Remember Me

Chapter 8

Steve and Natasha knocked out all the men. "Let's get back to Bucky." They run back to the open space where they left Bucky but he is nowhere to be seen.

"Bucky?"

They hear men talking Russian in the distance. They quietly walk in the direction of the sound. They kneel down and as they look around the corner they see Bucky lying on the floor. "Tie him up and take him away." Says the guy who's got his back turned.

Natasha is sickened by the sight. Her gut turns into a knot and she doesn't hesitate and immediately runs towards the men. "Hands off James!" she shouts. Grabbing her batons tight, she knocks the first 3 men unconscious with one blow each. A fourth man surprises Natasha from behind and grabs her into a tight neck lock, she is unable to escape. "Natalia Romanoff.." says the Russian man with an eerily recognizable sound. The man turns her in his direction. "Dreykov." She mutters as she turns her look to that ugly face.

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other Miss Romanoff. The last time you were strapped on an operating table against your will. Was it at your graduation ceremony?" Natasha tries to wriggle out of the neck lock. She looks at Bucky who is still on the floor. "What do you want with James?!" she asks.

"Well, as a professional organization we need a weapon." Dreykov walks over to Bucky. He pokes his foot into his back to see if he's still unconscious. "This asset would be perfect for us." Natasha sees the red book he is holding in his hands, she feels panic rising.

Dreykov loves how she reacts. He enjoys the power he has in his hands. "Of course you wonder how I got this book? That original book wasn't one of a kind, of course. But Barnes has to be conscious before I can use it." He looks at one of his men and gestures at Bucky. The guy helps Bucky to sit up on his knees. Bucky slowly regains consciousness.

"Fuck." he mutters. He looks up. "Natalia?"

"The lovebirds!" Dreykov laughs. "Still together?"

"What?" Bucky looks surprised.

"Oh, that wiping method HYDRA developed works really well. He doesn't remember anything. Anyway. Let's get started."

Dreykov opens the book and starts reading the words.

"Желание..."

Bucky squeezes his eyes closed.

"Семнадцать..."

"Stop it.." mumbles Bucky as he shakes his head.

"Ржа..."

"No, don't do it!" shouts Natasha.

Dreykov continues.

"Рассвет..."

Bucky screams.

A red, white and blue colored shield flies through the air like a blur and bounces off the Russian soldiers one by one, knocking them out. Steve runs towards Dreykov but another soldier gets him by surprise and tackles him from the side. When he gets up he knocks the man out with one blow. But Dreykov is already gone.

"Untie me!" Bucky shouts angrily.

Natasha runs towards him and quickly releases him.

"Fuck! Goddamn book!" he's angry. He gets up. "Enough. It's too dangerous for me to be out here."

He grunts and storms out the building, pushing a few members of the other two teams aside to get through. The teams have arrived to pick up the unconscious men and hand them over to the police. Once outside Bucky shakes his head, trying to lose the Russian words echoing through his mind. He can feel the Winter Soldier lurking on the edge of his mind. He can just resist the urge of the Soldier to let go and for him to take over.