Buzzkill [Winter Soldier]

Chapter 19

James, so that's his name. They actually gave him a name.

Ruth's thoughts consisted of only him for the rest of the night. She wondered how he got there, who he was, if James was his real name or a name they assigned to him. Was he raised from childhood to be a weapon like she was? When did he get the metal arm, and what could it do?

Though everyone at the facility in Sweden knew the Winter Soldier existed, no one around Ruth actually knew who he was. The Woman never spoke about it. How could someone be active on the mission field for over fifty years and still be alive and young enough to continue?

    Ruth paced back and forth in her room until her body felt tired enough to sleep. The next morning, she woke up to breakfast sitting on the table next to her. Realizing she slept through someone coming in and dropping off food gave her a chill. Never again at Hydra did Ruth sleep with her back facing the inside of the room.

She ate the whole meal given to her even though the extra portion made her feel more full than she was used to. An hour later, guards opened her door, grabbed Ruth, and shoved her out of the room, pushing her constantly until they came to a closed off gym. To Ruth, it seemed like everywhere but the injection room was poorly-lit and grim. This room was large, large enough where a dozen agents could train at the same time if they wanted to. The tall ceilings along with the dark concrete walls and floors kept the room cold. Weights and equipment were kept neatly along the sides of the room with stacks of towels sitting beside them. 

Once in the room, there was only one other person who was standing ominously at the other end. The two guards shoved Ruth in, so she just stood where she ended up, looking around for someone to give her an answer as to what she was doing. Ruth recognized that the person was the Winter Soldier, or, James, as she found out. He didn't say a word. She wondered if he was always like this. 

    "So...is it alright if I walk a little more into the room? Or are you going to shoot me or something?" Ruth asked. She didn't know if her slight sarcastic tone was a good idea, so if he shot her in the arm for that, she wouldn't be surprised.

    There was an oddly long pause, then James walked forward a few steps, "Come over here," he finally spoke up.

    Ruth nodded and took careful steps. Getting closer, she saw the large mat James was standing on and realized he was about to beat the crap out of her. She mentally prepared for this "training" more than anything.

Once Ruth was only standing a few feet away, she could see how much more human James actually looked. The leather jacket, the multiple holsters holding various guns, and knives were gone. He wore a plain, dark t-shirt along with his black cargo pants and sturdy boots. Ruth glanced briefly to see if she saw any weapons on him, but there was nothing; except for the bionic arm. She felt underdressed. The only thing Hydra gave her to wear were the same basic white t-shirts, black slim-fitting sweatpants with a number written along the leg (no doubt a prisoner number of some sort), and plain black socks. Seeing and feeling how soft the mat flooring was, Ruth knew she would slip if she tried to make sudden moves.

    "They said your name is James," Ruth started, her voice echoing throughout the space.

    James nodded.

    "So is that true? Can I call you James?"

    "Sure."

    "Good." Ruth just continued to stand and rocked back and forth slightly on her heels.

    James continued to not say anything.

    "They said you're going to train me?"

    "Yep. I'm just waiting for you to let me know when you're ready."

    "I didn't know that I made those kind of decisions around here."

    "Well, it would be a little unfair for me to just hit you when you weren't ready." Even though James' voice changed to a more "friendly" tone, his facial expression still made Ruth uneasy.

    Ruth nodded, "Again, didn't think it was all about fairness here. But if it is, I can't say that it's too fair that you have a metal arm to use as a weapon against me when I have nothing."

    "I'm not going to use it as a weapon. I'm here to train you, not kill you."

    Ruth didn't know if she believed it. "Well, I'm ready."

    James walked to the edge of the mat closest to him and grabbed some athletic tape sitting on the floor to wrap Ruth's knuckles. He began her training by testing her strength. Ruth was weaker than she was when she arrived, and she knew that, and James felt it. Each punch was stronger than the last, but her body felt frail. During their training, Ruth knew that James was analyzing her every move and figuring out her fight pattern. She didn't have the chance to use her actual technique she was trained with, and that was a good thing. Just because this once-ghost suddenly seemed to show some human emotion, doesn't mean he or anyone else could be trusted.

The training session lasted an hour before the guards came back with an abrupt kick to the back of Ruth's knee to make her kneel and easily put the cuffs on.

    "Hey," James butted in. "Careful."

    The guards glared at him and cussed him out, taking Ruth with them out the door.

    Back in her cell, Ruth drank as much water as she could to make sure her muscles wouldn't strain or cramp in a few hours. She wondered if it was because of the injections, or because of the lower calorie intake lately that made her feel so weak. Before falling asleep, Ruth thought about if they would ever allow her to use a gun while she was here, or even a knife.

Then Ruth had the sudden realization that if Hydra kept the injections going, she would never make it out of here at all.