Welcome to Chapter Twenty-Nine. Getting deeper into the "Winter Soldier" storyline, as well as some probing into the fiasco of Siberia. I hope you enjoy. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.


April 2014 – The Triskelion, SHIELD Headquarters

Case sat in the small sitting area, right leg bouncing up and down nervously. She was tapping the freshly manicured artificial nails of her right hand on the armrest of the chair, trying to keep her fingers out of her mouth – one of the reasons she'd gotten the manicure in the first place was because she'd chewed her real fingernails down to nubs.

The room before her was separated by walls of glass – horizontal blinds could be seen but all were closed, and the door to the next room was also clear glass, with the same blinds, all closed.

That's comforting, Case sighed, opting to grip the armrests of her chair instead of tapping her fingernails. She wanted to just get up and leave, but she knew this was her only ticket into getting back into the field.

Instead she started tapping her fingernails again. Slower this time…till a familiar rhythm formed. As a smile spread across her face, she raised her hands and started snapping her fingers instead, and in a quiet voice crooned, "She keeps her Moet et Chandon in her pretty cabinet. 'Let them eat cake' she says, just like Marie Antionette. A built-in remedy, for Kruschev and Kennedy. At anytime an invitation you can't decline…"

She leaned back, finally able to relax a bit while waiting and her eyes drifted shut as she added, "Caviar and cigarettes, well versed in etiquette. Extraordinarily nice—"

When she opened her eyes, she saw a room with dark gray brick walls. She was sitting on a bed with a threadbare blanket, like one she'd woken up in after she was defrosted.

Still wrapped up in the song, she continued, "She's a Killer Queen. Gunpowder, gelatin, dynamite with a laser beam. Guaranteed to blow your mind, anytime. Ooh recommended at the price, insatiable an appetite. Wanna try?"

Case got to her feet and began to move to the beat of the song she could only hear inside her head. "To avoid complications, she never kept the same address. In conversation she spoke just like a baroness. Met a man from China, went down to Geisha Minah—"

"Agent Howlett?" A voice suddenly called out.

Case opened her eyes. She was still seated in the chair in the waiting room, although now there was someone standing in the doorway of the office across from her.

"Agent Howlett?" The woman repeated, "You can come in now."

Case took a deep breath and got to her feet, heading through the door as the woman closed it behind her.

On the first day she'd introduced herself as Doctor Snow. She was taller than Case, blonde hair tied back in a neat bun and dressed professionally in a dark suit. Her heels made little noise in the carpeted room as she took a seat, motioning for Case to take the empty chair next to her.

"Did you fall asleep out there while you were waiting?"

"No, I…" Case frowned. She wasn't sure what that was. "I uh…I don't think I was asleep but…"

"You seem nervous," the blonde said in a soft voice, "I can assure you, there's nothing to worry about here."

"Easy for you to say," Case grumbled. She took the seat the blonde motioned toward and took a deep breath.

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable?"

"Yeah, just sign that little slip that says I can go back out into the field," Case told her.

The blonde chuckled, "I'm sorry, Agent Howlett, that's not quite how this works. But I'll sign in due time, so long as I can confirm you're ready and there's no lingering problems we have to solve."

Great, I'm never going out into the field again, Case thought bitterly. They'd been having the same conversation for the last month, and she still wasn't signing. "Where do we start today?"

"You said you weren't asleep…but your eyes were closed, and it sounds like you were dreaming."

"It wasn't a dream," Case said immediately. She chewed on her lip, "I was…it was the room I was kept in. When I was with Hydra…"

Doctor Snow sat up quickly, "Do you remember anything else?"

"I remember…" Case frowned, "The room…my clothes…combat pants and this weird zip-up shirt, shockingly well for training, and I was barefoot. Bored maybe? I got up off the bed and started dancing to 'Killer Queen'."

"Oh, so a dream them," Snow looked defeated.

"No, it wasn't a dream," Case told her again. "It really happened."

"You expect me to believe that you were stuck in a Hydra compound and got bored, so you stated singing Queen hits?"

Case thought that one over, "Yes, actually."

