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[COLOR=00aeef][indent][sub][I]SHIELD Safehouse, Rome, Italy[/I] - [I]Present Day, 18:41[/I][/sub][sup][right]Issue 1.02.4: Ballad of a Soldier[/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][B]Interaction(s):[/B] [I]None[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][b]Previously:[/b] [I][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4875803]Issue 1.02.3: Grave of the Fireflies[/url][/I][/right][/SUP][/indent][/color]

Cap raised an eyebrow as he looked at the screen. [color=00aeef]”So, HYDRA is using an old fort right near the Vatican as a base of operations?”[/color]

Fury gave a curt nod as he dug his spoon into his takeout container of rice. [color=purple]”The fort has been closed to the public since the attack on the Aeneid, which would give HYDRA the perfect hiding spot.”[/color] Fury set his food aside for a moment as the rest of the Commandos continued their hasty dinner. He tapped a few buttons on a console near the wall, and the screen’s satellite images transformed into a semi-translucent 3D model of the fort. All entrances and exits to the fort were highlighted in red. [color=purple]”The situation has escalated, and it’s become clear that HYDRA knows we are here. The prime minister’s youngest son has been taken hostage by a team led by an individual matching Gauntlet’s description. Italian authorities are going to mobilize and cover all entrances and exits for us. Romanoff and Masters are going to enter in from the Tiber to take down the HYDRA spotters and snipers. Rogers and Carter are going to enter in through a sewer maintenance tunnel. Secure the hostage, and take down the Gauntlet.”[/color]

[COLOR=00aeef][indent][sub][I]Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome, Italy[/I] - [I]Present Day, 20:34[/I][/sub][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][/color]

Two miniature grappling hooks latched themselves on to the ledge of the fortress, and seconds after Romanoff and Masters began scaling walls after a brief swim in the polluted waters of the Tiber. In nearly flawless execution, the two SHIELD agents swung themselves over the ledge and onto the wall while pulling out their silenced sidearms. Two shots, and two HYDRA guards were down. Romanoff quickly approached the corpse of her target, finding the guard’s communicator. She placed a small metal disk on the back of it while Masters tapped at a small device on his wrist. After a few moments, the Commandos had access to their communications channels. The two worked in tandem as they split off to execute the HYDRA guards.

Romanoff remained low to the ground as she turned a corner and caught site of two HYDRA guards standing next to each other. They were dressed like traditional Italian military police, but spoke German to one another in hushed tones. The Black Widow crouched up behind the two and activated her shock gauntlets at the last possible second, placing one hand on each’s shoulders. They convulsed for a moment before falling to the ground unconscious, before rising up and pulling out her silenced sidearm. She spotted another soldier down the walkway beginning to turn in her direction. Before he could even see what was coming, Romanoff fired off three shots into his torso before rushing up to place one more shot in the crumpled figure’s head. She lifted her wrist to her lips to speak into her commlink, [color=firebrick]”Eastern Walkway is Clear.”[/color]

Masters wasn’t exactly as elegant. He crouched along a wall near the back of the fort, only for the door in front of him to open up as two HYDRA guards emerged. Tony locked eyes with them, and immediately sprung into action. He charged forward, pulling out his knife. He slit the first guard’s throat before moving the knife to cut the strap off the second guard’s gun. His other hand reached for the barrel of the gun, ripping it from his enemy’s hand to toss is aside. When the guard reached for his own knife, Master’s took the opportunity for the opening to plunge the knife through the HYDRA soldier’s armor and into his heart. It took a few moments for the guard to finally go limp as he held on to Master’s hands, trying desperately to remove the knife but to no effect. Once dead, Tony ripped the knife from the guard before tossing it almost nonchalantly along the walkway as another guard began to jog in his direction, having heard only barely the sound of a struggle. Masters rose to his feet, looked about, and muttered into his commlink, [color=lightgray]”Western Walkway is Clear.”[/color]

[COLOR=00aeef][indent][sub][I]Sewers beneath Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome, Italy[/I] - [I]Present Day, 20:36[/I][/sub][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][/color]

