Chapter 16
It’s cold in the room. Even the smallest pair of handcuffs were too big for her wrists. She squirms slightly in her chair, her stomach upset with the foreign piece of equipment that she had swallowed only hours earlier.
The door finally opens and she jerks in her chair, moving to the far corner of the room to get as far away from the door as possible. The director enters, taking a seat in the chair across the table from where she had sat. He folds his hands on the table, staring straight ahead before gesturing to the seat she had vacated moments earlier. “Take a seat.”
She hesitates before she slowly approached the chair and climbs into it.
“Your name isn’t Alyssa Daniel.” He comments. “And whoever John Daniel was is dead.”
She jerks at the information. She was fucked. She had messed up. They were going to kill her too.
“What is your name?” He repeats the same question as before. “Who do you work for?”
She stays quiet.
“You killed one of my agents right in front of me. He did nothing wrong. I think that you owe me for that,” Fury states, staring at her.
She hadn’t meant to kill him. “I don’t have a name.”
His lips are tugged down in a frown. “What do they call you then?”
Many things. “Soldier.”
“How old are you?” He finally asked, leaning back in the chair to watch her.
“I don’t know.” She replies. “Eight… I think.”
He drums his fingers on the table and she watches his hand because she doesn’t want to watch his face.
“What do you think you deserve as punishment for all that you’ve done today?” He asked out of his own personal curiosity.
She reaches up to gently rub the bruise on her jaw but stays quiet.
“You’ve committed treason and murder here today,” He continues.
“It’s not treason,” She argues before she can stop herself.
“You don’t have a lisp then. You have a poorly put-together American accent,” He raised an eyebrow at the information. “Where do you come from?”
“I work for the motherland,” She said quietly before clenching her jaw. Her nerves are on fire with anxiety because he’s not trying to beat information out of her.
They have a staring contest for a few moments before Fury pushes his chair out and stands. She flinches at the screeching of the chair legs against the floor.
“Call out if you need the bathroom. I’ll return later,” He said before he turns to walk out the door.
The janitor comes and smuggles her out in his cart of trash. She’s forced to vomit everything up when she gets back but the flash drive is stuck in her stomach and they have to sedate her to shove equipment down her throat to pull it out.
The files are corrupted with stomach acid.
She failed her mission.
“I have a surprise for you.”
Surprises weren’t usually a good thing. Yelena glances at her sister in confusion, slightly on edge. “A surprise?”
Natasha pulls something out of the nightstand next to the bed. “Here. I promised I would get you one.”
Yelena reaches out toward the white box curiously. “What is it?”
Natasha chuckles. “Open it up.”
Yelena glances at Natasha before pulling the lid off of the box. Nestled inside was an instant camera. She’d recognized it from the television. She pulls it out of the box, turning it over in her hands. “Is it mine?”
“All yours, little one,” Natasha nods her head.
Yelena smiles slightly, pulling the camera up to her face to peer through the window. “I can have pictures now.”
“You can,” Natasha agrees and Yelena twists her body and quickly snaps a photograph of Natasha.
The camera gives a small whine as it cranks the photo out and Yelena eagerly waits for the black to fade into colors.
She laughs, holding up the photo of Natasha whose expression was startled at the sudden flash.
Natasha reaches out to swipe it but Yelena holds it out of her way. “You need to burn that photo.” Natasha chuckles.
“Never.” Yelena quickly shoves the photo into one of the pockets on her vest. “It’s mine now.”
Natasha could very well get the photo back if she wanted. Yelena had no doubt that Natasha would be able to wrestle it away. But Natasha leans back with a smile on her face.
“I’m glad you like your surprise,” Natasha said. “Tony helped me find a good one. There’s more film in the box.”
There was enough film for hundreds of photos. Yelena can’t keep the grin off of her face.
That was what Yelena did for the rest of the day. She’d shove herself into small spaces and spring out and take surprise photos of the others. She liked the natural reaction in the photo. Not a fake smile or a pose.
She’d laugh as she waits, watching as they cautiously check everywhere before doing anything. That doesn’t stop her though. Wedging up between crevices, hiding in the vents, hanging from the ceiling fan. There was no place Yelena would not go.
They don’t stop her. They don’t even yell at her. Not when the sounds of her giggles fill the air after she sees the aftermath captured in the photo.
