Trigger warning: a lot of gore in this one so be warned if you're squeamish.
Ariadne just stared at Mallory.
Ariadne was a lot older than she looked. Mallory had stupidly thought she was thirty three but with a daughter in her early twenties, it put her age easily at forty. Ariadne, despite her slender frame and dire surroundings, took to pregnancy well with glowing skin and shiny hair. Her daughter was pretty too, pug-nosed, with blonde hair that spiraled down her back like a princess.
Mallory could feel her blood pulsating in her ears as she tried to cope with this sudden shock; her head suddenly went heavy and her mouth went dry. Her senses rocked as she attempted to process this information without vomiting or revealing something that would compromise their mission and get them into trouble.
"Well? How did you know that?"
Mallory looked to the Soldier, appealing for some guidance on how to handle the situation. He was stone; still and unchanging and frankly unhelpful. Mallory swallowed and decided to go for a half-truth.
"We're from... HYDRA." She wasn't sure how much she would know about her husbands work but when the woman stiffened Mallory took it as a good sign. "We're here to-" Get my assassin to kill your husband. "-rescue you, your daughter and husband."
Her mask of worry crumpled and she bent over slightly, her large stomach hiding most of her thighs. "Dieu merci! We thought you had forgotten about us. Elliot did say he was going to try and get us out."
Mallory's mind kick started as she began to unravel the mystery of Elliot Kohl. The explanation that Elliot's wife had also been taken explained why Elliot had suddenly decided to reach out and blackmail Pierce. His wife's impending pregnancy, his daughter beginning to reach maturity… any sane dad wouldn't want that to happen in prison. He had sacrificed his life to try and get them out. Brave man. But what could Kohl know about HYDRA that would scare Pierce so much that he'd want to send his assassin to get rid of him? Did Pierce even mention to her what Kohl's position had been in HYDRA? She cast her mind back and remembered when Pierce had revealed she was going into the field.
"The inmate is a former S.H.I.E.L.D/HYDRA agent named Elliot Kohl. He was captured and taken in a secret prison that was hidden from the Russian public."
Agent could mean a lot of things. Mallory was on paper an agent of HYDRA but her role was entirely a medical one; apart from this unexpected venture in enemy territory. Even David, her technician friend, was an 'agent of HYDRA'. So what did Elliot's agent status mean? Scientist? Foot soldier? STRIKE agent like Rumlow? It was clear that Elliot had some information on HYDRA that could bring it down or even compromise Pierce's position within the company.
Mallory tried to smile. "Nope. We just tracked that note and here we are."
Ariadne at her with sudden awe. "We had given up hope." She glanced towards the girl in her cell, who upon reflection, Mallory decided was a lot younger than she looked when she had first seen her.
"How long have you been here?"
Ariadne shrugged. "Some time after they told me Elliot had been taken... like four, five months?"
Mallory's eyes widened. "Wait... they took you after Elliot? Why?"
Ariadne nodded. "I don't know. I think and Sofia agrees that they took me because of my... state. There's a big house outback and they took him there along with the other HYDRA agents." Mallory was confused then noticed her gaze flicked down to her stomach. She sat back and suddenly Pierce's voice flashed through her head.
"We believe they're conducting scientific experiments on the inmates."
Mallory found herself ready to cry. She had been airdropped into a horrible prison, bordered by Rottweilers and angry guards who were prone to asthma attacks and confronted with the heavily pregnant wife of the man she was supposed to allow her assassin friend to murder. It was insane. If it had of been one of Mallory's vivid dreams, she would've laughed. She smiled at Ariadne, as her vision clouded with tears and nodded to her stomach.
She tried to lighten the mood. "So? When are you due?"
It didn't work. Instead of happiness and that glowing smugness pregnant woman have, Ariadne matched her gaze with downright terror. "Tomorrow." She whispered, looking around quickly if any guards were in earshot. It was obvious. The guards wanted the baby for something. Mallory nodded and turned slowly to the Soldier.
He was sitting on the bed, elbows on his knees and he seemed to realize she was staring at him as he slowly turned his gaze upwards. Shirtless with the bottom half of his fatigues on, starvation took the Soldier worse then it had in the lab; his fatigues hung from his hips. Mallory marched over to the other corner of the cell and beckoned him over, crooking her finger at him. He came to her slowly but confidently, walking with his shoulders thrown back and his face composed.
"We can't do this." She hissed at him, keeping her voice in case Ariadne happened to overhear and begin yelling at them both in French again. "You can't kill him."
"Who?" Genuine confusion clouded his face.
