So they called this place "the BUS".
It was basically a posh RV with wings.
I had learned that the two agents that captured us earlier were called Romanov and Barton. I didn't know any of their first names.
Summer seemed to recognise Romanov's name but he struggled to remember where he had heard it.
Don't you just love having your mind wiped and memories erased?
I know I do.
We were tossed into a silver room and the door was locked behind us. There was a table and pen on the table in the room. I chuckled to myself.
"The Peggy Carter test", Summer said, recognising the tactic.
There was so much one could do with a pen, our reaction would give our captors great insight into our character and thought processes.
I grabbed the pen and whipped my arm, letting it go into the air. It hit its mark in the lens of a camera that would have been invisible to the untrained eye. I easily retrieved it, though I admit that I had to stretch in order to reach it.
Groaning, I leaned on the wall and slid down, turning the pen between my fingers.
"I'm bored now" I told Summer.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a habit he's always had.
"We could escape" I shook my head.
"Being on the run is boring. Besides, if these guys are going to take down HYDRA, I want in".
Summer nodded in agreement, and sat down cross legged in front of me. He took pen from my hand and etched a shape into the ground between the us.
"Tic tac toe?"
It felt like forever until the emotionless ginger entered the room. By that time, I had beaten Summer in many games of tic tac toe, hangman, and pictionary, though I suspected that he had allowed me to win most of those times. The walls were completely covered with pen ink, as well as parts of the ceiling.
The agent strolled into the room, and I noticed that all her movements were graceful like those of a dancer. Every small action, even those that seemed involuntary were intentional and thought out. She took a seat at one of the chairs which was bolted to the floor near the table.
"My name is Agent Natasha Romanov" she said after a pregnant pause. She gave us a once over with her eyes. Summer and I took a seat at the chairs.
She looked at me in the eyes before gazing at Summer. "How long have you been working for HYDRA?" she asked.
Summer paused before a brief moment before speaking. "Jordan Blaire. Asset. 187442".
"Their leader's name?"
"Jordan Blaire. Asset. 187442".
How many bases are there?"
"Jordan Blaire. Asset. 187442".
"What's your name, rank and serial number?"
"187442. Asset. Jordan Blaire". She cracked a smile at that.
She turned to me.
I knew what Summer was thinking. It was clear that every word we said would limit our options and reveal too much to a person who was too strategic. None of us felt comfortable with telling too much to someone we didn't completely trust.
"You know what I want right now?" I asked. Natasha looked at me with curiosity. "An ice cream. You don't happen to have any do you?" Natasha sighed, then got up to leave the room.
"Sprinkles would be nice!" I called after her.
A little while later, me and Summer were holding cones of chocolate ice cream with sprinkles and a cherry, trying not to let it melt onto our hands. We were both taking our time; we weren't in the mood for another interrogation anytime soon.
When our eyes met, I noticed that Summer was smiling. It wasn't like he was grinning, he never smiled in that sense of the word, but there was a smile in his eyes.
"You owe me" I stated knowingly, and Summer looked at me with a frown.
"I let you beat me at tic tac toe over one hundred times!" he said, as if I had stabbed him in the back.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night" I said, humouring him, both of us knowing that neither of us slept well no matter the time of day.
"Besides, I'm talking 10 Ferraris worth of debt". Summer gave a small huff, which was his version of rolling his eyes.
"It's one ice cream cone," he said exasperated. "But you should've told them that you wanted a Ferrari and seen if they would've given it to you".
"Yes, I should have" I said thoughtfully. "If you won't fully appreciate the value of that ice cream, you can give it to someone who will". With this, I extended my hand.
Summer looked at my hand, then his ice cream, then brought it a little closer to him, protectively.
I chuckled knowingly, before sighing. "Now we wait for the next one".
The next one came soon after I had said that, Agent Barton. He seemed carefree, grinning at us like we were his best friends.
Needless to say, we did not grin back.
He sat at the table like Romanov had, and suddenly looked at me.
"Wasn't your arm broken before?" he asked concerned. "We could get someone in to help you".
I looked at him, with a robotic gaze. "We could get someone in to help you".
"God, this is hard", Barton said, rubbing the heels of his hands on his eyes.
"Honey, the pants haven't even come off yet" said Summer, trying to diffuse the tension while diverting Barton's attention from my magically healed arm.
Whilst staying at HYDRA, we had heard rumours that SHIELD had been infiltrated with agents. These rumours hadn't been confirmed until SHIELD had burnt down to the ground, and Project Paperclip was dumped onto the web. While we wanted to take down SHIELD, we didn't want to spill all our secrets to someone who could potentially still be working for HYDRA. We were waiting for someone that we were completely sure we could trust.
Clint Barton was too mysterious to be that someone.
Bucky continued to mercilessly flirt with Agent Barton until he had once again turned to me.
"What is your connection to HYDRA?" he asked, a faint blush still visible on his cheeks.
I gave him what Summer called my "these are not the droids you are looking for" gaze.
"What is your connection to HYDRA?" Instead of getting frustrated like I thought he would, he grinned widely.
"Cheese"
"Cheese"
"Sally sells seashells by the seashore"
"Sally sells seashells by the seashore"
"Notre père, qui es au ciel, que ton nom soit sanctifié"
"Notre père, qui es au ciel, que ton nom soit sanctifié"
"I suck and am a huge dork"
I smiled sweetly at Barton.
"At least you're not afraid to admit it"
Growling, Barton stomped out of the room, while Summer tried to hold in his laughter.
Summer and I were convinced that two attempts at interrogation would be the end of SHIELD's attempts to penetrate our defences protecting our past but a few hours later, a suspicious character entered the cell.
He opened the door and entered, then peeked out the door as if to make sure that no one had seen him.
He smiled at us. A genuine smile. Not to lower our defences or to get a reaction to psychoanalyse but a small innocent smile to display feelings of happiness and suggest a potential future friendship.
I have heard rumours about such a smile but I had never witnessed one before. Truthfully, I didn't fully believe that they existed.
He looked both of us in the eye.
"My boss thinks that both of you are utter wastes of time and resources and that you have nothing to offer." He paused and gave us a small smile, like the one before. "I disagree".
I could feel Summer shifting in his seat, getting excited.
"Why is that?" he asked the man.
"It's difficult for me to explain why, but I think that you both have potential. HYDRA has twisted you into some kind of mindless soldier but you deserve a life of your own. A life created by your own dreams, sculpted by your own choices. I want to help you get that life."
I knew what Summer was thinking. It was easy to tell, just by looking into the man's eyes that he sincerely believed what he was saying. If there was anyone to trust in this agency, it would be him.
"Tell me, sir, what is your name?" I spoke while leaning forward in my seat.
"Agent Phil Coulson".
"Well, Agent Coulson, what would you like to know?"