Chapter 12. Good Men
In early December, while most of the world prepared for Christmas, the Howling Commandos and the Phantom Patrol both started preparing in earnest for their first separate missions. For the Commandos the target was one of the HYDRA bases that Steve Rogers saw on the map in Arnim Zola's lab. Located west of the Maginot Line, the base was to be raided by the Commandos, a unit of soldiers and the French Resistance in a combined effort to rescue those who had been enslaved to work there and to make sure its destruction would be so thorough that nothing could be rebuilt. Steve and Bucky would also search for any intelligence on other HYDRA bases or labs prior to the base's destruction.
A new development in the missions was the use of the transformed pilots that had been rescued in Germany to fly a dedicated aircraft just for the two special squads and their associated teams. The General had liked the idea of having them available to pilot an aircraft once Steven Grant had passed on Grady's request to be involved. Grady and O'Neill were assigned to the Commandos, while Murphy and Costello were assigned to the Phantoms. Although they would stay with the aircraft they still received the same physical and tactical training as the others. Both Dr. Erskine and Dr. Waslewski were interested to see what regular training would do for the abilities of the four pilots. While they weren't as strong as Grant, Rogers, Barnes and Bradley, they were showing signs of being stronger than the average soldier.
The first mission for the Commandos was a rousing success. After landing at the airstrip, the Commandos and the accompanying army unit rendezvoused with the Resistance who had been observing the base. With the schedule of the guard changes known they took out the HYDRA soldiers who were patrolling the perimeter. Without anyone to hold them back or give up the alarm the combined group infiltrated the site with the Resistance entering the prisoner quarters to free the captive workers there, many of them locals forced into service. The army unit entered the smaller work floors engaging the single guards there and sending the workers from those areas out to the muster point where their already freed compatriots were. The Commandos entered the largest work floor, guarded by the largest contingent of HYDRA soldiers. With their guns blazing they took out the enemy as the workers there took cover.
While Bucky and Steve went on to the office area, easily dealing with any remaining enemy along the way, the others, under Dernier's direction, laid charges everywhere. When the two super soldiers found what they were looking for in the office, namely the locations of more HYDRA sites throughout Europe, Bucky stepped outside and fired a flare signalling that the charges could be set off. Together, he and Steve ran through the destruction before meeting their combined forces and the rescued workers at the muster point, safely away from the effects of the blasts. Satisfied that the base was completely destroyed the Resistance took the workers, first to rejoin their families, then to relocate them so they were safe from retaliation. The army unit and the Commandos returned to the waiting aircraft and were already over the English Channel before Johann Schmidt and Arnim Zola arrived at the charred remains of their base. By the time the evening editions of the English newspapers hit the London newsstands the exploits of the Howling Commandos were splashed across the front pages everywhere, detailing the exploits of the special team, led by Captain America.
The Phantom Patrol, while planning their first mission, weren't supposed to be quite so flashy or prominent in how they attacked their target. Based on intelligence given to them by Dr. Waslewski, who had done some undercover snooping herself before her rescue, they originally focused on what was a special camp just for the Romani people, called Zigeunerlager. Located just inside the Austrian border from Germany it was part of a larger complex, a concentration camp known as Auschwitz.
"The doctor in charge there, Josef Mengele, is a sadist," she practically spat out. "They use the Romani and Jewish prisoners as slave labour, but he also experiments on them, mostly on finding out how much pain they can tolerate without the necessity of anaesthetic or sedatives. It is part of the super soldier research, pushing the limits of the human body so they can expend minimal treatment on their soldiers while keeping them at maximum killing capacity."
"Damn," said Grant, knowing exactly the scope of Mengele's crimes. He looked at the others on the team. "You might as well know that Hitler always planned to wipe out the Jewish population, as well as the Romani, and anyone else he considered subhuman. Auschwitz was one of the worst, holding thousands of prisoners, many of them killed within hours of their arrival. Others were worked to death or experimented on."
He sighed, running his hands through his hair, contemplating what she might ask next. The doctor looked at him, understanding that he already knew the fate of thousands from his future knowledge.
"You have to destroy the camp," she said.
"But how?" he asked. "How do we get the prisoners out of there to do it? Many of them of them are too sick, or weak from starvation, and unable to fight. They're in the middle of German held territory in an area full of rabid Nazis. Thousands are transported there on trains that continually go to the camps every day. If we destroy the camp, we have no means to help them because there are too many of them."
