Chapter 3
The Asset hears the door followed by muffled voices. The door again. Silence.
He knows he's been bad. He's misbehaved. The handler is probably going to find the Secretary to report his misbehavior. He doesn't know why he resisted his punishment and fought back. He's so confused. Nothing makes sense. He needs maintenance. He has not seen the chair anywhere around this new base. Maybe the handler went to find it.
Footsteps approaching. A man stands in the doorway, looking in at the Asset. A technician? No. Probably just an agent. 'Sam is going to stay with you.' The handler had said. Agent Sam. Agent Sam was here last night. 'No hard feelings.'
"You good?" Agent Sam asks.
The Asset does not answer. He doesn't know why it is hard to speak. He needs maintenance.
"I'll be in the living room if you need anything." Agent Sam says after a pause. He leaves.
The Asset does not move. There is nothing he needs to do. He has not been given a mission. He will behave and wait for his handler to return.
10 minutes pass.
20.
30.
He keeps count. He does not have a mission but he knows time is important. He keeps count.
After 42 minutes, he hears footsteps approaching once again. Agent Sam is coming back. But no. The agent passes by the room the Asset is in. He goes into the next room. The bathroom. The Asset hears the door shut.
The Asset gets up. He doesn't know what he's doing. What he's supposed to be doing. He hasn't received a mission. He needs maintenance. He will go find the handler.
He walks through the 'living room'. The doors are there. He remembers the moving box from yesterday.
"It's just an elevator."
There's a button next to the doors, which he presses. The doors open. He takes a deep breath, and steps in. "It's just an elevator." He remembers the handler's words. He's still scared. He's not supposed to be scared. He's supposed to be scary to others.
A row of buttons with numbers on the wall. He shuts his eyes and presses one at random. He keeps his eyes shut and backs into the corner as the box starts moving.
He tries to keep his breathing under control as the box moves until he hears the doors open again. He cautiously opens his eyes.
A lab. He needs maintenance. Maybe they will do it here. But where are the technicians? Where is the chair?
Nothing makes sense. Nothing has since he came here. The handler, that man... he was just so familiar. He doesn't know how he knew to come here to find him. But he did. He must be the Asset's handler. It's the only logical explanation.
He steps into the lab. Tables. Lots of tables. Cluttered with papers, tools, machinery. But no chair.
A plate. A lone slice of pizza. Long gone cold. On one of the tables amongst the clutter. The Asset is hungry. The Asset wants it. He's not allowed to want. He shouldn't eat it. But he's stepping closer before he can stop himself, his hand reaching out...
"Hey!"
The Asset startles, whirling around with wide eyes. An angry looking man with a goatee. Maybe he is a technician.
"What the hell are you doing in here? Don't touch my stuff! Where the hell is Steve?"
The man walks towards the Asset and the Asset backs away. He's not supposed to be scared. He needs maintenance. His back hits the wall but the man doesn't stop. The Asset lowers to crouch on the floor, bracing for punishment. He will accept it this time. No more misbehaving.
But then the man is reaching towards him and the Asset reacts without thinking. He snaps at the hand, just barely grazing one of the fingertips with his teeth as it's hastily pulled back to avoid the bite.
The man utters something probably unsavory under his breath but the Asset doesn't pay attention to that, because his other hand is pulling back. He will strike the Asset. He shouldn't be scared. He shouldn't resist punishment. He needs maintenance. He doesn't know why his body is shaking or why his face feels wet. He whimpers involuntarily.
The hand slowly lowers back to the man's side.
"Ah, come on, really? Don't start crying. I can't deal with this."
He stares at the Asset for a long moment.
"What are you doing in here? Where's Steve?"
The Asset can't answer. He doesn't know why.
"I'll let it go this time but you better not come back here again. Now go. Go on. Shoo. Go find Steve."
The Asset knows an order when he hears one. "Go. Shoo." But he's frozen, he can't move, he can't obey. He doesn't know why he can't obey. It's getting hard to breathe. Is this a test? He's failing. He needs maintenance.
"Ok, ok, stop crying. Look, here's that pizza you wanted, you can have it! Just stop crying." The man says, holding out the plate.
The Asset can't move, can't speak, can't do anything but sob.
"Ok, look, I'm going to set this down here," says the man, as he walks over to the elevator doors. He puts the plate down in front of the doors. "Then I'm gonna get back to what I was doing, and ignore you. Whenever you're ready, you go ahead and come eat this pizza, then leave."
