Leyha Novikoff; sarcastic, witty, intelligent, and my former best friend. When I was still in the KGB, I was tasked with killing her. You might ask, why would they want to kill a seemingly innocent girl? If you said because her abusive, psycho ex-boyfriend, you'd be correct. I got orders from higher ups to keep Micheal Ivan alive because he was a detrimental factor in keeping Hydra's association with the Red Room a secret. They seemed to think Leyha had the motivation to kill him, and to be honest I would too after not only treating her like crap but cheating on her with her sister. Although I still worked for the Red Room, I wanted to keep her safe so I brought "proof of her death" and they never suspected a thing. Thankful for my protection, she asked for self-defense lessons and who was I to refuse. She was the sister Nat never was and we were the closest of friends. That's until I heard the news that shattered me to my core, she was killed by a Hydra agent. Needless to say, I was punished for not completing my mission and the week that followed was not a walk in the park. News of her death motivated me to finally escape the clutches of the Red Room however, and she never lingered far from mind.

Never in a million years would I have thought she was alive, but here she is, right in front of my eyes.

"How...how are you alive?" I ask.

"Well I suppose being legally dead once was enough. Micheal kidnapped me that night, held me captive in a Hydra cell for a few months. I don't remember much of my time there, I think they kept me sedated most of the time. I had two cellmates, a Wanda and Pietro. If you can believe it, they willingly signed up to be experimented on and they got crazy powers. They tried to give me powers too, but I don't think my body accepted whatever they gave me. I escaped a little over a year ago and spent most of my time on the run from Micheal and Hydra. I looked for you all over Russia, but I didn't know you fled the Red Room until recently. When looking for a place to live, I ran into the Winter Soldier. I honestly thought I was going to be dead on the spot, but he actually let me live. He said he was doubting his loyalty to Hydra, and he actually let me stay in his apartment since he had to keep going on missions. Hydra never found out about me, but they did see his delay and kept wiping him. I knew I wouldn't be safe much longer and managed to find wind of your location, and here I am."

"That.. is a lot to process."

"Are you sure we're alone?" Leyha asks, looking across the alley.

I follow her gaze to a garbage bin and lift the lid to see Luke's guilty eyes.

"What the hell Luke! Are you following me?" I ask, helping him out of the trash can.

"I wouldn't have to follow you if you didn't get a sketchy message at lunch, I just wanted to make sure you were safe!" Luke defends.

I shake my head and look towards Leyha's curious eyes, "Leyha, meet Luke, he's in the S.H.I.E.L.D. trial program with me."

Leyha reluctantly shakes his hand before turning towards me, "S.H.I.E.L.D, isn't that where your sister works?"

"Yes, she brought me in and I'm on a team for right now."

"Ahem" Luke coughs, trying to get our attention.

"Yes?"

"Agent Garcia is also here."

"Come on man, you had to give me up!" Agent Garcia complains, coming out from around the corner.

Leyha and I turn towards him and glare at his amused face.

"Listen it was all Luke's idea! I just tagged along in case the police needed to get involved, I still have connections."

I sigh in annoyance and introduce him to Leyha, "Leyha, Agent Garcia. Another member of my team who can't understand the concept of coming alone."

Garcia abashedly rubs his neck in embarrassment, "Nice to meet you Leyha."

"Nice to meet you too. Now may I continue my conversation with Ana in peace or are there going to be more disruptions?" Leyha asks, raising her eyebrows.

"No more distractions, but if you ever want one..mhm" Luke covers Garcia's mouth and looks apologetically in Leyha's way before dragging him down the alley.

"mhm..bye!" Garcia shouts muffled.

Leyha and I chuckle before she starts talking, "When did you come to America?"

"A few years ago, I fled here after escaping the Red Room. I kept a low profile but then my neighbors were killed, so I started back up."

Leyha gives me a look of sympathy, "Have you told anyone yet? A therapist, anyone at S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Hell no. I've told you, isn't that enough?" I shout in defense.

"No. Look Ana, after everything that went down with Hydra it was really therapeutic for me to talk to someone, I think you should too."

I sigh in defeat, "Who did you talk to?"

"The Winter Soldier actually, but his real name is Bucky" Leyha says turning her head, cheeks aflame.

"You talked to the Winter Soldier for emotional support? You do know he's killed tons of people right?"

"So have you! It isn't his choice! He gets brainwashed, and they wipe his memories every time he doesn't comply!" Leyha yells, hurt.

I step back, "I get it now. I had a choice didn't I? Not like there was the threat of death on my shoulders" I say, upset.

I turn around and start walking out of the alley.

"Come on Ana, you know I didn't mean it like that!"

I ignore her and continue my trek to the S.H.I.E.L.D. car I was offered.

Before getting in, I turn my head to see her walking my way, "I know you didn't mean it, you just made me realize something. It was nice seeing you again Ley, stay safe."