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"Commander Rumlow, you indicated you had some sensitive information you wished to speak to me about in person? There was nothing in your recent mission debrief to indicate an issue, and I am assuming there is a reason for that."
"Yes, Secretary Pierce. This is completely unrelated to the mission I was on, and I came across it entirely by accident. How would you like a chance to get Tony Stark working for HYDRA?"
"Do you know what you're saying, Rumlow? Anthony Stark would be a prime asset, but trying to bribe or coerce him is a madman's goal. Brainwashing him would render him all but useless. Where he is now, we at least have some access to him and his tech with minimal risk. He has one of the highest threat level rankings for a damn good reason."
"What if I told you there would be no bribery or coercion necessary, Sir? Honesty - to a degree - would actually be the best policy, here, and Nick Fury is not only utterly failing to see it, but completely mismanaging Stark as well."
"...Go on."
"Three days ago, I was awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call ... from Tony Stark. We had a nice little talk about the line between justifiable caution and paranoia, and he let slip that Fury has been refusing to take his report after New York seriously. He saw something on the other side of that portal that has him scared shitless, Sir. He wants to prepare for it, wants help preparing for it, and Fury is brushing him off. I suspect he's likely to cut himself off from SHIELD entirely and go solo again if it goes on too much longer."
"Tony Stark called you?"
"It was a misdial, Sir, but yes. He did. He had been trying to get Fury on the line to try and make him listen, Sir."
"In the middle of the night. I knew the man has terrible sleeping habits, but...
"Do you think there's a threat, Rumlow?"
"I'm certain he believes there is, Sir. If you were to happen to step in - let him know I mentioned our conversation in passing and you are concerned about a possible future threat - hear him out, take him seriously. You'll have him eating out of your hand.
"Also, I used my clearance as Commander of Alpha STRIKE to access the information and footage we have of the invasion. Based on that, I suspect that Loki was closer to a Squadron Leader than Commander in Chief. That he was, in effect, leading their version of a Strike Team. At best. He could also have just been the chauffeur, so to speak. The creatures obviously were accustomed to waging war and did not require his direct guidance. I also suspect he was doing so unwillingly and made a point of giving us a fair chance to win. There are simply far too many extremely novice mistakes and loopholes in his entire strategy to believe otherwise. And you know as well as I that a single battle is hardly enough to deter an invasion.
"In any case, I believe it would be better to bring Stark on board as soon as possible, Sir. If it's all in his head, you still have him as an asset. If it's a real threat... well, better to be prepared than not, wouldn't you say, Sir?"
"Very true. Hmmm. I wonder if..."
"Sir?"
"Nothing, Rumlow. Just an idea. I'll have to look back into some old files on his father. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Commander."
"Of course, Sir."