Snow scrubbed a hand over her face, "Alright…so we just need to figure out what triggers these flashes, and maybe more will come back to you over time. What were you doing before you saw this…memory?"

Case gritted her teeth at the tone, she didn't like when what she said wasn't treated seriously. "I was singing 'Killer Queen'."

"Agent Howlett—"

"You asked."

"Alright, but I thought you said music wasn't acting as triggers for your memories," Doctor Snow pointed out.

Case thought that one over, "Maybe I wasn't listening to the right songs…I've been on a real Queen kick lately, just ask Steve. Odd thing is I've listened to 'Killer Queen' before and nothing came back. I'm a little surprised something came back this time."

"Did you sing along with it or did you just listen?"

"Listen…" Case sighed, "I dunno…I'll have to go through my music again I guess, see what'll trigger what memories."

It was odd, because they'd skipped last week's session – Doctor Snow had a last-minute appointment and had to reschedule. During that time, she'd gone through her whole playlist – thousands of songs in her iPod – nothing had come back. In fact, the only progress that Case could say she had made was that she had spent a week without any anxiety attacks or dread – which she always felt leading up to her appointments with Doctor Snow. Although the woman had presented herself as a kind and caring woman, there was something that Case felt was off.

The same anxious feeling that she felt when she was trying to remember her time with Hydra was the same feeling that presented itself before an impending visit with Doctor Snow. She remembered feelings – anger, hatred, betrayal – but not why she felt those. And because she knew she was missing something, it freaked her out. She didn't like having her head messed with, didn't like forgetting things.

Something had happened, and it terrified her to not know the full story.

"Agent Howlett, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Case said automatically.

"You look like you're about to bolt," Doctor Snow frowned.

"Look, give me a minute, alright?" Case snapped. She took a deep breath, realizing for the first time she was white-knuckled around the armrests of her chair.

"You're closing off again," Doctor Snow pointed out. "It might help you to open up about your feelings."

"What feelings?" Case asked.

"Why are you feeling panicked?"

"Because I was held hostage for an extended period of time," Case rolled her eyes. "Because I have very vague memories of the time, and I know something happened but for the life of me I have no idea what! I don't like it!"

"What do you remember? You said you have vague memories, is there anything you'd like to put into words?"

Case grew quiet. She didn't need to go off on the shrink and get benched even longer than she was already going to be. She took a breath and finally said, "Anger…a lot of anger."

"Any other feelings?"

"Betrayal…guilt," Case admitted.

"Guilt?" Snow asked, raising her eyebrows. "Why did you feel guilty?"

Case shrugged, "Got me…I can barely remember anyone's faces let alone why I felt the way I did. I can only imagine I was pissed as hell that Hydra got me."

"Well, let's try a different tactic. Have you had any other…I mean, have you had any dreams lately?"

"Dreams?" Case repeated, trying to fight a scowl at the original question the doctor was trying to ask.

"Sure…maybe something that seemed like a nightmare or outlandish was something that happened."

"You're asking an insomniac about their dreams," Case pointed out.

"You've admitted that you can still sleep from time to time," Snow pointed out. "And you looked like you were asleep out in that chair outside."

Case barely suppressed a growl as she shifted in the chair, "Mostly my dreams include being submerged in water with huge needles hanging over my head, that part came back with crystal clear clarity…but lately…"

When she didn't continue, Snow asked, "Lately…?"

Case chewed on her lip, "There is…one dream. I'm back on the mountain, before the train mission…and Bucky's walking away from me." She blinked back tears that suddenly filled her eyes, and she said, "But then…something changes."

"Oh?"

"My mother starts walking toward him," Case explained. "Out of nowhere…she just kinda appears out of the snow. When he sees her…he turns around to face me, and he's got this look like he doesn't want to get closer to her and he reaches his right arm toward me. She grabs him by his left arm and starts pulling him away."

"Did Bucky ever meet your mom?"

"No," Case said matter of factly. "My mother died before we moved to Brooklyn…probably the reason why we moved in the first place."

"I thought you never got that confirmed," Snow frowned thoughtfully.

"It was over ninety years ago…if she wasn't dead by then she's got to be dead by now," Case pointed out.


