Brooklyn paced the floor, Juliana watching.

Their morning had started out, she supposed, with the new normal. Breakfast, reading, and then being taken to training.  Brooklyn had been going through her paces, mindlessly, with Juliana sitting on the floor of the training room, out of range, when one of the agents came in and said they were on lock down and for the two to be returned to their cell.

Marcus had remained quiet on the walk back. She had wanted to probe him for answers.  Instead, she had kept her mouth shut, and watched everyone they passed in the halls.  Brooklyn realized she had not seen Rumlow at all today.  She was exceptionally pleased by this.  As far as she was concerned, the less she had to spend in Rumlow's presence the better.

Marcus was definitely a more preferable handler.  For all his newness, and his niceness, Marcus seemed to care what was going on with her and Juliana.  He had spoken up several times, during training, concerned with how hard the men sent to spar against her were going.  At one point, when a hit had landed on her face, he had jumped up to stop the sparing, only for her to snap out her fist and knock the attacker unconscious.

He had sat back after that.

Now, left in her cell with Juliana, cracking her knuckles against her jaw, the tension she could feel running through the facility setting her back up.  Lockdown didn't normally happen in the facilities, in her experience. They were only utilized when one of the test subjects broke out of containment, or when an outside threat was perceived. And as far as she was aware, the only three test subjects in the facility were Juliana, herself, and their father.  Then again, until last night, she would have placed bets on it just being her and her father.  Were there more?  More assets hidden away?

No.  Not likely. She thought to herself.  She may not be aware of everything that was going on in the facilities they had occupied over the years, but one thing she was certain of, they didn't freely give out the reward of female companionship to her father.

So, process of elimination.  It had to be an outside threat.

What threat could be so great that they would go into lock down?

She continued to pace, cracking her knuckles, and occasionally looking at Juliana.  The child had left off watching her older sister and had gone to sit down at the little table, coloring out scribbles with the crayons Marcus had brought them this morning.  If it was an outside threat, her first responsibility was to protect Juliana.  Second was to get to her father, as soon as she was able, if only to back him up in a fight. Brooklyn had been taught, almost from the first training session she had had as a child, to fight alongside her father.  To move when he did, and to take her fighting cues from him. 

That wasn't to mean she couldn't handle herself in a fight solo, just that she preferred to have him covering her back, as well as covering his. In time, if Juliana thrived under her care, her sister would be taught the same thing. 

So, protect Juliana, get to Papa.  After that, it was up in the air, depending on what the threat was. 

Marcus came in, pulling a meal cart behind him.  Brooklyn stopped pacing, waiting.

"Dinner is early tonight."  He smiled and moved to unload the cart onto the small table Juliana currently occupied. "Oh, such pretty pictures!  What is this?" 

He held one up for Juliana to explain.

"Dat's the mountain, from the book." Juliana pointed at the green shapes, dotted with other green shapes, as well as a stick figure. "Dat's Heidi."

"Very pretty!  What should we do with this pretty picture?" Marcus went to hand it to the little girl, but she shook her head.

"Give to Papa."

Marcus turned his head towards Brooklyn, saying, out of the side of his mouth, "Is that allowed?"

Brooklyn laughed in her throat. "Yes, unless they changed the rules on us.  Usually, they allow that sort of thing. Just pass it to him on his meal tray. That's how they did it when I was a child."

He nodded and put a tray of food down in front of Juliana, along with a spoon and a plastic cup of water.  "Well, then, Little Miss, I will make sure that your pretty picture gets to Papa."

Juliana smiled up at Marcus, before turning her attention to her food.

"I, ah, well, I was wondering where you would like yours. The table looks a little short for you to eat at comfortably. Also, would you mind if I ate with the two of you?  I have a few questions I wanted to ask you, since it looks like no one is leaving here, without prior authorization from the Director, himself." Marcus held up two dinner trays.

"I was just going to eat on the bed." She reached out for one of the trays.  "And if you want to, I won't stop you."

As far as she was concerned, it would give her an opportunity to feel him out some more.  Either he was serious about being friendly, or this was a game set up by the Director to test her.  If it was the former, it would be nice to have someone she didn't have to watch her back around constantly. If it was the latter, she was fairly confident she would be able to put him off enough for them to think she had bought it. Fake it, if you would.

