Losing him was blue, like I'd never known
Missing him was dark gray, all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know
Somebody you never met
Adelaide Herrmann has so many secrets and is good at hiding all of them.
Only one person knows the real Ad...
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In a family bathroom at the back of a gas station, Adelaide was cutting the soldiers hair. She'd rather waste time trying to cut his hair than walking around with a wanted criminal.
"Stop moving." She said. He was acting like an impatient child, not the murdering assassin she saw him as before. Spending the past two days with him, she realized HYDRA's work was melting away and the broken mess was showing through. If she could find a way to help him restore his memories, he might be more helpful in remembering HYDRA's secrets.
She noticed he didn't sleep and barely talked unless it was to help with the plan.
"You guys are friends, right?" He spoke up. "You and Captain America." He inquired, trying the name on his tongue as if he didn't think it was right. He stared at her through the mirror. His eyes were deeper than the salty ocean that clouded his thoughts.
"Something like that." Adelaide said. Her relationship with Rogers was forming on its own, despite their indirect past. But he would always be the man who killed her father.
"Can you tell me about him? I know we fought together and each other..." He said. His thoughts spiraled, confusing different thoughts and memories as they all tried to make sense.
"Um..." Adelaide bit her tongue. They were friends, Bucky still had memories that needed to be resurfaced. "You fought together in the war and became heroes. You were his best friend." She walked in front of him and trimmed his hair in the front.
"I've been to the museum. I want to know about Steve, not Captain America." Bucky said, looking up.
"Look down." Adelaide said quickly, she was trying not to cut him with her knife, this would have been easier with scissors or a real stylist. "Well... he really is a good person, despite how I feel about him."
"How do you feel about him?"
"I want to hate him." She wanted to hate him for destroying her family, but she understands why he did it, even if he didn't know what he did to her. "But we fight for the same thing now."
The soldier began to sit quietly until Adelaide was done cutting his hair.
They left the bathroom and met the others back at the car. "The jet leaves in an hour. Are you sure you wanna go to Spain?" Mace asked. "I heard Greece is nice this time of year." He said.
Adelaide looked over at James, who was looking over to her to let her do the talking. "Spain." Adelaide nodded. She hadn't been too fond of telling Mace everything she told the soldier, which felt backwards to her.
"We're going. Get in the car."
It was a short drive to the airport, nobody spoke, which was probably for the better.
Everyone slept on the jet until they arrived, except Adelaide. She kept staring down at the ocean, waiting to hit any kind of turbulence. She wanted so badly to relax, but with the silence of her company, she was left to her own thoughts.
Once they found HYDRA, what did they plan to do? The four of them weren't able to take down the entirety of it, not with all that chased after them. She glanced over at Rue. With Gerda awake and behind them, it wasn't long before all the truths were revealed.
Everything was smooth once they landed. Mace and Rue went in through the main gate with their invitation while Adelaide and the soldier took the second invitation to the side door. Coming in as a group would only draw attention and show their connection with one another.
"This has the potential to go very wrong." Adelaide said, watching the gold room fill with people with the most extravagant gowns and suits.
"Don't avoid too many people, you'll look suspicious. But don't reveal too much." Barnes said, he stopped when he saw Adelaide halt in her path, looking up at him confused. "What?" He asked.
Adelaide kept walking, she can't do anything to make them look suspicious. "This isn't my first mission." She shook her head.
"I know." Bucky shrugged.
They made their way to the counter where a man requested their order. Adelaide watched the room the entire time, her eyes watching over every person that entered. Bucky shooed the waiter off but not before Adelaide could grab his shoulder. She held up two fingers and the waiter nodded a response.
Adelaide rested her elbow on the counter, giving the appearance she was merely resting her head in her hand. "Strucker's here." She warned Rue and Mace through her ear piece.
"So is his team." Rue said. She spotted them heading towards a door, welcomed by a man with grey hair and a sash. They greeted each other like old friends and disappeared behind the door. "Do we follow?" Rue asked.
"I've got it." Adelaide downed the drink the waiter brought and pushed herself off the counter. It didn't matter if the drink wouldn't affect her, but she liked to think it did. She looked back at Barnes, who was watching her walk away. "Come on." she waved him over.
"No, you got this." He shrugged.
"Just blend in with the dancers." She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the crowd.
"Ah..." He kept his hands down at his side. Despite her attempt to be subtle, his inexperience in dancing made them stumble into other partners dancing. "I can't remember the last time I danced." He admitted. Would she let him place his arm around her? He knew it wasn't his real arm, but he still felt responsible for all the blood spilled by this hand.
As she placed one of his hands on her hip and took the other in her hand, she explained. "Steve once told me he loved dancing." It was a simple waltz, and easy enough to maneuver around the crowd. She brought them closer to the doors.
She let go of him, and he stared at the metal attachment. He had never been able to ignore it, but he also never felt like it was a part of him. She trusted him enough to take his hand without any fear he might endanger her. It always felt lighter after letting someone go, but it felt different because he never had any intention to harm her. He assumed that's all this weapon was for.
Adelaide walked up to the guard. "Excuse me." She made it seem like she was going to politely ask him where the bathroom was. Barnes couldn't let this play out.
"Strucker is expecting us." He told the guard. When the guard was beginning to look skeptical, Barnes leaned in. "Hail HYDRA." He whispered to him.
The guard looked around, though he seemed skeptical, he let them through. Barnes looked back at Adelaide. "That easy, huh?" She followed him into the hall. The hallway was how you could imagine. Decorative wallpaper with a few tables lining the walls. All the doors had keypads that kept the two out of reach of any information kept inside.
They hurried down the hall until they came to an elevator. "Level five." Barnes pointed above the metal doors where a digital 5 indicated which floor was used last.
On their way up, Adelaide prepared for whatever could be behind that door. They took positions on either side of the elevator, using the walls as cover just where the doors opened.
"Do you think when we take down HYDRA, I can meet him?" Barnes asked.
Adelaide stayed silent. "I'm sure. But you do know that it could take time. Even if we kill every HYDRA agent, you'll still be a criminal." He stayed silent after that. They both knew it wouldn't change any time soon. "But if it's any consolation, I can help restore your memories."
He looked up from the floor. "Can you." She nodded, but along with it was the implication that it wouldn't be just his pre-war memories. It would all of them, all the good and the bad.
The door of the elevator opened to an open room with and unexpected sight.
