Marvel's Captain America: Sub Rosa

by David McDonald

  “So, Katherine’s superiors—your men?” Steve asked.

  “I don’t see the harm in admitting that now,” Jonah said. “S.H.I.E.L.D. had always been a challenge for us, and for a long time Ex Umbra struggled to penetrate its defenses. That’s nothing for S.H.I.E.L.D. to be proud of—it was because they had already been compromised by Hydra. After the clean out, it became slightly easier, but one of the reasons I was headhunted so aggressively was for the knowledge I would bring with me. I’d always thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was too soft, too willing to compromise, and once I was shown what Ex Umbra had done for this country, and was continuing to do, I was their man. I’m one of the lucky few, someone who has found their true calling.”

  “And like any convert, you wanted to spread the faith.”

  “Only to those who share our vision,” Jonah said. “We use mercenaries from time to time, but all our agents believe in what we do as much as I do. I was able to use my knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D. to recruit a select few I knew would be receptive to our work and who were already in place. It was fortunate that I did, or Katherine’s research might have fallen into the wrong hands.”

  “Again, I have to ask, why are you telling me so much?” Steve asked. “What do you—what does Ex Umbra—want from me, exactly?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Jonah asked. “We need you to convince Katherine to hand over her research, destroy any copies, and sign an agreement that she will never share her research with anyone.”

  “But why? What is it about her research that scares you so much that you would go to such lengths to capture her?”

  “Because if it does what she claims, then what secrets are safe? We can’t afford to put a tool that powerful in the hands of the general populace. How could we put an embargo on updates coming from a situation we’d been called in to sanitize? That’s the first thing we do when we move in. Her research is important enough that I will do anything to get it into our hands, even share our secrets with you and ask for your help.”

  “I don’t know whether I can convince her to hand it all over to you,” Steve said. “In fact, I don’t even know whether I should try.”

  “I thought you said you were a patriot, Rogers?”

  “I am. I just don’t know if this falls under that umbrella. I’ve always believed that the American people are better than we often give them credit for being. What gives you the right to decide what they can or cannot know?”

  Jonah scowled.

  “The only reason that I stuck my neck out and told you all this was because I hoped you’d understand that sometimes this country needs to be protected from itself.”

  Steve matched him stare for stare. “I’ve found it more often needs protecting from those who think they know what is best for it.”

  “I can see that I misjudged you, Rogers,” Jonah said.

  “Forgive me if I find that more reassuring than anything else.”

  Jonah pulled out his phone and tapped a message. He gave Steve a long and considering look, then hit send.

  “I didn’t want to have to take this approach, but I guess I have no choice. We will get that information from Katherine, one way or another. And, as much as we would love to get our hands on the technology to work out countermeasures, ultimately our main concern is that no one else gets it, and there is a very simple solution to that particular problem.”

  For a moment, it was all Steve could do not to injure himself trying to break free of his restraints so he could leap across the table and throttle the other man.

  “That won’t help with the backup copy she put aside against any such eventuality,” Steve said. He had no idea if Katherine had done that, but it seemed like the logical thing to do, and Katherine was nothing if not smart. “You know, the sort of thing that gets released if you die—or mysteriously disappear.”

  Jonah went pale as the blood drained from his face.

  “You’re bluffing.”

  “Am I?” Steve said mockingly. “From what you’ve told me, it would be a pretty big gamble on your part to call me on it.”

  “I guess that is another piece of information we will need to extract, one way or another.”

  “I know I’m old fashioned, but it seems to me that any country whose well-being requires you to threaten to torture a young woman is in deep, deep trouble.”

  “I will do whatever it takes to serve my country,” Jonah said. “You can be as self-righteous about it as you want. I don’t answer to you.”

  “Whatever it takes, Jonah? There has to be some measure of what is too far, or what are we fighting for?” Steve asked. “Who do you answer to, Jonah?”

  “That’s a state secret that you are not cleared for at this point, Captain.”

  “More secrets? That’s the problem here, Jonah,” Steve said. “When there are so many secrets, how can there be accountability?”

  Jonah flushed.

  “As much as I would love to sit here and discuss morality with you, I have other things to do with my time. You’re a relic, Rogers, and you’re clinging to values that have no place in the real world. While you congratulate yourself on how virtuous you are, I’ll be in the trenches getting my hands dirty preserving this nation.”

  “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jonah.”

  “I’m going to give you one last chance, Rogers. Have a think about what I’ve said, and decide what is more important to you—your country or that girl. When I come back, you’ll need to make a decision. Either persuade her to give us her research, and the location of any backups, or I will. One way or another, by the end of today we will either have that knowledge, or we will have made sure no one else ever will. Am I clear?”

  “Crystal,” Steve said. “And while we’re being so forthcoming, answer me something. Were you responsible for the attempts on her life?”

  Jonah didn’t flinch.

  “Yes. I have full discretionary powers when on a mission, and I don’t feel a need to pass the hard choices on to someone else. At that point, we still had her research on site, and we would have cracked her encryption eventually. And we had no reason to believe she had made any copies.”

