Planting the Seed

[Deleted]

It had been a good, long time since he had seen active duty with HYDRA, let alone be in uniform. They were the last organisation that he worked for before he took his leave of active duty, and they were a group he was actually proud to work for. They helped bring stability to his homeland so it seemed natural to be a part of it when he was scouted. It was HYDRA who gave him a new lease on life after he felt his life ended on that day. It made him realise he still had plenty to do before he joined his family.

These thoughts mulled over Zemo’s head as he walked along a catwalk in the new HQ that was under construction. He learned that Ultron had hit HYDRA hard, and they too had to regroup and rebuild, which prompted him to help where he could. His engineering expertise proved very helpful in these efforts, and the work did give Zemo something to pass the time and not be left to his thoughts. There was never any shortage of work and that was just the way the operative liked it. The sound of heavy machinery that assaulted his ears seemed like a manifestation of his philosophy: drown out the silence and the noise and keep building. Keep going.

This new headquarters was, from what he had heard, promising to be better than the old one. While Zemo felt that a base on a recently created island, unknown to almost everyone (if word of mouth was to be believed… and given the general consensus was that this was actually true) would make for a perfect base of operations, the fact that it was seized by Ultron told him that no place was truly perfect to hide. At the very least, this place would suit their needs well enough, and that was what mattered.

Having spent a solid fortnight plying his skills on reconstruction, Helmut was quite surprised that he was called to meet the Grand Inquisitor, Wolfgang von Strucker. He was a man Helmut knew of, but didn’t personally meet. Least not directly. The man was quite literally timeless, something Helmut noted after returning to active duty. In all his time that he worked for the organisation, it had not changed command. Granted there was a different leader but that was well before his time. No, to think that any one man could run and command such a powerful group after all this time spoke volumes about his leader.

His experiences allowed him to eliminate any trace of surprise when he would see Strucker once more. Man has not aged a day. Indeed, he looked just the same as he saw him all those years ago in Europe. When he approached Strucker, Zemo would stop and salute his senior.

“Grand Imperator. You sent for me?”

Often Zemo found that when he was asked to come before his superior, it would be for a challenging task. Something that would prove to them why he was asked specifically. A range of tasks ran through his head as likely candidates: research and development, networking and programming, overseeing important projects, infiltration, assassination, covert operations… the list was extensive and that was because Helmut Zemo made sure he was as valuable as possible to his cause. In a world, and more specifically country, where meta-humans were common place, someone as simple and unassuming like Zemo could prove to be just as effective if one applied himself to his craft.

Zemo was interested to see what he would be tasked with, and he knew he would put his experience and talent to use. It was all he had left, but his drive was incredible as a result… and he would see to it that HYDRA would get closer and closer to their goal.

WOLFGANG VON STRUCKER

[WOLFGANG VON STRUCKER]

Things were moving along nicely, Strucker thought as he toured the facilities of what was to become A.R.M.O.R., the successor of SHIELD. An agency with all of SHIELD resources, but solely – and completely unknown to everyone – controlled by HYDRA. He had the Avengers and their lackeys to thank for that. If it was not for the Ultron threat and its aftermath, it would have been impossible for him to make the case in the World Security Council and convince them to dismantle SHIELD and create a new Intelligence and Enforcement agency. But that was exactly what happened. Strucker learned a long time ago that crisis and danger equaled opportunity and he seized that opportunity once the Ultron problem was over. The Superhuman Registration Act was almost approved and shall be enacted after one last vote from all the members of the U.N. Security Council. The WSC was already making contingency plans about how to enforce the act and although Strucker, in his guise of Robert Armitage, was continuing 'the fight' against the act, he was also preparing himself to take advantage once it was approved. Playing both sides against the middle... it was a tested tactic since the beginning of time.

There were still some loose ends that needed to be addressed. A.I.M. and their incorrect believe that they could act independently from HYDRA was one. He needed a long and hard talk with Erika Holstein about that. There was also the situation with Leviathan, but the Baron had such a good and... interesting... relationship with their leader, Contessa Valentina, that he did not see a lot of problem with that one. He could send Kasandra to talk to Erika – no way he would send Kasandra to the Contessa, that was asking for trouble – and that would be that. There was also Romanoff, Rogers and their team of misfits, but he had a plan to deal with them once the act was enacted. The Avengers, though, was another thing entirely. One of the victories for HYDRA was the fact that now the Avengers Initiative would answer to the WSC and A.R.M.O.R., so in essence, they would be answering to HYDRA. Already Strucker moved the pieces to get 'Nita Strassburg' as Overseer of A.R.M.O.R., which meant that Kasandra would have total control of the new agency, something she did not have in SHIELD. She – as Nita – would then get close to Stark and monitor the Avengers.

But that was not the only thing he planned for Stark...

When one of his aide informed him that a 'Mr. Callaghan' wanted to see him, Strucker smiled. He had recalled Helmut Zemo out of semi-retirement. Zemo was one of the best operatives HYDRA had and he had earned the semi-retire status because of it. Strucker allowed him to go to his family and have a 'normal' life, but the events with Ultron changed all that. The man lost his family and it was time for him to return to HYDRA. Strucker told his aide to guide 'Mr. Callaghan' to one of the empty offices in the still-in-construction building and waited for him there. He smiled at Zemo as he entered. “Formalities are not necessary, Herr Zemo. Good to see you are well, all things considered.” He greeted Zemo and then invited him to sit down. “I believe it is time you return to the fold, we have great things coming and I would love for you to be part of the ultimate victory.” He continued as he himself took a seat opposite the younger man.

