Oh boy, it's you that I lie with
As the atom bomb locks in
Oh boy, it's you I watch TV with
As the world, as the world caves in
-As The World Caves In, Matt Maltese
February 2nd, 2013
HYDRA Base, Washington D.C
As the lights flick on, my eyes snap open and I sit up, straight as a board, thoughts of what the day must entail immediately coming to me. There's a clanking of metal from the washing area and I turn to see the soldier splashing water on his face.
Glancing back, he meets my eyes and offers a small smile, "Morning."
I raise an eyebrow, "Morning?"
He looks at me oddly, "Good morning?" he tries.
"No, just... You're not a 'Good morning' kind of guy." I say, gazing at him in curiosity.
He just hums and doesn't offer a response, as he leaves his place by the basin and walks to the corner where his uniform is stowed. Slowly, I get up and wander over to the basin and, just as the soldier had done, splash water on my face.
Once I've finished in the washing area, I make my way to the clean uniform I've been left and begin to change out of my old one, as the soldier sits on the cot and pulls on his boots, watching my every movement as he does.
"Can you make me a promise?" I ask, cutting through the silence that has engulfed the small room.
"Depends."
"Today, if things get too personal... if I hesitate in any way or... Promise me you'll do the job for me. Promise me you'll kill her no matter how much I beg you not to."
He pauses fastening his boots and looks at me, his face entirely serious, "Of course, I will."
"Okay." I nod and pull my leotard up over my arms, "Okay." I meet his eyes, "And... And... I don't know... if I try to stop you or... if I get in your way... promise me you'll treat me like you would anyone else who did?"
"J..." he says, sounding slightly pained.
"Promise."
"I can't."
"Treat me like you would anyone else, that's all I ask. You'd do it to them, why am I any different?"
"Because you're not anyone else." he glances down, "You're you."
Tense silence lingers in the air for a few moments, as we just stare at each other, before I sigh, "Could you... fasten me up?"
He nods and walks over, beginning to lace up the strings at the back, tightening the corset-like leotard. Even with him just behind me, I can feel his warmth, wrapping around me like a blanket. His knuckles graze my back, his cold fingers sending a noticeable shiver up my spine. Loudly, I inhale at the contact and he freezes for a few moments.
"Sorry," he mutters.
When he speaks, his hot breath brushes on my shoulders and I suddenly snap around to face him. He's closer than I thought he would be, his lips slightly parted and so close. My eyes are glued to them and I watch them inch ever nearer.
When there are but a few atoms between our lips, I blurt, "You never finished." he looks puzzled, "You never finished tying my leotard."
"Oh."
As he finishes up, we hear footsteps coming down the corridor outside and the sound of heavy locks being clanked open. With one last pull, he ties the back of my corset and takes a couple of steps backwards, so we're both facing the door.
As we do, they burst open and soldiers run in, surrounding us with their guns raised. Mr Pierce strolls in casually, just after them, "This mission is very important, so if either of you mess it up... Well, I'll let you imagine the consequences."
"We won't let you down, sir." I declare.
"Certain elements of your record lead me to believe otherwise, Johnson." he spits and I wince at the name I haven't been called in so long.
"Kuznetsov." I correct.
"Either way, I can't afford to risk letting Aurelia Stark, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, or Sitwell get away. You can't afford to let them get away." he glances from me to the Soldier and nonchalantly instructs, "Take him."
"What..." my eyes widen, as they meet the Soldier's and real fear flashes through his.
Suddenly, guards grab onto him and drag him out of the room: not that he puts up a fight- he knows better. I, on the other hand, make the stupid decision of trying to stop his inevitable fate. Shoving past my guards, I yell and shout, fighting to get to him, as he disappears down the corridor.
As the guards continue to take him out of sight, Pierce stops and looks back at me with a cocky smirk, "Oh, little Julia Johnson gone soft?" he scoffs, before commanding the guards, "Bring her too."
With his words, my heart sinks and my features drop into a scared frown as I shake my head, "No, no, you can't. Pierce, I swear we'll do the job. I swear on my life I'll kill her."
"Shame your life means nothing then, isn't it?" he calls, as he strolls ahead of me, "I already told you, this job means too much to me to risk it because you and the Soldier have some sort of infatuation with one another." my lips part slightly in surprise and it's almost as though he can sense my shock without even looking back he taunts, "Did you really think I don't know about every single thing you two do? Just because the lights are out, doesn't mean you're safe from my watch."
I fall into silence as I'm dragged into a large, yet still dingy room; the smell of rusting metal is unmissable in the air around me. The guards bring me to a stop just in front of a concrete wall, facing the metal chair the Soldier is being strapped into. A bit is placed in his mouth and metal clamps descend on both of his temples. Even as his wrists are strapped to the seat, his eyes stay trained on me and mine stay fixed on his.
A doctor comes rushing in, "Sir, you shouldn't do this! He's been out of cryofreeze too long!"
"I don't care." Pierce declares, "Wipe him and start over."
And so, as the machine fires up, the only sounds that echo around my head are the Soldier's tortured screams. His body jerks with each surge of electricity but I refuse to move my eyes from him for fear that something will go wrong if I do. So all I hear are his screams.
A message from the author:
Hope you all had a good day! Remember to vote and comment! See you all next chapter! (;
- Hannah xoxo
Word count: 1117
Date published: November 28th, 2022