Remorseless

Zara cocked a sideways smile, one eye still looking through the scope of her rifle. She'd been given yet another lecture from Coulson, insisting how she should be out in the field, her good friend Jess Middleton getting wind of it and twisting her arm so to speak. Zara had eventually relented, agreeing to accompany Jess on a reasonably low-key mission.
She'd been annoyed initially, worrying that it would take up too much of her time. Being out on the field when a fresh lead came up would mean she wouldn't be able to run off to investigate, whereas working in the building had meant she could make up an excuse to split at a moment's notice. She'd eventually come to the conclusion that it may not be such a bad idea, being out might even give her more access to Hydra bases, hideouts and bunkers... Worst case if it hindered her own missions she could always go back, right?

Zara cleared her throat, the icy air making her chest feel tight.
"How you traveling back there, JJ?" She asked, knowing it would come through the comm device in Jess's ear.
"Cold and wet." She complained, making Zara giggle to herself, "And don't you dare change the subject, I wanna hear the damn story!"

Zara rolled her eyes, trying not to giggle again.
"No, he didn't remember anything from Hydra, and neither did I," She explained, picking up the conversation from earlier. "It wasn't like we were in love or anything like that... I mean we weren't even friends."
"Surely there had to have been something there, you guys didn't hook up on a mission at some stage, huh?" She teased
"Um... No" Zara chuckled. "Bucky probably would have slit my throat without thinking twice about it back then. When Candice looked into his head, all she saw was violence and death. There were a few flashes of him and I doing a little training, and I mean like one or two sessions, and then a dry run which they said we failed. She couldn't get much detail out, probably because neither of us knew much at the time either. Bucky said that all he got out of it were the same images he'd seen in his dreams a hundred times, and then there was me. He doesn't know what came over him, he just said he had this overwhelming urge to protect me, which is what he tried to do..." She said, her voice trailing off as she felt a lump form in her throat.

"That sucks, Zee..."
"Tell me about it... He didn't remember me at all because they wiped him, but that doesn't explain why I didn't react to him when I first came to Shield. Candice said she'd sit down with me again, but for now she thinks I most likely just shut it out, accepted that he wasn't the same person and just dealt with it. Could be part of the reason it was so hard for me to integrate into Shield in the early days? I dunno... I guess I just really wasn't in a good place back then, at least we're getting answers why now," She said with a shrug.

Movement at the bottom of the hill caught her eye when a uniformed soldier stepped out of the warehouse in the snow, both girls going quiet as they watched him. Zara's eyes were locked onto the warehouse door which was still slightly ajar, another soldier leaning out to call to the first one. The small room was dimly aglow with computers, the USB hack drive in Zara's possession now seemingly burning a hole in her pocket as her mind went into overdrive.
The soldier in the door seemed annoyed at the one that was now making his way to one of the black SUV's. He followed him with whatever was in his hand, perhaps a laptop bag or briefcase of some sort? Zara wasn't sure but whatever it was, time was escaping her if she didn't make a move soon.
The walk to their car parked by the road at the top of the hill would take the soldiers a few minutes up and back, this freed up enough time for her to at least have a peek at that small, blue glowing room. If there were more agents, she'd shoot them. She bit her lip as she mustered the courage to go in.

"JJ, you there?" She tested,
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Watch my back, I'm going down for a closer look."
"No you're not, Zee..."
"I'm not asking, don't make me pull rank..."She said, rising to her feet, hearing an exasperated sigh through her ear piece.
"You won't always have the same mission as your colleagues, and when that happens, those missions will often be compartmentalized... This is one of those times." Zara explained with a regretful tone to her voice. She hated having to pull rank, but it was the only thing she could think of doing for Jess to keep her mouth shut to Barnes, and everyone else. Nothing was going to stop her getting a look at that room.

"Got it. I don't like it, but I got it. Be safe, eyes are on you."
"Thanks JJ. Set your timer. If I'm not out in 5, then leave. No exceptions. I'll contact you if I need to."



Zara moved quickly, taking the hill at a wide, curving angle as to not leave visible footprints in the snow. She made it all the way to the door, peeking in, and gun drawn. She followed the barrel of her gun into the room, which was small, dark and certainly nothing special, save for the two computers set up on a makeshift table. There were food wrappers and jackets over the back of the chairs, these guys had been here a while by the looks of things. She swallowed hard, glancing at the other door at the back of the room, and made a mental plan as to what she'd do if anyone came through it. Judging by the wet tracks on the floor, people had been in and out of there which only gave her a small window to get what she needed and go.
She set her gun down on the table beside the computer mouse where she could snatch it up in a hurry, and pulled the hack drive from her pocket. She looked over her shoulders briefly, took a breath and shoved it in the USB port, the screen coming to life as windows opened and were copied at lightning speed. She watched the progress bars on several of the windows loading, as her heart took off at lightning speed. The more she saw come up on the screen the more she thought she was about to have an anxiety attack. Of course it was all top secret stuff, there were folders with labels that caught her eye, 'The Asset', 'Director Ward', and another that came up on several pages was 'Larson'.

