34
One Year Earlier.
Washington, Rock Creek Cemetery.
She could feel it, she could feel a huge sense of anxiety and fear sitting inside of her stomach, it made it ache and hurt so much she thought she was going to be sick. This was something that her sister was doing without the knowledge of their Father, and that unnerved Daisy, as one thing she had learnt in the last few days and the life that her Father lived within Hydra with Shield was that he knew everything and ‘everyone’ listened to him, so for Caitlin Pierce to do something without telling him meant something potentially bad and dangerous.
When they arrived Daisy looked out the window at Cemetery, a military cemetery. Rumlow got out the car and walked over to open Daisy’s door. Stepping out Daisy felt the feeling in her stomach twist. What were they doing here? She knew that her Grandfather was buried here, she been to the lot with her Father on veteran’s day to lay flowers and pay their respects. Scanning the surroundings with her eyes, but not moving her head, she drank it all in, seeing all the perfectly white headstones laid out rows and rows ahead and to the sides of her made Daisy numb. The futility of war, the loss of life, generations after generations, the way lives simply ended and ending in places likes these.
“Come.” Caitlin said, taking Daisy’s hand into hers. This was something that her sister had not done in years, and when she did, Daisy could feel how smooth and slim her sister’s fingers were, long and elegant but cold, icy. Walking together the height difference was almost funny, in comparison to Caitlin, Daisy looked like a child.
Only walking a few yards, with Rumlow and Rollins following behind they came to cottage, which was were Daisy guessed the ground’s keeper lived. Walking over the front door opened and instead of a typical workerman wearing individual stood a man, built like Rollins but with white blonde hair and larger head, all in combat gear.
“Hail Hydra.” The man said in a thick East European accent that Daisy couldn’t place.
“Hail Hydra.” Caitlin responded. “Are we ready Hecter?”
Saying nothing the man Hecter nodded and closed the door behind them, then taking the lead and walking into the house.
Inside the house, it was cosmetically fine, old oak furniture, period, dated curtains and old musky smell everywhere. But then they stopped, in front of what was the door to the basement. Opening it revealed the door to a closed metal elevator door that opened quickly before them and they entered. The elevator was massive, big enough to fit a car. Moving downwards Daisy was surprised for a second that where they were going was going to be subterranean, Hydra was extremely a secretive organisation inside a very very secretive organisation…but under a graveyard, the morbidity and lack of respect was just unbelievable.
Going down and down, Daisy felt the air change, its felt colder and their was a chemical smell to the air.
With a bang and swoosh they stopped and doors opened. Still holding her sister’s hand, Daisy walked out into the dim light room before them. In front of them was nothing, but ahead was another doorway, that seemed to be produce steam or smoke. Moving forward, the man Hector took the lead, again pulling the plastic medical operation like doors open, causing the steam to escape and push Daisy’s hair slightly.
Lite more brightly than their previous room, the place was bathed in blue and was cold. Inside there were lite-up computer screens, all surround a doomed container with which had wires and tubes coming out from the top of it.
“Ms Pierce.” Said a man in a white shirt and a electric blue bowtie. His face was small and mousey but at the moment he looked angered and enraged. “I don’t think you know what your doing. We can’t-“
“Begin the process Lomacks.” Caitlin said pointedly.
“We can’t do this without more men.” Lomacks said quickly, his voice angry but nervous. “I only have 3 man here, we need at least 7 more to do this successfully. Let me contact your-“
“No!” Caitlin shouted. Stepping in front of Lomack, so she towered in front of him, she lowered her eyes and said firmly. “Begin the process now or I will begin it myself. Clear?”
From Lomack a bald goateed beard man stood in front of the computers to the side of them said. “Keith, let’s just start.”
Exhaling exhausted Lomack looked up at Caitlin Pierce in the eyes. “Begin the process.”
From where he stood the goateed man begun to type and in front a red light in the room begun to flash and the side of hissing as if a gas was escaping begun. With one hand Caitlin pushed Lomacks to the side and stepped forward, her eyes fully focused on the doomed container in front of them. Still looking ahead, Caitlin held out her hand to Daisy as indication for her to come forwards and take it.
