The foolish question from the old fossil made Sitwell laugh with bitter amusement.
"Of course we can. The 21st century is a digital book, and Zola taught HYDRA how to read it," he continued, his voice gaining confidence. "Bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, even damn SAT scores."
"Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future."
Steve looked at him with cold disgust. "And then?"
With fear dissipating, Sitwell realized what he had revealed and what kind of consequences awaited him. But none of this could be undone now.
"Insight's helicarriers will eliminate them—millions of people, all at once."
This bloody plan shook all three people present. HYDRA's madness made even Steve, who had witnessed their atrocities before, secretly alarmed.
"Is John Wick also among your targets?" Natasha seized the opportunity to ask.
Sitwell nodded grimly. "In the past, HYDRA had no data on him, but his performance in New York made HYDRA consider him an unstable factor."
Steve and Natasha exchanged meaningful glances.
"You're talking about now?" Natasha frowned suspiciously. "Why would Zola already know him?"
"Impossible!" Sitwell retorted. "Before 2011, there was no information about John Wick anywhere in the world."
"The only possibility..." Sitwell's mouth snapped shut.
Hearing him stop mid-sentence, Natasha grabbed him and dragged him to the edge of the building, saying viciously, "Do you want to experience my interrogation style?"
Sitwell was sweating profusely. He stammered in terror, "I can't say!"
"Why not!" Natasha demanded angrily. "Is it part of HYDRA's plan?"
"It's the wizards!"
"What?"
Hearing Sitwell's answer, not only Natasha but also Steve was stunned into silence.
Sitwell looked pained, as if the words were being torn from him. "That's all I know."
"Zola had contact with wizards when he was still human."
Zola had been diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1972, decades before John was even born.
"Please," Sitwell begged for mercy, "I really don't know anything more."
Natasha pulled him back from the edge. She felt somewhat dazed by this revelation.
"Natasha?" Steve placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine." Natasha took a deep breath and refocused. "Let's deal with Project Insight first."
They drove away from the rooftop, with Sitwell held hostage in the backseat. Throughout the journey, Sitwell remained terrified. HYDRA didn't tolerate leakers, especially after he had revealed so much.
Natasha checked her watch. "Project Insight launches in sixteen hours. We're running out of time."
Steve had already formulated a plan. "I know. We'll use Sitwell to bypass the DNA scan and get directly onto the helicarrier."
Since Sitwell was a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. official, this plan was completely feasible.
"What? You're insane!" Sitwell lost his composure entirely. "That's a terrible idea!"
He continued complaining, but the three ignored his protests. A prisoner was getting far too much consideration already. Sitwell felt his life was utterly hopeless.
There was a heavy thud on the car roof. Something had landed with predatory grace.
Before Sitwell could voice another complaint, a metal hand smashed through the window, grabbed him, and hurled him directly into the opposite lane, where he was instantly killed by a collision with a massive truck.
The attacker didn't pause, continuing to fire from the car roof. Natasha reacted with lightning speed, diving into the front seat and curling up protectively. Sam slammed the brakes hard, throwing the killer off the roof.
The assassin landed gracefully, his metal arm scraping sparks against the asphalt as he slid to a controlled stop. Slowly rising, the masked killer came into full view of the three survivors.
That iconic metal arm revealed his identity immediately. The Winter Soldier.
On the Washington highway, a deadly battle was about to unfold.
Natasha had barely raised her weapon when they were rammed from behind by another vehicle. Attacked from both front and rear, the pursuing car pushed their vehicle forward relentlessly. Sam's brakes were smoking, but their power couldn't match the rear vehicle's momentum.
The Winter Soldier flipped back onto their car roof with inhuman agility. He demonstrated to young Sam exactly what it meant to reach through a car roof with superhuman strength. Sam watched in shock as his steering wheel was forcibly torn away, leaving them helpless.
Without steering control, they could only be pushed around by the rear car like prey. Natasha struggled to retrieve her gun and fired upward through the roof. Bullets pierced the metal, but the Winter Soldier leaped to the pursuing car, perfectly dodging every shot.
The car swayed wildly on the highway, completely out of control.
Steve once again demonstrated the meaning of being a super soldier. Lifting his shield, cradling the 'delicate' Natasha in his arms, and grabbing Sam with his free hand, he executed a powerful shoulder charge that smashed open the car door. All three escaped the careening vehicle in a shower of sparks.
The car flipped and crashed, its door scraping against asphalt as the three slid along the highway in a trail of sparks. After sliding for what felt like an eternity, Sam broke away and rolled across the ground dozens of times.
When he looked up at Natasha, who was well-protected in Steve's arms, he could only curse his tall frame that couldn't curl up in the Captain's embrace.
The pursuing car screeched to a halt, and fully armed combat personnel emerged like a military unit. The Winter Soldier accepted a grenade launcher from one of them and fired directly at their position.
Steve pushed Natasha to safety and blocked with his shield, but the explosion sent him flying backward. The combat team provided covering fire, bullets suppressing and advancing on the remaining two. They showed no restraint, firing at roadside cars and civilians without hesitation.
Even two Avengers found themselves momentarily forced into a desperate situation.
The Winter Soldier went hunting for Natasha, while the rest located where Steve had been blown away and began concentrated fire suppression. Sam, using his tactical invisibility, eliminated one operative and seized high ground to provide support for Steve.
With Sam's covering fire, Steve quickly turned the tide of battle.
Sam remained to handle the remaining operatives while Steve rushed to support Natasha. She fought while retreating, with the Winter Soldier in relentless pursuit. Shot in the shoulder, Natasha took cover behind a car, gasping for breath and assessing her wounds.
The Winter Soldier appeared like a specter, raising his weapon to execute her. Steve arrived just in time, delivering a powerful kick that broke the assassination attempt. The two immediately engaged in brutal close combat.
The Winter Soldier's weapon switched between three different firearms in his hands, all deflected by Steve's shield. Then came pure hand-to-hand combat. The metal arm possessed strength that even a super soldier struggled to suppress, but Steve gradually gained the upper hand through superior technique and determination.
Steve managed to grab the Winter Soldier and hurl him away with tremendous force. The mask covering the Winter Soldier's face was torn away in the struggle.
Seeing that achingly familiar face, Steve was stunned into paralysis. Those features were identical to his childhood friend who had supposedly died young. Or rather, he was Bucky Barnes himself.
"Bucky?"
Faced with Steve's anguished question, the Winter Soldier responded only with cold emptiness: "Who the hell is Bucky?"
Without Steve's hesitation to exploit, the Winter Soldier raised his weapon and fired. Sam arrived just in time wearing his Falcon suit, while Natasha provided supporting fire with a commandeered grenade launcher.
Seeing the tactical situation had turned against him, the Winter Soldier chose strategic withdrawal.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team arrived at precisely that moment. Steve remained immersed in the shock of seeing Bucky alive, still processing the impossible revelation. The three were quickly subdued. Rumlow glanced meaningfully at the news helicopter broadcasting live overhead.
He chose to transport them elsewhere for execution, away from public scrutiny.
During transport, Steve's mind raced with the implications. He remembered the horrific reason—Zola had once experimented on Bucky during the war. Perhaps because of those experiments, Bucky hadn't died when he fell from that train all those years ago.
The past had returned to haunt them all, and Steve realized their fight was far from over.