Pretty sure this is my new favorite story. That means updates. But my Percy Jackson fanfic “UnTamed” is in a close second, if not tied… Hmm…
Chapter Quote:
“We’d rather die than do it your way.”
~Imagine Dragons, Ready Aim Fire
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Chapter 4
December 12, 2004…
I took a glance up from my computer screen to look outside. It was a dreary winter day. Snow was being thrown down on the ground and I knew it was going to be a hellacious trip home even if it was a short trip. I was well over half way done with my homework so I decided I should get home early and finish it there. As I stood up, I was approached by a familiar face.
“Agent Rumlow,” I greeted with a smile.
“Hello Miss Drew. How are you?” he asked, returning my smile.
“I’m doing well. You?”
“Good, good. Listen, Secretary Pierce has asked for you to come up to his office. He would like me to escort you there.”
“Oh. Am I in trouble?” I asked, grabbing my coat.
“Not at all. In fact, you should think of what he’s doing for you as a promotion. You’ll see. Come, I’ll bring you to him.” Rumlow held his arm out for me. I looped my arm through his and followed. I found out he was only twenty one. Three years older than me. Not bad, I thought. He’d certainly grown on me over the past few months, and to be honest, I really wanted to date him. But then again, he was my coworker and technically one of my bosses. If he asked me to do a job for him, I had to. It would make things awkward between us at work if we ended up dating and breaking up.
We entered the elevator and went to the top floor. Rumlow led me into Pierce’s office and left.
“Good evening, Miss Drew. How are you today?” Mr. Pierce inquired, leaning against his desk.
“I’m doing well. The weather could be better, but we can’t control the weather unfortunately. How about you sir?”
“Very good actually. You must be wondering why I called you up here.”
“I would be, sir. I didn’t ask because I knew you would tell me sooner or later.”
“Smart girl. I’ve been watching your progress along with the others since you arrived here, and I must say, you have excelled in everything we have tasked you with. It’s quite extraordinary. So I have a new task for you. By far, the most important one you will most likely ever encounter. Some of the other interns have attempted it but failed. Are you willing to try it?”
“I am, sir. What is this task?” I asked.
“I will show you. Come with me.” I followed Pierce into the elevator. “Level Zima.”
“Access denied; Annabeth Drew is not allowed,” the elevator said.
“Secretary override. Pierce, Alexander M.” The elevator lurched down. I watched outside until it disappeared when the elevator went underground, farther and farther. At one point, it revealed a massive room with construction equipment all over the place. Pierce said, “This is for a project in the far future. It’s called Project Insight. But that’s not your project. Yours is even farther down.”
“What is Project Insight?” I queried, marveling at the size of the room before walls once more enclosed the elevator, blocking my view.
“Something that will be very beneficial for humanity. We’re almost… there,” Pierce said as the elevator stopped. The doors opened and revealed a hallway. Rumlow was waiting there. How he’d gotten down here before us, I didn’t know. I didn’t question it. Already something felt off about this entire thing. But curiosity was getting the better of me, so I followed Pierce down the hallway. Rumlow walked behind me. I could sense just how close he was. If I wanted to run, there’d be no chance for me to escape. He would block me.
Pierce turned around and said, “Miss Drew, understand that once you agree to this, there’s no backing out.”
“No offense sir, but I think my chance to say no disappeared the moment I got in that elevator,” I chuckled, trying to hide my discomfort.
“Smart girl. Let me show you what you’ll be dealing with. It’s a weapon that is extremely important. It’s been going rather haywire. We’re wondering if you can get close enough and fix it before we freeze it for the next time we need it. Here.” Pierce led me into a room full of TVs. On the biggest screen, a room that appeared to be some sort of laboratory focused on a man in a chair. He had shaggy black or dark brown hair, downcast eyes, and a…
“Is that a metal arm?” I questioned hesitantly.
“Annabeth Drew, meet the Winter Soldier. This is what we need you to fix.”
“I thought you were having me fix a weapon?”
“We are. The Winter Soldier is a weapon especially that arm. It has multiple compartments to hide weapons and is made of a metal that can weather many different types of abuse, but it is not completely invincible. The cybernetic arm needs repairs once in a while. This is where you come in. We need you to fix it. Any damage the arm has sustained and also the soldier itself.”
“Why me?” I looked him in the eye. I wanted a truthful answer.
“Because the last few people we’ve sent in to heal him, he’s seriously injured them. One guy is going to be blind in his left eye forever, one has a broken arm, and another is paralyzed from the waist down,” Pierce informed. I glanced at the soldier.
“May I see the footage?”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“To see if there are any warning signs of when he’s about to attack.”
Pierce shrugged and ordered the guard to play the tapes. I watched each one carefully. First off, all the doctors just walked straight up to him and tried to start working on him. The soldier obviously wanted none of that. Second, I noticed he kept his eyes on the guards in the lab. It was like he didn’t trust them or something. And third, he was being treated like a machine, not a human being.
