December 31st 1941, West Virginia
Despite the dark days that were ahead New Year celebrations were going on without a hitch. It seems the horrible reality of war and imminent invasion has spurred on everyone to party and drink as much as they could. At first, I was opposed to throwing a party in one of our family estates but I had to go on with it after my mother put her foot down. Plus it was an open party for anyone looking to let loose so it was a lot less formal. With the war and everything, I guess everyone was more than happy for some loosening of social decorum.
An informal party like this one was bound to spill out of control which was what happened. I had no complaints as many of the participants of the party were bound to join the army and navy. I would not stand on their way if they wanted to kick back and relax this day. Those guys would really need that with what I know was waiting for them in Europe, Africa and Japan.
Already war was declared against Nazi-Germany and her so-called Axis allies. I knew it was only a matter of time but I still found it preposterous for Hitler to do something monumentally stupid like that. Although, I could somewhat understand that Nazi pig's reasoning especially after the extensive military contracts Price Industries received both foreign and domestic. The amount of military material being handed out to the Soviet Union and the British Empire under the Lend-lease strategy of President Roosevelt was off the charts. It was one thing to read the numbers in a spreadsheet but it was quite another when you actually become part of something monumental and historic.
Just last week alone Price Industries had to hire an extra hundred workers into aircraft production. For the first time since depression hit the United States the demand for labour was quite high especially skilled labour. The reason for the extra labour came from the abrupt order of twenty PDA-01 and PBA-01 by the US government. Not mention the fifty PDA-01 order that came from Britain of all places. Canada and Australia were going to be boosting up RAF presence to deal with Japan's attack on Hong Kong, Singapore and other British holdings in the Pacific not to mention the Dutch colonial holdings.
"Why are you brooding all by yourself?"
I turned around to find David Smith one of my childhood friends who have yet to sign up with the army owing to his bad leg.
"I was just waiting for you to show up." I said as I pulled a chair close to the table that I was sitting in.
"Took some time to make it here as you can guess and I am not alone." said David as he took the seat. A black-haired petite woman was suddenly behind David and I stood up to greet an old friend and classmate who moved out of the state lately.
"Oh! Never knew you were back in town Mary." I greeted her with a hug which she was quick to return.
"My brothers are signing up and David popped the question so here I am." said Mary flashing an engagement ring.
"And you never told me!" I zeroed in on my childhood friend who merely raised an eyebrow.
"If you remember I did call you last week but you were busy which I totally understand by the way."
"Huh, so that's what was going on. Anyway, to a happy marriage." I raised a glass of champagne in a toast.
"To happy marriage."
The three of them drained the champagne and exploded into laughter.
"So what about you Nathan? Anyone caught your eye yet? If not just tell me as I got a lot of friends in California." asked Mary with a wink.
"Oh don't bother with that. Nathan here had a crush on one of his professor's daughter. It didn't end well for the girl or my pal here." said David with a snicker.
"Have you been drinking because you have a loose mouth, my dear friend?" I glared at David.
"This, I did not know. Tell me more." Mary insisted to her fiancé.
"Well, he had this professor in college named Eric Claperman. He had two daughters and Nathan was attracted to one named Gwen. The problem was Gwen had an identical twin, Adriana, which we didn't know. Long story short he slept with them both by mistake and then they found out which turned into a nasty business."
"What! What kind of story is that?" Mary asked incredulously
"Hey, this is as real as it can get. Anyway, then Professor Claperman found out and he was not happy. The guy took both his daughters to England the next year." said David before he snatched another glass of champagne and drained it in one go.
"Oh, you poor thing. You must have been heartbroken." said Mary patting the back of my hand.
"Nah, I forgot about all of that. I do date occasionally but don't expect me to commit and the woman won't be disappointed." I said as I leaned back and took a sip of my champagne.
"Any news from your brothers?" asked David
"They are still serving with the Eagle Squadron as far as I know. But communication has been practically cut off with Japan's attack. The Germans are carrying out U-boat attacks on our ships. Sailing the Atlantic and Pacific is a death wish for any ships without an escort." I said grimly.
"The war is getting harsher isn't it?" David asked in a whisper.
"We lost the Wake Island a few days ago. Those honourless barbarians are winning against us." whispered Mary heatedly and I withheld a sigh. With war picking up propaganda was rising up and with it hatred for all of Japan. If the public opinion about the Japanese was worse before the attack on Pearl Harbour now it was at an all-time high. Frankly, if people saw a Japanese guy on the street then the guy will be lucky if his bones will be left for his family to bury.
"For the time being my love. Soon our navy and army will give them a fight that they will never forget." said David with a vigour that frankly surprised me. Normally my friend was a calm and chilled sort of guy but if even he was feeling this vengeful then the propaganda pieces were really doing its work far too well.
