Hello Captain (Steve Rogers)

What do you have in mind?

Steve's POV

Agent May and I circled the base, studying it for possible methods of entry. There were so many trees here that it wouldn't be hard to get close to the walls, some of the larger trees even had branches extending over the base, making me sure that they never left from the air even though the courtyards were large enough for a helicopter to land in.

This base was only accessible by a rough dirt road that wound through the forest. If it weren't for the databases they kept here, it would be of no strategic value to us to take it. There were very few exterior cameras and we evaded them easily before heading back to camp.

"How good are your tree climbing abilities, May?" I asked as we walked.

May looked a little closer before answering. "I'd need a boost to get into some of them, but I'm pretty good," she replied. "There's no way they'd hold your weight, though, Captain. You're what, 220?"

"Easily, and I'm well aware of that, May," I said with a grin. "I can jump that north wall, but that doesn't give me enough time to let the gas off without affecting myself. It won't knock me out, but it doesn't feel very good."

"Sarah would be upset if she heard you did something so reckless," May pointed out, raising an eyebrow at me. "I can't say I didn't warn you."

I sighed heavily. "Don't remind me - I haven't forgotten the last time she chewed me out."

"She had a good reason to - parachutes aren't optional unless you have your own wings."

"Yeah, yeah. Does everyone know about that?"

"Probably."

"Anyways, I only have one other man that would be light enough to send up on the other side, and his target is the ventilation shaft over there."

"I see. What do you have in mind?"

"The two of you go in through the trees, gas the courtyard and open the gate. If you walk along the roof there, you should be able to go in from the window on the top floor. Incapacitate the lookout stationed there and we might even be able to take it without a shot."

"Bold, risky, I like it," May said, smiling slightly. "I have my icers with; they put a man down for at least an hour, gives them one hell of a headache, too. I know you're pretty attached to your shield, but you should give the icer a try sometimes."

"I'll certainly consider it. One of Fitzsimmons new toys? Sarah told me about them."

"Of course. They have something else for you to look at if you're ever with us on the bus."

"They aren't going to start testing me, are they?"

"No, Sarah had a talk with them; they get a little excited at times."

"You don't say?" I gave her a look and she shrugged. Sarah's friends were an interesting group, to say the least. I never knew what to expect next. "And May - don't knock any of my guys out this time. I only brought who I needed."

"If they're half as trained as you led me to believe, it shouldn't be a problem."

I shook my head at the feisty agent and went to round up my men to set our plan in motion. The last time I'd worked with May, one of the Strike guys had made an unfortunate remark that May had quite rightly taken exception to. She'd laid him out cold in seconds, reinforcing her almost legendary reputation as someone you don't mess with. I shook Jake awake, disarming him when he woke with his gun in his hand.

"Shh. Sorry Jake, but you have to get up now," I said, handing him back his gun now that he was more awake. "But we need to do some planning and then get this done. Agent May came in to give us some new intel."