"Agent Rumlow. Are you and your men ready?"
"Yes sir!"
With Tony Stark at his side, Alexander Pierce takes a moment to gaze upon the best that SHIELD… and HYDRA, has to offer. The Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies, aka STRIKE, was a counter-terrorist Special Mission Unit within SHIELD that took care of the greatest threats to the planet. They were also, each and every one of them, loyal sons of HYDRA.
It was honestly a little funny that not only was SHIELD all but hollowed out by HYDRA infiltrators at this point, but even the vast majority of their best agents were actually HYDRA as well. The very thought made Pierce's heart swell with pride in his chest… as did the orderly lineup of the STRIKE Team, all of them currently standing at attention before him. With Brock Rumlow, the current STRIKE Field Commander having given the proper response, Pierce looks to Stark and gestures for him to begin. In response, Tony brings out a tablet, presses a few buttons… and a moment later the dull roar of almost a dozen armored suits can be heard as the Iron Legion flies into the hangar from just out of view.
Grinning, Alexander watches as Rumlow and the others all stare at the Iron Legion with shock and undisguised avarice. Their eyes flow over the sleek silver and black of the armored suits, the armaments that are both obvious and not grabbing their attention and refusing to let go.
"At ease, gentlemen. Time to suit up."
As the members of STRIKE come out of their stances and look at the suits in wonder, Tony has the Iron Legion stomp over to each member and stand behind them before opening up in an invitation. Nobody immediately steps in, Pierce notices. To be fair, he doesn't entirely blame him. Each and every one of these men is a battle-hardened soldier, and a member of HYDRA at that. They were paranoid by default, and for good reason.
But the Secretary of the World Security Council and their Head of HYDRA has given them a direct order. And the longer they don't obey, the more annoyed he'll get. In the end, Rumlow leads the charge, as he should as team leader. Stepping up to his open suit, the Field Commander only hesitates for half a second more before stepping into it.
As it closes up around him and he doesn't immediately begin screaming like he's being crushed or killed or anything like that, the other members of the STRIKE Team move into their suits as well. Soon enough, the now fully piloted Iron Legion stands before him and Tony.
"Alright everyone, let's run some diagnostics and quick and easy tests." As Tony immediately launches into the science side of things, Pierce just leans back and gives the genius some space, basking in his own sense of victory. They'd never found the Winter Soldier, irritatingly enough. But it didn ' t matter anymore. With the unveiling of the Iron Legion, the other Heads of HYDRA would be coming to Pierce on their hands and knees begging for a piece of the pie.
And to think, it was all thanks to the brilliant Tony Stark. Needless to say, HYDRA had never really considered Tony a viable candidate for recruitment, not in a million years. Even after they ordered the death of the boy's father and mother, it was abundantly clear that Tony wouldn't be very tractable. He was just too willful, too headstrong, and all around too reckless for them to risk revealing themselves to him.
There'd been talk about recruiting Stane instead, especially when HYDRA uncovered the man's plan to have Stark killed in Afghanistan. Stane seemed like he might just have the right amount of gumption to be a member of HYDRA. But in the end, when the terrorists Stane had hired to kill Tony reneged on their deal and kept him alive, HYDRA ultimately backed off and set aside the thought of recruiting Stane. He wasn't quite the man they'd thought he might be.
Fortunate thing that they had too, because the next thing anyone knew, Tony was back from Afghanistan and Stane had suffered from a heart attack and died. And now here they were, with Stark on his side, creating the next big thing that would be sure to ensure HYDRA supremacy in the decades to come.
" Alright everyone. Engage Stealth Mode and take those babies for a test flight, yeah? Just make sure to stay relatively close to base."
Pulled from his thoughts by the end of Tony's spiel, Pierce frowns for a moment as Rumlow and the rest of the STRIKE Team take Stark's words as permission and depart from the aircraft hangar. Truthfully, he would have preferred they wait for him to dismiss them personally… actually, he would have preferred Stark not try to give them orders at all.
But what's done is done, and he's not about to take Tony to task over it and potentially ruin their relationship. Instead, plastering a smile across his face, the WSC Secretary reaches over and gives Tony a pat on his shoulder.
"Well done my boy, well done. You've truly outdone yourself this time, Tony. And thank you for taking the time to come down from New York to handle this personally. I'm sure that brand new tower of yours has you quite busy."
Giving him a broad smile and standing up a little straighter, the other man, always so starved for attention, nods sharply.
"Thank you sir. I'm glad you think so because there's a request I want to make for you. Now that the Iron Legion is operational and the STRIKE Team has their suits… I want to make a suit for Rhodey as well." It takes Pierce a moment to place the name, at which point his eyebrows climb on his forehead.
"Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, you mean? Of the United States Air Force?"
Tony nods, looking nervous as he fidgets in place.
"Yes sir… I was hoping to use the suit as a gift to get me in closer with the United States Government… if I get your approval, I ' m planning on having JARVIS set up an appointment with President Ellis himself. With your go ahead, I think that I can not only use this to forge closer ties with the President, but also put him in our back pocket entirely. Unless… President Ellis is already on board with HYDRA?"
Pierce considers whether Tony is fishing for a moment… but he's well past the point of being suspicious of Tony Stark at this point. Not when Zola vouches for him and his pet AI, and Tony has already done so much for HYDRA already. Sure, it's a little annoying that they can't get the man to part with his new female Asgardian friend, but Pierce knows that ' s probably because he's already fucking the alien bitch. Just how Tony is at the end of the day.
"… He's not, no. You think you can turn him?"
Tony winces at that and shakes his head.
"I'm not sure if I'm the right man for that job, sir. But do I think I can buy him? I think so, Mr. Secretary. I think putting Rhodey in a suit will give me, and therefore HYDRA, a whole lot more leverage within the United States Military."
He's probably right. In fact, he's definitely right. And yet, Pierce is still leaning towards rejecting the proposal. Especially since… "You don't think that James Rhodes is HYDRA material, do you? It's one thing to put the STRIKE Team in the Iron Legion suits… we know they can be trusted. But if Rhodes can't be converted…"
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