Helicopters were buzzing all around HQ the next morning and I was stopped by security twice just trying to get in.

Walking through the lobby, I noticed a palpable unease in the air and I caught a few agents sniffling and comforting each other. I was walking through the lobby quickly, wanting to get down to the labs where I felt safer, when something crashed through the roof and struck the ground amongst a shower of glass.

Bewildered, I realized that it was Captain Rogers; he must have jumped from above and plummeted through the roof.

He winced, obviously hurt, and I gaped at him as he pushed himself up by his knuckles and bolted out of the facility.

Several agents pursued him, and I heard an alert go out to shut down the bridge. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of this, so I hurried down to my lab.

An announcement came over the intercom fifteen minutes later that Captain Rogers was a fugitive of SHIELD.

"What the hell's going on?" I asked Dr. Chambers when I marched into the lab. "Captain Rogers just rained down from the ceiling in the lobby like a damn meteor."

Dr. Chambers didn't look up from the bot he was rewiring. "All I know is what they just said over the intercom," he deadpanned.

I sighed and moved to go find someone that knew what was going on, but Dr. Chambers stopped me.

"Dr. Martin, I would advise that you stay here," Dr. Chambers said loudly. "It isn't in your clearance to know every little thing that goes on around here."

I pursed my lips and watched him for a minute until he lifted his head to glare at me.

"Did you come here to work or did you come here to gossip, doctor?" he snapped.

I blinked, angry and stung and worried, but I looked away from him and marched over to another bot that had been brought in.

We worked in silence for most of the day. A lot of people ran by our lab on their way to more important things, and for once I felt antsy being stuck in a lab rather than content. I was told that it was mandatory that I came into the lab the next day and that was the only information I was given.

"We are on the brink of something incredible, doctor," Dr. Chambers murmured to me, just before he left the lab for the night. "Soon HYDRA will not be forced to hide in the shadows."

I looked up at him, startled, but he was gone.

I didn't sleep well that night; in fact, I didn't sleep at all.

Around three, I realized that sleep wasn't going to be an option, so I grabbed my purse and a taser and I left to go for a walk.

"Stella Martin," Jaeger hummed sleepily as I walked out of the door.

I walked four or five blocks to the nearest park; just a small one with a swing set and a big slide.

It was empty this early in the morning, so I sat down on one of the swings and sighed.

Worry often came in tides, and tonight I was up to my neck in it, feeling like it was pressing in on my lungs. What the hell had Chambers been talking about? I bit at my thumbs as I drifted back and forth on the swing. My fingers were bleeding more often than not and they were always covered in either band-aids or sores.

I heard a shoe scrape against the pebbly ground and my heart skipped a beat. I felt a smile creep across my face and I sat up.

"Nice night, huh?" I said quietly and I turned around.

My stomach dropped when I realized that it wasn't Winter I was talking to; it was some large man I had never seen before and I didn't have a chance to react before he grabbed me. I instantly started thrashing, adrenaline coursing through me, and I elbowed him, hard, in the stomach and his grip loosened. I wriggled out of his hold and I started sprinting.

I heard heavy footfalls of pursuit behind me and I forced myself to run harder. I was no track star or anything though, and I felt myself getting out of breath, but I was so scared that I pushed harder. I furiously dug through my purse for my taser while I ran.

My hand finally finding it, I whipped around to tase the guy and hopefully get away, but he had vanished.

I looked around wildly, worried that he was just hiding, but there wasn't a trace of him anywhere.

My panicked footfalls were the only sound as I ran as fast as I could back to my apartment.

Back in safety, I bolted the door shut and clutched the stitch in my side. I collapsed on the couch and turned the news on, exhausted.

I fell asleep for a short time and I woke up to Isabel calling me around six.

"Stella, oh thank goodness," she sighed in relief when I picked up. "I'm sorry, I just saw on the news that there was a body found a block away from where you live, and I got scared."

"What?" I asked, sitting up. "A body?"

