Author's Note: I know this is a long chapter, but there was no good way to break up these scenes. I hope that it will have you on the edge of your seat while finally having a partial resolution to our heroes' plights.

Hydra Base
A Short Time Later

Teagan felt herself waking up once again wondering where she was this time, in her cell or in the training room. She had been dreaming…her and Sam were at the beach… but anything before then was a bit of a blur. All she wanted was to get back to the wonderful dreams…the only place Sam now waited for her.

Feeling a slight burning sensation on the side of her face that painfully hurt for some reason, it reminded her of the many times that Keeling had punched her. Had he done so again? He usually only punched her that had as a punishment when she'd really made him mad.

But what could she have done to earn a punishment? She had to remember what had happened. Concentrating, she slowly began to recall earlier...

They had taken her to the training room again. She had been strung up like normal. The guard had then gone away. Then had come the hands…Keeling's hands. Holding her, hitting her, touching her, pulling her scraps of fabric out of the way so that he could violate her…

That was when she…

Kicked Keeling.

No!

Oh, God, she had broken the rule!

Screaming out, she still heard nothing. But nobody was touching her. Was Keeling gone? How long had she been unconscious?

Taking stock of her body, she patted her bare feet onto the concrete floor under her.

Her feet! That meant that he hadn't cut them off yet!

Years ago, after the very first time he had raped her, she had struck out at him in anger at what he had done. She had managed to kick him in the very leg where the shrapnel had injured him, causing him even more pain. He had beaten her that time, almost managing to knock her unconscious but he knew how to prolong her suffering while keeping her awake.

As she had hung there, gagged and bloodied, he had informed her of the new rule: Kick him ever again and her feet would be cut off at the ankles. He pointed out that they could move her between bases just as easily in a wheelchair while strapped down as they could with her walking while bound.

From that point forward, knowing that he honestly meant the threat, she had never again attempted to kick at him. But after so long and knowing what Keeling had been about to do to her, she had not been thinking clearly. All that she could think of was to fight him, just like she had been doing. Knowing that is what Sam would have wanted her to do.

What had she done?

Gotten herself into trouble for nothing. She was never leaving here again. And it seemed that no matter what she did, Keeling was not going to kill her.

Now, any bravery that she'd had earlier was gone. She had taken her fighting too far and she was about to pay the price for doing so.

How long had he kept her here? There had been so many tortures and dreams that she knew a very long time had passed. Dreams like the ones where people fought back against those who tried to hurt others, as Sam used to do before becoming safe from harm…she hated using that other word. And she wanted to be one of them.

Free, where nobody could hurt her again.

The last dream she'd had, based on her memories of Sam, had been just that. It had been so wonderful to see the sky once again, to feel the rain on her skin, to have someone hold her.

So when she had woken up from it, for some damn reason, she had decided to fight back against Keeling. And when he had begun to touch her, knowing he would rape her once again, it had been so easy to fight back.

Why the hell had she done that? All because of a figment who came to her in numerous dreams? Why had her mind continued to torment her with Sam, someone who encouraged her to fight? He was gone and she was all alone now. She should have just given up long ago. There was no way Keeling would kill her. He wanted to use her just like he had, to gain status inside of Hydra. She could have saved herself from so much torture if she had just agreed to work for him again. The tears welled up in her darkened eyes as she berated herself for her foolish, useless bravery.

She was still crying a long while later when the sudden blast of water hit her. The stinging of the cold liquid on her skin was more from the cut marks she knew had to exist from the whippings done to her.

Trying to turn away from the cold deluge, she knew that something bad was coming. There were only a few reasons that Keeling would ever have her cleaned up. This time she was sure that it was so she could be taken to medical. The only other option would be traveling to another base but she knew that was definitely not the case right now. Not when she refused to obey him.

And she had made him angry.

