Thank you so much for the reviews Kyra! Glad you're enjoying!
CHAPTER 6.
Jennifer Pierce was used to hearing about superheroes. Her family was in the business. Into her teen years when they'd begun to pop up around the world, she'd been fascinated. Her grandfather, Alexander Pierce not only managed them as Secretary of Defense from the top of Shield, but he was also friends with them. Heroes would swing by their house at Christmas, come to her little cousin's birthday parties. Their posters were on her younger sister's walls. Brittany had Thor, Ashley had Captain America. She'd never admit it to anyone, but she'd had some pictures of Steve Rogers stashed away too.
As an elementary school teacher, Jennifer had used Superhero's as examples all the time for her students. Examples of heroism and doing the right thing, pushing her students to make the hard choice, stand up to injustice. And most of all, fight for freedom. Just like how she had remembered her grandfather.
Operative word being "had".
Then he died and her world exploded and his secret life was revealed. All this time. The head of Hydra.
She and what was left of her family were called into grand jury after grand jury, questioned for weeks until she could hardly function.
Did she know? Was she Hydra? How many Hydra operatives did she work for? Was she willing to die for Hydra? She started to hate the word no. How many times could she say it? She almost longed to lie and tell them that she knew all the time, if only they'd stop asking.
They'd been detained in her grandfather's house for a year while more investigations took place. Where were the Superheroes? All her grandfather's friends abandoned them. She knew why.
Torture didn't seem the appropriate word for her predicament then. Her whole family had chosen to remain true to her grandfather's memory and fight the Hydra accusations as pure slander. Her Father filed counter suits, took up with politicians and his own investigators to clear Alexander's name. But Jennifer knew the truth. Her grandfather, her hero, had betrayed her and everything thing he'd told her he stood for. There were no heroes any more.
She should have known that her past wouldn't stay buried.
President Tarkov hadn't moved from her spot.
"I… don't know what you're talking about," said Jenny. There was no air left in the car.
The older woman leaned back finally. "Don't worry Yennifer. Your secrets safe with me."
"How…?"
"I have my resources my dear. And I never forget a face. No matter how much they've changed. I knew your grandfather quite well, and he was always showing me pictures of his grandchildren."
Jenny clutched at her heart at the mention of her grandfather. This couldn't be happening.
"I was sad to hear about his passing."
She couldn't melt into the back of the car seat fast enough. "You- you and he…"
"I was also shocked to hear about his Hydra associations. He never seemed the type. But I suppose that was the point."
"So you're not… you're not…"
"Hydra? No. And I would not have let you into my country if you were."
Jenny practically slumped in her seat.
"He and I had much in common. We met at the UN many years ago. Your grandmother, was a good friend as well. She wished only the best for her family. It's too bad that they were misguided in their understanding of what that meant."
Jenny wondered if she knew about Project Insight, and how deep that misguided understanding went.
The car pulled to the side of the road next to a park. It was sunny and warm, and the trees were the brightest green Jenny had ever seen.
"Come, let me show you the good spots the city has to offer."
Jenny stepped out of the car, her legs shaking. She hadn't expected this. And she still had the press conference this afternoon.
The Secret Service surrounded them like a semi-circle, though far enough away that they couldn't hear. Behind them, the Winter Soldier stood like a statue, his hands clasped. And Max next to him, reading a newspaper.
President Tarkov draped her blazer over an iron fence, and Jenny leaned with her, having absolutely nothing to say. An awful rock in her stomach had formed, and yet she felt relief that someone knew. To not have to hide for one person was an unbelievable relief.
"I didn't mean to frighten you," said President Tarkov. Her voice got lower. "I only bring it up because I fear you have a wolf in the fold."
"What do you mean?" asked Jenny.
She nodded in the direction of the Winter Soldier. Jenny's eyes landed on him. He was staring straight at her.
"Do you think he's Hydra?" Jenny whispered.
President Tarkov didn't get the chance to answer. Several gunshots rang out, and before Jenny even had time to react, the secret service men dropped to the ground dead. Jenny saw flashes of orange and white. The two women were rushed out of nowhere. Four people in orange and black clothing and white masks.
Jenny's training took over and she punched one in the face. She kicked another in the knee. They both fell over the bodies of the secret service agents and struggled back to their feet.
One grabbed her arm, as she went to hit him.
Suddenly, the Winter Soldier was next to her.
