Chapter Text
Wrong place, wrong time. That's where she was when she heard heavy footsteps followed by a muffled shot and a body dropping to the floor.
"Hail Hydra."
She heard the whisper, only because the hotel corridor was extremely silent. She would have missed it otherwise.
She'd heard of Hydra. A friend of a friend was a big fan of everything superhero, so she got to hear her friend complaining about it all.
Now she was caught in the middle of a Hydra operation it seemed. The one everyone heard of but never actually seen was walking towards her, while she stood frozen in front of her room door.
The Winter Soldier took out a gun and pointed it to her head. In a moment of panic, she pressed her back against the door and tightly closed her eyes. She could hear his heavy breathing behind his mask. She was trembling and tears started flowing down her cheeks.
"H-hail H-hydra." Her whisper held a tremble, but her mind decided to work fast. She didn't know what made her repeat what he had said earlier, but when nothing happened, she opened her eyes only to see the empty corridor before her, save for the dead body at the other end of it.
She quickly unlocked her door and rushed inside. There was no way she was leaving the room anymore today. Not until she knew it was safe.
But how safe was she, really?
*-*-*-*-*
**5 years later**
"Come on, Buck. It's not like you've never done this before!"
Bucky glared at Steve. "I've left those days behind, Steve. You of all people should know better than expect me to go back there."
Steve sighed. They were assigned a mission. Hydra was being active again and they needed to send someone to infiltrate from the inside. Bucky was the perfect candidate for this because he knew Hydra inside and out. He was to go into a hotel, find the Hydra executive, and bring him to SHIELD. Steve and a few agents would keep the perimeter safe.
Bucky wasn't worried about getting in and out undetected. His worry was about getting innocent civilians hurt, as was the case in many other missions. There were always civilian casualties, either caught in the line of fire or held hostage. He really didn't want to go through that again. He needed a break from it all.
Maybe he should have stayed in Wakanda.
"Listen, we'll all be there. Natasha and Sam will be close. We'll make sure no one who's not supposed to be there wouldn't."
"No."
"Buck, we got direct orders. You can't just say no."
I can, and I did. No."
"You're still an Avenger."
"Well, then I quit." Bucky said and started walking away from Steve.
"Buck, it doesn't work that way!" Steve called after him, but Bucky ignored him.
A week later he was walking into the hotel, fully geared up as the Winter Soldier. The corridors were empty. He was told the Hydra executive will be in a meeting room at the basement level of the hotel. That gave him some comfort. The hotel staff had been released for that day and were replaced by SHIELD agents. That gave Bucky some comfort, but not a whole lot. There was still a chance of a curious civilian deciding to explore the facilities and ending up down there at the wrong time.
The executive didn't go without a fight. The moment he saw the Winter Soldier, he pulled out a gun and started shooting. The other Hydra agents joined in, so each of SHIELD agents did the same.
Director Fury wanted the Hydra executive alive, so they were all careful not to kill him.
When he grabbed a woman and put a gun to her head, Bucky froze. She was dressed in hotel staff uniform, but from the way she cried it was evident she wasn't a SHIELD agent. Bucky cursed under his breath. This was not supposed to happen. All hotel employees were supposed to be having a day off today.
"Steve, I can't let him get away." Bucky spoke through his earpiece, while his eyes on the Hydra executive and his hostage.
"Buck, we need him alive."
"He's got a civilian!"
"She's an agent! She's acting!"
"Damn it, Steve! She's not! I told you this would happen!"
Bucky ignored the rest of what Steve was yelling at him and launched into attack. He swiftly moved between Hydra agents, injuring and killing them as he made his way to the target. He needed to get close in order to free the girl.
Once at a proper distance, he took out a dagger and threw it. It hit the man in the neck and the girl shrieked as his blood splattered all over her. He dropped to the ground and she made a run for it.
"Fuck." Bucky mumbled and ran after her. She'd get shot at by accident if she wasn't careful.
He caught up with her pretty fast. She was struggling to open the doors to the staircase, which seemed to be jammed.
