Chapter 3: Blackmail.

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     Rick was lying down, his head resting on Star-Thief's side. It was almost as if the animal were guarding him. Every time he touched her fur, he seemed to feel more drowsy. It was an odd effect.
     He raised his head off of the soft, bed like fluff. He slowly rose to his feet, stretching out his legs. Yawning, he blinked sleep from his eyes. Where was he again? Oh. Right. Hydra. Weird cell... Star-Thief.
     "Morning." Said the strange creature. "How you sleep?"
     "Amazing." He said. "And you?"
     "I donnot sleep."
     He was surprised. "Why is that?" Asked Rick.
     "I make people fall sleep. I take their wakeness and stay wake. But only when there is peoples. Other times I sleep."
     "I don't quite get that, but okay."
     Suddenly, Hydra soldiers came up to the cell door. They unlocked it, and walked in, holding guns that were pointed at Star-Thief. She shrank back, obviously intimidated by the guns. Grabbing him, they inched back out of the cell. He fought and kicked, but they wouldn't let him go.
     They dragged him down a hall and through the facility until they brought him to a room. Throwing him in, they slammed the door. He looked up to see two more soldiers. They grabbed his arms and cuffed him. They escorted him to where a man with a head that looked like fleshy bone stood like a statue. The grimace on his face was menacing.
     The Red Skull.
     "Bring him here." He said.
     They grabbed Rick by the shirt and dragged him to where the Skull stood. They dropped him at the Skulls feet and walked away to the door. Rick shuddered as he looked up at the terrifying face of his captor.
     "Begin the transmission." He said to a nearby soldier. He looked down at Rick. "Barnes would be of no use in bribery. No one would believe he was actually alive. You will have to do."
     What was he talking about? Who was 'Barnes'?
     A soldier turned on a machine made for scrambling any device that would track the location of the transmission. Then one of them began recording.
     "Avengers," The Skull began. "I have your friend. Rick." He said bidding the kid to speak.
     "I'm fine. Help! Please! I-" The Skull slapped him in the cheek.
     "That is enough. If you want him back, Bruce, you must meet me on the first of this next month. Five o'clock sharp. You must bring with you the Hulk's  blood. If you refuse,"  He added. "I will kill him. You have no other choice. Bring it or he dies. I will send coordinates for you to meet me."
     He motioned to a soldier to end the transmission. With it ended, they came back to Rick and dragged him back to his cell. On the way down one of the long corridors, he heard a voice coming from a cell door that was for solitary confinement:
     "Like looking into a mirror." It said. Rick looked at the cell door to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring at him from the rectangular opening on the closed door. One of the following soldiers banged on the door and shouted something in german. The blue eyes disappeared from the opening, and the soldier closed it.
     Finally, they arrived at Rick and Star-Thief's cell. They tossed him in. He hit the floor with a thud, his cuffs detaching and retracting back out the opening of the cell door. Star-Thief picked up Rick by the collar of his shirt and set him on his feet.
     "Thanks." He said. "I'm being used to bribe the Avengers into giving the Red Skull the Hulk's blood."
     Star-Thief turned back to Sally. "What you do now?" She asked.
     "Don't worry." He answered. "I have a new escape plan."

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