23
Moscow - Russia.
4,666.36 miles From New York
Walking out the apartment Daisy Pierce felt nervous, she hadn’t asked where they were going, partly because she knew that she wasn’t going to be told and because she didn’t want to know. The last hour or so with her kidnapper had been strange, after their small talk he had had a shower and changed, not saying a word as she sat on the floor near the radiator tied up again (something which it was only after he had done it she realised he had). The sign that they were actually leaving was when he place his bulky massive military style coat on, pulling the double breasted coat over his thick chest and to button it up and then put on a pair of leather gloves.
From the corner of her eye she looked, she knew that he was going to take her with him.
On the floor near the overused dying sofa he took out one of Daisy coats and walked over to her holding it. He put it in front of her and then out through the binds on her wrists, again. “Put it on.” he muttered, his tone low and unemotional.
Still sitting she put her dark khaki hooded coat on, grateful she wasn't going to wear the fur coat again by command. Standing up, she tried her best to ignore the cramping pins and needles in her feet, but couldn’t manage it, so she started to tap her feet to try to get rid of the sensation, which her kidnapper watched her do with confusion as he towered in front of her. Realising she essentially looking ridiculous, she gave a embrassed grimace. “Sorry…cramp.”
With a slight annoyed head-shake he put his hand one her shoulder to guild her towards the door, which she walked to unsteadily as the cramp begun to dissolve.
Walking Daisy begun to read the Russian graffiti in around her, her feet making gentle crunch noise on the snow with kidnappers heavy boots follow hers much louder and heavier in the snow. She could tell by some of uncared and run down buildings that they were in a part of city that wasn’t the best to be, but probably the best to go around unnoticed. She noticed a sign ahead of her that was in several languages one which was English, which read Moscow Metro, Daisy realised they were in somewhere in Moscow, she didn’t realise her footsteps had slowed as she saw the sign, because her kidnapper gave her a gentle shove on the shoulder from behind.
“Yes we’re in Moscow.” He mumbled.
“Oh…” Daisy said.
Again they continued to walk and where they walked the streets begun to more snow covered and with more people on them, all walking normally about their business, fully unaware of the dangerous assassin walking near them. As the crowd became more dense, her kidnapper changed his pace and pulled Daisy by her shoulder nearer, where upon he kept himself very close to her, to the point that his height basically shadowed her. In a quiet voice he asked. “Do you speak or know Russian?”
Looking ahead Daisy shake her head. “No, I know a little Polish and Czech but not Russian…just the bad words.”
Though she couldn’t see his face she thought she sense a small smirk on his face as he laugh like grunt from behind her.
“Good.” Was he responded with as he directed her down an ally away.
The response of the word gave Daisy a chill, because she knew that not knowing was in no way going to help her.
Where they begun walking toward gradually changed, instead of rundown or uncared, the walked now were a mixture of old and new Russian, colourfully painted buildings and more artistic graffiti, with better cared for streets, though as they walked on past the tramways and across an intersection, the lighting begun to dim and the alleyway became nearer and much less busier, Daisy turned to right and off in the distance she could some the Cathedrals and iconic pointed roofs of Moscow. As the continued on, Daisy begun to see her kidnapper looking more carefully around and over his shoulder, which was the first time she had seen him do, which made her nervous.
After a few more minutes they turned another corner in alleyway and walked down it, this alleyway was short, shorten by painted black wall with a sprayed painted of large red crying gothic looking Russian Doll, the eye of the painting slitted with red tears. Looking at it, it was both frightening and odd, Daisy had never seen anything like it. Standing in front of it, she realised over to the right a dim red light sone over a hidden doorway, the door itself painted completely black.
Taking a risk, Daisy looked up at her kidnapper who must have known she would look at him, as he looked down her also, his expression unreadable. Barely moving his lips, he leant his head down to her left her ear from behind, his breath warm but chilling on the tip of her ear. “You do not say anything, not a single word, inside I nod at you and point you go. Clear?”
