A/N : We enter the third act. Buckle up.
Soo, I actually prepared two consecutive chapters, back-to-back, but I haven't proofread the latter one. I plan to publish this chapter next week, but this chapter is so, so fun to write so I'm just going to release it now haha. Take it as a bonus from me.
Thx for Gabriel Perseus Potter and Snapesucks for the continuous support. I also edited the mistake in chapter 10.
As always, reviews are appreciated !
02.46. Estate of Alexander Pierce, Secretary of World Security Council
Pierce was used to receiving guests in the middle of the night. He wasn't that bothered.
Not that he wouldn't tell people about the importance of respecting an elder's resting time. But he could not possibly let his guests talk about HYDRA related things during the noon. It wasn't the proper time. Besides, Pierce started to grow old and he needed much less rest compared to his younger self. He could do more things at night.
Arriving at the large living room (which he designed by himself, by the way), Pierce took a look at the visitor from the CCTV screen inside the living room. Outside his estate by the gate was a figure that Pierce started to become familiar with.
Damijan ? Why would he visit Pierce at night ? Shouldn't he lay low for now ? That kid just pulled a high-profiled assassination.
"What's the matter ?" Pierce said through the intercom. Damijan then leaned forward to talk to the microphone just outside the gate.
"I need to talk to you. It's about Fury. I know who his accomplices are." Damijan whispered.
Now, that was something worthy to be discussed. Pierce needed to know. He already knew one, Rogers, and he planned to frame Rogers into a sort of murder conspiracy. But, a few accomplices ? That was troublesome. Apparently HYDRA wasn't leak proof after all. Pierce needed to cover the leaks, cover them just enough until the project was launched.
"Come in." Pierce said. From the security control panel next to the screen, he opened the front gate and the house's main front door. As soon as Pierce heard Damijan's footsteps echoing through the massive living room, and Damijan's figure was inside, Pierce shut down the doors. Pierce walked towards Damijan.
"We met a lot recently, didn't we ?" Pierce said, smiling, extending his hand to Damijan.
"It was not unwelcome, Sir." Damijan said, grinning too, shaking Pierce's hand. Pierce gestured his hand to Damijan to sit down on one of the couches in the living room, while Pierce walked to the kitchen.
"Now seat down in the living room, and let me fetch you the bloody delicious milk. I'm sure - " Pierce's sentence was cut short by a sudden hit to the back of his head. The sharp pain only lasted a few milliseconds, for after that Pierce only saw black, unconscious.
Slowly, Pierce opened his eyes. The darkness, the void, once clouded him, now unraveled.
As a man whose life always indulged in danger, his first instinct to every danger was to assess. Assess, process, decide.
The first thing he felt was the rough rope circling his wrists, placed on his back. The tie was so tight, Pierce could feel the blood on his arms clogged up, unable to reach the hands. He tried to move his hands and his delicate fingers, but he almost felt nothing; as if he never had fingers. He then took a look at his legs, and found that his legs were also tied equally tight. Seriously , why did this guy tie everything so tight ?
He assessed the room where he was. It was his study room. Looking around, his gaze landed on Damijan, now behind Pierce's working desk. He seemed to already have access to Pierce's files, which also included confidential HYDRA files. Pierce regretted upgrading his security to biometrics; probably the reason why Damijan managed to open his computer. Pierce used to have passwords longer than 15 characters and he never forgot any of his passwords.
He involuntarily opened his mouth to breathe, but then he realized that his mouth was taped. Taped not by a single layer, but a few. It really restricted Pierce's mouth movement. He tried to wiggle his mouth and jaw, left right and up and down. However, the tape was too strong. The only sound that he was able to produce was an incomprehensible mumbling. However, that sound was enough to catch Damijan's attention. Damijan turned his head to Pierce, head a bit tilted to the side, as to show his wonderment.
"Really, Pierce ? After the warning from the Baron ? You just let me talk with you alone ?" Damijan said, before returning back to the computer.
Fuck, Pierce thought. He should have taken notice of the Baron's warning much more seriously. Although, to be fair, Pierce never saw anyone betray HYDRA. Oh, no, no. HYDRA was always the treacherous one. It was almost the law of nature. A truth equivalent to biblical truths.
The deed was done however, now it was his time to do something.
