Remembering Freedom

Aftermath

Melinda's Tai Chi was interrupted by the shrill sound of Skye calling for Coulson, her voice heavy with fatigue and urgency. It was no wonder. Since Jemma's abduction, the team hardly slept or spoke. This was before the message from a Doctor Volkov came on screen with a beaten and tied up Jemma. Before she saw the young scientist cry silent tears as the team crumbled completely.

Melinda didn't hear the screaming or the crying or even feel the beginning tremors of one of Skye's episodes...she heard the pained cry that Jemma made as she saw her team for the first time in weeks. She saw the sallow cheeks and shadows under her bloodshot hazel eyes that hinted at little food and sleep. The rage that she kept such a tight lid on reared its head as Volkov ran his fingers down Jemma's neck, and she tried unsuccessfully to pull away. May saw the heavy bruising around her neck, hinting at multiple attempts to strangle the scientist, and she couldn't stop the snarl that tore from her throat as Volkov spoke of her being 'valuable'. Her smile could've cut glass as she spoke to Volkov, but he only laughed, saying her words meant nothing followed by something in German: Sie können sie nicht retten, which Coulson translated in a broken voice as the transmission was disconnected: You cannot save her.

Like hell I can...

Taking a drink from a water bottle, she quickly followed Skye to the conference room. Skye's shouting had awoken anyone who had actually managed to fall asleep and all were gathered the large room, faces set in grim expressions. Except Fitz. He was just lost. His tremors had returned as did his stutter whenever he did speak.

Coulson stood up once he saw that everyone was present. "What do you have for us Skye?"

"Well. I was finally able to track the signal of the feed to a base in the..." She tapped the tablet a few times, "Longfellow Mountains near the Maine-Canadian border." She pulled up a satellite image that left more to be desired. "I couldn't find much in the way of layout from these, but I was able to hack into their system and pull up some old blueprints. Like the good Nazis they are, everything is in German." The blueprints then came up. "Other than that I can't get a fix on their security system, which is odd because they were giving me problems before."

"So you're saying something happened?"

"What I'm say is their security is too lax for that of a top secret HYDRA base...so yes. Something happened." Her eyebrow knitted together as she tapped the screen a few more times. "Here are the coordinates."

May glanced at the coordinates for only a moment before Coulson told everyone to gear up. She quietly made her way to her quarters, stripping off her workout clothes and pulling on her standard tactical gear before making her way to the cockpit.

Coulson caught her arm. "How fast can you get us there?"

"Less than an hour."

He nodded, dropping his hand. "I'll let the others know."

She gave him a nod in return before making her way into the cockpit. Sitting down, she pulled on her headset and flipped the switches and controls before maneuvering the Bus to the base's coordinates.

No one complained when the ride took one hour instead of three and as soon as they landed in an open area, they began their trek towards the coordinates. There were no complaints about the cold wind or thick forest and by the time they reached what they knew was the base, May could tell at once that something wasn't right.

There were no guards posted and when Skye opened the door everything was silent. Everyone had their guns at the ready as they slowly made their way into the base. Then the smell of rotting bodies hit her like a wall, which was surprising considering she'd nearly desensitized herself to it over the years. She saw similar looks on Bobbi and Phil.

Hunter and Mack were visibly green and Skye had a hand covering her mouth, whereas Fitz had turned to heave the meager contents of his stomach onto the floor. May, Phil, and Bobbi continued around the corner and that's when the blood splatters started appearing. It wasn't they entered the corridor that May felt bile rise in her throat.

It looked like a massacre. Dozens of bodies lay on either side of the hallway, sporting bullets between the eyes, slit throats, crushed skulls, and broken necks. Their skin was tinged a purple-greenish tint that hinted they had been dead little less than a day. Glazed over eyes frozen in fear followed them as they quietly stepped over broken limbs before they rounded the corner to find even more bodies, all killed in the same manner. We're these people killed by one man? It had to be a man, bases purely on the strength and endurance required to kill like this... Who did HYDRA piss off? She stopped for a moment when she saw a lone body sprawled at the end of the hall. She recognized it immediately as Doctor Volkov, his throat had torn out. God...

"Who did this?" Bobbi's voice betrayed the horror they were all feeling.

"I don't know, but it would be safe to assume they're no friend of HYDRA." Phil's voice was calm as he crouched next to Volkov. "Has anyone seen Jemma?"

Dread knotted in May's stomach. She really would lose it if she found Jemma's body in this state.

"AC, May, Bobbi...you'll want to see this." Skye shaky voice came through the comms.

"What is it Skye?" Phil asked, standing up.

"You need to see it." Was all she said.

Making their way back to the front entrance, they all found Skye bent over a computer screen, She looked up to see their ashen faces and swallowed before sitting back and showing them footage of the hanger, which was on the other side of the base. She typed a few keys and the visual played.

The video two people being chased into the hanger and May was only slightly relieved to see Jemma as one of them. The other was a man, approximately six feet tall, wearing all black. He wasn't familiar at all until he turned and the flash of the metal arm caught her eye. Even with the mask and goggles on, she knew who it was. Phil cursed under his breath, running a hand down his face.

"Is that who I think it is?" Bobbi asked.

"Yes." Phil's reply was curt as he watched the video again, trying to catch something.

Skye looked at Phil and, noticing his reaction, turned to May. "Who is he?"

"The Winter Soldier." May took a breath. "He's been accredited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years." She looked over at Phil. "He was sent to kill Fury by Pierce."

"So he's HYDRA?" Skye asked.

Bobbi looked at the screen again. "Not anymore I think. The carnage in the hall is definitely from him. HYDRA did something to him that sent him over the edge. He must have seen Jemma as a friendly and taken her so he could protect her."

"How do we find them?" This was Mack.

Phil finally stepped away from the screen. "We don't. The Winter Soldier is probably the best assassin in the world. He knows how to hide. If he doesn't want to be found, he won't be."

Skye transferred the data from the base onto the Bus before sitting back. "So what do we do AC?"

"All we can do is wait and hope he comes to us..."