The Asset is glad that he has his mask and goggles on in the van, since he's pretty sure he's watching his handler with a little too much interest.
He can't help it. His handler looks about as stiff as a board, and an inexplicable part of him wants to lean over and reassure him that this mission will go fine, he will not fail him. He grits his teeth and keeps his spine locked straight, fighting away the urge. It would be inappropriate of him, to talk that way to his handler.
Especially, a part of his mind whispers. In front of all these Hydra agents.
He ignores that thought, instead, reviewing the mission parameters in his head: Wait while the other Hydra agents confront the Target, and, under the direction of his handler, step in when necessary. He knows that Hydra would like to take down the Target without involving him if possible, but thinking back over his Target's file and his history of special ops, he's pretty sure that he will be needed by the end of this mission.
Agent Rollins reaches over to hand something to his handler and he finds himself following the agent's movements almost suspiciously behind his goggles as the van pulls to a stop and they begin to disembark. He gets out and sticks close to his handler as the other agents dart away, intent on catching their target.
His handler's face is stiff when he turns to him. "We wait here until further orders," he says tightly and the Asset nods.
"Confirmed," he replies, his voice muffled by his mask while, behind his goggles, his eyes scan the skyline for any threats as he settles himself to wait to be called in.
In front of him, his handler reaches up to place what he realises must be an earpiece in his ear, before he freezes, barely breathing as his eyes dart around them. For a second, the Asset wonders if there's some sort of threat that he's unaware of, and he tenses slightly as Handler-Rogers drops his arm and turns to him, a determined glint in his eyes.
Something about that look… the tight jaw, the defiant eyes, something about it triggers something inside him that he can't quite… He grinds his teeth in frustration. Something about that look is important.
"Asset," his handler says firmly, his tone immediately activating a sense of authority. Without a thought, the Asset straightens, his mind ready to receive orders. "The mission parameters have changed," his handler tells him, his shoulders stiff. "Target Nicholas Fury is not to be killed."
Confusion sparks and thankfully his goggles hide his blink of surprise at the unexpected orders. The lines around his handler's eyes are deep as he continues, his hands tight fists by his side. "New mission," he says, and the Asset latches onto the familiar language. "Injure target Nicholas Fury enough to be presumed dead, repeat, do not kill."
The Asset's eyes dart around behind his goggles as he takes in the new orders. They're not… His teeth tug on the inside of his cheek. Something about these orders…
His handler raises his chin and the Asset focuses back on him. "Hydra must think that target Nicholas Fury is not a threat," he says, and a shiver runs up the Asset's spine. "Tell no one of these changes in parameters," he finishes, and the Asset's eyes widen.
Tell no one… His eyes dart around while at the same time, he remains completely still.
Something about these orders… something about them… they're wrong, he realises. They go against Hydra's orders. They're… they're… They're… his orders.
He blinks and breathes in, realising he'd forgotten to do that. These are his orders. His orders from his handler. His handler is important. His programming screams because he can't disobey orders. But he's not. He's not. These Are His Orders. His handler gave him orders and…
And he wants to follow them.
His handler gave him orders, and it doesn't matter if they're different from Hydra's orders. They are Hydra's orders now.
They are his orders.
They are his orders now and he will follow them.
His stomach twists with nerves but he raises his chin and nods once to his handler. "Yes sir," he says, the words slipping out automatically and he's not… he's not sure why… why those words, but he knows, as soon as he says them, that they're the right ones.
His handler's eyes widen, and he relaxes slightly. "Thank you, Buck," he says softly and the word… that word lodges itself into the Asset's brain. He's not sure exactly what it means, but it's important.
New orders given and received, his handler finally hands him his earpiece and they sit in silence as they listen to Hydra's attempts at cornering the target.
"Initial assault failed," Agent Rollins reports, sounding slightly out of breath. "Target is in his vehicle heading northwest. We've blocked off Roosevelt Bridge." The Asset pulls up his mental map of the city as he speaks, pinpointing their location on it for future reference. "The only clear route is 17th Ave," Agent Rollins informs them. "Go there."
His handler responds instantly and motions him towards the waiting van, jumping into the driver's seat and throwing it into gear. "Quickest route to 17th avenue," he orders as the Asset swings himself into the passenger seat, his mind already mentally calculating the fastest route to the Target as they drive.
"Turn here," he says, and his handler spins the wheel of the car in response. The Asset's body shifts right as they fly forward, and his hand climbs instinctively to cling to the handle above the door. He's pretty sure he's never driven with his handler before, but another part of him is pretty sure he has.
