INT. BRIEFING ROOM
A group from among the top brass of the military men sit around a conference table, among them is Colonel Philips, who has his arm in a sling and among only a handful of non-General officers. Each has a dossier before them, and in the middle of the table stands BRIAN FALSWORTH (31), a snappily dressed gentleman of average height and build. A British spy who’d been recently assigned to liaise with the US Department of War.
CLOSE UP ON pictures of Clemenson in Philips’ hands, some taken from the files of the Navy Department, others from British intelligence’s vault, those showing him in an SS uniform.
FALSWORTH
(RP British accent)
The man known to your Department of the Navy as
Frederick Clemenson, aide to Admiral Hamilton,
actually Lieutenant Heinz Krueger of the Schutzstaffel.
Prior to his tenure here, he’s known to have trained
Franco’s troops in insurgency-suppression tactics…
His current whereabouts are unknown.
FALSWORTH
It is suspected that Admiral Hamilton had found out
about his aide’s true colors shortly following December
7, which is when he killed him in his New Jersey home.
CLOSE UP ON another picture, thatt of a man bearing considerable resemblance to Admiral Hamilton, dressed in a Gestapo uniform.
FALSWORTH
Admiral Hamilton’s identity was then assumed by this man;
Major Albrecht Kerfoot, Gestappo.
FALSWORTH
At this time, we are yet to identify the three other agents
Who took part is last week’s attack. But due to
The involvement Of Krueger and Kerfoot, The high-risk,
High-impact nature of the attack, as well as their use of
Cyanide capsules imbedded in their maulers we are able
To ascertain with reasonable certainty that they were
Working for Hydra.
CLOSE UP ON pictures of German troops in France wearing the Hydra emblem on their arms, a skull with eight spiked tentacles, and others of tanks bearing the same symbol.
FALSWORTH
Hydra being a newly formed security agency that maintains
ties to the SS and the SD, formed no earlier than Febuary,
with a remit is to perform research into expanding into
new types of warfare, as well as conducting related
strategic sabotage, assassination and espionage operations.
COLONEL DONOVAN
What kind of intelligence does MI-6 have on Hydra?
Any idea on their key operators?
FALSWORTH
Reliable but sparse. They draw members exclusively
from the SS and The Gestapo… Passionate Nazis to the
last man.
As such, recruiting informants is most difficult.
FALSWORTH
Their security is top notch, and their inner workings
are closely guarded. The higher-ups use codenames
for communications as well as personal form of address.
FALSWORTH
The director for example, is referred to as Die Rotenschädel.
FALSWORTH
It means the Red Skull.
CUT TO:
INT. SEDAN (MOVING) – DAY
Philips and Steve sit in the back.
PHILIPS
Abraham liked playing things close to the
Chest. A habit he’d picked up from when he
Used to work for the other side.
PHILIPS
He was working round the clock the
Week before to get results. Certain key details
Of the procedure remain undocumented.
PHILIPS
Dr. Glass is trying to piece it all back together,
But Project Rebirth has been put on hiatus.
STEVE
Are we going back to Lehigh?
PHILIPS
No.
Philips pauses.
PHILIPS
The President wants to see us both.
INT. OVAL OFFICE – DAY
The President sits in his wheelchair, morosely looking forward as Philips and Steve enter. Steve nervously stands at attention. Philips does the same, though being the old soldier, he’s resigned to whatever fate that awaits him.
Several seconds of uncomfortable silence later, the president speaks.
ROOSEVELT
Gentlemen… The events of last week… Taken by
Themselves they would have been devastating, but
Coupled with the attacks on the Hawaiian islands,
They are nothing short of catastrophic.
ROOSEVELT
To be attacked, in our own house, twice in less
Than two weeks… Nothing could be worse for the
Will of the people that if we are to win this war, we
Most certainly need.
ROOSEVELT
Colonel Philips?
PHILIPS
Yes, sir.
ROOSEVELT
I’m relieving you of your post at Cap Lehigh.
Philips isn’t really surprised, but still dejected.
PHILIPS
Yes, sir.
PHILIPS
I’ve ordered Bill Donovan to form a new agency
To conduct counter-intelligence work. I’m assigning you
To work alongside him, you will be in charge of operations
Directed against this Hydra organization of the Germans.
This time Philips really is quite surprised.
PHILIPS
Yes, sir.
ROOSEVELT
That will be all, Chester.
