The voice makes incoherent noises at seeing the uniform he pulls out of the metal box.

Siberian Pine

The Asset is not sure what the voice means by that. The Asset does not let the bag with the uniform out of his sight. And when the others are asleep, he takes it out and looks at it. His fingers clenching tightly against the fabric.

His hand touches the metal compass and he briefly considers cutting a new hole in his side to keep it safe.

—

"So what's the plan from here?" Tony asks, looking at Bucky.

"Steve?" The Asset is silent and doesn't respond. Damn. "Asset?" Steve blinks up at him. "Where would you like to go next?"

"Spiders."

Bucky feels Natasha stiffen. "What do you mean?" He asks.

"Save spiders."

"The Red Room is shut down." Natasha says quickly. "Dreykov is dead."

"Negative."

Bucky hears the intake of breath from Natasha. "You're lying. I killed him myself."

The Asset blinks up at her. "Termination was unsuccessful. Hydra still operates with spiders."

"Hydra's a bit in shambles at the moment." Barton says, flipping a pen over end. "I don't think they're doing much."

"Lydia?" Natasha asks, her eyes still on Steve, "Is the Red Room still operating?"

"I don't know." Lydia shrugs, "I just always assume someone is after me. Hydra, Red Room, The Hand, whoever wants me under their thumb for their skills. I stay off the radar."

"I'm not sure bringing Cap here to the people who want him in their clutches is the best idea." Tony says sarcastically.

Bucky looks at Natasha, "what do you think?"

"I know they're not in the same location." Natasha says, "we could look into where he was held, the old Red Room, see if there is anything there."

The Asset stands. "Confirm."

Everyone looks at Bucky who nods numbly.

—-

The flight further into Russia is stressful. They switch up their disguises and order Steve to wear a hat and sunglasses and yet they all feel as if there are eyes on them wherever they go.

—

Natasha and Lydia are hesitant, but Steve strides through the woods, undeterred by the underbrush and clearly on a path.

A large compound appears and they stop just inside the tree line.

They use Tony's suit to confirm that the compound is empty. It is.

"Here goes nothing." Tony says lightly as they walk out of their cover.

—-

Before they enter the front gates, Steve swings left and walks the perimeter. Bucky's about to ask him where he's going when Steve stops. Bucky watches as Steve kneels down and touches the ground, moving the grass and weeds and dirt.

Until a line of rocks appear. Rocks set in a rectangle.

Lydia sucks in a breath and the Asset looks up at her. "Mini-spiders." He says softly as he brushes away at least a dozen more and he stands there and stares at them.

It is silent for a very long time. Natasha's grip on his hand doesn't loosen.

"The Asset failed to save these."

"Steve, no—-" Bucky starts.

"The Asset would like to save the others."

Bucky doesn't have any response to that.

—-

They walk through the compound. Room after room of beds, dusty with disuse.

They're surprised to find several rooms of computers and files that look untouched.

It's Barton who finds it first. "Uh, guys?"

The walk over and he's staring at a filing cabinet drawer. The card on the front says "The Asset - Hydra"

Tony scoffs, "No way, they're not that dumb are they?"

"Who except us knows this place exists? They're not worried about people trespassing. And no one expects us to defect."

Bucky is opening the drawer as Steve stands off behind them, guarding the door without having been asked.

A picture of Steve, dressed in black athletic gear, staring into the eyes of a small girl, with blonde hair braided back. His face is expressionless, but his eyes are watching the girl with a caring eye. "Ophelia." Lydia says softly.

File after file of his training regimen with the girls. A few pictures but mostly descriptions of how his training was going. He received exemplary marks from the Red Room staff.

Clint reaches further into the drawer. "Anyone see a VHS player?"

They find an old dusty TV and Bucky pops the take in, with hesitant fingers.

They watch security footage of a room. Steve and a girl are training. He is teaching her how to block punches and use her weight against an opponent. The training finishes soon after and a man in Hydra gear comes in. The man orders Steve to stand guard at the door. Steve moves and stands with his hands behind his back. They watch as the Handler circles the young girl who can't be more than 14. He slides his fingers against her neck and they watch as she stiffens. Bucky feels the tension in the room double. The man's hands roam from her neck down to her shoulders and grab her waist, pulling her against him. His hand grabs at her backside as the girl struggles away from him. He has hooked his finger on the waistband of her pants and is tugging on it when suddenly Steve is standing behind the man, his hands placed perfectly around the man's jaw, snapping his neck so quickly they almost miss it.

