Agent Sakuara

ALLIED HEADQUARTERS - BRIEFING ROOM

Colonel Phillips stands at the head of the table, grim. Steve, Agent Carter, Howard Stark and the Howling Commandos surround him.

"Johann Schmidt belongs in the bughouse. He thinks he's a god and he's going to blow up half the world to prove it." Colonel Phillips stabs his finger at a map of the United States. "Starting with the U.S.A."

"That's insane." Dugan said.

"So's Hitler, but he's gotten pretty far with less than Schmidt has. " Agent Carter commented.

"But Hydra would need millions of men, fleets of transport. They'd have to be fed, fueled—" Falsworth started saying but Howard Stark shakes his head.

"Schmidt's working with powers beyond our capabilities. He gets across the Atlantic, he'll wipe out the entire eastern seaboard in an hour." Howard Stark informed.

Steve stares at the map, eyes drawn inevitably to New York. "Every able-bodied man we have is either here or in the Pacific. Our borders are wide open."

"How much time have we got?" Jones asked.

"According to my new best friend, under twenty-four hours." Colonel Phillips replied. Dread-filled silence falls over the room.

"Where is he now?" Steve asked.

Colonel Phillips points to a spy photo of a mountain. "Hydra's last base is here, in the Alps..." Dragging his finger down "Five hundred feet below the surface."

Morita gets a closer look at the map. "What are we supposed to do? It's not like we can just knock on the front door."

The room goes silent. Everyone turns to Steve.

FOREST

Steve blasts through the forest on his motorcycle. Trees whip by as he weaves through the woods. Unwittingly, he trips a wire across the road. A warning light blinks and Hydra troops start to appear.

Steve presses a red button. Flames shoot out from his exhaust pipe, laying down several yards of fire behind him. The nearest Hydra rider is helpless as his uniform and saddlebags catch fire. He veers into the woods and flies off a cliff, exploding in midair.

One biker remains. He catches Steve on a straightaway. He pulls alongside, grinning. He reaches into a side compartment and pulls a hand grenade. Steve snatches it from him and cracks the rider in the jaw. The rider's helmet drops blinding him. He wobbles while Steve bites down on the grenade pin and yanks it out. Then he tosses the grenade back in the rider's compartment. Steve throttles up and pulls away.

The rider recovers. He lifts his helmet over his eyes and notices the grenade burning beside him but it was too late. The next second, there was an explosion.

HYDRA HEADQUARTERS - HANGER

Red Skull stands beside a huge, mysterious wheel. He toasts eight pilots. "Tomorrow, Hydra will stand master on the world, borne to victory on the wings of the valkyrie. Our enemies' weapons will be powerless against us. If they shoot down one plane, hundreds more shall rain fire upon them. If they cut off one head..." He raises his glass. "Two more shall rake its place!" He drinks. His pilots drink and respond with "HAIL HYDRA!"

The Hydra soldiers also respond with the same statement. Red Skull turns, below stretching before him, five hundred soldiers in formation. They salute in unison and proudly shouts "HAIL HYDRA! HAIL HYDRA!"

As Red Skull takes in the devotion, he notices a red light flashing on the wall. He slowly turns surveying his surrounding.

HYDRA HEADQUARTERS - MOUNTAINTOP

Alarms sound at the surface entrance. Barbed wire tops an earthen-walled compound. Hydra soldiers race to take positions. One scrambles to look over the wall, only to see Steve shooting right at him. The bike ramps off a gun emplacement, launches through the barbed wire and crashes into the compound.

Steve crushes one guard. Whipping wire slashes another. Guards open fire. Steve swerves, tossing a grenade. A big explosion following the next second.

One guard levels a bazooka. Steve raises his shield and deflects the blast back. Finally, a Hydra rifleman blows out Steve's tire. Steve's front fork digs into the ground, throwing him over the handlebars. He gets to his feet, swinging, as dozens of guards move in, pummelling him from all sides.

HYDRA HEADQUARTERS - SCHMIDT'S OFFICE LAB

Guards drag in Steve. He stares up at the Red Skull's grotesque portrait. Then the same person in the portrait steps from the shadows. Steve struggles. The guards hold him tight.

"Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait...but I will say you do it better than anyone else." Red Skull leans in, teeth gleaming in his crimson face. "There are limits to what even you can do, Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?"

"He told me you were insane. That seemed like enough." Steve respond.

