『Fugitive』

"Because we're all you have." He says with certainty.

I look at him. Looking for anything that might indicate him lying. I strain my ears, trying to listening to his heart beat. The dilation of his eyes. The sweat on his skin.

I find nothing.

They are all I have? Interesting theory. Not one I particularly care for.

"The only thing I have and need is my training. I can make it fine without you." I say.

I deny it. Like a confused boy. A teen.

Confident in my abilities but have no clue what happens in the outside world. More specifically, like a potential and valuable asset. The type that people like Fury want.

So I work around the image Fury has of me. My goal: To set my value higher and successfully infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D.

Then I'll find out what to do next. I'll decide if I want to stick to my training or defect. Because I have a choice now. And I'm not afraid to make either one.

"Stop that." The red-head says as she bangs the table.

She catches the attention of everyone in the room.

"Stop what?" I ask tense. Ready for a potential fist to come my way.

"We had the same lessons! I know what you're trying to do. Your playing the part. The image that you think Fury has of you." She says.

She leans in closer.

"One of the classic personas from the Red Room. At least use some original content. Show some respect to the man!" She jokes as she points to Nick Fury.

I look at Fury and the other agent.

They found it amusing. Funny in fact that I tried to swindle the swindler.

"Я думаю, что лучше придерживаться основ." I say trying to play it off. [You have to stick with the basics sometimes]

Jokes aside this is a big problem. I'm trained to be unpredictable. To be untraceable and untrackable. But this widow has the same knowledge as me. It's like fighting myself all over again.

"But I'm interested. Care to explain what you mean Fury? Why are you the only thing I have?" I ask with my eyebrows raised.

Fury turns around and walks towards the place where the workers were.

"It's simple really."

He picks up a tall cup and walks it towards one of the workers.

"I'll have an americano." He orders.

He then turns to the Widow. "Want anything?"

"I'll have what he's having." She says as she gestures to me as she eyed my drink.

Instinctively, I pull the drink closer to me.

She smiles to that as the workers started working on their new assignments.

"You're a wanted fugitive in almost every country. From the Philippines to f*cking Switzerland. You have a bounty of over Two-hundred million dollars set by the United Nations." He says with his arms crossed. "Trust me. We are the only ones you have."

"That's impossible. All my kills are untraceable." I say with confidence.

Not even the greatest doctors or detectives could connect a "heart attack" to a murder and get me arrested for it. And that's mainly how I kill. Natural causes.

The red-head and Nick Fury looked at each other with the same expression. 'Really?'

Fury reached towards his coat pocket and I feel my self tensing.

He takes out a transparent screen and flicks it.

A series of images started showing.

It was a picture of a teen with short dirty blond hair with blood covering his face and body. His eyes piercing the camera. In his hands were two Desert-Eagles.

Using the information given to me I search my mind palace for that day. The mission, the details, and the events that could have lead to the image.

But I couldn't. It wasn't there. I didn't remember that day.

"When was this?" I ask.

"July 2nd, 2005. The day that gave the upper class of Britain a heart attack." He says with grimace.

I don't speak. I let him know that I want more details. I let him know he needs to finish.

"The Prime Minister and his family were brutally murdered with no indication of who besides a photo caught by the security camera. The might of the whole United Nations was used to trace the killer back to Russia." He continues.

"And because of the imminent danger of Nuclear War, Russia decided to leak your files to the United Nations. They know all your assignment details. And they want to make sure you get your sentence." Natalia finishes it.

They both look at me.

"Wait. Did you say 2005?" I ask with a confused expression. "I don't appreciate being lied to." My voice turns to a darker tone.

Fury and Natalia just looked at each other.

The communicate without even talking. It shows they are close. Very close.

"What are you talking about?" She finally asks.

"It's 2002 jackass. If you're gonna lie, at least make some effort. Show some respect." I taunted.

2005, really? At least make it believable.

Now it was their turn to be confused.

The agent beside them reached towards his pocket and brought of a transparent screen.

He flicks it and a calendar shows up.

[January 4th, 2012]

How is that possible? Did they change the date? No, that's dumb. It wouldn't get them anything. In fact, it will make me more distant from them if I found out they were lying.

So I look back at my most recent memories. Mr. Phil, aircrafts, cabins. My latest memories are from 2002. That's around a 10 year gap from right now.

Someone took 10 years of my life from me.

I - I wasn't trained for this. I don't know what to do. How do I get back 10 years of my life?

They saw me getting a panic attack. Breathing felt harder. Standing up was even more difficult. The ringing in my head got louder. Unbearably loud.

I fall to my knees.

