Red

I Am In Spain Without The S

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 Albania 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.

Adelaide turned to him, she grabbed his hand and moved into the crowd of people dancing. The soldier hesitated when she placed his hand on her waist. It wasn't his real arm and he covered it with a glove, but he couldn't help but feel the disgusting urge to pull away. He'd only ever used the arm as a weapon, he didn't understand how she could be so careless.

He watched as she clumsily stumbled through the crowd. She didn't know how to dance. James started to move his feet in a pattern he could barely remember and she was quick to follow his lead. She looked up at him with confusion.

She felt herself fall into the pattern as they meticulously danced through the crowd. Adelaide looked like she was in a trance, her gaze a million miles away.

"He just walked through." The soldier said. Adelaide blinked as she came back to reality.

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 never 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.

"Interesting."