First, Pierce needed to figure out the reason. He did not know why Damijan decided to betray HYDRA. Pierce knew about Damijan's involvement with Simone, but then again Pierce spent a lot of his time with Fury, especially, and the boy scout Rogers. Never Pierce was tempted nor affected to abandon his ideals and join those bands of cowards. Shouldn't that also be the case for Damijan ?. His kill counts should already numb Damijan down, making him an obedient puppet. Yet, sometimes humans have amazing will. Pierce's undercover work inside SHIELD and WSC for decades was undeniable proof itself.
Maybe it was personal ? Something to do with Rafael's involvement in Project Insight ? If that was so, then ensuring Rafael's safety would surely be enough to convince Damijan to come back to HYDRA's side, right ? One simply did not kill his friend's family. Pierce realized that he had not talked about that possibility with Zola, the creator of the algorithm for the Project Insight. Now this problem had already bit Pierce back. But, this was a problem which could be resolved. HYDRA always had enough time.
If Pierce could not convince Damijan to return back to HYDRA, the last resort was to let Pierce's advanced, voice-activated home security systems do its job. Let the Sokovian bastard die. All Pierce needed to do was a simple shout to the system, and bye bye.
Once again, Pierce tried to wiggle his way out of the bondage, wiggling his body and jaws, but it was too hard. Too tight. So he surrendered, preserving energy should he find a better way to escape, but he kept staring at Damijan. Damijan was still focused on the computer for a few minutes, before finally taking out his flash drive out of the computer's port.
"And… done." Damijan said, a smug smile on his face. Damijan looked at Pierce, realizing that Pierce had tried to say something to Damijan.
"Oh, you want to talk ?" Damijan said. Damijan then pulled his phone from his pocket, and punched on a button. A sound, sort of an explosion, could be heard from the first floor. Suddenly the room went dark; all the lights were off, including Pierce's computer. That also meant Pierce's security system was also down. Shit, there went Pierce's last plan.
"I just cut the electricity down. I know you installed something inside this house. Now, it's just between me and you. And God, if you believe one." Damijan said. It took time for Pierce to adjust his sight with the room's darkness, but he could see the silhouette of Damijan moving from behind the desk towards Pierce. Then he felt a warm finger on his check, grabbing the edge of the tape, before the tape was ripped apart from Pierce.
Ouch. That hurted.
"When the Baron said your loyalty is questionable, I don't think it's this questionable." Pierce chuckled. He moved his lips left and right in relief after the tape was released.
"Oh, really ? I'm flattered. No one ever leaves HYDRA on this side of the world ?" Damijan asked.
"Nope. Oh a few did, but you know… we kill them. A job that fits your kind. So, what's the deal with the sudden betrayal ?" Pierce asked.
"Project Insight, of course. Can't let that happen." Damijan answered.
"You know they are necessary, right ?" Pierce asked nonchalantly.
"Twenty million does not sound necessary." Damijan answered.
"C'mon Damijan, two people, twenty people, two thousand, twenty millions, does it matter ? They are just statistics. What are the differences in the end ?" Pierce asked. Damijan did not answer. Instead, he sat himself in front of Pierce, cross-legged.
"Come to think of it, It's never your concern, right ? It does not matter to you about the number. Never. The assassination of Villalobos, 2 people. Your part in the Sokovian civil war ? Thousands ? You'll do your job anyway. So why now ?" Pierce continued. Still no answer. So the answer was not about some (rubbish) altruistic motivations. Pierce went with the second guess.
"Oh….then it's all about your brother, right ? You'll go through hell to keep him safe. You know what ? Your brother's safe. Hell, we even let you take him by yourself. He'll live. Isn't that good enough for you ?" Pierce said.
"And you think living under HYDRA's rule is a life ? Are you seriously that brainwashed ?" Damijan asked.
"It's safe at least. Good, bad, it's just about ways to perceive things. But safe ? Peace ? Objective. Measurable. No more wars. No more necessary conflicts. We just need the courage to make the sacrifice. Damijan, I know you know much better than me about wars. A man like me never feels it. You grew inside one. You know you'll do anything to prevent one from happening again, both to you and Rafael." Pierce said.
A part of Pierce's speech, he did not know which one, seemed to ignite Damijan. In an instant, Damijan jumped out from his position, his hand reaching Pierce's collar. Pierce felt the force from Damijan's hand as he was pulled up from his kneeling position and pushed on his collars behind, then his back hit the wall so hard that Pierce thought Damijan may have broken one or two bones in Pierce's body. Damijan then hissed, his furious face, only inches from Pierce' face, visible to Pierce despite the darkness.