"Hey, it's okay." He said as he approached her. She turned around and gasped upon seeing him. The mask covering half his face, shoulder length hair and a dark battle gear. She was shaking very bad as she was crying.
When Bucky got closer, she covered her face with both hands and started mumbling. Bucky froze when he heard what she was saying.
"Hail Hydra. Hail Hydra. Hail Hydra."
The memory flashed through his mind like a whirlwind so fast, it could have easily given him a whiplash. What were the odds of bumping into her again after all this time?
"You can stop saying that." He said in a calm tone. "I'm not that person anymore."
She shook her head. Too terrified to move. "Please don't hurt me. Hail Hydra. Hail Hydra."
Bucky mentally cursed. Out of all things he regretted of his time as the Winter Soldier, this was one of the worst. He had never forgotten the witness he had spared 5 years ago, believing she was a Hydra agent at the time. He had forgotten her face, but not her scared voice.
For a moment he wondered whether he was mistaken by assuming she was a civilian. Her demeanour said that she was, but the words she uttered said otherwise. Civilians weren't usually familiar with the Hydra slogan, unless they've probably seen it mentioned at the Smithsonian. Bucky decided to throw caution to the wind and took another step forward. He pulled off his mask and put both hands over her shoulders, which made her tremble even more.
"Hail Hydra hailhydrahailhydra"
"You can stop saying that. You're safer if you do."
When he said that, she stopped repeating the slogan and slowly brought down her hands. Bucky looked at her with a little smile pulling at the corner of his lips.
"What..."
"Let's get you out of here first. Questions later."
She didn't know what possessed her to agree, though it didn't seem like she had a choice in the matter. He let go of her shoulders and guided her towards the exit.
Once out, paramedics were around her immediately, and took her to the ambulance to check her for injuries.
"They told us all staff were released for the day." Steve said as he came to Bucky.
"Yeah, well this is exactly why I didn't want to be part of it. There's always the one who shows up!" Bucky replied, glaring at Steve and then turning his gaze towards the ambulance. One of the paramedics was cleaning the woman's face of the blood.
Steve knew Bucky was pissed. He was pissed as well. How in the world did an employee not get the memo about having the day off? How did none of the agents see that one of them is not a fellow agent? What had gone wrong and why? If the press got a hold of this, they won't be hearing the end of it.
"You sure she's a civilian?" He asked.
Bucky snapped his eyes back to Steve. "Almost sure. But she kept saying Hail Hydra. Figured she either has been to the Smithsonian, or she's a really good actor."
"We'll have to bring her in for questioning, then."
They both turned to the source of that and Natasha approached them.
"You suspect she's Hydra?" Steve asked.
Natasha shrugged. "Can't be too careful."
They all looked at the ambulance. The young woman had a blanket around her and she was still shaking and crying. One of the paramedics was trying to calm her, but it didn't seem to work.
"She looks too distressed to actually be Hydra." Steve noted. "Even if acting, they can't be that good." He then noticed the looks both Bucky and Natasha were giving him, so he sighed and rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. I was there when half of SHIELD turned out to be Hydra."
"Good." Bucky said, turning his attention back to the woman. "Though I gotta say you might be right. Not sure why, though."
"That's why we bring her in." Natasha said. "I'll go do that. Meet you at the base."
After her teammates left, Natasha walked over to the ambulance. The woman was nodding to something the paramedic was saying, but she was still shaking.
"How's our patient doing?" She asked with a friendly smile, looking from the young woman to the paramedic, who stood up before replying.
"Minor injuries. Though she's in shock. Can't stop shaking. We offered to take her to a hospital, but she declined."
Natasha nodded. "So, she's cleared to come with us, then?"
"Excuse me, what?" The woman asked. "Who are you?"
"I apologise." Natasha turned to her. "I'm agent Natasha Romanoff. I'd like to ask you to come with me to a SHIELD base to answer a few questions."
"Ma'am, I was just doing my job before all hell broke loose! I didn't do anything! I was held as a hostage and the guy you were talking to killed him! Please! I'm innocent! I just want to go home!"