"Target approaching Cap," Agent Rollins informs his handler, and the Asset forces himself to focus. He must not fail this mission.
My handler's mission, he reminds himself, his mind frantically trying to come up with a way of completing it faithfully. Injure Nicholas Fury enough to be presumed dead. Hydra must think that the Target is not a threat…
The mission is certainly a lot more complicated than it used to be.
He's not even sure how injured the Target is right now, which makes it rather difficult to make sure nothing he does actually kills him. And. Another part of him is very aware that he must make Hydra think that he is still following his original orders.
He will be punished if he fails the mission.
His handler will be punished if they fail the mission.
"Stop here," he orders, and his handler responds immediately (the Asset can't help noticing how well he listens), and the brakes of the car screech as they skid to a halt.
The Asset reaches down and grabs the magnetic bomb launcher from his stash—he still has to stop the Target's vehicle after all— and swings himself out of the car, his mind focusing down on the mission.
In the street, the Target's car speeds towards him, and he raises his gun. Presumed dead, he reminds himself and pulls the trigger.
The bomb flies forward and attaches itself to the bottom of the Target's car, exploding with a burst of smoke and fire. The car flips over and skids along the road with a spray of sparks, and the Asset has time to hope that the Target doesn't do something stupid like die, as he steps to the side.
The goggles and mask protect his face as he steps towards the totalled vehicle and the barest samples of a plan begin to form in his mind. He will assess the Target's condition, if it is such that the Target can already be presumed dead, then he will aim to miss when he shoots him. If not, then he will shoot him somewhere almost but not quite lethally, so that he can report him dead.
"A 911 call got through," an agent reports into his earpiece and the rest of the plan falls into place. The Target will be rescued and saved, but he will be able to claim that he presumed him dead. That way, he will be able to complete his handler's mission.
He's not sure if that will be enough to avoid punishment though.
His stomach feels hollow as he reaches down to rip the door off of the Targets car, his heart pounding as he leans down to look inside. He stares. It takes a second before he understands what he's seeing.
The Target has escaped, somehow cutting through the asphalt of the road into the sewer below. A quiet relief floods him and he straightens. "Target escaped," he reports into his earpiece. "Location of Target, unknown."
Various exclamations of disbelief sound over the comms but the Asset ignores them, focusing only on his handler's voice.
"Regroup," he says. "We need to find Fury as soon as possible."
The Asset turns and marches back towards the van. His mind turning over the details of the mission as he walks. The escape of the Target has only given him a little more time. He still has to figure out a way to complete his handler's mission without alerting Hydra to the change in parameters.
oOo
It takes a while to find the Target again and his handler feeds him his evening rations while they wait, his shoulders just as straight and tense as they've been all day. The Asset finds himself tense too, the alternative orders resting heavily in the back of his mind.
Eventually, after several hours, a tech agent finally announces that the Target had been sighted in 'Captain Rogers'' apartment. The Vault explodes into activity, but the Asset finds himself strangely caught up on his handler's name.
He can't stop thinking about it as his handler and Agent Rumlow start discussing the mission. He knows Handler-Rogers is also a Captain. He doesn't know when he learned that, but he knows. It's just… something about that name is Important.
His handler suggests letting him confront the Target first, as a civilian, in order to learn what he knows, and Agent Rumlow agrees. His handler's shoulders drop at that and he turns to him.
"Sniping mission," he says. "Be ready in ten."
"Confirmed," the Asset replies instantly as his handler turns away and another agent starts getting the rest of the mission parameters ready for him. He will be stationed on top of an apartment complex next to the one his handler lives in.
"Mission parameters still in effect," his handler reminds him cryptically once he comes back dressed in his civilian clothes and the Asset flickers his eyes around the Vault, noting the Hydra agents around them.
"Confirmed," he says.
Yes sir, he thinks.
oOo
It's too dark outside now for him to wear his goggles, so Agent Rumlow helps him apply some dark camouflage to his eyes before he drives him to a point a few blocks from the Target. It's up to him to carefully go the rest of the way and plant himself on the roof outside his handler's building, his eyes counting the floors until he finds his handler's room.
The windows are dark, and he waits until he hears the sound of his handler's motorcycle pulling to a stop in front of the apartment building. He follows his handler with his eyes as he goes into the building and he waits for the lights in the room to turn on.