"Elliot! The whole reason for this mission is a lie!" Her voice was beginning to creep upwards in volume and she lowered it when she noticed Ariadne looking over.. "Elliot was only doing it to try and save his family."
That creepy blank look crossed his face. "My mission is to serve."
He sounded robotic. A flash of something crossed his eyes; confusion? He was confused at her questioning of this mission when new variables had been thrown in. Mallory had been a little unsettled but ultimately fine with Pierce ordering the attempt on Kohl's life. For the good of the state, she had reasoned, as she'd painted the picture of Elliot as a traitor to his country. However now that he had a pregnant wife and a daughter in the mix, and the only reason of his betrayal was to protect changed the matter entirely. And for once Mallory found herself seeing the monster within the Soldier. Rumlow's words haunted her- what were they? Creepy and scary. It seemed to strange to think of it now how she had defended him. There was no trace of the Soldier who had eaten pizza with her, who had laughed with her, who had trained her how to protect herself like he did. That man, that man who represented a nerve ending so raw it had tried to cover itself up in layer upon layer of false skins and names who she had believed she had befriended was gone. She saw a shell in front of her, a human body who resembled a friend occupied by a blank wind up toy that went in which direction Pierce ordered him too. He knew nothing of human feelings; he couldn't even attempt to understand empathizing with her reluctance to allow him to do this. And Mallory was disgusted. She recoiled from him and his brows lifted a little in surprise.
"Serve? You call murdering a man attempting to protect his family as service?" A pause then the Soldier nodded as if the answer was plain as day; Mallory's temper was rising and she found herself wanting to hit him or cry. She always wanted to cry when she was frustrated. It was embarrassing. Her father had once told her that she had less control over her emotions than a middle aged woman did over her bladder. At the time Mallory had laughed and protested; she was beginning to see he was right.
Mallory was crying; a tear rolled down her cheek of anger and frustration. "So you just gonna do whatever Pierce tells you, huh? You're going to kill that man just because fucking Pierce said so?" She was swearing. She never really swore.
"Yes."
It was amazing. He saw nothing wrong with that. He was even staring at her if she was insane for not wanting to do this. Mallory found herself letting out a short, sharp laugh of shock. Another tear fell and she angrily wiped it away. The Soldier's frown deepened the crease between his cold eyes.
Colder then Pierce's, she decided. He's awful. Aesthetically the Soldier was pleasing to observe but his soul was uglier then she could've ever imagined. Scarred and damaged beyond repair. Mallory believed everybody could be saved from the darkness within them but maybe, maybe the Soldier was exempt from that.
He's never needed to be saved. He's always been the darkness. She'd merely been blinded by her light.
Mallory didn't do yelling or violence; she couldn't bring herself to explain why she hadn't backhanded the Soldier across the cell to show her frustration. Mallory wasn't a violent person but she was an expert in a different type of more damaging warfare. Words, she knew from her own experiences, always cut deeper then knives. She brought herself as close to him as she dared, getting right into his ear and his personal space. His facial hair brushed against her cheek, and she pressed her body close against his tight and large frame. Her arm took his non-metal forearm and he stiffened at the sudden intimate contact, his head bowing slightly as he lent towards her in curiosity, hair falling across his eyes and Mallory kindly tucked it behind his ear. She looked back, and saw that typical expression men wore when they thought they were about to be kissed. She pulled on his forearm and he bent down to listen. Lowering her voice, she stood on her tiptoes and whispered directly into his ear, venom pouring out of her in a display of emotion;
"You're a monster."
When she backed away there seemed to be nothing in his eyes. And Mallory turned away from him, backing into the corner of her cell, deeply disturbed and incredibly upset. She stood in the corner for what seemed like an age until she heard him speak.
"I don't want to kill him. But I have to." The admission was so child-like, so heartbreaking Mallory felt herself crumble on her sudden hatred towards him. Her breathing slowed to a more comfortable pace as she blinked hard, tears falling down her face. Maybe he could be saved. Maybe he wouldn't be the big black mark.
"You don't have to. You don't have to do anything." Her voice was cracked and rough. She spun and saw him, leaning against the wall of the cell. "You have a choice."
The Soldier shook his head defiantly; Mallory found herself walking forwards and placing an arm on his shoulder. He tensed at the contact and lifted his eyes to stare at her.
"It might not feel like you have a choice but you do, you really do." She remembered something she had read in the brainwashing articles. "The memory wipes take away the feeling of free will but they don't remove it. It just makes you... easier to manipulate, easier to convince you that you have to do this. You don't."
The Soldier looked at the ceiling and said quietly. "But I have to."
Mallory's lower lip trembled, frustration and sadness rolling in one. "So will you?"
