Summary: Bucky is recaptured by Hydra where their scientists conduct more experiments on him. There he meets an unlikely ally, an innocent looking young woman who is hiding a much darker side. Meanwhile Steve has tracked his best friend and discovered his location and is preparing to mount a rescue mission with the help of some of his fellow Avengers. Can they save Bucky before it's too late? And who is this mystery woman? Co – Written with Dixon – Vixen 13. Bucky/OC, Steve/Sharon, Clint/Natasha, Tony/Pepper. Rated M for graphic violence, language and eventual sexual scenes.
Soldiers And Spies
Chapter 3
Bucky had been numb ever since they had landed at the Avengers Tower, he had let Eva down and he honestly felt like a monster when he looked at himself in the mirror.
'You left her behind, you bastard.' The voice in his head told him and he clenched his metal hand angrily.
He hated himself.
He had made her a promise. He said he would get her out of there, and then what did he do? Go back on his word and left her behind with those monsters. He shuddered to think what they were doing to her. In a fit of rage he slammed his fist into the mirror, shattering the glass. He watched as the shards fell to the floor. He felt just a broken as that mirror, Bucky wasn't sure if he could ever be fixed. At least not until he righted his wrongs.
He stormed out of the bathroom and went in search of Steve. He found him working out in the gym. Of course. Where else would a huge muscly super soldier be? "Steve!" He called out to his friend over the sound of him beating a punching back furiously.
"Hey Buck." He greeted as he stopped and took a break. "How ya feeling?"
"Seen better days man."
"Yeah, I know how that is." Steve replied quietly.
"Please, tell me you have something. I need to find her Steve it's driving me crazy."
"I know Buddy. I'm sorry we had to leave her behind, but I promise we will find her. We have narrowed the location to Freiburg, Germany. They didn't exactly go far. I'll know more soon when Natasha hears back from her source." he reassured his friend. "You never did tell me Buck, what is the story with you and Eva?"
"She was there when I got captured by HYDRA, they were experimenting on her when I first saw her. Eva had been on the run from them as she had killed one of their top scientists. They caught her after three years. She was trained like Natasha was." Bucky explained quietly as Steve nodded in understanding.
"You mean the Red Room Program?" Steve asked wearily, he'd heard about it form Natasha as well as Sharon and Nick Fury after exposing every one of their secrets to the public.
"Yeah, that. Eva got left out in the cold after performing the hit for them and went on the run for three years before HYDRA finally caught up to her. She was forced to fight against me in the training rooms, we'd have to fight each other in every way. They were studying us, assessing our strength and skills." Bucky said bitterly and fell silent.
"Eva saved me. She kept me sane during those weeks in the cell. They experimented on us both countless times. She had been given superpowers somehow, she began having telepathic episodes and strange things happened when she got scared or angry, I think they were trying to make her into a super soldier. I promised her that I'd get her out, she hated killing for them and now I've left her there to rot." He said in self-hatred as he looked at his metal arm.
"Buck, this isn't your fault. We're gonna find her, I promise." Steve said comfortingly as Clint came in accompanied by an unhappy looking Tony.
"Tasha's got something for us." Clint said quietly as he led them into the main room where Natasha was with Pepper.
Eva's face was on the computer screen.
"I got in contact with an old colleague and she managed to dig up some information for me. Evangeline Marina Nikolayev was raised and trained in the Red Room program. According to my contact, she made a name for herself and became...very efficient in her skill set." Natasha said grimly as she handed Bucky a file on Eva along with a photo.
'Name: Evangeline Marina Nikolayev.'
'Aliases: Eva Alikaev, Marina Alikaev
Black Rose.'
'Title: Spy.'
'Nationality: Russian.'
'Race: Caucasian.'
'Age: Twenty Five.'
'D.O.B: June the 24th, 1993
'Hair Colour: Light Blonde.'
'Eye Colour: Blue.'
'Height: 5 ft. 6.'
'Languages: English, Russian, Spanish, Latin, Italian, Romanian, Swiss, German and more.'
'Affiliation: Soviet Government.'
'Education: CLASSIFIED - Red Room Program.'