A few minutes later, his handler inexplicably exits the building again and heaves himself up expertly onto the fire escape. He watches a little bewildered as he pulls himself through the window of his apartment with an unexpected amount of grace before moving out of sight. There are no convenient windows to help him track his handler's progress through the flat, and he shifts a little as he tries to be patient. He must wait until his handler is finished interrogating the Target before completing the mission.
A light flickers in one of the windows in front of him, and the Asset can now see his handler leaning against a wall, presumably talking to the Target.
The light flicks off again, without any movement from his handler, and the Asset narrows his eyes as he repositions his gun to the blank wall between the two windows of the room. The Target must be in the blind spot between them.
His handler hasn't given him any signal to watch for to let him know when he should fire, and he sits completely still, trying to judge from the small movements of his handler's mouth whether he has gotten the information that he wants yet. He can't wait too long before he fires, or else the Target might move or introduce another factor into the equation that will complicate the mission.
Through the window he can see his handler's eyes and head move up slightly and he deduces that the Target must have stood up, important information if he wants to keep from killing him.
No headshots, he reminds himself as he takes aim to where he hopes is an almost lethal chest shot. He breathes once and fires, his shots penetrating the dividing wall and, judging from his handler's startled movements, hitting the Target.
His handler steps out of his sight for a second before reappearing, dragging the Target's body further into the room and out of sight again.
Mission complete, he turns to start packing up his gun, only to freeze a moment later when his handler leans into view again, his head turned towards the front door of his apartment. The Asset's hands still and he watches intently as his handler tenses at something out of sight.
Is his handler in danger? Should he…?
He looks down at his half-disassembled gun, his hands frozen in indecision. His handler is… top priority. There shouldn't be any threats in the vicinity, but if there are, then he should… he should.
Protect, he thinks and he's already half-way through reassemble before he realises that his handler has relaxed again, seemingly not concerned by the woman holding a gun and talking to him. The Asset watches for several seconds, ensuring that the woman is not a threat, before he reluctantly starts disassembling again, preparing to follow through with the rest of his orders.
Find somewhere secluded and wait for me, his handler had said, after warning him that he'd probably have to chase him down in order to keep up appearances with SHIELD.
His prediction comes true, when, moments after the Asset has finished with his gun, his handler catches his eye and darts after him in a flurry of motion. He leaps up immediately and begins to lead them both on a chase across the building's rooftops. Despite the stress of the mission, an almost giddy bubble rises up in his chest as he runs. His handler is just as fast as him, and he can really actually run as he searches for somewhere secluded for his Mission Report.
The experience is… something. Something good.
Too soon though, he halts on a rooftop, and turns to face his handler. His eyes are drawn irresistibly to the circle of metal on his handler's arm—a shield— he realises, although, he's not sure why someone would need something like that. Most people don't carry around a shield.
Still… something about it… seems right.
"Mission accomplished," he informs his handler, quietly hoping that he's speaking the truth. He'd done his best, but he had shot the Target. The Target could very well die despite his best efforts.
His handler takes in a breath and relaxes slightly. "Well done," he says, and the words send an unexpected wave of warmth flooding through him. "Return to base and await further orders."
Keeping his reaction to the praise internal, the Asset nods, his eye catching on his handler's shield once again before he turns and drops over the edge of the building, intent on heading back to Agent Rumlow's van.
Well done. He turns the words over in his mind as he goes, and a deep sense of satisfaction settles into his bones.
He arrives at the van, but Agent Rumlow leaves to meet his handler back at his apartment, so a different, less important agent, drives him back to the Vault, where he knows he will be debriefed and then sent back to his cell until his next Hydra mission.
Already, he can feel himself starting to lose the hyper focus that a mission brings him, and sinking back into the dazed numbness that he spends most of his time in.
Still, he can't help thinking back to his handler's words. Well done, he'd said. The Asset had done well, he'd done well.
He closes his eyes in his seat and relaxes a little. That is… good.
oOo
He gets driven back to base, and because his handler isn't there, it's up to the agent in the van to relieve him of his weapons and mask. The agent's face twists in annoyance at the task, but ever since Handler-Rogers has started taking an interest in the Asset's treatment, the rest of the agents in the Vault have begrudgingly begun to be a little more patient with him, and he manages to get through the whole procedure without any 'helpful prodding' from the agent.
Once his face is clean from his camouflage and his gear stored away, he's led back to his cell and told to wait for his next mission. By now he knows that his handler will expect him to have at least three hours of sleep by the time he comes back, and the Asset doubts he will be sent on another mission so soon after the last one, so he deems it safe enough to lay down and rest for a few hours.
