27
Moscow - Russia.
4,666.39 miles From New York
The face of the scarred man was filled with fear and confusion, the metal armed man held the top of blonde man's hair, looking down at him towering above. Taking his face as an answer he punched again in the face, making the scarred man go momentarily crossed eyed.
Watching Daisy got to her feet, doing her best to steady herself, ignoring the shaking feeling that run throughout her body.
“Speak!” The metal armed man hissed in English, shaking the scarred blonde man.
Though the scared man was himself large, he looked dwarfed and small compared to Daisy’s kidnapper.
From the doorway out to the theatre bar, something caught Daisy’s eye, something blonde poke its head around the doorframe, looking in briefly before moving back and then doing it more slowly a second later.
Despite herself Daisy begun to move towards the doorway, causing her kidnapper to take his eyes off the scarred man as he shook his head violently again, her kidnapper’s face twisted angrily at her, ready to shout something at her, when he too saw the small blonde girl in the doorway. Halfway to the door she stopped, with her back to her kidnapper she waited for the child to poke her head around the corner. Which she did very slowly.
“Hey,” Daisy said with small at the girl, who saw her and hid herself. “Its okay.” Though Daisy wasn’t sure if that helped she had to try, despite the events that happening in that room, she didn’t want that child outside, amongst all the mess and carnage.
With her eyes fixed on the doorway she waited for the little girl to look around again, which she did, this time holding the doorframe as she peeked so that half her blonde head came through. Closer up Daisy could see that she was much younger than she though, not 13 but maybe only 9. Her stomach turned at the thought that the little child had been in place that. Again Daisy offered her a smile, the child probably didn’t know English but she knew that a smile gentle enough to install a level of trust to child that Daisy meant no harm.
“Не бойтесь малышка/Don't be afraid little one.” Came a calm gentle voice behind Daisy.
Turning her head around Daisy realised it was her kidnapper, using a gentle voice she had never heard him use before. Still holding onto the scarred faced blonde man, he too offered the blonde girl a weak small.
“Не бойтесь малышка/Don't be afraid little one.” He repeated again.
Not exactly sure what he saying but knowing that her kidnapper was trying to get the child to come over, Daisy offered her hand out to the girl.
For a moment the child didn’t move, she stayed where she was, her big blue eyes glaring at the two of them. Then, slowly she moved in from the doorway and walked towards Daisy. Her footsteps were gentle but fast as she walked to Daisy, who took Daisy’s offered hand and grabbed it for dear life.
Giving her a smile, she found herself bending down on her knees and came to eye-level with the child. Looking her over, she checked that she wasn’t injured, worried for the briefest of moments she may have been caught up with whatever had happened in the other room. Holding her small hand, Daisy noticed the girl’s doll, seeing it was a old and very loved doll, its hair blonde like the little girls but matted and dirty. There was no reason then for the little girl to trust Daisy but as the two were at eye-level the little wrapped her arms around Daisy’s shoulder in a hug, a very happy and sweet hug.
Taken back by the hug, Daisy wrap her arm around the girl, trying not to think of the horror the poor child and been through here.
In a tiny little voice the girl said into Daisy ear. “благодарность.” And though Daisy didn’t know what she meant or said, the way she said told Daisy she was grateful and happy.
From behind them came a yelp from the scared blonde man, as Daisy’s kidnapper slapped him.
“Take her to the other room.” Came the firm strong voice of her kidnapper.
Not turning back, Daisy picked up the child, smiling at her and stroking her hair, walked in the other. Around them, the dozens of man still lay motionless on around the room. Near the doorway, Daisy sat herself and the little girl down, placing her on her lap. The child, kept her eyes on Daisy, who kept smiling at her. When on the ground, the little girl showed Daisy her doll, saying a name as did. Looking at the doll, Daisy tried her best to act as natural and as calm as she could, trying not to jump when she heard another yelp and thump from the other room, which the little girl in her lap was managing to ignore.
“Tell me.” The metal armed man said in Russian, throwing the scarred man to the floor, which was then trying his best to crawl away.
Grunting as he moved, the scared man said nothing.