"Can't we just load them back up on the trains and get them away?" Howlett answered his own question, rubbing his own forehead, then shaking his head in frustration. "There's no place where they can go, right? Any that were on the trains could be fired upon or bombed by German aircraft or artillery or easily recaptured."
"What if we give them the means to fight?" asked Rose. "A Romani will fight if they have the weapons. I'm sure there are many Jews there who would be able to fight as well. We bring them food and weapons. Take out the guards, take over the camp and destroy just what we have to. It's not perfect but we don't have the means to rescue them. So, we give them the means to at least fight."
"We can but they may be too weak to do even that," said Grant. "We could maybe bring some children back with us if we use the Gigant. It's big enough to carry enough supplies there and to hold many children for the flight back."
"It'll be dangerous," said one of the pilots, Murphy. "We could easily be shot down by the Germans if they contact us by radio."
"Not if it's manned by Germans," countered the agent, trying to come up with possibilities. "There are several German Jews in the British Air Force. If they man the aircraft they could pose as a regular crew delivering supplies. Land at the nearest airbase, transport the supplies to the camp, infiltrate and secure it. Destroy Mengele's lab and research, as well as the extermination facilities, then load the kids up and bring them back to the aircraft at night. Fly out under cover of darkness while the camp prisoners that are able to break out escape. If we get word to all the resistance groups out there, they can watch for any escapee that comes in contact with them. Eventually, they could maybe make it back to England and reunite with their kids."
"Let me go with you," said Dr. Waslewski. "I speak English, German, Polish and Romani. Those kids will be terrified and if their parents can't come with them, it will be difficult for them to comprehend that we're rescuing them. I can also act as a medic for your team."
"Extermination facilities?" asked Raines, who had heard Grant say it.
Grant sighed. "They had the killing down to a factory-like process. Someone decided right at their arrival who lived and who died, then they ... I'm sorry, it's too horrific. If we destroy them, it will stop them for a while, at least. Howlett, you and Bradley will have a team to go after the guards. Take no prisoners. The guards there were the worst of the worst and don't deserve to live. Raines, and Rose, your team will explain to the prisoners what has to be done. Tell them we can take children, but we don't have the room for the adults. We may have to use the trains to get them to the aircraft but if they won't get on them then prepare to steal some trucks. We won't have unlimited time to convince them, either. Rumlow, you're with me." He looked at everyone. "I won't sugar coat it. What you will see there will be more brutal than anything you've seen yet. With the numbers of people imprisoned there we won't be able to help the majority of them."
"Excuse me, I'm looking for a Special Agent Grant," said another voice and they all looked to the doorway to see a dark-haired man. "I'm Lt. Sousa, 28th Infantry Regiment. I was told to report here for temporary reassignment."
Grant stood up then looked at the others. "Assemble your teams," he said. "I'll find the right air crew." He looked at Dr. Waslewski. "I'll talk to the General about you coming along but Doctor... Eva, it will be dangerous."
She smiled at him using her name. "It's alright Steven," she replied. "Perhaps, some training in firearms will keep me a little safer. Doing this is the right thing. You, more than all of us, know this for a fact."
She smiled again and for a moment, Grant felt something inside that he hadn't felt for a long time. As he switched his attention to the young officer in front of him, she left. Sousa stood at the ready, still not quite sure what he was getting into. Grant studied the man briefly, only knowing about him from the SHIELD files he brought back in time. He wasn't planning to change the man's timeline, but he did intend to give the man a head's up and wanted to use his skills, even for the short time he was going to be assigned to the Phantoms.
"I'm Steven Grant," he said, offering his hand to the other man. "I've heard good things about you as a reconnaissance scout. You're careful, thorough, but willing to jump in with both feet. We're planning a very dangerous mission into the heart of German held territory to destroy a lab that provides research to HYDRA. You've heard of HYDRA?"
"Just what I read in Stars & Stripes," said the 25-year-old lieutenant. "Deep science division of the Nazis, not above experimenting on humans. They have also developed some pretty incredible weapons. That's all I know."
"Before this meeting I was unaware of the exact location of this lab but Dr. Waslewski, one of our research scientists that we rescued from a German run camp that was also performing human experimentation, informed me and it's changed the scope of the mission slightly. Are you aware that the Germans have many concentration camps filled with people they consider undeserving of life, including Jews, Romani, political prisoners, homosexuals, and the disabled. They use them for slave labour, or medical experimentation until they die or kill them outright." Sousa's face was full of alarm. "It is horrifying but the numbers of prisoners are so high and the camps so deep in German held territory that there's little we can do. That's what this meeting was about ... to gauge how much we could actually do to satisfy our own guilt at how little we can actually offer."