Once the three hours are up, he still hasn't been called out on a new mission, and the downtime gives him a chance to start questioning his actions.
His handler had told him not to kill the Target and not to tell Hydra about his new orders, orders which he had done his best to follow… but… what if Hydra found out that he had failed his mission?
He's unable to prevent the shiver that runs through him at the thought of the punishment that would come should Hydra learn he failed their mission. The Asset is not supposed to fail.
But what if his handler had been following Hydra all along? What if his new orders actually are Hydra's orders? What if Hydra had changed its mission, and his handler hadn't been going against Hydra after all?
The Asset relaxes slightly. That must be it, he reasons a little desperately. His handler wouldn't go against Hydra. His handler is good.
He tries not to think too hard about why his handler wouldn't want him to tell Hydra about the change in parameters.
oOo
Agent Rumlow eventually comes to give him his morning ration and doesn't say anything either way about failing or succeeding at his mission, and the Asset tries to take that as a good sign.
He spends another full day waiting in his cell before Rumlow comes to give him a new mission. A part of him— a part that he tries to bury as soon as he recognises it— is disappointed when the door opens and his handler isn't the one waiting there to prep him for his new mission.
He wants to ask where Handler-Rogers is, but he's fairly certain that the thin patience of the Vault's agents won't hold up against that kind of questioning, so he keeps his mouth shut. He can't help noticing that the base seems more energetic than usual though, a buzz of excitement underlying everything around him, leaving him to wonder quietly at what could be happening.
The agent preparing him seems distracted, and doesn't give him his goggles, and the Asset isn't sure if that's intentional or not. He doesn't mention it, because it might be an important choice for this new mission, but he accepts the offered mask easily, the familiar feel almost comforting as it sits against his face.
He isn't outfitted with any long-range weapons, so he knows this won't be a sniping mission, and the agent hands him an earpiece to put on. "Your handler will probably meet up with you at the end of the mission," he informs him lazily as the Asset slips the comm into his right ear. "Your mission is to guard the Hellicarrier you are assigned against any internal attack until it reaches targeting range."
"Confirmed," the Asset replies, and the agent shoves a set of schematics for a giant ship into his hands.
"Be ready in ten," he orders, before darting off to look at a monitor.
The Asset doesn't bother with another 'confirmed', instead focusing on the schematics in his hands, his eyes zeroing in on the weak points of the ship. Whoever had designed this had left the internal core almost completely exposed for some reason.
oOo
Ten minutes later and he's in the van, driving out with the rest of the STRIKE team and he gathers from their conversation that they're heading towards the Triskelion. The earpiece in his ear echoes their quiet discussion of 'Hydra's master plan', but he keeps quiet, wishing—just a little bit— that his handler's voice would sound over the comm.
Once they arrive at the Triskelion, he's sent to stealthily infiltrate the third Helicarrier and he stations himself next to the ship's core. He's not sure what kind of threats Hydra is expecting, but he will be ready for them when they arrive.
"Attention SHIELD agents," a voice tinged with sass sounds suddenly over the speaker system and he looks up, his brow furling at the strange interruption. "I'm sure you know who I am, of course you do."
"What is Stark doing on the PA system?" Agent Rumlow grumbles into the comm and the Asset shifts his stance a little.
"Today's a big day," 'Stark' continues, managing to sound both dry and sarcastic over the speaker system. "But not for the reasons you'd think," he says. "See, turns out SHIELD is not what we thought." His voice drops. "It's been taken over by Hydra."
A shiver runs down the Asset's spine and Agent Rumlow curses, various other agents giving cries of alarm and disbelief over the comm.
"How on earth did he find that out?" Agent Rollins growls, almost drowning out Stark's next words.
"Alexander Pierce is their leader," he says. "And the Helicarrier launch will give him and Hydra the power to kill anyone they want."
"Okay, stop gawking," Agent Rumlow orders sharply over the comms. "We knew something was coming, time to get those Helicarriers in the air."
"We didn't know Iron Man would be fighting us," an agent mumbles sulkily into the comm as various other agents give affirmatives to Agent Rumlow's order.
Stark must be one of the threats, the Asset decides, and he widens his stance to keep his balance as the Helicarrier's engines ignite under him and start prepping for take off. That one agent had called him Iron Man, and he realises that Stark must be one of the agents on the Avengers team. Hydra had debriefed him on that team briefly once it had come to fruition, but they'd said his handler was monitoring their threat level.
