Chapter Forty-Nine: Winter Soldier

Washington, D.C.

Arthur asked Hill for Alexander Pierce’s home address; he intended to wait for him at his doorstep in person.

He arrived at an affluent neighborhood lined with villas—this was Pierce’s residence. To own such a vast private home in Washington, where every inch of land was precious, was truly extravagant.

Standing outside the Pierce villa, Arthur extended his senses and detected only a woman inside. Pierce had not yet returned!

Arthur was undeterred. He leapt up into a tree by Pierce’s gate, determined to wait like a hunter by his snare—this time, he would not leave until Pierce came home.

Luck was on Arthur’s side. After waiting for two hours, night descended, and a black Hummer drove up, parking in front of the villa.

Finally, you’ve arrived! Arthur jumped down from the tree and strode toward the Hummer.

He flung open the car door, grabbed the still-dazed Pierce, pulled him from the car, and tossed him to the ground. Just as he was about to subdue him, a gunshot rang out from the vehicle.

Arthur sensed a bullet whizzing toward his head; he tilted aside, narrowly dodging it.

Alexander Pierce, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who had been flung to the ground, let out a miserable scream. Arthur glanced at him, and Pierce’s eyes rolled back as he fainted dead away.

Suddenly, the car door was torn off and hurled toward Arthur. He punched it aside, and then someone inside opened fire with a machine gun, bullets spraying relentlessly. Arthur lunged forward, avoiding most of the shots, and those that struck him did no harm.

With a grip of his right hand, Arthur transformed his golden bracelet into a trident, which appeared instantly in his grasp. He aimed at the vehicle, releasing a bolt of blue energy that struck the Hummer.

Boom!

The car exploded in a towering inferno.

A figure hurled himself from the burning wreck, rolling twice across the ground—finally, Arthur could see who it was.

Long hair, a black mask, a tactical suit, and a silver metal right arm—strikingly handsome.

It was none other than Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, friend of Captain America Steve Rogers.

“So it’s you, Bucky?” Arthur called out.

“Who’s Bucky?” The name was familiar to Bucky, yet he couldn’t quite recall.

“I’ll spare your life for Steve’s sake, but don’t think you can walk away,” Arthur told him.

“Arrogant!” Bucky retorted, pulling out a stun baton and striking at Arthur. Arthur blocked with his trident, electricity arcing down to his right hand.

Arthur was unfazed. He kicked Bucky, sending him flying, but Bucky rolled back to his feet, launching a fresh assault.

The two fought fiercely, Arthur dodging and counterattacking. He even put away his trident to engage Bucky in hand-to-hand combat.

Arthur had long wanted to learn fighting techniques from Steve Rogers, but never had the chance. Bucky’s skills were a touch inferior to Steve’s, making him the perfect practice partner.

Fist met foot as the battle raged on. Bucky’s combat prowess was no joke—years of completing missions had made him formidable. Arthur, for all his strength, lacked technique and fumbled to put his power to use.

At first, Arthur was at a disadvantage. Though strong, he restrained his strength to match Bucky’s, and Bucky’s alloy arm packed a punch that actually hurt.

But as he endured the blows, Arthur quickly picked up on Bucky’s fighting style. His powerful mind and rapid reflexes, akin to Spider-Man’s, let him learn at lightning speed.

Gradually, Arthur was able to trade blows on equal footing. With a kick to Bucky’s chest, he sent him flying.

“That’s enough. I’ll spar with you another time—right now, I have more pressing matters.” Arthur looked at the unconscious Pierce and addressed Bucky.

Bucky got up, ready to attack again, but Arthur locked eyes with him. His mental power surged, instantly seizing control of Bucky’s mind.

The Winter Soldier’s greatest weakness was the repeated brainwashing by Hydra—controlling him was all too easy for Arthur.

“Take him. Let’s go!” Arthur commanded as he strode away.

Behind him, Bucky hoisted Pierce and followed.

Arthur had Bucky steal a car. With Pierce in tow, they drove to a secret safehouse—a hidden Hydra base Arthur discovered in Bucky’s memories.

Bucky strapped Pierce to a bench, and Arthur sat nearby, the scene reminiscent of some twisted role-playing game…

Bucky grabbed a bottle of water and splashed it over Pierce’s face. Pierce snapped awake, blinking up at Bucky and Arthur.

“It’s you! You’re not dead?” Pierce gasped.

“What, were you hoping I’d died? Sorry to disappoint,” Arthur replied with a sardonic smile.

“What are you going to do? Let me go! I’m the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.!” Pierce shouted.

“I know who you are—and who you really serve,” Arthur replied coolly.

“Winter Soldier, kill him!” Pierce barked at Bucky.

“Sorry, Bucky’s my subordinate now. Look into my eyes,” Arthur commanded.

Pierce’s gaze went vacant, his struggles ceasing.

Arthur stared into his eyes, sending his mental power deep into Pierce’s mind, combing through his memories.

He saw Pierce hand the scepter over to a short-haired man—surely Baron Strucker, as Fury had described. They had taken the scepter to Sokovia for secret experiments.

Arthur also uncovered Pierce’s schemes: he planned to eliminate the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s leadership, seize total control, and execute Project Insight to eradicate all opposition.

As for Hydra’s secret weapons and bases, Pierce didn’t know much, revealing just how murky the waters within S.H.I.E.L.D. truly were.

What Hydra had been plotting in the shadows would not be so easily unraveled—but that headache could be left to Steve Rogers.

Arthur didn’t kill Pierce; after all, Nick Fury had said he wanted to deal with Pierce personally. So Arthur locked Pierce in the secret base and sent the location to Hill, so she could bring him to Nick for his own justice.

Arthur had planned to seek out the Mind Stone at once, but now that he had uncovered Hydra’s plot, he decided to assist Steve Rogers and Natasha.

He and Bucky found a place to lie low, awaiting Steve Rogers’s arrival.

…

Steve Rogers returned to Washington with Natasha. With nowhere safe to go, he thought of Sam—a soldier he’d recently befriended and got along with well. Steve decided to seek refuge at Sam’s house.

Sam had just finished his run when a knock sounded at his door. It was unusual for anyone to visit at this hour—who could it be?

He opened the door to find Steve Rogers and Natasha, both looking battered and weary.

“Sorry to drop by like this. We need a place to hide,” Steve said.

“Everyone we know wants to kill us…” Natasha added.

“Not everyone… Come in,” Sam replied, ushering them inside to shower and recover.

The three sat together, considering their next move. Steve concluded their greatest enemy was Pierce. They decided to kidnap Agent Sitwell, the bald operative, to interrogate him about the Zola Algorithm.

Sam offered to help. He produced a file for Steve—it was his own military assignment: Project Falcon. Steve and Natasha were delighted to have Sam join their cause…