Chapter 12

1 week later

Darla paced back and forth in her small room. She was restless and unable to concentrate on anything. What was happening? Why hadn't they taken her to see Steve? Had something happened to him? Her father hadn't said a word about him after their last meeting and she hadn't asked. She had really wanted to ask some questions, but the risk had been too high.

Not that her father would have given her answers anyway. She guessed that it had something to do with her having her period, although she couldn't imagine her father caring about her comfort. Either way she didn't like this at all. She stopped pacing when the door suddenly opened.

"Let's go," agent Anderson stated.

She walked out of her room and followed him to the lab without saying a word. Something was wrong. She swallowed as she noticed that all the doctors were there. Her father looked excited; he was talking to some elderly man in a dark grey suit.

"Ah, there she is," her father announced as he noticed her. "Come here, sweetheart."

The man turned to look at her as she reluctantly approached her father. He had sandy blond hair, harsh face and piercing blue eyes.

"Come, come," her father said impatiently and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as soon as he could reach her. "Sir, this is my lovely Darla."

She tried her best to look calm as the man observed her from head to toes.

"Lovely indeed," he stated, his lips curving into a smile. "Hello, young lady."

"Hi," she murmured.

"My name is Alexander Pierce."

"Nice to meet you, sir," she lied.

"Dr. Nolan told me all about your dedication to the project. Well done."

"Thank you," she murmured, although they clearly had a different idea about dedication.

"Your work is very important," he continued. "We're changing the world together."

Right, sure.

"Lay down on the table, sweetheart," her father said smiling.

Reluctantly she obeyed. Two doctors were hovering over her like vultures, taking her blood pressure and measuring her pulse. She had gotten used to needles, so she didn't flinch when she felt a sting on her arm. Except that this time was different. She gasped as she noticed that they weren't taking her blood, they were injecting something into her.

"What's that?" she asked nervously.

"Never you mind," Dr. Karpov huffed.

This wasn't good at all. What the hell was going on?

"Very good," her father said cheerfully. "Now, I want you to eat and rest, you'll need your strength tonight."

"Oh?" she murmured.

"Yes, this will be a little different than your previous acts with the Winter Soldier. You'll stay with him the whole night and you'll have multiple intercourses in different positions. I have detailed instructions for you here."

His tone of voice was perfectly casual, like he would have been talking about weather. Darla stared at him disbelievingly, mortified by all the people looking at her.

"I…"

"Yes, I'm aware you're not familiar with all these acts, but no need to worry, the Winter Soldier has the same instructions, just follow his lead."

Darla was too shocked to say anything. What the hell was wrong with all these people? Was this honestly normal to all of them?

"I expect a full mission report from you, young lady," Alexander Pierce stated.

What? There was no way in hell she would…

"She'll give it to you the first thing in the morning, sir," her father assured. "We're all honored to have you here."

Darla had never seen her father acting like that toward anyone, which meant that this guy had to be very important in HYDRA. If a very important guy had come here for this project, that meant the project was very important as well. Great. Just perfect.

She really needed to talk to Steve as soon as possible. The good news was that apparently, he was alright. She had been worried about him, there was no point denying that. Their situation wasn't exactly ideal, but since she was in this situation, she was glad she was in it with him. Things could have been much worse.

"Here you are, dear," her father said while handing her few papers. "Now go and eat, your meal is already in your room."

"Thank you," she murmured.

She wasn't going to look at the damn papers before she would be alone. At least agent Anderson didn't make any comments, he simply escorted her back to her room. There was a tray waiting for her, just like her father had said. An omelet, a glass of orange juice, a smoothie, a sandwich, a plate of fruits and berries. They weren't kidding around.

She stared at the tray for a moment before she reluctantly glanced at the papers. What the hell? This had to be some very, very sick joke. She had to sit down; this was just too much. What? There were actually pictures. She dropped the papers and broke into a hysterical giggle. What kind a sick disgusting perv would do this to his own daughter. Why? Why?

She buried her face in her hands, trying her hardest to calm down. This was just getting worse and worse. How long could she and Steve keep lying? Probably not very long. If her father wouldn't get whatever it was he was hoping to get, he would eventually want to watch. Make sure that they were doing it right. Just the thought made her nauseous. There had to be a way out of this nightmare. There wasn't. She should know that better than anyone.