Once the water turned off, she stood there waiting to see what happened to her next. It wasn't long before she felt the cloth touch her bare skin. He was having her re-dressed. He only did that when she was leaving the cell and not being taken to the training room. Did that mean that he was actually going to have her taken up to medical? Would he really go through with a threat from years ago?

She had worn this type of garment numerous times. Keeling had it made so that it could be put on her without her arms being removed from the restraints until he was ready to do so. It wrapped around her and had two shoulder straps that snapped into place behind her, while the back tied secure like an apron. The hem barely reached down to her knees and it was made of a scratchy material because of course he wouldn't give her the slightest comfort.

When the hands finished pressing the grommets into place to hold the outfit up, she was once again left wondering what was happening. Then she felt the feeding tube in her nose being pulled out as it was being removed. The burning sensation it left in her nostril made it hard to breathe. Wouldn't they need that if they were performing an operation on her? More minutes of nothingness passed as she waited for the new round of torture to begin.

Suddenly, pressure on the sides of her head told her that someone was messing with the hood that was keeping her in the dark. She could only hope that they were finally removing it. But instead of her vision returning, she realized that she was able to hear sounds once again. Whatever had been keeping her from hearing was finally gone. Keeling had not done something to damage her ears, only temporarily stopped her hearing. Since returning to this base, she had just assumed that her ears had been damaged during her capture, making her deaf. She'd not considered that Keeling had used something on the hood to do that to her.

Footsteps with an accompanying tapping sound began to circle around her. The shuffling of the heavy feet with the irregular gait told her instantly that Keeling was in her cell. It had been so long since she'd heard him walking but it brought back all of the terrifying memories that would accompany his presence.

"You broke the rule."

Her breath hitched in her chest as her heart began to pound so furiously that she though it would explode. He remembered the rule! He was going to cut her feet off!

She began to beg for forgiveness from behind the gag, knowing that even with the muffled words that he would understand what she was doing.

"Don't bother begging."

Her throat tightened as her eyes were once again watering. What had she done? There was no way to stop the sobbing which began to rack her body. Not an ounce of bravery still remained in her. Shaking her head, she pleaded again with him, hoping that this one time he would show some form of mercy to her.

"Do you remember the punishment for kicking me? I hope so since I don't repeat myself."

There was nothing to do but nod that she in fact did.

"Then why did you break the rule?"

There was no answer to give, even if the gag hadn't been in her mouth, so she just lowered and shook her head.

"I had a guard all ready to head to medical to inform them to prepare for the procedure…"

She brought her lower legs together, twisting them so they seemed as small as possible.

Too long of moments began to pass in silence.

"But then an opportunity presented itself to me."

What did he mean? Had he decided on another way to punish her?

"You are to be given this one chance to compensate for the suffering that you inflicted on me."

She found his use of the terminology for a simple kick compared to all that he had done to her hilarious but she knew better than to laugh aloud this time.

"I am done with coddling you through this defiant streak of yours," she could hear the tapping of his cane as he circled her. These tortures were coddling? "It is time for you to do as you are commanded, without hesitation, and with perfect obedience."

His footsteps stopped directly in front of her.

"Waiting in the interrogation room is another prisoner. You will be brought before him to use your powers on. At that time, I will instruct you to read the exact command that has been prepared to use on him. You have this one chance to do as I order, or a more severe, permanent repercussion will be faced."

He then tapped the side of her leg near her ankle so that she understood his implication. Did that mean that he was not going to send her straight to medical for kicking him? All she had to do was test the loyalty of some Hydra agent or find out some secret from this person? To keep her body in tact, she would gratefully comply.

Then came a sudden idea to her.

This might actually give her a way out of all of this…permanently.

If he followed the same protocol as before, they would have the agent strapped down with the gun in his hand. She would easily be able to tell him to shoot her in the head. There would not be enough time for Keeling to stop her from doing so.

"One chance to obey. Do you understand?"

She began to furiously nod in agreement. This was her chance to be free of Keeling and Hydra.

