Vought Lights the Fuse of Revenge! A Three-Way Brawl on the Ice Fields, and the Show Begins!

Nick Fury stared at the screen, where only the set of coordinates was flashing.

Upon inspection, it was found to be an abandoned Soviet Union military base.

Maria Hill's excitement at finding a clue had been overshadowed by Fury's demeanor.

"Organize a commando team?"

"No, that would be too obvious."

" Pierce's eyes are watching my every move; he can see through any large-scale mobilization."

Fury got up and paced around his office.

"I need to put on a play," Fury stopped and looked at Hill, "A play that he'll completely believe in."

"Go and fetch Brock Rumlow."

Brock Rumlow.

Commander of S.H.I.E.L.D..'s Rapid Response Force.

"Are you going to...?"

Give him a task, a simple task.

Fury pointed to a coordinate on the holographic map on the wall.

In White Russia, there is another long-abandoned Soviet Union military base.

"Tell him we have solid intelligence that the Winter Soldier is there. Let him take his entire force and go there in a grand display."

"I want Pierce to see clearly that I sent my most trusted commando team to the wrong place."

Use your strongest card to perform a fake mission in order to prove the authenticity of the fake mission.

"And what about the actual action?"

"It's time for these Wild Dogs, who have been trained for so long, to see some blood."

Fury turned his attention back to the Siberia coordinates.

"Let Coulson lead the team. He's loyal, reliable, and most importantly, he's not on Pierce's watch list."

" Coulson?" Hill hesitated. "His expertise lies in field negotiations and high-intensity infiltration raids..."

"So I need an expert, Barbara Minerva, to accompany me."

Hill did not object.

An advisor, a clean-cut, good-natured agent, and a little-known team.

This team's composition perfectly fits the "low threat" characteristic and will never arouse Pierce's suspicion.

"Remember, Hill," Fury's voice became unusually serious, " Coulson's mission is recovery, not engagement."

"I want a living Winter Soldier."

" Hydra sees him as an asset. Now, I'm going to take him from Hydra's grasp and turn him into a card in our own hands."

Office of the Representative of the World Security Council.

Alexander Pierce listened to Rumlow's report.

"So, Fury wants you to take the entire elite rapid reaction force to White Russia to raid an abandoned Soviet Union- era warehouse?"

"Yes, sir. He said the intelligence is accurate, the target is right there." Rumlow bowed his head respectfully.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Pierce laughed out loud.

"Has Fury exhibited any other unusual behavior?"

"Sir," Rumlow recalled, "He also had Phil Coulson lead a logistics team to escort a shipment of routine supplies to a logistics base in Alaska. It was a low-level mission, just routine."

One used a feint to the east while attacking in the west, while the other deliberately created a diversion.

That's all Nick Fury's tricks.

He first used his strongest commando team to point at a decoy target, drawing all his attention.

Then, a small, unassuming logistics team is sent to carry out the real mission.

Alaska?

It's just a place that was abandoned decades ago.

Childish and ridiculous.

Does he really think he can't see through such a basic, elementary-level scheme?

Fury has run out of ideas.

"Go on your mission, Brock," Pierce said gently, like a caring leader. "Be careful."

Rumlow turned and left.

Pierce walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and dialed Baron Strucker's encrypted number.

Fury has sent men to find the Winter Soldier.

"What? He found it?"

"Don't be nervous, my friend."

Pierce took a sip of red wine, his tone leisurely and content.

"He sent someone to a fake address and used a logistics team as cover. He thought he was very clever, but he was actually just like a child trying to be cunning in front of adults."

"I'm aware of all his moves. That so-called real team will be disappointed. I've already had the traces there cleaned up."

"Let him do his thing. When he comes back exhausted, that's when we'll finally put an end to him."

Pierce hung up the phone and looked out the window at the sky.

This game is about to end.

He had no idea that the "logistics team" he despised, led by Coulson, had boarded a fighter jet without any S.H.I.E.L.D.. markings.

The course was heading straight for the vast ice fields of Siberia.

The Vought Tower, top floor.

Central monitoring room.

Countless streams of data surged across the screen in front of Motoko Kusanagi.

All communications within S.H.I.E.L.D.., whether encrypted, physical, or disguised as civilian signals, are transparent to her.

" Fury's feint has been launched. The decoy force, commanded by Rumlow, is targeting White Russia."

"The real plan is in progress. Commander Coulson, target: Siberia base, accompanied by Barbara Minerva."

" Pierce knew about the decoy plan but was completely unaware of the real plan. He had taken countermeasures, but the target was another fake location that he had misjudged."

Motoko condensed all the intelligence into just a few key lines and directly synchronized them to Lynn Morris's personal terminal.

Inside the CEO's office.

Lynn Morris was sitting on the sofa.

Tifa brought him a cup of freshly brewed Ceylon tea.

" Fury wants the Winter Soldier card, Hydra wants to hold onto it. Two players, one card—this isn't exciting enough."

Lynn Morris's finger slid lightly across the screen, bringing up the Winter Soldier's file that Cheetah had "leaked."

It was a record of assassinations spanning half a century.

Lynn's gaze finally settled on the record dated December 17, 1991.

[Target: Howard Stark, Maria Stark ]

[Outcome: Target cleared, Super Soldier Serum sample recovered, scene staged as a traffic accident]

"The origins of heroes are always accompanied by tragedy. Tony Stark's tragedy is not profound enough."

" Motoko."

Lynn Morris's voice was transmitted to the central control room via internal lines.

"Exist."

"Compile the two intelligence reports. The first is the real-time flight path of Coulson's team and their final destination: the precise coordinates of the Siberia base."

"The second one," Lynn paused, "Is the Winter Soldier's complete mission file. Every page, every mission, especially the section on December 17, 1991."

Who is the recipient?

Lynn put down his teacup and looked out the window at the Stark Tower.

Tony Stark.

The Siberia ice fields are about to witness a three-way hunt.

S.H.I.E.L.D.. wants to capture the assets alive.

Hydra wants to protect its assets.

And Tony Stark, he would want to kill that asset.

Lynn, however, turned this game from a covert espionage war into an open revenge.