| For alternate versions of the Search for Arnim Zola, see the Search for Arnim Zola's Event Hub |
- "Captain Rogers has information regarding the death of Director Fury. He refused to share it. As hard as this is to accept, Captain America is a fugitive from S.H.I.E.L.D."
- ―Alexander Pierce[src]
The Chase of Captain America was an urgent operation ordered by Alexander Pierce to capture Captain America. The purpose was to prevent him from discovering the truth behind the assassination attempt on Nick Fury and the continuous existence of HYDRA, embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ranks.
Background[]
Attack on Nick Fury[]
- "Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"
"He told me not to trust anyone." - ―Alexander Pierce and Steve Rogers[src]
While investigating Project Insight, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury was attacked by HYDRA operatives, disguised as Washington, D.C. police officers and the Winter Soldier in an attempt to kill him. Before Fury's apparent death at the hands of Winter Soldier, he gave Rogers a USB Drive, obtained by Black Widow at the retaking of the Lemurian Star, which Rogers hid in a vending machine at Fury's hospital. Alexander Pierce questioned Rogers in order to get information on the matter, but was unsuccessful.[1]
Chase[]
Triskelion Ambush[]
- "Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?"
- ―Captain America to STRIKE[src]
Captain America realizes he is being set up
Leaving his meeting with Alexander Pierce, Captain America stepped into an elevator; unbeknownst to him, Pierce already gave the order to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s undercover HYDRA agents to apprehend him. Members of STRIKE continuously entered the elevator, led by field commander Brock Rumlow, an ally who helped Rogers in retaking the Lemurian Star. The two made small talk about Nick Fury's death, as more STRIKE members and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents entered the elevator.
Brock Rumlow fights Captain America
Suspicious that he was going to be ambushed, Jack Rollins attacked Rogers, with Rumlow and the rest of the agents in the elevator following suit. Rogers subdued most of them in the struggle and knocked them all unconscious, except Rumlow. He attempted to take down Rogers with a Taser Rod but Rogers threw him into the ceiling, knocking him out as well. As the elevator stopped, an armed tactical unit arrived with guns pointed at Rogers, prompting him to break the elevator's glass panels and cushion his fall onto the Triskelion ground floor with his shield.
.jpg){kind=link}
Captain America escapes the Triskelion
Jasper Sitwell, who oversaw the battle via surveillance camera, sent a Quinjet to eliminate Captain America, who had escaped the elevator by smashing the glass wall and landing on the main floor of the building. Rogers took his motorcycle and escaped the Triskelion, dodging a titanium wall which rose to block his path. The ordered Quinjet appeared and attacked him. He evaded the aircraft and destroyed it before getting away. Alexander Pierce deemed him a fugitive from S.H.I.E.L.D. for hiding valuable information on Nick Fury's assassination.[1]
Encrypting the Insight Files[]
Captain America and Black Widow escape STRIKE
- "The drive has a Level 6 homing program, so as soon as we boot up, S.H.I.E.L.D. will know exactly where we are."
"How much time do we have?"
"About nine minutes from... now." - ―Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers[src]
Captain America rushed to the hospital to get the USB Drive, but found it was gone. He found out that Natasha Romanoff had information regarding Nick Fury's death. Romanoff told Rogers about the Winter Soldier and their brief encounter in 2009.
The STRIKE team located Rogers and Romanoff at a shopping mall and started to pursue them. While finding out information on what was inside the USB at an Apple Store, Romanoff and Rogers failed to find anything. They were able to trace the location where the USB was written, leading them to New Jersey. Meanwhile, as Rogers and Romanoff left the mall, the STRIKE team struggled to find them, as the two discovered their pursuers and avoided them.[1]
Attack on Camp Lehigh[]
Steve Rogers returns to his old training grounds
- "The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it. Admit it, it's better this way. We are both of us... out of time."
- ―Arnim Zola to Steve Rogers[src]
Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff stole a truck and drove to New Jersey, where they found the location of the USB Drive's writer. It was revealed to be Camp Lehigh, a training facility prior to Roger's dosage of the Super Soldier Serum. They encountered a vast room full of ancient computers. When Romanoff clipped the USB Drive to the old machines, a consciousness awoke and revealed itself to be Arnim Zola, who, in 1972 during Operation Paperclip received a terminal diagnosis and passed away.
Camp Lehigh is bombed by a S.H.I.E.L.D. airstrike
However, he had his mind transferred into a series of computers and stayed loyal to HYDRA. Zola noted that Rogers and Romanoff were standing in his brain. He explained how he was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. and also how he regrew the long-defeated organization HYDRA inside. Before revealing any more information, an airstrike was called by HYDRA, annihilating Zola. Rogers and Romanoff had barely enough time to find cover and barely escaped. Brock Rumlow searched the area to no avail and decided to call in the Winter Soldier.[1]
Aftermath[]
Winter Soldier reports to Alexander Pierce
- "The timetable has moved. Our window is limited. Two targets, level six. They already cost me Zola. I want confirmed death in ten hours."
- ―Alexander Pierce to Winter Soldier[src]
With STRIKE relieved of their duty, the Winter Soldier reported directly to Alexander Pierce's house. Informed of Arnim Zola's death, Pierce gave the order to kill Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff before the launch for Project Insight. When Pierce's maid Renata overheard their conversation, Pierce was forced to kill her.
Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff looked up one reliable ally: Sam Wilson. Wilson revealed his past as a USAF Special Operations Pararescueman and informed Rogers and Romanoff of the existence of the EXO-7 Falcon flight apparatus. Rogers and Romanoff decided that Wilson would prove a valuable asset in stopping HYDRA and Project Insight, especially with the EXO-7. Wilson became a part of their team, and the three stole the mechanized suit from Fort Meade, where the last one was being kept. The trio found Jasper Sitwell with Stern and interrogated him atop a building, forcing him to reveal the secrets of Project Insight just minutes before his unexpected death.[1]