Remembering Freedom

Speak

Jemma didn't get any sleep that that night. Any attempt to do so ended with nightmares of milky eyes and screaming. She'd run out of tears hours before and the Ibuprofen had finally worn off, leaving her body feeling like one big bruise. In other words, she felt and probably looked like hell.

The rest of the day dragged on. She didn't hear anything outside her door and if she didn't see the shadows of the guards' feet under the door, she could've sworn that there were no guards at all. They hadn't even taken her to get a shower or even go to the bathroom, which didn't bother her because they hadn't delivered her food. She refused to say anything. They were trying to get her to do something, but what?

She lay back down on the bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. Anna's face kept flashing through her mind. She had said that Jemma would make it back to her team, but it had been almost a month since she'd been taken and there hadn't been anything done since the hacking incident. At the moment, Jemma was taking that as a good sign. It meant they were taking a step back and thinking of something new. If anyone could find her, it was her team.

"Dr. Simmons." A man walked into her cell and pulled her to her feet. "If you could come with me. Volkov has something he wants to show you."

Jemma didn't like the tone in which that sentence was said, but she had no choice but to be once again pulled down the hallway by her bad shoulder (of course). She bit her lip to keep the gasp from being heard. Her stomach dropped as she was brought into the vault and saw technicians working on the Wiper. No... She caught a familiar flash of metal and saw James standing off the side.

He didn't seem concerned in the slightest and if he were any other person, he would've at least looked like he cared. But Jemma saw the tense set of his shoulders and clenched jaw. He was afraid. If he was afraid, then something bad was going to happen...

"Someone's been tampering with the equipment and I would like to know who...so speak up."

Jemma then saw that she wasn't the only person being dragged into the room. There were some of the technicians that worked on the arm, others that worked on the machines, and even the few who, like her, patched up other agents. She rubbed her fingers together to stop the shaking. If he found out it was her...

"No one?" He sighed when no one spoke. "Soldier...kill one of them every minute they don't talk or if they try to run."

She started watching the clock on the far wall as she saw James stiffen only a moment before taking the gun that Volkov handed him. Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven...Her heart was pounding so loudly she was surprised those next to her didn't hear it, although knowing James...he probably did. Fifty-six, fifty-five, fifty-four... She wasn't the only one scared. The young man next to her was sweating up a storm. They were terrified of the Winter Soldier, knew that he wouldn't hesitate or show mercy. Fifty-three, fifty-two, fifty-one, fifty...

James was slowly making his way around the room, his combat boots silent. Those blue eyes were analytical and detached as he scanned over them all, not even pausing on her. But this wasn't James, this was the Winter Soldier. She didn't know what he would do if he had to shoot her...would he do it?

Forty-nine, forty-eight, forty-seven, forty-six...

He couldn't afford to disobey Volkov's orders...it would look suspicious. Or he could be put down because he's 'malfunctioning'...

Forty-five, forty-four, forty-three...

The Winter Soldier walked behind them, his presence like an icy wind sending the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. He was assessing them, picking out the ones that looked like a threat... It threw off her countdown for a moment and Jemma started shaking as she realized how much time had passed. Twenty-four, twenty-three, twenty-two...