HAIRLINE FRACTURE [BUCKY BARNES]

[two] : i'm double-sided

**EIGHT MONTHS EARLIER**

        "IT'S your first day."

        Special Agent Brock Rumlow allowed himself to spare a glance down at the considerably younger girl standing next to him, his narrowed eyes carefully studying the stoic expression on her face as she worked hastily on re-securing her pistol to the belt strapped low on her hips. Elena Behn, who was idly pretending that the intense glare of Rumlow's dark eyes was not burning a hole through the back of her neck, shifted her attention from her weaponry to the combative gloves strapped tightly to her hands. She chanced a quirk of her lips for a fraction of a second when she felt the reassuring tightness constricting her fingers.

        Elena's gloves were her safety measure-- they were created specifically to give her the ability to stay within her own head when she wanted to. When she was a child, that had been the most challenging part of her development-- keeping outside of others' heads at her own will.

        She could distinctly remember when her father had taken her to kindergarten class for the first time. She was looking forward to finally interacting with other kids her age, which was something that she never got the chance to do often, but when she stepped foot into the classroom for the first time, their nightmares immediately became her reality. They were sitting shyly in a circle as the teacher spoke, lips sealed obediently, but Elena couldn't help but clasp her tiny hands over her ears to fend off the loud noises that only she could hear.

        She could hear their fears, their worries, their thoughts, and all at once, they invaded her senses and she felt at loss. By nap time, she was sent home because she would not stop crying. Twenty nightmares, all belonging to others, but she still had to endure them all by herself.

        Though she was now in her mid-20s, Elena still found that her control over her wandering mind was unfathomably weaker than that which HYDRA would have rathered it to be. Combat teams were the only place where it would be logical for her to be, as she was allowed to keep wearing gloves without question.

        That was why Behn was being given a position in the famed S.T.R.I.K.E Team as a temporary station, rather than a desk job like a few of the other sleeper agents. It was that, and the fact that it gave Rumlow a better opportunity to look after Elena within what he viewed as enemy territory. Pierce, who also had acquired a higher up position within S.H.I.E.L.D, did not entrust the task with anyone but Rumlow for the simple reason that he was his most loyal agent. Brock had taken the position immediately with pride, an arrogant smirk quirking his lips up as he towered over HYDRA's prized Code Orange. He was untouchable.

        "I figured," Elena muttered underneath a huff of breath, shooting a glare over at Rumlow from her peripherals. She was nervous, but she wasn't prepared to let him know that. He would never let her live that down, not with the exuberance he was already letting off at the mere thought of being entrusted with such an imperative task.

        "Don't fuck up." He said between his teeth in response, his lips barely moving as he turned his head to glance out of the glass panes of the elevator. The elevator was equipped with full length glass walls that overlooked the Triskelion's perfect location in the center of the Potomac River on Theodore Roosevelt Island, allowing the elevator riders to enjoy a serene view of the water shimmering and twinkling against the onslaught from the sun. Elena watched vaguely through the glass atrium farther below them as other agents walked around leisurely outside, enjoying the ideal weather today. She couldn't help but think that they resembled ants in the most uncannily characteristic way. She turned away at once to address Rumlow's comment.