LRAB Chapter 183 Operation Chapter Needle
Chapter 183 Operation Chapter Needle
Chapter 183 Operation Paperclip
As an American hero and a national icon, Captain America is a very understanding listener.
From the very first moment he met him, he could see that Superman's face was clouded with worry, and his tightly furrowed brows did not relax even when he was teasing Coulson about the Tesseract.
Captain America is quite familiar with this expression. Back when the Allied forces were getting utterly thrashed by Hydra's energy weapons developed using the Tesseract on the Western Front, everyone had this expression every day.
Fortunately, Hydra vanished with Redhead's death, and the Tesseract was safely kept by S.H.I.E.L.D.
He had already fought his generation's war and now spent his days doing nothing, like a retired old man.
Today's mission was only approved by Nick Fury after he applied repeatedly. These S.H.I.E.L.D. guys basically treat themselves as fragile antiques rather than super warriors.
In terms of temperament, Captain America could tell that Joey was exactly the same kind of person as him.
In the words of his childhood friend Bucky Barnes, he has had a patriotic and upright face since he was a child.
"This way."
Superman, who had been hovering in the air, landed on his feet and politely led Captain America to the lounge downstairs.
"Hey, Captain!" "Long time no see, Captain!" "CAP!"
Captain America watched as three or four people in the aisle greeted him naturally, as if they were old friends.
After smiling and nodding in return without fully understanding what was going on, Steve felt that something was amiss.
Did those young men just now all look the same?
Hmm~ Isn't Stark supposed to be in the industrial sector? Now he's researching cloning technology?
Before Steve could even ask a question, Superman had already led him to a secluded corner of the rest area.
"Captain, my name is Joey, Joey Joseph Kent."
With a solemn expression, Joey repeatedly confirmed that there were no listening devices on the scene or on Captain America—thankfully, this was Captain America, and S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't yet gone to such extremes.
"Steve Rogers."
After exchanging names, the atmosphere wasn't as awkward as when Joey had forced a conversation with Coulson earlier. Just as Joey was about to continue speaking, Captain America interrupted him:
"Are you facing some kind of difficulty that you need my help with? I assure you, if this is beneficial to the whole world, then count me in."
"You've misunderstood, Captain. I just have something I need to tell you."
Captain America's words reminded Joey that he did need to call in more people, but Captain America certainly wouldn't be of much use.
The fact that the other party has a S.H.I.E.L.D. background means that the cooperation between the two sides must be handled with extreme caution.
Besides, Joey couldn't possibly expect a super soldier from sixty or seventy years ago to use a vibranium shield to shoot down Doctor Doom, who was flying through the air and diving into the ground, could he?
However, Captain America may soon no longer be a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., simply because Joey wants to give this centenarian a modern shock:
"Hydra still exists, and S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to make weapons."
"Um?!"
Captain America immediately tensed upon hearing this; the mere mention of Hydra was enough to put him on alert: "Could you repeat that?"
"I said, Hydra is still around, and they're using the Tesseract to create new weapons."
Captain America personally stopped Hydra's attempt to use the Tesseract to create superweapons, for which he paid the price of freezing the Arctic for decades and missing out on all victories.
Now that someone is telling him that Hydra still exists, how could he not be excited?!
Where are those Hydras?
Faced with Captain America's question, Joey shrugged:
"It's hard to say. Since Operation Paperclip, who can still tell you apart from the Nazis?"
The so-called "Operation Paperclip" was a plan after World War II in North America to recruit top scientists from both the East and West who had served the Nazis through a series of means, including covering up crimes, granting amnesty to criminals who had committed crimes against humanity, and issuing visas.
In the original timeline, this plan allowed North America to maintain its technological lead for nearly a century.
In the universe where Joey and Captain America exist, S.H.I.E.L.D. also absorbed a large number of personnel and resources originally belonging to Nazi Hydra in this project, which allowed S.H.I.E.L.D. to develop rapidly after the war and become the largest underground force in the superpower world.
It's no exaggeration to say that S.H.I.E.L.D. grew up on the backs of Hydra, and anyone with a discerning eye should know that there's something wrong with it.