She started crying even more and shaking her head. Natasha bent down to come at face level with her. "I believe you. We just need to take your answers in a formal environment. If things go alright, I'll arrange for someone to take you home."
The woman looked at Natasha and wiped her eyes with the blanket, before she nodded. "I can't stop shaking."
"It's okay. I know the feeling." Natasha spoke calmly, in a friendly tone. If this woman was really a Hydra agent, she was doing a really good job of it. Though the look in her eyes told Natasha otherwise. Nevertheless, they'd be able to better assess her once at the SHIELD base.
"Can you stand? Or would you need help?" She asked.
"I can. But... can I take the blanket? I promise to return it if you could tell me where I could bring it. I'm just feeling too cold." She looked at the paramedic.
"You can keep it, it's okay." The paramedic replied.
Once she was up, Natasha led her to one of the SUV's and opened the passenger's seat door for her. The woman got in and started strapping herself in. She had a bit of trouble doing it with her shaking hands and the blanket that kept getting in the way. Natasha was about to suggest she take off the blanket when the woman finally managed click the buckle in.
Natasha drove them and after a while, she reached over to the glove compartment and took out a blindfold. "I'm gonna have to ask you to put this on."
The woman looked at the offered object and then at Natasha. "Why? Am I being kidnapped? Oh my god... I totally am! Please stop the car!" She tried opening the door while the car was moving, but found it locked. It added to her panic and she started banging at the window. "Please let me out!"
Natasha pulled over for a moment, but didn't unlock the car. Instead, she unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to the woman and grabbed both her hands. "Ma'am, you're not being kidnapped! You need to calm down, okay? I promise you're safe!" The woman kept struggling, but Natasha's hold was strong.
"Let me go!"
"I'll only let go if you promise to calm down, okay? Deep breaths now. I promise you're safe and I'm not kidnapping you."
The woman tried to calm down. She really did. Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this?
She finally stopped struggling against Natasha's hold, but she was still shaking terribly.
"Now, as I said, you're safe. I only need you to put a blindfold on because the way to our... office, is not meant for civilians to know."
"H-how do I know you're not lying?"
"I could've put you in the back of the car or handed you over to one of the other agents in a van."
The woman nodded, taking another deep breath. If she was being kidnapped, this was the weirdest way for it to happen. Natasha offered her the blindfold again and this time she took it and put it over her eyes.
"Thank you. I'll tell you when you can take it off."
"Please do. I don't like blindfolds that much. Or darkness."
Natasha pulled the car back on the street. It took them another half an hour before they reached their destination. The woman was silent the whole day. Natasha could hear her sniffing every now and then as she continued crying in silence. If she was 100% sure this was a civilian, she would have genuinely felt sorry for her. But since she wasn't completely sure yet, she couldn't decide on how to feel. So, she decided to remain neutral about it.
Once she parked the car and turned off the engine, she told the woman she could take the blindfold off. The woman pulled it off her eyes as if it was burning her. Natasha filed that information for later.
She was brought into an interrogation room. It was a small space, with one desk and a few chairs on opposite sides. One wall had a giant mirror and the woman couldn't help but stare at it as she pulled the blanket tighter around her shivering body.
"You know, with everything that happened, I never got your name." Natasha said as she tapped on the tablet she had grabbed on the way there.
"Caroline Denver." The woman replied, turning her attention to Natasha who motioned for her to take a seat.
Natasha pulled up the file SHIELD had acquired of the woman. They had gotten her name from the paramedics while she was still being tended to. Natasha asked her simple and standard questions like birth date and address. All the answers Caroline was giving matched the filed she was looking at. She scrolled through information and so far, the file seemed genuine. Hydra-made personas never included such details about a person's past and there were always some missing details where they thought no one would be interested in. Like school or medical records.
A few minutes later, Bucky and Steve walked into the room. Caroline looked at them and froze. Her body shook even more violently. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself and looked down, closing her eyes tightly and involuntarily started mumbling "Hail Hydra".
