Captain America Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier Steve Rogers Fan Fic - The Constant

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Hydra - The Upgrade

Hydra - The Upgrade

Caldwell studies you, and then he looks away and back down at his paperwork. "He is no longer any concern of yours. Your work is done," he says, and you are dismissed.

You have waited three days for this interview. Alone, not even knowing if the Winter Soldier is alive or dead. Knowing nothing. No one could tell you anything. This part of the base had been cleared out, the staff gone. You had looked in the Main Room and the master chair and other pieces of equipment were missing. In the cryo freeze room, the pods were gone. The store rooms were emptied. There was nothing left of Project Winter Soldier – nothing except you.

Each day you came to Caldwell's office only to find it empty as his secretary had said. But this morning you received a phone call to say he was back, and that he would see you.

You stay seated. You cannot move. How can your life with the Winter Soldier end like this? You lean forward, trying to regain his attention.

"Please. Just tell me, is he alive," your voice is on the verge of cracking, but you do not want to cry because you are angry, frustrated, frightened.

Caldwell carries on writing, reading from the pieces of paper in front of him. It's as if you are not there.

You stand up, you don't know what to do with yourself.

"I promised I would never leave him..." you say as if talking to yourself. You can hear the scratch of Caldwell's pen on paper, the sound of his secretary typing outside.

"Please..." You look down, finally realising the interview is truly over. He has nothing more to say to you. You turn to walk to the door. You reach out for the handle but you don't turn it - you cannot leave it like this.

You walk back over to the desk. "I promised I would never leave him," you repeat, louder, but still he ignores you and you suddenly hate this man in front of you, you despise him, you want to hurt him, to scream at him. You can feel all of your frustration boiling up, all of your anger, and you slam your hand on the desk making the contents jump.

"Goddamn it! You can't do this to me! You can't! I won't let you!!" You are crying, but they are hot tears of anger and you lean over the desk as you shout. He actually looks up and leans back but there is no expression on his face. Nothing. "I have done everything you have asked of me. I have never asked you for anything in return. You...you even use me as your indicator for your "ticking clock"..." and you see surprise showing in his face. "Oh yes, I know about that! I know you still spy on us in our rooms and I have never, never given you cause for alarm!" You hear the door open and you know his secretary is standing there - she heard your raised voice but you carry on. "You know I will never hurt him, I can't, he means so much to me. Part of him belongs to me but all of me belongs to him..."

"Sir..." the secretary interrupts, but Caldwell indicates to her everything is all right. She hesitates but then leaves and closes the door behind her.

You do not break eye contact with him but your voice drops. "I have never asked you for anything, but I'm asking you now. I don't care where I end up. What you have me do. But please, please just let me be with him. If not, then kill me because I don't want to go on. He is all I have, all I have ever had and without him I...I...don't want to live," you finally run out of steam and straighten up. "Just one thing though - Is he still alive? At least tell me that," you finish.

Caldwell nods. He studies you for a few seconds, and then sighs and opens a drawer and takes out a gun. You stare at him as he reaches in and takes what looks to be a silencer out, screwing it to the end of the barrel. Then he stands up and walks around the desk towards you.