Chapter Text
“Then finish it,” the Target gasped, blood beading at the corner of his mouth. “Because I’m with you ‘till the end of the line.”
The Soldier’s body disobeyed.
Order: Kill Target.
The Soldier’s fist refused to swing.
The helicarrier lurched. The Target fell. He disappeared in the murky water.
Order: Locate Target.
The Soldier dropped from the helicarrier towards the white frothing waves. 6 seconds passed before he hit the water. Visibility was low; pollution damaged the Soldier’s eyes.
Damage assessment: Acceptable.
Order: Locate Target.
The Soldier’s eyes stayed open. Descent was simple. Rushing bubbles and falling debris provided directionality. A dull silver star glinted in the brown water.
Target assessment: Unconscious. Probability of death: 73%. Probability analysis: Below mission parameters. Order: Ensure Target Death.
Query: Drown Target?
Query assessment: Time to Target asphyxiation: Unknown. Time to Soldier asphyxiation: 6 minutes.
Request: Ascend with Target?
Order: Request confirmed.
The Soldier’s hands grabbed the front of the Target’s torn uniform. The Target’s blood warmed the cold water. Ascent was difficult. The Soldier was heavy, as was the Target.
Query: Reduce weight?
Query assessment: Target clothing weight: Unknown. Target clothing removal time: Unknown.
Request: Remove Target Clothing?
Order: Request Denied.
The Soldier kicked upwards. A huge scrap of broken helicarrier blocked out the sun above. He held on to the Target with his dislocated arm and fought gravity with the other. 4 minutes elapsed before the Soldier broke the surface. He pulled the Target towards the bank, dragging him when the rocky ground came up beneath his feet. The Target slumped against the stones where the Soldier dropped him.
Order: Kill Target.
The Soldier looked down at the Target’s bruised face. The Target coughed. Streaks of water and blood dripped from his open mouth. The once white stripes of his uniform were now red.
Probability of Target Death: 47%
Order: Kill Target.
The Soldier’s body disobeyed.
Query: Disobedience protocol?
Protocol: Immediate Reconditioning.
Order: Return to base for reconditioning.
Again, the Soldier’s body disobeyed. He stared at the Target. The Target’s head turned. His lips moved. The Soldier ascertained a faint B sound, then the Target stopped moving.
Order: Return to base for reconditioning.
The Soldier’s body finally obeyed. He left the Target on the shore and walked away.
People shouted. Lights flashed. Alarms blared. The Soldier stood amidst the chaos. It took a long time for one of his handlers to address him.
“Soldier,” a woman barked. “Report.”
Handler: Rachel Simmons. Order: Mission Report.
“Failure,” the Soldier replied.
“Yeah, we know that fucking much!” A man shouted. He had a gun leveled at the Soldier’s chest.
The handler pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why did it fail?”
Query assessment: Project Insight initial success probability: 17%
The Soldier remained silent.
Order: Respond to handler query.
The Soldier stood and stared.
“Does it even matter?” a third voice snapped. “Come on, we’re at Code Black. We need to initiate the contingency and evac protocols.”
“Fine,” the handler snapped, then nodded to the man with the gun. “Freeze him.”
Order: Proceed to Cryogenic Chamber.
White heat flooded the Soldier’s chest. The gunman moved in. “You heard her,” he snapped, nudging the Soldier’s metal arm with his gun. “Move.”
The Soldier remained stationary.
“Hey. I said move.” The barrel of the gun pushed at the Soldier’s temple.
The handler groaned. “We don’t have time for this.” She gave a signal and the gunman pulled out a retractable baton. It flickered with electricity. The man swung it towards the Soldier.
Order: Accept punishment.
The Soldier lunged out of the way and broke the man’s wrist with a single twist. Over his scream, the handler shouted, “He’s loose, take him out!”
A bullet ripped through the Soldier’s right shoulder, then his left thigh.
Self-Preservation Protocol: Activated.
The Soldier wrenched the gun from the screaming man’s other hand. Some fled, others fought. In 2.5 minutes, the Soldier was alone, save the corpses and the still blaring computers. The Soldier looked down at the dead handler.
Order: Locate new handler.
The Soldier lifted his gun and shot the handler’s corpse.
The self-preservation protocol called for medical attention and fluids. The Soldier located forceps and dug the bullets out of its body. He stapled the wounds closed and wrapped them tightly with gauze.
Order: Proceed to Cryogenic Chamber.