Natasha looked at her teammates, who both looked confused at what was happening. She walked over to Caroline and crouched at her side. "Miss Denver, Caroline, tell me what's happening."
Caroline just shook her head and continued repeating hail Hydra under her breath.
"Ma'am, why are you saying that?" Steve asked, coming to stand next to Natasha. Bucky took a seat opposite of Caroline and watched her with concern.
"Caroline, you're safe here. I promise no one will hurt you." Natasha said.
"Unless you give them reason to." Bucky finally added.
Caroline stopped mumbling, but didn't open her eyes. She remembered what the man told her after he had killed the man who grabbed her. That she would be safer if she didn't say that phrase. She inhaled deeply, before she finally opened her eyes and looked up. The man seated on the other side of the table wasn't wearing a mask, but she recognised his eyes. She'd recognize those anywhere. Though there was something different about them now. They lacked the coldness she had seen in them 5 years ago.
"Why do you keep saying hail Hydra?" Natasha asked, pulling Caroline's attention to her.
"It was what kept him from killing me the last time." She replied, motioning towards the man sitting across from her.
"When was that?" Natasha asked, glaring at Bucky.
"Five years ago. It was the Winter Soldier." Bucky looked at Caroline as he replied.
"I... I heard you say it. After... After you killed that man." Caroline spoke in a hushed tone. She was holding on to the blanket as if it was going to save her from whatever danger those three would put her through. Three sets of eyes focused on her and she felt like being under a microscope. Though she continued nonetheless. "When... when you pointed the gun at me, I didn't think much of it, I said the words and..."
"I spared you." Bucky filled in, clenching his jaws. He hated remembering the things he did as the Winter Soldier. Steve came to his side and put a hand over his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Bucky looked at him for a moment and nodded in appreciation. Then he looked back at Caroline and leaned forward. "You don't strike me as a Hydra agent."
"What's a Hydra?"
The three of them looked at each other, before Natasha stood up and pulled a chair next to Caroline.
"Caroline, what were you doing at the hotel today?"
"I'm a receptionist, but sometimes I work as a waitress for the extra pay. When I got there in the afternoon, I got instructions about a meeting happening in the conference room downstairs. I found it odd that none of my colleagues were working. Was everyone fired?"
"The whole staff was given a day off today. How come you decided to work?" Steve asked.
"I wasn't informed."
"Haven't you checked your messages?" Natasha asked.
Caroline shook her head. "My laptop has been acting up lately, so I've sent it for repair."
"What about a phone?"
"I don't own one." She shrugged.
"How come?" Natasha asked. "Everyone has one, even children."
"I used to own one, up until last year. Had a bad break up and he kept harassing me by phone. Changed my number, but he still found it out and it continued. So, I decided to ditch the phone altogether."
"And you ended up going to work." Steve said.
Caroline nodded. "Now I wish I hadn't."
"Would've been better, yeah." Natasha said, smiling.
She looked at Steve and Bucky, and motioned for them to meet outside, then she turned to Caroline. "We'll step outside for a moment. We'll be back soon. Would you like something to drink?"
Caroline shook her head. "I just want to go home."
Natasha nodded, but didn't say anything. She got up and walked out with Bucky and Steve following her.
"Do we believe her?" Steve asked.
"I do." Bucky said. "I was instructed to not leave witnesses. When she used the slogan, I assumed she was Hydra, since I never knew all the agents placed at the hotel by their faces."
"Lucky for her she heard you say it, then." Steve said.
"Yeah." Bucky nodded, sighing.
"I think we can let her go. I'll arrange for someone to take her home. I kinda promised her that." Natasha said.
"I can do it." Bucky suggested.
"Sure." Steve said, while Natasha raised an eyebrow at Bucky.
Bucky rolled his eyes. "I'm only driving her home. You see how she's around me."
"And that makes it a challenge." She replied, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You're worse than Sam." Bucky sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, agent Romanoff." He glared at her as he spoke. "A part of my court mandated therapy I have to make stupid amends. She's part of those. I refuse to do it where SHIELD can hear and see."
