A/N: Italicized speech will either represent a character speaking another language, or the character's internal dialogue.
Odette rubbed her face to ground herself in her body once more before she stretched upwards, her back cracking satisfyingly after hours of being hunched over. She shook her fatigue away before she returned to the book she was reading.
It was some old book about Norse mythology. So far, the only connection to Fólkvangr they could find in any reference book had been that it was apparently the place Valkyries were from. But Odette couldn't fathom where Schmidt would hide such a place.
"Did you even go to bed, Farm Girl?"
Odette looked up and smiled tiredly at him, "That obvious, huh?" she asked.
Bucky sat a cup of coffee down in front of her before laying his own down beside hers and leaning over the back of her chair. He shook his head as he did so, "You're still reading that same book too, huh?" Odette leaned back, purposefully letting the back of her head graze his chest momentarily. She pulled away when she realized what she'd just done.
"I figure, eventually, an answer will jump out at me." Odette sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose to relieve some tension.
Bucky nodded as he moved to sit on the desk, "Or you'll go cross eyed looking for answers that aren't there." His hands trailed across her shoulders as he moved around her, eventually dropping away to rest between his legs.
She wasn't sure if she hated or loved this game of cat and mouse they played. It certainly didn't help that one second she would be the cat and the next second be the mouse.
"Not exactly inspiring." Odette retorted, pushing such thoughts from her mind. Bucky shrugged. "Thank you, by the way." She said as she lifted her cup and tilted it towards him as a 'cheers'.
Before she could raise the cup to her lips, however, Bucky put a hand over it and pushed down, forcing Odette to set the cup down on the desk. He leaned forward until their noses were barely touching and he whispered, "Coffee is not a suitable substitution for sleep, Doctor." Odette nearly shivered.
She liked that.
Her mouth flapped like a fish out of water for a moment before she whispered back, "Well then what do you suggest I do with my time, Sergeant?" She bit her lip, hoping she wasn't making a fool of herself. Her chest felt hot and tight.
Bucky's eyes scanned over her, as if he was deciding if his next move would be worth the possible slap he'd get. He smirked ever so slightly, deciding it was, and tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, "I can think of a few things that would keep you up." She raised a curious eyebrow at him, not trusting her voice not to break.
Apparently, someone else in the office did not appreciate the show they were getting because they clearly and obviously cleared their throat as a warning for them to stop. Immediately, Bucky pulled away and Odette sat back in her seat.
Blushing bright red, Odette picked her cup up to her face to hide her smirk. "Thank you." She quietly repeated.
"Don't mention it." Bucky blushed, moving to sit in his chair. The two sat in embarrassed silence, too tense to make another move.
Odette nearly jumped out of her skin when Bucky laid his hand on Odette's thigh. She turned to give him a look that conveyed, 'really? You're going to get that friendly?', but found that he was reading over her notes and had seemed to do so absentmindedly. Still blushing, Odette turned back to her book and attempted to ignore the fire that tingled and teased her skin any time Bucky's hand moved on her thigh.
It wasn't decent. They weren't together by any means, the most they'd done was some relatively harmless flirting. He couldn't just put his hands on her whenever he wanted, but she wasn't sure if she wanted him to move away. She bit her lip to keep from saying anything to him that would make him move away.
At some point, Odette had completely blocked Bucky's hand from her mind as her entire focus was on Norse mythology. Occasionally she had Bucky hand her a certain page of her notes so she could add something she'd missed the first five times she'd poured over the text, or she'd scribble something out that no longer made sense.
Odette twiddled a pencil between her index and middle finger as she poured over the text yet again. There was no one agreed upon description of Fólkvangr, so it was impossible to determine if it was based on a real place or just a place of myth. And everything she'd looked into simply led to more questions. Why was Schmidt so obsessed with Norse mythology?
As dust and dirt settled on her book Odette swiped it away.
A few hours into their silent routine, Bucky stood up and groaned as he stretched. Odette only noticed because her thigh was now cold where his hand had been sitting. She figured he was going to leave and go do whatever it is the soldiers did when they got bored, but was instead surprised when she felt his body engulf hers from behind. His hands slid down her forearms and his fingers interlaced with hers before he forced her to snap the book shut.
"Odette, you've got to eat. I may not be able to help you sleep," She could hear the grin in his voice, "but eating is non-negotiable."
Odette sighed, "Fine." She agreed, "I suppose taking a break will provide me with fresh eyes."
C H A - CHUNK
Odette looked up with a start as the lights dropped. A few people gasped in shock. Bucky's hand was immediately on her shoulder and she heard him stand up before the emergency lights came on, flooding the room with red. "Bucky?"
"It's okay." Bucky reassured her, "Probably just a problem 'cause of the bombs."
"That's not as reassuring as you think it is." Odette said, dog-earring her page before she stood up. Several gunshots down the hall made those in the offices scream and duck for cover. "The files office. Bucky," He turned and looked at her in the low light, "Peggy and Steve are in there!" Odette said, taking off in a sprint.
She could feel his fingers slip from her arm, "Odette! Wait!" Bucky was on her heels.
As the two ran into the hall they could see other agents and soldiers rushing to duck into rooms for cover before a group of four plainly dressed men ran out into the hallway. They pushed past Bucky and Odette, not slowing down or stopping as they turned and fired back at them. Odette screamed in shock and jumped back as Bucky pushed her against the wall, shielding her from the ricochet of the spray. Peggy whipped out of the files office, aiming and firing at the four men. Fire in her eyes, Peggy marched after the men as she reloaded her pistol. Steve ran out of the files office after the men. Peggy began to fire again, the sound deafening as it echoed in the hall. Steve had to stop and press himself to the wall beside Bucky and Odette to avoid getting shot.
"Well aren't you two cute?" Steve teased out of the side of his mouth.
"Yes." Bucky replied.
"Shut up!" Odette said at the same time.
Peggy was able to shoot one in the back of the knee. He let out a gargled scream as he dropped at the bottom of the stairs. The man that had been running beside him stopped to pick up the files he was holding up to him. But then, the other three men left their fallen companion behind.
"Go! After them!" Peggy shouted. Steve and Bucky took off after the other three men as Peggy and Odette ran over to the fallen man. Odette stood back as Peggy pointed her gun at the back of his head. "What did you steal?" She demanded.
"Wouldn't you like to know, bitch!" The man spat at them in German.
Odette stepped forward and kneeled down to wrestle the man's arms behind his back. She tightened her pin on his arms and he screamed in pain, "Answer her!" She shouted at him in German.
The man only chuckled smugly. "Hail HYDRA." He growled.
"Stop him, he's going to take a cyanide pill!" Peggy shouted, dropping down beside Odette.
Odette quickly raised his arms until she felt two pops and the man howled in agony. The cyanide pill dropped from his mouth, just barely punctured from his teeth before he had dropped it. "That'll keep him down." She said, standing up.
"What did you do to me?!" The man shouted, crying out in agony over his dislocated shoulders.
Odette looked up the stairs, "Nothing permanent." The sounds of gunfire now in the distance. People were going to get hurt. Without waiting or asking permission, Odette took off up the stairs.
"Doctor Swann!" Peggy called after her.
Odette got to the top and saw Steve and Bucky ride up in the elevator. She'd never catch up with them if she waited for the elevator. She ducked into her quarters and shut the lights off.
"Come on, come on." Odette pressed her hands to the wall of her room and slipped through the bricks up to the shadowy surface. She emerged in the alley, but had no time to celebrate her success as she heard rushed German from the street. She hid in the shadows and watched as two of the HYDRA men took off running one direction empty handed, while the third holding all the files ran in the other direction.
Odette crept to the end of the alley, ducking out of sight as Steve and Bucky ran by chasing the two men. She debated on calling out to them, but knew that meant risking exposing herself as...as a freak, plus she didn't need to distract them.
"Okay, so we've just got to stop HYDRA and get whatever they stole back." Odette told herself. Bouncing on her toes a few times to hype herself up, she turned on her heels and ran in the opposite direction, following the man with the files.
The HYDRA agent looked back and Odette could see his eyes widen in shock at the fact he was being followed. He turned back around and picked up his pace. Odette ignored the stitch in her side and kept running after him. The man then stopped suddenly and turned, pointing his gun at her.
Odette braced herself, ready to duck should he choose to fire. She heard the shot and weaved to her left out onto the road, unknowingly stepping into a shadow. She felt her feet slip out from under her, but caught herself on the steps of the building the man was standing beside and appeared from the shadowed doorway. She screamed as she grabbed his hands and knocked the gun from his hand using the momentum from her fall to knock them both off balance.
"Shit!" The agent cursed.
Odette staggered as she lost momentum and fell onto a parked car. She pushed herself up in time to dodge a punch thrown by the man. She did her best to duck and weave out of the way of the man's assault. At one point, she struck her fist out and it connected with the man's chest. Not a great blow, but enough to get him to stagger back from her. Odette, slowly growing tired, slipped backwards into the shadow of the building and reappeared in an alley across the street. She ducked down and watched the man as he scrambled for his gun and looked around wildly for her.
"Come out and fight you lab rat!" The man shouted, Odette's blood ran cold. The sweat gathering at her hairline dripped down the side of her face, shaking at her quivering chin. "No one escapes HYDRA!" Not getting the response he was hoping for, he lowered his gun, he pulled out a communicator, "Zola's bitch got away. Her powers have accelerated. But I've got the blueprints."
Odette slipped from the alley back onto the block with the man. "What did Zola do to me?!" She demanded, bracing herself to be shot, or worse…
The HYDRA agent had apparently put her as down and out because he let out a startled yell before he took off running again. "Tell me!" She screamed, chasing him.
He rounded a corner and Odette took it wide, missing the man's fist as he swung at the air. The man stumbled forward, limbs flailing blindly as he attempted to recover. Odette grabbed his extended arm and brought his elbow down on her knee. She felt a sickening snap and the man screamed in pain. She then raised his arm up once more and yanked at him, using her weight to spin him around her and throw him down on the ground. She panted heavily as the man rolled over, clutching his broken elbow.
"What did Zola do to me?!" She repeated, bending over to grab the man's collar and shake him. He whimpered and cried. Odette slammed him back into the pavement, creating a small crater where his head connected.
The realization of what she'd just done seeped in and Odette dropped the agent in shock. That was all the distraction the HYDRA agent needed, he kicked his legs out at Odette, hitting her shin and pelvis hard enough to make her stumble back. She tripped backward over her own feet trying to find solid ground and she landed roughly on her tailbone.
"Stay! Down!" The man growled as he kicked her in the ribs. Odette gasped for air, curling up in a pathetic attempt to protect herself.
Odette closed her eyes, ready for the bullet that would end her, but was shocked to hear the man backing away. She sat up as he turned around, arm hanging limp by his side, and took off in a full sprint down the block. "Base! The bitch is back! Powers extremely temperamental! Requesting response, permission to kill?" She could hear his voice growing fainter as he got further away.
She grunted in pain as she stood up and chased after him. Being half disarmed, literally, did nothing to stop the man as he turned with his broken arm and fired at Odette. She shrieked and ducked the bullets that whizzed by her. She passed through a shadow, suddenly stepping out a block ahead of the HYDRA agent. She skidded to a stop, nearly falling once more on her shaky legs, and turned back around to face him.
"What the hell?!" The man cursed.
"Not helpful!" Odette shouted at no one in particular. She made a mental note to add 'Unstable? Uncontrollable.' to her journal. In her shock and absentmindedness, the HYDRA agent was able to get two shots off on her, hitting her left arm and the right side of her waist. Odette screamed in pain as hot white dots blinded her. She staggered back, but didn't fall. Now in work mode, she bent over herself, inspecting the wounds. The bullets were lodged in her, meaning she wouldn't bleed out unless she ripped them out or fell forward. She'd survive. She whipped her head up and glared at the HYDRA agent, who stared at her in shock. He, on the other hand, would not.
Even at a distance, she could see him mouth, "What the hell..?"
When Odette took a shaky step forward, the HYDRA agent snapped out of his stupor and took off running back in the direction of base.
I'm tired of playing cat and mouse.
Odette moved her right hand from her wound and pressed it to the nearest wall, hoping to jump ahead to the next block and stop him. When she didn't move, she let out a string of colorful curses. Of course, now of all times, when she needed it most, she couldn't move. Her left arm was slowly stiffening up, and soon she wouldn't be able to move from the pain in her abdomen. She dropped her right hand and leaned heavily against the building, as though that would help her powers and she could catch up to the man.
I'm so tired…
I can't…
Odette could barely keep her eyes open, the HYDRA soldier was now a blur at the end of the block. In a few seconds he would round the corner and he—along with whatever blueprints he stole—would be gone.
Then, as though she was possessed, her left arm extended outwards. Her bloodied hand was bunched in a fist as fiery, hot, blue energy seemed to surround her arm. Odette, no longer in control of her own actions, stepped out from her spot against the building. She spread her fingers out at the same time the HYDRA agent exploded on the spot.
The files he'd been carrying scattered among the blood, body parts, and bile. Shocked out of her hypnosis by her own scream, Odette turned away to throw up. Nothing came up as she slipped down the building wall and dry heaved onto the sidewalk. Odette hesitated to look down the street, fearful of what she'd see. But she knew she had to retrieve those papers. Sooner, rather than later before someone spotted her.
Swallowing the bile that seemed to sit at the back of her throat, Odette stood up and looked down the block. A large, bloody splatter and chunks of human flesh and sinew was all that remained of the HYDRA agent. She shuddered and whimpered as she forced herself forward. Trying her best to avoid the blood and body parts, Odette painfully collected all the files scattered on the sidewalk. She tucked the files under her left arm, which was stiff and motionless at her side, partially due to the pain, and partially due to the bullet that was still lodged within her. Odette looked at the pulpy human remains around her. She needed to hide the evidence. If anyone found the exploded remains...with no explosion impact...it would require a lot of explaining.
She kneeled down, closed her eyes, and touched the sidewalk with her right hand. When she opened her eyes, she saw all the bloody lumps of the HYDRA agent's body tumble around the ruined ground of the HYDRA factory. Well, that, at least, took care of the big chunks.
For a moment, Odette stayed kneeling in the dirt.
Numb.
"What...am I?" She looked at her good hand, turning it over to inspect both bloody sides.
Odette knew she was a coward...but for the first time in her life...the thing she was terrified of most…
Was herself.
She quickly realized she was likely to be reported as missing if she didn't get back to London, so she stood up and walked to a different shadowy spot. "Well. That was an experience," She said, walking through the wall and back into her quarters.
"What do you mean you didn't see Odette out there? She followed you!" Peggy was nearly shrieking.
"She must have come up after us, Peg, I promise," Steve started to say.
"You sure she followed us up?" Bucky repeated.
"Buck," Steve shot him a warning, "Look, we'll find her, I promise—,"
"Captain," A soldier spoke up, "Officer Coleman just reported back, no sign of Doctor Swann. But there was a rather big puddle of blood in the opposite direction."
"Steve." Bucky's voice broke.
Odette winced, she slipped back out of her quarters into the alleyway beside HQ. She took a breath, and marched out of the alley and into the entrance. There were bullet holes everywhere, and a few blood splatters where the HYDRA agents had shot the guards that had been on duty. Their base was looking more and more like an abandoned office by the day.
"Doctor Swann, what are you doing out here, where have you—you've been shot!" The current guard, Officer Coleman, shouted as he quickly called the elevator back up.
Odette kept her arm pinned to her side, not wanting to risk losing any of the files. "I'll be fine." She tried to reassure him. He insisted on going down with her, just in case she fainted, and she didn't have the energy to argue. She didn't have energy for much of anything anymore. She slumped against the wall, Officer Coleman tried to pick her up from under her arms, but the files went everywhere and Odette unconsciously hissed and winced in pain.
"Apologies, ma'am." Officer Coleman kicked the files to the side of the lift as he readjusted his grip on her. No longer having to fully support herself, Odette's knees began to give out from under her, slowly going numb.
Steve, Bucky, Peggy, and the soldier from earlier were still arguing when the elevator clanked to a stop. "Medic! Doctor Swann's been shot!" Coleman shouted. All heads whipped around to stare at her.
"Please, I'm fine." Odette reassured them, but the shock of being shot was starting to wear off, and the hot sting of her wounds was starting to blind her. "Peggy," she lolled her head backwards in the direction of the elevator. "The files."
"Damn the files, Odette," Peggy ran up to them and assisted Coleman in carrying Odette to the clinic. "What happened?"
It was getting harder to keep her eyes open, "I saw the HYDRA agents hand off the files to the last agent." She mumbled, or at least assumed she mumbled. It was all growing foggy in her mind. "Steve and Bucky went after the wrong pair. He got a couple of lucky shots." It took all of her energy and focus to stay awake and keep talking. The base's doctor came over in a hurry and Odette barely registered any pain as he poured a disinfectant on her wounds.
"But how did you get the files back?" Peggy asked, helping the doctor as he instructed her.
"He dropped them." Odette was grateful she had the energy to lie. "Bucky?" She called.
"I'm here." She could hear him, but everything began to blur together. She could barely feel him grab her right hand.
"Zola." She gripped his hand as tightly as she could, but then she had no more energy and she allowed herself to slip into darkness
While waking up strapped to Zola's torture table had been painful, waking up after being shot twice and exerting an excruciating amount of energy left Odette feeling numb. She felt paralyzed in her spot and could only move her head.
She turned to her left and saw that the door to the clinic had been shut, meaning it was likely night time. There were also two beds with curtains put up around them, no doubt the two guards up top who had been shot. She turned to her right and saw Bucky asleep in a chair beside her. He had one elbow propped up on the bedside table and his chin was resting in his hand. His other elbow was resting on his knee, with his hand holding onto her uninjured hand. Odette choked up at the sight of him, her throat growing tight.
His entire face was tense with worry, and she could tell that he wasn't resting easy.
Odette tried to take a deep breath, but winced in pain. Thankfully, Bucky didn't wake. Odette tried to calm herself as she did a mental check-in on her body. She forced herself to wiggle her toes, and slowly regained feeling across her body. Her two wounds ached, but after being tortured by HYDRA, every injury was just a small sting. Finally, she was able to move her hands, the left was a bit more stiff than she would have liked, but it was doable. She was right handed after all.
She turned back to Bucky's sleeping form, and gently ran her thumb over his knuckles.
It must have been enough movement to wake him because Bucky shot up and inhaled deeply, as though he hadn't realized he'd drifted off to sleep. He looked around wildly for a moment before his eyes fell on her. "Hey," He said gently, slowly relaxing back into his seat. His grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly.
"Ever the conversationalist, as always." Odette replied weakly. She chuckled painfully at the sound of her own voice, but grimaced at the pain that also caused her.
"Careful." Bucky looked at her as though she were a fragile doll.
Odette rolled her eyes, "I've dealt with plenty of injuries, Sergeant Barnes," she teased, gently shaking his hand, "I know what the limits are."
Bucky deadpanned as he squeezed her hand. "I," his voice cracked, "I was just worried about you, so I stayed here, if that's okay." He looked at her for a brief moment before turning away, "I mean—,"
"Bucky?" Odette smiled at him.
"Yeah?" Bucky closed his mouth and swallowed hard.
"Shut up and go get some sleep." Odette ordered.
Bucky was silent. Odette rolled her head back over and closed her eyes, content to sleep off her injuries. For a while, all Odette heard was her own labored breathing, mixed with Bucky's nearly silent breathing, and the ticking of a clock somewhere. "You never left me." He said quietly, breaking the silence.
Odette's eyebrows furrowed together and she turned to look at him curiously, "What?" she asked.
"Back in Austria." Bucky explained. "You never left me."
Odette let out another painful laugh, "I left you every night, Bucky. I couldn't risk my position." She clarified.
Bucky swallowed, "Not to me." When she gave him another confused stare he nervously licked his lips and explained, "Any time I was awake, you were there. You were the first and last thing I saw while Zola did his...weird experiments."
Zola's bitch got away. Her powers have accelerated…
Odette could hear the man's voice in her head as Bucky continued, "You never left me. So, I won't leave you."
Odette looked down at their hands. Her hands. The hands that had…completely ripped a man apart from the inside. Her vision went blurry as hot tears stung her eyes, "Promise?" she whispered, looking up at him.
Bucky looked at her in shock, "Yeah." He nodded, "Promise."
Odette nodded absentmindedly, her eyelids growing heavier as she allowed herself to fall back asleep.
Sleep would not be as forgiving this time around. She kept replaying the horrors she had committed over and over again. How had she done that? Why did she feel...possessed...no, that wasn't the right word...It felt...natural. Horrifyingly natural. Just as her rifle had been, but Odette doubted if Bucky could help her with this feeling. This feeling that she was...a monster.
Trapped in her own mind, Odette was stuck until her body decided it was done.
True to his word, Bucky was there when she woke again in the morning.
Surprisingly, Odette was able to sit up by the time Bucky returned to the clinic with breakfast for them both. "What kind of blood they got out there in Illinois?" He teased her. Odette chuckled gently to distract herself from the horrors in her head and the pain in her body.
As payback for listening to her ramble on back in Austria, Bucky told her all about his childhood in Brooklyn. About how he met Steve after saving him from a couple of bullies, how they were inseparable, about his family, and some of his favorite memories. His smile was infectious and brightened the room a thousand times over.
"I'm not kidding, not even five seconds into the ride and Steve looks at me all green in the gills," Bucky laughed as he recalled the memory, "He goes, 'I'm gonna be sick, Buck,'." Bucky imitated Steve to the best of his ability.
Odette held a hand over her mouth as she snorted on her coffee, "Ew." She made a disgusted face but smiled.
"So, now, no rides, right? And we had planned to be at Coney Island all day!" Bucky explained enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up.
"You're not telling Odette that awful Cyclone story are you?" Steve asked, entering the clinic. He nearly did a double take when he saw Odette was sitting up. "Feeling better?" He asked.
Odette nodded and smiled, "Much."
"Good." Steve nodded, his smile slowly dropped, "Because I think you should be there when we interrogate the HYDRA soldiers."
Odette nodded tensely, "Okay." Was all she could say.
Bucky helped Odette stand and he supported her as they followed Steve to the deepest level of HQ. Not that she needed his support, but she wasn't going to refuse it.
Peggy, Colonel Phillips, and Howard were already waiting outside an interrogation cell when the three arrived. The room was dark in order for them to see through the one-way window. Inside, the HYDRA agent, stripped to his pants and undershirt, sat hunched over, handcuffed to the table.
"How you doing there, Doc?" Howard asked.
"As well as one can be after being shot twice." She responded teasingly, "Thank you." Odette winced as Bucky lowered her into a seat, he moved to stand behind her, his hands on her shoulders as a comforting presence.
"You sure about this?" Steve asked Peggy.
"Yes." Peggy nodded.
"Proceed." Colonel Phillips folded his newspaper and looked up at the one-way window into the interrogation cell. Peggy and Steve entered the room, closing the door behind them.
"Good morning." Peggy greeted calmly.
"Bitch."
Peggy only paused momentarily from adjusting herself in her seat before she continued, "What does Schmidt want with our blueprints?" She asked, jumping straight into the interrogation.