The Asset watches the man turn away, going to one of the tables and tinkering with some of the tools and machinery. He takes a few minutes to calm his nerves, before slowly crawling towards the abandoned pizza, eyes never leaving the man's back.
He quickly scarfs down the pizza, not caring that it's cold. He feels a little less hungry, at least. But now he's thirsty too. The man has a ceramic mug in his hand.
Slowly rising to his feet, he inches towards the man, who still has his back turned. He focuses on the mug when the man sets it down on the table. Once he's close enough, he reaches for it, and stealthily grabs it from the table without the man seeing.
The drink is warm, and very bitter, and it tastes and smells so familiar but he can't remember why. He puzzles over it as he drinks.
Without looking, the man reaches for the place he had set down the mug. When his hand meets only air, he turns.
"Hey! That's my coffee!"
The Asset instantly drops the mug which shatters on the floor and scrambles away. He hides behind a big couch. He's been very bad. He will be punished. He deserves it. He shouldn't be scared.
"You're pretty shameless aren't you?" He hears the man say. He's still at the table. "Walking around my tower with no pants on, just in a wet diaper, sneaking into my lab, stealing my coffee. I guess Steve hasn't taught you manners yet."
Shameless. Stealing. Misbehavior. He's been bad and he doesn't know why he's being bad. He needs maintenance. No pants on. Where are his pants? He doesn't remember. Did the handler use his body for pleasure again? He doesn't think so. He would definitely remember. Wet. This word brings memories. Agents laughing. Punishment. "Did you seriously fucking piss yourself again?" Commander Rumlow had said. He hadn't realized he was wet. Now that he's focused on it, the garment the handler had outfitted him with is feeling heavier between his legs than before. To be wet is shameful. Misbehavior.
Footsteps. The man is coming. Punishment is coming. He will make an effort not to resist this time.
The man grabs a blanket from the top of the couch. Unfolding it, he throws it over the cushions. He walks away without saying anything. Without addressing the Asset. Without punishing the Asset.
He waits a few more minutes. No punishment comes. The man doesn't say anything else. He peeks around the edge of the couch. The man is back to tinkering around on the table. The Asset crawls up onto the couch, curling up under the blanket. Maybe the handler will come soon. Then he can have his maintenance. For now, he will sleep.
⭐
"Bucky!" Sam calls again. He's still searching the entire floor and he can't find him anywhere. He was just gone when he came out of the bathroom!
"Bucky?" He checks the closet in Steve's room again. He's still not in there.
"Bucky!"
Crap. He told Steve he'd look after the guy and now he's gone and lost him.
Did he leave the tower? He really hopes not. That would be bad. Steve would be pissed. He has to find Bucky before Steve gets back -
As if on cue, the elevator doors open, revealing Steve, carrying some shopping bags.
"Hey, Sam. How's Bucky? He didn't give you too much trouble, I hope." Steve says, setting the bags down on the couch.
"Um." Sam starts. "I don't know. I can't find him."
"What? He's gone? Where did he go?" Steve asks, eyes going wide. If Bucky escaped, if he got hurt, or worse, he doesn't know what he would do. He just got him back.
"JARVIS? Where's Bucky?!" Steve says.
"Sergeant Barnes is currently in the lab with Master Stark."
"How did I forget about the all knowing AI?" Sam says. "Hey, wait up!"
Steve is already stomping towards the elevator. Anxiety churns his stomach. Tony better not have hurt Bucky. He presses the button for the lab, and Sam steps in right before the doors close.
"Where is he?!" Steve demands, rushing at Tony as soon as the elevator doors open into the lab. "You better not have hurt him, Tony, or-"
"Or what? Cool your jets, grandpa, before you give yourself an aneurysm. And quiet down, will you? He's sleeping." Tony says, pointing to the couch.
"You really should keep a better watch on him. He came in here trying to get to my pizza, then he tried to bite me and stole my coffee! I told you I don't babysit!"
Steve chooses not to answer, instead walking over to the couch. "Bucky." He says, stroking the sleeping man's hair. Bucky stirs before opening his eyes. "Hey, Buck. I'm back. I brought you some presents. Let's go and see them, huh?"
Bucky immediately stands up, letting the blanket drop to the ground. The handler has returned. He follows him and agent Sam to the elevator.
"Keep your pet on a leash!" Tony calls as the doors slide shut.
"JARVIS?" He says, once the three are gone.
"Yes, Master Stark?"
"Order a pizza to Cap's floor."
"Yes, Master Stark."
Tony smiles to himself.