Madeline couldn't tear her eyes away from the man. His upper torso was bare and displayed several lacerations. From what she could see, they were merely superficial. However, they still looked like they might be hurting. His expression was...blank; stoic. His eyes held no emotion in them. It was as if he was just an empty shell of a human being.
Her eyes fixated on the metal that attached to his body where his arm should have been. Even from her position a few feet away, she could see the scars of where the metal was fused with his skin.
"See something you like?" Brock smirked at her when he noticed her staring at him silently. Madeline blinked a few times and turned her attention to him.
"N-No, I - " She shook her head, trying to figure out how to respond. "I...saw - "
"Rumlow!" Madeline jumped at the sudden loud voice that called out. She looked to see another man dressed in similar combat gear on the other side of the room, waving Brock over to him. She turned back to him and he smiled at her.
"Duty calls, Madeline..." He said as he walked away. Madeline could have sworn he winked at her... Either way, she shrugged it off and walked over to her dad.
"...re-calibrate it, and then - " The man at the computer was saying before Madeline's father interrupted him.
"Set it to max. Start over." He instructed. The man looked at him with some surprise. "What are you waiting for?" He asked. The man shook his head and set to work adjusting some settings on the monitor in from of him.
"Dad?" Madeline asked softly. Her father turned to face her and a smile spread across his lips.
"Madeline. What do you think?" He asked as he guided her away from the machines. She looked around.
"I...I don't know." She admitted. "It's a little...overwhelming, to be honest." Her father chuckled softly and put a hand on her shoulder.
"You'll get used to it. I promise." He assured her. Madeline smiled slightly at him before casting her gaze towards the man with the metal arm. After staring at him for some time, she looked at her father.
"Is he...the man from the photo in folder?" She asked quietly. Her father nodded slowly. "What are you doing to him?"
"Don't worry. He's fine." He replied, skirting around Madeline's question. "Soon, it'll be your job to help keep him in...working condition."
"Working condition?" She asked curiously.
"Sir? We're ready." The man at the computer announced. Madeline furrowed her eyebrows as her gaze shifted from the man in the chair to the group of people in white lab coats. Her father nodded and the man tapped a few buttons on the screen.
Madeline watched as thick metal bracers wrapped around the man's arms and restrained him to the chair. His hands clenched into fists as the chair leaned back. The man's chest was heaving up and down as he breathed heavily. Some kind of contraption moved towards his head and crackled with electricity. It moved closer until it touched him, making him yell loudly despite the sound being slightly muffled from something.
"Oh god!" Madeline gasped in shock and covered her mouth with one hand. The poor man didn't even squirm as the device tortured him. He just...yelled and groaned. Madeline stepped backwards, behind the other people in lab coats. She stood there for a few moments, her mind reeling before she headed back down the hallway. She ducked into one of the rooms and closed the door to drown out the sound.
The room looked like some kind of holding cell. There was a metal bed frame with a single mattress on it in the far corner. Opposite the wall where the bed was, there was another chair similar to the one in the main room. On the wall across from the door, there were strange divots that Madeline had no idea what they could be used for.
"Holy crap... Holy crap!" Madeline sat on the edge of the bed and rested her head in her hands. She stared down at the concrete floor and rubbed her temples. She could faintly hear the muffled yelling of the poor man being tortured.
"You get used to it after a while." A voice suddenly spoke up, causing Madeline to jerk her head up in fright. She held her hand on her chest as she stared at the man.
"Yeah? I don't see how that's possible." She shook her head. "Are you following me, Brock?" Madeline glared at the taller man as he stood in the doorway. He chuckled softly and smiled at her.
"You're the boss' daughter. Gotta make sure nothing happens to you." He explained. Though Madeline felt there was an underlying meaning in his words.
"Well, isn't that just so sweet of you?" She sniped at him with irritation in her voice. "Just...leave me alone for a minute, OK? It's a lot to process." Brock's smile faded as he took a few quick steps towards her.
"You may be the boss' daughter, but that doesn't give you the right to bark orders." He towered over her, a menacing look on his face. "I'm your superior, little girl."