"I guess that should've been my hint that something was very wrong with that picture," Case said as she filed her nails.

They'd gone upstairs to Case's apartment – Tony had said something about needing to get back to work and ventured into his lab, so it was just her and Sam upstairs.

"Because she wanted to confirm that he never met your mother?" Sam asked from beside her on the sofa.

"That she asked if it was never confirmed," Case told him. "But actually, that part wouldn't make sense. There's very few people alive who my mother would willingly confirm that relation to."

"Have you seen her at all?"

"Yep," Case nodded. She went back to focusing on her nails as she said, "The woman hates Queen, says they were a band of idiots. This coming from the woman who ran back to Hydra when we were five."

"So…what do you know about that story?"

Case paused, putting her nail file on the coffee table while taking a sip out of her nearby soda can. "Not much…we tried asking, but Dad was really cagy about it. What I do remember is my mom was on edge for a while, always looking over her shoulder at every little sound. Then one day my Uncle Victor paid her a visit."

"Just her?"

"Dad had already left for work," Case explained. "When Dad found out Mom was pregnant, apparently he started work on renovations to our house. He might have forgotten everything that happened with Hydra, but Mom and Uncle Victor didn't. He designed a small hiding place for us, this tiny closet hidden through a doorway in the closet of their bedroom. If anything bad were to happen, the rule was to hide in there until Mom, Dad, or Uncle Victor came to get us."

"Convenient, if not a bit paranoid," Sam admitted, "Smart plan for someone trying to stay safe from Hydra."

"Yeah, I guess," Case gave a noncommittal shrug. "So…Uncle Victor comes to the house…and Mom ushers us in the closet. Doesn't say anything, doesn't even act like anything's wrong…just tells us to hide inside and she'll come to get us." She sat back on the couch and hugged her knees to her chest, "I think at some point Ryder and I just came to the agreement she was dead, if not to try and find some closure with the whole situation."

"You said that her disappearing contributed to your insomnia," Sam remembered.

Case nodded, "Yeah…I would stay up at night, hoping she'd come through the door. When it finally sank in that she wasn't coming back, it morphed into a fear that Ryder and my dad would disappear in the middle of the night. So, I would stay up to make sure they didn't leave…when we settled in Brooklyn, I'd check in Ryder's room and my dad's room at night to make sure they were still there."

"Did you ever do that with Steve and Bucky?"

"During the war, yeah," Case nodded. "Sometimes it was easier…we huddled in the same room in a burned-out building…other times I snuck out of my tent when I was sure I wouldn't get caught to patrol, sniffing out Steve and Bucky's tent along with Ryder's…unless Bucky was with me. He'd tighten his hold on me and keep reminding me everyone was fine and to try and go back to sleep."

"He knew of your rituals?"

"He caught me during one of them," Case admitted. "We were seven and having a sleepover at his house. We were all camped out in the middle of their living room, and I had a nightmare. That was…" She sighed, "That was when I was still hiding in closets."

"Why?"

"I think it was residual from the day my mother disappeared…" Case explained. "I remember having a nightmare…couldn't tell you what happened, but it terrified me to no end. I remember running into the coat closet and bursting into tears. It was kind of like a reflex…when in doubt, run and hide in the closet. Wait for Mom and Dad to get you." She gave a small smile as she added, "Next thing I heard was Bucky knocking on the door asking me if I was okay."

As the smile faded, and a dark look started to come over Case's face, Sam said, "What happened to him wasn't your fault, Case."

"That's not entirely true, Sam."

"He fell off of a train, Case—"

"Sam," Case cut him off. She got to her feet, walking across the room to the large floor-to-ceiling window to stare out at the city.

"Case…?"

Case chewed on her lip, before asking, "What do you think he'd say if he knew the truth?" She turned to face him, leaning back against the warm glass, "What do you think he'd do? How do you think he'd feel?"

Sam frowned, "I really don't know."