Losing his patience, Daisy kidnapper grabbed the scarred man by the top of his trousers off the ground with his metal arm, causing the scared man to shrieked this time.
From outside Daisy was plaiting the little girl’s hair (just about the most normal thing she could think to do in a situation like that, not being able to communicate with the little girl) doing her best to ignore the sound.
“Okay, okay!” The scared man yelled Russian. “Project Jettison, what do you want to know!”
Still holding him up the metal armed man hissed. “Who was the officer in charge of Eastern department!”
“What?” The scarred man yelled franticly. The metal armed shook his where he held on his trousers. “There was no offer! There was only ever one operative!”
“Who!?” Daisy kidnapper said.
Hissing through his teeth and cursing in Russian, the scared man didn’t reply.
“Who!?” The metal armed man repeated.
“I don’t know!” The scarred man yelled, “I wasn’t in charge of people, I wasn’t the logistic planner, she told me what to do and I did it!”
Looking down at him, there was for the briefest moment a look as of he was going to give up and be done with the man. Instead though, he pulled him further up by the waist of his trousers so that they pulled very tightly around the scarred man so much he hissed and swore in Russian. “I don’t believe you. Tell me the name of the Eastern department commanding officer NOW!”
Saliva begun to fell out of the side of his month and he was closing his eyes from the pain. Then out of nowhere, he begun to laugh, a throaty laugh that turn into a belly laugh and echoed in the room. Glaring at him the metal armed man did nothing. Through the laughter the scarred man said. “Hydra would never trust me, I’m the scum who gives the man their drugs, their woman and whatever the want to play with to pass the time…” Then an even louder laugh came out of the man with bubbled salvia from his mouth. “All the time you spent here, watching me have been for nothing…The Great Winter Soldier…just another stupid man!”
Looking directly at him he raised an eyebrow and smirked at him.
This action caused the scarred man to stop laughing, and tilt his head to look at him, having to twist his body, causing his clothes to cut and dig into him more. “You are crazy.”
“No…” No the metal armed man replied. “I’m not crazy but I have what I want from you.”
“Huh?” The scarred man frowned.
Pulling his body higher up and closer towards him, the metal armed man smiled. “You’ve already told me where Caitlin Pierce is Bogdan.”
“What?!” The scarred screeched.
“Yes, you just said it.” The metal armed man said with a calm tone now.
“You are crazy!” The scarred man Bogdan screamed, trying to move.
Shaking him still having his face next to his, the metal armed man smiled. “Yes and when i see her in Kielce I’ll tell her you were to thank for the visit.”
Mouth open, his chin now soaked with bubbled fresh saliva, his face now red and eyes bloodshot, the scarred man Bogdan gave another belly laugh at the metal armed man. “Kielce, she’s in Bratislava you fool!”
Then a look of absolute horror crossed his face as both he and the metal armed looked at each other eye to eye with his upside day.
“Bingo.” The metal armed man said, before throwing the scarred man across the room with one quick swing of his arm.
With that the metal armed man begun to walk towards the door away from the scarred man Bogdan, who was now slowly trying to get up on his knees, being careful as he did so, as his clothes had burned into his skin deeply and still smarted.
“Wait!” The scarred man yelled, trying to stand. “Your not going to kill me?”
Stopping in his steps, to where he stood just near the doorframe, the metal armed man bought his metal hand up his chest and begun to move his metal fingers as if he was using them to twist a penny on them, the sound of the metal working on metal from his arm was all he gave for a moment, then a small smile came on his face, not turning to face the scarred man he replied. “No…because Hydra will kill you anyway for me, I don’t need your blood.” Still not turning around the tone of his voice changed to almost humorous as he said. “Tell them I’ll see them soon.”
Walking out in the open theatre room, he turned his head to his right to see Daisy with the little girl sat down on her lap, both looked at him at the same time, Daisy gave him a quick grimace and the little girl looked at him with curiosity for moment before she stood up from where she sat on Daisy lap and walked in front of him. Bending down on one knee he came to eye level of the little girl, his face expression was softer and gentler than it had been before he come outside. Next to him she held out her very loved doll and said in Russian to him. “Take Tatiana, she’s a very good doll.”