"I don't understand," said Sousa. "What are you actually doing?"
Grant sighed and then gave the man a small sad smile. "We're going to fly a captured German aircraft into the airfield closest to a camp called Auschwitz. We're going to take food and weapons with us. After killing all the guards at the camp we're going to arm the prisoners. We'll destroy the lab that houses the medical experiments, and the research that is filed there. There are other things that will be destroyed in the process, gas chambers and crematoria primarily, and then we'll offer to take their surviving children back to England with us while leaving the adults to fight. They'll have an opportunity to escape, and the different Resistance groups will be on the lookout for them. Hopefully, enough will eventually make it to England to be reunited with their children."
"That's seems barely enough," replied Sousa.
"I know," grimaced Grant. "But there are thousands of people in that camp, and we'll have just one large aircraft, probably not even large enough for the number of children we're going to try to bring back. It's the best that we can do and right now it's much more than they have. Are you in?"
"Why me?" asked Sousa. "I heard you asked for me by name. What's so special about me?"
Again, Grant was faced with the dilemma of revealing too much, tempting a response from time itself to stop him from being successful. Or you are successful in this timeline because you shared what you knew. Rubbing his face with his hands in what was starting to become a habit he looked at the young man and began speaking, remembering everything in the man's file that had been put on that flash drive.
"Daniel Sousa, born 1918, Twin Falls, Idaho. You have a Bachelor of Arts degree and serve as a lieutenant in the 28th Infantry Regiment as a reconnaissance scout. After the war, you joined the SSR and rose through the ranks when it transitioned into SHIELD to become West Coast Security Chief. Even with your physical limitations you were an expert marksman and could handle yourself in hand-to-hand combat. You were also known as a virtuous man, never once shooting someone who was unarmed, or imposing yourself on the woman you loved because she was still in love with someone else. What you are best known for were your investigative skills, as you were one of the first SHIELD agents to realize they had been infiltrated by HYDRA. That knowledge resulted in your premature death on July 22, 1955."
The younger man's mouth opened then closed, unable to speak for a second. "How do you know this? You're talking of things that haven't happened yet."
"They haven't," replied Grant. "Let's just say I'm not exactly going by my birth name. I was born the same year as you, became a super soldier in 1943, and through a series of events ended up frozen in ice for about 65 years, waking up in a world that was completely different than the one I left. When I supposedly died in 1945, I thought I had destroyed HYDRA, but I hadn't. They slowly regained every foothold they had in World War II but did it under the banner of protecting the world through the SSR, then it's successor, SHIELD. They came that close to taking over the world in the next century but the man who I worked for in the future figured them out, almost dying himself, but we were able to stop them. I spent another 9 years in that future, battling all sorts of threats to humanity before we finally made the world safe again. Time travel became a possibility, and I came back to stop something from happening to someone important to me, as well as other things, like HYDRA growing again. I brought files back with me, of people I could trust, and your file was one of them. Technically, I'm not supposed to interfere with your timeline, but I've discovered something since I got here in June. Apparently, I've tried this many times before and failed each time, because I followed the rules of not interfering. Well, I'm done playing by the rules. This time is supposed to be different. If the only way to keep what happened from not happening is breaking the rules, then I'm breaking every rule there is. HYDRA must be stopped, and the right people have to survive to do it. You're one of them. Before the end of next year, you won't be with my team anymore. You'll be back with the 28th. Before you go, I will give you your file and you'll be in charge of your own destiny. Perhaps you can change things, perhaps not, but either way you will make a difference, believe that. At some point, I expect we will meet again, and we can either share a drink and some stories, or you'll punch me for putting you into more danger. I'm good either way."
Sousa smirked, then breathed out noticeably. "I'm in," he said simply. "Tell me what to do."
A smile creased Grant's face. "I need you to find us a German speaking aircrew to fly a Messerschmidt Gigant, two pilots, three air crew, one of them a radio operator, although I have a couple of guys who can speak German do it if you come up short. I'm aware of several German Jews in the British Armed Forces who fit the bill. I figure they might be open to helping us on this mission. Oh, and Sousa? It's top secret, all under the radar. You find the people, but I'll actually approach them and get them reassigned. I'll introduce you to the rest of the team later. For now, get yourself a bunk in Hut 10C. We all share the same barracks and we're a multiracial team. Officially, I'm a Major but I go by the Special Agent title as I'm Army CIC."
