-Hydra Forward Base, Long Island, New York-
-December 16, 2009, 2100h local-
HYDRA had been in a steep decline these past few years ever since the goddamned Nine-Tails decided to fuck everything up. They had to unload most of their assets and burn a lot of bridges just keep themselves afloat. They also had to go deeper underground than ever before, even deeper than when Captain America defeated the Red Skull. Communications between cells dropped by 99%, while contacts within a division dropped by 90%. They had to scrap or halt a bunch of their projects. Overall, the Nine-Tails alone pushed back their plans by at least 5 years.
The lack of communication was the number one reason why Pierce had no idea that there was an operation going on that had the probability of revealing HYDRA even if it was a success. To be fair, there was the possibility of him not knowing of the operation even if HYDRA was working at 100%. The mission was headed by a different cell that operates a separate, underground science and weapons research division under Wolfgang von Strucker. He wouldn't mind the mission as much before, but HYDRA was in a precarious situation.
Pierce dropped everything the moment he heard that the Winter Soldier was thawed out. He tracked down the defrost order to Strucker, as well as the mission request. Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, was their oldest and most effective asset. The pseudo-super-soldier had accomplished hundreds of missions over his fifty-year 'tenure' and had a success rate of just over 90%.
Naturally, this high-profile asset's control was given to Pierce, one of the three leaders of HYDRA. Before the arrival of the Nine-Tails, every request for the Winter Soldier's use needed to be approved by him. But with the appearance of the Nine-Tails, contact between the leaders was kept to a minimum. That's why each cell leader could thaw out the Winter Soldier as long as they completed the checklist. He really should rethink that weak ass requirement.
Pierce got out of his car after his security detail opened the door once they checked the surroundings. His security detail was made up of a SHIELD reserve Strike Team. He made sure that most of the Strike Team, which he suggested the creation of, was made up of loyal HYDRA agents. He only needed to maneuver some pieces and change the commander of the Strike team to a Hydra agent, somebody like Brock Rumlow. Too bad, Rumlow was still in the military to pad up his profile.
Pierce walked inside an unassuming commercial building and headed straight to the top floor while giving the receptionist a look before riding the elevator. The receptionist was obviously a HYDRA agent. When he got on the top floor, he went inside the janitor's closet at the end of the hall, where he could access a secret elevator that would bring him down under the basement where all New York operations were monitored. They had already abandoned this base due to a decrease in the number of missions done in New York, but it looked like Strucker saw fit to reopen the site.
As soon as Pierce got out of the elevator, he saw a set up similar to the NASA command center, although a lot less impressive. 25 operators were monitoring each member of the Attack Team, including the Winter Soldier. He looked around the room to look for the man in charge of the stupid operation, but he turned towards one of his security when he didn't see him.
"Ask around for Strucker. I want to talk to him." Pierce ordered. The security nodded and quickly went to follow the command. Pierce went down towards the command floor, leaving his security detail near the entrance, and looked for the operator that was monitoring Sergeant Barnes' vitals and head-mounted camera.
The feed was showing the Winter Soldier walking up a hill through some light vegetation. He couldn't see Barnes' current loadout, but he assumed that it was a sniper rifle and an assault rifle, probably an AWM and an SA80, just basing it on the mission parameters.
"Anything to report?" Pierce asked the operator.
"Nothing, sir. Everything is going as planned." The operator answered respectfully.
Pierce nodded and looked around at the other monitors to check on what was happening. He focused on three monitors, in particular, the ones where it was showing the agents rigging what he assumed was a car bomb.
As Pierce was looking at the feeds, Strucker approached him. Strucker didn't greet him since convention dictates that Pierce needed to recognize Strucker's presence. After a few seconds of tense silence, Pierce started talking.
"What the hell are you thinking?" Pierced asked, his irritation evident in his tone.
Strucker just ignored his superior's displeasure and took a moment to answer. He already formulated his argument the instant he was notified about Pierce's arrival.
"HYDRA is in decline. Some might think that it's just a temporary setback, but we both know that we will not survive long like this. A hydra might survive cutting its head off and come out of it stronger, but what would happen if it's starved to death. No cutting of the head there." Strucker answered.
"Yes, we are in decline…" Pierce agreed. "But what does it have to do with the mission?"
"Power. It's always power. Isn't that the ultimate goal?" Strucker replied. "We want the power to rule the world. To make it better… one way or another, and for that, we need power. However, ever since that dam fox showed up, we lost much of our power. We have already started losing our hold on the underworld. Our reputation is in tatters. We are getting mocked in the shadows…" He added. "We need Stark's armor to force our influence back."