"Yeah," she gulped. "They haven't said any more than that so far. I'm glad you're alright, I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"That's okay, I needed to get up," I assured her. "I have to get ready for work now though; I'll text you."

I hung up and I groaned, feeling more tired than I had before I fell asleep.

I saw the story that Isabel was talking about; a man had been found stuck up in a tree with his neck snapped right outside of my apartment. He had apparently been wanted for petty crimes anyway, I saw as I gave rapt attention to the screen, and a mugshot was shown of him. My eyes widened when I realized that it was the same guy that had tried to attack me. The reporter said that they had no suspects, but they would keep us updated and the segment changed to the weather.

"Stella Martin?" Jaeger said curiously.

I sighed heavily through my nose and rubbed my temples. So Winter was around… but that just raised more questions.

I couldn't focus on anything at work. I forgot my phone in my apartment, so I couldn't talk to Isabel, and I couldn't exactly confide in Dr. Chambers.

Winter was supposed to be on a very important mission today and I couldn't help but piece together that he was likely going after Captain Rogers.

I had just sat down in the break room and pulled a sweater on to keep myself warm when one of the STRIKE agents appeared in the doorway.

"You're needed in the lab," he clipped and I jumped up to follow him before he finished his sentence.

Winter was back but… he didn't look right. I padded up to him and studied his face. He seemed to be in an altogether different place. It wasn't unusual for him to stare straight ahead when we worked on him, but this seemed like it was more than that. It was like he didn't know anyone else was there. The lights of the room cast him in a sickly green.

"What's the matter with him?" I asked Christopher quietly.

"I don't know," he shrugged, unperturbed.

"We don't need to worry about that, he's due for another mission in the morning and he needs to be ready," said the other doctor by Christopher's side.

I swallowed and edged over to Winter's arm.

It had a big hole in the deltoid where several plates were crushed and he had a circular electrical burn on his forearm.

My eyes kept flickering up to his face while I repaired his arm. He was staring straight ahead with glassy eyes. I noticed his hand was shaking a little.

"I don't know if we should be near him," I said softly.

"He's fine," said the doctor working beside me.

Winter's head snapped up and his pupils dilated like he was in bright light. He whipped around to look at his metal arm and utter horror crossed his face like he didn't know what it was.

Without warning he struck the man working next to me, sending him flying backwards, and Christopher ran to help him. The guards pointed their guns up at him and I whipped around to bark at them.

"Wait!" I snapped, getting to my feet defensively.

"Get away from him, Doctor!" Dr. Chambers thundered and I heard Winter fidget behind me.

I ignored him and slowly turned around to look at Winter. He was sitting up on the end of the table, poised like he wanted to bolt.

"Winter, can you hear me?" I asked gently.

He was focused on the floor, both of his fists clenched and his muscles strained and his chest heaving. He was shaking.

He looked like he was thinking a million things all at once; he looked terrified.

"Winter," I breathed.

His eyes flicked up to me and he squinted at me.

"Sir, he-he's unstable," I heard Christopher tell someone behind me. "Erratic. He isn't responding to anyone but her."

I swallowed and blinked. I felt an overwhelming sense of fear for Winter. What would they do to him if he wouldn't listen…?

I heard someone walk up next to me and stare down at Winter.

It was Pierce.

I backed away to stand by Christopher, my hands shaking under my sleeves.

"Mission report," Pierce demanded.

Winter didn't seem to hear him, he just kept staring at me and my heart constricted unpleasantly.

"Mission report, now," Pierce said again.

Pierce leaned down to stare into Winter's eyes and he suddenly struck him hard across the face and his head snapped back. I flinched involuntarily.

"That man on the bridge… who was he?" Winter asked, lazily looking to the corner of the room, his face pinched in thought. He looked up at Pierce, confused.

"You met him earlier this week on another assignment," Pierce told him flatly.

Winter studied Pierce, his eyes darting back down to the ground.

