The intelligence gleaned from the Norwegian relay station – the mention of "Adlernest" (Eagle's Nest) in the Bavarian Alps as a "primary research nexus" for Hydra and Johann Schmidt – became the central focus of Elias Thorne's European operations. This was no longer about hitting peripheral labs; this was about striking at what was potentially the Red Skull's seat of power, the very heart of Hydra's occult and scientific machinations.
Dr. Finch, back in Montreal, cross-referenced this information with pre-war architectural plans, confiscated German tourist maps, and whispers from contacts within neutral Switzerland. The "Adlernest" was not Hitler's well-known Kehlsteinhaus tea house. This was a far more secluded, heavily fortified castle complex, perched precariously on a remote mountain peak, accessible only by a single, heavily guarded tunnel and a treacherous cable car system. It had been an ancient Teutonic Knights' stronghold, later acquired by an obscure occult fraternity before being absorbed by the SS Ahnenerbe, and now, evidently, by Hydra. Its very location bespoke secrecy and immense strategic importance.
Elias knew that a direct assault on such a fortress, even with Logan and the Howling Commandos, was likely suicidal. He needed a different approach – infiltration, precision sabotage, and if possible, the elimination of Schmidt himself, or at the very least, the acquisition of whatever "strange artifacts" the SS officer in Norway had babbled about.
His influence within SOE, thanks to "Mr. Blanchard's" continued provision of high-grade, deniable intelligence, was now considerable, if still unofficial. He proposed to Major Davies a daring, high-risk operation: a small team, leveraging the coming winter snows for cover, would infiltrate the Adlerhorst, assess its capabilities, and if opportunity arose, "disrupt its command and control functions permanently." He stressed the critical importance of the facility to Hydra's advanced weapons research, subtly feeding Davies just enough verifiable information to make the target irresistible.
Davies, while recognizing the extreme danger, was also enticed by the potential payoff. Crippling Schmidt's primary research hub could significantly hamper Hydra's war effort. He authorized the mission, assigning the Howling Commandos, with "Sergeant Logan" as their attached specialist. The official objective was intelligence gathering and sabotage; Elias's private objective was far more ambitious.
Anya Petrova played a crucial role in the planning phase. From London, using her unparalleled ability to analyze aerial reconnaissance photographs (some "unofficially" provided by a contact within RAF photo-intelligence, cultivated by Penny Worthington at Elias's subtle suggestion) and cross-referencing them with architectural schematics Finch had unearthed, she built a three-dimensional mental model of Adlerhorst. She identified potential weak points in its defenses, blind spots in its surveillance, and the likely locations of critical infrastructure like power conduits, ventilation shafts, and, most intriguingly, what appeared to be a subterranean level dedicated to "unusual energy signatures" according to the fragmented notes from Val Clair.
Her reports, relayed to Elias via their secure channels, were precise, invaluable. She even managed to identify the likely private quarters of Johann Schmidt himself, based on patterns of movement and security focus. [Influence (Allied Intelligence – RAF/MI-Unusual): +3% (Strategic Intelligence Sharing – Adlerhorst Infiltration Planning)].
The insertion into the Bavarian Alps was even more perilous than the Norway mission. It involved a high-altitude, low-opening (HALO) parachute jump from an unmarked RAF Liberator, a technique still in its experimental infancy, executed during a blizzard to mask their descent. The Commandos, a mix of grim fatalism and adrenaline-fueled excitement, took the jump. Logan, who had never parachuted before, simply hurled himself out of the plane with a guttural snarl when told to, landing with a bone-jarring impact in a deep snowdrift, already healing from the minor sprains and bruises by the time the others located him.
The trek to Adlerhorst was brutal. Deep snow, treacherous mountain paths, and constant SS ski patrols tested even the Commandos' mettle. Logan, in his element, moved like a winter wolf, his senses picking out dangers long before they materialized, his endurance seemingly limitless. He became the de facto point man, his tracks often the only ones the others could follow in the whiteout conditions. His quiet, capable ferocity earned him a new level of grudging respect from the Commandos. They still didn't understand him, still feared him, but they knew he was their best chance of survival.
After days of painstaking infiltration, navigating forgotten goat trails and sheer ice falls, they reached the perimeter of Adlerhorst. The castle was even more formidable up close: a grey, gothic nightmare clinging to the mountainside, searchlights cutting through the swirling snow, machine gun nests covering every approach.
Elias's plan, refined by Anya's intel, focused on using a forgotten medieval sewer outflow, barely large enough for a man to crawl through, as their entry point into the lower levels. Gabe Jones, with his slight build and demolition expertise, was chosen to lead this infiltration, with Logan providing close support. The other Commandos would create a carefully timed series of diversions around the castle's exterior to draw off the main garrison.