Case gave a nod and folded her arms, "I was asked that every day when I was there. Fed some bullshit lines about how he'd hate me, how he'd…" She bit her lip, trying to remain calm. A tear rolled down her cheek as she said, "She didn't know the truth at that time…so she really didn't know how hard she was hitting with that. She knew Bucky was a sore spot for me, but…"

As she grew quiet, Sam got concerned, "Case…you said it yourself, it was bullshit. They were lies—"

"They hurt him, Sam…over and over again," Her voice was barely above a whisper at this point.

"Case…whatever you're thinking…whatever's happening…what happened to him was not your fault!" Sam said firmly. "That was Hydra, and Hydra alone."

"I was there, Sam!" Case snapped at him. "I was there! I should have…I had the ability, my dad cut through doors when he got free from Hydra! I should've…I could've done better!"

"You can't think like that, Case!" Sam protested. "Steve and Ryder don't blame you! You shouldn't blame yourself!"

"Steve and Ryder don't blame me because they're too busy blaming themselves!" Case argued. "Ryder because he let him go at the factory, Steve because we never got the chance to look for him after he fell!"

"And you blame yourself because you didn't take him with you when you escaped."

Case frowned at him, "I didn't escape."

"Huh?"

"I didn't escape…they kicked me out."

"They kicked you out? Why?"

The side of her mouth quirked up in a tiny smirk, "He knew me, Sam."

"But if they kept erasing his memories that wouldn't matter."

"In theory, yes…I didn't get the full logic behind the answer, I just know that that was one of the reasons why," Case admitted. She moved back toward the couch, "Anyway…where was I?"

"What do you mean…?"

"Right, the Triskelion…" Case added absently.


April 2014

"Steve!" Case called out.

Steve looked like a man on a mission as he marched through SHIELD Headquarters, even though he'd just come back from one. He was still in his uniform, minus the cowl and shield, and did not look happy at all. He turned to face her and gave a small smile as she caught up to him, "Hey Shorty."

"Hey, hey, we talked about this," Case frowned at him, "Only those who aren't serum-infused can call me Shorty…you were my height until all this happened," She added as she bopped him in the side with the back of her hand.

"Whatever, Shorty," Steve chuckled, then gave a yelp as she jabbed him in the side with her finger.

"What's got you in such a hurry?"

Steve's smile fell, and he sighed, "Mission went sideways…gotta go see Fury. Come on."

Case frowned, "I doubt they'd want me—"

"Now Howlett," Steve ordered over his shoulder, already on his way.

"Right behind you Cap," she sighed as she caught up to him.

Steve led the way into Fury's office, already calling out, "You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?"

"I didn't lie," Fury said calmly. He was seated at his desk with his back to them, facing the large plate glass windows of his office. He didn't turn as he added, "Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours."

"Which you didn't feel obliged to share," Steve added as he reached the desk.

"I'm not obliged to do anything," Fury told him, cheek still resting on his closed fist.

"Those hostages could have died, Nick," Steve growled.

That finally made Fury turn, "I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen." He noticed Case was standing next to him, "Agent Howlett."

"Nick," Case added with a smirk.

"Soldiers trust each other. That's what makes it an army, not a bunch of guys running around shooting guns!" Steve snapped.

"Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye," Fury said, getting to his feet. He braced himself on his desk, "Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything."

"I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own."

"It's called compartmentalization. Nobody spills the secrets, because nobody knows them all."

"Except you."

Fury stood straighter, and after a few moments said, "You're wrong about me…I do share. I'm nice like that."


"Insight bay," Fury commanded as he led them into an elevator.

"Captain Rogers and Agent Howlet do not have clearance for Project Insight," the computer said, flashing pictures of Case and Steve on the screen, each one stating ACCESS DENIED.

"Director override, Fury, Nicholas J."

"Confirmed."

The elevator began to move, and it grew quiet.

After a few moments, Steve said, "You know, they used to play music."

"Yeah," Fury answered, "My grandfather operated one of these things for forty years. Granddad worked in a nice building, got good tips. He'd walk home every night, a roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag, he'd say 'Hi', people would say 'Hi' back. Time went on, the neighborhood got rougher, he'd say 'Hi' and they'd say, 'Keep on Steppin'.' Granddad got to grippin' that lunch bag a little tighter."

