Red

The Compound

Kamila's POV

I sat down on the bed in the room Steve showed me to. The room was nice. There were multiple rooms on each residential floor. Steve gave me to the spare room on his floor.

"That way if you need anything, you can find me." He said and I had given him a small nod before entering the room. I was still wary of his motives for bringing me here. I was grateful, sure. But cautious. 13 years being a slave to HYDRA's power makes it hard to trust people.

I looked around the room and noticed an open door. I stood and made my way to the door. Inside was a bathroom. I smiled lightly before setting out to finding clothes. I found some things in the closet. I grabbed them and then went back to the bathroom. I took off the stiff dress I'd been wearing. I inspected my body in the mirror.

My tall frame was thin and wispy. My cheeks were hollow and my skin had an unnatural paleness to it. My back was covered in dozens of scars. One for every mission. I sighed and looked down at the bandages on my wrists. Steve had Dr. Cho look at them and bandage them. She said that they probably needed stitches, but there was too much scar tissue for her to be able to. I had just shrugged, not surprised. I left the bandages on as I climbed into the shower.

I carefully scrubbed the months of dirt off of my skin. I washed my stringy hair and by the end of the shower, I felt human again. I braided my wet hair and found a long sleeve shirt and shorts in the dresser. A knock sounded on my door, startling me. I cautiously approached it and then opened it. It was the short red headed woman from the plane. She had a bundle of cloth in her arms.

"Hello?" I asked tensely.

"Hi, I'm Natasha Romanoff. I believe we were partially introduced on the jet." She gave me a small smile. "I see you found some clothes. I wasn't sure if there were any in here."

"Yeah. Sorry I didn't remember your name." I apologized, a memory from years ago, trying to surface.

"It's okay, and what'd they say your name was?"

"Kamila. Kamila Orlova." I briefly noticed in her eyes confusion. It was only there for a moment before she masked it.

"I don't know if Steve told you, but the dining hall is three floors above. In case you're hungry." I nodded and then thanked her before shutting the door and collapsing onto the bed into a flashback filled sleep.

"Ну, ну, хорошо. Если это не Камила Орлова." (Well, well, well. If it isn't Kamila Orlova.)

A familiar voice called quietly as I passed through the hallway.

"Наташа!" (Natasha) I exclaimed. I threw my arms around the older girl. She pulled me into a nearby classroom so we wouldn't be seen. "Ты вернулся!" (You're back) She laughed.

"Да, малыш." (Yes little one) She replied, pulling back to look at me. "Ты в порядке? Как поживаете?" (Are you okay? How are you) She fussed, running a hand through my red mane, similar to her own. I laughed.

"Я в порядке, Таша. Не нужно меня душить." (I'm fine, Tasha. No need to smother me)

"Мой, мой. Ты вырос с тех пор, как я видел тебя в последний раз." (My, my. You've grown since I last saw you.)

"Это потому, что ваша последняя миссия заняла целую вечность." (That's because your last mission took forever) I replied, a little sad.

"Я знаю, маленькая. Мне жаль." (I know little fox. I'm sorry) I looked in her eyes and saw a sadness I hadn't seen in them before.

"Ты в порядке?" (Are you alright) She nodded.

"Конечно." (Of course) We heard a sound in the corridor outside. "Мне нужно идти. Будь осторожна, Камила." I nodded. (I need to go. Be careful Kamila)

"Я буду. И будь осторожен!" (I will. You too) She smiled and kissed my forehead.

"Запомни об этом. Никогда не позволяйте им забрать ваше сердце." (Remember this. Never let them take your heart.) She said, looking back at me before disappearing.

"Вверху, наверху. (Up) My instructor, Madame Tatiana, spoke coming into the tiny room I called my own. Once she unlocked the cuffs that held me to my bed, I stood up immediately and looked at her.

"Да, мем. (Yes, Ma'am)

"Меняйся. У вас есть три минуты. (Get changed. You have three minutes) I hurried into the simple ballet uniform I always wore. I stood at attention.

"Добро, благо. (Good) Madame said as she reentered the room. "Следуй за мной. (Follow me) I followed her to the studio where I trained. I laced my dance shoes and began doing the routine that she'd assigned. I danced for hours until my toes were beyond sore and bleeding.

"Твои последние несколько вращений были неаккуратными. (Your last few spins were sloppy) She commented as I took off the shoes. My toes were bruised and some were bloody. I ignored the pain as I slid my boots back on as Madame set up my target range. I stood at attention, once I had finished lacing the boots, until she was done. Then she handed me my gun and I began shooting the whole round. Hitting the target dead center every time. I reloaded and did it again. I methodically repeated the process until she deemed I was finished. I had a meager dinner before I was taken to a new room. This one had a chair with straps to restrain a person. There were trays with many different syringes.

"Сажать, посадить. (Sit) A man commanded and I did as I was told. Alexander Pierce came and stood in front of me.

"Kamila." He told me. "Today you're going to be given a few different serums. They'll help improve your strength, speed, your ability to follow orders, metabolism, and ability to heal. These will all prepare you to serve HYDRA." I nodded.

"Yes sir."

"You're gonna do great things, you know. The name Crimson Killer will strike fear in the names of people for generations." I gave him a forced smile before sitting back and the syringes began piercing my arm.