Rescuing Hostages

Chapter 25: Hostage Rescue

Emerging from the shower room, Kyle noticed the sky had changed.

The sky was overcast, a light rain drizzling down, washing the training base's corridors into a mess of potholes.

This scene, combined with the current timeline, felt somewhat familiar.

As Kyle pondered this while seeking shelter from the rain, he saw a woman walking briskly towards him through the downpour, holding an umbrella and looking around as if searching for someone.

Upon clearly seeing her cold, beautiful face, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Carter?"

"Kyle!" Carter spotted Kyle standing under the eaves of the shower room and, disregarding the wet ground, hurried over.

"Why aren't you with Steve? What are you doing in the men's shower room?" Kyle asked, surprised, then as if guessing, he teased, "You don't actually like looking at perfect male physiques, do you?"

After all, the last time he was a soldier at the training base, Carter had barged into his barracks once, and Kyle had coincidentally just finished showering.

However, Carter didn't even refute the teasing this time, saying urgently, "Kyle, I came specifically to find you. Please, go persuade Steve! Only you can convince him now!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Kyle scratched his head, confused.

"I'll tell you on the way. If we don't go now, it'll be too late!"

Carter grabbed Kyle's hand decisively and pulled him out into the rain.

Approaching the military camp tent area.

"So, you're saying that in Austria's front-line combat zone, the 107th Regiment's soldiers were ambushed by the German Army, and only a small number managed to escape back here. And among the missing soldiers, there's a Sergeant named Bucky Barnes?"

After hearing Carter's brief explanation, Kyle immediately understood why she was so anxious.

Bucky Barnes.

Steve's close friend before he joined the army, and the future Winter Soldier, controlled by Hydra. For him, Steve would later completely fall out with Iron Man and engage in a fierce battle.

Now that he knew Bucky was in trouble, and the location wasn't far, Steve would definitely risk his life to save him.

"So... Carter. Are you trying to persuade me to stop Steve from going?" Kyle asked.

Carter answered affirmatively, "Of course! Let alone whether those attacked soldiers are still alive. Right now, there isn't a large force here that can launch a rescue operation. It's simply too dangerous for him to cross Europe's most dangerous war zone alone, deep into enemy rear factories!"

"I understand," Kyle smiled, saying nothing more. This made Carter frown slightly, a bad feeling creeping into her heart.

But at this moment, if anyone could stop Steve's determined actions, it was only Kyle.

The two arrived at the military camp area, at the tents designated for propaganda personnel.

Steve was still wearing his blue and white striped, star-spangled American leotard, with a rain-proof Nike jacket temporarily thrown over it. He was preparing to change a spare tire on a Jeep military vehicle.

He clearly looked ready to set off alone.

After Carter returned, Steve was about to say something urgently, but upon seeing Kyle behind her, his expression became unnatural. "Kyle, are you here to persuade me too? I know this is risky, but if I have the ability and don't do this, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life."

"You guy, I haven't even said anything yet. How do you know I'm here to persuade you?" Kyle shrugged, annoyed, and helped Steve toss the second spare tire into the back of the vehicle.

Steve clapped Kyle on the shoulder in surprise, and the two exchanged a smile. Men didn't need many words; one action was enough to understand each other's thoughts.

"Kyle, you?" Carter looked at him incredulously. Wasn't he making things worse?

"I'll go with him. That should solve the problem, right? Two people are much safer," Kyle said confidently.

Carter looked at Steve, then at Kyle, and said bitterly, "Don't you understand? This isn't something one or two people can do."

What happens when a determined hothead meets another madman cheering him on?

In less than half a minute, Carter's attempt to dissuade them was declared a complete failure. For the sake of both of them, she even had to secretly mobilize her own resources.

Ten minutes later, a plane took off in the thunderstorm, taking advantage of the darkness to fly into the fallen war zone in Europe.

Inside the aircraft cabin.

Steve and Kyle sat on one side, while Carter sat on the other, explaining the situation: "The Hydra barracks are in Klausburg, between two mountain ranges, like a factory. I'll have the plane get as close to the entrance as possible."

"Stark is the best pilot I've ever seen. He's the only one who would dare take off in this kind of thunderstorm."

As Carter spoke, a gentlemanly man in his thirties in the pilot's seat casually waved his hand back.

Howard Stark? The founder of Stark Industries, and Iron Man's father.

Kyle's eyes lit up slightly. He had wanted to meet this legendary figure in the Marvel world for a long time.

He greeted him, "Is that Howard from the Strategic Scientific Reserve? I've seen your scientific inventions at the museum exhibition; they're all works of genius."

"Second Lieutenant Kyle," Howard responded politely. "I've heard of you too – the one who refused the Super Soldier Project experiment, the lone wolf war enthusiast, and the title of American Hero. If there's a chance, I can treat you to cheese fondue when we get back. Of course, it would be even better if Agent Carter could join us."

"Then it's settled," Kyle smiled, completely unconcerned about the impending danger, as if confident he would return safely.

With some of the cards he had on hand, he genuinely wanted to get to know Howard better.

"Attention, we're entering enemy-occupied territory!"

Howard's rare serious reminder was followed by him quickly maneuvering the controls to evade gunfire. The plane immediately began to shake violently.

Through the window, one could clearly see lightning flashing in the sky above, while in the dark wilderness below, enemy muzzle flashes continually illuminated the ground. Both natural and man-made attacks were severely affecting the plane's flight.

"This is too dangerous. Steve and I will go down from here. You guys should turn back immediately."

Kyle made the decision and opened the aircraft cabin door. The night wind at a hundred meters above rushed in, billowing his coat.

"We're pretty close to the enemy factory here too," Steve nodded, standing up and walking to the hatch to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Kyle.

"Steve," Carter called out to him, saying slowly, "You absolutely have to come back alive."

"Don't worry," Steve reassured her and was the first to jump down.

"With me here, Steve will be fine. I'll treat you to a real feast when we get back," Kyle waved and followed Steve, leaping down after him.

In just a few seconds, the two of them rapidly descended and disappeared into the night rain.

"Not just Steve, I need you to come back too, Kyle."

Watching their figures, Carter, on the plane, murmured softly to herself, unsure of what she was thinking.