The asset - Abby
The Winter Soldier.
My blood turned cold as my face paled considerably. This man was the asset. HYDRA's greatest weapon since the war where Captain America beat their asses to the ground.
To the outside world he was a myth, not because he was never seen but because the people who were unlucky enough to catch a glimpse of the assasin never lived to tell the tale.
I'd only ever met him once or twice before and both times he'd terrified me to my core. He was undeniably HYDRA's most effective weapon. Unlike me, he would never show weakness, never give any tiny indication that he was uncomfortable or remorseful.
"Soldier." My father said.
We both turned to look at him and it occurred to me that like me, the Winter Soldier didn't have a name, at least not one that I knew.
Runlow scowled at that before glaring at me. "Not you." He snapped through gritted teeth. Shifting my gaze, I tilted my head down to stare at the floor.
"Soldier you will make her talk." He gestured to the woman who had now paled considerably, her bravado gone now that she was face to face with the Winter Soldier.
In all honesty I don't blame her.
"And you.." Rumlow turned back to glare at me. "You will watch."
I freezed and gulped slowly, I'd already thrown up and emptied the contents of my stomach out onto the floor, I'm not sure who cleaned it or when but the sick was gone and the room smelled slightly like bleach.
But that was just from what I did to her, and I still have my morals; I still hold back.
The Winter Soldier would not be so kind.
It's almost like he's lost all part of himself, like he's not even human and instead just a robot programmed to follow orders and who would do so no matter the cost.
The kind of asset for HYDRA that my father wished I could be.
Loyal.
Strong.
Mindless.
I tried to pinch my eyes closed, blinking back the tears as my stomach lurched once more and I commanded my body not to leap out of the chair on it's own accord and try to get away.
As if sensing my conflict, my father placed a hand on my shoulder; not a comforting gesture but one to keep me trapped, stuck to chair with no other choice but to watch the woman get tortured.
I tensed at the touch, my eyes still closed shut.
"Open your eyes." Rumlow hissed as his grip on my shoulder tightened considerably. "You'll be able to hear her either way." He added in a cold, almost mocking tone.
With a shaky sigh, I opened my eyes, blinking away the tears as I stared at the woman. Her face was pale as she stared back at me, she'd been able to laugh in my face but now she was terrified, the fear obvious to see even without my enhanced vision.
If my hands weren't locked away I would press them over my eyes, block my vision from the sight before me.
But my hands were bound.
My sight and hearing were enhanced.
I was stuck sat in my chair, unable to look away or close my eyes as I watch the Winter Soldier take a step closer.
"No!" I cried out, the sound involuntary as tears filled in my eyes.
My father's grip on my shoulder became as tight as a vice, the pain unbearable and sending another round of tears to my eyes.
I turned my head to look at him and he scowled. "Stop making a fool of yourself brat." He snapped, not even bothering to quieten down. "Now shut up and watch."
Slowly, I shifted my gaze back to her, my heart leapt in my chest as I watched her flinch when the Winter Soldier stepped closer again.
I noticed that he wasn't armed.
But then again he didn't need to be. With the super soldier serum running through his veins and the increased strength of his metal arm he was a weapon all on his own.
The perfect asset.
*
The woman's screams broke my ears.
Her fingers had all been broken, cruelly yanked out of their sockets by the Winter Soldier. Each of them now bent the wrong way, some going diagonally, some going fully backwards.
Her nose was still red as blood stained her face, though now there were more. More cuts, more bruises, more tortures then I could ever have put her through.
A metal hand wrapped around her neck, not yet squeezing enough to break it but enough to send shivers down my spine and make her cry out in pain.
"Please." She croaked, the sound strained due to her throat being crushed. "I'll tell you anything."
And she said it.
The magic words.