Chapter Four:

Interrogation Room

Elena's POV

Eyepatch man left a long time ago. I'm used to waiting with nothing to do. I sit there. It's been a while. I don't know how long exactly.

Finally, the doors open. It's Steve. Even now as I look at bruise on his chin, I still don't feel guilty for kicking him. He's still my enemy. Everyone is my enemy. I am the only one I can trust, I can at least thank Hydra for not taking that away.

"Hi, Elena," He says, taking a seat and placing a file on the table, next to my hands that were still stuck to the table. "How are you doing?"

He waits a moment, but I don't say anything. He points at the file, "this is the information that Hydra has on you. We know about you, but we want to hear it from you. We will know if your lying."

He glances at the mirror behind me. It must also be a window and people must be watching us. I also wonder if he was the one lying. Would Hydra have that kind of information about me just lying around? Wouldn't it be encrypted? That would take some time, more than had passed.

I studied him closely, but don't say anything. He's no longer wearing the blue suit with the star. Now, he's in a gray t-shirt and blue jeans.

"It says you're from Bulgaria." He starts. "and we found you in Romania. Still, when you talked to me you sounded American. When you talked to Fury, you spoke Bulgarian."

That was all true. Maybe my information was in the file, then again, it was only a small fact.

Steve continued to his first question, "Where did you grow up?"

I stay silent. I know that I may be punished for it whenever his patience grows thin, but I didn't want to give him any information. Besides, most of my childhood was spent on the move. Never staying in one place.

He starts again, "We want to help you."

He sounded genuine, but I knew that was bullshit and it made me mad. I don't want to hear his lies. I decide to speak. Venomously, I say, "If you know about me and my information is in that file, then that means you're here because want something from me. What do you want?"

"We don't want anything from you." He says carefully. "We just want to know more about you so we can help you and you can get out of here."

I looked at him. Looking into his eyes, trying to tell if he was lying or not. I hate that I'm not better at reading people. He has to be lying, though. Yet a part of me wants to believe. A weak part. I thought.

"I don't believe you." I finally say sadly and a little defeated. He deflates a little at my words, but I continue. "I'll answer a few questions."

He perked back up and I continue, "I can speak many languages fluently and with the accent. I was trained to do so, to blend in." I didn't quite answer the question he asked, I didn't tell him where I grew up, but it was as close as he was going to get.

"How did you end up being trained by Hydra?" He asked. Maybe I shouldn't have told him I would answer his questions. It's not just a matter of me not wanting him to know, I couldn't care less at this point. It was just something I didn't want to talk about.

"Why must you hear it from me?" I asked solemnly. "Wouldn't that be in my file?"

He glances at the window/mirror again as if it would hold the answer. I let out a sigh. He had lied.

"There's nothing in the file." I say. A statement, not a question. My ability to read people was pretty mediocre, but his expression held the answer this time.

He fidgeted, "There's a few things. Your name. your age. That's about it, but the rest of what I said was true. We aren't here to hurt or use you."

I don't look at him, I just stare at my hands, going back to being silent. If they want information, they can torture it out of me- or at least they can try.

He moves to get up and I instinctually flinch, waiting for the blow. The second it happens I mentally curse myself. I don't look up at him and I'm happy when he doesn't say anything and just leaves.

I'm not waiting as long as last time for another guest to arrive. It's a woman I haven't seen before. She has red hair and is wearing a black shirt and pants. "Time to move."

I hear a clicking noise, and I try to life my hands. They are no longer attached to the table, even if the handcuffs were still on. I follow the woman. I don't try anything, I wouldn't get far. We head back to my cell. The doors open so I walk in. She closes it behind me and then leaves without saying anything.

She must have pressed a button or something though, because the handcuffs disengage and fall to the floor.

I lay down on the cot, this time noticing a blanket. That's a nice change of pace, I think as I go to sleep.

Tony's POV

Outside Interrogation Room

A daughter. This cannot be happening. To think I thought I was so lucky to get through all that partying and girls with little to no consequences.

I thought about her name. Elena. I vaguely remember Nadia saying something about a sister named Elena or maybe an aunt. I don't remember, just that it was a family name that she wanted to name one of her daughters. She had wanted 3 kids. Two girls and a boy. It had been the last time I talked to a girl about real stuff until Pepper. Holy Shit! How was I going to tell Pepper that I had a daughter?

I'm snapped into reality as Steve enters the interrogation room. Despite Clint's joke, it was just Fury, Natasha and I in the room and there was no popcorn involved.

I try to focus on the conversation in front of me.

"Hi, Elena," Steve says, sitting down. "How are you doing?"

Elena doesn't respond, she just stares at her hands, occasionally glancing up at Steve. He points to the file, "this is the information that Hydra has on you. We know about you, but we want to hear it from you. We will know if your lying."

I'm not sure this is his best move. Lying is not his strongest suit, even I saw as he glanced at us. It felt more like something that Fury would do, not Steve.

Elena is looking at Steve now and I wonder if it's because she noticed the lie or at least suspects. Steve asks his first question and gets nothing.

He moves to a different tactic. "We want to help you."

She tenses. The opposite reaction Steve was looking for. Her voice was tight, "if you know about me and my information is in that file, then that means you're here because you want something from me. What do you want?"

Steve tries to convince her that we don't want anything from her. Elena looks at him and I can't read her face.

Finally, she answers, "I don't believe you." Her voice sounded defeated and it breaks my heart. I don't know why I feel so bad for this kid. Perhaps, in a way, I always hoped that if on the rare chance I did have a kid, I would be there. I would be better than my dad was.

I push those thoughts out of my head. I listen back in to the conversation that had gone on without me. "Wouldn't that be in my file?"

Oh no. She caught his lie and Steve admitted, "there's a few things. Your name, your age. That's about it, but the rest of what I said was true. We aren't here to hurt or use you."

She was staring at her hands, refusing to say anything more. Steve moves to leave and she flinches.

I have to get out of here. I open the door and leave. I feel like I can't breathe. I'm having a panic attack. I'm working on calming down my breathing. I get to the elevator and I'm starting to relax. I've gotten pretty good at controlling them. Seeing her though, knowing it was my flesh and blood. She had the same color hair as me, same facial bone structure. God, we even had the same eyes.

I got to my room and laid down putting a pillow over my face. I finally fell asleep thinking about those eyes and how much sadness and mistrust were in them and how I could possibly fix this.