"He resented my genius and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine. Yet he gave you everything." He almost looked wounded. "What made you so special?"

"Nothing..." Steve slowly raises his head, staring into the Red Skull's sunken eyes. "I'm just a kid from Brooklyn."

Red Skull seethes. He smashes Steve in the face. The guards grip Steve's arms, holding him up as the Red Skull batters him again and again. After a long time, the Red Skull steps back.

Steve pants, beaten, exhausted. Then finally he smiles. "I can do this all day."

"I believe you can...but can your woman do the same?" The Red Skull taunts Steve while the latter grits his teeth. "Unfortunately, I am on a schedule." He pulls his Luger.

Steve stares down the barrel. "So am I." Then a rhythmic sound was heard approaching their location.

Red Skull turns toward the window to see three specks in the distance, flying straight toward the glass. He spins back to Steve, pistol leveled and pulled the trigger.

Steve swings a guard around, blocking the blast. The guard is incinerated as Dugan, Falsworth and Jones smash through the window on ziplines. Jones lands on Red Skull's desk, blasting away with his .30 cal.

The zipline extends from a powerful grappling gun. Dernier hooks to the wire and shoots away.

Morita barks into his radio. "We're in. Go! Go! Go!" On a combat radio, Morita orders again "Assault team! Go!"

Atop a ridge, Colonel Phillips stands. "You heard him! Move out!"

Agent Carter and hundreds of Allied troops slip out of hiding. Colonel Phillips looks to Agent Carter and c.o.c.ks a shotgun.

At the mountaintop, Allied soldiers open fire, pouring into the compound.

HYDRA HEADQUARTERS - SCHMIDT'S OFFICE LAB

Dugan lands a haymaker. Steve knocks out the other guard. Red Skull gets off a few blasts as he back out the door.

Down the hall, Allied soldiers blow through the double doors. Falsworth cuts down a guard, taking the shield from him. He tosses it to Steve.

Steve catches it with no effort. "Thanks."

"Cheers." Falsworth replied.

Steve straps on the shield and races after Red Skull.

HYDRA HEADQUARTERS - CORRIDOR

Four Hydra troopers back up to the entrance, firing. A shot was fired and one falls. A second tries to lob a grenade. Another shot fired, he falls, dropping the grenade at the feet of the third. The grenade explodes.

Trapped, the last one panics, tongue fumbling in his mouth. "Cut off one head, two more shall rise—" Another shot was fired and the soldier falls dead.

Colonel Phillips stands there, shotgun smoking. "Let's go find two more." A dozen marines follow him inside.

At another corridor, Red Skull runs down, jackboots pounding. Steve tears after him, racing around the corner, only to be met by a vicious barrage. Schmidt unloads his Luger, blasting blue bolts. Steve barely gets his shield up in time.

Schmidt races past an intersecting corridor. He dashes through a doorway and hits a button. Blast doors begin to close.

Steve spots the closing doors. He calculates and hurls his shield. It whirls down the corridor and jams between the doors, holding them open.

Steve takes off after Schmidt but a Hydra flame trooper stomps out of the intersecting corridor, blocking his way. The flame trooper raises his twin guns. Steve raises his arm, only to realize his shield is stuck in the door. 'Uh-oh.' He thought.

Blue fire flickers from the trooper's nozzles. Then a gunshot was heard. The trooper staggers. The tank on his back explodes. Agent Carter steps out of the corridor, rifle in hand.

"You're late." Steve says but deep inside he was grateful.

"Tell me you're not complaining." Then she nods at the door. "Weren't you about to...?"

"Right." Steve sprints for the door, sliding below the shield, grabbing it as he goes. The doors slam behind him while Agent Carter waves on a squad of SSR troops behind her.

Meanwhile, Dernier and Falsworth fight along a different corridor, outnumbered. Falsworth nods to Dernier. They retreat around a bend. Surprised, The Hydra troopers give chase. After a moment, the Hydra troopers come running back. Dugan steps out, firing a Hydra cannon.

SUBORBITAL BOMBER C.O.C.KPIT

Inside the bomber, dim monitors line an impressive c.o.c.kpit. A high-tech cradle stands in the center.

Red Skull approaches, carrying the titanium box. He places it over the cradle and dispenses the Cube. Blue circuits flash. Lights and gauges flicker.