Inhaling a breath, trying to sooth her stomach Daisy moved forwards and took her sister’s hand. Looking ahead at the container before them, a clicking sound came and the top of domed container begun to come up, being pulled up off it slowly, releasing steam and metal against metal noises as it did so.
“Whats-whats that?” Daisy said slowly. Looking at it, she could think of one thing it could be. “Is it a weapon?”
Turning to face her sister, Caitlin looked down at her and smiled. “Yes, yes its a weapon. The best weapon that Hydra created.”
Behind them Rumlow and Rollins begun to ready their fire arms at their sides, not even looking at each other as they did but doing together in synchronicity. Next to the container as it opened were three man, all in build, heavy build in caps and armed with what Daisy couldn’t tell were guns or Tazors. Next to each other Lomack and the goateed man looked at each other with what could only be described as a ‘oh God’ look.
Through the steam and the wires and tubes as they were pulled away, lifted above, Daisy could see what was in front of them. A man, a long haired man, head lowered down, strapped into something, a mask covering his face.
Moscow, Russia
4,664.20 miles From New York
Moving closer along the platform the group of men spread themselves out almost in a line, in an attempt to block the exist and to be intimidating, which for Daisy was working, but for her kidnapper he gave an annoyed and exhausted exhale from behind her. With his arm on her shoulder he whispered. “Stay close.”
“Of course.” Daisy said under her breath looking at the men.
Obviously the men were there because they wanted to help what they considered was a woman in trouble but from the look of them, they were quite happy to cause as much trouble as possible in doing so, more than likely considering it ‘fun’.
Stopping a few yards ahead from where Daisy and her kidnapper stood, the large red hair man stood in the middle of the other 6 men. He made a gesture with his hands and spoke in Russian. “So…you found her then?”
“Yes.” He replied back in Russian, his voice was low and measure, his head lowered as he looked over the men ahead of him. “Did you come to help?”
Giving a chuckle the red haired Russian said. “We did, thought that the young lady could do with some help.”
“She’s fine.” James replied. “We’re going home now.”
“Oh…” The red haired man said, taking a step forward. “Because we think that she does need her help. We think that she was trying to run away from you.”
From around him the men all nodded and muttered in Russian their agreement.
“Gentlemen…” James said bringing up his head and making his tone more serious but calm. “You are very much mistaken. Let us go and no-one will be harmed.”
All the men, especially the red hair man, laughed loudly, the sound loud despite the noise of a train arriving on to the left platform. From the train three passenger came off, saw the scene in front of them and dashed off away, heading to the stairs to go up.
Next to the red haired man, a man with a thick neck and shiny bald head chuckled and said. “No-one will be harmed…should we be worried?”
Looking directly at Daisy the red haired Russian spoke to her in Russian. “Would you like to come with us?”
Daisy looked back at him, she bite her lip and turned her head slightly to look at her kidnapper, his focus was on the man in front of them. With her hands at her sides she squeezed her fingers in her wrists as she spoke. “I can’t understand what your saying.”
All the man looked at each other, the red haired man looked at James and frowned, then looked back at Daisy, in English he asked. “Do you want to come with us?”
Ever so slightly she felt James tighten his hold on shoulder and she held her breath for a second.
Thinking fast she looked at the men, she knew that her kidnapper could fight all these men but could he win, he was unarmed?
“No.” She breathed. “I want to stay.”
One of the men from behind the red haired man said in Russian. “We can’t leave her.”
Returning his gaze back her, then to James, the red haired man said. “We are going to take her and we are going to take you to the police.”
The Police! Daisy thought. For a moment she felt relief, the police would help her, get her back to America…but they would also take James and he could end up back in control of Hydra, back to being a brainwashed assassin. Looking at his face fully she realised the whole time she had been trying to escape she hadn’t thought what would happen to her kidnapper, he needed help but he was hiding, hiding from Hydra and the people who had destroyed his mind, if she went with the men she could very well be safe…but James wouldn’t, there was no-end of bad things that could happen, he had done so many bad things over the years as a brainwashed killer, things he couldn’t have stopped himself and he would be held accountable, because there always had to be someone to blame.
“NO!” She shouted. She moved herself in front of him and like she was mother-bird protecting her young, she spread her arms out like they were wings in front of him.