Gently he took the doll from the little girl and smiled. Looking at the doll he said in Russian. “Hello, Tatiana.” Looking up at the little girl he smiled at her. “Whats your name little one?”
“Dominika.” She replied with a tiny little courtesy.
Watching the two of them Daisy tried her best to look as cool and as calm as her kidnapper, trying her best to hide the worry she felt that her kidnapper would harm the little girl, at that moment she wasn’t sure what was going to happen to the little girl or herself, she just knew she didn’t want the little girl to be anymore frightened then she had been/was.
Looking back the doll, the metal armed man said in Russian. “Dominika, Tatiana is good doll but she needs a little girl to look after her, not a man, keep her and love her, okay?”
Passing the doll back, Dominika nodded, taking the doll back into her arms and hugging her tightly.
“Can you ask her where her family is?” Daisy said from behind the girl, slowly getting up on her knees also next to the girl, so they were all at her level.
Nodding at Daisy but not looking over at her the metal armed man asked in gentle voice. “Dominika, where is your family?”
Holding onto her doll tighter and looking at the metal armed man with her huge blue eyes she replied in a small frightened voice. “I don’t know. I was taken from my school and bought her to sing…there bad people here.”
Taking in a breath angrily but holding his composure the metal armed man asked in Russian. “Did they hurt you Dominika.”
Daisy didn’t know what was being said but she could tell that her kidnapper was asking questions at the child that were intense for her, so she reached over and gently stroked the little girl’s hair, smiling at her, Dominika looked at Daisy and gave her smile back, then looked back the metal armed man. “No…i was shouted at a lot and locked in a cup broad but…they had bad hearts.”
Reaching out with his flesh hand Daisy kidnapper put his hand on Dominika’s shoulder smiled at her and said in a kind voice in Russian. “Its okay little one, your going to be home soon, I promise.”
Leaning in closer to Daisy kidnapper Dominika whispered. “Are you Ded Moroz?”
Giving a small laugh Daisy kidnapper smiled and relied in Russian. “No, my name is James.” Looking at Daisy he said with a nod of his head. “And this is Daisy.”
Looking at them both little Dominika smiled and repeated their names with her Russian accent, mispronouncing Daisy’s name slightly.
Standing up, Daisy’s kidnapper looked around the room at the mess he made previously, the unconscious bodies of the man still laid all over, some begin to stir slightly. Turning to look at Daisy, he face again was stern and aggressive. “Take her out to the entrance way and ‘wait’ for me.”
For a moment Daisy stayed where she was, not standing from her knelt position, simply looking at him. “You trust me not to run?”
Looking down at Dominika and smiling at her, then back at Daisy with the same smile but a small twist in it he replied. “No, but you don’t know Moscow and you won’t risk her life.”
With that he walked around and went to where the bar was, jumping over the top of the bar counter to behind the bar.
Getting up to her feet Daisy took Dominika’s hand and begun to walk them to the exist, hoping that the security man from before wasn’t there. As soon as she opened the door she found the bulky greyed haired man laying on the door on his back, his face and nose bloody and smashed, looking at the outside the door she could an indent of the bulky man’s face, blood still there from the impact. Picking Dominika up from with her hands placed under her armpits, she place her over the unconscious beast of a man, stepping over him as she did so. Walking further on down the dark corridor they went past the place where she had first met the bulky security man, where she saw his phone on the floor, on it was security footage of the inside of theatre bar, she saw briefly the image of the metal armed man moving around inside.
In front of the door, she pushed the giant door handle, opening the door into the cold snowy Russian night, letting a small flurry of snow come in. When outside Daisy took off her coat and place it on Dominika, to whom it drowned, from the rush of emotions and adrenaline the cold didn’t bother Daisy as much as it would. Crouching down she held Dominika in her arms, both looking at the doll. Gently Dominika begun to hum a sweet and gently tune, that slowly bought a tear to Daisy’s eye.
