New Mexico
Hydra Base
2006
"You are not trying hard enough," came the calm voice of the female trainer as she glared down at sniveling girl on the floor, her eyes traveling over the pathetic excuse of a trainee.
Yelena whimpered as she looked up at the Instructor, her gaze refusing to meet the older woman's harsh and impassive stare. The woman had been pushing Yelena like this every day for the past week and Yelena didn't know how much more she could handle.
"I can't," whispered Yelena as she turned to stare into the handlers icy blue eyes.
"What was that?" asked the woman with raised eyebrows, her tone turning dangerously low.
"I said I can't!" yelled Yelena with as much force as a six year old could muster.
"And why not?" she asked, "Because you're weak? Because you're pathetic?"
Yelena did not reply as large tears started to cascade down her cheeks, her lower lip quivering as she tried to keep herself from crying out. She raised her hand and furiously tried to wipe the evidence of her crying, but failed to do so before the woman saw.
"I don't know why Pierce sent you to us," she spit out, "look at you," she said gesturing to the girl, "you can't even keep yourself from crying.
"I'm sorry," said the little girl as she hung her head in shame, "I'll try harder next time, I promise."
"Don't make promises you know you can't keep," said the woman as she took a step towards the girl, her tall and graceful statue dwarfing the small girl.
"Now," she said sharply, "try again."
"But-," began Yelena but was harshly interrupted.
"Again," she said forcefully, "and if you fail then get up and try again. That is the only way that you will learn."
Yelena nodded her head solemnly as she planted her aching feet to the ground and took up the offensive position that the handler had shown her to do. "Don't slouch," she said as she grabbed the girl's shoulders and pulled them back, "stand straight." Yelena huffed out in annoyance as she straightened up her back and locked her shoulders into the uncomfortable position.
"Good," said the handler as she inspected the improved position, "now, I want you to try to get break through my defenses," she said as she moved into a defensive position, "we've gone over this before so this should not be new."
"Okay," said Yelena as she drew her hands up to protect her face like she had been taught. Yelena breathed in heavily as she swung her fists at the handler's sturdy defenses, her tiny hands hardly having any effect on the older woman.
"Harder," said the handler as she deflected yet another hit that had managed to come close in proximity to her face.
"Harder!" sneered the handler as she went into to hit Yelena. Yelena saw the hand that was coming out to hit her and without even thinking, she used her foot to pivot around and delivered a hard blow to the woman's jaw, causing her to stumble back in surprise.
Yelena stared up at the handler with wide eyes as she took an instinctive step back. She had seen Irina perform the complicated move before, but she had never been taught it before. She had no idea how she had even managed it without practice, but whatever it was it had felt natural and good. The feeling of hitting the older woman square in the jaw had been new and exuberating for Yelena. But it also made her remember the last time she had hit one of her handlers and the punishment that had followed.
"Where did you learn that from?" asked the handler as she stalked over to the young girl, "I never taught you that move."
"I-," said Yelena as she stared up at the handler in fear, "I don't know."
"She's been watching you," came Fleischer's voice as he cut into the conversation, his hands neatly tucked behind his back as he stalked towards them, "she's a very observant little girl, wouldn't you say?" he said placing his hands over her shoulders, obviously pleased with her actions.
"Indeed," said the handler as she stared down at the girl with newfound curiosity, "It seems I have underestimated her."
"This will serve as a lesson to you then," he said with a wide grin plastered to his face, "to never underestimate Yelena ever again."
"I'll keep that in mind," she said with a hint of sarcasm laced in her voice. Yelena could tell that she did not appreciate the Baron's remark seeing how rigid her posture had become.
"Come Lena" he said as he waved the handler off and wrapped an arm around Yelena's shoulder as he guided her into his office.
"Have you eaten anything today?" he asked directing her over to one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"Yes sir," replied Yelena as she climbed up onto the chair, "I had breakfast about an hour ago."
"Is that so?" he asked with fake curiosity, "what did you have?"
"A biscuit," said Yelena as she remembered the small and stale food she had been forced to eat that morning. The food that they had provided her so far had been bland and in considerably smaller portions than what she was used to, and often times she found herself hungry again soon after. But Yelena didn't dare complain because if she did then she would not receive any food at all, and that was something she didn't want to have to go through.
"That's not much," remarked Fleischer, "why do they give you so little?"
"Because," said Yelena as she gulped, "because I do not deserve anything more than what is given to me," said Yelena as she repeated Graham's words.
"Hmm," said Fleischer, "they are correct about that, Yelena."
Yelena swallowed her own spit and casted her eyes downward to stare into her lap. She had a distinct feeling where he was taking this conversation.
"But," he said leaning in closer to her, "is hard work ever without reward?"
Yelena remained silent, continuing to stare at her lap. She wasn't sure if this was a trick question or not, so she kept her mouth shut.
"Well?" he asked impatiently, "Are you going to answer me?"
"Y-yes sir," she said trying not to stutter over her words.
"So which is it?" he asked yet again as he glared with apprehension down at her.
"I-I don't know," she stuttered out with shame and fear, hanging her head so she wouldn't have to look at him.
"Not the answer I was hoping for," he said standing up and walking over to a cabinet on the far wall and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and poured a little into a fancy glass, "do you think you deserve a reward for the impressive skills you displayed earlier?" he asked as he sat down and took a sip.
