Air Tight (Book Two)

Chapter: 4

DAY: 43

Winter Soldier

I walked alone down to the cells where they were keeping Alexander. It had been two weeks since I had last gone down there with Hill to interogate him. But I returned with a different idea on how to coax truth out of that sucker. 

When I got to the cells I found Alexander waiting for me by the blue safety field. Since he had been here on the Helicarrier, it seemed stress had gotten to him. His eyes looked grey and lost, while wrinkles kept forming underneath his eyes and around his jaw. I wondered if it was the stress of being in a cell or the stress of losing his daughter to the Aether that wasn't supposed to kill.

"Bucky, nice to see you again. Come to ask more questions about the Aether?" he asked, already thinking he knew why I was there.

"No, I just came to talk." I answered him. I pulled up a chair and turned it so the back was facing the cell, Alexander sat down in his cell and faced as I sat down and leaned my arms against the back of the chair.

"How's Lark? Is she still alive?" he asked.

I didn't answer him. My goal here was to make him talk, make him plead and beg for another chance that he doesn't have. Alexander would pay for what he's done, he'd pay for everything. And this was one way to get what we wanted from him.

"She's dead?" he asked, he paused about half way through that sentence It pained me to act like this, it made my headache just to lie about Lark like this. But this was for a mission, and I had to finish it.

Alexander rose to his feet and walked up to the edge of his cell, "Is my daughter dead? Did Lark die?" he asked again. I kept silent. "Answer me you son of a-"

"It was peaceful." I said to him before he could become too violent. "Dr. Banner administered a sedative to Lark in her final moments. She didn't feel anything."

Alexander went silent, but he was breathing heavy like he was about to release his anger. "Was she awake?"

"Yes." I said to him. I swallowed the lie. "She was awake, surrounded by friends."

"Why didn't you let me see her before she died?" he asked, he almost touched the safety field. "She'd my daughter, I wanted to see her."

"Because you didn't deserve to see her." I told him. I stood up from the chair and walked up to the cell. "You lied and you cheated. You let your daughter die because you were too devoted to Hydra."

"I had to keep it from S.H.I.E.L.D., from everyone. My oath with Hydra keeps me from saying anything stupid to anyone. Keeping the cure to myself, keeping everything that could have saved her life was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. You among many people should know what real regret tastes like, it burns and it boils." he told me.

"What could have saved her life in time, huh? Because by the sound of everything it would have taken a lot longer than weeks to clear it out of her system. She wouldn't have had long even if you told us from the beginning."

"You're right, Winter Soldier. You're right. She wouldn't have survived either way if I had told you beforehand."

"Was it even worth it? This cure? Was it real? Did it actually do anything beside sit in a needle?" I hissed at him. He was too good, to knowledgeable to let something slide like this. I could tell that he was angry that Lark "died", that he didn't get to see her one last time. Which meant that my chances of getting information out of him were becoming slimmer than I would have liked.

"The cure was called Hera." Alexander backed away from the cell safety field and sat down. I stood my ground and folded my arms over my chest, my arm clicking into place.

"Hydra designed it so that it could take away the effects of what the Aether was doing. We had tested it on many subjects who had had the same similar side effects of what Lark was suffering. They survived." he said. "Not many Hera antidotes were created but they can be mass produced. Hydra wouldn't let me tell anyone about it, not even S.H.I.E.L.D. to save my own daughters life."

"Then you knew that it was going to kill her, didn't you?"

"Yes." he said. Those words he said, echoed around in the back of my skull and a fire burned in my chest. I wanted to rip him limb from limb right then, but my own knowledge of cameras watching my every move stopped me from getting even close to doing it. That and the safety field. "I knew it'd kill her, and I let Jack do my dirty work to keep from growing weak."

"Bucky!" I turned around from the cell, Steve stood by the elevator, he was breathing fast. "It's her."

I took off to the elevator, leaving behind a devastated Alexander. Steve held open the doors until I made it inside.

"What's happening?" I asked him.

"I don't know, Lark-she just-I don't know." he stammered, trying to breathe and calm himself.

The doors opened and we both ran out, I felt nervous and panicked. It added to the crazy sprint Steve and I were pulling to make to the other side of the Helicarrier. We tore around a corner and ran down the hallway towards the labs. Agent Hill, Clint and Thor stood outside her room My eyes began to water up, began to burn.

"What's going on?" I asked as I skid to a stop. Agent Hill was crying and the worst feeling crawled into my gut. I wanted to collapse to my knees. Hill turned and looked through the window into the lab, I almost didn't turn my head. But I willed it to happen, my eyes caught on to the glass.

Inside the lab Banner was crossing the room, a glass of water in his hands. I stepped towards the door and pushed it open slowly, my feet lead me inside quickly.

And there, sitting in the bed, awake, alive, almost smiling was Lark. Banner handed her the glass of water carefully, her hand shaking as she took it from him. "Take it easy alright. We'll have something sent over, you're probably starving." Banner caught me standing by the door and flashed a slight grin, nodding for me to come over. Lark sipped at her glass in silence, her entire body shook like she was freezing.

I pulled a blanket from shelf behind me, shaking it out to unfold, approaching cautiously. I was half afraid that she wasn't really awake and somehow I'd been screwed with and this was all some fever dream. 

"Done?" Banner took the half empty glass and set it on the stand beside the bed. "Hold tight, I'll get you something warm." He stepped aside and looked at me, giving one more nod before heading for the door.

I had to take a second, for a deep breath and release, before I walked over and gentle placed the blanket around her shoulders. Lark froze, her head whipped around to look up. Her dark chocolate eyes locked with mine and I felt my breath catch in the back of my throat. My chest tightened, my stomach flipped and the tears fell over my cheeks. I smiled at her, letting out a breath.

"Bucky," Lark croaked my name, yet it was the greatest thing I'd heard in half a century. My arms wrapped around her and I pulled her close. I found myself on the bed, sitting here with Lark in my arms, crying quietly and smiling. Lark was sobbing, her arms wrapped around my neck with her face buried in my hair. I kissed the top of her head lightly, as she leaned her forehead against my cheek. She was small, so small and frail that I was afraid to hug her any tighter.

"Please tell me this is real." Her voice turned breathy, weak from crying. "Please tell me that you're here and that none of this is a dream. I want it to be real."

A pang of guilt and sadness swept over me as I thought the same thing. For a long moment I say with no answer, no response to make her feel better. I was afraid saying it would make it a lie. I had to swallow that guilt and just spit out what I knew we both had to hear.

"I'm here, Lark. This is real."