Iron Man must be very clever if he managed to fool my handler, he concludes as the ship shudders beneath him and starts to rise up into the sky. He blinks and squints as his eyes adjust to the sun that shines through the window and he follows the skyline lazily with his eyes. Whoever had designed the Helicarriers had made the hull of the ship almost entirely out of glass. He has to admit that it has a nice view, even if it does leave the main core exposed.
He blinks and gives an abrupt shake of his head, reminding himself of his mission and noting the bulk of another Helicarrier rising to his left. He isn't here for sight-seeing. He has a job to do.
"I'm counting at least three hostiles, including Iron Man," an agent reports into his ear. "Black Widow and some guy with wings or something."
"See if you can cut them off before they get to the Helicarriers," Agent Rumlow orders quickly.
"Negative," the agent replies, and the Asset swallows uneasily. "Hostiles are already in the air and some SHIELD agents are trying to make trouble."
Agent Rumlow growls frustratedly into the comms before seeming to come to a decision. "They need to over-ride all three Helicarriers in order to stop us," he says, his voice tight as he thinks. "We'll go deal with any SHIELD problems. Asset," the Asset perks up. "Guard the Helicarrier you're in. As long as we have one, we should be good."
"Confirmed," he replies into his comm before his head twitches to look out the window in surprise as the Helicarrier next to him starts firing. He narrows his eyes as he sees what looks like a man with jetpack wings and… a woman strapped to his front flying and trying to dodge the firepower of the next-door Helicarrier.
He follows the strange pair with his eyes until they fly out of sight, the sound of the STRIKE team relaying orders to each other continuing in the background as he waits. Anyone wanting to do any true damage to the Helicarrier would have to come to the core of the ship, so staying here is the most logical course of action. He can't help feeling a little out of place though as he watches the Hostiles continue their assault on the other Helicarriers.
They disappear for a while and an agent curses suddenly in the comms, shouting something about Black Widow and 'the winged dude' but the Asset is quickly distracted away as red and gold flashes past the windows. It flies back again and pauses to hover outside, giving him time to recognize the metal humanoid. He clenches his jaw under his mask and widens his stance.
Iron Man has arrived.
He flickers his eyes again to the horizon as Iron Man begins shooting some sort of laser at the glass of the hull. It's hard to tell how high the Helicarrier has gotten, but all he needs to do is fend off Iron Man long enough for it to reach targeting range, after that…
He blinks, momentarily distracted from his planning. Nobody had explained what kind of extraction plan this mission has. He doesn't quite know what to do once the Helicarrier reaches targeting range.
A red glow outlines Iron Man's progress as he cuts through the hull and the Asset tightens his stance, focusing back on him. After the mission, he will wait for his handler, his handler will think of an extraction for him, right now he needs to focus on the mission.
Iron Man finishes breaking into the hull, the cut out glass falling to the floor with a deafening crash as he pushes it and flies in. The Asset tenses as he glides over to land directly opposite from him, settling at the end of the maintenance bridge leading to the main core. Iron Man's eyes glow white as he stares him down and the Asset stands ready, running through the threat analysis that he'd gotten on him as he waits for the Avenger to make the first move.
Repulsors, he thinks, eying the robot hands and feet of the suit. Increased strength, speed, flight capabilities—
Something crackles over his comm and he freezes, confusion shooting through him as the voices of the STRIKE team cut out, the sudden silence almost dizzying. His heart starts pounding faster in his chest and he tries to remember if 'remote hacking' had been part of Iron Man's abilities.
"Asset." His eyes widen and relief rushes through him as his handler's voice sounds in his ear. That relief is cut away almost immediately though, at his handler's next words. "Stand down. Do not engage Iron Man."
His breath stutters behind his mask and he continues to stand frozen, confusion and distress swirling around as he tries to compute his handler's most recent orders.
Stand down.
Stand down.
That is not— that's not— his eyes dart up to Iron Man and he knows, he knows that if he stands down then Iron Man will be able to compromise the ship and defeat Hydra and that cannot be what Hydra wants. That is not his mission. Those are not his orders. Those Are Not his orders and if he fails his mission then he will be punished—
But they're my Handler's orders! His mind screams, his stomach twisting with anxiety as he fights to keep his hands from shaking. His handler has given him orders. He should follow his handler's order. That is what he's supposed to do. He follows orders, he knows that, and his handler Has Given Him Orders.
(The Helicarrier launch will give Hydra the power to kill anyone they want, Stark had said.)