Director Ward!? ... DIRECTOR!?!? Who the fuck is Larson, and why has he been mentioned so much-

Zara gasped as she picked her gun up, turning the screen off at the same time. One set of footprints she could fight off, but not two, three... Six? More than six?

Holy hell...

She yanked the USB from the drive, ducking under the table and hiding their behind a veil of cables as the door was pushed open and a team of soldiers entered the room, walking past her. Zara held her breath, knowing that hiding was the best option, hiding and listening out. She unlocked her phone, flicking it to silent. She'd been in there for three minutes already. She knew once they walked out of there that if Jess was spotted she was as good as dead. She shielded the light of her phone as she punched a text message out.

Zara Jones 11.57pm
Change of plans, leave now. I'm safe and I'll be right behind you. Z.

A few seconds passed before a reply came through.

Jess Middleton 11.58pm
I'll do a lap, contact me and I'll come back for you. I'm not leaving. JJ

Zara Jones 11.58pm
Leave now. Return to base. That's an ORDER. Stay safe. Z.

Jess Middleton 11.58pm
Grr... If I don't hear from you within 30 mins, I'm calling reinforcements. Breach or no breach. Over and out. JJ

Zara rolled her eyes, muttering to herself. 'Just great...'. She clenched her jaw, staying hidden as she opened the app on her phone and started recording what they were saying, daring to lean closer to hear a bit better. There was excitement in the air, and they were all talking over one and other. "Larson..."

There was that name again, who the hell was this Larson guy and why were they talking about him, why did they have files on him that were linked to Bucky's files? Her stomach turned over when she heard the door open, and a very shiny pair of shoes walk out, draped in the hems of a very expensive looking pair of suit pants. Many of the soldiers went quiet, and he was led out with the group.
Zara glanced down at the USB drive in her hand. She knew she wouldn't get a chance to take any more data from the computer but whatever she'd gotten was bound to be a good start, and more than they were going to get by going down there and watching from the side of the hill.
She'd have to come up with something to explain why her and Jess got separated, something other than 'I winged it, and sent my only backup away in case SHE was hurt, while I ran into the lair of the beast'... Zara stifled a grin, this was no time for laughing, but here she was, thoroughly amused by the situation. Once again the room was empty and there was movement outside, the door still cracked open a little. She tucked her phone and USB into her pocket, keeping the recording going as she crawled on all fours to the door, holding her breath.

She pulled the gun from the back of her pants as she crouched, peeking out the crack in the door, getting a look at the business-looking guy. He was tall and quite attractive, he was clean shaven and well groomed, sandy brown hair slicked back and his mouth pressed into a hard line. Despite his strong and intimidating appearance overall, his eyes seemed to let him down. There was a tiredness to him, a sadness maybe? Okay maybe not sad, perhaps... Zara couldn't put her finger on it. One of the soldiers handed him a pair of sunglasses to cover them up, anyone would be suspicious of him now, who the hell wore sunglasses at night?

The soldiers dragged someone out in front of him, by the looks of it another soldier, but this guy was shaking, pleading and if she didn't know any better, Zara would say he'd wet himself too. She frowned, watching him as the businessman took his sunglasses back off, looking into his eyes. Like magic the shaking soldier stopped shaking and turned to face him. He pulled a knife from his pocket, held it against his neck, and drew it across his throat.

Zara slapped a hand over her mouth as she held a scream back. The men cheered loudly, giving her the noise cover she needed to dart out of the room and hide down the side of the building in the shadows. Her heart raced at full speed as she tried her best to slow her heaving breath and keep her emotions in check.

Holy shit... No way... NO FUCKING WAY...

She put a hand over her chest and jammed her eyes shut, only now noticing the sleet coming down from the dark sky above her. She swallowed hard, focusing on the icy cold droplets, taking deep breaths as her body settled down.

"It really works..." She heard one of them remark.
"Of course it fucking does... How do you think we almost took Shield out in D.C? We get a few more inhumans, this guy can keep them in control... So long as we keep HIM in control. Much easier, much more effective."
"And how are we doing that?"
"That's above your pay grade, soldier."
"Sorry sir"

Zara looked around, taking in her surroundings and noticed there were more soldiers than she'd first guessed. There was no way in hell she could take on that many, and now that they had Mr Mind-controller with them, things were starting to look bad. As much as she hated to do it, she pulled her phone from her pocket, shielding the screen as she sent a text. There was only one person who could help her as quick as she needed. Only one person who had a mind shield prototype, and only one person who's get her out without losing his shit and killing everyone...

Zara Jones 12.09am
Stark, emergency. I need urgent extraction. Stealth mode on, mind control shield on. Tell no-one. Need ETA. Trace me. Z.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing, if she gave herself away she was dead. Or worse. More soldiers came out of the building, bringing computers and gear with them, they were on the move, or about to be at least.

Tony Stark 12.10am
Got you. Be there in 13 minutes. Sit tight.

Zara Jones 12.10am
I'm surrounded, contact me when you're near and I'll find a safe way to find you. Z.



