A/N: I hope you enjoy the next chapter! Love you all. XOXO - Presephone
Everett walked down the corridor toward the sound of Christmas music and laughter. He stood in the doorway as he watched Emmaliene skip around her mother with a pair of reindeer antlers perched on her head. Katya met her husband's gaze and shrugged with a laugh as their daughter continued to wrap her up in silver tinsel.
He was about to say something when he heard a knock at the door. He looked at his wife again, and she silently nodded her head; she must've listened to the door, too.
Everett walked down to the main entrance, wondering who would be visiting this late on Christmas Eve. He opened the door and furrowed his brow.
There wasn't anyone there.
"Hello?"
Everett started to feel uneasy as he took a step onto the front porch. He looked around and didn't see any sign of a visitor. He could see the fence's silhouette in the distance but didn't see any disturbance in the snow.
As he turned around, he felt a needle sink into his neck.
Emmaliene stared at the screen, and she could feel her breathing begin to shallow as she swallowed hard, "Gerry?"
The old man had gone tense next to her, "Emmaliene, while I look at this, I want you to leave the room."
"No," she replied immediately.
"Emm—" Gerry started but was cut off.
"No," she emphasized again and stood up to look at him, "I have to know."
Gerry silently nodded, pulled over another chair, and sat down next to her. He grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as Emmaliene moved the cursor over the link.
The screen went black, and something similar to VHS tracking lines ran across the screen before the video started.
Everett's silhouette clumsily shuffled through the snow as the back of the house came into view. He tripped up the stairs and fell, bracing himself with his hands against the step.
"Get up." A voice calmly ordered from behind the camera.
Emmaliene felt her stomach drop and her grip on Gerry's hand tightened.
The sleeve of his right arm was torn, and as he stood back up, there was blood left in the white snow. He opened the door leading into the kitchen and sat at the counter. He calmly placed his arms in front of him and waited.
The faint of Christmas music and laughter wafted from the second floor.
Whoever was holding the camera walked around the counter, and Everrett's face came into view. He stared straight ahead with empty, soulless eyes. A gloved hand came over his head and placed an oxygen mask on his face.
"Take a deep breath," the calm voice off-camera ordered, and Everrett silently obeyed. Heavy footsteps were heard off-camera, "Amazing, isn't it?" The quiet voice continued, "In Columbia, they call it Devil's Breath, and it's used primarily in robberies. Give someone a few doses of this, and the one exposed becomes much more... Open to suggestions. For example," the figure stepped in front of the camera and leaned against the counter, "Everrett, what is the passcode to the safe in your master bedroom?"
In a monotonous voice, Everett replied, "10-18-84."
"Liene-bug's date of birth; how sweet."
Emmaliene audibly gasped as she watched Alexander Pierce circled her father.
"I didn't want it to go like this, Everrett," Alex continued, crossing his arms across his tactical vest, "You and Katya have always been dear friends; I thought that the two of you would understand the precipice of change that is in front of us... And Lienie- Emmaliene will be that catalyst that will change another breath."
Alex spoke with solemn reverence as Everrett deeply inhaled and continued blankly, staring forward. Alex glanced up as a burst of laughter echoed through the house, "I just wanted you to leave well enough alone. Why couldn't you have trusted me that Project Athena would help Emmy? She truly will be stronger than ever and will grow in power the older she gets. But you had to- You just had to stick your nose where it wasn't ready to go yet."
Alex sighed heavily and sat down next to his catatonic friend, "Look at me, Ev," he spoke much softer as Everrett looked at him, "I promise you that I will love her as if she were my own. On my life, I'll keep her safe."
The calm moment was interrupted by shattering glass.
The camera jerked upwards to show a terrified Katya at the base of the staircase. The pieces of the wine glass she had been holding were scattered around her feet.
"Shit," Alex muttered as Katya screamed and ran back up the stairs. He stood up and ripped the oxygen mask off of Everrett's face; his face had returned to its hardened gaze. He pulled a large hunting knife from his vest and looked just beyond the camera, "Rumlow, give him the camera and get ready to leave."
The camera moved back around the counter and was set down in front of Everett's hands. Soft whispering was in the background, but the words couldn't be understood.
The camera was picked up and began moving towards and then up the stairs. The view panned down the hallway as Katya slammed a door behind her. She stood frozen in the hallway, looking at the camera.
"Ev," her voice trembled as she held her hands in front of her, "Evere— What did they do to you моя любовь (my love)?"
"Come here, Katya," Everrett's voice was hollow as the camera moved closer to the terrified woman.
She lunged forward, attempting to dodge underneath Everrett's outreached hand, but he grabbed her hair. She screamed and clawed her nails at his arm, trying to get him to release her.
She was dragged into a large bedroom and thrown against the foot of the bed. She looked up with tears streaming down her face, "Everett! Whatever they've done to you— Please, stop! Think of Emm—"
Her words were cut off as the camera quickly moved forward, and the hunting knife came into view. She let out a blood-curdling scream as the—
The laptop is slammed closed, and Emmaliene's chair violently falls over as she staggers away from the desk. Her breathing was erratic and shallow, and she could feel her heartbeat pounding on the sides of her head. She felt goosebumps form on her arms as the numbing wave of panic swept over her arms and into her chest.