The Soldier shrugged. Mallory stood in front of him, her eyes drinking in his huge and currently buckled over frame. She laid a hand on his shoulder and moved it upwards to his cheek; tensing at first, he hesitantly leaned his face into her hand and sighed. Cool air blew softly across her wrist. The simple but sweet gesture almost made her cry again and raised goosebumps across her arms. That sigh seemed to break a couple of barriers he'd had towards her.
"I'm asking you as a friend." His brow furrowed. "As probably the only person in this world who actually gives a crap about you. Please. Please, do not kill this man."
The Soldier swallowed, the Adam's apple in his throat bobbing as he forced down any words. He nodded once and Mallory smiled.
The contractions started three days after. Three long, awkward and confusing days.
The day she'd convinced him of his choice, he'd murmured quietly that there was room on the bed for both of them, as long as she didn't touch him too much. Still it was awkward, almost like sleeping with someone of the opposite sex whom you had an odd history with. He suggested top and tail but Mallory felt there was something that would be extremely weird if she rolled in the night and found herself face to face with the Soldier's black boots. So they'd slept side by side after that every night, her Soldier always being the big spoon.
It was warmer, she did have to admit, which made it a lot easier to sleep. The prison was deep in the forests of Russia, and they'd taken Mallory's jacket from her so she shivered most of the time. She had no idea how the Soldier coped with no shirt on but seemingly he was used to being cold. He was the Winter Soldier after all, although she had presumed the nickname came from his frosty personality, not his tolerance for the cold. Sleeping on a freezing concrete ground with a cold drought blowing over her was not conditions which made her sleep well; usually she preferred to be cocooned in a duvet or in Rumlow's arms.
That night they had slept in the same bed for the first, she had rolled on her back to get comfortable she had noticed him asleep beside her. Relaxed, with a slightly slacked mouth and his metal arm glinting in the moonlight, the star looking more black then red. His face was sweet and young, free of all of the worry of consciousness. He always looked a lot more relaxed to be properly asleep then he did in cryo-sleep. She did confess to when, he had nuzzled the bed to rearrange the position of his head and a lock of hair had fallen into his eyes, she had reached over to brush it out.
He always slept towards her, so the first thing she saw in the morning when she got up and stretched towards the ceiling was the Soldier looking at her with half-closed eyes. Sometimes during the night he would whimper, and she would hear sighed words in his dreams of numbers, names and places. Once she could've sworn he had whispered her name, and when she'd turned to investigate he was facing her with relaxed look across his face that had made her smile. Every night without fail, he would shift in a way which made his metal arm had fall across her waist. The cold metal would land on the exposed skin of where her tank top would ride up during the night. Every night she would gasp awake, and one time he had shifted again, moving closer, wrapping his arm around her.
No harm in getting comfy, she supposed. But it felt weird. As if she was cheating on Rumlow although she had done this sort of thing with Danni in college many times when they'd both been drunk after a night out. Purely platonic.
Mallory was asleep when she heard it. A small whine in the night which made her open her eyes and groan. She looked around in the darkness, convinced that a Rottweiler from outside had came in and was getting ready to attack or the Soldier was having a nightmare. She turned to check the Soldier; fast asleep. Getting out of bed, she quickly located the source. A black-eyed Ariadne doubled over in the cell, panting hard.
"Ariadne!" Mallory scrambled towards her cell and yelled so loud the Soldier stirred in the bed, and sat up, running a metal hand through his mussed hair.
Ariadne tried to come closer to Mallory but doubled over and let out a scream which was cut short by her daughters hand clamping over her mouth. Mallory watched the scene, frozen with terror.
"The baby... merde!... Mallory the baby is coming." Sofia was by Ariadne's side, rubbing her back and murmuring sweet nothings in French. The Soldier was by Mallory's side, staring at her with wide eyes.
"Can you deliver it?" Ariadne asked, looking at her earnestly through the bars. A guard was attracted by the noise and came over to yell at them to be quiet; the Soldier left her side and went to calm him.
"I-"
"Can you deliver it?!" Ariadne shouted. Mallory found herself looking into the eyes of two terrified females, one a young frightened girl and one a frightened pregnant woman. Mallory wasn't a midwife but she wasn't stupid. Giving birth to a baby was a common medical practice and it had been taught to her during college. She knew how to deliver a baby; of course he knowledge was a little rusty and they didn't have access to proper equipment. But she could do it. She was sure she could do it.
"Yes." Mallory was nodding wildly. "Yes, I can deliver it. I just need the guards to let me in." She looked questioningly to the Soldier. He spoke rapid fire Russian to the guard who reluctantly unlocked the gate and allowed them both out.
