And Then There Were None
The pair of them shuffled into the apartment’s grubby bathroom. Alex locked the door after checking there was no one passed out in the tub. Iris eagerly watched as Alex pulled out the small bag of powder and poured a bit onto the cheap ceramic surface of the counter. He pulled out a credit card and began pushing the powder into four separate lines.
Iris basically grabbed the thin metal tube out of his hand and inhaled one line in each nostril. She threw her head back as dopamine filled her.
“You’re like a starving animal! When was your last fix?” Alex laughed before taking his two lines. He rubbed his nose to get off any excess before pouring a little more. He pushed the powder into another four rows.
“Yesterday.” Iris responded. She took another two lines. The combination cheap liquor and coke made her stumble a little when she tried to move out of the way for Alex.
“Whoa there cowgirl, take it easy.” Alex laughed again and this time Iris responded with a loud giggle. She pushed her hair out of her eyes before sitting down on the close toilet seat. She watched Alex take his lines before looking down at her. His eyes had become dilated as the drug filled his body.
It was utopia. Iris tried to stand but she ended up falling backwards into the grimy tub. She burst out laughing as the cocaine and vodka coursed through her veins. Everything was spinning in just the right way. She felt her eyes going in and out of focus.
Alex had fallen to the floor. His pupils were pinpricks in his wide eyes.
“Alex? You good?” Iris croaked out.
“Better than good.” He responded turning his head to face her body which was half in the tub. “Much better.” Their eyes met and they both burst out into manic laughter which was interrupted by an occasional harsh cough.
The last thing Iris remembered was reaching her hands up to her grinning face only to see them covered in blood.
---
Bucky’s POV
“What do you mean, she got away? You were Russia’s most deadly assassin and you could not catch a little girl?” The speaker was clad in a large black trench coat and black dress pants. His back was towards the door that the super-soldier had enter through.
“She was smart and fast…” Bucky began but he was quickly cut off as the man turned around and looked directly at him with his uncovered eye. The other was hidden under a black eye patch.
“Faster than the Winter Soldier?” Fury responded with slight malice in his voice. Bucky tensed.
“Don’t call me that.” Bucky’s metal arm began whirring as he clenched his fist.
“I call you whatever the hell I want.” Fury took a few steps towards Bucky before stopping about a foot away. “See, I don’t trust you. Never have, never will. The only reason you’re still here is because of Steve’s obsession with you. If it were up to me, you’d be locked up in some sort of crazy house somewhere where I’d never have to see you again.”
Bucky was used to these sort of harsh words so they bounced straight off him. He returned Fury’s spiteful stare.
Fury was the first to break and Bucky couldn’t help but feel a twinge of success. Fury turned back to the window and without looking back he said, “You have 24 hours, find her.”
---
Iris’ POV
Everything hurt. Her bones felt like an icy fire was burning its way through her muscles and into her bones. Her chest was heavy, like a weight had fallen on her. Sharp, pounding sensations filled her head. The light coming from the single florescent light bulb was too bright. Withdrawal plus a hangover, great. Iris thought to herself, shielding her eyes from the light.
She tried to sit up only to feel vomit rising up her throat. She swung over the side of the bath tub and onto the floor before emptying her already mostly stomach where she had been a second earlier. After all the cheap vodka had left her stomach she leaned back against the toilet. The bile released a sharp, acidic smell which only caused Iris to begin dry heaving over the tub again.
Alex was no where in sight.
After falling back on the floor, Iris lay there for a solid ten minutes and then some. Eventually she managed to pull herself up with the help of the sink. She stared at herself in the slightly warped mirror. She hated what she saw.
Her eyes had sunk further into her skull. Her pallid skin was stretched tight over her body with the sharp edges of the bones shining through. Her dry, chocolate-colored hair was matted up and smelled of smoke, alcohol and vomit. A dark bruise had formed where Martinez had punched her. Another set of bruises in the shape of fingers wrapped around her wrists and neck. Dried blood had coagulated around her nose. So that’s where the blood came from. Iris shuddered as a cold flash jolted through her.
She turned the rusty tap and waited for the faucet to stop sputtering. After a few seconds, a thin, cold stream of water began pouring into the sink. Iris put her hands in a cup shape under the gush of water which was constantly fluctuating in pressure. She splashed her face a few times and tried to rub away both the physical and emotional pain. She looked back into the mirror and could barely recognize her own gaunt face.
Before she could think her fist had connected with the already misshapen mirror. It shattered into a thousand shards. The silver slices of glass were speckled with crimson blood. Blood dripped from her knuckles onto the floor.
She stared down into one of the larger slivers. A pair of green eyes looked back at her. That’s when she broke. Iris fell to the floor, shivering, sobbing, screaming. No one came. She was alone.