19th May, 2011

Victoria sat crossed legged on the cot, her gaze peering down at the board in front of her. She had been watching it for a while, almost as though some move would appear out of nowhere. But she had nothing. She had no move that would help her play herself out of the mess that she was in. James sat across from her, watching her as she watched the board. She had been sat like that for ages. He knew that there was no possible move for her to avoid the checkmate.

"Shit," she said to him, turning to look at him. "I think you beat me."

"There's no other logical move," he responded.

"Then go ahead," she said to him and made her move. "Declare checkmate."

"Checkmate," he spoke and the game was finished. She kept her legs crossed underneath her. She had draped a blanket over her lap, always feeling the cold whenever she came to visit James. She adjusted the wool jumper she wore, the red of it contrasting against her pale skin.

"Well, after almost…six months," she tried to weigh up the time, "you finally beat me."

"Took a while," he responded to her.

"Well, I've had years of practice so it's pretty impressive, James," she said, using his name.

She tried to do that. She tried to slip his name into conversation. Ever since she had first told him that his name was James, he had been confused. He didn't think that it sounded familiar to him. James didn't sound right. But she still called him it. She still called him James and he had gotten used to it. In a way, it felt odd. No one else called him by a name. They simply referred to him as an asset or an object. He wasn't a person, not to them. But Victoria was different.

"You…last time we spoke…you said that you were finishing your degree this year."

"I am," she said. "You remembered that?"

They had wiped his memory again. He was still showing emotion and nothing Victoria said to him or did would stop that. She had tried to be distant. She had tried to stay away from him. But that didn't work. And, in the end, she couldn't. She couldn't do that to him because no one else in that god-damned facility showed him anything but contempt, using him for their own means. She wasn't going to do that. She couldn't do that.

"I…I remember you said that you had six exams," he said.

"Yeah," she said. "I've already sat three of them and have three more in June. I've applied for a Masters course too…considering we're likely to be stuck here for more time. I don't know if I'll get onto a course, but I applied for it here in D.C…to go in person."

"He's letting you?" James asked her.

"He…he knows that he has me where he wants me," Victoria simply said to him. She didn't tell him about all of the threats he had made. She didn't tell him how he had told her HYDRA had infiltrated every law authority in the States. He had warned her if she even considered going to the police, they'd know in an instant. They'd know and, even though she was free, she knew she was being followed.

She wasn't an idiot. Her father tracked her movements, the bug on her phone told her that much.

"Are you looking forward to it?"

"I am," Victoria said with a nod. "It'll be a chance to actually meet people and study in person. I haven't done that in years."

"So…I won't see you, will I?" he asked from her and he moved a hand to his hair, tucking it behind his ear. She watched him as his intense gaze found hers and she swore she felt her own cheeks flush. She had been with him for four long years now. It had been four years and she had only grown to care even more for him.

"You'll still see me," she promised him. "I promise."

"Don't make promises if you can't keep them," he said to her and he wondered where that had come from. Someone had warned him about that before. He didn't know who. It was a woman. He was sure of it. But who was she?

"But I'll keep it," she said to him, hands folded into the blanket on her lap. "I promise you that I'll keep it."

"You should forget about me," he said to her and she tilted her head to the side.

"What? Like I keep telling you to stop caring about me?" she questioned from him. "The thing is, James, it's been four years…I don't think either of us are going to take advice now, do you?"

"Miss Wallace."

A new voice entered the room and Victoria looked to the doorway to see a guard stood there. She looked expectantly at him and James did the same.

"Your father requires you in the lab."

"Be there in a minute," Victoria said to him. She climbed from the cot, uncurling herself from her seated position. She stood on her feet, tugging the mini skirt down her legs and adjusting the tights underneath it. She left the blanket on the cot and James watched her tuck her hair behind her ears. Turning back to him, she gave him that warm smile she always flashed in his direction. "I'll be back in a minute."

He nodded and watched her leave the room, the guard locking the door behind her and shooting a look over to him. Victoria moved down the corridors, arms dangling by her sides until she came to the lab. Her father was already sat there, looking expectantly at her.

"I have something I need to discuss with you," he said to her.

