Chapter 18

The Winter Soldier had never thought he would be able to feel genuine happiness. Peace. Contentment. He felt all those things now as he held Darla. She was asleep, her head resting peacefully on his chest. His Darla. His. He would kill anyone who would try to take her from him.

Pierce had promised her to him. No. She wasn't something he could own. But he wanted her. Needed her. She had to be his. He would keep her safe. He would take care of her. He would treat her like the rare jewel she was. But this place… She deserved something much better than this. She deserved warm water.

He had been forced to wash her with cold water. Wash away all that blood. There had been a lot of blood. He had tried his best to be careful, fearing to hurt her even more. She had assured that he hadn't hurt her, but he knew he had. He felt guilty because of that, but he couldn't bring himself to regret anything. How could he regret a moment of perfect happiness.

Her body was perfect, like she would have been made for him. She belonged to him. What if she wouldn't want that? He refused to even consider such an option. How could he let her go? He couldn't. He wouldn't. He would find a way to keep her. Protect her. Take her somewhere far away from here.

But first he needed a plan. They couldn't simply walk out of here together. He needed time to make some preparations. After tomorrow's mission, he would find a way to get her out of here.

"You know me… Bucky… You've known me your whole life… Your name is James Buchanan Barnes… I'm not gonna fight you… You're my friend…"

The soldier stared at the unconscious man he had just dragged out of the river. He was supposed to kill this man. That was his mission. This man was supposed to try to kill him and yet he had stopped fighting. He had let the soldier beat him senseless.

"I'm not gonna fight you… You're my friend…"

Friend. Steve. The man's name was Steve. Somehow the soldier knew that.

"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes…"

Was that true? Maybe. James. James Barnes. Bucky. The man sighed, indicating he was still alive. Good. The soldier didn't want him to die. There were many things he couldn't remember, but he knew that for sure. A part of him wanted to stay, listen to what else the man, Steve, had to say, but he couldn't do that. He needed to go. His mission wasn't finished.

Something was wrong, Darla was sure of it. She had been alone in Steve's room since he left early in the morning. No one had come to check on her. There had been no visit to the lab, and no one had even brought her food. Something was definitely wrong.

Today was supposed to be a very important day for HYDRA. She didn't know what was supposed to happen today, but she had a very bad feeling. Had something happened to Steve? Was he alright? She prayed that he was.

Where was everyone? She buried her face in her hands and tried to calm down. The wait was driving her crazy. Had they forgotten her? That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, at least not before she would starve to death. Why wasn't anyone…

She startled out of her thoughts as the door suddenly flew open. Dr. Petrov marched in, followed by two heavily armed agents.

"Come, girl," Dr. Petrov ordered tensely. "Hurry up."

Darla stood up and was just about to ask what was happening when she heard gunshots from the corridor. The two agents hurried out of the room, leaving Darla alone with Dr. Petrov. For the first time, she saw fear in his eyes. That couldn't be good.

"Dr. Petrov, what's…"

"Shut your mouth," the doctor snapped and grabbed her arm. "Stay in front of me."

He was actually going to use her as a shield.

"I don't think so," she snapped, yanking her arm free. "I'm not going to…"

A painful strike on the cheek silenced her as Dr. Petrov grabbed her arm again.

"Remember your place, girl," he snarled. "Your father might see some value in you, but in reality, you're nothing more than a glorified whore…"

Darla gasped as she saw Steve standing in the doorway. His face was completely blank.

"Soldier," Dr. Petrov managed to say. "Status report."

Steve didn't reply, he simply marched to Darla and Dr. Petrov. His eyes lingered on her cheek.

"You hit her," Steve stated, his voice unreadable.

"Stand down, soldier," Dr. Petrov snapped. "That's an order!"

Slowly Steve's lips curved into a smile.

"My apologies, doctor," he hummed and grabbed the man by the throat. "I don't take orders anymore."

Dr. Petrov's eyes widened in terror as Steve lifted him up by the throat.

"Close your eyes, doll," he stated without looking at Darla. "I don't want you to see this."

Darla obeyed, turning her back on the two men. She flinched as she heard Dr. Petrov's neck breaking.

"It's okay," Steve's calming voice said as he touched her shoulder. "Let's get out of here."