"Mlakar promised the same thing you promised ! The same thing HYDRA always promised. He ended up slaughtering his people, MY family, because that fucker was afraid he'd lose his control over us. I was a part of it, both as a victim and as a perpetrator, and DON'T you ever think I'm not sick of what I've done. I never buy what you preach, and I'm sick of hearing it." Damijan said furiously, then spat violently at Pierce's face. Pierce's reflex was to close his eyes, feeling the sticky saliva running down his face. He felt the pressure on his collar loosen up, as Damijan released his grasp on Pierce's collar. Pierce's body fell back to the kneeling position, Damijan now stood tall in front of Pierce.
Ah, now it all made sense to Pierce.
"So you are never loyal." Pierce said, realizing Damijan's allegiance all along now. Pierce looked up to Damijan. In darkness, Damijan nodded.
"Never. I'm always at my own side. You can't convince me otherwise." Damijan said. Damijan then pulled his gun out of the holster, taking a few bullets from his utility bag and slowly loaded them into his gun.
Pierce was not ready to die. He built Project Insight from the beginning. Although, to be fair, the idea was not even his. It was the council's. He just capitalized on such a brilliant idea to conduct a massacre. That only convinced Pierce much more about the nature of humans; of the need to eliminate fears and threats right to its core. It was all natural; HYDRA just took it to another level.
If Pierce was to die, his last wish was to see the project launched and HYDRA, after decades of hiding, rise once again. The wish of seeing his vision of total peace come true.
Damijan aimed the gun at Pierce's forehead, the gun's muzzle on Pierce's wrinkled skin.
"Last offer, Damijan. Go back to Europe. Live with Rafael. You've done enough for HYDRA, I can convince the Baron to discharge you. Letting you both live life how you want it, as long as you keep your mouth shut. Let's keep this conversation between both of us." Pierce offered Damijan, looking into Damijan's eyes. Damijan looked a bit hesitant after Pierce's offer, but then he seemed to have resolved his doubt as he unlocked the gun's safety lock.
"No. I've had enough with HYDRA's shits." Damijan said. Pierce sighed.
This was it. No shaking down the guy. The end for Pierce.
"Then let me tell you something, Damijan. A last confession. I have no more interest in lying, trust me. Project Insight, ah…. Did you know that launching three helicarriers up in the sky wasn't even my idea ?" Pierce said to Damijan, laughing. Damijan was silent for quite a while.
"Spill". Damijan then said. Pierce continued his confession.
"It was the council that pointed it out first. Hell, maybe Fury already came up with it before me ! A big opportunity which I used for HYDRA. Preemptive protection, they said, my ass ! You see their similarity with us ? HYDRA only took it steps further, and we're much more honest about it. We don't sugarcoat things. And, in the end, when the world sees you as a threat, when they cannot control you anymore, you'll be taken down. Just like HYDRA will take you down." Pierce stopped a bit, letting his words be understood by Damijan. Then he continued.
"You win this time, Damijan. But, I warn you, cut off one head and two more shall take its place. You know that, right ? You really, really should reconsider the way you approach things." Pierce ended his villainous monologue, smiling. In his head, he could imagine a thousand and one ways Damijan would be captured and tortured by HYDRA. A comfort in Pierce's end of life; knowing that no matter the hurdles and challenges, even from its inside, HYDRA would always be victorious. That his vision of peace would be accomplished. Pierce had played his part wonderfully. He was finally peaceful in the face of death.
Damijan just shrugged.
"I'll die trying. Any last word ?" Damijan asked, pushing his gun further to Pierce's forehead. Pierce's face turned into a loathsome grin.
"Hail HYDRA."
02.56. Residence of Sitwell.
Sitwell was roughly awakened by the ringtone of his phone. So rough that his left arm was thrown wildly, knocking out his favorite mug which was put on the bed's nightstand. A superstitious person would call it a bad omen, but Sitwell did not believe in superstition.
Right ?
It took Sitwell a split of a second to hear the ringtone clearly. The special ringtone. One that he reserved only for calls from Pierce. The important channel. It was almost a natural reflex for Sitwell to respond to calls from Pierce, so important it broke through Sitwell's well planned sleep cycle.
From his bed, he took the phone from the top of the night stand and answered it. His eyelids were still halfway open. He was particularly sleepy that night.
"Pierce ?" Sitwell said. Suddenly his eyelids were now open. Something was not right. It wasn't Pierce at the end of the line.
"Yes, yes it's me, Sitwell. Who are you ? Why do -". A bit of silence. Sitwell then jumped out the bed, pacing briskly inside the bedroom, while the guy on the phone talked. His sleepiness soon was replaced by anxiety.