She arched a brow. "What is it?" she questioned from him.

"Your master's course here in Washington…I have already paid the fees. You will be getting onto it."

Victoria's eyes widened at that. "I was just going to take out a student loan…or use some of the money that mum left me."

Her mother had left her everything that she had. That had been clear in the will. All of it was to go to Victoria as soon as she turned eighteen. Victoria had left most of it alone, knowing that there might come a time when she needed it to get away. She would use it for that.

"You have no need," Roger waved a hand over to her.

Victoria folded her arms over her chest. She shook her head at him. "What's the catch?" she asked and Roger chuckled.

"You always question everything," he said to her. "There is no catch, Victoria. I have done this for you and that is all there is to it. I do not expect anything in return. You have proven yourself useful…and even obedient…I suspect this is compensation enough."

"You're trying to buy your way out of what…the guilt you feel?" she asked him. "Seriously? You think that…I…"

"I have paid you the debt that I perhaps owe you for everything I have done."

"I'm going back to see James."

"He is being frozen again tonight, Victoria."

"Can you not just give him a few more days?" Victoria questioned. "He only got back from his mission last night. He-"

"-Your concern for him is touching," he interrupted her, "but he's going back to sleep. You'll survive without him…tell me…have your feelings for him changed?"

"Excuse me?" she asked from him.

Roger eyed his daughter intensely, stalking around her. He moved a hand to gather her hair, pushing it behind her shoulder. Looking to him as he stood behind her, she kept her gaze focused on him, refusing to look away or even let him humiliate her with his questions. She wouldn't let him. She despised him. But he wasn't going to beat her.

"You're almost twenty-one," he said to her. "You're grown up now, Victoria, no longer the naïve young girl you once were. Plus, you only know one person…a man who has been frozen since he was twenty-seven years old…a man who cares for no one here. No one except for you, that is."

"I have no idea what you're saying?"

"Well, what is it?" Roger asked her, brushing his hand down her cheek. "Is it friendship? Companionship? Or something deeper?"

"It is what it is," she said, speaking in a slow drawl. "He isn't the monster here. He's been the only one who has shown an interest in my wellbeing and I care about him. I care about what happens to him because I think there is more inside of him…a lot more…just waiting to get out."

"I see," Roger drawled. "Well, try not to get too attached, Victoria."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that there are others who are interested in you. If HYDRA is to further its cause then it is imperative that we continue bloodlines, especially ones as worthy as ours."

Victoria almost blanched at that. He thought that their bloodline was worthy? What did that even mean? She had absolutely no idea. She did her best to consider what he meant, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get out of that room.

"Ivan has shown an interest in you recently. He is only twenty-six himself."

"You cannot be serious."

"You could do a lot worse than be with a man like Ivan, Victoria, trust me," he said and somehow she thought that it was a warning. She shook her head.

"I don't care…you…after my degree, can we talk about this then?" she asked him. She needed to buy time. She wanted to buy time. She wasn't having this discussion. "I have my Masters degree to think about…so…until then…can we just drop it?"

"I can permit that," Roger said with a nod. "Now, I have work to get on with. You can leave."

Victoria did as she was told, heading out of the lab and finding the only woman's bathroom. She clasped onto the sides of the porcelain sink and bent over it, heaving and trying to keep her stomach from churning. Closing her eyes, she knew that there had to be a way out of this. She just had to find it.

…

Victoria had gone out as soon as they had gotten to Zemo's apartment. She had stated how she had to buy new clothes considering she wasn't prepared that well. She had only bought one change of clothes and had ditched them in Madripoor. She went shopping, picking up a pair of jeans and a jumper alongside a long sleeved shirt and trainers. She got changed in the bathroom when she returned to the apartment. Bucky had stated how he had to go for a walk and she wondered what was eating him up.

Only when he returned did he tell them, shrugging out of the jacket that he was wearing. "Well, the Dora Milaje are here," he said, tossing his jacket onto the kitchen island and heading for the whiskey bottle. "They want Zemo, but I've managed to persuade them to give us eight hours."

"What or who is the Dora Milaje?" Victoria was the one to ask.