His mouth opens and closes a few times behind his mask, and he breathes in uneasily.
It's fine. It is fine. He is following orders. He is following his handler's orders. He isn't disobeying. He isn't.
He swallows and the words from last time rise up in his mind. "…Yes, sir," he says carefully into the comm, a shiver running through him as he steps jerkily out of the way.
Iron Man takes a cautionary step forward, seeming to scan him, before rushing forward in a flurry of clanking metal and red and gold. The Asset turns and deliberately wraps his left hand around the handrailing next to him, staring fixedly ahead while Iron Man types a code into the main core terminal and inserts a new chip into the system.
I'm following orders, he reminds himself over and over in his head. It's fine. I'm following orders.
Iron Man steps back and the Asset eyes him warily before his handler's voice comes back onto the comms and he zeroes in on it. "Asset," Handler-Rogers says, the authority of his voice calming some of the storm inside his head. "Go with Iron Man and wait for further orders."
"Yes sir," he replies immediately, latching on to the order with both hands. He can do this. If he just follows his handler's orders, everything will be fine. This is fine.
Iron Man turns to him and his helmet retracts. The Asset blinks. Something about his face… his brow ticks down as he takes in the brown eyes and messy hair. Something about them… Whatever it is, he doesn't have much time to wonder, because Iron Man is already taking action.
"Okay, so this place is gonna blow soon," he says with a wave of his hand and something clicks as two pieces of metal on the armor near his ankles and shoulders jut out a few inches. "So…" he continues, rubbing his gauntlets together. "This is never really… dignified, but if you come up behind me and step on these, you can hang on while I fly us out of here."
The Asset eyes the footholds a little skeptically, but his handler had ordered him to go with Iron Man, so there isn't really any point in questioning him. He releases his grip on the handrailing and steps forward, edging behind Iron Man so that he can step up onto the footholds. It takes a moment to figure out the best way to wrap his arms around his shoulders so that he's not hindering any movement, but soon he's situated as securely possible, given the situation.
"Okay." Iron Man shifts carefully. "We shouldn't have to fly far. Hang on." The Asset has to make a conscious effort not to squeeze the shoulder handhold too hard with his metal hand as Iron Man activates his thrusters and they jerk upwards, carefully and unsteadily making their way towards the hole cut into the side of the hull.
The wind whips at his unprotected eyes as they exit and the Asset ducks his head slightly, part of him wishing that he had asked for his goggles back at the Vault. Iron Man navigates them carefully downwards and the Asset swallows nervously, unable to keep from wondering what will await him now, once he gets back to base. He's definitely failed his mission this time.
"Hey Wilson, how'd it feel to sock it to Rumlow?" The Asset tenses as Iron Man speaks up unexpectedly, before his eyes catch on an earpiece nestled in his ear and he realises that he must be communicating with his team. Iron Man lands gently, although a little shakily, on the banks of what seems to be a river, and the Asset dismounts, turning over the words he'd just heard. Agent Rumlow and the STRIKE team had gone to take care of SHIELD, had they been neutralised?
The sounds of an explosion vibrates through the air above him, and the steady rat-tat-tat of machine guns cuts into his thoughts and he turns to see the Helicarriers firing, pieces of their hulls already beginning to break off and fall into the water below as their weapons charge up and target each other.
His stomach clenches and he fights to keep a neutral expression on his face as he watches, wishing again that he had his goggles. He's much safer, much less likely to slip up, when he's able to hide his facial expressions. Thankfully, he still has his mask, and Iron Man seems to be just as fixated by the Helicarriers as he is. After a moment, he bites the inside of his cheek and glances away from the firestorm. He's really really failed his mission.
I was following my Handler's orders, he reminds himself desperately and he breathes in, closing his eyes for a second as he tries to sort through his programming.
He has to decide, right now, who has priority, if he wants to have any peace at all. Hydra had given him a mission, but they'd also given him a handler, and he's important. His handler had also given him a mission, and that is the one that he'd followed. He opens his eyes and sets his jaw, falling into parade rest and zoning out slightly, the rest of the world becoming less important as he fixates onto his handler's final orders.
Wait for further orders.
Whatever happens, whether he is punished or not, he will wait for his handler. Those are his orders.
AN: I've decided to update on Wednesdays this time since it works better with my schedule now.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I wanted to show how Bucky's actions really ARE his choice, but he has to twist his reasoning around his programming because it's hard for him to even contemplate betraying Hydra.