Her mind flashed back to the memory of when she had told Sam about how she had figured out a way to end her life. There had been the most beautiful sunset as he had held her in his arms. And now, she would be able to take that last step and join him there again.

Would Sam be mad at her for giving up so easily, or would he understand that she just couldn't live under Keeling's thumb again? It was either that or face more countless years at the hands of this madman. Hydra had her once again and she knew that no simple twist of fate would remove her from this captivity again. She was here until she died.

She just intended to make it happen today.

The tapping sound and shuffling of feet began to fade as numerous hands began to release her arms from inside of the metal restraint. They had been up behind her back for so long that she no longer had any feeling in them. Once the blood had a chance to begin circulating they would become intensely painful. That was what used to happen. Teagan also knew that from all the clawing at the device that she was missing a couple of fingernails. Would her fingers start to throb once the blood rushed to them?

But once her arms were hanging down, she noticed that neither her shoulders or arms were in any type of pain. She had been trying to brace herself for the stinging pain, which as moments dragged on, did not seem were going to happen. Flexing her fingers and arms, there was not a trace of pain. Did it have something to do with the injections from back in Wakanda? That was the only thing that she could think of.

Her wrists had been bound in front of her in what she guessed were handcuffs by the ratcheting sound they made. Except for the simple outfit, they were the only things on her body as she was led from her cell. Even with her legs being weak from not having enough energy, she made her best effort to walk on her own as much as she could.

After knowing what had almost happened to her, there was no way she was going to upset Keeling any more.

She had to obey him until that gun went off.

Walking down the hallway, the familiar count of the number of steps told her that they were outside of the interrogation room. Hearing the squeak from the hinge was almost comforting considering it could have been the elevator's beep to take her to medical.

A couple of steps inside, she was roughly pushed down to sit in the uncomfortable chair that she knew too well. The cuffs were released so that she could be positioned across the small table from the other prisoner. She could hear a strange noise, as if he was struggling against his own restraints. There was a muffled noise as if he were also gagged while complaining of the situation, maybe begging for release. But she knew after so many times that it was pointless to do so.

Her left arm was placed upon the metal arm of the chair so that the leather straps could be secured around her wrist and upper arm. Another strap went around her neck, preventing her from moving her head too much so that she couldn't break eye contact during interrogations. Her legs were also secured at her ankles so that she couldn't kick the prisoner from under the table.

It was her right arm that told her the other prisoner was not there willingly, not that they usually were. As it was laid across the table, two straps on her lower arm were secured, but not before she had her hand wrapped around the prisoner's forearm. The wrist-strap net was made so that it ran across the back of her hand to the other side of his arm so that it held her hand down atop of his. It was secured to the table so that she couldn't break skin contact even if she wanted to. She knew that he was restrained in the chair across from her in a very similar position. They always were.

"In front of you is the prisoner. On the note card lying on the table is the exact instructions that you will command for him to obey. There will be permanent repercussions for disobeying me," Keeling calmly stated as she heard him moving behind her. She almost wanted to point out that he had just repeated himself, but then she considered that if he had there must be a reason.

Feeling him touching the back of her neck, she began to realize that he was removing the hood. He was not going to take the chance that just removing the gag or blindfold would hinder her speech or gaze. The next minutes as she felt his fingers working on loosening it from around her face were some of the longest she felt in a while.

Just knowing that the darkness was leaving was almost worth letting Keeling think that she was going to obey him.

Finally the item was pulled from off of her, and she heard the items land on the table nearby. Even with her eyes closed she could see the brightness that had been kept from her. Slowly she opened her eyes to find that her vision was blurry and wincing at the brightness surrounding her.

Across from her was a prisoner in an orange jumpsuit, the kind that Keeling usually had them wear. His arms were strapped down just like she was, trapping him here too. But over his head was a black bag, keeping her from seeing his actual identity just yet. Glancing down, she saw her hand lying atop his skin…his dark skin.