"You are right. Japan will be paying a steep price when we finish this war." I said absently and wasn't that the truth. Even Germany never got the kind of reckoning Japan received. The sheer scale of destruction that my country unleashed on the Asian island nation was unprecedented in human history.
Although, I had to admit it was something the Empire deserved for the kind of genocide they committed in China and Korea. In the end, what goes around, comes around, there's no doubt about it. Maybe not immediately, but eventually, it will. What happened to Japan and Russia in the other history I knew was proof of that and I strongly believed this will happen here as well.
"Nathan." Called my father "Come here, son. I want you to meet someone."
"Excuse me. I will be right back." I said to my friends before I made my way over to my father.
"Come here, son. I want you to meet a personal friend of mine Colonel Chester Phillips, United States Army. One of the bravest man I know."
It would be good to say that my heart literally stopped pumping blood for a full minute because before me stood Tommy Lee Jones. It was truly jarring to act indifferently when I was in front of a movie star of my previous world. This more than anything clued me in to the fact that perhaps the universe was following the movie timeline. Although, that was a giant leap of assumption for me to make for a million reasons. Noticing that I was being a little creepy by starting at the Colonel I quickly shook hands with the guy.
"I am Nathan Price sir. It is an honour to meet you, Colonel."
"Saw your pictures when you were young son. Glad to meet you face to face." said the Colonel.
"How do you find West Virginia so far?"
"Quite alright. Although, I have to say that the mood is more light compared to Washington." said Colonel Phillips
"Nathan, Colonel is here on some business. He wants to talk to you in private." said my father with a meaningful look. There ended all the small talk and things got serious.
A few minutes later I was pouring a glass of whisky for the colonel in a private room. I took a seat opposite to the colonel interested in the conversation that was about to follow.
"I will cut straight to the matter at hand. We tested your planes and I have to say that they outperform every aircraft employed in the army and navy." said the Colonel which surprised me.
"The Ordnance Department and the Army tested our planes that fast?" I asked in surprise.
"No. Not them. Have you ever heard about an organisation called the Strategic Scientific Reserve?" Colonel Phillips asked.
I never knew that the SSR was a thing this early on. The SSR was something that I thought would only come to fruition for Project Rebirth. Perhaps I was wrong in that assumption.
"Never heard of it before. Is it a Research and Development wing of the army?" I asked genuinely curious.
"We are not a department within the Army son. The SSR was founded under President Roosevelt by some of the best intelligence officers of the Army and Navy after Europe fell into war. At first, SSR started as an intelligence organization focused on monitoring the situation in Europe. After the fall of France, we have been expanding our operations into Research and Development of new technologies. Right now we get to test defence procurements of both the Army and Navy among other duties."
"Isn't this information supposed to be classified? After all, I am just a civilian."
"The SSR is looking for bright minds to recruit into our arsenal and you son is someone we are interested in. This war will not be like any war we have ever fought. The war with Japan is merely a sideshow son. The real war is with the Nazis and trust me when I say we are in for a hell of a war. We need every scrap of talent and potential to destroy the Nazi war machine before they destroy freedom and democracy around the world." said Colonel Phillips as he leaned back in his chair draining the whisky in his glass in one go.
I knew the danger of Nazis more than anyone. Perhaps the SSR also knew about the dangers of Nazis and they may even know about HYDRA as well.
"I agree with President Roosevelt's Europe first policy. Japan is not an ideological enemy but the Nazis are one. If the Nazis are not contained in Europe they will be a threat that will grow too strong to stop again." I said and straightened in my chair. I realized this was my moment to contribute to the fight for freedom, liberty and fraternity. This was the moment that I could serve my country and the world. "How can I be of service Colonel?"
"We require your skills to enhance several of our projects. The SSR will initiate you into a program for Civilian consultants. You can of course continue your work with your company and you will never mention the SSR to any living soul on this planet. You will not contact us in any manner. We will appoint you a liaison in your company who will open secure communications between you and the SSR. Is that agreeable to you?"
"Yes, Colonel."
"Good. Tomorrow you will get a visit from one miss Emily Gardner. Appoint her as your personal secretary or an aide if you will. A post that will keep her at an arms distance to you will suffice. She will fill you in on what is required of you." said Colonel Phillip before standing up.
"Welcome abroad to the fight Mr Price." Said Colonel Phillip as he and I shook our hands.
"Glad to be in the fight Colonel. God Bless the United States of America."
AN:
helpusobi1kenobi: Nope. Steve Rogers will not get replaced. As I said Captain Liberty will have his own plot separate from Captain America.
Konahrik10: A good advice. I am considering some of the pros and cons.
RandomCoolGuy: The first paragraph is President Roosevelt's speech. Didn't want to change anything as it is a word by word transcription of the original speech.
eaglepirate, Sweets 33, Konahrik10, King Gilgamesh: Hope you guys liked this chapter as well.
Thank you for all of your support. If you guys have any ideas or advice please do share cause I am at a loss on what to do next.