Battle

The out-of-control car sped into a roadside tree. The man on the motorcycle killed the people inside, staged the scene, then drew his pistol and destroyed the camera that had recorded everything.

Though the footage was less than a minute long, it clearly proved that Howard Stark and his wife—the greatest inventor in United States history, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s founders, and close friends of Captain America and Peggy Carter—had been assassinated.

"I never… I never knew Howard was…" Peggy Carter choked up. Learning that her old friend had not died in an accident but had been murdered came as a tremendous shock, yet she forced down her grief. "Who was that man?"

"The Winter Soldier." Evenson handed her a tissue and said, "For a long time, many intelligence agencies refused to believe he existed. But those who did believe could confirm that he was responsible for at least twenty major assassinations." Evenson glanced at the computer and sighed. "But apparently, this was not included among them."

"How far has Hydra come now?" Peggy Carter wiped her eyes with the tissue and asked as calmly as she could, "Have they recovered their former strength?"

"Though I hate to admit it, Hydra is even more terrifying now than it was back then." Evenson shook his head. "An unseen enemy is the most frightening kind."

"Red Skull’s failure made Hydra realize that if they tried to seize freedom by force, people would resist. So they learned their lesson. They planned to make humanity give itself up—voluntarily."

"For more than sixty years, Hydra has secretly fueled all kinds of crises and profited from wars. And when history refuses to cooperate…" Evenson pointed at the computer. "They change history."

"Didn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. ever stop them?" Though Peggy Carter was shocked by what Evenson had told her, she was even more confused. If Hydra had truly done so much over the past sixty years, could S.H.I.E.L.D. really have noticed nothing at all?

"S.H.I.E.L.D.? Hmph." Evenson curled his lip, his tone carrying a hint of mockery. "Ms. Carter, don’t you want to know who gave me this footage?"

Peggy Carter pressed, "Who?"

"Werner Reinhardt." Evenson named a man, then asked, "I imagine that name is not unfamiliar to you?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I remember him." Carter lowered her gaze, recalling something. "He was one of Red Skull’s disciples and the head of Hydra’s Austrian branch at the time. He was a senior Hydra officer who was eventually captured. I personally led the team that arrested him."

"And you were also the one who rejected his request for a deal and threw him into a black prison to await death," Evenson added.

"That’s right." Carter said firmly, "If you had seen the records of his human experiments—the corpses, the girls—I think you would have made the same choice I did."

"Heh heh…" Evenson merely gave a dry laugh and offered no definite answer.

What a joke. He only conducted a few human experiments. If I ever discussed with you the method for creating the first-generation Death Knight, the basics of necromancy, and how to properly spread the Scourge, wouldn’t you carve me into a thousand pieces?

"But he was released in 1989," Evenson said.

"Impossible." Peggy Carter interrupted him, speaking with agitation. "I handled the decision regarding his imprisonment personally. He was a high-ranking war criminal who could not be bailed out, granted medical parole, or pardoned. Unless…"

At that, Peggy Carter’s eyes widened slightly, as though she had thought of something. "Unless someone altered his records and gave him a new identity."

"That’s right." Evenson shrugged. "When he was released, his identity was that of an ordinary German researcher who had been coerced by Hydra. His name was Daniel Whitehall. Amazing, isn’t it?"

A senior Hydra leader, a monstrous anti-human scientist, had somehow transformed into an ordinary German researcher forced to work for Hydra. The difference between those two identities was like heaven and earth, and it also proved that whoever had been capable of covering for him…

Peggy Carter said in shock, "There must be Hydra infiltrators within S.H.I.E.L.D.’s middle and upper ranks. Major infiltrators!"

"This is what he looks like now." Evenson displayed another photo of Whitehall.

"Heh…" This time, Peggy Carter was not surprised. She merely sneered; after everything today, she could no longer be shocked. "It seems his evil experiments achieved a breakthrough."

In Peggy Carter’s mind, Reinhardt, now calling himself Whitehall, had to be in his seventies or eighties by now, and certainly would not have been able to swing a hammer.

Yet in the photo, he looked just as young as he had over sixty years ago.

"It’s so unfair." Evenson complained as if he were merely making casual conversation. "That thoroughly evil bastard who deserves to go to Hell gained a long life and youth. Yet a good person like you, who devoted nearly your entire life to world peace, has to endure the pain of being separated from the person you loved most and slowly growing old. It’s far too unfair."

At those words, Peggy Carter’s left eyebrow twitched slightly, and her left hand unconsciously clenched. Though those movements were subtle, Evenson caught every one of them.

"How did you get this footage?" Carter suddenly asked. The importance of the information in it was self-evident. Why would Whitehall hand it over to someone else?

"Ma’am…" Evenson lowered his head, his voice grave. "You must understand that when you stand in the light, you cannot see the darkness."

"I… understand." Carter understood what he meant. To see the darkness clearly, one had to step into it oneself—and that step was not as simple as going undercover.

"Since you already know so much, why did you come to me?" Carter asked in confusion. "Why not expose this conspiracy?"

"Because I don’t know whom to trust." Evenson widened his eyes as though in pain. "The more truth I learn, the less I understand. Is the all-pervasive S.H.I.E.L.D. still S.H.I.E.L.D.? Or… should I be calling it Hydra instead?"

"I don’t know which of the people around me are S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and which are Hydra agents. I can no longer tell at all."

"But you are different." Evenson looked at Peggy Carter with sincere eyes. "I can be certain that, as one of the people who personally sent Red Skull to Hell, you can be trusted."

"Thank you for your trust." Carter weakly raised her wrinkled hands. "Then what do you hope I can do? Or rather, what can I still do?"

Evenson said firmly, "Fight!"