Something horrible nudged at the back of her mind.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Keeling asked her so she looked over at where he stood off to the left of the other prisoner.

Blinking her eyes numerous times, she tried to get them to focus on the blurry image of his hand, but all she could do was shake her head.

"I'm not sure, maybe two," she responded while trying to focus on his fingers, hoping that he didn't punish her if she got it wrong. Her voice almost hurt after being used for the first time in so long. Her mouth was parched but there was no way she would ask for water. It shouldn't matter anyways in a little while.

That was when she noticed that the prisoner's other arm looked to be secured to the chair. If it was, then he was not going to be given a gun like she had hoped.

Glancing around the room, she saw that the three of them were alone, no other guards were there. Keeling glared at her but nodded in understanding.

"I suspected as much with the hood having been left on for so long. So instead, let's use this time to give the two of you a chance to have a talk," he informed her.

Reaching over, the black bag was quickly pulled up to reveal the prisoner's face…

It was a familiar sight, but it was in the wrong place. She knew that it should not be at this base. Only safe in her dreams is where he should be, but now…

Sam was staring across the table at her!

Sam's eyes filled with happiness at seeing her, but across his mouth was a gag, preventing him from talking or giving any type of warning as to who he had been with the hood.

All of the muscles in her body eased for the first time since coming back here at just seeing Sam's face and knowing that he was alive. Sam was here and alive. She had been so sure that Hydra had killed him…so long ago. Over and over during her waking hours all that she could see was him falling, lying broken on the ground as his body became an empty husk. Then those thoughts mixed with her dreams of him, knowing he was safe from ever being hurt again.

He was alive…

Sam's eyes were warm, tears forming at the edges at seeing her.

And Teagan physically felt the only light left in her soul begin to brighten before it started to shatter.

The dream world where Sam was safe from Keeling began to crash down into this horrible reality.

Here Sam was, alive…sitting right in front of her…bound to the table…with Keeling standing next to him…inside of the Hydra base…

Her mind was racing, trying to force her to accept that Sam being here alive was not a good thing.

Sam was Hydra's prisoner! Sam needed to not be here! He was not safe at all!

That was when all of her muscles began to contract, her entire body stiffening up as she began to violently shake.

Closing her eyes and trying to throw her head back, the horrible cry that was ripped from her lips echoed in the small concrete room.

This was more than she could take. If it had only been more punishments, more rapes, more darkness, that she could handle by just letting her mind fade away again.

But seeing Sam here…alive…not safe…Keeling's prisoner…

"Sam! No! You can't be here!" she wailed as she began to burn with anger while her mind filled with fears as to what was next.

Sam could almost feel a physical pain inside of him at Teagan's cry of anguish at seeing him alive. There had been a joyful expression at first seeing him, of knowing that he had actually survived the fall. Then he could tell that her mind actually worked out that he was a prisoner here, just like she was.

Glancing over the exposed skin of her body, Sam could see numerous indications that her time under Keeling's possession had not been the same as his. Unlike him having being ignored, he could see that Keeling had taken numerous steps to try and break Teagan into doing his bidding once again.

Her face bore the marks of the beatings that had Keeling had inflicted on her. Both of her cheeks showed faint tints to healing bruises, but her left cheek showed a fresh redness that told Sam Teagan had been recently hit. Maybe just before being brought into here.

From her shoulders down to behind the cloth of the covering she wore, there were rainbow colored bruising ranging from faint yellow to deep purple and blue which told him that some were old while others looked to have just recently happened. Every so often, Sam could also see thin cut marks, some fresh, some healed. His mind instantly thought of what marks a whip of some kind would leave on a body.

There were numerous small red patches over partially exposed chest area. He couldn't even guess as to what had made them but he was sure they were from the silent torture that made her screams echo the halls.

