, so don't disturb his old man's sleep anymore, right?
Tony... didn't have much opinion on this. It was good to be able to understand the punishment, but this thing was not subject to his will. So...as long as you can take revenge.
At this stage, everyone is interested in the forces behind Bucky, so even though Bucky's fate has almost been determined, in fact, the interrogation work has been ongoing. No one has ever wondered who turned their hero into a terrorist.
On this day, Tony had just come out of the President's Office. Then I received a call from Kai.
To be honest, the president was not as annoying as he thought, but talking about technology with a politician... Tony felt that he would never talk to him about such a topic next time.
"Hey! Brother. What's wrong? Call me at this time. Is there something wrong with the teleporter?" Tony asked casually.
"No... it's a very serious incident. Come here right now. By the way, remember not to be followed." Kai said.
Hearing Kai's tone, Tony knew that this matter was not trivial.
"Understood."
"By the way, let me remind you, I also called the captain and Ms. Carter." Kai said it in advance to prevent this guy from not understanding the situation and causing any unpleasantness.
"What? What did you ask them to do?! Are they still not giving up?" Tony was afraid that Kai would be persuaded by them to become a lobbyist. Of course, he doesn't have to think about others at all, but as for Kai...Tony needs to think carefully.
"Don't think blindly, it has nothing to do with Bucky. But it does have something to do with your father's case!" Kai knew that, so he quickly blocked Tony with words. Sometimes this guy's character is like that of a child, very difficult to deal with.
"……I see."
"Come here as soon as possible!"
…
Tony soon came to Chicago. In order not to cause unnecessary trouble, they met in a secret villa on the outskirts of Chicago.
Steve and Carter were already waiting there. They also looked surprised when they saw Tony.
They were called over by Kai solemnly, and at first they thought it was about Bucky. Seeing Tony coming over... they thought it was this even more, otherwise why would Kai call Tony over? ! !
So Steve said to Tony with a happy face: "Tony! I knew it! You, like your father, are..."
"Shut up! You don't deserve to mention my father!" Unexpectedly, Tony still said bad things.
Carter also planned to say something, at least to make Tony less excited.
But seeing her speak, Tony said decisively: "Including you! Ms. Carter! You are not qualified to mention my father!"
"Tony...Howard and I..."
"I know, good friend, right? My father even asked you to be my guardian. But now, you are speaking for his murderer! Ms. Carter, you abandoned your friend. So, don't mention him again. Well, hearing my father's name from your mouth will make me feel physically uncomfortable."
After saying that, he left without looking back!
This made Carter sad. Unlike Steve, Carter and Howard have been together longer and have been through a lot together. At that time, Carter was despised by everyone and believed that a woman could not achieve anything great. It was Howard who encouraged her and allowed her to achieve something great. It was also Howard who supported her in her most difficult moment. Howard was framed for treason that year, and it was Carter who helped Howard clear away the suspicion.
She watched Tony born and raised, he was like her own child. Especially during the time when Howard died, she was the one taking care of him. Even when she was dying, it was Tony who asked Hannibal to use magic to restore her youth...
They were supposed to be family.
But now, because of Bucky's incident, Tony has regarded her as an enemy. Even facing her, Tony could speak harshly without hesitation.
Why doesn't this make Carter feel sad and painful?
Steve also felt bad when he saw the sad expression on Carter's always strong face.
"Carter..." Steve didn't know how to comfort him.
Carter quickly regained her composure. All she could do now was take her time. Hope that one day the gap between them can be slowly healed.
"I'm fine. Let's go in. It seems that what Mr. Wayne is about to say is very serious."
…
"Why did you call them?! When I see their faces now..."
"Tony!" Kai emphasized, "Do you remember what I told you before?"
"Okay, okay! I try. But I really hate being around them."
Kai was also helpless. If the matter wasn't too big, I wouldn't want to call these two groups together.
Soon Steve and Carter walked in together.
"Mr. Wayne."
Kai nodded, indicating that he understood.
"I know it's a bit presumptuous to call you all here, but given the current situation, I have to call you here."
Steve was completely disappointed and thought things would turn around for Bucky. He didn't want to rob the prison. First of all, Steve still abided by the law. Secondly, this time everyone got the stolen goods. He really didn't know how to save Bucky. Plus Carter wouldn't let Steve do something stupid like that.
Carter has decades of experience, and it is not easy to deal with a guy like Steve. She knows Steve's character very well, he is enthusiastic, kind, and impulsive. As long as we grasped these characteristics, it was not difficult to guess his behavior, so we focused on persuasion. After several persuasion, we subtly gave up Steve's idea of breaking prison.
All Steve wants to do now is save Bucky's life, after all, Tony has been pushing for Bucky's execution.
Carter felt a little bad, after all... Kai was not familiar with them, but now he was looking for them seriously, which was obviously not a good thing.
"What on earth is going on?" Tony asked impatiently.
Kai took a breath and said, "HYDRA!"