He settled down next to her on the bed and looked down at the tray. The meal consisted of a patty of meat, covered in gravy, steamed vegetables, canned pears, and a slice of bread. "The food around here leaves a lot to be desired."

"It's better than what I grew up with.  This at least has flavor, and at least there is more then just a bowl of oatmeal." She picked at the steamed vegetables. "There was even a period when it was just fruit, bread, and if we were very lucky, a chicken leg."

"That sounds very depressing.  When was this?"
Brooklyn thought for a bit.  "Back when we were in Moscow. There was a lot going on in the country at the time, and food was not easy to come by.  For a while, I guess, they thought that we didn't need much.  It wasn't until it actually started to affect us that they tried to make sure we were fed better."

"You see a lot of that?" Marcus began eating.

She picked up the spoon provided (something else that was new!) and put a bite in her mouth.  "It comes and goes. This time, they actually seem concerned for our health."

"I noticed that one of the agents here, I didn't catch his name, was concerned that you may not be keeping weight on."

Brooklyn shrugged. "We have high metabolism. We burn through what ever fat we are able to build pretty quickly."

He nodded. "I read that in your file. I also read some things that didn't seem like they were possible."

"Like what."  She poked at the canned pears.  She really didn't like canned pears.  But she knew better then to leave food behind.  Maybe if she saved them for last?

"Things like when you were born, some of the things they had you do, some of the things they did to you."

She inhaled. "I don't know what's in my file.  I don't have access to it."

"I'm sorry. "
"Don't be. It's not something you can control, at your level.  Speaking of you said you hacked their systems?" She turned her head to look at him.  "What were you hoping to find?"

He sighed and shook his head. "It was a drunken dare.  My cousins and I were drinking one night, and I started bragging that nothing could keep me out of a system.  Originally, the dare was to try to hack the Stark Industries mainframe.  I kept saying that was too easy, so someone said I should hack SHIELD.  I was only going to go in, and grab a deleted email, as proof.  I got in, and I somehow got turned around in the system, and ended up setting off all sorts of firewalls.  I backed out, said I had failed, dealt with their ribbing over my failure, went home, and passed out.  I woke up a few hours later with guns pointed in my face, a black bag put over my head and being thrown into a van.  When they pulled the bag off my face, the Director gave me the option to stay and work for them, or to have a bullet put into the back of my head and an unmarked grave." He shrugged.  "Like I said, I chose the first option.  Seemed wiser."

"Do you miss your family?"

"Oh, at least once or twice an hour," he laughed. "But I guess I really miss my boyfriend.  He must be going out of his head with worry."

"Boyfriend?" She raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's one of the reasons they assigned me to you.  Apparently, since I'm gay, I won't try to hump you, or some shit." He raised his eyebrow back at her. "Is that going to be an issue? That I like men, instead of women?"

She shook her head. "No.  Then again, I have no real experience either way."

He smiled.  "Good.  I think we are going to get along, just fine."

"What did you do, on the outside?"

"I ran the computers and accounting software for my uncle, who is a big business guy, up in New York.  He owns a bunch of clubs and such.  Fingers in a lot of different pies.  And there is a lot of money coming in, and going out, that needs to be accounted for. "Marcus began using the bread to clean up the gravy. "I basically move money around to a bunch of different accounts, offshore and in country, so that it's clean when its needed."

"I honestly don't know If I know what that means." She chuckled, finishing her vegetables. 

"He basically has me make sure the government doesn't know how much money he has at any given moment, as well as where the money comes from. Marcus looked down at this tray.  "He's basically a criminal.  And I was too, I guess.  Runs in the family."

"Well, my father and I are basically murderers." She shrugged. "If you don't judge me for my actions, I wont judge you for yours."

Marcus grinned.  "Deal."

Brooklyn gave a small smile, before turning her attention to her sister.  "Juliana, please, eat your vegetables.  We don't leave anything behind on our trays."

The little girl frowned. "I don't wike dem."

"I know.  But they help us stay healthy.  And they help us grow big and strong, like Papa."

The little girl heaved a sigh, but obediently begin to shove the vegetables in her mouth.  Her facial expression clearly indicated she thought she was doing Brooklyn a huge favor.

"You are good at that, handling children.  I noticed it last night." Marcus looked at Brooklyn.

She shrugged. "Not the first time I've had to handled them."

"I'm sorry, but I just don't see how you could have spent time around children, in places like this."

