Through a Glass Darkly part 5: Wild Horses
An American HYDRA base: Somewhere within the 100-Mile-Wilderness, Maine: 2024
around July 26 hours after y/n's capture
You were in some type of palace, warmth returning to your skin as you stepped out of the grand structure and into the sunlight. Just beyond the confines of the castle were sand dunes, some distant that looked as tall as the castle walls. Breaking through the dullness of the sand were two horses, one like Alabaster, the other, black as smoke. The two of them rode past you, into the rising sun. The beautiful creatures playfully twirled around each other, almost lovingly.
You wished you could have stayed in that place, just a second longer. And not woken into the nightmare that was your reality. But you gasped awake, at the sound of the heavy metal door opening. Your body was drenched in sweat, but the blanket smelled like Steve. Somehow that calmed you. You raised the scratchy blanket up over you, as if to protect yourself from whatever was approaching. Your bare back flattened against the cold concrete of the cell wall.
Steve inched closer to you as a figure came into view from the shadows. Rumlow stood, triumphant beyond the bars, a sly smirk painfully visible on his face. He made no eye contact with Steve, he was of little interest anymore.
"Morning, Sexy. Want me to add a few more black clouds to that blank canvas?" rumlow greeted you. A fiery anger burned within the Soldier, causing him to growl at his capturs repulsive comment.
"Awww. Already attached are ya tiger? Maybe she should go first with the lesson today? How does that sound big guy." Rumlow continued. The Soldier kept silent eye contact with Rumlow, as if he was tearing him apart in his mind at that moment.
"Leave the dame. It's me you want, right? Because it's mission day." Steve said, standing.
Dame? I guess some things from the 40's still stuck. I wonder how much of Bucky he remembers.
"That's right! It's mission day. C'mon Tiger, you know the drill." Rumlow punched in some digits on the keypad, to unlock the pen they were keeping you and Steve in. You couldn't get a close enough look to try and memorize the code.
Steve swallowed thickly, his hands forming fists. He had done this so many times, what was making him so hesitant this time around? Deep in his soul he knew. It was her. Y/n he didn't want to forget her. Not ever again. He would never forgive himself if he came back to his cage and hurt her. Right after a zap, that's when he is most volatile. But he is also vulnerable.
Regardless the torture hardened Soldat, stepped forward. As much as he could, he was preparing for it. What he couldn't wrestle with was the fact that y/n had to stay down here and listen to the event over the intercom.
You couldn't ignore his screams. Even after they stopped torturing him, it was a stain in your mind. As much as you didn't want to, you cried for him. Enough emotion for yourself and him. The tears had stopped a while ago. How many hours does he have to endure this?
You wish you still had your powers. You'd burn them all down in a heartbeat. You composed yourself as much as possible, solidifying your facial features. You knew they were watching you with that dumb camera across the hall. You shuddered at the sound of the heavy metal door opening once again.
They'd returned with him, dragging him like a heavy trash bag. It made you sick to your stomach, the way they treated him. Another man came in behind them carrying clothes, high heels, and small weapons. They'd dumped him into our cell. The man came in and dropped the garment into my lap.
"Get dressed. Conceal your weapons properly. If you resist, we'll make you watch the Soldier go through a treatment. After that, we'll pry info from you and kill you. Understood?" said the man who'd crouched down to your level. You made eye contact and nodded your head. All three of them left with silence so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Steve was mumbling incoherently. You set down the dress and the rest of your wardrobe on the old mattress. You went over to Steve very cautiously. You sat down so that your presence wasn't so intimidating.
"Steve?" you asked softly. He stared at you for a long moment. Leaving the suspense to choke you out, making each breath shallow. He dragged you close to him and held on as if at any moment he might lose you.
He left such tender kisses on your skin, you could just barely feel that he was kissing you. And after each touch of his lips he uttered two words you'd never heard before. They were beautiful and foreign. A language that clearly wasn't English.
Mo thaisce.
He kept repeating those same words until he suddenly stopped. You couldn't think of anything to do but to hold him. You wrapped your arms around his muscular body. He was still aware of his arm, the one they'd made a weapon. He didn't let it touch your delicate skin, it wasn't worthy. His breathing had returned to normal, and you could listen to his heartbeat slowing down, thumping against your ear through his broad chest. Slowly he was regaining himself, or some pieces of himself and your name left his lips.
