Alex
Ben's been gone about an hour and I can't say I'm not bored. I kind of want to call Steve again, but Ben's got the phone, and I'm too scared to leave to go to the phone box. I'm highly alert, because anyone could have traced us here, especially if someone traced the phone call between Steve and me last night. That's when I see the canister of sleeping gas, and the last thing I remember is trying to press my hand to my comm, but my body is overcome with fatigue. I think I wake up briefly on a plane, but I'm out again moments later
.
.
.
SPLASH!
Bloody hell that was cold. Where am I? I see that bloody octopus and realise. HYDRA. Help. They've taken my comm, they've tied me up, how the hell am I going to escape this? What time is this? What day is this? I'm never going to escape. "Miss Pierce." A voice says and I don't look up. I'm not a Pierce anymore. I'm Just Alex. No "andra", no "Kieran", and most definitely no "Pierce". "Miss Pierce." The man says again. This time I look up to show him a look which would kill if looks could. "Miss Pierce, who are you working for? With? And why do you fight against your HYDRA brothers and sisters?" I don't say anything. I'll never tell them anything. "Don't worry. Those were just the simple questions to see if you would open up. Obviously you will need more force." He sighs, as if he doesn't want to do this. "How can we find Captain America? How can we wound his heart so badly that he will want to die?" I look the man in the eye, I've seen him before, Daniel Whitehall, and I smile sweetly. I won't tell him anything. I'd rather die than do anything for him. "Miss Pierce I don't want to have to use force."
"I'll never tell you anything."
"In that case, we can begin." He presses a button and the walls flip. Now I'm not so sure about this torture. I hope I survive, but if I go out, I'm going out fighting HYDRA.
HYDRA have a thing for water, don't they? I mean I know HYDRA is all hydrate and such but they must get through a lot of water, first they woke me up with it, and now I'm being held down for waterboarding. I struggle slightly but there's no point. I've never been tortured before, and I won't admit it, but I'm scared. I'm not scared that I'm going to die. I'm scared that I'll give something away and someone else will die. My face is forced in to the water and I hold my breath for as long as I can, and last time I measured it was a minute and a half. This, however, is under the threat of drowning, and I think that I manage two minutes before I begin to breathe in any water, but then HYDRA let me up, so I only have a small bit of water to vomit up. "Are you going to answer my questions now, Miss Pierce?"
I spit out some more water before saying, "Never." That's what he wanted me to do. Have my mouth open when they shove me back in to the water. Help. I've shut my mouth, but there's already water in my lungs, and no air, causing my mouth to open again, which lets in more water. They only hold me under for thirty seconds this time, but I'd say that my lungs were 75% full. I vomit water a spit, trying to get as much on HYDRA as possible. The next couple of times, I'm okay, but I pretend to spit up water, to make it seem like this torture really is having no effect on me, though in reality, it feels like I'm drowning. Like I'm dying. Whitehall seems to think that it's not effective enough and tells the faceless masks to go away. I'm knocked out again.
Again, I'm awoken by water. This time I'm tied up, hanging from the ceiling from tightly bound cuffs. Ow. My arms already hurt. There's no one else here. Why am I alone? No one's coming, no one's gone. I am just simply alone with a dripping tap that's beginning to drive me crazy and it's only been a couple of minutes. I ignore it and shut my eyes, distracting myself by trying to send telepathic messages to Steve and Ben, and also trying to prove to myself that I'm not going insane.
Steve
I get a call from the number I've saved as Alex almost as soon as we get out of that meeting, while we're all still walking together. "Alex?" I answer quietly, still well aware that everyone is right next to me, waiting for her to text me HYDRA bases.
"No, not Alex. Ben. Alex needs our help."
"What do you mean?"
"HYDRA got her. I was out, and I know now that I never should have left her there alone, but when I got back there was an empty canister of sleeping gas and no Alex. If I find her, can you and your Avenger friends get her and bring her back, because she's all I've got."
"Sure. Do you know where she is?"
"No, I wasn't taught about the location of every single HYDRA base on the planet, though I do know most general locations, but I could probably hack the feed of that all the London airports, see if there's any HYDRA planes, what flight paths they're taking... I'll call you when I find it, but just be ready because by the looks of it, she's been gone a while. And she's the only family I've got left."
"I'll try my best."
Alex
I'm not sure how long I've been hanging here, but I do know that no matter how much I try to block it out, that tap is beginning to drive me insane. Then Whitehall comes in and says, "We're ready for you now. Are you ready to comply?"
"Never." I try to spit at him, and I'm surprised when it reaches his glasses. A man immediately comes and wipes it off, to which I scoff.
They finally get me down and I wince as I do a couple of shoulder rotations. I hope that this won't hurt as much, whatever it is. "That's a shame. You will soon enough."
Next thing I know I'm tied up by metal, my eyes strapped open and staring at a kaleidoscope screen that might drive me even crazier than the dripping tap. I try and struggle but there's no point. Even if I escape the cuffs, there's a hundred men ready to strap me back in to them. "What's the point in fighting? You won't be able to escape, there's no one coming to get you. Why don't you want to join HYDRA? Everyone here is protected, just like you would be. You'd be promoted immediately due to your family name, the positives far outweigh the negatives in this situation. The shield protecting the public has been burnt, everyone's turned on them, yet HYDRA still lives on. And now everyone knows about us, our aims, we've had more applicants than we have in half a century." He pauses, realising that his words are having little effect on me, or at least I'm showing little reaction. They're getting inside my brain and trying to kill me. "I knew you as a little girl, Alexandra. You were all for HYDRA. What changed?"
"I grew up." I retort, hoping he'll come in front of my eyes and I won't have to look at this godforsaken screen. Saying those words makes me almost black out, as if saying anything against HYDRA is bad. What's happening to me?
"Are you ready to comply, Alexandra?" I can't speak. I don't want to comply, but I guess I will eventually.
Steve
I'm sitting by my phone, waiting for Ben to call me back. I haven't told the others yet. I can't tell them. Even though I've been sitting by it, staring at it, for just under two hours now, it still surprises me when it rings. I pick it up on the first. "I'm sending the coordinates now. Just one request before you save her... Once you're done can you pick me up and get me back to America? Thank you."
"Sure. We'll have her back before you know it." I'm trying to console him, but in a way I'm consoling myself. I can't function without her either. "Bye." I cut off and stand up. I hold my wrist up to my mouth. "Everyone. Suit up. Roof in five." I'm on my floor so I pick so my shield and wriggle in to the suit. I run to the roof and set the coordinates I've been sent. It's in Illinois. Bucky's not coming. He's not allowed on missions until we're sure he won't turn. Tony's last, so we leave without him, he can catch up.
"Sorry." He apologises, "Yana wanted to come."
"You were right not to let her." Natasha says from the cockpit. Tony nods. It's just the five of us today. "What's up Steve? Is there something we should know?"
"Yeah... Alex was taken here this morning. You guys take down the base and recover intel, I'm going to find her." I don't talk to anyone else for the rest of the journey. In fact, I don't think anyone does except Clint and Natasha.
Alex
"Miss Pierce, are you ready to comply?" What's the point in fighting? HYDRA is good.
"Happy to comply."