Brooklyn began shoveling the dreaded pears into her mouth. Swallowing, she looked at her sister. "She's Asset Five.  I was Asset One."

                                                **********************************************

After letting that information slip, Brooklyn had decided to not be so forthcoming in regard to Marcus' questions.  She was fairly certain he was not lying to her about his past, and how he came to the facility, but that still didn't mean she was willing to give her life story up in one setting.  Instead, they discussed her training, and computers.  Brooklyn was not well versed in computers, enough to get a mission completed, if needs be, but not enough to really contribute to the conversation.  Instead, she let Marcus ramble on about the subject, which he was enamored with. 

Juliana had cleaned her tray, or as much as she was able to, given the child was only four years old.  After cleaning up the table, and the child, they left her to color some more, while they sat on the bed.

It was nice, she decided, to have someone to talk to, besides the agents she trained with, or even her Papa.  While she loved her Papa dearly, he was not, as a whole, a great conversationalist.  It was due mostly to the conditioning he had had over the years, and also in some small part to knowing that their conversations were usually listened to constantly.

It was during a bit of a long-winded speech about how to slip past firewalls, when they heard the march of boots down the hall.  Brooklyn rose to her feet, quickly, and stepped towards Juliana. The boots stopped outside the door, but from where she stood, she couldn't see outside the window. She held her breath, straightening her back, waiting. Marcus stood up next to her and tilted his head.

"What's goin- "

"SH." She held up her hand. "Wait."

Stepping forward, she angled herself until she could see out the window.  The group of men, dressed in tactical gear, were not facing her door.  They were facing the one her father was behind.

"Soldier!  Approach the door!"

He heard the door across the hall open, and there was some shuffling.  Moving closer, Brooklyn could see the agents, her father in the middle, start to go back the direction they had come.  As they fully passed by the window, her father turned his head, and met her eyes.  She tried to give him a smile, but from the look in his eyes, she failed.

"Brooklyn?"

She swallowed hard and faced Marcus. "Where are they taking him?"

He shook his head. "I don't know.  I wasn't told about anything.  But I'm also not his handler, I'm yours."

"Can you find out?  He's not normally sent out so soon after a mission."  She brought her hand up to her jaw and pressed her knuckles against it, cracking a few. "Successful mission last night, then lockdown this afternoon, and now being sent out?"

He folded his arms across his chest. "Brooklyn, I'm sure- "

"No. You don't understand.  I know things are different under Pierce. I do.  But its dangerous to send my father out, so soon after a successful mission.  To many people looking for him.  Its how we have survived. Keep to the shadows and avoid mission after mission." She took a deep breath and took a chance. "Marcus, if he's being sent out too soon, it means something big is coming.  Something that could be bad for all of us."

He stared at her, so long she began to panic internally.  Had she made a mistake?  Was he that good of an actor that she had misread him?
"Okay. Fine. I'll see what I can find out. "

"thank you." She exhaled.

He nodded and gathered up the food cart.  "Look, I don't know how long it will take me to find out what's going on.  Just... just settle down for the night, okay?  If I find anything out, I'll come right back."

Brooklyn nodded, and waited for Marcus to leave the cell, locking the door behind.  She heaved a sigh, feeling as though everything was pressing down on her, her chest caving in from the weight.  How much longer could they keep it up?  Realistically?  She was really not happy about being kept out of the chain, when it came to her father's missions.  How was she to help him, or them, if she didn't know what he was being made to do?

She went over to Juliana, who was quietly coloring.  "Hey Juliana.  Do you mind if I color with you?"

The little girl looked up at her, with eyes that they both shared with the man who had just been escorted down the hall, and away from them. "'Kay."

Brooklyn sat down at the small table and reached for some paper and a crayon.  It would be alright.  It would all be okay.  It had to be. 

Because she wasn't sure what she would do to protect them, if it wasn't.

                                ******************************************************

The call for lights out had come, and Brooklyn had Juliana bundled on the bed next to her, reading to the little girl in a low voice, watching as her eyes slowly blinked towards sleep.  Juliana had one hand wrapped tight in Brooklyn's shirt, the other had a finger in her mouth.  With every completed sentence exiting Brooklyn's mouth, Juliana's blinking grew longer, her breathing deeper. Soon her eyes no longer opened, and her breathing was deep and even.