"…I knew him," he croaked, his head turning to look at all of us standing behind Pierce as if he was searching for someone to tell him if he was right.

Pierced sighed and settled into a chair in front of Winter.

"Your work has been a gift to mankind," Pierce told him and Winter glared up at him. "You shaped the century, and I need you to do it one more time."

Winter thought about that for a second and his eyes drifted to the floor again.

"Society's at a tipping point between order and chaos," Pierce went on. "And tomorrow morning we're going to give it a push."

"HYDRA is close to giving the world the freedom it deserves," Pierce said forcefully. "But if you don't do your part, I can't do mine."

Winter's eyes grazed over us all again. "…But I knew him," he insisted, his face pinched in conflict.

Pierce sighed heavily, not having the answer he wanted. He stood up and glared down at Winter.

"Prep him," he said simply and Winter's eyes found me and my throat constricted.

"Sir, he's been out of cryo freeze for too long…" Christopher said quietly. Pierce glanced at him in irritation.

"Then wipe him, and start over," he ordered.

My eyelids trembled. What did that mean...?

Christopher and the other scientist walked up to Winter and Winter focused on me. He knew what they were going to do to him, but I didn't.

I bit the inside of my cheek as they pushed him back onto the table.

Christopher put a mouth guard in his mouth and Winter's eyes bored into me, fury and terror and so much rage.

I forced myself not to let out a gasp as they placed electrical pads on his head and I realized that they were going to shock him into forgetting about Captain Rogers.

Winter was panting now, his chest lurching like someone that had just been pulled out of water and his hands were shaking. I felt like I was going to faint.

Winter started screaming as the electricity went into his head and I clenched my jaws shut to stop from screaming too.

Pierce left with one of the STRIKE agents, just left Winter there to be tortured and I wanted to tear the throats out of everyone in the room, even Christopher and Dr. Chambers.

It was clear to me now, as I watched Winter thrash and writhe in agony, that HYDRA didn't care about him or me or anyone. HYDRA wasn't good, HYDRA wasn't fighting for peace. HYDRA was an abomination built on death and steeped in blood. How could I have been so naive?

"Doctor, Director Pierce wants a word," one of the STRIKE agents, Rumlow, told me nonchalantly as if we were at a dinner party.

I nodded stiffly and followed him out of the caged room.

Pierce was talking with a different STRIKE agent and he glanced at me and dismissed the agent.

"Doctor Martin, it's going to be absolutely vital that you do your job to the best of your ability tonight," he told me, studying my face.

I tried my best to look like I didn't feel like throwing up or fainting. "…To repair his arm, sir?" I asked, forcing my voice not to shake.

Pierce laughed and my hands balled into fists under the sleeves of my sweater.

"That's part of your job, you're right, but your most important job is keeping him calm," he told me, jerking his head to the caged room where Winter was still screaming.

I blinked, not understanding.

"Think of it like this," he said, striding across the room to grab a glass of water from one of the tables. "Have you been around horses much?"

I shook my head.

"My grandfather owned a horse farm when I was young," he told me, leaning against the table. "He broke a lot of stallions. It was important to break the stallion of course, but it was also important to calm them down so that they wouldn't hurt themselves. Do you know how he did that?"

I shook my head again. I briefly thought of lunging at him, maybe I'd be able to break the glass he was holding, grab a shard, and plunge it into his jugular vein before any of the STRIKE agents shot me.

"He would put a goat into the nervous stallion's stall," he said simply. "The presence of the goat would calm down the horse, that easy. It didn't always happen that way though; sometimes the stallion would rear up and crush the goat. I remembered one day a black stallion named Striker trampled one of the poor goats and we couldn't even get it out of his stall for three days. But that sort of thing was rare."

"You need me to keep him calm when they're done wiping him," I clarified.

Pierce nodded. "Exactly."

I nodded to show that I understood. I understood now, why I was hired. Not for my doctorate, not for my expertise. I was disposable, an easy mess to clean up.