  Jonah’s gaze didn’t waver as he looked Steve directly in the eyes, and Rogers realized he was in the presence of a true believer, a fanatic completely convinced of the rightness of his cause.

  “I decided that the best option was to eliminate her. That way, we would ensure that her research wasn’t further disseminated, and that control of such a powerful tool remained in more trustworthy hands. We didn’t realize quite how complex the technology is, and that without her, may take years to fully understand.”

  “That was your best option?” Steve asked. “Attempted murder?”

  “Is it murder when you shoot an enemy soldier?” Jonah asked. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter what either of us think. I was just following my orders to their ultimate conclusion.”

  “Even in my day, that was never a good enough excuse, Jonah. And I hear that there was a trial where they made that official—you might be familiar with it.”

  Jonah didn’t respond, but simply stood and walked to the exit. It was only just as he was about to step through the door that he turned back to Steve.

  “You have one hour. When I come back, you’ll need to decide whose side you’re on—and how we get what we need from Katherine.”

  Chapter 16

  Ex Umbra Headquarters: 1400 hours

  After Jonah left, Steve spent a fruitless thirty minutes trying to escape, rubbing his wrists raw against his restraints. No matter how much he struggled, there was no give in them, and eventually he simply settled back to wait. He was a seasoned enough campaigner to understand the importance of conserving energy for when it could actually do something. He resolved to bide his time and wait for the inevitable opportunity to present itself—and when it did, he would be ready seize it
.

  Steve took the silence as a chance to re-center himself, calling on some of the meditation techniques he had picked up over the years. He put aside the troubling revelations and his fears for Katherine, and focused on clearing his mind. By the time the light over the door flashed and Jonah walked back in, Steve was in a state of perfect calm.

  Jonah stalked over and sat heavily in the chair across from Rogers. He stared at Steve, as if trying to force him to speak first, but Rogers merely regarded him with a placid expression. Finally, Jonah cracked.

  “So, what’s your decision?” he demanded. “Are you going to help us? Whose side are you on?”

  “Freedom’s,” Steve replied evenly.

  Jonah slammed his fists down on the desktop in frustration.

  “What does that even mean?” he snarled. “The freedom to compromise your nation’s security?”

  “No, the freedom to live your life not worrying that your own government will try and have you killed, or hound you, or torture you. That’s the freedom I’ve always stood for, that I believe this nation has always stood for. I think you’ve forgotten that somewhere along the line.”

  “Platitudes. Empty platitudes,” Jonah spat. “Well, I gave you your chance. Let’s see how you enjoy your freedom to choose when you see what it will cost you.”

  Jonah pressed the transceiver in his ear and murmured a few words. Mere minutes later, the doors slid open and two guards marched in. It was hard to tell if they were the same men from before—they were all cut from the same mold: big, brawny, and expressionless. They unfastened Steve from his chair and cuffed his hands behind his back, all while ensuring that he never had a clear shot at either of them or was not out of the firing line of one of their guns. As soon as they nodded to Jonah to signal they were done, he walked out the door, the two men dragging Steve along in his wake. They didn’t have far to go, just to another door in the same hallway. From the outside, it looked identical to the one they had just come from, but when Jonah opened the door, it revealed a much bigger room.

  In the middle was a circle of chairs facing inward, about ten feet from one side to the other. Katherine and Karl were both strapped in chairs directly opposite each other. The guards took Steve to a chair approximately halfway along the arc between the other two captives and sat him down. They stripped off his jacket and shirt, leaving him as bare chested as Karl was, then strapped him in. Once they were satisfied Steve couldn’t move, they retreated to the entrance, taking positions on either side of the door. Jonah came and stood directly behind Karl, who was unable to turn his head far enough to keep the other man in sight. It was a classic power play that would leave Karl uneasy, his body telling him there was someone right behind him and that he had to do something—now. Steve had been on both sides of the equation, and he was painfully aware of how Karl would be feeling—and of exactly the advantage Jonah possessed.

  “So, I’d hoped to avoid this sort of unpleasantness, but Mr. Rogers is refusing to cooperate,” Jonah said. He looked over at Steve. “Last chance. Are you sure won’t assist us with this?”

  Steve shook his head. “I keep telling you, I don’t think I could persuade Katherine to do anything she didn’t want to, even if I wanted to, which I don’t. It’s her research, her choice what she does with it.”

  Katherine shot him a grateful look, and then glared at Jonah.

  “You tried to get Steve to convince me to give you what you wanted?”

  “I made the error of thinking he was a patriot,” Jonah said. “It seems I was mistaken.”

  “You were mistaken, all right,” Karl said. “Steve and you have nothing in common. You talk about serving your country, but you wouldn’t know the first thing about it. When I was on active service, we had words for people like you. I’m just too polite to say them in mixed company.”

  Jonah’s hand tightened convulsively on the back of Karl’s chair, knuckles going white, but Jonah’s face remained expressionless.

