HYDRA did not actually have many means to restrain Osborn, but most of them relied on Tony Stark's technology.
And the key to their exploitation of Tony was Pepper's life, but it just so happened that this link could be resolved by Harry.
Once this link was broken, HYDRA's conspiracy would appear somewhat fragile.
In the original work, they could easily frame Captain America and Fury, but this trick was useless against the living Harry.
"Are you sure about doing this? If Stark's girlfriend dies—"
"Then she dies. Osborn can crush Stark; I don't care about that." Harry did not intend to explain to Zemo.
This was the most critical link; even with Zemo, he had to keep his guard up.
"Fine, I underestimated you." Zemo clearly sensed that Harry had some secret trump card, and very sensibly, he did not ask too much.
The virtual reality pod opened, and Harry stood up. The ground crew still needed to perform some simple landing procedures, so he could use this time to check his equipment.
"They plan to go to the Kremlin tomorrow to discuss energy issues," Tony said.
He was currently sitting in the café where he had arranged to meet Harry, and the people he was speaking to were the many Avengers.
Tony's expression was somewhat stiff, but he was wearing sunglasses and a S.H.I.E.L.D. optical mask to prevent the other Avengers from noticing anything amiss.
"To be honest, I had a pretty good impression of him. I didn't expect him to be HYDRA," Hawkeye Barton said over the communication channel.
"I didn't expect it either—but you can't judge a person just by their appearance," Natasha took over. "Let's wait until we catch him to see if we've got the wrong person."
Only two people did not comment on this: Captain America Steve and Iron Man Tony.
Steve had looked through the files S.H.I.E.L.D. gave him; he believed that HYDRA might have truly returned, and his good brother Bucky was ironclad proof.
For this reason, he specifically used Tony's equipment to sneak Bucky out without anyone noticing.
But in his mind, he would still recall his conversation with Osborn and the active enhancer used for Peggy—if it weren't for that serum, he might not even be able to have a normal conversation with Peggy.
Tony's thoughts were even more complex, and he even felt a bit of guilt:
He was very wary of people like Fury who had little secrets; to him, Harry and Osborn made him feel even more need to be vigilant.
Therefore, he would privately spend time researching the operating mode of ctOS and looking for vulnerabilities. He even concluded from several of Harry's conversations that there was an abnormality in the Osborn current, and he designed a defense system to counter orbital drops.
He was the one planning the operation for Captain America to hijack Bucky, and he even avoided Volt's detection without knowing Volt existed.
But he had never thought that HYDRA was still in this World, and that it was S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. attracted his attention through fabricated information, making him suspicious. Finally, he decided to help Steve hijack that enhanced individual; as long as they obtained the Winter Soldier, everything would be clear.
But what caught him off guard was that as soon as the Winter Soldier was hijacked, these S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents turned hostile, immediately capturing Pepper—out of caution, ctOS could not monitor Stark's industries and territories.
The entire incident happened very tightly; they were clearly well-trained, and he couldn't make any reaction.
Since things had come to this, and Pepper had been abducted to an unknown location, he could only take it one step at a time—if things didn't go smoothly, he would just have to find a way to rescue Harry and Pepper later.
On one hand, he hoped the information he left behind in secret would make Harry alert; on the other hand, he was worried that if this operation failed, Pepper would be killed by that group of people.
Although the movies didn't show the madness and horror of HYDRA, don't forget that many of them were bona fide Nazis. They were an organization with anti-humanity carved into their bones; they were the true cancer of humanity, not some comedic characters.
"Target in sight," Barton reminded.
An ordinary but clean taxi slowly stopped at the entrance of the restaurant, and Harry even gave this driver a few hundred dollars in tips before leaving.
"Rich people take taxis too? Let me check this taxi driver's identity: former Soviet Union colonel, served a few years in prison after retirement, everything is normal. Is this really just an ordinary person? Why do I feel a sense of familiarity?" Natasha asked suspiciously.
Captain America said nothing, thinking back to that active enhancer Harry gave to Peggy.
"If you're interested, I can help you ask," Tony said.
Harry straightened his clothes, carried his briefcase, and walked into the café.
"You just took a taxi? Where's your driver?" Tony asked with interest.
Harry placed his briefcase by his feet and sat down in front of Tony:
"I like to travel alone, at most bringing Felicia—that's my assistant."
"That driver is a former Soviet Union veteran. Sometimes I feel quite emotional; if it weren't for these people, if it weren't for that victory, the World today might look quite different—a way I wouldn't like."
Upon hearing this, the group of Americans felt something was off—including Natasha, who was effectively American.
"You sound like—" Tony gestured with his hands, seemingly wanting to say something.
Harry said, "It really is like that, isn't it? They were all respectable soldiers. No matter what happened to this country later, their merits cannot be erased."
"That was a heroic and moving battle. People rushed forward one after another, fearless of death. Tens of millions of soldiers died on the battlefield, never able to return to their hometowns, and everyone lost something."
"Sometimes, to win a war, you have to be prepared to sacrifice certain things. The Captain should understand this—it's a pity he's not here."
"I have always been very interested in the root cause of the drastic changes that happened in this place—"
"So I did some research on it. You know, I've always liked to share my research results. Guess what I found?"
As Harry spoke more and more, Tony's heart beat faster and faster. He felt as if his blood was about to burst through his veins. He could only lower his head and put his hands under the table to hide his condition.
At this moment, Harry stood up. "Sorry, nature calls. I need to use the restroom—help me watch this case; this is important equipment."
Harry left his seat, and Tony gasped for air as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
"What's wrong? Stark, hurry up and order the capture of Osborn. Don't forget your girlfriend is still in our hands." The voice of Garrett rang out on another communication channel.
"I want to see her."
"Haha, you really know how to make demands—but I'll satisfy your request. Remember, if the mission fails, you will never see her again."
Pepper's video played on Tony's phone. She was locked in a dark room; the dim light source couldn't illuminate anything, and only a few guns could be seen pointed at her.
"Now, check that case." Garrett closed the video transmission and ordered Tony.
Tony opened the case, and inside was a strange device.
"A wireless power transmission prototype." Tony only scanned it once to recognize what it was.
"Interesting technology, but it will soon be ours," Garrett said with a laugh. "Once the battle begins, you have 30 minutes to subdue Osborn, otherwise, say goodbye to your girlfriend."
No one noticed that a faint electric current snaked its way along Tony's body and into his earpiece.
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