Then things began to spiral downwards. The Soldier jumped and grabbed a hold of the bars above him. Using the momentum he swung his legs upwards and kicked the guard in the face. His keys and flashlight clattered to the ground, alongside a loaded handgun. The Soldier bent to grab it and almost casually, shot the guard who was running up the space between the cubes to arrest him.
Mallory's heart was thudding and her jaw dropped. "Why... why did you-"
The Soldier bent to pick up the keys, and placed them on a loop on his belt. "I took a chance. Kohl's in the warehouse. I can get him and the STRIKE team. You stay here, deliver that baby."
Mallory stared at the Soldier, throat tight.
"I can't leave you." She protested, her mind automatically adding because I'm afraid you'll murder Kohl.
The Soldier was turning to leave the room but he stopped and spun to face her. "Deliver that baby. I'm going to find my stuff." He went over to the guard he had shot, unclasped the handgun from his belt and the keys and slid them across the floor to her. They bounced against her shoes, and when she looked up from her feet the Soldier was gone.
She bent to pick the keys, mind whirring as her body functioned on autopilot. She wanted to go and help the Soldier, to protect Kohl from him and to protect himself from him. Part of her urged herself to go and join him; the rescue would take less than twenty minutes once the Soldier was suited and booted and Ariadne's contractions could last hours. But the majority of her was rooted to the ground, afraid to leave the screaming pregnant woman and her crying daughter. Stress made labour difficult and in these rotten conditions it would be even worse. Stress would make the delivery harder on the mother and the child. And with all of these people in cages watching them, she indeed felt sorry for Ariadne.
What would be the priority? Mallory saving Ariadne's husband from a possible certain death if the Soldier chose to kill him or Mallory delivering Ariadne's baby as safely as she could manage? It was a no-brainer really, but forcing herself to leave the Soldier and his possible actions would be hard. There's always a chance he won't kill him. She had to believe in him. She had to believe the Soldier would make his choice and keep his promise and not kill him. She dived to unlock the cage, kicking the handgun awkwardly into the cell.
She ran to the panting woman and gave the keys to her daughter. "Ariadne, tell your daughter to go into the other cells and take their blankets."
Ariadne grabbed Sofia and in rapid fire French relayed Mallory's instruction. The young girl nodded, and ran off.
Mallory dragged the mattress on the floor, and draped Ariadne's arm over her shoulders as she settled her onto it. Ariadne sat with her back to the wall, panting heavily.
"Ici, Mallory. L'homme dans cette cellule là-bas pensé celles-ci seraient utiles." Sofia had returned, gushing in French, holding out an armful of orange blankets to Mallory and on top, a pair of latex gloves. She had no idea where she had gotten them from but she smiled to show her appreciation. The young girl sat behind her mother, tightly lacing her fingers with her mothers and squeezing hard. Mallory moved her hair out of the way and slid the gloves across her wrists. You can do this.
Mallory sat in front, and parted the woman's legs. She pulled her skirt above Ariadne's waist, and peeled off a pair of discolored underwear she had probably been wearing for months. Revealing a pink and unshaven vagina, Mallory swallowed any type of disgust she was feeling and got to work.
Mallory roamed inside Ariadne and she gasped, arching her back slightly at the sudden foreign feeling. "I do not mean to be disgusting, Mallory, but another place, another time and that would feel wonderful."
Both Mallory and Ariadne laughed; Sofia made a face of disgust. "Dégoûtant!" She moaned, but she was grinning. Mallory's face fell; Ariadne gasped.
"What is it? I want to push. Can I push?"
Mallory removed her hand and sighed, her teeth sinking into her lip before she spoke. "I- you're fully dilated." She swallowed and nodded. "You can start pushing. Deep breaths now. Just take your time."
Ariadne nodded, then sucked in a breath. Mallory braced herself for the oncoming scream and was glad she did.
The howl as Ariadne began pushing the baby out echoed around the prison cell and made it seem ten times worse then it was. Mallory's ears felt like they were bleeding and she felt even more sorry for poor Sofia who had gotten the worst of it when she had screamed. As the pain wore off, Ariadne was sobbing.
"It never hurt this bad... the first time." Mallory wished she could wipe away the woman's tears but her hands were covered in bodily fluids.
"It's stress. Fear and adrenaline, from where you are and what's happening." Mallory leaned in close and said passionately. "You have to stay strong, Ariadne and stay calm... for Sofia-"
Ariadne cut her off with another howl.
The prisoners in the other cubes were panicking, some doors were open, others were locked. The ones whose doors were open were searching frantically for a way out. One saw the abandoned handgun in Ariadne's cell bent to pick it up for protection.
