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September
Year 2 |
A dripping wet Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, explodes out of the bathroom of his small, yet immaculate, apartment. With shampoo still in his hair and a towel clumsily wrapped around his waist, he sprints into the living room, and leaps...
and picks up the incessantly ringing telephone. "I definitely need to get my answering machine fixed," Steve thinks. But he keeps such concerns to himself as he politely says, "Hello?"
"Rogers!" a crazed voice on the other end yells. "Get down here! We've got a crisis! I'm talking end of the world here!"
"Mr. Kelley? Is that you?" Steve asks.
"Yes it's me! Get over right away!"
"Well, I'll try to get there as soon as I can, but I was just in the shower-"
"I don't care about your personal problems, Rogers! Now hurry up!"
The next sound Steve hears is a dial tone. As he replaces the receiver, he thinks, "It's a miracle Paul Kelley hasn't had a heart attack yet." He glances at the clock. 8:20 am. "It seems a little early for a crisis. I suppose I might as well head down there - I've got almost 12 hours before Sharon and I are supposed to tackle HYDRA, and there's nothing else pressing on today's agenda. Besides, rent will be coming due again before long, and it would be nice to be able to pay it."
Half an hour later, Steve is riding in a cab to the offices of Instant Imagination. As he stares absent-mindedly out the window, he ponders his current job situation. "Freelance work is nice in that allows me the freedom I need to operate as Captain America, but if my assignments don't come on a regular basis, I may not be able to pay my rent. That's part of what was so appealing about Van's offer to do an issue of X-Men for Marvel Comics (the offer was made in Cap #473 - Matt). It could lead to steady work... but do I really want to draw comics again? Of course, there are other reasons to consider the assignment. Anything that might help break down the walls between mutants and non-mutants...."
"Here ya go," the cabbie says as he pulls to a stop. "That'll be six-fifty, junior."
"Here you go," Steve says as he pays the man. "Keep the change. And have a nice day."
One elevator ride later, Steve is in the offices of Instant Imagination. The receptionist is stifling a yawn as Steve enters. She glances at him over her glasses. "What are you, Rogers, some kinda sadist?"
"What are you talking about, Laura?" Steve asks.
"You've done a job for him before," she says with a nod toward Paul's office. "You know what he's like. Why come back?"
"You know what he's like, why do you still work for him?" Steve counters.
"Eh, pays the bills," Laura answers.
"Exactly," Steve replies.
"Y'know something, Rogers, you're alright," she says as she smiles at him. Then she turns towards Paul's office and screams, "ROGERS IS HERE!!"
"By God, send him in!" comes the harried reply.
Steve walks into the office. "Laura's a nice young lady," he thinks, "and I like redheads. Too bad she can be so abrasive."
"Rogers!" Paul Kelley exclaims as Steve enters the room. "Glad you could make it! I got a job for you. All the info's in here," he says as he hands Steve a rather large packet. "No rush on this one - it's due in four days."
"Four days?" Steve asks incredulously as he begins to thumb through the packet.
"Yeah, see you then," Paul says as he begins rifling through the unending pile of papers on his cluttered desk.
After an uneventful cab ride back to Chelsea, Steve returns to his apartment. As he unlocks the door, he hears a familiar voice.
"Steve, do you have a minute?" Steve's neighbor, Jeff Walker, asks as he approaches.
"Sure, Jeff," Steve replies as he opens the door. "Why don't you come in?"
"Thanks," Jeff says as the two enter Steve's apartment. "I wanted to talk to you about Bill."
"Bill Anderson?" Steve asks. "Jeff, I know you want to help Bill with what- ever personal problems he's having, but the fact is he's not ready to open yet. We've both tried to talk to him and gotten nowhere. I think it's best to just lay off for a while - he knows he can come to us when he's ready to talk."
"You're right, Steve," Jeff agrees. "In fact, I've been giving him some space lately, but it seems he's just disappeared. No one's seen him or heard anything from him in the last few days. Frankly, I'm a little worried about him."
