To call the rundown apartment a safe house would be generous. The more accurate term for it would have more accurately been "rat trap" or "hole in the wall." Nonetheless, it did the job for Katya. It was overlooked and well hidden in the shadows of the large city. It was a risk hiding out in New York, close to shield and their red, white, and blue poster child: Captain America. His team had already found her once and they didn't seem too happy with her work. However, even that didn't even matter to her at the moment. The only thing that mattered now was trying to piece together how the Winter Soldier had fit into all of this.

The bottle in her hand had been momentarily forgotten as she sat and stared forward at the blank wall across from her. The cracked plaster wall hadn't changed since she's started watching it, yet she couldn't tear her attention away from it. Finally, she tore her gaze away and lowered it back down to the bottle in her hand. Lifting the clear glass to her mouth, she tipped the bottle and let a swig of the liquid run down her throat. The alcohol burned, but she barely noticed that anymore. The only thing that seemed to register to her was the warm sensation that spread through her blood as she drank. Pulling the bottle away from here again, she looked down at it, eyes catching on the smearing of red lipstick. She became fixated on the blood red color, staring blankly as memories fought their way into the from of her mind.

The hallways of the medical wing - where the labs weere located - were clear. It wasn't normal, but Katya didn't think to question it. The doctors and their guards must have had more important things to monitor than her. Taking the opportunity, she'd carefully disconnected herself from the devices that they had hooked up to her to track her progress. After this, it didn't take long for her to pick the outdated lock on the door and creep into the cold, dark halls. With any luck, her size and the fact that no one was looking for her would keep her from getting spotted somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. It didn't matter, she reminded herself. She heard what the scientists said. She didn't have long anyway.

After doing her best to recall the way down to the more secure areas, she found what she was looking for. This was the area where special projects were store. This was where she would find him. The cryo containment cell was empty, so she looked for the holding area where the Asset was put between missions when he was awake. No one would be looking to prep him for a job in the middle of the night; at least, she hoped not. When she reached the door, she hopefully pressed in the code that she had figured out the last time. A loud buzz told her that she was wrong.

"No…!" She harshly whispered to herself, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone had heard the sound. No one had. They must have changed the code, however, which changed her plan entirely. The more reasonable part of her thoughts told her to turn around and go back before she was caught. That part never won. Instead, she carefully began working at the edges of the rusted panel. To her silent delight, she was able to get a grip on it with her small hands and hear a "pop" as the panel snapped free of the wall. Lowering the front and leaving it to hang from the wires behind it, she reached her hand in behind it into the wall. With more luck, she'd be able to reach what she was looking for. In the event of a power outage, the door would automatically open, making sure that no HYDRA doctors were trapped inside with an asset. Yanking the power cord loose, a shock jolted into her hand, causing her to reel back and cradle it; she was right, though. The door had slid open when the power surge occurred.

Inside the containment room, just as she'd expected, was the Asset. Often when she would try to see him, he was on ice or being contained under higher security. For a moment, she wondered if he would even remember her at all. If they had the chance to wipe him again, he wouldn't remember anything. Still, it was worth a try.

"Солдат?"

The soldier, who was sitting in the middle of the blank, metal cell, looked up from the ground to stare at Katya oddly. Thee stare was blank and hollow. He kept the eye contact, but said nothing. After a long silence, a hint of recognition flashed across his face. "K-...Katya? Why-...why are you here?"

This wasn't anything that Katya was used to seeing. She was accustomed to a soldier, loud, steady, and angry. This man in front of her didn't look like that. He was broken and confused. He spoke in a soft, unsure tone and in English, rather than orders barked in Russian. "English not so good," she admitted quietly, "But...I come see you."

"To see me?" If the man didn't look confused before, he did now. "Where are we."

"Is home." As she answered, she quietly moved closer to sit down on the floor beside him. "The room cold."

He nodded slowly, watching her movements. "Why come see me?"

"You're alone." The statement was delivered simply as she looked up at him. "I am alone. Be alone together." It was that moment that she first looked at the weapon beside her and saw a bit of a person behind it. Friends werren't easy to come by, but no one else was likely to talk to him like a person and she had nothing to lose.

Shaking her head, Kat set the bottle aside and stood up, walking to the center of the room and kneeling down onto the floor. Pulling out the duffel bag that she'd hid under the loose floorboards, she unzipped it and pulled out the few items that she'd collected before she'd snuck her way into the U.S. Among them were an old file, a set of metal dog tags, and a familiar red journal with a star on the cover. It had taken her some time to find these items, but she was patient and determined. Now, she had something to bargain with if the time came. Laying out the file and opening it up, she scanned over the information. She'd already read and memorized the file a hundred times over, but now it made more sense. Now, she had the proof that she had been looking for.

"James Buchanan Barnes." The words felt foreign to say; almost as foreign as her convincing yet false American accent. It was true. He had recovered - at least mostly - from what HYDRA did to him. She had too many questions and the same old file told her nothing new. She needed more. With no mission and no goal. The only thing she had left was trying to put all of the pieces together. HYDRA had only ever given her scarps of the truth. Now that she was free, the only thing she could think to do was to try and fit everything together to find out exactly what she was and why they had made her that way. SHIELD was turning up nothing but dead ends; that method was getting her nowhere and drawing unwanted attention to her. Now, however, there was a new lead. Now, she had solid proof that Winter Soldier was not only alive, but also remembered everything from inside of HYDRA. She had questions. He had answers. The trick was finding a way to safely bring those ends together, without him knowing why she was searching. He couldn't know.

As she poured back over the information over and over again, his voice seemed to echo in her head. He had offered to run with her. The emotional side of her mind wanted to believe him. It was all she had wanted for so long that the thought had brought up emotions that she was no longer used to feeling. She silently cursed herself for feeling like a stupid young girl. She knew better than to trust this and let it affect her. This is why she'd turned it down. This is why it was so dangerous to put herself around him more than she absolutely had to.

Focus! She tried to scold the feeling out of her. He's not your friend. He's one of them now. He's the enemy. The thoughts struck something deep within her and hurt to consider. As this idea crossed her mind, the vivid memories flashed through her mind. Subconsciously, she placed her hand over one of the bullet scars on her abdomen. The raised scarring was one of three spots like it that she often used as a constant reminder. Reminder of what exactly, she didn't know. Perhaps of what Winter did to her or what HYDRA had him do. Either way, her better judgement told her that Winter - or Bucky as he was known now - wasn't the real enemy. But knowing that didn't make the scars fade.

Shoving the file and tags back into the bag, she zipped it up and hit the whole stash back under the flooring. The journal, however, she let out. That she would need far sooner than she'd hoped. She silently hated the need for the damn thing altogether, but, if it meant survival, some precautions were worth taking. Grabbing it, she moved to get the rest of her immediate gear. She had a choice to make and she was running out of time to make it. It was entirely possible that the soldier that she was used to was still a part of this man. If that was the case, the only thing she knew was looking for him and sticking together, as they always had. The other possibility was that the only part of her soldier left was the part that had been sent to kill her. Was she really willing to risk that? Was she willing to risk her life on the chance that whoever is leftover from what HYDRA destroyed was who she was looking for? The main thought of doubt crossed her mind over and over again. They'd sent him to kill her. There was no questioning that. So, why didn't he?