shield | b. barnes

"Hail HYDRA."

"It's like the universe wants to turn me into a homicidal sociopath."

------

[Corinna]

I lazily stomp up the stairs of my apartment building as I adjust my backpack so that my aching shoulders would stop screaming in pain. I don't know if going to The Avengers Tower or the fact that I haven't slept in two days is the cause of my grouchy mood, but one thing is for sure; I need to bother the landlord about installing an elevator in this building. I mean, my apartment is on the eighth freaking floor, I think putting an elevator wouldn't be such a bad idea since there are people who have to climb 10 flights of stairs on a daily basis.

I take my phone out from my back pocket to call the landlord about my brilliant idea, but as I bring the phone to my ears, I notice that the door to my apartment is ajar. I disconnect the call as I slowly walk towards my door. Since I live by myself, this definitely isn't normal.

I slowly reach for the pocketknife that's tucked away in the band of my jeans as I put my phone back into my pocket.

"Just for once can I live a trouble free life?" I mutter as I quietly push the door to my apartment. I scan the entrance hall to my apartment and see nothing out of place other than the fact that my security system is disarmed.

Looks like I'm not dealing with a low-level robber.

I quietly step into the hall and slide my pocket knife back into my pants before reaching for the gun that's strapped under the table in the hallway. Pressing my back against the wall with my arms raised, I hold the gun in front of me as I scan my kitchen for any sign of an intruder. Since the only thing illuminating my apartment is the light pouring in form the billboard outside of my window, it's hard to make out anything that's out of place, but I decide to walk into my living room.

It's a little easier to see the furniture in this room, since I have a big window that easily illuminates the room. It doesn't take me a long time to figure out that the living room is empty as well.

I quickly walk across the living room and stop a few feet away from my bedroom. The door is ajar and I immediately know that the intruder is in my room since I never close my door.

Closing my eyes, I silently take a deep breath, preparing myself for what's on the other side of the door, before kicking it open. The door hits the wall with a loud thud and few seconds later, I see a someone lunging towards me.

I quickly duck and take a step back, just in time to see the intruder swinging their arm at me. I duck once again, but this time, I punch the intruder in their stomach, causing them to stumble back a bit. I use that to my advantage and smash the end of my gun on the intruder's head and waste no time in turning the lights on in my bedroom.

"Jonathan?" I say incredulously as I stare at the man lying on the floor. "What the hell are you doing here?" I seethe.

"You land a mean punch Chen," he grunts, ignoring my question as he slowly lifts himself up from the ground. I tuck the gun into the band of my jeans and place my foot on Jonathan's chest, roughly pushing him down to ground. I notice his right arm is inching towards his pocket and I quickly step on it, hearing a satisfying crack and a cry of pain from Jonathan. I take my foot off his broken wrist and crouch beside him.

"I'm not going to ask you again, so tell me what the hell you're doing in my apartment you piece of shit." I growl.

"I'm here for the asset." Jonathan replies with a strain to his voice as he tries to conceal the pain he's currently in.

"Asset?" I repeat in disbelief. "Are you on drugs or something?"

"I'm not on drugs, Corinna. Please, are you really that stupid? It amazes me how you're one of the best agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.."

"Me too," I reply dryly, not bothering to tell him that I don't work for them anymore.

Jonathan gives me weird look before looking at the ceiling.

"You may know the asset as The Winter Soldier," he admits slowly before looking at me.

"The Winter Soldier? How the hell do you know about him?" I demand, gripping his collar tightly to the point that my knuckles turn white. We stare at each other in silence. His steely blue gaze not wavering from my murderous glare. "Tell. Me. Now." I order in a bone chilling voice that sounds foreign even to me. I know I'm a couple of seconds away from going into interrogation mode.

Jonathon looks at me warily, before replying, "Did you really think you could bring in one of the intelligence community's greatest rumors without anyone finding out about it?"

Still gripping his collar, I narrow my eyes, "You didn't answer the question."

A few more tense moments pass between us before Jonathan does the last thing I expect him to do. He lifts his head so that it collides with my forehead painfully. His abrupt action causes me to let go of him as I fall back on my butt. He quickly reaches for the weapon in his pocket and points it to his head.

"Jonathon! No, stop!" I yell. But it's too late.

"Hail HYDRA." Jonathon announces before pulling the trigger.

I feel blood spatter onto my face as I stare at Jonathon's lifeless body in disbelief. I bring my hands up to my head as I push my hair away from my face, staring at the dead body in silence.

Why would Jonathon join HYDRA? We graduated the academy and even went on missions together before he abruptly fell off the grid.

A frown makes its way onto my face as I realize the timing of his sudden departure. He fell off the grid a few weeks before the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., it makes perfect sense now that I think about it. Even Jay couldn't locate him and that was saying something. Those two were inseparable.

I lean over to shut Jonathan's eyelids before looking down at myself. My clothes, my carpet, even my shoes are splattered in Jonathan's blood.

"Why'd he have to do it in my bedroom?" I mumble as I stand up and notice at the blood that also stain my bed and walls. A groan escapes my mouth as I place my hands on my hips. I am not in the mood to clean, and I certainly don't feel like getting rid of a dead body either.

Pulling my shirt up to my face to wipe the blood off, I exit my bedroom and decide to call Trisha. Taking my phone out of my back pocket, I open the window that's in my living room and sit on the ledge, my legs dangling as I scroll through my contacts. When I find Trisha, I click on her name and place the phone to my ear as I patiently wait for her to pick up.

"Hello?" I hear Trisha's bubbly voice greet.

"Trish, I have a situation."

"Corinna? Is everything okay? You sound...off."

"Can you just get here ASAP?" I ask, ignoring her question.

"Uh, yeah- yeah of course. I'll be there in twenty." Trisha replies before ending the call.

I place the phone in my back pocket and close my eyes as I rest my head against the window. I take a few deep breaths as I try to get my emotions under control, but the attempt is short lived when I hear the faint sound of a phone ring. Opening my eyes with a sigh, I take my phone out to see who it is, but frown when I realize that it's not my phone that's ringing.

________

Damn, Corinna really thought leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. would improve her quality of life. If only she knew what she was getting herself into...

Anyways, thank you for reading!!