Six (Captain America)

Six part 15: Electric Love (Finale)

I looked around and surveyed the room Iwas in. A low bungalow, in a row of low bungalows, in a shipping yardin Normandy. Everyone here was dead.

I'd changed my tactics the last month.I'd decided it wasn't really fair to kill low level Hydraguards who didn't have even half of the sense it would require toactually know who they were working for. So I was trying to keepthose casualties to a minimum. Let's just say, maybe some of Steve'sgoodness had gotten to me. I wasn't sure.

I'd developed a new strategy. A fewweeks ago I'd cleared out a Hydra base with a large stockpile ofknock-out gas. I'd decided that it needed to belong to me, along witha gas mask, and I'd just been dosing the outside guards unconscioussince then, and only taking out my 36 years of aggression on theimportant people inside of the buildings. The guys outside, they werepeons, making shit money to do a dangerous job. Maybe a little dancewith near-death would change their mind. Maybe I'd run into themlater and take them out of existence. It was their choice, really.

Everyone outside of the bungalows wassafely sleeping and disarmed. I'd cleared the other rooms, one byone, making quick work of the people inside. This last one- I'dkicked the door in, ducked, waited for everyone firing at me to haveto stop to reload, and cleared the place. My weapon at the ready, Ientered the room. Eight men lay on the floor. I stepped over them,heading to the back. There were three doors at the rear of the room.

"Come on out, Valdez. I know you'rehere." I growled, positioning myself so that I could fall behind afile cabinet if I needed to.

I knew I wouldn't need to. OnceValdez's guards were gone, he was as good as mine. I'd followed himto this shitty office at the shipping yard, but he was usually in alarge building out of Moscow that I was going to need the Avengers tohelp me take down. Not wanting to ask for help yet, I'd been keepingtabs on the movers- and- shakers from the Moscow building, andattacking them other places.

The door opened and two hands stuckout. "I'll give you what you want. Don't kill me. I have importantwork to do."

"Come out, Doctor Valdez." I barkedat him. The door opened and a tall, well built man with graying hairand glasses stepped out. "That's far enough. On your knees,Doctor." He fell to his knees halfway between me and his office. Istepped out of the shadows and removed my mask.

"You're supposed to be dead." Hewhispered in disbelief.

I leaned down close to him. "Doyou think I'm stupid enough to be dead right now? I know all ofyour moves. Did you really let yourself believe you weresafe?" I asked, looking him straight in the eye.

"How much do you remember?" Hedidn't answer my question. He was much more concerned a to whetherwhat I knew would catch up to him. Legally probably. Moron. Itdefinitely had caught up with him, but his God complex wouldn't lethim believe it.

I stood up, smacking him in the side ofthe head with the butt of my rifle. "Enough to be here. Enough totrack you down."

He grabbed the side of his head where abruise was developing. "Why are you here?

"Valdez, you stabilized the serum.You tested it on me, several times, before it was ready. You made theOne-Thousand into that monster. You aren't this stupid, you can't be.I'm here to kill you. And you know you deserve it."