"This is Loki's weapon."
By the runway of a private airport, a sturdy black-haired man carrying a silver briefcase strode up to Makima.
The newcomer was none other than Brock Rumlow.
He was a senior Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Of course, this was only his surface identity.
In reality, he had another famous codename—HYDRA's Crossbones.
Crossbones
He was an absolute tough guy and Captain America's future nemesis.
He had fought Captain America many times, with wins and losses on both sides; he had truly given Captain America a beating.
Later, he even beat up Captain China in Africa...
Ahem, of course, that's a digression.
Nowadays, Rumlow, like the sweating bald man Sitwell beside him—one brain, one brawn—were both capable generals lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D. under the direct command of Alexander Pierce, except he hadn't been controlled by Makima.
Makima lowered her eyes, glanced lightly at the briefcase, then withdrew her gaze and reached out to take it.
However, just as she grabbed the handle, Rumlow didn't let go; instead, he gripped it tightly.
The two secretly wrestled for power over the case.
Rumlow stared into Makima's light green colored contacts, his voice low, whether in concern or warning: "This weapon is very important and relates to that Officer's plan, so it needs to be properly protected."
"Is the security of your private jet up to standard?"
Hearing this, Makima only let out a light chuckle.
Far away in Fisk Tower, Su Modie complained inwardly: Isn't that obvious? Leaving aside the HYDRA Agents and Bronski controlled by Makima, she also held a large number of Devil Summons; how could the security not be up to standard?
Of course, despite her inner complaints, Makima remained gentle and calm on the surface.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Rumlow, the Agents under me are the elite of the elite."
However, Rumlow was clearly not buying this rhetoric, and he took the opportunity to state his demand:
"Coincidentally, my subordinates are also the elite of the elite. Miss Makima is now our most precious asset and cannot be lost. Why not let them travel with you as well? It would put my worries about this trip to rest."
This sounded nice, as if he were concerned about Makima's safety, but the underlying meaning was all too clear—
He wanted to plant people to monitor Makima's movements throughout the journey.
Su Modie thought to herself that while Pierce valued Makima, his desire for Control and dominance was also quite strong.
This old fox was very suspicious. Was he doubting Makima's loyalty to HYDRA? Or was he worried she would pocket the Mind Stone halfway? Or perhaps he feared she would use the opportunity to switch sides and head straight to Baron Strucker in Eastern Europe?
Su Modie couldn't guess.
They say a woman's heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea, but she saw that these old geezers with one foot in the grave were also quite calculating.
Sitwell's gaze shifted between Rumlow, Makima, and the silver briefcase, sweating nervously. But clearly, Rumlow's pressure meant nothing to Makima.
Want to send a few people to monitor?
Fine.
Su Modie was just worrying about not finding a suitable opportunity to Control a few more senior HYDRA Agents.
And here they were, home-delivered.
"Sure, then I'll trouble them."
Makima agreed very readily.
This caught Rumlow off guard, and the speech he had prepared got stuck in his throat.
Just like that?
No suspicion at all?
Of course, he never dreamed that the elites he personally sent out would soon be like spilled water, never to be recovered.
Seeing no resistance from Makima, Rumlow finally let go, allowing her to take the briefcase. However, he didn't back away but intentionally or unintentionally began the next probe: "Speaking of which, Miss Makima seems to have been active in Eastern Europe in her early years."
"Then, you must have had dealings with Baron Strucker, right?"
Indeed, in the resume Sitwell had fabricated for Makima in the database, her early activities in Eastern Europe were clearly stated.
Since everyone was HYDRA, it would be too fake if Makima said she didn't know Baron Strucker at all.
Makima smiled slightly and responded calmly: "I wouldn't call it dealings, but I once participated in one of the Baron's projects regarding the possibility of human genetic mutation modification..."
Rumlow was slightly stunned.
Clearly, he didn't know about this.
Seeing his reaction, Makima seemed to realize something suddenly, her pupils shrinking slightly as she stopped abruptly: "But that project in the end..."
She didn't continue, only smiling apologetically as if she had just let something slip in a moment of talkativeness, then she kept her lips tightly shut.
This act of stopping mid-sentence immediately caused Rumlow to frown, falling into a state of deep thought.
Su Modie saw it clearly: Rumlow was obviously testing Makima on Pierce's orders, and the "project" Makima "accidentally" mentioned was naturally pure nonsense.
She wasn't really HYDRA, so how could she have been in charge of any of Strucker's secrets in her early years?
However, based on her knowledge of the comics, Su Modie knew that this was indeed the direction Baron Strucker wanted to research.
In the comics, this old guy was a complete lunatic, even modifying his unborn twin children into Mutants and giving them powerful abilities—as long as the two were in physical contact, they could jointly fire devastating energy pulses.
They were called the Fenris Twins.
Does this ability sound a bit familiar?
The Boys once parodied these characters, having them hold a superhero orgy, only to be blasted into mincemeat on the spot by Soldier Boy.
Coincidentally, in the comics, the twin girl was later killed, while the boy joined the Thunderbolts after that.
It can only be said to be a great pity.
If it weren't for the fact that Mutant genes don't seem to exist in the Universe Su Modie is currently in, Makima's team would likely have gained one or two more new members; the Fenris Twins' strength was quite considerable.
Therefore, based on the understanding of Baron Strucker's nature, he was definitely conducting similar inhumane projects in private.
He would never directly tell Pierce—who seemed like a partner but was actually a competitor—about these trump cards.
Even if Pierce and Baron Strucker were to have a phone confrontation now, given their nature of harboring ulterior motives and plotting against each other, even if Baron Strucker told the truth and said there was no such person as Makima or such a project, Pierce would never believe him.
Combined with the Oscar-level "slip of the tongue" and "regret" Makima had just intentionally displayed.
Pierce would most likely conclude that Baron Strucker was hiding some unspeakable secret.
By the time these two old foxes finish their back-and-forth suspicion, it would be more than enough time for Makima to fly to Eastern Europe and speedrun through Baron Strucker's Base.
When the Base falls into Makima's hands, historical records can be fabricated however she wants, can't they?
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