"Hmm," Steve mutters as he ponders that bit of information. "That is a little odd. I used to see him fairly regularly, but now that you mention it, I haven't seen him in awhile either. Have you tried calling him?"
"He doesn't answer his phone," Jeff answers. He glances at his watch, and then says, "Look, Steve, I've got to head to work. But let me know if you happen to bump into Bill."
"I sure will," Steve replies. "Say, Jeff, how's the talk radio business these days?"
"Well, it's not quite what it was three or four years ago," Jeff confesses, "but people still love to give their opinions on politics. And I'm always more than happy to share mine!"
"Well, have a good broadcast today," Steve says.
"Thanks," Jeff replies. "See you later."
Steve sets his pencil down on his drawing board. "Seven-forty five," he thinks as he looks at his watch. "I'd better get changed. Sharon will be here in about fifteen minutes."
At that moment, Steve hears a noise in his bathroom. "Then again...."
Sharon enters Steve's living room. "Geez, Rogers, you're not even dressed yet? Or did you forget about our date?"
"I was just about to change - you are fifteen minutes early you know," Steve says as he heads back to the bedroom. "Say, didn't you get mad at me for calling this a date last night?"
Sharon deposits herself on Steve's couch. "Maybe you're finally starting to mellow me out," she answers.
"I'm glad to hear it," Steve calls from the bedroom.
"Say, Rogers, what's with the lack of furniture around here, anyway? Is it the bachelor in you, or the utilitarian in you?"
"Probably a little of both," Steve says as he returns to the room in costume, sans mask.
"That was a quick change!" Sharon says, somewhat surprised.
"The trademark of any good superhero," Steve says as he pulls his mask on. "Shall we go?"
Later, Cap and Sharon have retrieved the Sharon's stolen HYDRA shuttle (she swiped it in #473 - Sticky fingers Matt), and Sharon is piloting them towards their destination.
"So are you going to fill me in on the details of our mission?" Cap asks. "It might be useful."
"Sure," Sharon answers. "We're headed to a small research facility in Maine." Sharon presses a few buttons on the control pad in front of her and a schematic appears on Cap's monitor. "Here's the layout - try to memorize as much as you can. It'll take us a little while to get there. HYDRA is trying to retrieve an experimental new capacitor that will enable them to successfully operate the Q-Ray. The job is simple - we stop them."
"And why are you just bringing me along for this mission? Why not call Nick in on this?" Cap asks.
Sharon hesitates a moment before replying. "I'm still not sure I really trust SHIELD, even if my disappearance wasn't really their fault. But I know I can trust Captain America."
"Thanks," Cap says. "So what happened? Why did you disappear?"
"For basically the same reason we're now," she answers. "The Q-Ray."
"The Q-Ray?" Cap asks as he gives her a quizzical glance. "I thought you didn't know anything about it. You asked me-"
"I asked you what you knew about it," Sharon interrupts. "I didn't say whether or not I knew anything. At one point, before you were revived, I was involved in SHIELD's attempt to improve the Q-Ray. HYDRA wanted eliminate everyone involved in the project, in the hopes that would give them an advantage once their version was completed."
"They didn't want SHIELD to have anyone who might now how to disable or counteract a working Q-Ray," Cap reasons.
"Right," Sharon affirms. "As far as I can tell, all the other agents that had a direct involvement in the project are dead, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. HYDRA arranged things so that SHIELD thought I had died while undercover. I suppose they thought once I was disconnected from SHIELD, it would be easier to take me out. Unfortunately for them, I wound up getting into so much trouble on my own, I guess they couldn't track me down."
"Did HYDRA use a similar method on the other agents?" Cap inquires.
"On the ones that were undercover, yes," Sharon replies. "Others were killed outright in various ways. That's why I'm not sure they really killed us all. After all, I survived. Enough chit-chat. We're approaching the research facility now."