Putting the book down, she evened herself deeper into the bed, preparing to let herself fall off to sleep as well, when she heard the locks at the door open.  Looking over her shoulder, she watched as Marcus skulked in. Brooklyn kept her eyes on him, as she worked Juliana's grip off her shirt, and slid out from under the covers, making sure to keep her sister tucked in tight as she did so.

Marcus waited until she was standing in front of him before starting. "He's been ordered to kill Captain America."

"WHAT?" She hissed. Oh, this was bad.  This was very, very, very bad.  "He can't!"

"He's going to have to.  He was called to Pierce's side.  Since then, most of the agents have been called out as well.  Apparently, Captain America avoided capture at the headquarters of SHIELD.  He hooked up with the Black Widow, and the two of them have gone on the run.  They tried to take them out with a missile, at one of the old bases, but they escaped.  Everyone is looking for the two of them, with a kill on sight order.  Your father has been told to take them out in less then 12 hours." Marcus grabbed her shoulders.  "There is nothing you can do.  But there is maybe a bright side of this."

"How can there be a bright side.  And he can't kill the captain. He just can't!" Brooklyn could feel all those years of control start to slip.  "He won't... you don't understand!"

"The bright side is there may be a chance for us to get out.  We can grab Juliana and leave.  We can hide!" Marcus gave her a short shake.

"Not with out him!" She pulled away.  "I wont leave without my father! He wouldn't leave me, and I won't leave without him."

"Look, I was in New York when the captain and his friends fought that horde of aliens.  I saw how well he holds up in a fight.  He's going to give your father a run for it.  He may not even be able to fight the Captain down."

She scoffed. "No, if he has a mission, he will see it to the end.  No matter what he has to do, or what condition he is in.  He doesn't stop."

"We can debate whether Captain America or the Soldier is the better fighter, later.  I'm telling you; we have a chance to run."

"And I'm telling you, I won't do it without my father."

He stared at her.  "It means that much to you?"

"He wouldn't leave me behind." She folded her arms across her chest and clutched herself.

"Make me a deal." Marcus demanded. "If he fails- "

"He won't." Brooklyn insisted.

"-If he fails, and we get the chance, we leave. We can go to my uncle.  He will help us."

Brooklyn looked away, towards Juliana. If her father failed in his mission to kill Captain America, the consequences for all of them would be dire.  But if he succeeded... Marcus was right.  If they had a chance to run, she should make sure they take it. Her responsibility was to her sister, as well as her father. but there was something bothering her about the situation.

"Why the timetable?" She asked.

"Huh?" Marcus frowned.  "All of this, and you are worried about the timetable?"

"Why give him a timetable?  If they know where Captain America is, they wouldn't need one.  If they don't know, then giving him a timetable is unrealistic.  Unless there is something else going on?"

"Yeah, there is some program Pierce wants going, and he wants Cap out of the way before it launches." Marcus shrugged.  There isn't a whole lot I was able to get on that.  New guy rules, I guess."

She sighed. "This is just all... all over the place. This isn't how we have done things!"

"Brooklyn, what do you really know about this place?  The people you serve?" Marcus rubbed his forehead. She could see the stress he was feeling.

She pondered that question for a few heartbeats. She took a deep breath. "Heil Hydra."

He froze.  Parting his lips, he stared at her. "You know."

"I've always known. I've known since I was old enough to be made to understand." She rubbed her upper arms, as if for warmth. "I know everything, about my father, and who he was, and who they made him.  I know what the true mission is."

"If you knew, then why?  Why go along with it?"

Brooklyn dropped her head and pondered the floor.  That was the question she asked herself, constantly.  "At first, it was because I didn't know better, Marcus.  I was a child.  Later, when I was older, I did question it.  I had a few moments of rebellion, I guess you would call it. That didn't last long."

He reached out, and laid a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort. "What made you stop fighting?"

She looked him in the eyes, so he could understand. "They hurt him.  If I misbehaved, if I didn't do what I was told, if I didn't...if I didn't help them control him, they hurt my father.  In front of me.  Every time. And in the end, I guess it was just easier to go along with the program and try to not let it affect me. As long as my mission was there, as long as I helped keep him in line, it was livable."

"What are you saying, Brooklyn?" Marcus' hand tightened.  "What are you telling me?"