'Family: Yuri Nikolayev - Father – Deceased, Olga Nikolayev - Mother - Deceased.'
'Qualifications and Skills: Highly trained in Judo, Karate, Boxing, and various other styles of Martial Arts. Expert ballet dancer, gymnast and master acrobat. Master seductress, spy, assassin and expert marksman. Expert in hand to hand combat with superior knife skills. Proficient in multilingualism.'
'Significant Scars: Bullet wound on her left side and a stab wound to her left arm.'
'Significant Piercings: Pierced ears.'
'Assassinations: Edgar Belkov, Andrea Grant, countless others.'
'Weapons of choice: 'Colt Python, Black Rose's Thorn, Gerber Mark II Hunting Knife, Glock 19.'
"Wow... that's quite the resume." Tony spoke up, and Steve agreed.
"That's pretty standard for Red Room trained operatives." Natasha added in. "But she definitely would have been top of her class in all fields by the looks of things. She must have been recruited as a young girl while I was still there."
"I know what you're thinking Nat, and there's no way you could have gotten them all out. We've talked about this. Don't beat yourself up." Clint whispered to her and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, but the others had still heard.
"I know." She replied, trying to shake the guilt from her mind. As far as she knew, she had been the only one to successfully escape the Red Room without being hunted down and killed. Of course they had tried. But every one of their agents had gone back to them in body bags.
"Look I know I was against all this in the beginning, but things have changed. I owe you guys an apology." Tony said to Steve and Bucky. "I was too quick to judge without all the facts. Steve you were just trying to help your friend, and I was a jerk about it. And Bucky, I should have believed Steve when he said you were a good man and that HYDRA must have done something to you. Now that I have gotten to know you I can see that." Tony stated. "And now that the apologies are out of the way we can stop being sappy and get down to business. I've had a couple of my unmanned suits fly to Freiburg and do some scouting and it seems they may have found the location of the Hydra base where they are holding Miss Nikolayev."
For the first time since leaving her behind, Bucky finally felt a little bit of hope that he would see her again.
"Let's go suit up and we'll see if Eva's still there!" Steve instructed. Bucky took off to go suit up in the uniform Tony had made for him. It was similar to his old one but had more holsters on it and now he could place three knives in the holsters, he put them in and grabbed a rifle and slung it over his shoulder, then he grabbed Colt Python that Eva had used in the base while fighting the HYDRA soldiers, he thought maybe it might bring him some luck.
'Please God, please let her be safe.' Bucky prayed as he finished suiting up and headed to the jet where the others were waiting and they took off with Clint and Nat at the helm.
It was five hours before they landed and cautiously entered the base, it seemed completely deserted of anyone and they cautiously entered, making their way through until they found what seemed like an operation room.
Tony studied some x - rays that had fallen under the desk, probably in the hasty escape from the facility. They were of a female skeleton, but the bone in the legs didn't look like average bone. He searched all the cupboards and draws in the office off the operating room when he came across a USB drive tucked at the back of a draw. "Guys, I might have something here!" He called out to the others. He attached the drive to his phone and brought up a video file. Cautiously he hit play.
Bucky and the others watched in silence and to their shock they saw that Eva was in the video. She was unconscious on the operating table and something was being done to her legs. Tony narrowed his eyes, remembering the x-rays he had studied.
"They're replacing her bones with Vibranium." Tony said stunned as they watched a little while longer before Bucky told them him to shut it off. He couldn't watch anymore.
The team arrived back at the HQ all feeling deflated. They had a little more information on Eva, but no clue as to her whereabouts. Bucky went straight to the gym and took his frustration out on a punching bag. The upgrade that the scientist had given him on his metal arm meant he could now strike with a lot more force and impact. Needless to say the punching bad didn't hold up very long against the angry and frustrated soldier.
"Hey Buck. You okay?" Steve asked as he entered.
"Not really." He replied as he hung his head.
"Don't worry Buddy we'll find her. Tony is with us now and he's got a lot of great tech and a lot of connections. We will get her back." He said as he clapped his friend on the back and left him to it, sensing Bucky just wanted to be alone for a while.