Looking down at Daisy the face of her kidnapper was comical, his eyes-brows were raised and the shocked expression seemed to have pushed his head back like a punch and made him lean sideways.
Moving closer the 7 men, begun to surround Daisy and James, few of them rolling their heads on their necks, two of them cracking their knuckles and a few rolling their shoulders, ready for their attack.
Turning his attention back to the men, his expressed changed and become almost business like, he scanned the various men, taking in their physical masses and seeing how they prepared themselves. Straightening himself but slightly stanced on his feet. Checking on Daisy who was looking ahead at the men coming closer, her arms still out-spread.
In a split second James saw as the bald man from the left lung with his fist with an alright punch directed at him, James grabbed Daisy by crossing his right arm across her front and spun her behind him and then moving away from the punch so that it landed with a thud on the garble pylon behind them. Letting out a cry and curse in Russian, the bald man went on to his knees holding his bloody palm.
All the men around then dived at James. The first one threw a punch that James blocked with his metal arm, then with a clicking of metal propelled the man across the platform like a rag doll, landing on his backside. The second man went to grab James by the head to put him in a head lock, but instead James kneed him the gut and turned to elbow him in the face, so that he fell on the floor. The third man decide he was going to something different by holding his fists to together above his head and he charged at James to hit him on the head, but before he could do anything James grabbed his clenched fists with his metal hand, quickly punch the man in the face and then kicked him forcefully away from so he landed on top of the first man.
Behind James Daisy got only caught small glimpses, hearing grunts and feeling the vibrations of hits.
From the platform which Daisy and James were nearest a train arrived, to which a well dressed man existed from the door right in front of Daisy, stopping for a moment the well dressed man took in the sight in front of him, the giant men and the fighting and a woman looking at him, behind one the man. Shaking his head the man muttered in Russian. “Christmas always makes people so crazy.” Then he got back on to the train.
Both the fourth and the fifth men stood to the left and right of James, for a brief second they all looked at each other, the two men had their shoulder hunched, lowering their heads ready for combat, the man to the left looked itching and ready to attack. Deciding something quickly James moved himself move in the middle of the platform, Daisy close behind him, the two man moving with him. From the left the impatient man dived forward head lowered ready to ram into James middle, giving a throaty battle cry as he did. Ready for him, James grabbed the giant men by the middle, flip him over on to his back, winding him, to where he punched him knocking him out. The fifth man was just about to kick James in the face as he was position lower on his knee after flipping the of the fourth men, but James looked up, grabbed the man’s ready foot with his metal hand and threw him over his head so he landed face down and was knocked clean out.
Now all that was left was one more man and the red haired man. Both stood next together, wide eyed and shocked, neither one could understand what had just happened.
Standing himself up, so he was again in front of Daisy guarding her, James looked at both men.
“Are we done?” James asked in Russian, his voice not at all tired.
The red haired looked at James in shock, but the other looked at his friend to James for a second before charging at him. With great force but no grace he threw punches that James dodged by simply moving his head and body away, holding on to Daisy’s arm and guiding her with him. After multiple punches, the man seemed to realise that he hadn’t hit James once, so he stopped and went to throw a powerful punch at him, but James caught in with both hands, to which he pulled the man hands down, leant forward and head-butted the man several times before his eyes went crossed eyes and he flopped to the floor.
With eyes wide open the red haired man looked at James, he opened his mouth to speak but instead he swallowed and then replied in English. “Yeah we’re done.” He voice was higher pitched and shaky.
Straightening his coat, James took Daisy by the hand and walked the short distance to the escalator and begun to walk up, as they went Daisy saw the men, all knocked out, no blood anywhere, just all thrown around various parts of the platform. Watching them standing still from where he stood, the red haired man waited until they were gone before he went to check on his friends, glad most of his friends hadn’t seen he was the only one that hadn’t fought him.
Coming up on the platform above, a train arrived, people begun getting off and getting on. Still holding her hand, Daisy’s kidnapper got them both on a train, just at the same time that several of the stations security and staff came running along the upper platform down to where they had just left.
Pulling herself closer into her coat Daisy looked up at her kidnapper as the trained moved, she slide her hand out of his and into her pocket, he looked at her a moment, his blank, neither angry or upset, before scanning the train and the rest of the passengers.