Oh boy. Stuff's gonna hit the fan now...
DarylDixon'sLover: Libby is in for it, and I still love Bucky too.
Tiphanie: Libby's definitely something. But desperate times call for desperate situations. Olivia is definitely turning into one of my favorite characters. And I'll definitely keep the Frostbite thing in mind, not just for this story, but for the others as well. Look at you, giving me more ideas. I knew you were my favorite reviewer for a reason...
Enjoy!
My face was swollen again, and sticky from dried blood. My nose was plugged, my eye starting to swell, and my lip was split again, still dribbling blood in my mouth. My shoulder and ankle were throbbing, and the rest of my body ached. My head was spinning, vision blurred as I tried to focus. We had changed cars again, this time in a truck. The diesel engine was loud in my ears. I was spread out across the back seat, the seat belts haphazardly belted over me, and my wrists were zip tied together again. There was a duffle bag on the floor by my feet, and another on the passenger seat, along with my backpack. Well...at least he'd had heart enough to grab that. I guess it would be easier to trace if he'd just left it in the alley. If anyone had seen him grab me, they could have found my ID, and alerted the police. Then my face would be everywhere, and it would be harder to transport me. This guy really was smart. Always a step ahead. Thinking things through, and leaving no room for mistakes. I had to commend him on that. Okay. I really was delirious. Maybe I'd been punched in the face too many times.
I wasn't quite sure where we were, or how long I'd been out for. But we had to be at least nearing D.C. If not already there. I couldn't see much of anything except sky through the windows. And the light was nearly blinding me. Stupid concussions. But I did see what I thought was a tree every once in awhile.
The truck slowed, then turned left, heading down a gravel road, the trees blocking out the harsh sunlight. I turned, trying to see out of the front window, but all I could see were trees. And then the top of an armored van. Oh boy.
The truck came to a stop, the soldier turning off the engine before getting out. The door over my head opened, the zip ties around my wrist snapping before I was unbuckled and dragged from the cab. I was dizzy as he carried me over his shoulder, his bulky back blocking everything from view. I could hear other footsteps in the gravel, heavy boots and the click of a gun. Maybe this was it. This was where I would die.
I was dropped to the ground, screaming as my shoulder hit first, my body curling into a ball. Tears were running down my face, mixing with blood. I hurt, and filthy, and probably looked like I picked a fight with a freight train.
"Well, she's still breathing." I knew that voice.
A heavy boot kicked me in the side, rolling me over. I whimpered, sobbing a little when I saw who was standing over me. He whistled lowly, his eyes trailing the length of my body.
"You really did a number on her, Asset. Good job. Maybe the brat has learned her lesson." Rumlow turned, speaking to the men behind him. "Get her loaded in the truck and take her back to base. Call Pierce and tell him we found her."
Two other men came forward, pulling me up under my arms. I whimpered as my broken ankle dragged along the ground, my shoulder at a painful angle from the men dragging me into the truck. I turned, looking back at the man...the Asset. He was stock still, his face still covered as he waited instruction. I thought I saw his face turn just barely in my direction, but I could have just imagined it.
They strapped me in the armored truck, two of them getting in the back with me before another two got in the front. The two in the back didn't say anything as we drove to what I assumed was D.C. I tried to shift in my seat to get more comfortable, but it was too painful. I clenched my left eye shut, since the right was almost swollen closed, trying not to make a sound, scared they might shoot me if I did. Though I doubted it. They mentioned my father, which meant I would probably live long enough to see him, but afterwards...I didn't know. Maybe if I told them I didn't know anything besides the name, they'd let me live. Have a little more mercy than the Asset.
I didn't see where they went, as there were no windows in the truck, but we were inside the city. I knew that much. They unloaded me on a dock of sorts, dragging me down far underground, into a bank? It was abandoned, and had been for a long time. Good place to murder someone and never have them found.
They opened up a vault, Rumlow and the Asset inside. The two men dragging me to a chair, plopping me down rather harshly.
"You stink like vomit." Rumlow said, moving around to my side. "Find me a shirt." He said to one of the guards before pulling out a knife, my heart rate jumping.
He cut my vomit covered shirt off, something I was partially grateful for, after having been in it for a while. But I was also in nothing but a bra and my pants in a room full of men. I hugged my left arm to my chest, both to keep it in a comfortable position, and to try and cover myself a little.
"Aww, don't be modest, sweetheart." Rumlow said, tapping the underside of my chin with the knife. "It's nothing they haven't seen before." His words didn't reassure me.
The guard came back with a large black t-shirt. Rumlow pulled it over my head, and I braced myself, expecting him to yank my arms through, but he was surprisingly gentle. A little uncharacteristic from what I'd seen.
I gulped when he moved out of the way, my father standing in the entrance to the vault. He didn't say anything as he entered, walking towards me with his hands in his pockets. I was aware of the presence behind me, Rumlow there in case I decided to do something stupid.
"Olivia Lorraine." My father said, sighing. "I thought better of you. Breaking into my office, looking at classified information, then running away to sell our secrets."
"I didn't read anything." I said, but my response was a smack across the face. I whimpered, tasting blood on my tongue.
My father gripped my chin, tugging my head back so I was looking at him. "Don't interrupt me." I just gave him a hard stare. "You've always been the problem child. Headstrong, but a free spirit like your mother. You've caused me a lot of trouble over the years, but this is by far the worst."
"What are you going to do? Kill me?" I asked, spitting blood out of my mouth.
"That would be what everyone would expect. After all that's the penalty for finding out information you're not supposed to know. 'I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you.' That's how the saying goes, right?" He leaned down so we were eye to eye. "But that's not how HYDRA works. I don't know how much you saw, or how much you know, but that doesn't matter to me now. You need to be taught a lesson. A lesson in order. Because that's HYDRA's mission. Bring order to the world. But you're too willful to obey our orders. That's why we sent the Asset. He'd break you, and maybe you'd start to understand. But I see that didn't work. So now, we're going to have to approach this a different way. And I know the perfect person to help you on this journey." My dad straightened up, looking past me at Rumlow. "See to it that she is straightened out. And don't stop until she's ready to comply with our rules."
He turned walking back towards the vault entrance. I winced, biting my lip so hard it bled as Rumlow's hand came down on my left shoulder, squeezing.
"You hear that, princess? It's just you and me-"
He was cut off, his hand disappearing from my shoulder before a thud echoed around the room. Both my dad and I turned, the Asset had him pinned to the vault wall, one hand holding his wrist, the other around his neck. He didn't say anything, just stared hard at Rumlow.
"Contain him." I heard my dad say, and the other guards moved forward, pulling the Asset away from Rumlow.
Rumlow coughed, rubbing his neck. "I see someone got a little attached. Or maybe he wants to do it himself." The Asset jerked slightly in the guard's grips.
"Rumlow, get the Asset out of here, and send a doctor in. Have him look at Olivia."
Rumlow nodded, running his hand down my hair in passing as he followed the guards who were leading the Asset out of the vault. My dad grabbed Rumlow's shoulder, pulling him close.
"We can finish this later. Once the Asset is contained, and your hands are free, she's all yours."
I felt my blood run cold, my heart sinking at those words as Rumlow turned, smirking at me before following the Asset out of the vault.