"I'm here. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." you reassured him, pressing into him just a little more. You weren't sure how volatile he was at this moment. You were teetering between his fragility and his ability to keep himself from snapping. Somehow, deep down, you knew he'd never hurt you.
"Gaelic. It's Gaelic. The old tongue. Irish." he uttered as you looked up at him. You gave him a light smile. He looked, lost. Like he was drifting far at sea, drowning in his own memories and the ones they had forced him to make.
The heavy metal door opened again, gaining the attention of both of you with its screeching.
Boots plodding the cold concrete ground up to the cage you and your Soldat called home, the familiar light tones sounding as the code was punched in. You backed yourself up against Steve.
A feeble way of protecting him. Looking unnatural for your disproportionate sizes. Usually he was the one protecting you, and he had. Now it was your turn.
"You're not taking him again!" you raised your voice to one of the guards, the one closest to you and Steve. The guard got closer, an angry yet cold and solidified look in his eyes. You felt a hot pain against your cheek, making the spot in your jaw sore again, something that was familiar.
Mechanical whirring and slight screaming came from the guard. Steve pounced, he'd protect you with every inch of life he had left in him. Brainwashed or not, you were his. The idle guard got out a cattle prod, the tip of it crackling with electricity. Steve let go of the guard and receded back to you.
The startled guard rubbed at his forearm. "Bitch! You're lucky we're running out of time. This won't go unpunished. Get dressed. We leave in 10." he said sourly before leaving the cell. The armed guard still showing his presence and power with his weapon, stood still.
You turned around, timidly removing your clothing. You peered over your shoulder as you unclasped your bra, a watchful eye on the guard. "This isn't a peep show, asshole." you said. Steve stood in between you and the prying eyes of the guard, gaining a little smirk from the Soldier. That made you smile to yourself as you slipped on the fancy dress and secured your weapons. A small knife tucked into your stocking and more knives concealed inside your heels. You secured your wire into your ear and smoothed out the fabric of your dress. You took a deep breath, shuddering as you exhaled.
You hoped that whomever they were planning on targeting, it wasn't someone you knew.
"Target visible." Y/n spoke into her ear piece. This was y/n and Winter's first mission together. If I screw this up there's no telling what HYDRA will do to me, or to my masked lover . Y/n thought as she rounded the corner into the rotunda. Not that I have much say in the matter, I'm already going to be put in the time-out-chair when we get back.
"Get him in range, Mo thaisce." Steve's voice was clear and warm in your ear. You almost smiled, but that would have broken character. Instead you chewed on the inside of your cheek.
"Remind me what that means again? I'm rusty on Irish Gaelic".
"My Darling. You know they record these mission tapes, right?" Steve chided.
"So what? We're already in the dog house. As long as the mission ends in red, we're aces." You whispered, grabbing a flute of some kind of alcohol.
"I would rather be safe than zapped again." Steve said, the sound of his rifle clicking. You knew he was ready to fire at a moment's notice.
You took a deep breath, guzzling the drink down in one fell swoop. Your mind flashed back to when you and Steve were in the private plane getting here. They'd blindfolded the both of you. So naturally the only thing that grounded you was being close to him.
"Winter? Steve? Soldat? I'm sorry, I'm being rude. YOu have so many names. I don't know what to call you." you said as you gripped onto his hand, the warm one. The only one he would let you hold, for now. Steve reciprocated the gentle intimacy by squeezing your hand back. He chuckled ever so lightly.
"Steve… that sounds like someone else. I don't think Soldat fits me either. Winter is fine, Mo thaisce." there he was with those damned words again.
"Winter? I'm not- I'm not cut out to kill people." You said. As you pressed your back deeper into his burly chest, the cool metal of his left shoulder grazed your heated skin. He rested his chin in the crook of your neck, and dragged you closer to him with his right arm. God she felt so tiny in his grip. He thought for sure he would break her. He is undeserving of something so delicate.
"You're not going to kill. That's my job. You need to make sure the target is seen at all times, surveillance. Keep them where I can see them." Winter reassured you. The sickening feeling in your stomach dissipated. At least you weren't going to commit murder.
