Silver Death

Twenty-Six Knives in a Wall

(Winter's P.O.V.)

I stood still in the hidden room for maybe an hour. I counted the knives that were in there. The total ended up being forty-six. Twenty-six lodged in the walls. Ten in their designated places on the walls. The rest -all ten- were on the floor with blood on the blades. Some knives were dull and had small bits of skin from where they tore. Most were sharp, long and the blood was most of the way to the hilt. I didn't know what to think. So I didn't, instead I just tried to pull the knives from the walls. Only two wouldn't come out. I hung all the knives in the places they fit best and knowing how Silver stores her weapons helped. Shorter knives that were easier to throw starting on the left side of the wall, while longer knives better for hand to hand on the right.

I left the room to search for a mop and bucket. I find one in the top of the shed. I fill the bucket with water from the garden hose in the side yard. Walking across the yard back towards the torture room as I have decided to call it, Steve comes out of the house. I set down the bucket realizing that I had forgotten to get a rag to clean the knives with, and to find a sharpening stone.

When I walk past Steve going back to the house he turns and follows me. "Where you going Buck?"
"Find something to clean some knives with."
"Okay. But why the bucket and mop? The shed gets cleaned by some robot thing."
"I'm not going to that shed. There's a third hidden room remember?"
"You found it?"
"I don't think Silver would have wanted anyone to find it."
"And why is that?"
"Help me find a rag and I'll show you."
Grabbing two tea towels from the drawer in the kitchen and a sharpening stone from the room Silver and I share, I go back outside to where Steve is standing.
We cross the yard in silence until we reach the shed and get to the now uncovered door.

"I'm going to climb down. When I say pass down the bucket."

I climb down the ten rings of the ladder witch also have blood on them that I hadn't noticed until now. Opening the door with the disturbing passcode I call for the bucket, Steve passed it down and I grab it and set it in the middle of the room. Hearing a gasp I turn to see Steve standing in the door way looking at the biggest blood puddle.

"That's what the scars are from."

What scars I don't know what he's talking about. Verbally this time "what scars?"
"I didn't mean to, but I had earbuds in the other day. When we got home from the fishing trip I went to the gym right?"
"Yah. I saw you there. But you went out for a few minutes."
"Yah I was going to the bathroom, but since I had earbuds I didn't hear the sh-shower going and went in. Silver was in the shower. I knocked her towel off of the counter and turned expecting her to yell at me but she didn't hear me. I saw a bunch of scars on her legs, hips, and sides. Her swimsuit would have covered them all."
I don't know what to say. I grab the mop from Steve's hand and and start cleaning.
"Buck. Say something."
"I don't know what to say until she gets back so we can talk to her."
"Are you sure you want me there?"
"You have seen the scars. You should be there."

We clean the room. I catch Steve looking at some of the knives and how much blood is on them. "I don't know what she was thinking when she did this. But I know it's her blood not someone else's."
Steve looks broken and confused at the same time.
"How do you know that Buck?"
"Torturing was something she hated doing even under the influence of her words. She would put up a fight when she was told to do it. She knew that she would remember doing it. Hurting someone for information."
"So why did she do it to herself?"
"I don't know Stevie. I don't know."

We continue to clean in silence. When I stand in the far corner to mop up one of the bigger sized spot I turn and notice a pattern in where all the twenty-six blades hit. Knives had hit close together practically making a dash and some had hit the wall lower to make dots. The holes if connected spell out 'murderer" in morse code
'-- ..- .-. -.. . .-. . .-.'
I stare at the dots and dashes before walking over to and pulling Steve to where I was standing.
Steve drops his shoulders and looks to the ground.
"She's damaged. And I don't know if we can repair her Steve."
"We can try Buck."

I finish cleaning the floor and sit down in the corner to sharpen the knives in the room. A sharp knife is less dangerous that a dull one.

After making sure all the knives are sharp and that the floor, walls, door and ladder are all clear of blood we take our cleaning supplies and leave.

I ask Tony to phone Nat so that Silver knows Steve and I need to talk to her where she gets home. Now we wait for her to get home so we can talk to her.

(Silver's P.O.V.)

By the time we reach my house and the temporary home to the Avengers the kids are still asleep and Laura is anxiously bouncing in her seat.

"Laura why don't you go inside and see Hawkeye while Natasha and I bring in the kids? I can bring in the luggage later."
"Okay. Thank you again."
"Not a problem."

She runs into the house and doesn't bother to shut the door when she sees Clint standing in the kitchen.

Shrugging I open the back hatch. Widow and I unbuckle and pick up the kids, I have Cooper and Widow has Lila.

When we get into the house we set them down on the couch so that they can wake up when they decide to, I turn to find Winter and The Captain watching me closely. I smile at them and walk out the front door. Unloading the luggage into the camper where the family will be staying so that the kids feel as if they are camping and wait for Winter and Captain to come outside and talk to me. Stark had said that Winter wanted to talk to me but with the look that was in Captains face I assumed he was in on what they needed to talk about as well.

I don't have to wait long for them to come outside. Winter probably wanted to meet Laura while Steve probably wanted to say hello seeing as he had met her before.

When they come out the first thing Winter does is hug me. I hug back but become confused because he knows how I dislike physical contact. When Winter releases me Captain hugs me and I become even more confused.

"Okay that's weird. You never hug me unless something's up. What's up with you two?"
They glance at each other and start walking away while they each hold one of my arms.  "Where we going?" They don't respond, I roll my eyes and allow them to drag me across the yard and into the old shed. What did they find?

Winter continues to hold my hand and Captain uncovers the entrance into the third hidden room. "Did you get in?"
Once again they don't respond, they only climb down the ladder Winter going first. Captain nods for me to go before him, making sure I don't run. I go down hoping that Winter is at the bottom and that the door is closed. My hopes prove to be faulty.

I walk into my blood room and notice that everything is cleaned. They found this room and cleaned my blood from the floor and pulled the knives from the wall. All except for two. I had bent them do they couldn't come out of the wall.

"Silver. Why did you do this to yourself?"

I turn to look at Winter and Cap who are standing by cthe door.
"I killed, tortured and spilt the blood of so many people. It was my turn to shed blood."

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