"You look familiar." A voice says as I wince and groan before lifting my head off the floor.
"How did I get here?" I mumble, turning onto my back and using my elbows for support.
"You were shoved in here when you came out of cryo-freeze an hour or so ago," he informs, "are you alright?" He holds out his hand and I grab it to stand up.
"Somewhat." I chuckle slightly, rubbing the back of my head. The man half-smiles and leans against the wall, twiddling a knife between his fingers.
"Who are you?" I ask, realising neither of us have introduced ourselves yet.
"Can't say I remember," he sighs, "but people around here call me 'Zimniy Soldat.'"
"You do look familiar as well," I tilt my head an furrow my brow, "I used to know someone that looks like you."
"What happened to them?"
"He died on a mission during the Second World War," I sigh heavily, "we pretty much grew up together."
"The last thing I remember of my own memories is the Second World War." The man exhales, placing his knife back in the holster.
"What do you mean?" I question.
"I've been shoved in that chair and into cryo-freeze so many time that," he pauses, "I don't know which memories are mine and which aren't."
"What happened to your arm?" I ask quietly, gesturing to the metal attached to his left shoulder.
"Oh, uh, I'm not sure on that one," he chuckles softly, "I didn't have it when I came here, and now I have this metal one." I give him a sympathetic smile before talking again.
"What's your name, by the way?" He asks.
"They call me 'Razvedchik," I half-smile, "Scout."
"What year is it?" I ask.
"2013, why?"
"I gotta go." I panic, running out the room.
"Scout, wait!"
I leave him standing outside the doorway of the room we were just in and head towards the Red Room dorms. I run into Natalia's room, but only see a frail looking blonde girl.
"Excuse me," I whisper, "do you know where Natalia is?"
"She escaped," the girl says, facing away from me, "five years ago."
"Who are you?" She asks, standing up and walking to me.
"I'm Scout," I say confused, "and you are?"
"Yelena Belova."
"You're the Yelena from the Ohio mission in '92?"
"Don't talk about that." She says sternly.
"Sorry. When did you get back?"
"1995."
"I've been frozen for," I pause and count the years on my fingers, "twenty-one years!"
"No wonder that math took you so long."
"I'll be back soon." I smile and head out the door.
I haven't been able to shake the thought as to why Zimniy looks so familiar, so I sneak through the halls to try and find some answers. Eventually, I find the room that holds all the files and begin to search through them. A couple shelves over, a section saying '1940-1950' catches my attention. I check around me to make sure I'm alone before dragging the box out.
Flicking through the files, I notice one that says 'Zimniy Soldat, 1945.' I take the contents out and begin to read it. 'Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, 107th Infantry, United States of America military service.' A low gasp escapes my mouth as I look at the picture of the Sergeant and realise why he's so familiar. It's James, he's... alive?
I shove the file back in the box then onto the shelf and run back to the Soldat. When I get there, he's staring out the small window in the room and only notices me when I slam the door shut.
"I found it," I exclaim, "I found why we're so familiar to each other."
"What are you on about?" He questions.
"You, you are Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes of the 107th Infantry." The only reaction I receive is a confused look.
"It's me. It's Laurie."
"Laurie?" he ponders, searching for a memory, "childhood friend who tried to teach me manners 'Laurie?'"
"Yes, yes, that's me." I laugh, hugging him.
"I thought you died." I muffle into his clothing.
"What?"
"In 1945, Colonel Phillips called saying you died on a mission."
"Oh. That would explain the train in my nightmares," he pauses, "and... Steve?"
"Steve sacrificed himself a few months after."
"Idiot."
"He saved the world, Buck." I laugh.
"He's still an idiot. How was life without me?"
"Difficult to say the least," I sigh, "I got by though."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, I continued working with Stark and the S.S.R., and then I guess I got captured by, well, you."
"I'm sorry," he frowns, "I don't remember."
"It's ok, you weren't you."
"Listen," he begins, "we can't use our actual names here. They'll clear both our minds, shove us into cryo and separate us forever if they find out we know this."
"Alright," I take a breath, "then I'll call you either 'Zimniy' or 'Zimniy Soldat'-"
"And I'll call you 'Razvedchik.'"
"Alright, well I need to go back to Yelena so, I'll see you around?"
"Sometime soon." He nods and walks off.
I head back over to the Red Room training area to Yelena who is training with the other widows. I stand at the back of the room and take notes on how I can improve her fighting when she's not with the group.
"You're in a lot of trouble, you know?" Nikitin says, standing next to me.
"Yeah, yeah." I sigh.
"You've got a small mission with The Winter Soldier." He hands me the paper.
"Ok, I'll go and find him." I say, leaving and examining the page. I walk into the armoury and change into the suit I wore for my first mission and grabbed a few guns.
I meet Bucky out by the cars and the two of us left for the location. Surprisingly, he was also dressed in a black suit and had his hair changed for the mission.
~~~~~~
"Ready?" Bucky asks as we step out the car.
"Absolutely not." I laugh. Four of us are on this mission for a supposed machine enhancer. The Winter Soldier and I take the task of going into the building, while Nikitin and Lipovsky sit back for CCTV checks and coms.
Most of the city is silent, apart from the booming noise of the nightclub music. Lasers shoot across the room and bounce off mine and my mission partner's suits. With some collection of confidence, I strut through the doorway to the balcony, along to the beat of the music.
"Remember the mission," Lipovsky reminds over coms, "scope out the buyer, grab the device, and please don't make a scene."
"Yes, Sir." The Soldier nods. Standing on the balcony, the two of us observe the club, attempting to locate the buyer. Lasers are still shooting across the room and frequent flashes make it hard to keep focus.
"Got him." I point out, Winter turning his head straight to where I was showing him. He goes left and I head the other way, hopefully making it easier to grab what we need. I dive through the crowds and keep my head low, trying to not be seen.
"Hey!" someone yells, "get them!" My head darts towards where the noise is coming from, then to Winter, then to the buyer. Suddenly, half a dozen men come charging at us and I pull my gun out in a panic. Almost straight after, Winter comes running towards the men to help me take them down. Somewhere in the heat of it all, my ear piece falls out and I lose connection with the team.
"Get the buyer!" Winter shouts at me, watching him escape through the doors. I sprint towards him, shoving the door open and charging after him. I use my training to dodge through crowds and jump over barricades. The sprint chase lasts a while, but I get closer and closer to my target. I manage to trip him up, but before I can take him down, he pulls his gun on me and shoots my side.
"That's what you get!" He grumbles, stumbling back up and getting away. The world starts spinning as I clutch my side, watching the blood seep through my clothing.
"Bucky!" I yell out as all lights and sounds are dialled to eleven, eventually leaving all of my senses to be completely lost. I crash to the floor, whacking my head and not being able to see or hear anything.