She could hear the whirring in his metal arm as he took the wrist that held her. She heard a snap, and the man yelped, and let go. She lifted her heel and kicked the man in the chest. The Winter Soldier seized one of their guns, pushing it up and back into the person's face, and knocked them to the ground. Someone hit her in the shoulder, and she shoved them into the Winter Soldier's waiting fist. He deflected two bullets off his metal arm, and pushed her back into the fence, covering her.
A body slumped at her feet, and she looked down.
"Oh no… no, no, no, no…"
President Tarkov laid on the sidewalk, her eyes wide and searching.
"No please…" Jenny pulled her into her lap as the Winter Soldier continued to fight off the four radicals above them. Police sirens sounded from far away drawing closer.
"Madam President, Juula, please!" Jenny pressed her hand against the gunshot wound in her shoulder but noticed that she was bleeding from her side too.
The wounded woman took a ragged breath. "It's them. They're back." Her eyes turned glassy, and still.
"No! No! Wake up, please!" Jenny held President Tarkov's head to her stomach. She rocked her back and forth as the air got colder around them. She was only barely aware that the men had run off, and the Winter Soldier was gone.
She didn't know how long she stayed like that. Then someone came and helped lay the President down on the sidewalk, as paramedics rushed to her side.
Jenny could barely feel the concrete under her feet. Everything else was a blur. People running from all parts of the City. A crowd had already gathered, and people were screaming and crying. The police had caught two of the orange and black suited people, the rest had disappeared.
Her arms were being held by two firm hands from behind as they guided her to a quieter end of the sidewalk. She realized they were the Winter Soldiers'. She tried to wiggle out of his grip but gave up. She'd learned in her self-defense classes that fighting alongside someone bonded you. But she didn't want to be bonded to him. He was the last person on earth she wanted that with.
"Come on," said the Winter Soldier gently.
"Please, let me go," she said.
He obliged, and she doubled over and retched. He held her arms again, helping her kneel on the concrete next to the park. "I knew this was a bad idea," he said to himself.
She gathered her wits, her head still swimming. "This… this was you. You did this."
"What?"
"You… the Winter Soldier. You planned this." She tried to stand, but she was still woozy.
"I don't go by that name anymore," he said. His voice was a stern warning.
"You had your Hydra cronies do this." She managed to haul herself to her feet and put her index finger on his leather clad chest. "She said they were "back".
"I don't work for Hydra anymore. And those weren't Hydra agents. They weren't even Flag Smashers. I would know. I've fought both."
"Why should I believe you? You're an assassin, you should be behind bars." Her anger burned in her. For Juula, for Estonia.
"And you're a spoiled trust fund princess who sneaks into people's rooms at night."
Jenny stepped back. She was sure he didn't know. "You don't know anything about me," she said.
"And vice versa."
"I was trying to find your dirt."
"It doesn't take much to dig it up. But that's not the real me."
She was suddenly so tired. So very weary. As she put her hand up to her head all she saw was red. She was covered in it. "The press conference. I have to… I need…" She burst into tears on the sidewalk, the weight of what she'd just witnessed hitting her full force. She buried her head in her elbow. Juula, her new friend. The leader of this country and the only person who knew her secret. Gone.
She felt him shift toward her, but he held off. "The press conference is cancelled. I need to get you off this sidewalk."
She wiped her eyes, smearing her diplomatic makeup. "Who were they if they weren't Hydra?"
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out. Come on."
He took her elbow. She didn't fight him, just let him lead her to the car.
"Get your hand off her," said a voice next to them. Max grabbed the Winter Soldiers arm. Quickly he caught Max's hand as he twisted his arm pushing it up and back.
"Don't ever touch me again. Where have you been?"
Max gathered himself and brushed his suit. "I chased down those two Flag Smashers that got away, no thanks to you."
"They weren't Flag Smashers." The Winter Soldier helped Jenny into the car.
"I'm coming with you," said Max trying to climb in behind them.
"Not on your life pal." He closed the door behind him and they were off.
Jenny shifted in her seat staring at the blood on her hands. "You could have been nicer," she said. The familiar discomfort at being alone with him wasn't there. She guessed that she might be in shock.
"Like the way you two have been so nice."
She felt shame at his words. "So... where are we going?"
"Police station. They'll want your statement. Then I'm taking you back to the hotel."
She tried to stop the shaking in her hands. She couldn't escape the red of the blood covering them and soaked into her clothes.
Something white was being held out to her. He'd taken out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her so she could wipe her hands.
His eyes were softer than she remembered. A pleasant shade of sky blue.
"Thank you," she said.
"No problem."
"I'm sorry if I haven't been kind."
"Nothing I haven't dealt with before." He looked out the window.
They were silent all the way to the police station.