"Okay, okay." Natasha raised both palms up, taking a few steps backwards and towards the door they just came out of. "Let's see what she has to say about it." She grinned at him and he glared in return, clenching his jaws. Would it be okay to hit her? Even if she's a woman? She can defend herself, so it's okay right?
It seemed that Steve was able to read his thoughts, because next thing he knew, Steve's hand was on his shoulder. "No, you can't. You can punch a bag later at the gym instead."
Bucky sighed. "I'm just glad Sam isn't here. I don't think I have the patience to tolerate his comments tonight."
Steve chuckled, patting Bucky's shoulder.
Natasha pulled the chair near Caroline and sat down. "Caroline, Bucky will take you home now."
Caroline nodded and turned to see this Bucky that came inside. To her surprise, it was the Winter Soldier. She turned to Natasha with wide eyes.
"Oh yeah, kinda forgot introductions. Sergeant Bucky Barnes, formerly known as the Winter Soldier." Natasha said, motioning towards Bucky and smiling.
"Cut it, Nat. I'm not the Winter Soldier anymore." He looked at Caroline when he said that.
"Hence formerly known as." Natasha grinned.
He glared daggers at her, before he sighed and softened his gaze as he looked at Caroline. "Let's take you home."
Caroline just nodded and stood up. She thanked Natasha and Steve and followed Bucky towards the exit.
They got into an SUV and Caroline still struggled with the buckle. Unlike Natasha, Bucky didn't wait for her to figure it out and immediately stepped in. He buckled her seatbelt in one, swift move and then proceeded to his own.
"Thank you." Caroline whispered and he nodded in return, looking ahead as he turned the engine on.
Bucky typed her address, which he had gotten from her file into the navigation system. Once they were on the road, Caroline turned to him. "Aren't you supposed to blindfold me or something? Agent Romanoff said the way is a secret."
"I don't care." Bucky replied, eyes ahead. "It's not like you'll try to find your way back there."
"True." Caroline nodded, looking ahead as well.
They drove in total silence. Caroline was watching the road outside, not really recognising the surroundings. They were on the outskirts of the city, that much she knew. But she didn't bother to figure out where exactly they were, since she was determined to put all of this behind and move on. Witnessing murders at such a close encounter twice in her life was more than enough for her liking. The incident five years ago still haunted her every now and then. She was sure the latest one was going to be as horrible as the last one. She should probably get an appointment with someone, but she wasn't sure if she had it in her anymore.
After a while, Bucky decided to break the silence. "I'm not him anymore." He said in a hushed tone. She looked at him, confused for a moment. "The Winter Soldier. I'm not him anymore." He glanced at her for a moment, before he turned his attention back to the road ahead.
"Why did you do it? Back then." She asked.
"I was programmed to kill. Brainwashed, so to speak."
"And now?"
"A couple years ago I received help. The programming was removed. They can't control me anymore."
"Hydra?"
"Hydra. And anyone with the code."
Caroline nodded.
"I asked to drive you home." Bucky wasn't usually this talkative, but he needed to make amends as a part of his therapy. When Caroline didn't reply, he continued. "I almost killed you that day. I wasn't supposed to leave witnesses behind. It's the programming. I couldn't fight it."
"You thought I was Hydra as well."
"Because of the slogan, yes." He nodded. He glanced at her once more. "I'm sorry I almost killed you. I'm glad I didn't." He turned his attention back to the road.
Caroline sighed. Somehow the apology brought her some relief. "Thank you, for saying that." She smiled, looking down onto her lap. "I didn't know I needed it, but... apparently I did."
"I'm sorry it's five years too late."
"It's okay. You did it now and I appreciate it." She smiled, feeling slightly at ease now. "Thank you for saving my life today. It was scary."
Bucky nodded, but otherwise kept silent.
"I'm Caroline, by the way."
"I know." He replied. "I'm Bucky."
"I know." She smiled and he smiled as well.