The crawl through the frozen, rat-infested sewer was an ordeal, but Gabe Jones, nerves of steel, managed to disable the rusted grate at its inner end. They emerged into a damp, echoing sub-basement, smelling of chemicals, ozone, and something else… something ancient and metallic.
It was here that they found it: not a laboratory in the conventional sense, but a vast, cavernous chamber, its walls carved with bizarre, non-Euclidean symbols that seemed to writhe in the flickering emergency lights. In the center of the chamber, on a raised obsidian dais, was an altar. And upon that altar, pulsing with a faint, sickly green luminescence, was a cube-shaped object of intricate, otherworldly design – the "strange artifact" the Norwegian SS officer had mentioned. Wires and conduits snaked from it to complex machinery humming ominously around the chamber's periphery. Guarding it were not SS soldiers, but taller, more menacing figures clad in dark, segmented armor, their faces hidden behind expressionless visors. They carried weapons that glowed with the same unholy light as the cube. These were Hydra's elite guard, far beyond ordinary SS.
The Tesseract, Elias realized with a jolt of pure, cold shock. He had no direct knowledge of it from his current timeline, but the System, drawing on some deep, anachronistic databank, flooded his mind with an image, a name, and a stark warning: [PRIME ARTIFACT DETECTED: TESSERACT (Space Stone – Uncontained). IMMENSE POWER SIGNATURE. EXTREME DANGER. OBJECTIVE: SECURE/NEUTRALIZE ARTIFACT AND/OR HYDRA PRIME CONDUIT (SCHMIDT).]
The Space Stone. An Infinity Stone. Here. In Schmidt's hands. This explained Hydra's rapid technological advances, Schmidt's rumored power. The stakes of this mission had just escalated to a cosmic level.
Before Elias could relay this new, terrifying information (he was maintaining a fragile, highly encrypted comms link with Sawyer via a miniature device Anya had engineered), the chamber doors at the far end hissed open.
Johann Schmidt, the Red Skull himself, strode into the chamber. He was taller than expected, clad in a black, impeccably tailored SS uniform, his hideous, crimson skull-face a mask of arrogant power. He wasn't alone. Flanking him were two figures who radiated an aura of menace that even dwarfed his elite guards – individuals who moved with an unnatural grace and whose eyes held a disturbing, intelligent light. Potential Hydra Prime Conduits, or at least, highly advanced Ubersoldaten.
Schmidt surveyed the chamber, his gaze lingering on the Tesseract. He didn't seem to notice Logan and Gabe Jones, who had pressed themselves into the deepest shadows.
"The power…" Schmidt's voice echoed, amplified by the chamber's acoustics, speaking in perfect, chilling German. "Soon, it will unlock the gateways, and Hydra shall inherit not just this world, but the stars themselves!"
At that moment, the Commandos' diversionary attacks began on the castle's exterior – a series of explosions and concentrated machine gun fire. Alarms blared throughout Adlerhorst.
Schmidt merely smiled, a ghastly rictus. "It seems we have rats in our nest. Deal with them." His elite guards moved to obey. Schmidt, however, remained focused on the Tesseract, his attention almost reverent.
This was the moment.
Logan, sensing the shift, looked at Gabe. Gabe, terrified but resolute, nodded. Logan launched himself from the shadows, not at Schmidt, but at the elite guards, a blur of adamantium and berserker fury. His priority was to create an opening, to disrupt whatever Schmidt was planning with the Tesseract.
The Hydra elite guards, despite their advanced weaponry and training, were unprepared for the sheer savagery of the Wolverine. Claws met energy blasts and strange, vibrating blades. The chamber became a whirlwind of violence. Gabe Jones, seeing his chance, scrambled towards the humming machinery connected to the Tesseract, fumbling for his demolition charges.
Schmidt watched the unfolding chaos with a cold, analytical detachment, his attention still largely on the pulsating cube. One of his enhanced bodyguards moved to intercept Logan. The ensuing fight was brutal, faster and more deadly than anything Logan had faced before. This Hydra agent was strong, incredibly fast, and seemed to anticipate his moves, wielding crackling energy batons.
Elias, receiving Sawyer's frantic, fragmented updates over the comms – "Heavy resistance! Unknown hostiles! Logan's engaged something… not human!" – felt his blood run cold. The mission had gone critical. He had Logan, his most powerful asset, and Gabe Jones, one of the best demolition men in the Allied forces, deep inside the heart of Hydra, facing not only the Red Skull but also his enhanced lieutenants and an Infinity Stone.
The quiet war of whispers and shadows had just erupted into a conflagration at the altar of skulls, with the fate of the world hanging precariously in the balance.