"Who were you before?" asked Sousa, curious.
"I'll introduce you when he gets back from his mission," smiled Grant. "His girl is off-limits. No one interferes with their relationship."
It was a puzzling thing to say but Sousa wasn't going to argue about it. As he left Grant in the briefing room the older man took a deep breath. No portal opened with a black clad team appearing to take him into custody so time itself obviously was letting him break all of these temporal rules. By giving Sousa advance knowledge of what was to come perhaps he could save the man's life and prevent the HYDRA infiltration of SHIELD. Of course, there was one person who would have to be dealt with for much of that and he still wasn't sure he had it in him to do what really needed to be done. That was something he would deal with later.
Two days later the Howling Commandos had returned to England, their spirits high with the success of their first successful mission. Sousa, now set up in the barracks, watched the crew arrive, puzzled at the easy rapport between the different ranks, from the British Major to the American private, and the French Resistance fighter with no rank at all. They had obviously been through something together, even the newer members, the two pilots. Already filled in on the joint mission the two squads took part in he wasn't expected to be invited to the debriefing for this mission but when he was, he showed up, stunned to see a beautiful young British woman arrive with Captain America. Their connection was obvious, and he recalled Grant's words that she was off-limits. When he was introduced to the young American hero, he also saw the physical resemblance between him and Steven Grant, confirming quickly that they were the same man, separated by time and circumstance. It was obvious, as everything, their build, their voice, even their mannerisms but not their apparent age, was the same. Also at the debriefing was General Phillips, Dr. Abraham Erskine, Dr. Waslewski, Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Howlett.
First up, Rogers presented the intelligence that he and Barnes found at the base. It listed numerous other bases that HYDRA was either operating or had connections to. It included the one in Auschwitz, the Phantom Patrol's target. As Grant went over the plan of attack there were mumblings from several people and a large scowl from the General himself.
"I don't like it," he said. "You're in the heart of a Nazi stronghold. There's little you can do to help those unfortunate souls kept prisoner in that camp and while the offer to take the children to safety is noble, I'm not sure that it's a good enough use of our resources."
Grant took a deep breath. "Sir, with all due respect, we have to do something. Dr. Mengele wasn't the only doctor at that camp, but he was deeply involved in all sorts of experiments inflicted on Jewish and Romani men, women, and children. From my own time spent learning of the history I missed while I was frozen, I learned that he deliberately sought out twins or people with deformities, or other unique physical characteristics. He performed all sorts of cruel experiments on them, like deliberately infecting them with incurable diseases to see if their so-called differences would save them, or injecting them with toxins, and other experiments that always involved pain. All of his work made its way into HYDRA's hands. Everything they tested on those people was also tested on their most successful candidate." He looked at Bucky sadly, not saying it out loud. "At the end of the war Mengele managed to escape custody, went into hiding and successfully evaded capture by the authorities until his death in the late 1970s. If we only come out with that one man, it will be worth it. If we manage to disrupt the normal routine of that one camp, it will be worth it. If we save 10 children from being experimented on it will be worth it. More importantly, if we're able to give those prisoners a chance at fighting their way out then maybe, just maybe, we can start a new line of resistance in Germany itself. They're not all bad people, sir. Many of them were truly not aware of what the Nazis were doing in the camp or were too afraid to say anything. After the war Germany made a big effort to never allow themselves to fall into that mindset again."
"I would like to go," said Bucky. Grant looked at him, nodding his thanks. Bucky studied the others. "I know that we're supposed to be fighting HYDRA, but they grew out of the Nazis, right? They spew the same racial superiority bullshit, and the belief that their way is the right way. Pardon my language, ladies. If both squads take on this target, it sends a message to the Nazis and to HYDRA that we're coming for them. I didn't know about these camps but if they're doing that to anyone, we should be fighting for those people as well." He looked down for a moment then grasped his dog tags over his shirt. "My dog tags say I'm Protestant, because my dad is. My ma is part Jewish. Some of those people might be family from way back. I'm going with the Phantoms."
The General had a grim look on his face. As he looked at the others he could see them nod in agreement with Barnes. With an audible sigh he breathed out.
"Very well, this will be a joint mission," he said. "We'll need another captured German aircraft. Perhaps our friends in the Resistance can find one already there waiting to be liberated." He looked at Steven Grant. "For a man who wanted to keep under the radar with his missions you sure seem to come up with big targets. Make sure your next missions after this are more focused on direct HYDRA activity."