As the research facility comes into view across the horizon, Cap instantly senses something is wrong. He activates the scanners on the HYDRA shuttle and confirms his suspicions. "Sharon, we've got a problem."
"What is it?" she asks as she turns to look at Cap's monitor.
"HYDRA's already arrived. They may have the component already."
"We may still be able to stop them," Sharon says as she alters their course for a more stealthy approach from the facility's rear. "It should take them a while to break through all the security."
Just before their new course takes them out of visual range of the facility's front entrance, Cap's eyes confirm his scanner's readings. "Three HYDRA shuttles, and definite signs of forceable entry - they blew open the doors."
"And the problem with having a facility as out of the way as this one is," Sharon notes, "is that help usually can't arrive fast enough to do you any good."
"I'm sure they never expected HYDRA to come barging in," Cap says.
Sharon brings the shuttle in for a landing behind the facility from a low altitude, hoping to remain undetected. Once on the ground, Cap and Sharon disembark. Silently, they approach the rear entrance. Sharon efficiently picks the lock, and the two enter the building. They find themselves in an emergency stairwell.
"According to your schematic," Cap whispers, "the room we're looking for is two flights up. The exit should take us to a hallway. We're heading to the third door on the left."
"Right," Sharon whispers. "Let's go."
They ascend the stairs rapidly but silently. Upon reaching the door leading to the hallway, Cap whispers, "If they're smart, they've got guards in the hallway. Unfortunately, there's no other way in. We'll have to fight our way through them."
Sharon pulls her laser rifle off her shoulders and checks the charge. Verifying that it is ready for use, she nods at Cap.
Cap takes a step back from the door and kicks it with right leg. Wasting no time, he springs into the hallway with his shield before him. As he expected the hallway is being guarded by a dozen HYDRA soldiers who immediately open fire on the Sentinel of Liberty. Cap blocks their hurried fire easily and takes out the two HYDRA agents nearest him with an elbow to one's jaw and a kick to the other's chest. Cap ducks into the first door on his left to avoid the fire of the remaining troops. As they begin to advance towards Cap's position, Sharon opens fire on the agents from her position in the stairwell. Five agents fall before Sharon's excellent marksmanship, and the remaining five retreat into the third room on the left - the room Cap and Sharon are trying to make their way to.
Cap and Sharon do not even need to utter a single word. Reacting to the hours of training and endless experience they've accumulated over their lives, they both immediately advance to the enemy's position. They press themselves against the wall immediately outside the room, and prepare to enter when suddenly the door across the hall springs open. Sharon begins to raise her rifle and Cap begins to raise his shield, but before they have an opportunity to defend themselves a blast of electrical energy engulfs them, sending them into oblivion.
"Sharon? Can you hear me?"
Sharon Carter opens her eyes. Immediately, she takes in the surroundings. She is in the rear of a HYDRA shuttle, laying on the floor. Her hands and feet are bound. She tilts her head up towards the voice whispering at her. Captain America sits, leaned against the shuttle's rear wall, his hands and feet also bound. His shield is nowhere to be seen. Sharon also manages to move herself into a sitting position.
"What happened?" she whispers back.
"Apparently we were ambushed," Cap whispers.
"Just like a couple of amateurs," Sharon grunts.
They look towards the shuttle cockpit. A masked HYDRA agent pilots the craft. In the copilots seat sits a man who also wears a HYDRA uniform, but is unmasked. As he turns to say something to the pilot, Cap and Sharon get a glimpse of his face.
"Oh no," Cap whispers, "that's Bill Anderson - one of my neighbors!"
"That man is one of your neighbors?" Sharon asks.
Cap nods, in muted shock.
"I hate to tell you this," Sharon whispers, "but he's also Stan Jordan - former SHIELD agent once assigned to the Q-Ray project. Currently listed as deceased."
Next Issue: The conclusion! Nuff said!
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