"Hey!" Ariadne yelled after them. He laughed and began running down the corridor only Sofia tripped him and grabbed the gun. The young girl aimed it at the man's head and he surrender, racing off in the other direction.
At that moment an alarm began to sound, loud and piercing rivaled only by Ariadne's screams with flashing red lights.
Mallory couldn't let Ariadne see how scared she was. She tried to control her breathing and stop the floodgates from unleashing but when she locked eyes with Sofia and the girl shook her head as if to say please don't lose it, please don't cry it made her want to cry more. Sofia's own green eyes were shining like emeralds, as she attempted to stop crying herself. Ariadne's back arched as she howled in pain, her toes curling as she pushed with every ounce of her strength.
"It hurts!" She was wailing.
Mallory crouched between her legs and had to shout over the noise. "I know it hurts! It'll be all over soon, just keep pushing!"
"What's that noise?" She had just noticed.
"I don't know!"
An explosion echoed in the distance, rattling her eardrums and shaking the ground beneath them. There was so much noise, too much. Mallory couldn't concentrate. Her eardrums felt as if they were going to explode. Her heart was thudding fast as adrenaline and fear pumped the rate above anything normal. This mission had progressed at a pace that Mallory couldn't keep up with, a breakneck, breathtaking speed that sent her dizzy and angry. This woman should have been giving birth in a dirty prison. What had they needed her for?
Ariadne screamed again as the sirens continued to wail. Gunfire rattled, bursts of assault rifles and shouts of different tongues mingled in the air; she picked out Japanese, Russian, English. She tried to listen but it was too loud, the siren wailing lights flashing, an assault on every sense. The earth exploded and rock, and Mallory felt as if the walls were closing in one her. Too much. This was too much.
"Push!"
Ariadne screamed, her daughter screaming with her. Ariadne then paused, short sharp breaths, her frame rocking but she silently fell against her daughters chest. Tears spilled over the woman's cheeks and she was crying at her daughter in French, seemingly begging for something, help or salvation.
Liquid spilled over Ariadne's thighs so suddenly it went past the glove and reached Mallory's naked wrist, hot and sticky. She assumed it was the membrane fluid but when she glanced down crimson covered her hands. Please no. It was like a scene out of a horror movie. The metallic stench of blood suddenly filled the air and where her cervix had spread to birth the baby, blood was slowly trickling out of the hole. Panicking, Mallory saw that Ariadne was loosing consciousness eyes glazing over worriedly.
"Mama!" Sofia was crying, slapping her mother's cheek. "Mama!"
"Ariadne! Ariadne wake up, look at me!" Mallory slapped the mattress in frustration; like hell was this woman going to die on her. Her eyes drooped shut but she forced them open, the glazed stare fixing on Mallory weakly.
When she spoke it was with great difficulty, her words coming out awkwardly. "Tell... tell Elliot...-"
Sofia was gasping quietly, murmuring over and over. "S'il vous plaît ne vont pas, je t'aime, s'il vous plaît ne me quitte pas." Sofia cupped her mother's cheek. "Moi et papa besoin de vous, s'il vous plaît ne pas aller Mama, Je t'aime tellement."
The sweet nothings poured out of the girls mouth freely, alongside her tears. Mallory found herself unable to watch the touching scene, but unable to turn away.
"Tell Elliot I love him." She turned her head slightly towards her daughter. "Bébé Je t'aime, rester forte, je t'aime."
Her body buckled and she screamed again, sweat dripping from her even though it was winter. The baby's head was visible through the blood and Ariadne was using the last of her strength, even falling silent to pant and push. Sofia held onto her mother tightly, willing her in their common language. And suddenly, the baby suddenly left the birth canal on a slide of blood and mucus and onto the mattress beneath her. Ariadne fell limp and the baby was silent for a moment, before bursting into a tears.
Mallory was in awe for a second, a maternal instinct that was buried deep inside of her coming alive at the sight of another human being delivered into the world. Pride followed that. Pride that she had helped deliver this baby safely with no complications to the tiny child's life. It was so small; if it wasn't for the fact the little one was three days late, she would peg it as premature. The umbilical cord still attached the baby to its mother.
Ariadne had reached up to cup her daughters cheek; the blood loss was substantial. There was nothing Mallory could do. She had to watch her die. There would be no time for the STRIKE team to arrive and get her somewhere safe. The cause of her death could be down to a lot of things. Haemorrhaging; a tear in the uterus or vagina could cause rampant blood loss. An infection. Pulmonary embolus. Anything. Someone came up behind her and they were holding out an extremely sharp knife.
"For the cord." The rough voice of the Soldier was behind her. Emotionally drained, she took it off him and bent over Ariadne's limp body to cut the cord.