“Let me cut to the chase, commander. We are in need of your infiltration and espionage skills. We have a high profile target that might prove to be a bit difficult for anyone else but you.” He said smoothly. “We need you to infiltrate Stark Industries... if you are interested, I could then tell you more about it.” He added and stared at Zemo with expectation.

TAG: @baronzemo
WORDS: 688
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[Deleted]

Helmut would nod at Strucker’s comment about formalities and took a seat. He would listen to the Gran Imperator as he sat opposite Zemo, as he gave his introduction to why he was brought here. Not that it truly bothered the man… work has been his escape and he welcomed the distractions. He places his hands on his knees as he sat back, allowing the chair to maintain his posture as he listened.

So Helmut would be keeping tabs on a high profile target? That he could do. He would need time to prepare of course, though it depended on who he would be required to spy on. As much as he would be providing intel to HYDRA, he too would need intel to ensure his insertion would go smoothly, though for Zemo that wasn’t a huge issue. In fact, as it turned out, that aspect appeared to be already covered.

When Strucker brought up Stark Industries, those words made a twinge in the “I’m going to kill him” part of his brain, and it took everything Zemo had to not fly into a rage about Stark. In fact it was a credit to both Zemo’s will and the psychiatric sessions he had been undergoing that the only visible cues were his hands balled into fists, his eyes narrowed and his breathing picked up briefly before he smoothed it out to calm himself. It also helped that Zemo was mentally telling himself that surely Strucker had some ill fate in mind for Stark, and Zemo would be at the front of it. That had to be it.

Zemo would speak up, his voice as calm as he could make it, though it carried undertones of a man consumed by grief, an unrelenting rage and a consuming desire for vengeance.

“I am interested. I just need to know my role there, and my objectives.”

The disciplined man in Zemo asked this because he knew full well if there were no boundaries, then there would be plenty of blood at Stark Industries once he gets there, and that was obviously not what was asked of him. That would be what Zemo wanted most of all, but not HYDRA. No… Zemo knew that someday Stark would pay, but at least in this position, he could do something to make the man begin his penance for everything he has done.

Zemo did see plenty of opportunities to help HYDRA in Stark Industries, even if Zemo would be battling his vengeful self the whole time. Stark Industries is one of the leading R&D centers in the United States, possibly the world, and knowledge of what is going on would give HYDRA a solid grasp of Stark’s plans, even possible information of his projects. Indeed, this would be a golden opportunity for HYDRA and Zemo.

WOLFGANG VON STRUCKER

(Sorry about the delay there!)

[WOLFGANG VON STRUCKER]

The Grand Imperator of HYDRA kept those sleepy eyes of his on Zemo. He could see that Zemo still had unfinished business with Stark because of the whole Ultron debacle. Strucker knew what happened to Zemo's family and he did not need to be a strategist to know that Zemo fully blamed Start for it. Ordering Helmut to infiltrate Stark Industries was both an asset and a risk. He had no doubt that the secret operative would carry out his mission, but at the same time Strucker needed to be sure that Zemo would not go off the grid and try to take his revenge on Stark without orders to do so. “Before we get into your objectives, Herr Zemo, I want to make clear one thing. Your mission is to befriend Stark, not to kill him. As much as I would love to see that idiot drown in his own blood, the time is not yet right. Gain his trust, humor him, feed into his arrogance and gain a foothold into not only what Stark Industries is doing, but if possible the Avengers Initiative as well. Are we clear on that?” He said smoothly, but letting Zemo know that this was no place for personal vendettas.

Strucker served a glass of Whiskey to Zemo and then sat back down. “KASANDRA WULF, my second in command, is already working on Stark. Her legend is 'Nita Strassburg', assistant to 'Robert Armitage'. She shall also be confirmed soon in a hearing on the U.N. and the World Security Council as the civilian Director of A.R.M.O.R. She will be your handler.” He was still not happy about keeping Kasandra befriend Stark, because Strucker knew what 'befriending' someone like that disgusting womanizer Stark meant, but could not be helped. He needed both Zemo and Kasandra to work every angle if this operation was to be successful. Zemo would feed into Stark's need for friends and Kasandra would feed into his ego. “In addition, you will have at your disposal two members of the Shadow Force: Laura, codename X-23 and WARREN WORTHINGTON III, codename Angel. They are yours to use as you see fit.”

He handed Zemo a portable drive. “Here is all the intelligence we got on how Stark Industries operates and on Tony Stark himself.” That was not difficult to attain, the man loved to boast and his life was public domain. The one thing Zemo should be careful about was one person. “Information suggests that he has MARIA HILL, former Deputy Director of SHIELD on his payroll. She is a trained intelligence officer so be very careful when dealing with her. She is also a target but again, do not move against her until either I or Kasandra orders you.” Hill could be a problem, especially as she was in charge of Stark Industries security, according to the information they had. Stark had been adamant with the U.N. and the WSC to grant Hill a pardon, which made Strucker interested into why this was so. So the Baron convinced the two international bodies to agree to. He believed that by pardoning Hill and not STEVE ROGERS and Romanoff, it could split their little 'secret' group. “Do find out, if possible, why Stark has been showing a lot of favoritism towards Hill. Although you and I both probably know why this is so.” Of course they probably did... it was because Stark was a perverted buffoon!

“But the most important thing in this mission, Herr Zemo... if you manage to find out where Rogers and Romanoff are hiding, like the little rats that they are, let us know but do not take direct action against them. I want to have the pleasure of ending their pathetic little lives myself.” He said, not disguising the contempt he had for Rogers and the hell's fury hatred he had for Romanoff. He hated that woman so much it was not even funny. “You think you can carry out these orders?” He asked with a smile, keeping his eyes on the younger man.

TAG: @baronzemo
WORDS: 686
NOTES: