Chapter 3- Russian Lullabies and Freezing
The Asset held Anna tightly in his arms as she whimpered in her sleep, her little face buried in the crook of his neck. His baby was in a lot of pain from the serum, but it would take a few months to get her used to it. It had only been two days since the doctor started pumping the serum and memory wipe drugs into her little body. On the third injection Anna had started having seizures and her heartbeat became erratic. The Asset had taken her in his arms and started singing to her in Russian. She calmed down and looked at him with pain in her blue eyes as she jammed her thumb into her mouth and she cuddled into his chest.
Anna's sleep-crusted eyes opened and raised her eyes, but not her head, to meet his eyes. "Papa, sing?" Anna asked, her voice full of unshed tears.
"You like hearing me sing, Anna?" The Asset asked, dragging his flesh hand through her tangled brown hair.
"Anna hurt, Papa. Love sing," Anna said, burrowing her head into his chest and popping her thumb into her mouth. It was her go-to when she was hurting. Now was the time to break her of the habit.
The Asset took her thumb gently from her mouth. "Shouldn't do that, Anna," the Asset said, pressing a kiss to his girl's clammy forehead. The wet heat from the kiss stopped her shivering and she pressed her lips to his neck as he walked with her across the room.
"Anna love Papa," Anna said as she raised herself up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a convulsive hug.
"Papa loves Anna too," the Asset said as he started to sing in Russian, planting little kisses on her head. It didn't take long for Anna's breathing to slow down and for her to fall asleep, her tiny hands gripping the material of his shirt.
Anna walked down the corridor with Papa, holding tightly to his warm flesh hand. Papa had said that Anna was to hold his hand when they left their quarters or he would carry her. Anna usually loved Papa carrying her. He was strong and she would press her face into his chest. It had been a year since Papa had saved her from a terrible place. While Papa gave her hugs and kisses every day and sang to her, he had said the place he had saved her from didn't. After a year, Anna didn't even remember what her name had been before Papa found her. Papa had called her Anna and made her say her name was Anna so many times, that she couldn't remember her old name if she had tried. When she first came to him, she had tried to say her name wasn't Anna. Papa had locked her in his arms and made her say her name was Anna. If she said it, her reward was sitting on Papa's lap and listening to him sing to her in Russian. Papa had been angry when Anna had said her old name and Anna felt it was terrible when Papa was angry
"Papa, where we go?" Anna asked, playing with her father's fingers with the the hand he wasn't holding.
"We are going to take a nap, Anna," Papa said, his eyes straight ahead. Anna felt a shiver go through her. That usually meant a container and Anna would fall asleep and it would be cold.
"Don't want to, Papa," Anna said.
Papa turned and knelt in front of her. "I don't either, but they will hurt Anna if I say no," Papa said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and picking her up. Anna rested her head on his chest. She had seen the mean men hurt Papa before when he said no and tried to stop them from using something that they put into Anna's arm that hurt.
Papa pressed his lips to her forehead, whispering how much he loved her. "Papa be there when Anna wake up?" Anna asked after kissing Papa's cheek. It was a ritual they did. Papa would kiss her forehead and Anna would press kisses to his cheeks and play with the scruff on his face and long hair. Her tiny fingers twisted into Papa's hair.
"Papa promises," Papa said. Anna wrapped her arms around his neck as far as they would go and cuddled into his chest. This was another favorite ritual she did. Papa's chest was warm and solid and he would run his fingers through her hair and press kisses to her head and telling her how much he loved her.
"Anna love Papa," Anna said in a soft voice against his chest.
"Papa loves Anna too," Papa said, kissing her through her hair gently as they entered the lab.
The mean man who gave Anna shots stood up from a desk, a clipboard in hand. "Soldat, put the child in her container," the man said, after dumping something into Anna's arm that made her feel sleepy almost instantly. Papa put her into a small container and Anna didn't remember any more.
The Asset placed his hand on the container as the freezing took over his daughter. His daughter hated the freezing and he hated putting her in there, but neither one had a choice. While the Asset went on missions or they froze him, Anna had to be put on ice as well. The Asset usually knew in advance when they were going to freeze him and his baby, but that didn't make it any easier when he took her in his arms. She had gotten used to him being her father and she had stopped hesitating when he asked her her name.
The Asset went into his frozen sleep, hoping it wasn't long and they would wake him and his girl together. Oftentimes Karpov didn't so he could use Anna against him if he failed a mission. His mind succumbed to the freezing, his daughter's name the last thought on his mind.