The complete mission report dated December 16, 1992 contained far more than a single grainy video.
It documented the operation’s objective, execution, and outcome.
But to Hydra, only one part truly mattered.
The Super Soldier serum stolen from Howard Stark.
And the location of the enhanced assassins created with it.
Those secrets ranked among Hydra’s highest classified assets.
Only two complete records still existed.
The original report stored at the Siberian facility.
And the memories buried inside the Winter Soldier’s mind.
Compared to those, the old surveillance footage was practically worthless.
It was nothing more than a blurry recording from an early-’90s camera showing how one remarkable man had actually died.
Ten years had passed.
Who still cared?
Aside from the victim’s family, almost no one.
And even if someone did...
The footage revealed nothing about the Winter Soldier program itself.
Hydra’s real secrets remained untouched.
That was precisely why Howard had managed to obtain the copy after calling in every favor he had.
The video carried almost no intelligence value.
Everything else in the report remained absolutely off-limits.
To Evenson, however...
The priorities were completely reversed.
The Winter Soldier program held little interest.
The video was the real prize.
Even if he somehow located Hydra’s enhanced assassins, there was no guarantee they could be recruited.
And even if they could...
So what?
It was only one Winter Soldier team.
He had casually handed Howard twenty corrupted soldiers whose combat ability rivaled, if not surpassed, theirs.
The video, on the other hand, carried consequences that reached far beyond a handful of enhanced operatives.
It revealed the truth behind Howard and Maria Stark’s deaths.
It pointed toward the survival of Captain America’s closest friend, Bucky Barnes.
It exposed Hydra’s continued existence beneath the surface of the modern world.
A few minutes of footage contained enough explosive information to shake the foundations of several lives.
Compared to that...
The Winter Soldiers themselves were almost an afterthought.
The recording ended.
Evenson removed the disc, packed it away with the laptop, and smiled.
"Excellent."
He looked across the desk.
"Our account is officially settled."
"It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Howard."
"The pleasure is mine."
Howard smiled politely before voicing the question that had been bothering him ever since their first meeting.
"If you’ll forgive my curiosity, Mr. Wesker..."
"I’ve tried everything I can think of to investigate your company."
"And yet..."
"I can’t find a single trace of it."
Ever since acquiring the Tyrant Serum, Howard had been obsessed with uncovering the truth behind Umbrella.
Wesker had openly declared that Umbrella intended to shape the future of the world.
That made them, at the very least, a rival to Hydra.
After witnessing what the serum could accomplish, Howard regarded that rival with growing caution.
So he had launched a thorough investigation.
It had produced nothing.
No records.
No employees.
No facilities.
It was as though Umbrella Corporation had never existed.
That’s because you’ve never played Resident Evil, Evenson thought with quiet amusement.
"Our company has remained in the shadows for a very long time," he replied calmly.
"We prefer to operate quietly."
Howard nodded.
That much certainly seemed true.
A man who appeared to hold a senior position within Umbrella had walked to both meetings instead of arriving with an entourage.
Even more strangely...
Every phone call between them had traced back to an ordinary public telephone.
Howard had devoted considerable resources to tracing those calls.
Every technical analysis reached the same absurd conclusion.
Public payphone.
Naturally, he refused to believe Umbrella’s executive actually stood inside a phone booth whenever they spoke.
The only explanation, in his mind, was that Umbrella possessed counter-surveillance technology beyond anything Hydra had ever encountered.
The reality...
Was considerably less impressive.
"Then I won’t keep you any longer."
Evenson rose from his chair.
Howard stood as well.
"I look forward to our next transaction."
"So do I."
Evenson smiled.
Clients who happily anticipated being manipulated a second time were always welcome.
As they approached the door, Howard hesitated.
"If possible..."
"I’d like to visit your company someday."
Evenson paused.
"I’m afraid that’s impossible, Mr. Howard."
Because unless you could travel between worlds...
You literally couldn’t.
Howard frowned.
"Why?"
"Our headquarters..."
Evenson considered his words.
"...is in a rather unusual location."
"Unusual?"
A faint smile spread across Evenson’s face.
"You should remember..."
"There’s more on the Moon than rocks."
Howard chuckled politely.
He assumed Wesker was refusing to answer and had resorted to an intentionally ridiculous joke.
Umbrella’s headquarters...
On the Moon?
Impossible.
The two men parted.
Just before leaving, Evenson spoke without turning around.
"Sieg Heil."
Then he walked away.
Howard stopped in his tracks.
The German words echoed in his ears.
He remained standing there long after Evenson had disappeared.
The phrase was painfully familiar.
It carried him back more than sixty years.
Back to when he had been a passionate young man in his twenties.
Back to uniforms.
To rallies.
To shouting those same words in worship of a leader who had promised Germany strength and victory.
Later...
He had sworn loyalty to an even greater master.
Hydra.
Now, after six decades, he had heard that salute again.
Why?
What had Wesker intended to imply?
A thought suddenly surfaced.
Could Umbrella be... what’s left of the Third Reich?
The possibility wasn’t as absurd as it first sounded.
Hydra itself had been born within Nazi Germany before eventually becoming something larger.
By the end of the war, the Allies had hunted Hydra even more relentlessly than they had hunted the Nazis themselves.
If Hydra could survive and rebuild in secret...
Why couldn’t remnants of the Third Reich have done the same?
The more Howard considered it, the more convincing the idea became.
Wesker certainly looked German.
He had spoken German.
He had joked about the Moon.
Howard had dismissed that comment at first.
Now...
His imagination took a different path.
Conspiracy magazines had spent decades claiming the Nazis had developed flying saucers.
Some self-proclaimed experts even insisted modern UFO sightings were really secret Nazi reconnaissance craft.
Howard had always considered those stories laughable.
Today...
For the first time...
He wasn’t entirely sure.
After several minutes, he rubbed his temples and forced himself back to reality.
It was still only speculation.
One phrase wasn’t enough to prove anything.
Besides...
He had more urgent matters to deal with.
He picked up the phone and dialed a secure number.
"Pierce?"
"It’s Howard."
"Yes, yes, calm down."
"I know our recent operation created quite a headache for you."
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"But I believe I’ve found a solution."
"I’ll only need a small favor from you."
...
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