She tried to push back the prickling feeling in her eyes.  She could feel the tears forming, and for the life of her, she couldn't force them away.  Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath as she felt the tears trickle down her face.

"I am Brooklyn Barnes, Hydra's Asset One, The White Queen.  And I am the daughter of James Barnes, The Winter Soldier, and the childhood friend of Captain America."

"I get that.  Okay." Marcus breathed in.  "Okay, I get that."

"No.  You don't." She shook her head, feeling her lungs heave for air. The secret she had kept from her father... "you are my handler."

"Yes." He agreed.

"You are my handler. But I am his.  I am my father's handler. I was born, raised, and trained, to help them control him.  And I never told him.  He doesn't know.  And if he kills Captain America, it will break his conditioning." She opened her eyes, staring into Marcus', unblinking. "And if he breaks his conditioning, they will kill us all."

                                *****************************************************

After her revelation, she had leaned back against the wall, and let gravity pull her down.  After a few moments of processing, Marcus joined her.  Now they were both sitting on the floor, knees pulled up, back to the wall.

"So, he doesn't know?"

"No."

Silence.

Breathing.

"And he and Captain America- "

"Yes."

Silence.

More breathing.

"So, you really are- "

"Yes."

Marcus buried his head in his hands and gave a weak laugh. "Oh god.  This is a cluster fuck."

"I've been living with it for over sixty years.  Trust me, I know."

"So, the both of you really are super soldiers, like the Cap."

Brooklyn nodded.  "Yes.  Well, Papa is.  I'm not really a soldier."
"What are you then?"

"I am whatever they want me to be, when they want me to be it." Brooklyn tilted her head.  "Right now, I'm a nanny for my sister.  Next week I may be a killer.  The week after that I may be bait."

Silence.

"How?  You don't look a day over twenty."

She let a wry smile form. "Cryogenics. Whenever they don't need us, they put us to sleep in a cryogenic chamber. I've slept years of my life away, not even knowing it. Does wonders for the skin.  But it's really disorienting when they wake you up."

"What about Juliana?  Is she one too?"

She looked over at her sister who had slept through everything and was still sleeping on the bed. "I have no reason to believe she is not."

"And you want her raised like you were?"
"Marcus, do you not get it?  There is nothing I would like more, then to live on the outside, with Juliana safe and sound, and living a life like a normal little girl.  But the reality of the situation is that its not possible.  Even if we got out, they would hunt us down to the ends of the earth.  And they would send out our father to do it, either because they know I will not fight him, or to make the final statement to the two of us that I mean nothing." Brooklyn buried her face in her hands. "We are trapped here, until they decide otherwise."
He inhaled sharply.  "I refuse to believe that.  There has to be a way."

"Unless there is a miracle, this is the way it is."

Marcus sighed and looked at his watch. "It is getting really late. I need to sleep.  And not to be rude, but this is a lot of...well, it's just a lot.  I need to process." He stood up, and held out a hand to her, helping her off the floor. "We will talk again tomorrow, okay?"

She nodded. "It hasn't changed your opinion of me, has it?  You still want to be friendly?"

"Brooklyn, as far as I'm concerned, you are as much a victim of this place as I am, as your father is." Marcus pulled her in, for a hug. "You have done what you have had to, to keep everyone alive."

"I doubt he would see it like that." She sniffed.

"That is a bridge you will have to cross when you come to it.  First things first, we have to wait for him to come back, either successful or not, right?"

Brooklyn nodded.  "Yes."
"Well, we will deal with that when we get there." Marcus patted her on the shoulder and turned to the door.  Looking out the window, he checked to see if the hall was clear.  Before he left, he looked at her one more time.  "Get some sleep, Queenie."
"Queenie?" She frowned. "Really?"

"Yes, really." HE smiled.  "Friends got to have nicknames.  Sleep, I'll see you tomorrow."

She watched as he left, engaging the locks, the familiar clink sounding less like a trap then before.

As she slipped into the bed, next to her sister, she pondered Marcus' reaction so far.  Maybe this friendship thing could work, even if he did insist that they had a chance to escape. Either way, she could stand to have him around.

Reaching out to brush hair off of Juliana's face, she inhaled, and slowly let it out. 

Oh God.  Forgive her, but she didn't know if she wanted her father to succeed or not.  In the end, did it matter, as long as he came back to them?

"Just come back to us, Papa.  Please. Just come back."