Zemo remained stood on the other end of the island, eating a cookie and dressed in a robe, his hair damp on top of his head after showering. Sam was sat on a stool, laptop open in front of him.

"They're from Wakanda," Bucky said to her. "They guard royalty. After the bombing of the U.N. they want him," he motioned to Zemo, "behind bars."

"Sounds fair," Victoria nodded her head at that.

"And did they follow you back here?" Sam wondered.

"No," Bucky said and reached for his phone from his pocket. "I know when I'm being followed and they weren't following me."

Zemo double-checked that and Victoria watched as Bucky kept his focus on his screen. "What is it?"she asked him. She knew that face.

"Karli bombed a GRC supply facility," he said, looking between her and Sam. "Eleven people are injured and three are dead. They have a list of demands that have just been published and are promising more attacks if they are not met."

"She's becoming volatile," Zemo commented and Bucky finally poured himself a glass of whiskey, downing it in one. "She's a super soldier and I have the will to finish this mission, but I wonder if the two of you do. You see her as just a child, but you see something that is not there. You're clouded by it. She is a supremacist and the concept of her being a super soldier will trouble people. It is that warped aspiration that led to Nazis…Ultron…the desire to use super humans with supremacist ideals. Anyone with those ideals is on that path, is that not right, Victoria?"

He looked over to her and she felt all three sets of eyes turn to her. Looking to Zemo, she wondered why he had just picked on her. But she knew. And he knew that she knew.

"Your father had similar ideals, did he not?" Zemo questioned. "The serum was to be used for bad in individuals who shared similar ideals."

"And Steve?" Bucky asked. "The serum never corrupted him."

"Touché," Zemo said, "but there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there? No, most people are like Roger Wallace…Alistair Dunpoint…the people who want that serum want the power. They want it to enhance their own agenda. And you might not see that, but she does," Zemo said and Victoria picked her gaze up and looked at him. "She might plead ignorance, but deep down she agrees with me."

"I need some air," Victoria grumbled and she moved over to the door.

Bucky shot Zemo a glare and ground his teeth together, but the other man simply shrugged and picked up another cookie, popping it in his mouth and chewing down on it. Bucky headed outside to find Victoria leant against the wall. She was looking up to the sky and Bucky moved to stand next to her, foot resting back against the wall and arms by his side.

"You're not like him."

"I know that," Victoria said. "I've never bombed the U.N. to get revenge, but when it comes to the concept of super soldiers…a part of me still agrees with him and he knows it. He isn't an idiot, unfortunately."

"He's a pain in the ass though," Bucky said, looking to her and noticing her lips quirk at that. At least his comment had the desired effect he was hoping for. She turned her gaze up to him, the smile still on her face as his lips picked up too. "Just ignore him. He'll be back in a cell soon enough."

"Sounds good," Victoria responded. "But…I don't entirely agree with him," she said and looked over Bucky. "You're a super soldier. You're nothing like HYDRA…any of them…"

"But I still did bad things," he said with a soft shake of his head.

"They controlled you," she responded. "You know that, Bucky."

"Still did them," he mumbled. "And sometimes I think…I think about how I could be around you and then I wondered how I could become someone completely different as soon as they spoke those words to me."

"I know," she said. She could still remember the sight of him whenever they did that to get him to comply. She could still hear the words in her mind in Russian. Longing…rusted…seventeen.

Bucky snapped her from her thoughts when he moved a hand out to hers. She looked down, feeling his fingers engulf hers. Squeezing her hand, he looked to her as she continued watching his fingers. "I don't think any less of you for feeling the same way as Zemo," Bucky said to her. "I don't think anyone would if they had seen what we had seen."

"Thank you," she said, peering up at him and he saw that look in her eye, like she truly appreciated what he had said. He never could understand why she appreciated anything he did for her.

"Don't need to thank me," Bucky squeezed her hand. "Come on, we should head back in."

"You go ahead," Victoria said to him. "I just need a minute."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," she smiled at him, knowing exactly what she was doing.