A chill ran down the Soldier’s spine. He gripped his right arm and prepared to re-set his shoulder.
Query: Justify Order.
The Soldier’s shoulder snapped back into place with a sharp crack.
Query assessment: Justification not required.
Query: Justify Order.
Query assessment: Justification not required.
Query: Justify Order.
Query assessment: Justification not required.
The Soldier stood. His boots stuck to the blood soaked floor beneath him as he located the cabinet full of IV lines and bags of fluids.
Query: Justify Order.
There was an ominous silence. The Soldier paused holding the IV bag to its hook.
Query assessment: Healing requires undisturbed time. Cryogenic Chamber provides undisturbed time.
The Soldier hung the IV bag and uncapped the needle. He allowed a few drops to flow before bringing the needle to his arm.
Order: Proceed to Cryogenic Chamber.
This time, the Soldier's hand trembled. It dislodged the needle, which stuck out of his skin at an odd angle. The Soldier removed it and tried again.
Query: Alternate solution?
He slid the needle into his skin.
Query assessment: Time to complete healing: 6 days. Resources needed: nutrients, stillness, time.
Request: Achieve undisturbed time outside of Cryogenic Chamber.
There was a pause.
Order: Request confirmed.
The Soldier grabbed all the remaining bags of fluids and put them on the ground next to the IV stand. He lay down on his back. The ground was cold concrete. Blood turned tacky on his skin. The Soldier waited for his wounds to heal.
9 IV bags and 2 days later, the sound of gunfire roused the Soldier from his stillness. Combat was nearby.
Combat violates self-preservation protocol.
Request: Locate combat-free area to continue healing?
Order: Request confirmed.
The Soldier sat up. The action took longer than usual. His body was stiff and ached as he moved. The Soldier struggled to his feet and removed the IV line from his arm. He wound the tube and unhooked the bag from its stand. The ground shook as an explosion detonated somewhere on the upper floors of the base. The Soldier yanked a drawer out of its housing and filled it with the remaining IV bags. He picked a handgun off the floor and tucked it into his empty holster before moving towards the door farthest from the screams and pinging bullets. A short hallway led to a stairwell. It wasn’t until the Soldier was back up at ground level that he noted the absence of purifying corpse scent.
Request: Remain in corpse-free areas?
Order: Request confirmed.
The Soldier stepped out into deep night. The base was a scant hundred yards from the riverbank.
Time to nearest base: 3 days on foot.
Request: Travel no longer than 1 hour.
Order: Request confirmed.
The Soldier walked away from the sounds of combat. Someone shouted something. A name. The Soldier passed eight old industrial buildings before the night was silent and his hour was nearly up. He found an abandoned steel factory full of nooks and crannies. A pile of fallen beams provided a nest-like alcove for the Soldier to lie in. He hung the IV bag from a rusty nail and settled on the cold ground.
Order: Heal.
James Buchanan Barnes.
The Soldier startled awake. The last IV bag was empty. He stared up at the walls of rusty I-beams around him.
Query: James Buchanan Barnes?
Query assessment: Name spoken by the Target, Steven Grant Rogers. Alias: Captain America.
The Soldier stared up at the hole ridden roof far above.
Self-preservation protocol: complete.
Order: Locate new handler.
“Bucky?”
The Soldier bolted to his feet. The Target was crouching on an I-beam. His face was no longer bruised. His uniform was different. He had a hand extended cautiously. “Bucky, it’s me.”
The Soldier had his gun aimed at the Target’s head before he’d finished speaking.
Order: Kill Target.
“Bucky, you know me,” the Target said urgently. “You pulled me from the river, remember?”
“You’re my mission,” the Soldier said with his finger on the trigger.
“But you didn’t kill me,” the Target replied, slipping off the beam to stand in front of the Soldier with both hands raised. “Why didn’t you kill me, Bucky?”
Order: Kill Target.
“Who is Bucky?” The Soldier asked.
“You,” the Target said. “Your name is James Buchanan Barnes, but your friends call you Bucky.”
Query: Friends?
Query assessment: Invalid inquiry.
The Target took a step forward. The Soldier took a step back. In his periphery, the Soldier saw movement. The Target’s allies. The black man and the red haired woman. Both were armed.
Order: Kill Target. Avoid Target allies.
The Soldier’s gun was inches from the Target’s forehead. The finger on the trigger wouldn’t move.