The only person she doesn’t do it to is Winter Soldier. Steve suggests it. He says that she shouldn’t exclude him.
So, Yelena tries. She knows it is a bad idea. She does it when he’s with the others. A group shot. She drops from the vent, the flash going off as she captures their faces.
Winter Soldier surges forward, grabbing her neck. She drops the camera to counter him.
She’s fought him before.
Winter Soldier is quickly tackled away from her. Steve shoves Natasha away from Winter Soldier. Sam moves to stop Steve.
“Okay, okay, stop!” Wanda uses her powers to hold them all in place. The sudden loss of control startles Yelena.
“Lemme go!” Yelena demands, trying to keep the fear out of her tone. Wanda lets her go first and Yelena hits the ground, scrambling back away from them, snatching her camera and the photograph off the floor, and checks it over for damage.
It’s undamaged and Yelena pulls it close to her chest. Wanda slowly lets the others go when it becomes clear that they’re not going to fight.
“Do not dare put your hands on my sister again,” Natasha hisses at Winter Soldier.
“I didn’t mean to…” He replies, glancing at Yelena. “She startled me.”
“If you attempt to choke someone out every time that you get startled then we need to reconsider you being here,” Natasha said.
“Nat!” Steve chides. “It was an accident. He didn’t mean to.”
“You were the one that told me to do it,” Yelena grumbles at him, looking down at the photo that had developed.
“I didn’t think that this would happen,” Steve admits softly. “I’m sorry.”
Yelena holds the photo up. “I think this one is my favorite.”
Natasha lets out a fond sigh and turns to move toward Yelena. “Lemme see.” She grips Yelena’s chin to tilt her head up and look at her throat.
“It’s not the first time he’s choked me with his metal arm,” Yelena comments, her focus on the photo in her hand. “I’ll be fine.”
She finally peels her eyes away from the photo to look at the others, her face falling when she realizes that they’re staring at her.
“What?” She questioned, feeling Natasha’s fingers probe her throat. Winter Soldier looks ashamed, his face red and his head bowed. “Don’t you like it?” She shows the photo.
“I think that you are a wonderful photographer,” Wanda pipes up first. “I’m impressed with your ability to squeeze into tiny spaces.”
“I have to admit, you got my good side,” Sam pipes up with a small smile. “A real natural.”
“Come on,” Natasha wraps her arm around Yelena’s shoulders. “We’ll get you some ice.”
“I don’t understand, it’s not a big deal,” Yelena lets herself be guided out of the room as she tucks the photograph away with the others in her vest. “He only grabbed my throat.”
“He shouldn’t have grabbed you at all,” Natasha grabs a bag of frozen peas from the freezer and wraps it in a towel, pressing it against Yelena’s neck.
“It was my fault,” Yelena shivers at the cold, reaching up to set a hand over Natasha’s.
“Even if it was your fault, he should not have grabbed you like that. Nobody should grab you like that. Not Bucky. Not Steve. Not even me,” Natasha shakes her head. “Grabbing you physically in a way that you do not like is not okay.”
“He used to do it all the time when we trained. He never squeezed. He could have snapped my neck but he didn’t,” Yelena argues, pulling a face. “I don’t understand what the big deal is.”
Natasha is quiet for a long time and Yelena suddenly feels like she’s stupid, like she’s missing something that she should understand.
“Physical punishment is bad, Yelena,” Natasha tells her, her voice holding a seriousness that captures Yelena’s attention. “Being hurt should not have happened to you. It is not normal.”
“But it is normal. It’s normal for me,” Yelena replies and immediately regrets her words when Natasha’s face crumples. She pulls the bag of frozen peas from her neck and sets it aside so that she can wrap her arms around Natasha’s neck.
“I’m sorry,” Natasha whispers into her ear. “I’m so sorry, Yelena.”
Yelena is not good with emotions. She’s still learning about her own. “For what?” She hates that she doesn’t understand.
“I’m sorry that you think that getting hurt is normal. That you brush off getting choked as no big deal,” Natasha pulls away to cup her sister’s face. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to protect you.”
“Well…” Yelena’s brown eyes meet Natasha’s green ones. “You’re here now.”
“Yeah…” Natasha leans forward to press her forehead against Yelena’s. “I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere.”
Yelena closed her eyes, letting out a small hum of acknowledgment. “Good.”