A month ago, Joey could have rattled off a bunch of names without hesitation, creating a whole page of lists. But after experiencing the Flashpoint universe and Iron Man who could transform into Doctor Doom, he dared not make a judgment so easily.
Why not just randomly select a few people and try it?
Three seconds later, Joey, whose gaze and thoughts had been drifting, came back to his senses and gave three names:
"Brock Rumlow, Sitwell, Alexander Pierce."
Now, Joey has successfully transmitted his gloomy, furrowed-brow expression to Captain America's face.
With a grave expression, Captain America gripped his shield tightly and stepped forward: "You'd better be responsible for what you said."
Although he was nearly a hundred years old, the super-soldier serum that Captain America received gave him a photographic memory, and he clearly remembered who these three people were:
Brock Rumlow is the leader of this special operations team, an elite among elites;
He wasn't familiar with Sitwell, but he was probably an insider at S.H.I.E.L.D. The reason the captain was so sure was because the next name was just too prestigious.
Alexander Pierce – President of the World Security Council.
The Security Council is an organization above S.H.I.E.L.D., responsible for handling and resolving issues such as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s international political environment and operational funding.
In other words, all actions within S.H.I.E.L.D. are theoretically directly accountable to this council.
Joey's words are tantamount to directly accusing S.H.I.E.L.D. of being controlled by Hydra.
"I'm not making any guarantees, I'm just telling you that this is the situation, and the reality might be much worse than the worst-case scenario you can imagine right now."
Of course, Joey wasn't responsible for what he said. The fact that Hydra could infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. on such a large scale without being detected in time could only mean one thing: many people within S.H.I.E.L.D. had mental problems.
Rather than saying there were many die-hard Nazi scum lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D., it would be more accurate to say that most of them were opportunists focused on their own interests.
The power and resources wielded by S.H.I.E.L.D. are severely mismatched with their status and treatment, and the empty rhetoric of "maintaining world security" is insufficient to keep these people in line with their principles.
Hydra, as a secret society with a clear core ideology, promised them a brighter future.
Don't trust anyone.
Joey pressed down on the captain's shoulder, leaned close to his ear, paused for a second, and then added after the advice:
"Coulson is fine—he's just a bit of a do-gooder, and—."
"No, there's no need to say any more."
Captain America could no longer listen to the other party's "seduction":
"You're telling me now 'I can't trust anyone,' and I want to know if that 'anyone' includes you?"
After Joey's words, Captain America subconsciously felt that the Superman in front of him was quite like Hydra.
"You don't look too good, Captain."
Ten minutes later, Coulson welcomed back Captain America, who had met with Superman, and together they boarded the return fighter jet.
"What did he say to you? It can't be about how we were too late in getting you out of the water, can it?"
M
"don’t worry."
Despite his dejected and sorrowful state, Steve still had to force a smile and reassure his fervent fanboy:
"I'm fine, Coulson. You know I'm not a petty person."
Captain America genuinely didn't blame S.H.I.E.L.D. for this.
It's quite normal that they didn't search for themselves further after retrieving the Tesseract; after all, no one could have imagined that they could survive being frozen in the Arctic ice for decades.
While giving Coulson only half-hearted replies, Captain America's gaze quickly swept over the action team members at the back of the cabin and their leader, Brock Rumlow.
This casual warning, however, drew a wary look from the other party.
Captain America's expression worsened.
Captain America knows there are only two possibilities: one is the good one, where Superman is harboring malicious intentions and is giving him false information to sow seeds of doubt in his mind, hoping that Superman can disrupt the normal operation of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The second worst-case scenario is that Superman is telling the truth.
Steve, wavering in his mind, tended to believe the first scenario, but his reason told him that he had to be 200% prepared for the most likely second scenario.
There is still one problem...
As the Quinjet landed, Captain America and Coulson walked down the gangway together. After getting rid of the little tail, he cautiously looked around and then took out a small notebook from his pocket.
This is a small tool he usually uses to record things that help him keep up with the times, which he will learn about in turn in his spare time.
Opening Notepad, Captain America added another entry before a series of terms he didn't yet understand, such as "Star Wars," "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Friends," "007," and "The Bourne Identity."
"Operation Paperclip".