"You'd only be my superior if I was a part of the combat team, which is what I'm guessing is your area of expertise." Madeline stood up and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Brock was taller and obviously stronger. But she wasn't going to let him intimidate her and make her feel scared. "Last I checked, I was here to help out the medical team."
"Which take orders from the strike team." Brock smirked.
"Then why aren't you out there giving them the orders? Why is it my dad they're listing to?" Madeline shot back. Again, Brock's confidence seemed to fade like the smirk from his lips. He opened his mouth to speak, but another voice from the doorway interrupted him.
"Come on, Rumlow. Leave her alone." Madeline and Brock both turned their attention to the doorway. The man she had seen call Rumlow over from earlier was standing there. He had a smile on his face. Almost like he was more amused at the scene, than showing some sort of concern for Madeline's situation. "There'll be time for that later."
"Excuse me?" Madeline interjected as she put her hands on her hips. Rumlow smirked again and faced the young girl.
"Don't worry about it. Just putting the new guys through the wringer." Rumlow replied. "Can't take it easy on you just because you're the boss' daughter, you know?" Madeline felt a wave of uneasiness wash over her. There was something about the way he said it that made her stomach twist into knots.
"Why don't you just run along and play with each others guns." Madeline suggested, putting her hands on her hips. Despite being outnumbered, very much overpowered, and on the verge of have a panic attack, she didn't want the two of them to think they had any power over her. The man in the doorway chuckled, but she saw Brock's jaw tense.
"Come on, Rumlow. Let's leave her be." He said. Brock stared down at Madeline. His eyes boring holes right through her before he turned on his heel and headed towards the door. Madeline watched him as he went. Suddenly, he stopped and looked over her shoulder at her.
"You'd do well on my team. I look forward to seeing more of you." He smiled. Madeline rolled her eyes and scoffed.
Not gonna happen... She thought with irritation. Brock turned and left the room. The other man nodded at her and smiled before following him. Once they had left, Madeline sat back down on the bed and shook her head. Brock's friend didn't seem as interested in giving her a hard time as Brock did, but it was still a little too early to tell.
"There you are, Maddie." The voice of her father cut through her thoughts and she jerked her head up to see him standing in the doorway.
"Oh... Hey, dad." She replied as she stood up and walked over to him. "I'm sorry. I just...needed a minute." She apologized and tucked her hair behind her ears.
"You were gone for ten minutes. I was worried." He said as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "You OK?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. Just...wasn't really, umm...expecting anything like that." Madeline nodded as her father released her. Ten minutes? I must have zoned out... She chewed on the inside of her lip.
"I have to admit. I'm impressed. Most people usually faint when they see the Asset being wiped for the first time. It's the shock." Her father smiled at her. "You're just like your old man." He chuckled. Madeline laughed softly, only half-heartedly.
"Only with more estrogen." She smirked, putting on a bit of a show to cover up her discomfort about everything that had just happened.
"Sarcasm... Now that was your mother's strong suit." He smiled as he guided her out of the room, and back to where the man they called "the Asset" was.
Thankfully, they seemed to be done torturing him. Her father headed off to talk to a small group of people. Madeline stood off to the side and watched the man in the chair. His chest was still heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. He leaned forward, unrestrained, and stared blankly ahead. His hair was matted to his face and his skin was drenched with sweat.
Madeline watched as various members of the medical team gathered around him. One man wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his non-bionic arm and began to take his vitals. A woman moved around him and began listening to his heartbeat through a stethoscope. Another man took a small pen light and began shining the light in his eyes.
"Vitals are stable, Sir." The woman stated after a few moments.
"Good. Put him in a cell. We'll need him soon." Pierce replied. The medical team stepped away and, what Madeline assumed to be, the strike team took their place. Brock was with them, so it was a safe bet. He also seemed to be the one in charge.
"Get up. Time to move." Brock ordered him. Slowly, the man rose to his feet and began to move. His movement was stiff and rigid, just like a military officer. His eyes stared blankly ahead as he was escorted out. Two men were behind him, two men flanked his sides, and two men lead him forward. Madeline stared at him as he walked by.
For a brief moment, his gaze diverted. His eyes locked onto hers, then quickly snapped forward again. A chill swept over her and she wrapped her arms around herself.