She waited until Bucky had gone back inside before she pulled her phone out. She had felt it vibrate while he had been talking, but had left it alone. She was expecting him to make contact. He was too arrogant not to. Looking down at the screen, she could see the text from the unknown number with a location attached to it. She pressed down on the attachment and it opened up a map, a red dot pinging several blocks away from where she was.

Heading inside, Victoria knew that she should tell Bucky.

"We're heading off to see if we can get anything on where Karli might be hiding out," Bucky told her and she nodded her head. He had other things to worry about. He had to cope with that. He had to deal with the Flag Smashers. She knew that. She chewed down on her bottom lip and nodded her head. She could handle this. He was her mess. She could clean it up.

"Be careful," she urged.

He smirked. "You always said that."

"Always meant it," she responded, "I got tired of having to fix you up when you came back bruised and bloodied."

"But you always did it."

"It was either me or that old, mean doctor," she said to him.

"I'd always pick you."

There was silence between them then. They kept on staring at each other for a moment before Victoria broke from his gaze and he cursed in his mind that he hadn't said something else. He watched her move forwards, giving him a smile, but looking over his shoulder. She squeezed his forearm as she passed by. "I'll wait here…good luck."

She headed to the kitchen as Sam gave her a nod and Zemo came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and shrugging into his long coat. "Make yourself at home, Miss Wallace," he said to her. "I'm nothing if not a good host."

"Thanks," she said, her tone flat.

She waited until the three of them had gone before she skulked off. She checked the gun that Bucky had given her, sliding it into the waistband of her jeans and pulling her jumper over it alongside her coat. She kept her phone in her hand and followed the map, guiding her exactly where she needed to be. The streets grew quieter as she wandered around them. He wouldn't do this in a public location. She knew that.

Eventually, she came to the location, but she couldn't see him there. The street was cobbled, the backs of houses on either side of it meaning that the chances of someone interrupting them was slim. Victoria reached into the back of her jeans and pulled the gun out. Holding it firmly in her hands, she stood in the middle of the street and looked around.

"I know it's you, Alistair," she called out. "I know that you're here."

She tried to keep her breathing under control. She wasn't going to let him think that he had broken her down.

"Hey, baby."

She whirled around to see him stood at the other end of the road. Holding her gun up, she aimed it directly at him, refusing to lower it. He had his hands in the pockets of his trousers, the three-piece suit he wore neatly pressed and looking slim fitting on his body. He'd grown a neat looking beard and his hairline had receded slightly.

"Darling, you don't need that," he said to her, pointing to the gun. "You're not going to shoot me, especially not in broad daylight where people could hear the shot."

"Don't test me," she warned him, refusing to lower the gun. "Now stay back from me and tell me what the hell you're doing here."

"I would have thought that would be obvious," he said to her. He kept his distance, thankfully. He stayed a few metres away from her, but still she kept the gun trained on him. "You see, I've had to lay low for a couple of months. After the Blip, your father and I intended to finish our work, but when we got back…well, things had changed. You'd gone, for a start…most of our colleagues had been rounded up by S.H.I.E.L.D. We wondered what the hell had happened before it all made sense. Who would have given up all of our information? You."

"I wasn't planning on sticking around," Victoria said to him. "As soon as the Blip happened I left. I did everything I could to make sure I never had to go back."

"We figured as much," Alistair said to her with a nod of his head. "Fortunately, we were returned to Madripoor which meant we couldn't be extradited. We spent a good few weeks working out where you could have gone before your father narrowed it down…knowing that you had to have a new fake identity."

"How did he work it out?"

"Do you honestly think we still don't have connections inside of government organisations?" he questioned from her. "We were planning on coming for you…to bring you back to us…and then the Power Broker found out what we were planning. He found out that we were trying to recreate the serum…wanted what Nagel had. Turned out he didn't take kindly to that."

Victoria eyed him sceptically. "But you still escaped," she said to him.

"Luckily, yes," he said with a nod. "They blew up the apartment we were renting. Your father was in it, but I was on the way out. I got burned badly, but I survived. There were no bodies found and so I was presumed dead. That was easier than telling the truth."

"So…what?" she questioned from him. "I know you're alive. I know what you're after. You still want the serum so what is to stop me from telling the Power Broker? He would probably still want you dead."

