Target (Romanogers Fanfic)

Chapter 23

Natasha slowly opened her eyes. She was immediately greeted by a sharp pain in her temples. Her back hurt as well. She blinked a few times. Trying to take in her surroundings. She noticed what was in front of her.

Bars. Lots of it.

It was then she realized that she was in a cell.

She quickly tried to stand up and reach out but was surprised to find that she couldn't. Something was holding her wrists captive. She glanced down and saw that she was strapped to a metal chair, chains were keeping her arms and wrists in place.

She struggled to break free but was frustrated to find that she couldn't. The chains were too tight and strong. It would only bruise her wrists more.

She swore in Russian.

The spy was alarmed when the sound of footsteps reached her ears. She figured the person was wearing heavy rubber boots. She peered across the hall, just behind the bars, and saw two HYDRA men coming straight her way.

Once they reached her cell, they unlocked it and went inside. Natasha wasn't able to see their faces since they were wearing masks. She could, however, hear their muffled voices. One went to bend down and reach for one of the locks in her wrists.

Were they releasing her?

A plan quickly engulfed her mind. She needed to get out of here. Natasha peeked out the hall to find any useful exit. Her eyes scanned over until it landed on a dark opening just at the far end.

Bingo.

Just when one of the men released the other lock, she quickly smacked her head straight at his own. She jabbed her foot at his and crushed it painfully. The other man turned to grab her but she was quicker. She dodged his hand, twisted it and landed two punches straight on the man's chest. She rammed her foot down his thigh so he couldn't easily get up.

Then she ran for it.

She bolted straight out of the cell and aimed for the door on the far end. However, she was taken aback when another man suddenly came out on one side of the intersection.

He grabbed her arm. Natasha hoisted herself from the floor and twisted her body to position herself on the man's shoulders. She slammed her elbow into the man's skull. Although after a few seconds, the man had pushed her back into a wall and forced her down on a metal table.

He grabbed hold of her neck. Natasha's hands clung to his hand, choking on air. He was this close to squeezing the life out of her when she thought better. Her legs were dangling on the edge of the table. Using the remaining strength that she had, she lifted her legs and kicked the man's gut to make him release his grip on her.

Still coughing furiously, she aimed for the door. She ran as fast as her limbs could make her. A long white hallway covered her sight after she stepped foot on the door. Natasha still continued to run and pushed open another white door.

Natasha almost let out a yelp as she immediately came face to face with the Red Skull.

"Pity seeing you again." Schmidt let out a crooked grin.

She was too distracted to notice the two men gaining on her behind. The next thing she knew, they grabbed hold of her arms and held her in place.

"How am I alive?" She asked.

Red Skull chuckled. "The serum flows through your veins. I do not know-how. But somehow for reasons I can not explain when Dr. Zola found you, your heart was still pumping blood through your pathetic little body."

"What do you want from me?" She glared at him.

He clasped his arms behind his back and answered so casually. "I think the question you should be asking is what do we need from you."

"What the hell are you playing at? I'm not in the mood for games." She snapped.

Schmidt laughed manically. "Unfortunately, so am I. Maybe it's not about exactly what we need from you, agent. We need you to do something for us."

"And what's that?" she demanded.

He grinned mischievously. "What I want is to have soldiers just like your own Captain America. An army of soldiers that could withstand his strength and power and finally fulfill HYDRA's one true purpose."

She wasn't following him, going more and more furious by the second. "You're stupid to think if you can create soldiers like Captain America. He's the only super-soldier. And always will be."

"How can you be so sure?" His jaw clenched. "Time is running out and we cannot afford to lose more. What we need is to have more. Create more. This time, HYDRA will conquer the world by using our own soldiers to win the war and put an end to humanity's misery. This will change everything."

Disbelief and fury washed her features. Where was this bastard getting at? "I'm still not following why the fuck did you bring me here. You're not doing yourself any favours by telling me all this."

"Captain Rogers's blood is the last thing we need in order to compare our own serum with Erskine's formula. Of course, we cannot get a hold of the captain's blood if he would not let us. Unless..."

He curled one of his gloved fingers under her chin and forced her to meet his sickening face. The corner of his lips tugged into a devious smirk.

Her face turned white.

It all sunk in. It makes perfectly good sense. Why they captured her. Why he was telling her all of this. Why they couldn't just kill her then and there.

They were going to use her. They were going to use her against him. They knew that Steve was coming for her. And it would be the perfect time to trap him and force him to give a sample of his blood.

Force him to surrender to HYDRA.

"No." This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. It shouldn't. This was going to mess everything up. And it was all her fault. "You can't do that!"

He ignored her protests. "There's no use to struggle, fraulein. Once the serum is ready for use, all we need now is Captain America's blood and the war will end. Humanity will be saved and new world order will arise."

"No. You—you bastard!" She gritted her teeth, struggling furiously in their grip. They were too strong for her. "You're making a goddamn mistake! You don't understand! You are not doing them any favours by taking away their freedom!"

"Freedom is for the weak. It is for those who cannot learn to control themselves and are the sole reason why the world is turning against them! HYDRA will help shape the world as it is before. The way it should be."

"By wiping the world clean? By sacrificing the lives of innocent people? How is that going to shape the world?" She asked in disbelief. "You're fucking crazy."

Schmidt didn't seem to faze with her profanity. But it did make him more furious. He was the mortal devil on Earth. "Talk all you want. Say what you want, agent, but nothing is going to change our mind. And you're helping us do it."

"Like I will." She spatted. "You think your plan's going to work? Tough luck. He's not that stupid enough like you to walk straight into a trap."

He glared at her. "Foolish girl! But your Captain's stupid enough to still let you on with the missions. Does he not realize that you're the one tool to use against him?"

"You're not going to use me." They'll be damned if she thinks she's just as weak and pathetic as the other damsels in distress. She was an agent. A fighter. "You can't."

A devil of a grin started to crawl its way on his lips. He leaned closer to the blonde in front of him. He gripped her face so tightly. "Then let's see how far are you willing to endure for your Captain, huh?"

Natasha shook her head out of his grip, gritting her teeth. "Good luck with that." She gave back the same deathly smirk. "Because I'm not someone who gives up easily."

The Red Skull let out a boisterous laugh.

"We'll see about that."