Traceur

•06•

A/N: sorry I haven't been updating lately, my WiFi sucks :/

Or, my lack of WiFi sucks. Cuz the house I currently live in doesn't have WiFi, so I have to *shudder* leave the house to get WiFi, usually. But, we're moving soon, and the house we're renovated DOES have WiFi, so I'll be updated more frequently there...hopefully XD

(ps. that was long XD)

...
Levi's POV.
I march into HYDRA headquarters, head high and back straight, as if there aren't a squadron of guards surrounding me, with two of them leading me by my elbows, and a pair of ultra-tough handcuffs linking my wrists together. Hey, I wonder if, in an alternate universe where these asshats got the cuffs from Home Depot, if that would be their name. 'Ultra-Cuffs', 'Heavy Duty Link', 'The Chains You Can Count On'.

I can only imagine.

...

"You called?" I drawl, as we finally get to Pierce's office. Oh, yes, he has one in SHIELD, but his office in HYDRA shows off his real self.

Files upon files cover the desk, with paperweights shaped like HYDRA's octopus-skull symbol. Like, really? I know your name is HYDRA and you want your logo to be ominous, but wouldn't an actual hydra be more fitting? Oh well.

The only vaguely human thing standing out on his desk is a picture frame in which a photo of a small family rests. A lovely middle-aged woman, a sweet little girl, and Alexander Pierce is smack dab in the middle of this family, holding the little girl on his hip and with his arm slung around the woman's shoulders. I take a moment to wonder if the whole photo was fabricated, or if he really does have a family that either doesn't know or doesn't give a shit that their hard-working third piece is actually the devil to HYDRA's hell.

"Oh, you made it," Pierce deadpans, and I raise an eyebrow.

"You miss me much? Sounds like you wanted me back, but if I got the wrong message..."

"You're staying here." It's not a suggestion, or a statement. It's a command, and although I thought that I had the HYDRA puppet part of me shaken out for good, it's still there, grounding me to this floor and keeping my eyes locked onto Pierce's. I don't say 'yes, sir', because I can still control my movements, but it's my instincts that are messed up, along with the two sides of my mind that are battling for ultimate control- HYDRA's Autumn Soldier, and New York's Levi Lundrinov.

"We need you for a special mission," Pierce begins, standing up and starting to pace towards me. "We have a target that needs taken out, and you're going to rejoin your partner for it."

"I suppose I can't say 'pretty please with a cherry on top', and it'll magically have you agreeing to let Winter and I free?" I ask sarcastically, and Pierce abruptly turns to the guards.

"Give her a lesson about using that tongue," he orders, and one of them salutes.

"Yes sir. Hail HYDRA."

"Hail HYDRA," Pierce replies tiredly, and my lips quirk up with amusement as I'm dragged away.

"Say that phrase a little too often?" I suggest, right before the door is slammed in my face. Now that I can't taunt him anymore, apprehension floods my chest.

I should've stayed quiet.

...

I'm thrown to the floor of a cell, my ankle catching on the side of the steel door as they slam it shut. A yelp grazes out of my coarse throat, and I hit the concrete, skidding a bit. I can feel the fresh lashes on my back burn and shred against the ground, and I choke back a few tears.