Infatuation | Bucky Barnes

Chapter Twelve

Catherine laid in her bed for what seemed weeks. Occasionally someone would bring her food, but that was it. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to see the monster they had made him. Her heart had been shattered. He had no memory of her. Not even as a child. Her Zima. Her soldier. Someone she loved. Perhaps the only person she loved. He was gone.

There was finally knock on the door a week later and she debated not answering it. The knocking would not stop despite her ignoring it.

"Yes?" She answered as she opened the door.

"Karpov needs to see you." A soldier told her.

She let out a sigh and followed him. The two paused at the door of the man she used to call father. He was no longer her father. He was the monster. Not James. They waited for Karpov to open the door and just Catherine entered the room.

"You look like hell." Karpov told her pouring himself a drink.

Catherine said nothing. She just glared at him.

"I see we're not in a talkative mood today. That's fine. I have a mission for you." He continued and handed her a file.

She opened it and instantly recognized the photo. Tony Stark. That was the man she met at the gala a week ago. She debated for a couple moments if she wanted to say something to Karpov about the interactive, but she decided to keep that information to herself.

"He's a threat. I need him gone." Karpov told her.

"May I ask why?" Catherine asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He's a weapon. Someone tried to eliminate him once, but they failed. You will not fail. You'll take a flight to Los Angelus, California in the United States. From there a car will you pick you up and take you near his residence in Malibu. There will be a gun waiting for you with a scope, one of the best scopes. I want you to do anything it takes to eliminate him." He explained.

Catherine flipped through the file to find her passport for the United States with her alias, her plane tickets, keys for a car. "Anything else?"

"No. Just complete the mission. Everything else you
May need is in the file." Karpov explained.

She took one last glance at him and opened his office door. Once she exited, she felt like she could breath again. It took everything inside of her not to break his neck. At least she was going to be able to get away from him for a couple of days. She went back inside her room and grabbed a duffel bag in the bottom of her closet. She shuffled through her clothes. She only needed a few things. Something for the plane ride and something for her actual mission.

She knew that striking at nighttime would improve her chances of success.

"Don't let them turn you into a killer." The familiar voice of Ana, her mother said.

Catherine stopped packing and looked up. "I don't have a choice. You know that."

Her mother walked over and cupped her cheek. "My sweet girl, you're better then this. This is not who are. Do not let them turn you into a monster."

"This was what I raised to do. That is why Vasily adopted me. Not to give you a child, to raise a weapon. A pawn in his game. I'm sorry, but I have to do this. I-I can't let them hurt me like Ja-..." Catherine stopped herself as she felt hot tears forming.

Ana hugged her daughter tightly. "You are not a pawn to me. You are my daughter. You always have been. Just promise me you'll be careful."

Catherine felt herself relax under her tough. "I will. This mission is easy."

Catherine watched her dig in her pocket for something. A flash a gold caught her eye.

"When they found you, you had this bracelet on. It had 'Catherine' inscribed on it. We figured that was your name, so we kept it. I had a friend of mine add more loops so hopefully it will fit you. I figured it may bring you good luck." Her mom explained as she fastened the dainty piece of jewelry around her wrist.

She pulled her mom in for another hug. "Thank you."

Catherine took one more look at her mother before walking out of room. She pulled her dark brown hair up into a high pony tail and slipped her baseball hat over it. She didn't want to take a chance of a camera capturing her appearance once she was at the airport. She found a taxi waiting outside for her. The driver did not ask a question, not even her destination when she got in. She figured he worked
for HYDRA or they threatened his life.

The airport was small. None of planes held more then 30 people. She looked at her ticket. The plane would take her to Tokyo and then to LA. She went through security without a hitch. They didn't even question her fake passport. She was thankful that she didn't have to transport any weapons either.

There were only 10 other people on the plane. None of them gave her a second look. Good. The ride would only last two hours. Just enough time for to read through the file Karpov have given her. Inside it had Tony Stark's birthday, parents' names, a list of all his addresses. Everything you could possibly want to know, it had it in there. She still couldn't quite understand how he was a threat.

Once the plane landed in Tokyo, she went through security again. Again. Nothing went wrong. This felt too easy and it was making Catherine nervous. She was constantly looking over there shoulder. Maybe this was to test her loyalty after what happened with James? James. She prayed he was okay. Maybe this was just a diversion so they could get rid of him without her knowing? No. He was far too valuable.

The flight to LA was 10 hours, so she decided to sleep. It was going to be almost 7pm when they landed. Something caught her eye though. It was a magazine with Tony Stark's face on it with the words "I am Iron Man' printed in red letters. She quickly leaned forward and grabbed it. She finally came to the article. There was a picture of him with something glowing on his chest. She read the article quickly. He was a billionaire weapon maker who was doing business in the Middle East. He was taking a ride in a humvee that was hit with one of his own weapons.

Some of the shrapnel hit his chest and the glowing in the center of his chest was keeping that metal from killing him. He was captured by a group called the Ten Rings who was hired by the man who raised him. They wanted him to build a missile, but instead he built a suit made of metal and escaped. Well crashed into a desert. He was finally rescued and found out the man who raised him betrayed him. He ended up creating another metal suit and called him Iron Man.

"Quite the story?" She heard a female ask.

Catherine looked over at the older blonde woman next to her. "What? Oh...this. Umm, yes. It's a story."

"He's a hero. A true patriot." The woman confirmed.

Catherine started to fell uncomfortable. "So, he's well liked?"

"That depends on if you're for or against his weapons. His father and him have saved many lives though. Supposedly, he's going to stop making weapons though." She answered. "You know. You two look like you could be siblings. I thought he had a sister...I'm probably thinking about someone else."

Catherine put the magazine back. Something didn't feel right. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe she was nervous. All she knew was that she didn't like the feeling.