We're Not Dead Yet (Split Souls part 2)

20: Winter

Winter felt immobile; it was like his blood had been replaced with glacier water. The image that Captain America was holding gingerly was a hand sketched portrait of none other than Winter. This Winter was grinning, clean shaven, hair neatly cut.

That man knew him. That man knew him. They knew each other.

What was going on?

Winter's heart thumped painfully in his chest. What was he going to do? What could he do? He had his mission. He couldn't return to HYDRA with an incomplete mission. But like he knew his left arm was metal, he knew he couldn't pull that trigger. 

Winter cursed. He didn't even know what language he was cursing in, it might have even been several, but it didn't matter. He looked back at his targets. He thought about returning to HYDRA.

He couldn't decide. This must be fear, Winter thought as his heart slammed around inside his chest, and his blood felt like it was ablaze.

His mind couldn't decide, but he found himself packing his sniper rifle with great speed and precision. Then he vanished from his position.

~~~~~~

Percy looked up a moment too late to catch the sniper's exit.

Steve looked at Percy, seeing as he paused mid-sentence. "Percy?"

"Huh?" Percy asked, eyes not moving.

"What is it?" Steve questioned.

"Nothing. I just thought I saw something." Percy replied, and resumed their previous conversation.

This had happened before, and Steve let it go with relative ease. Percy did have a tendency to notice irregular things, and sometimes it was better to just not know exactly what oddity Percy had seen.

~~~~~~

Winter was good at hiding. That he knew. Whether he could hide from HYDRA, though, was a different story. Winter hoped he could. And he didn't hope many things.

Winter kept hidden from any cameras or people that would be interested in him. That evening he found a place to rest. He didn't find sleep easy, nor did he particularly want to be defenseless. But he felt himself pulled to unconsciousness, and he couldn't fight.

"You don't understand," A scientist said urgently. "Every time he's been out of cryofreeze for this long, he's started to remember. It doesn't matter how many times we wipe him. If we do that much more though, he's likely to turn into a vegetable. We have to get him back in cryofreeze to slow down the process."

"No. He has to do is finish his mission." Winter's superior said.

"He won't be able to finish his mission if he remembers!" The scientist implored.

"I get that you're concerned, but the Winter Soldier only has two more objectives left before his termination. Once he kills Captain America, and this Maelstrom, all that's left is for him to train Tarus to take his place." The superior explained.

The scientist sagged. "Really? Terminate him? But he's been our best asset for decades-"

"What use is a faulty asset when you can have a brand new one that's even better? Tarus is loyal to us without wiping his memories or programming his mind." The superior commented.

"Doesn't that also make the Winter Soldier useful to us? He can't ignore an order even if he wants to." The scientist inquired.

"The Winter Soldier is an outdated model, doctor. I suggest you get used to the idea."