"Because I've spent the past few months rebuilding," he said. "I've been gaining my own contacts again…people from our past…so if the Power Broker wants to come up against me, I'll be prepared."

"You're deluded," she said to him.

"I'm many things, baby, but not deluded," he said with a firm shake of his head. "I was so close to getting what I wanted…helping to recreate the serum…rebuild HYDRA…you have no idea. And then I saw it on the news: James Buchanan Barnes had been pardoned by the President. It took me a while to track him down to New York, I admit."

"So you've been following him?"

"Not me, per se," he said with a shake of his head. "I know people who can hack into CCTV cameras to do that kind of thing for me…and then they sent me the images of you and him. It was too perfect. I already knew where you were and I was intending on paying you a visit, but this just feels more poetic in a way. He was always the one standing in the way of our marriage so it is only fitting he is involved in all of this."

"I won't let you near him," Victoria said to him, her voice firm.

"Still defending him?" he checked with her. "Even after everything that you know he's done?"

"It wasn't him. It was never him," she shook her head.

"Are you fucking him yet?"

The question was crude, but it's what she should have expected from Alistair. He stepped closer to her, almost as though he was taunting her. He stood right in front of her, the barrel of the gun pressing to his forehead. He wasn't going to back off. He was going to keep this going.

"Or do you think he would even want used goods like you?"

She pulled the safety lock off the gun, hearing it click in her fingertips and Alistair's lips arched.

"What's to stop me from shooting you right now?"

"Nothing," he admitted freely. "But…I don't come unprepared and I would hate to ruin that lovely jumper. Blue always was my favourite colour on you."

Victoria looked down then, noting the red dot that was on her. He saw her take it in before she grunted loudly. But she still kept the gun trained on him.

"So, what's the plan?" she wondered.

"I think you already know the plan," he said to her. "I'm going to get the Winter Soldier back under control. I'm going to use his blood to recreate the serum. And you…my darling fiancée," he said and reached a hand out, his fingers curling around her wrist and forcing her to lower the gun from his forehead. Gritting her teeth, she let him put her hand down by her side, the red spot still on her chest. "I have special plans for you, don't worry."

It was then when her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She was going to ignore it, but Alistair was already moving into her jean pocket and she recoiled from his touch. He tugged the device out and looked down. The number was unknown. She had given Bucky her number. He had her business card. He was the only one likely to phone.

"Hello?" Alistair picked the phone up, pressing it to his ear, his hand still holding Victoria's wrist.

"Who the hell is this?" the voice on the other end of the phone spoke.

"Ah…I suspect this must be the man in question," Alistair said. "We were just talking about you."

"Where is she?"

"She's fine," Alistair responded. "She'll be fine…but I can't say the same for you."

"I'll ask again, where is she?"

"Even after…what…twelve years since you were under HYDRA's control? You still care about her. You know, she cares about you too, don't you? I always said that there were three people in our relationship. It always did feel too crowded."

Victoria reached out then, picking the phone out of his hands and glaring at him. He continued to look entertained as she placed the phone to her ear. "I'm fine," she said down the phone.

"Where the hell are you? Has he hurt you? I'll come and get you."

"I can deal with this," Victoria said to him and she hung up, hearing him shout at her as she went to press the 'end call' button. She put the phone back into her pocket. "So, what now?"

"We're heading back to London," he said. "I have a jet waiting for us. No doubt Barnes will come and try to save you…we always figured that we could use you as bait eventually."

"Whatever," Victoria said, knowing that she had to act quickly. She had to move before things got out of hand. She had no intention of going anywhere with Alistair. Holding his hand out, he kept his palm up flat.

"Gun," he demanded.

She did as he had asked, handing him the gun. He picked out his phone and made a quick call. "I've got her. You can stand down."

Alistair grabbed hold of her wrist and began dragging her down the street. Once the red dot had moved from her chest, Victoria waited until they rounded the corner before she moved. She tugged on her wrist, distracting Alistair from walking. She took that time to use the heel of her palm to thrust up against his nose with as much force as she could muster. He grunted in pain, hands instantly going to his nose. She moved her hands to his shoulders and lifted her knee up, letting it make contact with his groin. He yelled again and doubled over before Victoria reached for the gun he had been holding. She wrestled it from his fingertips before the red dot flashed over her body. She raised the gun and fired a shot at the rooftop.