She was in earshot to hear the words she traded with her daughter. "Je veille sur vous. Toujours."
And then Ariadne fell still and silent, as her soul vacated the earth.
The alarm and sirens and flashing lights took a back seat. Sofia began to cry properly, her tears mingling with the blood and sweat and membrane fluid. Mallory was too stunned to cry like Sofia was, tears welling in her eyes, her hand shaking as she raised to cut the cord. The Soldier took the knife off her and in a swift moment, swiped the connection from baby to mother. The little boy, from the obvious genitalia sign, wailed with an apparent sorrow as if it was aware of what had happened. Working on autopilot, Mallory wrapped the baby in one of the blankets and clutched the bundle close to her chest.
"Sofia."
The girl was rocking her mother's body back and forth, crying and babbling incoherently.
"Sofia." A little louder this time.
She looked up at the repetition of her name, green eyes ringed red. She asked something in French and the Soldier, suited in his armour and looking nonchalant, replied. Whatever he said caused the girl to stand shakily, and come over to meet her brother. Mallory surrendered the infant immediately, then pulled the shaking and crying girl into her arms. Sofia choked another sob and Mallory found her chest and tank top grow warm and damp with tears. She turned her head to the Soldier, her chin resting on the girls head as the tot cried for attention, for food, for its mother.
"Is he dead?" The Soldier stared at her. "Kohl? Is he dead?"
The Soldier glanced to the floor; in guilt? Then he looked up and shook his head. Laughing, a little stunned, Mallory tightened her arms around the baby and the girl.
"Thank you." She laughed breathlessly, tears falling down her face. "Thank you."
The Soldier nodded then suddenly started, walking towards her as if he had just remembered something. "The alarm is signalling the building's self destruction. Most of the inmates are gone along with the guards but I came back for you. We need to get free of the blast radius."
He bent to attach the handgun he'd left for their protection to his thigh; Mallory let go of the girl who was reluctant to leave her mother.
"Sofia." She grabbed the girls shoulders and tucked a strand of damp hair out of her eyes. "I know this is hard but we have to go. Do you understand?"
The Soldier stood at the gate of the cube, tapping his foot impatiently. The girl resisted when Mallory pulled on her arm, but Mallory persisted and eventually got the girl out of the cube. The Soldier unclasped a grenade from his pocket, a round green ball and he tore the ring out of it.
"Follow me."
He threw it in a long arc across the room then pulled Mallory and Sofia with the baby into a cell for protection. It bounced against the door but before it could roll down the causeway, it exploded. Although Mallory had squeezed her eyes shut she could still feel the heat of the explosion lick across her skin, the air suddenly kicking up with dust and concrete and charred metal. When the dust had settled, he opened the cage and let them out.
The Soldier ran ahead of them, and Mallory made Sofia get in front so she couldn't go back to see her mother. They emerged in the area where the dogs had been. Only now, the causeway protecting them had been destroyed so any dogs that weren't dead were free to attack. A few STRIKE members were guiding them into the forest to safer areas. It had been night when Ariadne's contractions had started but now the cold light of day was apparent in the sky, streaks of rain filled clouds crossing leisurely across the gray canvas. It was cold, and a light trickle of rain showered them as they exited the building. The forest was their goal.
Sofia cried out, diverting Mallory's attention from the sky to her as the nearest Rottweiler jumped for her. It sank its teeth in her leg and screaming out, she still kept a firm grip on her brother as it began to rag-doll the flesh. Blood spurted as the dog growled angrily and the flesh seemed to melt from Sofia's leg. Mallory ran forwards, screaming as Rottweilers pursued her, and the Soldier twisted his body to throw her a handgun. She missed as usual and ducked to grab it. Then another dog attacked her.
She threw her head back and screamed for mercy as its jaw clamped down on her leg. This was it. The end of her two-legged crusade through life. She'd never felt pain like it, the dogs teeth feeling like white hot jaws of hell across her legs. Thankfully the Soldier was by her in minutes, and had crushed his metal fist through the dogs head. It fell with a whimper then stilled. He didn't pull her to her feet, simply twisting again and firing his handgun at the dog who had Sofia's leg in a vice.
Sofia collapsed, landing on her back to support the baby. Mallory's leg was numb as her receptors attempted to cope with the overload of pain currently coursing through her veins, and the Soldier draped her arm across his shoulders and picked her up like she was his bloody bride. There was so much blood. It had stained the clean white sand.