"We can give all the credit to the Howling Commandos and Captain America," he said. "Keep HYDRA and the Nazis wondering how he can do so much. The results are what's important ... sir."
Ten days later
The time for the latest radio check-in on the mission was almost upon them and General Phillips found himself pacing back and forth anxiously. Ever since the combined mission had taken off in the late evening hours two days before he had second guessed his decision to take on the task of dismantling one of the largest concentration camps under Nazi control and attempting to kidnap Josef Mengele, the doctor in charge of the medical experimentation at that camp. Against his better judgement he had also allowed Dr. Waslewski and Agent Carter to accompany the two squads. The idea of sending women into battle still rankled him but Carter had taken it upon herself to get the doctor qualified in marksmanship and basic self-defence. Both squads of men had given the women their support and if they were willing to fight beside them then who was he to protest.
They had signalled their arrival at the airfield when they landed. There had been another signal that the transport of children prisoners was underway back to the airfield. A second large aircraft had been found there and it's re-purposing was also confirmed by the coded signal. Since then, there had been nothing and Phillips had visions of the headlines in newspapers in the free world lamenting the capture of Captain America and his Howling Commandos. Even worse was the growing worry that he had just provided the Nazis, and HYDRA with a ready-made squad of super soldiers, men they could convert into killers with the use of that machine that Grant talked about. A hand appeared holding a glass with something bubbling in it. He looked to see the concerned face of Dr. Erskine.
"Antacid," he said, gesturing with the glass towards the General. "I imagine your stomach is giving you issues right now."
Phillips nodded and drained the glass, putting it down on the table nearest him.
"I'm terrified that I've just handed the Germans and HYDRA the means to win the war," he said.
"Understandable," replied Erskine. "Except they won't go down without a fight. You know that in your heart. They believe in what they are trying to do."
"I know, but I still worry," countered Phillips. He looked up at the clock, and the chalkboard beside it which had the mission elapsed time on it. "Coming up to 24 hours elapsed time. If they don't get on their way ..."
A Morse code signal was heard being received by the operator in the radio room, its door open to them. Another man sat next to her and wrote down the words as she responded to the signal that a message was imminent. As he wrote it down on a slip of paper it was handed to another waiting man who gave it to the General. There was more and they were furiously writing it down. Phillips looked at the first message.
"Proverbs, 24:11-12," he said. "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?" He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his eyes with it before looking back at Dr. Erskine. "I guess today we are good men and we've done our part to keep evil from being triumphant."
The second message was coded, and it took time for it to be decoded and handed to the General. He read it, then handed it to the Doctor before leaving to compose himself.
OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED. 87 CHILDREN AND 41 ADULTS RESCUED. PRISONERS ARMED AND MANY READY TO ESCAPE UNDER THEIR OWN POWER. GAS CHAMBERS BURNING, CREMATORIA BLOWN UP. DR. MENGELE DEAD BY HIS OWN HAND. THIS CAMP IS CLOSED. ETA 6 HOURS.
With a smile, Dr. Erskine read it over and over before placing the note on the table. If there was proof of the power of the serum this was it. The super soldiers, no matter the source of the serum they were given, were good men who rose to the occasion to perform a mitzvah, a good deed. What was even more evident, was that their actions had also spurred the other men in those squads, ordinary men, into being just as good. A big target was taken down today and its significance wasn't to be lost on anyone, on either side of the war.
~~~~~~~~~
Author's notes: Daniel Sousa is a character from the Agent Carter series (18 episodes), and Agents of Shield (1 episode). He was known as the first SHIELD agent to fall in service to the organization and is apparently one of Phil Coulson's heroes. A WWII vet who lost his leg in Bastogne, his character was known as a good man and his inclusion here is because Grant wanted everyone who was around at this time who proved their worth in subsequent years to be part of the fight to stop HYDRA in WWII, like they should have been. One of the criticisms of Steve Rogers returning to the 1940s after Endgame is that most MCU fans can't believe he went back and didn't try to rescue Bucky. In this story, he does go back to prevent Bucky from falling, but I also wanted to show his willingness to do more, even if it wasn't a HYDRA target. By going back to 1943 he found himself in the position to do what he could to stop the Holocaust, even just a small part of it. Perhaps it was just a bandaid effort, but I thought it important to include that he did want to do something. The significance of the rescue might be more symbolic than anything else but with the propaganda that would be generated over the rescue of children being subjected to experimentation and death, the attack on Auschwitz would be a weapon wielded against both the Nazis and HYDRA.