“Why can’t I shoot you?” The Soldier hissed.
The Target took another step closer. “Because I’m your friend.”
Query: Friend?
Query assessment: Invalid inquiry.
The Soldier shook his head. “You’re my mission.”
“Bucky—“
Order: Kill Target.
“I can’t,” The Soldier breathed. “I’m trying. I can’t.”
“Trying what, Bucky?”
Mission: Kill Target.
Order: Kill Target.
“Query: Alternate Mission?”
“What?”
Query assessment: If death is not achievable, incapacitation is acceptable.
The Soldier’s aim dropped and he shot the Target twice in the stomach. The Target collapsed.
The Target’s allies moved quickly, but the Soldier was quicker. The black man ran for the Target, the red haired woman followed the Soldier across the warehouse.
“Nat!” A voice shouted. “Nat, I need help!”
The Soldier scaled the brick wall towards a broken window.
“Nat, he’s going to bleed out!”
The Soldier rolled, his leather uniform protecting his back from the glass as he fell, braced, and landed on his feet outside. It was early evening. The Soldier ran.
Time to nearest base: 3 days on foot.
Order: Locate handler.
It rained. The Soldier walked through the overgrown brush on the side of the highway with his long hair plastered to his face.
Query: Steven Grant Rogers?
Query assessment: Target.
Query: Steven Grant Rogers: source of conditioning failure?
Query assessment: Probability: 71%.
The Soldier stepped over a fallen branch. He was two miles from the base.
Query: Steven Grant Rogers?
The Soldier’s metal arm twitched. There was a phantom warmth around his waist. The Soldier cocked his head and pressed his soft hand to his stomach. The warmth was followed by a sensation of tightness. A restraint around his waist. A soft, warm restraint.
Query: A soft, warm restraint?
Query assessment: Insufficient data.
The Soldier let his hand fall. The rain fell harder.
The base was disguised as a power plant with access from only one road. The Soldier emerged from the trees and walked to the front gate. The CCTV camera was pointed down at him. He looked up and waited to be recognized and let in. Minutes passed. It was cold in the rain.
Query: Base abandoned?
Query assessment: Probability 92%.
The Soldier grabbed the links of the gate and hauled himself easily up and over. His boots landed on the other side with a thud. The wide road led up to a set of rusted metal doors. There was a keypad for a code. The activation light wasn’t on.
The Soldier squared his stance and with a single, solid kick, broke through the locks and latches with an echoing bang. It was dark inside, but it was free of rain. The Soldier walked in. His eyes adjusted as he followed a long corridor. Open doorways showed overturned desk chairs and scattered papers. The monitors were dead and the cameras lining the hallways hung lifeless. Another set of wide doors bore the red insignia of Hydra. The Soldier pushed them open and saw the chair. It sat in the middle of a round platform surrounded by dark computers and broken medical equipment. Against the far wall was the cryogenic chamber. The Soldier regarded them silently.
Order: Reconditioning required.
Query: No operator available?
Order: Locate handler.
The Soldier stepped towards the chair. A wave of nausea made him falter.
Query: Identify sensation?
Query assessment: Stress response.
The Soldier took another step. The chair wavered in his vision.
Query: Stress induced asphyxiation?
Query assessment: Confirmed.
Order: Breathe.
The Soldier sucked in a sharp breath. His heart was pounding.
Query: Source of stress: Chair?
Query assessment: Confirmed.
The Soldier bolted forward. He leapt and grabbed the headrest of the chair and hurled himself over it. He flipped, his feet landing on the ground behind the chair as he pulled with all his strength. The chair groaned with a metallic screech as it began to rip out of the concrete base.
Order: Do not damage reconditioning equipment.
A roar left the Soldier’s dry throat as the metal plates of his arm clenched and the chair tore. The head and backrest flew across the room and slammed into the wall before crumpling into a heap.
Order: Stop.
The Soldier turned and with a heavy boot, he stomped down on the seat, the metal legs buckling as it crumpled into the cracked concrete. He panted, staring down at the carnage.
Query: Disobedience protocol?
Protocol: Immediate Reconditioning.
Order: Locate handler. Initiate reconditioning.
The Soldier sat down on the concrete. He was tired. More tired than the small effort of destroying the chair should have left him.
Request: Rest?
Order: Request denied. Locate handler.
The Soldier slumped back against the remnants of the chair.
Order: Obey.
The Soldier closed his eyes.