"No sir," she said confidently as she finally regained her footing, "excellence is expected, not rewarded."
"That is true," he said setting his glass down, "but not always applicable," he said reaching into his desk and pulling out a candy bar and handing it over to her.
"Thank you," said Yelena as she timidly accepted the bar, her stomach growling hungrily as she stared down at the wrapped treat.
"Well go on!" he said motioning towards the candy bar, "I didn't give it to you to look at."
"Of course," said Yelena as she unwrapped it and took a bite.
"Now Lena there's something I want to tell you," he said as he watched her eat, "there are going to be some more girls joining you in your training here soon."
"New girls?" asked Yelena with curiosity as she finished off the last bite. She had never been around children her own age and she was curious as to what it would be like to interact with them.
"Yes, Director Pierce has authorized a few more girls to join the program," he said with a grin, "you'll have classmates here within a few days, isn't that great?"
Yelena nodded, "yes sir."
"I thought so," he said as he leaned over his desk, "now you understand, Lena, with the influx of new students that there will be greater expectations placed on you. You will need to serve as an example to these girls and show them what an ideal student should be. You think you'll be able to handle that?"
Yelena nodded, "who are they?" she asked curiously. She wondered if these girls were like her, failed Hydra experiments sent to Fleischer because Hydra didn't know what else to do with them.
"Oh just some orphan girls," he said waving his hands, "not anyone that will be missed."
"I see," said Yelena with a nod, "and I am to be an example to them?"
"Only because I expect more of you," he said standing up and walking over to his file cabinet and pulling out a white folder, "Director Pierce told me not to tell you this, but I'm going to show it to you anyways," he said taking his seat again and placing the folder in front of her, "I trust this will remain our secret, no?"
Yelena stared at the white folder unable to make out the foreign language written across the front. What was he going to show her?
"Have you ever heard of the Winter Soldier?" he asked as sat back down in his chair.
"The Winter Soldier?" she asked gazing up at him in wonder. Of course she had heard about the Winter Soldier, he was after all the fist of Hydra. Whenever she had heard people talk about him they had always talked about him in an awestruck manner.
He was literally a legend within Hydra and only a handful of people had ever had the opportunity to see him in person. He was a deadly assassin, and from what she knew no one had ever escaped from his deadly clutches.
"What about him?" she asked curiously as she looked back down at the folder.
"Well," he said ringing his hands, "there's no easy way of saying this, but the Asset is your biological father."
Yelena gaped with wide eyes up at the older man at the news of the identity of her biological father. Yelena had always been told that she was a failed Hydra experiment, but she had never been told anything about her parents.
"But they told me I didn't have any parents," she asked with confusion, "I thought I was a failed Hydra experiment?"
"Don't always believe what you're told Lena, of course you have parents," he said as he opened the first page, "of course you were a failed experiment, there's no doubt about that," he said as he slid the file across the table towards her.
Yelena reached across the table for the file and opened the first page to be met with the face that often times visited her nightmares. It was a picture of Zima in the familiar blue setting of the metal box, just like when she had first seen him. She hadn't realized until now that Zima and the Winter Soldier were the same person, and this person was her father.
The same man who she had seen sleeping in a metal box and then strapped to a chair was the lethal deadly assassin who she had come to admire just like the people around her.
She was shocked by the fact that she knew who the Winter Soldier was and her connection to him that she almost missed the little black and white photo clipped to the bottom of the file. It was Zima, but yet he didn't look like she had remembered him. His hair was shorter, but blocked from view by a cap and he looked different then she remembered, she wasn't sure how to describe it, but his eyes weren't the same sad and lonely eyes that had stared at her from that chair.
"Does he know about me?" she asked trying not to show hope that he would know about her. For just a moment, she had a vision of him coming to find her, but she knew no such thing would ever happen.
"No Lena, he doesn't know about you and it's going to stay that way."
"Oh," she said quietly as she set the picture of him down on the table; trying to hide her disappointment. It would have been nice if she had someone out there who loved and wanted her, but nobody did, not even her parents.
"Nobody can ever know that you're his daughter and you can't tell anybody, this is a huge secret that you must keep forever Lena. He's a weapon, not a person and you would do well to remember that."
"I can't tell anybody?"
"Not even Director Pierce, I would get into a lot of trouble if he knew you knew and that would be very bad for me."
She nodded her head as she glanced back down at both of the pictures of him and tried to find some sort of resemblance between the two of them; something to assure her of her paternity.
"The reason why I'm showing you this is so that you know what your place here in Hydra is. You are a legacy, you're his legacy and I'm counting on you to be the very best you can. These girls will be counting on you."
Knowing that the Winter Soldier was her father gave Yelena a new found sense of loyalty to Hydra. She had to show Hydra that she was her father's daughter and that she could be a legacy.
"Would you look at that!" said Baron Fleischer motioning towards the clock on the wall, "it is almost time for dinner, but if you leave now you might be able to fit in an extra 15 minutes of training."
Yelena climbed down from the chair and said goodbye before making her way back to her instructor. Later that night she came back to her quarters to find the black and white picture sitting on her nightstand where it stayed as a reminder of what she had to live up to.
She had made a promise, and she intended to keep it.