Agent [Rose Book Two]

Who I Am

"Whatever happens, don't you dare pull me out." I order the team working the memory machine. "It's time I knew everything." I hear a machine warming up, and then nothing.

It starts with the car crash. Werner and I were driving home from a shopping trip I made him take me on. I was nine. He was eighteen, and had just got a new car.

Werner swerves suddenly to avoid the man suddenly in front of us, like a statue. A creepy one, too. A disk flies from a gun in the man's hand, and suddenly the car flips over, and I can hear the sounds of crunching metal.  I'm squished into a little ball, and I try to open the smashed door. It's jammed. I turn around to see my brother in the same predicament.

The door is suddenly ripped from its hinges by a metal arm. The metal arm has a crimson star on its shoulder. The door flies away onto the concrete a few feet away, and the metal arm reaches in to grab me next.

I scream in terror and try and thrash around to escape, but the grip on my arm is too strong. I feel myself dragged out of the car and onto the concrete. "Alessa!" My brother yells. It's the last thing I hear before the world fades away.

When I regain consciousness, I'm trapped in a small, metal cell. "Let me out!" I instantly cry, banging against the walls. This continues for at least fifteen minutes, claustrophobia setting in. Finally, I give up any hope someone will hear me and sink down.

A door I hadn't noticed before opens, and two men grab my hands and blindfold me. I'm dragged down several hallways, but I can't tell where I am, or where I'm going. Finally, the men remove my blindfold. A single light hangs from the ceiling, but it lights the room fairly well. A metal lab table is in the center, a bright light above it.

"Ms. Von Strucker." A man with blonde hair walks into the room and nods to me. He seems very well dressed for some place this dirty. "It's nice to finally meet you in person. Your father mentioned you several times. He'd be very proud of you right now." I say nothing in response. I know what kind of work my father does.

"Let me make a few things clear. You will do as I tell you. Don't try calling for help; you won't get any. If you try and break any rules, I can easily kill your family. I know how much you care for your brother." The man says. Fear courses through me. He nods to the men, who force me into the lab table. I feel myself strapped down.

"You're probably curious as to why you're here. I'm sure you heard of Steve Rogers." The man says. "We're close to replicating the serum."

"You're going to test it on me?" I finally ask, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, we are. You catch on quickly. You're special, Ms. Von Strucker. Right now, we need that special." The man says. "Give it to her." A scientist on my left grabs a needle full of a dark purple liquid. He inserts it into a vein in my neck. It hurts, a little more than the usual pinch you get from a shot.

Within seconds, it feels like I am on fire, like every cell within me is exploding. A few seconds later, everything settles. Nothing feels any different than before. I look down at my arms. They are not any different either.

"It didn't work." I say. "Can I go home now?"

The man looks surprised, whether at my question or the results, I can't tell. "Of course it worked. You'll see." He says. "Take her back to her cell." I'm blindfolded again, and dragged back down the long hallways, back to the cold metal cell. I try banging on the wall again, looking for the secret door.