“I’ll do it but I have a request to make.”
“Depends on the request.”
“I don’t want the guards in there when I go in.”
“He would kill you,” Rumlow argued.
“We all know he could kill me with or without guards in there. I know what I’m doing Secretary Pierce. If you want my help on this, let me do this without guards in the room.”
“Are you sure about this, Miss Drew?” Pierce confirmed.
“I’m sure. Show me to his room.” I followed the secretary out of the room and to a heavy metal door. He opened it and started speaking with the guards. Rumlow pulled me aside and whispered, “Whatever you do, don’t get yourself killed.”
“I won’t get myself killed. I’m smarter than the other people that have tried before me.”
“That’s what they said.”
“Yeah, and they were all guys. Maybe what this guy needs is a woman in his life.”
“I need a woman in my life,” Rumlow said, winking at me.
“Oh brother,” I chuckled, rolling my eyes. I pulled away from him and stood in front of the door, waiting for Pierce’s go ahead.
“All right Miss Drew. You can go on in. We’ll be out here. Be careful and good luck,” Pierce said.
“Thank you sir.” I took a deep breath and stepped inside the room. I heard the door shut behind me. I looked at the winter soldier and smiled. “Hello soldier. My name is Annabeth Drew. I’m not here to hurt you, I’m here to help you, if you’ll let me. I won’t come closer to you unless you allow me to. I’ll know what to do if you give me a thumbs up for a yes and a thumbs down for a no.” I waited with baited breath as I watched his hands. They remained still for what seemed like hours, but slowly, his thumb lifted upwards, giving me the go ahead. I let out my breath and smiled. “Thank you, soldier. I’ll be quick about this,” I promised, walking slowly up to him. I’m going to check for bodily wounds first. Those would most likely be the most deadly if you have any. Would you stand up for me? Just so I can get a full scope.” I offered my hand for him to take it so I could help him stand. He didn’t take it, but still stood up on his own. “Thank you, soldier. I apologize for saying that so often, but I just want to emphasize that I’m not your superior nor am I your inferior. I am your equal and on your side. You’re my mission, and I intend to finish it. All right, let’s get to inspecting you; I might touch you if I think I see something so please don’t freak out on me and throw me into a wall or something. That would be very… unpleasant. Since you don’t seem to be one for conversation, do you mind if I sing? It helps me focus.” When he didn’t answer me, I laughed and added, “Thumbs up for yes, thumbs down for no?” The soldier raised his thumb. “I appreciate it. I hope you like the Beatles.”
I started singing “Here Comes the Sun” as I walked around him. Except for a few cuts and bruises, he seemed relatively unharmed by whatever he’d done. That was good. I cleaned the cuts with antibiotic ointment and put castor oil on the bruises to help relieve any pain they were causing him. After that I had him sit down. I started examining his arm, running diagnostics on it on the computer, and making sure everything was functioning. Luckily for me, it was. After double-checking just to make sure, I stopped my quiet singing and announced to him, “You’re in good shape. Thank you for letting me check on you. I must be going now. I will see you again, all right? Goodbye soldier.”
I patted him gently on the shoulder and walked out of the lab. Pierce, Rumlow, and the guards stood there staring at me.
“Is there anymore you need me to do?” I asked.
“That’ll be it. Miss Drew, from here on out, I’m deeming you his official caretaker when he’s unfrozen. Now I must remind you, his mind is wiped once in a while to make sure he stays focused on missions so he may not remember you next time you see him,” Pierce informed.
I stared at him. “You erase his memories?”
“The few he has.”
“That’s barbaric!”
“It’s precautionary. If he were to remember everything, we would all be in jeopardy. And remember, you must not breathe a word about this to anyone else. The consequences if you did so would be… severe.”
“Is that a threat?”
“A warning. Rumlow, take her back upstairs.”
Rumlow grabbed my hand and led me out of the area and into the elevator. He let go of me once the doors shut and we started moving.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“For what? Tricking me into working for HYDRA?” I snapped.
“What you did in there was incredible! No one has been able to accomplish what you just did.”
“That didn’t answer my question!”
He sighed and looked down. “I didn’t want to trick you. I didn’t want you doing it. Pierce insisted. And what Pierce wants, Pierce gets.”
“Why didn’t you want me working down there?”
“Because I didn’t want you getting hurt by it. It’s dangerous.”
“It is a person, a human, who is being unjustly brainwashed.”
“Be careful how you speak. If Pierce doesn’t like the way you’re talking, he’ll kill you.”
“I know. I have no choice but to continue. But this is all I want to do for him. I don’t want to participate in anything else.”
“You won’t have to.”
“Good. Because I’d rather die than help any more than I am.”
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Annabeth’s first encounter with the Winter Soldier! Stay tuned for more! Review :)