Disengage
Bailey hurried into the meeting room, dumping her bag under the table and tossing her jacket onto the back of a spare chair. The hot air within the tunnels of the subway had tossed her hair from bouncy curls, into erratic waves. She took her usual lightening strike hair pin to tame it back.
"Morning everyone, sorry I'm late, I was at the hospital and the trains were delayed. Shock." She checked the time on her phone. "I'm probably better off getting a cab every time."
Patsy smiled warmly at her friend, "How is she doing?"
Bailey didn't want to talk about it too much, "She seems okay today, much better than the weekend."
Knowing her friend well, Patsy did not want to pry, "Glad to hear it."
Dr Johnson poured herself a coffee, "Have you had the window on?"
"No not yet, we were waiting for you." Dr Thomas confirmed.
It was 9:08, and Barnes's first session was due to commence at 9:30. If he had read his manual for the apartment, he would have read that sessions would begin at everyday at 9:30 unless stated otherwise.
The doctors were prepped and ready to go. Their chairs organised in front of the window for a front row view of their patient. They were eager to start their inspection and analysis. They had been reading his files for week, it was now time for them to see the former assassin try to reconnect with the world. The window was activated and the team saw inside the apartment. A couple stifled some laughs, they were incredibly surprised to see Mr Barnes asleep on the kitchen floor.
Barnes laid in front of the open fridge, his head on a pillow and half of his bare torso draped in a light blanket. His sockless feet stuck out of the bottom. Barnes was fast asleep, his chest and shoulders raised and dropped slowly.
Dr Johnson took a sip of her coffee before putting it down, "I'll go wake him and see what this is about."
She entered the complex, not the beeping of the code, the sound of the door closing, or her heels on the floor woke Barnes.
She stood above him at the end of his feet, "Mr Barnes," she whispered. "Mr Barnes?"
Bailey admired how incredibly peaceful he looked asleep, his forehead smooth, his jaw unclenched. Dr Johnson, so far, had only ever seen Barnes tensed and stressed, he face frowning and brows burrowed.
With the pointed toe of her heeled shoe, Bailey poked the base of his foot. A move she did not think through. Barnes jolted awake, he grunted and in one swift movement he was on his feet with his arms stretched out in front of him. His fists were clenched and his knuckles collided with Bailey's stomach, launching her backwards into the window. She flew back, the back of her head smacked against the window and there was a loud bang. The impact effected the window, for a moment it flickered and not only could the psych team see into the complex, but Barnes could see the stunned faces of the doctors. His mind was fighting an internal battle, it was telling him to smash the window and escape. The other half of his mind was telling him now. The window switched back to a plain wall with the green light still switched on.
In the same moment Bailey was slammed against the wall, the cameras were activated instantly, an alarm rang loud through the apartment. Barnes was covered in red dots. His breathing was erratic, his eyes were wide. Bailey had slid to the floor and was gasping for air. Her torso was sore from the impact of his fists, her spine felt like it had been covered in concrete.
"Disengage!" She tried to shout but her voice came out much weaker than she would have liked as she was winded.
Barnes scanned the room, panting, his shoulders were racing up and down. He winced at the blaring alarm before panicking and looking at the all of the dots that spotted his body. Bailey groaned as she tired to shift her weight on the floor. The noise she made took Barnes out of his mind, and he began to concentrate on her.
Bailey felt the weight of his eyes up her, she tried to take a deep breath but it was shaky. "Mr Barnes, it's Dr Johnson. I promise you, you are safe. I am not going to hurt you. You are at the Avengers Headquarters, Steve Rogers is an Avenger, Steve Rogers your friend. Steve Rodgers is my friend too."
His breathing began to slow and he nodded, Steve's face flashed across his mind. Barnes knew where he was and why.
Bailey looked up to a camera, "God dammit I said disengage!" She shouted more effectively this time.
Barnes stepped forward and offered his hand to help her up. Bailey panicked for a moment before being brave enough to stop him. "Don't." She said and held up her palm.