Inside the bar Daisy kidnapper was going about trashing the place, destroying as much as he could, making as much as he could, using chairs and whatever he could find, throwing bottles of spirits all over the seating areas. After a minute or so, he pressed the fire alarm on the wall, causing the place to echo the shrill of the alarm, all the unconscious man on the ground begun to wake up. Jumping up on to the stage, Daisy kidnapper looked down at them all, his long military coat covered in blood, glass and alcohol, his whole frame illuminated in the dim light of the bar, causing shadows of his frame all around on the stage. Walking up the edge of the stage, he lowered his head looking angrily at them all, his face aggressive, eyes narrowed, lips tight in a thin line.
All the man in the room now awake looked at him in absolute fear, the few men still trying to get up were being help by other man in the room. Coming out from the red boudoir was the scarred man Bogdan, walking painfully slowly and holding the middle of his trousers, wincing as he did so, he saw the metal armed man on the stage he stopped and pointed at him then swore loudly in Russian to everyone in the room, when no-one said anything but begun to move out, he yelled again at them. Turning his head to the scarred man Bogdan, the metal armed man on the stage smiled at him. From his side he produced a box of matches and a single match, which he begun to strike, still with his eyes fixed on the scarred man.
All realising what was happening, the man in the bar begun to pile out to the door.
With the match alight in his metal hand, the man name James kept in his eyes focused on Bogdan as he dropped the match, letting it take on new life as the alcohol that he had thrown around the bar caused the bar to ignite in a fury of flames. Still standing there on the stage for a moment, he watched as his work came to life, as everything before him went up. Turning away, he begun to jump off the stage towards the exist, to where the other men made for their lives out, each of climbing over the other. Moving slowly, not at all rushing none of the man seemed to notice that the fire was only alive in the centre of the theatre and the bar, not towards the exist but slowly progressing, which was exactly as the metal armed man had intended. In the hurry to escape the fire, the men paid no attention to the lone man who had entered in their sleazy domain, beaten them to a pulp single handedly and then burnt their establishment, to them they were too busy trying to escape.
In front of him in the corridor to the existing the theatre bar, two men was dragging the bulky greyed man by his arms out the door, who was just rentering consciousness when he saw the metal armed man in from of him, he tried to say something but he lost consciousness again.
When outside in the snow, the footsteps of the man of the theatre bar run up the alleyway into the Moscow night, where most likely there would report back to their superior and whomever they answered to about what happened. Sitting against the wall, now on the other side, hidden in the shadows was Daisy and Dominika, he could see the child was now wearing Daisy coat, covering her completely down to the floor.
Walking over to them, Daisy simply saw a figure coming towards them, she moved in front of Dominika and held up a brick in defence.
Standing in front of them, looking down, the metal armed man James said nothing. Both Daisy and he looked at each other for a moment, Dominika peeked over Daisy’s shoulder at them from behind. Quickly Daisy kidnapper begun to unbutton his coat, then take it off and place it over Daisy’s shoulder, so he only wore a long sleeve dark blue jersey top beneath and his thick leather gloves.
Putting the brick down she stood and looked at the doorway behind him as more men piled out, none looking their way or caring about them, making her feel as if they were invisible as they did so.
“Come.” He said, in a slightly stern voice, putting his metal hand on Daisy shoulder again to direct her out of the alleyway. From behind Daisy little Dominika walked over to the side of the metal armed man James and took his flesh hand.
There was small shock of shake that went through him when Dominika did this, he looked down at her tiny hands in his and swallowed, his face was almost like he seen a ghost. Noticing this, Daisy hoped to any and all God’s his behaviour would remain steady as he held her had. Giving Dominika a smile, he manoeuvred Daisy in front of him with his hand, then, Dominik’s little hand still in his, they walked out of the alleyway, the men from the theatre bar still flowing out and ignoring them.
When they had left the alleyway in the Moscow night, the scarred man Bogdan came running out the doorway of the bar, smoke following him, coughing as he did so. On his knees, breathing heavily, he reached painfully into his trouser pocket and dialled a number he knew off by heart.
“Get me The Hydra.” Bogdan said desperately in English down his phone.