"Good," Pierce said, standing up, sniffing nonchalantly and glancing into Winter's cell of a room. "They should be about done wiping him and then you'll need to stay with him all night. I don't imagine that he'll rear up at you, but if he does, there will be two agents stationed outside the door."

"Of course, sir," I said, careful that my voice didn't drip venom.

"Very good, Doctor," Pierce said warmly. "I'll see you both in the morning."

Pierce left and most of the STRIKE agents followed.

I just stood there for a minute, not wanting to go back into that prison cell and see what they had done to Winter. What I had done to him.

I swallowed and forced my feet to take me back into the room.

Winter was lying there motionless, his eyes closed like the first time I saw him in cryo.

"He should wake up in a few hours," Christopher said, glancing at me over his paperwork. "Director Pierce is going to speak with him in the morning. Until then just try to keep him calm, okay?"

I nodded numbly.

He left with the other scientist and only Dr. Chambers remained with me. My skin crawled where I could feel Dr. Chambers looking at me and I wished he'd leave.

"Doctor Martin," he said quietly.

"What?" I said flatly.

"I know that you must disapprove of this, but it's the only way to be sure that he's compliant."

I didn't respond.

"…Since you're going to be stuck here all night with him, there's something that you should know," he went on.

I padded up to Winter's side and looked at his arm. I hadn't been able to repair it completely before.

"There is a safe word that will shut him down if he becomes violent," Dr. Chambers said and I looked at him, furrowing my eyebrows.

"How can a word shut him down?" I asked slowly.

"It was necessary," he said simply. "S-P-U-T-N-I-K' will stop his heart momentarily and give you enough time to get away from him."

I studied his worn, unreadable face, anger spurring my belly.

"…Fine," I said, turning away from him. "Is that all you wanted?"

"Doctor, he isn't a person, not anymore, you shouldn't be so infatuated with him if you know what's good for you."

"Is that all you wanted?" I repeated harshly.

Dr. Chambers sighed. "Yes. Good luck, Doctor."

I gripped the table next to Winter to steady myself for a minute, staring at the shiny metal of Winter's arm. I heard the cell door squeak shut as Chambers left.

I felt my face flush and tears pricked my eyes and I let out a quiet sob. I shook for several minutes, trying to stifle my crying, but I couldn't help myself.

"I'm sorry," I gasped quietly. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I'm – so – sorry –!"

Winter didn't stir and I sniffled and wiped my eyes with my sleeve and sighed heavily.

For several hours Winter slept, motionless. I wondered if he dreamt. I hoped he didn't. I sat next to him in a hard plastic chair, not wanting to fix his arm until he woke up. The guards stationed outside left after a few hours, but I didn't care. I was glad that they were gone. I should have been to afraid to sleep, but I found it hard to stay awake. It was deafeningly quiet down there, besides the faintest humming of the machines and Winter's breathing it was silent.

I drifted off after a while; the stress of the day and the silence lulled me to sleep in spite of my anxiety.

I woke up because something touched me and my eyelids fluttered open. I saw Winter's face in a haze, staring at me in confusion and I sleepily smiled at him.

My eyes widened when I remembered where I was and I sat up quickly. Winter was frowning at me in confusion. His eyes had bruises under them and he had burns on his face where the pads had set.

"Winter," I said, my voice thick from sleep and I cleared my throat. "How-how do you feel?"

He narrowed his eyes like that was a trick question and he looked around the room.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Stella Martin," I said, picking at my fingers. "You're in a HYDRA facility."

He nodded and frowned, looking away from me. I watched him, my stomach twisting.

I wanted to let him loose, let him run away, but he wouldn't know where to go and he'd just come back here.

I was sick with rage, looking at him now. Whatever was going to happen in the morning, I desperately craved HYDRA to burn. I wanted Pierce dead and all of HYDRA dead with him. But most of all I wanted Winter to escape by some impossible miracle.