Secrets

Two days later, Steve returned to the European battlefield with Phillips, and the Howling Commandos were officially placed under Steve's command. Because Han Lin had left, Steve selected another five men from the unit to join the Howling Commandos—the team originally formed by Bucky and the others.

Though they were still winning battle after battle, none of the fighting was particularly decisive. It was as if the Germans had begun deliberately relying on defensive counterattacks. The Allies lacked the strength to break the deadlock, and the European battlefield fell into a stalemate.

Howard began researching the unlimited energy source. The Strategic Scientific Reserve had requested five of the blue energy cubes for research, the military took another five, and the rest remained in use on the battlefield.

Carter investigated the more than forty people present that day through every possible channel.

The results left Han Lin somewhat stunned. A total of nine people were connected to Hydra: Senator James Quinn, who had remained silent throughout the meeting, along with five congressmen and three generals, had orchestrated the meeting.

Six of them were connected to Hydra because of profit, while the other three were Hydra spies. Senator James Quinn and two major generals were likely among the biggest Hydra ringleaders within the United States.

What surprised Han Lin was that Congressman Brand and Senator Michelle Lawrence were not among them.

That left Han Lin somewhat displeased. Congressman Brand had kept trying to put Han Lin at a disadvantage yesterday, and his earlier signals had been meant as a warning.

It was because Han Lin had disrupted his plans after Steve's experiment was completed and had even threatened him. Still, Han Lin's performance yesterday should have left a lasting impression on the congressman.

A man who was not afraid of four-star generals or senators did not think it was shameful to be threatened by someone who needed nuclear weapons to make threats.

Han Lin looked through the documents and asked Carter, "How many field agents do we have now?"

Carter thought for a moment before replying, "If we need people who won't leak information, there are only five. The others are still under observation and aren't suitable for this kind of operation."

Han Lin nodded and asked, "Where are they now?"

"The five state legislators have returned to their respective states. We'd need to send people there to arrest them. Senator James Quinn is in Washington. That lieutenant general returned to the European battlefield with Steve and the others. The other two major generals are administrative officers and are currently at the Pentagon."

Han Lin's meaning was obvious. They had to be taken alive. Getting the most important information out of their mouths was what would be most useful to him...

"Arrange for them to arrest the five legislators who made deals with Hydra. I'll take the three Hydra spies. You secretly go to the European battlefield and bring that lieutenant general back. I'm not sure whether they'll take poison and kill themselves like Hydra spies, so be careful during the arrests. I'll go to Washington and bring those three rats back."

Han Lin had great confidence in Carter's abilities. The powers granted by the simplified serum were not especially strong, but they were more than enough for Carter, who did not need to go to the battlefield.

For a group of high-ranking officials, Carter alone would actually have been enough. But if they wanted to finish quickly without alerting the enemy, they had to rely on the team's strength.

"Move quickly. Don't let them learn about our arrest plan. If anything goes wrong, leave first. Just don't expose yourselves," Han Lin reminded her once again.

That afternoon, Han Lin drove one of Howard's prized vehicles toward Washington.

Standing atop a high-rise some distance from the Pentagon, Han Lin looked at the massive structure beside the Potomac River.

In 1941, after Hitler had taken control of most of continental Europe, President Roosevelt ordered the construction of a new command base, giving birth to this colossal structure with twenty-nine acres of office space.

After retiring, Han Lin could have had a large office inside as well. But he had chosen to remain behind the scenes. Now, however, he needed to capture those three rats.

As night fell, Han Lin started the car and headed toward James Quinn's home. What he needed to do was secretly bring the three men back, not turn himself into a wanted criminal.

So Han Lin felt that going to their homes in the dead of night would be best.

Watching James Quinn get out of his car, Han Lin did not act immediately. He spotted two figures in the distance hurrying over beneath the cover of night. They wore long trench coats and British-style hats, but their military boots gave them away.

Han Lin smiled. It felt as though God was helping him. He had thought he would need to run to three different places to catch them.

Now, it seemed he could catch them all in one sweep.

After watching the three enter the house, Han Lin slowly approached. He hid in the shadow by the corner at the rear of the house, straining his ears in hopes of hearing something useful.

Listening to the voices coming from inside, Han Lin could not tell which of the three was speaking. Few people had spoken during the meeting, and the scene had been noisy, so he had not recognized many voices.

"Although our operation removed Han Lin from the European battlefield,

what we need to do is make him enemies with the United States government, not let him live comfortably here.

"Schmidt has issued an assignment. We must make Han Lin clash with the military, then have the military suppress him. Do either of you have any good ideas?"

"The best way is to make him act in public, preferably against someone influential. We can use public opinion to make it impossible for Han Lin to remain in New York." Another gloomy voice spoke.

"If possible, arrange the assassination of the president, then pin everything on Han Lin and make him bear the responsibility alone. Then the United States and Han Lin will be locked in a fight to the death. Make arrangements as soon as possible. Ruin Han Lin's reputation first, then begin the presidential assassination plan. You have some gang members under your command, don't you? Have them spread rumors, then get them printed in the papers in a few days." The first voice spoke again.

"I have a new mission, so I won't have the chance to take part in those two matters. I need to rescue Dr. Zola. Dr. Zola was captured by Han Lin at the Italian base.

"He was brought back and imprisoned in Stark Industries' research department. Without Dr. Zola, all of Schmidt's research progress and the construction of the Valkyrie have slowed considerably. So Schmidt has decided that no matter how many agents are exposed, we must get the doctor out of Stark Industries."

By then, Han Lin had a general understanding of the situation. He entered through a broken rear window.

The people inside froze for a moment, then quickly raised their guns and fired at Han Lin.

Han Lin dodged aside, turned both hands into blades, and struck the two major generals in the necks. Controlling his strength, he knocked them unconscious at once.

He then seized James Quinn and pinched his jaw with his right hand, dislocating it.

"Hello, Senator James Quinn. You didn't voice any dissatisfaction with me at that meeting, so I thought you were just there to make up the numbers. Turns out you were the mastermind.

"Now let me take you back. I have many ways to make you tell me what I want to know..."

Han Lin looked as harmless and friendly as any ordinary young man, then knocked the drooling senator unconscious with a chop to the neck.

Grabbing the three men by their waistbands, Han Lin carried them toward his car as if they were three oversized garbage bags.

After dislocating the two major generals' jaws, he tied them together like a single bundle of rice dumplings.

Watching the three men piled atop one another in the rearview mirror, Han Lin passed a police car racing toward him with its siren blaring and headed for New York. Old-fashioned American country music played through the car radio, giving Han Lin the illusion that everything was relaxed.

Han Lin's mission had been completed with remarkable ease.

At the same time Han Lin was driving slowly toward New York while listening to music, a group of gangsters armed with standard military weapons stormed into the Stark Weapons Laboratory in New York, where Dr. Zola was being held.

Howard, along with several guards and security personnel, was resisting them. Gunfire erupted everywhere. Howard held an energy pistol whose firing speed was similar to an ordinary firearm but whose power was immense, suppressing most of the enemy forces and preventing them from entering the laboratory.

After receiving the news, Strategic Scientific Reserve agents were racing toward the laboratory.

Howard originally had more than a dozen guards at his side, but he had assigned them to Dr. Erskine today. Planning to recruit another batch of guards, Howard had never expected that anyone in New York would dare launch an attack against a super-rich man like him.