"Do you have any tip on these guys ?" Sitwell asked the caller. He then sat himself on the bed, taking his round glasses and putting them on, his left hand rubbing his bald forehead which started to sweat.
"How bad, again ?" Sitwell asked, his voice high.
"Okay, okay, I'll send it soon ! God damn it !" Sitwell said. He then rushed to his wardrobe, opening it, scrambling to find his working suit. After finding it in a mere second or two, he then tried his best to put his suit on while his phone was trapped between his right shoulder and his right ear.
"What ?!" Sitwell screamed. Black trousers were already put on. He grabbed the phone with his right hand. Sitwell went for the jacket.
"What does it have to do with Pierce ?!" Sitwell asked, screaming again. Black jacket, done. Now the ties and shoes. He sandwiched the phone back between his right shoulder and his right ear, clumsily reaching out for his ties and shoes.
"All right, all right !" Sitwell screamed through the phone. Then the phone was hung up. Ties and shoes were put on. Sitwell was ready to go. He took a deep breath, released it, took another one and released it again. He needed to calm down.
Things had gotten out of control real fast. Just in a day. How could this happen ?
Sitwell quickly called Rumlow.
"Rumlow, we have a breach. Pierce is dead. Prepare the asset, send it to Damijan, he's hunting down the killers. The boy, take him to the airport, and launch the plane as soon as possible. We can't lose the package too; it's a special delivery for the Baron. I'll meet you at Pierce's estate." Sitwell screamed through the phone, then hung it up. Sitwell then rushed out of his bedroom to exit his house, his steps large and wide.
What a very disastrous morning.
A few minutes later. A secret rendezvous point.
Standing in front of Damijan , covered by the darkness of the night, was the Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier's face described his state completely; emotionless, no signs of smile or frown, but the eyes were sharp, ready to hunt and kill. Alongside him were a few bags of arsenals, all equally lethal.
Nice. The first part of the plan is complete : getting the Winter Soldier to Damijan's side. Damijan was extremely relieved. It was easy to convince Sitwell to release the asset; Damijan told Sitwell that he found Pierce dead, and Damijan was chasing the killers. For the first time after a while, he genuinely smiled.
"Soldier, have you received the order ?" Damijan spoke, trying his best to speak in an eloquent Russian. Languages weren't his forte.
"To hunt the killers." The Winter Soldier said.
"Very good, very good." Damijan said.
"Now, the problem, soldier, is that the killers are among us. I am the only one who knows about their identities. I can't trust anyone, but I can trust you because you're a good soldier. We're going to go against our comrades. Can you do that ? Can you do exactly what I tell you to do ?" Damijan asked.
"да." The Winter Soldier replied, firmly.
"Good. Keep it that way. Let's go." Damijan said, started to move towards his next destination, while the Winter Soldier followed close behind with bags of weapons on his back.
Estate of Alexander Pierce. Minutes after Damijan's distress call.
Bad. Just bad. Totally bad. Indescribably fucked up.
That summed up what happened inside the estate of Pierce.
Sitwell and the STRIKE team, led by Rumlow, rushed to Pierce's estate right after the distress call from Damijan. Damijan said the killers were all gone from the estate and he was on his way to chase them, but Sitwell still brought the STRIKE team alongside him for safety measures.
The electricity in the house was shut down. No lights were on, the estate was wholly dark. It meant that the security system inside the house, connected directly to both SHIELD HQ and HYDRA base, was also shut down. That was probably why Sitwell did not see any raised alarms. That was probably why Damijan broke into Pierce's estate earlier. According to one of the guards in the base, Damijan wanted to talk to Pierce about Fury.
The STRIKE team forcefully entered the house, first by breaking in the main gate to the yard, and then breaking into the house through the main door. The doors weren't easy to break; the security system may have locked all doors in the house, some sort of response from it being shut down. After arriving at the main living room, Sitwell and Rumlow rushed to the study room on the second floor, where Damijan found Pierce's body. The STRIKE team was split; some went to survey the other parts of the house, while some were tasked to turn on the electricity, which would also turn on the security systems automatically.
Sitwell nearly tripped at the stairs due to the darkness inside the house, his guide was various flashlights from the STRIKE team behind him and his own flashlight. Reaching the second floor, Sitwell quickly turned left on the hall, entering the first room on the left. If Sitwell's memory served him correctly, it was Pierce's study room.
