The atmosphere at the Strategic Scientific Reserve headquarters was the complete opposite of what it had been a few days earlier.
Everyone was smoking cigars.
They couldn't hide the smiles on their faces.
"That damned senator submitted his resignation today."
"I heard angry citizens pelted him with a whole cartload of rotten tomatoes when he went out."
"Hahaha! Serves him right!"
Colonel Davis was laughing so hard he nearly cried.
He looked at the young man in the corner, who was quietly drinking coffee as always, his eyes full of awe.
"Kid."
Colonel Davis walked over to Lynn and gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder.
"You didn't fire a single shot, but you won the toughest battle of all."
Lynn set down his coffee cup.
"I just didn't want to disappoint the doctor."
Late at night, all was quiet.
Lynn stood holding the newspaper that had set public opinion ablaze.
His gaze was fixed on an inconspicuous little advertisement.
[Foresight Pharmaceuticals, safeguarding your health.]
He felt no sense of accomplishment from defeating a senator for the time being.
Public opinion and popular sentiment.
Lynn could guide and shape them, and use them to destroy any enemy standing in his way.
He looked out the window at the sea formed by countless points of light, a trace of genuine amusement on his face.
A hero?
An idol?
No, none of that mattered.
All people needed was a symbol they could place their faith in.
Lynn understood that clearly.
Public opinion was a fire: it burned fiercely, but died out just as quickly.
An old fox like Senator Brandt, who had spent his whole life immersed in the halls of power, was far harder to kill than a cockroach.
The public's anger came quickly and faded just as fast.
As long as he could weather this period, he would always have a chance to turn things around by using his power to cause trouble behind the scenes.
A wounded beast was only more dangerous.
Lynn had no intention of giving him a chance to catch his breath.
He needed a public execution.
Steve Rogers had just returned to the training room after a ten-kilometer cross-country run carrying weights.
Steam rose from his body.
Sweat had soaked through his undershirt, outlining the perfect contours of his muscles.
He smiled when he saw Lynn come in.
He picked up a towel and wiped his face.
"Lynn, I heard about it. That senator... he didn't get his way, did he?"
Though he had been kept in protective isolation these past few days, Steve had still heard something of the thunderous outcry outside.
Countless strangers had taken to the streets for him, standing up to an immensely powerful senator.
He also knew that Lynn was the one fighting on his behalf behind it all.
"Of course."
Lynn handed him a bottle of water.
But there was no sign of ease on his face.
"Captain, why do you think Brandt wanted to get his hands on you?"
Steve unscrewed the cap and took a long gulp of water.
He answered with some uncertainty, "For... war bonds? For political prestige?"
"No."
Lynn shook his head.
"He wants to turn you from a living, breathing person into a vote he can trade, a trophy he can display in his office."
"He'll make you meet the donors he wants to see and put you on display like a pet at all kinds of dinners."
"He'll write your speeches for you and make you tell lies you don't even believe yourself."
"He'll wear away your rough edges and drain your soul until you become a hollow politician just like him."
Steve thought of Dr. Erskine, and his grip on the water bottle tightened involuntarily.
"I... I won't let him get his way."
"He won't give you a choice."
Lynn stepped closer and looked him straight in the eye.
"Unless you take the right to choose back from him yourself."
"You have a power greater than anyone else in this country, Steve. But I'm not talking about your muscles."
Lynn pointed at Steve's heart.
"It's here. It's a power people like Brandt can never understand, and can never defeat."
"Tomorrow, at Independence Square in Philadelphia, there's going to be the largest war bond sales ceremony yet."
"You can tell him, in front of the national press and all the people who support you..."
Lynn lowered his voice, making it enticing.
"What does a soldier from Brooklyn truly want?"
The next day, Independence Square, Philadelphia.
People packed the square, and red, white, and blue flags formed a veritable ocean.
The atmosphere had reached a fever pitch.
As a special guest, Senator Brandt sat in the most prominent seat on the dais.
He smiled and waved calmly to the crowd.
He looked as though the traitor the public had been cursing for the past week had nothing to do with him.
He was a born actor.
He knew how to play a magnanimous patriot on an occasion like this.
He had even prepared an impassioned speech.
As long as today's show was a success, he could turn public opinion around and snatch victory from defeat.
Lynn stood in the shadows at the side of the stage, watching his performance coldly.
He was ready to enjoy the final act of a farce.
At last, it was time for Captain America to appear.
"USA! USA! USA!"
When Steve Rogers walked onstage in his signature uniform, the cheers from the whole square seemed ready to tear down the sky.
The captain stood quietly at center stage, sweeping his gaze over the excited, sincere faces below.
The host handed him the microphone, and Steve came to the center of the stage.
The entire crowd fell silent.
Every camera and every gaze was trained on him.
"Senator."
Steve turned to look at Brandt, his voice reaching every corner of the square through the microphone.
"I'm just a soldier."
He looked Brandt in the eye.
"I want to stay with my unit and be with my friends, not become someone's tool."
The smile on Brandt's face began to twitch.
His mask was cracking.
Steve bowed slightly and delivered the most devastating line Lynn had prepared for him, in a tone that was almost pleading.
"Please... let us keep fighting for this country, in our own way."
As soon as the words left his mouth.
A landslide of cheers and applause erupted!
"Well said, Captain!"
"Keep your hands off our captain!"
"Get off the stage, Brandt!!"
The people's angry cries merged into an unstoppable torrent that crashed against Senator Brandt's deathly pale face.
The flashing cameras captured his dazed, dejected appearance on film forever.
He became a laughingstock across the United States.
A buffoon who had tried to claim a national hero for himself, only to be publicly rejected by that hero.
He was finished.
Facing the crowd, Steve raised the microphone high.
At that moment.
He was no longer a pawn in Lynn's hands, nor an actor on a stage.
He had become the embodiment of his own convictions.