9 [Prologue Of The War] - A Rescue Mission

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Deep in a covert facility situated in an undisclosed location within the United States, a heated debate was taking place among a group of military personnel. The tense atmosphere was palpable as two senior gentlemen, clearly at odds with each other, engaged in a verbal battle.

"You don't understand! We don't have much time!" one of them exclaimed.

"I don't understand?! You are the one who's refusing to admit it," the other retorted.

"Admit what?" the first man demanded.

"Admit that my agent is better than yours!" the second man shot back.

"Why would I do that?" the first man scoffed.

Their argument threatened to spiral out of control until a bald man, who had been silently observing the exchange, interjected.

"Gentlemen! Please, calm down! We are deviating from our topic of discussion!" he exclaimed.

As he scanned the faces of the men gathered around the table, his gaze fell on a disinterested figure sitting in a corner. The man's brown mustache drooped over his lip, and he seemed completely detached from the ongoing debate. The bald man couldn't help but sigh at the lack of engagement from the brown-mustached man, as the stakes of their conversation were high, and time was running out.

The heated argument resumed and the bald man presiding over the meeting had to intervene. He took a deep breath and bellowed, "Everybody, please! Calm down! We have received intel that Schmidt has abducted Dr. Abraham Erskine, and he is going to be sent to a concentration camp."

All eyes turned towards him as he continued, "We also have received intel that Dr. Erskine has developed some sort of serum that was forcefully taken by Schmidt which gave him unimaginable strength, speed, etc. Since Dr. Erskine is being sent to a concentration camp, we have to rescue him and make him develop the serum for us."

The gravity of the situation hung heavy in the air, and every military and government official in attendance nodded in agreement. The man cleared his throat and continued, "Now, we have spies among the enemy forces, but we need someone to retrieve Dr. Erskine and bring him out from the enemy's base. So, we need to decide who we need to send for this classified mission."

The mention of this top-secret mission sparked a frenzy of excitement, and the military and government officials began to advocate for their best agents to be chosen. Tempers flared as they argued and pushed their candidates forward, all eager to gain military credit for the mission's success.

The brown-mustached man sat in the corner, lost in thought as he reminisced about a past encounter. The memory took him back to a time in Los Angeles when he was demonstrating a prototype of a Vibranium shield. The audience was rapt with attention until an old man interrupted his flirting with a blonde. The brown-mustached man was ready to dismiss the old man but stopped when he recognized him.

"Mr. Stark? If I could have a word—" the old man greeted him warmly.

Howard Stark laughed and shook the man's hand. "Colonel Philips! What are you doing sulking in the shadows? The show's just getting started."

Philips and Howard talked for a while before the former showed the latter footage from the Spanish Civil War. It depicted HYDRA weapons and vehicles attacking rebels, and a German soldier in an advanced exoskeleton suit. Philips explained that the government believed war with Germany was imminent.

Howard dismissed the idea, "But... we're not at war with Germany."

"The consensus in the White House and the War Department is that this is a temporary condition," Philips replied, his face troubled.

Later, Howard was driving his expensive car with Colonel Philips seated beside him. Howard declined the offer to join the Strategic Scientific Reserve to fight HYDRA instantly when suddenly their car was ambushed by assassins firing guns.

* BANG *

"Shit!" Philips cursed as he fired back with his revolver.

Howard swerved the car with ease, making it difficult for Philips to aim.

"Calm down, Colonel!" Howard laughed.

"I can't aim accurately! Stop swerving!" Philips shouted as he tried to grab onto the handrest to steady himself.

"Why so serious, Colonel? Just press the button under the handrest," Howard said as he hit the other vehicle.

Philips pressed the button, and two missiles fired from the back of the car.

* BOOM *

The assassins' vehicle exploded into flames, leaving Philips in shock. He turned to Howard, who was smiling, and said, "I think I might join you guys. This is the most fun I've had in months."

...

Howard's face contorted in disgust as he scrunched his nose, clearly disappointed by the situation. "This wasn't the fun I was expecting," he groaned, voicing his frustration as he found himself staring at a table surrounded by older men in military uniforms and not a single young, attractive woman in sight.

The tense atmosphere in the room was palpable as Colonel Philips stood up from his seat, his military uniform exuding authority. He fixed his intimidating gaze on the officials in front of him, daring them to challenge his decision. "This is the mission of the Strategic Scientific Reserve," he barked, "Only my agents will be allowed on this mission! Case closed!" His words left no room for argument and the officials present could only grit their teeth in frustration.

One of the military officials couldn't resist asking, "Who will be going on this mission, Colonel Philips?"

The colonel's eyes flicked over to him and he replied, "Agent 13!"

The room erupted in protests, with one official shouting out, "But she's a woman!"

Colonel Philips fixed him with a disgusted look and retorted, "Yes, she is a woman who has delivered us more information about the enemy forces than you will ever read in your reports."

Despite his unwavering support for Agent 13, Colonel Philips did allow for one more individual to join the mission. He turned to the man standing behind him, who handed him a stack of reports. As he perused them, one name caught his eye. "Details, Norman!" he demanded.

Norman read out the details with precision, "Stationed at Camp Lehigh, returned from Operation Dynamo, 158 German soldiers killed, destroyed two German bombers, rescued 89 British Naval soldiers, casualties zero!"

Colonel Philips nodded his head in approval, "I heard this kid's name from Ashton a year ago. Looks like he wasn't exaggerating."

Norman couldn't resist asking, "Are we picking him, Sir?"

The colonel replied with a nod, "An orphan with no immediate family. He is perfect for not being a liability and can be silenced if he saw something that he shouldn't have seen. Moreover, we need a meat shield in case Agent 13 and Dr. Erskine are compromised."

As Norman took the file and walked away, the name on the cover became visible under the light.

"Ian Westbrook."

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