Turning on her heel, she didn't bother to wait to see if she had hit the man. She took off down the street, diving around the first corner she came to. She continued running, not once looking back. Her breaths came out in heavy pants as she eventually saw people in the street and she tucked the gun back into the waistband of her jeans, slowing down so that she didn't stand out. She kept looking around, worried that Alistair would appear from nowhere in an instant.

Heading back in the direction of the apartment, she tucked her hair behind her ears and continued walking. She slowed her pace as she approached and saw him moving towards her. His arms flung out wide and she could see the anger on his face.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded from her, but his gaze softened as he approached her and he moved his gloved hands out, taking hold of her cheeks and bending down to look at her. "Did he hurt you? What did he do to you?"

"I'm fine," Victoria promised him. "I got away before he could shoot me. Finally, those self defence classes came in handy."

"Do not joke about this," he warned her, squeezing her shoulders firmly in his grip. "He…he was going to shoot you?"

"Not if I went with him," she shook her head, "but that wasn't happening."

"Right…okay…" Bucky said, processing everything that had happened. "Come on, we're not standing out here."

Before she could do anything, he had picked her hand up. He clung onto it and practically marched her back to the apartment, his eyes darting around and eyeing everyone with suspicion before they finally reached their destination and Bucky held the door open, pulling Victoria through it.

"Can you loosen your grip? I think you're cutting off my circulation." Victoria complained and Bucky looked down to her, but he didn't drop his hand as Sam moved from the barstool he had been sat on.

"You found her?"

"He found me," Victoria confirmed with a nod, "and now he's draining the blood flow to my hand."

"What happened? How did he find you here?" Bucky demanded, ignoring Sam and focusing only on Victoria.

"He didn't find me here," she said to him. "He text me and told me to meet him somewhere. Now, can you please let go?"

"What?" Bucky snapped loudly at hearing that from her lips. Shaking his head back and forth, he refused to believe it. His hand dropped hers and she wriggled her fingers, finally gathering feeling in them. But then he moved to clasp hold of her upper arms. "You went to him? You left this apartment and you went to him?"

"Yeah," she said.

"What happened to doing this together?" Bucky snapped and Sam could quite clearly hear the anger in his voice. It made him wonder if he had ever heard Bucky get quite this angry before. "You can't just run off and do things on your own. That's not how this is going to work, Victoria. We do things together. We tell each other what is going on."

"I'm fine."

"But you might not have been!" he snapped, shaking her slightly and Sam stood back, minding his own business. Zemo finally appeared from the bedroom and headed into the kitchen, making a pot of tea.

"But I am," she responded firmly.

"Jesus Christ," he complained, hands going to his hair and tugging through it. Looking back down to her, his gaze was full of anger and hurt. "Do you have any idea what I even thought as soon as I saw you weren't here? Do you not get it? Do you seriously not get it?"

"Get what?" she asked from him and he shook his head, pointing to her, his top lip went over his bottom lip and he backed away. He kept on shaking his head as he moved into the apartment and Victoria heard the slamming of a door. She winced at the sound of it and let out a breath.

"It's not my place to get involved in this," Sam spoke and Victoria turned her stare onto him. "But if you're going to be a part of this…sticking with us…sticking with him," he said, pointing in the direction Bucky had walked off to, "then you need to be part of the team. You're not on your own. You're with him."

Victoria didn't say anything. She didn't react. Instead, she moved off in the direction that Bucky had gone as she heard Zemo call out.

"Cherry Blossom tea might settle him down."

…

20th October, 2011

"This course is harder than the undergraduate degree," Victoria said to James as she moved the cloth over his forehead, wiping away the dried blood from the cut. They had sent him out on another mission and he had returned with a cut on his forehead, but it didn't need stitches. It really wasn't that bad, but Victoria had insisted on cleaning it. She moved the cloth over it and finally, his skin was clean. He was all good to go. She tossed the cloth to the side and pulled her legs up onto the cot, crossing them beneath her body as James pulled at the simple short-sleeved black top he wore. Turning his eyes onto her, he could see that her face was free from bruises. She had a fair complexion, but he noticed a spot just by her nose that she had clearly tried to cover with some kind of makeup.

