The entire way back to base I was thinking about how badly we were going to be punished, but not just that. The thing taking up most of my mind was the red-headed woman. When my mask came off, she looked like she had just seen a mythical creature or something. Now that I think about it, she did look familiar to me when I saw her. That was impossible, though, because I had never met her before. There was something missing; something that Pierce was leaving out, but we weren't allowed to ask questions, so I would have to get answers on my own.
After making it back to the compound, we were brought to the bank vaults that were only used for holding prisoners, so I was very confused when I was brought there. The Winter Soldier was in the cell directly across from mine and we were both heavily guarded, but again I didn't quite understand why. They must know that we didn't finish our mission. I didn't know how, though, because the three people we were put up against seemed to have taken down every agent there except for Winter Soldier and me. Even if they had survived, they would be too damaged to tell about what had happened at the bridge.
The Winter Soldier just stared into my eyes, but I couldn't tell if he meant to stare at me or if he was just staring into space. He seemed deep in thought, but he seemed to be thinking some of the same things I was thinking at the moment. I didn't know how that was even possible unless he had met someone that he might or might not know from a long time ago. He just kept looking at me with questioning eyes that were begging me for answers that I didn't have.
After a while, a doctor came into the room to fix up Winter's arm; I mean Winter Soldier's. I don't know what else the doctor did to him, but his eyes were all over the place, almost as if he was getting taken away into his own mind. His eyes, all of a sudden, went very wide like he just realized the world was going to end. Then, he yanked his metal arm away from the doctor just so he could slam the same doctor into the wall. Another doctor in the room went to help the one that fell, meanwhile, all of the guards in his cell and mine pointed their guns toward him. The Winter Soldier's breathing was heavy, and I knew that he just screwed up whatever chance either of us had of getting away without bad injuries.
Someone called Alexander Pierce, who was down within minutes of the call. One of the men outside of the cell told him that Winter Soldier was "unstable" and "erratic". I just wanted to yell "no shit" at him, but refrained from doing so and instead mumbled it to myself. I think he heard it, though, because the man gave me a glare telling me to shut the fuck up, so I gave him a sweet smile in return.
Pierce went right in without a second glance, and they shut the cell door behind him. I could still hear and see what was going on in the room, which I was very thankful for because I was a little bit of a nosy person.
"Mission report," Pierce asked for. All Winter Soldier could do, though, was stare into nothingness. "Mission report, now," Pierce demanded again. When all Winter Soldier did was stare into space again, Pierce backhanded his face in order to get him to cooperate.
Winter Soldier took his time, but was able to ask, "The man on the bridge, who was he?" Then, it hit me; Blondie must have triggered something in Winter Soldier's mind to remember something, just as the redhead had done to me.
Instead of remembering something, though, all it did was give him questions. He had met someone he might've known, and that's why he was staring at me because he knew that something similar happened between me and the woman.
"You met him earlier this week on another assignment," Pierce answered. He answered the question, but not the way Winter Soldier had wanted it to be answered. Pierce knew more than he was letting on, and he definitely had his reason for it, but I didn't know what that reason was. Winter Soldier knew this, too, because all he could do was stare at Pierce, wanting more answers, but knowing he will never get them.
"I knew him," was all the Winter Soldier said next. That was probably the biggest mistake he could have made.
"Your work has been a gift to mankind," Pierce said, sitting down on the stool. He looked at me, signaling he was talking to the both of us now. "You shaped the century," he looked at the Winter Soldier. "I need you both to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning, we are going to give it a push. But, if you two don't do your parts, then I can't do mine, and Hydra can't give the world the freedom it deserves."
"But I knew him," Winter Soldier said again. I wanted to scream at him to shut up because it wasn't going to end well if he kept pushing this on Pierce, but it was too late. The damage had been done.
Pierce got up off the stool and told the doctors to "prep him". For what? I didn't know, but I knew whatever it was couldn't be good. "He's been out of cryo for too long," one of the doctors warned.
"Then wipe him, and start over," Pierce said. I knew exactly what that meant. I had seen it done to someone before, but they hadn't lived to tell me about it. They died immediately after and it was a pretty horrible thing to watch. All the yelling and screaming was awful to listen to.
They gave the Winter Soldier a mouthguard and laid him back in the chair to put the restraints on him. He didn't resist at all, which I thought was weird, but probably for the best. Once Hydra made their mind up about something, you couldn't fight them on it, even if it was something being done to your own mind.
"Prep her, too," Pierce said, walking away from our two cells. This was our punishment for not completing the mission. Pure torture and mind-wiping. I didn't fight the guards on it because I knew one way or another I was going to be in that chair. I thought it was easier to just go, rather than to fight them on it. I was scared, but there was nothing I could do.
They did the same thing to me as they had done to the Winter Soldier; they gave me a mouthguard and sat me back in the chair. I could hear the Winter Soldier's screams and they were scaring me even more than I already was.
The metal bursting with electricity started coming towards my head, so I closed my eyes. As soon as they touched my head, there was instant pain throughout my entire body, but especially in my head. That's all there was; pain.
YOU ARE READING
Project Alpha
FanfictionAria, captured by Hydra when she was just a little girl, is forced into missions. Only fate will tell what is in store for her as she tries to navigate between right and wrong.