Tony was stunned for a moment and looked at Carter and Steve: "What do you mean? Do you want to hear a story?"
Carter and Steve were also stunned. They hadn't heard this name for a long time.
"No, what I want to say is that there are Hydras in SHIELD, and many of them!"
Tony didn't understand yet, but Carter's expression changed drastically and he stood up: "Impossible!"
"Project Paperclip!" Kai said two words coldly.
Carter's expression changed again.
Project Paperclip was promoted by Howard, and Carter himself was one of the people who carried out the mission.
"Impossible! We have all done very strict background checks, and we have also carried out strict surveillance after those people came to the United States!"
Of course, Project Paperclip cannot really absorb Germans into the United States without caring about anything. It involves a lot of investigation and surveillance. The surveillance of many German scientists continued until they died of old age.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Tony had no idea what they were talking about.
Carter took a deep breath and explained quickly: "After the end of World War II, in order to qualitatively improve the technological level of the United States, your father promoted a plan in Congress called Project Paperclip, which was to network those German high-tech experts. Tech talent.”
"So?" Tony frowned when he heard it was related to his father.
"Scientists within Hydra are also being recruited," Carter said in a low voice.
Then Carter immediately said: "But those people are always under our surveillance! There can be no problem!"
On the contrary, Tony couldn't understand that his father... would actually make such a suggestion?
"My father is still so dedicated to the country and the people?"
Now Steve spoke.
"Although this era is very good, compared to before, people today no longer know what patriotism is." Steve feels that this era is very good. The food is better than before, the uses are better than before, and various technologies have improved. It's very dreamy, but... I'm just a little dissatisfied with the current person. They have lost the spirit of America. They do not love work, they only want to enjoy themselves. They don't care about the country, they only think about themselves. Even the country itself has lost its vitality, like a fat man with no thoughts except eating.
He doesn't understand what's wrong with this era. But there is nothing we can do.
"Patriotism was very high in our day. Howard was that kind of guy."
Tony curled his lips and said nothing.
After all, in the era when he grew up, patriotism had become a very low symbol, and resistance, freedom, and drug abuse were their symbols.
This is something that cannot be communicated through the generation gap.
"Okay! Let's stop the small talk and let's get down to business." Carter is a workaholic. Once he gets into a situation, he doesn't care about anything. "Can you tell me where you got the information?"
"Information...I can't tell you. Because I can't trust you."
Carter raised his eyebrows, actually saying that to her?
"What's the meaning?"
"I mean, I believe in you and Steve, otherwise I wouldn't have brought you here, but the people under your command... I don't believe it! Hydra has infiltrated into every aspect of SHIELD. There are some things I You have to be careful.”
This is the condition of the deal with the Viper Lady.
Madame Viper is willing to provide information, but only if she is not exposed. Nonsense, she doesn't want to be chased by Hydra, she just wants to live well.
"Besides, I already know who is behind Bucky."
"Who?" Not only Steve, but also Tony asked hurriedly.
"Daniel Whitehall. Hydra."
"You mean a Hydra is going to kill my father?!!" Tony couldn't sit still anymore!
"Whitehall...he is actually still alive?!" Carter was also shocked. She remembered that Whitehall was much older than her, but he was still alive? ?
"Mr. Bucky Barnes is a biological warrior transformed by Whitehall. His code name is Winter Soldier."
"Why did Whitehall kill Howard? And Whitehall was in the United States?" Carter asked.
"Killing Howard... was for the Super Soldier serum. They were hoping to create more Winter Soldiers."
Carter's face immediately darkened.
Howard was killed on the way to deliver the super soldier serum he made to the base!
Steve stared at his hands... He didn't expect that for this kind of power... not only did he lose Dr. Erkins, who was also his teacher and friend, but now he also lost another good friend. He used to think that he was lucky to obtain this power, but now it seems...lucky and unlucky are not necessarily necessarily different.
If he knew that he had to pay so much to obtain this kind of power, he wouldn't want this power!
"Also, the most interesting thing about this is that Whitehall has never been to the United States!"
Kai's next words made Carter's face turn pale.
Whitehall has never been to the United States... What does this mean? It means that someone in the United States must cooperate with him!
Very few people know about Howard's research on the super soldier serum. Howard wasn't even conducting research within SHIELD, but at home!
After the potion was successful, Howard did not send anyone to protect him with any fanfare. He and his wife went to the base with the serum! He didn't even inform Carter before, this incident was very unexpected.
But Hydra still knows...what does this mean?
"What does this mean?" Tony felt like an idiot and had no idea what they were talking about.
"This shows that... someone is cooperating with Whitehall, and this person has a very high status. At least he has access to SHIELD's highest-level secrets." Kai said quietly.
Carter's face was still pale, and after hearing these words, his face became even worse.
Tony didn't care about that, he asked anxiously: "Who is it?!!"
Kai bared his teeth at Carter and said, "Alexander Pierce!"
