Six (Captain America)

"Six" part 3: Somebody's Somebody

"Okay, we need to pinpoint when exactly you were abducted." Maria clicked her pen and put it to the legal pad in front of her. "Do you know basic world history? A memory wipe shouldn't have erased that kind of thing. At least, not if they were specific enough."

I nodded. "Yes, I think so." I thought about it. "I know world geography and math and how to read, and... I recognize a lot of the books Steve brings me. Some of them even feel familiar, like I've read them before."

Maria nodded. "Good. If we can determine at what time you stopped learning current events, we can track your abduction better. There are thousands of missing persons files worldwide, and in France alone, if we have no time frame to narrow it down. So far all we know is that you were taken sometime after Bucky Barnes, since..." Maria trailed off.

"Since he stole me." I frowned. I knew that Bucky had been Hydra's pawn just as I had been, but the realization three nights before that he was the one to have actually kidnapped me made me extremely angry. I was finding it hard to forgive him or let it go, even though I knew I was being irrational. I kept wondering who the men I'd been in the van with were, and what we had been talking about. Who were we trying to save? What were we doing? Who were we? Where were we? Why had they asked if I was "ready to be back?"

"Yes. Since he took you." Maria was careful in her wording. She looked at a list of questions she had scrawled onto her yellow legal pad. "Do you remember World War 2?"

"I... I know about it. I don't have any memories of it, though. But I don't have memories of anything so I guess that's not surprising." I admitted.

"Who won?"

"The Allies. Russia took over East Germany and the Iron Curtain came about. England and the USA took some territories as well, I don't really know what."

"When was this?"

"1945. Summertime. I don't know the date, I'm sorry."

Maria nodded. "What about the next conflict?"

"I believe there was... Korea. And Vietnam?" I furrowed my brow. I knew that I knew about this stuff. It was just all so foggy.

"Is that all you remember?"

I nodded.

"Who is the President of France?" Maria was writing my answers down.

"Valery Giscard d'Estaing." I replied. I knew this one. I knew I knew it. Maria shot Bruce a strange look across the table we were sitting at. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing. Do you know who the President of the United States is, by any chance?" Maria kept writing.

"Yes. Carter is the President of the USA." I nodded. "Jimmy Carter."

Maria and Bruce exchanged another glance. Maria put her pen down. "It was cold when you were taken?" I nodded again.

"Knowing who the Presidents are right now can't possibly help, can it?" I questioned.

Maria shook her head. "No, it wouldn't, unless you were taken incredibly recently. But d'Estaing and Carter aren't the Presidents right now. They were both in office, at the same time, between 1976 and 1980." She ran a hand over the back of her neck. I sat and looked at her, dumbfounded.

"If this is really the last piece of history you remember before going into cryo, you've been working for Hydra for at least thirty five years." Bruce told me gently.

* * *

I walked slowly back to my room, escorted by Maria and Bruce. It had been a few days since I'd arrived at the tower, and I'd spent most of it answering incessant questions about Hydra, or locked in my "room" reading, working out, or sleeping. They hadn't given me anything I could hurt anyone with, so I wasn't able to use weights; I'd devised a way to do sit ups off of the edge of my bed, and push ups. I was starting to find the place rather dull. I didn't have a whole lot of memories of the outside world, but I knew enough to find being locked up extremely boring.