Honesty ♧ Bucky Barnes

Briefing

The Private shifted uncomfortably, breaking eye contact with the superior man.

"Some of the science workers were talking about it today at lunch, Sir. They were saying that there was this new girl, an English chemist. They were saying that she'd synthesised a hypothetical model and was putting it through cellular testing. Apparently it's a neurotransmitter that blocks synapses in the prefrontal cortex. "

"In English, Private."

"For all intents and purposes, it's a truth-telling serum."

Pine leant back in his chair, interlocking his fingers and staring intently at the Private. This was interesting. Private Goodwinson was one of the hundreds of HYDRA agents who had been placed inside S.H.I.E.L.D. as part of a covert operation to gain intelligence, and if what he was saying had any hint of truth in it, he may just be the most valuable man in the whole of HYDRA.

"Did you catch the name of this English girl?"

The Private coughed slightly.

"Jefferson, or Jeffers. Something like that. I didn't catch her first name."

Pine nodded and leant forwards.

"Keep an eye on it. Wait until cellular trials are complete."

"And then?"

"And then we're going to have a little talk with Miss Jefferson."

The Private nodded in understanding. A 'little talk' with the Colonel wasn't something that anybody enjoyed. He was a harsh man, and he wasn't against using... unethical methods.

"Dismissed."

The Private nodded in respect, leaving the room in silence, and Colonel Pine opened up his laptop, easily accessing S.H.I.E.L.D's database. He smiled to himself. Since posting men and women on the inside, he had access to all of S.H.I.E.L.D's secrets, even the ones that they didn't want him to know.

He sifted through employees to find the scientists and then narrowed his search down to Chemical engineers. A list of around three hundred names came up on his screen. He typed 'Jeffers' first, but came up with no results, so tried 'Jefferson'.

Two names popped up. One of them, Steve Jefferson, belonged to a sixty-four-year-old male graduate from Harvard University. Not what he was looking for. The second name looked far more convincing.

Erin Jefferson.

He clicked on her name, and her profile appeared on the screen. Twenty-three years old, born in Manchester, but educated in Cambridge, where she achieved a masters degree in Medicinal Chenistry, followed by a PhD in Chemical Engineering. His eyebrows raised. Smart girl.

He looked at the photo on her profile and smiled to himself. She looked like she would be easy to break. Waves of dark blonde hair surrounded a stern pale face, from which intensely dark brown eyes almost shone. She had a thin, straight nose, lips that were slightly too full for traditional beauty. A stern face for someone so young.

He picked up the phone by the side of his computer and dialled the office, printing all of the information he could about Erin Jefferson.

"Yes?" The tinny voice on the other side of the receiver.

"Send him in."

Colonel Pine waited for less than thirty seconds before the door to his room opened quietly, and the Soldier walked in. He didn't say a word, but the power radiating from him was almost tangible. In the dim light of the room, the metal of his arm glistened with unspoken potential.

"Yes?"

His voice was low, a distinct Brooklyn accent that echoed in the small area. He walked purposely over to the desk, menacing in his gait.

"This girl..." the Colonel passed over the printed out sheets and handed them to the Soldier. He studied them intently, his face passive, "I want you to keep an eye on her. We're going to bring her in in a few months."

The Soldier nodded, his face not betraying any sign of emotion.

"She has something that we want." The Colonel continued, "She's synthesised a serum which our intelligence tells us can make it impossible for the ingester to lie."

The first hint of movement appeared on the Soldier's face. His left eyebrow raised slightly over an impossibly blue eye in surprise.

"She invented it?" He asked, "She's so young."

The Colonel nodded, a small smirk on his face. "A prodigy, by the looks of it. She works for S.H.I.E.L.D's Chemical Engineering department. Her address is on that paper," He gestured to the sheets that the Soldier was holding, "I want you to do some surveillance, scope out her house. Figure out a way that you're going to bring her in without causing a fuss. We need to wait for the results of her cellular trials to come in, but once she finds out that this serum is safe for humans... well. I'll have a few questions to ask her."

The Soldier's face remained still, not showing any emotion at the Colonel's words. This was just another job for him.

"Will there be anything else, Sir?" he asked. Pine shook his head, and the Soldier nodded and turned to go. He left the room, closing the door behind him, and looked intently at the papers in his hand.

She was a smart girl, that much was obvious. She grew up, according to the S.H.I.E.L.D. database, in a poor area of Manchester, but gained a scholarship to the University of Cambridge, one of the most prestigious educational centres in England. After getting her PhD, she had taught biology in underprivileged High Schools for two years, before travelling to America, and beginning her Career in S.H.I.E.L.D. Nothing out of the ordinary.

He studied her profile thoroughly, before folding the papers up and tucking them in his back pocket, walking away from the Colonel's office.

He had a new mission.

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