Keeping my eyes open became difficult.

But I don't lose consciousness. It's too dangerous for me to fall asleep. Not to mention the people around me but also what happened last time. If I fall asleep, how many years will pass me by?

I take a deep breath and stabilize myself.

I look at Natalia and Fury and they had worried looks.

Why? Do they think I lost my value? That I'm not a valuable asset anymore? Are they taunting me?

I felt my sweat drip to the floor.

Was it the drink? Did they spike my drink?

Even after seeing my terrible state, they didn't do anything. They didn't approach. They didn't move.

Why aren't they neutralizing me? This is a text-book example of when to capture the enemy, put them in your base and bend their will. Making you have the most power with the negotiations. Where they have to agree with your terms.

As if knowing what I was thinking, Natalia just smiled sadly.

"We don't do that here. Relax and take a deep breath. You're tired." She says.

*Pew*

Something stung my skin and my concentration was broken.

My eyes slowly drooped and I closed my eyes.

...

It was the Winter of 2018. Everything was calmer then. It was so simple.

*Tick* *Tock*

The familiar sound of the grandfather clock calmed me.

I leaned over and grabbed the cup of hot coco. I bring it close to my face and breath in.

It was warm. Life was warm.

I take a sip and grab the remote.

I looked for Hulu. It might not be as popular as Netflix, but it has a huge selection of anime and movies.

I maneuver my way to the [Action] category.

[The Quake]

[Baywatch]

[Iron Man 2]

[Avengers]

[...]

I scroll through the first few before going back to Avengers.

I click on it and the iconic Marvel logo showed. The movie - no; the franchise was so popular. But I've never seen a marvel movie before.

There's a first time for everything I suppose.

[2 hours Later]

Well, I could see why it was so popular.

I got my blanket and pulled it up. It seemed like I was going to sleep on the couch today.

I got in a comfortable position and closed my eyes.

「Running Protocol_02FW2 」

I hear a metallic voice in my mind.

「Scanning vitals」

I feel a surge of electricity powering through my body.

「Wake up Nikolai」

I open my eyes.

First step, assess the danger.

「No need. I, Guardian-1, have already did a check up. Here are the results」

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

『Body Analysis Screen | Mutant Edition | MK I 』

『Physical Notes | Sprained Ankle, Migraine, Fractured knee | 10』

『Mental Notes | Trauma, Trigger Phrase, Stockholm Syndrome | 50』

『Untreatable | Memory Loss, Hormonal Elevation』

『Final Assessment | Unfit for long-term combat』

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

A light blue screen popped up.

Wow. That's nice I guess. But what do you mean Trigger Word and Stockholm Syndrome?

「After numerous brain scans and side-by-side comparisons, I have concluded that there seems to be a trigger phrase deep within your psyche. It manifests a submissive personality that follows the orders of whoever recited the words. This goes with the Stockholm Syndrome. The psychological response wherein the captive begins to identify closely with their captors, as well as with their agendas and demands. Your relationship with HYDRA fits the definition perfectly」

Well, that's definitely a problem. I can be subdued with a couple words. In high intense situations, I can't be trusted. Is there anyway to cure this?

「Normally you wouldn't be able to resolve these problems without decades of therapy. Luckily you have me, Guardian-1」

What's the price?

「To mend you physically and mentally? It'll be a transaction of 60 v-coins」

Sixty V-coins! I'll deal with that later.

I quickly scan the room and I find myself strapped onto a bed.

Not the freedom I was hoping for but understandable.

I feel around my hands and I couldn't find my ring. It seems like they learned from their mistakes.

I hear the door open as a woman wearing a white blouse with black work-slacks shows up.

She just stands there. Looking at me.

A few seconds passed by and she didn't say anything.

"I apologize, our last encounter wasn't the best." I say with an apologetic smile. "Mind untying me?"

She doesn't address me.

"If anything, it's you're fault that it happened." I say.

She started glaring at me.

"I mean who leaves a trained soldier untied!" I debated.

She looks at me and rolls her eyes.

"Did you just - I know you didn't roll your eye! Untie me." I gasp.

"Me - You - are going a few rounds!" I demand.

The lady raises a black object and I tensed.

Seeing this she smiles.

She presses a button and a red light shines.

"Woah there! Whatchu just do?" I ask.

She doesn't talk.

[A/N: If y'all don't know this, Black Widow actually defected from the KGB because of a certain fragrance used by Fury. The ones the KGB created for those in the BW Ops to be completely submissive to whoever has the smell. The pheromonal keys to be exact. And the Winter Soldier has Trigger-words if said in Russian, will make him completely obedient. So I went with that idea]