"When did you start?" he questioned from her.

"The other week," she said. "There's a lot of reading…a lot of lectures…but the people seem nice. It's only a class of twenty and I've made some friends already. We're meeting up tonight…a gang of us…they've just moved to D.C. and they're insisting on heading to all of the museums."

"And you're going with them?"

"Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?" she questioned from him. "Me…going out…talking to people and trying to be normal while knowing what I know. I mean, a part of me had wondered if I could tell them who I was and what I knew, but then…well…dad put a dampener on that."

"What did he do?"

"He paid for my course because one of the college lecturers is part of HYDRA. He got information on all of my classmates, warned me that if I tried anything…did anything…then he would know. It's amazing. He's able to blackmail me through everything I do."

James remained silent and Victoria shook her head before he spoke to her, eyeing her and wondering if he should say anything. Was it in his place to say anything. "You…your hair is different," he said.

She tugged on a strand of it that dangled over her shoulder, nodding her head. "I curled it this morning," she said to him. "Figured if I was going out, I should make an effort. Speaking of, I should get going. If I had known you would be back this soon I would have cancelled."

"No," he told her. "I don't want to keep you."

"You know I don't mind."

"I do," he said to her.

"I…I don't like leaving you here," Victoria said to him in a soft voice. "I don't like leaving you by yourself."

"I'll be fine."

"Not the point," she responded in a soft voice to him and he watched her stand up, tugging the checked mini skirt down her thighs and pushing the black jumper further into its waistband before toying with her locket. "I'll come back tomorrow, okay? Before they put you to sleep."

"Don't."

"Don't what?" she asked from him.

"Cry."

She sniffed and shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He shook his head. "You do," he responded. "You always cry before I go back into the chamber. You try to hide it, but I can see it. I see how you cry, Victoria."

"It's…it's hard not to," she admitted to him. "Because it's not right."

"It's fine."

"None of this is fine," she responded. "And, deep down, you know that."

He shrugged. "I just don't like to see you cry," he said to her and she sniffed.

Looking down to him, Victoria felt something inside of her change. She moved towards him and bent down, kissing him on the cheek. He didn't even know how to react. He had no idea how he should deal with this. She kept her lips against his skin for a few moments before pulling back, a hand remaining on his shoulder.

"I don't particularly like crying," she admitted to him, dabbing at her eyes with her finger.

"Then don't."

"As with everything between us…easier said than done," she responded and stood up straight, squeezing his shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow though…I should go and make sure I haven't ruined my makeup or they'll think I look a state. Mind you, I always look a mess," she said, trying to lighten the mood before she smiled to him. She gave him a soft wave, which he never reciprocated. Moving out of the cell, he waited until she was gone before he spoke.

"You always look perfect."

Victoria left the facility, but not without a final word from her father. He warned her to keep her mouth shut and she knew she had to obey. She met up the group of six outside the Air and Space Museum and instantly she felt guilt. How could she live this normal life? What would these people say if they knew who she was? She could feel the guilt in the pit of her stomach. This wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

They suggested heading around the museum as a group, but not necessarily having to stick together. Victoria was glad about that. She always enjoyed wandering off on her own. Heading through the exhibits, they eventually came to the Captain America one and she winced at the sight of HYDRA's symbol.

"Talk about a job and a half, huh?"

Looking to the side, she saw Marcus stood next to her. He was tall, pretty lanky and always dressed in jeans and a shirt. His hair was messy and curly, the blond colour of them similar to Victoria's hair. He stood a good foot taller than her, meaning she had to crane her neck to look up at him.

"What's that?" she asked him.

"Having to fight HYDRA," he said to her. "We studied all about them in History at school."

"So did we," Victoria said to him. "Well, not that much, to be honest. We learned about Captain America, but that was it."

"What? You didn't learn all about the Howling Commandos? Or the fall of HYDRA?"

