Disclaimer: I Own Nothing
"We are on approach" came a voice over the PA on the C-54. Steve gathered his things as the plane descended and landed on the airfield in Turin. It was dark as they opened up the plane and started walking towards a set of vehicles that were waiting for them. They moved fast and were soon on the road towards their safe house for the night so they could head out the next morning. Two cars picked them up leaving Stark to handle getting the equipment on the road for them to start heading the facility, Dernier stayed back in order to help in case they were discovered.
Peggy opened up an envelope that held the invitations to the party, the car came to a stop and they got out and entered a building. The people inside said nothing to them as they were shuttled upstairs to a set of bedrooms and closed in. The rooms were simple with two beds and a small closet, the floors were wooden with a tan wall paper. Steve and Bucky ended up together in one room and took a seat at a desk and turned on the radio to find everything was in Italian. Bucky stood and opened up the closet and pulled out a dinner party suit "I assume that this is yours big guy" Bucky said holding the suit up so Steve could see it. It was a nice suit with a black jacket and black pants with a black tie but more importantly there was a pin on the tie that brandished the red Hydra insignia.
Peggy entered the room and saw them looking over the suit "Good you found it wear that tomorrow morning, the cars will arrive just before sun rise and get us on the road to the facility just in time for the party" she explained grabbing it and putting it back into the closet. "Leave your suit with Stark in the morning we most likely will not have time to come back here and get it" she ordered passing Steve a bag. "I will see the two of you in the morning" she said going back into the hall and closing the door behind her.
Prisoner 214782 sat in his cell watching the guards as they eyed him with a level of fascination he had just woken up from the early morning sun when the guards started their rounds and their boots stomped on the ground waking him up. His hair had grown back since he was taken prisoner a few years earlier but he hadn't seen his family since that day, his mother and father were taken away when they were taken by the Nazi's. His abilities awakened that day, he pulled the gates down as his parents were taken away, they hit him in the head and when he woke up a short man with glasses was looking over him. The scientist who they called Zola ordered that he be sent to Italy for further testing and he had been there ever since, others had been brought in but he was the leader's favorite. The man in charge was Joseph Manfredi who the other prisoners called him Blackwing since that was his codename to his superiors. Manfredi had been coming around more often lately and today was no different, he knew that there was going to be an inspection since the guards had gone out of their way to clean up and look presentable. The door to the cell block opened up and Manfredi walked in, he was tall standing around six foot and four with dark hair and a light stubble on his face. He was wearing some kind of party suit and he looked directly at 214782.
Manfredi approached the cell of his prize test subject, Zola had sent him from one of the concentration camps and he soon became the most powerful of Hydra's "miracles" as he liked to call them. He had seen various men with abilities such as abnormal strength or super human jumping ability but this little boy had more power and ability than any of those men. He could seemingly control metal at his own will and had done very well. Manfredi smiled at the young boy as he looked him over "Tonight I will be hosting a party, the people at this party are looking for progress in my research facility and you get to show them what you can do" he explained. The boy didn't say anything and Manfredi stood up "You will do as I ask or you will suffer the consequences" said Manfredi turning and walking out of the room.
The cars had arrived as scheduled and Steve and the rest of the SSR were on the road well before the sun rose over the horizon. Steve was not liking the suit but he knew he had to wear it if the plan was going to work, he looked in the rear view mirror and could see Peggy in her red evening gown looking over the layout of the house where the party was being held. Stark was dressed as a driver and would be bringing them to the house and then falling back to wait for them to take over the house. Philips and the others had turned off onto a dirt road a few miles back to walk in the rest of the way and strike when Peggy signaled them using a sound emitter invented by Stark that could only be heard using a microphone, once Peggy gave the signal they would move in and take Manfredi into custody. Peggy had received confirmation from her sources that Zola had left the facility a few days prior but also took a large chunk of Manfredi's troops with him most likely to reinforce the Red Skull's own cache of troops. Steve closed his eyes in order to rest for the coming night which would certainly be stressful for him.
Stark woke Steve up as they approached the building they pulled up and parked and Peggy leaned forward and spoke into Steve's ear "Let me do the talking" she said knowing that Steve could not pull off a German accent luckily he fit the bill for a Hydra benefactor thanks to his blonde hair and blue eyes. Stark stopped the car and Steve got out, opening the door for Peggy who latched her arm in his and handed him the invitations so he could hand them to the doorman. "Make sure and smile" she whispered to him prompting him to smile as they climbed the stairs to the mansion where the party was being held. Peggy talked them past the doormen using her German accent and got them into a corner out of the way where they could wait for Manfredi to appear.
Manfredi had seen them when they arrived, they had presented their invitation but the man looked extremely uncomfortable when he walked and he was not speaking at all. The guards brought the boy to him "Hold him in the room bring him out in five minutes I need one moment on the floor" he said going down the stairs and approaching Steve and Peggy.
Peggy could see Manfredi approaching them "There he is" she said turning to Steve "If he asks you are a Hydra spy returning from America we should be okay if we can get that story across" she informed turning back to see Manfredi just about to reach them.
He spoke in German prompting a smile from Peggy and a confused look on Steve's face, Manfredi looked at Steve warily "He is a sleeper agent from America, so I'm afraid his German is still very raw" Peggy explained quickly assuming that Manfredi bought the lie seeing him nod.
"I will speak English then" he replied with a sly smile. "It is good to see agents from the other side returning back to friendlier territory."
Steve nodded "Yeah it's good to be around friends." Peggy and Manfredi engaged in small talk but were interrupted by Steve "I was led to believe that Dr. Zola was here a few days ago" he stated drawing a look from Manfredi and causing Peggy to drop her gaze slightly.
Manfredi looked over the supposed spy again noticing how uncomfortable he looked, but more importantly nobody knew that Zola was here several days before to inspect his experiments. "No, he left a few days ago, now if you will excuse me I have a presentation to give" Manfredi said walking away.
Peggy turned to Steve once Manfredi was out of ear shot "Hit the button to call in the Commandoes. He knows we are not who we say we are" she said watching Manfredi climb the stairs. Steve hit the button and started moving towards Manfredi.
Manfredi turned and could see the duo following him and pointed them out to his guards who moved towards to intercept them. One of the guards grabbed Peggy and another tried to grab Steve but Steve reacted quickly and was able to knock down the guard and move up the stairs. Manfredi soon turned with a gun pointed at Steve who had left his shield with Bucky when they parted ways. "This is the birth of a new era, the age of men is over. The Red Skull shall lead us into the age of miracles" stated Manfredi as his guards brought him Prisoner 214782. "Ladies and Gentlemen please ignore these two spies as I introduce the fruits of my research" he turned and walked towards 214782 placing his hand on the boys shoulder. "This boy has an incredible ability, he can control any magnetic item he chooses and do whatever he wants with it." He leaned in and whispered into 214782's ear "Show them what you can do."
The boy nodded and lifted his hand and silverware, pocket watches, ear rings, and any other magnetic objects lifted into the air except Manfredi's gun. Manfredi laughed "Imagine what someone like this could do on the battlefield, he could disarm an enemy force with a thought, with this kind of soldier Hydra could be unstoppable."
Steve was looking into 214782 eyes and could see that something inside the boys mind had clicked as Manfredi spoke. The objects he was lifting dropped to the ground and as Manfredi smiled his hand slowly pointed his gun towards himself "What are you doing?" he shouted as he fought with all his muscles against the gun turning against him. As the gun turned Manfredi looked over to one of the guards behind the boy "Put him down" he shouted.
Steve moved to stop the guard but knew he would not be able to make it in time when a shot ran through the room.