Sofia was in shock, going into a seizure. Her right leg was ruined; below the knee was flesh and bone, nothing that resembled a leg. Ribbons of her flesh sat beside her and she was bleeding out, exposing torn bones and ripped tendons. The pain she was going through was unimaginable. The baby began to shake violently as her body rattled with the seizure, and her mouth began to foam; Mallory pushed from the Soldier's warm grip onto the ground, ignoring her own pain, and grabbed the baby off her.
Mallory suddenly heard a growl; she wanted to scream at the heavens above not again please don't do it again when a gunshot fired out. It wasn't the Soldier as he was beside her. They both looked to the direction of the gunshot and saw a man in ruined STRIKE gear running towards them, brandishing an assault rifle.
"This way!" He screamed. The alarm was still wailing and Mallory's heart was pounding, as the baby cried directly into her ear. He reached them, a sweat and blood soaked man, and abandoning the rifle he scooped the violently shaking Sofia into his arms. She had gone limp.
The Soldier nodded at Mallory and helped her up. Before they could arrange a position where she could hold the baby and be supported from the Soldier, a shout from the prison alerted them to the final Russian guard who had no right arm and was limping towards them with a handgun.
He fired twice without warning aiming directly at Mallory. She watched in slow motion as the bullets tumbled towards her in an arrow straight trajectory.
The first shot skimmed her. She could almost feel the whooshing of the bullet past her hair, whistling as it lodged itself into a tree. He fired again and for some reason, she knew it would hit. She half turned, protecting the baby.
A blur of black dived in front of her and when she turned around she realized the Soldier had lunged in front of her, attempting to block the bullet with his metal arm. Instead it had passed through the gap of his arm and hit his armour.
Gasping she watched as he staggered sideways winded by the bullet. He'd saved her life. He had refused to kill a man he had been tasked to kill and he'd saved her life. Her admiration of the Soldier had hit an all time high. The armour had absorbed the fatality factor but the force had winded STRIKE team member who had Sofia in his arms yelled something as the Russian man limped for them.
And then the hand of fate intervened so beautifully, as a dog attracted by the gunshot attacked him. A hungry dog can't recognize a friend from a foe she mused, feeling eerily calm as the dog mauled and shook the man's body. Blood seemed to spurt. Mallory clutched the crying infant to her chest.
The Soldier grabbed her around the waist and they supported each other as they tried to make their way home. Mallory's leg was slippery with blood, and her arm was beginning to cramp as she had a firm grip on the tot with one arm, clutched tightly into her chest.
The STRIKE member lead the way into the woods, and as they reached the woods Mallory felt her senses tingling in a fear of anticipation. It was going to explode... now. A second after she had thought that, the prison rocked with a loud explosion and the STRIKE member yelled for everyone to get down.
The Soldier spun with Mallory still in his arm, flipping her so she was landing back first onto the floor with the baby safely lying upright on her chest. The only problem was that the Soldier was tumbling towards her; he quickly put out his hands and stopped his heavy armour from crushing the child by an inch. Her leg was beginning to seriously hurt. The Soldier pressed himself down on her slightly, his hands coming around her shoulders to protect her. Bits of debris flew over their heads and Mallory went deaf temporarily, hearing only the faint swoosh of the oncoming wasp helicopter as it kicked up the breeze and made the trees turn wild.
The wasp... she was going home. Tears of joy and sadness stung her eyes as dust was blown everywhere. She could smell burning, burning everywhere of charcoal, wood, metal, buildings, the faint smell of pork from the cooking bodies back at ground zero.
The Soldier pulled her up and Mallory staggered like a drunk. STRIKE team members, some supporting others and some looking as if they wanted to shoot themselves with the guns they held, were clearing the landing area and getting some leftover prisoners ready to transport back to the Bunker. The Soldier steadied her, then protected her defensively when someone approached them. A man in a green jumpsuit carrying a rifle, with blonde hair and green eyes like Sofia's. He placed the rifle calmly to the ground to show he meant no harm and held his hands out to the infant who had just lost his mother, had almost lost his sister and was wrapped in a filthy blanket and screaming.
"May I-" He spoke with a slight French accent. "-may I hold him?"
Mallory surrended the tot thankfully, and without question. She knew who he was. "Elliot Kohl." It was a statement, not a question. She said it with wonder, looking at the man as if he was a god.
The man cooed over the infant who seemed to sense the paternal connection and silenced. Despite the large gash which oozed blood on his forehead, he was relatively unhurt. "Ariadne?"
The hope in his eyes roused a sob from Mallory, such an explanatory noise that he nodded once. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly in his throat.
"Sofia?"
Mallory swung her gaze to the STRIKE member who was rousing Sofia from her seizure and giving her morphine, applying pressure to her leg. Elliot left her then, without a word. She watched as he gave his son to a passing medic, then tenderly cupped his daughter's cheek.