"Not really," she said. "It was never really a big part of our syllabus. We always focused more on British history and I've never been that into history, to be honest."

"Well, it's pretty fascinating," he said to her. "Come on, I can give you a tour."

Victoria's lips quirked despite everything. "Didn't know that the Smithsonian had hired you?"

"Consider this my audition."

"I don't think anyone but me is watching."

"Then you can give them a recommendation," he said and Victoria chuckled, but nodded her head. She followed him through the exhibit. He clearly loved history. It made her wonder why he was on a masters about geology. But he talked her through everything. They finally came to the big main room and he looked up.

"And without these guys, HYDRA wouldn't have been defeated," he said.

Victoria looked at him. If only you knew, she thought in her head. She said nothing, instead she lifted her gaze up and looked at the banners of several men's faces that hung on them. She let her eyes drift from left to right, noticing Captain America at the centre. But then she saw his face. His banner hung just behind Steve's and Victoria's eyes widened. She stepped closer as Marcus continued talking, but she had long stopped paying attention. She was just staring at him.

It couldn't be. How would that be possible? How could it even be possible that she was staring directly at James's face? But he looked exactly like him. His hair on the banner was clean cut and his face was freshly shaven, but Victoria would recognise him anywhere.

"You okay?" Marcus wondered, noticing how her eyes had remained fixed on the same spot and she hadn't said anything to him.

Blinking profusely, Victoria looked up to him. "Who is he?" she wondered, motioning to the banner.

"Oh, him," he said to her. "That's James Buchanan Barnes…come here…"

She followed him over to the corner of the exhibit, a large glass plaque stood there with his name written on it, an image of his face next door. A TV screen was built into the glass plaque and it played a video of him sat with Captain America, the two of them smiling at each other. That was him. It was James. And James was smiling. James never smiled.

"Well, he was more commonly known as Bucky," Marcus said and Victoria found herself paying attention. She didn't know if she could read the plaque and the information would even go in. Everything in her mind was in disarray. "He was Cap's best friend. He shipped out before Cap had the serum. Anyway, he was taken by HYDRA, him and the rest of the 107…Cap ended up rescuing all of them…bringing them all back to base. It's quite amazing, really, and there's this great documentary about the rescue mission. But, anyway, when they all got back they formed the Howling Commandos, an elite squad that took on HYDRA directly. Bucky was part of that squad."

"Bucky," she spoke his name, looking at the image on the screen. He definitely looked like a Bucky. He was more of a Bucky than a James.

"Yeah," Marcus said, sensing that something was amiss, but he kept on talking. "They were on this mission…the Howling Commandos...and it went wrong. Barnes was flung off the side of a train into a ravine. They never found his body. He was the only one of the Howling Commandos who died in service."

But he's not dead. Victoria nodded once.

"You okay? You've gone pale, Vicky," Marcus commented.

"No, I'm fine," she said, forcing herself to smile. "It's just that I remember learning about him," she lied.

"Pretty brave guy, I'd say," he commented, folding his arms over his chest and rocking back and forth on his heels. "And an excellent shot…one of the best marksmen in the army. Clever too."

"I bet," she said, looking back at Bucky's face before she wondered how she could have been so ignorant.

How could she have lived in D.C. for so many years and not have visited the museum before? How had she not even read about Bucky before? She didn't know. She had no clue. She had no idea. It took her a few seconds to gather herself. But her father had always kept watch over her. He had always kept her in his gaze. He had monitored everything she did.

"Shall we go on?" Marcus questioned.

"You go on, I'll catch up in a minute."

"Okay," he agreed, "but are you sure you're alright?"

"Fine," she lied again with a fake smile.

"Well, I'll wait in the next room."

"There in a minute," she promised and he walked away, leaving her alone in front of the plaque. Her eyes moved back over to the video of Bucky as he looked into the camera and smiled, flashing his perfect teeth and his chiselled jaw. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, unable to stop herself. "Bucky…I should have known…"

Victoria allowed herself one final look at the happy, smiling man before she turned on her heel and headed in the opposite direction of Marcus. She had to go and see him. She had to go and see Bucky.

….

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone reading - would love to know what you think!