She looked up and saw Gerry's horrified expression, and her vision began to blur. She had started to cry. For the first time since this hell began... She cried.
Emmaliene stumbled away from the desk, and she vaguely heard Gerry shouting after as she ran from the room. Her heavy footsteps echoed down the dark hallway, and she ran down the staircase. She ran towards the kitchen and felt a healthy arm wrap around her.
"GET OFF ME!" Emmaliene shouted and pushed against the chest that had collided with her.
"Woah, Woah!" Sam shouted as the hallway light turned on behind him, illuminating him and Steve, "Emmaliene! What happened?!"
"Get away from me!" She shoves him again and runs to the back door, swinging it open.
The rain was pouring down as Emmaliene ran down the back steps. She could feel the three men behind her as the house's rear lights illuminated the darkened ground. She didn't know where she was running; she just wanted to get away from everything.
She felt her feet slip on the grass beneath her and arms wrapped around her waist as she fell. She started pushing away from whoever was holding her. She screamed and fought against the tight grip as the rain continued to drench her clothing.
"Let me—"
"Stop!" The harsh voice cut her off. She continued to struggle against the grip, even as she felt the metal slats in his arms shift and tighten around her. Her adrenaline was quickly draining, and she felt herself weakening with every second; he sat up and pulled her tighter, his human hand wrapping into her hair, "You have to stop, Emmaliene."
Gerry, Steve, and Sam stopped several yards from where Emmaliene was on the ground. They stared as Bucky held her close, and subtly rocked her back and forth as her crying filled the air.
At the sound of their footsteps, Bucky's head shot up, and he locked eyes with Steve. Rather than the stern eyes of the Winter Soldier, Steve saw the soft, concerned gaze of the friend he once knew.
Bucky looked away and softly pulled Emmaliene away from him, "Look at me, Emmy." She continued to squeeze her eyes tight as the tears fell freely down her cheeks. He heavily sighed and placed both of his hands on either side of her face, "Look at me, bambola (doll)."
The term of endearment caused Emmaliene to open her eyes and meet his gaze slowly. He looked at her with soft, concerned eyes.
"Five."
She sharply exhaled when she realized what he was doing.
"Trees... Clouds... House... ATV... Lights... … ... You."
"Four."
"Arms... Clothes... Grass... Tears."
"Three."
"Breathing... Thunder... Crickets."
James subtly nodded in reassurance.
"Two."
"Cedar trees... Rain."
The corner of James' mouth twitched upward.
"One."
"... Salt."
There was a long silence as the rain poured around them. James never broke his gaze with Emmaliene as her tears began to slow. His metal arm left her cheek and landed on her upper arm, "Can you stand?"
Emmaliene felt her throat tighten, "I don't-I'm not sure if..."
Her voice trailed off, and fresh tears welled up in her eyes. He gave her a short nod, "Put your arms around my neck."
She was too exhausted to protest, and she wrapped her arms around him, his wet hair sticking to her arms. His metal arm wrapped around her knees while his other snaked around her waist.
James silently stood up, and she rested her head on his shoulder. He tensed slightly as the soft pressure of her head rested over the scarring where the man met the machine. He looked back to where the other three men had silently stood, and he looked at all of them individually before his gaze settled on Gerry, "Let me get her inside," his eyes darted back to meet Steve's, "then we can talk."
James quietly closed the door to the darkened bedroom and stood for a long moment. He turned around and walked back into the kitchen. Gerry was sitting at the counter with a familiar laptop in front of him. Sam was leaning against the counter next top Gerry, and Steve was leaning against the sink. James stopped in the entry to the kitchen, and all three looked up at him.
"Emmy?" Gerry asked.
James slightly nodded, "Sleeping."
Sam was the first to speak up, "So what do we do now?"
Gerry straightened up further, "We need to get Emmy far away from here."
"Where?" Sam asks.
"The next step in her plan," Gerry explains, "only she knows the exact location, but I do know that it's outta the country." Gerry paused a moment and looked back to James, "Can I still trust ya to protect her?"
James silently nodded.
"Then that's settled," Gerry stood up, "You and Emmy disappear while the rest of us track Hydra on our end."
"Are we sure that's the best—"
"It is," Steve cut off Sam and met James' eye again, "We'll keep them off your trail. Keep you up to date on their movements."
James held his friend's gaze and spoke barely above a whisper, "To the end of the line."
Emmaliene woke up, and it was still dark outside. She looked at her clock and felt confused; 10:45 pm? She thought, There is no way I slept the whole day.
She got out of bed and opened her bedroom door, "Hello?"
Silence.
She felt an uneasy feeling settle into her stomach as she grabbed her gun and made her way down the dark hallway, "Gerry… ... Steve… ... James… ..." She looked into the kitchen and found it empty, "Other guy whose name I don't remember?"
Silence.
She turned around to continue her search when dread flooded her system. "Oh no," she murmured as she felt the familiar sensation of her head being submerged underwater. She frantically tried to run, but her legs buckled and gave out before she fell unconscious.
"Осторожно. Потому что я бесстрашный и поэтому сильный. (Beware. For I am fearless, therefore I am powerful.)"
Her green eyes snapped open.
"солдат? (Soldier?)"
Emmaline's eyes hardened and focused on the figure standing above her. Slowly, she stood up and squared her shoulders.
"я готов отвечать. (Ready to comply)"