I Will Always Find You

By Sara Lady Dalian

Interlude 2 – HYDRA Compound Canadian Rockies – 1971

The sounds of heavy boots echoed on the concrete corridors leading deep into the mountain, echoed by a scuffling drag. Heavy doors slid shut behind the boots, too heavy to slam shut, but still definite in their intention to keep out those who didn't belong. Dull yellow lights line the corridor, barely enough to see by. But the boots and drag don't seem to be bothered by the low light. They continue on, into the mountain, until they reach another heavy door that slides open as they approach.

Guns are suddenly pointed at the men coming in through the door. The two men being dragged through the mountain are thrown across the room and into the back wall. Heedless of the many deadly guns pointed at him, the soldier stalks his whimpering prey. "You stupid bastards! Just had to be the big men didn't you?" He picks one of them up and shakes until he screams. "Got what you needed, huh? Was fucking up the mission worth it?" His grey eyes seemed to freeze over as he pinned one man to the wall with his metal hand and the other to the concrete floor with a boot to the trachea.

Behind the three, guns cocked and footsteps moved closer. "If I didn't think killing you would cause more trouble, I'd have left your bodies to rot." The Asset, the Soldier, Soldat, squeezed both men almost to the brink of death and insanity before a new sound, a different kind of shoes, were heard behind them. Guns were put at parade rest and guards stood down.

"Let them up, Soldier." Arm and boot released their prisoners and men breathed in air that they had given up hope for. "Mission report! Start with these two."

Soldat turned to face the voice. Controllers tended to be more permanent than handlers, but this one was fairly new. Long, wild hair and loose skin, he looked antiquated, but Soldat knew that he was, in fact, mean as a boar hog and strong enough to take down several guards himself. His voice was rough and direct, expecting order and obedience.

"The warehouse was secured as planned. We observed the target's location and determined that the best time to take out the target would be in the early evening. These two left the location to secure sustenance and came back with a young girl they had kidnapped with the purpose of using her for sex." The Asset saw the Controllers face harden at the mention of procedure violations. "The girl was more troublesome than they expected. She put them on their backs, knocked them out and tied them up. She had not noticed the Asset until afterward." He looked at the Controller to see if more questions would be asked. "At 1836 the target left the building and the mission was completed. Asset moved the downed handlers to the prearranged extraction location. Extraction was efficient and these two regained consciousness during the flight."

The controller walked around the Asset to look at the two agents rubbing the various damaged parts of their body. "He asked you if it was worth it. I think that's a fair question. You endangered a very important mission to get your dicks wet and got your ass handed to you instead." The Controller looked them over before continuing. "If you couldn't handle a little girl, then you have no business being on this team." He looked back at the Asset. "Report to the lab once the garbage is taken out." And with that, the controller walked out of the room, the guards with him.

The Asset turned and with two precise pulls on his pistol had completed the orders that he had thoroughly enjoyed.

The walk to the lab was silent. The Asset could see people scurry away from him, afraid to meet his eyes. It was always like this after a mission, as if people were afraid of the work he did. A few corridors over he turned into a room he sometimes used between missions if he wasn't going to be in the chair or cryo. It was only a simple bed and hygiene station. After washing his hands and face, he sat on the bed and remembered all that he hadn't told the Controller.

The girl that had been found was familiar, black hair pulled back and vibrant eyes. Asset found her movements familiar as if he could see how she would move. When she had turned and seen him at the window, she wasn't shocked or frightened. She smiled at him before picking up the food that the now destroyed handlers had brought. She had sat at the window, back against the wall, and watched him watch the building opposite the window. His mind had painted a glow around her, something vaguely familiar and comforting. He ate the food that she handed him but kept his attention on his target. After she was finished, she sat quietly with him for several hours until it was almost time for his target to appear.

He had turned to her and said quietly, "It's time for you to go, Alianna." Somehow, he was aware of not wanting her to go, wanting her to stay, and of wanting to be somewhere else with her, somewhere safe. She was soothing. But he knew that when he took out his mission, he would have to make his way to the extraction point, and she couldn't come with him. He hadn't known, until he said it, that he knew her name.

She just nodded to him and knelt closer to him. Reaching up, she kissed his temple before looking deeply into his eyes. "Someday, Jamie, hopefully someday soon, this will all be over. I think I'm getting close to what we need and then we can get you freed from them. Stay safe and do what you need to do to survive." The words were familiar and warm. He looked at the hand she had threaded through his hair. "I will always find you, Jamie." Raising from her knees, she kissed his cheek, just above the edge of the mask on his cheekbone. Slinging her staff into the holster on her back, she walked into the darkness of the warehouse without turning back.

Thinking of the girl, Alianna, again while sitting on his bed, seemed to be forbidden, somehow. She brought shadows of memories to his mind, vague and fleeting. Familiarity, warmth, healing, want, need, desperation. Whatever it was she was to him, whoever she was, he wanted to remember.

As he walked to the lab, he concentrated on her face, her eyes, her voice, and her name. He tried to remember everything that he could about her. He tried to remember because he was all too familiar with the process of forgetting.

Sitting down in the chair, he heard her voice, "Stay safe and do what you need to do to survive. I will always find you, Jamie."

As the pain began, the only sound he heard beyond his own screams was the whisper inside his head, "lee lee," over and over.

AN: I'm sorry this is so late. I've been in the hospital twice and had a severe infection that limited most of my computer/screen time. There are several more scenes we've got to get through until we get to the end of this work. We'll be going to London and Buenos Aires before we go back to the US for Washington and New York. If anyone also reads Howlies, I've got an update on that in the works, but I'm not happy with the way the transition happens so I'm still working on it.