Zara pulled her long hair out of its ponytail and shook it out, thankful that it concealed her face a little. She hugged herself, thinking warm thoughts as she continued to listen to the men around the front of the building. The conversation had died down, all she got from it was that the guy in the business suit was 'Larson' and they expected him to stand out there in the wet while they moved all the tech from the room to a nearby van. She wondered to herself why the hell someone so obviously powerful would allow themselves to be used in such a way. She made a mental note to get in touch with Jessica, the scowly woman she'd met at Luke's bar the other night. She'd apparently had dealings with mind control before, and was a private investigator. Zara wondered to herself if this 'Jessica' was all she was cracked up to be and if she could offer any information. Surely if she'd been on the case of the Hydra mind controllers she'd have something to offer?

She kept the recording going, hopefully anything that she missed could be picked up when her phone was analyzed - which was guaranteed to happen the second she got back.

A glance at her watch told her that eight minutes had passed - although her chattering teeth could have told her that. Only five more to go, tops. She looked around again, feeling gutsy as she peered around the front of the building. Larson was still there, as were four of their soldiers. She was quick to dart back to her hiding spot beside the building as more soldiers came out the front door, with computers in hand.
Zara's breath hung in the air in front of her as she made her way around to the back of the building, curiosity getting the better of her as she started making getaway plans. When Stark contacted her, she'd have to be ready, and she planned to be. Plus moving was going to keep her warm... The back of the building was lit by a single light globe, hanging from a fitting that looked like it had been on the Earth longer than she had. There were three heavily armed soldiers under it, guarding the door. She peered down at her pistol, and then back up to their assault rifles, deciding against taking them out as she retreated back into the darkness.

Looks like I'm going straight up that hill, and into the trees. Please, please don't let them see me...

Her mind took off again at a million miles per hour as it always did when things went pear shaped. She found herself pacing back and forth, stopping in her tracks when she heard someone ask 'did you hear something down the side-way?'. Thankfully they didn't send anyone to investigate and she was safe. She decided to stay still, glancing down at her watch. Two minutes to go. Her phone lit up earlier than it was supposed to, sending a wave of relief over her.

Tony Stark 12.21am
I'm here, I have a visual. Sit tight, I'm coming to get you.

She looked up and sure enough there was a rustle in the trees as the Iron Man suit came into view, flying straight for her. She stood up and jogged a few steps, reaching up for him. He swooped down, scooping her up, and with a blast of the repulsors they were off again at a sickening pace. Zara screamed out loud before they'd even cleared the hill, suddenly overcome with aggression as she struggled against him.
"Easy there, Zeejay..." Tony reassured her, but she was having none of it. She pulled her gun from the back of her pants, thumbing the safety off and slamming the butt into the face of his helmet, pulling the trigger as he batted it out of her hand. He restrained her the best he could as she fought against him, trying to wriggle her way free in mid-air.

They flew through the icy air, coming to rest on the top of a building several miles away when he noticed the struggle in her had died down. He set her down on her feet, letting his mask flip up off his face, noticing how wired her eyes were. She was quick to jam them shut, balling her hands into fists and pressing them into her temples as she snarled in pain, tears leaking from her eyes. Tony caught her before she collapsed as she stumbled, still at some sort of turmoil.
"Zara... ZARA!" He yelled at her, gripping her upper arms to her attention.

Zara gasped, the world becoming a little clearer. Her eyes darted around, jamming shut again as she let out a moan, shaking her head.
"My head..." she managed to get out... "Larson got into my head... Knock me out... PLEASE" She begged.
"No, I'm gonna get you home. Come on..." He said, flipping his mask back on as he scooped her up, protectively cradling her head against his chest as they lifted off again.
"Jesus Christ it hurts so fucking bad..."

"Hang in there, Zeej. We're almost home... Just a few more minutes." 

Zara's eyes fluttered open when they touched down at Avengers HQ with a thud. She quickly came to the conclusion that she'd passed out during the flight, grateful that she wasn't aware of it. Just as she'd suspected, Barnes was there waiting for her, his face a mixture of worry and anger as he rushed to be by her side. Tony set her down on her feet and steadied her as she found her balance, teeth gritted through the pain of what had become the worst migraine she'd ever felt.

"I'm fine..." She said, raising a hand before Bucky could get a word out.

"Yeah you look it" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "What the hell happened?!" He demanded, checking her over quickly before pulling her in for a tight hug. She shivered against his warm body, letting out a breath of relief, glad to be safe, back in his arms.

"I took a risk tonight..." She  admitted when they pulled apart. "But it paid off. Big time." She added, pulling the USB from her pocket and holding it up.
"What's on this?" Bucky asked, taking it from her as she held it to him.
"Answers." She said, pressing her hand to her temple again, taking a deep breath. "I want a meeting scheduled for 0700 tomorrow morning. I learned a lot of important stuff tonight, and everyone needs to hear it."
"Zeej, you need to rest..." Tony reasoned, despite his own urge to get his hands on that hack drive. 

"I don't care" she snapped. "Schedule it. I want everyone there..."