Philips leaves, giving Steve an encouraging nod as he does so.
ROOSEVELT
How old are you, Private Rogers?
STEVE
I’m twenty-three… Sir.
ROOSEVELT
What did you do before you joined the Army?
STEVE
I studied art in Empire College, in New York…
And I, uh, I worked in a diner.
A moment of silence…
ROOSEVELT
You were meant to be the first of many, son. There was meant
to be a regiment of soldiers like you. A division, maybe. But
the Fifth columnists took care of that, so all we have is you.
We’ll have to make the most of you.
ROOSEVELT
I’m informed you fought tooth and nail to make it into the Army,
and to remain in Project Rebirth. I appreciate your zeal, but tell
me, Private Rogers, what are you prepared to do to see that our side
wins this war?
STEVE
Whatever it takes, sir.
ROOSEVELT
But how well do you understand what those words mean;
‘Whatever it takes?’
STEVE
Sir?
ROOSEVELT
Are you be prepared to lead men into war, to be responsible
for their wellbeing, to bear the burden of those you will
inevitably loose?
ROOSEVELT
Are you be prepared to be told to go places, do things
no other soldier had ever been reasonably asked to do?
ROOSEVELT
Are you prepared to be at the very forward center of this war?
to be the man on the field for every serviceman to rally behind,
and for every enemy to target with prejudice?
STEVE
Sir, I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to see that lives are saved
and to make sure this war doesn’t last longer than it has to. I will
serve at the President’s orders
ROOSEVELT
Good man… Colonel Philips tells me you’re well read,
are you at all partial to the works of Rudyard Kipling?
STEVE
Of course.
ROOSEVELT
“No easy hope or lies shall bring us to our goal,
But iron sacrifice of body, will, and soul.”
ROOSEVELT
That will be all, Private Rogers.
EXT. HYDRA HQ, PRINZ-ALBRECHT-STRAßE, BERLIN – DAY
Hydra troops guard the perimeter, similar to SS troops with the exception of their greenish, dark gray uniforms and the red tentacled skull on a black oval patch they wear.
WOLFGANG VON STRUCKER (40), lean, bald dome with a distinct scar running from where his hairline would be to the back of his head, steps out of his chauffer driven car and walks toward the entrance.
INT. RED SKULL’S OFFICE
An ample room with a few piece of art seized from the Louvre strewn about, but otherwise indistinguishable from the office of any other high ranking Nazi official.
The Red Skull crosses out a circled location in a map spread on his desk covering Nazi held territory. Von Strucker walks up to ten feet away from the desk and does the Nazi salute.
The conversation is naturally in German.
VON STRUCKER
Sir.
RED SKULL
Report, Baron.
VON STRUCKER
Prior reports corroborated, Her Skull. Colonel
Philips has been relieved of his command. The
Americans’ super-soldier program is definitely
canceled.
RED SKULL
And their super-soldier?
VON STRUCKER
Sources variously report that Pivate Rogers has been
sent to Camp Pendleton, Fort Benning, and Camp Kibrit in
England. Certainly subterfuge on part of the enemy,
Herr Skull. We’ll discern the truth soon enough.
RED SKULL
I’m sure we will. They still haven’t found Krueger?
VON STRUCKER
No. They found the safehouse but he’d been long gone
From there by then. He remains in flight.
RED SKULL
And may he remain so. Well, if that’s all…
VON STRUCKER
Herr Skull,… Command have been voicing concerns over
Hydra operations in Sweden.
RED SKULL
Oh?
VON STRUCKER
Quashing insurgencies does not fall under our
purview in any sense. These, uh, side projects have
been tolerated as a courtesy, but when to loose three
thousand men…
RED SKULL
Command did not object when my operations
yielded results that helped level Guernica and dozens
of troublesome specs of the earth of Europe since then.
RED SKULL
Three thousand bodies is an unfortunate cost, but hardly
an unforeseen one. It takes great sacrifices of our men,
and I will continue to do so, delivering worthy results to
the Fuhrer.
RED SKULL
Meanwhile, I’d appreciate it if you displayed a bit more
Of your loyalty to myself and Hydra rather than deliver
Reichsfuhrer Himmler’s displeasures. Understood?
VON STRUCKER
(Nervously)
Sir.
RED SKULL
Now, about the Denmark mission. A battalion would do,
But send two anyway, and get it done... You are dismissed.
TO BE CONTINUED