After giving Captain America a quick rundown on the Winter Soldier, the group refocused their attention on the question at hand.
Their minds began operating at full speed, carefully analyzing the problem.
"I think the most likely person is Nick Fury,"
Captain America was the first to speak his mind. "Nick Fury has control over an intelligence agency. He's the most likely to uncover the Winter Soldier's identity."
"His intel network is nothing compared to J.A.R.V.I.S.,"
Iron Man chimed in smugly, his face practically glowing with pride.
"J.A.R.V.I.S.? Who's that? Another intelligence agency director?"
Captain America asked seriously.
"J.A.R.V.I.S. is my A.I... Cap, promise me one thing—after this quiz, catch up on the modern world. You're way too outdated."
Iron Man patted Captain America on the shoulder, acting like a wise old man.
"Explaining artificial intelligence to you might be too much, so let me put it this way: anything connected to the internet, J.A.R.V.I.S. can't miss."
"In this modern age, with surveillance cameras and recording devices everywhere, it's nearly impossible not to leave a trace online."
"Even if the Winter Soldier is like a ghost, so mysterious that most intelligence agencies doubt he exists, didn't J.A.R.V.I.S. still dig up a ton of intel in just a few minutes?"
"So when it comes to this..."
At this point, Iron Man puffed up again, "Sorry, Nick Fury, but I alone rival your entire S.H.I.E.L.D."
Iron Man was always arrogant and loved to exaggerate. Captain America didn't fully buy it and instead turned to Nick Fury for confirmation.
"J.A.R.V.I.S. is indeed the most advanced A.I. of our time. In some cases, especially in intel gathering, he does have advantages over traditional agencies."
Nick Fury nodded. He didn't refute Iron Man—because Iron Man wasn't wrong.
If it were a case with minimal surveillance and no online traces, then traditional methods would still be superior.
But come on—it's the digital age!
Just as Iron Man said, in most situations, people leave some kind of trace online.
And once there's a digital trace, J.A.R.V.I.S., being an A.I., becomes far more efficient than S.H.I.E.L.D.
Take, for instance, the time Black Widow failed a mission after being shot by the Winter Soldier—of course S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated.
Yet even after all these years, they found less intel than J.A.R.V.I.S. did in a matter of minutes on the aircraft.
"Not 'in some cases,' it's 'most cases'!"
Iron Man corrected firmly, then shrugged at the two of them, "So the answer is obvious, isn't it? Pick C—Iron Man!"
"This question is testing intelligence-gathering ability, right? And among the four options, mine is hands-down the strongest!"
"Cap, your turn to answer. I've already done the analysis for you. No need to thank me!"
Iron Man spread his hands with complete confidence.
"I trust in human ability more than in computer technology,"
Captain America shook his head.
"Stuck in the past, like all the old folks. Oh wait, my bad—you are an old folk."
Iron Man shook his head repeatedly, as if despairing over a lost cause.
"No, Stark, you're oversimplifying things."
Nick Fury also shot down Iron Man's claim. "A black-ops assassin like the Winter Soldier would have all his information wiped clean."
"I bet, even if the Winter Soldier took off his mask right in front of you, you still couldn't figure out who he is!"
As a scientist, Iron Man probably hadn't considered this angle—it wasn't his field, after all.
But as the head of intelligence, Nick Fury knew all too well—erasing all traces was just standard practice.
Iron Man froze at Nick Fury's words, and then… fell silent.
Because Nick Fury made too much sense.
Sure, J.A.R.V.I.S. was insanely powerful and could instantly scrape up all kinds of intel on the Winter Soldier, if that intel existed online in the first place.
That's the prerequisite for cross-referencing, analyzing, and identifying someone.
But what if there wasn't any digital trace of the Winter Soldier's identity?
Then any intel J.A.R.V.I.S. gathered would be utterly useless.
"And we currently know nothing about the organization behind the Winter Soldier. Stark, your J.A.R.V.I.S. has no foothold!"
Nick Fury continued, pressing his point to Iron Man.
True.
Within the Winter Soldier's organization, his data might be stored in encrypted internal networks—possibly breakable by J.A.R.V.I.S., in theory.
But that would require a starting point.
Like knowing what network they used, or getting access to a connected terminal device, etc.
With zero leads, J.A.R.V.I.S. would be staring at a wall.
So despite his usual pride and ego, Iron Man had to admit—he couldn't pull this off.
"Let me tell you what it takes to get the Winter Soldier's identity. Either we capture someone from the organization who knows who he really is—"
"And in that case, whoever knows must be top-level, given how deep the secrecy goes."
"Or we break into their base and obtain highly classified files."
Nick Fury continued, "But either scenario is extremely difficult—not something a single person can accomplish."
As for capturing the Winter Soldier and interrogating him?
Nick Fury didn't even mention it. For someone like the Winter Soldier, even if you caught him, there's no way to make him talk. Waste of time.
"Nick Fury is right. This is a job for a special ops team."
"Intel gathering, battle planning, on-site command, rapid response units... every part is crucial."
"And someone who can coordinate all that? There's only one."
Captain America turned his gaze toward Option A.
(End of Chapter)