Chapter 265: Ch.264 SSR’s Trail

Chapter 265: Ch.264 SSR's Trail

While Nick and Peggy were talking, the German forces silently closed in on them. They had brought along those strange, bug-like mutated dogs that could run along walls. These dogs, now charging toward them on chains, were lethal—silent killers.

The sound of chains echoed in the sewer, and dogs that don't bark are always the most dangerous.

In the dark, it was nearly impossible to hit a moving target like those dogs with a gun. Even if they were shot a few times, they could keep attacking. And even when dead, they would latch onto their prey with a death grip.

Nick and Peggy's hearts sank. They both knew that escaping this time might be nearly impossible.

Peggy glanced at the unconscious Steve, who was still wearing his Captain America costume. The once-proud uniform was now tattered and full of holes, even missing pieces of internal armor.

His healing factor was slow, and the head injuries had left him in a deep coma. Hydra had been prepared; they had fallen into a well-laid trap.

"You take Steve and leave. The rest of us will stay and cover you."

Nick quickly revised his plan. While he wasn't the one officially in charge—being a Black man meant others often had higher authority—the original leader of this mission had been killed. Peggy, overwhelmed with worry for Steve, wasn't able to lead, so the responsibility had fallen to him.

Nick pushed forward, taking up a position behind the largest available cover. He knew this would buy them a few extra moments.

By standard operating procedure, when retreating wasn't possible, agents were supposed to destroy any valuable intel and resources. That would have meant ensuring Captain America's body was destroyed, maybe even blowing him into pieces to be flushed away by the sewer waters.

But Peggy would never allow that. As Agent 13, her clearance level was above Nick's, and she clearly had feelings for Steve. So, Nick didn't even bother mentioning it.

They could probably hold off the enemy for about three minutes. After that, if Peggy and Steve were still being chased, she'd know what to do.

Nick figured he'd die soon, so why not go out as a good guy this time? No need to spoil the situation by bringing up the unpleasant details.

Nick refocused on the sewer, squinting to make out the shadows of the approaching enemy. Then he pulled the trigger, watching something in the distance drop.

But as he relaxed and ducked behind cover to reload, something suddenly lunged at his head from above.

It was one of those mutated dogs, using its suction-cup-like legs to run along the ceiling of the sewer. In the darkness, no one had noticed it approaching. Its chain had been hanging down, barely making a sound as it stalked them from above.

Nick's eyes widened in horror as he saw the rows of sharp teeth in the dog's mouth, closing in on his neck.

"To die by a dog's bite... what a tragic end."

Time seemed to freeze. Nick's life flashed before his eyes as he resigned himself to his fate, his hand inching toward the grenade strapped to his chest.

But just then, a golden sword spun through the air, slicing the dog clean in half.

The military leaders, smirking behind their cigars, shipped him off to Britain.

Meanwhile, Captain America, who had been touring the country, was secretly replaced by an actor. After all, Captain America was a masked hero. To the public, the uniform was the real hero, not the man underneath.

Vodka, the person in charge of overseeing the performance contract, couldn't keep up with the traveling troupe, and with all the other business Wilson Enterprises had to manage, he hadn't noticed the military's switcheroo.

Eventually, the SSR built their tactical plans around Captain America, forming the Howling Commandos under his leadership to handle "supernatural" matters.

Their base of operations was in London, hidden in one of the city's many sewers.

Recently, the underground base had been shaking as if there was an earthquake, leaving Steve feeling uneasy.

Even though they were both in London, Steve couldn't contact his friend Bucky in the 107th because the SSR was a classified unit.

So, instead, he spent most of his time with Peggy, which, to be honest, made him a bit happy. He was thrilled to fight alongside her every day—something he never would have imagined before the experiment.

Just the other day, SSR received intelligence that Red Skull had appeared in Paris with a strange artifact.

Steve immediately remembered what Dr. Erskine had once told him and decided he wanted to face Red Skull. He needed to prove that the weak could indeed defeat the strong, as the doctor had believed.

Peggy had her reservations, but the higher-ups were excited. What better way to compare the strengths of the two super-soldiers?

So, the military quietly smuggled the group into France via small boat. Peggy, who had previously been responsible for liaising with the French Resistance, accompanied the mission.

Initially, everything went smoothly. They made contact with the Resistance and disguised themselves to infiltrate Paris, but it was all a trap. Red Skull had been waiting, eager to see Dr. Erskine's other creation.

But the result disappointed him. He hadn't even needed to lift a finger, and Captain America was down for the count.

Steve's shield—far from being the iconic vibranium model—was a makeshift piece of tank armor, cut and shaped into a circle. It worked against regular bullets and could block tank shells if angled correctly, which was how Steve had been operating.

But this was Paris, not some backwoods skirmish. Hydra had been well-prepared, armed with energy weapons. Hundreds of troops opened fire in unison, and even Captain America couldn't dodge everything.

Steve had been turned into Swiss cheese. The fact that he wasn't dust was a testament to his superhuman durability.

Peggy and Nick had barely managed to retrieve him before starting their desperate escape.

Red Skull, unimpressed, hadn't even bothered to send out Hydra's elite guard. Instead, he had simply called the police. Now, the forces pursuing Steve's group were mostly local garrison troops and secret police.

Too weak, Red Skull had thought. He'd head north to investigate the explosion there—that seemed more interesting.