Natasha sat out on one of the balconies of HQ, remembering the Red Room and all the bad things that happened there. All the experiments they did, how because of her skill set as the Black Widow she was sterilised, ruining every chance she had of a normal life. They were animals. How could they do these things to other human beings?
"Nat..." Clint said as he approached her, placing an arm on her shoulder. "You good?"
"I'm fine..." She replied. She knew that he could tell she was lying. His Hawkeye vision meant he was an expert at reading minute facial expressions. He was like a human lie detector. "Actually... I'm not okay. Not at all." She admitted.
"It's alright. I'm here for you." Clint said as he grabbed her arms and pulled her to stand before wrapping his arms around her for a hug. "You're strong Nat. Stronger than anyone I know. What's happening to Eva. It's not your fault. You and I both know that we couldn't have taken down the Red Room on our own. But who knows, now that we have a team, maybe someday soon we can."
"I think I would like that." She told him.
"Me too nat... me too." He whispered as he placed a gentle kiss to her temple and continued to hold her in his protective embrace. Anyone watching their exchange would think that they were together, but they were yet to make that leap. They had grown close over the years since Clint had brought her back to SHIELD. They shared a special bond and were definitely closer than average partners were. But in their line of work it was easier not to get too attached, so they continued to lie to themselves about their feelings.
Eva sat down in the room they had put her in as she concentrated on levitating a few building blocks, before making them snap in half as she saw Strucker enter.
"I have an assassination for you, Samuel Donnelly who is a weapons engineer and is poking around things that he shouldn't be concerning himself with. Find him and kill him." Strucker instructed harshly and Eva nodded.
She stood up and was handed a new suit, it was made of black leather and had pads on the elbows and knees. It was complete with a belt to hold her weapons.
"You will be known as Psyche from now on." Strucker told her before he left. She tried on the suit along with the boots that had been handed to her.
She smiled at how it looked before she took it off. She redressed again and put on a pair of tight black skinny jeans, a white silk shirt and a gold bracelet and a black leather jacket over top. She was escorted to a hanger where she was given a leather suitcase and a passport, she looked at it intently and bordered the private jet.
Valentina Marie Grey was her new alias for this mission.
Eva read up on her intended assassination target during the flight, there were surveillance photos that showed him frequenting a bar on Fifth Avenue.
All she had to do now was dress up nice and lure him into a false sense of security, before killing him, just like her Red Room days.
It would be easy.
It didn't take Eva long to scope out the bar. She had the entire place mapped in her mind within a few minutes. She knew where the cameras were and how to avoid them. Once she located her target she began delve into her tricks of the trade. She sauntered past him, 'accidently' banging into him slightly before apologizing sweetly and flashing a winning smile. She knew he would be instantly hooked and intrigued.
She made her way up to the bar and flagged down the bar tender. She ordered a drink and began the waiting game. It took less than a minute for Donnelly to wander over to her and strike up a conversation. To say he was a bit of a bore would be an understatement, but she played along and laughed at his pathetic attempt at jokes. She had him eating out of the palm of her hand in seconds.
"What do you say we get out of here?" She whispered seductively as she played with the collar of his button up shirt.
"You wanna...? O... okay" he stuttered nervously, obviously finding it hard to believe that a woman as beautiful as herself would want to go home with him so quickly.
He held out his arm for her which she took with a smile as the two of them headed for the exit. Too easy she thought to herself. He fell hook line and sinker for her little charm act.
Once outside she convinced him that she was staying at a hotel just down the road and it would be quicker to just walk there rather than take a cab halfway across town. The foolish man gladly agreed as he thought he was getting very lucky tonight. She lured him down a dark and deserted alleyway where she would carry out her plan.
They walked down the alley for a while, before Eva pulled out her gun and shot him once in the chest and then once in the head, quick and clean. She watched emotionlessly as the man collapsed and began bleeding out on the cold concrete.
She searched Donnelly's pockets finding a USB stick and placed it discreetly inside her purse before walking away, leaving the man's dead body behind her.
She then dialled Strucker's number and waited for him to answer the phone, informing him that the assassination had been successful and she had retrieved a USB drive.