Glancing down his stomach lurched as he saw that she was missing three fingernails just from only her right hand. There was dried blood over her hands and running streaks over her arms. Knowing how Keeling had her bound, Sam hated to consider that Teagan had probably done that injury to herself. She had been clawing at the arm restraint the entire time they had been here.

Sam was almost sure now that if given the chance, that the entirety of Teagan's body would show the cruelty of tortures heaped onto her. There was no telling what else that bastard had done to her during the time they had been apart.

What other despicable abuses had he subjected her to?

Keeling's maniacal taunting voice pulled her mind back from the scream of pain that had consumed her.

Sam was not safe!

"I would have thought you would be happy to learn that your boyfriend survived the fall," Keeling began to circle the table, the walking stick in his hand tapping on the floor. "All this time you had suspected him to be dead, just like his friends are. You should be thanking me for keeping him alive."

"Sam! You have to get out of here!" she began to struggle in her chair, pulling at the straps holding her captive.

That was when Sam's eyes caught her as he began to calmly shake his head. What did that mean…no? He didn't want to get out of here? No…he couldn't get out of here! She knew that. If Keeling could keep her here when she had powers, then there was no chance for Sam to get to safety. He was stuck her under Keeling's control just like she was. And he had been for so long without her even knowing.

All this time, she had thought him safe in death, while instead he was just another prisoner of Keeling.

"Sam, you have to leave! You can't be here!"

"But he is here," Keeling had made almost a full circle around the table and them.

Her chest was becoming too tight, even without knowing what was coming.

"No, no. You can't be here, only me, only me," her voice cracked as she pleaded with him, her eyes began to burn. "You have to get out of here. You have to be safe."

"There's nowhere he can go…at least not until you use your powers on him."

That comment was the only thing that could draw her eyes from Sam to Keeling. There was a smugness in his glare that she had seen only a couple of times, when he knew that he had won at something. What did he mean about her using her powers on Sam? She would never do that.

"Once you have turned him into a loyal Hydra subject, he will be welcomed into our ranks with open arms."

Hearing that abhorrent sentence being spoken by Keeling drained all of her blood, leaving her body frozen in a cold state.

Turn Sam into Hydra? There was no way in bloody fecking hell that she would ever do that!

Her head finally began to slowly move, shaking in disagreement at what he was requesting of her.

Finding the note card lying on the table where she could see it, Teagan glanced over the words while not really reading them. Loyalty to Hydra…follow only Keeling's orders…never try to leave.

Looking over at where Keeling was standing, his expression told her that he knew that he would win this.

"Hell no! I won't do that to him, you bloody bollix! Don't ya' fecking ask that of me," she angrily spit out as tears began to fill her eyes once again. For so long she had been crying that she couldn't believe that she had any more to shed.

Reaching across the table with his cane, Keeling placed the metal Hydra tip under her chin and forced her head up so that she faced him. There was an anger beginning to boil in him, one that told her that she would pay for her words later on with more pain.

Keeling stood glaring down at her, "I don't think you understand the severity of the situation that you find yourselves in. You either do as I command, or everything I have done to you so far will be nothing compared to what you will experience next."

He jabbed the tip into her throat before returning it to his side as he again began to circle them.

She could see the hurt in Sam's eyes, hearing that she would be tortured even more, and knowing that he would want her safe. No matter the cost.

Sam slowly began to nod his head in agreement. From behind the muffling gag, she could barely make out his words of, "Do it." He was telling her to do as Keeling commanded, to turn him into Hydra to save herself. He didn't blame her for what Keeling wanted her to do. He could see some of what had been done to her, the tortures she'd endured since being returned to here.

"But you will hurt me," she then angrily pointed out to Keeling. "The minute Sam is Hydra, you are going to lock me back up in that cell again. You are going to abuse me and rape me, just like you always did. My obedience to you will not stop a single act of torture from being performed on me. I'll not hurt or lose Sam just to stop that from happening."

