Titanium ~A Bucky Barnes Love Story~

Chapter Twenty-Two

Caden sat at the desk of her new office, speedily typing away on her computer. Something had happened at the gym yesterday, something had triggered Bucky. She needed to know why he reacted the way he did to a mouth guard.

"Winter.. Soldier...." She trailed off, her fingers dancing over the keys. "Handlers.. And go."
Her eyes scanned over the screen as she scrolled down the page, looking for anything that could clue her in.

"Here we go," She murmured, clicking on a link.

The Winter Soldier Process.

"'Almost a year ago, when Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, released all of Hydra's secret files to the public... Yada yada yada... Came across these few photos and one, very disturbing, video on the wiping process of the Winter Soldier... Viewer discretion is advised..'"

Caden folded her hands, resting them against her chin. She was going to regret this, she knew it.

But she had to know.

With one hand combing through her hair, she began scrolling through the post.

Almost immediately she regretted her actions.

"No," she whispered, a horrified look darkening her face. "Oh god, no."

She stared wide eyed at the pictures before her. It was the Winter Soldier, it was Bucky, sitting, viciously strapped, to a cold metal chair. Two pads were placed on the sides of his head, blue electricity crackling underneath. Her eyes were drawn to his face. It was grainy, but she could make out the agonizing torture in his eyes.

She scrolled down to the video, pressing play against her will.

The video was extremely blurry, she could only see shapes, Bucky in the chair, surrounded by several large men. One sat in front of Bucky, seeming to be talking to him.

"He's been out of the ice too long," a voice said.

The man in front of Bucky seemed to stand up, walking out of the room. "Then wipe him, and start over."

Caden watched in horror as some men stepped forward, shoving Bucky back into the seat, securing his arms with metal straps. One seemed to force something small and black into his mouth.

'The mouth guard,' Caden realized.

She could barely make out the ugly looking headpiece that attached itself to Bucky's head. She could hear the electricity crackling underneath them. What quickly overshadowed it was Bucky's scream.

It was a muffled scream of anguish, like that of a caged animal being brutally killed. The scream cut right through her, made tears fall from her eyes. Not able to withstand it a second longer, she slammed the top of her laptop down, bringing her legs up to her chest, rocking in her chair.

The image replayed in her mind, over and over again. She would never be able to un-see those images, let alone the video. She buried her face in her hands, starting to shake uncontrollably. It was all she could do to keep herself from breaking into sobs.

A knock on her door caused her to look up. Brushing away the hair that had fallen over her face, she said, "It's open."

Rogers poked his head in. "Caden, I- is everything alright?"

Caden shook her head slightly, motioning him to come behind her desk. Wordlessly, she pulled up the dreaded page again, letting him read the article and see the images.

"My god," Rogers murmured. "I never knew how they- now I do." He ran a hand through his sandy hair, taking a few steps away from the desk. "Oh, I wish I can un-see that, more than anything." He turned back to Caden. "How did you find this?" He asked.

"Yesterday, when Bucky and I were sparring, I tossed him a mouth guard," Caden said quietly. "He reacted like it was a... Bomb, or something. The rage in his eyes, the fear in his face, it had to have been caused by a flashback. So I researched it. They stuck a mouth guard in him every time they wiped him. Steve, how will I ever be able to fix this?" She asked, turning desperately to Rogers. "I don't know what to do."

"C'mere," Rogers said, holding his arms out when he saw the horrific look on Caden's face. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, cocooning her to him. "We'll figure it out, I promise you," he said while rubbing her back reassuringly. "What you need to do, what we all need to do, especially now that we are in this place, is be there for him and protect him at all costs. We can't lose him again."

"I know," Caden whispered, laying her head on Rogers' shoulder. "I just feel so discouraged right now, after seeing those."

"Then go to him, but don't keep this a secret from him," Rogers advised. "Let him know that you understand it all better. Assure him that we will be able to help him even more. Most importantly, let him know that you care. He's gone so long without a caring person in his life, he doesn't remember what that feels like. Show him."

Caden looked up at Rogers, nodding. "I will, thank you, Steve," she said.

Rogers ruffled Caden's hair playfully. "Do me proud, kid. You always have."

Caden smiled, dodging Rogers hand. "Speaking of doing someone proud, what's with the uniform, Captain America?" She motioned to Steve's signature dark blue combat suit, red and white stripes on his torso, and a star adorning his chest. His shield was strapped to his back, the colors freshly painted.

"Oh," Rogers looked down at his attire. "Coulson is sending me on an undercover mission. He briefed me on it yesterday after you left. I'm teaming up with Natasha and Sam to follow some politicians around, try and figure out what exactly they want to do to the Winter Soldier if they get their hands on him-"

"That won't happen," Caden said angrily.

"That way, we will know what game they're playing and stay ahead of them," Rogers finished. "I'll be gone for a while, several weeks to months, depending how much we get out of them."

"But, Steve," Caden said, "You're a soldier, not a spy."

"That's what I said yesterday," Rogers said. "But I will do anything to keep Bucky safe, even if it's a spy mission."

"I know you would," Caden said, walking with Rogers towards the office door. "I'm guessing by the way you're dressed you will be leaving soon?"

"Yeah, actually, I came to say goodbye," Rogers said. "I already talked to Bucky about it, so he knows what's going on. I wanted to make sure you were settled, too, had everything under control. I know Stark is here. I don't need him causing anymore trouble."

Caden laughed. "Tony won't be under foot here, he's too enamoured by this facility's laboratories." She smiled reassuringly, placing a hand on Rogers' shoulder. "We'll be fine here," she said, giving him one last hug. "Now get out of here. Bucky, Tony, and I will be fine. I promise."

"I know you will be," Rogers smiled. "I'll try to give updates as often as I can. Watch over Bucky for me, don't listen to what Stark has to say unless it's the last resort, the usual."

"Understood, Captain," Caden grinned, saluting. "Good luck."

Rogers saluted back, smiling, before turning and walking away.

Caden watched him go until his silhouette had disappeared. She leaned against the doorframe of her office, crossing her arms and running a hand through her hair, trying to figure out how to go about this.

"You know," she finally said to herself. "It doesn't matter."

And with that she took off towards Bucky's room.