The Curse of Dr. Zola

Chapter 9

"…and that makes 30. Go to the showers and meet me in the dining room." She instructed him.

Bucky heaved a breath, and ducked around the barbell he just put back on the stand, and sat up on the bench. His felt his shoulders burn with the effort he just put out, but the hot water would ease that.

He'd been doing physical training of all sorts, none by his own will, and some he didn't understand how it would help. A bicycle had been put on a stand and Bucky had been forced to ride it. He'd been made to run laps, lift weights, swim and tread water. With each new activity, he was pressed to the very limits of his strength. With treading water, she'd waited until he went under twice before lowering the ladder for him to climb out with.

He shook his head, stretched his tired and achy body and was escorted down to the showers.

He enjoyed the hot shower, dressed, and hurried to the dining room to eat.

She was already nibbling on steak when he arrived. His eyes got as huge as saucers as he sat down.

"I didn't know how you liked your steak, but it can always be adjusted." She had finally abandoned her German accent.

"I'll take steak any way I can get it."

Bucky cut into the thick, juicy cut of beef and popped a forkful into his mouth.

"OhhhhhhhmyGod." It was so good, and so tender that Bucky couldn't wait to tell her and he mumbled out his expression of delight in between his chewing.

"It's American beef."

"What? How?"

"I have connections, and a deep purse."

"This must have cost you a small fortune."

"Indeed, but you are worth every penny."

Bucky inhaled another mouthful. "What makes me so important? Why take us all out of the factory if you were letting them go? Was that part of the plan all along?"

She sighed deeply. "This is all very complicated. I took the others because they were/are to do an important job for me, but the job was never here. Unfortunately, I cannot control what happens once they were released. I regret using them as leverage against you. I regret doing many things, and I've changed how things will turn out."

"What do you mean you've changed how things will turn out?"

"You were supposed to be back in that factory. I was never supposed to be here. Dr. Zola was tricked into releasing you into my custody. He won't be taking this very well. He'll be very angry, very angry indeed."

"I don't understand. You haven't even told me your name. Can't you at least tell me that?"

For the first time, her shoulders slumped in defeat, and a great sadness passed over her face. "I cannot give you information that may sway you from your destiny. My only hope now is to hide you from HYDRA long enough to train my daughter."

"You have a daughter?"

"She's so young and innocent; just 4 years old."

"Where is she?"

"I have her hidden away. Everything I do is for her. I must keep her safe from them. They would destroy her innocence and use her."

"Who are they?"

"HYDRA."

"Who or what is HYDRA exactly?"

"Johann Schmidt is HYDRA, the head of HYDRA, it's an organization dedicated to taking over the world."

"Sounds like Hitler."

"Schmidt is worse. In any case, enjoy your steak tonight. Tomorrow I will give you off to rest and I have things to catch up on."

"We got a 10 second window. We miss that and we're bugs on a windshield." Steve gripped the zip line bar.

"Let's go bugs." Dugan smiled.

Steve, then Dugan, and then Jones jumped on the zip line and sailed down to the train, each landing securely.

Steve led Dugan inside one of the cars, only to be met by a monstrosity. A firefight ensued. Another one showed up and blasted Rogers and Dugan off their feet. Dugan got up first, grabbed Steve's shield just as another blast bounced off the shield and blew a hole in the train. Steve gained his feet and Dugan tossed him the shield. Before Steve could get a firm grip on it, another blast blew Dugan out of the train, and into the deep ravine below. Steve had no chance of stopping his death, and in one huge surge, he funneled all his emotion into squashing the monstrosity that just killed his friend.

Looking out over the rim of the ravaged train car, Steve's shoulders slumped in defeat; he'd lost a good man today. He wished Bucky was there with him.

And to make matters worse, the lead scientist was never aboard. He was, in fact, working on the latest project at another HYDRA base. Using the Tesseract, he'd managed to perfect a cryostasis tube, a device able to suspend life and reanimate it any time he wished. He was so proud of himself, and couldn't wait to show it to his boss.

Unfortunately, right about that time, that base was attacked. Zola had to flee for his life, the base was left in ruins, but not before the unit was removed, and put on a truck for transport. The portable generator used for powering the capsule was put on the truck beside it.

Up on top of the hill, the woman smiled, as her men drove off with the prize. That was the second time she had deprived Dr. Zola of something valuable. She knew time was growing short, but she wondered…did she have enough time left?