The man slips to the floor and the girl begins to cry. Steve kneels down and wipes the tears from her face. The girl lunges and wrings her arms around Steve's neck. Steve pats her on the head.

Natasha is trying not to cry, and she steps away from Bucky and wraps her arms around Steve.

"She was the one who told me you were called spiders." He says calmly.

Lydia strides over and joins the hug, both of them burying their faces against his chest. He looks down at both of them and as if without thinking, pats them on the head.

Before they can say anything else, a woman appears on the screen, her face is flat and her tone is bored. "You can see our hesitancy in continuing his use." She says through the tinny speakers, "he's gone from being an excellent trainer with no connections, to causing dissension in our ranks." She motions for something and grainy security footage cuts in.

Steve is shackled at the wrists, the chains securing him to a large metal beam. He's being whipped repeatedly, and even though blood pours down his back, his mouth stays shut, as 40 girls, all dressed alike, at varying ages, watch on. He falls unconscious after a while.

Suddenly one of the girls rushes forward, "Why is he being punished?" She asks, her voice angry.

They watch as that little girl is taken and shot.

Then they watch as a video of Steve digging a grave is accompanied by the laughter of whoever is taking the video.

Bucky turns to Steve, "you were being whipped because you killed that man?"

There's a pause. They can see Steve thinking. "Negative. The punishment for harming the Hydra officer was this—" He shuffles through the pictures and finds the one he is looking for. A picture of Steve, eyes blank as a knife pierces his tongue, anchoring him to the table.

"Then why were you being whipped?"

Steve turns towards them, and his voice catches, "she—" He blinks, surprised at himself. Bucky watches as Steve clears his throat and stares at the floor, "she asked the Asset to complete a task. The Asset was unable to."

"Who is she?"

Steve points out a grainy figure at the top of the screen. One of the Red Room leaders.

"What task did she want you to accomplish?" Tony asks, "what the hell can't you do?"

Bucky swears that Steve's ears tinge pink, but the way he talks makes Bucky's blood run cold. "The Asset understood at a later date that Madam Saroski commanded the Asset for sexual intercourse. The Asset was unable to complete this task at that time. However, the Asset was trained for this later on and able to accomplish many missions using this skill."

Silence.

Pin drop silence.

Bucky feels his heart shatter into a thousand pieces. And he grips Natasha's hand as she looks at him with knowing, sad eyes and he realizes that she knows exactly what he went through and his heart shatters even more.

"Steve—" Bucky chokes out, walking forward and grasping his friend's arms. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"For what you went through, for them forcing you to do that."

Steve looks at him with puzzled eyes. "The Spiders were all trained with this skill." He states matter of factly, "Hydra Assets needed to be able to complete any mission. All skills are valuable."

"I didn't think it could get worse." Tony says, his voice rough, "I was wrong."

Clint, who was absently sifting through the other drawers finds a small metal box. "Barnes." They turn towards him and he opens it up.

"What are they?"

"I think they're his. The gifts Lydia was talking about."

Bucky takes the tin box. A postcard. A ribbon, and a small Eiffel Tower replica rattle inside.

He walks slowly, holding it out to Steve. "Are these yours?"

A look of surprise and Bucky swears almost a smile crosses Steve's face as he gently takes the box. "Affirmative. They're mine."

Lydia gasps, looking up at him, a wide grin takes over her face. "Did you hear that? He said 'mine'! Steve! You said 'mine'!" She stretches up on her toes and kisses his cheek, "yes, yes! They're yours!" She points to each one, "that one was from Derevia, and that one was from Sarai, and that one was from Opal! Where's my coin?"

Steve reaches into his pocket, and produces the coin, slipping in gently into his box. And closing the lid. He tugs the bag that has his shield and his uniform in it off his back. He places the box inside and zips it back up. He looks at all of them, and it's a mixture of a threat and a question as he says, "Mine."

But Bucky's heart swells as the whole group nods 'yes'. And Bucky finds his voice a bit wobbly as he says, "yeah, Steve, they're all yours."

—