  “Thank you, you’ve just made my decision of where to start a whole lot easier.” He pulled a black, rectangular object from his belt. It was about the size of two cigarette packets stuck end to end, with two copper projections at one end. Jonah pressed a button on the side and a row of five green LEDs lit up. “You’ve probably seen something like this before. You’d call it a Taser, though that’s not strictly accurate—that’s like calling just any photocopier a Xerox. It’s a handy little device for dealing with people who are causing you problems when you don’t want to do anything too . . . final.”

  Jonah pressed another button and a crackling blue bar of electricity arced between the two electrodes.

  “That’s fifty thousand volts of electricity right there. This one isn’t a ranged weapon—some of them fire darts connected by wire filaments—this is a strictly an up close and personal version.” He grinned. “Just the way I like it.”

  He triggered the electricity again, staring at the arc as if mesmerized.

  “Besides, for our purposes, range is not really an issue.” He looked at Katherine. “Last chance. Are you sure that you won’t cooperate? I want the location of any backups and the names of anyone else you’ve told about this. Don’t make this any worse than it has to be.”

  Katherine was pale, two spots of color burning on her cheeks, hands trembling where she clutched the side of the chair. But her voice was even when she replied, and Steve felt a rush of pride at her courage.

  “No. This thing is bigger than me. And, I’m sorry, Karl, Steve, it’s bigger than either of you.”

  Jonah shrugged. “Have it your way. Let’s see how long your noble sentiments last.”

  He pressed the Taser against the metal frame of Karl’s chair and pushed the button. There was a crackling noise and Karl went completely rigid, veins standing out on the side his neck. He moaned, a terrible, low groaning sound that made the hairs on Steve’s arms stand up. Jonah kept the current flowing for less than fifteen seconds, but to Steve it seemed like an eternity. He couldn’t imagine how long it must have seemed for Karl. When Jonah stopped, the ex-Marine slumped in his chair for a second, then straightened up.

  “That . . . tickled,” he said hoarsely. “Kind of warm and fuzzy. Like a kitten.”

  “Very brave,” Jonah said. He looked over at Katherine. Her face was ashen and tears trickled out of the corners of her eyes. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’m very good at it. In that time, I’ve learned something very interesting. You can inflict physical pain on someone and be surprised by how much they can take, but the same person will break within minutes if they’re forced to watch someone else being tortured. Human beings are the most fascinating creatures, aren’t they?”

  “Katherine,” Karl gasped. “Don’t listen to him. Don’t worry about me. You were right, this is bigger than both of us.”

  He convulsed as Jonah sent another wave of electricity running through him. This time, Jonah kept it running for thirty seconds; it took Karl longer this time to recover enough to talk.

  “Is that all you’ve got? Seriously, man, I got worse than that in hazing,” he said slowly. “Maybe you need to check the batteries or something.”

  Jonah sighed. “I’ll ask again, Katherine. Will you cooperate?”

  She shot an anguished look at Karl, who shook his head.

  “Don’t . . . you . . . do . . . it,” he ground out. “If I can handle this, you can handle watching.”

  “As you wish,” Jonah said.

  This time it seemed to go on and on. Steve could hear Katherine’s stifled sobs over the sound of the arcing electricity and Karl’s gut-wrenching moans.

  “I can keep this up all day,” Jonah said. “I’m not sure he can.”

  “Steve, what do I do?” Katherine pleaded. “I can’t just watch this. I can’t.”

  “I know it’s hard, Katherine, but Karl and I made our choices,
too. We’re here because we believe in this cause, because we believe in you.”

  “That’s easy for you to say!” she said, sobbing. “You’re not the one suffering right now.”

  Steve gave her a sad smile.

  “Oh, it’ll be my turn next. Karl and I, we’re the expendable ones. Jonah can’t afford to damage that genius brain of yours.”

  At a strange drumming noise Steve whipped his head around. Karl’s heels were hammering on the floor and his head was thrown back. A mix of foam and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.

  “What’s happening to him?” Katherine screamed. “Do something!”

  “He’s having a seizure,” Steve said.

  Jonah stepped away from Karl and watched him impassively.

  “That’s right. It’s only a minor one; he should be fine in a few minutes.” Jonah seemed bemused. “Of course, too much more current and . . . well, he won’t bounce back quite as quickly, if at all.”

  Karl had stopped shuddering and was slumped in the chair, the restraints the only things keeping him from sliding to the floor. Saliva ran down his chin and his eyes were vacant. Slowly, he came back to himself, straightening slightly. He groaned and tried to speak, but gave up and sat silently, taking deep, hitching breaths. Jonah moved back toward him, raising the Taser.

  Steve could see that Katherine was about to crack.

  “Jonah, if you kill him then that’s one less piece of leverage you have. Don’t be stupid, man.”

  Jonah gave Steve an appraising look.

  “You make a good point,” he said. “Perhaps I should give Karl here a break, let him recover a little before we start again. Of course, I’m too busy to stand around doing nothing. Lucky I have someone else here to take his place.”