Chapter 2

I walked with Agent Peggy Carter to the line of men Erskine and I have gathered. I smiled when I saw that Rogers was there. He looked so small compared to the other men. I wondered if they have given him a hard time yet.

"Gentlemen, I am Agent Carter and this is Dr. Black. She is an assistant to Dr. Erskine. I supervise all operations of this division."

"What's with the accent, Queen Victoria? Thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army." Some rude soldier said. Weird, I don't remember picking him. Maybe Erskine picked him when I was gone?

"What's your name, soldier?" Peggy asked.

"Gilmore Hodge, your Majesty." Hodge bowed a bit.

"Step forward, Hodge." Peggy commanded and he did so. "Put your right foot forward."

He put his foot out to her and gave a smug grin. Oh yes, please hit this asshole, Peggy.

"Are we dancing? 'Cause I got a few moves I know you'll like." Gimore said with a cocky attitude.

"Bad move, Hodge." I said and as soon as I said it, Peggy swung her fist into his face hard, knocking him to the ground. I walked over to Hodge and gave him an irritated look. "You will respect Agent Carter, soldier. If not, I will remove you from this program. Do you hear me?" He had gotten up and wiped away the blood from his nose. "Do you hear me?" I repeated a bit louder.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He shouted and stood up straight.

"I see you two are breaking in the men." Said a male voice coming from behind us.

"Colonel Phillips!" Peggy saluted.

Phillips walked along the men that stood before him, addressing them. "General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons but they are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best…men…" His voice trailed off and I spotted him looking at Rogers. "…and because they are going to get better, much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man." He stood up in front of the men. "At the end of this week we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super soldiers. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of hell."

"And he just removed the metal parts that were holding the pole straight up. The pole fell to the ground, he grabbed the flag and that was it. He got a ride like he was promised." Peggy told Howard and me.

"He's smarter than all the other men." Howard spoke.

"It's because he knows he can't really do anything physical. So what's the next best option? His mind." I responded as I took a drink of my coffee.

"So, have you and Dr. Abraham decided yet or are there still potentials?" Howard asked me, sitting across from me.

"There are two or three, but I think I have made up my mind." I said and paused for a moment. "I want Rogers to be the one."

"How sweet." Howard teased.

"No really. I think that this would be an amazing choice. I feel like Abraham thinks the same." I crossed my legs and shifted a bit. "Call us idiotic for choosing him, but I know he's the right man."

"How can you be so certain that he won't just waste it?" Howard asked with a frown on his face. "Aren't you and Erskine looking for the perfect soldier?"

"Something just tells me he is. When have a made myself wrong about these gut feelings?" I asked Howard and he gave me a small smile. "Exactly. Also, we are looking for a great man, not just a soldier."

Erskine, Phillips, Carter, and I were together watching as our men were doing pushups, the night before Erskine and I made an agreement to pick Rogers. Erskine had told Phillips about our agreement and he was against it.

"You're not really thinking about picking Rogers, are you?" Phillips asked and I gave him a nod.

"He's the one." I said.

"We are more than just thinking about it. He is the clear choice." Erskine answered.

"When you brought a ninety pound asthmatic onto my army base, I let it slide. I thought what the hell? Maybe he'll be useful to you two, like a gerbil. I never thought you'd pick him." We all looked at Steve who was sweating and having a hard time working out with the others. "Stick a needle in that kids arm and it's gonna go right through him. Look at that? He's making me cry…"

"I am looking for qualities beyond the physical." Erskine added his input.

"Do you know…" Phillips looked over to Abraham. "How long it took to set up this project?"

"Yeah, I know." Erskine said.

"We both know, Colonel Phillips." I added.

"And all the groveling I had to do in front of the senator what's his name." Phillips continued.

"I know. I am well aware of your efforts." Erskine said and made direct eye contact with Phillips.

"Then throw me a bone. Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast, and he obeys orders. He's a soldier." Chester said and looked over at me. "You look like you have something to say."

"He's not a gentleman." I said without hesitation. "He treats women like trash. Roger's has everything we are looking for in a man."

"Hodge is a bully." Erskine added.

"You don't win wars with niceness, Doctors." Phillips muttered out and brought out a fake grenade. "You win war with guts." He threw out the grenade to the men. "Grenade!"

All but one soldier move away quickly. Steve, being the only one who didn't dodge away from the grenade, jumped on top of it. He covered the grenade with his body while pleading to everyone.

"Get away! Get back!" Steve closed his eyes as he embraced his death. Nothing happened. I looked over at Erskine and then back at Rogers. I was overcome by joy and proudness. "Is this a test?" Steve questioned as he sat up, looking over at Erskine and I.

I nodded at Steve and looked over with Erskine to Phillips. Our look confirmed our point about choosing Steve as our man. Phillips knew he was defeated in this argument.

"He's still skinny." He added before he walked off.

I was over in an opened tent, reading a book as I waited for Erskine to call for me. I heard footsteps coming and turned to find it was Steve. I smiled at the man and put my book down.

"May I help you?" I asked.

He was nervous and tried to look at me in the eyes. "I was told by Erskine that you and he have chosen me to be the super soldier."

"Yes, we did." I stood up from my chair, brushing down my skirt. "Is there a problem?"

"No! No…I just wanted to thank you for this opportunity and also to ask you a question." Steve looked to his fingers and then back up at me. "Why?"

"Why what? Why did we choose you?" I asked with a smile on my face. He nodded and I slowly made my way over to him. "I see potential in you. The only thing keeping you from being a tremendous soldier is your body." I pointed at his heart. "This is the man we need. Not some man who only has the muscles and no brain. You are a true man, Steve."

"Thank you Ms. Bl-….Evelyn." Steve corrected himself.

"I do want to thank you, however." I said and made my way back to my seat.

"For what?" Steve asked confusingly.

"For being a gentleman. You know how to treat a woman. That's one of the reasons I chose you." I saw him smile like a boy. "Now, you should be on your way. You have to get sleep for tomorrow's procedure."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Steve saluted and I grinned up at him. "Please, just call me Evelyn and don't treat me like I am superior to you. Think of us as equals, if you must."

Steve brought down his hand and nodded to me. "Alright. Have a good night, Evelyn."

"Goodnight, Steve." I said and opened my book to continue reading. He's such a fine young man. I couldn't help but pray and wonder if things would be alright tomorrow.