[Prologue Of The War] – Infiltration In The Castle Kaufmann
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"Go! Go! Go!" shouted the commanding SSR agent, signaling Ian and Agent 13 to jump out of the airplane.
Ian felt his adrenaline pumping as he prepared to jump. "Let's go!" he shouted back, running towards the open door of the plane.
* SWOOSH *
As he leaped out, the rush of air filled his ears. He could hear the distant hum of the plane's engines as it flew away. Suddenly, the peace was shattered by the sound of gunfire.
* Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat *
* BOOM *
* BOOM! *
The Germans had started firing at the plane from below. Ian quickly brought his arms and legs together and fell faster toward the ground, trying to dodge the bullets. Once he was at a safe distance, he pulled the cord on his parachute and it bloomed open, slowing his descent.
He landed with a soft thud, quickly discarding his parachute and drawing his revolver. Stealthily, he crept away from the landing site, looking for cover as he waited for the German soldiers to arrive.
Soon enough, he saw them approaching, wearing strange leather suits.
Ian grinned as he realized that they were not ordinary German soldiers, but HYDRA agents. Without hesitation, he reached for a smoke grenade and pulled the pin, tossing it towards the unsuspecting soldiers.
* FWOOSH *
* BOOM *
The grenade exploded, engulfing the HYDRA agents in a thick cloud of smoke. Ian took advantage of their confusion and charged at them with a dagger in hand, ready to take them down silently.
Ian moved like a predator, silently stalking his prey. He crept up behind the unsuspecting HYDRA soldier and struck with deadly precision, covering the soldier's mouth to stifle his screams before plunging his dagger into the man's neck.
* SLICE *
The soldier's body convulsed as Ian twisted the dagger, ensuring a swift and silent death. Blood spurted from the wound, drenching the ground below. The soldier's hands instinctively flew to his neck in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding, but it was already too late. Ian had claimed his first kill of the mission.
Ian was wearing a gas mask which allowed him to breathe normally. Suddenly, a HYDRA soldier appeared in his line of sight, unaware of his impending doom. Ian struck with deadly accuracy, plunging the dagger into the soldier's forehead.
* THWACK *
Blood gushed from the wound as Ian twisted the dagger, ensuring a swift death. The soldier convulsed and twitched before slumping to the ground, lifeless. Ian quickly turned his attention to the remaining HYDRA soldiers, his revolver drawn and ready to fire.
* BANG *
* BANG *
The soldiers fell to the ground, their bodies motionless. Ian scanned the area, alert for any additional threats. With no one in sight, he began to search the bodies of the fallen soldiers, grabbing an assault rifle and ammunition from each of them.
Ian reached the designated spot where he and Agent 13 had agreed to meet and saw that his partner had arrived before him. She signaled to him using hand gestures, indicating that the house ahead was being used as a lookout by the HYDRA soldiers.
Ian understood her message and nodded in response. They both advanced toward the house, being cautious not to alert any potential enemies as they navigated through the field with stealth and precision as they reached the house.
He peered through the window and saw three HYDRA soldiers inside, discussing something. He counted five more soldiers patrolling the area outside the house. He signaled to Agent 13 his plan to take care of the soldiers inside while she handles those patrolling outside. Agent 13 nodded in agreement, and they silently moved in opposite directions to carry out their plan.
Ian waited patiently for the HYDRA soldier guarding the door to turn his back before he made his move. He sprinted towards the house and leaped inside, rolling as he hit the ground. The noise caught the attention of one of the soldiers, and Ian found himself face-to-face with him. Reacting quickly, he swung the rear end of his assault rifle and struck the soldier hard.
* THUD *
The soldier stumbled backward, disoriented, and raised his rifle to defend himself, but Ian was already behind him. Ian grabbed the soldier's head and twisted it sharply, the sound of bones cracking echoing in the room.
* CRACK *
The soldier's body went limp and collapsed to the floor, his weapon clattering beside him. Ian took a moment to catch his breath before moving forward.
Ian quietly climbed the stairs and approached the window, peering out to survey the area. Suddenly, a loud gunshot echoed through the house, alerting the two HYDRA soldiers guarding the windows. Ian swiftly turned and raised his assault rifle, firing off two rounds in quick succession.
* BANG *
* BANG *
The bullets slammed into the back of the soldiers' heads, and they slumped to the ground with a sickening thud. Ian swiftly searched their bodies, grabbing all the bullets he could find before descending the stairs and repeating the process with the other dead HYDRA soldier.
Ian saw Agent 13, signaling him over urgently. She informed him that one of the HYDRA soldiers had contacted the castle, which meant that they had to reach it as quickly as possible. Ian nodded and followed her lead, as they sprinted through the forest and fields. Along the way, they encountered several HYDRA soldiers and eliminated them efficiently, not letting anything hinder their mission.
When they reached the castle, Agent 13 grabbed his arm and gestured for him to follow her. They sneaked towards a hidden spot, where a covered lid was concealed under a layer of foliage.
Agent 13 skillfully removed the plants and lifted the lid, revealing a narrow passageway. Without hesitation, she gestured for Ian to follow her and they crawled through the cramped tunnel. The musty air was thick with tension as they moved forward, inch by inch.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Agent 13 opened another lid above her head and climbed out of the passage. Ian followed her and looked around, awestruck by the grandeur of Castle Kaufmann. They had made it inside undetected.
A strange man approached them, alerting Ian, as he raised his gun and aimed it at him, but Agent 13 motioned for him to stand down. The man strode up to them and addressed Agent 13 directly, "The target is secure. We need a distraction to keep the guards occupied while we transport him to a safe location."
Agent 13 inquired, "How is the target?"
She turned to glance at Ian, curious to see his reaction to her real voice. To her relief, he remained calm and collected. The man replied, "The target is compliant and eager to leave the castle. He's following our every instruction."
Agent 13 nodded, turned to Ian, and said, "Stay here and secure the perimeter. I'll bring Dr. Erskine out of the castle. Understood?"
Ian observed Agent 13 sneak into the castle and smiled as he realized she had trusted him enough to reveal her real voice. As a reader of the comics and watcher of the movies, he was aware of the discrimination Agent 13 faced due to her gender. He knew she despised such prejudice, as people only focused on her gender and failed to appreciate the work she had accomplished. For Ian, gender never mattered as long as the job was done correctly. In his previous life, his wife, a software developer who founded her own company, shared the same views on gender discrimination. They met at a conference, and his attitude toward gender equality was one of the first things that attracted her to him.
Ian, however, was not building a fake friendship with Agent 13 just to get his hands on the super soldier serum. He didn't feel guilty about wanting to impress her, as he knew she was a real human being and not just a fictional character played by a Hollywood actress. He also understood that building a friendship with her would require time and effort. Ian didn't know if their fake friendship would turn into a genuine one, but he wasn't concerned either way.