Sitwell was the first one to enter the room. When he entered the dark room, he found a corpse-like shaped object on the floor, and he directed his phone flashlight to it. Sitwell found Pierce's body on the floor, leaning on the wall of the study room. Sitwell then directed the flashlight to the head. An open wound from the bullet ran from the forehead through Pierce's head to its back. The impact of a bullet can be seen behind Pierce's head, a small crack on the wall. Inside the crack was a bullet, lodging itself on the wall.
Then the lamp was turned on throughout the estate. The electricity was restored.
Sitwell was blinded with the sudden burst of light filling the room. When he opened his eyes again, his sight now was directed to the wall where Pierce's body leant on. Sitwell gasped and quickly closed his mouth with his left hand, the one not holding the flashlight.
On the wall was a trace of red-colored liquid, presumably Pierce's blood. The trace formed a letter, and then a letter, and then another letter, and after a few more letters, they all finally formed a full sentence.
SHIELD IS HYDRA
"My god…." Rumlow said from Sitwell's side. Sitwell did not react, still entirely shocked with the recent turn of events. When Damijan said bad, Sitwell did not think it was that bad. There was only one conclusion : Someone knew about HYDRA, and they tried to blow off the cover.
Rumlow quickly went closer to Pierce's body, kneeled down, his gloved hands touching Pierce's neck, checking for any vital signs. After a few seconds, he turned towards Sitwell, face resigned.
"He's dead." Rumlow said. Sitwell did not respond. Whatever level headedness he usually had at dangerous times was drained out. Sitwell's face went pale. He started to feel pounding in his head; it banged his head so hard, he felt that he could not stand further.
"Rumlow, I think I'm going to pass… out." Sitwell said, his body started to become unbalanced, tumbling left and right. Rumlow quickly stood up, went behind Sitwell, then pulled one of the chairs in the room and put it right behind Sitwell before putting both his hands on Sitwell's shoulders and forced Sitwell to sit down. Sitwell's eyes were still wide, eyes fixed on the writing on the wall, terrified of the sight.
"Jackson, go get some water !" Rumlow screamed towards the outside of the room, screamed to one of his subordinates, and soon stomping voices could be heard from the hall outside the study room. From inside his jacket, Sitwell pulled out a handkerchief, and he started wiping out the oozing sweat from his forehead.
Then, shortly after that, Sitwell's phone rang. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. It was from Taylor, the STRIKE lieutenant responsible for delivering the Baron's package to the airfield. What again ?!
"Taylor -" Sitwell said, answering the phone, but his sentence was cut short as he heard high-pitched scream from the phone.
"Attacked ?! Who ?!" Sitwell said. Sitwell was now on the edge again; his left hand gripping the chair hard, tense, as if Sitwell's life depended on it.
"What do you - How can - Taylor ? Taylor ?!" Sitwell said, then the phone was cut off after a sound of explosion could be heard from the other side of the phone.
"God damn it !" Sitwell screamed with all the might he could muster, finally losing all his coolness. He then proceeded to throw his cell phone as powerful as he could across the room, hitting one of the bookshelves in the study. The cell phone then broke the bookshelf's glass door, shattering it into pieces.
"Sitwell, calm the fuck down ! Jackson, where's the fucking water !?" Rumlow screamed as soon as he saw Sitwell throw his phone. He quickly went to Sitwell's position and again, putting his hands on Sitwell's shoulders, pressing and squeezing it hard, trying to calm Sitwell down. Sitwell's body violently shaking, sweat uncontrollably profuse from throughout his body.
"Captain, I got the water !" One of the subordinates screamed from outside the study room.
"Go here !" Rumlow called. The man entered the room, then gave Rumlow a bottle of water. Rumlow hushed the guy out, then he opened the bottle and gave it to Sitwell. Sitwell, at the sight of the water, quickly snatched it out of Rumlow's hand. So hastily that water spilled out from the top of the bottle.
Sitwell greedily took two big gulps of the water. By the time his lips were parted from the bottle's mouth, his breath became more controlled. Sitwell took a deep breath, drank the water a gulp or two much more slowly, then he pulled the bottle from his lips again.
He drank and breathed and drank and breathed. When the bottle water was a quarter full, Sitwell's heavy breathing had gone, his body had stopped shaking. He was much more collected and calmer. Seeing that Sitwell had calmed down, Rumlow asked the question he wanted to ask from earlier.
"Sitwell, tell me what the fuck happened with Taylor." Rumlow said. Sitwell was hesitant to tell the truth; his lips were open, but no words came out from his mouth. After a few seconds, Sitwell finally spoke.