"I think that it would be in everyone's best interest if you reconsider your words and decide to obey me," Keeling's menacing, cold voice

Closing her eyes, she felt the tears begin to run down her cheeks. She would keep Sam safe at any cost. Even if it meant more tortures for her.

"Never!"

"Such a shame," Keeling's voice broke a part of her before she saw him moving from the corner of her vision to stand next to Sam. Glancing at him, she watched in horror as he pulled a gun from his coat's pocket. "You had one chance and you've wasted it."

With that, Keeling lifted the weapon so that it was pressed against Sam's temple so hard that his head leaned to the side. His neck was secured to the bar of the high back chair so that there was no way for him to dodge the bullet.

Now she understood what Keeling had meant be repercussions. They weren't for her, they were for Sam!

If she didn't agree to turn Sam into a Hydra agent, then not only would she truly loose him, but it would be her fault!

A few seconds passed by as the three of all held their breaths, waiting to see who between the two of them was going to flinch first.

It was Keeling who finally had enough.

Forming a sadistic smile that ran a chill down her spine, he simply said, "Too bad," as his thumb pulled back on the hammer to lock it into place.

Hearing the click, Sam squeezed his own eyes shut, knowing he was about to die.

No! She couldn't lose him, not again! Not like this! She had to make Sam safe!

Every muscle tensed up at the anger of Keeling threatening Sam and her not being able to do a thing about it. Her entire body then felt a warm surge of power sweep through it. A burning to her very core.

All that she knew was that Sam had to be made safe and for that to happen that she needed to make Keeling…

"STOP!" she put the full might and conviction of her entire soul into the screaming of that single word at Keeling who was maliciously scrutinizing her.

Heartbeats began to pass without Keeling taking the final action of pulling the trigger. As she sat there with her gaze locked on Keeling's, his eyes began to grow wider and wider.

Something troubled him. He became ashen, scared from the simple word.

Finally Keeling spoke to her, his voice full of a fear that she had never heard before from anyone, saying, "What have you done to me?"

Her gasps for air were deep and loud as she glared daggers at the man still holding the gun to Sam's head. She had felt the familiarity of her powers from inside coming to the surface once again. But there was some kind of change in it that she could feel, just like the last time her powers had evolved. It took her a couple of moments to think about what had just happened before she realized the truth of the situation.

Even without touching Keeling, and only using her glare and voice, he was now under her command.

He had to obey her. The simple command of 'stop' and forced his body to become immobile.

Teagan gave a sigh of relief as she knew that she could now make Sam safe.

"Remove the gun from his head," she resolutely commanded him, her eyes never leaving his.

Keeling's arm calmly went back to rest at his side, the gun now pointed to the floor.

"How are you doing this?" his voice was growing angry.

"Do not speak again," she told him. Keeling's open mouth snapped shut before he could utter his next word. "Do not look away from me. Put the gun on the table, remove the gag from Sam's mouth, and then release him from the chair."

She heard his cane hit the floor to free up his hands to do her bidding.

"Teagan, what…how…?" Sam's voice was filled with curiosity at the strange occurrence once he could speak.

But as Keeling began to remove the straps, Sam realized that this was his chance. With one hand now begin free, he began to remove the strap holding her hand atop of his. The moment he was free, Sam ran around the table and started removing the straps holding her there.

"Go stand against the wall. Do not move from that spot," she told Keeling and he instantly obeyed, his eyes wide with fear. How she liked seeing it there…

"Teagan, we need to get out of here," Sam told her as he helped her to stand up.

Finally taking a moment to look over at him, she felt her entire body want to collapse into his. Sam must had felt it too as his arms pulled her tightly to his chest. Eventually, his lips managed to find hers as they kissed, not caring that Keeling was angrily glaring at them.

"You're alive," she then realized her thoughts were jumbled with questions.

"Thanks to you," he said smiling at her.

"No…I mean, I saw you fall. All this time, I thought you had died."

