For your love

Evangeline Stark

Out of everything that had happened between them in the space of the last hour the woman he'd taken had just shocked the hell out of him. When she caught him standing in her bedroom in the dark she had been mildly afraid, curious and even briefly amused. But the idea of being in this metal death trap had her whimpering like a child in his arms. He didn't know the exact reason for her being taken, but he knew that Pierce didn't want her unduly harmed. So he held her on his lap instead of strapping her into the seat next to him like he should have done.

The soldier couldn't help but feel a kind of admiration for her calm demeanor throughout this whole ordeal so far. Every other person he'd ever grabbed for Hydra had screamed, cried, begged and threatened him. Not this woman though. She was made of stronger stuff than those cowards.

While in his custody she'd calmly asked questions and complied with his silent commands. And even though he could tell she was trying to think of ways to get away from him, she'd never once tried to strike out or scream for help. Instead, she'd gotten distracted by his hand. Fascinated by the mechanics of it. The only reason he'd allowed her to touch him at all had been because she had been unafraid of him in that moment and seemed genuine in wanting to understand his injury better to know what caused his need for the arm. If he could remember he would have told her but he didn't. All he knew was that the heavy thing had always been apart of him.

Then there was Rumlow. The Soldier didn't like him. He was mean solely because he had a bit of power and could get away with it. The man got off on hurting others. It's why he made sure to keep the woman close to his side so she would remain whole until they got to where Pierce was waiting for them.

So for the whole way down to DC he kept the woman tucked to his chest. Letting her breathe in his smell that seemed to bring her some small measure of comfort. Although it made him very aware that he hadn't been allowed to shower in a couple of days while he'd been tasked with following her as he watched and waited for the right moment to strike. But as long as she wasn't bothered by it he supposed he couldn't smell too bad.

Rumlow amusedly watched them from his seat across the way. God, he hated him. Out of all of his temporary handlers he took a special sadistic pleasure in his punishments. Even knowing this, the Soldier didn't loosen his grip on the shaking young woman. Instead, he held her closer trying to give her any bit of comfort he could since it was probably the last time she'd receive any for a long while.

Finally landing down in Washington DC almost two hours later they loaded up into two black SUV's and headed back to the Ideal Federal Savings bank where their temporary setup was. Still not taking off her blindfold, he helped the woman out and onto the sidewalk. Keeping his metal hand that she liked so much on her upper back to guide her through the building and down into the room Pierce was waiting in.

The older man's gaze glanced down in mild surprise when she slipped her hand into his. Tilting his head to silently tell the Soldier to bring her over to one of the two chairs, he signaled for him to remain by her side. Curious as to what caused her to trust someone designed for destruction, Alexander decided to let this play out.

Doing as he was told, the Soldier sat the woman down and removed the blindfold and took a step behind her off to the side and stood at attention. And while he wasn't looking directly at her, he could see her in his peripheral. It would be best for them both if the older man didn't suspect that he had come to have a soft spot for her. He didn't want her getting hurt because of him.

Sitting down across from her the older man introduced himself. "Ms Madsen, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Alexander Pierce and I'm with SHIELD. An organization that works behind the scenes to help keep the world safe."

Clearing her throat she quickly glanced around the room until she saw him behind her. At the sight of him she slightly relaxed. In all of his time with Hydra he'd never been a source of safety or comfort for anyone. He didn't know if he liked it because it was certainly testing his loyalties in a way he knew his superiors would harshly punish him for.