Leave Me Bleeding [Winter Soldier] I

Hurt [Chapter 11]

                "Because she is your partner."

                "I don't need a partner," he countered, his tone firm yet monotonous.

                "You need her tracking abilities." The man folded his hands together in front of him. "Unfortunately, we cannot teach you what she has."

                Bucky seemed slightly offended, but said nothing more. He lifted his metal arm and pointed at Ophelia. It was as if she were some piece of art on display, not actually there, not actually human. "Show me what you've done to her."

                The man looked at Ophelia, grabbing the gauze wrapped around her and began to peel away at it. The fabric clung to her wounds, strands of the gauze sticking to her fresh lacerations. She winced at the pain as it seemed to enhance the ache as it lifted the loose flesh up. Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to give them that pleasure. Instead, her body began to shake, and continued even after the gauze was removed. It was amazing how much the human body- when slightly enhanced- could handle. The body could handle more than the mind, but sometimes the mind could become stronger than the body.

                "That symbol..." Bucky blinked, confused for a moment.

                "HYDRA," the man told Bucky. 

                Ophelia whimpered slightly; he had carved the HYDRA symbol into her stomach, marking her as theirs. She would always be theirs and he was making that clear to her, and the rest of the world were they to see her. "We take pride in what is ours, but sometimes that which is ours tries to escape. This woman is nothing more than a pawn in our game, understand that. She is not entirely valuable, but she is not replaceable either."

                Ophelia wanted to spit at the man, but she lacked the energy even for that. She looked up longingly at Bucky, trying to create a bridge with him, even if that meant they would kill her right then. If she was so invaluable, why did they keep at this? 

               Focusing on the man in front of her, she tried to find that part of him that was Bucky. Creating the mental bridge took some strength out of her, and while she was wounded it caused her a small amount of agony as she strained to get inside his mind. But it was no use; she could not penetrate his mind. She gasped, the attempt to link with him failing, feeling weaker than she had before. The man realized what she was doing and grinned once again. Placing his hand on Bucky's shoulder, he nodded to the door. "Soldier, you're dismissed."

                Bucky's eyes didn't linger on Ophelia any longer, and he turned in a swift movement. In a split second, he was gone, and with him all Ophelia's hope. After he was gone, and Ophelia caught her breath and controlled her rage, she looked at the man with sheer hatred in her eyes. They were both aware of what she had just tried to do, and so she was not going to play pretend and hide it anymore. There was not a lot more they could do to her, so she believed, and she decided to be upfront with the man. He had wanted her to link with Bucky, he wanted her to know that she would fail. 

                "I can't... connect with him," she said breathlessly.

                "I know," he said, his tone was almost ecstatic. He achieved what he wanted to accomplish. 

                "Why b-bother showing me. Why not clear... my memory of all this day, clear my mind again. I can't link with him, so what are you so... so scared of?" Every time she flexed a muscle it hurt, but she forced through her words. Every breath hurt. But, slowly, she could feel the energy she expended to try to link with Bucky come back.