"The package. It was taken. By Damijan and the asset." Sitwell said, head gazing down in resignation. Only now that Rumlow could know how grave the situation was. They were backstabbed. Hard.
Inside the estate's security room, Sitwell played this particular CCTV tape for a few seconds, then the tape stopped. He then pressed the backwards button for a few seconds and played it again. It then stopped again. He then did it again and again.
What he played in looping was the last part of the last security tape inside Pierce's estate that night. The tape (through the screen of course) showed the study room, seconds before the system was shut down. On the right side of the screen was Damijan, the backstabbing shit, using Pierce's computer, probably transferring some data to a sort of flash drive. On the left side of the screen was Pierce, still alive, wiggling, trying to escape the bondage that bounded him. It seemed that Damijan already got the data that he wanted, for he then ejected the flash drive from the port and then pulled out his phone. He touched a button on his phone, and the tape finished.
Sitwell already saw what happened previously. He saw how Pierce opened the door for Damijan, how Damijan then hit Pierce on the back of Pierce's head. How Damijan tied Pierce, bringing him upstairs to the study. How Damijan managed to attach a sort of device to the house's electrical system, which he then overloaded a few minutes later by a single push of a button.
Yet, the last seconds of the tape weighed Sitwell the most. It was the seconds of Pierce's death. Sitwell was next in line of the command. As a contingency plan, should Pierce fail to do his execution of Project Insight, Sitwell was appointed as Pierce's replacement to continue the plan, while the leadership of HYDRA was to be directed to Daniel Whitehall, another high-ranked HYDRA agent.
So, officially, Sitwell was now a leader of the project.
Sitwell was scared, to be honest. He could manage dangerous situations, but he was never prepared for being backstabbed. Loyalty was so natural to HYDRA members, that the idea of treachery never popped in his head.
Worse, in no unsuspicious way could he directly influence the WSC to continue Project Insight. Sitwell's clearance was, well, below that of Pierce's. Sitwell was confused; he did not know where to start. He did not know what he should do next. Having Pierce by his side at this moment, giving advice on what he should do, would be really helpful.
But, he knew that he could not appear weak and unplanned. He was a HYDRA agent, dammit, he should be prepared for anything. He had to be ready. For HYDRA's sake.
Sitwell looked around him, seeing a few STRIKE members filling the office, the small office too stuffed. Sitwell needed time to collect himself.
"I need to speak to Rumlow. Alone." Sitwell said to the officers inside the room.
"You heard him." Rumlow said. The rest of the officers quickly leave the room. After the last officers left the room, Rumlow quickly closed the door to the office. He then stared at Sitwell, whose clothes were in a disarray after the fit he threw earlier; there were a few buttons of Sitwell's now wrinkled black jacket. His ties were crooked, and so the frame of Sitwell's glasses a bit. Rumlow gave Sitwell a sympathetic glance.
Silence. Calm. The only sound made was the ticking sound of the clock on the wall, beating like a heartbeat. It was meditative to Sitwell.
"You know that you're next in the command, right ?" Rumlow asked, breaking the long silence. Sitwell huffed.
"I know." Sitwell replied.
"Are you ready ?" Rumlow asked again. Sitwell straightened his jacket, his ties and his glasses, finding a new fiery determination in himself. He could do it.
"Must be." Sitwell said, smiled weakly at Rumlow. Sitwell was ready.
Or was he ?
A few moments later, a pinging sound could be heard in the room. It was from Sitwell's phone. Sitwell opened his phone to see the sender. A message from, Damijan ? What the hell ?
Game on.
Below the single-lined message was a link to a website Sitwell never heard of before. Quickly Sitwell followed through the link to the image. What he saw horrified him.
It was the photo of the murder scene, still in dark. Probably captured by Damijan, seconds after the murder. The lower part of the photo, which probably contained Pierce's death figure, was blurred, but Pierce's blonde hair wasn't blurred. A man smart enough could match that hair with Pierce's hair and made the connection.
The middle and the upper part of the image contained the cursed writing. The writing in red , written on the white wall of the study. SHIELD IS HYDRA. The writing was highlighted by the camera's flashlight, the light reflecting off the smeared blood on the wall.
Shit, was this image public ?
"Fuck." Sitwell exclaimed, thinking about the disastrous PR issues he had to deal with in the next few hours.
A.n. So yeah, Winter Soldier is now under Damijan's command, at the cost of Damijan's element of surprise. Will it last ?
Stay tuned and again, reviews !