Redemption ||Bucky Barnes||

11. Breakthrough

"So Bucky and I have worked together," I rattle off to Vanessa. We're back in our room, both in our respective cots. "But not for S.H.I.E.L.D. I feel like you guys are screwing with me with all the secrets. I feel like I'm playing a game of riddles." I frown.

"You just have to be patient with us, Dani. What you want to know isn't something we can shout to the world. And yes, you and Bucky worked together, but not here," Vanessa confirms. "That's how you two know each other."

I think back to my interactions with Agent Barton. "Agent Barton got me thinking."

"About what?"

"You know what." I stare up at the ceiling—more like the underside of Vanessa's cot. Yes, we're on bunk beds. "My past, Vanessa. He thinks I'm acting this amnesia I'm suffering."

"Truth be told, it's natural for him to be a little suspicious."

"Why?"

I almost begin to think Vanessa is asleep. "Remember what I told you about our enemies not being your standard criminal?"

"Mhm."

"Well, our biggest enemy almost completely ruined us and all that we had built not too long ago." Her voice is strained. "It turned out that we had been infected with spies. We were surprised at how many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents weren't really working for us, but against us." She exhales shakily. "I lost so many friends. The worst part is that I had made friends with some of the spies. We all sort of disbanded afterwards, went into hiding. We very seldom contact each other in case of bugs nearby."

"Are you guys technically out of hiding?"

"Not really. No one knows this location, and we've taken every measure to make sure of that. We mainly keep secret so our enemy can't find us and finish us off. Those of us that are left here have been loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. from the very beginning. All that's left of us are people who we can trust the most."

My heart thumps in fright listening to my sister. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated? I try to imagine the number of agents doubled, or even tripled, before the traitors had made themselves known. It's scary to think about, to think that fellow agents you spoke with every day weren't who they looked to be.

I can't imagine what Vanessa had gone through, how much betrayal and pain she had endured that day.

"But what does the enemy have to do with me, and Agent Barton's trust issues?" I ask.

"Anybody new we get—which, we haven't had many since the infiltration—we make sure we do very thorough examinations to make sure they aren't tied to our enemy." She sighs. "I'm not a fan of how people have been looking at you either. I'll admit even I doubted you were really suffering from amnesia, the polygraph was the proof to tell me that I was wrong."

"Does everyone think I'm faking this?"

"Not everyone, there are some that are on the fence," Vanessa explains. "But Agent Hill will put the doubters to rest. She's really high up on our ranks, others below kind of have no choice but to accept what decisions she makes, even if they disagree. They've got to follow her orders."

I'm glad to know that I've got Agent Hill's trust, and my sister's, and Bucky's. I'm not exactly happy about Agent Barton's reaction to me, and I'm not sure where Agent Romanoff stands on me either.

"This door can be opened only by us, right?" I ask.

"Why?"

"I don't want anyone coming to kill me in my sleep."