Sam smiled at her as he shook his head.

"I was in the cell down that other hall from you this entire time. I kept yelling for you, but Keeling told me just before you were brought in that that damn hood prevented you from hearing me. That's why he gagged me, so we could not communicate."

"Did Steve and Natasha make it out of the base?" she had to know.

A sadness crept over his face, "I don't know. But they are resourceful. If anyone could survive an avalanche of stone, it would be the two of them. Teagan, we need to get out of here. Do you think that you can help us do that?"

"Maybe," she told him hating the feeling of moving away from him as she stepped closer to where Keeling was frozen in place. Focusing her attention, she commanded, "Tell me what you believe has happened to me."

"Your powers are a manifestation of a type of self-preservation. I managed to years ago to manipulate them to evolve even more. I believe that they have just evolved even further than we ever believed they could."

"So she no longer has to touch someone to command them, only look at them?" Sam asked from right behind her, but he didn't respond. Keeling didn't have to with Sam, only her.

"If you had any idea that this would happen, you never would have pushed me the way that you did, would you?" she asked him.

"Never. I needed to be able to absolutely dominate you."

"You sick bastard," Sam mumbled at him.

"How many guards are currently on this level?" she asked him.

"Today there are six with the interrogation happening. All of them wearing the standard full-coverage gear."

"We need them to at least remove their hoods so you can see their eyes, then you can use them to help get us out of here," Sam told her.

"Do they know what I was supposed to be doing to Sam?"

"Yes. They expect him to be Hydra when he leaves this room."

Sam took her hand into his, pulling her a few feet away from Keeling.

"We can use that against them. Keeling and I will send them in here without their hoods, one at a time and you can turn them to our side," he pointed out.

"And after that?" she asked hoping for more of a plan.

Sam shrugged his shoulders as he told her, "We step in the elevator and ride it up. Once we reach the surface, we find a pilot and have him fly us the hell out of here."

Turning her head, Teagan looked over at Keeling still waiting for another order from her. She wanted out of this hateful place just as much as Sam did, but there was no way that she could just leave here. Not knowing that Keeling and the other Hydra agents here would not pay for what they had done to her…especially the one currently before her.

Teagan needed to know that at least Sam was safe, then she could deal with the others. She would take this base down from the inside out. But she wouldn't risk his life with what she was about to do. Instead of disagreeing, she simply nodded her head. Sam would know soon enough what she truly intended to do to this place. She took a couple of steps towards Keeling.

"From this point forward, you will never try to harm either of us again. You will not say or act different in any way that will alert anyone else that you are being controlled. Go out and bring one of the guards unhooded back in with you," she commanded him.

Keeling instantly began to move, picking up his cane which he was now always with. Stepping out of the door, Sam stood just inside so that he could hear what was going on in the hallway. Seconds later, he moved back so that when the guard entered, he seemed to be casually standing. But he knew something was wrong when he turned his exposed head to see her also free.

"Freeze," she simply told him before he could call out. "Go stand silently against that wall."

He casually walked to where she had been pointing.

"Go get another one," she told Keeling.

With a final trip, they had all of this level's guards lined up on the wall, all of them now under her power. She gave the same order for them to only obey her or Sam, to be loyal followers of theirs and not Hydra, and to protect them with their lives.

"Teagan, that's not necessary," Sam told her when she was done, but she knew better.

"If we want to get out of here, yes, it is."

Sam looked a bit flustered, but he then turned to Keeling.

"Tell us how to get to a landing platform and find a pilot," he asked.

Since his orders now included obeying Sam, he told them.

They learned that they were eight levels underground, the second from the bottom. Medical was three levels above them. The hanger area where planes were stored was directly atop their location. The base itself was located on the south side of West Virginia, less than an hour down back roads from the nearest interstate highway. They were also less than six hours outside of Washington, DC, where Teagan had originally been found by Ross.