Turning at the doorway, Daisy gulped, what was behind this door she knew was going to be just as bad if not worse than what she had faced in the warehouse with her kidnapper because despite the extremity of the previous situation, at least there she felt bizarrely comfortable knowing her kidnapper was armed but it dawned on her that now, then, her kidnapper had felt the apartment unarmed, not a single weapon on him.
Leaning over with his right metal arm her kidnapper banged on the door 5 times and waited.
Daisy held her breath as she stared at the door. Just then, snow begun to fall silently around them in the alleyway, against the steel black door it managed hazy. Then, steadily the door creaked itself open, bring with it heat and an old dank smoke smell, slowly a dim light came out and showed them in. With a prod Daisy walked in through the door.
One Year Earlier
Several Miles Underground
Washington
Never had Daisy felt so jumbled in her head mentally, she couldn’t form thoughts, her head didn’t just ache, it stung, her eyes burned and her body felt like it was falling even though it was being held up.
Please make this stop. She managed to think desperately to herself in a lower part of her mind away from the scramble.
Again Whitehall kept repeating and repaying the words about compliance, his tone calm and serene.
How could this be happening? How could she be here, she was going to wake up in her bed and everything was fine…wasn’t she?
“Surrender Doctor, let go of all those things you are holding onto, open yourself up to see the trueness before you, the trueness of Hydra and the order it will being.” Whitehall said from behind her, right next to her ear.
Staring at the image before her, swirling and moving in front of her, she tried to find the safe place she had created, but she couldn’t find it, she was losing it, she felt panicked, Daisy’s breathing increased. What was it? It was there…but what was it.
Despite having been calm and composed for the longest time talking to her, only change to become more forcefully in the many hours they had been doing this, Whitehall walked in front of Daisy’s view and put his face in front of hers, his hair was messier and his tie was undone, the collar button undone, he looked far less physically composed than when they had first started, fatigued and drained looking, his voice now no longer hypnotising but aggressive and impatient,. “Come now Doctor Pierce, stop being such a silly child and see your potential, you and I are part of a greater future, you just have to let out!”
Child. Daisy thought. Mandisa…sweet child…the child she had lived with when she was working in Africa, the sweet child who had loved to hear the stories of the other children out there in the world, the children in India who had made a video for Mandisa about themselves for her. Sweet child…That’s it! I found it! Daisy thought.
Daisy’s thoughts came back into her mind, she remembered what she had to do…she had to hold on to herself but had to pretend, she had to convince them, she had to make them think she was part of their plan.
“Compliance,” Whitehall said with his face still in front of hers, his voice still stern but not as aggressive. “is the key.”
You can do this. Daisy thought to herself. You can’t keep this up much longer.
Weakly she licked her painfully dry lips, the movement stung and took longer than it had ever before, her head wobbled as she did so. In a weak voice which was barely a whisper Daisy said one word. “Compliance…”
Hearing this word, Whitehall grinned, he came closer toward Daisy’s face, his eyes widening in glee. “will be…”
“Rewarded…” Daisy finished for him in a weak voice.
“Surrender-and-you-will-find…” Whitehall said slowly, looking down at Daisy.
“Meaning…” Daisy finished in whisper.
His smile changing from glee to a calmer sly smug smile Whitehall continued calm and slowly. “You know what’s best-“
“The best is you…comply.” Daisy said with Whitehall slowly, their tone almost matching it weren’t for the weakness in her voice.
Standing back, so that the in front of them the two way mirror in front of them had a view of Daisy, allowing those behind to see her fully, her exhausted, weak state in front them.
From the behind the mirror Alexander Pierce sat still his gaze focused on his daughter, behind stood Caitlin Pierce who too stared at Daisy.
In a cool calm smooth voice “Are you ready to comply Doctor Pierce?”
With all the strength she could muster to her voice Daisy kept her eyes focused ahead, trying her best to keep her head upright. “Hail Hydra.”
Daniel Whitehall nodded and smiled down at Daisy, feeling gleefully at his success in breaking Daisy Pierce. Watching Alexander Pierce stood up from his seat and turned to his eldest daughter and nodded at her, to which she nodded back at him.