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Kai continued, "It seems Pierce doesn't know we're involved, so his imagined enemy this time is Nick Fury, not us."
"With our current strength, taking down an unprepared Pierce will be easy."
He turned to Steve. "Don't act impulsively. Let's stick to the plan and minimize the fallout on SHIELD. Otherwise, we'll be the ones cleaning it up."
Kai gave a quick rundown of SHIELD's situation and instructed Gear to infiltrate their internal network and quietly seize control of the communication system.
Before SHIELD could respond, Gear had already activated the internal broadcast. Kai handed Steve the phone and gestured for him to begin the speech they had prepared.
Steve took the phone, glanced at Kai, who gave him a steady, encouraging look. Steve nodded and began to speak.
Meanwhile, Tony and Yinsen descended from the sky.
"Is this where Steve trained? Is this where Captain America's story began?" Yinsen asked, peering through rusted barbed wire at the long-abandoned military site.
"Looks like it," Tony replied, his eyes landing on the faded sign: Camp Lehigh.
"Yep. This is it."
Tony used a laser to cut the chain on the gate and pushed it open.
Yinsen followed, still confused. "Why did Kai send us here?"
Tony remembered the conversation he'd had with Kai right before the mission. Kai had assured him the team had enough manpower for the SHIELD operation, then handed Tony a location.
"There's something useful there," Kai had said. "You'll want it. And it's tied to Steve."
Tony's curiosity was piqued. The timing was strange, but the mystery was too tempting to ignore. So he and Yinsen flew out to New Jersey.
Now, standing in the empty yard, Tony stepped forward and instructed JARVIS to scan the area.
While they waited, Yinsen asked again, "He said there's something good here but didn't explain what?"
Tony shrugged. "We'll find out soon."
JARVIS' voice sounded. "Sir, scan complete."
Tony projected a 3D model from his palm. "No signs of heat, energy, or signals detected."
But one detail stood out: a building nearby appeared to have only one floor, yet the scan showed a spacious underground section.
JARVIS noted, "Military regulations prohibit munitions storage within 500 yards of barracks. That structure should not exist."
Tony dismissed the projection and headed toward the building.
Yinsen followed as Tony blasted the door open. They descended the steps and flipped on the lights.
The SHIELD emblem glowed on the far wall.
"This was part of SHIELD?" Yinsen asked.
Tony looked around. "It might've been where SHIELD was born."
As they explored, they found little—until Tony entered a side room and froze, staring at a photo wall.
"What's wrong?" Yinsen asked, noticing Tony's expression.
Tony pointed at the center figure. "That's my father."
After a moment, he resumed searching. JARVIS had detected a hidden space behind some shelves but no visible entrance.
Eventually, they found it.
Tony tried to move the shelf but couldn't budge it alone.
"Yinsen, give me a hand."
Together, they shoved it aside, revealing an elevator.
"Why would an elevator be hidden?" Yinsen asked.
"Let's ride it and find out."
JARVIS analyzed the smudge patterns on the keypad and found the passcode: 8539.
They descended into a subterranean room.
To their surprise, the equipment was still running.
Tony stepped forward. As he reached the center of the room, the lights flicked on, illuminating everything.
Both men stared in disbelief at what they'd found.
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