IVANOV ~ yelena belova

𝟎𝟐𝟐

The rest of the journey back to Hydra's base did not go as well as Karina had hoped. Bucky's eyes were hazy and distant as he fixed his gaze on the spot next to her head. His hands shook, and his brow glistened with sweat. Bucky's past danced in his eyes as he tried to recall his memories, but he wasn't prepared for the agony that would come it.

Karina reached out, brushing her hand against Bucky's cold metal one. She wrapped her hand tightly around his, just as he had done to her through the metal bars of their cells all those years ago.

"I need you to listen to me, Друг," Karina murmured softly as Bucky looked up at her with curiosity. "You can't tell them about your memories; they'll steal them away from you again," she continued as she delicately squeezed his hand.

"But I need answers, Karina. I don't know what's happening to me," he murmured quietly, but the crack in his voice made Karina's heart ache even more for him. The man in front of her wasn't one of the most feared assassins, but rather a broken soldier who had never been given a say in his decisions.

"We'll get through this, but please, you have to listen to me," she pleaded as she leaned forward, trying to catch his gaze, but the rumble of the truck indicated that they were coming to a halt.

Karina leaned back in her uncomfortable seat and rubbed her eyes, half in an attempt to rub the sleep away, half to clear her mind of their conversation. Before Karina and Bucky exited the car, the doors to the back of the truck slammed open with a bang. Bucky was guided in a different direction to have his metal arm repaired, which had been damaged during the fight, whereas Karina was directed to Pierce's office.

Karina cast one last fleeting glance at her friend, in an attempt to remind him of their conversation. Her ever-present stoic expression nearly faltered when she thought she caught Bucky's pleading gaze, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. However, as she approached Pierce's office, she reminded herself that she had other things to prioritise - it was time to face him alone.

ⴵ

Pierce stood in front of her, leaning against his desk, a dark expression on his face. He knew they'd failed; Captain America's death would have been all over the news, but he wanted to hear it for himself.

"You have cost me a great deal. If you had killed them, I wouldn't have to deal with them burning a hole through one of my trucks and escaping!" He said, as his voice rose louder and louder with each word until his knuckles were white and his face was red.

But Karina stood there, as she had many times before, refraining from rolling her eyes at the man in front of her.

"I made you, not Dreykov or anybody else. I made the Winter Widow, and you shall respect that, you little bitch" he spat, pointing his finger at her as she stared at him blankly. Her alias was rarely used, preferring to remain hidden behind the Winter Soldier; only those she had wreaked havoc on used that name, otherwise she was nameless.

Pierce stormed out of his office, Hydra agents on his tail, furious with Karina. Karina sighed and rolled her shoulders, then turned on her heel and jogged to keep up with her superior.

ⴵ

Karina was greeted with the sight of frantic scientists and an enraged Bucky. She stood to Pierce's side, near the wall, away from the situation, watching Bucky's chest heave and his hands tug at his restraints.

"Sir, he's...he's unstable. Erratic," the doctor said, as Pierce approached Bucky. Karina silently begged him not to say anything about Steve, but she knew she couldn't blame him if he did, like the doctor had said, he was erratic, which Karina guessed was due to another flashback.