You flashed back to reality when someone bumped into you. How many of these people spoke English? It looks like there is a bit of everyone on the planet here. This mansion in the middle of who knows where. You began to sweat, you couldn't hide your nervousness. There were so many people around, what if Winter missed? And hit someone he wasn't supposed to? Start World War 3 or something like that.
No. You can't doubt him now. You know he's practically the best shot in the world. He doesn't miss his target and he never leaves messes to clean up. You can't believe you're thinking this but, you're glad Winter was so good at his job. You took your seat at the bar near the fish tank.
"Disaronno on the rocks" you asked the bartender, keeping one of your eyes peeled for the target. A suave looking older man, with riches in an already rich place. Might as well call him Midas.
"Didn't know you liked Amaretto. I had it a long time ago. Salvatore, from my old squadron." Winter said from your ear piece with an amused chuckle. Maybe this was the most calm he has been in decades?
"It was the first drink I thought of. Are you locked on yet?" you asked, getting mildly annoyed with him.
"Patience is a virtue. And yes, now we have to wait for the signal." Winter's breaths were so shallow, you could just barely pick them up. You knew he was getting ready to take his shot. Steadying his heart to make the perfect shot. The target seemed to like you. Whether that was because of the exorbitant amount of alcohol or otherwise, was out of the question.
You tucked your hair behind the shell of your ear. And swiveled around to face the crowd of people. Sipping your drink, you made eye contact with the target. He took this as an invitation to enter your space, walking with some amount of drunkenness.
Your breathing got more heavy with every step he took. You wanted to yell at him to run away. What a noble thing it was to spare a life. That Avenger's spirit was still a light within you, but without your powers, you wouldn't be able to save anyone. And you can't get out of this HYDRA situation right now anyway. You have to do as the Romans do.
Just as he was a few feet in front of you about the step in front of the floor to ceiling window, Winter came back over comms.
"Calm yourself. It's almost over, Mo thaisce." you swallowed thickly and tried not to make eye contact. You wanted to close your eyes. Everything you've stood for was about to be erased and replaced with blood in one second. The lights to the mansion flickered. Grabbing the attention of the ignorant party goers just long enough. The glass shattered and you knew it was over. You didn't have time to close my eyes or scream or move. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
The targets' body was on the floor with red and parts of what must have been brain matter coming from his head. You began to shake as people realized what had just happened and screamed in panic.
"Don't look, Love. We need to meet at the rendezvous point." Winter's voice was loud and clear in your ear. You gulped down your drink and left, feeling it burn down your throat. The rest was a blur. Of frantic people rushing for safety. You managed to get out of the building bumping into a few passersby.
It was like you were in shock. Almost no control over your body. From the shadows under an awning, you picked up a small glint of metal in the moonlight. If you blinked you would have missed it. You were able to breathe again once you reached him. You flung yourself onto him. All your emotions collided from what had just happened. What you had just let happen. Your hands were shaking and your breathing was ragged. Winter looked back at you with somber eyes, glinting in the dim light.
"I'm sorry. We have to go." he said, wiping a spot of blood from your cheek. He led you by the hand around to the back of the premises. No one was in sight, everyone evacuated to the front of the lofty mansion. Winter made sure the coast was clear. He picked you up in his arms, the cool metal plates of his left arm sending shivers up and down your spine.
"Forgive me, you're a slow runner, Mo Thaisce." you couldn't help but blush, the heat running to your cheeks in a rush of feeling. Well it made sense, he was a super soldier after all. He at least wanted to get away from anyone who would see him. We made our escape into the thick forest beyond the mansion. You heard sirens in the distance.
Winter slowed down his pace to a fast walk once he thought we were away enough.
"Winter? You can put me down now." you suggested.
"Oh. uh. You'll ruin your shoes. We're almost there anyhow." he said, hiding a shy smile beneath his mask.
You wished you could have more moments like these with him. Even with all the odds against him, he still found a way to be himself, or at least some version of himself. Maybe it was you keeping him together? Winter took you to an open clearing in the woods, where a plane waited for you. They'd blindfolded both of you again, but you weren't so scared anymore. Winter was with you. Neither of you would let go of the other. From that moment on, you two were inseparable
End Ch 5