HYDRA HEADQUARTERS - CORRIDOR

Steve runs toward another door. Beyond, a huge hanger looms. Suddenly, a deep rumbling shakes the base.

Steve gapes. Through the doorway, he sees a gigantic plane rolls past. It dwarfs any they've ever seen.

Steve skids into the hanger. The massive plane taxies down the runway. In the shadows, five more bombers wait. Schmidt's plane picks up speed. Steve takes off after it. Red Skull throttles up and presses a button.

At the far end of the hanger, a door opens, letting in the glare of daylight. Steve chases after the plane, but the huge bomber picks up speed. It starts to pull away.

Suddenly, an engine revs. Schmidt's car comes up alongside the still-running Steve, Colonel Phillips behind the wheel. "Get in."

Steve jumps in without the car ever slowing down. In the back, Agent Carter chambers a round into Colonel Phillips' shotgun.

Red Skull accelerates. On his monitor, he spies his car.

Colonel Phillips gains on the plane. Just then, the bomber's rear propellers spin into a blur. The plane widens the gap. He spots a toggle switch on the dash, "KOMPRESSOR." He hits it. The car leaps forward, throwing them back.

Steve climbs over the windshield and steadies himself. "Closer!"

Colonel Phillips floors it. The car surges toward the propellers. Steve drops just as the propellers shave off the Hydra hood ornament. He and Agent Carter share a worried look.

Red Skull races for the mouth of the tunnel. On the monitor he sees Colonel Phillips comes up alongside the plane's huge tire.

"Hold it steady this time." Steve shouts.

"Wait!" Agent Carter grabs Steve by the neck and kisses him. When they break off, Steve looks at her, wide-eyed.

"Go get him." Agent Carter says.

Steve nods absentmindedly, still stunned. He felt guilty even though he was definitely caught off-guard and taken advantage of by Agent Carter. He looks to Colonel Phillips.

"I'm not kissing you!" Colonel Phillips said, deadpan.

Red Skull punches the throttle, the speedometer red-lining.

Steve tosses what happened at the back of his head for now and braces himself on the hood. Colonel Phillips pulls to within inches of the spinning wheel. Just then the plane bursts out of the tunnel. Colonel Phillips spots the gorge ahead. He slams on the brakes.

At the last moment, Steve leaps, snagging the landing gear. The plane shoots over the edge, sailing into the air.

Colonel Phillips skids to a stop. Agent Carter sees Steve hanging on.

Steve locks his arm around a strut. The plane gains altitude. He looks for a way in. Just then, the landing gear groans. The wheels retract and Steve finds himself riding the landing gear right into the flight deck.

Steve stares, awestruck. He realizes the propellers are attached to eight fighters inside the wing. Each features a snub-nose cube bomb as its nosecone.

A gunshot was heard. The bullet ricochets off Steve's shield. He spins as the eight pilots rush down a ramp from the bridge. Steve flips into a flying spin kick, dropping two pilots where they stand. The others move in on him. He throws one across the flight deck and out of the plane. He smashes another with his shield. Then a huge pilot faces off against Steve. he swings a chock, clocking Steve in the head. Steve staggers onto a fighter. The big pilot leaps on him.

Inside the fighter's c.o.c.kpit, another pilot sees his chance. He pulls the release lever, the fighter drops with Steve and the pilot still aboard.

Steve holds on as the fighter shoots through the air. The big pilot hangs on to Steve's boot. Steve kicks once...twice. The big pilot loses his grip, tumbling into the propeller.

Inside, the fighter pilot looks up, astounded to see Steve still hanging on. He executes a barrel-roll. Steve's eyes roll back, skin rippling from the G-force. The pilot jerks the stick but Steve hauls himself forward. He grasps the edge of the c.o.c.kpit and slides it open. The pilot evades Steve's grasping hand. Then Steve reaches down and pulls the ejector switch. The pilot blasts into the sky, smashing into the underside of the bomber's wing. Steve climbs in and hauls on the stick, righting the plane.

Red Skull checks an electronic map, showing the plane's progress toward America. Then he looks out the windshield and freezes. Steve's ragged fighter comes swooping up out of the clouds, propeller whirling.

Steve yanks the stick, flying shakily toward the flight deck. His pod-fighter skids across the flight deck, finally coming to a stop in a shower of sparks and screeching metal. He pushes the canopy off and climbs from the wreck. He straps on his shield and looks toward the c.o.c.kpit.