Chapter 28: Rescue

A jeep stopped in the military camp, and Jack got off the car carrying his sniper rifle. Three months of battle had filled his eyes with a hint of violence, and his entire appearance had changed dramatically since three months ago.

As soon as he got off the car, he noticed a commotion at the nearby training ground.

"What's going on?" he asked.

He knocked on the car door and pointed to the training ground.

"Oh, Captain America is here today to visit the soldiers, but it doesn't seem to be going smoothly," the driver said.

The driver glanced quickly at the training ground and sneered, seemingly not very fond of Captain America.

After all, the media had praised Captain America as America's new hope. Still, to these soldiers who had risked their lives in battle, he was no better than a showman putting on a performance.

"Captain America?"

Jack frowned. He had been hearing a lot about this lately. It was mainly from Peggy, who had been closely monitoring Steve's actions.

As if on cue, a guard of Colonel Phillips rushed over to deliver a message, "Captain, Colonel Phillips is looking for you urgently!"

"Coming right away," replied Jack.

He took one last look at Steve, who looked lost and helpless on the stage, before turning towards the command post.

As he arrived at the command post, it started pouring rain outside.

Inside, Colonel Phillips was over his desk, surrounded by a pile of papers, with a gloomy expression on his face as he wrote something.

The atmosphere inside the tent was very heavy, with everyone being extremely cautious so as not to attract attention.

The 200 soldiers of the 107th Regiment and the Hydra forces had just fought a battle in the village of Azano, and they had suffered a great defeat. Only less than 50 people survived; if the reinforcements had not arrived in time, even these 50 would not have made it.

It was normal to lose a war like this in battle; after all, there are winners and losers in war. But what was different this time was that the Hydra forces were equipped with a new type of weapon responsible for their defeat.

This was a very bad sign for Colonel Phillips, and he was very unhappy about it.

"Colonel."

Colonel Philip was writing a letter and seemed unable to stop, but Captain Wayne couldn't help but remind him.

"Captain Wayne, I'm glad you're back."

Despite his words, Philip didn't look happy at all. He picked up a folder from beside him and handed it to Wayne.

"Take a look."

Wayne opened the folder and quickly scanned it, understanding the situation immediately.

"The new weapon of the Hydra?"

Looking at the photo of the bulky, sci-fi-looking firearm, Wayne furrowed his brows. "It seems very troublesome. What does Howard say?"

"Some of the captured weapons have been sent to his laboratory, but it will take time to get specific information."

Colonel Philip placed his hands on the desk and looked at Jack with a piercing gaze. "But I don't want to wait. Every second we wait, more soldiers will die. Just an hour ago, over 150 of our soldiers were killed by Hydra in less than ten minutes!"

"Ten minutes?" Jack's expression changed. He had seen in movies the power of these energy guns powered by cosmic cube energy. A single shot could destroy a wall. Compared to the standard weapons of the US military, there was no match.

150 elite soldiers were lost in just ten minutes. It was no wonder Philip looked so uneasy and felt the pressure.

"Do you need me to do something?" Jack offered without hesitation.

Philip was pleased with Jack's frankness and nodded. "I need you to go to the Hydra factory in Kosbach, Austria, and steal something for me. Can you handle it?"

"Sure thing, sir!" replied Jack.

"I must warn you, it's 30 miles behind enemy lines, all the way is a military fortress of the Hydra, and this time we can't provide support. You can only rely on yourself." cautioned Colonel Philip.

"With all due respect, Colonel, I work better alone," Jack guaranteed him.

Colonel Philip had no doubts about Jack's abilities. If there was anyone in the Strategic Science Corps who could come and go freely behind enemies, it was Him.

"See if you can do some damage. It's also a place where the Hydra holds prisoners of war. If possible, try to rescue them too."

As he said this, Colonel Philip hesitated. It seemed unrealistic for one person to rescue so many people. Still, as a soldier, he did not want to give up those captured soldiers.

"Okay, I'll get ready and leave right away."

Nodding, Jack left the tent with the intelligence given to him by Philip. The rain had stopped by now, and he ran into Steve, who was anxiously hurrying towards him.

"Captain!"

Upon seeing Jack, Steve instinctively stood at attention - a habit he had developed previously.

"Well, isn't this our new hope for America?"

Jack smiled at Steve's remark.

Smiling, Jack looked at Steve and teased, "What brings you here, big shot?"

"It's not important, Captain. I..." Steve began to speak but was interrupted by Jack.

"I know what you want to ask, but it's better to go ask Colonel Phillip directly," he said, then looked at Peggy behind Steve with an ambiguous expression. "By the way, Peggy has been talking about you a lot lately."

After saying this, Jack patted Steve's arm and left to prepare for his mission. Before that, he had to go replenish his ammunition and other supplies.

Because of his words, the atmosphere between the two people standing at the door suddenly became awkward. He wasn't completely clueless and knew what was happening, but getting information from his good friend Bucky was more important than pursuing a romantic interest. If it were any other time, he wouldn't mind asking Peggy out for dinner.

Turning back to look at the woman behind him, Steve ducked into the tent.

A few minutes later, voices could be heard raised in argument before Steve stormed out of the tent, determinedly heading towards Jack's camp.

"Captain!"

Just as Jack finished packing, Steve charged in with Peggy close behind him.

"Enough talk. Hurry up and get ready, And meet at the airport in ten minutes!"

Jack didn't let Steve say anything more and gave a direct order before leaving.

In truth, Jack was more than capable of completing the mission alone. He brought Steve along to see if they could take out the Red Skull while they were there!