Not The Only One - A Winter Soldier Story

Chapter 10

June 23, 2016

     Bucky lifted his head up stiffly and slowly opened his eyes. His metal arm was held tight in a large vice, keeping him trapped in place.

     "Hey, Cap!" a voice echoed in the large abandoned warehouse.

     A moment later, Steve and another man jogged in.

     Bucky groaned slightly. "Steve?"

     Steve's face was tense with worry. "Which Bucky am I talking to?"

     Bucky blinked. "Your mom's name was Sarah."

     "You used to wear newspapers in your shoes," Bucky chuckled at the memory.

     Steve gave a small smile. "Can't read that in a museum."

     "Just like that, we're supposed to be cool?" the other man questioned incredulously.

     "What did I do?" Bucky asked, his voice hoarse with emotion.

     "Enough," Steve replied frankly.

     Bucky moaned. "Oh. God, I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words."

     "Who was he?" asked Steve.

     "I don't know," Bucky whispered.

     "People are dead. The bombing, the setup, the doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you. I need you to do better than 'I don't know'," Steve explained gravely.

     Bucky hesitated, then slowly said, "He wanted to know about Siberia."

     "Where I was kept." His blue eyes moved around as things began to fall into place. "He wanted to know exactly where."

     "Why would he need to know that?" Steve inquired.

     Bucky clenched his jaw. "Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier."

     The shock on Steve's and the other man's faces betrayed the fact that this was new information to them.

     "Go on," Steve encouraged gently.

     "There was a girl," Bucky said, his eyes clouding over at the memory.

     "Who was she?" Steve probed.

     Bucky shook his head. "I don't know. Just some experimental subject for the serum. An innocent."

     "Why would they need to experiment with it? And why not on someone who was part of their organization?" Steve asked as he freed Bucky's arm from the huge piece of industrial machinery.

      "They needed to know if this combination was right. Plus, it had never been given to a female before. HYDRA wouldn't risk testing on one of their own." Bucky continued, "When it worked on her, they gave it to five others as well."

     "Who were they?" asked Steve, arms crossed over his chest.

     "Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in HYDRA history. And that was before the serum."

     "They all turn out like you?" the other man asked sarcastically.

     "Worse," Bucky replied, raising his eyebrows.

     "The doctor, could he control them?" Steve asked.

     Bucky looked down. "Enough."

     "Said he wanted to see an empire fall," remarked Steve.

     "With these guys, he could do it. They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night, and you would never see them coming," Bucky informed them seriously.

     "This would have been a lot easier a week ago..." the other man's voice trailed off.