The Soldat, The Captain and The Asset

1.9: The Starks

-December 1991-

It's just approaching dusk, but the sun is covered up by the mask of clouds stretching across the sky as far as the human eye could see, the white sky blending and moulding into the hills and hills of snow covered ground. The sheet of white spreads out for miles, only broken by a light grey bunker hiding within the mountains, stretching out slightly before ending near the edge of the hill-side, the ground drifting into a lighter colour before fading away into nature and its undisturbed land.

The snow surrounding the helipad in the centre is quickly moved aside when a helicopter lands, the blades spinning before slowly stopping. A few seconds later, a man exits the copter wearing a dark green jacket and hat, the hat embroidered with the soviet sickle and hammer, the coat donned with the same symbol on the sleeve. He is a little bit on the older side compared to the guards of the bunker who are wearing lighter coloured uniforms. He nods to the guards before entering into the bunker.

The man, Vasily Karpov, a general for the Soviet's Red Army, walked swiftly down the corridors before stopping outside of a chamber. Two soldiers walk over to either side of the door and use their keys to open it, the door opening to allow for Karpov to walk through to the small inner door. Karpov types in a code and scans his eyes, the black door opening up to reveal a small red book with a black star on the centre. With a small smile he picks it up and walks out.

Meanwhile, a technician raises a cylindrical chamber, liquid nitrogen escaping as it's lifted up, revealing the Winter Soldier unconscious and hooked up inside. Two agents walk over and unhook him roughly as he is dragged through the dark corridors and into another room where a darker skinned girl is being removed from a metal chair, Karpov holding the book in his hand as he speaks Russian to her, the girl quickly replying without thinking.

The Winter Soldier is hauled into the chair and strapped down, a guard quickly placed in his teeth. The technician quickly turned on the machine, the metal clamping down on his face, electricity flowing through his head, a screaming bouncing around the room. Karpov circles him, reading smoothly and very clearly from the leather book. "Желание. Ржавый. Семнадцать. Рассвет. Печь. Девять. Добросердечный. Возвращение на родину. Один. Грузовой вагон. (Russian: Longing. Rusted. Seventeen. Daybreak. Furnace. Nine. Benign. Homecoming. One. Freight car.)" Karpov says before walking in front of the asset, standing directly in front of the man, the metal halo raising off of his face and retracting, letting the man sit up. "Доброе утро, Солдат. (Russian: Good morning, Soldier.)"

The soldier hesitates ever so slightly, his eyes trailing from the book and up to Karpov's eyes. "Я готов отвечать. (Russian: Ready to comply.)" He says blankly, watching the man with a heavily trained eye.

Karpov smiles before looking at the woman being held in the other agent's grip securely so that she can't escape, her eyes looking just below his eyeline, submissive but still understanding his authority and stance, not disregarding him. Karpov nods slightly at his stance. "У меня есть для тебя миссия. Санкционируй и Извлекай. Без свидетелей. (Russian: I have a mission for you. Sanction and extract. No witnesses.)" Karpov informs the two of them.

The sky is dark and starless, the only lightning coming from the few spots of light poles hanging off the side of the long stretch of road. Few sounds can be heard coming from the hoards of trees covering the area, painting a dark green moulding into the already dark and dusky area. The silence is broken by the sound of a soft engine barreling down the road, two people talking inside a car as it moves down the ill-kempt concrete.