MALICIOUS, hydra

08. MURDERER

2016

Alina forced herself to focus while she stood by and listened in agony. She wanted nothing more than to act, to follow Rogers and Barnes into the field and take out Savannah then and there. But that wasn't strategy. It wasn't smart. It'd do nothing but further ignite the rage that she could hear Savannah inflicting on Barnes.

The cold of Siberian winter had seeped into her bones and the cement of the warehouse that surrounded her did nothing to stave it off. Thoughts, memories, and fear coursed through her, but she kept her eyes up and routinely looked around the corner into the room full of massive storage containers.

Things had fallen quiet again. The gunfire had ceased. Alina leaned around the corner just in time to see a gun sliding across the floor toward the doorway. It was far out of reach, too far to maneuver without distracting Rogers and Barnes or alerting Savannah.

"There's not a version of this where you win, Soldier," Savannah said. "Whether you comply or not, I will take you back to HYDRA. You will guide this revolution. You can do it as a leader or a martyr. Your choice."

Alina set her jaw and moved around the corner, concealed in the shadow of one of the containers near the entrance to the room. She closed her eyes and pushed her hair away from her face.

Breathe.

"You and your goddamn illusion of choice," Barnes said. "I'm not leaving this room with you. Make your move or stop bluffing."

"Fine."

Alina leaned around the container, expecting to see Savannah pointing a weapon at Rogers or Barnes. The result was anticlimactic and more confusing than anything. Savannah pulled a square of paper from the back pocket of her jeans. She spoke as she worked at unfolding it. Barnes seemed equally confused and Rogers was nowhere to be seen.

"Zemo killed the other Soldiers," she said. "I didn't want it to come to this. You have to believe that."

Alina drew in a sharp breath and took the chance to move forward, toward the gun that was sitting just a few feet again. She moved slowly, scooped up the gun, and dashed behind another container.

The first word stopped Alina cold.

No.

"Longing," Savannah said. Her tongue rolled seamlessly, viciously, over the Russian syllables. "Rusted. Furnace."

Alina took a quick glance over her shoulder but wasted little time in her movements. She grabbed a metal bar near the middle of the side of the steel container and used it to pull herself up enough that she could climb on top. She flattened herself against the cool metal and began to army-crawl toward Savannah and the Asset.

Barnes stumbled, nearly collapsed into the containment unit behind him. It had been such a short time since the episode in Berlin, Alina had no doubt that any resistance against his programming was useless.

"Daybreak."

Savannah moved quickly toward Barnes, grabbed a handful of his hair, and forced his face to tilt up toward hers. Alina froze. She was close enough to be concerned about Savannah catching sight of her, but not close enough to take actions. She scanned the room for Rogers