"Very good. Come back to the base, I have another assignment for you, Psyche." Strucker told her and Eva hung up and flagged down a taxi to get back to the jet where she changed into her suit, before flying back to Germany.
Bucky had been punching the punch bag all morning, when he saw Steve come in looking anxious.
"Buck, we got something that might be related to Eva." He told him and he followed him into the briefing room and saw that the CNC News was on.
"Police have confirmed that US acclaimed Engineer Samuel Donnelly was assassinated last night in an alleyway after a leaving a bar with an unknown female." The news reporter said gravely. "There is no footage of the woman but the bartender described her as around 5'5-5'6 with light blonde hair. If the public has any information regarding this incident we urge you to contact the police immediately."
Bucky felt his stomach drop.
'Eva? No. It couldn't be.' Bucky thought to himself. Surely not.
"How do we even know that it was her? It could have been anybody." Bucky said optimistically.
"I've had Jarvis piecing together any news reports of high profile assassinations performed by someone highly trained." Tony began.
"That doesn't prove it was her." Bucky said angrily.
"No, you're right it doesn't." Tony said calmly. "But if you let me finish... once he finds something Jarvis backtracks the whereabouts of the victim and scouts any and all media usually facial recognition. Say if he appears in the background of some college girls Instagram photo." Tony said somewhat triumphantly as he brought a photo onto the screen of a couple college girls having a good night out drinking. There in the background was Donnelly at the bar, talking to... Eva.
"Shit!" Bucky exclaimed. "Do you know where she is now?"
"We tried to track her, but she is very good at hiding from any building or street cameras... we lost her." Tony replied.
"God damn it!" Bucky yelled in frustration. "I knew this would happen when I left her behind. This is all my fault. I should have just stayed there with her."
"Then you would either bed dead, or just like her, brainwashed into killing again." Steve told him.
"Maybe I'd rather be dead than feel this guilt!" Bucky screamed before storming out of the room.
"We gotta find her guys, he's getting worse. This guilt is tearing him apart, he is going to self-destruct." Steve told the rest of the team.
"We're on it." Tony replied as he began giving Jarvis orders on what to search for.
"Sir, I've found a hotel room which is at a hotel five miles from where Mr Donnelly was killed under the name Valentina Marie Grey." Jarvis informed him.
"Get her photo up, Jarvis." Tony instructed and a photo of a young blonde haired woman at the reception desk of the hotel appeared. She was wearing sunglasses and part of her hair was shielding her face. "Steve?" Tony asked quickly.
"I'll get Bucky." He replied easily.
Bucky entered the room and saw the photo on the screen. The young woman had familiar bangs, it definitely looked like her.
"That's Eva, do you know where she went?" Bucky asked quickly.
"Jarvis?" Tony asked patiently.
Another security camera picture popped up on the screen. "My facial recognition is an 86% match to Miss Nikolayev Sir." Jarvis told him.
"She boarded a flight at 9:30 this morning at JFK Airport, it was heading to...Germany, Munich." Tony said quickly as Natasha then phoned an old contact of hers, Madame B.
"What was the hotel that Eva was staying in, Tony?" Sharon asked quickly as she called a dispatch unit.
"Crowne Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue." Tony told her and Sharon relayed the information telling a unit to get there as they rushed off with Steve and Bucky.
"Sir, have you seen this young woman?" Bucky asked the man at the hotel reception as he held up a photo of Eva. The blonde haired young man looked at it intently for a moment and nodded.
"Yeah, she stayed here for a couple of nights. Is she ok?" The guy asked concerned.
Bucky pressed his lips together for a minute.
"That's what we're trying to find out, can we see the room?"
"Uh, yes. Housekeeping hasn't been through yet. Here's the key, room 108. First floor."
"Thank you for cooperating with us." Bucky said and the man nodded.
As they headed into the room they saw it was empty aside from a laptop, sitting in the corner.
"Seems a little sloppy for her to leave this behind. Do you think maybe she is trying to leave you a trail?" Steve asked Bucky.
"I hope so."
Let's hope Bucky finds Eva soon.