In the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, Logan hears somebody coming – a guard. Logan hides behind the statue of Captain America and the guard leaves, none the wiser. There was a time, back then when it never would’a even occurred to him to play it nice or quiet.
(the past)
Back in the 1940’s, Logan, without hesitation, snapped the neck of a guard and stole his rifle. He then used it to mow down three other guards. When he was finished, Captain America mentions to Logan that he followed him. Logan remembers that it was because Cap was followin’ after Bucky. Readin’ the situation, he could tell that Cap had assumed the gunfire was Bucky. Either pullin’ the trigger or dodgin’ the bullets, that’s why he came runnin’. That means he hadn’t found Bucky yet – perfect. As he starts down the hall, Cap tells Logan to keep following him. Logan mentions that he’s glad to see he’s not mad. Cap replies mad, no. Frankly, he’s glad to have the help.
As Logan and Cap look down from their perch, they see Baron Von Strucker and Hydra, kina. There’d be other, more polished incarnations, but that was the start of it all with Strucker at the head. He’d taken everything that’d worked so well for Hitler. The use of iconic images (a skull with tentacles), the eradication of the individual (everybody in the same uniform with masks), the elevation of leaders to god-like status an’ made it his own to good effect.
Strucker begins to speak from the podium and tells his followers that the western swine have infiltrated their ranks. He then calls out to bring forth the prisoner. Logan is relieved, he thought he was talkin’ about… Cap then points out who the prisoner is – Bucky. As Bucky is led out to the stage, Cap prepares to dive into action but Logan stops him. He remembers thinkin’ that, if he could spot it from more’n a hundred meters away, how the hell could Strucker not see it? Bucky wasn’t bein’ led to his death, he was gettin’ a V.I.P. escort to his objective.
Strucker walks over to the kneeling Bucky brandishing a knife and calls out for the glory of Hydra! The crowd bursts into a furor as Strucker prepares to drive the knife into Bucky. However, Bucky was preparin’ one of the oldest plays in the book, the Trojan horse. At that moment, Bucky rears his head back and slams it into Strucker’s chin, knocking him backwards. Bucky then drives his boot into Strucker’s nose, breaking it. The Trojan horse play never would’a made it into the book if the Trojans’d only sent in one guy. Logan remembers that it wasn’t a bad plan, he might’a done the same thing, countin’ on there bein’ lots o’ chaos an’ confusion to provide cover for an escape. But Strucker’s men weren’t confused at all, they’d been trained to act quickly an’ as one.
At that moment, the hordes of Hydra operatives storm the stage towards Bucky. Logan recalls did he care at that point, whether or not Bucky got ripped apart by brainwashed Nazi-wannabe goons? Not really, but Cap did an’ he ain’t never been one to miss out on a good ol’-fashioned bloodbath. It was the best thing in the world for relievin’ tension an’ back then, he was really tense.
As Cap and Logan leapt into action and started taking on Hydra operatives, it was lucky they hadn’t been issued weapons or told not to bring them to the assembly. So, the combat was hand-to-hand, down an’ dirty. Holding his own, Bucky is shocked to see Cap helping him. Eventually, hand-to-hand combat never lasts, sooner or later, somebody was gonna show up with guns. Just then, the command is given – fire at will. Logan looks up to see Nick Fury and his crew standing there.
As Fury gives the command to mow ‘em down, Cap and Logan get Bucky out of harm’s way. From the first shot to the last, the fire lasted maybe thirty seconds. Sniffing the dead body of Strucker, it was just long enough for Logan to figure out why Strucker didn’t see what Bucky was up to. When the gunfire ended, all of the Hydra operatives and Strucker were killed.
A Fury looks at the dead body of Strucker he asks who took him out. Bucky informs him that is classified. Leaning down, Fury replies that it better stay that way ‘cause that’s not Strucker. Cap asks what?? Fury tells him that he’s studied every file the O.S.S. has on Struker and every photo too. Now, the photos are in black-and-white, but so is the physical description. Strucker is six feet two inches, two hundred twenty-five pounds and blue eyes. The dead body of Strucker has brown eyes. Fury points out the body they see is a stand-in, a body double, a decoy. Fury laughs that is a pretty nifty trick, one that he’ll have to remember. Bucky then tells Cap that if Strucker is still there…
Cap tells him that if Strucker is still there, they’re going to find him and bring him in alive. Upon hearing that, Bucky looks desponded. Cap gives the orders that Fury will lead his men to Abarda, they have “friendlies” there that can arrange for their transport back to the C.P. They’re going to remain behind and find Strucker. They’ll split into two groups, Bucky and him will… Bucky then interjects and says he’ll partner with Lo… Logan interrupts and says that he’ll take Bucky. Looking at Bucky, Logan knew that Bucky would want to partner with him, he didn’t want him anywhere near Cap. That was fine with him, though, ‘cause he still had some questions for young James Buchanan Barnes. Cap decides fine, and tells Fury that he’s with him.
In a hallway, away from everybody, Logan tells Bucky to tell him about ‘im. Bucky asks tell him about…? Logan says you know who, Captain America. Bucky tells him to read the comic books. They’ll tell him everything he needs to know. Logan asks if it’s drugs. He’s seen ‘im fight an’ he don’t fight like any normal human male he’s ever seen. He asks if the government keeps ‘im doped-up on somethin’. Bucky says something like that, it’s called the “super-soldier serum.” Logan asks if he’s a “guinea pig.” If it all turns out good, all of the U.S. soldiers’ll get a dose? Bucky informs him that the doctor who developed the serum was assassinated, there are no more doses. He adds that is all classified information of course, so technically, he should kill him now. Logan turns and smiles to face Bucky pointing a gun at him.
Logan tells him that he could kill him, in self-defense. Even back then, as young as Bucky was, he was good, but Logan was better. Hell, he’s still better. Before Bucky can react, Logan knocks the gun out of the way and punches him in the gut. He is then able to maneuver himself behind Bucky and choke him out. He didn’t want him dead, yet. He’d only gotten answers to half his questions, he’d get the other half later. Dragging Bucky into a dark corner, he knew that he didn’t have to worry about Bucky runnin’ away. If anything, if he woke up, he’d run right for him.
Strucker, on the other hand, well Strucker was… Just then, Logan catches a scent from behind a door. When he enters the room, Strucker hands the phone to Logan and tells him that it is for him. Logan had no idea what to do and was wondering what the hell was goin’ on. Strucker tells him to come on, it is impolite to keep a lady waiting. Then Logan heard her voice – Seraph. On the other end of the line, Seraph tells Logan that an agreement has been made. He is to kill Captain America and his partner and return to Madripoor immediately. She adds that Baron von Strucker is to be protected at all costs.
Obviously, Logan didn’t kill Cap or Bucky, but what he did instead damned ‘em both, just the same. An’ it didn’t do him any favors, either.