[color=00aeef]”I haven’t been in shit like this since I was on the front lines in Germany.”[/color] Cap’s face was scrunched up in disgust as he continued along the passageway with Sharon at his side. She gave a small chuckle at his joke, until she suddenly silenced herself at the sounds of footsteps down the hall. The two pushed themselves back against the walls of the maintenance tunnel, blending in amongst the pipes as best they could. From around the corner, two guards emerged with guns in hand. Cap gave a curt nod to Sharon before slowly reaching to the shield at his back and removing it. By the time the guards had noticed him, Cap launched the shield towards them. It hit the guard on the left and bounced into the one on the right, and both fell unconscious at the sheer force. The Captain caught the shield as it returned and slid his left hand into the shield’s brace.

The two continued pushing forward until Sharon placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder to stop him. She pointed upward and he gave a nod in acknowledgement. She pulled out a small black cylinder no bigger than a toothbrush and pointed it towards the ceiling, pressing a button on the side. A blue light emerged from the end of the cylinder, pointing towards the ceiling. She twisted the top, and it began to create a square outline onto the ceiling. She tapped another button, and the blue laser turned red as it cut through the ceiling. After a few moments, the laser finished cutting through the floor and Cap pulled Agent Carter out of the way as the ceiling fell down to reveal the interior of the cellar above them. Steve was able to hop up into the cellar with barely any effort, immediately kneeling down and offering a hand to help Sharon climb up.

[COLOR=00aeef][indent][sub][I]Castel Sant’Angelo Courtyard, Rome, Italy[/I] - [I]Present Day, 20:44[/I][/sub][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][/color]

Widow stood in the center of the courtyard, lifting her wrist to speak into the commlink, [color=firebrick]”Captain, Report.”[/color]

At that moment, the doors leading to the interior of the fortress from this level slammed open as Cap was forcibly thrown into open air. He slid a few feet until he reached Widow’s feet, grunting in pain. A figure loomed in the doorway, and behind him lied the crumbled form of Sharon Carter. The figure stepped out, revealing a beast of a man with his right arm covered in a strange golden sleeve of armor. He pumped his arms slightly, and the armor began to shift to reveal some sort of blaster emerging from the wrist. Gauntlet pointed it in the direction of the Black Widow, and she managed to roll out of the way just in time to avoid the blast.

Cap quickly hopped to his feet, raising his shield just in time for it to take the brunt of the blow. The blast simply dissipated into the shield, with its vibranium components taking in the excess force. Before the Gauntlet could fire off another blast, Cap hurled his shield towards him. This forced the armored gauntlet to rise and deflect the metal disk from impacting against his body. In that point of time, Cap was able to close the gap and deliver two quick blows to Sgt. Green’s body. He was able to duck under the Gauntlet’s first blow from his powered fist, but was still susceptible to being briefly stunned by an uppercut with Sgt. Green’s right fist. This left Cap defenseless just long enough for a punch from the Gauntlet knocked him back.

Sgt. Green’s eyes and expression seemed blank as he seemed to seamlessly lift his armored fist towards Romanoff in time to fire another blast in her direction, this time capable of throwing her back and knocking her unconscious as she slammed into a wall. Sgt. Green approached the front gates of the fort, firing another blast to knock the gates off their hinges. He was able to easily raise his fist up and fire a single laser in the direction of law enforcement. As Cap slowly began raising himself to his feet, he watched in horror as the laser cut through the Italian police officers with ease. Cap began rushing forward to get a running start to throw his suit. After getting some momentum, he jumped into the air and spun to begin the throw, but stopped as he heard the sound of a gunshot from behind him.

Sgt. Green stumbled for a moment before collapsing to the ground. On top of the fortress’ wall behind Cap and next to the slumped over corpse of a Hydra guard stood Tony Masters holding a rifle. He lowered it slightly and pressed a finger against the commlink in his ear. [color=lightgray]”Target down, and the perimeter is secure.”[/color][hr][right][color=00aeef]Next Chapter:[/color] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4880545]Lost Boundaries[/url][/right]