The complex door opened and Dr Thomas hurried in, the only one brave enough to run inside to her aid. The rest of the doctors were stunned. He helped her to her feet, "Bailey, are you okay?"
Her heel on her left shoe had snapped, she stumbled and yelped as she tried to get up herself. Charles leaned down to help her, she groaned as she was pulled up.
"I'm fine." She lied.
Dr Johnson stood still for a moment, unaided, with her eyes closed trying to readjust them as she was seeing double. In an attempt to steady her spinning head, she took another deep breath but this made her feel sick. "I apologise Mr Barnes. Upon reflection, waking a sleeping ex soldier was a stupid thing to do."
Barnes's forehead had several deep frown lines across it, "I'm sorry." His voice was rough as he spoke through gritted teeth.
She held onto the extended arm of Charles, "Don't apologise. This was my mistake."
"We should get you checked out.." He suggested.
"Have a shower, something to eat, and we'll commence our first session once I'm back." Dr Johnson said, she gave Mr Barnes a polite smile but it soon disappeared as she attempted to take a step. Her body sent a sharp twinge up her spin to tell her to stop moving.
She hobbled to the door with the help of Charles, he walked slowly beside her. Before the door had closed properly, in her most professional, authoritative voice, Dr Johnson demanded, "Get me on the phone to the person who's stupid idea it was to have fucking alarms!"
The door sealed and the emotion inside Barnes erupted. He screamed, an earthly, animalistic noise out of frustration. He turned around and slammed the fridge door shut and everything inside shook, bottles and shelves rattled at the force. The green light was above the window, no doubt the team of doctors will be jotting this down, he thought. He grabbed his pillow and blanket from the floor and stormed into his bedroom where no one could watch him.
--
Dr Johnson was laid rigid on the hospital bed, she was in the medical wing of the tower. A level of the tower she has never had to visit before. Eager to get back to work and settle the situation with Barnes, she was trying to rush her treatment.
"Honestly, just give me a shot of an anaesthetic or something straight into my back for the pain. It'll keep me going until the end of the day then I'll come back and stay the night for observation." She suggested.
"Doctors always make the worst patients." Dr Koda laughed, before being serious again. "This is going to be very cold."
She placed a cold pack onto the back of Bailey's head, directly onto a large bump. She hissed at the change in temperature on such a tender spot.
"Has the dizziness and sickness stopped?"
"Yes." Bailey lied. "I really need to get back to my own patient. It is definitely a time sensitive situation, he needs to recognise that his behaviour was fine." Dr Koda had no knowledge of who he was, but she nodding along to Bailey who she did know was rambling for her own sake. "It was my mistake." She sighed at herself, "A very stupid mistake."
A nurse came within the curtain that surrounded Bailey's bed and that gave her her own makeshift room.
"Here you go," The nurse said as he held up a pair of thick hospital socks, usually worn to reduce blood clots, but in this case, as footwear since Dr Johnson only had one functioning high-heel.
The nurse crouched down and removed both Bailey's shoes for her, "Lovely pair as well." He noted as he rolled up her socks.
"Just bin them." She requested.
Dr Johnson's phone rang, it was the Director. She pretended she didn't have his number saved just to annoy him, "Dr Johnson speaking."
"I hear the first session went well." He said sarcastically.
"Technically we haven't had it yet." Bailey was extremely annoyed. "Who's bright idea was it to blast alarms in the apartment of an ex soldier with mental instability? Because I sure as hell did not approve such a thing."
The Director took a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke, "I need to protect the safety of my staff, not just yours and the psych team but the rest of the building."
Bailey was quick to respond, "You are jeopardising everyone in the building's safety by having an alarm like that. We do not know what this can trigger. I want it gone."
Steve pulled back the curtain and waved at Bailey, seeing that she was on the phone. Dr Koda and the nurse smiled and left.
"Get rid of the alarms. There is no compromise this time." She said and put the phone down.
Steve was stunned, "Did you just cut off the Director?"
"I guess I did," She said as she crossed her arms over her chest.