"You know that we are already in the process of acquiring it…" Pierce countered, referring to the Senate committee, talking about confiscating the suit for the US government. Of course, the tech would get lost in the mix, and they would get their hands on it. The committee was headed by Senator Gabriel Stern, one of their members that managed to infiltrate higher in the government. "Either way, it's your job to make something like that."
"Who says we don't have the prototype?" Strucker retorted, sounding proud. "It was only two months ago when we upgraded Sergeant Barnes' prosthetic, so we are certain that we can build at least some parts of the extremities…" He explained. "The problem is that we have no idea how to miniaturize the actuators and hydraulics enough to allow someone inside. It's more like a robot at this point. Aside from that, we have no idea how to produce enough power to power everything. Even Sergeant Barnes' prosthetic can only last for half an hour of heavy use before it needs to recharge, and the arm has a lot less power requirement compared to a whole suit of armor."
"That's still doesn't answer the question of why did you order The Winter Soldier to kidnap Virginia Potts. We don't need the attention right now. If the original plan goes off without a hitch, we will have the armor by next year." Pierce said, his tone heating up.
"We only get it if we succeed. If it fails, Stark will only solidify his ownership of the suit, and we can't make any plays so soon after the hearing since it could directly lead back to us…" Strucker replied, keeping his calm. "But if my plan succeeds, we can have the suit now, and we won't have to use what little political clout we have left to get the suit from the military. If it fails, we still have your plan to get it by next year. As for why do it at their wedding? It's simple really, they dropped their security at the house down to a minimum…" Strucker reasoned. "Of course, there's a chance that it could reveal us, but it's a risk we have to take."
Pierce stared at Strucker. His mind ran a thousand miles a second, assessing the situation while taking into account what Strucker just said. After a few moments, Pierce seemingly decided on something.
"Let's see what happens…" Pierce stated ominously. "For now, give me a rundown of what they're going to do."
"As you know, Stark and Potts are having their wedding today…" Strucker said while ignoring Pierce's subtle threat. "Sergeant Barnes is going to fire a live round during their wedding, which should be happening in the backyard. This should cause everyone to panic and run towards the front gate. A 24-man attack team will get inside the mansion grounds by ramming the gate with a car bomb. This team will act as a diversion for 'Iron Man.' They are all equipped with an EMP grenade that should theoretically slow him down, if not wholly stopping him. It doesn't matter if it works or not since they only need to hold Stark upfront while Sergeant Barnes extracts his wife to be. It's game over from there."
Pierce walked back towards the operator monitoring the Winter Soldier, with Strucker following not far behind. It looked like Barnes had already found his sniper nest since he was already looking down the scope. It was a shame that they hadn't implanted the Winter Soldier with their experimental cybernetic eye with a camera feed. They still couldn't figure out how to increase the battery life, but it was good enough to enhance the user's ocular abilities for at least three hours. They could also see what he sees, which was definitely a plus.
"It looks like they already started. When is he going to take the shot?" Pierce asked.
"I don't know…" Strucker answered nonchalantly. "I just ordered him to cause a commotion that will push them towards the front. It's his judgment when he starts." Pierce nodded and just stared back at the monitor. It took a few minutes before The Winter Soldier loaded a round.
"It looks like he's about to start." Pierce let out.
A few seconds later, the Winter Soldier took his shot, but they saw an unexpected thing. They couldn't see it clearly due to the distance, but they saw one of the groomsmen looking towards Barnes and then diving for the couple. This, of course, surprised the pair since Barnes was a good one and a half kilometers away.
"There's an enhanced with him…" Pierce started his observation before turning towards Strucker. "Did you know about it?"
"No…" Strucker admitted while assessing the current situation. The plan hinges on Tony Stark getting distracted by the diversion team while Barnes took Virginia Potts. Of course, there was an order to take the suit Stark would use if possible. However, with an enhanced, that has heightened senses, and with Stark, the plan might just fail. "But we still have the Winter Soldier that can deal with him. What can enhance senses do to a super soldier?"
Pierce stared at Strucker incredulously.
"Enhance senses? That's more than enhanced senses…" Pierce countered. "The guy has more than enhance senses. He also has increased speed and reaction time if he was able to move Potts away. You better hope this plan of yours doesn't get tracked to us." He added, unknowingly, that a certain jinchuuriki had already figured out that it was them who sent the Winter Soldier.
-Stark Mansion, Long Island, New York-
-December 16, 2009, 2145h local-
Every one of the guests was currently in the wine cellar in the basement. The basement had two exits and both them were on the same side of the room, so Naruto, Rhodey, and Happy could easily guard the place. In case the assholes outside managed to work their way into the room, they could still move to the other exit as Naruto would hold back the enemies while not revealing anything 'special.'