"We are that close to Washington," Sam mused. He then asked Keeling, "Is that why you were moving Teagan by truck during Project Insight? Because you were so close it was easier than flying her here?"

"No," Keeling's eyes narrowed in her direction. "I had the option of having her fly with me but chose something more unpleasant. The idea of her being painfully chained up for the long drive was more sexually arousing."

Hearing that, Sam didn't hold back his anger anymore. He took a hard swing at Keeling's gut, doubling him over as he coughed and tried to catch his breath.

"You sick bastard," Sam angrily ground out as Keeling eventually righted himself.

Seeing him in pain from the punch improved her spirits some, and told Teagan that her forming idea would feel even better.

"How many are usually at this base?" she asked him.

"Less than a hundred fifty."

"Is there a way to lock down this base to keep them on their levels?"

"Yes, but only the base commander, Henry Bradshaw, can do that."

"Then we need to get him down here," she continued to work up a plan in her head.

"No, Teagan, we don't," Sam said from next to her, his hand taking a hold of her upper arm. "We need to get you out of here, now."

There it was in his voice. He really did care for her, probably just as much as she did for him.

But she clearly felt the new broken cracks on her inside of her mind. Thanks to Keeling, she had just spent so long in the dark, thinking that Sam was dead, that she had lost him. It had taken her to a very dark place…one that she wanted to be in right now.

One that would help her make him and every other loyal Hydra person in the base suffer for what they had done to Sam and to her.

Placing her hand on Sam's neck, she pulled him in for a hard kiss, needing to feel his lips on her just one more time. When this was finally over, if she survived, there was no way that he would ever understand or forgive her for what she was about to do.

Teagan needed this one final moment before she lost him again.

Breaking apart while shaking her head, she knew that he needed to be safe for her to go through with her revenge. With what she was planning to do to every evil person on this base…Hydra would pay with all of their lives to keep Sam safe. He didn't need to have that kind of blood in his hands.

She, however, her soul was already dammed.

Taking a couple of paces away from him, she put just enough room between them so he couldn't stop her.

"No, you are the one that needs to leave," she told him. Turning to two of the guards, she instructed them, "You are to escort Sam all the way up to the hanger bay. Let nobody stop you. Protect him with your life. Kill anyone that tries to harm him. Take him somewhere safe nearby until he can find help. Give him anything that he request, but do not let him re-enter this base."

"Teagan, what are you doing? What are you saying?" he barely managed to grab a hold of her arm, turning her to face him. That was when he saw the tears in her eyes. He then knew. "Don't do this. Please, come with me!"

But having been given a command, the two guards grabbed a hold of Sam's upper arms and started to drag him from the interrogation room to out in the hallway.

As he was forcefully dragged through the hallway towards the elevator, she tried to drown out the sound of him pleading with her to come with him.

But all she could do was stare at Keeling, her hate for him overriding her love for Sam.

Finally his voice was halted by the elevator doors shutting as it took Sam upwards to safety.

Wiping away the tears, Teagan made her voice become harsh as she scrutinized Keeling.

"I told you that one day I would kill you. And I'm sure that right now you are thinking that today is that day," she told him with her own malicious smile. "But as you said, an opportunity presented itself to me. One that I know you will not enjoy."

Another command to him had the small group moving to Keeling's office and him typing away on his computer to make sure that Sam survived.

Second Author's Note: There were some comments about wanting Steve and Nat to rescue them, but since I first thought of this story, I liked the idea of evolving Teagan's powers once again to where she was able to help free them. With her love for Sam, and seeing his life so threatened, I knew that it could easily be the catalyst for this to happen.

As for the next part of the story, she will be using her power to finally get the revenge she has been craving for the past (roughly) 14 years. There will be a twisted, possibly disturbing, way that Teagan will accomplish this. I hope that your sense of justice falls in line with me, eye for an eye, so that you appreciate what happens to Keeling. See you next Monday for the next upload.