The agent sat back as far as he could and smirked at her. "What's the guard dog for?" He asked, his eyes flickering to Steve, who was leaning against the door.
"Your protection." Peggy deadpanned.
Odette snickered.
"Care to share with the class?" Howard asked.
Odette realized this was why they wanted her down here and she nodded, "He's avoiding her questions. He asked why Steve was in there and she said it was for the man's protection." She heard the other men snicker and smiled.
"You're not getting out of here as easily as you might think. You see, we've dealt with your kind before, and we had our doctor remove that handy little cyanide pill hidden in your mouth while you were unconscious." Peggy said, clasping her hands calmly on the table, "So, you can either cooperate and tell us why you came here, or waste everyone's time while you rot away. Either way, you'll be spending a lot of time in the deepest pits of hell where no one will hear you scream."
Odette cleared her throat, "She's just giving him some options." She said when the men turned to her.
The agent mulled his options over, pursing his lips disgustingly. Finally, he crossed one leg over the other, struggling for a second since he couldn't use his hands to balance himself, "You know, I was expecting to be speaking with the lab rat." Odette froze to her seat.
"You okay?" Bucky whispered.
Peggy paused for a moment, turning ever so slightly to glance out the window before she turned back. "Lab rat?" Peggy repeated.
"What's her name...Swann?" He asked. Then he turned, grinned, and waved menacingly at the window as best as he could.
"Swann?" Colonel Phillips turned to her expectantly. Odette couldn't breathe.
Peggy glanced at the window before she snapped her fingers, the agent gave her a side glare, "What does Doctor Swann have to do with your plot to steal our blueprints?"
"I tell you," The agent sat back in his seat and attempted to negotiate, "You let me go. Huh?"
Peggy blinked, she'd found her in. "You can either tell me. Or I can have Doctor Swann come in here and break your arms. The way she did with your little friend."
The agent debated for a moment, then shook his head once, "No deal."
"Did you come to kidnap her?" Peggy pressed.
"No." He seethed.
"Did you come to kill her?" Peggy drilled him.
"No." He defiantly spat back at her.
"So you came to just do a wellness check after her last doctor's appointment?" Peggy bitterly joked.
"Damn it, Swann, what's happening?" Howard asked, nervously chewing on his knuckles.
"Something like that." The agent revealed, not realizing he'd just laid his cards on the table.
Peggy pounced, "Why would Zola care about Swann? He tortured her half to death." The agent stubbornly closed his mouth, "What did he do to Swann that's got him so interested in her and not the countless others he's no doubt terrorized?"
Odette began to hyperventilate. Peggy was figuring things out much faster than Odette had!
When the agent refused to say anymore Peggy tsked, "Very well." She stood up. "Shall we?" She motioned for Steve to open the door. He did so.
"No one escapes HYDRA little Lab Rat!" The agent called through the door when Steve opened the door. Odette shuddered and slumped in her chair.
"What in the hell was he saying?" Colonel Phillips demanded.
Peggy looked from him to Odette, "Odette," She glanced at Peggy, "What was he talking about?"
Odette shook her head, "I don't know. The agent I followed yesterday said the same thing." She admitted.
"Said what?" Colonel Phillips was growing agitated.
Peggy paused, she regretfully turned back to Colonel Phillips, "She's why they came. Zola is apparently not letting go of his obsession with her anytime soon."
"Well then, why not go after Barnes too?" Howard asked. "You were tortured too, right?" He asked.
"Don't remind me." Bucky said tensely, squeezing Odette's shoulders.
"Well whatever the reason is, it's just more reason for us to find him first." Colonel Phillips stood up, "It's at your own discretion if you take her back on the field, Captain." He pointed a finger at Steve.
"With all due respect, there's no one else I would trust." Steve replied calmly.
High praise, all things considering.
"Hell, use her as bait for all I care. Let's just get your team back out there and light these fuckers up." Colonel Phillips ordered, storming away.
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