Insanity

Chapter 15

I know I said I wasn't going to do this, but I decided otherwise for this chapter specifically. This is a trigger warning.

Song: Listen Before I Go by Billie Eilish

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"I'm not okay, I feel so scattered. 
Don't say I'm all that matters."

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General Vasily Karpov said nothing as James Barnes stormed off, seeing as he didn't particularly care where the man went at this point. Barnes had disappointed him, albeit he still performed as expected.

Karpov brushed off his trousers and straightened his cap. As he did so, the metal door flew open and a doctor came scurrying out. The doctor was out of breath but she pulled the door shut behind her, her arms shaking. Blood dripped from her nostrils, spotting her pristine white coat with dots of red.

"Are they under control?" Karpov asked.

The doctor nodded, dabbing her nose with her sleeve. "We managed to get them sedated, yes. They performed excellently though, so long as we can get them under control. But for now, they're going back on ice."

Karpov nodded. "I agree."

The doctor strode off, and just as she did Karpov's wristwatch communicator vibrated. He brought his wrist close to his face reading a message that said:

BLACK WIDOW HAS GONE ROGUE. DEFECTED TO S.H.I.E.L.D.

- PIERCE

"Shit," Karpov swore under his breath. Hydra's greatest spy, Natalia Romanova, had left for S.H.I.E.L.D.. This has to be that Director Fury's fault, he thought to himself, vowing to get revenge on that man one day. All the same, Karpov hated to be pessimistic and decided he would use this to his own advantage, somehow. He would think of something. After pondering the possiblities, laughing inwardly at awful ideas, and narrowing down the best few, Karpov had made up his mind. He decided he would inform Barnes that his beloved Natalia had been killed in action by S.H.I.E.L.D. and he would never see her again. Perhaps that would be the push he could use as motivation to attack S.H.I.E.L.D. one day.

Yes, it was perfect. The next morning, before being placed back into the cryostasis chamber, Barnes would be told that Miss Romanova was killed. It was too perfect of an opportunity to pass up.

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For the third morning in a row, James was awoken by an impatient knock on his door. The knocking had interrupted an intriguing dream about the blond haired man and as usual, just as the man's face was about to clear, James had woken up. It was growing more and more frustrating every day. With a groan he rolled out of bed, curious to see what was going on this time.

Even as the guard led him down the halls once more, James had no idea what he had in store for the morning. Two days ago he had been busted. Yesterday, defeated in a fight. With any luck, he figured this morning was finally, maybe an execution.

But as the guard led him this way and that, James began to get a sinking feeling in his gut. This was a reversal of the path he had taken when he was ejected from the ice several months ago. He should have known. He'd finished the tasks he'd been given upon waking and had proved to no longer be useful, not with Hydra's new golden-children Winter Soldiers 2.0. He scorned himself for not considering the thought sooner.

As expected, he was dropped off in that horrid room with that frigid tank and torturous chair. Immediately upon entering he felt the hairs on his arms and neck stand at attention and he began shivering, thoughts of what happened with both of those objects flooding his brain.