Not A Weapon

Chapter Five- The Asset

"I know it's difficult but you can't lose hope just because we haven't seen any improvement. We literally just found him. Even with me, these things just take time." I was saying to Steve and Tony after my first session with Bucky as we were driving to a restaurant to have dinner. 

"I agree" Tony said, pulling up at a very fancy restaurant. I gave him a questioning glance. "I'm paying" He explained quickly.

I looked down at my regular shirt and jeans and shrugged. "Okay, 'cause I'm pretty sure they wouldn't allow me in." He laughed and got out of the car, stepping into the restaurant. 

"Not on my watch" Tony reassured. I smiled and we all walked in, Tony apparently had a reservation so we got seated immediately and ordered our food. Once we got it we began to eat, talking a little too.

"How long do you think it's going to take before I can talk to him?" Steve asked. 

"I don't know Steve, it's hard to tell right now. You saw how it went today. I know this is really difficult for you too, but I think that you're probably the last person he's gonna be ready to meet" I said gently. I knew it hurt him to hear, but it was the truth and needed to be said. "I'm sorry" I said. 

"It's fine, it's not your fault" He smiled but I knew it was fake, and we went back to eating and talking about other things.

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I stood in front of Bucky's room the next morning, nice and early, hoping to see him sleeping, or at least lying down, but instead I found him sitting straight in the same exact spot and way that he was yesterday when I left. He looked worse than the day before, the cut over his eye bled through the bandage, and the circles under his eyes were dark and deep, but still he kept his back straighter than ever, staring at the wall across from him.

I touched my earpiece and whispered. "Tony, has he moved at all since I left?" 

"Nope" Tony's voice and answered in my ear. "I'm impressed" I could hear him eating something, probably a doughnut, I had seen some earlier. 

"Well don't be, this isn't good"

"Whatever you say" I could practically hear him shrug nonchalantly. 

"Come on Tony, you know it's not good" 

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't be impressed." I sighed a little. 

"Okay well I'm turning this off, no distractions remember" 

"Okay" I took the little device out and put it in my pocket, heading inside the room with a little knock.

He didn't move at all but his shoulders seemed to sag at my approach. "Hi. I'm Alex, remember me?" He said nothing. "I was here yesterday, bandaged that nasty cut" I walked a little closer slowly, watching for any signs that he might jump at me. When he did nothing but stare more, I advanced closer, my hands up, palms towards him, like I would approach a wild and wounded animal.

"I was hoping you would've slept a little" I said softly. 

"Sleep?" His rough voice asked quietly, surprising me. 

"Yeah, you know, rested." I came even closer, almost to the bed now. His back straightened more.

"The asset needs no rest" The words came as though they were programmed into his mind. "The asset needs no provisions. The asset needs only to fulfill its missions" I felt a little pang at that, hearing him refer to himself as an object, with no emotion in his voice. It made me think about what they had done to him, to make him this detached, this inhuman.

I walked the rest of the way to him and knelt down in front of him. "You are not an it  Bucky. You are not an asset. You are a man. A person" He stared forward blankly, his face remaining expressionless. 

"The Asset belongs to HYDRA. The Asset does as it's commanded." He stated, looking straight ahead. 

"You are Bucky Barnes, and you are a person"

He didn't even blink. "The Asset works for HYDRA. The Asset does as it's commanded." He repeated. I could feel that he wasn't a robot inside though, he had some feelings in there. 

"You are Bucky Barnes, and you are a person, not an asset. It's okay to say it Bucky" I whispered. He looked at me and for a second a look of pain and fear flashed across his face, but it disappeared so quickly I almost thought I imagined it.

"The Asset works for HYDRA. The Asset does as it's commanded" He repeated, then he added something that I heard yesterday too, "The Asset will not fail this test" He said, turning back to face the wall in front of him.

My heart panged. "Bucky, Bucky I promise you this isn't a test, HYDRA has been destroyed." He didn't look back or say anything else for the next hour.

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"So he thinks this is a test?" Steve asked, rewatching the video of my session with Bucky. 

"Yeah. And I get the impression that he knows something horrible will happen if he fails it, I think he's failed it before..." Steve's frown deepened. 

"We need to catch the rest of HYDRA. We have to find a way to convince him that HYDRA has been completely destroyed." Steve said, his voice tight.

"That's the issue, HYDRA hasn't been completely destroyed" Tony piped in. "We haven't caught everyone, and some of the people that are missing are the lead scientists and people in charge of the Asset experiment" Steve flinched when Tony called Bucky 'asset' and I touched Tony's arm as a warning. 

Bucky, won't be convinced until we have them all" I said to Steve softly. Tony realized what he had said and gave an apologetic look, which Steve ignored. 

"Then we'll find them all." He said grimly.