The Curse of Dr. Zola
Chapter 7
The Allied camp wasn't too far from the front lines and the men made it there without being detected. Of course, once they got there, they were ushered to the medical tent and then on to Colonel Phillip's tent for a debriefing.
They sat and were introduced to Captain Steve Rogers. He had just gotten the men out from the factory, and returned them all to Colonel Phillip's camp less than a week ago.
"What can you tell me about Sgt. James Barnes? I was told that he had been removed from the cells, and hauled away. No one saw him again."
"That's part of what we need to tell you; Sgt. Barnes was with our group. He sacrificed himself so we could go free."
"Waitaminute! Are you telling me that you were just let go?" Col. Phillips was astounded.
"Where's Bucky now?" Steve was impatient.
"He's with her."
"Who? Her?" Steve was nearly out of his chair, ready to go find Bucky.
"Sit down, soldier." Phillips was not about to let Captain America talk Howard Stark into flying another plane behind enemy lines again. "Let him talk."
"And that's the whole story."
Steve and Col. Phillips sat back to digest this whole thing. They looked at each other, and before Steve could get a word out, Phillips squashed the idea of him trying to run to save one man. "Your place is here, son. You made a tremendous contribution by rescuing 400 plus men. I can't let you go off half-cocked to rescue Barnes. We don't even know where he is. They don't even know. Let him wait out the war. If this dame let these men go, it's most likely she'll let him go too."
"I can't help but wonder why, Colonel. What game is she playing?"
"All she told us is that we play a significant part in the war somehow."
"But not how?"
"No."
"If she hadn't come along and pulled you out, you'd all be among those I found at the factory, and Bucky too."
"Your friend Bucky had been pulled from the general population, as were others. No one ever came back. Either they were shipped out, or…." The sentence trailed off before saying the rest, but they all knew what it implied; that they were dead. Steve didn't want to think about it.
"Well, Captain, since these men were behind the lines, and in that factory. Do you think you can team up and wipe some of HYDRA off that map that you saw?"
"Yes sir!"
Captain Steve Rogers leaned over the map that had been laid out on the table. Colonel Phillips was nearby and the newly formed team, now called the Howling Commandos, was spread out around the table.
"I only got a quick look at the map." Steve placed markers on the locations as best he could. "This one is the closest. We should hit here first and work our way east, in a zig-zag pattern."
"I'll make sure you have everything you need."
"Thank you Colonel. We need as much intel as we can get too."
"You see this?" He pointed to his chest. "I didn't get to be a colonel by my good looks alone. I know what you need. I'm also going to get you one more soldier."
"With all due respect, sir…"
"You need one more pair of hands, Captain, and that's an order."
"Yes, sir."
The colonel nodded to one of his aides to go fetch the latest addition. It turned out to be the guy Steve rescued from the gurney. He was from the 107th, PFC Shawn Murphy. He had been there in the cell next to the one Bucky had been held in before he had been pulled. At just 19, he was one of the younger soldiers in the unit. He had started out very green and inexperienced, but that all changed when the group got captured. He turned out to be a pretty tough kid. Luckily, Steve got there before things made the turn for the worst.
They got him up to speed, and he in turn, told them all he remembered of his many days and weeks at the factory. It was hoped the other installations were similar in nature.
Colonel Phillips got all the equipment they needed. They practiced and trained together, in preparation for the first assault.
As they prepared to pull out for their first assault, Steve thought of Bucky. Hang in there, pal, I'm on my way. He knew how tough Bucky was, and if the story Jones, Dum Dum and all the others corroborated, then Bucky was still relatively ok. Steve wanted Bucky by his side tho, and that way he could be sure.
As they left, Steve promised Phillips he'd be back. Phillips nodded in return; of that he had no doubts. Steve had proven himself to Phillips by defying his orders and going behind enemy lines. While he didn't rescue Bucky, he did bring back over 400 men, and a couple of tanks, plus as many HYDRA weapons as the men could carry. It was a big win for the SSR.
Steve rode a Harley-Davidson motorcycle ahead of the unit. His instincts were good, but if there was any trouble, he could lead them away from the rest of his men.
Steve took the lead in the attack; partly because he was enhanced, and partly because he wanted to find Bucky. He didn't know if the location where the Commandos and Bucky were kept was one of these he'd marked or not, but surely someone must know something! He wanted to be the first in. He was not going to ask any of the men entrusted to him, to do anything he was not willing to do himself, because that was the right thing to do in his mind.
And just like that, the Howling Commandos won their first victory against HYDRA, and it felt damn good!
But no Bucky.
After the end of mission debriefing, Steve spoke the questions that everyone had been thinking, but had not voiced yet. "Who was this woman? Why was she wearing a Nazi uniform if she didn't work for them? Does she work for HYDRA?"
Bucky sat on the exam table, miserable, while the doctor checked his ears, shone a light in his eyes, made him open his mouth and felt around under his jaw. The very large orderly standing by looked like he was there only to keep Bucky in line.
Bucky had rolled his eyes at his temperature being taken. Why do doctors take your temperature even when they know you're not sick? He had hesitated, and apparently for too long.
"If you do not open your mouth, I will ask my orderly to assist me in putting the thermometer in your other end to get your reading."
Bucky stole a glance at the orderly and had little doubt the man would love to manhandle Bucky if only to delight in Bucky's humiliation of having the thermometer shoved into his rear end. Bucky cleared his throat. "Sorry." He dutifully opened his mouth and the doctor placed the thermometer under his tongue.
"Keep your mouth closed." The doctor graced him with a scowl. Bucky kept his mouth closed but made a face.
"That will not help you." The doctor replied, and grabbed Bucky's wrist for a pulse reading.
When the time elapsed, he removed the thermometer from Bucky's mouth, checked the reading and made a notation on the paper.
Next, the doctor took a blood sample. It went very quickly as Bucky had good veins to work with. Bucky remarked that it seemed an awful lot tho. The doctor merely raised an eyebrow at him.
"Drop your boxers."
For the next eight minutes, the doctor managed to make Bucky feel as uncomfortable as humanly possible. Every part of his body was examined, pressed or pinched, and the doctor didn't miss any parts. Bucky burned red with embarrassment. Even the military doctors and nurses weren't this thorough.
"Lean over the table and spread your legs."
"Why?"
The orderly leaned down. "Because he said so."
Bucky looked into the face of the seven footer and decided discretion was the better part of valor on this one. Reluctantly, he turned and leaned over the table, his weight resting on his elbows.
"You will feel a slight pinch."
The doctor jammed a needle into Bucky's butt cheek and pressed the plunger. Bucky flinched and howled in pain. "That wasn't a pin…ARRGGGHHHHHH." Another needle was jammed into the other cheek. Tears came to his eyes as the second needle was withdrawn.
"You might be a little sore."
"Ya think?"
"I need a stool sample. Remain still."
"How are you gonna….." Realization hit Bucky about the same time he felt something being inserted into him. He flinched again, but managed to suppress the howl; barely.
Bucky squeezed his eyes shut tight as he felt something poking around inside him. The doctor was no nonsense, and quickly got the job done, much to Bucky's relief.
The doctor handed him something to clean himself up with while he and the orderly left for a few moments.
Outside the room, the woman paced anxiously. "Did he pass?"
"He is in excellent health. I have the blood samples. I will run one and preserve the rest."
"And how is his mental state?"
"He's tough enough to handle whatever you throw at him, very resilient, with a quick mind."
The woman just smiled as the doctor walked away.