The Shield and the Rose || S. Rogers

Katherine and Victoria

When they were young Katherine and Victoria found themselves in the company of agents more often than not. Katherine herself truly could not remember a point of her life where she wasn't sitting in a room with people holding meetings about one mission or another.

Their father had been a respected agent within Hydra from the time that he had been a young man. His work was known and spoken about, never in hushed whispers, but instead in proud boasts. When he had found himself becoming the father to the young Victoria and later to Katherine, it was expected that the two young girls would follow in his footsteps.

Katherine had been five years old the first time she could vividly remember that she realized that being able to hear others' thoughts was not just a natural part of life. She had always been able to hear the thoughts of others, it was no secret to those that were around her. She had even often tattled on Victoria when irritated at her.

On one particular afternoon, she and Victoria, who was just seven at the time, were sitting in a conference room alongside their father during a meeting discussing an upcoming mission. In the corner of the room, a figure sat in silence and in shadows. She recognized who it was simply by the shine that reflected off of his arm from the fluorescent lights of the room. Katherine was always fascinated by the man that never spoke a word aloud, but said so much inside.

"Stop looking at him," Victoria had hissed. "It's weird."

"It's not," Katherine had frowned back.

"It is," her sister had narrowed her eyes.

"Is not!" she had snapped back, attracting the attention of all that were in the room.

It had taken one stern glare from their father to silence both instantly. When Katherine had glanced back to the soldier in the corner of the room, his eyes were narrowed. Only, they weren't narrowed in anger. It was as if he were studying her before the men in the room began to speak once more and his attention was drawn back over.

Katherine remembered the next moments as freshly as an adult as when it had happened. A mission was to take place with agents going undercover and one agent in particular sat with thoughts that seemed to bubble out of his brain and to her. Katherine's interest had been piqued as she turned to glance at him.

The soldier in the corner of the room continued to have loud thoughts, but Katherine seemed to only hear the thoughts of the man sitting at the table. It took her a moment to catch up with what he was thinking, but she became confused when she did find herself finally understanding.

"Why would you want to do that?" Katherine asked the man who looked over with a confused expression, but concern in his eyes.

"Do what?" he laughed.

"Abandon Hydra?" her head tilted in innocent curiosity.

Heads around the room turned to look at the man who looked at them in return. Victoria's head snapped over to look at her little sister before snapping to look at their father. Their father was sitting and looking at Katherine with a curious expression. One of the men leading the meeting looked back to Katherine, his voice turning gentle.

"What do you mean by abandon?" he asked softly, but sternly.

"In his head," she explained. "He thinks going with you will help him escape."

"Escape?" her father's eyes widened as he looked at the man who had a fearful expression on his face. "Katherine, you heard him say this?"

"In his head," she repeated with a strong nod. "It's really loud. You all are really loud all the time."