"Can't blame him," Case admitted.

"Did he ever get mugged?" Steve asked.

Fury gave a laugh, "Every week some punk would say, 'What's in the bag?'"

"What would he do?"

"He'd show 'em. A bunch of crumpled ones, and a loaded twenty-two magnum," Fury said as the elevator reached some of the lower levels of the Triskelion. "Yeah, Granddad loved people…but he didn't trust them very much."

Steve turned to see out through the glass, and his mouth dropped open. He nudged Case to turn as well, and her eyes widened at the sight.

"Yeah, I know…they're a little bit bigger than a twenty-two."

They'd reached a hangar where three giant helicarriers were currently being stored. Each had massive guns attached around the structure, cranes were lifting smaller fighter jets onto the carriers.

As they left the elevator and walked across the floor, Fury explained, "This is Project Insight. Three next-generation helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites."

"Launched from the Lemurian Star," Steve stated.

Ignoring his comment, Fury added, "Once we get them in the air, they never need to come down. Continuous sub-orbital flight, courtesy of our new repulsor engines."

"Stark?" Both Case and Steve asked as they walked beneath one of the repulsor engines, staring up at the huge structure.

"He had a few suggestions once he got an up-close look at our old turbines," Fury admitted. He led them to a platform that overlooked one of the carriers, and pointed to the guns underneath the structure, "These new long-range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole." He turned his gaze from the carrier to Steve and Case, "We're gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen."

Case frowned as she took everything in, "Isn't that what those conspiracy nuts on the internet are so concerned about? What do they call it…Skynet or something?"

Fury's back straightened and he looked downright insulted at the insinuation, "That's not what this is."

"But she's got a point though," Steve said, "I thought the punishment usually came after the crime."

"We can't afford to wait that long."

"Who's 'we'?"

"After New York I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis. For once, we're way ahead of the curve."

"By holding a gun to everyone on Earth and callin' it protection."

Fury turned to face him directly, "You know, I read those SSR files. 'Greatest Generation'? You guys did some nasty stuff."

"Yeah, we compromised…sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well," Steve frowned. "But we did it so that people could be free. This isn't freedom, this is fear."

"SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. And it's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap."

"Don't hold your breath."

As Case went to follow Steve, Fury added, "Wait a moment, Howlett."

Steve looked at Case, but she shrugged and motioned for him to go on head. She turned back to Fury and folded her arms, "Let's cut to the chase, I'm with Steve on this one. Jokes aside…this isn't freedom, not by a long shot."

"That's not what this is about," Fury told her. He studied her for a moment, then added, "It's way past time for you to get back into the field. It's been what, a year?"

"That's what I've been saying," Case agreed. "I think I'm more than ready to go back…the way I understand it Pierce wants me cleared by a SHIELD shrink and said shrink won't sign off on it. I think it's because I still don't remember much from the ordeal."

"So?" Fury asked.

Case shrugged, "I'm kind of resigned to the fact it's probably never coming back. I can either wallow in it or I can use what little I have to move forward and get better than I was…I have no problem with choosing option two, I just need the clearance."

Fury stared at her one more time, then turned back toward the helicarriers, "I'll talk to Pierce."

"Come again?" Case asked.

"I said I'll have a talk with Pierce," Fury repeated. "This has gone on long enough."

Case stood straighter and a smile lit her face, "Thank you sir!"

"Don't make me regret this Howlett."

"Have I ever let you down?" Case asked.

Fury didn't meet her gaze, "Dismissed, Howlett."

Case turned on her heel and practically skipped toward the elevator where Steve was waiting, grin still glued to her face.

"You're in a better mood," Steve pointed out, a smile forming on his face as well at the sight.

The doors closed behind Case, and she said, "Fury said he'd talk to Pierce to get me back into the field!"

"Are you sure you're ready? It's only been a year," Steve asked in mock concern. He gave a grunt when Case smacked him in the stomach, and said, "Joke! It was a joke! I'm glad you're getting back into the field."

"Good," Case said, smirking up at him as she leaned against one of the railings.

"One question I did have though…"

"What's that?"

"What the hell is Skynet?"