Tony would be the one dealing with the assault team. Naruto could see the EMP grenades using his Shinigan and smirked. HYDRA really underestimated Tony's obsessive nature to fix any problem that he had with his tech. One of the first things Tony added to his suit was EMP shields.
Naruto looked around the room and approved of the situation. Since every one of their guests was family and close friends, nobody was getting hysterical and panicking. Afraid? Sure. Who wouldn't in this situation? But they believed that Tony could handle the guys outside while Rhodey and Happy could protect them.
"Tony will be alright. Those guys are easy pickings compared to what he had already been through…" Naruto told Pepper when he saw her worrying about Tony. She was holding onto Morgan while sitting on a chair. "Besides, he knew what was at stake if he failed. He will not back down even against a god."
"That's what I'm afraid of…" Pepper confessed in a whisper while brushing Morgan's hair. "Tony forgets his limit sometimes and bites off more than he can chew."
"I can say for sure that Tony will not die today. Those guys outside aren't coming for him…" Naruto replied before staring straight into Pepper's eyes. "They are coming for you."
Jonathan, Victoria, Rhodey, and Happy heard Naruto's assertion while Morgan just ignored it and just leaned into Pepper. Naruto discretely activated a surveillance disruption seal that would prevent anyone else from listening in on their conversation. It made it look like they were just talking silently or anything inconsequential to anyone outside, depending on the receiver.
"What do you mean they are coming for my daughter? Who are you anyway?" Jonathan asked. He knew that the guy was close to Tony since he was one of his groomsmen, but Jonathan had no other details.
"Me? I'm Nathan Umber, Tony's intern/boarder and Morgan's bodyguard…" Naruto introduced himself. He, of course, used his alias. "Anyway, there's a guy working his way to the mansion, and I'm fairly certain they are going for Pepper or Morgan to use them as leverage…" Rhodey got a dangerous glint in his eyes and started walking towards the exit. "What are you doing?"
"Going after the son of a… gun… before he arrives." Rhodey replied, amending his statement since Morgan was still there.
"Ha! That guy would eat you for breakfast even if you take Happy with you." Naruto answered back.
"You know the guy?" Rhodey asked.
"Yeah. Met him on a few jobs. Always had him scurrying away though I never tried to finish him off for reasons I can't divulge…" Naruto responded. "As for his description, let's just say he's a cyborg, Captain America."
Rhodey cursed under his breath. If Naruto was saying that the asshole going after Pepper was someone like Captain America, then it really must be a super-soldier no matter how unlikely it was. Even General Ross's attempt on recreating the super-soldier serum ended in failure, and they supposedly had one of the smartest guys of this generation. That also means that there was someone powerful who wanted Tony's suit.
"Met him on a few jobs? Finish him off? What kind of intern or bodyguard are you?" Jonathan said incredulously.
"The special kind…" Naruto replied with a grin. "I'm going to meet the guy. You can handle things here, right?"
"Yeah." Rhodey confidently confirmed.
They picked up weapons on their way to the basement. Rhodey was now holding onto an AR-15; Happy was using a 12-gauge semi-auto shotgun, while Jonathan had a Beretta handgun.
Naruto gave the room one last look to confirm that everyone was fine before walking up the stairs, heading straight to the brainwashed super-soldier. He activated his Shinigan to look for his target but not before looking in on how Tony was doing. It seems like tony was making short work of the assault team, and they were slowly starting to retreat when the EMP grenades didn't work.
Naruto found the Winter Soldier jogging through the backyard while carrying an assault rifle. He decided to just meet him halfway and walked towards the back door but not before slightly changing his appearance and the shade of his hair. Just as Naruto had planned, Barnes breached the mansion's door at the same time he arrived.
"That's not nice. Can't you just knock?" Naruto commented jokingly.
The Winter Soldier just stared at him while tilting his head. A beat later, he attacked Naruto with a barrage of bullets while walking towards him. Naruto decided to play along since Barnes' had a camera strapped to him, so he hid behind a pillar and let him finish the whole clip.
After 31 shots were fired, Naruto peeked around the pillar and saw the Winter Soldier rushing him. Barnes' pulled his hand back and punched Naruto with his metal arm, fully expecting that it would completely demolish the guy in front of him. That was why he was surprised when Naruto nonchalantly caught the punch that could obliterate a concrete wall.
Naruto dropped low to the ground and launched a kick to Barnes' abdomen, only releasing the metal arm when the Winter Soldier started flying through the air back out of the door. Of course, Naruto followed out of the door, expecting an exciting fight ahead.