Her skin prickled; she turned and met the cool gaze of the Soldier. Only it wasn't so cool. Her smile faltered, her admiration of him turning to fear. His eyes had hardened, like he had when he explained that his mission was not to empathize but to serve. He stared at her as if she was the prey not an equal. It suddenly felt inconceivable to relate this man to the one whom she had watched take a bullet for her. She had shared a bed with this predator, and a sudden crawling feeling went up her spine.
It was too late. The Soldier had raised his gun and fired only once but that perfect aim had killed again. The STRIKE members silenced at the sound, the only noise in the air the echo of the gunfire, the distant crackle of fire and the sound of the wasp landing in the clearing zone.
And of course, the sound of Elliot Kohl's dead body hitting the floor. The Soldier turned to Mallory and with dead eyes, placed the gun back into his holster.
"My mission is to serve." He said blankly, his gaze fixing on Mallory.
And Mallory's opinion of the Soldier plummeted and she found herself hating him more than she had ever hated anyone.
Sofia had been reduced to an orphan, loosing both parents in horrific ways on the same day. Luck was not on her side. However as was unconscious from morphine, she looked peaceful. Mallory had a funny feeling the girl would wake and feel it all crashing down on her. Poor girl. She was treated on the wasp as they were airlifted back to the base. All signs were good and the onboard doctors and even Mallory's own critical eye had assessed her leg would not needed to be amputated. The baby was held by a grim faced STRIKE agent, the baby's father wrapped up on a body bag and waiting to be transported home for funeral.
Mallory had been cleaned up, her leg sterilized and wrapped in a bandage, and she was waiting for the wasp to stop rocking and reach solid land. She and Sofia had both been booked in to check if the dogs hadn't passed on rabies but it was merely a safeguard; Mallory had a feeling their wounds were clean as a whistle. Her needs were simple right. She wanted a bath, sleep and Rumlow. And for the Soldier to stay away from her.
He stood at the door, his back to her. He hadn't said a word to her since. His left eye was colouring a nasty purple bruise as Mallory had socked him one, using his own techniques against him to land an impressive right hand. Usually he wouldn't be caught of guard but he'd obviously calculated that due to her past, she wouldn't react violently to him. Well he was wrong.
She stood side by side with the Soldier as they lowered the steps onto the Bunker's tarmac and she felt her anger rising to even be breathing the same air as him.
"You promised you wouldn't shoot him." Mallory said, her voice cracking under the emotional strain. Venom poured out of her tone but the Soldier stood firm, swallowing hard.
"I lied." He was a blank slate and Mallory hated him.
Mallory watched with hatred as he strided across the helicopter pad towards the lift of the Bunker. Looking down, she watched her step as she limped down the steps and into the bright afternoon sun. It was heaven. She closed her eyes, trying to picture something pleasant instead of the horrific images that kept cropping up. She slid the jacket off her shoulders and allowed her skin to drink in the heavenly UV rays.
"Mallory!"
The shout echoed from across the landing pad. Mallory opened her eyes and saw a STRIKE member had broken away from the group and was running towards her. His dark hair flapped in the wind, and as he reached her she saw the dark Italian skin, hazel eyes and concerned features racing towards her. Consumed with a rush of love, the emotional strain broke down and she began to sob hysterically, ignoring the pain in her leg as she rushed forwards to throw her arms around him.
She didn't care that she looked and smelt like shit; he was here and nothing mattered. She clung to him tightly, wrapping herself around him like an anaconda.
"Mallory! Oh God, baby… I was so worried about you." Rumlow smelt like Rumlow, wood and musk and soap and just that clean smell she hadn't realized she had missed until it was right under her nose. "I missed you. I love you."
Every word pierced her with more love and she had never felt more at home than she did in his arms. He loved her. He had said he loved her. She loved him too. She had fallen for Rumlow hard. It was weird because she had never really thought about him when they were in the prison. But now that he was here she was suddenly so aware of how much a part of her had ached for his easy laughter and gentle smiles. His touch... she had fallen for Rumlow unexpectedly and wonderfully and he seemed like the only bright spot on her horizon at the moment.
She loved him too. And she didn't have to say it because he knew it as she clung to him tighter and sobbed harder and fell apart in his arms.
"Take me home." It was all she could say. "I wanna go home."
A/N: The chapter was meant to be posted a lot sooner and also supposed to be a lot shorter so I'm sorry and you're welcome. Response has been amazing as usual and I love you guys. Exam season is coming up soon and I'll try and write as much as possible but I'm not going to promise anything. Anyway, thanks for reading!