Sweet Like Arsenic (B. Barnes) ✔

17 | deserters

   Emerson was looking out of his window when Leo and I entered his office for the second time. The doors closed behind us, and he turned around.

   "Donatella, Leon," Emerson nodded, his hands clasped behind his back. "Let me show you to Casper."

   "Thank you," I said. Emerson walked to where we were by the door. He stopped to look me in the eye with a hostile look on his face before opening the door and striding out, expecting us to follow.

   His footsteps echoed against the marble walls of the corridor as he led us to the lift lobby and to my brother. I was in full shaking-mode; I could feel my hands quivering, a strange, new sensation that has never happened to me before. Leo had silently wrapped his hand around the top of my elbow, but I didn't shrug it away.

   The elevator door opened, and I made myself walk forward, the door closing behind us. A few moments later, the door reopened, and I found myself following Emerson through sets upon sets of doors.

   Two guards followed us as we walked through a particularly narrow corridor that I could tell was dedicated to cells and probably torture chambers from the sound of water pouring from somewhere near. Metal doors lined the walls, and the occasional muffled scream could be heard as I followed Emerson.

   I had stopped shaking the moment I stepped out of the elevator. A sense of... dread (?) sunk into me in without a cause.

   In front of me, one of the doors was opened by a guard, and Emerson stepped inside. I followed quickly with Leo trailing behind.

   The room was empty. Casper wasn't there. Instead, Bucky was sitting on an operating table, his arms trapped in metal clamps, eyes staring blankly ahead.

Bucky? What—how did he get captured by Hydra? What did he do, and was he there?

   "Where is Casper?" I demanded, walking forward to Emerson. "And why is Bucky— the Winter Soldier here?"

   Emerson chuckled, as if I was a naive schoolgirl, waiting to be reprimanded. "We found Barnes waiting near your hotel. Captured him, took him here, and reversed him back into his useful state."

   He came looking for me, didn't he? Goddamn it, Buck.

   I looked over to the Winter Soldier. Cold blue eyes now staring at me, all traces of tiredness gone- he was truly detached.

   Emerson must have noticed my unease. "You might've befriended James Barnes, but you must realise that he is no more."

   My eyes were still trained on the soldier, Emerson's words slipping away.

   "Donatella," Emerson snapped, and my focus returned to the balding man. "Gone for what, ten years, and you've completely changed. Get yourself together, agent."

   I swallowed. "Yes, sir, but you still haven't answered my question. Where is Casper?"

   Emerson motioned the guards to release the Winter Soldier from his seat. "He left a few weeks ago with Lilith Emerson."

Emerson... she must be related to the director, then.

   Leon shifted beside me. "Lili... she left?"

   "Yes,"

   "And she's your daughter, right?" I asked.

   "A betrayer of our cause is no daughter of mine." Emerson replied uneasily. Alright, then.

   "So when can I see Casper? Do you know where he is?" I asked, practically begging Emerson.

   "We don't know where they might be. Am I tasking Leo to search for them. I am sure that with your familiarity of Casper, as well as Leo's closeness to Lilith, you will be the best partnership to locate the deserters for us." Emerson said.

   The guards had made the Winter Soldier stand next to Emerson, making the director look even smaller than before.

   "And what if we don't want to find them for you? You will certainly destroy their lives when they return, and they surely left for a reason." I dared to ask.

   "You are one of us now, whether you like it or not. I'm sure somebody mentioned that nobody really leaves Hydra."

   Bucky had said that to me a lifetime ago, and he was right: both him and I are in Hydra's hands, at their disposal. And there was nothing that I could do to get out.

   "You're right, director." I feigned compliance, taking in the Winter Soldier's blank stare. "A friend of mine once told me that."

   I need Bucky as far from Hydra as possible.

   "I will find my brother and your daughter. But I will need Leo and the Soldier. I will not go without them by my side." I said.

   Emerson raised his eyebrows. "And why is that? I need the soldier for toning and training." He looked at the soldier up and down distastefully. "He is quite... out of shape."

   "I will re-train him for you. I've trained recruits before." Leo interjected. "And so has Donatella."

   Emerson nodded. "You have a week and three thousand pounds. Find Lilith and Casper and bring them back to us."

   "Two weeks, four thousand pounds." Leo said.

   "Deal."

   "Visit our arsenal on the fifth floor. We will transfer the money to Leo." Emerson strode out, the guards following him. Only the Winter Soldier, Leo and I remained.

   "Who's side are you on?" I asked Leon.

   "The winning side."

< A/N >

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